A Different Halloween
Disclaimer - A big thank you to JKR, the owner of Harry Potter who permits us to construct our sandcastles on her beach. Whether those sandcastles resemble Hogwarts or a house of horrors can sometimes be purely down to conjecture. One thing unites us all though, none of us are making any money off our writing here. Please keep that in mind as you read our efforts.
Chapter 19
The Slytherin first year girl's dorm was buzzing with energy and excitement next morning. Luna was hyper at the prospect of sitting-in on a day's classes at Hogwarts, her enthusiasm was so infectious that it carried the other girls along too. As they all headed down to meet the guys before heading for breakfast, Susan noted Pansy appeared troubled about something and quietly asked her what was wrong. Hermione and Susan both hoped Luna would be joining them in second year come September so she was keen to sort any problems Pansy had with this now.
"Oh Susan, I think Luna's great and can't wait until she's here full time. I was more concerned about Dudley. He doesn't have magic yet he's going to be taking classes with us today, I don't think that's fair on poor Dudley."
Susan's smile was wide and genuine. She was really pleased that Pansy had thought of Dudley, though she might see another side to Luna if she made a play for him. "Trust me Pansy, his mum and dad wouldn't have allowed this if they didn't know Dudley could cope with it."
"But Susan, we've got defence first. He could get hurt!"
"Not gonna happen Pansy, we've been getting defence lessons for years from the same person who will be teaching us this morning. You saw what he did to Malfoy with swords, even if Draco had used his wand Dudley would still have beat him in a duel. Professor Black knows exactly what Dudley is capable of and won't let any harm come to him. After that we have herbology, something Dudley is nearly as good at as Neville. He'll be fine, or Luna and Hermione will be extracting retribution again."
This had Pansy shaking her head in bafflement. "It's not that I don't believe you Susan, it's just a lot to take in that a muggle can defend themselves from magic. It goes against everything I've been taught before coming to Hogwarts. Then again, loads of things in Hogwarts have been so different than I expected. I never thought I would have as much fun, or as many friends." Pansy was now blushing as she revealed the next bit. "Dudley is different from anyone I've ever met, not that I've met any other muggles. The three of those boys are just so... I don't know how to put it into words."
The blush told Susan some of the words she was thinking of, it was with a chuckle that she answered Pansy. "Oh, hot, hunks or gorgeous usually works for me." She put her arm around her dorm mate. "A word of advice, Neville is really the only one who's unattached so you better get in quick if your interested."
Pansy's blush had now reached epic proportions but this was information she needed to know. "I thought you and Neville were close?"
"We're very close but I love all three of those boys as my brothers, I just don't see that ever changing. We're like a family, with Hermione as my big sis while Luna is the baby of the group. We all grew up together, went to school together and even live together for some parts of the year. I'll tell you something though, any potential boyfriend of mine is going to have a lot to live up to, not to mention three brothers watching to see they behave themselves. Not that I can't take care of myself mind you, my aunt made sure all us girls knew how to fight dirty if we needed to."
The two girls walked arm in arm to catch up with the rest of the group. Pansy wasn't even sure what she was feeling this morning, that was until Susan put it into words. In any first year potential boyfriend survey, those three boys would be close to the top amongst all her peers. That Neville was the only one unattached narrowed the field somewhat but he was hardly a consolation prize. That he was the only one of the trio of boys who was a pureblood never entered Pansy's thoughts, the circumstances of someone's birth had become of no relevance to the first year Slytherins. Their eyes had been well and truly opened by their new friends. Not by preaching any particular doctrine at them either, just the six of them being themselves was more than enough to make a difference to the rest of Slytherin.
-oOoOo-
Ron Weasley sat in defence, seething with anger. The reluctant Hufflepuff had been keeping his head down and staying out of trouble, something that seemed a lot easier to do now that Malfoy had left. The reason for that anger was sitting at the front, amongst his friends. Here was this muggle who had cost his older brothers detentions now sitting in a Hogwarts class, it just wasn't right. As the professor was laying out today's lesson plan, Ron just had to stick his hand up.
