The Harry Potter I Story:
(purple written by EFHW, green by Twistedarcher, red by Galzria)
Day 1
Twelve nervous first year students filed into the Great Hall, led by Hagrid in his heavy moleskin coat. Four long tables of Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, Slytherins and Gryffindors looked on expectantly. Eevee, Jimmmmm, liopoil, chairs, ashersky,Robz, yuma, mail-mi, Galzria, UmbrageOfSnow, Voltaire and nkirbit gathered in front of the long staff table where tiny Professor Flitwick waited, standing on a stack of books next to a stool, on which sat a battered leather Wizard’s hat. Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts, looked down austerely from her spot in the center seat. Professors Trelawny, Sinistra, Vector, EFHW and Twistedarcher also looked on with interest at the new class of Wizards joining Hogwarts. “Has Hogwarts become an all boys’ school?” whispered Professor Sprout to the portrait of Albus Dumbledore propped up in the seat next to Professor McGonagall. But he was prevented from answering by the leather hat which broke into song (well, more like free verse, really).
Sorting Hat Song
I am the Sorting Hat.
Every year I sing a song
Of friendship, magic and rivalry.
This year I fear
I have to add
There is evil coming to Hogwarts.
Our twelve new students are innocent now,
But three will be corrupted.
Be on your guard – it might be you.
And don’t trust anything
That can think for itself,
Unless you can see
Where it keeps its brain!
The staff all looked shocked and worried and the twelve 1st years looked at each other uneasily, and seemed to move away from each other, while trying to look innocent. Professor Flitwick called out the first name: “ashersky!” ashersky came forward and perched himself on the stool. Professor Flitwick put the hat on his head and everyone waited. But nothing seemed to be happening! Then ashersky nodded, hopped down from the stool and took off the hat. Everyone in the Hall clamored for him to tell them what House he was in, but he would only shrug and say “I have a plan, but it’s not time for that yet.” One by one, Professor Flitwick called the names: “chairs!”, “ Eevee!”, “Galzria!”, until finally he reached “yuma!” Each time the student would nod and give back the hat, keeping their conversations with the Sorting Hat private. At the end, all the first years were still standing around, because none of them would tell anyone their House, so they couldn’t go to a table. Professor McGonagall said “Very well” and conjured up a table and benches just for them, complete with golden plates. She asked Professor Flitwick to notify the House elves of the new table after he put away the hat and stool. “I guess you will be sleeping here, too,” she said, “I’ll conjure you some sleeping bags after the feast.”
Several Hours Later: Exhausted by the long day, and stomachs full of really yummy food, the twelve 1st years quickly dropped off to sleep in their puffy purple sleeping bags. No one noticed the three malevolent ghostly figures appear above their group in the early morning hours. The ghosts drifted down noiselessly, grimaced nastily at each other, and finally disappeared into the bodies of three of the slumbering students.
Monday morning, the 12 first years were sitting at their table at breakfast. They seemed to be getting to know each other better, but they were clearly not at ease. Professor McGonagall came over to give them their schedules. "Since you are all still unwilling to tell us your Houses," she said somewhat acerbically, "you will be taking all of your classes together. Professor Binns will be expecting you to arrive promptly for History of Magic, and I will see you in the afternoon at Transfiguration." They all rose to go to their first class, and if some of them seemed to exchange knowing glances and nods, Professors EFHW and Twistedarcher were the only ones who noticed.
Tuesday morning the first years lined up outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom waiting for the professor to open the door. The bell rang and at that very moment the door to the classroom swung open, but there was no one there. Curious, the students walked in and took seats. They were startled to see that their instructor was a portrait! Everyone started whispering to each other at once.
“Look who’s teaching us!”
“That’s Dumbledore!”
“Can portraits teach classes?”
“Who’s Dumbledore?” This last was from Jimmmmm. Everyone looked at him agape. He shrugged. “I’m Muggle-born,” he said.
