Author's note: I'm releasing this chapter in its raw format, meaning this hasn't been edited yet and may contain errors, which I will eventually fix. I've decided to do this because I didn't want readers to wait for the next chapters longer than necessary, as what has happened. I just didn't have the leisure to keep writing for some time because of the demands of my job, (groan) but I hope things will change in this week and I'll find the time to dedicate writing…
Sorry for the long delay, folks! Thank you. I'll try to be prompt next time.
Thanks, PottersPrincess, for your review.
Update: This chapter has now been fixed of errors.
Chapter 11
State of Emergency
The annual post-New Year's feast usually generated excitement among the student body of Hogwarts each year when they came back from their holidays. It was intended to lessen the post-Christmas blues for those who still wished it wasn't school yet, but since almost all of the students had not known about Cornelius Fudge's real purpose of sending in wizards from the Ministry to provide security to Hogwarts, the feeling throughout the Great Hall for the evening was of confusion and anxiety. Harry and Hermione could tell what was going on in their schoolmates' minds right now by merely looking at their faces.
Nobody seemed keen to smile tonight, except of course Draco and his cronies, which was not at all surprising. Almost everyone was talking in hushed voices, most likely discussing their theories about why these stern-looking wizards wearing sunglasses at night and having uniform haircuts and coats were here, who were looking snappy at attention and standing against the walls of the Great Hall. Dumbledore and the rest of the Hogwarts teachers were seated around the teachers' table. Neither of them was smiling nor were they talking to each other. They just scanned the Hall with their eyes while they ate their dinner. Only Professor Russelpunk kept turning his head to look around. He had obviously no clue what was going on.
"Happy homecoming, it is," said Harry sarcastically over his uneaten supper. "What a way to start the New Year!" The tables were overflowing with well-prepared and decorated food, but he didn't have the appetite. Hermione was hungry, although she ate slower than her usual manner, which was already slow to begin with. Most students, however, were distracted by the delectable dishes arrayed in front of them and seemed to only mind their stomachs and ate away anyway especially Ron, who was talking to Lee Jordan with his mouth full.
"Those wizards're keep giving me the creeps," Hermione shuddered, looking around. "Especially Malfoy - he's been looking at you all evening!"
Harry gave Draco a quick look, who was staring back at him like he was the king of the world.
"What're you looking at?" Harry mouthed at him, scowling. Draco appeared to have gotten more enjoyment out of it and smirked even wider. Harry felt Hermione's hand grasp his arm.
Still feeling angry with Draco, Harry snapped his head at Hermione. "What?" he growled.
"What did you do that for?" she hissed. "You should have just looked away after you saw him. He now thinks he's getting on your mind…"
"Yeah, thanks for telling me about Draco in the first place, Hermione," Harry said touchily, and angrily tossed his dinner around on his plate.
"You're welcome," she said, a little hurt. But after a few moments of awkward silence between the two of them, Hermione smiled and said, "You know you look cute when you're angry…"
Harry didn't fully catch what she said, and slowly looked back at her. "What did you say?"
"Oh, nothing," Hermione said quickly, and offered him a spoonful of mashed potatoes, which he declined.
"Oh, c'mon, Harry, you need to eat - I don't remember you putting something on your mouth the whole afternoon, you'll starve tonight!"
"I'm not hungry," Harry said flatly, and pushed his plate away from him. Hermione rolled her eyes.
Harry felt a strong sense of unease brought about by the presence of the wizards tonight. Their physical presence didn't bother him more than not knowing what their true intentions were for invading Hogwarts like this. A part of Harry refused to believe they were there for the sole purpose of kidnapping him for Voldemort. They could just as well snatch him right now in front of everybody if they wanted to. What was it were they waiting for?
Oh - Dumbledore. They couldn't do it while he was around. But earlier the wizards had met him at the grounds, and it was their perfect opportunity and they didn't strike. It didn't make sense to Harry at all. There was probably another reason why they were here, and he was almost sure it was to try to weaken Hogwarts again after their last foiled attempt.
As soon as everyone had finished eating their desserts, the sound of talk died down when the students saw Dumbledore rise up from his chair and motioned to everyone for their attention.
"Students and Faculty," he started speaking, "I welcome you back to Hogwarts after an - exciting - Christmas. I do hope you found your vacation peaceful, despite some significant events during that time that you may be aware of or not…"
Harry surmised Dumbledore was being cryptic, trying to feel if anyone was aware of the attacks that happened during the holidays after the initial murders. He looked around, and saw that almost nobody reacted to Dumbledore's statement (only the Weasleys scanned the Great Hall with their eyes to observe everybody else), meaning that the Ministry of Magic had miraculously managed to keep the attacks under wraps. How, Harry had no idea, but they succeeded.
