Muggle Invasion

Dear Diary,

Today started out as a normal day, but at lunchtime our world here at Hogwarts was turned upside down! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that this could happen. The worst part is that it was entirely my fault...

Harry, Ron, and I had just left the Potions classroom, having survived another day of Snape sneering at us over our bubbling cauldrons. Somehow even Neville had managed to make the Invisibility potion correctly which hadn't put Snape in the greatest of moods. The day was actually going quite well and all of the Gryffindor sixth years were cheerfully chatting as we trooped up the stairs from the dungeons towards the Great Hall.

Click! FLASH! Click, click, click, FLASH!

"What in the world?!" exclaimed Harry as we rushed up the last few stairs into the entrance hall.

There we found a group of people of all ages standing around gawking at their surroundings. They were all wearing muggle clothing and most of them held a camera in their hands. One of the younger kids suddenly pointed at us, wide-eyed, and shouted, "Look! There they are! That's Harry, Ron, and Hermione!" A couple of the other children squealed with delight while the adults just gasped.

"Errrmmmm..." said Ron.

"I...I think we should get out of here!" stammered Harry.

The three of us immediately took off for the stairs. We had a bit of a head start, but I wasn't sure if it was enough to get us away from the eager Muggles who were shouting behind us. The rest of the sixth years just stood there staring after us, too shocked to know what to think or do.

Since we knew our way around the castle and the Muggles did not we quickly lost them as we took a shortcut behind a large, ugly tapestry of a hag. When we reached the Gryffindor Tower we collapsed on the chairs by the fireplace.

"WHAT was all THAT about?!" panted Ron.

"They looked like Muggles," said Harry thoughtfully, "but I don't understand how they could have gotten into Hogwarts! I thought it was protected by charms and stuff."

I rolled my eyes. "It IS! There are all sorts of spells and enchantments on the castle. There are several Muggle repelling charms. They shouldn't have been able to get anywhere NEAR the castle! Someone must have led them here." It was then that I realized that I had recognized one of the Muggles and that he had shouted my name. "Oh no!" I moaned.

"What is it, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I, I think I need to talk to Dumbledore!" I whispered softly, hardly able to believe that this could have happened. "What have I done?" I thought to myself.

"We'll go with you. We need to tell him about the Muggles, too," Ron said as he stood up.

"He probably already knows. He seems to know everything that goes on in this castle. Well, almost everything," Harry said, thinking of all the times he had broken the rules and snuck out at night under his invisibility cloak, not to mention the pranks he pulled on Snape!

"Ok, but I would prefer you sit outside while I speak to him alone," I said as I pulled myself together.

"C'mon," said Ron, motioning for us to follow him as he stepped out through the portrait hole.

Harry, Ron, and I ran as quickly and quietly as possible to the entrance to Dumbledore's office. As a prefect, I knew the password, so I let us in. "Jelly Slugs," I called out.

We watched as the stone gargoyle hopped aside. We stepped inside the opening and onto the moving spiral staircase. At the top, I reached out my hand to grasp the griffin-shaped brass knocker and hesitated. "What if he's busy?" I asked.

"I'm not. Come on in," said Dumbledore's voice from behind the large oak door.

Ron nearly jumped out of his skin at that. Harry reached around from behind me and opened the door, as I was still standing there with my hand in the air and my mouth open.

"Professor," Harry began as he stepped into the bright, circular room. "There seems to be a bit of a problem..."

"The Muggles, yes, I have already been informed of their presence. I have sent Filch and the professors to round them all up and bring them to the Great Hall. I don't yet know how they managed to get here but I am sure we will find out shortly. Thank you for coming to tell me," Dumbledore said with a hint of laughter in his eyes.

"You think it's funny having all these Muggles running around the castle?" Ron asked in astonishment.

"Funny, no. Amusing, yes. Seems they are causing quite a stir among some of the students. And the professors as well. I've been told that Professor Snape has already been accosted by several young women. And Draco Malfoy reportedly was chased down into the dungeons by a group of rather excited teen-age girls."

Ron couldn't help but snicker at this, but quickly stopped when he saw the look on my face. I simply glared at him and he immediately took a step back. "Sir, there is something else that I need to discuss with you," I stated as I looked pointedly at Harry and Ron.

They got the hint and began backing towards the door. "We'll just go see if we can help the professors, shall we?" Harry asked.

"No, I think it would be in your best interests if you stayed in your common room. You are both far too easily recognized it seems. You would only serve to stir up our guests even more," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Alright then," said Harry.

"See ya later, Hermione," mumbled Ron.

As the door closed behind them, I turned to Dumbledore, unable to look him in the eye.

"My dear girl, what has you so troubled?" Dumbledore asked somewhat alarmed. "I've never seen you look so stricken."

"It's my cousin, sir. He's a Muggle and he started asking me a bunch of questions this summer about -- about school and things," I said.

"Have a seat," he gestured at one of the chairs in front of his desk. After I had sat down he gently implored, "Go on."

