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Chapter Text

The students entered the Great Hall and excited chatter soon filled the vast room that was empty of its usual long tables. Just one long podium stood in the middle of the empty floor.

“Just like a catwalk,” Hermione muttered.

Ron gave her a funny look, “Muggles walk their cats on platforms like this?”

“What? No!” 

Hermione explained the concept of a catwalk to an increasingly bewildered-looking Ron while Harry laughed his head off.

After a while, Harry saved Ron (and Hermione) by asking, “Who do you think will lead the duelling club?”

“I hope it’s Flitwick! Bill told us he was a Dueling Champion when he was younger!”

Hermine nodded, but admonished, “It’s Professor Flitwick, Ron.”

And off the two of them went again, much to Harry’s amused dismay. The two were like water and oil sometimes.

Harry got much more dismayed when it was Lockhart who hopped lightly onto the platform in the middle of the room, and beamed down on the assembled mass of students, “Welcome, all, to my newly established duelling club!” He walked along the dais showing off his light blue ensemble of swishing robes and clattering boots.

“Catwalk indeed,” Harry muttered, annoyed and started groaning when Lockhart introduced his “assistant” Professor Snape. “Great, now both of the worst professors at Hogwarts are running the show.”

Hermione dug her elbow into his side and shushed him while looking at the peacock on the stage with stars in her eyes. 

Harry and Ron debated whether it was worth staying when Lockhart proposed a show duel with Professor Snape, and both immediately decided they had to see this. They didn’t want to miss it for anything in the world, rooting for Snape for the first time ever.

The two men took their places back-to-back, and Harry watched – feeling quite entertained now – as Professor Snape prowled down the platform like a black and very displeased panther. 

Ron seemed to have the same thought because he exclaimed, “That’s why Muggles call it a ‘catwalk’!” much to the amusement of any Muggle-raised student close by.

Luckily, Hermione was entranced by the events in front of them, so she didn’t bother to correct Ron.  If she was honest, he had a point.

Colin was taking pictures left and right, but he concentrated on photographing the two men.

After the two teachers had walked ten steps away from each other, they whirled around and Snape immediately yelled, “ Expelliarmus!”

Lockhart, who still was trying to cast his overly complicated bogus spell, was hit squarely in the chest and thrown backwards in a high arch, while his wand rocketed towards Snape, landing with a clatter next to the man. 

The last went unnoticed because Lockhart did something extremely unexpected. He cast a  wordless and wandless spell while flying backwards, with his hands pointing towards Snape! 

A colourless, but still somehow slightly visible spell shot toward the surprised Potions Master who nonetheless had the presence of mind to flick his wand and wordlessly cast a shielding spell. But the incoming spell went through the shield like it wasn’t there and hit Snape squarely in the face.

Under the disbelieving eyes of at least three-quarters of the student body and parts of the staff, something even more outlandish happened. 

Snape became handsome.

Very handsome. 

So handsome, most of the teenage girls and some of the boys sighed and got wobbly knees!

His hair was shiny and seemed to move in an air current that existed just for this, his cheekbones were oh so prominent and elegant, his nose patrician, his mouth sinful, his eyebrows arching, and his tall body was broad-shouldered and long-legged, with small hips. Curiously, nothing much had changed, but it was like all the formerly mismatched and discoloured pieces fit together now to an overall extremely pleasant-looking result. 

When he tried to scowl at the staring students, one could see his blindingly white and straight teeth, and many students sighed again.

But all were pulled out of their bespelled state by a girly shriek coming from the direction of their Defence teacher. All eyes quickly moved to Lockhart and many students shrieked as well, while Colin snapped one photo after the other. (His loud flash had given up before the duel had even started, but it was light enough anyway.)

Lockhart  looked hideous now! 

His hair was unwashed and mousy, his skin pimply and sallow. It could be said that Lockhart and Snape had switched looks completely. Even the formerly dashing robes Lockhart was wearing looked threadbare and ridiculous. 

Lockhart, who had been staring at his hands, pulled out a little hand mirror and shrieked loudly again. His feet seemed to work now, and he ran out of the Great Hall amazingly fast.

Snape still stood rooted on the platform and wondered what had just happened. He had never seen or heard of the spell Lockhart had used and wondered what it had done to him. He hadn’t felt the spell when it hit, and he didn’t feel any different now. Well, maybe less tired but why had Lockhart turned into such an ugly version of himself, after he had cast the spell on Severus? And why were students staring at him with hearts in their eyes? It was exceedingly disconcerting.

“Ah, Minerva, please tell me what’s going on.”

Minerva McGonagall, who had pushed her way through the (again) excitedly chattering masses, now stood in front of the podium. She transfigured her handkerchief into a handheld mirror and wordlessly handed it over.

Snape took one look and startled heavily. He nearly threw the mirror away, only the presence of the children surrounding them kept him from doing so. He might’ve injured one accidentally, after all.

He hopped off the platform and many students sighed again. He just looked so dashing!

Snape pointed his wand at himself and cast, “Finite Incantatem.”

Nothing happened. 

Snape made sure to check with the mirror.

“Minerva?”

McGonagall cast the same spell on him as well with just as much success, except Snape was holding a handkerchief now. So, the spell worked at least.

After checking, Snape looked at her again, “Do you know what spell that was?”

“No, Severus. I'm as clueless as you are.”

Snape looked at the older students with questions in his eyes and was met with many clueless faces. But he noticed that some of the prettier girls, especially those from his own house, didn’t meet his eyes. He quickly noticed that only the pretty and pure-blood students seemed to have an inkling of what had just happened. But none stepped forward, so he decided to investigate discreetly later. It just annoyed him that Lockhart knew a spell of which he hadn’t heard. 

A whispered, “So dreamy!” reached his ears, and he nearly choked on his own spit. 

“The show’s over, back to your Common Rooms!” he barked.

Reluctantly, the crowd dispersed, and Snape stalked toward the Hospital Wing, hoping Poppy had an idea of what had happened. And more importantly, how to fix him.

In the meantime, Lockhart had reached his quarters at a run and had crawled under his four-poster bed, hiding. 

He trembled and sobbed for quite some time.

How? Why?

It was the absolute worst that could have happened! He had promised his grandmother never to cast THE SPELL on someone else. Never! She had warned him that he would lose all of his good looks and would never be able to regain them through this particular spell again. Ever!

Lockhart howled in despair.

It was the only spell he could perform word- and wandless due to necessity. He couldn’t even do a wandless memory charm! He had practised The Spell for years because one had to cast it on oneself while in the company of a few others. It didn’t work when one was alone, and one should never cast it when more than ten people are in the room. And. No. One. Could. Know!

His grandmother had beat it into his head for weeks. It was forbidden and dark magic!

Why oh why had he cast this spell on Snape of all people? He wailed internally. Yes, it was embarrassing that the man bested Gilderoy so utterly, but he hadn’t even thought about that! He had just reacted! He had no wand and so had cast the only spell he could perform without one. Stupid! 

Lockhart scowled and then imagined how ugly he must be looking right now. 

He curled up and cried himself into a fretful sleep.

In the Hospital Wing, everyone was stumped and amused, much to Severus’s annoyance. 

By now Poppy, Albus, Filius, and Minerva were casting spells on him with little to no success. He stayed looking like a character out of a romance novel his mother had secretly read. He had found her stash once and had been very disgusted by the pictures on the covers. Even though he might’ve imagined himself in one of those positions with Lily, once. He had been sixteen. So, sue him!

“It looks like Dark Magic, my dear boy. I’ll need to research this spell extensively. It cannot be legal, but Gilderoy will certainly help me with this,” Albus said with some steel in his voice. “I wonder why he isn’t here, anyway. It seems telling. Maybe he knows it’s not reversible?” 

“Don’t even think that!” Severus yelped. “I cannot teach like this!”

“Gilderoy seemed to have managed to do so, while looking very handsome, Severus. Surely you can do so as well,” Albus said with twinkling eyes.

Snape huffed and swirled around dramatically and stalked out of the room.

“Students will faint left and right if he continues to behave like this,” McGonagall muttered.

Dumbledore chuckled, “May I ask you to show me your memory of that event, Minerva? Maybe we can find some clues in it.”

“Certainly. Your office?”

“After you, my dear. Filius? Are you coming?”

While Dumbledore, Flitwick, and McGonagall watched the memory a second time, they noticed that some of the older pure-blood girls seemed to know that spell and looked at Lockhart in anger after he had cast it.

“Something’s going on,” Flitwick said. “Something all the pretty pure-bloods know but don’t talk about, wouldn’t you agree?”

McGonagall and Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.

“Mostly Slytherin and some Ravenclaw girls, it looked like. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were clueless,” McGonagall added.

Dumbledore and Flitwick nodded thoughtfully. 

“We’ll question them all tomorrow after class,” Dumbledore decided.

Chapter Text

The next morning – a Friday – started like every school day. The only difference was the absence of Professors Lockhart and Snape at breakfast. 

Not that it was a surprise. The students just wondered which one of the professors would be the ugly one and which one would be the most handsome man of all handsome men. 

The Gryffindor second years had to suffer through their History of Magic class first, but luckily had Defence Against the Dark Arts afterwards. Only, when they arrived at the classroom, a bored-looking prefect awaited them to tell them that, apparently, Lockhart had disappeared. 

The students groaned. 

“The one time I was looking forward to the git’s class and he ditches us,” Ron groused with many of his fellow students nodding along.

“And I so wanted to know which spell he used! I couldn’t find anything in the library. Not even in the… you know…,” Hermione added, looking shifty.

Ron and Harry nodded. If she hadn’t found anything, not even in the Restricted Section, there was nothing to be found, they were sure of that.

“And no one will tell us even when they find something,” Hermione mourned.

“Yeah, we just have to live with it,” Harry groused. He was quite familiar with being kept in the dark. Sometimes quite literally. 

“Well, nothing to it. Let’s start our homework for History of Magic. We'll have more free time on the weekend then.”

The two boys groaned but followed her obediently. Ron because by now he knew he had no chance to escape, and Harry because he secretly agreed with Hermione. He liked having his weekends free. 

At lunch, the trio learned that Snape still looked like a Hollywood star according to Angelina Johnson, and that he was in a very bad mood, but no one cared. Moody Snape was eye candy according to her.

Ron was very confused by her tale. He had the feeling he was hearing a different language, where he understood some of the words, but they didn’t make sense. At all!

“Muggles!” he huffed. “What does Mad-Eye have to do with wand-wood and with Snape?”

At least he had managed to confuse the Muggle-raised now, too.

Hermione blinked and for once decided to let it go, “She just said that he’s still looking incredibly handsome and is not happy about it.”

“Only Snape would be unhappy about being good-looking,” Ron huffed.

The rest of the occupants of their table laughed.

“He seems to have taken to eating somewhere else,” Harry noted. “No wonder, with all the staring. It takes time to get used to it.”

Many blushed after thinking about Harry’s experience at Hogwarts so far.

In another part of the castle, Severus Snape was slowly going insane. This just wasn’t him! He was no brain-dead fop with shiny, always heroically fluttering hair. 

He scoffed. 

He had rather liked it when the students looked at him with disgust and hatred. That was what he deserved, he thought (again). 

No one should look at him with honest admiration and affection! No. One. 

Not even his mother had looked at him that way. Ever. 

Well, maybe he was exaggerating just a bit. Lily had looked at him in a similar but non-vapid way. But look where it had gotten her, he thought, and tried to scowl. 

Luckily, no one saw it, or they would have called it cute.

He just hoped Albus would be more successful in finding a cure for this awful curse Lockhart had hit him with. And maybe he should talk to Narcissa. She knew all about beautifying charms, light and dark magic ones. Yes, he would do that as soon as possible. She probably had been informed by her son already anyway and surely had an idea of what to do. It was obvious the older and prettier Slytherin girls had an idea so Narcissa must have one as well.

He just had to survive his last class. Unfortunately, it was the fifth-year Gryffindor/Hufflepuff class so there would be many doe-eyed looks – again.

He nearly wept at the thought. He deserved much, but he didn’t deserve this!

That evening an exhausted Potions Master stuck his head into his fireplace, which was merely burning in bright green flames, and called for Malfoy Manor.

A downtrodden house-elf clothed in a dirty pillowcase answered, and soon Narcissa strode into the reception room smiling brightly at Severus. He noticed she looked a little worried, but that disappeared quickly when she noted his scrutiny.

“Severus! By Merlin, Draco was right! You look stunning. Please come through!” She waved her wand, opening the floo for travel.

Severus immediately complied and stepped out of the floo five seconds later.

“Oh my, look at you! He really did cast The Spell in front of most of the student body?”

Severus could actually hear the capital letters, “The Spell?”

Narcissa swallowed, and said, “Come, let’s go to the drawing room. We can talk in private there. Lucius has friends over in his study.”

Severus nodded and followed her. It seemed he would get answers now, at last.

As soon as they had sat down, he turned his awe-inspiring black eyes to Narcissa and said in his velvety dark voice, “Tell me.” And added after a second, “Please.”

Narcissa did something very uncharacteristic for her. She wrung her hands. “Severus, you must understand, this spell is normally not talked about, outside of a mother-daughter relationship. It’s taboo.”

“Not even Lucius or Draco know of it?”

“No. It’s a dangerous spell if cast on someone else, the caster loses all of their good looks. Especially if they had cast The Spell on themselves beforehand, more than once.”

“That would explain Lockhart’s looks after he hit me with it.”

Narcissa nodded, “I understood he cast it wandless and silently?”

Severus nodded, “He did. Much to our surprise.”

“That’s the only way it’s ever cast. No one’s supposed to know. But I guess knowledge about The Spell will become common now,” she sighed. “Women have kept it quiet for such a long time, and now this bird-brained, snooty-nosed little upstart male idiot has to show it for all the wizarding world to see. I heard that Muggle-boy, who annoys everyone with his camera so much, took pictures?”

Severus blinked. Narcissa was amazingly angry and outspoken just now. He had never seen nor heard her talking like this. “He did. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Daily Prophet got their hands on them.”

She sighed once more. 

“Can you reverse it?” Severus asked with a rather uncharacteristically hopeful look on his face.

“I’m sorry, I can’t. There are rumours that a counter-curse exists, but my mother didn’t know about it. And should you cast the spell on someone else, you’ll not only look like Lockhart does now, but something horrible will happen to you, as well. I don’t think it’s only hearsay. Until yesterday it was only a warning, told by my mother, that the effects would reverse themselves if cast on someone else and that turned out to be very true.”

Severus’s heart sank at the news, “Do you have a book about this spell?”

“No, I don’t. Maybe in the Black library, but the house has been on lockdown since Walburga’s death. Hm,” Narcissa thought about it and then added, “I know someone working as an Unspeakable. Maybe they can help.”

Severus looked startled and then nodded, “I would appreciate that. But I refuse to go to the Department of Mysteries like this. Could you ask if the Unspeakable would agree to meet me here?”

Narcissa nodded regally. Apparently, she had pulled herself together again. “I would gladly host a meeting here. Yule’s coming up, so I hope they agree to meet tomorrow or on Sunday. I’ll contact you as soon as I know a meeting date.”

“Thank you,” was the heartfelt answer. “Now another question. What can you tell me about this curse?”

“Not much. I’ll not say the incantation, but I can tell you that it’s Dark by nature, and it has to be cast on oneself, when in the company of at least one other wizard or witch. But no more than five.” *

“You know that every dark spell has a price. What’s the cost for this one?”

“It’s assumed the cost is the possibility of becoming hideous if one casts it on someone else. I never noticed any other price being extracted.”

Severus scoffed, “Other than the fact that Slytherin has the ugliest boys of all houses in its midst?”

Now it was Narcissa’s turn to start, “You think the spell steals the good looks of others? No! It cannot be! Many men are and stay good-looking. Lucius is a prime example.”

“Hm, maybe some are more susceptible than others? Or the toll is extracted differently from the others? Who knows. But I'm sure everyone close by is affected in some way or you wouldn’t need others to be in the vicinity of the spell. What a frivolous way to use the Dark Arts!”

Narcissa looked rather pale now, “I never thought of it that way. Oh, Morgana, what have we been doing? I’ll contact the Unspeakable first thing tomorrow morning.”

Severus huffed and nodded, “I’ll ask the girls in Slytherin, who obviously know more than they let on, to stop using that spell without further ado. My guess is, they are under a geas or oath not to tell anyone, correct?”

“It’s possible. I never tried to talk about this to anyone, and my mother trusted me to keep quiet.”

“At least there are only a few who know about it and if they have to cast the spell wandless and silent, even less will have been able to do so while still in school.”

Narcissa nodded, “My guess is more than a few women know about The Spell but cannot cast it like that and so they don’t. Maybe some cast it next to their sleeping husbands? Oh, and I think many women only start using that spell after having their first child, to get back into shape. I did.”

Severus actually looked very shocked at Narcissa now, so she asked, “What?”

He soundlessly moved his mouth and then said quietly, “Narcissa, listen to yourself and think!”

She frowned, “What do you mean? Are you talking about the price?”

Severus nodded, still looking horrified.

What could he be talking about that made him so appalled? What had she said? She had started using The Spell after Draco’s birth. Her first child. And unfortunately, she had not been able to get pregnant with anoth…, “Oh!” she gasped. “Oh nononono! That cannot be possible! I didn’t do that to myself! No!”

The always so refined and collected pure-blood woman burst into tears.

Severus, who was scolding himself internally for opening his mouth, got up and pulled Narcissa into an awkward hug. She had always desperately wanted more children, but after Draco, nothing had worked anymore. “We’ll find the counter-curse, Narcissa. I'm sure of that.” He patted her back helplessly.

Just then, a Patronus flew into the room and Albus Dumbledore’s voice could be heard, “Severus, please return to the school at once. A student has been petrified as well as a ghost.”

Chapter Text

In the Gryffindor Common Room, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were huddled together and whispering animatedly to one another. They were discussing how to proceed with their plan of using the newly brewed Polyjuice Potion to discover the identity of the Slytherin’s heir.

Just when they agreed to wait, a loud blaring klaxon sounded from all directions.

Students milled around confused while covering their ears, not knowing what to do. Hermione, Harry, and other Muggle-raised had an idea of what they were hearing and why, and so they wondered where the meeting point during emergencies even was. 

Fortunately for their eardrums, Professor McGonagall swept into the room and waved her wand, and cut off the noise, much to the Gryffindor’s relief.

“Well,” she barked, “Emergency procedure, prefects. Are all the students accounted for?”

The prefects, including Percy, looked at each other cluelessly.

McGonagall huffed and waved her wand and a list appeared in her hands. “Oh dear,” she muttered and then said in a louder voice, “No one leaves the room through this portrait. I’ll investigate why the alarm was sounded.”

“Professor, what’s going on? What if there’s a fire?” Hermione called out, looking quite worried.

“Preposterous. Now, stay here!” With that, the professor left.

Students looked at one another faces full of bafflement and fear. Some had even started crying.

One of the prefects called out, “I don’t know what these emergency procedures are, but the idea of a headcount makes sense. Please, send one of you to each dorm to see if you find any classmates there and ask them to come down. The prefects will cover the bathrooms.

Harry and Hermione jumped up to look for their second-year classmates while Ron waited.

Meanwhile, a Muggle-raised prefect sorted the students into year groups and soon Ron was joined by all the second-year girls of their house, as well as Harry and Seamus.

“Where are Dean and Neville?” Ron asked and Seamus shrugged but before he could answer, Percy came up to them and asked, “Everyone accounted for?”

“No, Dean and Neville are missing,” Ron answered.

“I think Neville went to the greenhouses,” Hermione added, and Percy nodded and wrote it down.

“And Dean wanted to ask Nearly Headless Nick something for our History essay, I think,” Seamus added. 

“All right, thanks.” Percy nodded, wrote that down as well, and went to the worried-looking first-years.

The second-years heard him ask, “Where’s Ginny?” and saw the smaller students shrug while looking worried.

At that moment, the portrait door opened, and a slightly dirty Neville trotted in. He looked a bit taken aback because of all the eyes staring at him and the students calling out asking him if he knew what was going on.

Neville shook his head bewildered, came over to his year mates, and was filled in immediately.

“There was no alarm at the greenhouses. At least, I don’t think so, but I was wearing earmuffs because I was helping Professor Sprout with the Mandrakes. She didn’t leave or anything, either. It was all very calm and normal.”

“Strange,” Hermione mused. “I really would like to know the emergency procedures. There’s nothing on the board. I looked in our first year. And why did she say it was preposterous to ask about a possible fire?”

“Uh, I think all houses are warded against fire and other natural disasters like floods, right?” Neville explained.

“Really? I didn’t know that! Do you know where I would need to look in the library about wards? This is immensely interesting!” Hermione asked excitedly.

“Uh, I don’t know. Maybe in the runes section?” Neville guessed.

Harry agreed with Hermione that it was very interesting, but he was more worried about the still missing students right now. He watched Ron conferring with his brothers when the twins jumped up and raced up the stairs, while one of them was pulling a parchment out of his pocket.

Ron came over, “The twins have a way of tracking Ginny, they say, but they don’t want to tell us how they do it. So, we wait,” he scowled.

Quite some time later, the twins walked down the stairs again, looking rather bemused. They moved towards their brothers and the second years. “Er…Ginny, right. She’s on her way up, we think. She’s right next to another person, so it was a little hard to see… uh… get a lock on her?” George said, looking uncertain. “She should be here in a minute.”

Fred, looking equally confused – having his hand firmly on his left pocket – nodded, “Someone called 'Tom’, we think.”

They all watched the portrait door, and it soon opened, and a very tired- and pale-looking Ginny entered. She was as taken aback, as Neville had been, by all the attention she was getting.

“Ginny!” Percy called out and rushed over to her, “Where were you? We were so worried about you! Are you alright? Who’s Tom? And where is he?”

Ginny squeaked in fright, pulled herself out of Percy’s worried hold of her shoulder, and ran up the staircase leading to the girl’s dormitories, where he couldn’t follow.

“Beautifully done, Perce,” George groused only half-heartedly. He had wanted to ask Ginny the same questions himself, after all.

“She didn’t look good,” Percy said, unperturbed by George’s sarcasm for once, and his brothers nodded, looking just as concerned.

Meanwhile, the other prefects had completed their headcount and now they all were waiting for their Head of House, as well as the still missing three students while feeling rather helpless. 

A giggling couple, who then entered, was quickly filled in. They confessed they had used a noise-cancelling charm on the room they had been in for some reason, the younger years only had a vague idea about. 

“Only Dean’s missing now,” Seamus said, worrying his lip.

After another tense fifteen minutes, Professor McGonagall entered the common room again and let her eyes wander over her house members. Her eyes rested on Harry a second longer than on others, but he was sure he was the only one noticing. 

“Another petrification has occurred,” she announced. “And– please be quiet! As I said, another petrification occurred. This time it was a student.”

“Dean,” Seamus and some others whispered.

“Unfortunately, you’re correct, Mr Finnigan. Dean Thomas and our house ghost Nearly Headless Nick were found petrified in a seldom-used corridor close by. They’ll be moved to the Hospital Wing to make sure they are adequately cared for. Fortunately, they can and will be restored to their fullest as soon as the Mandrakes are past their adolescence and ready for brewing the Mandrake Restorative Draught.”

“When?” Seamus called out. 

“Mr Longbottom?”

“Uh, they should be ready in May or June. One never can say for sure.”

“That’s in half a year! How can you do that?” Seamus yelled.

“Quiet, Mr Finnigan, the Headmaster has decided.”

“But how can a ghost get petrified? And how do you move a petrified ghost? And how can one give a potion to a ghost? Ghosts are incorporeal!”

“Not now, Miss Granger. That will be all. Go to your dorms now.”

“Uh, Professor?” Fred said haltingly.

“Not now, Mr Weasley! This is no time for pranks!”

“But…” 

But the professor had turned and left the common room quickly, mind already on her petrified student.

“She’s useless!” Fred said angrily and the twins left for their dorm in a huff, whispering to each other.

Hermione couldn’t disagree at this moment. How could Professor McGonagall leave them alone after announcing such harrowing news? It just was inconceivable! And to lose a full semester of school! Such a scary thought. She uncomfortably noticed that she was glad it wasn’t her.

Harry nudged her and pulled Ron and Hermione into a corner whispering, “We need to move forward with the plan now, don’t you think? We must catch the heir!”

“Oh! You’re right Harry!” Ron exclaimed loudly.

“Shhh,” Hermione admonished him. 

And so, the three went on planning their next adventure. 

In the meantime, in the first-year dorm room, Ginny was staring at a little, black notebook with trepidation. What was going on? What had happened? Why couldn’t she remember? Why had everyone stared at her? How did Percy know about Tom? Why had she woken up covered in blood and feathers a few days ago? Why couldn’t she remember the last hour or so?

It was so scary! But she couldn’t tell anyone! Tom would certainly tell everyone about her crush on The Boy Who Lived!

Ginny felt very much alone and cried herself to sleep.

Chapter Text

After breakfast the next day, the twins could be heard asking Flitwick for a private meeting about the safety of their school, and when the Charms Professor asked why they didn’t go to their Head of House, one of the twins answered, “She blew us off. She thinks our minds are always only set on pranks, nothing else. But that isn’t true!”

Flitwick looked surprised but asked them to follow.

In the Headmaster’s Office, Severus was passionately declining Dumbledore’s “offer” to accompany him to his meeting at Malfoy Manor. Narcissa had come through and the Unspeakable had agreed to meet this very same day.

“This is a private meeting, where private things will be discussed. So, no, you may not come! I’ll tell you all the relevant details after I come back, now I must leave.”

“Severus, you’re meeting an Unspeakable. I must attend!”

“Why?”

“She might hear about the petrification of a student, my boy. That cannot happen.”

“You didn’t inform the Ministry?”

“Severus, it’s a school matter. There’s no need to worry the public. And you know as well as I do that nothing stays secret at the Ministry.”

“We are meeting about the spell Lockhart cast. So, that topic will not come up. Good day Albus,” Severus said and turned to leave.

Dumbledore looked quite worried at the now-closed door. It wouldn’t do it if the Ministry stuck their long noses into Hogwarts’ affairs.

He also noted how he was used to people agreeing to any whim he had. Maybe it would do him good to get denied, once in a while.

Fawkes trilled in agreement.

Severus stepped out of the floo and was immediately led to the drawing room by the same sad-looking house-elf. 

When he entered, he noted that Narcissa sat at the low tea table with another person, who was shrouded in Unspeakable’s robes.

After greeting each other, getting a cup of tea, and after Narcissa had thanked Severus for his timely Patronus message to her yesterday – telling her not to worry, her son was well –  they started the meeting.

Severus told the story of his “duel” to “Unspeakable No. 15”, and Narcissa injected a few observations her son had made and had written in a letter to her about.

Nr. 15 listened attentively but seemed to get quite alarmed the longer the story went on.

Just when Severus started to tell her their conclusion, she cut him off and said, “Never mind that now. The biggest concern right now is where Lockhart is at the moment. He needs to be contained immediately!”

Taken aback, Severus answered, “He disappeared during the night after the duel. That means sometime between Thursday and Friday. He left without his wardrobe, just packing a small bag. He even left his wand, as far as I know. But maybe the house-elves collected it in the Great Hall and returned it to him.”

The Unspeakable nodded and pulled out a pink seashell and started talking into it, “No. 1, No. 15 speaking. Do you copy? We have a code 33. Location unknown, name Gilderoy Lockhart, time of casting Thursday afternoon in front of hundreds of students. Successful casting confirmed. Code 33. Over.”

A tiny voice barked out of the shell, “Are you on drugs? Code 33? We haven’t had one in 3 centuries! The spell is thought to be eradicated!”

“It isn’t. The casters just got smarter about it. Now get going and contain the idiot. I’ll investigate further. No. 15 out.”

Narcissa and Severus looked quite alarmed now. 

Severus was the first to find his voice, “You sounded like secret agents just now. What was that?”

“We are a sub-division of MI-5. You know about the Muggle world?”

“Half-blood. So, what was that? Why does Lockhart need containment? What about me?”

“Most of it is confidential, Mr Snape, but Mr Lockhart needs to get contained more than Voldemort ever needed containment. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but you get my meaning. Anyway, you don’t need to worry, we have the perfect place for him. All you need is the counter-curse, nothing else. We have it, but I have to look it up first. Do not cast the spell Lockhart cast on you. It’s highly illegal.”

Narcissa flinched, “What?”

“Mrs Malfoy, it’s Dark Magic of the evil kind, and the spell’s in league with the Unforgivable Curses.”

“No! I didn’t know! It was supposed to be a cute little spell to help keep one’s looks and not hurt anyone!”

“So, how many pure-blood women are casting it as of today?”

“I don’t know! It’s never to be talked about, my mother taught me. Can you reverse it on me too? Please?” Narcissa again had lost a lot of her normal unflappability. 

“Yes. With the same counter, I’ll use it on Mr Snape. So, how often have you cast it and who was present?”

“I cast it twice. And present were my husband and Messrs. Crabbe, Goyle, and Macnair.”

“Both times?”

“Yes.” 

“Very well. If you agree to swear an oath never to cast this spell again nor teach it to anyone, you’ll probably get off with a warning. The last time we had this situation, we offered a blanket pardon for swearing to never cast the spell. We should have made certain it wasn’t taught either. Stupid, superficial, vain idiots!” Unspeakable No. 15 cursed and Narcissa shrank into herself, feeling very silly and ashamed.

“No wonder the birthrates didn’t go up!” the unforgiving Unspeakable added in their distorted voice and Narcissa burst into tears again.

“Please refrain from talking about this any longer, No. 15,” Severus said and the Unspeakable nodded.

“My apologies, Mrs Malfoy, I didn’t know it was a delicate subject.”

Narcissa nodded graciously and cast a cleaning charm on her face, “You’re right to scold us. It was idiotic and brainless. Can the effects of The Spell be reversed entirely even if I cast it by my own volition?”

“Yes. That’s the good part of this spell. But the counter has to be cast by the caster of the spell to reach its full effect in this case. And yes, Mr Snape. I’ll be able to cast the counter on you but to gain your true looks Mr Lockhart would have to cast the counter and he’ll not be available to do so, I'm afraid.”

“And the reason why that would be confidential, am I right?” Severus asked with a sigh and the Unspeakable nodded.

“But I’ll no longer look like a hero from the cover of a cheap romance novel?”

Nr. 15 chuckled and answered, “No, but you’ll stay a little more handsome than you would have been naturally. I have seen you before, and now that I know of this issue, I'm quite sure that you were an unwitting attendee of quite many castings of this spell in your common room when you were a student, so you’ll never look like you did before this Thursday.”

“Oh, well. Better than looking like I do now.”

“And you might never be able to father a child the natural way. But as you’re a Potions Master…”

Here Severus actually chuckled, “That’s all right. I never wanted to become a father.”

Narcissa frowned delicately but refrained from saying something. They had discussed this topic often enough, without ever agreeing on the issue.

“So, that’s it?” Severus concluded. “You catch Lockhart and look for the counter-spell as a short-term solution, but what will you do with the overall populace?”

“I need to discuss it with my superiors and colleagues. But I implore you to drop a hint to the girls at your school that casting the spell is highly illegal. You too, Mrs Malfoy. You surely attend some gatherings with multiple pure-bloods. And the quieter you whisper about it, the quicker it’ll spread. But you know that, I'm sure.”

Narcissa smiled wanly and nodded, “That would be a normal day’s work.”

“Maybe we should meet again after Yule and exchange news.”

“Will you floo me when you have found the counter-spell?” Severus tried not to sound too plaintive, but he doubted he had managed to do so. 

“I’ll if it’s much earlier than our next meeting, I promise.”

Severus sighed in relief and took his leave to inform Albus of the news and assure the man that his domain was still his to preside over all by himself.

Chapter Text

On Sunday, most of the students had left the school to celebrate Yule or Christmas, but Harry, Hermione, and the Weasley kids stayed. There had been some commotion when, as soon as the train had left, a couple of Aurors had arrived at Hogwarts.

The Headmaster tried to divert them to his office, but much to his surprise, they wanted to visit Filius Flitwick and no, the Charms Master was not in any legal trouble and no, Headmaster Dumbledore wasn’t needed for the meeting.

Some seventh-year Ravenclaws, who had decided to stay over the holidays to study for their N.E.W.T.s, overheard an Auror telling the Headmaster, “I know you’re the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot but at Hogwarts you’re here in the capacity as the headmaster and this investigation has nothing to do with your school. Please let us do our jobs.” The man said firmly, and he and his partner had left the frowning Headmaster standing in the Front Hall. 

The students gossiped about the visit. But when the Aurors had left with no one the wiser, it was soon forgotten about. 

The ‘Golden Trio’ had concluded the perfect timing for their investigation under Polyjuice had arrived. Hermione and her two co-conspirators decided thusly because Malfoy and his goons were staying at Hogwarts as well. 

In the end, the whole ‘operation’ was a bust, much to their disappointment. Malfoy didn’t know anything about Slytherin’s heir and Hermione had cat-like features now and had to go to the Hospital Wing where Madame Pomfrey kept her.

On December 26 th two things of note happened. 

The first saw Harry moping around and mourning their failure. Because of that, he happened to come by Myrtle’s bathroom, where he found a black and blank notebook. The Book stayed dry even after Myrtle had flooded the floor when the book had been thrown into a toilet, if Myrtle was to be believed.

Harry decided it was interesting enough regardless of the places the notebook had been at and took it. He had just put it in his trunk when Ron found him, and they decided to go and visit Hermione. 

She told them she had to stay at the Hospital Wing for a few weeks much to her distress, but at least she could ask (badger) Madam Pomfrey all the questions about ghosts that Professor McGonagall hadn’t deemed necessary to answer.

Harry promptly forgot about the little black notebook.

The second thing of note was Severus’s second get-together with Unspeakable No. 15 and Narcissa.

They met in the same room they had been in on December 19 th and Severus skipped the pleasantries, asking immediately, “Did you find the counter-curse?”

Unspeakable No. 15 chuckled and said, “I did. Problems?”

Severus huffed and answered, looking quite exasperated, “Just today, a seventh-year Hufflepuff fainted when I walked by, can you imagine? I'm close to walking around on school grounds with a paper bag over my head!”

Narcissa nearly snorted her tea through her nose.

“It must be quite the turnabout for a private man like you, Mr Snape. Now, why don’t you take a seat, and I’ll cast the counter. You shouldn’t feel anything.”

Severus hurried to the free chair and sat down, looking expectantly at the Unspeakable. He didn’t care if he behaved like a first-year Gryffindor. He wanted the spell off! 

“Redianormalis.” 

He blinked, “That was it? I didn’t feel a thing. Wait, Redianormalis... redi ad normalis... Return to normal? That’s it?”

The Unspeakable nodded, “Yes, rather underwhelming, isn’t it?”

“Exceedingly so. So, please tell me that I'm not ‘dreamy’ anymore.”

Narcissa tilted her head to the side and looked at him, “Well, you’re still quite good-looking but not so artificially handsome as before.”

“Thank God!” Severus’s relief let his Muggle upbringing shine through. 

The two other persons chuckled and Narcissa then asked, “May I cast the spell on myself now? No wand movement, right?” 

“That’s correct and yes, please do so,” No. 15 said.

“Redianormalis.” 

Severus watched as Narcissa changed a little. She didn’t look as ethereal as before, but she was still very beautiful. 

He couldn’t stop himself from commenting, “There’s nearly no difference. The spell was rather unnecessary, in my opinion.”

No. 15 nodded, “Indeed.”

Narcissa didn’t quite know how to react to that. On the one hand, she felt relieved she hadn’t turned out to be an old hag according to them. On the other hand, casting The Spell on herself seemed so incredibly superficial, lazy, and hurtful now. She still wanted to see herself though and so asked the elf to bring a mirror.

Narcissa looked at herself critically and decided she could live with her appearance. There were other spells, light spells, she could use. It just took a little more effort.

Severus stepped in front of the mirror as eagerly as Narcissa had but with quite the opposite motive. He needed to look less handsome again! And he did. He didn’t look as ugly as before the whole ordeal, but now he looked like a normal human being. He was a little too thin, his mouth a little too wide, his skin just a little too pale, and so on. But all in all, he felt like that was the look that did fit his current inner self quite well, much to his surprise. 

After Narcissa and Severus had checked their appearances, they all settled down to talk again.

Narcissa asked, “May I teach the spell to Lucius? It’s best when he casts it himself, correct?”

“Correct. You may teach it to anyone and tell anyone about it. Just not the spell that made it all necessary. That reminds me, I need the oath from you later, that you never will teach it to anyone or cast it again.”

Narcissa had prepared the wording of this oath beforehand and gave the paper she had written it on to No. 15 for approval. After she received the go-ahead, she swore the oath on her magic then and there and looked quite elated afterwards.

“How will you assure everyone in the know has sworn that oath?” Severus asked.

“We cannot possibly assure that, but we’ll make certain People will know the consequences, should they get discovered, as we do with all illegal spells.”

Severus nodded.

“But we’ll make as many people swear this oath as possible. We won't make the same mistake to trust society again with this issue. It’s just too dangerous.”

“Because we’ll die out?”

“Yes. But also, you have to know that the spell doesn’t only make the victims lose their looks, it can also make them sterile, or even go insane in some rare cases.”

“Don’t tell me the Dark Lord arose because of this spell!” Severus asked, looking incredulous and appalled.

“We don’t know, but it might have been a factor leading him down this path. After the spell was invented the number of Dark Lords and Ladies quadrupled.”

Severus nearly bit himself bloody to prevent himself from cursing loudly.

Narcissa looked like she had the same problem.

“Another quite common effect of the spell is stupidity. By now, we have concluded that some – let’s say – not so magically apt women have cast the spell in front of their babies when they were unable to do the casting wandless and/or silent. A baby wouldn’t have been able to remember, after all. That would explain the dramatic decline of grades within the pure-blood community.”

Narcissa looked green by now, but Severus perked up, “Would that mean my house could become smarter overnight?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what it means.”

Severus looked quite gleeful at the thought. 

“How will we inform everyone of the spell? The Daily Prophet?” Narcissa asked drolly.

“That’s exactly what we plan to do. The article or articles will be released within the week. Oh, that reminds me. Narcissa said that a student took before-and-after photographs of Mr Lockhart and you, Mr Snape?”

“He did indeed. Fortunately, the student in question went home for the break and couldn’t open a business selling them to the masses. I have nightmares of teenage girls hanging posters of stupidly-handsome me in their dormitories.”

Narcissa and No. 15 both chuckled.

“I see. Would you mind visiting him and asking him for pictures of you and Lockhart before and after the spell? And maybe even one of you as you look now?”

Severus nodded thoughtfully, “I can do that. It probably would be best if people see for themselves what you’re talking about. Even if I certainly will not enjoy my picture being published in the paper, it seems necessary. Maybe I’ll ask Mr Creevey to take some pictures of the of-age students, too. Marcus Flint just turned seventeen, I believe. He might be a good example. But that would mean waiting with the article until term starts and the pictures can be taken and developed. Hm, no. The sooner the better, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes, you’re right. The pictures of you and Lockhart should suffice.”

“ You can always send further pictures to the Prophet for a follow-up later,” Narcissa added.

“That’s a good idea. Thank you.”

Severus nodded, then asked, “Talking about Lockhart, did you find him, and what happened to him?”

“Yes, we found him just in time. He’s at Azkaban now.”

“Oh, that’s harsh. Was that necessary? I'm sure Albus will try to speak up on his behalf.”

“Hm, yes. It was necessary. Maybe we should let the Prophet print a picture of how he looks now...”

