Rating:
PG-13
House:
The Dark Arts
Characters:
Draco Malfoy
Genres:
Angst
Era:
Multiple Eras
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Stats:
Published: 10/28/2001
Updated: 01/31/2002
Words: 8,948
Chapters: 4
Hits: 1,613

Zalkin

Shay

Story Summary:
One of the Hogwarts' staff performs a spell to become one of the students. He is on a mission and the only person who can help is Draco.

Chapter 04

Chapter Summary:
James is forced to make a difficult decision as the gravity of the situation becomes apparent to everyone at Hogwarts.
Posted:
01/31/2002
Hits:
229
Author's Note:
A big heartfelt thanks to Sheryll and Yael. No two better beta readers are to be found anywhere. I greatly appreciate any and all feedback. If you would like to contact me, you can reach me at the address above, or on AIM (username sjaymes).

As James reached the door to the hospital wing, he was not sure what to expect. He hoped that he would find a large number of students here, but based on what he had seen in the Great Hall, he realized that it had the potential to be much grimmer than he could imagine. Now, standing outside the door, he was aware of how quiet it was and what that most likely meant as to the number of people being attended to inside.

He slowly opened the door and looked around the waiting area. To his astonishment, there were many students sitting around the room. Apparently, most were too stunned and upset to be making much noise. Many were waiting for medical treatment, but there were others who paced quietly back and forth waiting to hear news of friends and siblings.

Soon after he closed the door behind him, it reopened to reveal Professor McGonagall with a levitating Ginny Weasley in front of her. Murmurs could be heard from the groups of people sitting around the room as they made their way into the emergency area. Ginny had been limp and unmoving as they entered and it seemed, based on the fragments of quiet conversations that James overheard, the others in the room didn't hold out much hope for her survival.

James walked back out into the hall, thoughts rushing through his mind like a waterfall. He was now forced to make one incredibly difficult choice, which would then, of course, lead to a series of more difficult choices. Should he continue on as James Zalkin or return as Albus Dumbledore to lead the wizarding community in its battle against Voldemort?

If he should choose to remain a student, he would be of little help to the teachers and especially to Minerva. She would be forced to make decisions that could determine whether Hogwarts would remain open and would have to deal with the families of the students who were hurt and killed, not to mention handling the Ministry of Magic. On the other hand, he could spend what little time they had trying to resolve the problems with the wards from the inside and still remain in touch with Minerva.

If he returned to his position as Headmaster and became Albus Dumbledore again, he would be in a much better position to deal with the students, families, and the wizarding community. He could work with the teachers and people on the outside that he trusted to find Voldemort and bring him to justice. The problem with this, was that he would no longer be able to get inside information on his own, he would have to rely completely on Arabella who had much less contact with the Slytherins than he had established.

As he stood there weighing his options, Professor McGonagall opened the door and walked into the hall. She quietly asked James to follow her and, without saying a word, he fell into step behind her.

As they walked back toward his office, James continued to mull over his options. He held the door for Professor McGonagall to enter his office and closed it quietly behind them. Each took a seat in a chair near the fireplace, neither wanting to be the first to speak. Finally, James voiced his concerns and the scenarios he had been considering.

"Albus, no one can make this decision for you. Certainly all the concerns you have voiced are valid, however, it seems to me that you already have much invested in this charade. If you would decide to reveal yourself and return as headmaster, who would carry on with your work on the wards?"

James quickly said, "Arabella."

"Arabella Figg?" Professor McGonagall asked in astonishment. "How could that possibly happen? I know you put a lot of stock in her abilities, after all you did entrust Harry's safety to her when he was growing up with those muggles, but this is something all together different."

"Minerva, there is something else you need to know. Arabella is here now. I recruited her to help me in this task and she has been working with me since the start of the year."

Now the acting headmistress looked completely confused. How could Mrs. Figg possibly be helping with the ward situation from so far away? Certainly there was no way she could have been on the grounds without arousing some suspicion.

Dumbledore continued, "She entered Hogwarts as a first year student. She and I have been working together to try to determine what is causing the deterioration of the red ward. You would recognize her as Diane Michaels of Gryffindor house."

"Oh, Albus," Professor McGonagall said softly. "I saw Diane, I mean Arabella, in the Great Hall. She didn't survive the attack."

