An Interesting Phenomenon
— issued on behalf of —
The Ministry of Magic
PROTECTING YOUR HOME AND FAMILY AGAINST DARK FORCES
The Wizarding community is currently under threat from an organisation calling itself the Death Eaters. Observing the following simple security guidelines will help protect you, your family, and your home from attack.
1. You are advised not to leave the house alone.
2. Particular care should be taken during the hours of darkness. Wherever possible, arrange to complete journeys before night has fallen.
3. Review the security arrangements around your house,
making sure that all family members are aware of emergency measures such as Shield and Disillusionment Charms, and, in the case of underage family members, Side-Along-Apparition.
4. Agree on security questions with close friends and family so as to detect Death Eaters masquerading as others by use of the Polyjuice Potion (see page 2).
5. Should you feel that a family member, colleague, friend, or neighbour is acting in a strange manner, contact the Magical Law Enforcement Squad AT ONCE. They may have been put under the Imperius Curse (see page 4).
6. Should the Dark Mark appear over any dwelling place or other building, DO NOT ENTER, but contact the Auror office immediately.
7. Unconfirmed sightings suggest that the Death Eaters may now be using Inferi (see page 10). Any sighting of an Inferius, or encounter with same, should be reported to the Ministry IMMEDIATELY.
I tossed the sheet of parchment onto the table, and sighed. I was in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and was eating lunch with a member of the group of Aurors who had been assigned to guard the school. Ever since they had been assigned here, one had been tailing me throughout the day, Nymphadora Tonks. She hadn't been very focused on her job, which I had figured was because of her cousin, Sirius, being killed at the Ministry a few months ago. Nothing I had done had brought her out of her stupor, and I sighed again as I sat down across from her and dug into my lunch (a plate of shepherd's pie). I had just finished my first plate when someone tapped my shoulder. I turned, and saw Snape standing behind me, looking worried. I stood, as did Tonks, and I followed him quickly through the castle, stopping at the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Snape instructed Tonks to stay at the entrance while I told the gargoyle the password. I mounted the stairs, and entered, followed closely by Snape. I was greeted with the sight of Dumbledore, sitting behind his desk. I gasped, mostly because of the blackened and dead-looking hand. I dashed over to the desk, and he smiled weakly.
"What did you do?" Dumbledore sighed.
"I made a mistake. Severus, if you could leave us for a while?" He complied, and once the door shut, Dumbledore spoke.
"I found the Resurrection Stone, Dugan." I started.
"Yes, I found it. And, it was one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes." I shuddered, and he opened a drawer at his desk, revealing a gold ring with a black stone, not unlike obsidian, set into it. He passed it to me, and I accepted it gingerly.
"Whatever curse he put on it has been transferred to me, so you should be safe." As he spoke, I noticed that the stone had been cracked down the middle.
"I used the sword of Godric Gryffindor to break it. One step closer to victory." He chuckled weakly, and I grimaced.
"At what cost? Let me see the hand." I set the ring down, and drew my wand, performing a few spells on the wound.
"Has Snape decided on anything?" He nodded.
"He estimates I have around a year, at most." I nodded in agreement.
"That's what I'm seeing. Did you put the ring on?" He nodded sadly.
"I thought that, maybe, just maybe, I could see my sister and parents once more, to tell them how sorry I was..." He trailed off, looking absolutely miserable, and I was struck by a sudden thought.
"Well, it might still be possible. I could pull the stone from the ring." He shrugged, and I turned my focus onto the ring, determined to give a dying old man a chance to feel better. I waved my wand, and, with a slow movement, the stone slowly rose from the ring and into my palm. It sat there for a moment, me wondering whether I should turn it over thrice in my hand, and have the chance to see my parents again. I shuddered once more, and handed it to him, turning to go. He spoke.
"Do not go far, Dugan. I shall call you back into the room once I am finished." I nodded, and closed the door quietly, sitting on the top step and waiting. I heard a murmur of voices, rising and falling, for many minutes, spending my time tracing the cracks in the step with my wand. After a few moments of silence, he called me back into the room. I entered, not paying any attention to the surroundings, or Fawkes, who was singing softly as I stepped in. I beheld Dumbledore, sitting behind his desk, and I noted a small stream of tears on his face. He cleared his throat, and smiled.
"Thank you, Dugan, for giving me that chance. The thought hadn't occurred to me. Now, before we get down to business, you must do the same." I shook my head, but he chuckled.
"Come now, Dugan, you must share it as well." I sighed, and held out my hand. He stood, and dropped it into my hand, the cool rock sending tendrils of ice through my skin. Once Dumbledore had left, I turned the rock over once. Then twice. Before the third time, I took in a shaky breath. I turned it over, and, before my eyes, I saw my parents, white, smoky, and nearly transparent. My mother looked at me with tears in her eyes, and I drew in a ragged breath. She smiled, and spoke.
"You're so brave, Dugan. We love you so much." I gasped, a smile forming on my face as my eyes watered. I leaned on the table, overwhelmed, and heard my father's gruff voice.
"You'll make a bloody fine Auror, son." I smiled wider, tears dripping onto the desk, and spoke.
"T-Thanks, da." He chuckled, and my mother spoke up.
"It's going to be tough, Dugan. You've got to be strong. Only a little longer, and it'll be over." I nodded, and my father coughed.
"When you come up against You-Know-Who, and you will, make sure you give him one hell of a walloping from your old man, eh?" I nodded again, laughing weakly, and asked a question.
