The Greatest Kind of Magic

7. The First Attack

On Tuesday morning, Liam made his way to Professor McGonagall's classroom for his first fifth-year Transfiguration class. The morning had dawned grey and cold, the frost on the grass marking the approach of winter. The draughty hallways of the castle became chilly and unwelcoming, and students hurried to reach the shelter of the warm classrooms.

Liam arrived early, working under the strange logic that the sooner he began his ordeal, the sooner it'd be over. Deep inside him was a gnawing fear that he wouldn't be able to handle fifth-year Transfiguration, either, and would be dropped back even further.

When he entered the classroom, he found that several students were there before him. As soon as he walked in, they began whispering amongst themselves.

Only one student did not join in. Ginny Weasley looked up from the book she was reading and stared at Liam for a moment, before waving her hand for him to come over.

Liam hadn't spoken to Ginny since the incident of the broken violin string, and was feeling somewhat apprehensive as he approached her desk. Ginny, however, did not seem to be looking for an apology. "Quickly, sit down before Colin Creepy gets here," she said. "He always wants to sit next to me, and if I let him, he'll bug me all lesson."

Bewildered, Liam sat. He cleared his throat nervously. "Look, Ginny, I'm sorry about last week..."

Ginny dismissed his apology with a wave. "It's okay. I shouldn't have rushed in like that - it was rude of me."

"No, no, you didn't know. I shouldn't have snapped at you - I was just having a bad day."

"Well, it's okay. Call it quits?"

Liam smiled. "Yeah."

At that moment, a thin boy with mousey brown hair came into the classroom. Seeing Liam sitting next to Ginny, he turned to the girl. "Why didn't you save me a seat, Ginny?" he said, sounding genuinely hurt.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I didn't know I was supposed to, Colin."

Colin turned to study Liam. "You're the new sixth-year, aren't you?"

Liam nodded. Colin turned his attention back to Ginny. "Listen, Ginny - there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up. Do you want to go for a Butterbeer with me?"

"Umm, I was going to go shopping with Hermione," Ginny replied. "Sorry."

"I can come with you!" exclaimed Colin, in the tone of somebody offering a generous gift.

Ginny shook her head. "No, thanks, Colin, but we're going to buy... girly things."

"I don't mind!" said Colin brightly.

"We do," retorted Ginny.

Looking put out, Colin retreated to another desk. When he was out of earshot, Ginny muttered, "Why can't he just take a hint!"

Further conversation had to be postponed, as Professor McGonagall entered the classroom. She nodded to Liam when she saw him sitting next to Ginny. "Have you got a fifth-year textbook, Mr Grady?"

"Er, no," he said. "I was going to buy one when we go into Hogsmeade."

McGonagall pursed her lips. "You need a textbook, Grady. There are spare copies in the Library - I suggest you borrow one until you can obtain your own."

With that, she turned her attention to the rest of the class. "Today we will continue our work on Vanishing Spells. This class has shown a disappointing lack of progress over the past two weeks - it is time you pulled your brains out of holiday mode! I should not need to remind you that this spell is very likely to come up on your O.W.L.'s!"

As the class began practicing the spell, Liam raised his hand.

McGonagall came over to his desk. "What is it, Grady?"

"Professor, will I have to do the O.W.L.'s for this subject?"

"Yes, you will. If you study Transfiguration at the fifth-year level, there is no reason why you should avoid the exams - after all, all the other students will need to pass them in order to move on to sixth year. Ideally, you should have done the O.W.L.'s for all your subjects - but as you know, the Ministry simply could not spare the resources."

Liam took a deep breath. "Well, I don't know how to do Vanishing Charms. Are they in the textbook?"

McGonagall's expression softened almost imperceptibly. "It's alright, Grady, I don't expect you to learn them from a textbook. I will go through them with you now."

Liam did not manage to Vanish anything that lesson - Transfiguration at the fifth-year level seemed just as incomprehensible as sixth-year had been. However, at the end of the lesson, Ginny reassured him quietly, "It's okay, hardly anyone managed to do it on their first go. I reckon your pen was getting a bit transparent. You'll get it, don't worry."

Liam was grateful for her encouragement, but remained unconvinced. His pen was made of clear plastic, and as far as he could see, it was no more transparent than it had been before the lesson. He did not point this out to Ginny, however: he was too relieved that he was on speaking terms with her again. Knowing that she wasn't angry about the broken string incident brightened up his day - he'd been feeling extremely guilty for taking his anger out on her.