“A most warm welcome to all of you” said Professor Dumbledore, stretching out his hands, both whole and healthy-looking. “I hope your first few days at Hogwarts have been both pleasurable and stimulating. I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, and I will be your instructor for Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. You will be pleased to know that today marks the second day of my second year teaching this class and my portrait survives, which means the curse on this class has almost certainly died with the person who cast it.”
“That was You-Know-Who,” Galzria whispered knowingly to the person next to him.
“Yes, thank you, Mr. Galzria. That brings us handily to our first order of business. I want you all to repeat after me – ‘Voldemort’”. A tremor ran through the class. “The widely held taboo on speaking Voldemort’s name only contributed to his power – because it increased fear, and fear was Voldemort’s strongest weapon. As part of ensuring we never succumb to the likes of him again, we will begin by speaking truth plainly. So, repeat after me, ‘Voldemort’” The class stammered and stumbled over the name. Even Jimmmmm struggled a bit – they don’t have weird names like that in Australia. But by the end of the period most of them could say it without flinching. And if there were three who had more trouble than the others, did anyone really notice?
At dinner Tuesday night, Professor McGonagall noticed the first year table was empty. At first she became alarmed, but then she saw they were all at House tables chatting with their new Housemates. "If they can say their Houses now, why didn't they say before?!" she muttered to herself, shaking her head in a confused manner.
Tuesday some of the first years had been a bit prickly. The tension created by the Sorting Hat’s prediction was starting to have its effect. They didn’t talk much on the way to Herbology that afternoon, and once in class there was a noticeable amount of “accidental” squirting of mimbulous mimbletonia Stinksap on classmates. Professor Flitwick noticed their mood Wednesday morning in Charms, and taught them a Cheering Charm to try. It was more advanced magic than they were ready for, but his demonstrations were enough to lighten their mood and instill some hope in the gloomiest students.
By Thursday, the first years had homework from 6 different classes, and they hadn’t even had Potions yet. They became preoccupied with catching up and for a time it seemed like everyone but yuma had dropped the problem of the Sorting Hat’s prediction. This suited the three budding Death Eaters just fine, of course. The others did their work with a nagging unease, but not having any idea of what to do next about evil, they focused on what could be done – foot-long essays on grindylows, and games of Wizard Clue (Miss Scarlet wields a wicked self-lighting candlestick). Every now and then, though, one or another of them would look up from his work, remember the problem of the three hidden Death Eaters, and wonder “What would Harry Potter do?”
The first years came out of Potions Friday afternoon variously hiccupping, yawning, or looking exactly like Eevee. Professor Slughorn had demonstrated three of his favorite potions, including the Polyjuice Potion. Suddenly Peeves the Poltergeist descended from the ceiling just above their heads.
“Peevsy sees Eevsies
But Peeves prefers Sneezies!”
A shower of stink pellets hailed down on the group. The students put their books over their heads, and ran laughing down the stairs to dinner. A couple of the Eevees took the opportunity to scoop some of the stink pellets off the ground and into their pockets.
Friday after dinner some of the first years went down to the Quidditch pitch to watch the older students practice. Some of the others hung out on the grounds or went to look at the giant squid. They were having fun, but they were also watching each other carefully. There were three who would have loved to get together to talk privately, but they didn’t dare, so they just mixed in with the others the best they could, biding their time, hoping not to attract too much suspicion. They had heard their classmates discussing who was most likely to be a Death Eater, and they knew that one false move would give them away. There was no consensus in the group as yet, but they felt certain there would be one soon. They even pretended to be suspicious of people, hoping to deflect attention away from themselves.
Monday morning in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall had a surprising announcement. “Professors Flitwick and Slughorn and I have been researching what to do about the possibility that evil has somehow infiltrated your class.” The students had thought the faculty were not paying any attention to the problem, and they all sat up straighter, very interested in what she was about to say, though not all for the same reason. “We have devised a method to reveal if a particular student is being influenced by the dark arts, BUT, this is a dangerous procedure that will certainly leave the student unable to finish the year of school, whether or not they are being influenced by evil. Therefore, we need to choose very carefully and only test students we have some reason to believe have been affected.” The students looked around apprehensively. Then nkirbit raised his hand. “Yes, Mr. nkirbit?”