"As you have noticed, we have some wizards sent in by the current Ministry of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, who will be stationed at the school indefinitely. I find it unnecessary for my part to tell you their purpose of being here, as the head of the contingent, Horace Whipple from the Ministry, has asked for some time to address the school to explain why they are here. So, I give the floor to Horace Whipple…"
Dumbledore gave Whipple, who was standing at the Great Hall's entrance, a courteous wave towards the podium at the center-front of the Hallway, and the wizard walked towards it silently. Nobody had thought of clapping their hands, and all everyone could hear was the thundering snaps of Whipple's boots as he walked the central aisle. He had reached the podium and faced the student body, not bothering to remove his dark sunglasses and starting his speech with some lengthy introduction. He chose to go straight to the point.
"Good evening. We've been sent here by Minister Fudge to oversee security for Hogwarts. Of course, we're not here because of some people's wild imagination that He-Who-Must-Be-Named has returned, which, I assure you, is truly a lie. However, there is unrest among the wizard populace who are divided between believing such rumors of the Dark Lord's return and not, and we have reliable information since before your vacation, that some groups are seeking to overthrow the present wizard government headed by Minister Fudge through violent means because they believe the Minister is not doing anything at all to address the 'problem' of the Dark Lord's supposed return."
Hermione faced and Harry and hissed, "Now that's something new…nobody, not even Dumbledore had mentioned of any coup plots…"
"Because of the looming crisis of imminent dissent that is brewing in our society, the Minister of Magic has declared a state of emergency for fifteen to thirty days starting tomorrow, which was approved unanimously by the governing council. The reason for the declaration of this state will be published on the Daily Prophet tomorrow, and everybody here will be receiving his own free copy, courtesy of the Ministry."
Excited and nervous talk rang throughout the Great Hall. A state of emergency meant that the Ministry of Magic could just arrest anyone in suspicion of something, and Harry and Hermione knew this was not declared because of Voldemort's return, but just to save Fudge's own butt. Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers looked grim. Fudge apparently was getting mad of his power as Minister of Magic, and he was beginning to get dictatorial.
Whipple didn't wait for the talk to die down and returned to his speech.
"The Minister of Magic is working hard in his power to quash all these rumors, but rest assured, it is solely for the good of the Wizard World. Of course, as you know, such remarks in reference to Lord V-v-v-…You-Know-Who's supposed return made by either influential or common folks like us can be very destabilizing, which is happening as we speak. Such rumors, however small, will be left to fester and will eventually become false fact if the Minister does nothing to stop it. It is a valid cause for the Wizard World to be plunged into chaos and anarchy if the destablilizers are left to foment revolution, taking advantage of the state of division among the populace brought about these rumors. The Minister recognizes the effects and consequences of inaction for the wizarding world and he hopes you appreciate the dangers, too."
Harry heard Ron say, "I know the real danger - Fudge getting out of hand and expecting us to kiss his pinky ring soon!" For once, Harry silently agreed with Ron, even though they weren't back into speaking terms.
"…I know that some of you are too young to understand the seriousness of the present state of affairs in the wizard world, but the Ministry acknowledges the dangers of some opportunists who might share the sinister plans to topple the government to try to gain your support through your education. Therefore I urge you not to give in to them and if you think you are being brainwashed by anyone into joining up groups or to speak up against the Minister of Magic, and/or saying that You-Know-Who has actually returned, or spreading stories about the popular 'Fortress of Evil' as many call them, even if they are your teachers or classmates, to please report them immediately to any of the wizards wearing the same uniform as I am. We will act at once and arrest them. You will be given recognition for your contribution to the stability of the wizard world, and we will protect you from retribution from their supporters..."
"I bet Fudge coined that name, Fortress of Evil!" hissed Harry to Hermione, and she nodded back impatiently.
"We will stay here as long as necessary until the situation returns to normal or the Minister lifts the state of emergency. We have been given the power to issue rules and regulations to enforce any measures to prevent any form of dissent from happening within Hogwarts. I assure you this will only be temporary, and you have nothing to fear unless you are harboring desires to speak out against the Minister and his policies, or known to spread lies of You-Know-Who's return, or are planning to form a group to fight against him. For starters, unless otherwise authorized, no one more than two must be seen together. Any group of three people will be considered a 'faction' and will be detained for questioning and possibly charged of organizing a rebellion."
Harry looked back at Hermione and said, "Now that's too much…" Hermione nodded her head again and watched Horace Whipple severely.
"Existing clubs are temporarily disbanded. Requests for reconstitution shall be entertained and will be considered in a case to case basis. However, all meetings of such approved groups will be monitored by a representative from our security contingent. Quidditch teams are exempt from the disbandment, but are not authorized to hold meetings without the presence of a security representative. All prefects will be deputized to enforce the rules, and they will have a meeting after this at the prefects' conference room. Every student has the obligation to know the rules we will be issuing, and you are urged to check on the bulletin boards regularly to be aware of the new ones. Ignorance will not excuse anyone. Curfew hours start at nine in the evening up to six the next morning. Those serving detention must request for clearance cards and should wear them."
Horace arrogantly didn't thank Dumbledore of being given the opportunity to speak to the student body, and left the podium back to where he came from earlier. When Dumbledore spoke again, Harry detected unpleasantness in his voice.