"Before I let go of the stone, I have to know. Who killed you?" My mother huffed.
"A man whose last name was Jugson. That's all I know." When I turned to my father, he chuckled.
"More of a question of how many. It took three: Avery, his son, and Mulciber Senior." I nodded.
"So I've gotta get revenge on those four. Sounds good." My father chuckled, while my mother admonished me.
"Be careful. They are very dangerous men." I chuckled darkly.
"So am I." My mother sighed, and I looked up at them.
"I love you both. So much." My mother smiled.
"We love you too. And, we are so, so very proud of you." I smiled at her, and sighed, letting the stone slip from my hand, their forms vanishing once it had left my hand. I called Dumbledore back in, and he sat behind his desk, carefully picking up the Resurrection Stone and dropping it into a small pouch. I took a seat, and he cleared his throat.
"Now, I will die in the next year, whether it will be from the curse or not." At my questioning look, he leaned forward.
"Severus has learned of a plot to kill me, utilising poor Draco Malfoy as the one to do the deed. So, I have instructed Severus to aid him as much as he can, and, when the opportunity comes, Severus shall be the one to deal the killing blow." I sighed.
"Where do I come into play?" He viewed me carefully.
"I am going to be allowing Harry to help me in the quest for Horcruxes. You are not to tell him of my condition, nor the fact that he himself is a Horcrux. It is imperative that I die at the correct time, and for you to be safely away when it happens, for I will need you to go with Harry, Ron, and Hermione when the time comes. When I die, Severus surely will become Headmaster, and he will welcome the Death Eaters into the school. Harry will, of course, drop out of school before his seventh year. You must go with him. Voldemort will come for the Elder Wand sooner rather than later. And, if everything goes to plan, he will kill Harry with it." I frowned.
"But, sir, that would defeat the purpose of protecting Potter." He shook his head.
"What can destroy a Horcrux, Dugan?" I ran through the list in my head.
"Generally, anything with substantial magical power... You intend for the Dark Lord to use the Wand on Harry, thus destroying the Horcrux. Clever." He smiled.
"And, when Harry dies, he will meet me after death. I shall speak to him, and he will realise that his role is to master the Hallows." I frowned once more.
"But, how will you stay to meet him? And, how will he master the Hallows? If Voldemort has the Elder Wand, even the Resurrection Stone added to the Invisibility Cloak won't be enough." Dumbledore shook his head, smiling into his beard.
"You are very intuitive. Perhaps it might interest you to know that I could have taken the Cloak from him, and become the master of Death myself, yet I didn't. Why do you think that is?" I sat there, stumped, roaming over options until the sky outside was dark. Dumbledore sat behind his desk, paintings empty, Fawkes sleeping gently, until the sky turned pink with the approaching dawn and I was struck with a possible answer. I spoke, following my train of thought aloud.
"You don't need to be the master of Death. In the story, Death claimed the first two brothers swiftly, but he only managed to get the last one when he died, and even then he only claimed the brother, not the cloak. You've only had possession of two of the items at a time, and even then, you had only received the cloak from James Potter, who had inherited it from his father..." I looked him in wonder, eyes widening in shock. He smiled, and began to chuckle. I spoke in amazement.
"You? But... How? It isn't possible!" His chuckles turned to outright laughs, the sounds of his amusement echoing through the room and waking Fawkes.
"Oh, my dear boy, it is. How do you think I lived so long, and came across such a rare animal as Fawkes? How do you think I beat Grindewald all those years ago and took the Elder Wand from him?" I sat back in my chair, in total fear of the man before me.
"That's how you know Potter must die, and how he will defeat Voldemort. You'll send him back." Dumbledore nodded.
"Indeed. Also, you must have come to the conclusion that I won't actually be dying, just returning to my domain." I shuddered, chills suddenly overtaking me, and he chuckled again.
"I see that you are now afraid of me. Do you have any thoughts to add before you get some well deserved sleep?" I nodded shakily.
"When I duelled you, it wasn't the wand that sent out the white light, was it?" He shook his head.
"Not the wand, rather the wielder. Your spell was so powerful, that, had I been a normal man, it would have killed me. I interfered so that it wouldn't look strange if your spell just didn't affect me." I nodded, and stood, turning to go. As I reached the door, I turned.
"Sir, if you really are who you say you are, then, I need to know: do I die?" He looked at me, piercing blue eyes twinkling.
"That, my dear boy, is an excellent question. I would ask Popelia, when the time comes." I shook my head, and exited the room, leaving him behind in my search for a bed.
~
Two hours later, I was lying awake in bed, running through increasingly implausible scenarios in my head (one including having Voldemort being eaten by a Basilisk), when I turned my head to the conversation I had just had. Given my knowledge of the Hallows, and of Dumbledore, the phrase 'History repeats itself' was ringing through my head, and I wondered who the three brothers might be. In the story, the eldest brother had wanted power, so he had asked for an unbeatable wand. Voldemort, sooner or later in his quest for power, would search for the Elder Wand. Thus, it would make sense that he himself would play as the eldest brother. The Potter boy, having inherited the cloak from his father, who, to some extent, was gifted it along the ancestral line of the youngest brother, would fit as the youngest brother himself. But who was the middle brother? The one who asked for the Resurrection Stone, to see the dead once more? I pondered this, roaming through several possible culprits, before giving up on it and turned my head once more. If Severus killed Dumbledore, then surely the Wand's power would transfer to him. That would mean, when Voldemort found out, he would surely kill Snape to get the Wand. Dumbledore must know that, so he must be planning an alternate way for Harry to become the master of the Elder Wand. But, then, if Draco was supposed to kill Dumbledore, then wouldn't he want him unable to protect himself? It would be the most logical conclusion, and I would have done the same, had I been in that situation, so that must mean that Dumbledore wants Draco to Disarm him, thus transferring the power of the wand to him. It wouldn't make any sense, then, unless he planned for Potter to be there when he was killed, so he would know that Malfoy disarmed him before Snape killed him, thus giving Voldemort the illusion that Snape was the wielder, when in fact it had transferred it's allegiance to Malfoy, thus giving Potter more time to figure out that it was in fact Malfoy who was the true wielder of the Elder Wand, and to let him have time to somehow Disarm Malfoy before Voldemort got to him. But surely, this would have to be done before Voldemort killed Potter, because then he would have the illusion of victory, while when Dumbledore sent Harry back, the power of the Elder Wand would stay with Harry himself. I massaged my temples, overwhelmed by my thoughts, and rolled over, trying to fall asleep.