“Professor, I would like to be able help you decide. I have a bunch of ideas.”
Suddenly all the students had their hands in the air, demanding to be able to contribute their own ideas, too. mail-mi stood up. “Professor, I have some reason to believe that I am suspected by my fellow students, but I would like a chance to demonstrate that I can be helpful. You shouldn’t choose me!”
“Don’t listen to him, he’s lying!” shouted Robz.
“But who will you pick?” asked Voltaire.
“I think I can find some stuff out for you,” said Galzria.
It was like a dam had burst, and after a week of not knowing what to do, everyone was ready to act. Professor McGonagall raised her wand and said loudly “Langlock!” All the students were unable to speak, though some still beat on their desks and waved their arms in frustration for a few more moments. When all was quiet, she said, “You will each be allowed to name one student who you suspect. WE will make the final decision, but since you have more access to each other than we do, your observations will weigh very heavily in the decision. You have until 10 pm tonight to tell me who you would choose. Now, take out your quills and copy down these notes on transfiguring marbles into gobstones.”
Subdued, the students took out quills and parchment. UmbrageOfSnow made a muffled noise and pointed pointedly at his mouth. “Very well, if you can stay focused on your work, finite incantatum.” Every student opened his mouth about to speak, but one stern look from Professor McGonagall had them dutifully taking notes. There would be time to talk after class.
After that afternoon's Charms class, the students rushed into the corridor. Quickly, they split up into Houses. They tried to keep their conversations to themselves, yet were so desperate to get their opinions out that the sounds of their voices echoed throughout the castle.
The Gryffindors stood around, furiously talking to one another, then headed towards the Great Hall to get their dinner.
"I can't believe they all thought I was a Death Eater!" exclaimed mail-mi. I'm a Gryffindor, after all! Galzria and yuma nodded along, gossiping loudly about who they thought was a Death Eater.
The Ravenclaws also headed towards the Great Hall, moving at a brisk pace while debating who was a Death Eater and who wasn't. On the stairwell headed down from the Third Floor, they rushed past the Gryffindors. When liopoil moved past the other students, mail-mi shoved an elbow into his ribs, shouting, "DEATH EATER! They're going to kill you tonight, that's what you get!!!"
liopoil quickly whipped out his wand, pointing it at the Gryffindors. "Call me that again, I dare you!" he shouted. nkirbit quickly restrained his Housemate, dragging him towards the Great Hall, while Jimmmmm followed his fellow Ravenclaws, but not before giving the Gryffindors a long stare.
The Hufflepuffs took a different route to the Great Hall. ashersky was trying to convince his Housemates that his point of view was correct. "Look at Slytherin! They're obviously full of Death Eaters! We should kill the lot of them!"
UmbrageOfSnow quickly cut him off, though. "You're so wrong! Ravenclaw is where the Death Eaters are! They're too smart for their own good!"
Robz stood listening, but after awhile, shook his head. "You're both SO stupid. It's Gryffindor we have to fear!" They continued their argument, filing into their seats in the Great Hall.
The Slytherins, though, couldn't even get to the Great Hall before a fight broke out among them. As soon as they were out of view of Professor McGonagall's classroom, Voltaire turned on chairs. "You're a disgrace to our House, you Death Eater!!!" he shouted, pulling out his wand. "Expelliarmus!" he yelled, quickly disarming chairs when he made an attempt to pull out his wand in retaliation, but chairs responded by tackling his Housemate and knocking his wand aside. It was all Eevee could do to prevent his two fellow Slytherins from seriously harming one another. After cooling down, they all headed towards the Great Hall in silence, eyeing one another.
