The first term at Hogwarts was quickly coming to a close. This was good because it meant that the Christmas was just around the corner, but it also meant that classes were getting tougher. The professors were determined to see that the students had as much work as possible before they went on holiday.
For the seventh-years, it was horrible. Chris ended every Defense against the Dark Arts lesson by performing an advanced curse against the students and seeing if their Patronus charms could hold it off. So far, most had been able to ward it off, but there were a few days when their charms were not enough. The curse never did any harm; it just gave the students an incentive to try harder.
Harry was eating lunch in the Great Hall, by himself for a change. Hermione and Ron had been called to Professor McGonagall’s office, and Ginny had been kept over in Professor Hall’s class to discuss some work that she had not turned in. Harry finished his plate of beef and mashed potatoes and started to fill another plate with treacle pudding. He felt a slight tap on his left shoulder. He turned, but there was no one there. As he turned back, he came eye to eye with Ginny.
“Boo,” she said, quietly. Harry jumped in mild surprise. “Did I startle you?” she asked, a mischievous grin on her lips.
“A little,” Harry said, and then gave her a quick kiss. She sat down beside him. “What took you so long?”
Ginny started to make herself a plate for lunch. “I had to talk with Sara about that Herbology project. I wanted her advice.” She started eating.
Harry draped an arm over her shoulder. “You know, I could give you some help if you wanted.”
She smiled at him. “I know, but you have so much work already. I didn’t want to burden you with mine too.”
He gave her another kiss on her cheek. “Wait,” he said, his face scrunching, slightly. “I thought that you said you finished that project the other night.”
Ginny tensed. “I did finish…for that night. I’m doing the work a little at a time so I don’t overload myself. This is a big grade and I want to do well.” She quickly put a spoon full of mashed potatoes in her mouth to halt conversation.
Harry wanted to keep talking, but his other friends, both of whom seemed to be in a foul mood, interrupted him. “Ron, there is nothing you can do to change it,” Hermione was saying. “The decision is final.”
“Bull, there is nothing I can do,” Ron shot back. “I’m an adult now and I can do what I want, and if I don’t want to stay here over the holidays I won’t.”
They both sat down and started picking food onto their own plates. Harry and Ginny just looked at them, waiting for an explanation. Ginny, knowing they would be waiting a long time, decided to speak. “All right, is one of you going to tell us what’s going on?”
Ron turned his head to his plate. Hermione spoke. “Professor McGonagall called us into her office to tell us that we would all be staying at Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday. Your mother, along with members of the Order decided that we should stay here. No one may be around to watch after us.”
“And that is a load,” Ron said, his mouth full of beef. He swallowed before continuing. “We are all of age now, except her,” he said, pointing his fork at Ginny. She stuck her tongue out at him, but Ron didn’t notice. “And we should be able to look after ourselves.” He kept eating.
Harry shook his head. “Well, I wish that we could go back to Godric’s Hollow, but I don’t really have a problem with staying here. It won’t have been the first time.”
Ron gawked at his friend. “So you’re all right with still being treated like a child, even though you’re seventeen?”
“Ron,” Harry said. “We are not being treated like children. Don’t forget that there is a war on right now. Older wizards know what is best.”
Ron huffed and started shoveling food into his mouth. Hermione ate with a bit more grace then her boyfriend, but Harry noticed that she kept glancing in his direction. He had told her about his talk with Dumbledore and then his run-in with Ginny last night. While Hermione seemed satisfied that the headmaster thought Harry did not deserve any disciplinary action, but she kept her guard up when around him.
Ginny, however, seemed to have forgotten the whole incident. She sat close to Harry and kept giving him smiles and coy winks. The young Weasley was comfortable around Harry again, and that was good enough for Hermione.
The school bell rang, ending lunch. The students got up from the table and started filing into the hallway. Harry felt Ginny slip her hand into his as they walked towards their next class. The couple eventually had to separate, Ginny on her way to Potions and Harry to History of Magic. They had not moved ten feet from one another when Harry noticed that the torches along the walls had suddenly turned a deep red. He heard a loud BANG from behind him.