-
I was awoken by something falling onto my bed. I woke with a start, drawing my wand from under my pillow and aiming it at whatever had landed on my bed. Once I had rubbed my eyes, I noticed that it was in fact Luna, who was frozen in place as my wand was inches from her face. I chuckled, and lowered it before embracing her.
"I missed you, Luna. When did you get here?" She shrugged.
"Last night. I was a little nervous when you didn't show up." I frowned, and turned to look at the clock on my nightstand, before glancing out of the window in amazement. I had been asleep for a full day, thus missing the entire Sorting Ceremony and start of term feast. I sat back, and Luna handed me an envelope.
"Here. Dumbledore asked me to get it for you. Apparently it's your results from your O.W.L.s and something from him personally." I took the envelope, and tore it open, unfolding the results and leaving a handwritten letter for later.
Ordinary Wizarding Level Results
Pass Grades
Outstanding (O)
Exceeds Expectations (E)
Acceptable (A)
Fail Grades
Poor (P)
Dreadful (D)
Troll (T)
Dugan Lenore Kehoe has achieved:
Astronomy O
Care of Magical Creatures O
Charms O
Defense Against the Dark Arts O
Divination O
Herbology O
History of Magic O
Potions O
Transfiguration O
I laughed in excitement.
"Luna, I got nine Outstanding O.W.L.s!" I kissed her, and she laughed into me before gently pushing us apart.
"We've got a free day before class starts. I think I'll take you on a date, Luna." She looked at me, surprised.
"But, don't you have to watch the castle, and Harry?" I shook my head.
"For one day? He'll be fine." She giggled in excitement, and jumped up off of the bed.
"Go put on your favourite Muggle clothes, Luna. No robes allowed." She laughed, and dashed from the room. I climbed out of bed, and donned a pair of comfortable trousers, and a soft white t-shirt before sliding a jacket around my shoulders. I walked with her out of the common room, keeping an eye on the sixth years until the door shut. When it did, I relaxed, and dashed down the stairs with Luna. When we reached the bottom, both of us out of breath, I laughed, and she spoke.
"Where are we going?" I threaded my hand into hers, and led her down the hall and towards a certain statue of a witch.
"Hogsmeade." I tapped the hump, and it lowered, revealing a passageway.
"But, isn't Hogsmeade off limits until the trips start?" I chuckled, and helped her into the passageway.
"Yes, it is." As the hump closed behind us, I waved my wand, sending a ball of soft light out in front of us, illuminating our path. We walked at a moderate pace, holding hands and talking to each other, until we reached the stairs and entrance to Honeydukes. I waved my wand, dispersing the ball, and Luna clutched the back of my jacket as I lifted the slab slowly. The basement was empty, and I slowly led her up and into the area, closing the slab slowly. We crept to the door, and I eased it open, looking back and forth to make sure that no one was watching, and we slipped into the store proper. I roamed the shelves with Luna, her occasionally pointing out different sweets she'd like to try, after which I would pick one up and move on. When she was done, we walked to the register, and I set the candy down on the counter, pulling out a bag of coins almost simultaneously as she did. I waved her off, and paid for the lot (almost fifty Galleons), and thanked him before carrying the bag out, Luna demanding me to let her pay me back. I shook my head, and frowned.
"It's my treat, Luna. We never go on dates, and it's always my fault, so I'm making it up to you." She humphed, and curled into my side as the wind blew, chilly even at the start of September. We walked to the Three Broomsticks, which wasn't very crowded at this time of day (considering it was mid morning), and found a table easily enough at the back of the room. When the barmaid walked over, I looked at Luna. She glanced at me, and, with a sudden mischievous look, spoke.
"A glass of Firewhiskey, please." Madam Rosmerta turned to me, and I indicated I'd have the same. She frowned, and spoke curiously.
"Are you two of age?" I sighed, and passed my wand up, her taking it and waving hers on it, checking for the Trace. When she found that it was clear, she turned to Luna. Quick as a flash, I cast the spell that removed the Trace (well, it took around three seconds of furious muttering covered up in a coughing fit). I nodded to Luna, and she passed her wand up, Rosmerta performing the checking spell with the same results. She shrugged.
"I'll get that right out for you two." I smiled, and, as Luna was pocketing her wand, spoke.
"Why did you order Firewhiskey?" She giggled, and looked at me mysteriously.
"I've always wanted to try it out, and today seemed like a good day to." I grinned, and promptly thanked Madam Rosmerta as she set down two large glasses of Firewhiskey, along with a bottle.
