Fluffy?
Trailing behind the professor he heard the one-sided argument between the possessed man and his inner dark lord.
‘But Master, I have not discovered how to get around the beast.’
Harry followed, watching him grab his head as he hurried though the castle. Guess that means no dragon for Hagrid this time, he spun around when he felt a hand reaching for him.
‘Well look Gred, we found a snake.’
‘Sure did Forge.’
Harry rolled his eyes. ‘Do you mind, I’m a little busy this morning.’
‘Busy doing what?’
‘That is the forbidden corridor.’
‘Yes it is, and I know that Quirrell doesn’t know how to get around Fluffy so I’m a bit worried about what he’s going to do to Hagrid’s three headed dog.’
‘Fluffy?’ Fred and George chorused together. ‘That thing is called fluffy.’
‘That’s the least of my problems right now.’ Harry sighed. ‘Either come with me or walk away but what’s going to happen next is not going to be pretty.’
‘How not pretty?’ Fred asked.
‘I’m probably going to indirectly murder our defence professor.’ Harry admitted bluntly and turned to follow Quirrell.
‘What?’ The twins hurried after him.
‘He’s possessed by Voldemort if it helps.’
‘Um, not really.’ George replied. As the twins fell in step with Harry.
‘Now isn’t the best time for an explanation but the short version is, Volde is riding Quirrell like he’s a cheap broom and I’m afraid it was a done deal when the idiot said yes. And this is the best chance I’m going to get to deal with him now that our headmaster is in his office with a couple of aurors and a pissed off school board.’
‘Why do you have to deal with him?’
‘Dumbledore is what?’
‘How about we ask questions later, hm.’ Harry gave the twins a look that left them gulping.
This was not the firstie they had gotten used to hanging out with their younger brother. This was Lord Potter the Slytherin. Exchanging a look they both shrugged, nodded and followed him through the no longer locked door and into the room with the three headed dog was looking at
Quirrell like he was breakfast.
‘Avada...’
Harry froze the defence professor and watched him drop to the floor. ‘I don’t think so, Fluffy doesn’t deserve that you useless piece of shit.’ He kicked the frozen professor’s foot and pulled the box out Goldsword had given him. ‘This is a bit anticlimactic I wont lie, but it beats putting up with your fake stutter for the rest of the school year.’ He looked over at the twins. ‘Help me roll him over and remove his turban please.’
They exchanged a look and shrugged their shoulders before helping Harry who was avoiding touching Quirrell’s skin.
‘How much garlic does he have in this thing?’
‘I don’t know brother mine but at least he wont catch a cold.’
Harry held the box as the twins finished removing the turban and shrieked as eyes blinked at them from the back of Quirrell’s head.
A whispery voice filled the room. ‘How dare you.’
Harry rolled his eyes. ‘Oh can the theatrics, not my fault you picked the second most useless wizard in the wizarding world to take for a test drive.’
‘That implies there is a wizard worse than Quirrell.’
‘Yes Fred, it does.’
The twins screamed again as the face began to lift from the back of Quirrell’s head and form into black smoke which they watched get sucked from the professor into a crystal in the box Harry was holding.
---
In his office Dumbledore had a bad feeling that things were not going going his way. He’d forgotten how strong Augusta Longbottom’s personality was as she shouted at him about reckless endangerment of the school, the students, and her grandson. Without raising her voice. This had been followed by the cool tones of Malfoy questioning the status of the school wards that a troll had been able to get into the school but that children sending owls to their family did not. Then he had the nerve to suggest that perhaps it was time to consider retirement. He’d had to pull heavily on his occlumency to keep calm at that. He couldn’t retire now, not with Harry Potter finally in Hogwarts. Even if the child had disappointingly sorted Slytherin and was impossible to pin down. And through it all Madam Bones, head of the DMLE had stood there with her aurors in silent judgement. She’d always been so black and white as a student. Quietly watching as she weighed and judged those around her. She had sorted Hufflepuff but if memory served, she was a hatstall so probably had been an option for Slytherin. If he’d thought to ask he would have found out he was quite wrong, but he didn’t ask.