"Classes will begin at the usual time tomorrow," he said with a noticeable frown on his face. "Good evening to all…"
Harry could hear moaning and groaning from the students who were standing up from their chairs. What they apparently didn't like was the two-person rule being imposed on them and they will surely miss the fun of being in a large group. But they had no choice but to follow the new rules - they didn't know what the wizards will do to them if they didn't. Harry initially thought at first that it was a blessing Ron wasn't speaking to him and Hermione nowadays because he'd be having a hard time adjusting not being a trio, but it was such a bad thought in itself. He knew he'll find it weird of not being a trio anymore, and he was sure Hermione was feeling the same way. At least, for the time being, they would be safe from this new rule.
Harry and Hermione didn't stand up at once and chose to be among the last ones to leave the Great Hall. Remembering about Whipple's remarks about deputizing prefects, he said, "Hermione, I hope you won't love being one of them…" and pointed at one of the wizards.
"Are you kidding?" she said, looking shocked. "Now I'm beginning to hate being a prefect because of this - everybody might think we're going to get power hungry…"
"Worse, Malfoy's a prefect," said Harry gloomily. "He'll be unbearable!"
Just then, Professor McGonagall tapped her finger on Harry's shoulder.
"Oh, sorry, Professor," Harry said, startled. "We were just about to…"
"I'm not here to tell you off, Potter," she interrupted. "We need to talk after this, regarding you detention. Meet me in my office after thirty minutes, okay?"
Harry nodded and she smiled, leaving Harry and Hermione behind.
"Well, I gotta go to the meeting, Harry," Hermione said. "I don't want to know what they'll do to me if I'm late…take care!"
"Yeah, you, too. See you later," Harry replied, and waved her goodbye gently. Hermione ran off through the slow-moving crowd trying to get out the Great Hall. Harry finally stood up after a moment and when he had almost reached the doors towards the corridors a little later, he heard some exasperated calls from wizards who were at a loss how to manage the flow of human traffic just clear of the Great Hall.
"Disperse! Disperse immediately!" said a wizard. "Remember the two-man rule!"
Harry suppressed a laugh. Naturally there would be a crowd when everyone wanted to get out of the Great Hall first. He was hoping that each new rule that they would make up will make it more stressful for the wizards to enforce. One thing that made Harry think he had made a mistake choosing to be among the last to get out was overhearing Zacharias Smith talk with his classmates.
"It's a good thing Minister Fudge thought of this to plug the talk of some Dark Fortress," Zacharias said pompously to the clearly miffed Hannah Abbot and Ernie McMillan. "All these rumors about it make me want to throw up - it's getting out of hand! Especially from Potter - he thinks everybody wants to believe him…"
Harry didn't know what caused Zacharias Smith to trip without any sign of obstruction around…he just felt extremely angry with him just at the same time. Zacharias grimaced in pain as he stood up and rubbed his two knees from hitting the floor.
Finally out in the corridor with nothing to do, Harry navigated himself towards McGonagall's office for their meeting. He wondered what he'd be doing for detention and for how long. Just at the end of an adjacent hallway void of other students near the doors to the prefect's conference room, he caught sight of Hermione's recognizable back as she stood listening to a couple of wizards who were talking to her in private. Harry stopped at distance and watched them. Hermione kept on nodding while the wizards kept talking to her.
Harry scowled. "Now, what're they telling her to do?" he thought.
Even though the wizards seemingly looked the same, Harry could still tell them apart from the others because of their facial features. The one with the nasty scar across his face, Harry named "Blinky". The other with the gold eye patch, he christened as "Dinky". Soon after, they ended their conversation with Hermione. One of wizards from the conference room had called them in - the meeting was about to start. Harry caught a glimpse of Hermione's face as she turned to walk away from the wizards, and she appeared to look serious (she didn't see Harry at the far end of the hallway). Hermione looked startled when the wizard from the room called her in again. She hurriedly entered the conference room looking embarrassed, and the door closed.
Harry sighed. He thought she was just feeling too uneasy being near around the strange wizards, like she had said so many times tonight, and she didn't know how to act like herself and do her job like she used to. Or perhaps she was getting too edgy being aware of doing her little task for Olga and Dumbledore. If she kept on being like this, she'll blow her cover even without batting an eyelash. Harry made a mental note to teach her how to relax and how to act like a real spy. Harry shrugged it off and walked towards McGonagall's office.
The corridor near McGonagall's office didn't have a bench to sit on, and Harry's feet began to ache with all the standing as he waited for the next few remaining minutes. He remembered that McGonagall had an ante-room in her office with some seats. His feet felt tired and he decided to get in and wait there instead of being outside the corridor. Silently, he opened the door and shut it, and chose one of the comfy chairs to sit on. He was glad he had remembered the chairs, because he felt relieved just as he sat on one. The door connecting McGonagall's office was slightly open, and Harry could hear her talk to Dumbledore.
Dumbledore can't be here…he thought.
"But that's just terrible, Albus!" McGonagall wailed. "They can't do this to her…and to the people we knew who could help us…"
"I'm afraid they had already sent out the warrants, Minerva," Dumbledore said softly.
"Warrants? Who's being arrested?" Harry asked himself. Intrigued, he tiptoed nearer towards the door to listen in much closely to the conversation.