"I figured you two might be here a little while. Anything else?" When I shook my head, she smiled and turned on her heel. I picked up the glass (which was almost as big as my head) and sipped, the Firewhiskey burning in a line down my throat. I admonished Luna to sip it, and she nodded, taking a tiny drink and holding in a cough. I smiled, and sipped mine. When she was used to the burning sensation, I quietly informed her of my conversation with Dumbledore, omitting everything but the part where I had to drop out of my seventh year. She frowned when I said this, and I assured her I was going to be safe. I explained the nuances behind it as we slowly drank our glasses, and refilled them both as I switched over to a happier topic.
"Do you like the Firewhiskey?" She nodded vigorously, and hiccuped (Firewhiskey has around a twenty percent alcohol content according to the bottle, and we were slowly beginning to feel the affects, with a fourth of the bottle left). I made to fill my glass with the rest, so she wouldn't be as hungover the next day, when she stopped me.
"Share, Dugan." I shrugged, and filled the glasses both to half, setting down the empty bottle as Rosmerta reappeared.
"Twenty Galleons is your charge." I smiled, and dug the required gold from my bag, handing it over with an extra Galleon as a tip. She smiled at me, and left us to finish. Luna watched me drain mine after I glanced at my watch and saw that we had only an hour before the dinner meal, which I couldn't be sure of since my vision was blurring in and out of focus. We stood, Luna leaning on me for support, and tottered out of the pub, waving goodbye to Rosmerta as we went. I was far too inebriated to be able to sneak into the Honeydukes basement, so I led Luna along the path to the Shrieking Shack, staggering with her barely upright as we giggled and laughed through our sentences, and we crashed into the Shack, almost falling down the stairs that led to the tunnel. We crawled through slowly, stopping every so often to lay down and make out, until we reached the Whomping Willow. I tapped the knot with my wand, and we crawled across the ground away from the tree, too unstable to trust our balance, and entered the school. I pulled myself up on the side of a door, Luna using me to drag herself up, and we slowly made our way through the halls, several paintings laughing or shouting words of encouragement at us. We stumbled onward, me continually thankful that we hadn't seen any teachers or other students, until we reached the Great Hall. I peeked around the edge of the doorway, and saw that it was full of people, talking and laughing as they ate. I swore, and leaned against the wall, sinking into a sitting position. Luna sat next to me, and whispered loudly.
"Wh-What izit?" I pointed to the doorway next to me wildly.
"'s full." She crawled over me and peeked into the Hall before swearing and falling down on my lap. I lifted her up, and she nodding sluggishly.
"Lez jus' go back to th' common room." I nodded, and climbed up into a standing position, vision spinning. It was then I realised that the most direct path to the dormitory required us crossing in front of the open doorway. I took a deep breath, tried to steady myself, and led Luna into full sight of everybody. Of course, I made it to directly in the centre of the entryway before tripping over my own feet and falling to the ground, Luna landing on top of me. I swore again as the Great Hall went quiet, shielding Luna from view with my body as I struggled onward, shunting Luna in front of me. I waved to the people assembled as I disappeared from view. I spoke in my best cockney accent as I did, sending Luna into a fit of giggles,
"Hallo, lads!" before grabbing her hand and tearing off into the castle at random, no longer focused on getting to the common room, but as far away as possible from the crowd of people that was pursuing us. Luna was next to me, laughing maniacally, and we took turns at random, me slurring out warnings to Luna to stop laughing while we ran. Eventually, we found ourselves on the opposite side of the castle, far away from the Ravenclaw common room, with the crowd slowly gaining on us. I stopped, wheezing for air, while Luna was bent over, laughing through her gasps for air. We stayed like that for a few moments until I heard someone shout,
"There they are!" I seized Luna's hand once more, and we tore off once more, this time taking a rather roundabout route to the Ravenclaw common room, which included running into a few bathrooms, until we reached the stairs. My mind was getting fuzzy, and I knew I was going to pass out in a few minutes. I dashed up, Luna in my arms (she had fallen asleep somewhere between the fifth floor bathrooms and the Potions classroom). When I reached the door, I shouted a bunch of swear words at the door. To my surprise, it swung open, revealing someone behind the door. I flew past them, not bothering to see who it was, and heard the door slam shut as I crashed headfirst into my dorm, turning over so I took the full force of the landing. I kicked the door shut, and crawled across the floor on my back to the bed, hauling myself up onto it and gently setting Luna down before laying back, laughing weakly as I gasped for air. Presently, I dropped into unconsciousness.
~
I was woken by a stream of ice-cold water splashing my face. I spluttered, sitting up angrily, to find Ginny, wand pointed at me.
"What did you do that for?" She sighed, and sat on the edge of the bed.
"The entire school is looking for two people who are completely hungover, and one of whom talks in a clearly fake cockney accent. I figured I should warn you." I glanced around, seeing that Luna was gone, before wiping the hair from my face and glancing at my clock.
"Ginny, it's three o'clock in the morning!" She nodded maliciously, and stood.
"I know. Your schedule is on the table. I'd dry it out before you try to read it." I looked over, and saw that it was indeed sitting on my bedside table, completely drenched in water.
"Why?" She turned, about to exit, and chuckled darkly.
"Because I can." I huffed, and shivered, freezing cold. After a moment, I stood, struck by an incredible headache. I put a hand to my head, and waved my wand, drying out my bed and the schedule. I looked it over, pulling on a pair of robes as I did.