James appeared as though he had been slapped in the face. He gazed into the fire for a short time and then looked back at Minerva with a look of determination. Looking closely, she couldn't even find a hint of the trademark glimmer in his eyes.

"I believe that it is time for me to make myself known to members of the wizarding community once again. We have lost too many here for me to continue with this charade any longer. I have a few more things I would like to do as James before I return to my true self."

The Headmaster looked lost in thought for a moment and then said, "Please see if you can find Severus for me and I would also like to try to find Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. I believe that they may prove to be very helpful in the days to come. I would like to meet with you and Severus back here in two hours. I'm sure both of you will want to spend some time with your houses before we meet."

"Yes, yes," Minerva said quickly. "I will have a report for you on the status of the students when we meet. Take care of yourself these next two hours."

With that, James turned towards the desk and Professor McGonagall walked toward the door.



* * * * *


Professor McGonagall walked back toward the Great Hall, trying to mentally prepare herself for what she was going to see. Her mind raced as she thought of the calls she would have to make to the parents and the counseling she would have to do with the Gryffindor students. Certainly the Ministry would have to be involved and they would most likely close the school. They had almost closed the school when one student was killed when the Chamber of Secrets was opened 50 years before, it would certainly be difficult to convince the Ministry to keep the school open now.

As she approached the Great Hall, Minerva again found herself facing the remnants of the devastation that lay around the area. Though it was a task she dreaded, she waved her wand to increase the light of the candles floating above her so that she could have a clear look at the students.

Outside the Hall, there were about 10 students lying in a variety of positions, none of them moving. These students appeared to be mostly Hufflepuff students. Most likely they were coming to the party as a group. She tried to keep a running list in her mind of the students she was finding so that when she met with the other heads of the houses she could help them reconcile their lists of students.

As she slowly made her way through the students in the entryway, she heard some commotion inside the Great Hall. Disappointed that someone would make unnecessary noise at a time like this, she stood up and walked toward the doors, prepared to chastise the students that she expected to find. To her surprise she found members of the house Quidditch teams flying around the Hall trying to repair the windows.

Madam Hooch was on the ground directing the activity and slowly making her way through the bodies lying around her on the floor, checking each one for signs of life. The look on her face told Professor McGonagall that she had not been having any luck.

"Minerva," she said quietly. "I asked some of the students to try to repair the windows so that we can erect a ward around the castle. Of course, we will have to have all the windows and doors closed in order for it to be effective."

"Thank you very much for your help. That is certainly something that I hadn't considered. I hope that the scene isn't too upsetting to the students."

With that, Professor McGonagall turned back to look at the students scattered about on the floor. There were fewer bodies than Minerva had originally thought. She expected that most likely her over estimate was due to her initial horror at the scene she found. She now estimated that between the students outside the entrance and those in the Great Hall, there would be about 30 dead. Again her mind wandered to the calls she would have to make to families.

At her feet she saw the body of Percy Weasley. Based on his position it was clear that he had been trying to defend the students against the attack. She had seen one of the Weasley twins on her first trip to the Hall. She couldn't even imagine what that family would be going through in the upcoming days.

Her gaze moved around the room, again trying to take in the devastation as she caught a glimpse of the head table. She saw a body lying face down on the table. It seemed as though she was moving toward the table against her will, something unseen propelling her. She had worked with many of the teachers at Hogwarts for so long, they had become like family to her. Any loss among them would be devastating for her.

Approaching the table, she quickly recognized the small man sitting near the end. It was Professor Flitwick, Charms teacher and Head of Ravenclaw. Minerva found herself choking back tears as she drew closer to the table and confirmed that it was Filius Flitwick. Immediately her thoughts returned to Christmas decorating each year and the beauty that Filius insisted on providing for students who were away from their families for the holidays.

Above all, she would remember his unyielding love for the students. The first example that she thought of was during the staff meeting when she announced that Ginny Weasley had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets. While other teachers seemed to be unable to respond, Filius had burst into tears. As was the case in so many situations involving him, he was unapologetic for his concern for the students and their well-being.

Now, more than ever, Minerva was determined to discover the source of this attack and bring the people involved to justice.