Chapter 14
The Gathering
Albus had never been to the Hospital Wing because he was ill before, and after this weekend, he was fully intent on never coming back, although before attending Hogwarts, his uncles joked that with his bloodline, he would be seeing a lot of the place. The only way he could have had any more on bed rest was if he were actually strapped to the bed.
Yesterday, for the entire walk to the Hospital Wing, Professor Longbottom kept insisting that it was just a precaution, not a punishment; but Albus certainly wasn’t seeing it this way. It had only been one day and he was already ready to pull his hair out. Because he was there to rest, Madam Pomfrey would not allow him to get anything from his dormitory, wouldn’t let him do his homework, talk to the other patients, or do anything else besides count the bumps on the ceiling. If he didn’t end up going mad, this would be more than enough to keep him from ever falling asleep in class again.
It had only been one day so far, and Albus was already convinced he couldn’t possibly be made more miserable. The Hospital Wing was, for the most part, empty, and the few student that were there were so violently ill that they were in absolutely no mood to talk. On some level, though, it was a relief. The moaning he heard from a few beds over was the only break in silence in the entire room.
“Albus, are you not well?” he then heard suddenly.
Drowsy from boredom, Albus’ reaction to the voice was slow. But he became much more aware when his eyes registered the familiar form of Luna Scamander: straggly-hair blonde and still very pregnant.
“Loony!” he exclaimed, propping himself up against the pillows.
No matter how bad any of the Potter children were feeling, a visit from Luna Scamander was almost certainly a guaranteed cure.
Calmly, she shushed him and took a rather clumsy seat on the side of his bed. “Madam Pomfrey wouldn’t have allowed you to have visitors except for I told a little white lie saying I was here on official Ministry business.”
Albus smiled, though he did suspect that Luna might have truly had some sort of work she was doing on his father’s behalf and she simply could not tell him about it, but Albus didn’t care. If it meant some momentary company, he would have agreed with anything that was told to him.
“And besides, you honestly didn’t think I was going to leave you without saying good-bye, did you?” she asked, ruffling his already messy mop of hair. Once she was comfortably seated, Luna suddenly jolted, her hand going to her belly, as though the baby was kicking.
“Besides, when you’re on mandatory bed rest,” she said, rubbing her sore back, “I know what a valuable asset company can be.”
Albus nodded. It wasn’t particularly in Luna’s nature to lie (even little white lies), but her sympathetic nature was very much a part of who she was. When she had been pregnant with Lorcan and Lysander, the Healer had put her on bed rest for the entire last two months of her pregnancy. The Potters came to visit her nearly every other day. Even though Luna was often tired and near ready to burst, she would always go on about how happy she was to see them every time they came.
“Thanks, Loony,” Albus said. “Have you heard from my dad at all?”
“Not very much, no,” Luna told him. “He has been very busy lately.”
Albus nodded soberly; he understood quite well. The creatures that had been invading the school had consumed Albus’ every spare moment of free though since the school year started. He could only imagine how busy his dad must be with the whole thing, especially since it seemed he already knew far more than the members of the Arcane ScoRA.
“It worries you, doesn’t it, Albus?” he heard Luna say suddenly.
Albus looked up to see Luna lean over sympathetically, or at least trying to; her rather large stomach made that somewhat difficult. Luna really was a much more nurturing personality than people gave her credit for. Grandmum Weasley, especially, never believed Luna would adapt to life as a mother. Albus could remember this also from when Luna was pregnant with Lorcan and Lysander. Luna had became pregnant late in life, at least according to every adult Albus overheard, who also tended to say Luna’s eccentricity would make her very poorly suited to being a mother. This, however, was something Albus never understood.
Like Albus’ father had said, no one had ever taken to being pregnant like Luna. When she was with her twins, as well as now, there was a magnificent glow about her; she never seemed to suffer from morning sickness, or swollen ankles, or anything else Albus had ever heard his mother or his aunts complain about. And once the twins were born, Luna had never been anything besides playful, sincere, and loving, though certainly nothing like a traditional mother in any sense of the word. And it was that last bit that still left so many people skeptic of her parenting abilities.