“He looks uglier than he did a week ago? Is that possible?”

“Yes, it is.”

Narcissa turned green again, “Don’t tell me he turned into a ... No!”

Severus frowned and then paled considerably, as well. “Azkaban,” he whispered.

 No. 15 nodded and said, “You now understand the other reason we are doing our best to eradicate this spell, don’t you?”

“No one deserves that,” Severus agreed. “So, all of them were human once?”

“Yes. The ultimate punishment for thoughtless vanity, at least if the spell had been used on oneself first.”

“Please excuse me,” Narcissa murmured and hastily left the room, to get a hold of herself.

Severus sat there quietly, thinking of all the repercussions the spell had.

“How can one single spell have such an impact on a whole society? It’s inconceivable.”

“That’s why we made it a standard procedure for the DMLE to always cast the counter-curse three centuries ago, but they haven’t done so in over a century… It seems we have flooded them with standard procedure for centuries and never retracted any. So, after unsuccessfully pleading with us to do so, they decided to use their best guess and the counter fell to the wayside.”

Severus scoffed and suggested, “Maybe your department needs a standard procedure to regularly check the DMLE standard procedures for their ongoing validity.”

“Ha! Yes, I’ll inform No. 1 that that’s what we’ll do. We cannot blame the other departments if we are not willing and prepared to better ourselves too!”

Severus decided he quite liked No. 15. They had a good head on their shoulders.

Narcissa quietly returned and Severus asked, “Another question that occurred to me, what happens if someone casts the counter on themselves, when they were the casualty, not the instigator? After all, they’ll have the price returned to them. And no gift is without a price in dark magic.”

“You’re quite right. When a victim of the curse takes back what was theirs in the first place, the good looks gained will be lost by the caster of the spell. So, even if the caster never casts the counter on themselves as Mrs Malfoy did, they’ll still look like their base self if all their victims take back what was theirs.”

“Hm, but you said I’ll forever look better than my base self would have. How’s that possible?”

“Well, you’re retaining all the looks Lockhart gifted to you by casting the spell. Only from his basic looks, though.”

Severus choked, “Bugger me!”

Narcissa giggled.

“Sorry.”

Narcissa waved him off. “Oh, I just thought of all the students who lent their looks to Severus unwittingly. You're saying that they got everything back?”

“Exactly.”

“That’s a relief.”

“I’ll call a house meeting on the first day of the term and have everyone cast the spell onto themselves, I promise you that, Narcissa.”

She nodded gratefully as Draco had decided to stay at Hogwarts with his father visiting business partners on the European mainland and the colonies overseas. She missed her darling and worried about him so very much!

Severus in the meantime tried to learn everything possible about the counter-spell, “So, the students will mostly be informed when they come back. Some will have cast the counter on themselves some will not, and some will have had a family member do the casting. I would like them all to cast it once again. Is it safe?”

No. 15 nodded, “Yes. The counter cannot do any harm. Remember what it essentially does. It allows the body to go back into its natural form. It can be cast as many times on a person as necessary and beyond. Furthermore, you’ll remember, I told you that other people can do the casting as well, but it’s not as effective. What I didn’t tell you yet, is that this is not entirely true. Past research has shown that when a person is hit by the counter more than six times at once, it’ll fully break the spell as well. The result of such a spellcasting is that the person cannot use the spell anymore. They are immune to it then.”

Severus looked at them in question and got the answer immediately, “No, your case is the exception. The person casting the spell on another pays the ultimate price and it’s not entirely reversible. Why that is, we don’t know and can and will not study. Even we do have some ethics and morals.”

Severus nodded, resigned. He could live with his current appearance. He even liked it, which was strange as he had cultivated his awful looks before that, thinking he deserved them. This made him wonder, “I have a personal question. I would like it to stay between the three of us. Is that possible?”

Narcissa nodded and No. 15 said, “As long as it doesn’t go against magic and the more important laws, sure, go ahead.”

Chapter Text

Severus nodded, resigned. He could live with his current appearance. He even liked it, which was strange as he had cultivated his awful looks before that, thinking he deserved them. This made him wonder, “I have a personal question. I would like it to stay between the three of us. Is that possible?”

Narcissa nodded and No. 15 said, “As long as it doesn’t go against magic and the more important laws, sure, go ahead.”

“You said being an unwilling donor can make a person actually go insane in some cases. I don’t think that happened in my case, but my understanding is that Lockhart cursing me with it reversed the negative effects the primary spell had done to me over time?”

“Indeed, it just went too far onto the ‘positive’ side of things.”

“Much too far,” Severus scowled. “Anyway, I noted a difference in my attitude. In retrospect, my emotions were stuck in a teenager’s mindset. I felt like no one understood me, I hated myself and the world, and I even saw no problem with bullying children,” Severus swallowed, “I was wallowing in self-pity, to be honest.”

“Oh Severus,” Narcissa put her hand over his and squeezed it.

No. 15 nodded, and said, “Yes, there were some remarks about this in the documents I studied last week. We strongly suspect this to be a possible outcome, but it’s much harder to verify and measure. But we encountered this with the counter-curse. Are you sure your emotions changed after Lockhart's spell?”

Severus frowned, “Now that I think of it, it seems that my mindset only really changed after you cast the counter.” 

The Unspeakable nodded again, “ That would fit my resources. I recommend you meditate soon. You’re trained in mind magic?”

“Yes.”

“Very good, that will help you find your true equilibrium.”

“Thank Merlin.”

“You might notice some changes in attitudes within your House too. Please do try to document your observations.”

“I will.”

“And I’ll keep your personal business out of my report for the next 200 years. Afterwards, you won't care about it anymore and we’ll retain the knowledge. Would that be sufficient?”

“Yes, it would.”

“Now, on another matter. We’ll offer a blanket pardon until the end of January and establish the procedures within the Auror force again, so I recommend that you strongly advise the perpetrators to come forward and swear the oath Mrs Malfoy swore. Oh, by the way, may I have a copy of your written oath, Mrs Malfoy?”

“Certainly,” she handed it over. She had her copy saved in her files.

Severus nodded as well and thought about it, “It probably will become quite obvious who had cast The Spell in most cases. I’ll do my best not to have the guilty parties become persona non grata within the school but I will ensure they understand the law Ignorantia juris non excusat applies here, like for everything else.”

“That’s an excellent point. We might use it in the article as well. Maybe in its English translation.”

The other two chuckled.

Severus summarised his tasks, “I’ll meditate, have a house meeting at the start of term and have all the students learn the counter-spell and have them cast it too. Additionally, I’ll assure the guilty parties know the scope of the law and the penalties and they come to swear the oath to you. I’ll observe and document my findings. What else? Right, I’ll strongly recommend the other three Heads of Houses to do the same, after the article has been published. Oh, and I’ll get the photographs from Mr Creevey.”

“And I’ll teach Lucius as soon as he returns and after the news break, I’ll discreetly campaign for the other suspects to swear the oath.”

“Very good, I don’t think I could have found someone more qualified for these particular tasks,” No. 15 remarked.

“Well, we found you , didn’t we?” an amused-looking Severus said.

“Indeed.”

They agreed to meet again next Saturday. It would be after the article was published but before the students returned.

Harry and Ron were enjoying their dinner with the other people who stayed at the castle over the holidays when Ron elbowed Harry gently and said, “Look! It’s Snape!”

Harry (and everyone else) looked up and saw the mentioned teacher had come out of the side door and was walking toward their shared table in measured steps.

“Oh,” one Hufflepuff seventh-year girl sighed dejectedly.

“Severus! You’ve changed in appearance once again! Tell us how that was accomplished!” the Headmaster called out excitedly, expecting the Potions Master to scoff and decline to answer.

Severus took his seat and said, “The Unspeakable from the Department of Mysteries of the Ministry, whom I’ve been in contact with, found the counter-curse for the spell Gilderoy Lockhart has hit me with. It’s a long story, which will soon appear in the papers, so I’ll save my breath and eat if you don’t mind.”

Dumbledore minded and said, “The papers you say?”

“Indeed, published by that Department.”

“But Severus, that...” he trailed off, noticing all the interested eyes and ears.

“Albus, there’s no way around it and it really is for the Greater Good that the public is informed of this. Believe me.”

Dumbledore frowned. He didn’t like it, but Severus was right. There was no way around it, if the one department he could not influence was in charge. He just didn’t like it when others made the decisions. It wasn’t for the best most of the time, he had learned.

“You must tell me later, my boy,” he said.

Severus sighed and answered, “If you insist. But let’s do it in the staff room. I don’t want to do it more than once before the news breaks.”

 Dumbledore conceded and returned to eating and the rest of them did so as well.

“What do you think Snape is telling the teachers now,” Ron asked when the two boys entered their common room.

“I wish I knew! Why didn’t he tell us? He said it’ll be in the papers soon anyway,” Harry whined.

“Yeah, not fair!” Ron flopped onto one of the couches close to the fireplace.

“We must tell Hermione everything about it when we visit her tomorrow!” Harry curled up into the other corner of the couch.

“She’ll go bonkers not knowing.”

Harry grinned, “Yeah, let’s share the pain.”

They sniggered.

“By the way, Harry. Do you know if rats...er... hibernate or something?”

“Uh, I don’t think so? Why?”

“Well, Scabbers disappeared after Dean was petrified.”

“Wow! Do you think he got petrified as well and no one noticed?”

“I dunno,” Ron answered morosely.

“Maybe the loud alarm scared him, and he’s hiding.”

“That sounds about right. Good idea! Better than him joining Mrs Norris and Dean. Thanks, Harry!”

“You’re welcome.”

They settled down and started to play chess.

In the staff room, Severus told all present teachers about The Spell and its counter. There was much disbelief and anger.

When Severus had finished his tale, Albus, who had heard part of it already, sat there quietly contemplating the repercussions. 

Not so the others. Minerva was especially incensed. “You’ll teach me the counter-curse this minute, Severus Snape,” she snapped.

“Sure, even if I don’t think you were an unwilling donor, but better safe than sorry in this case. The incantation is Redianormalis with the wand pointed at the target. No wand movement.”

“ Redianormalis ? Very well, that should be simple enough,” Minerva said and cast the spell on herself. There was not much change. But she seemed to relax a bit. 

The rest of the teachers tried it as well with few outward changes other than some of them becoming prettier. Mainly Aurora, Septima, and Bathsheda. And Filius to all of their surprise.

Even Albus cast the counter-curse on himself and frowned a little afterwards. Severus  wanted so badly to perform Legilimency on the man just then. Naturally, he refrained from doing so.

There was much speculation about who had cast The Spell in some of their presences, but no one could say for sure.

“This will turn the whole wizarding world on its head,” Albus muttered.

“Hopefully for the better, wouldn’t you say, Albus?” Filius asked.

“Yes, yes, certainly. I just wonder how that will play out if the pure-bloods get smart again and have more children. I won’t say it’s bad per se, but you have to agree that it’ll change a lot of the current dynamics.”

“My hope is that the pure-blood part of our world will not feel as left behind by us half-bloods and the Muggle-born as they do now and will be less opposed to the necessary process any society has to take part in or it’ll stagnate too much,” Severus thoughtfully answered.

“Hear, hear,” Filius agreed.

Dumbledore nodded but didn’t look convinced.

Some of the others were sure it was because he feared he would lose some of his hold over their world. As for all his assurances that he didn’t want power, he had certainly amassed quite a lot over the decades. Sure, he had declined the Minister’s post more than once, but he did take the post as the main educator of magical Britain’s youth as well as being the Head of their national and international legislature.

“Well, I’ll speak to Croaker tomorrow, maybe we can hold them off a little. There should be no need to worry the public,” Albus decided.

“What do you mean ‘we’? I certainly don’t want them to stop,” Severus said with certainty.

“Me neither!” many of the others called out.

Albus nodded, looking quite serious and bade them all goodnight.

As soon as the powerful old wizard had left the room Severus turned to Minerva and asked, “Minerva, I plan to visit the Creevey family tomorrow. Would you mind accompanying me?”

“Not at all, but why?”

“The Unspeakable thought it to be a good idea to publish before-and-after pictures of Lockhart and myself as a warning and an incentive to cast the counter-spell. And Mr Creevey was taking many pictures that day, I remember.”

“That’s a good idea,” Filius nodded.

Minerva was a little more on the fence about it. Albus didn’t seem to be very happy about it, but she agreed, and they decided to go after breakfast tomorrow.

Chapter Text

The next morning the two teachers met up at the gates of Hogwarts and Severus helped Minerva to transfigure her clothes into (slightly old-fashioned) Muggle wear. 

She then Apparated them to a close by Apparition point and soon they were ringing the bell of a narrow three-storey terraced house. 

The door opened and a smaller copy of Colin Creevey looked at them and beamed. 

“Hi!” The boy chirped and then yelled over his shoulder, “Colin! Your professor who turns into a cat, and the other one who turned into a model, are at the door! But the man looks different now again!

“Dennis!” A harried-looking young woman with blond hair and an apron came rushing out of the kitchen in the back. “What did I tell you about opening the door?” she scolded.

“But Muuum! I'm nearly eleven now!”

“Just don’t, okay? Oh, hello there, Professor McGonagall and company! Please come in. Sorry for the welcome!”

They entered the house and were led into the living room on the left side of the small hallway.

“Please take a seat. Dennis, please go fetch your brother. He must be in the attic in his darkroom developing our Christmas photos. But knock. Don’t just open the door!”

“I knooow!” the boy whined and trudged up the stairs.

The three adults exchanged exasperated but amused looks and Mrs Creevey asked, “Good morning, Mrs McGonagall, I understand you’re both professors at Colin’s school?”

Minerva answered, “Yes. This is Mr Creevey’s Potions Professor Mr Snape, who went through some impressive transformations during the last few weeks.”

“Yes, we saw the pictures. You look much better now if you don’t mind me saying, sir.”

“Thank you, Mrs Creevey. It’s a great relief not to look like a dashing hero out of a romance novel anymore, that’s for sure.”

The woman, who probably had meant Snape’s first looks, blinked, and nodded.

 They had to stop talking because it sounded as if a herd of elephants were running down the narrow stairs.

“Ah, there they are, my darling light-footed sons.”

“Muuum! You sound like Professor Sna– eeeeks!”

“Good morning Mr Creevey,” Severus said silkily.

Colin stared at his Professor red-faced and open-mouthed. After a moment, his mouth started moving, but no voice could be heard. 

Everyone watched in fascination while trying very hard not to laugh (well, except for Dennis).

Soon Colin forgot about his embarrassment because “Your looks changed again!”

“They did indeed. That’s why we are here, actually. You see, the magical branch of MI-5 found the reason for the change in the appearance of Professor Lockhart and myself and it seems that the spell he used on me has very dangerous side effects. Fortunately, they know the counter-curse and want to teach the public all about it.”

Minerva listened full of amazement. She had never heard Severus speaking so patiently to a student. Especially an excitable first-year Gryffindor.

Colin listened closely and asked, “They want the pictures, right?”

“Exactly. They want to publish your before-and-after pictures of both Professor Lockhart and I in the Daily Prophet. And maybe one photograph of my current appearances as well.” 

Colin nodded excitedly, “Makes sense! A picture worth a thousand words and all that, right?”

“Indeed.”

Colin’s mother injected, “Would that mean his photographs would be published in the magical newspapers?”

Severus nodded, “It would.”

“I see. What about copyrights and payment?”

McGonagall huffed and said, “Balderdash! It’s an honour if his pictures will be published in the magical world. Copyrights, my heart.”

Severus frowned at her and said, “Mrs Creevey, you raise a valid question. We should indeed ensure he owns the copyrights to his work.”

“What? That’s preposterous, Severus. He’s –”

“He is what? Muggle-born? Minerva, your prejudice is showing.”

The Transfiguration Professor snapped her mouth shut and sat ramrod straight on her chair, pursing her lips, glaring at Severus but was keeping quiet (for now).

Mrs Creevey watched the interaction with great interest.

Severus turned back to Colin and said, “Mr Creevey (Dennis giggled), a spell exists which you can cast on your negatives. It will make all the pictures on the film roll your property and they can only be printed with your explicit permission. There’s much more to it. So, as soon as you’re back at school, I’ll teach it to you, if you want.”

Colin nodded happily.

“It’s also possible to enchant singular pictures with your copyright. I propose we could do that with the pictures in question for this article that will appear within the next few days. Neither the Prophet nor other publications would be able to seize the photographs as their own then. And they would in a minute, if you just hand them over.”

Minerva’s neck turned red. She hadn’t thought of that.

Colin bounced on his toes and nodded along excitedly, “Yes! That sounds good, right Mum?”

Mrs Creevey nodded but said, “And what about payment?”

Severus nodded as well and said, “If you trust me, I’ll insist on the standard payment the Prophet pays for pictures, according to which page they are printed on and what article they belong to. It would be a good idea to open a vault and let the goblins of Gringotts take care of collecting payments for your pictures and pay the necessary taxes that will arise as surely as the sun does each morning. It would be in your parents’ names until your seventeenth birthday.”

Mrs Creevey nodded again, this sounded better than feeling honoured after the papers stole Colin’s pictures, “Would you help us set it up, Mr Snape?”

Minerva sniffed.

“Certainly, Mrs Creevey. When would be agreeable? We would need to go to Diagon Alley,” Severus said. He wondered about Minerva’s attitude. What was her problem? It was her Gryffindor, for whom she should be looking out.

“Well, it’s Sunday so no bank… Why are you shaking your head? The bank is open now? Oh. Well, I would like my husband with us, would this afternoon be alright?”

“It would. Mr Creevey (giggles), would you agree to take a picture of me now? I don’t know how long it would take you to develop it, but the sooner the better, would be my guess.”

“Yes! The film in my camera is nearly full. Now’s a perfect time! Wait here, I’ll get my camera.”

A single elephant ran up and down the stairs in a minute and soon they were discussing where to take the picture. 

After finding a nondescript wall to stand in front of, Colin took the last three pictures of the film and promised to have the pictures ready this afternoon and gushed about magical film development where he lost all of his listeners.

After agreeing on a meeting time, Minerva was in a hurry to leave, but Mrs Creevey had one more question, “Mrs McGonagall, Colin told us about the alarm that was sounded a few days before Christmas break.”

“So?”

“He told us that no one knew what it meant and what to do.”

“How’s that my problem? An alarm speaks for itself, doesn’t it?”

“Maybe with adult people, but not with children, so no, it doesn’t. Furthermore, I ask you, how should Colin and other children raised in the normal world know how to react to an alarm in a world foreign to them?”

“Hogwarts is the safest place in our world. And even then, there are emergency procedures.”

Colin frowned, “But what are they? Hermione said there are no emergency plans on the board or anywhere in Hogwarts. And the prefects didn’t know either!”

“They do know them. This is preposterous. We are leaving now!” Minerva turned and walked toward the door with quick, hard steps.

Mrs Creevey called out, “But what about the petrification of a student Colin told us about?”

But Minerva had already left, and the door banged shut behind her.

Severus was stunned. He had never seen or heard Minerva behaving like this. He turned to Mrs Creevey and said, “I don’t know what got into her, I'm sorry.”

“Well, if this were the normal world where she came from, I would call her an entitled snob. I know all about them, being married to a milkman,” she scowled in the direction of their front door.

Severus nodded, “My father worked at the local mill. I know what you mean. I didn’t always talk like I do now.”

“Are you Muggle-born too, Professor Snape?” Colin asked in wonderment.

“My father was a Muggle. Mother was a pure-blood witch, but I grew up in what your mother calls the normal world.”

“Wow!”

“Indeed. Now as to your questions, I’ll address the emergency procedures not being known in Gryffindor house –”

“Do the Slytherins know them, Professor?”

“They do indeed, Mr Creevey (Dennis giggled).”

“And the petrification of Dean Thomas?” Mrs Creevey asked.

“Well, that’s a more complicated topic, as the Headmaster doesn’t want it to be known. The good thing is, we have a way to reverse the petrification fully. The problem with it is that it’ll take time. At least until spring.”

“Were Dean’s parents even informed?”

“I certainly thought so, but now I'm not sure. I’ll investigate it.”

“I don’t know what to do. Colin loves the school and magic so very much, but it sounds so unsafe!”

Colin frowned. He didn’t like where this was going.

“I understand. The problem is, his magic needs training. You could take him out of school and pay a tutor, but that’s rather expensive, I’m afraid.”

“Yes, I know. Mrs McGonagall told us how unsafe it is to leave his magic untrained. And he’s receiving a scholarship or Hogwarts would be too expensive for us. Mrs McGonagall set it all up. She was so helpful last year… And now it’s just so hard to know he goes somewhere unsafe at such a young age.”

“I understand. You’re between a rock and a hard place right now. And I cannot promise you anything other than that I’ll be keeping my eyes open and looking after Mr Creevey (giggles). – And you, younger Mr Creevey, will need to get used to hearing your brother and you being called by your last name if you’re magical as well.”

“But Mr Creevey is my dad! And yes, I'm magical too!”

“He sure is,” Mrs Creevey looked harried again.

“Anything you need de-spelled while I'm here?” Severus guessed the problem.

Half an hour later, which meant a plastic toy Spiderman crawling at the ceiling, a dancing candy dish, and a happily farting toilet later, to be exact,  Severus took his leave after promising to come back at 3pm.

Back at Hogwarts, Severus found that Minerva had disappeared, so he let all the open topics rest until further notice and returned to the Creevey household at the agreed-upon time.

Mr Creevey Senior was delighted to meet him and rather thankful for his help with dispelling the accidental magics that had been active in the house. 

Colin showed Severus the photographs he had selected and received praise for the first time from his prickly Professor. It was well earned, the pictures showed the two men clearly, but no other person was identifiable. And Colin had developed the film from this morning as well.

They soon went to Diagon Alley, and, with the help of Severus, got everything sorted quickly. 

As the Creeveys lived on the outskirts of London, they had taken the train and tube to get to the Alley and so, after Severus bid them farewell, he went to the owl post office and sent a letter to No. 15 that he would be at the Atrium of the Ministry with the pictures and the contract for the Prophet to sign to be able to publish them at five o’clock.

The handover happened without a hitch and the two Unspeakables didn’t protest the copyright spells and paperwork at all. They seemed to have been expecting them.

Back at Hogwarts again, Severus learned that Minerva had decided to spend the rest of the break at home away from the castle.

Chapter Text

Two days later, the much-awaited articles were published at last. A free edition of the Daily Prophet was delivered to every witch and wizard above the age of eleven, much to Harry’s and Ron’s delight.

The first headline blared:

The 4^th Unforgivable!

Affecting us all!

There was a short history of an unnamed spell that had caused quite some problems in the past and had been banned without exception. It had been thought eradicated. But no! It had just moved underground.

Here the article told how people had forgotten all about the unpredictable negative effects the spell had on other people, and they only saw the positive ones it had on themselves. Until ultimately Lockhart had accidentally brought it all to light and the Department of Mysteries (DoM) had taken action. 

Lockhart had learned the spell from his grandmother, according to the DoM, and had used it excessively but in secret, like he had been taught to. So, when he was faced with defeat after losing his wand in a show-duel with Potions Master Snape, he had cast the spell on his opponent without thinking with very unfortunate results for him.

The article explained that the spell in question normally only took a very small toll on the people present and did only improve the looks of the caster in a small way. That way it was nearly undetectable if one didn’t know what to look for. Especially because it was nearly invisible if someone wordlessly cast the spell on themselves without a wand. It had only been faintly visible when Lockhart cast it on someone standing 20 steps away.

The article then described what happened to a person, if they did the unthinkable and cast the spell on another person in the presence of others. It said to look at the pictures on pages 2 and 3, taken by fledging photographer and Hogwarts student Mr Colin Creevey.

It also implored the magical community not to vilify the witches and wizards who had cast the spell unwittingly. They had learned it from their trusted parents (or grandmothers) and were told the spell was harmless. They hadn’t known better. Until now, that was.

The article ended with an old Roman law, that was still valid: 

Ignorantia juris non excusat – ignorance of the law excuses not

Then came an article with the headlines:

The Positive and Negative Effects of the Spell

The positive effect didn’t take long to tell (beauty), but the list of possible negative effects for the unknowing victims was extensive and depended on the number of the victims that had been present and how susceptible to the effects of this particular spell they were. Ugliness, stupidity, emotional instability, in rare cases even insanity, and most notable to the paper was the high possibility of becoming sterile and depriving the caster and their victims of the joys of parenthood and the wizarding world as a whole of nothing less than survival. The article concluded that they understood now why the spell was unofficially called the fourth Unforgivable.

The next headline read:

A Blanket Pardon

Until the End of January 1993

Here the law was explained, which anyone was ignorant of until now. And the punishment: Azkaban for life. But then it stated the difference to the Unforgivable Curses. Even though it was undetectable and couldn’t be shielded against, it could be fully dispelled (with one exception).

Therefore, everyone who had cast the spell on themselves was promised a full pardon if they visited the Ministry to swear an oath to never use the spell again and to never teach it to anyone. And that after the 31st of January, everyone found to have cast it would get a one-way ticket to Azkaban. 

A pardon like this wouldn’t be possible with the three Unforgivable Curses.

It also said the casters could come in in secret and the DoM would set up a private area in the Atrium of the Ministry, where people could visit without registering their wands if they wanted to stay incognito to the public. But it also implored people to stand up to their mistakes and to set an example for others to come forward.

The last headlines on the first page read:

The Counter-Spell - Safe to cast on everyone!

Redianormalis

This article explained how easy the counter was, and that it was best if cast on oneself. How casting it on another was not as effective but better than nothing and implored everyone to cast it immediately.

It also said that it was safe to cast it multiple times on a person – even a child, as it was neutral and only geared to dispel the spell, described in the first article. Therefore, the counter-spell wouldn’t dispel anything else but the beautifying  spell they were talking about here in the articles. So, if someone had a magical medical procedure, for example, the counter-spell wouldn’t dispel it.

Even Harry and Ron were reading the paper from top to bottom. There was so much information! And the pictures! 

On page 2 there were three pictures, one of a rather ugly and scowling Snape prowling down the duelling platform, one of Snape looking ridiculously handsome and a little baffled while staring into a handheld mirror, and one showing how he looked after casting the counter-spell. In the fourth quadrant of the page was the best photograph ever. Colin had managed to catch the moment of Snape hitting Lockhart with the disarming charm, and the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher then flying backwards and casting the near-invisible spell at Snape wandlessly at the same time.

Page 3 had the same layout as page 2. Only this time it was three pictures and one article. In the first two photos, one could see Lockhart before and after casting the spell, and in the third, there was a picture of a hovering entity with skeletal hands, clothed in tattered still partly light-blue robes* with the cowl hiding his face. The headlines of the article on that page said, ‘Lockhart, the Dementor’.

Harry asked Ron what Azkaban and Dementors were and got increasingly horrified by Ron’s explanation with the twins pitching in with even more details. Harry tried to distract himself and started to discuss the spell and its main effect of beautifying a person.

“I bet Muggles aren’t so stupid,” Ron huffed in disgust. “They are lucky they don’t have magic!”

“Oh, but they do have plastic surgery!”

“What’s that?”

A short time later Ron was just as horrified as Harry, just for a different reason.

“That’s bonkers!”

Harry nodded in full agreement.

They turned the page of their respective papers and found a two-page article about the Dark Arts much to their delight. They read it with great interest. It was very comprehensively written and described Dark Magic as a branch of magic that was not inherently evil, but one had to know that it always extracted or demanded a price to be paid. 

It became evil when the price was unwillingly extracted or unknowingly. 

When one paid the price freely, it was Sacrificial Magic, and no magic could be called less evil than that one, even if it was Dark by nature. They cited that the DoM suspected Lily Potter had cast Sacrificial Magic and so had saved her son’s life.

On the other side of the spectrum, the worst examples of the Dark Arts were the three Unforgivable Curses. They extracted the price directly from the unwilling victims in life, free will, and well-being.

The article then explained how even witches and wizards knowledgeable in Dark Magic had assumed that the price for the good looks that the spell from page 1 cost them, was the possibility of them slipping up and casting it on another person. Like it had happened with Lockhart. And therefore, the spell would have been sacrificial by nature. But due to the suppression of all knowledge about the Dark Arts they had no chance to learn the true history and evil nature of this spell they used and had unwittingly inflicted on others.

At the head of the table, Albus Dumbledore mourned the innocence lost by many by reading the articles in the dratted paper he hadn’t been able to suppress. Especially about the Dark Arts. Good Dark Magic! Laughable! But he had no chance to censor the knowledge now and so he didn’t even try. Things would work out since the Greater Good always won in the end, after all. – And he was distracted and very intrigued by the news about the origins of Dementors. He had always wondered where they had come from and now, he knew. 

When people had finished reading (and eating) they started casting the counter charm onto themselves. The most amazing effect everyone could observe was the transformations of Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. The formerly thick and stupid boys now looked normal and had quite a bit of intelligence in their eyes. Especially Crabbe, who exclaimed in amazement, “The fog is gone!”

Malfoy, who hadn’t changed much, outwardly, grinned at Crabbe in a way no one had ever seen before. Like he was truly happy for his friend. There was no sneering and no posturing, just plain friendliness.

Harry and Ron, who had observed it with great interest, decided to try it as well and turned their wands onto themselves.

First Ron cast it, and nothing happened, and then Harry cast the spell. Unfortunately, there was a very visible effect. 

He blacked out. 

 * I am unsure about the pictures in the papers. Were they in color? They aren’t in the movies. Hmm. Maybe the tattered robes were lighter in some places, not light-blue.

Chapter Text

At the Ministry of Magic, an emaciated and very dirty man opened his eyes and blinked. 

He was warm! How was that possible? He didn’t deserve such a luxury, he internally wailed. James and Lily were lying in cold ground, so he should at least lay on it!

He curled into a tight ball to wallow in his misery.

But that was not as easy as he had expected. The thing he lay on was long and narrow, not some scarce, moulding straw on the floor.

Slowly, some amount of awareness entered his muddled mind, and he sat up on the… was that a camp bed? Like the ones they used in the holding cells at the Ministry?

The wild-haired man looked around. He was in the holding cells of the Ministry!

He snarled. It was high time they had brought him in for questioning! He had to warn them about Peter! 

And find baby Harry! 

He whined at the thought. 

Without thinking he turned into Padfoot, to escape all the painful thoughts, which had haunted him for a long time and fell asleep again.

Chapter Text

Harry woke to an angry voice, scolding Hermione, “Miss Granger, return to your bed immediately! I’ll not tell you again.”

“Madam Pomfrey?” Harry muttered, with his eyes still closed.

“Harry!” Someone screeched close to his ear.

“Ow!” Harry opened his eyes quickly but closed them just as quickly again. It was bright!

“Miss Granger, if you don’t leave this second and let me tend to my patient, I’ll dock 100 points from Gryffindor!”

“But…”

“Now!”

Harry heard Hermione shuffling off. She managed to sound dejected even without saying a word.

“Mr Potter, welcome back. You gave us quite the scare.” 

“What happened?” Harry tried to open one eye a little. Nope, still too bright. He quickly closed it again.

“You cast the counter-curse onto yourself and collapsed. There was no way to wake you up again. The Unspeakables had to come and figure out what had happened and how to help you.”

“Oh no! Do I now look like Snape, after the spell hit him? Please tell me I don’t!” Harry opened his eyes and tried to look imploringly at the blurry blob in front of him. But it was still much too bright, so he gave up after a second and squeezed his eyes shut again. “Blargh.”

“No, Mr Potter you haven’t changed, it was the counter-curse, not that dratted spell. Only your scar is a little less prominent now.”

“Thank God!”

“Here, drink this.”

A vial was pressed to his lips, and he swallowed automatically, “Blargh!” Harry said once more.

“Very eloquent, Mr Potter,” a new and deep voice said, coming from close by, as well. Where did he come from? Must have crept in!

“Why does it always taste so bad?” Harry whined with his eyes still clenched shut.

“Because I was a miserable and nasty bugger,” the deep voice answered.

Harry’s eyes flew open, and he stared at his Potions teacher (a dark blob). 

In the background, someone gasped and another someone squeaked. But Harry stared until his eyes were watering. Fortunately, the man waved his wand, and the surroundings got a little less bright.

“Thanks,” Harry said faintly.

“You’re welcome, Mr Potter.”

“Er, Professor Snape, why are you here?”

“Because I got involved when I called the Unspeakables after you cast the counter-spell on yourself, and your reaction was quite unexpected.”

“Oh! Do you know what happened?”

“There’s only guesswork so far, but I can tell you what– “

“Severus! The Headmaster wouldn’t want you to talk about this with Mr Potter.”

“Poppy, Albus cannot keep a lid on it anymore, as much as he might try, and Mr Potter has the right to know what happened to him, wouldn’t you agree?”

The Matron huffed but conceded, “On your head be it,” and bustled off to places unknown.

Harry turned his eyes to the Potions Master again.

“As I was saying, I can only tell you what we’ve found so far. It appears that some kind of residue of the Dark Lord had lodged itself into your scar on that horrible night eleven years ago.”

Harry, and the obviously eavesdropping Hermione behind the screen, gasped.

“Indeed. The Unspeakables theorised a lot, but in essence, they suspect that by casting the counter onto yourself you also hit the residue and returned it to its ‘normal’ state. Which caused that ‘piece’ of the Dark Lord to loosen its connection to him and therefore its hold on you rather abruptly.”

 “So, it’s gone?” Harry asked urgently.

“It is.”

Harry sank back into his bed, feeling like he had run a marathon.

Professor Snape let him lie there quietly and one could only hear the rustling and bustling that always seemed to occur at this place. Even Hermione must have decided to let Harry be for a minute.

“So… that’s why my scar hurt when Voldemort was close by, last year?”

“How?... Oh, Quirrell. Yes, that would be a plausible explanation. No. 15 will be quite interested to hear that.”

“No. 15? Like 007?”

“Quite. No. 15 is an Unspeakable and, apparently, their organisation is the magical branch of MI-5.”

“Wow!”

“Indeed. They also concluded that you might have more magical reserves at your disposal now and that your eyesight might have gotten a little better.” 

“I don’t think so. Everything is still very blurry. Do you know where my glasses are, Professor?”

“I do. Hold out your hand.”

Soon Harry had his glasses on his nose again and he sighed, “Nope no better, I think. Everything is less blurry like always, again.”

“Less blurry? When was the last time you’ve seen an optometrist?”

“Uh, never? Aunt Petunia got the glasses out of a donation bin when the school nurse told her I needed glasses.”

Professor Snape was speechless, and Hermione could be heard gasping in horror.

“Pet– Petunia? That’s where you live?”

“Yeah,” Harry scowled.

“That doesn’t sound right. I mean, she shouldn’t be responsible for a magical child, or any child at all, now that I think about it.”

Harry couldn’t agree more, “You know her?”

“I knew her as a child. That’s quite a long tale and I promise I’ll tell you at some time but let’s stay on the topic at hand. So, you need to see an optometrist. I’ll tell the Matron. The Unspeakables also wondered if you had gotten any powers via the ‘piece’ lodged in your scar. But that will be hard to discern, I think.”

“All I know is that my wand holds a feather of the same bird as Voldemort’s does.”

Professor Snape looked startled and then handed Harry’s wand over, “Why don’t you give it a try now?”

Harry waved it and didn’t feel this immediate connection anymore that had always filled him with so much warmth. “Oh,” he sighed mournfully.

Professor Snape conjured a feather and said, “Try levitating it.”

Swish-and-flick, “ Wingardium Leviosa .” The feather rose haltingly into the air, but the spell didn’t work as well as it had before. 

“Well, the wand still works for you, but it evidently is not your wand anymore, I'm sorry to say.”

Harry looked down at it, feeling quite sad.

“You may keep it and we‘ll find another wand, which would be better suited for you now, all right?”

“Okay.”

“The only thing I can tell you is that you’re not the only one by far to lose this amazing connection to your first wand. Many people have gone through this. Some had changed in personality too much when growing up, and some have had their wands broken.”

“Like Ron’s.”

“Pardon?”

“Well, Ron’s wand got broken when we landed the car on that angry tree in September. He fixed it with Spellotape. It doesn’t work right anymore, either.” Harry saw no reason to keep quiet about it. It was rather hard to miss, he thought.

Professor Snape looked speechless.

“I think the Weasleys don’t have much money, you know? And wands are expensive.”

“There’s a fund exactly for instances like this, Mr Potter.”

“Really?”

“Indeed. I must talk to my colleagues teaching wand-waving subjects.” Professor Snape made a note on the parchment he had written down some information given to him by Harry already. Like his wand, the optometrist, Petunia…

“Where are the Unspeakables anyway?”

“Oh, they went to investigate those cases of petrification happening at Hogwarts. When they arrived for you, they might have gotten a little distracted by the petrified ghost, student, and cat. They called for reinforcements and descended onto the school. Some helped with you and then went off to investigate the Dark Lord. It was quite the hubbub.”

They both heard someone huff behind the screen and Professor Snape called, “Why don’t you join us, Miss Granger? I think we’ve covered everything for now.”

Harry grinned at his friend, who sheepishly appeared from behind the screen, cat ears flickering and tail twitching.

Professor Snape’s reaction was diametrically opposite. He yelped, “What happened to you, Miss Granger?!” and then called out loudly, “Poppy!”

Hermione, who had forgotten about her current state and that she was supposed to keep hidden, looked even more sheepish.

Madam Pomfrey came bustling in and exclaimed, “Miss Granger, what did I tell you?”

“Never mind that, Poppy,” Professor Snape said, looking rather annoyed. “How come you have a potions accident with Polyjuice and cat’s hair in your wing and haven’t asked for help? Or at least the necessary potion?”

Madam Pomfrey blinked, “I'm sorry to say, Severus, I learned to have as little contact with you as possible. And you were busy with your looks at that time and hiding in your quarters, truth to be told.”

Professor Snape nodded, conceding her points, “But St. Mungo’s would have put her to rights within a day.”

“I know! But Albus forbade me to contact them! And I didn’t know there was a potion that could help her. I did the best I could at the time. Is the potion still a possible cure?”

Professor Snape huffed and then nodded. He also scribbled something onto his parchment again.

“So, in future should a case like this occur, please think of contacting me. I’ll not verbally rip your head off anymore, I promise.”

Madam Pomfrey looked relieved, and Professor Snape pulled Hermione to the side to ask her some questions. The girl looked much more upbeat now that a cure was in sight.

Harry was happy for his friend, and also that he had gotten some answers at last. He also wondered how Professor Snape knew Aunt Petunia. That was quite unexpected. And why didn’t Professor Dumbledore want Madam Pomfrey to contact this St. Mangoes? It clearly was a healing facility.

He noted that getting answers seemed to generate even more questions. No wonder Hermione always asked so many if they kept piling up like this.

Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over Harry and nodded, “You’re as good as you were before your collapse, Mr Potter. I would say, you can leave if Professor Snape agrees.”

Harry blinked, “Why do you need his okay?”

“Because he was the one in contact with the Unspeakables and might know something I don’t. Also, he’s a certified healer, like me.”

“Wow! So, he teaches Potions, is a Head of House, brews potions for you, and is a healer?”

“Indeed, Mr Potter,” the deep voice of the man Harry was talking about, agreed. “I undoubtedly must cut back on my duties.”

Harry grinned. He liked the new and improved Professor.

Madame Pomfrey huffed and said, “Would you agree he’s ready to go?”

Professor Snape frowned in thought and answered, “Did you ever cast a full diagnosis on him?”

“No, why should I?”