Sirius saw the Weasley boy had raised his head above the parapet for the first time so gave him the opportunity to ask his question, he was rather taken aback after he did.
"Sir, some people in the class don't have magic, how are they going to take part? Three of my brothers received detentions after muggles suffered side effects from a prank, I wouldn't like to get into trouble just for doing what I'm supposed to in class."
Sirius refrained from mentioning that Ron managed to garner quite enough detentions without any outside help, he decided just to set the record straight. "Mr Weasley, your brothers received their punishments because their prank was potentially lethal to a member of the Hogwarts community, namely my daughter. As to Mr Dursley's abilities, they're more than adequate to cope with what we had planned for this morning's lesson. As I was saying, I had hoped today would see us put our dodging skills and spell accuracy to the test in some live practice..."
This time Ron didn't put his hand up, rather just interrupted Professor Black in the middle of his lesson. "That's exactly what I mean, I don't want to get detentions if a spell of mine hits a muggle in class."
By way of an answer, Sirius' wand flashed into his hand and a stinging hex flew at Dudley. He of course had already moved. "Does that answer your question Mr Weasley? I don't think you need to worry about hitting Mr Dursley with a curse..."
"He knew you were going to do that, that's why he moved."
"No Mr Weasley, unlike you he just pays attention to his surroundings. He also doesn't interrupt his professor during class as he knows this is something that annoys me intensely. Doing so just means that person has volunteered to assist me in my latest demonstration. Weasley and Dursley, front and centre."
Dudley had been sitting with Luna amongst the Slytherins while Ron had been at the back on his own, by the time the Hufflepuff slinked his way down Sirius had formulated a plan.
"Now Mr Weasley, you are going to practice your accuracy against Mr Dursley. The rules are stinging hexes only, and please pay particular attention to your environment. Go to either end of the class and then you can begin." Sirius perched on the edge of the desk Dudley had just vacated, wand in hand in case he needed to shield any of the other students.
Ron waited until he was ordered to begin, thus absolving him from any blame. In his mind, there could only be one outcome here. Even when the boy easily dodged his first two stinging hexes, Ron was still supremely confident. He started edging closer to cut down on the time his victim had to react, nearly shitting himself when one of those lightsabre things appeared in his hand and batted the hex away. They slowly circled one another with his hexes now being dodged or deflected, Ron daren't move any closer though since the muggle was now armed and looked exceedingly dangerous.
A shout of 'down Dud' had Ron confused until the boy in front of him dropped to the floor, just as a powerful stinging hex hit directly on his right hand. Ron's wand hitting the floor was cause for loud celebration before Professor Black clamped down on it, drawing the two boys to either side of him.
"Very well done Mr Weasley, and ten points to Hufflepuff."
"But sir, I lost because he cheated..."
"Remember the rules Mr Weasley, you used them really well. Closing in to take away his ability to dodge, and then falling back out of range of his weapon. Where you got caught out was in your belief that Mr Dursley was on his own. Let me ask you this, if you were fighting your brother Fred - would you ignore George?"
"What, no! You would need to keep an eye on both."
"That's exactly what happened here Mr Weasley, and you got the points for also demonstrating what I keep reminding everyone they need to do. You have always to be aware of your environment, you can't assume other people will stand there and not interfere."
The professor glanced toward his godson. "Mr Potter, five points from Slytherin. I will not have students shouting out in my class."
This stunned the rest of the class until Dudley interrupted. "Excuse me Professor Black, is this the revenge you swore against us when we pulled that move on you?"
"Mr Dursley, if you think a measly five points counts as my revenge then you're sadly mistaken. I would also like to point out that it was five stinging hexes I was hit with, not one. I intend to seek retribution on your full motley crew. With people staying over the holidays, I'll even have an audience!"
This drew a wide smile from Dudley. "I think I just heard the gauntlet being thrown down guys. Only one thing left to say, bring it on...sir."
Ron couldn't help but state the obvious to the rest of the class. "You pulled that stunt on Professor Black?"