“What do you make of it all?” Albus asked, rubbing the boredom-induced sleepiness out of his eyes.
Luna pulled away slightly, making it quite clear that she couldn’t tell him, even if she wanted to; official Ministry business and all that. On some level, Albus expected that sort of answer.
“I did bring something for you, though,” Luna said suddenly, reached into her shoulder bag and extracted a thick stack of papers. “Here.”
At first glance, Luna’s ‘gift’ wasn’t that impressive: plain, black and white, dull. But then Albus got a better look at the first page: Unknown Amazonia: Newly Discovered Creatures of the Amazon Rainforest, by Rolf and Luna Scamander.
“Loony!” Albus exclaimed, hugging her awkwardly from the side. This had to be her latest book!
“Editor’s edition,” she said, working on pushing herself back up to her feet. “Just don’t let Madam Pomfrey see it. We’ll both be in trouble.”
Albus nodded quietly, putting his index finger to his lips as Luna finally stood. Quietly”or as quietly as she possibly could”Luna tiptoed out of the Hospital Wing and back out into the corridor. The first moment Albus felt completely secure in doing so, he flipped the collection of papers open and began absorbing their contents.
The newspaper, Albus was not afraid to say, bored him. The Wizarding world had been enjoying an unusual level of peace lately, and that always made more rather dull editions of The Daily Prophet. Aside from a few stories from Ireland, the paper was mostly made from filler stories.
So instead, Albus used the Prophet as a bookmark for Luna’s manuscript, which, on the other hand, proved to be most fascinating.
The book detailed Luna and Rolf’s past few expeditions to the Amazon and the creatures that had studied there, including several brand new species. The Eriecuffs were mentioned quite extensively, although this time, Luna had included that when the little creatures were kept in groups, they had just enough intelligence to organize and merge into forms of chaos. But that was not the only newly discovered creature that had been touched on. One of the most interesting chapters focused on a new insect which Luna had named the False-Top Mantis. It was a relatively small insect, in and of itself, but on its back was a collection of what appeared to be feathers forming into the shape of a brightly colored bird. The ‘false-top’ of the creature contained nothing of vital impotents, so when predators swooped down to eat it, they would only end up with a rather large mouthful of nothing.
The rest of the weekend passed much faster after Luna’s visit. Like Luna said, Albus had made very sure that Madam Pomfrey didn’t see him reading, and it ended up paying off greatly to him. When the school’s Healer saw Albus’ improved disposition, she attributed it to a sudden boost in his overall health and decided on Sunday night that Albus was well enough to sleep back in the Gryffindor dormitories.
However, the moment he left the Hospital Wing, Albus found himself confronted with a two-person welcoming committee. Just as he turned the corner out into the corridor, he found himself attack, a solid body draped over his own, arms hugged tightly around his neck and red hair taking up most of his vision.
“Albus, where have you been all weekend?” Scorpius came up as well while Rose continued to hang off her cousin.
“I fell asleep in Herbology, and Professor Longbottom had me spend the weekend in the Hospital Wing,” Albus explained. “Madam Pomfrey had me on bed-rest the whole time and wouldn’t let me leave for anything.”
“You had to have a class with a teacher who cares about your well-being,” Scorpius joked. “Professor Branston was so busy trying to keep kids from accidentally setting themselves on fire that she didn’t even notice that Rose and I spent the entire class sleeping on one another’s shoulders!”
Rose laughed right along with the other two boys, her locks of red hair shaking with her.
“But I did have a lot of time to think in there,” Albus told them, finally prying his cousin off of his frame, “and I think I might know why the Aurors only collected the information they did.”
“How so?” Scorpius asked, offering Rose a bit of stability as she was placed on her feet.