He turned quickly and two students, a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff, with their wands out glaring at one another. They started trying to hex one another. Other members of the respective houses began joining in the fray. Spells and shouts soon filled the halls. Harry lost sight of Ginny in the scuffle.
The halls were utter chaos. Those in the fight dove and cast spells, while bystanders searched for cover behind statues and in classrooms. Harry saw Ron and Hermione helping some second-years avoid the flying curses. The attacking students started using more powerful curses against one another. Those still standing had menacing glares. In all the clutter, Harry could hear the distinct incantation, “Crucio!”
Out of instinct from all the practice, Harry pulled out his wand. He aimed it in the direction he had heard the curse. “Eradico Patronum!” A silver white shield shot from his wand. It spread through the hall, absorbing as many curses as it could. The shield soon started to waver and disappeared.
A gang of Slytherins stopped casting curses wildly. They looked over at Harry. Grins formed on each of their lips. Harry still had his wand out. He was ready for whatever they could throw at him, but he didn’t need to worry.
“Stupefy!”
A wide barrage of stunning spells shot from somewhere Harry couldn’t see. They whole gang of Slytherins fell under the force of the spell. From thin air, wizards began Apparating into the hallway. They had wands drawn and subdued any remaining students that were still casting. Harry looked around him, trying to get some sense if what was going on. His eyes fell on a very familiar face and he smiled.
Kevin rushed into the hall, wand out and shouting orders. The other wizards began rounding up students. Any that were still standing had their wands taken and their hands bound. Teachers and other students helped revive unconscious students and move them to the hospital wing. Kevin was moving fast among the crowd, still calling orders. “Get them into a class room and don’t leave them alone. Any student that is not critical, take them to into the Great Hall. Everyone else, back to your dormitory. Classes are cancelled for now. Victor, get every wizard you can up to the hospital wing to help Madam Pomfrey.”
Harry squinted his eyes. Through the crowd, he could just make out the face of Victor Krum. Harry saw that all the unfamiliar wizards resembled students from Durmstrang, a wizarding school in the north. Teachers hurried from adjoining hallways and directed traffic. Harry saw Ron and Hermione helping out as well. He had never seen Ron so composed. He seemed in total control of the situation, and Hermione was fifteen feet away from him.
He suddenly remembered that he had not seen Ginny yet. His eyes scanned the halls quickly, searching for any glimmer of her fiery hair. He felt his heart beat faster when he could not see her. Students and teachers cluttered his view, but he managed to find her across the hall. She was sitting, leaning against a wall. He saw a trickle of blood running down her cheek. Ginny had been hurt.
Harry wanted to rush to her, but felt someone hold onto his arm. He looked up and saw Kevin. The older wizard had a firm grip on Harry. “Let me go,” Harry said, struggling to get free.
Kevin held his grasp. “No, back up to Gryffindor tower. Now.”
Harry was about to protest more until he saw someone over by Ginny. He was a blonde haired boy that was about Ginny’s age. His robes had the crest of Hufflepuff house on them. He was concerned about her injury. She gave him her arm and he helped her to her feet, and then in the direction of the hospital wing.
Kevin pulled Harry towards the stairs. “Harry, go now. I have to clean up here.” Harry followed the large group of students that were filing up the stairs. He glanced back to see if Ginny was all right. What he saw made his face turn red with anger. She was no longer leaning on the blonde boy for support. Instead, he had lifted he into his arms. Professor McGonagall rushed over to them to check on Ginny.
Harry felt his fists clench.
**************************************************************
“This is unacceptable!” Professor Dumbledore bellowed.
All the teachers were gathered into his office after they had controlled the situation downstairs. The Durmstrang students were in charge of patrolling the halls while the teachers were in conference. The situation earlier had shaken them all to their souls. There had not been a disturbance like this at Hogwarts in all the time that any of them could remember. Sure, Fred and George Weasley had caused their share of riots, but nothing so malicious had ever happened because of it.
Professor Dumbledore was in a mood that he never showed to the students. His face was flushed with rage and he could not sit still. The headmaster paced around his office, the other teachers not moving. “I cannot believe that something like this could have happened at our school.”
“But Albus,” Professor McGonagall said. “We’ve known about this behavior in our students for months. You said yourself that Potter was the latest victim.”