Monday
8:00-Charms
9:00-History of Magic
10:00-Potions
11:00-Care of Magical Creatures
12:00-Lunch
1:00-Arithmancy
2:00-Herbology
3:00-Free Period
Midnight-Astronomy
Tuesday
8:00-Transfiguration
9:00-Study of Ancient Runes
11:00-Divination
12:00-Lunch
1:00-Arithmancy
3:00-Free Period
Midnight-Astronomy
Wednesday
8:00-History of Magic
9:00-Herbology
10:00-Charms
12:00-Lunch
1:00-Care of Magical Creatures
2:00-Arithmancy
3:00-Free Period
Midnight-Astronomy
Thursday
8:00-Potions
10:00-Study of Ancient Runes
11:00-History of Magic
12:00-Lunch
1:00-Arithmancy
3:00-Free Period
Midnight-Astronomy
Friday
8:00-Transfiguration
9:00-Herbology
10:00-Divination
11:00-Charms
12:00-Lunch
1:00-Arithmancy
2:00-Study of Ancient Runes
3:00-Free Period
Midnight-Astronomy
I sighed, and rubbed my forehead a few times before exiting the room. I walked down the stairs slowly, and was greeted by a common room full of disapproving people. I was surprised at the turnout, around six or seven people, as it was only three o'clock in the morning, but ignored them and took an empty chair by the fire. One of the sixth year girls, Elizabeth, flounced over to me. She spoke in a stage whisper.
"Is it true?" I frowned.
"Is what true?" She sighed, and 'whispered' again.
"Is it true that you and Loony Lovegood were the ones the Hufflepuffs were chasing through the castle last night?" She was getting a little close for comfort, me subconsciously backing up in my chair, and we were interrupted by Luna skipping up to me.
"Hey, Dugan!" I smiled at her, and took this opportunity to gently shove Elizabeth out of the way. I stood, and we embraced, me giving her a small kiss on the forehead. A few minutes later, as Luna was sharing the chair with me, and all of the people that were awake were watching us avidly, I spotted Ginny slipping out of Luna's dorm and out of the common room, not before sending a cheerful wave at me. I shrugged it off, and we continued talking to each other, giggling and laughing back and forth for some time until it was time to head to the Great Hall for breakfast. We left, holding hands, before the main group of students did, me carrying my bag plus Luna's (because I was such a chivalrous boyfriend, of course), and took our seats in the Hall. Not seconds after we had sat, Hermione, Ron, and Harry arrived at the table. Hermione spoke.
"Are the rumours true?" I groaned, and motioned for them to sit, and spoke once they had.
"Are what rumours true?" She sighed, and shook her head before grabbing a piece of toast. Ron spoke up.
"That you and some girl, Luna I'm assuming, snuck out of school, went to Hogsmeade, drank several tankards of Firewhiskey each, and led the entire Hufflepuff fourth- through seventh-years on a castle-wide chase, eventually escaping into a certain Ravenclaw tower?" I kept my composure for a moment, glanced around, and nodded. He cackled, and we exchanged high-fives. Hermione scowled darkly as Harry chuckled as well.
"That was very dangerous, and you could gotten yourselves hurt. It isn't funny." I shrugged, and took a sip of Pumpkin Juice.
"It was pretty fun to do." I munched my way through an impressive pile of sausage, fish, and assorted fruits as the Hall slowly filled, and I spied an incredibly old, balding man sitting in the chair normally reserved for the Potions teacher. Hermione caught my stare, and spoke conspiratorially.
"That's Horace Slughorn, new Potions teacher." I frowned, and turned to her.
"So that means that-"
"-Snape is the Defence teacher." I groaned, and shook my head slowly. Harry leaned forward.
"Also, we think-" Ron interrupted.
"-Harry thinks-"
"-Oh, alright, I think that Draco is a Death Eater." I sighed, and turned, peering at the pale, blond boy with curiosity. He was quiet, and ate his breakfast in silence. I frowned, and discreetly rolled up my sleeve, lightly tapping the Mark. He jumped, and glanced around frantically for a moment before our eyes met. I stared at him fiercely, and he looked away for a moment. I shrugged, rolling my sleeve down.
"Maybe, I don't know. Don't do anything about it though, until I'm certain." I hated to lie to them, because, of course he was a Death Eater. When he was marked, mine burned, and whispered his name softly. But, I couldn't tell them, because then they would go to Dumbledore, thus probably messing with his plans. Best the keep them in the dark so they wouldn't do anything drastic. We sat in silence for a moment, before someone tapped my shoulder. I turned, and saw that Angelina Crestwood, a fellow sixth-year and Beater for our Quidditch team, stood in front of me.
"Um, last year, the Quidditch captain for Ravenclaw graduated, and he picked you to be his replacement. So, you're the captain now, and our tryouts are at three thirty today, okay?" I nodded, and when she left, I laid my head down on the table.
"What's wrong?" I looked at Hermione darkly.
"I've just been chosen as the Ravenclaw Quidditch team captain." Harry grinned.
"I'm Gryffindor's. What's wrong with that?" I shuddered.
"I have no clue how to play Quidditch." He grimaced, and nodded.
"Okay, meet me at the Quidditch pitch after class gets out, okay? I'll teach you the basics." I shrugged, and picked up my books, kissing Luna goodbye before I went to class, terrified at the prospect of having to learn how to play Quidditch in thirty minutes.
-
"Hey, Harry." I arrived at the pitch, unsure of what to do, and saw Harry standing in the centre of the grass, with a box under his arm, accompanied with a broom and a bat in the other. I had exited the locker room, wearing the Ravenclaw Quidditch robes, and walked quickly over to him.