Ginny occupied Liam's mind as he made his way to the Charms classroom. It was only when he saw the green and silver badges on the robes of the other students, that he remembered he would be doing Charms with the Slytherins.

The glances directed towards him were far from friendly. The students huddled together and began whispering. Liam tried to ignore them and sat down near the front of the room. He figured it would be easier, as he'd be asking Professor Flitwick a lot of questions.

He noticed one student sitting a little apart from the others, in a scene strangely reminiscent of Ginny in the Transfiguration class. The boy, however, made no motions for Liam to come over. Liam hadn't really expected him to: the lonely student was Jeremy Leighton, the arrogant new fifth-year Slytherin.

Studying him from across the room, Liam noted with some surprise that Jeremy did not appear to have the same arrogant air now. In fact, he looked pale and drawn, much like Liam himself had been feeling. Liam wondered whether Jeremy had been having as much trouble with his studies as he was.

Jeremy looked up and met Liam's gaze. He made a strange movement - for a moment he half stood up at his desk, as if he wanted to come over, but then he sat back down again, turning to stare resolutely at the paintings on the wall. Another boy sat down next to him and leaned over to whisper something in his ear. Jeremy smiled, though it appeared somehow forced. He glanced again in Liam's direction. Realising he'd been staring, Liam looked away.

He was prevented from musing on Jeremy's strange behaviour by the arrival of Professor Flitwick. Seeing Liam, Flitwick smiled and said, "Ahh, Mr Grady! Good to see you here. Let's see how you go now, eh?"

It was a difficult lesson, but Liam had a bit more success than he'd had with Transfiguration. The class was revising Cheering Charms, and by the end of the lesson, Liam had actually managed to make his stony-faced Slytherin partner smile. Granted, the smile was more than half grimace, but Liam felt that all things considered, he hadn't done too badly.

Flitwick held him back to give him some extra homework, and he was one of the last people to leave the class. As he turned to walk towards the Great Hall, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Grady," said Jeremy's voice behind him. "How's it going?"

Surprised, Liam turned around. "Not bad, I guess. And you?"

Jeremy shrugged. He opened his mouth to say something, then appeared to change his mind. "I'm doing well," he said finally. "I had a very good tutor, so I'm actually ahead of my class in many subjects."

"Good for you," said Liam, trying not to sound too sarcastic. Did this boy just want to brag to him? He wanted to say something to get under Jeremy's skin, and he remembered their conversation before the Sorting. "Hey, good tip on the Sorting. Putting on the hat was a really hard test. I see you performed the task well - you're in Slytherin."

Jeremy scowled, but there was something half-hearted about it - Liam sensed that the younger boy was preoccupied with something. "Yeah, well... not my fault they lied to me, is it?" he said.

Liam suddenly thought of something. "Hey, Leighton - what did the Sorting Hat say to you? Did it ask you what House you wanted to be in?"

Jeremy sighed, and replied, "Yeah, it did. It said, 'You are old enough to know for yourself.' So I said Slytherin."

Seeing the tired, somehow lost expression on Jeremy's face, Liam wondered whether he really was old enough to know. In fact, Liam was almost certain that Jeremy was now regretting his decision.

I wonder why that is? he thought. But knew better than to ask.

***

Several days later, to Liam's great surprise, Ellie asked him whether he wanted her to show him around Hogsmeade. Liam accepted the offer eagerly. He'd been looking forward to the Hogsmeade weekend, and was glad to have somebody there to show him the sights. He was pleasantly surprised that Ellie had actually worked up the courage to ask him. He hoped that he'd had a part to play in her increasing confidence.

In the days leading up to the Hogsmeade weekend, the weather worsened steadily, and the Saturday morning dawned sullen and grey. The first, fat drops of rain began to fall as Liam and Ellie were making their way to the village. Liam opened up his huge black umbrella, and held onto Ellie's arm to make sure she was covered.

She showed him around Honeydukes, Zonko's and the Shrieking Shack. By the end of the tour, the rain had turned into a steady downpour, so Liam suggested they go somewhere warm and get a drink. Ellie agreed, and led him back to the village centre. She seemed strangely silent as they walked - it was almost a return to the terrified girl she'd been when Liam had first met her.

Liam saw several Hogwarts students go into a pub called "The Three Broomsticks". He was about to make for the pub, but Ellie held him back.

"No - wait!"

Liam stopped and looked at her curiously. "What's up?

