章 1715: 4
Chapter 4
Things returned back to normal in January when all the students were back. First years had completed the main theoretical course work.
And we were going to start doing more spell casting. The second years also got heavier into spellwork. Third years would be mainly revision of both parts.
Fourth years would really have the opportunity to research the damages that come from the use of the Unforgivables. It would be harrowing work and really show just how real these spells were.
Fifth years would be on the fast track to OWLs. So it would be a lot of revisions and self study.
Sixth years would be banned from saying the spells name out loud. And a lot of self study and working on things they themselves need to improve.
Seventh years had to just study study study. If they didn't have time to study they might need to consider dropping some responsibilities or cut back on their social lives just a tiny bit.
Sadly with things returning back to normal, came confidence. Yes after getting to spend time with Mother and Father. Draco came back the cock of the walk.
He was sneaking in spells against Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors. I hadn't caught him yet but the fact they were first year jinxes really spelled out who they were from.
Only by March did I find the little shit. He had been about to curse Neville from behind. I cast a shield charm in between the two students.
"10 points from Slytherin for attempting to cast a spell at another student." I approached Malfoy from behind.
"I wasn't goin-" He tried to explain.
"5 more points." Draco kept silent, "Now I suggest you go to where you need to, I hope you don't need to be escorted there?"
He shook his head in the negative. I shooed him away with a flick of my wrist. He stormed off in the general direction of the dungeons.
Neville gave me a nod in thanks and walked into the Great Hall. It really is a shame Draco couldn't have just behaved himself.
The rest of Slytherin seemed to care about being cunning and yet he showed signs that as long as the job got done it didn't matter how. I nearly wept for the future of my old house.
One morning I saw the Gryffindor points go down by 150. Either Snape was on a tear in potions, or someone really fucked up.
At breakfast I had asked the table about it. Seems Harry and Hermione were spotted outside after curfew on top of the tallest tower. Separately Neville was found outside his common room after dark.
"Bit young to be off having a snog. I will give whoever came up with the tallest tower some credit, they know a good spot." I joked to the table.
McGonagall looked a bit scandalized. While Hagrid hummed a tune to himself. The Scottish witch then spoke, "I also gave them detention, along with Malfoy who I also found out of his common room after dark."
"These first years are quite the new breed, I don't remember behaving like that at all in my first year."
"That's because you had no social life outside of the two easy going Weasleys." Snape came into the conversation.
"Ouch." I put my hand over my heart, "So how will they be serving their detention?"
"They will be going with Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest, helping him with some errand." McGonagall replied.
I looked to Hagrid and raised my eyebrow. "Something is draining the unicorns." I made it so it looked like my interest was peaked.
"May I join you on your detention with the students?"
"It will be pretty late, Dora. You sure you don't want to get some extra rest for your classes?"
"I am the defense teacher, it wouldn't be right to allow you all to go investigating without offering some help."
"Oh you're too kind Tonks."
So there I was at 11 at night waiting for Filch to arrive with the students. I knew no one would be hurt but I felt like it was important to be here.
Plus my poking of the bear might have riled Tommy boy up. I wanted to make sure that things didn't change because of me and my medling.
Filch walked up with the 4 students. It was strange seeing Harry and Hermione without Ron there.
It was also strange to see Neville in the company of the other two. I wished that they would get along together a bit more than in the books and movies.
Hagrid explained what we were basically looking for, a unicorn bleeding. If we found anything big bad and scary we were to shoot red sparks into the air like a flare.
Draco,Neville, and Fang were a group Hagird, Harry, and Hermione were the other.
I chose to go along with what would be the weaker group. I thought that it would be the right and fair choice for what was going to go down.
Hagrid and his team set off deep into the forest. We stayed closer to the castle, working our way around the edges.
"So, how are you two feeling about your end of year tests?" I made conversation with the two of them.
"Ever since you, pointed out how my wand wouldn't work for me I've done a lot better, but even then I just can't seem to do well in potions, or charms." Neville explained.