Amelia Bones used a wandless spell to stick the phoenix to his perch and cast additional anti apparition wards to stop her quarry escaping. She’d been warned he would and that the phoenix would need to be neutralized. She’d heard enough. If her niece hadn’t sent a letter via house elf she likely would not have been informed about the troll. But that wasn’t the only reason she was here as she stepped forward.
‘Perhaps it is my turn.’ Amelia indicated one of her aurors. ‘Professor McGonagall, as deputy head, can I ask you to take Auror Greenly to the wards please.’
Dumbledore leapt to his feet. ‘I forbid it.’ He swallowed as he found the stone cold glare of everyone in the room focused on him.
‘And why? Pray tell. Should you forbid something that doesn’t need your permission.’ Amelia asked with a voice that was so cool it could cut glass. ‘As the head of the DMLE do I need to spell out the governances that give me every right to make such a request?’ She waited for a response and smiled when none was given.
‘Take Jones with you, I want a full check of the wards, documented and including anything that shouldn’t be there and anything that needs updating. And the date they were last maintained. Any of the school board that wishes to go with you may do so.’ She gained two nods and watched as the aurors followed McGonagall and were also followed by two members of the school board.
---
Harry slammed the box closed and shook his head. ‘Well that was too easy.’ He put the now locked box into a silk bag and dropped it in his satchel. Turning he remembered the three headed dog that was barking and snapping it’s teeth at them. ‘Oh, come on, we should leave yes.’
‘Oh.’
‘Okay.’
He looked around the room and cast a spell to hide their magical signatures and gave Quirrell’s foot another kick on the way out. The door locking behind him.
‘We need to get back to the Great Hall.’
‘Breakfast is calling but you said you would explain.’
‘And I will, but we have to get back before we are missed.’ If he’d had the time he would have taken them to the room of requirement but it would have to wait. He didn’t want to be where no one could find him when Quirrell was found.
‘I for one want to know why I should go anywhere with you little snake. Following you didn’t work out very well for the professor back there.’
‘You mean the professor who was being possessed by Voldemort?’ Harry asked. ‘Something that the school wards should have stopped.’
The twins exchanged a look and nodded. Harry waited to see if they would freak out about what had happened in the forbidden third floor but he also knew they had to get to the Great Hall before he was missed.
---
‘Now.’ Amelia Bones turned back to the headmaster. ‘Please explain why the owls sent last night and this morning where stopped.’
‘Not all of them were.’
‘Let me rephrase that. Why were any of the owls sent last night and this morning stopped.’ She pulled her wand and very deliberately cast a spell to compel truth and waited for his reply.
‘This is not acceptable.’
She watched the elderly wizard splutter and nodded. ‘If you prefer, we can arrest you for endangerment of the children in your care and do this at the Ministry before a full session of the Wizengamont. And the press.’ She watched as the different possible outcomes danced briefly though his eyes. ‘Of course, you will be wearing magic suppressing cuffs should that occur.’
‘That will not be necessary Madam Bones.’
‘I think you will find, I am the one who will make that determination. Explain.’
‘I did not want anyone to, to over react.’
Augusta Longbottom leaned forward and frowned. ‘Over react? What would a reasonable reaction be to finding out that a troll was able to breach the wards of the school and gain access to the castle. And what would be a reasonable reaction to finding out the headmaster was prepared to send half the children under his care, into the same area of the castle as he had been informed the troll was in?’
‘The Dowager Lady Longbottom raises a very good question.’ Malfoy purred. ‘I too am curious of what would constitute a reasonable reaction to such blatant endangerment of my heir and his peers.’
‘I consider this to be an over reaction.’ Dumbledore replied. ‘And it’s well within the prerogative of my position as headmaster to decide as such.’