"It's just... I wanted to ask you something..." Ellie blushed a deep crimson. She had grabbed the edge of her cloak and was twisting it around in her hand.

Uh-oh, thought Liam.

Ellie took a deep breath. "It's just... I... sorta... like you!" The last bit came out in a rush. Liam knew it had cost her every ounce of courage she possessed to say it.

This was going to be tricky.

"Ellie, look..." he began. To his dismay, he could already see the disappointment spreading over her face. He tried as hard as he could to remedy the situation. "Look, I really like you - but..."

"But?"

"I... just... not in that way..."

Ellie took a step back. "I should have known. I knew it was too good to be true. You're all nice, but it's always 'not in that way'. Nobody ever likes me 'in that way'. Nobody wants a fat pimply girl with a crooked nose!"

He could see she was fighting back tears. Liam felt terrible, but what could he do? He had to explain, but deep inside he already knew it would be useless.

"It's not like that!" he cried desperately. "I just..."

She cut him off. "It is. Don't bother lying, Liam. It always is. I should be used to it by now - but..." Her voice broke. Without another word, she turned and fled up the road.

But it is like that, thought Liam. You're a wonderful person, the only good friend I have in this place - I don't want to ruin that! It's got nothing to do with looks, can't you see?

But Ellie couldn't see, as Liam had known she wouldn't. "Ellie, wait!" he yelled, and ran after her.

The rain was coming down in sheets now, and he could barely see her fleeing shape in the gloom. He slipped on the wet cobblestones and fell over backwards, slamming down hard. "God dammit!" he yelled, groaning from the pain.

Scrambling to his feet, he looked ahead and realised he could no longer see Ellie. He began to run again, but it was difficult. He realised his teeth were chattering from the cold.

"Ellie!"

The cold was so intense now that he could barely move his legs. He slowed to a walk and then stopped. He could hardly breathe - the cold seemed to be penetrating right through to his bone marrow. The umbrella slipped out of his shaking hand.

That was when Liam heard the music...

It pounded in his ears, a trashy dance beat turned up too loud, the speakers emitting a growl of distortion at every beat of the bass. He realised he was in a house, and there were people everywhere. They stood around in little, noisy groups. Some were dancing, others were smoking and most were drinking.

It was Davey's house, of course - how had he forgotten? It was Davey's house, and Davey's parents were in Germany for the weekend, and Davey had invited half the grade...

Liam desperately needed to go to the toilet. There was a line for the downstairs bathroom - he was going up the stairs, to the other bathroom, the one Davey said no one was to use, but of course Liam could, he was Davey's best friend...

The stairs wobbled beneath him - he grabbed onto the banister to steady himself, laughing softly. This was one great party...

He had to lean on the bathroom door in order to grab the doorknob - otherwise he kept on missing it... He laughed again, holding it tightly. He turned the knob and practically fell into the bathroom as his weight pushed open the door...

***

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting inside the Three Boomsticks, in a booth by the rain-streaked window. They were sipping Butterbeer and speaking in low voices.

"I spread a few rumours," Hermione was saying. "Actually, they weren't even lies, I told people real stuff."

"Like what?" asked Ron curiously.

"Like... I told Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil about..." - she glanced at Harry nervously - "...Regulus Black."

Harry started at the name, but he didn't say anything, so she went on. "They were talking about Tonks, and I said, 'Did you know her uncle was a Death Eater?' That got their attention. I told them how he joined the Death Eaters and then was killed when he tried to pull out."

Ron looked at her with a puzzled expression. "But what's the point of telling Lavender and Parvati? I mean, I know they're a bit dumb, but you don't think they'd actually join You-Know-Who, do you?"

Hermione snorted. "Of course not - if nothing else they'd be put off by the Dark Mark - they'd probably say it's tacky. But they are the biggest gossips in out year - I've already been hearing rumours that Professor Tonks' uncle was a Death Eater who was tortured and killed by Voldemort when he tried to mend his ways! It's amazing how much colour stories like this can pick in the hands of a couple of gossips."

Harry was impressed. He was a little uncomfortable with the idea of rumours being spread about Sirius' brother, but he had to admit, Hermione's plan was a good one. He himself had not come up with any adequate way to "gather support for Dumbledore". He was still debating whether or not to re-form the DA.