"Potions don't really use wands in them Longbottom, how is it you're so bad at them?" Draco asked through an upturned nose.
"It's not the potions, it's that I get too scared. It's like I'm in my own head, and then there's Professor Snape just hovering over me." Neville shiverd.
"Scared of Professor Snape are you, Longbottom?" Draco laughed. Then there was a sudden noise in the bushes on our right side.
Neville immediately shot red sparks into the air. From the bushes hopped out a brown furred rabbit.
"Well, maybe he's a rabbit that tears out throats?" I wondered. Neville looked sheepish.
Hagrid and the other two came sprinting to us, "What's wrong?"
"Poor Neville here might need to go with your group, seems like you know the forest enough that you might reassure him better."
"We can swap, you go on and take Harry."
"Welcome to the B team Mr. Potter!" I flashed the first year a thumbs up. Harry gave me a nod. Then we had our new team of Fang, Draco, Harry, and I.
The other team went back to going where they needed to. We followed our same path just with a new tagalong.
"So cousin, you didn't get to answer before." I gave Draco a pat.
"Ugh don't touch my hair he complained." He tried to pat it back down, "Everything is fine, I'm doing perfectly fine."
"How about you Potter, ready for the end of the year test?" I asked our new group member.
"I'm doing okay, I guess?" He looked thoughtful, "You are really related?"
"Aw, you doubt it don't we look so similar?" I changed my face to be paler with a longer nose. I then made my hair the white blonde of Malfoys.
I took Draco by the shoulders and spun him around to face Harry and then put my face next to my cousin's.
Draco seemed all kinds of put off. Harry seemed more than amused by it though so it evened out.
"How about it Draco done some research?" I asked the blonde student.
"I asked my mom about it, she says that you are Andromeda's daughter but that Andromeda is no longer a Black."
"Sounds about right, my dear Mom was blasted off that family tree like her painting offended them for some reason." I scratched my chin.
"They can just kick you out of the family?" Harry asked.
"If you don't want any family money or assets to go to have any chance of going to them it's what you have to do." Draco answered.
"What did she do so wrong?" Harry asked. Draco opened his mouth, then closed it and turned to me.
"She got hitched to a muggleborn." I explained.
"Why does that matter?" Harry asked.
"Now that, will be saved for another time. It's all a bit too heavy for a detention in the middle of a dark spooky forest." I sidestepped the question.
That's when we heard the whining of a horse. We slowly made our way to where the noise had come from.
All three of us witnessed the unicorn being sucked dry by the cloaked figure. I knew who it was.
Draco screamed and made a run for it. Fang barked and joined in after him. Thus left a either scared stiff Gryff, or a brave one. And a responsible teacher that would protect their student.
I cast a depulso at robbed figure as it attempted to make its way towards us. The figure made a choice to dodge back and it bought us enough time for the centaur to show up.
He drove the dark spirit away and came back to check on us. The centaur then dropped vague hints about who it was.
What the thing was trying to accomplish. He pretty much spelled it out for poor Harry. We rejoined the others and explained that we were attacked by a dark spirit.
Who also happened to be drinking the unicorn blood. We showed Hagrid where the poor creature was.
He did his best to mend the wound and heal the unicorn. I made sure all the students made it back to their dorms.
They were all a bit shaken up. Otherwise they were fine. I made sure to ruffle Draco's hair once again before he went into his dorm.
Then I was left alone. I went to my room and started planned out things to come in my head.
I didn't know what the trio would do. I knew that they would try and stop the stone from being stolen but I was pretty sure that if they did nothing that Voldemort couldn't get the stone.
Then again, maybe Harry needed that moment. I threw away most of the plans in my head. I would have to play it by ear and see what they choose to do and work with that.
Things were all quiet on the western front. Exams had finished for the first through fourth years. OWL and NEWT students were coming onto their second week.
My Fifth year students had just finished their OWLs. I don't examine the written test that's sourced to a third party in the Ministry.
