The Gryffindors who had stayed over at the castle waited at the doors for the return of the rest of their house. Hundreds pushed into the Entrance Hall as the carriages unloaded, and everyone wanted to get somewhere warm and dry.
Harry stopped at the bottom of a flight of stairs. He then tapped his staff to the ground, rose up the height of one step, and floated up to the level of the entrance doors. He then settled to the ground again and entered Entrance Hall. His performance distracted many who missed Hermione and Neville as they moved into the hall.
Professor McGonagall watched the crowd. She spotted Hermione. “Miss Granger, come here, please.”
Hermione and Neville pushed through the crowd to reach the professor. Hermione held on to Neville’s right arm.
“I did not ask you to come, Mister Longbottom.”
Hermione responded. “I want Neville to stay with me, Professor.”
The professor glared at Hermione. “Please come to my office after dinner, Miss Granger.”
“I would like Neville to come with me, professor.”
The professor glared again. “Very well, I want to speak to Mister Longbottom as well. You may go.”
Neville and Hermione walked off. Susan and Hannah had waited for them and went to the stairways together.
Hermione and Neville were accosted by a redhead. “HERMIONE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WALKING WITH LONGBOTTOM. HE’S A TRAITOR! YOU’RE COMING WITH ME!”
Hermione seemed to grow taller as she glared at Ronald Weasley.
“No, Ronald! I will not be going with YOU! No means NO! I am not doing anything you want me to, EVER.”
“BUT HERMIONE! YOU CAN’T MEAN THAT! LONGBOTTOM IS POTTER’S FRIEND. POTTER IS THE NEXT DARK LORD!”
Hermione seemed to grow again. The crowd of watchers reported that their magic started to tingle with the feeling of an angry threat coming from the frizzy-haired firstie.
Hermione replied. “Ronald! Harry Potter is a hero and a great wizard. You don’t know what you are talking about. Leave me alone!”
Ronald was now angry and red in the face. “I’M REPORTING YOU TO PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL. SHE’S BEEN ASKING ABOUT YOU. YOU’RE IN TROUBLE NOW.”
Hermione went to her dormitory. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patel came in after her.
Hermione smiled when they came in. “Hi, Lavender! Hi, Parvati! It’s great to be back, isn’t it?”
Lavender exchanged glances with Parvati. “Hermione, what’s happened. You’re really different.”
Hermione smiled. “I’m really back to what I was before I tried to leave and go to Beauxbatons. I won’t be doing that again. My parents have accepted that I must stay here until I finish my fifth year and get my OWLS.”
Parvati frowned. “You’re smiling and happy. You were angry and rude before Christmas. What’s changed?”
“I got these.” Hermione held up her right hand to show her House Potter and Gringotts rings.
Lavender gasped. “That’s a Gringotts ring! How did you get that?”
“My parents applied for a vault at Gringotts, and the goblins gave Mum, Dad, and I these rings. I put my ring on and remembered many things I had forgotten. Then, I understood that some things I had been told were outrageous lies.”
Parvati frowned. “What is the other ring?”
Hermione smiled. “That is my House Potter ring. I am now a member of the House of Potter. It has the same enchantments as the Gringotts ring. It helps me to resist mind magics that make me forget some things and believe lies.”
Lavender was now angry. “That explains a lot. Who did that to you? It wasn’t Weasley. He’s clueless.”
Hermione shook her head. “If I answered that, it might cause a lot of trouble that I want to avoid.”
Hermione unpacked her holiday homework. “How did your homework go? Do you want me to check your essays?”
Hermione was back.
-ooOOoo-
Dinner progressed with some noticeable changes. Hermione sat next to Neville at the Hufflepuff table with Susan and Hannah. Harry sat with his back to Neville and the Escort around him. The Gryffindor table was quieter. Ronald and Seamus sat together and glared at the Alliance. The twins, however, were delighted. They had used some of their earnings from the Potter contract to buy exotic ingredients for more advanced potions. Arthur and Molly Weasley knew nothing about it.
Dumbledore was missing from dinner.
Harry opened his journal before he left for dinner. Neville and Hermione reported that Professor McGonagall had ordered Hermione to her office after dinner. Harry wrote back and asked her to tell the truth and use Slytherin's cunning when answering the professor's questions. Dumbledore was too powerful to be successfully challenged.
Neville knocked on the office door.
“Come!”
Neville entered first, followed by Hermione.
Professor McGonagall flicked her wand at the door, which shut behind Hermione.
“Be seated.”
Hermione and Neville sat on two high-backed wooden chairs before the professor’s desk.
A minute passed while the professor wrote in a book on her desk. Then she looked at Hermione.
“What are those rings you are wearing, Miss Granger?”
“Ah, well, the ring on my little finger is my Gringotts ring. The ring on my ring finger is my House Potter ring, Professor.”
The professor looked at Neville.