“Maybe there’s a special wand that they’re using to perform these spells instead of the wand that they use for class. And if that’s true, their class wand, and the wand they probably showed to Ollivander, would have all lot less use on it compared to the other students. That could have been what they were looking for.”
Once Rose was situated back on the stone floor, she looked up at her cousin, light blue eyes wide and her mouth opened wide, corners turned up.
“Albus,” she gasped, “that is actually brilliant!”
Albus felt his shoulders creep up, and he was certain that he could feel a great deal of blood rushing up to his cheeks. He was quite proud of being able to come to this conclusion all on his own, even if he have have several days to come up with it, but that was only part of it all. ‘Brilliant’ was high praise from any Ravenclaw, and it most certainly was from Rose Weasley as well.
“But how would we be able to tell?” Scorpius asked. “It’s not as though a wand is a very conspicuous object here.”
That was where Albus’ insight ended. Yes, a wand was a very vague object and coming up with this theory didn’t mean Albus would have any more of an idea of what this wand would look like or how it work different from any other wand. And he especially didn’t know who had it.
Albus couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty about not having these answers, as illogical as the reasoning behind it all.
“…Although today, Ministry statutes prevents wizard involvement in Muggle political affairs, such was not true hundreds of years ago.”
Tuesday afternoon’s History of Magic class was just as dull as every other session of the class had ever been. The only thing more boring than the history of wizard politics was the Wizarding involvement in Muggle politics. Professor Binns had been droning on about the same subject for more than two weeks now, talking about kingdoms that didn’t exist anymore and stories that seemed to do nothing to influence modern life as the first-year Gryffindors all knew it today.
“The first millennium, when Britain was made up of several different kingdoms, has several excellent examples of this. In fairy tales, kings and queens were often wizards and witches. The reason for this was quite simple: he who held the power in the physical sense held power over the people. Some such examples can be shown in regions of Ireland and Scotland…”
Across the room, students were letting their heads drop the surfaces of their tables, and a few of them were even snoring softly. The late night in Astronomy the night before certainly didn’t do anything to change this. Albus had heard from Muggle-born students that Muggle school schedules were ruled by a system of bells. Whenever it was time for class to end, a loud bell would ring and the students were all free to go. Best of all, there was nothing the teachers could do about it! Albus mused to himself about what it would take for Hogwarts to install such a system, but then finally came to the conclusion that it would never happen.
Albus soon laid his own head onto the surface of the table and watched patches of sunlight move across the classroom’s stone walls. Eventually, he was distracted from his stupor by the sound of rustling all across the room. Apparently, Professor Binns had finally called the class to an end and some of the more alert students were gathering up their things. Boredom had left Albus completely drained of energy, but thankfully, History of Magic was his last class of the day. All he wanted to do was go back to the Gryffindor common room and claim one of the more comfortable couches for himself before the older students took them up for studying. Maybe he would even stop by the Great Hall and sneak a few snacks into his pocket to relax with.
But when he finally reached the doors of the Great Hall, he saw a sight that brought an end to any notions of spending the evening relaxing. Easily half of the student body was clustered on front of the entrance to the Great Hall with teachers at the front of the crowd barring anyone from entering. Most people stood on their toes to see over the shoulders of the tallest of students; a few first-years tried to squeeze their way to the front, while the older students continued to push them back. Albus himself began squeezing through the crowd of people, curiosity getting the better of him, and his smaller-than-average size proving quite useful for a change.
“Please, everyone disperse,” Albus could hear Professor Longbottom call out, although Albus could only see the very top of his head. “You will all be eating dinner in your common rooms tonight. Your Head of House will be there within the hour to speak with you. Make sure you are all there when that happens.”
“Neville!” a voice called out.
Professor Patil emerged from the Great Hall, her normally sleek hair in disarray and her robes a crooked, rumbled mess. “Hagrid says there is still too much for the N.E.W.T. students to be able to handle. We will need the fifth-years, and possibly the fourth-years.”