"Okay, we've got around twenty minutes before Ravenclaw tryouts start, so..." He nodded, and set the box on the ground, unclamping it and opening it to reveal a large ball in the centre, with a ball on either side that seemed to be struggling against the steel chain that held them in place. He picked up the largest one, and tossed it to me. I caught it awkwardly, and he spoke.
"That one is the Quaffle. Quidditch teams have seven players each, and three of them are Chasers. They are the ones that try to get the Quaffle through one of the three hoops at either end of the pitch, which are guarded by the Keeper." I glanced at each end of the pitch, noting the three hoops at each end, before handing it back to him. Next, he handed me the bat before unlocking one of the struggling balls. It flew straight up into the air, and, after a second, came speeding at me. I swung the bat, and connected, sending the ball careening into the sky. As we waited for it to return, Harry spoke again.
"That is a Bludger. There's two of them, and their job is trying to knock other players off of their brooms. The two Beaters are there to keep the Bludgers from hitting their team members, and to hit them towards the opposing team." At this point, the Bludger came back, and Harry tackled it, wrestling it back into the box with my help.
"Lastly, there's the Snitch." He opened a small box, and removed a ball that appeared to be made of solid gold. Before my eyes, it sprouted wings, and tried to fly, but Harry kept it gently but firmly clasped in his grip.
"The Snitch is the most important ball in the game, to me at least. It's worth one hundred and fifty points, and the final player on your team is the Seeker, who, well, seeks the Snitch." I nodded, and he placed it back into the box before shutting it and setting the bat onto the ground. He then handed me the broom.
"I went ahead and grabbed you a school broom, a Cleansweep model, so you can fly it around the pitch a few times if you want. I'll leave you here with the box, so the tryouts for your team don't get suspicious." I thanked him, and he left me there, alone with the box, bat, and broom. I mounted it clumsily, and kicked off with my full strength. I soared into the air, and felt my hair flowing back in the wind as I ran through what I knew about brooms in my head. I had read several books on them, and figured I could enchant one if needed to give me an edge. I cackled wildly as I made loops around the pitch, finally coming back down after I began to see people trickling into the field. I landed, and smiled as they lined up. I also noticed Harry, Ron, and Hermione, accompanied by Luna and Ginny, taking their seats in the stands to watch. Once the flow of people stopped, I spoke up, making my voice louder with my wand.
"Alright. As all of you know, this is my first time even playing Quidditch, but, trust that I know more about it than you think. So, I'm going to start with Keeper tryouts. Those of you who are not trying out for the position of Keeper, please step to the side." The majority of people moved out of the way, leaving me with three different people (a seventh year boy, a third year girl, and fourth year girl.). I retrieved the Quaffle from the box, and mounted my broom.
"Right. You'll all take turns blocking while I take five shots at you. Whomever blocks the most will become Keeper." We took off, and the seventh year went first. I zoomed at him, bobbing and weaving erratically to confuse him, and winged a shot at his left hoop when he was guarding the right one. It floated through, and I swooped down, catching it as he cursed. The next few shots proved differently, and he ended up with a score of four out of five. He landed, and stood to the side to watch the next person, the fourth year. She proved an abysmal Keeper, missing all five of my shots. I sighed, and rolled my shoulders as the third year kicked off. I cracked my knuckles, and took my first shot after a series of loops and spins. She blocked it hesitantly. The next shot, she blocked again. All the way up to the last shot, when I winged it at the hoop so hard she leaped from her broom to catch it, hanging from her broom by her ankles. She regained her balance, and I clapped wildly with the assorted people watching, the number of which had grown as we had been doing this. The seventh year sulked as he left, and I smiled at the third year, her blushing madly and pulling her black hair down over her face.
"Next, I'm going to try the Chasers." A larger group of people, around six, separated from the group, and stood before me. I turned to the third year.
"Can you play Keeper for me while we test the Chasers?" She nodded shyly, and took off while I looked over the six people.
"I'm going to have two of you play as Chasers while I will be the third. After I play with each set of two, I'll select the best one of each group, and see how you play together. Alright?" When the group nodded, I pointed out two burly fifth years.
"You two, with me." They nodded confidently, and both took off simultaneously, while I hefted the Quaffle under my arm before taking off. The main reason I was taking such an active role in the selection process was because I was also trying to find my best spot to play in, and I had a good feeling about the Chaser position. I also had a good feeling about the two fifth years, but it was promptly ruined when I found that they could not run the simplest of plays and that they barely managed to pass the ball. I sent them off the field, and shook my head before glancing over the remaining four. I beckoned to two, one of the sixth years named Jessica and, to my surprise, a teeny little second year. I watched her fearfully, but my fears were allayed when she proved fiercer than Jessica. They both proved to be incredible Chasers, and we worked almost as one unit together. I smiled as we finished, and told them to stay on the field as I took the last two, a fourth year boy and fifth year girl, into the air. The play stopped almost as soon as it started after I found out that the boy didn't know how to fly, and that the girl had terrible accuracy (which I deduced after she threw the Quaffle at me, missed, and almost knocked me off of my broom when it struck me in the head.) I landed roughly, staggering away from the broom, while Jessica and the second year along with the third year approached me.
"Are you alright?" I nodded as the other third year landed and trotted towards me. She spoke quietly.
"I'm pretty sure that you three are our best shot at Chasers." I nodded, and rubbed the spot on my head vigorously before turning to the girl and boy.