Once they arrived in the Great Hall to take their seats, the scene was one of chaos. Students were screaming at one another, throwing food, plates, and anything they else could get their hands on. They were so angry that they even forgot they were Wizards and that they could cast spells! Professor Dumbledore walked in, and in a booming voice, yelled, "QUIET! You are students of Hogwarts, and you will behave as such!! You will get us your names by 10 pm, and until then, you WILL NOT say one more word about this madness!!! Now, eat in peace, and be nice to one another!! Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak!!"
Yet, even Dumbledore's warning did not stop the students. They continued to whisper among themselves, trying to convince one another who the Death Eaters were....
Professor Twistedarcher walked up to Professor Dumbledore's office. After saying the password, he walked up the spiral steps, to find Dumbledore staring at the portraits of the previous Headmaster and Headmistresses of Hogwarts. When he heard footsteps, he turned around.
"Ah, it's only you. I'm worried that our first years may not make the correct decision -- they're so young, after all."
Professor Twistedarcher looked back at him. "Are you sure this is a wise decision, Professor? What if they're wrong -- do you think we should make this decision ourselves? We know much more than they do, after all. One day, some of them will grow to be great Wizards, surely...but right now..."
Professor Dumbledore sat there, waiting for Twistedarcher to state his opinion. Afterwards, he replied, "We must trust in them, and maybe they shall learn from their mistakes. There is no better way for them to learn, and often times, the young are better judges of character than the old. Tell me, what are the students currently saying?"
[Despite rumors to the contrary, Professor Dumbledore has not returned to life, and Professor McGonagall is Headmistress of Hogwarts. Please assume that Professor Twistedarcher was talking to the portrait of Professor Dumbledore.]
It was approaching midnight outside of Hogwarts Castle. Hagrid was just finishing feeding Fang when he heard rustling in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. He grabbed his umbrella, and moved quickly towards the forest.
When he reached the edge of the forest, he saw three shadows in the forest. Small, short shadows -- these were clearly first-years! He yelled out to them, "Hey, yeh firs' years! Go on and get out o' there! You lot should be in bed now!"
Quickly, the three shadows moved back to the castle. Hagrid yelled out to them, trying to see their faces, but was unable to tell who the first-years were.
Heading back to his cottage, Hagrid muttered to himself, "Troublemakers, the lot o' them...gonna tell Professor Dumbledore about this in the morning...these firs' years be up to no good!"
The students were now openly debating back and forth, having camped out in the Room of Requirement for the evening, and were throwing accusations around. Professor Twistedarcher and Professor EFHW occasionally walked in and out of the room, noting the debates, and reporting back to Professor Dumbledore the thoughts of the students.
The first year class sat in Professor McGonagall’s classroom and worked hard to try to come to the best decision before her deadline. It was so hard! They were all friends, but they also didn’t trust each other a bit right now. And House loyalties were confusing – it was hard to vote for someone in your own House, even though that really shouldn’t make any difference. They weren’t all there. Robz didn’t show up. liopoil and mail-mi were in detention (throwing stink pellets in the Entrance Hall right before dinner was NOT the best plan). At 10 pm, Professor McGonagall came in. Each of the students told her their vote. She tabulated them and said, “Together with your absent classmates’ votes, I have determined that chairs will undergo the testing.” chairs got up slowly and stoically left the room with her. The students saw Professor Slughorn waiting outside the room with a steaming potion, and Professor Flitwick with an armful of cushions. They waited anxiously for the result. Eventually Professor McGonagall came back and announced solemnly “chairs was a Death Eater. He was possessed by the spirit of Barty Crouch Jr. We also learned that he was being coached by Barty Crouch Jr. in Legilemency and the Impedimenta spell as part of his job as Roleblocker. Thanks to you we were able to save him in time, so there will be no permanent conversion. He will be transferred to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries in the morning, and will hopefully be able to resume his studies next Fall. It past time for you all to go back to your Common Rooms. And you have some extra homework. Those of you with tasks to perform, you know who you are, and your assignments need to be turned in by owl by 6 pm on Thursday”.