‘Clearly you are the only one who thinks this is an over reaction.’ Madam Bones cut in. ‘I have read the school charter and it is very clear that any danger to the students requires immediate notification of parents and guardians. So I have to ask, when did you plan to do so.’ She watched him fighting the compulsion to respond truthfully as he spat out his answer.
‘I wasn’t.’
‘You had no intention of following the most basic requirement of your position?’
‘No.’
She smiled. ‘Albus Dumbledore, in accordance with the charge of willful neglect of the children in your care as headmaster of Hogwarts. And in a direct violation of the bounds of that role in view of your failure to notify the parents and guardians of the children in your care, as confessed before the witches and wizards present. You are under arrest and have been placed in the custody of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. You will be detained for further questioning and to face trial for your actions, and any other such charges as can and may be raised against you. You will be given the opportunity to seek legal advice.’
‘Oh, I don’t think so Madam Bones.’ Dumbledore shook his head with his best disappointed look on his face. Rising to his feet he clapped his hands together.
An action that was followed by a look of puzzlement as he was stunned and bound. His eyes followed Madam Bones as she stepped around his desk and slapped magic suppressing cuffs on his wrists.
‘You don’t think we wouldn’t plan for you trying to evade arrest do you.’ She indicated two of her aurors to step forward. ‘I want a full scan to detect any additional magical items and you will remove them.’
‘And will you be leaving McGonagall in charge of the school, when she returns from examining the wards?’ Snape drawled.
Amelia looked towards the remaining members of the school board. ‘We need to verify if she was complicit in his actions or ignorant of them. However, with the Hogwarts School Board already here, it wont take long to reach a suitable arrangement.’
‘And do we expect this to be concluded before classes are due to start this morning or after?’
Before anyone could answer Professor McGonagall ran into the room followed by the school caretaker, Filch and his cat.
‘Oh Amelia, good you are still here, I need your aurors to come quickly. A body has been found.’
Amelia looked at the Aurors remaining in the office and nodded to two of them. ‘Johnson and Fletcher, go with McGonagall, we will return once Dumbledore has been secured.’ She watched the pair peel off and follow the deputy head before turning back to the remaining heads of house and school board. ‘Perhaps classes should be cancelled for the day if no one objects.’
---
Felicity Johnson followed the deputy headmistress and caretaker through the school and came to a door on the third floor. Denis Fletcher immediately began casting tracking spells to see who had been through the area as a body lay in view of the open doorway. Along with a giant three headed dog.
‘What is this area used for?’ Johnson asked, a notebook and quill in hand.
‘It’s currently off limits so naturally a good portion of the student body have been investigating.’
‘And why is it off limits, other than the cerberus of course.’
McGonagall pursed her lips and shook her head. ‘You will have to question the headmaster about that.’
‘I will see that we do. And who owns the cerberus?’
Her question was answered by the pounding footsteps of Hagrid bursting in to the corridor.
‘What’s going on with Fluffy then?’ He looked around and frowned. ‘You know I don’ think I seen Quirrell without his turban since he got back.’ Hagrid moved around the body and began talking to the three headed creature that was clearly excited to see him.
Johnson looked pointedly at McGonagall. She’d been a Slytherin so had no fondness for the woman. ‘Please explain to me why the school has a four X rated beast in a corridor.’
‘Oh Fluffy don’ mean no harm, I leant him to Dumbledore to protect the Philosopher’s Stone.’ Hagrid responded.
‘You have the Philospher’s Stone in a school?’
‘Dumbledore’s a great man he is, he’s doing it as a favour for Nicolas Flamel. And just as well with Gringotts being broken into.’
In a display of how out of sorts the morning had made her McGonagall face palmed and shook her head before looking up with a sigh. ‘He asked the teachers to help with protections for the stone.’
‘So am I to presume this man was trying to get past these protections then?’
‘It is possible. The school wards had indicated the presence of a spirit possession that would match the return of Quinirus Quirrell to the castle and up until this morning when the wards registered a.’ She paused. ‘A dead body.’
