Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Harry hurried through the halls of Hogwarts. Visions of horror flashed by as he ran. Blood stained the stone walls and bodies lay everywhere. His stomach dropped as he saw a familiar figure lying on the floor up ahead. Her raven hair fell around her face and blood pooled beneath her, but he still recognized her.
“Daphne,” he gasped as he knelt beside her. He reached out and gently rolled her over on her back, wincing at the bloody ruin where her chest and stomach used to be. Strips of ragged and torn flesh barely covered the broken ribs. The floor around her was splattered with gore. When she smiled up at him, blood ran from her mouth.
“Hold on,” Harry said. “You just need to hold on. It’s over. I’ll get you some place safe.”
“No place safe,” Daphne said in a small voice. “It’s over. Magical world is dead. Muggles are gonna kill us all.” She gripped Harry’s hand tightly and smiled. “Jokes on them, where I’m going, they can’t get me.”
“Daphne,” Harry said. “Listen it’s gonna be okay. I lost Luna, I’m not gonna lose you too. Daphne, Daphne.”
Daphne didn’t respond. Her grip on his hand had gone slack. Harry held a finger over her mouth, but no breath tickled his skin.
He swallowed around the growing lump in his throat. Tears ran down his cheeks. “Daphne, come back,” he cried. “I… I… I can’t do this alone.”
He knelt there for a long time. How long he wasn’t sure. There was no point in hurrying anymore. His Mum, his dad, Luna, and now Daphne. Everyone he cared about was gone. Sometime later, a scuffling sound behind him made him turn around.
Hermione Granger stood there. The revolver in her right hand was pointed at his forehead. Harry didn’t move. What was the point? When everyone you loved was gone why fight anymore.
“We never wanted this,” Hermione said quietly.
“And yet you betrayed the magical world to the Muggles. Because of you, the fae has been driven to near extinction. My parents are dead. Luna and Daphne are dead. Hogsmeade is in ruins. We just wanted to live our lives? Is that so wrong?”
“If you wouldn’t have fought, none of this would have happened. If you would’ve helped the world instead of hiding from it…”
“Helped,” Harry pointed out the window behind her. “Look around you, look at what the muggles did with what little access to magic the muggle-born gave them.”
Both stared out the window at the barren earth where grass no longer grew. Stunted blackened trees wept blood from cracked bark. Skeletal birds flew through the sky. Green scales had replaced their feathers and their beaks were full of long razor sharp teeth. What had once been a cat went scampering passed, it’s six extra legs flapping uselessly against its exposed ribs. A red bloated sun shone down like the diseased eye of a terrible god.
“We can go back,” Hermione said. “We can fix things.”
“Fix things?” Harry laughed harshly. “What? Are you gonna enslave the magical folk even sooner? Everything is gone Hermione. The Americans, the Chinese, the Russians, and the Middle east wiped each other out trying to keep each other from getting hold of the others magical resources. Can’t you feel what this earth is like?”
“Feel? What do you mean?”
Harry gestured with one hand. Glowing Lines of power came into view, but they were twisted and broken. Sparks crackled and spat on the air and the lines flickered unsteadily. As they watched, one of the lines went out with a final flash of light.
“Those are ley lines,” Harry explained. “Don’t you see what this war has done? Even the natural rivers of power have been destroyed. Don’t you get it? Meteors have hit the planet and caused less damage. Nothing should be able to affect the ley lines, but it has. Magic is almost gone and when it is…”
“If we go back, none of that will matter. It will never have happened. If you wouldn’t have fought back. If you would’ve accepted that your world was flawed and listened to our guidance on how to fix it none of this would have happened. We could have been an example to the rest of the world.”
“You took families from their homes,” Harry said his voice rising. “You made them move out of homes they’d had for centuries. You took children from their parents because they refused to do what you wanted or believe what you wanted them to.”
“They needed to integrate into Muggle society,” Hermione said stubbornly. “If they weren’t willing to do so, other steps had to be taken.”
“Join you or die,” Harry said looking back at Daphne’s still form.