"Neither of you are on the team." The boy shrugged and left, while the girl groaned and left slowly, dragging her feet. I took a breath, and turned to the remaining people, around five.
"Beaters?" Angelina stepped forward, along with a tall, thin third year girl. I handed Angelina a bat, and Summoned the other for the third year before they took off, accompanied by me. I waved my wand, releasing the Bludgers, and the flew into the sky. I spoke to the two.
"Protect me." They began slowly circling me, acting in concert as the Bludgers began their assault. Angelina blocked them powerfully, sending them spinning away, while the third year was extremely precise about hers, generally hitting them at a certain goal hoop or the ground. After ten minutes of this, I waved my wand, and the Bludgers froze in midair. We landed, and I waved my wand again, drawing the Bludgers into the box and securing the chains before releasing the spell. I turned to them, not having been hit once, and smiled.
"Good job, both of you." Angelina smiled, and they walked off to where the two other Chasers and Keeper waited, leaving the three Seeker tryouts, all of them girls. I bent over the box, and gently pulled the Snitch from the box. I turned and whispered to it in my cupped hands.
"Make them work for it." The tiny golden ball seemed to twitch, and I turned back to them, hands behind my back.
"Your task is this: catch it." I opened my hands, releasing the Snitch, and it ran a few circles around my head before darting off. The three of them mounted their brooms, and kicked off, racing into the sky to try to get a good vantage point. I mounted my broom, and followed at a leisurely pace, rising high above them and circling slowly, watching the three of them dart around the pitch, searching for the Snitch. After a few minutes, I was delighted to see the Snitch appear at the end of my broom. I chuckled, and looked down, before wheeling away in alarm as I saw all three of them shooting towards me. They raced past, ruffling my hair and robes, before streaking down towards the ground, and turning a few loops and circles in the air before one girl landed, falling on her hands and knees before vomiting all over the ground in front of her. I landed next to her, and waved my wand, vanishing the vomit before smiling sadly to her. She nodded, and traipsed off of the field. I looked back up to see the two remaining girls whipping around in a tight circle as they gained height. I laughed, and saw them make a sharp turn and streak towards the ground. The older girl, what looked like a fifth year, pulled out of the dive early, leaving a girl who I'd never seen before chasing the Snitch. She had bright blond hair, and she pulled out of the dive inches above the ground, I gasped, until I saw that she was beaming, Snitch in hand. I cheered, as did the people watching, and congratulated her as she landed.
"Nice job. You're now our... Wait, are you a first year?" She blushed, and looked down at the ground before nodding slightly. I shrugged, and clapped her shoulder.
"You're our Seeker. Congratulations." She looked up at me, and grinned, as the other members of the team arrived. They took their turns high-fiving her, and I glanced at the sky.
"Okay, I'm going to go ahead and hold our first practice now, while we've got the field. We've got around four or five hours until dark, so we can get something done." They nodded, and I drew my wand, drawing a rectangle in midair with white lines, detailing the pitch in it as a three-dimensional figure. They watched as I described several plays to them, using enchanted pebbles that flashed different colours to represent different players. I ended the talk with a promise to buy the seven of us new brooms, to which they cheered. We practiced until it was dark, and I grinned to myself as I changed alone on one side of a privacy curtain. We had worked well together, and I was bent on reading up on Quidditch as much as possible before the next practice.
~
It was Saturday morning, two weeks after I had become captain, and I was beginning to experience a strange phenomenon. On some days, I would wake up, and would have Metamorphused into a different person, which I reasoned to Luna that my subconscious felt comfortable sleeping like that. She certainly received a shock the first night it had occurred and she had woken up next to a short, stocky girl with strawberry blonde hair and a strong Scottish accent. Thankfully, though, she still had no problem kissing me on those days, as she had reasoned it was still me, so why should she care? On this particular Saturday, I woke up alone, and climbed out of bed, donning my Quidditch robes as I yawned, picking up my wand and broom (I had bought the Chasers, Beaters, and Keeper, the latest Nimbus model, while I had blown a bunch of Galleons on a Firebolt for our Seeker.). I ran a hand through my hair, bringing it up to my face to inspect it as I exited my dorm. It was jet black, and hung almost to my elbows. I shook my head, and entered the common room, where the team plus Luna was waiting. I waved, and Angelina waved back, along with Jessica. The other Chaser, Beater, Keeper and Seeker looked at me with shock for a moment. Of course, they were not used to their captain changing shape every other day, but they were getting used to it slowly. I beckoned, caught in another yawn, and they all followed me out of the common room and down the stairs. I felt a hand sliding into mine, and looked over to smile at Luna.
"You did it again?" I nodded, sheepish, and replied.
"What do I look like?" She peered at my face for a moment.
"You've got bright purple eyes, and high cheekbones. Also, a quite sharp chin." I smiled, and we entered the Great Hall for a brief breakfast before practice. The Seeker, a girl by the name of Angelina, which was shared with one of our Beaters (which brought about momentary confusion until I came up with their individual nicknames, Angel and Lina) bounced up next to me.
"So, whenever you do this we could be the Holyhead Harpies, right?" I chuckled, and nodded. We sat together, and began eating, me plotting through several plates of biscuits and gravy, along with a steaming goblet of tea, as we slowly started to wake up. The second year, an American whose parents had moved to London shortly after her ninth birthday, spoke in a strange accent, but made up for her diminutive size with a 'Texas sized Chaser skill-set,' whatever that meant. Her name was Lauren, and she almost ate as much as I did, which surprised me given her small form.