"…This so called 'State of Emergency' is giving Cornelius a free hand to do what he wants. I'm certain that it's not because he'd realized the truth of Voldemort's return. It's just to save his very own job. I can't believe he's turning out to be like this. He never told me he and the governing council have been mulling over such measures at all. I find Whipple's announcement tonight quite shocking, to say the least. There is obviously an unseen hand behind this…"
"Lucius Malfoy?" McGonagall asked.
"Very much possible…"
"But why's he doing this? Have you figured it out already?"
"Like I said before back in Grimmauld, it could be to snatch Harry out of our protection and bring him to Lord Voldemort. I find no other logical reason for all these elaborate efforts. He failed the first time to do him in even though Harry was already in their grasp, so it's just natural they want to do it again without the Ministry's suspicion. He deftly came out of his recent disgrace due to the Chadron case to regain Fudge's full trust. I don't know how he did it, but he succeeded and Fudge now doesn't listen to anyone else other than Lucius…"
"Imperius Curse?"
Dumbledore paused for a moment and said, "Possibly, but not the most probable. It wouldn't help Lucius at all if he chose to do the curse, because Fudge would then know what Lucius true intentions were when he'd be free of the Imperius Curse - it's not always a constant thing to be under it. Think of Barty Crouch."
"But to go through all the lengths just to get Harry," McGonagall said, sounding incredulous, "there must be some other reason why they are all here…"
"Harry's keen on that, too, actually," replied Dumbledore calmly. "He thinks it's to weaken Hogwarts to help Lord Voldemort destroy it. I think that's a valid plot, too. Remember they also failed to do that the last time by knocking us both out of action for days - they may want to try again."
"I guess that's the real purpose why they're so aggressive here, Albus. Harry's abduction could only be secondary…"
"Or it's the other way around, Minerva. Have you arranged for Harry's bodyguard already?"
Bodyguard? Harry almost snorted, but luckily he had stifled it just in time. He didn't know how Dumbledore could have forgotten what they talked about in Grimmauld.
"It's proving to be difficult. All the teachers are too busy with their lesson plans, and Severus flatly refuses to be his nanny. I might request the Ministry for an extra wizard to do the job…"
"Too dangerous, Minerva," Dumbledore interrupted. "The Ministry's too infiltrated with Death Eaters, we don't know who to trust. Lucius might know about this and influence Fudge with the selection of such a bodyguard. It would be a godsend for him, I'm sure, because it'll make his job easier if his intentions are to get Harry. On the other hand, I know Fudge won't permit it if he acted on his own conscience. It'll look too intriguing especially from the press why Harry has to have his own bodyguard - he doesn't want that to happen."
"Okay, how about Kingsley?"
"I've thought of that, too," Dumbledore sighed. "But Arthur needs all the help he could get from inside the Ministry. Pudmore has a lot on his hands at the moment. Besides, pulling out Kingsley or Podmore will blow their cover…"
"Just leave it to me to think of a way to keep a lookout for Harry, Albus," McGonagall said resignedly. "But I don't like the midnight warrants at all…"
"You're not the only one. I can't help but think who Fudge might want next, so let's watch what we do and don't do anything to give him some reason to arrest us. I'm sure he wants to get back at us after that unpleasant meeting here in my office…"
"I'll share it to some of the teachers, Albus," McGonagall breathed. "I think it's time for my meeting with Harry - I expect he'll be here any moment."
"Not too harsh - just make sure he serves detention without exposing him to danger. You have my full trust, Minerva…"
Harry heard a popping noise and a chair being dragged on the floor. McGonagall might be standing up to get out. He hurriedly went back to the first door and pulled it open behind him, as if he had just come in. At the same moment, McGonagall alighted from her office.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, you're here," she said. She apparently had no idea Harry had been around long enough to eavesdrop. "Come to my office now."
Harry nodded, followed her inside the office silently, and sat on the guest chair.
"I'm sure you are aware why you're given detention, Mr. Potter?" she asked, sitting down behind her desk.
Harry nodded again.
"Good. You are to scrub all the boy's bathrooms each night until they are clean - without magic."
Harry dropped his jaw. "All of them?"
"I'm afraid all sixteen of them, Mr. Pottter," McGonagall confirmed sternly. "But since you have done extra good work outside of school during your vacation, like saving your best friend from possible death, the Headmaster has cut the number down to half. Feel fortunate…"
Harry still groaned. Each bathroom was still too big for him to finish for one night of scrubbing. McGonagall handed Harry a piece of blank parchment.
"Sign here," she instructed Harry, pointing at a space just beside her name and signature.
"What's this for?" Harry asked.
"Added red tape," McGonagall sighed. "It's a request for detention pass as required by the security administration…"
"Do we really need to do this?" Harry said, sounding a little angry.
"I'm afraid so, Potter," she replied, looking miffed herself.
"I thought you're the only authority here in Hogwarts beside the Headmaster…you can't just waive it to follow these wizards silly rules!"