“I wouldn’t put it so brutally, but essentially correct. The magical folk were too dangerous to be left unchecked. Need I remind you that they’d had two dark lords try and take them over in the last century? If the fae hadn’t helped, they’d have fallen long ago. Come with me. It’s not too late. With your help, we can still save the world.”
Harry looked back up the hallway he’d come at the bodies lying on the floor and the blood staining the walls. His heart clenched as he noticed a child of around five lying on her back. Mercifully, he couldn’t tell what had killed her. He looked back at Hermione. When he spoke, his voice was full of all the sorrow and regret in the world.
“This was the last safe haven for those trying to escape the war. They didn’t want to fight. They just wanted to live. What did you do with the people here?”
“Those that surrendered were taken into custody to face charges. Those that fought…” Hermione shrugged.
“There were children here,” Harry said his temper rising.
“Innocent always suffer when people refuse to do the right thing.”
“That may be true,” Harry growled, “but that doesn’t mean we have to be a party to their suffering. I’m not coming with you.”
A burst of flame knocked Hermione off her feet, slamming her into the opposite wall. “You’ll pay for everything you’ve done,” Harry snapped bands of ice wrapping around Hermione’s legs.
“You’re too weak to fight me. You used up most of your power getting here and with magic fading, you won’t be getting it back. If you fight me, you will die.”
“Then I’ll die fighting,” Harry snarled making a slashing motion with his hand.
Hermione winced as luck tore away from her aura. She could feel probability shifting around her. She drew her wand and tried to melt the ice with a burst of heated air, but nothing happened.
Harry drew a bronze sword from his jacket and stepped towards her. “You’re right,” he said tiredly. “I don’t have magic to spare, so I’m just going to have to do this the old fashioned way.”
Calmly, Hermione raised the gun in her right hand and pulled the trigger. The wrought iron round struck Harry just above the right eye and exited the back of his head in a spray of gore. Harry collapsed beside Daphne, a resigned expression on his face. The sword fell from his numb fingers and clattered on the stone floor beside him.
“I’m sorry it had to come to this,” Hermione said holstering her gun as the ice binding her legs faded. As she took a step, she tripped and fell face first onto the stone. With a twitch of his fingers, Harry sent the sword sailing through the air to land blade first in the center of Hermione’s back.
Hermione let out a gasp as the sword went through her and sank into the stone floor beneath.
“I knew I’d die,” Harry whispered, “but I was going to take as many of you bastards with me as possible.”
Hermione looked up at him, her eyes wide. “What do you mean? You may have killed me, but the war will go on.”
“Do you think we wouldn’t have prepared for this eventuality. Hogwarts sits on a node of ley lines. Diminished as they are, there still should be enough magic left to get the job done. As soon as I saw the blood on the walls, I activated our failsafe. The explosion will take out the United Kingdom. The resulting earthquakes will cause massive damage to Europe. Pretty soon, people will be too busy trying to survive to continue this meaningless slaughter.”
“But that will kill all the magical folk as well,” Hermione protested. “You will kill the people you are trying to save.”
“The last of the magical community in the United Kingdom was here. As for those in Europe, I think they’d rather die than be at your people’s tender mercy.”
Hermione tried to move and cried out as the sword pinning her to the floor shifted. “Innocent children will die.”
Harry’s eyes were beginning to close. “What was it you said,” he said faintly. “Innocents are always hurt when people refuse to do what’s right.”
As Hermione’s eyes widened in horror, Harry laughed. “You’re not the only monster in this room,” he whispered, his eyes closing for the last time.
Hogwarts exploded in a flash of arcane energy.
**ROE**
Arawn jerked his hands out of Morrigan’s with a gasp. He stumbled away and collapsed onto his throne.
“Dreadful isn’t it,” The Morrigan said her white eyes still glowing faintly
“What the hell was that?”
“That was the vision I’ve been seeing for months,” Morrigan said calmly.
“But what brought this future about?” Arawn asked. “What made it so destructive?”
“I don’t know,” Morrigan said. “You have to get this message to Niamh. Ginny Weasley must live.”
“Ginny Weasley?” Arawn said. “Why is she so important?”
“I don’t know,” Morrigan said irritation clear. “I just see things and get feelings. I don’t get divine messages. If the girl dies, crap happens. Will you tell Niamh or not?”
