Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J. K. Rowling, not me.
Dumbledore Answers Harry - Chapter 27 - Keeping Secrets
"You-Know-Who Attacks Hogwarts Express - Thwarted by Unknown Elemental Magician
By Anna Jesse
Yesterday morning, the Hogwarts Express was transporting all the students back to the famed wizarding school after an extended leave of absence due to the Chamber of Secrets business last year. Death Eaters used the Reducto curse on a bridge moments before the train was to cross it. Fortunately, the conductor, Franco Calamet, was able to stop the express before it plummeted into the river below. However, that was only the beginning.
Once the train was stopped, about three dozen Death Eaters boarded the train. They killed Mr. Calamet, Mary Plummet - the `snack lady,' Justin Philips - the Head Boy, and Penelope Clearwater - the Head Girl. Some gathered the prefects together and tortured them by means of the unforgivable Cruciatus curse, while others rounded up the rest of the students, leading them out of the train. Joining the Death Eaters, roughly leading first-years off the train, were Slytherin students Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle - all of whom were only third-years, but had already chosen the dark path. Other older students made the same choice, but to this reporter, these were the saddest cases.
Once the students were off the train, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named showed up and attempted to call out Harry Potter, claiming he'd leave the other students alone if the Boy-Who-Lived surrendered. Before there was time for any response, the ground below the Death Eaters turned into quicksand, and they all sank down to their necks before the ground re-stabilized. At the same time, their wands caught fire, causing the attackers to drop them in the dirt. You-Know-Who's body was suddenly covered with flames before he started to sink as well before he disapparated, leaving all of his fallen comrades to their fate. Among the captured Death Eaters was the escaped Lucius Malfoy (pictured above), who is rumored to be the top-ranking Death Eater.
Once the threat was gone, Harry Potter and a group of his friends took charge, contacted the Ministry, and tended to the injured students.
Judging by the way the attackers were subdued, the only explanation is that one or more elemental magicians captured them. The question is where they came from. Were they special aurors from the Ministry on the train, someone hired by Professor Dumbledore as a guard, or were they students? Neither the Minister of Magic nor the Headmaster of Hogwarts was available for comment."
Harry, who'd been released from the Hospital wing a few minutes before, laughed at the pictured of an angry, pee-drenched Lucius Malfoy on the front page of the Daily Prophet. He still couldn't believe that Fred, George, and Lee had all `christened' Lucius, and wished he'd joined them. The rest of the story went on to say that all the underage students who joined the Death Eaters were expelled from Hogwarts and would probably be sent to the wizarding equivalent of St. Brutus' school until they turned seventeen. They would then be on probation, which meant that if they got involved in any trouble, they'd spend the rest of their lives in Azkaban. Harry wondered if they'd claim the `Imperius' curse when they actually had their trials. He also wondered who Voldemort's new contacts at Hogwarts would be.
He looked over at the Slytherin table to see that about a fourth of it was empty. He hadn't realized that so many of them had joined in the attack. With a grin, he noted that of the remaining Slytherins, very few had participated in the bullying he'd helped stop. Perhaps now Hogwarts would be a bit safer, but he made a mental note to make sure the patrolling continued.
"Can I see it, Harry?" asked Hermione, who was sitting on his right. He blinked for a moment as he figured out what his girlfriend meant. He then handed her the newspaper.
"Here you go."
"Thanks," she said.
"Is there any mention of…" said Ginny, who was sitting across from them next to Neville. Ron was sitting on Harry's left stuffing his face.
Hermione interrupted Ginny, to make sure she didn't give any secrets away. "It says that unknown elemental magicians defeated the Death Eaters."
"Interesting," said Neville nonchalantly.
"They have no idea who it was," added Harry.
"Good," said Ginny.
-
After the exciting train ride, Harry settled into a boring if time-consuming routine of classes, homework, Quidditch, exercise, private defense lessons with Flitwick, teaching those same private lessons to Hermione and Ginny, and dueling club with Lupin. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were still planning on asking to take D.A.D.A. O.W.L.s at the end of the year, and so were studying theory on that a lot (the dueling club and advanced dueling they were studying focused on the practical aspect). Harry was continuing to work on his dueling strategy against Voldemort - use his breathing problem against him by getting him exhausted. He planned to be able to run circles around the Dork Lard without breaking a sweat while his enemy panted and wheezed. He secretly hoped Tommy would pass out during their duel. He had learned the counter-curse to the bubble-head charm just in case Voldemort found a way to modify that to help him breath.
The patrolling was even getting boring now with the Slytherins subdued, and Harry had the frequency of them reduced. Occasionally they'd break up a one-on-one fight between people of random houses, but the bullying seemed to have stopped. Unfortunately, the Hogsmeade visits had stopped as well.
Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were patrolling the halls near the entrance hall about a half hour before curfew one Saturday night when they heard the gate open, followed by a set of fast-moving footsteps.
"I wonder what's going on," said Ginny.
"I guess we should investigate," said Hermione.
Harry agreed, so they did. They found the last thing Harry ever expected to see - Sirius Black floating an unconscious Dumbledore in front of him.
"Padfoot," he called out, "What's going on?"
"Oh, I'm just taking a stroll with the Headmaster to the Hospital wing."
"What happened?" asked Hermione concernedly.
Sirius looked around to make sure no one else was around, and then whispered, "We went after another Horcrux."
"Did you get it?" asked Harry as they continued walking.