"There's no need to argue over that, Mr. Potter," McGonagall snapped. "That has been fully discussed in our prior meetings with the faculty and we found that we couldn't do anything about it. Minister Fudge unfortunately has the blessing of the school governors for such measures, even though they are almost divided with it. He had enough votes to give him the power to dictate over us. So speaking out against the rules will only give you so much trouble. Sign."
Harry didn't say anything else and signed the paper begrudgingly.
When McGonagall retrieved the parchment, she said, "That's fine. I won't ask you to hand this in yourself to the administrator, so I'll just do it for you."
"Thank you, Professor," said Harry.
"You're welcome. Just get your I.D. pass from me tomorrow before you serve detention. Is there something else you need to talk about?"
Harry paused for a moment before answering. He thought of asking her not to bother looking for a bodyguard for him because he thought he'll look very silly with Malfoy, but decided against it. It'll just reveal to McGonagall that he had been listening in to her conversation with Dumbledore. Harry finally shook his head.
"Very well," she said, looking satisfied. "But before you go, I need to ask you to be extra careful when you walk around Hogwarts. You know why, don't you?"
"Yes, Professor," he replied. "But I don't think they're here because of me - it's just ridiculous…"
"I don't find the threat on you ridiculous, Potter…"
Harry acted as if he didn't hear McGonagall talk and said, "They're here to destroy Hogwarts, plain and simple."
"It won't hurt to assume they're here for you…"
"It does! I think we're all getting paranoid with everything that's happening around here! Can't you see? I'll look silly with a bodyguard around…" Harry stopped talking abruptly and gulped.
McGonagall narrowed her eyes, which made Harry feel afraid she'd make the number of bathrooms to thirty two because he inadvertently revealed to her that he had been eavesdropping. But to his surprise, she pushed his offense aside.
"I might have known you haven't changed at all, Harry," she said. "What's done is done, and I won't charge you for it - for now - because you needed to know about it anyway, but I have to tell you it's wrong to invade other people's privacy. I could slap you with more menial detentions if I wanted to but you have already suffered enough to start with…"
"Sorry, about that, Professor - I just couldn't help it."
"Feel lucky I'm not in a bad mood tonight…now back to the subject. The Headmaster has deemed it necessary to provide you with close-in security…"
"I don't want it."
"…in light of the dangers posed with the presence of the wizards in Hogwarts, which purpose we have no clue of…"
"I can take care of myself, thanks…"
"Damn it, Potter," McGonagall said, slamming her palm on her tabletop, and leaning closer over to Harry. "Please try to appreciate the effort we're making to ensure your safety! Think of the concern we have for you - not all students have such privilege like the attention you're getting from us faculty members…."
"I don't want to sound ungrateful at all, Professor," Harry said slowly, "but I'll certainly look like a sissy, especially for Malfoy - he'll have a field day…"
"There's no room for childish concerns now, Potter. I believe having your own bodyguard especially what happened to you the last time, and now apparently being around wizards who might be Death Eaters working secretly for You-Know-Who who might try to get you…"
"Do you really think they're all Death Eaters, Professor?"
"Not all of them, Potter, but the problem is right now we're not sure who among them are clean and are Death Eaters. We used to think all but two of them are really Death Eaters, but we're now changing it. Maybe half or two-thirds are, we don't know. But you're right. It's safest to assume they all are. But don't try to change the subject - we're talking about getting you a bodyguard…"
"…which I don't think is a good idea…"
McGonagall sank back on her chair and closed her eyes, feeling the conversation is just going around in circles. She eventually opened them again after feeling she was calming down again. "Harry," she said, leaning closer again, "look, there's no need to argue about it anyway because we're actually having problems looking for someone to look after you."
"Thank heavens!"
"Okay, let's not call someone looking after you a 'bodyguard' for once. You need - someone - who doesn't look like your close-in security - or a nanny for instance. But we need to know how you are as much as possible. We won't forgive ourselves if you find yourself suddenly in You-Know-What again if that's where you'll really end up. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"
Harry felt a negotiation coming - some kind of a compromise. "Okay, I'm listening…"
"Ron Weasley."
Harry shook his head. "Actually, Professor Dumbledore had originally planned for Ron and Hermione and I to look after each other, but Ron probably can't help right now - we're having problems between us friends, and he won't talk to us anymore."
McGonagall narrowed her eyes. She knew this was not a good situation, having heard about Dumbledore's view of how vital their bond with Hermione was for their survival against Voldemort. It wasn't proven yet, but it was apparently all they had for the moment. She didn't push the subject much further, opting to discuss it with Dumbledore soon. "Okay, I won't intervene…you resolve your problems yourselves, hopefully soon. So that leaves Hermione Granger. Do you think she could at least help us?"
Harry thought deeply and soon nodded his head slowly. "If you think it's okay…if she agrees - but I don't want to refer to her as my bodyguard. She's my best friend. In fact, we've already agreed to look after each other when just this evening…"
"Granted. I'll talk to her about it. I won't use the word 'bodyguard', but I'll just ask her to be more serious about your deal. I'm sure she's capable of helping us with your safety. Since she's a prefect, I'd have to ask Administrator Whipple to lessen her patrol duties to have more time with you. I think he won't mind, as I agree it's nothing peculiar to have a classmate with you as much as possible rather than a different person altogether. We'll see how we could pry her loose…"
"But there's only one thing, Professor - it'll add to her workload. Do you know what Olga wants her to do while we're here other than the usual schoolwork and her prefect duties?"