And with that, Professor Patil led Professor Longbottom by the arm (suddenly reminding Albus of his own relationship with Rose). Professor Sinistra took Professor Longbottom’s place in keeping the students at bay, strands of her graying hair torn and fallen from under her hat and hairpins. Crouching down, Albus turned his attention to the crowd of students all around him, looking for anyone who might be familiar. He wondered if Scorpius and Rose had been drawn to the chaos as well.
“Albus!”
And speaking of Rose, the she was, her bright red hair poking out from between two older boys whose legs she was pushing at in an effort to get closer to the front of the crowd. From behind, she was dragging at Scorpius, holding tight to him as though they were awash in a raging river.
“There you are!” she exclaimed once the three of them were all together, directing them all to kneel at the floor so as to get an even better view. “You wouldn’t believe the rumors that have been flying through the halls! I just had to see for myself if there was any truth to them.”
Too curious for question further, Albus and Scorpius both followed the redheaded Ravenclaw, crawling through a forest of legs and school robes. The hard stones pushed painfully against Albus’ knee bones, and occasionally, the older students would step on their hands, as well as their legs. Albus soon forgot about the pain, however, when he saw the reason why so many people had crowded around the doorway, peeking through a pair of legs, his chin resting on the floor.
From wall to wall, the entire Great Hall was packed with creatures of every size and form. The tables had all vanished (a good thing, because if they had stayed, Albus doubted that anyone would ever eat at them again) just to accommodate the sheer number of creatures in the room. Even at a quick glance, Albus could see centaurs mixed with pure white unicorns, flocks of owls and birds that he couldn’t even identify circling the ceiling, and a crudely-built barrier against the wall with a few long, hairy legs poking out. Hagrid, along with Professors Patil, Longbottom, and Flitwick, as well as several older students rushing back and forth across the chamber in a panic. Actually, it was rather funny to see the tiny headmaster rushing about with his short legs, holding up the hem of his robes to keep from tripping over them. Taller professors stood on either side of him, almost like bodyguards protecting the headmaster from any attacks from above.
“Everybody back to their common rooms!” Professor Sinistra shouted loudly over the collective whispering of the students. “I assure you, you will all be well informed of the situation once the staff has everything under control. But for that to happen, we need all of you to leave. Your presence will only prolong the situation.”
Eventually, the students towards the back groaned and began to walk away. They weren’t getting a descent view of the situation, so it made no difference to them that they were told to leave. The students at the front, however”Albus, Rose, and Scorpius included”continued to stay on to keep their excellent seats to the show.
“Hey, there! I know all of you heard me,” Professor Longbottom said as he reappeared at the doorway, seeming to focus much of his attention on the three first-years at the very front of the group. “Back to your common rooms, and that means all of you.”
That was finally what it took to disperse the rest of the gathered students. The members of the Arcane ScoRA all pushed themselves to their feet, but they didn’t say a word to one another about what they had seen, even with all the other students buzzing about it. A creature or two at a time was one thing; but enough to populate an entire forest was another, especially all at once. Even with all the information the three members were privy to, they still had no clue of what to make of the situation.
Sharing a school with so many different magical creatures was nowhere near as exciting or entertaining as it might seem. But the students had completely lost the use of the Great Hall, for it had been deemed a temporary shelter for all the creatures that had come into the schools. Meals were brought into the common room whenever it was time to eat, but the Gryffindors didn’t seem to find this terribly inconvenient. James and Fred even seemed to see the new system as something of an enjoyment. They got to be woken up by the smell of bacon and sweet rolls, and they were allowed to eat breakfast in their pajamas. The only thing Albus had learned from the experience was how much he missed seeing Rose and Scorpius during mealtimes. It was the only time of the day that they could count on all being together. Before, Albus might have thought it was the only time of the day when the might have been able to make plans for the Arcane ScoRA, but now, especially since Albus had come to think of the three of them as friends, he also missed the company they shared.
