A New Beginning

Chapter 5

The Muggle fell to the ground and dropped the gun. Then, he slowly got up, his face blank, and stood still. Everyone's attention raced to Dumbledore, who was still motionless on the floor. Students carefully got out from under the four tables and started toward the center of the room.

"Albus! Albus, wake up!" cried McGonagall. Hagrid stood, looking at the blood on the floor and blinking rapidly, trying to hold back tears. Lucius Malfoy stepped toward the Muggle, smirking. He stuck his wand in his pocket and carefully took off his black gloves.

"Ah, yes. I've taken care of it, Minerva. Pity about Dumbledore- I expect that Madame Pomfrey can take care of him. How harmful can a Muggle weapon be, anyway? What are the poor things going to do? Throw rocks at us?" He laughed.

"This is not a game, Lucius! Dumbledore may be dying, and- and"

"Professor McGonagall, please understand that you need to act now. Call Madame Pomfrey. She needs to get here. This isn't a magical curse. There is, right now, a small piece of metal in Dumbledore. We need to find out where it is and extract it." Hermione walked over to Dumbledore. "We need to elevate his head. I read about it in Mishaps With Muggles- it's amazing how many times Muggles try and harm wizards and witches. Guns are the deadliest."

"I do not think we should trust this girl with our headmaster's life. What could she possibly know? She probably single-handedly invited the Muggle in and gave it the key!" Lucius's face was red and scowling. Madame Pomfrey rushed in, a black medicine bag on one arm and a long, silver wand in hand.

"Out of the way! Out of the way. Move! We have a man down. Quickly, I need some help. Hagrid, go get some hot water and towels, wet and dry. Professor Trelawney- oh, drat, she's fainted. We need to elevate the head- and we need to get a knife to take out the bullet. Pliers would be best, but a knife will suffice. Does anyone have a knife?"

Malfoy kicked the now brain-dead Muggle on his way out. The poor man fell to his knees, still staring blankly ahead. Hopefully there would be a countercurse to whatever Lucius had done to him.

* * *

"Hermione, how is Dumbledore? We've been asking everyone, but no one will tell us- they're still working outside on the thingy-"

Hermione sighed, and pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Dumbledore's fine. We got him to the infirmary, and it turned out the bullet just went in through the shoulder. Madame Pomfrey says I'm a natural wizarding doctor. And... the thing outside is, obviously, that the invisibility shield went down. Hogwarts was vulnerable to any attacks these past few hours. Anyone could have gotten in. Even You-Know-Who, Harry. Especially You-Know-Who."

"And just the year when Professor Malfoy comes. Not last year, not next year. What a strange, strange occurrence. I see no connections, do you Harry? No connections at all."

"Now's not the time to be sarcastic, Ron. This has happened once before, two years before we came here. That time a Muggle got through, too... a lady Muggle, though. And she got away before they could give her a mind cleaning. She made a huge impact on the wizards, and Dumbledore really had to pull strings to cover it up. But all the same, it was just a coincidence then. It might just be a coincidence now, too," Hermione said.

"So, there's someone out there that might know about Hogwarts? Why haven't they been on the news? If someone came out of the woodwork talking about wizards and witches and a huge school, that would surely turn at least a few peoples' heads," Harry said.

"Who would believe her, Harry? And she could never prove it. Right after she left, the field appeared again. She wouldn't even know what to look for."

"Well, yes. Very bloody likely. All you are crazy. What are you talking about 'just a coincidence' Hermione? I didn't hear you talking about 'just a coincidence' when we thought Snape was an agent of Voldemort, or when you thought Harry was kooky for hearing those voices! And now the Malfoys are here and it's 'just a coincidence'? I see now. I think Hermione just might be smitten on Mr. Malfoy!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron. Draco's a git, and his father's a cur," Hermione replied. "I for one wouldn't want to be in a family of dogs."

Ginny walked in with a scowl. "Here's your sweater." She thrust it at Hermione, and a long tear appeared on the sleeve. "Have a nice day, Harry, Ron."

"What's the matter with her?" Harry asked. Hermione ran from the room.

"Girls. Why are they so bloody emotional?"

* * * * *

"Thank heavens that mess is over with," Minerva McGonagall said to Professor Flitwick. "Everything seemed to happen all at once! At least Albus is okay now- though he does have to go and give a report to Cornelius Fudge. I wish I could have gone instead of Lucius."

"Oh, I'm sure everything is fine, Minerva," said Professor Flitwick, sipping his butterbeer. "Fudge is a reasonable man..."

"I've just had a vision!" Professor Trelawney raced into the room. "Dumbledore is in danger! So are we all. The Boy Who Lived must triumph once more if our world is to be safe!"

Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick chuckled, and went on with their daily schedule. Professor Trelawney seemed to come out of a trance, and walked back down the hall, forgetting that the incident had happened. More than three hundred miles away, at this same moment and time, the owl that had been carrying the notice of Dumbledore's impending arrival at the ministry was intercepted by a small, ratty man with only one hand and a rather mousy face...