Neville held up his right hand. “This is my House Longbottom heir’s ring. I have worn it every day since starting at Hogwarts. I am letting it show now as I want to support Hermione.”
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. This was not a good sign.
“Do you know that the headmaster will disapprove of you wearing your house and Gringotts rings?”
Neville nodded. “Yes! Professor! My Gran told me that the headmaster would disapprove. I hid my ring to avoid any conflict about wearing it. My Gran doesn’t want me to hide my heir’s ring. She disagrees with the headmaster about showing house affiliations at Hogwarts.”
Hermione took a breath. “Yes, professor, Harry warned me there might be some disapproval. He also told me that it is illegal for anyone to order me to take my rings off. The headmaster can only tell me he is not happy with me and imply that if I want his approval, I should take my rings off. I am not taking my rings off. If the headmaster disapproves, that could be difficult, but it will not change anything.”
The professor sat and waited.
Finally, she spoke to Hermione.
“Do you want to tell me about what happened after your parents decided to transfer you to Beauxbatons?”
The stories about the Beauxbatons transfer came out. Beauxbatons required that Hermione do a French language test to find out if she needed more French lessons before she could attend classes at Beauxbatons. Hermione spoke French well enough for conversations. The test was to be done at a French Ministry for Magic office in London.
Then the Grangers had a visitor. No detail was left out as it was told how Dumbledore had cast his spells at Hermione and her parents.
Hermione explained her rising anger and confusion as she fought against the false memories and obliviations planted in her mind. She confessed she was not strong enough to throw off the compulsion and confusion spells. She and her parents forgot about Beauxbatons.
Finally, the invitation came from Gringotts to apply for a Granger family vault. Hermione was given her own trust vault for her Hogwarts expenses and a Gringotts ring. The anger and hostility directed at Harry and Neville were replaced with remorse and shame. The alliance was restored on the Hogwarts Express journey back to the school.
Professor McGonagall listened until Hermione’s story was finished. She then turned to Neville.
“Mister Longbottom, you have remained Mister Potter’s friend and ally this year. Do you have anything to say?”
“Professor, I am pleased to have Hermione back as a friend and ally. Harry and I have been waiting for someone to intervene and deal with the situation. Harry has had a lot of training in the mind arts. He could see that what was happening to Hermione resulted from some powerful compulsion and confusion spells. Harry told me to wait. He could have argued and tried to reason with Hermione, but he knew arguing would worsen the pain and confusion.”
Neville looked at Hermione. Hermione said. “Tell her about Lord Greengrass.”
Neville tensed up. Hermione spoke again. “Tell her about Lord Greengrass.”
“Ah! Yes! Well, before Christmas, Daphne Greengrass invited us to stay at Greengrass Manor for the three days after Boxing Day.”
Hermione huffed. “I was invited too, but I told her to go away. What an idiot I was.”
Neville put his hand on Hermione’s. “Stop beating yourself up. Harry told you to stop that.”
Neville picked up his story. “We had dinner on the first night, and I was seated next to Lord Greengrass. He talked to me for the whole meal. He talked about what I was doing at school, my subjects, and my interests. I think Daphne had sent him what she knew about each of us. He was very interested in Herbology and what I was doing in my greenhouse at Longbottom Hall and Hogwarts. He was interested in everything about me. I had been very sad before that time at Greengrass Manor, but after talking to Lord Greengrass, I started to feel much better about myself.”
Neville stopped and looked at Hermione. Hermione nodded.
“During the last afternoon, Lord Greengrass invited me to his study. Susan Bones was there too. He started to tell us something about Harry. Harry wasn’t there. He said that it was top secret. He said that we could tell the others in the Alliance, Hannah and Hermione, if she returned to us. He said that the Slytherin team already knew this.
The first thing was that Lord Voldemort was not as dead as people hoped that he was.
He then said that Harry was special. He said that it was not because Harry was powerful and knew a lot of magic. He said that there was a secret and Lord Voldemort knew some of it. Because of that secret, Lord Voldemort was convinced that Harry was a threat to him. He didn’t say what the secret was. He said he would never tell us as long as we had to live in the castle with Dumbledore. If Dumbledore realized that we knew, he might react badly. Harry knew about the secret, and he and Lord Greengrass had talked about it.
Harry agreed with Lord Greengrass that the Alliance should know that there was something that set Harry aside. Lord Voldemort would not leave Harry alone. Eventually, Voldemort would take a silly risk to get at Harry. That might be the only opportunity that Voldemort’s opponents would get to defeat him. Lord Greengrass told us that we should support Harry as much as we could, no matter what happened or what anyone said. It would be bad for Harry if he was left alone.”
Professor McGonagall stared at Neville. “Did Lord Greengrass say anything about the headmaster?”
Neville answered. “He said that the headmaster is a powerful wizard who is far too obsessed with things like prophecies. He told us to avoid him if we can.”