The Practical test went more than well. I got a list of people that would stay for the next two years.
Sixth years had no test. They just needed to keep what they knew in their head for the next years NEWT exam.
My Seventh years would be taking their test in the week after this one. They had a whole weekend to prepare themselves.
Right after that test I gave to the 5th years did Harry, Ron, and Hermione come sprinting to my classroom.
They told me that they went to McGonagall to tell her about the stone, but she rebuffed them stating that the stone was safe.
They told me that Snape was after the stone to bring back Voldemort. I was in two mindsets and I told them as much, "So you went to your head of house a person that knew about the defenses of the stone, who told you not to worry."
"But she didn't believe that someone was after it, someone that might be just good enough to get the stone." Little Harry explained.
"Right, if I told you that it was safe and that I also helped defend it, you three would probably charge down there anyway.You'd try and take down a fully grown wizard after also making it through all our teachers traps, as first years."
Ron stuck his chin up at me, "We would!"
"Someone save me from these first years with death wishes." I looked up into the sky, "I'll go with you, but here are the ground rules, I go first and you follow my instructions."
The three nodded as one. "Next, if Snape really did go after the stone, then you let me deal with him." more Nods.
"Then let's go" I started walking with the three of them to the third floor corridor. I knew the traps that lay below. Thing that wouldn't stop even a first year.
Well, mine might. I needed to figure out how to deal with the Quirrell problem. I shouldn't just let Harry touch all over him.
But there was the spirit of Voldemort that might be important for Harry to defeat, or at least scare away.
Thoughts for later, as we came upon the door to the third floor corridor. The door was left open. A song played on the harp just inside.
"It seems your theory has found roots." I put my finger over my lips and crept forward. I recast the song spell which kept the cerberus asleep.
I then gestured for the three to come inside as I opened the trap door. The three of them fall into the soft devil's snare below.
I climbed my way down, making sure that no loud noises alerted the three headed dog.
From below I heard the three of them struggling. "Well you three have found some devil's snare how about that." I spoke casually from the ladder, "This must be Sprout's trap, well how about it kids, how do you stop this plant?"
"Light!" Hermione spoke from the corner she was trapped in.
"Very good, Ms. Granger." I cast a simple lumos in the room. The plants retreated into the sides of the wall letting the students go and dropping them down below.
I climbed safely down my ladder until my feet met the floor. "That's why you don't just go jumping into holes." I made it a teaching moment.
Next we made it to the flying key room. "This seems like a charms problem, Flitwick's spell work if I had to guess." I looked at the state of the brooms.
They clearly were old enough to have been around when the castle was made.
"That one with the broken wing." I came back into the conversation and saw Harry pointing at the wand in the lead.
"How to get it, well there is no need for scary stunts on a broom even if it is laid out so nicely before us." I turned to the three, "Now what spell might work in this situation?"
"A summing charm would work, though I'm not sure if you'd get the right one." Hermione worried her lip in her large teeth.
"Magic, is about intent and specificity." I cast Accio focusing on the silver wand with the damaged wing. It didn't come flying, "Brilliant, Flitwick seems to have accounted for that, what else?"
"We could just use the broom." Harry muttered.
"Well I don't know how I feel about letting a first year fly around in these conditions, I just think that we should find the right-" For the first time in a long time I was left speechless.
Harry had grabbed the broom and hopped on at a speed I knew I would never be comfortable with.
He flew around the room quickly catching the key and tossing it down to me I got the door unlocked and opened. I rushed the other two inside, and held open the door for Harry to come through.
Right as he did I closed the door as quickly as I could. There were loud thunks on the other side of the door as the keys shot themselves at the door.
"Well if that wasn't the most Gryffindor move I have ever seen, why couldn't you just have waited!?" I asked frustration filling my voice.
"We don't have time, Snape could be at the stone by now." Harry yelled back.
"I very much doubt that, if something goes wrong on my head it lies."