‘And is this something the headmaster would have been aware of?’
‘Yes.’
‘So for at least the last two months, Dumbledore has known someone in the castle was being possessed and did nothing about it?’
‘From the report completed on the wards so far, yes.’
‘Are you all incompetent?’
‘I beg your pardon?’
‘Oh I think it’s a fairly reasonable question. You have a priceless alchemical artefact able to turn metal into gold, never mind what effect that would have on the economy or treaties with the Goblins, along with its ability to grant virtual immortality. In a school filled with children, guarded by a XXXX three headed beast named bloody Fluffy. And the headmaster who thought this was a good idea was ignoring the fact that someone was possessed for the last two months.’ Johnson threw her hands up in utter disbelief. ‘You will be lucky if you don’t end up in the cell next to Dumbledore.’
---
Harry waved off the twins before he moved across to the Slytherin table and slid back into his seat where he shook his head when asked where he’d gone.
‘I’ll tell you later, has anyone come back yet?’
‘No.’ Hermione shook her head. ‘But the house heads have all gone as well.’
In the Great Hall the students were finishing their breakfast and beginning to move towards their classes when Flitwick, Snape and Sprout walked into the Hall followed by most of the School Board.
Snape stepped up to the lectern, short straw indeed. ‘If I could have your attention please.’ He waited as the room fell silent. ‘Due to recent events you are being asked to return to your common rooms and remain there for the time being. Classes are cancelled for today and you are recommended to spend the morning making sure your homework is done.’ He moved towards his prefects and left the others to do the same.
‘Smyth, I want a full roll call once in the common room. Ask the castle elves for snacks and we will let you know where lunch will be served.’ He frowned. ‘What on earth are they doing at the Slytherin table.’ Indicating Granger and Longbottom.
‘Having breakfast Sir. I’ll see they get back to their own tables.’
‘See that you do.’ He spun around, robes flaring out and stalked back to the school board in time to catch the Dowager Lady Longbottom comment to Lord Malfoy.
‘Is that my grandson at the Slytherin table?’
Snape sighed. ‘He is friends with Lord Potter.’
‘Well, yes, I know that.’
‘From what my son Draco tells me, there is occasionally a Gryffindor with them as well.’
‘That would be the youngest Weasley boy, but he’s not often here early enough to have breakfast with the others.’ Snape shook his head. ‘I can say I’ve never had the like at my table before.’
‘I knew the first time I met the boy that he was going to cause waves in the wizarding world. I shall speak with my grandson before he heads off to his common room. Excuse me gentlemen.’
Harry looked up. ‘Heads up Nev, you’ve got your gran coming in.’
‘Thanks Harry.’ Neville swung around and rose to his feet. ‘Gran.’
She handed him an envelope. ‘Will you introduce me to your friend? And greetings Lord Potter.’
Harry rose to his feet and bowed. ‘Lady Longbottom.’
‘Oh, um, Hermione Granger, this is my gran, Dowager Lady Longbottom.’
Hermione rose to her feet. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Longbottom.’
She looked at her grandson and his friends. ‘This is most unusual, I’m told there is a Gryffindor who also is your friend?’
‘Ronald Weasley Gran, but he doesn’t like to get up as early as we do so we usually see him in class in the mornings but not at breakfast.’
‘Another Weasley?’
‘There is one more to start next year.’
‘Ah yes, Ginerva I believe. Well I am pleased to see you are making friends Neville and I shan’t keep you.’ She turned and sailed back to the high table.
Harry looked at Evelyn Smyth. ‘Is it possible to charm a parchment so we can use it to talk from our common rooms?’
‘Of course it is.’
‘Are you able to do that for us so we can keep in contact? I have a feeling we wont be out by lunch time.’
‘It will cost you.’
‘Are we talking gold or a future favour?’
She ruffled his hair. ‘Oh I think we can work that out later. All right you three, I need three pieces of parchment, a quill and ink.’