Professor Snape seemed to struggle with himself not to scowl at Madame Pomfrey or worse, “Why indeed. Please indulge me. It also would be good to have a baseline established for later times, don’t you think?”

Madams Pomfrey blinked and then nodded, “You’re right. I don’t know why I haven’t done so in the past. It’s standard procedure, after all.”

Professor Snape muttered something about ‘standard procedures,’ but Harry didn’t quite catch it.

Poor Hermione, who had just sat down next to Harry, was chased out again and the two healers did their diagnostic casting. Harry just had to lay there and not move. while they waved their wands over him and a seemingly endless roll of parchment. 

After some time, Madame Pomfrey cut off a few feet of it and cast a charm on the roll she had in her hand now. A copy appeared and was handed to Professor Snape.

“Very well,” the now a little pale-looking Matron said, “you may leave now, Mr Potter. I’ll call for you as soon as we’ve gone over the results and devised a health plan, if necessary.”

Harry nodded and after the two adults had left, he got himself ready and went to look for Hermione. 

She was sitting on her bed behind her partitions and reading. Or trying to, at least. 

“Hi,” Harry said. “Can I come in?”

“Sure, take a seat! What did they find?”

“I don’t know. They spelled the results onto a parchment, but said they needed to look the results over first.”

“Makes sense, right?”

“I suppose. So, tell me, what did I miss? And what day is it anyway?” Harry asked. 

“Oh! It’s the day after your collapse. And it’s late morning. I think the date is the 30th,” she glanced over to the stack of newspapers on the side table and nodded, “Yes.”

“Okay, thanks! And did I miss anything?”

“Oh yes! Yesterday Dumbledore was here, and he was oh so angry that the Unspeakables had been called and were investigating your scar and all the cases of petrification! He seemed to have lost hold of his magic because the air was thick with it. Like it is at the beginning of term feast, but much stronger. One of the Unspeakables yelled at him to pull himself together because it was hard to breathe by then!”

“Wow! He really doesn’t like people coming onto his turf, right?”

“You think that was why?” Hermione chewed her lip with her rather prominent front teeth.

Harry blinked and nodded, “He seems to like being in charge. But I don’t know about adults. They are just so strange, most of the time.”

“That’s true. Did you know, Professor McGonagall left the castle to go home for the break, with three of her Gryffindors in the Hospital Wing by now? Well, she only knew about two when she left, but still.”

“Do you think she’s as overworked as Professor Snape? I mean, she’s a Professor, our Head of House, and the Deputy Headmistress.”

Hermione nodded, “Sounds like a lot, right?”

“Totally! So, when will you get out of here?”

“Professor Snape said he would brew the potion right away and bring it to me in the evening. So, I should be right as rain by tomorrow morning.”

“Awesome! So, where’s Ron?”

“He wasn’t allowed to come to visit. I bet he’s waiting and fretting outside.”

“Is it okay if I go and look for him? Maybe he’s allowed to enter now, and we can fill him in.”

“Sure!”

Harry went looking outside and found a scowling Ron sitting on the bench outside the Hospital Wing’s doors, trying to play chess against himself.

Soon the three had brought each other up to date and spent an enjoyable day in Hermione’s little partition of the Hospital Wing, broken only by mealtimes.

Chapter Text

The emaciated man woke up again. He didn’t notice that he was in his human form again. No one had cared at Azkaban, since only the sightless Dementors ever went by his cell. 

The man stretched and noticed once more that he was lying on something other than the straw on the floor. Additionally, he noticed something he had learned to ignore. His smell. Well, he didn’t notice his smell, but the lack thereof. Which he had learned to ignore. His smell that was. But he didn’t smell–

He stopped his thoughts running in circles forcefully and just thought with little feeling behind them, I don’t stink. Yay.

Oh right, I'm in the holding cells at the Ministry. On a camp bed.

…

Why? 

He had been at Azkaban, for a long time, right?

His stomach growled. It hadn’t done that for quite some time.

Then the smell of actual food registered in his mind, and he scrambled off the rickety bed and dove towards the wooden bowl full of stew. 

There might have been a spoon, but he didn’t use it. He put the bowl to his lips and tipped it carefully to catch every bit of food they allowed him. He had learned the hard way never to waste any.

After the feast, he sat back on his haunches and looked around while licking his lips and beard clean. He was alone in this block which he was very thankful for, after having to listen to Bella’s screeching and rambling for such a long time.

How long had he been there?

Why was he here?

Where was everybody?

He knew that the cells were observed constantly. But from the outside. 

He waved and said, “Wh…” he coughed, found a cup of water, and tried again. “Why am I here? May I testify now? How long have I been in Azkaban?

No one answered. So, he shrugged, went back to his camp bed, and fell asleep again.

Chapter Text

Three days later Severus flooed to Malfoy Manor again, to meet Narcissa and No. 15. 

To his surprise, he was met by Lucius when he stepped out of the fireplace. Lucius didn’t look different on the outside, but the man held himself somehow differently. Still posh, but not as haughty, maybe.

“Severus, welcome to Malfoy Manor, and happy new year! It’s good to see you. You look good.”

Severus ignored the comment about his looks and answered, “Happy New Year to you, too. How do you do, Lucius? I see you’re back from your business meetings on the continent?”

“And overseas, yes. The papers there had picked up on the news from here and printed your pictures and the articles from the Prophet verbatim. It was quite a shock. We all cast the counter-curse onto ourselves, and it appears not only British folks had been casting that dratted spell.”

“Dear me. It sounds like an international conspiracy.”

“It does, but I don’t think any villain planned this. No, it was just simple vanity. And our expectations that our women had to be pretty all the time. Hm. I need to think about that.”

“So, you’ve changed?”

“Oh yes. I can think much more clearly and there’s much less need for politics or any other power, I found.”

“I'm glad. I wonder what would happen if we hit the Dark Lord with this spell. He isn’t fully gone, you know?”

“I have a suspicion. That’s why I asked my wife if I could join your meeting with the Unspeakable for a while actually. I’ve some knowledge to share.”

Severus nodded and they walked toward the drawing room, where they found the other two waiting.

“Mr Malfoy, a pleasure,” the Unspeakable said in their distorted voice.

“Likewise.”

After some more greetings and introductions, they all took a seat, and a house-elf served them tea. 

Severus noted that the little creature didn’t look as downtrodden as it had before. It was wearing a pristine pillowcase and had a spring in its step.

Narcissa noticed his look and explained, “It seems as if the caster of The Spell might suffer some personality changes as well. I had treated our elves deplorably and they always should’ve been treasured.”

“Or you’ve been a victim of the spell before you cast it yourself,” No. 15 said. 

“Hm, that would be more probable, as I’ve not cared about our elves after going to Hogwarts and I cast The Spell quite a few years later.”

“So, Mr Malfoy has some news to share, but I would like to recap the last week first if that’s alright with you?” No 15 asked.

The others nodded and so they told them what was happening on their side of things, “You all saw the articles, we had the Daily Prophet publish on December 29th. I can say, the response was immediate. Many people came incognito to the Atrium to swear the oaths. The idea of accidentally turning themselves into Dementors was a great incentive. We are estimating that nearly half of the perpetrators came on that very first day alone. It was quite wild. Especially when some of us had to go to Hogwarts because of an emergency Mr Snape will surely tell us about later.

“By now, we believe only about a tenth of the casters of The Spell – as we’ve also come to call it – have not come forward. We hope some will come after school has started again, and some others when the counter has become so commonplace that it makes more sense to take advantage of the blanket pardon, as The Spell doesn’t bring the former benefits anymore as they are dispelled left and right.

“The pictures Mr Creevey took and the article No. 11 wrote about the Dark Arts were of great help. It’s a great disservice to our society that the knowledge of whole branches of magic is being repressed right now. We hope this will cause people to rethink their stances, as they can make a more informed decision now.

“What else? The counter-curse is being used left and right, and many people have changed. Of note are the Minister, Wizengamot members, and many others. You’re in for a surprise, Mr Malfoy, I promise. To our dismay, the Minister’s Undersecretary stayed the same, though. We had such high hopes… Anyway, it has quickly become common practice at the Ministry to cast the counter onto oneself when one’s greeting another person. People who don’t participate are now eyed with distrust. And they get hit in the back with the counter-curse when they leave more often than not. It’s rather entertaining to watch. There’s also talk of making it law that everyone arriving at the Ministry is hit with the counter somehow. We are looking into it.”

Lucius listened with great interest, “Good to know. It does seem that I’ve missed quite a lot.”

The others chuckled.

“Well, as it was international news, why don’t you tell us how you learned about this and how people overseas reacted?”

“Gladly. Well, I was at the headquarters of MACUSA at the time the news hit on the 29th. Either your department sent the articles to some international news outlets, or they were very quick in picking it up from the Prophet.”

“It was the former,” No. 15 said.

“I thought so. Anyway, the whole building resembled a pierced doxy nest. There was some discussion about the validity of the counter-spell, but it was deemed safe, so people tried it on themselves, and each other out of curiosity. Some with quite amazing results much to everyone’s surprise. Obviously, the blanket pardon had not been offered, so it was quickly discussed and implemented. Incognito oath swearing booths were set up and the papers published the promise of a full pardon until January 15th the next day. They are much less lenient in that country.

“My ‘business dealings’ took quite a turn after the counter-curse. When I arrived, I was there to promote blood supremacy and anti-Muggle propaganda, I'm sad to say. But that changed dramatically, and I spent the rest of the time learning how MACUSA deals with the Statute of Secrecy. I'm not convinced they’ve got it right, but we sure don’t, either.”

“That’s a good point. We really need to renew our approach to the Statute. The Muggle world is changing rapidly and will discover us within a decade if we are not careful, a colleague told me. Now that the brains of the Wizengamot members are working again we actually might have a chance,” the Unspeakable said and added, “Narcissa, do you have any news?”

“I do. First, I already told you how my opinion on house-elves has changed dramatically and I can say I feel much more alive. It’s hard to explain. Like the world is more colourful even if I had not been sad or suicidal before the counter-spell. More like – numb. Also, my magic has gotten as powerful as it was before my pregnancy, or even more so.

“Second, on New Year’s Eve, because the Greengrass family cancelled their annual New Year’s Ball, I hosted a small tea party for about a dozen of our high-society witches. It was very obvious who had partaken in using The Spell to bolster their looks and I got quite some envious, veiled comments,” Narcissa coughed delicately. “I'm quite sure some hit me secretly with the counter-curse as well. But naturally, no one talked about The Spell. We were very politely ignoring the purple erumpent in the room. It was quite entertaining. But I'm much more curious about Hogwarts, Severus.”

 “I can imagine. Well, where to start? We, that’s most of the teachers and approximately two dozen students, who are staying at Hogwarts over the break, were sitting at one table when everyone got a free edition of the Daily Prophet. – Good thinking, by the way. 

“As I was watching Albus closely, it was obvious to me that he badly wanted to vanish the papers, but he must’ve realised that the horse had left the barn, as every household must’ve gotten the news at the same time. As for the students, I’ve never seen them read the papers so diligently. Particularly the younger ones. The articles were very well done and engaging, as everyone was quite interested. The children soon started to cast the counter onto themselves, and let me tell you, Messrs. Crabbe and Goyle are nearly unrecognisable now.”

“Their mothers are as well, but I guess in the other direction. They were both exceedingly pretty before,” Narcissa said.

“Undoubtedly,” Severus agreed. “The two boys have been working diligently on catching up, since then. It’s amazing to see. Your son’s appearance didn’t change much, Narcissa. He looks a little softer around the edges and behaves much less abrasively. Oh, and he has decided against gelling his hair back. – The children from light families didn’t change, except maybe Miss Weasley. She gained a little more colour. But I cannot imagine her mother casting that curse. The exception and the biggest surprise was once again Mr Potter. When he cast the counter, he blacked out immediately. His friend caught him at the last second before he could plant his face on his used breakfast plate.

“There was some excitement, but I managed to levitate him to the Hospital Wing where Poppy Pomfrey and I tried to revive him. When that didn’t work, I went to my office and called the DoM without telling anyone beforehand. No. 15 and a colleague of theirs came through the floo immediately and we went back to the Hospital Wing where things then got a little heated. Albus was not happy that I called on outsiders for help and in his anger, he ‘lost’ control of the hold on his magic, nearly suffocating us.”

No. 15 nodded, “As impressive as that was, it was either an intimidation tactic or he requires some more training.”

Severus huffed, “I'm quite sure he knew exactly what he was doing. Anyway, No. 1 yelled at Albus to pull himself together and then caught sight of the petrified patients in the Hospital Wing and called for reinforcements, much to Albus’s displeasure,” Severus smiled a little vindictively and said dryly, “Oops.”

“Petrified patients?” Narcissa asked alarmed and Lucius squirmed a tiny bit. “Right! You did get a message from the Headmaster about that at the end of our first meeting before Yule,” she remembered now. “And you sent a Patronus message right after you left, that it was no Slytherin student. I was a bit distracted at that time and as it couldn’t have been Draco, so I forgot, I must confess.”

“Indeed. The Unspeakables are investigating it right now. There was a message with the first victim – the caretaker’s cat – saying ‘The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir... beware.’ This quite obviously points toward Slytherin’s heir but as of now, the Unspeakables haven’t found anything. They were more successful in helping Mr Potter. It became apparent that … how much may I tell?” Severus asked No. 15.

“All of it.”

“Thank you. As I was saying, it became apparent that the scar of Mr Potter's had, until recently, housed a proto-Horcrux of the Dark Lord that took much of his magic to contain, apparently.”

The Malfoys were understandably shocked. Such a thing was just not done! The price was much too high. The Dark Lord had lost any chance of an afterlife and of reincarnating again by ripping his soul apart and storing a piece in a separate place from the rest of his soul.

No. 15 said, “Sadly, the scans we took indicated that this had not been the first he made, either. We’ve no idea how many he managed to make, but we guess it must’ve been more than three as the one in Harry Potter seemed to have been an accidental one, that's why it so easily lost its hold, but also why Mr Potter blacked out when it did. The magical backlash rendered him unconscious.”

The already very pale Malfoys managed to lose even more colour when hearing this news.

“By the way, do you think Albus knew about the proto-Horcrux in Mr Potter’s scar?” Severus asked.

“We don’t know. Either is possible. But he must’ve known something of Voldemort was lodged in it.” The other three flinched a little.

Severus nodded and went on telling his tale, “The Unspeakables concluded that the counter-spell must’ve hit the proto-Horcrux, and it rid that part of the Dark Lord of the negative effects The Spell had caused, and the proto-Horcrux must’ve lost its will to cling to Mr Potter or to stay alive at all costs and loosened its hold on Mr Potter.”

Narcissa sighed with relief. No one, much less a child, should have to carry a Horcrux within them! 

“Do you think the counter-curse affected the other Horcrux…es or the… how to call it… the main part?” Lucius asked, wincing at the near inconceivability of the thought of the Dark Lord committing such an anathema.

“We are still debating this exact question,” No. 15 confessed. “We’ve no historical data to fall back on and therefore are very much in the dark regarding this question. We hope to find another of Voldemort’s Horcruxes to have more to work with.”

Lucius nodded (after flinching), feeling quite faint at the moment.

Severus concluded his story, “Mr Potter woke up a day later and appeared to be his cheerful Gryffindor self. His eyesight is still atrocious and his wand – which I learned is the brother-wand of the Dark Lord’s wand – doesn’t connect well with him anymore.”

This was news to No. 15 as well, and they noted that information down, “Any other lost abilities?”

“Not that he could think of.”

“Yes, it was a rather far-fetched thought by No. 1. How would a twelve-year-old know?”

“Indeed.”

“Well, Mr Malfoy, you had something to tell us?”

“More confess than tell, I'm afraid. You see, during his reign, the Dark Lord entrusted an empty notebook to my father. He ordered my father to keep it safe and protect it with his life. That notebook was of Muggle origin but reeked of Dark Magic of the evil kind. Earlier this year, Arthur Weasley got the so-called Muggle Protection Act written into law and therefore now has the right to search any house. This caused me to get rid of any Dark artifacts I could find. I sold most of them, but who would buy a Muggle notebook? And I was not sure how the goblins would react if I had put it in my vault.

“So, to damage Weasley’s reputation, I slipped the book to one of his children, I'm afraid to say. I was sure it would be found and Weasley would be pulled off his high horse because of it. But that wasn’t what happened,” Lucius uncharacteristically rubbed his hand over his eyes. “Now that I can think clearly, I feel appalled about it. The little girl had nothing to do with my fight with her father and should never have been caught in it. And after today’s revelations, I have a horrible suspicion of the nature of that book. Or rather, my earlier suspicions appear to be true.”

The other three were visibly shocked and it took some moments until Narcissa whispered, “You think you might’ve snuck a Horcrux to a child? How could you?”

Lucius swallowed and answered, “Yes. Additionally, I think it might be responsible for the petrifications. The Dark Lord was claiming to be Slytherin’s Heir, after all.”

No. 15 shook themselves and asked, “Which child, what does the book look like? Tell me everything.”

So Lucius did. They soon discussed if “T. M. Riddle” could’ve been Voldemort’s real name, and No. 15 got visibly excited. It was a lead into his possible origins at last, they told the three.

Narcissa and Lucius were against that theory, as “Riddle” was no known wizarding name but No. 15 countered, “And ‘Voldemort’ is? We aren’t missing any Lords, that’s for sure.” 

That shut the Malfoys up quite effectively.

Lucius was more worried about his own skin anyway, but No. 15 calmed him by saying, “As you’ve come forward as soon as the counter was cast on you and you returned to our shores, you will not get into any legal troubles for this, I can tentatively assure you. I need to check with my superior, but it should be all right. Especially as the problem can still be solved.”

Lucius relaxed visibly and Narcissa asked about the petrified victims.

“We always have in-stasis Mandrake Restorative Draught in stock. So, the student, the ghost, and the cat could be revived again immediately. Albus Dumbledore would have made them wait till early summer when the Hogwarts-grown Mandrakes would’ve passed their adolescence. The whole thing is quite inconceivable.”

Severus nodded, “It was a great relief to many. I’ll brew the potion anyway, to repay you.”

“That would be appreciated.”

“But wouldn’t the student’s parents have protested the Headmaster’s plan?” Narcissa asked.

“He’s Muggle-born. The mother hadn’t even been informed. Just that her son wasn’t coming home for Christmas, I learned,” Severus explained. The others winced.

Severus had one last question, “So, I forgot if we covered this before, but I think I remember you said that the counter-curse cannot help Lockhart anymore, correct?”

“Yes, I don’t remember either, but when he cast The Spell in front of so many, it collected the ultimate price which cannot be reversed, as you know. In my research, I found that the inventor of The Spell – whoever that was – didn’t want it to become known and therefore added this extremely high cost to The Spell.

“I just wonder what would happen if a hundred people cast the counter on a Dementor, but after your explanation just now, I now know it would be fruitless.”

“Unfortunately, yes. We tried. – Well, I’ve collected more than enough work today, just one more question,” No. 15 said. “Do you know if Albus Dumbledore has cast the counter-curse on himself, Severus?”

“Yes, he did. Nothing much changed, at least nothing visible.”

Chapter Text

On the 5th of January, Harry was searching through his trunk for more parchment. Hermione, who was fully human again, had taken to hounding Ron and him to do their homework at last, and they were buckling down. 

He found a few last rolls of parchment he could use, as well as the little black notebook and thought it would be handy for drafting essays so he could use the scarce parchment for the finished essay.

He grabbed everything and hopped downstairs again.

But when he started to write the first draft of his Herbology essay on the first page of the notebook, the writing disappeared, much to his dismay. 

And then the unthinkable happened, the notebook wrote back!

Greetings stranger. You are very obviously not Ginny, so who are you?

Harry stared at the writing and elbowed Ron while pointing at the book.

Ron looked confused as well and said, “Dad always says to never trust anything when you can't see their brains.”

“I can't see yours, either.”

“Er, right. Maybe it was more like, ‘Never trust something you can’t see where they keep their brains’?”

“That makes more sense. So, what do I do? Should I answer?”

“I dunno. Maybe check if it’s cursed or something?”

“Good idea! Uh… how?”

“Erm… Oh! I know! Cast the counter-spell! Let’s see what happens!”

“Oh, good idea! Here we go.” Harry tapped the book with his wand and said, “ Redianormalis .”

The book flopped a little and then lay still again.

“And now?” Harry asked.

“I dunno. Open it?”

“Right,” Harry flipped the book open again and found only empty pages once more. “Let’s try writing.”

Hello? Harry wrote.

There was a pause and then slowly Harry’s writing disappeared, and the other script appeared again, this time much more haltingly.

What happened just now?

Before they could decide if and what they should answer, a blur of red ran past them, the book was grabbed, and the thief ran off, nearly bowling over Percy who was coming through the portrait door.

“Hey!” Harry and Ron yelled.

Percy gasped, “Ginny?”

Harry and Ron looked at each other and then bolted after Ginny. This was much more interesting than homework!

Percy was nearly run over once more and decided to investigate what all the excitement was about and followed the other three.

Harry and Ron had to run down all seven staircases without catching Ginny, who ran into the Great Hall, where lunchtime was starting. 

She ran straight to Professor Snape and thrust the notebook into his hands, huffing and puffing. “I found it!”

“Very good! Where was it?”

“Harry was writing in it!”

“Mr Potter?”

“Yes!”

“Well done, Miss Weasley. Ah, Mr Potter, please follow me,” the Professor told the equally huffing and puffing boy, who had run up to him and Ginny shortly after she had arrived.

“Er, okay?”

Professor Snape turned and walked towards the door the teachers often used and Harry followed curiously, looking over his shoulder to look in exasperated confusion to Ron. But he was happy he might have a chance to see where this was going, as he was very interested in all of this. 

Ron’s protests of getting left behind went unheard, so he decided to take advantage of the lunch spread, at least.

*

Professor Snape and Harry arrived in a room with a great oval table in the middle and many chairs and teacups. Professor Snape went straight to the fireplace and then turned to Harry, “Have you used the floo before?”

“Uh, only twice. One time I arrived at the wrong place, and I fell onto my nose both times,” Harry huffed. “Where are we going?”

“I would like to take you to the Department of Mysteries. We suspect the book contains rather evil dark magic , and we were looking for it all over Hogwarts. As you wrote in it, we must ascertain that you’re alright.”

“I feel fine, but okay. We did cast the counter-curse on it, though.”

“Did you, now?” Professor Snape looked amused. “About using the floo, in order to step out safely, you need to start walking when the spinning slows down. Same as with port keys.”

“Erm, whatssat?”

“Never mind. Also, pull in your elbows and it’s advisable to throw in the floo powder, call out the destination, and then step into the green flames. There’s less chance to choke and misspeak.”

“Oh! Thanks!”

“I’ll go first and catch you, should it not work the first time.”

“Thanks, Professor!”

Professor Snape nodded and took a pinch of the powder from the container on the mantle and threw it into the fire, waited till it turned green, called out “Ministry of Magic,” and stepped into the flames. And with a woosh , he was gone.

Harry, who had watched all of this diligently, copied it exactly and tried to start walking when the horrible spinning was slowing down. And it worked! He nearly stumbled; he was so surprised! Mrs Weasley must’ve been a little stressed out when herding all of the children to Diagon Alley or she would’ve told Harry how to do this as Professor Snape had, he was sure about it.

“Very good,” the Professor praised him much to Harry’s continuing surprise. The man had changed his attitude so much for the better!

Harry then was shown the Atrium and was led to the reception desk so they could get their wands registered. The bored-looking young security guard did so without looking up and so the two of them went down to the DoM without getting challenged or gaped at. Professor Snape was famous now too after his pictures were printed in the papers, Harry was sure of that. 

When down on Level Nine, Harry got a little creeped out, but his curiosity won out. A person clothed in robes with their hoods up – so that was an Unspeakable? –  seemed to have been awaiting them and he or she led the two visitors through a strange room that was revolving and had many similar-looking doors. It was rather confusing, but awesome, nonetheless.

Unfortunately, Harry didn’t get to see any strange and obscure magics, only a nondescript meeting room, where another Unspeakable was waiting.

Professor Snape nodded to the Unspeakable that had collected them and said, “Greetings No. 15,” and to the one sitting at the table, “Good day, No. 1.”

Harry gaped at the Professor. How did he know? They looked absolutely the same! But then he noticed a tiny patch under the ‘DoM’ stitched onto their robes that had the numbers on them that the Professor had used. Ah!

“What brings you to us, Master Snape?” No. 1 asked in a distorted voice, which made it impossible to know his or her gender.

“This,” he laid the black notebook onto the table.

That got quite the reaction. The two Unspeakables had jumped up and immediately cast a domelike spell to contain it. They then seemed to collect themselves and No. 15 asked in an equally distorted voice, “Where did you find it?”

“Miss Weasley found it and rushed it to me. And she got it from Mr Potter.”

Harry nodded.

“And where did you find it, Mr Potter?”

“Uh, you see, there was a flooding of a bathroom maybe a week ago, or two? It was sometime after Christmas. And when I investigated, there was this empty notebook lying on the floor and it stayed dry somehow. So I took it. I put it into my trunk planning to tell my friends about it, but I forgot all about it. There was so much going on this Yule break! Today I was looking for something to write on and found it again. And uh, when I started drafting my Herbology essay by writing in it, my writings disappeared, and the book answered!”

“That confirms Miss Weasley’s story. According to the both of you, the book went from her directly to Mr Potter. That’s a relief,” No. 1 said.

“Is the book evil?”

“It is, yes. Very much so.”

“Oh! We, that’s Ron and I, decided to scan it for evilness, but we didn’t know any spells to do that and so we cast the counter-curse that’s on everyone’s mind right now.”

The two Unspeakables seemed to consider that information and one of them asked, “How did it react?”

“It kind of twitched? And when I wrote in it again, it seemed confused and asked what had happened just now.”

No. 1 nodded, “It was a good idea to try that spell. We’ll investigate it further. Thank you for bringing it here so quickly, Mr Snape and Mr Potter. We’ll take it from here. Now we need to scan you to make sure the book didn’t get its hooks into you, Mr Potter. Please stand in front of me, I need to cast a few diagnostic spells.” 

Harry easily complied and was soon told he was all clear and allowed to leave.

“Wait, that’s it?” Harry whined.

The rest chuckled and nodded, even Professor Snape! And so, the two visitors from Hogwarts left again to return to the school.

Professor Snape then got chewed out by Dumbledore because he once again had gone directly to the Unspeakables and even taken Harry there without consulting the Headmaster.

Harry, in the meantime, got pounced on by his friends with questions for an explanation of what had just happened. He readily told them all about it and his Herbology essay was forgotten.

An hour later, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office deep in thought. Everything seemed to get fixed without his input. 

First, the wizarding world got saved from that evil dark spell by bumbling Lockhart, of all people. 

Then Harry lost his scar, and the proto-Horcrux within it – as he had learned. The poor boy! 

The Unspeakables were unravelling the mystery of the petrifications and now another Horcrux of Tom had been found. Another poor boy!

It was like he, Albus Dumbledore, wasn’t needed anymore. The Unspeakables had everything well in hand. It was terribly annoying. Maybe he should’ve worked with them more closely in the past? But what was done, was done.

And even the Minister had a good head on his shoulders now and didn’t ask for Albus’s input. 

He rubbed his face, feeling exhausted.

Maybe he should just retire… 

If only Gellert hadn’t turned out to be such an evil mastermind and was sitting in the same prison, he had built himself… 

But wait! 

Gellert? 

Gellert had gone to Durmstrang Institute, where people must’ve cast The Evil Dark Spell in secret as well! He needed to cast the counter on his old friend at once!

Albus Dumbledore quickly packed a small travel bag, wrote a short note to Minerva, sent it, and asked Fawkes to bring him to the hall outside of Gellert’s cell. Maybe he had been right and the Greater Good did always win in the end!

Chapter Text

Sirius sat on the camp bed in his cell and ate the latest bowl of stew.

With a spoon. 

He felt incredibly civilised!

It seemed he was getting food three times a day and they must’ve put a potion in it as he didn’t ever get sick after eating all of it. Which was quite amazing and appreciated.

So, even if he was still left to himself for days, it was much better than Azkaban, by far.

And maybe the time spent here helped give him time to acclimate, or something like that. 

But once he had finished, someone entered the hall outside of his cell! 

He jumped up.

The door to the hallway which was in front of the four cells – he was in cell number three – opened and in came an Unspeakable. Huh? At first, he had thought it was a Dementor, but it became apparent immediately that this was a walking and talking person. Thank Merlin!

“Good day, Mr Black. I'm Unspeakable No. 3, and I'm here to ask and answer some questions. A healer will be here shortly, to cast a diagnostic spell on you, if you consent.”

“Sure. Cast away. Why isn’t an Auror doing this?”

“It’ll be explained later, Let’s just say some internal power struggles are going on in the DMLE right now, and we’ve decided to step in for the time being. So, first of all, today’s the 9 th of January 1993. It’s a Saturday.”

“Twelve years?” Sirius asked, appalled, heavily sitting back on the creaking camp bed.

“Unfortunately, yes. You were at Azkaban without a trial for more than eleven years.”

Sirius blinked away tears, “Harry is at Hogwarts already?”

“He is. Second year. He’s doing well.”

“Thank you,” Sirius was grateful the Unspeakable had anticipated and answered his main question, but still, nearly a dozen years!

There was a pause to give Sirius time to collect himself for which he was grateful.

After a moment Sirius said, what he had wanted to say for – as he now knew – eleven years! “I didn’t betray James and Lily to Voldemort. But I did convince them to use Peter as their Secret Keeper for the Fidelius Charm. So, I was partly at fault for their deaths.” That was the longest sentence he had said in over a decade. And it made sense. At least he hoped so.

No. 3 nodded his(?), her(?) head, and said, “We know. Some students at Hogwarts found a rat that they were sure was an Animagus. We never found out how. And they were right. It was Peter Pettigrew in rat form, much to first Filius Flitwick’s, then the Auror’s, and then to our surprise.”

“Oh, thank Merlin, you have him and know about his ability. Let me see him!?” Sirius got a wild look about him. He even bared his teeth and growled.

“Not at the moment. There’s much happening in the wizarding world right now, and we still need to get everything sorted.”

Sirius scowled, he really wanted to rip the rat apart.

Just then the announced healer arrived and cast his diagnostics on Sirius.

The healer was rather amazed at how well Sirius was doing after his decade-long stint at Azkaban. It was unheard of to stay that stable, mentally.

“It might be his ability to transform into a dog,” The Unspeakable No. 3 offered.

Sirius yelped, “You know about it?”

The Unspeakable chuckled and said, “You've transformed into a dog all the time while being in this cell. So we would know, even if Pettigrew hadn’t told us all about it. Say, were you in your dog form most of the time while there?”

“Yes,” Sirius said grudgingly.

“And no one ever noticed?” The healer asked, astonished.

“No one ever visits, except the Dementors and they're blind.”

“You always were in solitary confinement?”

“Well, I could hear the other prisoners.”

“Were you talking with them?” the healer asked, looking concerned.

“Hell no. I just meant I heard Bella screeching and ranting and the others crying sometimes. At least in the beginning. Many of the ones crying died,” Sirius recounted thoughtfully. “Why do you think that is?” he asked his visitors, looking up.

The healer gasped and ran out of the cell block, hand covering his mouth.

“Huh. First, he’s astonished that I'm doing so well after the hell that’s Azkaban, and then he can’t stand to hear about the reality there?” Sirius scratched his matted-haired head.

“That reaction was a little surprising, I agree. Especially for a healer responsible for the Ministry holding cells. My guess is, he never really thought about it, and as nearly no one ever returns from Azkaban to the holding cells, you might be the first one he ever had contact with.”

“Lucky me. So, back to Peter. You know he’s a rat animagus then?”

Unspeakable nodded and said, “We’ll inhibit transformation for Pettigrew. More because he would be a flight risk as a rat than to hinder his ability to withstand the dementors.”

“Makes sense. And if someone deserves Azkaban, it would be Peter, the traitor!” Sirius spat.

No. 3 nodded and went on, “now that we’ve established the basics, I need to tell you about a spell that had infested the wizarding world.” 

Sirius listened attentively and with some disbelief as No. 3 told him about The Spell and its counter, which was being cast left and right by now.

“So, you’re saying that by getting sorted into Gryffindor, there’s less chance for me to have been present when The Spell was cast.”

“Exactly. But we don’t know if someone cast it at your home.”

“Certainly not my mother. She’s not pretty... But her mother Irma Black, née Crabbe was said to have been beautiful, but she died when my mother was quite young.”

“So, it would be more plausible that your mother had been a victim, not the caster of The Spell.”

Sirius frowned and nodded, “She’s a victim of it with near certainty. Beautiful mother… Slytherin house… Damn.” 

“Indeed. Well, I see you’re at the end of your rope.,” The Unspeakable decided against telling Black, that his mother had passed away, for now. “But before I go, do you want me to cast the counter on you? It’s not as effective as casting it yourself, but better than nothing.”

“Yes, please.” 

“ Redianormalis ”

“That’s it? I didn’t feel anything.”

“No one does, but yes, that was it. – Well, I cannot see any outward differences. Do you feel any internal ones?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. I'm much too tired.”

“Then rest. I’ll visit again, tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” Sirius said, fell backwards on the camp bed he had been sitting on, and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

Chapter Text

No one noticed that Dumbledore had been gone for a day when at lunchtime Professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall in travel clothes. She looked rather annoyed.

“Where does Albus have to go in such a hurry, or did he leave already?” She asked the inhabitants of the lunch table and was met with blank faces.

“What do you mean, Minerva? He’s leaving or has left? I don’t think he informed anyone yet,” Filius said with a frown. “What about the wards? Who did he transfer them to if he left already?”

“How should I know?” Professor McGonagall said rather waspishly.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron exchanged excited glances. This was such a great holiday! So many interesting things were happening!

“He wrote yesterday that he urgently had to leave Hogwarts and for me to take up the reins for the time being. I'm sure he’s still in his office waiting to hand the wards over to me.”

With that, the annoyed woman marched out of the Great Hall to find the misbehaving Headmaster.

“If it was so urgent, why did she only come today?” Ron asked.

“That’s a good question, Mr Weasley. Hopefully, Professor Dumbledore did exasperate the urgency a little bit and all is well,” Professor Sprout said kindly and then asked the other teachers, “When was the last time you saw Albus?”

Most said they had seen the man at lunch yesterday, and Professor Snape added, “I saw him in his office yesterday afternoon after I returned from the Ministry. I gave him the good news that the object that had been responsible for the petrifications had been found and was safely in the hands of the Unspeakables. And no, he gave no indication that he had to leave in a hurry. He looked thoughtful and serene.”

The students had a hard time staying quiet about the news, so nonchalantly shared, but they wanted to keep hearing the teachers talking, too. They managed.

“It’s a mystery. So, he might’ve left yesterday, after writing to Minerva or he might still be here. Well, we’ll find out soon. I'm just wondering what happened with the wards, should he have left already,” Professor Flitwick said.

“Professor? Do you have any idea what might happen if the Headmaster didn’t transfer the wards?” Hermione asked.

“I do have ideas, but as I said, I'm wondering that as well. What I know for certain is the very old rule that either the Headteacher or their Deputy has to be at Hogwarts to hold them. I think the wards would return to their first setting, which the Founders of Hogwarts implemented so long ago. So, they would be a bit outdated. But do not fear, Miss Granger, Hogwarts is safe either way.”

“Oh, that’s interesting! I'm sure I read about it in Hogwarts A History . But I left the book at home because it didn’t fit into my trunk anymore.”

“I'm certain you’ll find a copy in the library, Miss Granger,” Professor Flitwick said kindly.

“If any of your Ravenclaws returned one to it, certainly,” Hermione scowled.

“What do you mean?” Flitwick asked, frowning.

“Every single copy has been checked out by members of your house after the Chamber of Secrets was opened, Professor.”

“Oh, dear. It seems we need to tie one copy to the library so not all copies can be checked out.”

“Sorry to say, Professor, but that would need to be done for a lot of books. It has become quite common that the Ravenclaws check out anything relevant for essays members of our house have to write as well,” Percy said quietly.

“Is that so?” Professor Flitwick frowned. “Why haven’t you said something?” The Charms Master asked the Gryffindors in astonishment. He also observed the two lone seventh-year Ravenclaws, who were looking very innocently down at their food. Flitwick narrowed his eyes at the sight of them.

“We did bring the issue to Professor McGonagall in her capacity as the Deputy Headmistress a few times. She always said she would take care of it. But nothing ever changed,” Percy explained.

Flitwick shook himself and answered, “Well, that cannot stand. No wonder the essays of Gryffindors are always filled with unrelated and irrelevant topics. I wonder how your Slytherins manage, Severus?”

“Oh, we’ve collected quite the library down in the dungeons. That problem doesn’t seem to be new. And my guess is, they wouldn’t dare with Hufflepuff.”

Professor Flitwick frowned, “But we’ve our own library as well. It doesn’t make sense that they check out everything relevant. I just hope they don’t do it to sabotage another house!”

Hermione’s Hair puffed up in indignation, “That would be terrible, Professor!”

(“And very Slytherin. Commendable,” Professor Snape could be heard muttering, much to the two Ravenclaw’s dismay.)

“It would indeed, Miss Granger. Be assured, I’ll investigate it and set it right. And it makes sense to keep one copy of the books we’ve more than one of in the library. I’ll discuss it with Irma when she has returned from her well-earned holiday,” Flitwick said.

Thank you, Professor,” Percy said, and Hermione nodded emphatically.

The side door to the staff room banged open and a, now very angry-looking, Transfiguration Professor walked out. “He isn’t in the castle! He left already! When?”

“Well, he was last seen yesterday afternoon,” Professor Sprout said. “So, it was between then and now.”

“But that was more than twelve hours ago! The wards don’t hold any longer than that without one of us being in the castle!”

“Well, did you try taking them up?” Severus asked the obvious.

“Not yet,” Professor McGonagall’s neck reddened a little and she closed her eyes.

Everyone was waiting with bated breath.

Professor McGonagall’s eyes flew open, and she said wanly “I cannot reach them.” She sat down heavily on an empty chair.

“What do we do now?” Hermione asked, looking worried.

“Now, Miss Granger, we look into Hogwarts Book of Rules,” Professor Flitwick said and got up. 

“Where is it?” Hermione asked.

“In the Headmaster’s Office. Please excuse us, students,” he answered, and he and all the present teachers got up and left the Hall.

The students stayed sitting in front of their half-eaten lunches and were wondering what they were supposed to do now. But as they were sure the adults would fix it; they shrugged and went on eating. 

The teachers found that in the case of both the headteacher and deputy headteacher leaving the castle for more than twelve hours, the wards reset themselves, and all the current Heads of Houses had to unanimously agree on who should take the office then. They could also appoint an interim headteacher until the topic had been resolved. 

McGonagall obviously (to some) expected them to ask her to take the mantle for the time being, but Sprout said, “Severus, would you mind taking the job until Albus returns?”

Severus looked slightly startled and seemed to think about it. He then shook his head and said, “Thank you, Pomona, but I have to decline. I don’t want to give up my Head of House duties, I'm the provider of potions for the Hospital Wing as well and we could not find a replacement quickly, nor could we find a Potions teacher on such short notice. Why don’t you or Filius take on the interim job?”

The two looked at one another thoughtfully and Sprout said, “I’d rather not. You, Filius?”

Flitwick nodded. “Yes, I can do it until Albus returns. It probably will be soon anyway. And I always wanted to have a look at the wards,” he said grinning.