"Hey, it worked on dad too! Someone deliberately didn't tell him what we came up with, he at least managed to block a couple of the hexes. The only reason they haven't pranked us back yet is in the hope we can catch Remus out as well."
Sirius tried to be stern but there were six people there who recognised the laughter in his eyes. "Right class, we need the next pair to come forward. Any volunteers?"
It was a confused Ron Weasley who made his way back to his seat. In his mind, he'd just lost a duel because the other person cheated. How the hell did he end up earning his first house points and praise from a professor? Ron was finding his entire Hogwarts experience confusing and couldn't wait for the holidays so he could talk the situation over with his dad.
-oOoOo-
The herbology class were just getting ready to leave the greenhouses and head for lunch when the group's mirrors sounded the alarm linked to Dumbledore, halting all of the class in their tracks. None of the six thought it was coincidence that they were furthest away from safety at the moment and, after spotting on the map where the old wizard had positioned himself, were quickly convinced of this.
"He knows where we are, what time the period ends and that we need to pass him to get to the castle."
Harry had more to add to Hermione's observations. "Mum, dad and Sirius are going to have to cover a lot of open ground to get to him, they'll be sitting ducks!"
"So will we be if we stay here, he'll come for us and only Professor Sprout is here." Susan's remarks had a few of them glancing at the little round witch, she was at the other end of the greenhouse tidying up and didn't inspire any confidence.
"We can't let them come charging into an invisible Dumbledore, we need to create a diversion. Hermione, give me a book."
She handed one over and Dudley placed his mirror in it. Hermione had her wand already in her hand and held by her side, part of her though just had to sound a note of caution. "You do realise that this will get us grounded until we're at least seventeen?"
Dudley was unrepentant. "Better that than mum or dad getting hurt, we have surprise on our side so let's use it."
It quickly became apparent that none of their friends were prepared to wait behind either, and there wasn't time to argue.
-oOoOo-
Albus knew the Gryffindors had herbology today, timing his arrival just inside the wards to coincide with the class ending. He was slightly concerned when he observed the group hesitating but dismissed this worry as they hadn't called out to their professor. The young minds were obviously having some sort of academic debate while they made their way to lunch. One of them now had a book out and was reading a passage aloud to his classmates.
The former headmaster had a chuckle to himself as he realised just how far the school and ministry were willing to go with their efforts to fool him, dressing both boys in Slytherin robes was taking the whole deception too far in Albus' opinion. When the attack came, it was so sudden, so organised and so totally unexpected that he was caught completely by surprise.
-oOoOo-
Dudley had the book open and his map held in the middle of it, the others needed their hands free for their wands. He was also having to talk rather loudly to offset the noise coming from all their mirrors as the adults desperately tried to contact them, obviously to tell them not to do what they were attempting. At the speed his dad and Sirius were heading in their direction, it was clear Prancer and Padfoot would be bounding to meet them within seconds. Their job was to buy their family those precious seconds by keeping Dumbledore's attention on them.
As they got closer to their target, Dudley was running out of things to say. "...and as you can see here, it clearly states the old whiskered wanker prefers to live in the shade. It shuns the light and needs loads of manure to flourish. In fact the perfect spot for this horrible member of the creeper family would be right over there!" With that, Dudley pointed directly at a disillusioned Dumbledore. This was the agreed upon signal, every first year there fired a curse where Dudley was pointing.
The torrent of curses caused Dumbledore to become visible, and required the shocked wizard to erect a shield for protection. The first years now scattered while still firing curses. They certainly didn't think these would actually bring Dumbledore down, just keep him so busy he wouldn't notice the real danger until it was right on top of him.
James' terror lent Prancer wings as the stag sped to his family's aid. As he galloped across the open ground, he immediately could see what the kids were trying to pull off here and was immensely proud of them. The parent just hoped they were all okay so he could rip strips off them later for being so bloody reckless.
The instant he thought he was close enough, Prancer became an enraged Lord Potter who wanted the old bastard's attention now solely on him. With a scream of 'Dumbledore' he cast the most powerful bludgeoning hex he could at the old bastard.