"Stop fighting you two, I have a bit of an idea. What if you said that the three of us came to you with the idea to stop Sn- Whoever it is from getting the stone." Hermione spun together a plot, "You said that it was fine but came after us because you weren't sure if we'd do it on our own like at Halloween."
"I guess there is an established characteristic with these two, and what about you?" I asked the smart witch.
"I couldn't let them go on their own, especially not if they would risk themselves for me."
"Well, you've very effectively covered my tracks." I thought for a moment, "I might even get an award for saving you three once again."
"You really are a Slytherin!" Ron exclaimed.
"Don't hold it against me." I stuck my index finger into my cheek twisting it a few times.
I got the three of them to laugh, but it might have been the whole situation grinding at their nerves.
As we stepped into the next room the fires in different lanterns across the room lit up. They illuminated a chess board.
"Wizard's Chess, with very detailed figures, they must have been transfigured by a master just look at all those details." I walked up to one of the pawns, "This has McGonagall's fingerprints all over it."
I looked over the board, it wasn't in any disrepair. Did the pieces reset, did Quirrell use a work around.
I didn't know exactly but I wasn't going to let a sacrifice just happen. Even if Ron did turn out fine later.
We all had to get across, and the knight was insistent on it. Sadly for him I did very well in transfiguration and know a couple heavy handed spells.
I cast Reparifarge at each of the statutes and the board. They all shrunk down to a regular sized board.
I then blasted the board with a Bombarda Maxima, that sent chunks of board to all sides of the room.
The door opened in an anticlimactic fashion. "If we are in such a rush, then I'm not going to stand around playing wizard's chess."
I then pointed out my arm ahead at the door. Letting them lead on to the next room. Where we found a troll completely knocked out.
I was shocked that they let Quirrell have a room, and one that still dealt with my subject.
I guess the more defenses the better. But Dumbledore had to know something was up with him.
Snape knew, so it's a wonder why Dumbledore let him get away with as much as he did.
Then it was my defense. The only problem was the dragon bones were shattered to pieces, and the bogart seemed to be locked in the closet.
"NO!" I cried at the pieces of bone spread out all over the floor, "My cool prop!"
Ron came over to me and pat me on the back a few times. I turned around to see the confused look on his face.
"It was one of the things that was going to be in my classroom next year." I then fell to my knees and slammed the floor with my fist, "You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you! Damn you all to hell!"
From behind I heard a girly giggling. I knew that I'd find the gobsmacked faces of the two boys, but it was nice that my reference was appreciated by someone.
I wiped away a fake tear and marched onto the next room. It had potions and flames. There were seven potion bottles.
Three had the poison, two had wine, one sent a person back, and the last had the potion to go forward.
This was the split in the road. There were four of us. Two of which would be the only ones who could really take on Quirrell.
While I thought about what to do Hermione had already solved the riddle. She told us which one would let us pass but there was only enough for one person.
I took control of the situation, "Mr. Potter take the correct potion and step through. I want you two to go back and see if you can find any help. Tell them Harry and I are here." I then paused, "Please stick to the plan you came up with earlier."
Then Harry drank the potion and stepped through the flames. Hermione and Ron went running back the way we came from.
I waited a few beats. I had to get the timing right. After waiting as long as I was comfortable I cast a flame-freezing charm on myself and stepped through to the other side.
Quirrell was facing me and gave me quite the shocked face as I hit him with a stunner. He flopped backwards into Harry.
That's when the back of Quirrell's face started burning in Harry's hand. The screams echoing in the small room.
The body rolled over trying to keep distance from the source of the pain. Harry sat up and reached out to grab at the face of Quirrell burning the other side of the head.
Like a disease it spread throughout the rest of Quirrell's body. That's when parts started falling off into dust.
Harry looked around the room in a panic before crashing down to the floor. I was quick to catch him.
I then stabilized him with a spell and levitated his body with me out of the underground stone chambers.