And although the creatures had all been given free reign of the Great Hall, they most certainly didn’t stay there. Centaur fouls tried to follow students to class, all sorts of tiny furry things were constantly underfoot to the point where everyone had to watch every step they took, and there was a recent rash in students’ pets mysteriously disappearing. Not just the students and the staff were disliking the school’s new residents. According to the Hufflepuffs, every time they would walk past the kitchens, they would hear pots and pans clashing as well as dozens of high-pitch voices shrieking, “No! No! You no touch the students’ food!”
What had many students most confused, though, was that the teachers had done absolutely nothing to expel all the creatures from the school. Professor Flitwick had just gone around to all the common rooms to tell them that the creatures invading their school would now be their guests for an indeterminate amount of time, and they would all just have to do their best to live together and get along. So far, it hadn’t been working very well, but not because any of the students had done anything to tease or torment the visiting creatures; the students all had more sense than that. But the creatures were all used to having free reign of the forest just the way the students had in the castle. And the students refusing to stand up for their territory was taken as a sign of submission, letting the creatures believe they now had complete dominion over the people in Hogwarts castle as well. And the teachers, fearing venom, barbs, claws, and all other forms of retribution that could be used against the students and the staff, did nothing to change their minds.
The students all complained about the arrangement, but none of them spoke these to the teachers and certainly not to the creatures who were at the root of their complaints. The just all went about their schooldays as best they could while speaking to one another in hushed whispers anything the school visitors had done lately to makes their lives miserable.
Because of the disuse of the Great Hall, the members of the Arcane ScoRA were allowed no more casual meetings during the day. They did not even see one another together for several days after all the creatures arrived. One day, however, while Albus was in Double Potions with the Slytherins, Scorpius slipped Albus a note while Professor Vhartan was occupied with the bright blue pixies pulling her hair in eight different directions.
Albus,
I talked to Rose in Charms today. She says we have to meet today after class. She will be waiting for us in Myrtle’s bathroom. She says we have been putting off meeting for far too long, and besides, as the Arcane ScoRA, we absolutely have to investigate the reason behind why all these creatures have all come to Hogwarts all at once. She even says she has a possible place for us to start.
Scorpius
Albus might have been worried about the note being seen at any other time, but as soon as he finished reading, one of the pixies who had been tormenting Professor Vhartan snatched up the parchment, glanced it over, and ate it. As soon as it was completely devoured, the winged creature offered a surprisingly loud belch, causing the entire classroom to erupted in laughter. Wanting to share in the reaction the first pixie received, the other pixies began belching in a loud rhythm, causing the students to laugh louder still, which made the pixies belch louder. And on, and on, and on, until Professor Vhartan finally got sick of it all and told everyone to leave. And showing just how much he had learned from being friends with Rose, Scorpius grabbed Albus by the collar of his robes and dragged him off like a rag doll all the way to Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom.
Even with the early dismissal from Potions, Rose was still waiting for them in the bathroom, pacing the floors. The stone floors were perfectly dry, showing the ghost girl would not be with them for this meeting.
“Alright!” Scorpius finally let go of Albus’ robes. “What’s this stupendous lead you claim to have found?”
Rose smiled slyly. “I think I have someone who might be able to tell us why all these creatures have come to our school,” she told them. “A first-hand account.”
She twirled in a happy manner, almost as though she were a small child again. “Let’s go, before he changes his mind.”
They had barely been in the bathroom for a moment before they finally followed her out, Rose skipping and dancing the whole way out, Albus slightly worried about who this witness with a ‘first-hand account’ would turn out to be.
The Arcane ScoRA and the Wand of MacArt by OliveOil_Med
Chapter Notes: The semi-secret of creatures breaking into Hogwarts suddenly becomes very public knowledge.
Thank you again to my betas, Leslie and Julia!