“Very good, so we are all in agreement?” Sprout asked and the other two Heads of Houses nodded. McGonagall rather reluctantly, but she did agree.

The wards settled on Flitwick’s small shoulders unceremoniously. He blinked and then looked thoughtful. “It’ll take me a while to study them, to look up what has been done with them in the past and adjust them accordingly.”

McGonagall huffed again and said, “Just wait till Albus comes back. He’ll set them to rights. He wouldn’t want anyone messing up his domain.”

Flitwick looked a little taken aback and then said mildly, “I won't ‘mess them up’ and I’ll document anything I'm doing, so a reversal is always possible. Do we appoint an interim deputy as well?”

“Will you need to leave for longer than twelve hours in the near future?” Severus asked.

“Not that I know of. And Minerva is right. Albus might return any minute.”

“So, I'm not the deputy anymore?” McGonagall pursed her lips.

“You can be if you want,” Flitwick offered.

“No thank you. Let us wait for Albus,” she sniffed. “I wish you luck with the mountains of correspondence,” McGonagall snapped and walked out of the office, throwing a parting sentence over her shoulder, “I’ll be back when term starts again.”

They all stared at the closing office door.

“What just happened?” Sprout asked dumbfounded and looked at all the other teachers that had come up with them to look up the rules. She was met with equal bafflement. 

“Maybe she was angry you didn’t ask her to take up the mantle?” Vector guessed.

“Oh, that’s possible. I didn’t ask her because she’s always complaining about her workload,” Sprout exclaimed. “I’ll write to her later to clear that up.”

Flitwick, who was eying the aforementioned mountain of correspondence that was now plainly visible to all, nodded, and said, “No wonder, Albus asks her to do much of his job.” 

He then waved his wand and the letters started sorting themselves into one big and one smaller pile. 

“Well, could I ask all of you to help me get a hold of the school-related correspondence? I sorted out all of Albus’s personal letters, for him to look at when he returns.”

The others nodded and Vector said, “If we tackle this together, we should make quite a dent in a couple of hours. Let’s move to the staff room, why don’t we?”

“Good idea.”

Soon, the letters were packed into conjured baskets and the teachers moved to the staff room, with the full baskets floating serenely over their heads.

At dinnertime, the curious students only found Hagrid, who missed lunch that day and therefore was as clueless as they were, at the table.

When asked, the huge man said he would go and find out, and went to the side door, opened it, and stuck his head in.

The students couldn’t understand what was talked about, but when Hagrid returned, he told them, “They’re sorting letters. Huge piles of them. And answering them, too. And Filius is headmaster until Professor Dumbledore comes back.”

“Where did all the letters come from?” Hermione asked.

“Headmaster Dumbledore wasn’t very good at reading and answering his letters, they said. So, they're helping him. It was just the letters to the school.”

“Oh, so the letters my parents wrote him might never even have been read?” Hermione said, astonished. “I thought he was Albus Dumbledore!”

“He is,” Harry said drolly. 

Hermione giggled, “Yes! I meant…”

“We know,” Ron reassured her grinning. “I'm surprised too.”

“Me too,” Harry piped up.

Chapter Text

On Saturday, the 9th of January, an exhausted Severus Snape sat down heavily on “his” chair at the tea table in the drawing room of Malfoy Manor.

“Don’t you have a term break right now?” Narcissa asked teasingly.

“Hmpf.”

No. 15 entered and asked unceremoniously, “Will Mr Malfoy join us, as well?”

“Yes, he’ll be here in a minute.”

No. 15 took their seat while the door opened. A happy-looking house-elf came in, levitating a big cake with candles on top into the room, with a broadly grinning Lucius following.

“Happy birthday, Severus!” 

Narcissa clapped her hands and called out “Happy birthday, Severus!” as well.

No. 15 tilted their head and also said, “Happy birthday, Mr Snape.”

Severus blinked and said, “Thank you all! This was not necessary.”

“Nonsense! It’s your 33rd birthday! Three times eleven. That’s a big one,” Lucius said and sat down, still smiling broadly.

And Severus had to confess that good company, cake, and tea were very helpful in battling his exhaustion.

After he had finished, he leaned back contently and looked to No. 15, “ Anything new on your side?” he asked a little sarcastically.

No. 15 chuckled and answered, “Well, let me first update the Malfoys. After Mr Malfoy informed us of the notebook and possible Horcrux, we managed to question Miss Weasley, without anyone the wiser. She seemed to be rather relieved to talk to someone about it after she had decided to open up. The poor thing is only eleven, after all. 

“She had found the book with her newly purchased schoolbooks and had thought her mother had given it to her. She soon found that it answered back, and she told us the answering boy, who called himself ‘Tom,’ became her best friend quickly. She only grew wary of her diary – as she called the notebook – after she woke up covered in blood and feathers, and a few days later missed some time in her memories. And she learned later that Dean Thomas was found petrified within that timeframe. She also told us some other reasons, but those two were the main ones for her next action. Therefore, because she didn’t know what to do with the book without alerting anyone to her involvement, she decided to throw the book into a toilet.”

Narcissa sputtered, Severus laughed and Lucius facepalmed.

“She chose the bathroom that no one goes into. The one that’s haunted.”

“There’s a haunted bathroom in Hogwarts?” Lucius asked incredulously.

“Yes, the second-floor girls' lavatory, more commonly known as Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom. Anyway, she ditched the book and went away. She felt some compulsion to go back and get the book again, but how could she, if it was in the plumbing, or so she thought. So, she went on with her life, and after our articles arrived and she had cast the counter, the need to get the book disappeared.

“We speculated how that’s possible, but we think she had a link to the book, and when she cast the counter, her end of the link at least, was de-cursed and therefore it had to let go. A little like it happened with Mr Potter, only on a much smaller scale. We naturally tried to summon the book out of the aforementioned toilet and also tried other methods but to no avail. Until three days ago, when Mr Snape and Mr Potter brought the book to us.”

“No!” Narcissa gasped.

“How?” Lucius asked in wonder, looking relieved. The thought of the treasured artefact of the most feared Dark Lord in the sewage just didn’t sit right with him.

Severus answered, “It seems, Miss Weasley saw Mr Potter writing into the book and being astonished that the book answered back. She grabbed the book and ran to find me. She knew I was involved in the search for it because I had first brought the Unspeakables in contact with her. Mr Potter and his friend naturally had followed her. When I learned that he had written in it, I thought it prudent to bring him along.”

No. 15 took over then, “Mr Potter told us the ghost, Moaning Myrtle, had been sitting in the U-bend of said toilet and the book had fallen through her. She was so incensed by this that she caused all the water to come out of that toilet.”

Severus wondered what would’ve happened if someone had used this toilet for its actual designation and shuddered.

No. 15 went on, “Mr Potter, who was passing by, got curious where the water came from, followed it, found the dry book in the water, took it, and then forgot it in his trunk until three days ago where he went through it in search of some parchment. 

The others chuckled.

“Long story long, we have the Horcrux now.”

“Is Mr Potter all right?”

“Yes, the book had no time to establish a connection. He, as well as Miss Weasley, are free of any outside influence and evil Dark Magic now, Mrs Malfoy. The book hadn’t been in anyone’s hands for a while, actually, so there had been no chance someone else could’ve been petrified as you feared.”

“That’s a relief.”

“It is indeed. What I forgot to tell you is that Mr Potter and his friend didn’t trust the book and thought to check it for curses, and as they didn’t know any others, they hit it with Redianormalis .”

“That would not have dispelled the Horcrux, this time.”

“That’s correct, Mr Malfoy. But it did dispel the negative effects The Spell had on the piece of soul within. So now the book contains the mind of a rather bewildered but helpful sixteen-year-old boy named Tom Marvolo Riddle.”

The other three’s eyes bulged a little, until Lucius wondered, “Marvolo, where’ve I heard that name before?” 

“We wondered the same and only found one possible clue in the life and death of one Marvolo Gaunt, who died shortly after being released from Azkaban in 1926 or 1927. The boy in the book told us he had researched the name Marvolo as well and had reached the same conclusion. Especially because the boy, as well as the Gaunts, were known to be parselmouths.”

“Like the Dark Lord,” Lucius whispered. “You were right last week.”

“Yes. The boy told us he had planned to travel to a town called Little Hangleton to investigate in the summer of ’43. That means, a few months after the creation of this Horcrux. We now know that his alter ego did follow that plan. We went to the town disguised as Muggles and found the shack the Gaunts had lived in. And even more surprisingly, we found another Horcrux there.”

The other three didn’t know whether to cheer or weep.

“We also found stories of a family named Riddle, who had lived in the small town. Or rather, they were an affluent Muggle family residing in a Manor close by. The son was said to have eloped with ‘the tramp’s daughter’, Merope Gaunt and later returned to tell stories of witchcraft and bedazzlement. That all happened during the twenties. We concluded she must’ve given the young man a love potion.”

“The poor guy,” Severus sighed, to Narcissa’s and Lucius’s surprise.

“We thought so, too. The family was found dead in August of ‘43. No signs of forced entry to the manor or wounds on the bodies. Together with young Tom’s plan to visit the town during that time, we concluded that he might’ve visited them and gotten rejected. The only thing we are unclear about is that he had been sixteen at that time, so how had he managed to cast any magic, much less an Unforgivable, without the Ministry noticing?”

“Oh, good question, did the trace exist already, back then? Did the Second World War disrupt the scanners? Is it possible to get rid of the trace?” Severus asked.

“All good questions. Yes, the trace existed back then and to the other two questions, we don’t know. We’ll look into them. We didn’t think of the war that was happening back then. That was when Grindelwald wreaked havoc, too, now that I think of it.”

The others nodded.

“Our Magical Law Enforcement of that time did investigate the deaths of the Muggle family, and they concluded that Tom’s uncle Morfin Gaunt had killed the Muggles. He was sentenced to life in Azkaban. We cannot determine who did it, but, in the end, it doesn’t matter, really.

“But what matters is that we found the next Horcrux. Right now, we are discussing what to do with it. We are unsure if the book contains a nice teenage boy, who readily communicates with us, or a very manipulative and cunning sociopath. We are 50/50 on that matter. And the answer to that question determines what we’ll do with any other Horcruxes we find. One extreme possibility is that we destroy them after we’ve learned everything. The other extreme one is that we try to put the man back together.”

The others blinked. That was a loaded question. 

“Let us be real,” Severus snarked. “The Unspeakables will never destroy such an interesting object.”

No. 15 ducked their head and chuckled, “You’re not wrong. Especially since the boy in the book has asked us to do exactly that.”

“Does he feel trapped?”

“Tom says he doesn’t. Because he has no real physical body with nerves and blood, he apparently is okay with being a book, if you can believe it. No, he suggested that, because he ‘heard of our dilemma’.”

“Fascinating,” Severus said.

“It really is!” No. 15 nodded.

“You had concluded that there are more than three Horcruxes before the one in Potter, so did you find any more?”

“Not yet. Tom told us he thinks he would’ve hidden them in places important to him. We are investigating some leads he gave us. But we haven’t found anything concrete. Another possibility we are investigating is Voldemort’s (flinch) followers. He gave the book to your father, after all,” No. 15 nodded to Lucius.

“Well, he would’ve only given it to someone he trusted. Hm. There are still many. And quite a few are in Azkaban,” Lucius mused.

“We thought so, too. And that brought up an entirely different topic or rather topics.”

They all waited for No. 15 to go on. And after a while they did. “The question came up as to whether the inmates of Azkaban had been subjected to the negative effects of The Spell as well.”

“Bella,” Narcissa whispered.

“Exactly. The next loaded question was, what if they were? How do we determine their culpability?”

Now they all sat there in silence, looking stunned.

“Well, you cannot leave them there in good conscience, can you?” Narcissa nearly yelled then.

“You’re right, Mrs Malfoy, we can’t. And we are in the process of reviewing all the cases of the people sitting in Azkaban and are planning to bring some to the Ministry soon. Even before we thought of this, there had been movements to review the Azkaban cases because some irregularities have come up in one particular case. There was much opposition, but with the counter-spell, it’s dwindling quickly. Now there’s only Crouch Senior left for us to convince. I'm positive we’ll clear all of that up, soon.”

Narcissa relaxed a little, “The rest of the Ministry will go along with a review?”

“They will. The Minister and the Wizengamot have changed greatly. For example, Madam Umbridge was trying to lobby for a new anti-werewolf law and failed miserably. And the nephew of the Minister tried to wreak havoc by stealing a Muggle train if you can believe it. He didn’t get far and is in huge trouble because his uncle recused himself and asked to be kept out of that case. That would’ve gone very differently without the counter, would be my guess.”

“Oh yes. I do need a very different approach to the Ministry now,” Lucius said.

“You’ll manage,” Narcissa told her husband dryly.

“Let’s move on, Mr Snape, how does Hogwarts fare?” No. 15 asked.

“Splendidly. It’s us mere mortal teachers, who are just a tiny bit stressed. Well, where to start? It happened that both our Headmaster and our Deputy Headmistress stayed away from the school for longer than twelve hours at the same time between last Tuesday and Wednesday. That caused the wards to reset themselves.”

“What?” Lucius yelped, “The governors weren’t informed!”

“Oh, I'm sure they will be. We asked Flitwick to be the interim headmaster for the time being. We're positive Albus will come back soon.”

Lucius nodded, that sounded like a good short-term plan.

“Minerva McGonagall, who had been called in by Dumbledore but had taken her good time to react, got catty and wished Flitwick good luck with the correspondence and flounced off again, until the start of term. Flitwick then nearly fell over when he saw the mountain of letters that Albus normally keeps disillusioned, but which reappeared due to the reset of the wards. We offered our help and spent the next day and a half sorting and reading all the letters sent to the school.

“There were some from a decade ago. We found older ones stashed in an unused classroom. But we ignored them for now. There were many questions from Muggle parents, which he ignored, as well as many complaints. Especially about History and Potions, I'm sad to say. But also, about other subjects like Muggle Studies or all the abolished ones.”

Lucius listened with interest, “That’s very interesting. We, the governors, ask at each meeting with him if there had been any complaints and he always said, he hadn’t read any.”

Severus huffed, “Typical. Well, the letters to the governors were in that pile, too.”

“No! Did you read them?”

“We didn’t. That would be illegal. We collected them in one of the big baskets.”

“Oh, dear.”

Severus smirked at Lucius, “So, I meant to ask, when’s the next meeting of the governors?”

Lucius huffed, “We meet twice a year. Once in the summer, once in winter.”

“So?”

“Sometime in January. It hasn’t been planned yet.”

“Very well, please invite the Heads of Houses, too. Now that the date will go missing in another pile of Albus’ making.”

“Agreed. So, are you answering the letters as well?”

“We still have acute questions and grievances. For example, we promise that the Potions lessons will get better now that I’ve been de-cursed. We’ll be looking into History, Muggle Studies, and Divination and we’ll try to solve matters until next school year at the latest. Also, we now can assure concerned parents that the matter of the petrifications has been solved and the school is safe once more. Our owls are getting quite the workout.”

“That seems to be quite the task,” No. 15 said.

“It is. And that’s not all,” Severus sighed. “This morning, our Matron Madam Pomfrey resigned and left immediately.”

“What?” 

“How did that happen?” 

The Malfoys talked over one another.

“It might’ve been my fault, but I certainly didn’t expect her to react as she did. You see, I had nudged her about ten days ago into doing a full medical scan of a student I suspect lives in an abusive home, and we agreed to get together to go over the results, but she never contacted me. So, I thought she had helped the student by herself, at first. Because, let’s say, the student definitely needed help. But it became more and more obvious that he didn’t get any, so I asked her this morning when we should get together to tackle the diagnostic results and was told there was no need. That Albus had said it wasn’t necessary. And when I asked how that could possibly work with her healer’s oath, she resigned, packed her bags, and left. – I'm still reeling, to be honest.”

“She did cast the counter, didn’t she?” No. 15 asked the first question they now always ask in a situation like this.

“I think so, but I didn’t see it myself. When I brought it to the teacher’s attention, I don't think she was present.

“Hm, but it’s concerning. The oath would punish her if she knowingly left a patient in need of help,” one could nearly hear the disbelief in No. 15’s distorted voice. 

“I'm as confused as you are. That was why I asked, actually. Anyway, we cannot open the school again without a full-time and in-house healer. So…” Severus looked to Narcissa.

She laughed in disbelief, “You want me to take on the job?”

“Would you? Please?”

“Well… hmm… I’ve been quite bored since Draco has been gone for most of the year, and have revised and updated my medical knowledge,” she looked to Lucius, “What do you think?”

“I think you certainly can do it if you want. You’re an amazing healer. Maybe for this term for now, so you can see if you like it. And I would want to move to Hogwarts with you, so fair warning.”

Narcissa smiled lovingly at her husband and answered, “Then yes, Severus. Until this summer for now, if that’s alright with you.”

“Oh yes! It’s more than all right. Thank you!”

Narcissa nodded and smiled a little meanly, “I look forward to seeing Draco’s face.” 

“He’ll be elated,” Severus drawled.

“So, I ho–”

A Patronus in the form of an owl rushed into the room and said in Flitwick’s voice, “Severus, please come to Hogwarts at once. Albus has retired with immediate effect.” *

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Severus jumped up. “Are you coming?”

The other three nodded and they soon flooed to the headmaster’s office.

* Due to the HPwiki, Flitwick’s Patronus is non corporal. Well, in this world it’s an owl. I mean,  how is it possible that the Charms Master cannot cast a corporal Patronus Charm?

Chapter Text

Hermione, Harry, and Ron went to dinner Saturday evening feeling exhausted but also elated. All the homework was finished, and they had one glorious day without any thoughts of school left (Harry and Ron), or one day without the need to badger her friends into working (Hermione) ahead of them.

They sat down at the single table and chatted with the other students who were present. Mainly Ginny, the twins, and Draco, Vince, and Greg as they were calling the (de-cursed) members of the Slytherin trio now. They all cheerfully bemoaned their dwindling holidays, and Hermione and Vince started a discussion about something or other. 

Again. 

The other students had quickly learned to just let them be. The two were just too brainy for their own good, as Ron put it.

They ate, until Draco called out, “Mother? Father? What are you doing here?”

They looked up and saw a very blond couple entering through the side door, together with all the teachers and staff members staying over the break, smiling at the equally blond boy.

Professor McGonagall was with them as well, but she looked like she had dung under her nose, Harry thought.

Hagrid, on the other hand, looked very sad and was sniffling a little.

The adults took their seats and Mr Malfoy answered his son’s question, “Well, there’ve been some developments. Please keep them to yourself until tomorrow evening, all right?”

The students nodded. They could do that, as owls were in such high demand right now, with the owlery being nearly empty, and their friends would return tomorrow evening anyway.

“Very well. Then you’re the first to hear the news,” Mr Malfoy said, and Professor McGonagall huffed. She was very clearly not happy about them.

“This afternoon, Professor Flitwick found this note on Headmaster Dumbledore’s desk,” Mr Malfoy held up a strip of parchment. “It states, ‘I retire. Have a nice life. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore; PS: The Greater Good will always prevail.’”

Hagrid noisily blew his nose.

Shocked faces – with their mouths hanging open – greeted Mr Malfoy when he looked up after he read the note to his audience. (Not that he didn’t remember its wording by heart by now, but it was such an absurd little text that he had to look at it again.)

“Please close your mouths, and swallow the food in it,” he asked his audience with a mild but still stern tone of voice.

About twenty mouths snapped shut and Mr Malfoy started talking again, “Thank you. I must confess our reaction was not much different. My wife and I happened to hear Mr Flitwick’s message to visiting Professor Snape, that’s why we came too. My wife came in the capacity as a new staff member – it will be explained later, son – and I, as a sitting member of the school governors. 

“We found all of Mr Dumbledore’s things gone. His wardrobe, his books, and his letters. Even the Phoenix’s bird stand, as well as all the little trinkets cluttering his office, have disappeared. So we are quite sure his resignation was legitimate. The question was, who would get to be the new headteacher? Every one of the Head of Houses declined. And very long story short, they asked me to take the job for the rest of the school year.”

The students gasped, especially Draco, who didn’t look very happy about it. Harry thought that the boy would’ve been smirking and lording his father the headmaster over everyone, before the counter-spell. But now, he seemed to see the downside, as well.

“Don’t fret, Draco. Any disciplinary matter will be handled by Severus.”

Draco huffed and Greg patted his shoulder consolingly.

“So, you’re Headmaster Malfoy now?” Hermione piped up.

“Exactly, Miss…”

“Granger, sir. Hermione Granger.”

“Oh, the smart one. I heard about you.”

Hermione and Draco blushed.

“So, no one knows where Dumbledore went?” one of the twins asked.

“We’ve no idea. He left without a trace. But since his familiar is a phoenix, it’s safe to assume he asked his bird to Apparate him.” 

Hagrid blew his nose again.

“But that’s impossible in Hogwarts,” Hermione said, frowning.

“For human beings it is not possible, that’s true, but other species can do so easily, like phoenixes and house-elves, but we digress.” Headmaster Malfoy hastily added when Hermione opened her mouth again.

“I wanted to tell the present Weasleys that I'm sorry for my behaviour in the bookshop last summer. I wasn’t myself at the time. Or rather, for a long time.”

Percy nodded and said, “Thank you, sir. But, if you don’t mind me asking, why did they ask you?”

Draco’s dad chuckled when seeing all the nodding student’s heads and answered, “I don’t mind your asking at all. I think it was partly because I was there, partly because I'm a politician at heart, and partly because no one else wanted the job.”

The children sniggered.

“And you, mother?” Draco asked.

Mrs Malfoy answered, “Albus Dumbledore wasn’t the only one quitting his contract today. This morning Madam Pomfrey resigned, and Professor Snape asked me to step in as the Matron, for this term.”

“So, father will sit in the Headmaster’s Tower, and you’ll be at the Hospital Wing?” Draco asked.

“Exactly, son.”

“That’s all right then,” Draco decided. At least they wouldn’t teach him! He shuddered at the thought.

“And I quit being Head of House of Gryffindor,” Professor McGonagall snapped out.

The children, especially the Gryffindors, gasped. 

“Oh, but you’ll still teach?” Hermine asked.

“Yes. But it was made clear…,” She seemed to stop herself from talking about what exactly had been made clear and continued after a small cough, “Yes, I’ll concentrate on teaching, Miss Granger. I also quit the post as deputy.”

 “Oh, who’s the deputy now?” Percy asked and Professor McGonagall frowned. 

Maybe she’s expecting more protests from us? Harry thought, rather insightful.

“And more importantly, who’ll become our Head of House now?” one of the twins (probably Fred) asked. 

Mr … no… Headmaster Malfoy chuckled and said, “Professor Flitwick agreed to take the deputy post till the end of term and we’ve still to find a Head of House for Gryffindor as of yet, I'm afraid.”

“And you quit that job anyways, Professor?” Hermione blurred out and then blushed.

Professor McGonagall sniffed and said stiffly, “I did indeed Miss Granger. Apparently, you all need a Head of House who teaches you about safety protocols and such. There were letters,” she pursed her lips.

“Oh,” Hermione chewed her lip. “Yes, I can see that.”

Professor McGonagall’s neck turned red. 

Harry had bad experiences with people whose necks turned red. But at least, Professor McGonagall didn’t start bellowing. And he thought, in her case, it might be more embarrassment than anger.

Headmaster Malfoy and Professor Snape looked happy, though. Harry guessed that Professor McGonagall had been very opposed to all the changes. She did respect Headmaster Dumbledore very much. As did Madam Pomfrey. Hm… Maybe the Matron had quit because Dumbledore was gone? But that couldn’t be right. She resigned before Dumbledore, right? 

Maybe his medical stuff had been forgotten about in all the hubbub, Harry hoped.

Chapter Text

Sunday, the last day of the Yule break, started rather relaxed much to Severus’s relief. He spent the early morning showing Narcissa ins-and-outs of the Hospital Wing. For the rest of the morning, he finished his plans for the lessons he wanted to teach the next weeks. The complaints about his teaching methods had struck a chord. Even if he was only partly at fault because of the effects The Spell had on him, it hurt. So, he had reviewed his lesson plans and there was nothing about safety, ingredients lore, the materials used in the equipment, and the other rules of potions brewing. Not even the textbooks spoke about the reasons why things were done a certain way. 

Severus remembered how he had hated the textbooks Slughorn had used when he had been a mere student, and what did he do after he became a teacher? He used the very same ones!

So, for the first week, he planned to teach the same lesson to all seven years. He would just vary them a little in detail and depth, in accordance with the age of the students, but in the end, the lessons wouldn’t change much.

He also thought about all the letters Remus Lupin had written to the school, asking for a job over the last eight years. It seemed he was quite down on his luck. The man was lucky that this Umbridge woman got laughed out of the Wizengamot when she proposed the new legislature regarding werewolves. 

He had shown the letters to Lucius in the morning when they talked about the open Head of Gryffindor post as well as the open Defence Against the Dark Arts teaching post. Lupin had a Mastery in that subject, and he had been a Gryffindor, after all.

The main problem was his affliction. Severus still remembered his meeting with Lupin’s alter ego in vivid detail. 

The man had also been a cowardly lion, never standing up to his friends when in human form. On the other hand, Severus could understand the motivation behind it more, now. Lupin hadn’t wanted to lose his friends, who stood by him regardless of his life-altering curse. 

Lucius had informed Severus that he could extend the anti-werewolf wards to the grounds so a transformed werewolf wouldn’t be able to enter them or would be transported to the ward line when they transformed within the castle or on the grounds but would not get hurt by them.

That sounded perfect and they had written a letter to Lupin. 

He mused about all the posts they were scrambling to fill. They had lost five in less than a month. The Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, the Matron, the Headmaster, the Deputy Headmistress, and the Head of Gryffindor House. Luckily only one was a teacher’s post.

The only unusual thing today was the Unspeakables, who were searching the castle once more. And because Lucius was much more accommodating than Albus had been, they had come en masse. They were even checking the kitchens and had gotten part of the house-elves involved.

Severus looked around his classroom and nodded. He installed necessary safety features, cleaned up some, and fixed the lights. He also hung up some posters about safety protocols, potion equipment, and the first five fundamental brewer’s rules.

That would have to do for now. 

His office still contained the jars and vials with all the scary and vile things in them. They and the effects they had on others still amused him very much. So sue him.

He decided to visit Narcissa and see how she fared.

When he entered the Hospital Wing, he was greeted by the new Matron, who now was wearing fashionable, green healer’s robes. Not the old-fashioned nurse clothes Poppy preferred.

The room looked different as well. Gone were the long open rows of beds with no privacy. No, she had installed multiple cubicles that let light through, but one couldn’t see inside. He guessed that she could, though. She even managed to make them look elegant.

“Severus, welcome back! So, what do you think?”

“It looks good, Narcissa.”

“Come to the office, I was just going to order some lunch.”

Severus nodded and followed her. 

As soon as they had taken some of the sandwiches and prepared their tea to their liking, she said, “I started to go through all the files and noticed that she only generated one if the student in question came in with a medical issue. She also didn’t keep the older files for the required time. Or, if she did, I cannot find them. The most urgent thing to do therefore is to open a file for each child and get their baseline diagnostics down. And address any issue that I’ll find, naturally.” 

“That’s a tall order.”

“It is, but I like having something meaningful to do once more.”

“Understandable. So how and where will you begin? House-wise? Age-wise? Youngest fist? Oldest fist?

“Well, I thought I would do the seventh years first, then the fifth years, so I’ll interrupt their study time as little as possible. – And then I want to start with the first years.”

“Hm, that sounds like a plan. I’ve some good news for you, though. I have a medical file for every student in Slytherin, with their yearly diagnostics. I always thought it to be a little redundant, but it seems it was well needed.”

“You do? That’s amazing! That leaves only three-quarters of the student body. That sounds more manageable.”

“I’ll send copies of my files up here. Just the current students I take?”

“How long do you keep them?”

“Well, I’ve yet to dispose of any. I’ve not taught for that long as of yet.”

“True. Hm, where do you think she might’ve stored the files?”

“I’ve no idea. Why don’t you ask a house-elf?”

“Now I feel stupid. Hogwarts house-elf, I need service.”

A little elf popped in and asked, “Does Miss Healer need more tea?”

“No, thank you. The reason I called you is that I have a question.”

“Milli will do her best to answer!”

Narcissa nodded, smiling, “Do you know where the former Matron, Madam Pomfrey, has stored the older medical files?”

“Milli knows! Miss Poppy asked elvsies to store them each year. We be bringing them to the Files Room.”

“The Files Room? Where’s that room? I never heard of it,” Severus asked.

Milli giggled, “It is at the same place as the Room of Hidden Things. We just call for it. It is all be called the Come and Go Room.”

“Fascinating. And where’s this Come and Go Room?”

“At the Seventh Floor, opposite the tapestry with the trollsies. Master is to walk three times past the wall there and think of finding the Room of Hidden Things or the Files Room.”

“I see. And what is in the Room of Hidden Things?”

“We elvsies put anything in it that we be finding.”

“That sounds amazing,” Narcissa said, “did you tell the Unspeakables about it?”

 “We did not! But Milli will!” And with that, the little elf disappeared with a silent popping sound.

“Hogwarts is truly fascinating. Want to look for this elusive room, before the Unspeakables swarm it?”

“Narcissa chuckled and said, “Let’s get Lucius too. If I remember correctly, this is close to his office.”

“Good idea.”

A quarter of an hour later, two Unspeakables, the Malfoy couple, and Severus met in front of an empty wall, with the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy at their backs and decided to join forces.

“Well, let’s try the Room of Hidden Things,” Severus said and walked past the empty wall three times in measured steps.

To their surprise, a door appeared on the wall and Lucius stepped forward and carefully opened it with his wand drawn.

When the door was open, they all stood there staring inside. It was huge and filled with rubble, it seemed. But Severus could also see stacks of books and some potion-making equipment, which looked rather expensive.

Lucius was looking at a pile of empty sherry bottles right next to the door and wrinkled his nose a bit, “It seems like a drunkard used or uses the room to hide the evidence of their addiction as well.”

Severus had an idea who that could be, but he said nothing for the moment.

Narcissa, on the other hand, was looking at some chairs, which looked like they had once belonged to a lady’s boudoir but were now looking rather sad and dilapidated. “There are hidden treasures here. But also pests. I saw something scurrying off. One would need to cast a vermin exterminator spell onto anything first, I think. And the house-elves.”

Lucius nodded and strode through the room looking at everything. “I'm a little unsure how to proceed. This is a safety hazard waiting to happen. On the other hand, it’s good for children to find mysterious places like this, without us adults removing all the obstacles in their way.”

Narcissa huffed delicately, “We’ll never see eye to eye on this.”

“Maybe a middle ground?” Severus said, “We send the house-elves to get rid of any critters, we look through it for any poisonous substances and dark magic artefacts, and we look through the books and ask Irma to take what she wants to add to the library.”

Lucius nodded, “It’s still a daunting task. Just sorting everything would be a work of years, maybe decades.”

Severus nodded and thought about it for a while. “I think I have an idea. But we all would have to leave the room. I don’t want to lock anyone in. Where are the Unspeakables anyway?”

They looked around but couldn’t see them anywhere in this towering mess.

“Hm, probably focused on their task of finding you-know-what,” Lucius guessed. “Let’s let them do their job. Sorting out this room can wait.”

The other two nodded and walked the small paths between the mountains of things keeping one another in sight. 

When Severus heard Narcissa exclaim, he quickly moved to her, as did Lucius.

“What did you find?” her husband asked.

“A long-lost heirloom of the Black family,” she pointed to a long dagger in its scabbard. It had the Black family crest on its hilt quite visibly. “I believe some Minister was stabbed to death with it. I have no idea how it got here.”

“Well, it’s the perfect place to hide any evidence,” Lucius pointed to a stack of magazines with the one on top having two scantily clad women adorning its cover.

Severus couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Better leave it here, for the time being, darling. We can ask No. 15 what to do with evidence in long-ago murder cases later.”

Narcissa nodded.

They looked some more until they heard the Unspeakables calling for them.

They followed the call and soon were back outside the door.

“Did you find anything?” Lucius asked.

“It’s hard not to, in a room like this. But yes, we found another one. We’ve contained it for now, as it reeks of Dark Magic of the evil kind. It might contain more than a you-know-what.” No. 15 said while their colleague, No. 13, nodded along.

“Very good. Did you find any other dangerous magics in there?”

“Yes. There are plenty of them. But it would take much more time to find them all. Which we will. Do you have any idea how to proceed with this room?”

“I think Severus has an idea he wanted to try. Severus?”

Severus nodded and said, “Please step away from the door, I want to see if I can call for only parts of this mess.”

“Good idea!” Narcissa said and they stepped away from the door, which then disappeared from the wall again.

Severus walked past it three times again and a slightly different-looking door appeared.

When he opened it, they saw rows and rows of black-stained, wooden bookcases filled with thousands of books of all sizes. Even Magazines seemed to have found their way in. On top of each bookcase was a plate with the overall subject engraved in old-fashioned lettering. 

They entered the room in wonderment and went to the bookcases, looking at the subjects first. They found subjects like Medieval History, Runes, Light Magic, Necromancy, Magical Theory, Erotica, Hogwarts, Muggle Literature , and many more.

“This is amazing,” Lucius said with a smile. “The magic of this room is quite stunning. And a good idea, Severus, to just ask for the books and to sort them beforehand.”

“You've got some titles multiple times in different editions. For historians alone, this is a treasure trove,” No. 13 said. “Please think of us if you decide to get rid of some of them. We’ll take any you can spare. Just not multiple books with the same title, of the same editions.” He pointed to some rows of similar-looking astronomy textbooks.

Lucius nodded, “So noted. I think we’ll let Irma Pince have the first pick, the teachers the second, and you the third. There might not be much left, but who knows.”

“Just don’t show the books to Irma in their totality. She would never recover from her shock, or never come out of this room ever again,” Severus warned. 

“Maybe we should fill a trunk with books of one subject and give it to her. Then she can process them one at a time. And when she’s finished, she gets the next?” Narcissa suggested.

Severus nodded, “She would need help, though. She’s complaining about her workload already. I don’t want to think what she would be like with even more to do. I also think she would be much more into sorting through the books and never have any contact with a student ever again. She’s rather abrasive to them, as you might remember.”

Lucius nodded thoughtfully, “So we need a bibliophilic, hardworking, and outgoing person, who can work with Irma Pince. And we need the funds to pay them.”

Narcissa said, “The funds shouldn’t be a problem. Just ask this room for all the pieces of jewellery that have been amassed in it. Bring it all to Gringotts, let them look if any of the pieces are heirlooms and have those returned, and sell the rest.”

“You’ve thought about this in quite a bit of detail in such a short time, darling. I’ll do that right away before the one who stashes their empty bottles in the room gets any ideas. Let’s move out.”

This time Lucius was the one walking up and down the corridor of the Seventh Floor and after the door had appeared, they went in and found two trunks filled to the brim with pieces of jewellery.

“That’s amazing,” Lucius said in awe, closed the lids, and then levitated the trunks towards his office.

“He’s such a magpie,” Narcissa commented fondly while smiling lovingly at the back of her husband, who was walking away with a spring in his step, the trunks full of gold and jewels floating alongside.

The rest chuckled and Severus added, “Well, I’ll tell him when he returns that I think I know the perfect candidate for assisting Irma. A Muggle-born Hufflepuff, who loves books and people, and always had to be chased out of the library. He graduated last summer if I'm not mistaken. And I think even Irma liked him and vice-versa.”

“That sounds perfect,” Narcissa nodded. “And the plates with the subjects written on them on top of each case would be a good idea for the library as well, don’t you think?”

“Indeed. I know Irma has wanted to reorganise the library for a long time now. I’ll suggest it, should she be tackling that in the future.”

Severus looked up and down the corridor and asked the others, “Well, that would be it for today, don’t you think?”

“No!” Narcissa said to their surprise. “I’ll look for the medical files now.”

Severus chuckled, “Right, that started this adventure, after all.”

The two Unspeakables reluctantly took their leave. They really wanted to keep investigating the Room of Requirement some more (which they had concluded its name was, after looking it up in the Book Room in a first edition of Hogwarts A History ), but they needed to return with the Horcrux they found. They had dallied long enough as it was.

Soon Narcissa and Severus stood once again at the door of the room, looking inside in wonderment. Rows and rows of 20 foot high cabinets made out of birch wood, filled with medical files from the last thousand years, stood there majestically, files sorted by year.

“Perfect!” Narcissa walked to the cabinet with the latest files and a spherical-shaped little platform came and hovered next to her. She stepped onto it and was slowly moved up to the years before Madam Pomfrey had taken over. 

Severus, on another one of those spheres, looked at the earliest files from the eleventh century. The parchment had been thicker back then, it seemed, but the diagnostic charms had not changed all that much. The terminology had changed though, so he decided to bring a dictionary next time. This also was a treasure trove! There seemed to be some long forgotten medical procedures they could reimplement.

The hovering platform he was on even sprouted a little stool with a backrest for him to sit on and a bookstand where he could put the file that he was studying, for easier reading.

After quite some time, they got interrupted by Milli, who was rather anxious as the train had just arrived, bringing the returning students.

“Oh, dear! Is Lucius back?” Narcissa asked. She hurriedly stuffed the file she had been reading back into its compartment, had her platform bring her back to the ground, and stepped off of it. Severus did the same and the platforms changed back to their basic forms.

“Curry is being getting new headmaster, just now.”

“Very good. Thank you, Milli!”

The two rushed to the Great Hall to await the returning students.

Chapter Text

Harry and his friends had spent a wonderful, relaxed Sunday.

Harry and Ron, together with Draco, Greg, and the twins had gone to the Quidditch pitch. They had decided on two teams, made of Ron, Fred, and Draco (Team Orange – with Draco insisting on keeping his blond hair colour, thank you very much) and Greg, George, and Harry (Team Mischief (George)) and then Harry and Draco had tried to catch the snitch, while the other four whacked bludgers at them and each other. It was great fun.

Hermione and Vince had gone to the library and had just as much fun. They looked up all they could find on magical travel regarding different magical beings and creatures, and Hermione started reading up on house-elves. But then it got really entertaining when Madam Pince appeared at one point and emptied the inbox. It apparently had been stuffed with much more books than she had expected. She found ten copies of Hogwarts a History and many others, which had been checked out by Ravenclaws lately. And since she asked Hermione and Vince about them, the two gleefully told her of the conversation at the dinner table a few evenings ago.

“Are you saying, the students of Ravenclaw only checked them out to deprive students of another House?” She asked, looking quite angry.

“We don’t know. But I find it telling that two lone Ravenclaws must’ve returned all of these books all by themselves after this conversation and Flitwick looking angry. How did they have access to the books? Didn’t any of the ones who had checked them out take them home over the break? Or did you leave before the train did when the Yule break started?” Vince said.

“Certainly not. I always put the library to rights first.”

“Well, then, either Professor Flitwick or one or both of the seventh-year Ravenclaws returned them, right?” Hermione said helpfully. Gleefully clutching one of the copies of Hogwarts a History.  

Madam Prince huffed, “Why, I never…” 

“Professor Flitwick thought it would be a good idea to keep one copy in the library when we have more than one copy of it. Do you think that’s doable?” Hermione asked innocently.

“It’s certainly doable; I’ve asked to be allowed to do that for years! But Headmaster Dumbledore always vetoed it. And he certainly will again,” the normally so severe and stiff woman looked a little dejected now and Hermione and Vince shared a wide-eyed look.