He looked out the window at the gloomy street. He knew that reforming the Defence group was the best thing he could do, the best way to achieve their goals - but he still wasn't sure whether he could bring himself to do it. Every time he thought of the DA, his memories quickly travelled to the Department of Mysteries, and the battle in the Death Room. Even now, the image came unbidden to his mind: Sirius falling backwards, as if in slow motion, the laughter on his face mingling with surprise. The image was so real, Harry wanted to call out to him; only a tiny part of his brain screamed, you're not there, this has already happened! You're in the Three Broomsticks with Ron and Hermione...

It was deathly cold - Harry felt the chill penetrating to his very bones. In a flash, realisation dawned.

"Dementors!" he shouted, jumping to his feet. Ron and Hermione, who were also shivering, stared at him in shock. "Dementors... outside!"

He ran for the door, oblivious to Hermione's shout of "Harry, wait!" behind him. There were Dementors outside, and he had to do something.

Think happy thoughts, he told himself. Think of Ron and Hermione and Fred and George and Ginny. Think of playing Quidditch.

He thought of Sirius.

No!

Harry could see them now, dark shapes in the gloom. There were several of them gliding towards the street corner.

Think of your friends...

"Expecto Patronum!" he bellowed, concentrating with all his willpower on any trace of happiness he could find in his heart. The huge silver stag erupted from his wand and charged towards the Dementors.

Harry followed. He could see now that there was a huddled figure on the road, kneeling on the cobblestones as the Dementors glided towards it. The stag bent its silver head and ran straight at the hooded shapes. The Dementors stood back from their prey, and then turned and glided away. The stag, however, did not disappear, but turned around and sprang away up the street and onto the path that led back to Hogwarts.

Harry ran to the kneeling figure. "Are you alright?" he said.

As he drew close, Harry realised that it was Liam. He stared at Harry with wild, unseeing eyes and screamed, "Get an ambulance, now!"

Harry shook him by the shoulders. "Liam, wake up! It isn't real! Wake up, they're gone now!"

Hermione and Ron came up behind him. "Is he alright?" asked Hermione anxiously.

Liam shuddered, and then his eyes seemed to clear. His shoulders sagged, and he looked around him, finally realising where he was. Then, for some reason, he lifted his hands in front of his face and studied them carefully, as if seeing them for the first time.

He began to shake; whether with cold or something else, Harry couldn't tell.

"Here, eat this," said Hermione, pulling a Chocolate Frog out of her pocket.

Bewildered, Liam took the frog and bit into it. After several bites, the shaking subsided, and he seemed to calm down. He was still shivering slightly - his clothes were soaked through, and his hair was plastered to his forehead.

"What happened?" he said, rising shakily to his feet. "What... were those things?"

"Dementors," said Harry. "My Patronus chased them off, but I think there must be more around - it went up the path towards the school."

"The school?" said Hermione in horror. "Are they attacking the school?"

"I don't know!" said Harry. The significance of what had just happened hadn't had time to sink in. "I don't know, why else would they be here? But surely they can't get into the school..."

A look of panic appeared on Liam's face. "Ellie!" he yelled, and set off at a sprint in the same direction as Harry's Patronus.

"Liam!" shouted Hermione. "Wait!"

Harry set out after him. He could hear Ron and Hermione splashing along behind him. He hoped desperately that all the Dementors had been chased off by the stag - he knew that Liam would not be able to defend himself against them. How could he? He'd never even seen a Dementor before!

"Liam, you idiot," he muttered as he ran.

They drew level with the Three Broomsticks. People were spilling out of the door, looking around and speaking in worried tones. "What's happening?" called out Ginny as they ran past.

There was a scream from inside the pub. Harry stopped in his tracks - something was wrong, terribly wrong...

There was another scream, followed by a crash. More people were spilling out the door now, and some of them were shouting.

In a moment, Harry could see why. Flames were licking the wooden doorframe, and thick black smoke was pouring out along with the panicking students.

"Fire!" Harry yelled above the din. "How can it be on fire? It's pouring with rain!"

"It's magical!" shouted Hermione. "Harry, this is no accident..."

In a split second, Harry's decision was made. "You two... stay here. See if you can do something. I'll go after Liam."

Hermione nodded. "Harry, be careful!"

"You too!"

He set off again, hid heart pounding in his chest. There was no time to think, but one thing had already crossed Harry's mind. It's an attack, it has to be. Voldemort has made the first move...

Behind him, even through the noise of the pouring rain, he heard a sudden chorus of screams. He looked over his shoulder and saw the thing he'd been dreading - but also expecting - since that fateful night when Voldemort regained his powers.

The Dark Mark was floating in the sky above Hogsmeade.