"Not exactly," he whispered, surprisingly smiling as he pulled a locket out of his pocket. "Look at this." He handed it to Harry.
Harry looked at the ordinary locket with disappointment and opened it. He frowned as he and the girls silently read a note from R.A.B.
Hermione sighed. "That could be anyone, anywhere, and who's to say he or she was successful?"
"It could be, but it isn't," said Sirius with a smirk. "I'd recognize that writing anywhere! R.A.B. is Regulus Arcturus Black, my brother! He became a Death Eater during the first war and tried to back out of it. He was killed for it. I'll bet he stole this!" He really seemed proud of his brother while explaining this.
"That would certainly be reason to kill him," whispered Ginny, "but what if he couldn't destroy it? What if his killer found it?"
Sirius sighed. "While that is indeed a possibility, I don't believe it. I know that he went into hiding in Black Manor a week before he died. He was murdered in Knockturn Alley when he decided he needed some kind of information there. At least that's what Narcissa told me."
"So you think that he stole the locket and hid it at the manor, and then didn't know how to destroy it. He went out looking for instructions?" Sirius nodded. "Wouldn't he have taken it with him?"
"I don't think so. I don't think he'd risk that even if he wanted to risk his life. He did not want there to be any chance of Voldemort getting it back."
"I suppose that makes sense," whispered Harry. "Are you going to search the manor tomorrow?"
"Yes," he said before opening the door to Madam Pomfrey's territory.
"Oh my word!" she exclaimed at the sight of Dumbledore being levitated into a bed. "What happened?"
"I believe he's been poisoned," said Sirius. "We were having dinner at a restaurant and he collapsed. I think a disillusioned Death Eater must have put something in his drink."
"Very well," she said, already performing a diagnostic spell on the old man. "Definitely a dark potion." She turned to the three children. "Are you feeling alright, Mr. Potter?" He nodded. "Miss Granger?" She nodded. "Miss Weasley?" she also nodded. "Then I think it's time that you went back to Gryffindor tower. It's already curfew. I'll write you three a note in case you're caught, but I expect you to go straight to your dorm."
"Yes, ma'am," they said together and turned around.
"Good night, Sirius," said Harry.
"Night, cub."
Just as they opened the door, Albus, who'd apparently woken up, started screaming, "No more! Make it stop!"
They paused for a moment before feeling a spell gently push them the rest of the way out the door, which was silenced as soon as it closed, judging by the way all sounds from the room ceased suddenly.
"I can't believe how easily Sirius lied," commented Hermione when they were halfway to the tower.
"He couldn't exactly have told the truth, could he?" asked Harry.
"And this way, she knows he was poisoned," added Ginny.
-
The next morning, Sirius was sitting at the staff table with Remus when Harry and his friends showed up for breakfast.
"What's Sirius doing here?" asked Ron.
"He showed up last night while we were patrolling," said Hermione.
"Oh, yeah. That was your night. Neville, Parvati and I have it tomorrow night. Why'd he come?"
"He brought Dumbledore here," said Harry. "He'd been poisoned while having dinner with Sirius." He hated lying to Ron, but the fact was that Ron didn't know occlumency and couldn't be told Voldemort-related secrets like the Horcruxes. "I'm gonna find out how the headmaster's doing."
He walked straight up to his godfather. "Good morning, Sirius."
"Good morning. Before you ask, Dumbledore is recovering, but was up most of the night. Madam Pomfrey isn't allowing him any visitors until tomorrow."
"But…"
"She does expect him to fully recover."
"So," said Harry, carefully wording his question, "are you still planning your adventure today?"
"Yes," said Sirius, "a task I am not looking forward to."
"I'm going with him," said Moony, lowering his voice. "He told me we're looking for a locket, but not why - only that it's important to the war."
"Yes," said Sirius, "but before we leave, there's something I want to talk to Harry about privately after breakfast."
"Sure," said Harry, thinking it had something to do with the Horcrux.
-
A half-hour later, Sirius and Harry were alone in Lupin's office. Padfoot was pacing nervously.
"What is it, Sirius?"
"Er, well, um, I know you've joked about…"
Thoroughly confused, the Boy-Who-Lived asked, "Just tell me whatever it is."
"I'mthknaskngAnglmryme," he eloquently stated.
"What?"
Sirius took a deep breath. "I'm thinking of asking Angela to marry me."
A huge grin formed on Harry's face. "That's great! I'd wondered about you two when she wasn't at the Manor for the holidays, but never asked."
"She was there for Christmas, but had to leave to spend time with her family before you woke up. She did leave you a present."
"I knew you hadn't broken up, but I wondered how you two were…progressing."
"Anyway," said Sirius, "I wanted to make sure you wouldn't have any problem with it."
"None at all."
"Great. Don't tell anyone, but I'm gonna ask her on Valentine's Day."
-
Harry spent the rest of the day happy, and couldn't tell anyone why that was. He was smiling through Quidditch practice, the defense club, and his exercises. He was even smiling when he did his homework. When Hermione asked him why he was so happy, he'd just say, "It's a beautiful day."
The next day, Harry received an owl from Sirius with a note that said, "I found it." Harry showed it to the girls, letting them know that Slytherin's locket had been located. Before classes began, they visited Dumbledore, who was awake and seemed reasonably healthy. They told him about Sirius' success, to which he replied, "Excellent news. Three down. Three to go."
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