Galzria couldn't believe his ears when he heard McGonagall's report. Mad-Eye had always taught him CONSTANT VIGILANCE!, but there until this there had been still a grain of uncertainty within him. Voldemort had been destroyed years ago... to believe that Death Eaters could be alive once more... and walking amongst his peers even!
Galzria shuttered. Mad Eye was right. He couldn't trust anybody, especially those who declared themselves 'friend'.
With a heavy heart, but open mind and eyes, Galzria slipped the invisibility cloak that he had snuck into Hogwarts with him out of his trunk. The other kids in his class appeared to be out enjoying the afternoon sun, and that suited him just fine. Grabbing one more thing, he whispered quietly "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good", found mail-mi's name on the map, and set off...
Day 2
Thursday afternoon, Robz didn’t show up for Theory of Magic class with Professors Twistedarcher and EFHW. No one had seen him since lunch, and the Professors were about to write him up for detention when there was a loud commotion outside the door and the sound of many running feet. They dismissed class early, and both professors and students rushed to see what was happening. Looking down from the 1st floor railing, they saw Robz sprawled on the Entrance Hall floor, apparently dead. Professor EFHW ran down to see, the crowd of students making way for her. She reached him and bent down, then looked up to Professor Twistedarcher. “He’s alive, but unable to regain consciousness. It looks like he was grazed by an Avada Kedavra spell. He was a promising wizard. Let’s hope the healers at St. Mungo’s will be able to rehabilitate him with time.” Professor EFHW conjured up a stretcher, and Professor Twistedarcher, who by this time had joined her at the bottom of the stairs, levitated Robz into it and began the trip to the Hospital wing.
Professor McGonagall arrived, out of breath from having rushed from her 7th floor office. “Everyone back to classes. There’s nothing more to see here. First years and Professor EFHW, I will join you in the Theory of Magic classroom shortly, after I inform Mr. Robz’s mentor and Head of House, Professor Sprout, of what has occurred.”
Reconvened in their classroom, some of the first years were visibly shaken, while others were trying to put on a brave face of nonchalance. Two were either faking fear or faking faking nonchalance. Professor McGonagall arrived. “This tragedy underscores the importance of finding the remaining two Death Eaters in your class as soon as possible. You have until 10 pm, Thursday, August 15th to tell me who you think should undergo the next test. You did well the first time, let’s hope we can rid Hogwarts of this evil before anyone else gets hurt. And remember, if you decide early, the days you don’t use will extend your next deadline.”
Galzria raised his hand. They were all still in the meeting with Professor McGonagall. “Yes, Mr. Galzria?”
“Professor, I think we might be able to decide right here and now who to pick – I have some important information to share.” Once Galzria had shared his information, there was a rush of new votes ...
Professor McGonagall was flabbergasted. "mail-mi you will have to come with me and wait in the Hospital wing until Professor Slughorn has time to make a new potion. I'll take your wand now, please." mail-mi didn't say a word. You would hardly even know he was there, in fact. Hours later, the remaining 9 students were all still sitting there, waiting to hear the results. Professor McGonagall came in. "I am very impressed with this class. We have some very talented wizards here. mail-mi was being influenced by Peter Pettigrew, aka Wormtail, one of the only known Gryffindor followers of Voldemort. mail-mi was a Death Eater. He and Robz will be transported in the morning to St. Mungo's. Those of you with extra homework, I want your assignments in by 6 pm, Saturday August 10th."
Day 3
Saturday was the first Quidditch match, between Gryffindor and Slytherin. The whole school came out, and everyone was very excited. yuma and Galzria were all decked out in red and gold, waving banners and talking animatedly. Ginny Weasley, who had missed a year of school during the war against Voldemort, was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain and seeker. Voltaire and Eevee were wearing green and silver and some upperclassmen had charmed their House badges to say “Go Slytherin, Boo Gryffindor” every few minutes. All the Slytherins were wearing them, so their section had a cacophony of overlapping cheers. As was traditional, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were rooting for Gryffindor, and there was one crazy-looking 7th year Ravenclaw girl with a huge lion’s head hat that roared. “I guess that’s supposed to look like a griffin,” said liopoil to nkirbit. Jimmmmm had tons of questions. This was his first Quidditch match ever. UmbrageOfSnow was trying to explain the rules to him, but ashersky kept interrupting to talk about his favorite team, the Sydney Triple Q’s.