Arawn stood. “I’ll go now.”
“You can’t,” Morrigan said. “You need to wait.”
“Why?”
“Because Niamh is meeting with Dumbledore right now. If he finds out about this vision, I don’t know what he would do with the knowledge.”
Arawn scowled. “While I’m waiting, can you tell me anything else?”
Morrigan changed from her elderly form to her maiden form. She sighed. “I only tell you what I see and the feelings I get. Right now, Hogwarts is a bonfire, just waiting for the spark to ignite the flame.”
“So, how do I stop it?”
“You don’t,” Morrigan said. “Harry does.”
**ROE**
“What’s been happening,” Niamh asked once they were all settled in Dumbledore’s office. “What month is it? How long have we been gone?”
“The date is November 28, 1992. You’ve been gone about six months. As for what’s happening, that’s a long story.”
“I assume the children are in bed by now,” Gareth said. “We have time.”
Dumbledore picked up a glass of whisky on his desk and took a sip. “I suppose the trouble started around Halloween. Mrs. Norris was petrified.”
“Mrs. Norris?” Gareth asked. “I don’t remember that professor.”
“It’s the caretakers cat,” Niamh explained. “Why would anyone petrify a cat?”
“As a warning I believe,” Dumbledore said. “That was the first petrification. The message enemies of the heir beware had been carved into the stone. We can’t get rid of it no matter how hard we try.
The second petrification occurred a few weeks later. A young first year was petrified and the film in the camera he was carrying had been melted.”
“Melted,” Niamh said.
“Indeed,” Dumbledore said. “From that incident, I surmised that the chamber of Secrets had been opened again.”
“The chamber of secrets?” Delia said arching an eyebrow. “That was a myth, wasn’t it?”
Niamh frowned. “I don’t think so. There were some rumors I heard back when Slytherin left the school.”
“Rumors?” Dumbledore asked. “What sort of rumors?”
Niamh rubbed her forehead. “I can’t quite recall. It has been over a thousand years. Anyway, continue your story.”
“The students were scared of course,” Dumbledore said. “I mean who wouldn’t be, but everything was calm until Justin Finch-fletchley was petrified.”
“That name doesn’t ring a bell,” Gareth said.
“It wouldn’t,” Dumbledore said. “The lad was Muggle-born.”
“That explains why I never heard of him.”
“Anyway,” Dumbledore continued. “That was when the trouble started. Two Muggle-born and the caretakers cat petrified. People began to see the pattern.”
“Pattern?” Harry asked. “Um, I must be missing something because I don’t see a pattern.”
“Filch was a squib,” Dumbledore said. “In the eyes of some, he is no better than a muggle.”
“Okay,” Harry said slowly, “but he wasn’t attacked. His cat was.”
“Some of the older students began spreading the theory that the cat wasn’t the target. These students wondered if a Muggle-born wasn’t the real target and the cat’s petrification was simply an unfortunate accident.”
“But wait,” Luna said softly. “Where was the cat found?”
“It was found hanging by the tail outside a girl’s bathroom The floor had been flooded, but no footprints were spotted.
“So, someone hung it up by the tail,” Niamh said.
“Sounds more like a warning than an accident,” Gareth said.
Dumbledore nodded. “Precisely what I thought. After Justin’s petrification, the Muggle-born began blaming the purebloods. The staff has been forced to break up several fights, but nothing too serious. Fortunately, no one else has been petrified, but I fear what will happen if that changes.”
Niamh frowned. “I’ll take a look into things. How are the classes going?”
Dumbledore winced again. “Remus has been great with the students, but our defense professor…”
“Who is it this year?” Gareth asked.
“Gilderoy Lockhart.”
“Oh,” Gareth said as Astoria and Daphne squealed.
“That idiot is teaching here?” Niamh asked horrified.
“He was the only applicant,” Dumbledore said a little sheepishly.
Niamh thumped her head against the wall behind her. “Right,” she said. “Are my quarters still available?”
“I can put you in some guest quarters for the night,” Dumbledore said. “I will also give you the list of books and supplies for this year. I can’t offer you a job because they are all filled. However, I would be grateful if you’d stick around and see what you can find out about these incidents.”