“Uh, Madam Pince. There’ve been… uh… some developments? You might want to ask your fellow staff members about them. We've got to go!” Hermione grabbed Vince’s hand and pulled him out of the library quickly. One arm still clutching the book she had yet to check out (She remedied that the next day.).

Hermione recounted that conversation in the common room later, where they all met before going down to the Welcoming Feast. 

Percy, who had spent the day with his little sister, was as incensed as Madam Pince had been. He just hoped Professor Flitwick would put a stop to it.

Harry remarked that the Ravenclaws had clearly demonstrated that they were no Slytherins, as Snape had implied, because they had shown their hand by stupidly returning all the books in question, and moreso, with only two house members present before the rest of them returned.

“They need pranking!” the twins decided.

Even Hermione and Percy agreed.

Ginny, who was standing at the window, looking out, exclaimed, “The train is coming!”

That got them moving. They rushed to their dorms, pulled on their robes, and thundered down all the steps to the ground floor.

The twins had the great idea of casting the counter-spell at any portrait they saw, with some rather startling surprises. Some beautiful women and men became very common-looking, and others gained some beauty, which led to some startled exclamations when they saw one another.

It was great fun and soon Harry and Ron joined in, leaving much oil-painted chaos in their wake.

Ron’s wand had already proved that it could handle the spell. At least nothing untoward happened when he cast it. And even Harry’s rather lacklustre wand cast the counter perfectly.

They quickly sat at the Gryffindor table that had reappeared again and waited for their schoolmates.

At the staff table, all teachers had taken a seat as well. The golden throne had made no reappearance and they left the headmaster’s space empty for now. The Malfoys were sitting together at one end of the table. The place where Lockhart had been sitting next to Snape had been left empty as well.

Madam Pince and Flitwick were talking animatedly, and Madam Pince even smiled once! The only one clearly unhappy was McGonagall next to Flitwick. 

Then they could hear growing levels of noise coming closer and soon the mass of students spilled into the Hall with great cheer. 

Greetings and looks were exchanged as everyone tried to see if anyone else had changed in appearance.

The greatest brouhaha came from the normally very put-together and well-behaved Slytherin table. 

Harry and his friend craned their neck to get a good look. It seemed that many of the boys were looking much better now. Especially the older quidditch players like Flint, Derrick, and Bole.

Some of the older Slytherin girls looked a little more common now. Much in contrast to it were some of the younger years. Pansy’s nose wasn’t so pug-like anymore, and the biggest transformation had happened to Millicent Bulstrode (next to Vince and Greg). Trolls didn’t seem to be part of their genealogy after all, as Ron said wonderingly, which earned him a Hermione elbow in his side.

Colin, who had rushed to sit next to Harry (much to Harry’s consternation, at last at first), started talking a mile a minute, “Hiya Harry! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Did you see all the changes in the Slytherins? Isn’t it awesome? We were so surprised when we got the newspaper for FREE that day! And it was the one with my pictures in it. Did you see them?”

“Yes, they were great. How did the papers get them anyway?”

“Oh, that was the best! Professor Snape came by and asked if they could have them! And he helped with all the copyright issues and such! He’ll even teach me a spell to do it myself! And he came with us to Diagon Alley, and they opened a vault for me and now I’ll get paid if my pictures get published and there’s so much money in it already! We looked yesterday because the papers all over the world printed them! Can you imagine? MY photographs were printed in Japan!

“Wow!”

“Right!? And he dispelled all the accidental magic at our home. Now the toilet doesn’t fart anymore when you sit on it, sadly... But Mum is really happy about it! And he sent me a book with the ins and outs of publishing stuff. You really must read it too! They are breaking the law, publishing things about you. At least, I think so.”

Colin gasped for breath and Harry felt a little breathless just from listening. *1

“That would be great, thanks, Colin!” Harry said thankfully and Colin beamed.

“Oh, and I'm sorry for always being in your face and snapping pictures! Mum sat me down and explained how annoying that is!”

Harry chuckled and nodded, “Yeah, that was quite a bother, but apology accepted if you agree to ask in the future.”

“Will do,” Colin said cheerfully.

“So, you won't... like sell my picture to the papers without asking?” Harry might’ve worried about it after the incident with Lockhart and Colin asking for a photograph that first time.

“Oh no! Don’t worry! I would need your and your guardian’s permission. But I can sell pictures of things like quidditch matches if all of the faces of the players are unrecognisable. Especially the ones of teenagers and such.”

“That sounds great!”

Colin beamed again and then stuffed his face with the dinner that had appeared rather unnoticed by the chattering and now-eating students. No one had really noticed that Dumbledore hadn’t opened the feast like he normally would.

“So, how did you get contracts with the publishers set up?” Hermine, who had listened in, asked. “Did Professor Snape do that as well?”

“Oh no. He said that this wasn’t his… uh… exercise or something? No, after my parents opened a vault for me with Professor Snape’s help, he asked for a goblin who specialised in all matters of publishing. Like laws, money, and taxes. I'm paying taxes now; can you believe it? That’s why you really should read the book, Harry. Not that they want to collect the taxes for the books about you at some point in the future!”

Harry went pale and said shakily, “I’ll ask Professor Snape too, I think.”

(Hermione mouthed the word “expertise.”)

“Yes! McGonagall is useless anyway!” Colin exclaimed. “She was visiting with Professor Snape but ran when mum asked her about our safety procedures and if Dean’s parents had been informed about him getting stunned!”

Even at the staff table, they heard the boy’s high-pitched exclamation. Not that anyone showed any sign that they had.

Dean leaned forward and waved to Colin who cheered when seeing the boy.

“Mum was really chuffed, that I can tell you, and no. No one had informed her. Only that I would be staying at Hogwarts over the break. No explanation,” Dean told him. “Good to know someone worried about that at least.”

“Maybe the parents of the Muggle-born students should exchange numbers,” Hermione mused. “I think my parents feel a little alone with a magical daughter and all.”

Colin nodded emphatically, “My mum would like that too, I think. She was so happy when Professor Snape got rid of all the magic! But I said that already…”

“Yes, but it was such a huge pile of information, it’s all right to repeat some,” Harry said, grinning at Colin.

Thus the P.M.C. group got started. (Parents of Magical Child(ren)) *2

The noise at the tables died down a little and everyone got busy eating. 

Only when its level started to go up again, the man, who was obviously Draco Malfoy's dad, stood up and addressed the student body, “Good evening, students of Hogwarts. My name is Lucius Malfoy and until recently, I’ve been a governor of this fine institution. So, first and foremost I want to tell you, that the cause for a cat, a ghost, and a student being petrified has been found and removed and the petrified beings were revived.”

The students cheered and Dean was stared at by many.

“Enough with the ogling, students. It’s rather unbecoming.” The refined man scolded lightly and even some of the teachers blushed. They had never thought to admonish the students when they behaved like that, always thinking it was the job of the parents to do so. However, they were the role models the children saw most of the year after the age of eleven, one or two now realised.

“As many of you have noticed by now,” Mr Malfoy went on, “Headmaster Dumbledore is not here, and I'm afraid that I must inform you that he retired very suddenly just yesterday.”

The noise level rose quite high at this news, as only a few students had known, and Dumbledore had been a teacher when their Grandparents had been at school. He had been an institution.

After a minute Mr Malfoy sent whistling sparks into the air and the students quietened down again.

“Yes, we were as surprised as you are.”

The children sniggered.

“There was quite some deliberation and debate in which all the current heads of houses declined the headmaster’s job. In the end, they asked me, and I accepted.”

Woosh. The noise level roared up again.

After another minute Mr Malfoy continued talking and everyone quietened down immediately. “I only agreed to take on the mantle until the end of the school year so we all can see if it’s a workable solution. Additionally, I said yes, because my wife had already accepted the post of Matron of the Hospital Wing. After all, Madam Pomfrey resigned the same day as well. Even if we don’t think those two resignations were connected.”

Everyone knew that despite Headmaster Malfoy's words, by tomorrow morning rumours would have Albus and Poppy eloping to Gretna Green or something like that. The Slytherins on the staff found it a good distraction from all the changes that were announced.

“Yet another change occurred, when Professor McGonagall retired as Head of Gryffindor and as Deputy Headmistress.”

The students had gotten too exhausted to react, but the Gretna Green rumour got spiced up later with the addition of ‘Minerva, the jilted lover.’

“Professor Flitwick has agreed to serve as the deputy for now and we’ll see how that works out with his Head of House duties. So, that leaves us with the Defence Against the Dark Arts post. We do not know what Mr Dumbledore had planned in this regard and until now no one has stepped forward, so we are looking for a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, preferably a Gryffindor.

“Last but not least, I assume you all have seen the free papers on the 29th of December, am I right?”

A loud “yes!” rose from the four house tables.

“Very well, if someone has missed it, please educate yourself. There should be plenty of copies around. And to show that I’ve cleared myself of the influences of the original spell I’ll cast the counter onto myself in front of you and anyone who wants to, may copy me. Here I go. Redianormalis .”

“Redianormalis,” came out of many mouths when the children cast the spell onto themselves. All Muggle-born who were not of age, and many of the others as well, as only their parents had done the casting as of yet. 

“Splendid,” Headmaster Malfoy said. “Now, one last thing. As we are still running around and getting everything ready for this term with all of the changes, school will start on Tuesday, and therefore you’ll have another day of holidays tomorrow.” The last part of the sentence was drowned out by cheers, but Headmaster Malfoy didn’t seem to mind.

Later in the staffroom, Severus sat with his friends and colleagues and tried to decompress, while Narcissa was berating Lucius for forgetting to mention to the students that one of the reasons for the day off was the medical scans of all the fifth- and seventh-years she had planned.

Lucius looked apologetic enough to Narcissa, and so she relented and said, “Oh well, it’s done now. Then maybe I’ll spend some more time in the Files Room and start on Tuesday.”

Severus thought of something they had talked about and said, “Pomona, are you still in contact with Mr Miller?”

“I am, he’s such a dear! But he has a hard time finding a job, he wrote to me just before Yule. I hope it will get better, now that the counter-spell is working its way through the Ministry. Why do you ask, Severus?”

“Well, we were talking about getting some help for Irma as we’ve opened a new source for books that will soon come to the library and Irma would be swamped even more then. Mr Miller seems to be the perfect candidate if Irma agrees.”

“Irma agrees!” Irma agreed from within her wingback chair, which dwarfed her a little.

“Very good,” Lucius clapped his hands and added, “Get me his address by tomorrow morning, please, Pomona. I just hope no one snatches him up now that they are in their right minds.”

“Like you are?” McGonagall groused.

“Exactly! It was like a fog lifting from my brain,” Lucius answered as if he hadn’t noted the derision in her voice.

And it was true. It was like a wind had blown his brain free of cobwebs sticking to stupid power games and prejudices.

“I heard from a lot of my brethren how easy thinking was now and how they were starting to question everything that had been taught to them. I can understand that some of you are not trusting all of this right now. Some of us fought on different sides of the last war, after all. So, only time will tell if this newfound attitude is permanent.”

Many of the teachers present nodded. They felt a little better now that Malfoy had addressed the elephant in the room.

“Remember, I will only be here until summer. Only if all of us like this arrangement will my wife and I stay here. Even our son has a voice in it.”

“So, tell me, Headmaster, what kind of books will be coming my way, as you put it?”

“All kinds. Old tomes and new textbooks. Some in multiple editions, some as rare as them being the only copy left in this world. So, a real mixed bag. Oh, and magazines too. You’ll need to sort through them and take anything you want for the library. The rest will be offered first to the teachers of Hogwarts and then to the Unspeakables and if there’s anything left, we’ll sell them.”

“That sounds amazing. What subjects are they on?”

“I think all subjects, possibly. I even saw Muggle literature.”

Someone scoffed.

“I wouldn’t discount those,” Lucius said. I’ll read some first before I make up my mind as should anyone.”

Charity Burbage smiled happily and agreed, “I’ll do so as well. I might learn something.”

Severus internally facepalmed. That woman needed to learn the subject she taught! He thought back on all the letters he had read, with people voicing their anger about how outdated the subject was and how they had not managed to navigate the Muggle world without sticking out like a sore thumb. He didn’t envy Lucius the task of talking to her.

“From whom did you get all the money for the books? Hogwarts has none left for such frivolities as Muggle literature,” McGonagall put her foot in.

“Oh, they were donated in a sense. Don’t worry, it didn't cost us a Knut.”

“Well, the assistant for Irma sure will.”

“That’s true,” Lucius said peaceably, “but I found some unused revenues that will pay for it. And it will pay for even more. I need to look at the finances first, but I think we can hire more people and update some of the equipment. So, I ask you to think big. Write down anything you need or wish for and prioritise it.”

“Even a teacher’s assistant or a Head of House?” Filius asked.

“Even that. You might not get it, but I’ll do my best to find a way to meet your needs,” Lucius said. “And if I don’t know about it, you certainly will never get it. The assistant for Madam Pince is an exception and not the rule.”

Most of the teachers present were not used to this easy-going openness. They were more used to endless waffling and getting placated. Maybe Malfoy wouldn’t be as bad as they had feared.

“Will you move into the headmaster’s office?” Babbling asked and Lucius nodded, “Yes. Why shouldn’t I?”

There could be little said to that other than, ‘But it’s Albus’ office.’

“Oh, do you want to see the note he left on his desk?” Lucius asked and held out a small piece of parchment, which was snatched immediately by Burbage who read it and then scoffed, “That’s it?” she asked Filius.

“Yes, that was what I found. I called for Minerva, Pomona, and Severus at once,” Filius answered.

“I still wonder what caused him to quit like this. Hogwarts was his life, his home. He always said that he wanted to stay headmaster until he died,” Vector said, looking quite baffled. “And then he leaves for a few days, only informing Minerva that she’s needed at Hogwarts but not why, and then he retires like this. It’s quite inconceivable.”

“Do you think something untoward has happened and he was forced out of his job?” Lucius asked. “Maybe I should inform the Aurors after all.”

Minerva scoffed, “Don’t pretend you aren’t behind this!”

Lucius stood up rather abruptly and raised his wand while the rest looked at him with uncertainty on their faces.

“I swear on my magic that I did not knowingly cause Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore to retire or quit his job nor did I knowingly cause someone else to do so in any way or form. Expecto Patronum .”

A spectral magpie flew a round in the staff room, did a somersault, and dissolved much to Narcissa’s delight, “You did it! After such a long time!”

Most of the teachers were appeased now. 

All but McGonagall, who just couldn’t believe that Malfoy had changed so much. He said ‘knowingly’, maybe he had someone obliviate him after causing Albus to retire? 

Lucius knew that he couldn’t convince everyone. He saw the doubt in McGonagall’s eyes and had to admit that he wouldn’t have believed her either if the tables were turned and she had sworn to always follow the Dark Lord or something equally absurd like that. He could only keep doing what he did and hope it was enough.

Soon after most of the teachers retired, Severus cast a hidden Muffliato, and said, “I disguised our talking, who knows who might be listening in, otherwise.”

Lucius scanned for listening charms but found none but nodded anyway.

“I wish you would teach us the spell, Severus,” Narcissa all but whined.

Severus smirked at her and then asked Lucius, “So how did your visit to Gringotts go?”

“Oh, fantastic. The goblins were debating on the merits of naming me ‘friend of the horde’, they were so happy when seeing the contents of the two trunks,” Lucius grinned.

The other two laughed.

“And then the haggling started?” Narcissa asked.

“It did indeed. In the end, they agreed to find the owners of the heirlooms should they find any alive. They also insisted on the 250-year rule on extinct families. They have to because of the latest treaty.”

“What is that rule,” Severus asked.

“If a family dies out, their vaults have to be kept for 250 years by Gringotts. Only if no heir comes forward, and they can be a descendant of a long-forgotten Squib line for example, the vaults become the property of the Ministry with Gringotts getting five percent.”

“Oh. Thank you. So, If I were the last of the Prince family?”

“Which you aren’t, but if you were, you could claim their estate.”

Severus nodded, “I see.”

“Where was I? So, if the family of an heirloom died out less than 250 years ago, and there are vaults at Gringotts, they’ll put the pieces of jewellery there. The older heirlooms of extinct families as well as anything else will be sold and the money goes into a vault in Hogwarts’ name. I opened a new one for now until I’ve had a chance to look through the finances and who has access to them.”

“So, what else did you agree on, what are they getting for their services?” Severus asked.

“Well, they get 3% and we get 1% each.”

Severus raised an eyebrow.

“Finder’s fee, naturally.”

“Naturally,” Severus repeated dryly, shaking his head in amusement. “And how many of the pieces of jewellery are heirlooms?”

“They estimated about a quarter. I might’ve kept some information to myself when I asked the Room for the trunks. I asked for trunks with multiple compartments and extension charms. So, there were a lot more pieces of jewellery than it looked from the outside,” Lucius confessed and the other two chuckled. It was a very Slytherin move and much appreciated.

Lucius went on, “The goblins calculated that without the heirlooms, the worth is about 8 million just in raw materials of metals and stones. But many of the pieces are worth much more. Obviously, they cannot flood the market with it at once, and they’ll sell the more common pieces in the Muggle market.– Severus? Are you well?”

Severus blinked and then shook his head a little, “No? I… when you said 1% each, who did you mean?”

“Well, the three of us. Who else?”

“So, I might get more than 80,000 Galleons in the future.”

“Yes. Was it too little?” Lucius grinned at his friend, not being serious at all.

Severus shook his head again, bemused. Narcissa chuckled, and Lucius went on, “So, even with all the fees, Hogwarts will get at least 7.5 million. But please let us keep it between the three of us. It would foster corruption of the highest order if this got out. Governors are especially susceptible… hmm… at least they were before the counter… 

“Gringotts and I will work out a plan to keep the money safe and make sure it only can be used for the school and scholarships and such. We might also be able to lower the tuition costs and raise the salaries. We’ll see. But the lean days are over. We should be able to run the school with money earned through interest alone, for centuries if not millennia. – But setting up a failsafe system will take time and careful planning.”

“Maybe only let them sell half of the treasure? At least in the Muggle world people often invest their money in pieces of jewellery. Hm, but we use gold here, not paper money… forget what I said,” Severus huffed at himself much to the Malfoy couple’s amusement.

“You’re not wrong. I already agreed with Gringotts that they don’t have to sell anything. They’ll get their 3% anyway. Even if it’s ‘only’ for the worth of the raw materials.”

“Well, I'm curious if any Malfoy of Black family heirlooms will reappear soon. Also, what chaos it will cause when they are given back! How will they do that anyway?”

“We talked about it, but a Hogwarts house-elf came and got me for the feast. We might just put it in the vaults and pretend it's always been there, or send it anonymously via Gringotts. Or both. We’ll see.” Lucius yawned behind his hand and said, “I think we should retire. It was a long day.”

The others nodded and called it a day.

*1 And me, the poor writer, got breathless while writing Colin, too. *g*

*2 PMC stands for so many things, what’s one more?

Chapter Text

Once again Sirius woke slowly, by now he knew where he was. His brain worked much better now. He just didn’t know whether the reason was his slow but steady recovery from his stint at Azkaban or the counter-curse Numthree had cast on him about five days ago.

Well, either way, his mind was much clearer.

The last few days had been spent with healing, cleaning, and reading.

So, his body had improved much, as well as his mind had been. He was still very thin. That would take some time, but his now very short hair and cleanshaven face were as scrubbed as the rest of his body. It had been vermin-free when he woke here the first time, luckily. The holding cells were set up to ensure that, at least. And getting rid of his smell, he remembered. But then his body did have a meeting with a grooming, shaving, and showering spell which had been cast on him by a rather energetic house-elf. And his prison garb was a thing of the past now, too. He now wore plain black robes, which he adored as they were very warm and clean.

He looked at the small table that had appeared a couple of days ago and saw his breakfast sitting on it. It wasn’t gourmet food, but it seemed to get more varied every day and was much appreciated. Today it seemed to have become even more sophisticated. It might also have something to do with the way he had gushed about it to the little elf yesterday. Who knew?

He ate the food and saw the newest Daily Prophet sitting upside-down on his table next to his coffee. Coffee!

When he wasn’t healed or cleaned, he had spent the last days reading a selected number of editions of the Prophet that Numthree had brought for him to read. The Unspeakable didn’t have much time because apparently, a lot was going on, but they had taken their time to go and get Sirius the highlights of the last decade.

The paper he liked the most though had been the one detailing The Spell, the counter, and dark magic.

He had laughed the first time since that night when seeing the picture of Sniv… No! Of Snape. Let’s keep old childhood grudges and mean name-calling in the past (and invent some new fun names like ‘Numthree’). Back to the pictures. He had laughed until he cried when seeing the photograph and Snape’s bafflement on his overly handsome face. Amazing!

He had sobered down real quick though when he saw, what casting The Spell onto another had done to that idiot Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Hearing about it and seeing a picture of one of the monsters that had tortured him for a decade again were two different things entirely. He had then folded and refolded the paper while reading so that he didn’t have to see the picture anymore. He didn’t want to think about Dementors for the next dozen years!

The article about dark magic was incredibly interesting. He had learned some of it during his childhood, but those lessons had been rather skewed. So, the article had been very educational, and he wondered for the first time if they didn’t do the wizarding world a great disservice by distorting and suppressing the knowledge about dark magic, just like his grandfather had always said.

His mind went back to his family. He had learned in one of the papers of the death of his mother and another of his grandfather. So, he was the last member of the primary branch of the Black family, it seemed.

He wondered who of them had been a victim of the curse and concluded, that the only ones were his grandmother Melania and him that had managed to escape it. Well, probably. His father, grandfather, and brother must have come into contact with it in Hogwarts at least. And the other branches of the family? Well, the Black sisters certainly had learned the spell from their mother Druella Black, née Rosier. That was for sure. Did they cast it as well? He didn’t know. Andromeda? Nah. Narcissa, probably and Bella? Who knew? But had Bella been one of the victims of The Spell instead and had gone insane? Was the whole Black insanity a product of The Spell?

He had more and more questions!

He shook his head and turned the paper and read the headline

Dumbledore Retires!

New Headmaster Lucius Malfoy

Sirius sprayed the paper with coffee much to his dismay. He wiped it off and started reading.

Yesterday morning, we at the Daily Prophet, received a statement that read:

“Yesterday Professor Flitwick – Head of Ravenclaw House –  found a missive on Headmaster Dumbledore’s desk stating: 

I retire. Have a nice life.
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
PS: The Greater Good will always prevail

Professor Flitwick was as baffled as you probably are right now. He contacted the other Heads of Houses immediately. After much deliberation, they decided to ask school governor Lucius Malfoy (whom Professor Snape had been visiting when he had been recalled) to take up the mantle as headmaster until the end of term. Who will become headmaster afterwards will be decided then.
In addition to Mr Dumbledore’s retirement, Poppy Pomfrey resigned from her post as the Matron of the Hogwarts Hospital Wing and Minerva McGonagall resigned from her posts as Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor, but thankfully will stay on as Transfiguration Professor. Hogwarts’ remaining staff thanks the three long-time colleagues for their service and wishes them luck in their future endeavours.
To immediately fill the post as the mandatory in-house healer, Narcissa Malfoy has agreed to take it until the end of the term, and Professor Flitwick agreed to become the Deputy Headmaster until then.
We are still working on finding a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and a Head of Gryffindor.
In the meantime, we hope to run the school as smoothly as possible for the students, who will arrive this evening.

Signed, Pomona Sprout (Head of Hufflepuff House), Filius Flitwick (Head of Ravenclaw House), Severus Snape (Head of Slytherin House), Lucius Malfoy (Headmaster of Hogwarts)”

Dear reader, we were as astonished and confused as you must be just now. And our guess is, as astonished and confused as the staff of Hogwarts was the day before yesterday.

What caused this sudden exodus of staff members of Hogwarts? Why did Professor McGonagall resign two of her three posts in such a time of upheaval? Where is Professor Dumbledore now? Why did he only leave a note, and didn’t speak to anyone after more than thirty years of being the Headmaster of Hogwarts and a teacher at the school for approximately ninety years? What of his other posts as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards? Is there a hidden nefarious plot behind all this? Is the counter-curse to blame, which has brought quite a few changes to our world? There are so many questions and so few answers! 

Be assured, dear reader, that we’ll do our utmost to find them for you!

Sirius let the paper sink, his mind in turmoil, and stared sightlessly at the plain wall in front of him. It was like one of the pillars he had been standing on, had just popped away into nothingness, leaving him struggling to find his footing once more.

What was going on? 

The paper expressed the many questions perfectly that had raced through his head while reading the article .

He also could see the Hogwarts staff scrambling after the news had hit them. What was Malfoy playing at? Was he reformed by the counter or was it a hidden hostile takeover? Both were possibilities. He really needed to ask Numthree about this. He hoped the Unspeakables still were incorruptible, as they had always been!

Luckily for him, he didn’t have to wait for long. The door leading to the rest of the Ministry opened, and in came Numthree together with the first Auror Sirius had seen while being in holding. It was an Auror-trainee, though, fresh out of Hogwarts was his guess and she had pink hair!

“Nymmie? Is that you?”

“It’s Tonks now, Siri!”

“But Tonks is your dad, Nymmie! And look at you! So grown up!”

“Please stop calling me that! I'm trying to train my fellow trainees to call me Tonks!”

“I’ll think about it. Hello Numthree and Nymmie!”

Nymphadora pouted and the Unspeakable choked, trying not to laugh, and said, “Good morning, Mr Black, I see you didn’t lose your sense of humour. I take it, you saw today’s papers?”

“I did! Is this for real? Were you aware? Did the Unspeakables investigate?”

“They did, actually. No. 15 was at Malfoy Manor with Snape when the news reached them, and they accompanied the Malfoys and Snape to Hogwarts and read and scanned the note.”

“So, this is real?”

“It seems to be. We concluded the reasons the three quit their jobs were unrelated, or rather an effect of the de-cursing of our society. It was unfortunate, but we believe more good than bad will come out of it.”

“Huh. It just feels strange. Dumbledore gone. And like that…”

“I can relate!” Nymmie said. “Dumbledore was such an essential part of Hogwarts and our world...”

“… and now a Death Eater is running it,” Sirius said looking incredulous. 

“He did change quite a bit after the counter, we found. And we are observing him within his home, where he’s letting his guard down. It might just be an elaborate plot to gain our trust, but we don’t believe that to be the case. He couldn’t have accounted for Lockhart’s blunder and the resulting upheaval, nor Dumbledore’s disappearance.”

“True. He probably just seized the opportunity like any good Slytherin would,” Sirius did not feel the old hatred for that house rise to his throat, choking him, and said, “Either I’ve grown up in prison or the counter changed something in my mind. My hatred for the house of Slytherin is gone. Just gone.”

“The chances of personal development there are rather low,” Numthree said. “So, you’ve probably come into contact with The Spell.”

“Damn. What about Peter?”

“As far as we can ascertain, he did as well. We are still trying to figure out how culpable he has been for his crimes. It’s a question that will haunt us for a while, as nothing’s clear-cut anymore. Even the Imperious defence was less ambiguous than this one. “

“Damn. What about you, Nymmie?”

“It’s Tonks! And I didn’t feel any different, inside, and out. Mum did though. She said she knew The Spell but never used it herself. But she went to the Ministry to swear never to cast it anyway. She believes her mother as well as her classmates in Slytherin used it frequently, but she must’ve been rather immune in contrast to others.”

“That’s a relief. What House were you sorted into, anyway?”

“Hufflepuff.”

“Great! Like your dad, then.”

“Yup,” she grinned. “The least corrupted House by The Spell.”

“That’s a relief. So, what happens now?”

“Well, we want you to have your trial as soon as possible, but we thought it would do you no good to have it so close to Dumbledore’s disappearance,” Numthree said.

“Right. That would sprout some wild theories and rumours.”

“Exactly. So, we thought you might agree to live under house arrest at the Tonks’ house for the time being. We are planning to ship all of the inmates of Azkaban here to the Ministry. Not all at once, mind you, and we’ll start to retry them after the counter-curse has been cast.”

“Huh, and you slip my case in among all the others?”

“That was our plan.”

“And Harry? When can I contact him?”

“After your trial. We plan on having it at the end of January or the start of February, so you would have time enough to get in contact, get to know one another, and maybe spend his spring break together.”

“When you put it like that, I can easily agree with this plan. Is Andy in on it?” he asked Nymmie.

“Not yet. But she was the only one who always spoke out for you. She never believed you were guilty, so I'm sure she’ll be delighted, as she would put it.”

“Well, I propose you and I visit her when she’s at home today and ask her then. And your father too, naturally,” Numthree said.

Nymmie beamed and answered, “Mum will be home at noon and Dad at four. But he’ll agree if it makes Mum happy. So, we could ask her at lunchtime!”

“Very well, we’ll go visit her at noon then. Auror trainee Tonks, your task for this morning is to keep Mr Black company until I come to collect you, understood?”

“Yessir!” Nymmie saluted Numthree smartly.

Chapter Text

On Monday, Lucius and Severus sat in the headmaster’s office and went through some of the tasks that were of immediate concern. 

They got a little distracted by the portraits of the headmasters who were whispering rather intensely with each other.

Lucius soon lost his patience, but instead of ordering them to be quiet, as Severus had expected him to, he asked the portraits what the matter was.

After some shovelling and more whispering one of the headmistresses who must’ve been alive in the 14 th century if one considered the style of her robes, stepped forward and said, “There’s much agitation and distress within our kind because many of the students have started to cast a spell on us portraits that has changed some of us beyond recognition. We are unsure about what that means. Some do have an inkling, but they won’t talk.”

Lucius blinked and said, “I see. Hm. If I spelled a newspaper in front of one of your portraits would you be able to read it?”

“We certainly would.”

“Very well,” and with that, the new headmaster spelt the edition from December 29 th to hover in front of the biggest picture frame in his office where the portraits could crowd inside.

When everyone had read it, they asked him to turn the page and gasped.

After they had also all read the article about dark magic they started whispering again, but much more quietly, thankfully.

Meanwhile, Lucius and Severus went on working. 

Severus had brought up the issues with damaged, inherited, and otherwise incompatible wands and they were discussing the merits of bringing the students to Ollivanders versus bringing the wandmaker to Hogwarts.

Severus frowned, deep in thought.

“What are you thinking about, Severus?”

“What if there are wands in the Room of Requirement? Do you think people lost their wands within the school in the last millennium?”

“Interesting idea. Why don’t you have a quick look so we can make a more informed decision on how to proceed.”

“Good idea. I don’t want to deprive Ollivanders of making a business, but it’s a possible resource we should check.”

Before Severus could leave for a quick visit to the Room of Requirement, the portrait of former Headmaster Phineas Nigellus Black spoke up and said, “Headmaster Malfoy, we request that you cast the counter-curse on us as well. We tried to do it ourselves, but that doesn’t seem to be possible.”

“Gladly,” Lucius answered, and Severus nodded to him and left.

While Severus walked to the place where one could find the Room of Requirement, he watched the portraits more closely than normal. 

There seemed to be much more excitement than usual happening. 

‘Interesting’ he thought and started hitting the frames with the counter in his calm manner, as well.

He smirked internally at the hubbub he left in his wake.

After he arrived at the Room, he thought about finding a room with all the wands sorted by date of purchase and was rather successful. There were more wands here than he had expected. How that many students had managed to lose their wands was astounding. There were at least a thousand. That meant that on average at least one person lost their wand in Hogwarts each year. 

On a whim, he closed his eyes, stretched out his hand, and called for the wand that would fit him and was surprised when one all but jumped into his hand, even with his eyes closed!

He blinked his eyes open and looked down to find a handsome mahogany wand. A little longer than his first one. He gave it a wave and felt his magic connect with its core strength and a spray of green and blue sparks left it in a rush.

He happily pushed the wand into the holster, which held his other one already, and stepped out into the corridor. 

When he turned to leave, he had another idea that had festered for quite some time (well, since yesterday.)

He walked three times past the empty wall and a new door appeared. A steel door, much to his surprise.

He pressed his ear against it and listened but could hear nothing, so he pulled out his old and trusted wand and carefully opened the door, listening again as soon as it had opened a small crack.

Now he could hear crunching, grunting, and some shrieking noises. Like something was in terrible distress. So, he carefully opened the door a bit wider and looked inside. 

As soon as he saw what was inside, he slammed the door shut again and leaned against it, heart racing.

It took a while until he had calmed down enough to go back to the headmaster’s office, but he managed.

He went inside and found Lucius standing in front of his wall, which contained most of the portraits looking toward the door when he heard it opening.

“Severus, did you find… Severus? What is it?”

Severus walked to his chair and fell onto it.

He then looked up and said in a grave voice, “There’s a bloody dragon in that room.”

After he had told his story to a slightly disbelieving Lucius, they sat there quietly for a while. It was just too crazy.

“How does it survive in there? Does time exist for it even when the Room is not active? Or another one is? We know it can hold things from the outside world, so what would happen if a witch or wizard was trapped inside even without the dragon?” burst out of Severus.

They heard a cough asking for their attention and when they looked up, they saw the portrait of the woman from the Renaissance time who had spoken up earlier.

She said, “I might be able to answer some of your questions.”

The two men nodded gratefully and turned toward her fully.

“First of all, there’s no way a person could get trapped inside. The Room of Requirement is warded against that. It only goes into stasis if no self-aware being is in it.”

“That’s a relief,” Lucius sighed.

“It is indeed,” the portrait of the former headmistress said and went on, “but it can hold non-aware magical creatures and animals which go into stasis when the room they are in isn’t active. So, they’ll not multiply over time. For example, that Dragon you found had, in its mind, just entered the Room of Requirement and then found many critters to feast on. Which it proceeded to do.”

“Well, that answers the age-old question of whether dragons have any self-awareness,” Severus said drolly.

“You’re right! This is the ultimate test. Well, you asked how it got there.”

The two nodded and so she went on, “The Room was Rowena Ravenclaw’s crown jewel. She had devised and enchanted it for years. She kept it secret from her fellow founders at first. They had some contest going on about who could add the greatest room to the castle or grounds. The most famous one is the Chamber of Secrets. The most used one is the Great Hall and the kitchens underneath, built by Helga Hufflepuff.”

“Well, then Hufflepuff wins by far as that’s the room we all love and use daily when we are here,” Lucius decided.

Severus nodded, “It pains me to agree, but you’re right. It’s the most practical approach to the challenge. What was Gryffindor's contribution?”

“No one knows. It became the Great Lake, also known as the Black Lake. It was a mighty and impressive thing that collapsed into itself, with its purpose being lost in time.”

Severus and Lucius laughed outright.

“It is right that you laugh. You see, the founders worked best if they worked together. The grandness of Hogwarts was Godric’s idea, but he needed the help of the others to make it happen. But the four Great Rooms of the Founders are a perfect example of their characters.”

Lucius said, “And Slytherin built the common room for his students looking into that lake. So, this rivalry that’s still talked about…”

“… was quite real,” the chuckling woman answered. “Godric’s answer was to import a Giant Squid.

Now everyone was laughing, men and portraits alike.

“You’re very knowledgeable about this, Headmistress…”

“Gwendolyn Smith, at your service. I'm a direct descendant of Helga’s lot. And I wrote a book about the Four Rooms and the character traits of the four founders. You probably will find it in the Room of Requirement if not in the library. I'm afraid the library has been purged a couple of times by victims of that stupid beauty spell that has just reared its ugly head again. Morgaine be damned.”

The last was muttered, but Severus heard and put the smidge of information away to ask about later. “And do you also know how a dragon happened to get into the room? No, don’t tell me. Let me guess. Godric Gryffindor was to blame.”

Headmistress Smith laughed and nodded, “However did you guess? But the dragon is safely contained, and you found the perfect way to get rid of any pests that might’ve entered the Room of Requirement over the centuries.”

“But what if a student finds exactly that Room?” Lucius asked and Severus noted, his friend seemed to take to being the headmaster like a duck took to water.

“Rowena had the same fear, but instead of getting the dragon out, she enchanted the Room to only let enemies of the school enter any room the dragon was in, as a safety measure. Similar to the Squid in the Great Lake and the Basilisk in the Chamber.”

Lucius asked faintly, “Basilisk ?”

“Yes, that’s another topic we’ll need to talk about sometime later, it’s contained for now.”

Severus’s quick mind connected the petrifications and dead roosters with the basilisk and the heir of Slytherin, but as he believed the former headmistress, he kept quiet for now. The dragon was enough for one day! So, he said, “Thank you Headmistress Smith for telling us all of this invaluable information.”

She smiled and nodded, “Anytime. That’s what we are here for, after all.”

Lucius muttered, “At least there’s no monster in the Great Hall!”

“You’re right. Helga found a hundred house-elves much more useful.”

Severus remembered what Lucius had been doing earlier and looked at the inhabitants of the paintings with great interest. Some had changed mightily on the outside. It was much more palatable to look at the wall now. And he guessed the attitudes of many had changed as well.

“Oh, I just realised that we at least know that Dumbledore is still alive somewhere. There’s no portrait of him and there would be one if he had died, right?”

“That is right, son,” the man Severus thought must be the portrait of Armando Dippet, the headmaster before Albus, said. “My portrait just woke up this month, after my peaceful death last year. That's when it formed on this wall, I was told.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Lucius said and quickly added, “I mean that Dumbledore is still alive. Not that you died recently! My condolences,” Lucius tried to backpedal. “I… I’ll still contact No. 15 once more about Dumbledore’s disappearance. I have to agree with Vector. The whole thing is just odd .”

Severus as well as Lucius saw Dippet smile at the flustered new headmaster and felt at ease that Lucius hadn’t managed to accidentally insult a non-removable portrait in the room he would spend most of his time in, for the next half of the year at least.

“So, tell me. Did you find any wands in the room, or did you try the idea about the pests first and found a dragon?

“I found at least a thousand wands. I had the room sort them as we did the books and files… oh! Headmistress Smith? What would happen if a student managed to call up a room with the books and the dragon in it? Will the books get destroyed?”

The woman laughed again and answered, “That was Rowena’s first concern, too. So no, the dragon cannot destroy anything but critters and enemies of the school.”

“That’s a relief. Thank you!” He turned back to Lucius, “All right, back to the wands...” He proceeded to tell his friend of all the wands he had found, and the one that had chosen him. 

They spend the next half hour discussing their next steps regarding them with some input from Headmistress Smith.

That was, they did so until the next emergency came up, and called them to the Entrance Hall. 

Chapter Text

Harry and many of his friends and other students had gone to the quidditch pit to play some impromptu pick-up games on their new last day of the break. It became quite the happening until it started to rain in fat and very cold drops and turned into quite the torrent-like downpour.

So, they quickly packed up and drudgingly fought their way back to the Castle.

“Why can’t it be a little colder and snow?” Ron whined, cold rain running down his face, nearly blinding him. “This is the most miserable weather, ever!” A gust of wind hit him full in the face, carrying quite a lot of the ice-cold water as if showing him, just how much more horrible the weather could get.

Fortunately, they soon entered the Entrance Hall and got out of the worst of it. The last students hurriedly pulled the great doors closed and everyone sighed in relief.

They were then debating where to go now. The Great Hall, in search of hot chocolate, or their dormitories, to change into try clothes.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?”

The shocked students reacted without thinking and did a reverse-Lockhart (as Ron would call it later), they all hit Filch with the counter-curse, simultaneously.

Right in the face.

At least 20 of them.

Filch dropped to the ground like someone had cut the cords that had held him up.

Mrs. Norris, who had also been hit by at least two counter-curses fluffed up mightily and hissed at them.

“Shit!” Angelina dropped her broom and ran to Filch, feeling his pulse. “He is alive. Someone go! Get the Matron!”