"So, cap', are we working on the you-know-what?" I nodded, and was interrupted by the arrival of Ron, Harry, and Hermione. They glanced around at us for a moment, and Hermione spoke.
"Where's Dugan?" I raised my hand, and waved. She peered at me, and frowned.
"Seriously?" I groaned, remembering they hadn't seen me like this yet. I smiled cheekily, turning my hair a few different colours, before back to black.
"Yes, it's me, captain of the Ravenclaw division of the Holyhead Harpies." Angel giggled, while Lauren laughed her strange laugh, a loud guffaw that drew the attention of anyone nearby. Our keeper, the third year girl named Leslie, was busy enchanting a small potato to tap dance on the table. I watched it avidly for a moment, before looking back up at Hermione. She was speaking, and I listened to her as she spoke quickly.
"Dumbledore needs to see you. Immediately. He says you should know the password to his office." I nodded, and stood.
"Alright, Lina is Captain until I get there. Go through a few drills, work on Chaser-to-Chaser passes, the usual, until I get there. Do not work on the you-know-what until I'm there, okay?" They nodded glumly, and rose as one to go to the pitch while I hurried to Dumbledore's office, broom on my shoulder. I spoke the password (Exploding Snap), and entered to find him behind his desk, looking pale and worn. I set my broom down, and stood in front of his desk.
"Sir?" He smiled weakly.
"Hello, Dugan. I have a request for you." I nodded, and he indicated the hand.
"Is there anything you could do to at least dull the pain? It hurts terribly, I'm afraid." I drew my wand, and ran through the magic I knew in my head.
"I could transfer the curse to myself, if you wanted." He shook his head vigorously, and spoke.
"No, you are to play a pivotal role in the future. I cannot allow you to die. Just, lessen the pain, for an old man." I snorted, and pointed my wand at the injured hand.
"Sure thing, old man." He chuckled, and I performed several spells on the hand, watching his face intently as I did. Once his features relaxed, I stopped casting spells.
"Thank you. Pray tell, what spell did you use?" I shrugged.
"Pretty powerful Dark Magic, actually. I dulled the senses in your hand, so you wouldn't be able to receive the impulses from the hand telling you that you are in pain. So honestly, you're still in pain, but your brain doesn't realise it." He shook his head, bemused, and thanked me again.
"Thank you for that. Did you read my letter I sent to you at the beginning of term?" I nodded, and sighed, face darkening.
"Do you understand it?" I nodded again.
"Will you do it?" I nodded, a grimace on my face, and he laughed.
"Do not worry, Dugan. I'll be there, in some form or another." I chuckled, and smiled at him before leaving, hastening to the pitch in order to catch up to the team. I was shocked to find them in a full out duel with Slytherin's team, jinxes and curses flying back and forth. I dashed out onto the field, wand raised, and cast an Impediment Charm on the entire field, freezing everyone in place. I walked over to Lauren.
"What are you guys doing?" She shrugged, breathing hard.
"Dueling these toads." I sighed.
"Why?" She bared her teeth.
"Because they tried to take our field, and called you some pretty mean names in your absence, captain. That was when Lina took it upon herself to make the decision to stay here, which we knew you would have. Then the Slytherin Captain decided to cast a Confundus Charm on Angel." She indicated Angel, who was sitting on the ground picking dandelions. I growled, and waved my wand twice, once to dispel the Confundus Charm, and another time to dispel the Impediment Charm before turning to the Slytherin team.
"Beat it." Their captain scowled at me, and held out a sheet of paper.
"We reserved the pitch, because of tomorrow's game. We have a note from Professor Snape." He held out a piece of paper. I walked over to him, took it, and read it over. I chuckled, evolving into a crazed laugh that made him back up. I flicked my wand, and the paper vanished.
"What note?" He growled, and drew his wand again. With a twirl of my wand, his entire team, including him, rose up into the air and floated back to the outside of the pitch, before I dropped them roughly on the ground. I then waved my wand in a huge arc, sealing the doors to the locker room, and turned to our team.
"Let's get started. We've got a a game this afternoon, which takes precedence." We huddled up, and I knelt in the centre of the circle, avoiding the patches of muddy ground.
"Right. I've been doing a little reconnaissance of Hufflepuff's practices, and I've seen that they've got a Keeper who likes to guard the left goalpost most of the practice. Now, we're going to work on a few plays that'll work against that, but also a few that'll work against him if he's guarding all three, and the left hoop was just a distraction tactic. Okay?" They murmured their assent, and we mounted up, me releasing the Snitch for Angel to play with, and the Bludgers for Lina and Amy, the other Beater. Once Leslie was in position at the third hoop, the three of us began working plays, swooping and weaving like a team of sparrows, eventually working in sync for the left hoop, right hoop, and centre hoop plays. We landed, and I summoned the Bludgers back into their box, while Angel gently placed the Snitch back into the box, having caught it almost twenty times in the two hours we were practicing. We entered the the locker room, and I spoke to the group before we separated.
"Okay, we've got around two hours until the game, and an hour until lunch which means we'll probably meet in the Great Hall at lunch before we go down to the field for the game. Got it?" The assembled people nodded, and I smiled as we separated, knowing we were ready for the game.
I unsealed the door, and exited to find McGonagall, Snape, and Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff, along with the entire Slytherin team.
"Hello, all." We filed past them, and watched as the three teachers dashed in, probably to check for spells or curses. I laughed as Slytherin's team glared at us, and put an arm around Luna as we walked back.