“Yes I did,” Dumbledore said, his voice returning to a normal volume. “But we didn’t plan for the possibility that this problem would reach this scale.” After the third time around his office, Dumbledore sat behind his desk. “We must deal with this situation very carefully. Sara, is Kevin joining us?”
The red-haired teacher folded her arms. “Yes. He is just giving some last minute information to Krum and the rest of the Durmstrang wizards.”
At that moment, Kevin entered the office. He was supposed to be alone, but Victor Krum was close at his heels. The teachers turned their eyes towards the new arrivals. “Sorry I’m late. I asked Victor to come with me. He should hear what has been going on as well.”
Dumbledore nodded. “I hear that you have become a leading role at your old school since your headmaster passed on, Mister Krum.” Victor nodded, but said nothing. “Then you should be included.” He turned his head to Kevin. “What have you uncovered?”
Kevin stood by his wife. “Arthur Weasley and I interviewed numerous witches and wizards these past months. They all started out as loyal followers of Voldemort, declaring their allegiance. A few weeks after, though, they renounced him. They claimed that they heard his voice, and then their bodies acted without their consent.”
“Is this a form of the Imperius Curse?” Professor McGonagall asked.
“We thought that,” Kevin replied. “But even the Imperius Curse can’t work on this scale. Besides, our informant denied that they had been using that curse and I believe him.”
“Is this the same informant that sent us information earlier this year?” Professor Snape asked. Kevin nodded. “Who is he?”
“Can’t tell you,” Kevin said. “I swore to keep his secret. We need him to keep passing us information and the chance of his identity being revealed is too great. Only the Animagi and I know who he is.” He saw Snape’s eyes narrow in annoyance. “Don’t look so upset, Severus. He’s reliable. If it weren’t for him, Victor and the others would be working for Voldemort right now.”
Dumbledore nodded at this information. “Mister Krum, as I stated earlier, Hogwarts would be pleased to offer you and your comrades shelter until a new school can be found.” Victor nodded his appreciation. “Continue, Kevin.”
Kevin folded his arms. “We have an idea how this is happening. The spell I used to drain Voldemort’s powers may have had an effect that I didn’t realize. I had never used the spell before so I wasn’t sure what would happen. I think that Voldemort’s powers are floating around the world. They only affect wizards, but they affect them hard.”
“How?” Dumbledore asked.
Kevin shrugged. “Arthur and I could find no documentation of anything like this ever happening. As much as we could figure is that their minds get invaded, and then they lose all rational thought. They have no memory at what they do, and they think they are loyal to Voldemort. We all know that the Death Eaters draw some power from him. Remember Hogsmeade after I drained him?” Heads nodded. “The place nearly imploded on itself. The Death Eaters had no connection to them.
“And listen to this,” he added, his lips curling into a smile. “The informant told me that the structure of the Death Eaters is breaking down. The Durmstrang attack was the first concentrated attack that they could muster.”
“And that was a joke,” Krum said, finally breaking his silence.
Kevin laughed. “Tell me about it. They had no organization, no leader. Not even the brothers were there.”
“So then we have the advantage,” Dumbledore said. “But we can’t find their base.”
“They have it unplottable,” Kevin said “No way to find it, and the informant can’t give us the location either. The only thing that we can look forward to is that there will be no Death Eater attacks for at least three more months. After that time, Voldemort may get his powers back.”
Dumbledore folded his hands. “And until then, we must take the risk that our students will become violent again.” He took a deep breath. “What can we do to avoid this incident again?”
“We have one thing going for us on this,” Kevin said. “Filius has modified a dark magic detector that I got from the Ministry and placed them all around the castle. They picked up the feelings of anger and reacted to it. Now that we have Durmstrang’s help, they can patrol the halls. If the detectors pick anything up, they will act.”
Dumbledore nodded. “We must all be on our guard from this point on. The coming days will be trying for us all. The holidays will soon be on us. Our students will be returning home, all with stories about what has happened here. We must be ready for what may come. For now, we should go back to our students and give them some comfort.”
The teachers nodded and started filing out of the office. “Oh, and Kevin,” Dumbledore said. Kevin turned around. “Welcome back.”