Draco and Harry didn’t drop their brooms but instead got onto them and flew at breakneck speed to the Hospital Wing to get Draco's mother.

They were in luck not to fly into anyone with this seemingly helpful but also very dangerous stunt.

It looked like the healers of the castle had their own way of moving around quickly, as they were told to wait in the Hospital Wing after they had yelled about the emergency in the Entrance Hall, Mrs. Malfoy called out she would soon be back, and then ran into her office.

Harry expected her to come out with a healer’s bag or something, but she didn’t.

Later they learned that Headmaster Malfoy and Professor Snape had arrived at the same time as Mrs. Malfoy and that they had quickly taken charge of the situation.

The two boys were entertaining themselves by practicing drying charms on their clothes and looked quite rumbled by the time the adults arrived with the still unconscious Filch (and Mrs. Norris who was very much awake).

They heard Mrs. Malfoy say, “I don’t understand it, Lucius. You better get No. 15 and maybe even No. 1. This is unheard of!” and saw Headmaster Malfoy rush into her office.

Professor Snape saw them standing by the doors and asked what they were doing there.

“We alerted mother to the emergency,” Draco answered smartly. “She told us to wait here.”

“I see.” The professor waved his wand over both boys, and they soon looked pristine and put together again.

Harry looked down at his clothes in wonderment. He loved magic! And he needed to learn that spell!

“Does anyone of you have an urgent medical issue that needs to be addressed? No? Then you may go.”

They trudged out reluctantly and walked back to the Entrance Hall. They discussed if they should fly again but decided against it. They probably wouldn’t get away with it, again.

So instead, they were discussing what might have happened with the caretaker, because the papers had said that the counter-spell wasn’t dangerous in any way or form. And now the second person had dropped out cold after getting hit with it!

They also wondered why everyone had cast that particular spell, and concluded that the new sport of de-cursing every portrait was at ‘fault.’ That spell was the most cast one in Hogwarts at the moment after all.

The next morning, their first real day of school for this calendar year of 1993, the students opened their papers – that many more were subscribing now – and found the following article:

Filch De-Squibbed

In a surprising and fortunate event, some students of Hogwarts managed to do the unthinkable. They gave magic back to a squib!

Investigations by the Unspeakables of the Department of Mysteries (DoM) showed, that the students had fled the weather outside which had taken a bad turn, and gotten surprised by the caretaker, who had just returned a day late from his time off over the Yule break. The caretaker saw all the muddy footprints and started yelling, and the startled wet students reacted without thinking and cast the counter-spell Redianormalis at the man all at once. At least twenty of them did.

Dear reader, you might remember the articles from the 29^th of December, where we wrote about the possibility of immunizing a person to The Spell and its price by hitting a target at least ten times at once with the counter. The target would never be able to use The Spell on themselves afterward and could not be influenced by the negative effects of The Spell either.

But no one had thought of the possibility of the existence of Squibs being the byproduct of someone casting the Spell in the presence of a magical child or the mother!

But this seems to be the horrible reality.

And we all wondered why the existence of squib children was becoming more and more commonplace. Or if maybe the tabu about their mere existence was lessening?

There have been rumors about families disposing of squib children by killing them in the past but not anymore for centuries.

We at the office of the Daily Prophet must confess that we have a hard time not vilifying the magical folks responsible for this atrocity. But we were asked not to do so, as the people in question didn’t do the deed out of evilness but ignorance.

Thanks to the students at Hogwarts, who are casting the counter-curse left and right all the time we were told, we now know how it might be possible to help squibs.

It is not sure if this will work every time or if this was an exception. So, we implore all of you not to try this yourself, but to bring the squib in question to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Mr. Filch didn’t skip off into the sunset after the counter was cast. No, he fell unconscious and needed medical and magical attention. So again. DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME!

If you are an older squib who has still ties to the wizarding world and want to get back what was yours in the first place, please come to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries or contact the Hospital by writing to them, if you are unable to come yourself. Our world will do anything to help righten this wrong!

And Hogwarts has already offered to host classes for children and adults alike if you are wondering how to get a magical education. Mr. Filch has already agreed to become the first adult student at Hogwarts!

The Great Hall was incredibly silent even after they had read the papers, which were handed around and read by everyone.

Only the rustling of paper could be heard and some sniffling. Until Marcus Flint jumped up and yelled into the quietness, “That bitch!”

The children looked in shock at the fuming sixth-year who looked like he didn’t know what to do with his anger.

Headmaster Malfoy got up and said calmly, “Mr. Flint, please meet Professor Snape in his office, he will help you find them.”

The teen ran out of the Great Hall and Professor Snape hurriedly walked out of the side door.

Headmaster Malfoy continued, “Please note that language like that is not allowed in these halls and will result in point loss and detention. I will let it slide for just this once due to the circumstances, but Mr Flint will be informed of this as soon as he has calmed down. Anyway, to all the others who have information about the whereabouts of an abandoned sibling or other family members, please come to one of the staff members. Anyone will try to help direct your search to the proper authorities. You also may want to write down anything you know about a person you know about and give it to me. The password to the headmaster’s office is ‘magpie’.”

Quite a few children rushed toward the staff table. Coming especially from Slytherin but also Ravenclaw and even one Gryffindor.

Headmaster Malfoy blinked at the unexpected mass and sighed, “We cannot cancel lessons for another day. At this rate, there will always be something. But the first lesson for today needs to be canceled, it seems. So, attend the classes at ten, please.”

There was no great cheer this time. This was just too horrifying to see the students that had rushed to the staff table being led out of the Hall and other students sitting at their house table, writing up all the information they had about a missing loved one.

Harry looked around and saw, that even the five Weasley children were talking animatedly but quietly about their accountant squib-cousin and what to do about him. In the end, they decided to write their dad about it. As he would have read the papers too and most certainly had taken action already.

“This St Mungo’s will get swamped today," Harry whispered to Hermione, who nodded looking serious.

“I just hope this method works for the rest, as well,” she said quietly.

“Me too! I wonder if Filch’s temperament has changed now. And did you see if his outward appearance changed for the better?”

“I wasn’t there, remember? You were playing Quidditch!”

“Huh, right. Well, let’s get out of the Great Hall for now and leave the ones looking for a squib family member to have the space.”

Hermione nodded and off they went.

Chapter Text

At the same time in the Tonks’ household, the new houseguest and his cousin were quietly sitting at the breakfast table and enjoying each other’s company.

There had been a teary welcome yesterday after Andy had all but pulled No 3 out of her house to get him to be faster in getting Sirius to their house. Within less than an hour she had gotten her to wish, and Sirius had been engulfed in the first hug in a dozen years. He might have cried.

Now, after a good night’s sleep, he was slowly realizing that he was effectively free. Sure, he was officially under house arrest, but Numthree had told them if they were careful and disguised Sirius, he saw no problem with Sirius visiting the Muggle world or even Gringotts once in a while.

He had even handed over Sirius’s wand!

When he asked about it being evidence in the trial later, he was told that the results of the Priori Incantatem spell had been recorded, verified, and authenticated. So, he could just go ahead and cast magic again. And that trial wouldn’t be long anyway after they made Pettigrew confess under veritaserum. The Unspeakables were lobbying to be allowed to use the truth serum on all of the incoming Azkaban inmates to learn if they still stood by their deed after the counter had been cast on them. They had decided to sneak Pettigrew’s trial in between those.

Andy’s and Sirius’s peace got disturbed when the Daily Prophet arrived, and Andy just handed over the sports part to a chuckling Sirius. He had no idea about sports anymore, but he would look through it anyway.

But that plan was shot, when Andy gasped and then started tearing up, her eyes flying over the first page at an amazingly rapid speed.

Sirius, who had first wanted to ask her about the first-page article saw her face and kept quiet, and as soon as she had finished, she wordlessly handed it over anyway.

Soon he understood her shock as he was feeling the same and after he had finished reading, she wordlessly took the papers again and re-read the article.

Afterward, there just sat there staring at one another.

“Did we have any squibs in the family?” She whispered hoarsely.

“I don’t know. Mother burned half of us off the tapestry. I wouldn’t know which ones burned off were squibs.”

“Well, you and I weren’t, and Uncle Alphard and Grandaunt Cedrella weren’t either. I think there might have been a Great uncle, though.”

“How would we know? Mother is dead. Maybe Grandaunt Cedrella?”

“I must confess I don’t know if she is even still alive. We Blacks die much earlier now.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Not that accursed spell again!”

“It would be interesting to find out sometime.”

“It would. And I just remembered, your mother had commissioned a portrait, didn’t she? But no. That wouldn’t work either. It would be as crazy as her.”

“And the house is locked down, right? Would we be able to enter?”

“Good question. Let me write to Gringotts and ask. They handle all Black estates and wills. And there is more than one portrait of our recent ancestors there.”

“True.”

They got busy.

Chapter Text

Severus stared unseeing at the wall of the staffroom. The last twenty-four hours had been crazy. Especially in Slytherin House.

God, what people did to their own children! He was surer than ever that he didn’t want any.

What was an immense relief was that all the squibs who had come or been brought to St. Mungo’s could have been helped. Next year’s class would probably be double its size with just the de-squibbed, under seventeen-year-olds. Maybe they needed to open another class next to the one for adults for the 14–18-year-olds? Hm. Let’s wait for the actual numbers before you start panning, he chided himself.

Filius sat down next to him and asked in an exhausted voice, “Stressed out?”

“Immensely so. You?”

“Ditto.”

Silence.

“How are your students?”

“Getting there. It was hard going sometimes. I had no idea how many have kept such a trauma hidden.”

“Me neither.”

Silence.

“Filius?”

“Hm?”

“Did you ever find out why members of your house checked out all of those books?”

“Yes… It seems some students of my house noticed that Gryffindor and Hufflepuff House were getting smarter in comparison to them. Only Slytherin House had lower grades in comparison to my House at some point. So, they decided, to sabotage Gryffindor and Hufflepuff House. Gryffindor House by depriving them of the books necessary to write an O-level essay. Hufflepuff was harder, because of their caring Head of House and so they did only take some of the books and otherwise tried to ruin their reputation as them being ‘duffers’ and such.”

“So, The Spell dumped them down intellectually and they started to manipulate things to their favor,” Severus grinned.

Filius huffed, “Well, that’s not something to be proud of as a member of Ravenclaw. There is a reason my house is so low on points at the moment. At least, the counter-spell rightened everything that was skewed.”

“Right. With my House in second place once more after such a long time.”

“Then how did your House win the House Cup so often?”

Severus smirked at Filius.

Silence.

“Filius?”

“Hm?”

“I have learned that some students learn magic with wands that didn’t choose them for many reasons. Or broken ones.”

“That is true.”

“You know?”

“Oh yes. I talked to Albus and Minerva many times about it but… Oh! I can do something about it now!”

Severus chuckled tiredly and said, “I know of Mr. Potter and Mr. Ron Weasley. There are more?

“Oh yes! For example, Miss Weasley and Neville Longbottom. From my house Miss Lovegood and Miss Edgecombe and some more Gryffindors.”

“So, no Hufflepuffs or Slytherins?”

“No. Albus couldn’t bully Pomona as he did me and Minerva. Not that Minerva needed any bullying. She didn’t seem to care or had no time to, as you know. And your house is filled with purebloods who know better.”

“Right. I also think he didn’t deem Hufflepuffs worth his attention. Could I ask you for a list of all the students in need of a wand? We have a possible venue.”

“Like with the books?”

“Exactly.”

They both chuckled, thinking about those. Irma was much more even-tempered now that Mr. Miller had agreed to work as her assistant, and she had gotten a trunk full of books to go through.

“I can write up the list in a heartbeat. Just one minute.”

And lo and behold, Severus had a list of eleven students in need of a first wand and five older ones in need of a possible second one because their magic had changed.

Severus nodded his thanks and decided to tackle this right away. He sent a request to come to the headmaster’s office after dinner to Potter, Longbottom, and R. Weasley and he wrote it in a way that they knew about one another.

After they had left to get some lunch, Minerva McGonagall got out of the wingback chair she had been sitting in looking out of the window and listening to the two men talk.

Was that what they saw when looking at her and her approach to the students? That she didn’t care?

But she did!

Didn’t she?

Yes. But Filius had been right. She didn’t have time to show it back then. And she had learned that having emotional connections to her students was not advisable. Albus, as her mentor, had taught her that, and the deaths of many of her former students in the war against You-know-who.

After dinner, the three students in question knocked on the door to the headmaster’s office. They were a little worried and quite excited. None of them had ever been in there, after all!

When the call to enter came, the three 12-year-olds shuffled into the room looking around with big eyes.

“Thank you for coming, Messrs. Weasley, Longbottom, and Potter,” Headmaster Malfoy said. “I am sure you wonder why you are here.”

Three differently colored heads nodded.

“It has come to our attention, that all three of you use a wand unsuited to you for different reasons.”

Ron nodded sheepishly and Harry sadly.

Neville on the other hand frowned and stuttered, “M... My grandmother told me my fa… father’s wand should be g… good enough for me.”

Harry looked at him in shock, “But the wand chooses the wizard!”

“Exactly, Mr. Potter. And loyal wands don’t change their affiliation as long as their owners are alive. Your grandmother knows this. Or she should, at least.”

“But she wouldn’t pay for it, sir.”

Ron chewed his lip, “That is right. Wands are expensive…”

“That might well be the case, but we have found a way around this. But don’t tell anyone. Professor Snape knew of your plight, Mr. Potter, and he found the Lost-and-Found of Hogwarts. And you wouldn’t believe how many students have left their wands here in the last 1000 years. So, it wouldn’t cost you anything if you find a wand there that likes you. Well, I would ask you not to tell anyone about it. I don’t want to ruin Mr. Ollivander’s business. All right?”

The three nodded their heads again and looked at the headmaster with excitement again. Well, Neville still looked more worried than anything, but he seemed to be agreeable to follow along.

“Well, do you see that small door between the portraits? If you follow the staircase there you will arrive at the Lost-and-Found and Professor Snape is awaiting you.

Harry readily moved towards the door with Neville following him. Ron was a little more guarded, until a portrait of a cheerful woman in funny robes said, “Go on deary, there is nothing to fear.”

The three walked down the narrow, dimly lit staircase and came to another door, which Harry knocked on.

“Enter,” they heard the deep voice of their Potions Professor call.

Harry opened the door and found a room, similar to the one at Ollivanders, just much less dusty and the wands weren’t in little boxes but in some kind of cubicles, with their teacher sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, holding a book.

“Welcome. Did Headmaster Malfoy tell you why you are here?”

“To get wands that like us, sir.” Harry piped up.

“Exactly. So, I know you at last know how Mr. Ollivander lets you find your wands, but I have found another way. Mr. Potter, why don’t you step forward?”

Harry did so eagerly. This was fascinating!

"Now close your eyes. Good. Stretch out your hand and think about a wand that may like working with you and call for it.”

“Wand, who wants me, please come!” Harry called out loudly, much to the Professor’s surprise (he might have worded this better, he thought).

But it worked!

A wand came shooting out of one of the cabinets handle-first and landed safely in Harry’s outstretched hand.

Harry’s eyes flew open, and he looked at the wand in wonder.

“Give it a wave, Mr. Potter.”

Harry did and a gust of red and silver sparks came shooting out of it.

The other two boys cheered, and the professor said, “Well done! Why don’t you go next, Mr. Weasley?”

“Okay,” Ron and Harry switched places and Ron crunched his eyes shut, stretched his hand out, and yelled “Wand! Uh, who wants me? Come! Uh. Please!” And again, a wand floated out and moved to Ron’s hands. This time Harry saw it, too!

Ron’s eyes flew open as well and he gave the wand a wave and orange and golden sparks erupted out of it.

“Awesome!” he crowed while Harry and Neville cheered.

Neville who had lost much of his fear repeated the process and he too was soon a proud owner of a wand that had chosen him, shooting sparks in all hues of green there was.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Harry who noticed his dilemma said, “Now you have two awesome wands, right? Your dad’s and yours.”

Neville nodded and smiled shyly.

“Very well done, boys. Please be quiet about this and tell anyone who asks the staff of Hogwarts got you wands that choose you, as they are essential to have to be able to become the best wizard one can be. If they ask how we paid for them, just say, the school did. It is not wrong, after all.”

“Okay, and if someone badgers us, we act clueless and sent them to the headmaster?” Harry asked grinning cheekily.

“Perfect. You do that,” the Potions Master looked amused and ushered them back up the stairs into the headmaster’s office where he ducked out of the small door, which disappeared unnoticed.

The boys proudly presented their wands and warned the Headmaster, they would send anyone asking too many questions to him.

They then learned about wand maintenance and were asked where their wand holsters were.

“Huh? We just put them in our pockets?” Ron said looking unsure with Harry and Neville nodding along.

“I see,” the headmaster sighed. “Not your fault you don’t know about it. We will address it with your teachers.”

“Can we owl-order them?” Neville asked and the other two looked at him in amazement. That was an awesome idea!

“Yes, you can owl-order them.”

“Oh, and we will need to tell Hermione about the wands. It wouldn’t work sending her to you. She would keep asking us questions and come here to ask you. But she can keep quiet!” Harry said emphatically with Ron and Neville nodding along with big serious eyes this time.

“I see. Well, then you may bring her into the secret. And ask her about wand maintenance, she might find out what you all need quicker than any lesson we can set up.”

“And it will distract her,” Ron nodded earnestly.

“Exactly. Now off you go and do practice casting some spells with your new wands in private. You may go now.”

“Good idea! See you!” The boys waved and rushed down the revolving staircase to find an empty classroom to practice. Meanwhile, the two men looked at one another and. as soon as the three were out of hearing distance, they started laughing. That encounter had been immensely refreshing with all the heartache surrounding them.

An hour later the three now red-cheeked boys rushed into the Gryffindor common room and flopped down next to the impatiently waiting Hermione and told her everything in great detail but also to keep it hush-hush, which she easily agreed with.

Ron had also gotten it right about her quest to learn anything about wand maintenance and soon they were asking a pair of prefects, who gave all the first and second years an impromptu lesson in wand maintenance, and even got them catalogs where they could order wand holsters and polish.

“How do you know all of this? Will we learn it in class later?” Hermione asked eagerly.

One of the prefects shook his head and said, “No. We were lucky to have a competent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for once and he taught us. But who knows, what kind of idiot will teach us next…”

Hermione looked sad, “I hope we get a competent one again!”

The prefect smiled at her kindly and said, “Me too, believe me!”

The four ordered the more inexpensive kind of wand holsters with Harry insisting it was his late Christmas present to them. And after studying the catalog, Harry added parchment to his order, which Hermione thought to be a great idea, and did the same.

This marked the day the golden trio became a quartet.

As if fate had heard the heartfelt conversation about a competent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, a rumbled and slightly threadbare man entered the Entrance Hall the next day and looked around with wonderment and sadness.

Headmaster Malfoy came down the Grand Staircase and after greeting the man and said, “Please come up to my office, Mr. Lupin.”

Later at dinnertime, Headmaster Malfoy introduced the man as Professor Lupin who would be their new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. And because he had been a Gryffindor too, they could come to him with house-related issues and he would do his best to help, but he wouldn’t be their Head of House as of yet since he needed time to find his feet in teaching first.

One cheeky student called out, “Did he cast the counter?” and the rest of the school chuckled

 But Professor Lupin got up and nodded, “You make a good point. Redianormalis.”

As nothing changed the students were satisfied and were looking forward to the lessons. Especially the fifth and seventh years hoped desperately for a competent teacher. Lockhart had such a bust, after all.

Chapter Text

On Saturday, January 16^th, the now weekly meeting of the Malfoys, No. 15, and Severus took place once more. Only this time they met in the Hogwarts headmaster’s office, not Malfoy Manor.

No. 15 looked at the three of them and shook their head, “Look at you. Running the school now. Much has happened in the last few months.”

The rest nodded tiredly.

No. 15 chuckled and said, “I will start, I guess. You remember the Horcruxes?”

“Faintly,” Severus drawled, and Lucius just pointed to him, as if to say, ‘what he said.’

“Well, as you know, we have found some, meaning in the notebook, in the Gaunt family ring, and within another object at Hogwarts. We also learned from Tom, that he had planned to make six, with him as the seventh piece.”

“What an idiot,” Lucius said with feeling.

“He is figuring that out now, too. Unfortunately, we don’t know how many Voldemort (flinch) has actually managed to make and are still debating about piecing him together, as I had eluded before. And my guess is, we will discuss this until we are green in the face under our cowls. At least we have agreed on hitting them all with the counter. So, there is that. Not that anything happened after we did, except the apparent personality change of the one in the notebook... Anyway, we found a rather scary place where we thought he might have hidden another, but someone was quicker than us. Does anyone know the initials R. A. B.?”

“Regulus!” both Narcissa and Severus said at once and Severus elaborated, “Regulus Arcturus Black, Narcissa’s younger cousin who died sometime in ’79, I think,” he looked to the blond woman raising an eyebrow.

Narcissa nodded, hand over her mouth and eyes wide open.

“I see. Well, we will look for him or his body then. I am sorry to say that the place, where we found evidence of the next Horcrux being hidden, is filled with inferi that we are in the process of laying to rest and identifying at this moment.”

There was silence for a minute.

“So, we have no idea if your cousin made it out there with the Horcrux or if it is still there. That place is filled with so much dark magic of the evil kind, we cannot locate anything of a similar nature. So, do you have any idea where he might have taken it?”

“The only thing that comes to mind is No 12 Grimmauld Place in London, but that would be stupid if Regulus left his initials, as they would so easily identify him to the Dark Lord. Grimmauld would be the first place anyone would think to check,” Narcissa said, frowning now. “And that house is under lockdown anyway waiting for the next Lord to open it and with Regulus dead and Sirius in Azkaban…”

“I see, thank you, Mrs. Malfoy. – Well, I also told you we are looking at his followers in Azkaban now and have started to extract them one by one. Unfortunately, my superior forbade me to inform you about that, as you are ‘emotionally too involved,’ he said.”

The other three could hear the sneer in the distorted voice.

“Sounds like a misogynistic arse,” Severus said with a scoff.

“Indeed,” No. 15 agreed and went on, “a piece of information I can share is, that the last Horcrux we found, was an item made by the founders, and the false one, left by Mr. Black, hints to be one as well. So, my question is, what do you know about any other objects of the founders, or do you have any books on them?”

“We do, I am sure. But we also have another source. Please turn around,” Lucius said.

No. 15 did so, saw a wall, and asked, “So?”

“May I introduce Headmistress Gwendolyn Smith, a direct descendant of Helga Hufflepuff who has written a book about the founders and just might be able to point you in the right direction?” Lucius grandly gestured to the aforementioned woman in her portrait frame.

No 15 tilted her head and said, “I do feel a little stupid now, nice to meet you, Headmistress Smith, and other former headteachers.”

Greetings were called back, and Lucius added, “I don’t know if you knew, but portraits can get de-cursed as well. The students discovered that when they cast the counter on some of them and wreaked quite some havoc in these halls. So, by now all of the portraits should have been hit with the counter-curse at least once.”

Severus cursed the cowl because he was sure the Unspeakable was gaping now.

Lucius went on talking straight-faced, “I would suggest you come by sometime and sit down with Gwendolyn here so we can move on with sharing our news now. Additionally, Severus can ask the Room of Requirements for any book on the founders.”

“Gladly, would tomorrow be all right?”

“Certainly.”

No. 15 pulled themselves together and went on. “So, we talked about the Horcruxes and Azkaban inmates. The next topic would be the amazing discovery, your students made when they inadvertently gave magic back to Mr. Filch. We are starting to go deep into magical theory and the origins of magic et cetera. by now. But we are held back a little by the search for the rest of the Horcruxes, the dismantling of a cave full of inferi, helping with the prisoners, and the search for all the squibs who have been abandoned in the Muggle world as well as helping those we found.”

“Understandable,” Lucius said. “You are only about two dozen or so, am I right?”

“No comment.”

The other three chuckled.

“Are you working with the Muggle branch of the MI5?” Severus asked.

“Not yet, some factions within my department don’t want them to know of our past behavior towards parts of our world.”

“You think they don’t know already?” Severus scoffed.

“You think they do?”

“Absolutely. And I bet they are snatching any squib up they can find and questioning them about our world. And they help them and make them beholden to them. That is what I would do, at least.”

No. 15 nodded, “You are right.” They noted something down on a piece of parchment.

“And tell your superiors that going to the Muggle branch, wands blazing, and trying to eliminate all their amassed knowledge about the wizarding world, won’t work. They will have taken precautions and saved that knowledge in analog and digital form. You do know about computers, CD-ROMs, and this new World Wide Web, right?”

“No?”

“Oh dear, I thought you would, after the way you talked into that shell the first time we met. You all need to educate yourself quickly, then! And maybe ask the Muggle branch of your agency for some training?”

“I will try to do so. Or maybe get us younger ones together and approach the Muggle branch first, without the stuffy old geezers nixing that idea,” No 15 said thoughtfully.

“Please do. If even the Unspeakables don’t know about this, we are doomed.”

“I bet all you were talking about is not part of Muggle Studies?” Lucius asked.

Severus scoffed once more and said, “No. And I have to confess those few words have been about the scope of my knowledge. Please don’t expect me to be able to explain any of this. Only, that the Muggles have found a way to store immense amounts of information on machines that are interconnected to each other and can be accessed from all over the world. The so-called World Wide Web or the internet.”

“That sounds scary,” Narcissa said faintly.

“Indeed.”

“Very well. We did digress a little, it seems. We were talking about finding the squibs,” Lucius brought them back on track.

“Right. Sorry, I am still reeling,” No. 15 said. “The information you got from your students about their missing siblings was of great help. And thank you for your offer of taking in the former squibs and educating them. When do you think they can start?”

“How many are we talking about?” Lucius looked a little worried now.

“Right now? About 35 grown-ups and about 20 children between 11-17, and we are talking to many and are searching for more. Those are the squibs we found or that found us who live in the Muggle world.”

Now it was Lucius’s turn to gape, “That… so many?”

“Yes. There are a lot more adult squibs, but they are deeply entrenched into the Muggle world by now and cannot imagine leaving their life there behind to go back to a world that abandoned them on such short notice.”

“Quite understandable. You didn’t per any chance find my twin sisters by now?” Lucius asked.

“No, I am deeply sorry, but we didn’t as of yet.”

“Well, I know mother managed to get them out before father could… Anyways let’s move on. So at least 55 people of the ages from 11 to?”

“The oldest is twenty-nine and has just finished University. There will be many older ones in the next years, but they need time to get out of earlier commitments and such. But right now, they are quite the homogenous lot. The younger ones are residing in foster families, got adopted, or were living on the streets.”

Narcissa gasped, “How did you find them?”

“We found some and they led us to others. There is also a wide network of squibs in the Muggle world who keep an eye out for young ones coming into the Muggle world and they take them in and help the children adjust. The children who are homeless were the unlucky ones the network hadn’t found.”

“I need to put an ad up in the papers asking for teachers to apply for every subject and support staff,” Lucius rubbed his face. “And to set up a foundation to pay for the abandoned ones. Hogwarts might have found some money, but why should we pay if the ones responsible have more than enough money? Once I have that foundation set up, I will write an article for the papers, stating just that.”

“In a more Slytherin way, I imagine?” No 15 asked and the rest chuckled.

“Certainly. They will be happy to spend lots of money to rub it into other people’s faces and feel oh so superior.”

“That is more like it,” Narcissa said, smiling at her husband.

“When will they be arriving?” Lucius asked.

“The children, as soon as possible. The older ones, in about two weeks? I need to say again that this is just the first batch of grown-ups from the Muggle world. There were many more, who just wanted information first, and are still debating whether to return to our world. There are quite a few older ones, above sixty, who learned that they will be rather spry as soon as the counter has hit them and that it will prolong their lives rather essentially. So, they are understandably interested as well. So, you can already prepare to offer classes for then middle-aged people in September.”

Lucius just nodded and wrote everything down.

“Is there a department at the Ministry responsible for all that?” Narcissa asked.

“None that feels responsible to handle this mess as a whole, except us. But luckily everyone is helping.”

“Imagine how they would have reacted without the counter-spell,” Lucius offered.

“I’d rather not,” No. 15 replied.

Lucius smirked and then returned to the topic at hand, “So, do the new magical people want to live here all time?”

“We thought about that and asked around. We concluded that most of the children would board here. Some all year long, if possible. But the adults need the option to commute. We are in the process of constructing individualized long-term portkeys. You have to consider that most of them have families and homes. Some have jobs that they don’t want to quit. Maybe some kind of evening classes would be enough for most of them, so they learn how to safely live with their magic. You don’t need to give them all a full Hogwarts education. Oh, and one of the young adults has offered to work as an assistant to a professor for example. One size doesn’t fit all, as No. 13 told me yesterday.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. You are right. First and foremost, they need to get a handle on their magic to not be a danger to themselves and anyone else. Especially the older ones.”

“Right. We have started to give those lessons to the ones already ‘de-squibbed,’ as the Prophet called it.”

Severus said, “That is a relief. But please send us all the information you have on them. The sooner the better, so we can start setting something up tailored to their needs. Everything. Where they are at, what kind of education they had, their living arrangements, their preferences regarding boarding vs. commuting, their medical history, everything.”

“We – foremost the Dept. of Administration Services – are in the process of setting up self-updating files for you. Beginning next week, you will get them.”

“I never heard of that one. Very well,” Lucius nodded.

“The Dept. of Education will get in contact with you as well, they are handling the preliminary instruction of students right now. Additionally, Finances is devising a plan for how to pay for all of this. No. 13 and I have decided to keep mum about the trunks of jewelry you carted off to Gringotts last week. I take it most of it will be used for the betterment of the school?”

“94% of it, yes. It will help the school long term to stay independent, but any help with the current influx is greatly appreciated. What you can tell them all is, that Albus left the finances of this school in shambles in my opinion. If there is someone decent at the Finance Department who would like to help us out, any help would be greatly appreciated! Even if it is just one hour a week.”

No. 15 nodded and added it to the long list of to-dos they had already, they then asked, “How much money were those pieces of jewelry worth anyway?”

“No comment,” Lucius drawled.

No. 15 chuckled and nodded, “That’s fair. We wouldn’t want the corruption to spread again. It is not like the Ministry is all daisies and sunshine now, after all.”

“Yes, but smarter in their handling of things in all forms.”

“Exactly.”

Severus injected, “You always said, the squibs from the Muggle world, what about the ones like Filch who still live in ours?”

“Severus!” Lucius yelped, “No! Don’t ask!”

The others chuckled.

No. 15 nodded, “Yes. There are quite a few of those as well.”

Lucius slumped.

No 15 went on, “Most of them work menial tasks with little pay under rather binding contracts. The good thing about the contracts is, that they always state ‘The squib xyz agrees to–’...”

“… and as soon as the squibs get their magic back, the contract is void,” Lucius completed nodding. “Smart and effective.”

“Unfortunately, our economy would crash if we took out all the cheap labor at once, so the Ministry is working with the business owners and representatives of the squibs. Right now, the squibs have agreed to keep working if they get their magic, some instructions, equal pay, and better work conditions and the Ministry is deliberating a subsidization package, to pay for the difference. You can imagine there is much debate going on with the squibs having the upper hand for once. – But I am sure, sooner or later, some of them will come to Hogwarts to learn.”

“Do you think Albus Dumbledore had some kind of premonition and made a run for it?” Lucius huffed when the mountain of work to be done – and changes to be helped along – became bigger and bigger.

“Your guess is as good as mine. But I can check the Hall of Prophecies if you want.”

“Oh no! Please, don’t! I do not need the Damocles sword of fate hanging over my head, too!” *

The others chuckled.

“You will also need some Mind-healing service as well. Some of the children didn’t live easy lives either in our and/or in the Muggle world.”

Severus nodded, “We could use some for the students here as well. Narcissa and I will look into it.”

Narcissa nodded. This was not her area of expertise per se, but she could see the need. All the changes in the last month alone as well as the squib situation. She had many students visiting, some talking, and some crying in her office, during the last few days. Even her husband could need one, she was sure. The whole trauma of his older twin sisters he had adored disappearing so suddenly when he was a little boy of 8, never to be talked about again and making him a single child, reared its ugly head. Not that he showed how hard it hit him except by having nightmares.

“Very well. I think that is it from my side of things,” No. 15 said.

They all sipped their tea while contemplating.

Then Severus nodded and moved the meeting along, “On my side, I can report that the students are adjusting well to most of the changes the counter-spell wrought. They certainly are using the counter quite often. – And Slytherin House has become much smarter and better looking for the most part.

“Ravenclaw too, to a certain extent. Their brains are scary now, sometimes! They certainly don’t need to sabotage the other houses to stay on top anymore. I have also seen some of the not-so-pretty-anymore girls of my House secretly casting the counter at the back of the still-pretty ones,” Severus drawled. “I might have taken them aside and explained that they were being catty and not to cast anything else at the backs of their housemates or there would be hell to pay.”

“Have they still not learned that looks are not anything?” Lucius groaned.

Severus shrugged, “They are teenagers. And society teaches them their looks are their most valuable commodity.”

“Right,” Lucius said. “So, we have a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher now. Remus Lupin took the post.”

“Oh, that reminds me! We found the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position!” No 15 exclaimed.

“What?”

“You did?”

“That is great!”

“Merlin, we sound like teenager Gryffindors.”

No 15 chuckled and said, “Yes, we did. It was on a jewel that is part of the object we found in the Room of Requirements. We dismantled it already.”

“That is great news. Let’s hope Mr. Lupin is one of the rare, good Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers then. He had many more real educational degrees than Lockhart, at least.”

No. 15 decided to let their information about Lockhart and how he had earned his fame rest for the time being. They had enough on their minds already.

Narcissa added, “I have started with setting up a medical file for all the students. It is quick going for the most part. Most students need only some updating on their inoculations. But some need more attention. I am working with St. Mungo’s to get through all the students quickly and to have help with the few cases that need more help than a potion here or there.

“I have also started to purchase some of the simpler potions like the stomach soother. We don’t need a Potions Master to brew them. That time spent is just wasted.”

“And the students appreciate it as well, I am sure. The taste is much more palatable. You will be their hero,” Severus drawled. “But Narcissa is right. I hadn’t noticed how much time I have come to spend brewing common household potions by now. – Oh, and I can report that I like teaching now if you can believe it. The students seem to appreciate the lessons much more, too, for the most part. Mind, I only taught them about the basics of potion-making this week. I had been very remiss in covering that part before Lockhart cast his one and only silent and wandless spell. – And do you remember Mr. Potter’s wand not working for him anymore? We found him a new one in the Room of Requirements.”

“You showed him the Room?”

“Not exactly. We convinced the Room to connect itself to this office and led him through that new door, which had appeared. Gwendolyn helped.”

“Smart. Anything else on the Room?”

The three exchanged looks and Lucius said, “Nothing that your superiors need to know.”

“Then better don’t tell me. Maybe later. I cannot leave too much out of my reports.”

Lucius nodded, “So, to recap. The situation with The Spell is more or less resolved, the one about the Horcruxes is still ongoing, and the one with the squibs is starting.”

“In a nutshell. About The Spell and the standard procedures, we had swamped the DMLE with. I took your idea to my boss, Mr. Snape, and now we actually do have a standard procedure to reevaluate all standard procedures annually.”

They laughed.

“This has been enlightening again, so thank you all,” No. 15 seemed to mean it.

“I just hope there will be a time in the future we four just have tea and enjoy the company,” Narcissa sighed.

“Let’s work toward that,” Lucius nodded.

After No. 15 had left and they cast their charms to scan for listening charms (like always) and found none (like always) the three friends sat back down and just relaxed for a couple of minutes.

“So, how are you two faring with all the changes in your lives?” Severus asked the couple. “It has only been a week that Albus left, I believe. It feels so much longer.”

Lucius just nodded and Narcissa answered, “I can say, that for my part I am greatly enjoying it here. It might be stressful at times, but it is also good to be in the midst of things. And what I do matters if that makes sense.”

“Your tea parties mattered as well, darling. And I don’t mean that in a condescending way. You helped me quite a bit in directing our upper-class brethren in the direction we wanted them to move. But I agree. Working here is much more satisfying and rewarding. And our direction has changed quite a bit now, I would say.”

“And you can use all of your political and business expertise for good now,” Severus drawled.

“Exactly. But if I ever start talking about the Greater Good hit me with a stunner and get a mind healer and my wife,” Lucius snarked.

* The wizarding world of this story has some very different stories about the Sword of Damocles than we do.

Chapter Text

Nurmengard Empty!

Yes! You have read that right, dear reader. Last week the famous prison built by Gellert Grindelwald in the Austrian Alps, close to the border with Germany was found empty.

The Austrian Ministry of Magic discovered this when the house-elf tasked with seeing to the needs of the one and only prisoner confined there.

Whom might that be, you ask? It is mostly unknown in our borders, that after his defeat at the hands of Albus Dumbledore, the Dark Lord Gellert Grindelwald was imprisoned in Nurmengard. Yes, you read that correctly. Grindelwald was still alive the whole time since the war ended in 1945.

The Austrian and German Ministries assured us, that there is no way, the man will continue his cause because his health is not the best and he is 110 years old by now. Yes, that is still not that old, but name one 110-year-old Dark Lord, who was still fighting, they told us. But how can we be sure?

The biggest question, we at the Daily Prophet have now, is: what does Albus Dumbledore’s retirement have to do with this? You remember he left a note on his desk about ten days ago, saying:

I retire. Have a nice life.
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
PS: The Greater Good will always prevail

 The older ones of you will remember, that the slogan ‘For the Greater Good’ was used first by Gellert Grindelwald. So first the former Headmaster and defeater of Grindelwald ‘retires’ using that slogan in his notice, and a few days later Grindelwald is reported to be missing?

That cannot be a coincidence, don’t you agree? We at the Prophet implore the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to look into this matter and think about increasing our Auror-corps, and we beg you, dear readers, to brush up on your defense skills!

We just hope Albus Dumbledore is well and enjoying his retirement. We will keep you updated; rest assured!

Teachers Needed!

Hogwarts is hiring teachers and teaching assistants for every subject currently taught at the school. But also, for subjects not taught at the moment. Even Muggle subjects like Math, Literature, et cetera.
Please send a comprehensive application to the headmaster’s office. Persons with Masteries and experience in teaching in the Muggle and/ or magical world are preferred.

Staff Members Needed!

Hogwarts is looking for a wide arrange of staff members, like Head of House assistants, secretaries, accountants, et cetera. If you want to work at our school and have some kind of skill, please sent an application to the headmaster’s office. Please just try. Even if you are skilled in repair work of antique furniture, for example, we might find something to do for you. Everyone with an idea can apply, squib, former squib, werewolf (we have the wards to keep everyone safe).

 
Lost Heirlooms Returned!

The Abbot, the Weasley, the Prince family, and some more reported a long-lost heirloom to have been returned to them. Some received them by mail via Gringotts, and some just found them in their vaults. A spokesman of the goblins of Gringotts only said, that the jewelry had been found and returned but the finder wanted to stay anonymous…

Hogwarts Needs You!

Many of you have seen the ads in our paper a couple of days ago, where Hogwarts is looking for teachers and other members to bolster their staff. You surely will have realized that they need help with all the incoming de-squibbed people. Teenagers and adults. That the school isn’t equipped to handle this influx at the moment.

All those members of our world that had been abandoned and that are returning to us again, trusting us to make right what our brethren and in some cases we ourselves did wrong, while under the influence of that horrible Spell.