Albus barely managed to reinforce his shield I time to deal with this new level of threat when he noticed a big black dog become Sirius Black, also firing curses while moving across to try and prevent his escape. Albus was suddenly under attack from two powerful wizards and could clearly see the witch with a mane of red hair racing toward the fight to increase those odds.
With his mission blown completely, Dumbledore's only concern now was to extract himself from this situation. It had been many years since he'd fought with opponents of this ability, never mind power. There would certainly be more Hogwarts staff and ministry aurors already on their way to join the fight so Albus needed a passport to get out of here.
The kids had done what they set out to and were getting their arses away from the fight as quickly as possible when Luna was suddenly flying through the air. The little blond then found herself landing in Dumbledore's grasp with a wand pointing at her head. "Lower your wands and we can all walk away from here without anyone getting hurt."
James had instantly lowered his wand before seeing his son charge straight at the old bastard, shouting his name didn't slow Dudley down one iota.
Albus noticed this child running at him wasn't wearing robes, and hearing Potter call his name revealed the boy's identity. Knowing the lad was a muggle saw Albus just nonchalantly fire a low powered stunner at the boy. When a glowing rod appeared in the boy's hand and deflected his curse, Albus was astonished.
Seeing this old fart fire a curse at Dudley shocked Luna into action. Mentally thanking Aunt Amelia for the lessons, she put her training to good use. Her teeth sank into the arm holding her while her elbow fired sharply into this old fart's gut. Luna wouldn't be surprised if the heel of her sensible shoe managed to break a few bones in Dumbledore's instep with the force she used to stamp on it. This rapid triple physical assault had the old wizard crying out in pain, quickly releasing the little wildcat that had caused it.
When Harry screamed "Down Dud!" Luna knew exactly what was coming next. Having broken Dumbledore's hold, she flung herself flat on the grass.
The entire class had all been running toward the castle, actually managing to pass Dumbledore, when Luna had been snatched away. This was particularly bad news for the old wizard. Seeing Luna hit the deck too was all the encouragement an enraged Harry and Hermione needed.
At the age of four, Harry and Hermione had managed to inadvertently blast Sirius across the room when the marauder woke both toddlers by spraying cold water on them as they snuggled together in bed. That was the only time they had used their power together, and it had been an accident. The shock they got that morning had terrified both children and prevented them ever repeating that act, someone they loved had been really hurt by them. This fear remained as they grew older and more powerful but this man had just shown he was a very real threat to them and their family. He'd dared to snatch Luna and fire a curse at Dudley, Harry and Hermione both shot everything they had at Dumbledore.
An unprepared Dumbledore was hit with the force of a twister and flung arse over tit until the greenhouse the kids had just left arrested his flight. He smashed right into the old structure and shattered the three side supports he hit, collapsing almost half of the glass roof on top of him in the process. Thankfully, Professor Sprout had raced out to join the fight otherwise she could have been seriously injured.
Dudley crawled on his hands and knees until he covered the few yards needed to reach Luna, the shocked little blond clung to him for dear life. It was only seconds later they were hit by their friends arriving as everyone sought assurance they were all okay. The six were all on the grass, sharing tears and hugs when a stern voice drew them promptly back to the present. "You lot are in so much trouble, I don't even know where to start!" Lily promptly burst into tears and jumped into the middle of the group hug, needing the reassurance all her children were indeed fine.
James, Sirius and Pomona cautiously approached the badly damaged greenhouse, wands ready in case Dumbledore needed to be restrained. The groan emanating from the bloody heap was the only indication that the former headmaster was still alive. Minerva quickly arrived with Filius and found it hard to believe that the raggedy bundle lying here was once one of the most respected wizards in the world. Knowing that Amelia and Barty would be already on their way with everything they had available, she cast a stasis charm on her former mentor. She didn't want him to bleed to death before getting a chance to provide some answers, Minerva hoped for something a little more substantial than the 'greater good' shit he used to be fond of quoting.
Leaving Filius and Sirius to guard Dumbledore, Minerva sent Pomona toward the gates so she could direct the ministry straight to the battle scene. The headmistress then turned her attention to the students still here, particularly the six still on the ground.