"I'm aware of it, but the thing Olga has asked her to do is not so demanding at all. She'll just relay anything what she actually hears. Nothing more. I'm sure it won't get in the way."
Harry gratefully nodded. He didn't have to add the fact that Hermione was suffering from random fits of 'mild dementia'. He was already happy to be spared the embarrassment of having a bodyguard with him all the time in front of the whole school.
"Very good," McGonagall said finally. "You're dismissed - and Mr. Potter - please be careful out there? I beg you…"
-o0o-
It was nearing nine in the evening, which meant that the newly imposed curfew was about to start. Harry walked along the dark halls towards the Gryffindor tower, and for the first time he felt the hair on his back stand up when he wondered what was behind him. He kept looking back behind him - the teachers' fears of danger lurking at every corner with the wizards in Hogwarts was proving to be contagious, and it didn't feel good at all for Harry.
"Move along, now," said a wizard who was stationed in this part of Hogwarts, and Harry literally jumped a foot in the air. "You don't want to get caught in the curfew…"
Harry nodded nervously and moved a little faster, and when he rounded the corner to another hallway, he saw in the middle of it someone hovering over the floor, making him yelp.
"Professor Russelpunk!" Harry breathed, and clutching his chest. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Russelpunk laughed nervously. "Sorry about that, Harry," he said, landing back on the floor. "What're you doing here this time of night?"
"I was going back to - wait a minute…did I just see you levitate?"
"Oh…oh yeah, I can do that, actually - second nature…" he said edgily.
"What were you doing in mid-air at a time like this?"
"Just hovering around the hallway - nothing wrong with that, right? I just like to do it when, uhm, nobody's looking." Russelpunk smiled quickly and shrugged.
"Wow, that's amazing - you actually know how to levitate…"
"Harry, thanks again for the lesson ideas," Russelpunk said evasively. "Can we talk about them further tomorrow? I need to ask some more details about the spells you listed…"
Harry nodded. "Sure…"
"Splendid! Good night…" Russelpunk didn't wait for Harry to answer back and walked off out of sight quickly.
Harry found his behaviour quite strange, and looked around to observe what part of Hogwarts he was in and why Russelpunk was hovering around here. He took out his wand, looked around if to make sure nobody was around, and muttered "Lumos!"
From what he could see as possible by the narrow beam of light from his wand, there were some classrooms nearby and the only other rooms around were Filch's storage room for confiscated items and what seemed to be a new office provided for the Assistant Administrator, whose name of Henry Seymour was written on the sign at the door. Other than these, Harry found nothing of interest yet and put this little encounter aside for the moment because it was very dark in the hallway and it was almost nine in the evening. It was hard to make everything out with the limitation of his wand light. Most importantly, he had to make it to the Gryffindor tower on time. So he ran.
When Harry had gotten in the common room panting, Hermione was sitting by the fireplace and she looked anxious.
"Hermione, is something wrong?" he asked.
"Thank God you're back!" she said, looking relieved when she saw Harry. "I was getting so worried about you - they said you haven't been here since after dinner and I thought the wizards had caught you wandering around at curfew…"
"Sorry, but I had a long conversation with McGonagall and…I bumped into Russelpunk on the way. Listen…"
Making sure no one was around, Harry told Hermione everything he learned tonight, including all the details of his talk with McGonagall and how he felt about Russelpunk's strange activities.
"When we'll have the time, we got to look and see what's around that place," Hermione said after Harry had finished. "He could just be satisfying some kind of obsession, but we won't lose anything if we just look around more closely…"
"I don't think Russelpunk's on to something, though," Harry believed. "He might have just been practicing in secret - that part of Hogwarts is the most secluded…"
"I agree, but I admit it's just strange he was so evasive about his talents," Hermione sighed. "I mean, self levitation is a rare gift - he should be proud of it. So, any ideas what Dumbledore meant about those warrants?"
Harry shook his head. "It's the part that I missed, and I don't know what warrants they were talking about and for whom they were for. They could be search or arrest warrants - I'm not sure. But they were agitated about it, though. Maybe it was for someone - a she - they knew too well who Fudge's trying to pin down."
Hermione merely nodded her head and didn't say anything. She was hoping they weren't referring to Olga, but she couldn't help but think she was the most likely person Dumbledore and McGonagall were talking about.
"Harry, I really don't mind at all," Hermione said slowly.
"About what?" Harry said, puzzled of what Hermione was trying to say.
"You know, if McGonagall wants me to have the extra work looking after you…"
Harry pursed his lips and looked at the fireplace. He just didn't like feeling being a kid who had to be looked after at all, especially when it involved his best friend. He refused to use the word "bodyguard".
"Are you forgetting something?" Harry asked Hermione a little later with a forced smile. "Didn't we just agree to look after each other a few hours ago?"