As you can imagine, our school needs support right now, to remedy the wrongs of the past. So please donate and contribute whatever you can to the Hogwarts Donation Vault, which is under the supervision of the goblins of Gringotts. Any amount will be welcome, however small it might be.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry thank you!
Headmaster Lucius Malfoy and Staff

Chapter Text

Harry and Ron were sitting on the bench outside of the Hospital Wing waiting to get called in. There was a sign at the door, stating to wait till called if you had an appointment but to come in should there be an emergency.

It was already ten minutes after the time they had been given.

“This is boring,” Ron stated the obvious.

“Yeah, we should have brought a game of Exploding Snap, or something.”

Ron sniggered, “The perfect place, to play the game, right? She could regrow our eyebrows right away.”

Harry laughed, “Right!”

But then the door opened – it didn’t creak anymore, Harry noted – and out came Ginny and called. “Next!”

The boys looked at one another and then pulled out the notes they had been given and compared them.

“Huh, it’s me then. Strange,” Ron wondered and added, “well, off I go. Seya!”

Ginny sat down next to Harry and explained, “She is seeing anyone. I was the last first-year and you two are the first second-years. She is starting you alphabetically backward or something. Said, the same people shouldn’t always come last.”

“Huh, why isn’t Blaise Zabini here then?”

“You are right! I hadn’t thought of that. Hm. Maybe she does one house after the other?”

“Seems complicated.”

Ginny shrugged, “Adults.”

“True. So, did you ever hear anything back from the Unspeakables?”

“No! I still want to know who or what Tom was!”

“Tom?”

“Uh, the boy that answered, you know? He said his name was Tom.”

“Oh! Yeah, I really want to know what that was about too, but we brought the book to them, and they cast a spell on it to make it save. Like contain it and asked us how we had gotten it. And they scanned me for evil dark magic.”

“Me too! Did they find any on you?”

“Nah.”

“They did find some on me, but it’s gone now. Matron Malfoy checked just now to make sure.”

“Phew, good!”

“Yes! I felt bad enough that I wrote into it. I just hope she doesn’t tell mum!”

“Well, it’s some time until you see her, right? By then it’s all old news.”

“That’s true. And I certainly will not tell–”

The door opened again and out came Ron, calling out cheerfully, “Next!” and adding, “I wait here, even if it takes some time, all right mate?”

“Okay,” Harry said and trudged in, feeling a little anxious.

The door closed behind Harry, and Ron took his place on the bench and said, “You can talk to him now?”

“What? Oh!” Ginny turned white and then red while Ron chuckled.

“Forgot who you were talking to, did ya?”

“Yes!” Ginny fretted.

“Will make him relax around you now. You really confused him.”

“Oh! I can help it! I try to be cool, but I always make an idiot out of myself!”

“Like with the butter dish,” Ron laughed, and Ginny cuffed him in the side.

“Just be you. Not some grown-up girl in your head. Harry isn’t either. A grown-up boy, I mean.”

Ginny giggled and then said, “I’ll try. Thanks, Ron.”

Ron nodded and they sat there for a moment, getting bored.

Ginny took out her wand and practiced levitating a broken quill she had found in her pocket.

“Hey! That’s another wand!” Ron exclaimed.

“Huh, yes. I uh… I found it.”

“Like I did mine!” Ron pulled his new wand out of its new halter and brandished it grandly.

“Cool! Me and Luna… found… ours yesterday evening, you?”

“Hm, I think it was the evening after the article about Filch.”

“End of last week then?”

“Yeah. We were the first to find them.”

“We?”

“Oh, Harry, Neville, and me.”

“That’s cool!”

“Yeah! It works so much better than Charlie’s old wand. Even before it was broken, it didn’t really belong to me, you know?”

“Totally! It’s like that with mine too.”

“And Luna?”

“Uh, she had her mum’s wand, you know?”

“Oh…”

“Yeah…”

They were quiet for a minute trying and failing to imagine a life without their mum.

Then Ginny perked up and said, “Oh! We have become friends again, Luna and me! She is not as strange anymore. She said, it wasn’t the counter-curse that helped her, but … well it helped her dad, you know? He is much more there now and looking after her and she is better because of it.”

“Oh, that’s good! I couldn’t really get her anymore after her mum…”

“Yes, me too. It was like she kind of just… like left? Like she wasn’t there anymore? But she is back again,” Ginny beamed.

They both noticed that they hadn’t spoken like this for a long time. Before Ron went to Hogwarts, probably, and swore to themselves not to let that happen again.

Inside, Harry walked up to the blond woman, who was sitting behind a desk and staring at a piece of parchment, looking a little spaced out.

“Hello Madam Malfoy, Ron said, to come in?”

“Oh yes. Sorry, Mr. Potter. Please take a seat.”

Harry sat down and asked, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I am. Thank you. I just got some news, which could be amazing, or devastating. Time will tell.”

“Uh, I hope it’s the first… I mean former.”

“Me too, Mr. Potter!” The new Matron smiled at him and then focused fully on him and his medical issues. “Now, Mr. Potter, I saw, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape did a full diagnostic health scan of you not long ago. Did Madam Pomfrey address any of the issues they found?”

“Uh, no?”

“Did anything else happen in the meantime?”

“Well, I wrote in that black notebook, but the Unspeakables said, I was ok.”

“I see. Do you mind if I scan you once more, just to make sure nothing changed since your last scan?”

“I don’t mind. I just sit here?”

“Why don’t you lay down on that bench for a minute? It’s best if you don’t move.”

“Ok.”

Harry lay down readily and once again someone waved their wand and spelled the results onto a parchment.

“Very well, I am done. You may take a seat again.”

Harry got off the padded bench and plopped down on the chair again

“Why don’t I start with something positive,” Mrs. Malfoy said. “Last November, Madam Pomfrey gave you a dose of Skele-Grow because Lockhart had vanished all the bones in your arm.”

Harry grimaced.

Mrs. Malfoy chuckled and said, “Yes, it tastes dreadful and the time after taking the potion was not pleasant either, would be my guess.”

 Harry nodded and dared to ask the question, which had occurred to him, “Did your scan tell you who had vanished my bones, too?”

“Oh no, it couldn’t tell me that. But remember whom you played against.”

“Oh! Did Draco tell you?”

“Why yes, he wrote about that match, and some bludgers acting up in great detail. Did you ever find out what happened that day?”

“Yeah, a house-elf tried to get me to leave school and save my life by injuring me severely.”

Mrs. Malfoy looked at him like she wanted to blur out a “what?” but she didn’t. Instead, she said after a moment, “A house-elf? Save your life via severe injury?”

Harry nodded, “Yeah, strange, huh?”

“Very much so. Did the house-elf say their name?”

“Yes. He said he couldn’t tell me his family, who is evil, but he told me his name was Dobby.”

“Evil?” she asked wanly and then “Dobby?”

A little house-elf clothed in a pristine white pillowcase popped into being right next to Mrs. Malfoys side and looked at her adoringly without looking left or right.

“Mistress is calling for Dobby?”

Harry’s mouth dropped open.

Narcissa looked at him for a second and then asked Dobby, “Did you try to save Harry Potter’s live by nearly killing him, Dobby?”

The little elf tilted his head to the side and frowned a little, as if wondering how she knew, and answered, “Yes, Mistress. But that was in the Before.”

“The Before?”

“Yes, Mistress. Before Yule. Before Mistress and Master became good.”

“I see, and why did you try to safe Harry Potter’s life?”

“Master sent a bad book with a little girl to go to Hogwarts. Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts. Hogwarts was not safe for Harry Potter.”

Harry wondered why Dobby hadn’t tried to save Ginny then or taken the book from her but kept quiet.

“I see. Please don’t ever try to save someone by severely injuring them. Much less a child.”

“And don’t iron your hands or shut your ears in the oven door!” Harry blurred out.

Dobby turned his head very quickly and his huge eyes stared at Harry and now the elf’s mouth was the one that dropped.

Narcissa frowned, “What do you mean? We never ordered him to do that, did we Dobby?”

The elf’s head swiveled back to his Mistress, and he answered, “Uncle Kreacher taught Dobby to do that if Dobby was a bad Dobby.”

“Kreacher?”

Dobby nodded, ears flapping.

“Dobby. Please don’t ever do that again. If you did something you think needs punishment, come to me or Lucius, do you understand?”

“Yes, good Mistress.”

“And come to me after dinner and we will talk some more.”

“Yes Mistress, Dobby will!” And with a popping sound, he was gone again.

 “Wow. He is your elf! I really wondered! And it was Mr. Malfoy that gave Ginny the black book that the Unspeakables were so happy to get?”

Mrs. Malfoy nodded and was unsure how to proceed. Well, nothing to it, “Yes, Mr. Potter, it was my husband who did this. After he cast the counter-spell on himself, he immediately told the Unspeakable, about the book. They wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. He expected to go to prison for that but because no one got hurt in the end, he got off with a warning, much to our relief.”

Harry thought about it for a while and then said, “Okay then.”

Mrs. Malfoy looked relieved.

“But, uh. Dobby’s first try was to get me suspended for casting Magic in the Muggle world. And I didn’t! He did! But I got the warning!” Harry felt more and more offended about it again.

“Oh, dear. I will talk to No. 15 about it. They will have the warning removed from your file. And sorry about all the bother you had to go through because of us!”

Harry shrugged and nodded.

“Well, we got a tiny bit distracted. I was telling you about the Skele-Gro you took. So, for you to regrow a whole arm, Madam Pomfrey gave you a full dose for an average 12-year-old. She didn’t account for the fact, that your weight is rather low for that age, and you are rather small and should have taken a much smaller dose. Especially, since the potion had been brewed by a Potions Master.”

“Uh, is that bad”

“Normally it would be, but your bones did all need reinforcing and strengthening and so in the end she accidentally gave you the perfect dosage. Or at least, I think, it was accidental.”

“So that is good then?”

“Very much so. What is not so good, is that you have a much too low weight and height due to malnutrition, but that can be amended via a potions regime, which you will have to take for the next half year. It also will take care of all your body’s deficiencies in minerals and vitamins and such.”

Harry grimaced.

“The potions taste nice.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Oh, that’s ok then.”

“Here, why don’t you try one?” Mrs. Malfoy handed a vial with a green potion to Harry who took it and his eyes lit up.

“Wow! Why don’t all potions taste like that?”

“A very good question I repeatedly ask Professor Snape.”

Harry giggled.

“The potions will appear next to your plate at mealtime. Please don’t miss any.”

Harry nodded earnestly, he wondered how that would work with the Dursleys, but he didn’t dare to ask that question.

“Well, Mr. Potter, the last thing to address is your eyesight. I am not an optometrist, but I know the spell to adjust your glasses to your prescription. May I cast it on them?”

“Sure!” Harry pulled his glasses off and handed them to Mrs. Malfoy.

“Thank you,” she took them sat them on the table in front of her, and cast a “Finite Incantatem.”

Harry couldn’t see what was happening, but she gasped and said, “Oh dear! They don’t look too good. Did anyone cast Oculus Reparo on them?”

“Yes, they were broken a few times.”

“I can see that. One moment.”

He heard her rummaging around somewhere and then heard a quiet “aha!” more rustling and a spell being cast and then “saw” her coming over to him and felt a pair of glasses being lowered onto his nose.

He blinked and looked around and then at Mrs. Malfoy and couldn’t talk.

“Still bad?”

Harry shook his head.

“They are good then?”

Harry nodded emphatically.

“Well, they are round glasses as well, only the frame is golden. Not perfect, but much better than your old ones, I would say.”

“I don’t care how they look! I can see with them! It is amazing!”

“I would think so. Do you want me to teach you a cleaning spell, which doesn’t damage the glasses?”

“Yes, please!”

A short time of instructions later, Mrs. Malfoy said, “The spell I cast, cannot be dispelled with a finite, which is good. The downside is, you cannot cast an impervious spell on them or the Oculus Reparo, those will not damage the spell that adjusts the glasses to your eyesight, but they wouldn’t work. So, I would implore you to get a real pair of glasses made.”

“Okay! But thanks! This is so much better!”

“You are welcome. Now, do you have any emotional attachment to your old glasses?”

“Wha- You mean, do I want to keep them? No! You can chuck them.”

“Very well,” Mrs. Malfoy banished the old glasses and asked, “Is there anything else?”

“Yes! If you call us in reverse alphabetical order, why didn’t you call Blaise?”

“Blaise Zabini is a Slytherin and as Professor Snape is a healer himself, he keeps the medical files for his house updated. So, I only need to do the others.”

“Ah, thank you!”

Chapter Text

Andy, Nymmie, Numthree, colleague No. 13, and Sirius were standing in front of No. 12 Grimmauld place. They had all notice-me-not spells on them geared especially to Muggles.

Sirius stood rooted in front of the house and shuddered. Andy wrapped her arm around his waist and squeezed it, “You can do it. You don’t have to enter. I can stay with you if you want.”

Sirius nodded, squared his shoulders, and walked up to the door of his childhood home while the rest waited. Once there, he put the hand, now wearing the Black lord ring, on the wood and pushed his magic in. The door clicked open.

Sirius stepped inside and coughed. Just opening the door had caused the dust, which covered everything in thick layers, to whirl up and make the air near unbreathable.

He cast an air freshener charm and walked backward to the door and said, “Does someone know a good cleaning charm? One that takes care of all the dust in a room?”

Andy looked to Nymmie, but the young Auror shook her head, “You better do it this time, mum.”

So, Andy stepped into the room and cast a wide-sweeping spell, which tackled all the dust in the hallway.

Unfortunately, now one could see how downtrodden the place had become and it woke the “new” portrait that hung there, which blinked at the newcomers in the very dim hallway and started screeching, “INTRUDERS! KREACHER! GET THEM OUT! SCUM! VERMIN!”

Sirius turned around and bolted.

Andy found him sitting on a park bench close by. Head in his hands, elbows on his knees. Otherwise, he was calm again.

She sat down next to him and just kept him company.

Sirius rubbed his hands over his face and sat up, “Sorry. It all came back. I just couldn’t…”

Andy nodded and said, “Yes, I understand, and the others do as well. Kreacher came at us with a fire poker. He is stunned for the time being. And I cast that dusting spell in quite some rooms.”

“And the portrait?”

“It went quiet.”

“How did they get her to shut up?”

“With Redianormalis.”

“Huh? It works on portraits?”

“Apparently. She is silent now. Watching and frowning. I didn’t wait for long, though. You were much more important. Nymphadora is watching her and the stunned elf.”

“And the Unspeakables are searching for the thing they are looking for?”

“Yes. They were scarily efficient. Did you get what they're looking for?”

“No. Something that has to do with Voldemort. Nothing that should be laying around, I guess.”

They sat in silence for a while until Sirius asked, “Hmm if mother is saner by any chance, would you ask her about squibs in the family?”

“I will. That is why we came here, right? The Unspeakables’ request to tag along came after we came back from Gringotts.”

“True. And hit any portrait in the house with the counter-spell?”

“Gladly.”

“What do I do with Kreacher? I hate, him, but he can’t stay here alone, or can he? Sent him to Hogwarts to work there? But that wouldn’t be fair to the students.”

“Hmm. He definitely can’t stay alone in the house without working. I think he is punishing himself for something by not cleaning.”

“I don’t want him. Maybe the Unspeakables would take him on.”

“I would fear that they would experiment on him, or something.”

“Does the counter-spell work on him, too?”

“I have no idea. Maybe?”

“They waited for about an hour when the other three came out and walked to them. Nymmie flopped down next to her mum and the Unspeakables stood comfortably in front of them.”

Numthree said, “Thank you, Mr. Black. Our endeavour was very successful. We found what we were looking for.”

“That is good, right?” Sirius asked while the other three listened to the two talking.

“Very. Also, this house is saturated with dark magic of the evil kind. It looks like, in earlier times it was more entrenched in good dark magic, where the caster would pay a price themselves in giving a little blood, or things like that.”

“So, blood magic int always bad?”

“No, it isn’t. Remember the article about dark magic?”

“Yes. I just didn’t make the connection to blood magic.”

“Well, that house needs a lot of effort to set it back to rights. But it’s well worth it in our opinion."

“I’ll think about it. Do you have any idea what I can do with Kreacher?”

“The house-elf?”

“Yes. Would the counter-spell work?”

“Normally it wouldn’t. House-elves aren’t suspensible to The Spell’s negative effects. But maybe this elf was… because he has been so entrenched in evil dark magic… I don’t know yet. We could try to cleanse him of the contaminations done by the house and the artifact, that we removed there.”

“Please!”

“Very well. You would need to order him to listen to us for the next month.”

“All right. In a minute, I first want to hear about the counter-curse working on portraits. How did you figure that?”

“There is a pair of twins at Hogwarts, the same students that found a certain rat, who are known for the pranks and mayhem they cause.”

“They sound like my favorite type of people.”

“Well, they started a trend at Hogwarts by casting the first counter-cursed onto the portraits and causing much chaos by doing so.”

The others laughed.

“Well, that’s how we know it works. – Well, this concludes our business, if you want us to take the elf it would be now.”

“Certainly, just one more question, if I may,” Sirius said. When the Unspeakables nodded, he asked, “We were wondering how the other Azkaban inmates are doing. And when the trials will start?”

“We did hit a snag there, I have to confess, but your trial will not be moved back, I can promise you that. But the other inmates of Azkaban pose quite the conundrum to us, just now.”

“Oh? Because they change much as soon as the counter-curse was cast?”

“In a way, but I cannot tell you more, just now, I am afraid. We need to figure it out ourselves first.”

“Hmm, all right. Then let’s get Kreacher, so Andy can ask mother’s portrait about any squibs our family might have abandoned and cast the counter on all portraits she and Nymmie here can find.”

Sometime later, Andy, Nymmie, and Sirius sat in the Tonks’ kitchen and recapped their trip to Grimmauld Place.

“So, mother was helpful. I still cannot believe it,” Sirius said in wonder.

“Yes. She was a very different person, than the one I knew my whole life. She was very confused and alarmed by her past actions. And she seems to have a hard time with the way she threatened everyone, especially you.”

“Well, I did too. All my life!” Sirius scowled.

“Isn’t her case a little like waking up from being under the Imperius spell for your whole life?” Nymmie mused. “But after you have already died and can’t do anything about it anymore? I can’t really imagine.”

“Me neither! Luckily, she seems to have been one of the most extreme cases. None of the rest did change that much personality-wise, as far as I know. I wonder how Narcissa and her husband fared, though. I mean they are Hogwarts staff now…” Andy wondered.

“Maybe just ask?”

Andy nodded, “I will write to her, I need to… ask her something anyway.”

“Just keep quiet about Sirius living here for now, okay mum?”

“Naturally. That reminds me, Nymphadora, do you know more about the Azkaban inmates in the holding cells? Especially Bella?”

Nymmie scowled – she had given up on telling her mum not to call her that a long time ago (but still!) – and answered, “No! First, I am the only one who is allowed to see Sirius because he is family, then they keep me out of the loop because – wait for it – I am family.”

“I see. That is concerning or you would have been asked to help again, I think,” Sirius mused. Well, they are better at handling all the changes so far, so let’s give them the benefit of a doubt.”

“Sirius! Do my ears conceive me? You are preaching restraint?” Andy teased him.

“Pfft! I did learn one thing at Azkaban, to accept the inevitable. My animagus form helped with that.”

Andy reached over the table and squeezed his hand.

Nymmie, trying to distract Sirius, said, “So, Grandaunt Walburga told us about a squib of her father’s generation, his brother, and her uncle. The name is Marius Black. He was the third child of four.”

Andy nodded, “Yes. Pollux, Cassiopeia, Marius, and Dorea Black. “

“Aunt Cassie! I forgot about her! How is she?”

“She died last year. It was in the Prophet.”

“Oh. So, the siblings who could know more about Marius are all dead…,” Sirius concluded sadly. “And he probably is as well.”

“He was born between 1916 – 1919, so he would be over seventy.”

“And he would have only been exposed to The Spell until the age of 11,” Nymmie added.

“But it had taken his magic already, so it probably is 50/50 as Ted would call it,” Andy said thoughtfully. “We will look for him. That is for sure. I will ask Ted to help. He is better at navigating the Muggle world by far.”

A/N Thank the internet for providing a family tree of the Blacks!

Chapter Text

“Greetings, No. 15. I hope you are well,” Lucius smiled at the robed person who came out of his fireplace.

“Hmm,” was his only answer.

“Lots to do, still?” Narcissa asked.

No. 15 nodded.

“I think we all can relate. Do you want us to start?” Lucius asked while Severus prepared a cup of tea for No. 15. *¹

No. 15 nodded once more and took a seat.

“Very well,” the headmaster said and added, “So, last week had three major events happening. Remus Lupin started to teach, the first new magical teenagers joined the school, and the meeting of the Board of Governors took place. The news about Grindelwald didn’t really sink in because of all those other things.

“First was the articles in the Prophet, detailing Remus Lupin’s life, his being bitten by a werewolf as a child, his Hogwarts school years without him injuring anyone, and that he is now a professor here regardless of his affliction. It seems people trust the wards of Hogwarts and I received nearly no negative backlash, except from the governors. More on that one later. – It was a good strategy to inform the public and appeal to their empathy, and good hearts, and also make them consider the possibility of them or their loved ones getting bitten without right out saying so.

No 15 chuckled, “Yes, that article was beautifully done. Especially when you said, you would certainly listen to anyone who was against it and talk with them, if they wanted. No one wants to look like the naysayer and villain in this, especially after you invoked Dumbledore and wanting to carry on his legacy. The only question I have is, how did Mr. Lupin take this article?”

Severus injected, “He was a little huffy at first, but when we told him, that we had found his letters in a huge pile of unopened letters and most of the staff did confirm it when he confronted Lucius in the staff room he was placated.”

“I think he was more surprised, that Severus was all right with him getting the post.”

“Yes, but I told him, that it was more Black than him, who was at fault, and after the counter, I did lose my anger about this. Not my fear, though.”

“So, there was an incident?”

“Yes, but no one got hurt. It was an idiotic dare, and I stupidly took it, and it led me right into a werewolf’s lair on a full moon. Anyway, Lupin asked for forgiveness, and I gave it.”

“I see, well another question that just appeared to me, why didn’t you tell the public about the curse on the post being broken?”

“The ones on the fence about it will think, Lupin will be gone at the end of the year anyway and to be honest, I want to see how he fares. So far, there have been no complaints. But many compliments and enthusiasm.”

“Good to know. So, there is hope. Well, let’s move on. How about the new students?”

“Well, the first batch arrived on Thursday, and they were sorted and got a Welcoming Feast.”

“My husband had informed the students beforehand and admonished them not to stare too much. It would be hard enough to come to school late when all had formed friendships already. Sometimes for years.”

“True, so did it work out?”

“Quite well, most went into Slytherin and Hufflepuff, but Gryffindor got three and Ravenclaw two new members also. The students were very welcoming in all Houses. – And there were some heartbreaking scenes when they reconnected with their siblings again. We should have thought about that and had them meet beforehand. We will in the future.

“Fortunately, we got quite a few volunteers and job applications already. Mr. Miller seemed to have spread the word very quickly. So now nearly every teacher has a prospective assistant lined up. Not all are here yet, but things are moving fast. Thanks also for the files on the adult new magicals. I have been in contact with a few already. Help is coming from their side as well.

There is one, who works as an accountant in the Muggle world, and he agreed to come and work for me, as soon as he quit his old job. He is a Prewitt if you believe it. How he could have become a squib is everybody’s guess. I can’t believe any of the Prewitt family casting The Spell, they always seemed so light-sided…”

“Maybe someone who married into the family? He is not from the main branch if I am not mistaken,” Narcissa said. “And not anyone knew it was actually dark magic, they were casting there. The Blacks did, naturally but my guess is the knowledge fell to the wayside quickly in other families.”

“True, well in any regard, things are moving quickly, and we are just scrambling around to keep things moving,” Lucius agreed.

“I know the feeling,” No. 15 groused.

“Well, the most exhausting event this week has been the meeting of the Board. There was much blustering about them not being asked to appoint as a new Headmaster, Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, and anything else under the sun. But in the end, we did everything according to the Rule Book and they couldn’t do anything about it, even if it went against tradition.

“They questioned the Heads of Houses about it and received mostly positive feedback, I think. And when I brought them a huge basket of mail, which Dumbledore hadn’t thought to forward, as well as asking them if they wanted to take charge of everything concerning the new magicals or knew someone who wanted to take the job, they got very quiet very quickly.

“They also needed to take care of the now open governor seat and chairman post, so in the end, they agreed, that we did what we could this close before the students returned to school in the middle of the school year and thanked Narcissa and me for stepping in on such a short notice.”

“And you two did take the posts until summer, so either they find a better candidate–”

“Unlikely,” Severus muttered.

“– or they will find you did the task better than anyone could expect.”

Lucius nodded and said, “To be honest I still don’t know if I want to stay Headmaster next year. Normally I plan and look at a new venture from all sides first, before tackling it. This jumping into the breach is rather new to me. But needs must. And I do like the power and prestige that this post offers, don’t get me wrong. – And it is rather stressful, I must confess.”

The others chuckled, a little taken aback by the openness Lucius showed them. Especially in the company of an Unspeakable whom they knew reported to their superiors.

They spend some time then, enjoying the break from the chaos until No. 15 asked, “How did you handle the new teenagers anyway? Are they all in a separate class?”

“We put all the children who would have been in first and second year now into the first-year class and give them remedial lessons to catch up to their classmates. Most are really buckling down with the help of their siblings and their housemates.”

“And the older ones?”

“Well, they are in an extra class together, regardless of which year they would normally be. There is too much to catch up on, especially for the older ones, but again their schoolmates and siblings are helping. Hopefully, they will keep doing so when the situation isn’t shiny and new anymore.”

“Probably not, but a few will persevere,” Severus said.

Narcissa looked to No. 15 and asked, “How is the situation in the Ministry?”

No. 15 was quiet for a few seconds and then said, “As you know, I cannot speak about the prisoners, but I can talk about the Horcruxes. It seems, that your cousin Regulus did manage to steal the Horcrux in that inferi-infested cave. And it was at Grimmauld Place in a glass cabinet in the drawing room, if you can believe it.”

“Surrounded by many other dark artifacts?” Narcissa answered, “I can believe that.”

“We learned from the house-elf later, that Regulus had instructed him with the destruction of the Horcrux. The poor thing did try to follow his late master’s orders, but Horcruxes are hard to destroy, so he failed.”

“If you are talking about Kreacher, he was a miserable and wretched crea– being before that, too!” Narcissa huffed.

“Yes, him,” No. 15 seemed a little taken aback by Narcissa’s emotional outburst. “He had been entrenched in dark magic of the evil kind for such a long time, The Spell had started to affect him, even if since Walburga Blacks generation no one cast it in that house regularly anymore. We de-cursed him and help him get rid of all the dark energies that had seeped into him and he is much more normal for a house-elf.”

“That spell is a gift that keeps giving…” Severus groused.

“It does indeed. We expect it will take us about a decade to get rid of all its ramifications.”

“At least you found the real Horcrux. Did you find any signs of Regulus?” Lucius asked the question his wife was too afraid to ask.

“Curiously, we didn’t. We should have, as Kreacher told us he had to leave his Master there after being ordered to do so and saw inferi were coming to get him. But we didn’t find a body or any other traces of him.”

“Strange. I know the Dark Lord tried calling him. And one has to answer the call,” Lucius said, and Severus nodded.

“We are as stumped as you are. Anyway, we also found another Horcrux at a Gringotts vault after questioning some of the Death Eaters from Azkaban.”

“You did? How many did you find by now?” Lucius asked incredulously.

“Five, plus the one in Harry Potter’s scar.”

“That would be six, but if the last one was accidental…” Severus said.

“… he might have made one more before he was vanquished by Lily Potter,” No. 15 finished.

Severus bowed his head for a while, taking deep breaths. The word “vanquished” had brought up memories. But if the prophecy had been fulfilled back then…

He decided to ask about it then. The Unspeakable had said something about a Hall of Prophecies last week after all.

With halting words, he told his tale of hearing the prophecy, taking it to the Dark Lord, and all the heartache that followed.

His friends and Unspeakable No. 15 listened attentively, and No. 15 said thoughtfully when he had finished, “I can check the Hall of Prophecies now if you want.”

“Yes please,” Severus nodded.

No. 15 got up and left the room via the fireplace. Like last week, they couldn’t hear the address that was called. Maybe the Fidelius Charm? Severus thought.

While waiting Narcissa told of her progress in getting all the student’s medical data on file. She ended with, “So, my whole plan of systematically calling them went up in flames for a while when the new students arrived, and I decided to check them over first. But St. Mungo’s has done so already but didn’t tell us,” Narcissa scowled.

“Why didn’t you tell me, darling?”

“You were very busy, Lucius. It is all right. I scolded them and they promised to do better from now on. It was best coming from me anyway.”

“That is true. Severus, how do you fare with the additions to your house?”

“It is tough going sometimes. I really hope we get that mind healers we are in contact with.”

“There might be another possible venue as well. In the adult squib files, there are some therapists, physical and psychological. Would those be of help?”

“Indeed. The psychological ones anyway! Please contact them and ask. It could be very helpful.”

Lucius nodded and noted it down.

“So, what are you going to do about MI5? I am sure they will send a former squib or two to investigate us and spy on us.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely.”

“Hm. Should we ask No. 15?”

“We can, I just don’t think they would be of much help as their superiors don’t seem to get that the organization, they are part of has much more might and cunning than they seem to expect.”

“Hm… Why don’t we… no… We can make any new adult magical swear that they will not report about us to anyone without talking to us first. Or if the world is in danger… hm… that is all too open to abuse. I need to think about it.”

“Or we invite them for a visit?” Narcissa said thoughtfully. “To quench their thirst for information?”

“I don’t know. Better keep them guessing. I think we need to talk to No. 15 about it anyway. Maybe a geas is a possibility.”

No. 15 stepped out of the fire and sat down again, “Well, I can tell you, the prophecy spoken by S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D about the Dark Lord and possibly Harry Potter has gone dark. So, either it was fulfilled 11 years ago or when we de-cursed all the Horcruxes we have. They must contain quite a bit of his soul by now. In our estimate, when one murders another self-aware being about a quarter of a soul can be “broken” off. And of that 75 % rest-soul another quarter and so on. Making the pieces smaller and smaller each time.

“This is all very hypothetical, mind you. One cannot measure the sizes of soul pieces after all. At least we can’t, old resources we found told another story. Anyway, on that recount, it would mean, that after making the 5^th Horcrux, Voldemort had less than 25% of his ‘main’ soul left and we believe that made it unstable. So, when he killed Lily Potter, a piece broke off and lodged itself into Harry Potter’s scar.”

“Or it means, after making the sixth Horcrux, the last piece broke off accidentally.”

“That is true. So, Voldemort has about 13 – 18% of his soul left by now.”

“I feel sick,” Narcissa gasped and rushed off to the bathroom, hidden behind a bookcase.

“I agree. But what does that all mean?” Severus asked.

“To be honest, we are unsure. The breaking of the bonds that Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley experienced when they cast the counter indicated, that the Horcruxes might not be able to anchor Voldemort anymore after being de-cursed. That is our hope anyway.”

“But he completed the ritual and tied them to him, other than the one in Potter,” Severus frowned.

“Yes, that is true. But at least the bonds must have been weakened, at least. We just don’t know by how much. He will have a hard time holding on. At least much harder than before. But on the other hand, by now more than 80% of his soul is in those objects or dispelled.”

“So, it could go either way. In the end, we don’t know more than before…”

“At least there is more hope that he cannot return,” Lucius said.

“Indeed.”

They both knew their life would be forfeit if the Dark Lord ever did return.

“So, theoretically, what would happen if we came across the main part of the Dark Lord and hit him with the counter-curse? Would he get anchored properly by his Horcruxes again?” Severus asked.

“Yes. But he also might lose much of his insanity too and wouldn’t pose a danger anymore,” No. 15 answered.

“Well, as you said, this is all very hypothetical. The facts are you have 5 of his Horcruxes. One of them is self-aware and seemingly sane. What are you going to do?”

“That is actually the problem we have right now. We cannot just kill a sixteen-year-old who accidentally got a student killed.”

“That was accidental? How did he manage to make a Horcrux then?” Severus asked incredulously.

“We don’t know. There is much guesswork again, but in the end, we just don’t know.”

 “Are you sure it was accidental?”

“Not really.”

“And it was what… sixty years ago? So, there is little evidence left,” Lucius frowned.

“We did even talk to the murder victim still haunting the place of her murder, but she cannot remember much either.”

Understandably Lucius, Severus, and Narcissa who had returned wanted to know more and No. 15 told them Myrtle Warren’s story which inadvertently led to the discussion of the Basilisk in Slytherins Chambers of Secrets.

Lucius rubbed his face and said, “We need to at least keep it out of the school! Where is the entrance?”

“According to Tom, the only entrances are to the forbidden forest and Myrtle’s bathroom. And he told us that the beast normally sleeps. We were afraid it would have gone insane all alone for a Millennium, but according to Tom she was quite sane and was terribly devastated by Myrtle’s death.”

“That didn’t stop the basilisk from attacking a student only a month ago!” Narcissa said.

“Yes. Tom ordered it to, but the beast disobeyed insofar as it closed its second eyelids.”

“Oh, we thought, the victims only got petrified because they only saw the Basilisk indirectly, through water and a ghost.”

That wouldn’t have worked with a Basilisk. It might have with a Gorgon, though.”

“So, you are saying, that the Basilisk is no danger to the school?” Lucius asked frowning.

“Yes. And according to Headmistress Smith, even if you close the entrance to the bathroom with a stone wall, the castle will form another passage if the school is in danger and the Basilisk only petrified the victims because it was ordered to kill them by a parselmouth.”

“So, you are saying we cannot keep it out? How about we go to the chamber and kill it there?”

“Only a parselmouth can enter and Tom flat-out refused to possess someone to open the entrance for us.”

Gwendolyn injected, “The Basilisk will not hurt anyone who belongs to this school knowingly. Myrtle Warren was a terrible accident, but No. 15 is telling the truth. The basilisk sleeps and waits for its time to defend the school.”

“Are you sure about this, are you 100% sure? This is the future of magical Britain we are talking about here,” Lucius said forcefully.

“Yes. I cannot lie to you, headmaster. I am sure of it. And I believe the Basilisk will be much more careful now.”

“And what if it gets hungry?” Severus asked silkily.

“It is fed by the magic that Hogwarts emits. The more students dwell here, the better. The castle has been terribly empty, so it is good that more students are coming, and The Spell is contained once more. And if that isn’t enough the exit to the forbidden forest should suffice.”

“If you say so? I will order Hagrid to get some roosters for the grounds anyway. And pray tell, is that why the forest is forbidden?”

“It is. The Basilisk has been ordered to leave the centaurs alone there and it would never attack unicorns. But Basilisks are magical creatures, and it might never have felt the need to enter the forest.”

“Very well.” Lucius nodded. *²

“No. 15, we were talking about the possibility of MI5 sending spies to Hogwarts with the incoming adult new magicals. What have you decided to do, to prevent that?” Severus asked.

No. 15 answered slowly, “I am not aware my superiors have anything planned. I will tell them you are concerned.”

“Very well. We thought, maybe a geas might be helpful.”

“I will pass your suggestion on.”

“Thank you. We wouldn’t feel comfortable letting them in, otherwise. They will try to find our weaknesses in case we become a danger to them, as any good agency in that business would.”

No. 15 didn’t say anything. It was clear, the Unspeakables hadn’t thought to do that. Maybe for the better, as long as we were all compromised by The Spell, Severus thought.

After a small pause, the Unspeakable asked, “Mr. Snape may I ask you to bring me in contact with Mr. Creevey?

*¹ Unspeakables can eat and drink with their cowls keeping them unidentifiable. It’s magic.

*² In my opinion, a pure-blood magical would not react to a contained Basilisk in their basement as we Muggles understandably would. They co-exist with too many strange creatures, like the giant squid, a dragon in the RoR, and so on. Different cultures and maybe species.

Chapter Text

Portraits De-Cursed

The reason Argus Filch got de-Squibbed by so many Hogwarts students at once came to light via the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. The students had started to practise the counter-spell Redianormalis on anything that moved it seems. Even portraits. Also, as soon as they noticed that some of the persons in the picture frames changed their looks, they naturally cast the counter on any portrait they came across. As you might remember, Hogwarts has many paintings on its walls. So the students were quite busy and the spell was by far the most cast spell at that time. Therefore it was no surprise everyone cast the counter on Mr Filch when he startled them.

It might be a good idea to de-curse the portraits within your own house as well. You might be surprised!

This reporter also wonders if there are any more people or artefacts that need the counter. What about the patients in the long-term ward in St. Mungo’s for example? Did anyone think of them?

Albus and Gellert?

Yesterday, we at the office of the Daily Prophet were contacted by Professor Bathilda Bagshot, magical historian and the author of A History of Magic and approximately ten other history books, who lives a quiet life in Godric's Hollow. 

She contacted us to reassure us that Albus Dumbledore was likely in good health and showed us old pictures of two handsome young men -one  blond and and one  auburn-haired- arm-in-arm and grinning at the camera. “These are Gellert (Grindelwald) and Albus (Dumbledore),” she told us. (See pictures below this article)

When asked how she could possibly know that, she told us that  Gellert Grindelwald was her great-nephew! He visited her about a hundred years ago after finishing his education at Durmstrang Institute and met the neighbour’s son, one Albus Dumbledore. They had fallen in love and planned their future together until tragedy struck and in a terrible accident Albus Dumbledore’s sister Ariana died.

This caused the lovers to part ways for a long time until Albus Dumbledore couldn’t stand the destruction Gellert Grindelwald caused in our world any longer and defeated his former lover, who then was imprisoned in Nurmengard.

So is that it? Did Albus Dumbledore free his lover and they disappeared into the sunset together? Why now? Why so sudden? Is the counter-curse the reason? Had Gellert Grindelwald been exposed to the negative effects of The Spell at Durmstrang as well? Did Albus Dumbledore realise this and went to de-curse his former Lover?

We at the Daily Prophet don’t know, but in the light of this new information sounds more reasonable than the rumour that Albus Dumbledore and Poppy Pomfrey have eloped to Venice to escape Minerva McGonagall’s wrath. 

Still Looking for Lost Squibs

Dear readers, we continue to implore you to come forward with any knowledge about abandoned children regardless of how long ago it has been and how small the information might be. Every piece of the puzzle helps.

You also can do so anonymously if you think it necessary. Just sent a letter to the Ministry of Magic – Department of Mysteries. We’ll then look for the lost member of our society. 

Thank you!

Upcoming Death Eater Trials

As with the portraits and long-term patients, the question emerged if The Spell might have changed the behaviour of some inmates of Azkaban. Would those people have done what they did without The Spell’s negative effects? Does that even matter? They did commit the crimes they were convicted for after all. But on the other hand, people enchanted with the Imperius curse do walk free. 

As you can imagine, this has been hotly debated for weeks within the Ministry’s higher echelons. 

Now a compromise has been reached. Each inmate is to be brought to the Ministry’s holding cells and de-cursed by a squadron of ten Aurors as no one wants to give them a wand. The prisoners then will receive healing and get the choice of either returning to Azkaban or stand another trial where they’ll need to take Veritaserum. 

Should they choose the trial, and it comes to light that the accused doesn’t regret their deeds, they’ll be returned to Azkaban. But if they do regret and say under the truth serum that they would never have committed those atrocities willingly, they will be put under house arrest for the next 1 – 10 years to receive further healing and to get reacclimated.