"How you four ended up in Slytherin is a mystery to me. I also can't make my mind up whether to give you special awards or detention until the end of seventh year. That was without doubt the bravest and stupidest thing it has ever been my displeasure to witness. The sight of Mr Dursley here attacking Albus Dumbledore with a toy is a memory that will stay with me until the grave."
"If there are any obliviators in the ministry squad, I just might let them take that memory away. Terrified the bloody life out of me!"
Dudley had his head down. "Sorry mum, but he had Luna..."
Lily lifted her son's head and kissed his cheek. "And I knew exactly what you would do as soon as I saw that, I think that's what terrified me the most. I've never been prouder of all of you, but expect to be grounded after I explain to the rest of the family exactly what happened here. Susan and Neville, prepare for incoming."
They all turned to see Frank, Alice and Amelia leading the charge of aurors in their direction. Susan and Neville jumped up and ran toward them.
James currently had his arms tightly around Harry and Dudley's shoulders. That both boys had a girl in their arms pleased him immensely. "I agree with the headmistress, bloody Gryffindors the lot of you. Just because we made you a lightsaber Dudley doesn't mean you have to go and take out Darth Vader with it!"
"Dad please, not the 'I'm your father Luke' line. I think I would throw up with just the thought of that."
Sirius sauntered over while filling a just arrived Remus in on exactly what happened. The honorary uncle couldn't help but show his feelings as the entire group was once more together. "It was bad enough watching the scene unfold on my mirror, hearing about it is even worse. What the hell were you lot thinking? Those mirrors and alarms were meant to keep you six out of trouble, not help you go looking for it."
Hermione was very quick to defended her boys. "We could see from where Dumbledore had positioned himself that our family would need to cross a lot of open ground before they could fire a curse. You taught us not to do that Uncle Remus, but at least three professors would have come charging down here anyway. We tried to keep Dumbledore watching us to give them a chance."
James leaned down to kiss his almost daughter on the cheek. "They saved our bacon Remus. I was going to charge Dumbledore as Prancer and hope to distract him enough so old Padfoot there could bite him on the arse."
"I bit him on the arm, and that was bad enough. I might never get the taste out of my mouth."
Sirius had picked up Dudley's lightsaber from where he'd dropped it in his haste to get to Luna. "You realise we could make another fortune selling lightsabers? Just think of the advertising possibilities, "the Toy that defeated Albus Dumbledore" I think they might even outsell the communication mirrors."
Hermione just couldn't resist a quip. "I suppose that's better than the boy-who-defeated-Dumbledore, now there's a Daily Prophet headline if ever I heard one."
On hearing that the aurors were now on site, Emma, Dan and Aurora had all raced to be with their family. Emma was currently reassuring a sniffling Luna that her mum and Dad were on their way to Hogwarts. The reality of the situation she had found herself in was beginning to hit their youngest member, she refused to move from Dudley's arms.
Amelia was the head of the DMLE though and needed to get her facts straight here. "So let me see if I've got this right. Slytherin and Gryffindor first years, with two guests, took down Dumbledore?"
Saying it aloud seemed to bring home the enormity of what they had just done, Amelia wasn't quite finished though. The head of the DMLE then provided the six kids with a piece of news none of them had thought of. "There is a rather substantial reward for the capture of Dumbledore. From what I've just heard, you kids have earned it."
"Oh it wasn't just us six, everyone helped."
"Hermione's right aunty, even Lavender Brown stood and fired a curse at him. She may have missed but she still stood there so certainly deserves a share of any reward. All our friends and classmates stood with us."
Sirius was wearing his best pretend pout. "Hey Prancer, what was the point of us racing out here if we weren't needed? It's my favourite lunch today too."
Lily soon sorted him out, indicating the witch who was currently wrapped in his arms. "And you left your wife and daughter sitting there without a word of explanation. Aurora's far too forgiving, she should at least get a nice dinner date out of you."
Minerva chose this moment to intercede as headmistress. "I think we should all head off to lunch. After all that excitement, I also think classes should be cancelled this afternoon. Perhaps arrangements could be made to put something on that wonderful screen, we could all do with a break.