Niamh nodded. “I’d be happy to.”
Dumbledore turned to the Greengrass family. “Will you be staying the night?”
“Yes,” Gareth said. “If possible, we’d like to stay here until this mess is sorted out.”
“We have enough guest quarters for that,” Dumbledore said.
“First,” Delia said. “Astoria needs to be sorted.” She handed Dumbledore a pile of parchment. “She is ready to start her first year. As you will also see, Daphne is ready to continue her education.”
Dumbledore thumbed through the parchment. “This appears to be in order.” He stood and retrieved the Sorting hat and handed it to Astoria. The young girl took the hat and placed it on her head.
“Ravenclaw,” the hat said after a moment.
Astoria beamed.
“Now for Luna,” Pandora said.
Luna skipped over to the hat and placed it on her head.
“Ravenclaw,” the hat said as soon as it touched her head.
Luna took the hat off and handed it back to Dumbledore before rejoining the others, smiling dreamily.
“Very good girls,” Pandora said.
“You two can join your classmates in the dorms tomorrow. I’ll announce your return at breakfast. Tonight, it’s late and I’d like to get a little rest. I’ll have a house elf show you to the guest quarters.”
“Thank you, Headmaster,” Niamh said. “We shall see you in the morning.”
**ROE**
“Wow,” Harry said as they entered the great hall the next morning. “Things have really changed.”
The Great Hall was clearly split into two groups. The half-bloods and purebloods sat on one side of the long tables while the muggle-born sat on the other.
“Why do you think the half-bloods are sitting with the purebloods?” Daphne asked.
“Let’s find out,” Harry said walking over to the Ravenclaw table. As he went to sit down near Padma, a voice stopped him.
“Oi, you aren’t supposed to be sitting there. You’re a half-blood.”
Harry turned to see a blond boy staring at him. “And you are?”
“Jake Finn, I’m Muggle-born. Is that a problem for you?”
“Why should I care about that?”
“Haven’t you heard what’s been going on here?”
“Oh, I’ve heard,” Harry said calmly, “but in case you forgot, my Mum was raised by muggles.”
“And you think that matters?” Jake snapped. “Someone has been petrifying the Muggle-born.”
“That’s what I’ve heard, but have any of the students been treating you different?”
Jake jerked his head at Malfoy.
“I see,” Harry said. “Any others?”
Jake shook his head. “So, you are profiling. Every pureblood and half-blood are bad through no fault of their own, but simply because they have one or more wizarding parents?”
“If they have a wizarding parent, they were probably taught to hate Muggle-born,” Jake said.
“No, we weren’t,” Fred Weasley said standing up from the Gryffindor table. “Our Dad loves Muggle technology. If it wasn’t for wizards marrying muggles, we’d have died out. And in case you are wondering, we are purebloods.”
“Still,” Jake said. “That’s one family.”
“Instead of judging an entire group based on the actions of a few, why not try judging individuals, or is that too much work for you?”
Jake scowled but said nothing.
Harry raised his voice to be heard throughout the hall. “I haven’t been here, but for the past few months, I can see the beginnings of the hate you are developing for one another. As an outsider looking in, you are allowing your fear to cloud your judgment. The only way we can find those responsible for these attacks is to work together. If we bicker amongst ourselves, we are letting whoever is behind these attacks win.”
“What?” Jake said. “We all hold hands and sing Kumbaya?”
“No,” Luna said speaking for the first time, “but if we all put our heads together, we can find out who is attacking us and why?”
“Why?” Hermione said. “That’s obvious. They want to get rid of Muggle-born.”
“Not necessarily,” Harry said. “Filch was a squib. He belonged to a pureblood family.”
“But he’s still pureblood,” Daphne said. “That means he’s not part of the pattern if you can even call it a pattern.”
“Most people think squibs are no better than Muggle-born,” Jake said.
“Really?” Harry asked. “Who are most people?”
“The purebloods of course,” Jake said. “Everyone knows they hate squibs.”
“So, you have talked to all of the purebloods and half-bloods in the school? They’ve actually told you that’s how they feel?”