Hermione nodded and laughed softly. "Yeah, sorry - of course, and if that's what you want, that's what we'll do. Only that I just don't think I'm being targeted at all - you're the obvious one."
"I don't think that's entirely true, Hermione," Harry said gently. "Even Dumbledore thinks you're not safe as you think you are. That night during the attack at the Burrow - he said Voldemort might be gunning for people closest to me, and he was genuinely worried about you. They had attacked Ron, and I was so scared for you, but I'm so grateful they didn't get to you yet."
Hermione smiled at Harry at first, thankful for the care he showed to her at the moment, but then sank into worry soon after. It just didn't occur to her at all that she, too, might be in danger like Harry from Voldemort. Being closely considered for harm by the most terrible wizard of all time was indeed very troubling, and she wondered how Harry had lived through that already.
Harry read through the look on her face and said, "Don't worry, Hermione, I'll be around for you when you need me. They won't touch you…I promise you that…"
Upon hearing Harry's word, she felt secure again. Grateful, she stood up and bent down to kiss Harry on his cheek.
"Thanks, Harry - you can count on me, too. See you tomorrow…" She ran up the spiral staircase towards her room, leaving a stunned Harry alone beside the fireplace. He felt he was sitting on a cloud instead of a couch.
-o0o-
In a secret room deep beneath Hogwarts castle, a meeting was taking place for half a dozen masked and hooded wizards. The room was earily dark, with only a handful of torch lights illuminating the whole area. The Dark Mark was prominently carved on the stone floor.
"Is everything ready?" asked a wizard, who looked like their leader. He was sitting on a wooden chair in the middle of the room, in front of the rest.
"Yes, master," replied one. "We have already made contact with our target. It'll only be a matter of time when we're done with our mission."
The leader nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Master Lucius is anxious to know if everything is in place, and I trust you know what to do."
All the wizards bowed and left their leader, allowing him to pull out a parchment to write a letter addressed to Lucius, feeling satisfied to write at last, "It has commenced. In due time, the Dark Lord will be proud of your genius, Master Lucius. I have information that will prove to be of valuable importance to you and the Dark Lord…"
-o0o-
The first day of class for the year started the next morning for all. A good night's sleep permitted everyone who was worried about the presence of security wizards to pretend it was the same Hogwarts they knew all these years. But as soon they all walked the corridors for their usual activities, they knew they weren't dreaming about it at all. For many who believed Fudge was doing the right thing to stop all the silly talk of Voldemort's return by sending them in, the sight of the wizards was simply gratifying.
For Harry, it was good enough to hear the wizards' voices getting coarse out of bellowing reminders about the two-man rule. They were plainly overwhelmed by the flow of Hogwarts students getting to the Great Hall at the same time for breakfast. The corridors were simply too narrow to accommodate enough space to separate just about everyone. Ultimately, the wizards' voices couldn't be heard anymore even if they were normal - there were just too many students talking and they were drowned out by the noise.
Harry found Hermione already stirring her porridge with milk and he sat down beside her. They had both realized that they didn't need to really watch each other during the day when there were many students around. The only time they thought of having the greater danger was at night, when the school grounds were almost devoid of people.
To Harry's annoyance, Ron was seated on his usual place - just in front of Hermione across the long table. Harry didn't know how to act when he'd be within this close in proximity with Ron, and he looked emotionless. Perhaps if he didn't look at him, he might pretend he wasn't around at all.
"Hi, Hermione," said Harry as happily as he could. "I hope you had a good night's sleep."
She wanted to answer back, but seemed to decide against it when she heard Ron grunt in front of her. She just wiggled her nose at Harry, signaling him to refrain from talking until they'd get far away from Ron soon. Even she felt awkward with his presence, and it was feeling alien to them after years of seemingly non-breakable friendship.
Harry sighed and prepared to fill up his dish. As soon as he started eating his bacon and eggs, the owl post had arrived, delivering the morning mail to everyone. It was not at all unusual for Harry to see so many letters being brought in, if not for the amount of mail landing in front of Hermione.
"What the - " she said, bewildered at the mound of envelopes she was getting. Even Ron looked on slightly intrigued.
"Who're they from?" asked Harry. When he grabbed one to look much closer, most the envelopes seemed to have the same handwriting, and the same return address. Bulgaria.
"Oh," Harry said softly. "Krum's probably wondering why you weren't answering his letters, Hermo-ninny."
Hermione's face reddened, and she tried to stuff all the envelopes into her already overfilled bag of books, except for one, which she instantly opened to read.
"Yeah, you're right about that, Harry," she said timidly. "He's worried I'm ignoring his letters, actually…I think those owls over at - you know where - were for me all the time."
"So Vicky's still writing to you, isn't he, Hermione?" said Ron severely.
Hermione breathed, closed her eyes for a moment, and looked at Ron. "As you can see, yes! So?"
"So you don't care about the trio we had anymore, do you?"
Hermione frowned. She didn't get what Ron was trying to point out. "What's that got to do with writing letters to Viktor? It's just a friendly…"
Ron snorted and laughed. Neville and their other close classmates stopped eating and looked on the simmering exchange between Ron and Hermione apprehensively. "Friendly, huh? Don't you get it? He's trying to take you away from us because he's in love with you! He doesn't care if you stay with your best friends as long as he has you for himself!"