The first trial will be held tomorrow.

More and more New Magicals

We’ve reported before on the state of emergency St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries has been in since our article about Argus Filch’s “de-Squibbing”. The Hospital has much more experience in handling the influx of patients by now, but there are still many arriving. Some to get information, some to go through the procedure. We at the Daily Prophet were unable to receive the actual numbers of new witches and wizards the counter-spell has returned to us, but we can report on a few notable new magicals entering our world.

There’s Herbert Umbridge, for example. Brother of the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic Dolores Umbridge, who will probably lose her job soon like we reported on recently. As was often the case, no one knew of Herbert Umbridge’s existence, but other than most of her peers, Madam Umbridge didn’t come forward to search for her brother during the last weeks. No, she still insists that she is a single child. Will that be the final stroke needed for her to lose her job?

Then, just as notably, there are the Lockhart sisters. You read that right. Gilderoy Lockhart has two older Squib sisters, who can now be helped because of his blunder. We wish them all the best!

For more on the fates in the (former) Squib community see page 6.

Lestrange Trial

Yesterday we reported on the upcoming trials for Death Eaters who were incarcerated in Azkaban . And they started with a bang! The three younger Lestranges asked for another trial and received it promptly. Rabastan Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange and his wife, Bellatrix Lestrange, née Black. Some might remember that they were ardent followers of You Know Who and were convicted for torturing Alice and Frank Longbottom to insanity. The worst of the worst, or so we thought. The burning question is now, did the counter-spell bring any changes?

Let me tell you, it did! At least for Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange. They did agree to take Veritaserum, and it became apparent that they were very disturbed and horrified by their behaviour in the past. Both could convincingly assure the judges that they would never have done those atrocities without the negative effects of The Spell.

Quite the scuffle arose when a spectator loudly asked what the incantation for The Spell was while Bellatrix Lestrange was under the truth-serum. Madame Bones quick thinking saved the day, by silencing Mrs Lestrange’s answer. The perpetrator will stand trial now as well and a new procedure will be established to inhibit any future mishaps like this.

Rabastan Lestrange wasn’t such a clear-cut case. He spilled all the criminal acts he committed in the past, but to our surprise, he was not really sorry about them. When asked if he regretted them, his answer was “No.” When asked further, the interrogators discovered that the heinous acts he committed brought him pleasure. 

We now absolutely understand the need for second trials of all the Azkaban inmates. They are justified as the cases of Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange showed. 

The sentencing didn’t surprise anyone in the end. The Lestrange couple received one year of house-arrest in Lestrange Manor as well as mandatory mind-healing sessions, and Rabastan Lestrange’s sentence was reaffirmed.

For more on the trials, see page 3.

Chapter Text

Harry and his friends were eating breakfast and talking about their upcoming Defence Against the Dark Arts class, which they were looking forward to very much. That class had quickly become Harry’s favourite. The new teacher was so fun and hands-on and learning this subject was as easy as breathing for Harry. 

Also, Professor Lupin had been friends with his parents! Harry knew his photo album inside and out and had studied each person in it and a younger, less scarred version of Professor Lupin appeared very often in the pictures. Especially with his dad, but also with his mum, once even  with both of them proudly wearing their prefect badges. So, after his first Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Harry waited for the rest to leave except his friends and asked the teacher if he had known his parents. And he had! That led to bi-weekly teatimes with the professor where he told Harry about his parents. Which was amazing. At last he had found someone who wanted to talk to him about them!

And he had told Harry to call him Uncle Remus. But that was hard! Harry flip-flopped between “Professor Lupin,” “Uncle Remus” and “sir” all the time, much to Professor Lupin’s amusement.

Ron, who was sitting across from him and next to Hermione, pulled him out of his thoughts by sighing and saying, “I just wish I could cast that disarming spell, Professor Snape had used that time, remember Harry?”

“Expelliarmus? Yeah, who could forget that one, right?”

“Yeah, that was so awesome!”

“Just a bit overshadowed by Lockhart’s reaction,” Fred injected dryly.

“And by Snapes looks afterwards,” George added and the whole table sniggered.

“I just wish I had a poster of dashing Snape,” Katie said dreamily.

“Yeah,” Alice groused, “Creevey still doesn’t want to give me one. Says he left the negatives at home.”

Many girls at the table scowled. 

“Do you hear me Creevey? You bring those negatives next time you go home, okay? I need handsome… who are you looking at?” Alice turned and saw Professor Snape standing behind her, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh, hi?” Alice stuttered and turned an alarming red colour.

The Professor turned his eyes to Colin and said silkily, “Those negatives stay locked up, are we in agreement, Mr Creevey?”

Colin beamed at the Potions Master and said, “They will! You can count on me, sir!”

“Thank you, Mr Creevey,” the man turned and stalked toward the staff table.

“I swear, every time I say the words “poster” and “Snape,” he’s right there!” Alice moaned and Professor Snape looked over his shoulder directly at her, raising an eyebrow again, and then kept on walking.

Fred patted her shoulder consolingly when she sank forward in mortification and buried her head in her arms.

The rest of the table was highly entertained, though.

She was thankfully saved from any more ribbing when the owls started to fly in, bringing the morning post and papers.

Much to Harry’s surprise an unknown owl landed in front of him and stretched her leg out for him to untie the letter bound to it.

Harry did so and looked at it, while the owl stole some of his  bacon and took off again.

Harry Potter
Hogwarts

He looked up, but the others were busy with mail or looking at the papers, even Ron was looking over Hermione’s shoulder. Both were looking bug-eyed at the paper. Further down the table, the twins high-fived over Angie’s head, sitting on either side of her reading her papers with her. Huh, there must be something about those trials again.

Harry shrugged and ripped the letter open.

Dear Harry,

My name is Sirius Black. You might not remember me, but I was your dad’s best friend. 

Harry gasped and Hermione looked up from her paper and asked, “What?”

Harry blinked and looked to the staff table to Uncle Remus and saw that the man had gone incredibly pale. Hmm, Harry had asked him about all the other reappearing people in the pictures and he had only said about the handsome guy in nearly every picture with his dad, “That’s Sirius Black. I’ll tell you at a later time about him. It’s not a fun story.” 

“Harry?” Hermione asked.

“Sirius Black wrote to me.”

“He did? What did he say? Was it about his trial yesterday and Peter Pettigrew who was the one to betray your parents and not him, who had gone to Azkaban without a trial eleven years ago while –”  

“HERMIONE STOP TALKING!” Ron yelled at her and then more quietly, “Look at him.”

Hermione who had turned to Ron full of indignation turned back to Harry and saw him sitting there pale as snow, gaping at her.

“Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry…”

But Harry just jumped up and ran out of the Hall, still clutching the letter, with Professor Lupin following him quickly.

“Your mouth sometimes is even faster than your brain,” Ron said glumly.

Hermione, who was fighting not to cry, nodded emphatically, “Yes, that was sooo stupid! Harry hadn’t even seen the paper yet. Oh Ron, do you think Professor Lupin can cheer him up? Shouldn’t we go looking for him?”

“Nah, the professor knew all the ones that were there, when that all happened, and he’s an adult. I think he’ll do better than us. We’ll look for Harry later, alright?”

“Okay,” Hermione sniffed.

“But they did find that Pettigrew guy at Hogwarts, right? How?”

“He hid here as an animagus, it says, but not what kind. Wait! There should be more on page two,” Hermione turned the page and said, “Oh! That makes sense! He was a rat!”

Ron stared at Hermione in Horror, “No!” he whisper-yelled.

“What? Ron? Are you okay?”

Ron stared unseeingly into space, worrying Hermione until she whispered, “Scabbers?”

This time she kept herself from babbling and thought about it first. She then turned her head and looked to the twins, who were excitedly chattering with Angie between them, who had her hands over her ears, trying to read the papers.

She gently took Ron’s arm and said, “Come,” and then said in the direction of the twins, “Fred, George, come. You need to be there for Ron now!”

The twins looked up and then looked at Ron, who still seemed a little out of it. They seemed to realise what had happened and jumped up, rushing over to Hermione and Ron, and leading them out of the Great Hall much to Angie’s relief.

The Headmaster, who had been trying to console his wife more than anything else, looked to the side at Lupin’s teacher assistant and asked, “Can you take Lupin’s classes alone?”

“I’ll do my best. I'm sure I’ll manage,” the young man said, and Headmaster Malfoy nodded and thanked him. 

His look went to Professors Snape and McGonagall, who were both reading the papers with frowns on their faces, and then said, “The rest, please don’t be too hard on the students missing today’s classes until we know what lies behind all this. In Mr Potter’s case it’s clear, but in the Weasley boy’s it’s not. Filius, will you take over for now?”

Professor Flitwick looked concerned at Mrs Malfoy and nodded, “Certainly. You can trust us to run the castle for now and I know what’s up with the Weasleys, I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you,” the Headmaster then took the as-of-yet unopened letter addressed to his wife, the newspapers he had only started to read, and said, “Come, darling. Let’s go to my office.”

In Uncle Remus’s office, the preteen boy was frowning at the man who had caught up with him and steered him into his office. The man was now sitting across from him and so Harry asked frowning, “Okay, so what’s that all about?”

“To be honest, I'm not quite sure yet. I haven’t read all the articles yet, so why don’t I do that now, if that’s alright with you?”

“Okay,” Harry nodded and put the slightly crumpled letter on the teacher’s desk next to him. Remus wasn’t sitting behind it, mind you. No, they were sitting at a small tea table where a tea set had appeared somehow. Harry didn’t take any, though. He felt much too unsettled. What had Hermione meant with her barrage of words? Betrayed his parents? Huh?

Harry eyed the letter again but decided to wait for Professor Lupin… er… Uncle Remus to finish reading the newspaper.

After some while and hastily turned pages, the man let the papers sink and stared into space for a minute.

“Uncle Remus?”

“What? Right. Sorry Harry, this is quite the turnaround. So where to start? Well, during the war at the time you were born, your parents had to go into hiding.”

Uncle Remus continued to tell Harry the whole sordid tale of betrayals and death. How Sirius had been found laughing at the most horrible scene of death and destruction, telling all who were close that it was all his fault. That the man had been arrested and had been sentenced to Azkaban.”

“Or so we thought…” Uncle Remus trailed off.

Harry, who was sitting at the edge of his chair, clenching his fists; and steaming in anger at the betrayal asked, “Huh? What’s there to misunderstand?”

“My thoughts exactly, until today’s newspapers. It has to come to light that Sirius didn’t receive a trial. They just chucked him off into the wizarding prison called Azkaban.”

Harry frowned, “So?”

“Harry, that is illegal. Everyone has the right to a fair trial before being sentenced to lifelong prison.”

“I guess,” Harry answered mulishly.

“Well, his very late trial yesterday showed that Sirius hadn’t been the Secret Keeper as we had all been told or assumed. He was the decoy.”

“So he didn’t betray us? How can we be sure?”

“There’s a very powerful truth potion called Veritaserum. You must’ve heard of it in the last few days, right? It was given to a follower of Voldemort, also called a Death Eater as you know, standing trial. That man was no other than Peter Pettigrew.”

“What? How? You just told me he…”

“We all thought he was. You see, Pettigrew was an Animagus. When Sirius confronted him on a busy Muggle-street, he cast the blasting curse on a Muggle gas line, cut off one of his fingers, turned into his small Animagus form, and disappeared in the chaos.”

“So, he made Sirius look like the guilty one…”

“Especially, because according to witnesses, he yelled something like ‘James and Lily! How could you?”.

“And everyone was duped... So Peter Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper?”

“Yes. He confessed it all under Veritaserum.”

“Wow. So Sirius…”

“There wasn’t much of a case, as you can imagine, but Sirius demanded to be given Veritaserum anyway to make sure the truth came out and was believed. He told the same tale as Peter did.”

“Wow, so he was innocent and they chucked him off to hell on earth.”

Uncle Remus seemed to shrink, and he nodded, “I should’ve known.”

“What? How?”

“Sirius was James’s best friend and your godfather. He would’ve never betrayed you.”

“Okay…”

“Sorry, Harry. The good thing is, they found the rat – that’s Peter’s Animagus form – and got Sirius out of Azkaban a month ago. They healed him up and then he was allowed to stay at his cousin’s house until they were ready for the trials. They just placed it between all the other Death Eater trials, for some reason.”

“Wow, and the reason he survived Azkaban was because of the negative and in this case positive effects of The Spell?”

“No. Sirius wasn’t in the vicinity of people casting that spell much, the article said. No, he also is an Animagus, like Peter and Minerva McGonagall, and it seems that when a wizard is in animal form, the Dementors can’t do much damage. The emotions of an animal are too simple to interest them, apparently.”

“Was my dad an Animagus, too?”

“Yes. He was an incredibly impressive stag Animagus. You see, during the full moon, they stayed with me when I was in my werewolf form, who we called Moony, to keep me company.”

“Don’t wolves like… eat stags?”

“No. Well, at least not werewolves. They don’t attack other animals. Only humans.”

“Huh. Strange.”

“Yes, but also fortunate. Transforming into Moony is much easier with a pack present. And my three friends became Moony’s pack back then.”

“Wow! Like… in school?”

“Yes. It was quite the feat. But they kept quiet about it. It was an uncertain time back then.”

“Makes sense.”

“I need to contact Sirius right away,” Professor Lupin said, and Harry started.

“Oh! He wrote a letter to me! I haven’t read it yet. Can you wait for a second?”

“Sure, take your time. I’ll just reread the paper.”

Harry took up the letter once more, feeling much more ready to read it now.

Dear Harry,

My name is Sirius Black. You might not remember me, but I was your dad’s best friend and I'm your godfather. I'm sure you have seen the papers by now, or have at least heard about my trial. 

The first thing I wanted to say to you is that I'm sorry! I'm sorry about what happened to your parents! I'm sorry for pushing for Peter to be the Secret Keeper, thinking it was the safest way to go. I'm sorry I missed your childhood and couldn’t be there for you! 

Just sorry.

That night, I took you out of the house and met Hagrid there. You know him, right? He told me that Albus Dumbledore had sent him to bring you to safety. So I handed him the keys to my trusty flying motorcycle and you, so he could bring you safely to Hogwarts, where you could not get attacked again. 

I did a rather headless thing then. I ran after Peter without informing anyone.

Well, you know what happened then. 

But enough of the old sordid past. How are you? Which house are you in? What subjects do you like? Where did you grow up? Was it happy? I bet it was! After all, Albus handled your placement. 

There’s so much I’d like to know.

So, most importantly to me right now, would you mind exchanging letters with me?

I'm staying with my cousin Andromeda Tonks and her husband and daughter at the moment, so letters to Sirius Black, Tonks Residence, Essex will surely reach me.

My cousin is the one who told me it was a bad idea to rush to Hogwarts right after my trial, run in, and hug the stuffing out of you. That I need to get to know you again, and more importantly, you need to get to know me first. I guess she’s right, so I'm sending this letter to arrive after the newspapers and hope for the best. 

Well, that’s it for now, take care! I love you, pup!

Your godfather Sirius (Padfoot) 

Harry blinked, sniffled a little, and looked up at Uncle Remus, “he says he loves me! And he wanted to run to Hogwarts after his trial and hug me.”

“That might’ve been a bad idea, right?”

“Yeah, his cousin thought so too.”

“His cousin?”

“Yes, An… wait, here it is! Andromeda Tonks is her name.”

“Ah, one of the three Black sisters. The one that married a Muggle-born and got disowned. Narcissa Malfoy's sister.”

“Huh? Draco’s mum?”

“Yes, she’s Sirius’s cousin too.”

“Everyone seems to be related here.”

“Your great-grandmother was a Black as well I think, and you’re related to all of them in some way.”

“Really? That’s so cool! I’ve to ask Draco about it.”

Uncle Remus nodded. “What else did he write? Did he tell you where he’s staying? I want to write to him as well.”

“He did, he’s staying at the... Oh, here it is. At the Tonks Residence, Essex. No postal code.”

“Owls don’t need them.”

“Oh, right. I knew that!”

Uncle Remus chuckled, “Now, are you all set? We need to go to class. Well, I do. I got a note saying that my first period will be taught by my new assistant, but I would rather go help him. Will you come?” It’s your class too, after all.”

“Yeah, I want to come.”

In the headmaster’s office, Narcissa tried to collect herself and re-read the papers once more. She then read the letter her oldest sister had written to her. 

How could she have forgotten about Andy? Especially with her mind on Bella so much right now? Had she pushed Andy’s existence out of her mind for such a long time that she really had forgotten it? 

 Well, her sister had written a rather long letter. She had started to write it quite some time ago, it seemed. She said that she had been asked to keep her head down until the trial of Sirius, but now could send it at last.

Andy wrote to her about Sirius, their search for Marius Black, Walburga Black’s portrait, Kreacher, her daughter, and last but not least her husband. 

Ted Tonks. Narcissa remembered him faintly. He had been a nice boy if she recalled him correctly, and now, with a much clearer mind, she could admit he had suited Andy quite well. And Andy had a grown-up daughter who was training to become an Auror!

Andy had also seen the tapestry in Grimmauld Place and two faint new lines forming next to Draco’s little portrait. Narcissa smiled happily to herself.

She was so happy her sister had decided to contact her, and that Sirius was with her as well. They needed to have a little family gathering. Maybe she could get St. Mungo’s to help her out in the Hospital Wing for a couple of hours. Hmm. Narcissa thought about asking them here, but that would be hard for Sirius. The man tried to give young Mr Potter time to come accustomed to the idea of having a godfather, and being so close and not allowing oneself to see their charge would be hard for anyone.

She would also need to tell them about Regulus and ask Andy what the Black Family Tapestry was showing about their youngest cousin.

Also, she really wanted to meet Andy’s daughter Nymphadora. Such a wonderful name! Andy had told her about her daughter’s rare talent. She was a metamorphmagus! They didn’t have one of those in centuries. At least two! And why was that? Stupid Spell!

“I see you’ve come back to us and are planning and plotting again,” her husband said smiling.

Narcissa chuckled, “Yes. Sorry for becoming so shell-shocked. I didn’t expect this news at all. After Bella’s trial last week, I thought that this was it. Sirius slipped my mind. Like Andy. Strange. I was so narrowly focused on our small family and Bella that I forgot all about the rest of my birth family.”

“My guess is you tried to put them out of your head because not doing so might’ve been too painful. So, your mind only allowed you to think about the one closest and the most in danger.”

Narcissa tilted her head, “That’s probably part of it. I think The Spell made me into an unfeeling witch. At least with anyone except you and Draco.”

“Hmm, I agree. The house-elves are a good example.”

Narcissa nodded, “I still cannot believe how I treated those tied to and dependent on us. It was repugnant!”

“I'm as disgusted with myself as you are, darling. At least we can make life better for them now.”

“We can and we will,” Narcissa said decisively.

“And teach our son, too.”

“Yes. Well, on that note, Lucius. I have a -possibly- very happy secret to tell you…”

Chapter Text

A month had gone by since they had de-squibbed Filch, Harry realised with surprise a few days after Valentine’s day had come and gone.

That day had been great! The golden quartet , the newly dubbed silver trio consisting of Draco, Vince, and Greg, together with Ginny and her friend Luna (who wanted the two of them to be called the Nargle duo ) had escaped the sticky sweetness of the day and had hidden in a room Luna had found. 

It was next to the kitchens, they had learned, and according to Luna it had been the office of Helga Hufflepuff that sometimes let people hangout inside.

“But we aren’t Hufflepuffs! We are from every other House!” Ron had rightfully pointed out.

Luna’s answer had been a little confusing. She had said, “Exactly.”

Harry grinned in remembrance. Maybe she meant that this way Hufflepuff was present too.

He was slouching comfortably on one of the couches in the Gryffindor common room at the moment, doing nothing for once. 

Luna had been a surprise addition to his now quite increasing group of friends. It seemed she had reconnected with Ginny when the two had gotten some new wands too, and they had become inseparable again. According to Ron, the two of them had been the same before when they were younger, until Mrs. Lovegood had an accident or something. Harry wasn’t quite clear on the details. But somehow the two first-years slotted right in with his group of friends now.

Many other things had changed inside the school. There were many more adults around for one. Teacher assistants, House Head assistants, mind healers, and new teachers who shared teaching their subjects with the ones that were already there. And that was necessary too. They had so many more students come in every day! 

The youngest ones, the 11, 12, and some of the younger 13-year-olds had joined the first years and were also getting remedial lessons, to catch up.

Ginny and Luna had told them it was a big change in the dynamics of the lessons but now it was working out great for the most part. At least they had two teachers in their classes now until everyone had gotten caught up and in the end, it was about ten more students in the first year in each of the four Houses.

The older, twenty-seven students (age 13 and up) were together in one class getting taught separately from the ones being here from the beginning. Some were trying to catch up, to join their agemates but that would take time.

They had all gotten sorted too and most had joined Slytherin and Hufflepuff House for some reason. But a few – six for now –  had come to Gryffindor and had been welcomed warmly.

And in the evenings a growing influx of older new wizards and witches came to Hogwarts to learn to use their magic safely, too. 

It was awesome! Because the students were often asked to help them practise and Harry noticed he understood magic much better if he had to explain it to someone. So it was a win-win, as Hermione dubbed it. 

Also, he liked the older people. It was like having multiple nice Uncles, Aunts, and Grandparents! And they taught him a lot, too.

Mrs. Figg from Wisteria Walk in Little Whinging was attending classes as well, much to Harry’s surprise. At first, he had worried a little, but then he had thought that he now had an ally and a possible place to escape to, should things get bad at the Dursleys, which cheered him up quite a bit.

He still hoped that his new-found godfather would ask him to come and live with the man, but as they only had exchanged letters in the last two weeks, and Sirius himself did live with his cousin at the moment  -recovering from his stay at Azkaban- Harry wasn’t sure this would happen anytime soon, or at all. So he didn’t voice this daydream to any of his friends. 

At least there was talk about letting Hogwarts stay open during the summer for summer classes for the new-found magicals who had no family they wanted to return to, or who were adults in need of a place to stay. Maybe he could petition to stay as well. 

Harry stretched and looked over to the whispering twins. Those two were making friends left and right with all the newcomers. Their uncle, the former Squib who was an accountant, was living at the castle now too. Headmaster Malfoy had happily snatched him up like so many others according to Draco to help with the finances of Hogwarts.

The portrait door opened and Hermione came rushing in and flopped down next to Harry.

“I looove the new library,” she gushed.

Harry sniggered, “And you looove Mr. Miller, right?”

Hermione huffed, “He is great! But he is nineteen!”

“Lockhart was at least thirty years old. It didn’t hold you back from having a crush.”

“Well, yeah. And look what happened. No, I decided to only crush on other school boys.”

“Did you, now? And who is that?” Harry teased her.

“No one! But Madam Pince let Vince and me help her sort through a new trunk full of books that Headmaster Malfoy had just brought to her. This one contained only books about Hogwarts. There were even some written by the founders themselves, can you believe it? We had to wear white cotton gloves and all. And she showed us spells, to repair books without damaging the texts in them and to conserve them…” Hermione trailed off, clearly in awe.

“Wow, That is amazing,” Harry had to agree. “Were you able to read some?”

“Not yet. They need more spells to preserve them and to get catalogued first. I learned that most of the books were purged from the library at one time or another during the last 1000 years. We are restoring them to their rightful place, which feels good.”

“I can imagine!”

“So, what did you do?”

“Nothing. It was awesome!”

Hermione huffed but conceded that the last two months had been terribly busy and they deserved some downtime, too.

Somewhere close by, Colin was in deep discussion with one of his new classmates about something or other and Harry remembered the book that had been lent to him by the boy and which he had yet to read. Why didn’t he have an adult who took care of things like this as all the others did? Well, except for the former Squibs.

That reminded him of the new magicals, as they have started to be called now, and their complicated relationships with their families.

If they had siblings, they easily and often joyfully reconnected. All of them. But quite a few didn’t want anything to do with their parents or one of their parents. Depending on the story behind it. Some were tentatively starting to talk, but it was slow going and only made possible, in Harry’s mind, because the parents had changed due to the counter-curse.

He certainly wouldn’t take his parents back otherwise, if he were in their shoes, he was sure.

“What made you so morose just now?” Hermione asked.

“All the families The Spell broke up…”

“Yes. It really is a horrible spell. I wonder who developed it.”

“Someone who didn’t care for anyone else but themselves, I’d say.”

“Horrible!”

“Yeah.”

They heard some voices talking excitedly and looked up.  They saw some people crowding the message board and noticed Mrs. Miller, who was pinning a sheet of parchment onto it.

Hermione hopped off the couch and rushed to the board, reading the new announcement, and soon came back beaming.

“There will be a House Meeting to go over the safety procedures in two days. I am so glad, Mr. Miller’s Grandparents are new magicals and have decided to become our new Head of House assistants, even without a Head of Gryffindor!”

“I still don’t understand how that is even possible,” Harry groused, but had to agree, “But they are great, that is true.”

“I think they still hope Professor Lupin will take the job at some point, but he is swamped with work and I think a teacher can only become Head of House after some years of teaching…”

“Yeah, he would be great but you are right, with all of his work, and with him being a werewolf… He has enough on his plate. I told you he knew my parents, right?” 

“Yes, Harry,” Hermione looked a bit exasperated. “Did he tell you something new?”

“That I look like my dad and have my mother’s eyes. Well, like my dad without glasses. It seems I inherited my mum’s eyesight, luckily.”

“Matron Malfoy really helped to heal you, right? You have grown too!”

“Hehe, yeah. She is great. I am so glad, Madam Pomfrey resigned!”

Hermione was a little undecided on that one. The old Matron had radiated authority and Hermione respected that automatically. So she changed the subject, “Professor McGonagall is doing much better though, don't you agree?”

“Loads! Having less work seems to be doing her good. She is smiling much more.”

“And she answers questions now. I mean she did before but now I don't get the feeling that she’d rather be somewhere else and that her Mind is on another topic altogether.”

“Maybe she is seeing one of the mind healers too?”

They both looked at each other with big eyes. Did old people do that? Weren't they , like, fully developed or something? Especially someone as prim and proper as McGonagall?

Hermione blinked and then asked, “You know, I think she might. I have a great-uncle who was seeing a therapist when he was about 50! Anyway, where are Ron and Nev?”

“Oh! I think they went to meet Draco and Greg to have another toad versus owl competition,” Harry sniggered. “I cannot even imagine Draco’s proud eagle-owl working in tandem with Ron’s new little fluff-ball that Sirius got him as replacement for Scabbers.”

Hermione giggled, “Me neither. So the toads will probably win this time. Not like last time when Hedwig and Hermes were a team against Trevor and Croak.”

Chapter Text

Severus sat on the veranda of the Tonks abode in Essex and asked himself how he had gotten there. 

Well, he knew how. Narcissa had dragged him here. But why?  he whined internally. 

It was quite the group of people present next to the Tonks family and their houseguest, Sirius Black. The Malfoy family of three, soon to be four, Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, No. 15 and No. 3, whom Black apparently called Numthree, and him. So, ten more-or-less grown-ups and two pre-teens. 

Potter had been a bit apprehensive about meeting Black in person for the first time, but by now they were as thick as thieves, with the boy happily agreeing to live at his god-fathers home from now on, when school wasn't in session. Black had asked Potter more or less as soon as the now healthy-looking child had exited the Floo, (which he did with much more aplomb by now). Black didn’t even have a home at the moment other than at the Tonks’ house. Severus guessed that this was irrelevant. in Black’s mind, but at least Potter wouldn’t have to return to Petunia, now that he thought about it. Also, hadn’t he promised the boy to tell him about Lily? He would do that soon, he decided.

Severus looked at what everyone was doing, now that they had a nice brunch. He found that Narcissa was in deep conversation with her sister. Meanwhile Nymphadora Tonks, No. 3 and Potter were teaching the game Croquet to Black, Lupin, and Draco out on the lawn. Or trying to, but it looked like they were having fun. Edward Tonks and Lucius seemed to have hit it off as well, he noticed with amusement. Just half a year ago and the pure-blood would have sneered at the mere thought of doing this.

“How are you fairing, Mr. Snape?” No. 15 asked and took a seat on the chair next to him.

“Very well. Things seem to settle down now. You?”

“The same. I think by now we have found most of the Squibs that want to be found and our economy is adjusting to the fact that there is no one to exploit and use as cheap labour anymore.”

“Good.”

“Indeed. Also the trials are done and most Azkaban inmates could be released to house-arrest. We even discussed the possibility of closing it down altogether. We are just unsure what to do with the Dementors, now that we know how they came to be.”

“I hope you find a way to release them one way or other.”

“We are working on it with little success for now, but at last we managed to make that magical scanner work that lights up if someone who had been an unwilling or oblivious victim of evil Dark Magic enters the Ministry.”

They sat there in companionable silence watching the antics on the lawn.

“Say,” Severus waved his wand and cast a silent Muffliato , “did you ever find anything about the origins of The Spell?”

“I wish you would teach me this spell of yours! Anyway, no. Nothing conclusive. Why?”

“Well, I just remembered a throwaway  sentence the portrait of Headmistress Smith uttered when we were talking about The Spell. She said something like, ‘Morgaine be damned.’ Which could have been a saying like we use Merlin's name to swear sometimes, or she might know something more.”

“Interesting. I need to talk to her again.”

“You do that. So, what’s happening with Tom?”

“Well, we reunited him with the next Horcrux, the ring we found at the Gaunt shack. It seems he was able to absorb the knowledge that horcrux had obtained between the making of the first – the notebook – and the ring, but he didn't gain any of the memories of what had been the main piece at that point.”

“Curious. Knowledge yes, memories no?”

“Exactly. It's a bit annoying. We still don't know how he managed to cast the killing curse unnoticed in the Muggle world. Our scanners should have picked it up.”

“How does he feel about not remembering more?”

“Hm, he doesn't mind. I don’t think he has feelings like a human with a real body, but as far as we can ascertain he has morals and ethics, so there is that.”

“Not unlike any other Unspeakable then..”

No. 15 snorted and answered, “I didn’t look at it that way before, but yes, a bit like that. That would make Tom the quintessential Unspeakable… Well, we decided to build a construct that holds the book  which he can steer and that looks like an Unspeakable. It even has a voice and can see.”

“Oh? So, does he have the same authorities as an Unspeakable now?” Severus looked a bit worried.

“Dear Merlin, no!. And he never will have them. We made sure of that. Not in a thousand years and longer. We are still debating, though, whether we should re-connect him with the rest, but it looks like we will at some point. We might even construct him a real body at some point. We are still debating what would happen with his soul. Would it be able to heal itself of the small sliver that it is missing? I mean, as it is now, he wouldn't be able to join the afterlife if he died, with his soul incomplete. At least that is what the old texts say. ”

“So it would be better if he stayed as he is - semi-alive?”

“Probably. There is no hurry and we will do nothing without his consent and without being absolutely sure he will not overtake the Department somehow.”

“Good, you had me worried for a second here,” Severus nodded and they sat there in silence again for a while until Severus asked, “Another thing. Do you have any idea how the geas is holding up that is keeping the knowledge of the wizarding world, especially Hogwarts, in check?”

“Oh, it works perfectly. Even if my superiors still don't really see the need for it. They were obviously humouring us when they allowed us to cast it.”

Severus shrugged, “Well, as long as it works, who cares.”

“Exactly.”

“Just make sure you aren't like them when you are the old geezers and the young ones bring up points you cannot grasp.”

“Good point. I’ll share it with my group of the younger ones. I bet the stuffy squad was like us at one point in time as well.”

“Very likely.”

“But regardless, our world has a chance of survival now, I think.”

Raciuos laughter branded up from the six trying to hit little balls through small goals on grassy ground and Severus couldn't help but smile a little at the beaming, happy look on Potter's face.

Assorted newspaper articles, published on different dates in the coming months and years:

Where is Barty and where did the other Barty come from?

It has become apparent that sometime during the time of great change in the Wizarding World Barty Crouch Senior disappeared without fanfare. A week ago a pair of Aurors was sent to his home and they found something unexpected and very gruesome. The corpse of his son Barty Crouch Junior who had been announced dead a decade ago. 

Investigations showed that the Ministry official had sprung his son from Azkaban in 1982 and had kept him in the basement of his home from then on. 

It is unclear why he didn't own up to his deeds after the counter-curse was cast on him and/or his son. Others have confessed their sins after that and faced no repercussions. So why didn’t he? 

It is hypothesised that Barty Senior cast the counter on his son in hopes to save him, but found him unrepending of his crimes. Like Rabastan Lestrange for example. Maybe Barty Crouch Senior then cast the killing curse on his son in rage and fled the scene and country afterwards in horror of his deeds. But that is pure speculation by this reporter and others.

A search warrant was issued by the Department of Law enforcement immediately, even if there is little chance in finding the man who speaks at least 150 different languages and could get by anywhere in the world. (For more see page 5.)

BABY BOOM!

Everyone with eyes in their heads is seeing witches with growing bellies right now when out and about. This is due to the discovery of The Spell being cast for a long time that now has been dispelled everywhere. It looks like the Unspeakables were right that one of the negative side-effects was infertility which now has been dispelled as well.  

So, our guess is that this is the effect of desperate women getting pregnant as soon as possible and others who didn’t think they needed a contraceptive.

Notable witches are, for example, Narcissa Malfoy, Matron of Hogwarts; Amelia Bones, Head of the DMLE; Cornelia Greengrass, wife of our new Chief Warlord; Molly Weasley, Mother of seven; and last but certainly not least, Maisie Fudge, the Minister's wife.

We at the Daily Prophet congratulate every expecting witch and wish her all the best!

Hogwarts, look out and prepare for huge classes in 12 years and onward. The current increase might just be the first little “hick-up.”

Poppy Pomfrey Found Dead!

Yesterday, on Beltane, the body of Poppy Pomfrey, former Matron of Hogwarts was discovered in her home. The investigating Aurors stated that she must have died sometime in spring this year and they came to the conclusion that she had died because she had broken her healer's oath.

This is a very rare occurrence because healers usually do their utmost to avoid this fate, but it looked like she drowned the warnings in alcohol and therefore didn't listen to her magic’s warnings. It is speculated that she never cast the counter on herself, but that doesn't explain why she didn't adhere to her oath, does it?

As we have reported before, people have rumoured that she had run off with Albus Dumbledore because of a unhappy love-triangle with Minerva McGonagall had formed, but this was clearly just schoolyard gossip as Mrs. Pomfrey had left the school before Mr. Dumbledore retired, and because of the former Headmasters leanings towards his own gender. But, as was also reported, no signs of the wizard have been reported since his resignation in January.

Rest in peace Poppy Pomfrey, you will be remembered.(More on P. Pomfrey’s carrier, see page 9)

Malfoy Twins Found!

After searching for nearly a year, Headmaster Malfoy found his long-lost sisters that had disappeared when they were 11 and he was 8. It had taken the father of three (we reported the birth of his twins in September last year) such a long time because his mother secreted her two Squib-daughters away all the way to Canada where they were first fostered and then adopted as twins. 

The two had been fully entrenched into the Muggle-world and only through a lucky coincidence found out about the ‘de-Squibbing’ taking place all over the world, even in Canada. 

Only one of the two decided to get her magic back as she is the mother of two magical teenage children herself but had kept herself apart from the wizarding world and its news and never even told her children of her Squib status. 

Her sister –who had decided to become a high-ranking judge in the Muggle world and to never marry– decided to stay where and what she was, like many other Squibs have before her.

A happy reunion took place in an undisclosed location and Headmaster Malfoy issued the following statement: ‘This truly is a joyous moment in my life, having all my family meeting at the same place at last. In the end, all thanks to the blunder of one vain wizard, who didn’t want to lose a show duel and paid the ultimate price but brought us all so much happiness…’

The end.

Chapter Text

Inbreeding in the Wizarding World?

Many of you might’ve heard a Muggle-born scoff and say something like “Inbred pure-blood” in the past, but what did they mean by that?

Well, in the Muggle world researchers found that if closely related plants, animals, or Muggles have offspring, these offspring often become defective, especially if this happens over more than one generation, or if the ‘parents’ are siblings or first cousins. This was found to be the case in livestock, but also in small and closed communities.

Any wizard or witch working with livestock like chickens and pigs can confirm this, I'm sure. That’s why those folks try to mix their livestock up. 

Well, as was said, Muggles have found the same problems. Especially in their noble houses where -in order to keep their blood pure- they intermarried constantly.

Yes. You read that right. Pure-blood beliefs also exist in the Muggle world. And it was for the same reason as it developed in our own world: To keep money and power in a small circle of families, pure and simple. 

But let’s get back to the Muggle-born calling others “inbred pure-blood.” Why would they do that? 

Well, the answer is obvious, right? Until our article about The Spell and its counter on December 29 th of 1992, many of the pure-bloods were ugly and/or stupid. So, any newcomer from the Muggle world who heard those rather ugly and/or stupid people talk down on them because they were not “pure-blood” did conclude that inbreeding was at fault for the state the pure-bloods in question were in, especially since they intermarried more often than not.

Lately, a smart Muggle-born could be heard asking, “You’re not slow and stupid anymore, I thought before  that you were because of inbreeding, but it was because of The Spell used by some pure-bloods. Doesn’t intermarrying weaken your gene pool? (Muggle terminology, meaning the traits each parent brings into a union.) 

Well, let us clear that up. They are wrong. And they are right. 

They are wrong in thinking that close relations (first cousins and closer) lead to physical inbreeding in the wizarding world somehow, that we get mentally and/or physically handicapped. That isn’t the case. The Department of Mysteries (DoM) is researching this, but first clues point towards magic being the deciding factor here.

They also are right , because our magic weakens over time if only people within a small circle of families intermarry. It’s a very slow process, but it has been monitored by the DoM and they have irrefutable proof.

Magic tries to keep us strong by producing more and more Muggle-born to refresh our pool, but because the upper echelons of our society refuse Magic’s gift by denying Muggle-born access to our world, the pool is getting magically weaker as a whole.

If you want more proof, think about who the two most powerful wizards in the last 50 years were. First Albus-Dumbledore comes to mind, a half-blood, with a mother who was Muggle-born and the father a pure-blood. Second Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Marvolo Riddle, with the mother nearly a Squib and the father a Muggle.

Also, data gathered by the Unspeakables does prove this irrefutably. 

They also found that Muggle-born and pure-bloods are of the same kind. There’s absolutely no difference, physical or magical. 

There is a difference between Muggle-born and Muggle, though. The DoM is still researching the origins of Muggle-born but found some evidence that they descend from Squib lines. You see, not only did The Spell weaken us, no, also the denial of new magic into our midst did!

One more very important note. Do not fall into the easy trap to compare Muggles to chicken and pigs now! They are human beings and as self-aware as you and me. They have much more in common with us than the livestock we all eat! It is not proven that all Muggle-born stem from Squib-lines on both sides, as of yet. So it is possible, but not proven, that a pure Muggle and a magical person can produce (magical) children.

But in the end, wizards and witches stand above all. 

Unspeakable No.15, Department of Mysteries
Lucius Malfoy, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
First…

Albus, who was sitting comfortably in a wingback chair in faraway Peru, sprayed his 7-month-old newspaper that he had obtained with such great difficulties with his tea, which he had just taken a large sip from before reading the last sentence and who had written the article.

Had Albus read just a bit further, he would have found: ‘First article in a series. The next one will be titled Wizards superior individually – Muggles much more advanced and superior as a society ?’ 

But he didn't. He threw the soggy paper in the trash and went to complain to Gellert who just said smirking, “You were right, the Greater Good always prevails.”