It was a great match, very fast-paced and the score was always close. Ginny Weasley was an amazing seeker, her red hair streaming behind her as she flew like the wind. “OMG!” a third year girl shrieked. “That’s Harry Potter!”. Everyone turned around, and saw Harry sitting with Hagrid and his friends Ron and Hermione. “Ginny’s his girlfriend, you know,” she told anyone who would listen. Harry waved uncomfortably.
Suddenly Ron shouted, “Bloody Brilliant!”, pumping his fist at the players. Everyone turned back around to see what was happening and left them alone, which was the whole point. In the end, Ginny distracted her opponent with a Wronski feint, and then zoomed up to catch the Snitch right behind the Slytherin keeper’s head, winning the game for Gryffindor.
The best part of that day for most of the first year class was that as of 9 p.m. none of them had been hurt by the Death Eater. But there was a small sign posted next to the House points hourglasses that said “Eevee: Ravenclaw”.
After the rousing Quidditch match on Saturday, and a glorious Fall day Sunday, the first years were feeling too good to get suspicious of each other. They did some planning and logical analysis, and then went outside to have fun.
Monday morning things seemed to be coming together. They had a plan. And if it meant that most of them would be finishing their first year at Hogwarts a year late, it was worth it to catch the Death Eater, and save their classmate from a lifetime of evil.
The first-years sat alone, in the Room of Requirement. Galzria quickly took charge. "I have a plan! If we follow what I want, we can --" nkirbit quickly cut off Galzria, though, protesting loudly against the plan. Several others began shouting at nkirbit.
"Death Eater!"
"You killed our friend!"
yuma, liopoil, Galzria and Voltaire dragged nkirbit to his feet, but nkirbit picked himself up, and announced that he would march himself to Professor McGonagall's office. When there, he told the Professor that he had volunteered to be the next first-year to undergo the testing. Professor McGonagall thought it was odd that a student would volunteer himself...but if it's what he wanted, who was she to disagree?
Later that afternoon, in class, Professor McGonagall began to announce the results of the latest test to the class. However, before she could begin, Professor Flitwick ran into the classroom. "Minerva! What have you done to nkirbit? I was mentoring him, he surely wasn't bad! He was just a normal Wizard!
nkirbit, the Ministry-aligned Ravenclaw Wizard, has been lynched!
Day 4
liopoil has been House lynched. He was a Ministry-aligned Wizard . His mentor was Helena Ravenclaw.
{Jimmmmm's lynch here}
Professor McGonagall addressed the students at dinner with a rare smile. “We have found all three of the students who were being possessed by Death Eaters. They have all been cured and are recovering at St. Mungo’s. Congratulations to the first year class for their efficiency in helping us to uncover this evil. In celebration of this day, we are having a feast!” She waved her wand, and House banners appeared over each of the House tables. The everyday plates were replaced by golden ones. The tables were laden with hams, roast chicken, kippers, steak and kidney pie, potatoes, pumpkin juice, puddings, treacle tart, fresh bread, and rutabaga soup. The six remaining first years caught each other’s eyes and grinned. Everyone had a great appetite. The faculty were all smiling and Professors EFHW and Twistedarcher were waving. The stars twinkled on the enchanted ceiling. The ghosts went around congratulating the students and themselves. Only Professor Trelawny noticed the grey shadows in the far corner of the Hall. But she’s always predicting gloom and doom that never happen, right?
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Topic: MXXVIII: Harry Potter - Wizards Win! (Read 122094 times)