"Do you really think, Ronald, that's what he was writing to me about all along? Don't talk about what you don't know," Hermione growled.
"Yes, I do! And you only need to deny it. He's destroying our friendship because he's a selfish git…"
"He's not a…" Hermione started to shout, but Harry intervened.
"Why don't you take a good look at yourself, Ron?" Harry said angrily, making Ron snap his sights unto him away from Hermione. "Who do you really think is the one who's actually destroying our trio? You're actually doing the very thing that you seem to be afraid of happening yourself, didn't you notice?!?"
"I'm not - I'm not the one who's causing all this! You are!" Ron retorted.
"How so, Ron?" asked Hermione, still glaring at him.
"I know what you're thinking, Ron," Harry said harshly. "Don't you dare blurt it out in the Great Hall, or we'll never talk to you again!"
Ron apparently realized something because he was suddenly lost for words. "You're wrong! You're wrong! I'm not…just shut up! Shut up!" He stormed out of the Great Hall, leaving a silent Gryffindor table and sniggers from the Slytherins.
Hermione rubbed her face with both her hands, and shook her head. "I can't believe Ron's treating us this way…especially during a time like this," she sobbed.
"'Tis better you all snapped," said Fred from across the table. "I think I just heard a gong ringing inside his head."
"He's just in denial at the moment, but he got the message," added George. "He'll swallow his pride soon, I wager."
Harry strangely didn't look forward to it at once, but hoped Ron had finally realized he didn't have to break up their friendship at all in the first place just because he wanted to make his point across. It didn't concern him for the moment, but he was worried about Hermione, who looked hurt after being accused by Ron for something that might not be true at all, like her alleged romance with Krum. She had stopped short of saying she had nothing to do with him except for having him to write to, and Harry personally hoped that was true because it also affected him in a way if it weren't. For now, he chose not to push the subject further and looked for something to distract Hermione. He found it by the other unaddressed lavender colored envelopes for her that caught his attention, which were left uncollected at the table because of the shouting match.
"Now, who's this from? Can I open it for you?" Harry asked.
Hermione nodded and tried to smile, but the tears welling in her eyes streamed down already. She wiped them with her hand and turned her attention to the envelope Harry was holding.
"Okay, thanks," he said, and tried to open one. He couldn't. The paper looked easy to rip, but he felt it was just impossible. "I can't seem to…"
"Oh, don't act like you can't," Hermione laughed, wiped off more of her tears, and grabbed it away from Harry. "Nice try, but thanks…"
"No, I mean, really…" but Harry stopped talking when Hermione simply opened the envelope as if it had no glue and started to read it. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the whole letter, and looked deadly serious.
"Hermione, what is it?" Harry said. "What does it say?"
She didn't answer but just kept on reading.
"Hey," Harry nudged her with his elbow, snapping her off from her thoughts.
"Ow! What?" she said, looking irritated.
"I said what's wrong with the letter?"
"Like I said, it's Viktor - he's wondering why I haven't been answering his letters…"
Harry rolled his eyes and took the blank envelope again, examining it. "You're just repeating what I said before, and it doesn't say it's from Viktor from this envelope, Hermione. It's blank! But if you think it's too private, I can understand…"
"No really, its…"
But Harry didn't know what Hermione wanted to tell him because a new wave of owls - hundreds of them this time - came soaring down again from the air, delivering everybody their own free copy of the Daily Prophet, which Horace Whipple had mentioned the night before. Harry became more interested in today's issue and forgot all about Hermione's lavender envelopes. The Headlines even made him forget about his breakfast.
Minister Fudge Declares State of Emergency
Plan To Overthrow the Minister Discovered and Foiled - Warrants Out to Arrest Plotters
Ministry of Magic Aurors yesterday had uncovered a sinister plot by some groups to take advantage of the confusion and division among the wizard populace caused by rumor-mongers out to spread the bogus story of He-Who-Must-Be-Named's return as true fact by taking over the position of Cornelius Fudge as Minister of Magic through violent means. This had prompted Minister Fudge to call on an emergency meeting at 11 p.m. last night with the Governing Council to grant him emergency powers in order to save the wizard world from anarchy. Voting 8-2 in favor, the Minister was given such powers to maintain order and he immediately declared the wizard world to a 30-day state of emergency.
His first order of action was to order the arrest of some wizards suspected to be behind the plot to bring chaos to the wizard world, namely, Olga Gargarin, Ramius Palkov, Nikolai Berdinski, Sturgis Podmore, and Remus Lupin, among others…
"Fudge's out of control, and worse he's letting Lucius dictate everything to him!" Harry grunted angrily to Hermione, who was too shocked to even answer him.
Somehow, Lucius had discovered who some of the members and close associates in the Order were. But how? The Order of the Pheonix was being put out of action even before they could get fully organized.
-o0o-
Chapter 12 coming soon. New messages from the author will be posted on top of this chapter, so you may want to check it out to know when to expect the next chapter would be coming out. Again, I thank you for reading this story.