Part of the way up I found Dumbledore, and McGonagall running to us. I then started explaining, "The three of them come to me telling me about some conspiracy, they thought Snape was coming to take the stone."
"They came to me about it as well but I wouldn't have expected them to come here on their own." The transfiguration teacher corroborated.
"I then after remembering the Halloween night, thought that they might come down here to save the stone themselves." I then turned to Dumbledore, "He has it in his pocket somehow." I nodded at the floating body.
"It's a gruesome sight, Quirrell is turned to ash and I saw what I can only say is the spirit of Voldemort."
McGonagall let out a tiny gasp. "This is indeed troubling news." Dumbledore let out a sigh, "I wish to take Mr. Potter to the hospital wing and explain things to him."
"Be my guest, you probably know a bit more of what is going on than me personally." I let him cast his spell then let go of mine and walked right out of the passages.
I made sure to tell both Ron and Hermione about Harry being fine. They looked reassured by my news I then tapped my nose twice at both of them.
They nodded in response and I made my way to bed to sleep off this whole day. I still needed to finish one more week.
I had received the news that Harry Potter was fine and recovering. He could make it to the end of the year feast with no problems.
My Seventh year students had passed the practical exam. Some barely, but they did pass.
All in all a year that had gone well for me. Also I did get an award, which came with a nice bag of galleons. For services to the school.
It was a nice bit of cash to set aside. My plan was to get enough money to buy a house. I couldn't decide if I wanted one closer to the school or more based in London.
Maybe I'd get something next to Grimmauld Place. It only needed to be a place where I could go during the points I wasn't at school anyway.
Things to worry about in the future. My old house was leading the whole school with 160 points. Everything seemed to be peachy.
I sat next to a grumpy Snape for the end of the term feast. Turns out hearing that three students had thought he was the person trying to steal the object that he spent so much time defending really stuck in his craw.
Knowing what was coming I reassured him saying at least the Slytherins would win the house cup once again.
After everyone had arrived celebrations had started. Graduating students were praised, and the end of the year was joyous.
Then Albus Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak he awarded 50 points to both Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
Harry got his 60 points. By now Snape had sunken in his chair. Then a final 10 points was given to Neville Longbottom.
"The best part about this is that, if they just stayed away there was no way for the stone to be stolen, and that this is only rewarding that behavior." I slapped my knee in good humor.
"If there was one thing I didn't need, after hearing that, it was you pointing out all the things that are wrong with this." He stood up from the table threw his napkin on the table and stormed out.
"Yikes!" I turned to my other side who this time had Vector sitting there, "Didn't like the fish I don't think."
She politely laughed into her hand. It just wasn't the reaction I wanted. Maybe I'd go find Draco to tor- I mean tease.
I was waiting for that other shoe to drop. While I was sure the whole time that next year I'd be there for sure, it still wasn't exactly proven.
So I waited while preparing for the next year. I cleaned out the first floor classroom and started fixing up the one I was used to.
The dragon bones were resistant to any spells when it came to repairing, I was sad to find out.
I also needed to remember to get some extra roosters and hold them off the ground for the coming year of school.
I had thought of a few plans. One was to get the book off Ginny and get it to Dumbledore.
The problem with that was that I remember when he was tempted by the ring. I didn't think we needed a possibly possessed Dumbledore running around.
I knew that he could mess up which made that plan dead in the water. I thought about dealing with it myself, the only problem with that is I needed to use the Basilisk which I didn't have or Fiendfyre.
So really only Fiendfyre, and while that would work. I would still like the option of the Basilisk.
It might have been slightly grey or dark of me to allow Ginny Weasley to be possessed for a bit.
However I think the outcome in the long run would benefit everyone. It's only a part of the year possession anyway.
Lockhart planned on having a book signing in August for his newest adventure. Another plan hatched in my head.
Spinner's End was a rough looking place. Empty and broken brick houses were all along the street.
None of the streetlamps seemed to work and if they were they gave off no light whatsoever.