Harry pulled four notebooks out of his bag. ‘Can you do it to these?’
‘It’s going to be some favour you owe me kid.’ She closed her eyes for a moment and pulled her wand out.
Harry followed the lines of her magic. ‘That is incredibly elegant charm work.’
‘Thank you Lord Potter.’ She finished inscribing runes in the back of the last notebook to go with the charms cast. ‘Now, you three need to get to your common rooms.’
‘Hermione, will you be able to give one to Ron, we’re in the opposite direction.’
‘Sure Harry.’ She looked to Evelyn Smyth. ‘How does it work?’
‘Write the name of who you want to communicate with and it will show up in the other notebooks. Now get.’ She shook her head and turned back to Harry. ‘We will be talking later Lord Potter.’
He bowed. ‘I’m sure we will.’ He flashed her a grin with a wave to Andi he headed for the common room, catching up with Blaise and Theo.
‘So what havoc have you been creating this time Lord Potter.’ Blaise asked.
‘I’m not sure what you mean Heir Zabini.’
‘We both know at least part of, whatever that was about, is down to you.’
‘It may be, but I know the case against Dumbledore has been building for several months. This troll incident hasn’t helped. But I don’t actually know what happened to cause classes to be cancelled and us to be banished to our common rooms.’ He had a fair idea but he didn’t know. Exactly.
‘Well if you do find out I expect to be notified before I read about it in tomorrow’s Prophet.’
Harry grinned but said nothing as he flopped into an armchair.
Once the prefects confirmed everyone was in the common room and accounted for they were given leave to stay or head to their dorms but were restricted from going back into the castle. Harry headed for his room and opened his notebook. He did wonder how he was going to get the last soul piece and contemplated an anonymous tip to the DMLE on where they could find the dark artefacts in Malfoy Manor. Or. The thought occurred to him, he could threaten Malfoy Senior with that in exchange for the diary. Not knowing what had prompted the removal of the diary from the Malfoy home in Wiltshire in the first place, he couldn’t guarantee it would still happen now he’d been busy changing things. He hadn’t had to wait until the end of the year and complete all the tasks guarding the stone to get Voldemort out of Quirrell. It made sense he wouldn’t have to wait for Ginny to get her hands on the Diary. But he did want his invisibility cloak back from Dumbledore. Which gave him an idea, he just needed to get into the bearded fool’s office.
That settled he picked the notebook up and grinned at Hermione asking him about how he’d structured his essay on the ingredients in the pepper up potion they had been set for homework. This wasn’t quite how he saw them using the notebooks, not that he should be surprised. It did help him get his essay to the oddly specific length of 14 and three eighths of an inch of parchment they had been set. Harry wondered if being in a house with other students who didn’t question her intelligence allowed Hermione to relax more than he’d remembered from last time. She didn’t have to prove how smart she was when everyone around her simply expected it, and as a consequence, accepted it. Between that and the confidence he could see building in Neville he was counting this trip back in his timeline a success. He just needed to blackmail the diary out of Lucius Malfoy and he could count it as a job well done. Maybe then he could enjoy being a kid.
There was a knock on his door and he saw it was lunch time as he cast the drying spell on his potions essay. Crossing the room he found Blaise in the hallway.
‘Apparently I got voted to get you, Theo and I voted for Malfoy. We are having lunch in the common room and Snape has an announcement.’
‘Oh good, he must have got the suggestions I put under his door.’
Blaise stopped and looked at Harry. ‘You know what, I’m not going to ask.’
‘Probably just as well, that way you can give a genuine reaction.’
‘I keep spending time with you and I’m going to start rolling my eyes next.’ Blaise muttered as they joined the rest of their house in the common room.