“It’s common knowledge,” Jake spluttered.
“It is?” Harry asked. “According to who?”
Jake scowled. “The purebloods have developed a system of hate towards muggle-born.”
“The muggle-born prime minister in the 1840’s says otherwise.”
Jake turned and stalked away without another word.
Harry turned back to the Ravenclaw table and sat down next to Padma. “So, how have you been?”
Padma smiled. “Things have been interesting around here.”
“I can see that. How long have things been like this?”
“Ever since that first year was attacked,” Padma answered as Daphne, Astoria, and Luna sat down. She studied Harry carefully.
“You look different, older.”
“I spent time in Elphame. I had to get some training.”
“Oh,” Padma said.
As their conversation continued, the hall began to fill with the chatter of students again.
Flitwick handed Luna a slip of parchment. “Ms. Lovegood,” he squeaked. “I’ll be seeing you after breakfast to determine where you will be placed.”
Luna smiled serenely at the tiny professor. “Of course,” she said quietly.
Harry glanced at his friend. “So, we may be in the same year?”
“We will be,” Luna said firmly. “I’m not being left behind.”
**ROE**
Up at the staff table, Niamh turned to Dumbledore. “Are you telling me the staff hasn’t been able to do anything about the students treatment of each other?”
“We’ve tried,” Dumbledore said sitting lying on his fork on his plate. “Some of the older students have been rallying the younger ones against the purebloods and half-bloods. That includes members of staff.”
Niamh frowned. She ran her fingers through her long blond hair. “Well, that’s gonna be tricky to deal with, especially if there is another attack.”
“Now you see the problem,” Dumbledore said. “Hopefully, there won’t be any more attacks.”
“The way our luck goes, I wouldn’t count on it.”
**ROE**
The rest of the day passed without incident. After wishing Luna luck, Harry and Daphne headed to Transfiguration.
“Well done,” McGonagall said studying Harry’s button. “Full marks and you did it without a wand no less.”
“Thanks professor,” Harry said.
McGonagall leaned closer. “I wanted to congratulate you on your speech this morning. Five points to Ravenclaw for standing up for what was right.”
“Thanks,” Harry said shyly.
Turning to Daphne, she smiled. “Ah, you seem to be taking after Mr. Potter. No wand and still managing the transfiguration.”
Daphne nodded, holding up her arm. “It’s because of this.”
McGonagall examined the silver bracelet on her arm. “What is it?”
“It’s a different type of foci. Harry’s Dad gave it to me. He said it was how wizards in the British Isles channeled their magic before wands became popular.”
“I see,” McGonagall said. “It may be worth looking into. Thank you for showing me.”
**ROE**
After class, Daphne and Harry packed up and began heading to charms class.
“Well, what do you think about everything?” Harry asked.
“I don’t like the feel of the school. Even when they’re talking and laughing, everyone is so tense.”
“Yeah,” Harry said rubbing his forehead. “It’s like they’re waiting on the other shoe to drop.”
Daphne opened her mouth to reply but tripped over something lying on the floor. Harry grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. Looking down, they saw the wide eyes of Jake Fin. The older boy lay flat on his back, stiff as a board.
“Oh crap,” Harry muttered. Hearing running feet, he turned to see Hermione rushing towards them.
“What…” she began before seeing Jake. “Oh no,” she whispered.
“What’s going on here?” Professor McGonagall asked as she approached the three students. Seeing Jake on the floor, she turned to Harry.
“Mr. Potter, I’d like you to come with me now please?”
“May I ask why?” Harry said as calmly as he could.
“Because I don’t want you to get blamed for this. I’m sure you had nothing to do with it, but I don’t want you to be scapegoated just because you found the body.”
Harry nodded. “Fair enough.” He turned to Daphne. “Can you get Mum?”
Daphne nodded and hurried away.
“Come,” McGonagall said. “We can wait for her in my classroom.”
As Harry followed the professor, he chuckled ruefully.
“Mr. Potter?” Professor McGonagall asked arching an eyebrow. “I see nothing funny about this situation.”
“Sorry, it’s just I can’t say it hasn’t been an interesting first day back.”