I made my way up to the home of Severus Snape. The only signs of someone living there were the lights inside.
I knocked on the door twice before the door opened. Snape looked a bit shocked to see me, before he could ask anything I made my request.
"I need a bottle of veritaserum." Were the first words out of my mouth.
He went from shocked to flabbergasted in an instant, "What may I ask do you need that for?"
"I have a plan to bring someone's life crashing down and serve just a bit of justice to those that don't know they need it."
"They deserve for their lives to be ruined?"
"Better that I stop them now than have them continue to possibly cause a lot more damage."
"I'm going to need you to explain in great detail, who you plan on giving this to and why."
"I'm perfectly fine with that, shall I come in?"
Snape's house had books covering the walls from top to bottom. It didn't look particularly lived in.
However it did look relatively safe. At least the part of the house I was in. The lighting wasn't the best but I could blame the time of day more than anything else.
I sat down on a small chair I conjured. Snape sat down in an old looking arm chair.
Then I started talking, "Do you know who Lockhart is?"
"You want to ruin the life of an author?"
"So you do know him good, then this will be easy. His stories are all bogus nonsense."
"I admit I couldn't get past all the praise he heaped on himself right from the start of his book but I assumed that his stories were true."
"Well the things he's based them on are true however there is a bit of an unraveling to everything once you look for it."
"This isn't just you looking for something and finding it is it?"
"Nope, it's in his own books." I stood up from my seat, "There are stories in there that happen at the same exact time."
"So he made up stories?"
"No, No they happened, just not to him." I took out a list of accomplished wizards, "get this, turns out all those places he went someone would end up going to the magical hospital for major headaches."
"You think he stole their stories and just put himself in there taking all the credit."
"I know he did, I have no problem with him making up stories." I waved my hand in dismissal, "The problem is that he's affected the lives of people some of those people he's stolen from haven't been able to check out."
"If it was a simple memory charm then surely they'd be able to recover."
"That's the thing, I don't think it's just a memory charm I think he's messed it up somehow, and now rather than just stealing stories he's ruined lives."
Doing my research on it was kind of depressing. It was very much, one day they had the equivalent of Alzheimer's caused by an outside magical force.
With veritaserum mixed tea I made my way to Flourish and Blotts. I had to arrive early in order to make my plan work.
I made myself look like the person that ran the bookstore in order to get in and out quickly.
I set the tea on the desk with a note on the side that said
'For Mr. Lockhart
In case you become
parched'
I then cast a warming charm on the tea to make sure it didn't lose any heat. I sat outside the store waiting.
That's when the fans started coming in. There were the older women, some boys that were entertained by his tales.
After a longer wait, the prick chose to show up,"Fashionably late". He didn't go for his tea immediately though.
It was around mid day before the crowd really started showing up. I morphed into my disguise, it was an older male with a loud and strong voice.
Then I waited for that golden moment. The fool took a small sip. Then made smacking sounds as if trying to process the flavor of the tea. Before downing the whole glass.
It was a hot cup of tea too, I had no idea what made him drink the glass that deeply. Did Severus put on a compulsion charm?
How come I didn't feel the need to drink it? I had no idea but he had drunk the whole tea cup.
I let the veritaserum spread throughout his body. His eyes glassed over. That was the perfect sign and time to pounce.
"Mr. Lockhart is it true you take your stories from other people and memory charm them so they don't remember?"
The blonde cheat replied in a calm and truthful way, "Yes." he then tilted his head, "How did you know?"
That's when other people started asking questions. Compelled to answer every single one he did. It felt like I had caused a tiny riot in that book store.
With that fair bit of chaos caused I walked away. As I walked away I turned back into myself with pink hair and all.
I treated myself to a nice cone from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. I sat under an umbrella table with my feet kicked up onto the table. As I licked my vanilla cone.
At one point I saw the Weasley family, alone with Harry and Hermione. I gave them all a little wave as I licked the sides where the ice cream was melting.
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