Barty was personally supervising Dumbledore's transport to a secure facility in St Mungo's for treatment. He was quite happy to give Amelia time to see all her family had come through this unscathed.
It was with a heavy heart Barty watched the extended family all greet one another and focus on the children's welfare. As far as he was concerned, the old bastard lying here had a hand in robbing the minister of a similar future. His last act as minister of magic would be to ensure Dumbledore got what was coming to him.
Minerva had instantly provided Barty with a portkey to take Dumbledore through the Hogwarts wards before she had gone to check on her students. It was time to get this over with, and discover how the old bastard got his hands on a first year Gryffindor timetable.
As the group was making its way back to the castle, James couldn't fail to notice that something was troubling Harry and Hermione. Fearing that he knew what was coming next, he asked his son what was bothering him. His answer shouldn't have been a surprise but it was.
"Dad was...was the old man okay?"
"Considering you both blasted him into a greenhouse, I think Dumbledore was as okay as he could be. Don't worry, the minister will make sure the old goat is fit enough to stand trial."
Seeing the relief on both faces was a reminder to them all of their ages. "We were going to try and stun him but when Luna managed to break free..."
Emma wrapped her daughter in a hug as Hermione started to cry. "I thought we'd killed him."
James now had his arm around Harry, Lily didn't appear ready to let Dudley go anytime soon. He tried to lighten the mood. "Here was me worried that we would all be heading home after lunch, I thought this attack would be the last straw. Does this mean you're not ready to leave Hogwarts?"
It was Harry who answered. "You saw our friends dad, they haven't had the same training as us but they all stood beside us. Even the Gryffindors who we don't know that well. I don't think we should leave our friends, and hopefully that's the last of the trouble."
Hermione was fighting against the tears as she offered a suggestion. "Perhaps we should get to know the Gryffindors better, could they stay over during the holidays too?"
After the morning they'd just had, the kids were going to be granted just about anything they asked for. Adding another four kids to the guest list would be no trouble at all, especially since James was already their head of house.
The group's reception as they entered the school was loud and enthusiastic. A bunch of firsties had just captured wizarding Britain's most wanted criminal, there were students up on the tables applauding like crazy. Minerva had been proven right, cancelling classes this afternoon was really their only option. Dan suggested a movie they might like to broadcast and Remus promised to take care of it.
-oOoOo-
Barty was heading back to Hogwarts with a much lighter heart. He had originally been worried that Dumbledore had accomplices inside the castle, that would have been a very bad situation. The healers had patched him up enough to get some veritaserum down his throat, quickly discovering his secret. Barty had to reluctantly tip his hat to the sleekit old bastard, he'd managed to fool everyone. It wasn't hard to imagine Dumbledore having a chuckle to himself as he sat down to eat the same dinner as everyone else in Hogwarts, using his elf had been a stroke of genius.
Those same healers though hadn't been too sure of Dumbledore's mental state, they were already convinced there was more than a touch of senility present. The degree of this senility would probably determine where Dumbledore spent the rest of his life. Barty was just glad to see it over. He entered the great hall to find everyone had their eyes riveted to the Danovision, clearly engrossed in what was being displayed there. Barty took his usual seat beside Minerva, only to discover she was the same.
She tried to bring him up to date on the classic adaptation of Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' that was playing out on screen. Minerva couldn't help but draw parallels between the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, and Dumbledore. Ebenezer may have worshiped gold to the detriment of everything else in his life, Albus had a different vice. He had a narrow vision of what the future should be, and proceeded to manipulate anyone and everyone to bring his vision to fruition.
Minerva though was forced to concede that no amount of ghostly visits would have deflected Albus from his chosen course, poor Tiny Tim would have been sacrificed on Albus Dumbledore's altar of the greater good. Her heart really hardened at the truth in those thoughts, her former mentor and friend deserved everything that was surly coming his way.
A/N thanks for reading
Another chapter to deal with the aftermath of Dumbledore's capture, and a hint of what the future now holds for our hero's, should see the end of 'A Different Halloween'.