‘Is this everyone? Marvelous.’ Snape peered around the room and nodded. ‘Dumbledore has been removed as headmaster. He is currently in the custody of the DMLE for endangerment of the children in his care and is expected to answer questions about a number of concerning matters that have come to light. Do not ask me what they are, you are Slytherins, find out for yourselves.’ He looked around the room to emphasize his point. ‘McGonagall will be acting headmistress and Flitwick will be the acting deputy. And before you ask, I didn’t want the deputy role. It’s enough dealing the dunderheads in my classes, I don’t want further responsibility for them. I find you all barely tolerable and this is my own house. And Professor Quirrell was found dead in the forbidden corridor on the third floor.’
A voice from the back of the room spoke too softy to identify the speaker. ‘I guess Dumbledore wasn’t joking about that being a death trap.’
‘No, it seems he was not, but that wasn’t why the man died. The auror’s who were already present have investigated the scene and determined that the man was being possessed. The possession is what killed him.’
There were gasps from several students scattered around the room.
‘Do they know who was possessing him?’ Harry asked.
Snape paused, the aurors had identified the magical signature of the possessing spirit as belonging to the Dark Lord but he wasn’t going to tell the children of death eaters that their parents Lord was still out there. Albeit even in the form of a disembodied spirit. ‘No.’
‘Ilvermony is starting to sound pretty attractive right now.’ Harry muttered, only partially joking.
‘But you would miss me too much.’ Blaise whispered softly.
‘I’d cope.’
‘What are they doing about our classes Sir?’ One of the fifth years asked. ‘Quirrell is already the fifth professor of defence we’ve had since my first year, will they be able to get another one this year?’
‘I heard there was a curse on the job, while the headmaster is in jail, can we get the goblins in to deal with the curse?’ Harry called out.
‘Was that one of your suggestions?’ Blaise asked.
‘Of course.’
‘I’ll pass your sentiments along to McGonagall.’ Snape glared at Potter. He’d been getting suggestions from the brat recently and that was one of them. He would never admit that some of the boys ideas had merit but he did wish he’d stop pushing them under his door.
‘Madam Bones has agreed to let some of her aurors take the defence role until something more permanent can be arranged. She has a number on desk duty who are capable of instructing you.’ He looked around. ‘Now that is all out of the way, the house elves will set lunch up here. It is expected the aurors will finish their investigations shortly. We will be having dinner in the Great Hall and classes will resume tomorrow.’
Harry watched as Snape spun around, robes billowing out around him as they always did. When he looked back he saw plates of food on all the tables around the room. Those elves were sneaky. He called a soft thank you for the food and picked a sandwich up. Smiling as a bowl of crisps appeared next to the jug of water and a goblet.
‘What flavour have we got this time?’
Harry tried the crisps and smiled. ‘Cheese and onion.’
‘Hand them over then.’ Blaise demanded with gimmie hands as he reached for the bowl.
‘What are you two going on about now?’ Theo asked as he put a sandwich on a plate.
‘Wafer thin crispy, crunchy goodness.’ Blaise replied as he snacked on the pile he’d put on his plate.
Stealing one Theo nodded. ‘That’s pretty good. Where did you get them from?’
‘Harry likes them with his sandwiches.’
‘They are a muggle snack.’ Harry said with a grin. ‘I wasn’t allowed them very often when I lived with my aunt and uncle.’
‘They are quite good.’ Theo added a handful to his plate. ‘They come in different flavours?’
‘Tell you what, you floo over to mine when we are on break and I’ll take you to the corner store and buy you all the flavours you want to try. My treat.’
Blaise tried to imagine Harry Potter taking Theodore Nott into muggle London to buy crisps and shook his head. ‘You know what, I want in on that, I’ll need a good laugh by then.’
Harry nodded as he pulled a notebook out and scribbled an idea down. He wondered how hard it would be to set up an owl order business of muggle snacks.
There would be a certain novelty factor for the wizards and witches that he could tap into, as well as filling a snack niche for the muggle born. He could get Lupin to manage it, he wasn’t sure he could trust Sirius with his crisps. Although he may need to get Sirius to keep an eye on Lupin and the chocolate. Notebook tucked away he focused on his lunch.