"Well, at first I just asked him why he was suddenly asking me all of these questions when I hadn't even seen or spoken to him in several years. It turns out that he's read some books by a woman named Rowling. They talk about Harry and Hogwarts and even have me in them! At first I didn't believe him, but then I realized that he knew too much for it to not be true." I paused to take a breath.

Dumbledore rubbed his temples and sighed, "Yes, I know of these books. They are not completely accurate, but there is much truth in them. The Ministry is looking into how this woman has gathered all of this information and is continuing to do so. She plans on writing a book for every year that Harry is here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore paused for a moment, straightening a stack of papers on his desk before continuing. "These books are very popular among the Muggles. There has even been a movie made, which I had the displeasure of seeing. The actor portraying me was all wrong. I am much taller than that. And my glasses are much more attractive," Dumbledore smiled.

"So there are large numbers of Muggles who know about us?"

"Yes, I am afraid so. But that doesn't explain how they found their way to Hogwarts."

"I think I know the answer to that, sir," I said, staring at the floor.

"Do tell, please"

"Well, it's my cousin. I started answering his questions. He was so interested and I was enjoying his letters and phone calls. I think I may have given him so much information that it allowed him to find Hogwarts. Perhaps by believing in this place so strongly, he was able to overcome the charms protecting the school from Muggles."

Dumbledore looked grim. "And he chose to divulge this information to others who believed as well. That does explain the large group of Muggles roaming the grounds."

"Am I to be expelled, sir?" I asked fearfully.

"Heavens, no! Whatever would make you think that? This was bound to happen eventually given the nature of the books that have been written and distributed worldwide. It was just a matter of time, Miss Granger. You have merely sped the process along. You cannot be faulted for corresponding with your family."

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"Now? Now we go down to the Great Hall. The professors should have been able to round up all of the Muggles by now. I believe a meeting is in order."

Dumbledore stood and gestured for me to follow him. We exited his office and made our way down the stairs. "Please go and retrieve your friends Harry and Ron from the Gryffindor common room, along with any other students who might have sought refuge there. Bring them all down to the Great Hall as soon as possible," instructed Dumbledore.

"Yes, sir," I replied and headed for Gryffindor Tower.

The next few hours were somewhat chaotic. The Muggles all had so many questions and just wouldn't stop talking until finally Professor McGonagall put a silencing charm on them. A few of them fainted while the rest just stared at her in shock. After explaining the situation to all of the students of Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore asked the prefects to lead their students back to the house common rooms and then return to the Great Hall. He used that time to talk with our Muggle visitors alone.

"This is so insane!"

"How did they get here?"

"When are they leaving?"

"Do we have to actually talk to them?"

Gryffindors of all ages were chatting, laughing, and asking questions non-stop all the way to the Gryffindor Tower. I helped shoo them all in, then headed back to the Great Hall with the other prefects. We remained silent the entire way there.

As we entered the Great Hall, I noted that the Muggles were now all sitting at one table set up near the professors. The house tables had disappeared. Professor Dumbledore motioned for us to sit at the two small tables that had been set on either side of the staff table, facing the Muggles. The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were already there and the Ravenclaws came in a few moments after us.

"Now. As we do have unexpected guests today, I feel we should treat them as we would treat any of our guests. They should feel welcome here," Dumbledore began.

The Slytherins all glared at him, some of them folding their arms across their chests. Malfoy looked especially hacked off. He did not want to associate with Muggles of any kind.

"Prefects, you are to pair off and give our guests a tour of the castle and answer any questions they might have. Each group will have one or two professors along as well, do not fret. If you don't know how to answer a question or are unsure if you should, the professors will be there to help you out. Once you are done, return here and we will be able to talk as a group about what you all have experienced. The remaining professors will be dispatched to the house common rooms to keep order there. This evening, we will have a feast for our guests and then escort them off of the grounds. Now, off you go!" Dumbledore said with a clap and a few fireworks appeared above the tables causing the Muggles to shriek and cheer.

The tours went off without a hitch. Matt, a seventh year Hufflepuff prefect, and Professor Flitwick were my fellow tour guides for our group of eight Muggles. We answered all of the questions that the Muggles could come up with, which was quite a few. Some of them had some rather fascinating theories about our lives and what had happened during the last year and a half. Some of them were close to the truth while others were so farfetched I had to stifle a laugh on more than one occasion. The most memorable moment had to be when one of the Muggle men reached down and actually picked up poor Professor Flitwick to see if he was in fact real. His high-pitched yelp startled the man, who promptly returned the professor to the ground.

The House Elves outdid themselves, as always, with a wonderful feast. There was even a live band to keep us entertained. How Dumbledore had managed to pull that off I may never know. Several Ministry officials arrived towards the end of the feast. They took the Muggles into another room before escorting them away. I asked Dumbledore what the Ministry's plans were, but he only smiled at me and winked. Perhaps they modified the memories of the Muggles or made them sign confidentiality agreements or maybe they found some other thing to protect Hogwarts from another invasion. The Muggle Invasion, as the day's events have been dubbed, has provided the students of Hogwarts with something to occupy our minds and conversations for a while. The stories of this day will be told for many years to come, of that I am certain.

I think I need to have another little chat with that dear cousin of mine...and a trip to a Muggle library is definitely in order.