Hermione snorted. “I don’t know what to do if he tries to talk to me. I want to set his ridiculous robes on fire and make him run around in his underwear . . .
If he wears any . . .
On second thoughts, I should just avoid him.”
Professor McGonagall looked away. Hermione thought she saw a hint of a smile on the professor’s face.
Professor McGonagall shuffled some parchments on her desk. Then she looked up at Neville and Hermione.
“As Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor House, and a Hogwarts teacher, I have certain responsibilities and loyalties to which I must be true. One is to keep solidarity with the teaching staff and the headmaster. That means that I should defend my fellow teachers and the headmaster. Sometimes, that is very difficult to do.”
Professor McGonagall paused.
“As well as my loyalty to the headmaster and Hogwarts, there is my responsibility for the welfare of all Hogwarts students.
As for both of you, I will reveal my own secret. I have charms set up in this room which warn me when someone is lying. I know that you have not been lying. These charms have never failed. I have found some expert liars with them.
So, what am I to do? The Headmaster has been caught using unethical mind magic on a student and her parents. I say unethical because he can claim that you were endangering the International Statute of Secrecy. That claim will allow the Ministry to ignore any complaints.
The reality of the situation is that I can do nothing. The headmaster has too much support from the Board of Governors and the Wizengamot. Complaints against him will come to nothing and will probably give him the leverage needed to purge his opponents here at the school.
All I can do is advise you to avoid contact with the headmaster and don’t spread any stories about him, no matter if they are true.
What do you think of that?”
Hermione shrugged. “Lord Greengrass advised Harry and Neville to do that. I do not want to have him rummage through my mind again. I will try to practice Occlumency and hope my rings keep him out.”
The professor nodded. ‘Who is teaching you Occlumency?”
“Harry gave us some books to read and said he would train us, but we haven’t done any training yet.”
Neville said. “Harry was trained by Augustus Rookwood in Azkaban. Harry says that Rookwood and Professor Snape were the only Death Eaters strong enough to keep Voldemort out of their minds.”
Hermione smiled. “Harry also said that Gus Rookwood couldn’t break down his mindscape. If Rookwood couldn’t break in, Harry might be able to resist Voldemort himself.”
Professor McGonagall frowned. “That is a test Harry should not be in a hurry to take. Harry has six more years of growth before his adult magical power can be measured. He may be at or above Merlin’s power as an adult, but he should avoid testing himself against the Dark Lord until he is ready.”
“Let’s focus on what to do when returning to the Common Room. Ronald Weasley will not leave you alone. I was under strict orders from the headmaster not to intervene if there were any problems involving Ronald. The Weasley parents are loyal to the headmaster and seem to have led Ronald along a similar path.
I can’t give you any help without openly defying the headmaster. Such defiance will be punished. The Board of Governors will suspend or dismiss me on the headmaster’s recommendation.
The only thing that I can recommend is that you not take a backward step. Find your Gryffindor courage and talk back to your detractors. I said talk, fighting will be counterproductive.
I have to wait for the wind to change. The Board of Governors appoints new members to fill any vacancies, which means we have to wait until someone dies or resigns from the Board before we can hope for any change. I have to take the long-term strategy and wait for the headmaster to do something silly enough to destroy his support from the Board.
You may tell Harry about this conversation. You may also tell Lord Greengrass. If any hint of this gets to the headmaster, my situation will become difficult, but that may be what has to happen.
Work on your Occlumency skills. You will need it.
Is there anything else?”
Neville and Hermione shook their heads.
“Well, thank you for speaking to me. I am honoured that you trust me enough to speak openly.”
-ooOOoo-
Curfew times came for the senior students. The teachers completed their patrols and ensured the first prefect patrols were underway. Four teachers gathered in the meeting room next to Professor Flitwick’s office for a short conference. The four teachers were the heads of the Hogwarts houses.
Severus Snape began the discussion. “Minerva, I see that the Potter-Longbottom-Bones alliance has been restored. Miss Granger has resumed her role as the brains of the outfit. How did Weasley react to that?”
Professor McGonagall shook her head. “He reacted with his usual bullying shouting. She rejected his demands that she abandon Neville Longbottom. I was proud of Miss Granger. She stood up to Mister Weasley and firmly reminded him that no means no. The twins got Ronald in the corner of the Common Room and demanded he leaves the Alliance alone. They seem to have a significant interest in Mister Potter. That is concerning. I must find out what they are up to.”
Professor Snape commented. “Neville Longbottom was seen using a Protego shield. That is a fifth-year spell. I know that the Weasley twins are much more advanced than their marks show. Are the twins tutoring Longbottom?”
Professor McGonagall sighed. “Probably.”
Professor Sprout said. “The Entrance Hall episode was well done. That little drama happened in front of dozens of Hufflepuffs. They were talking about it at dinner and later in the Common Room. The story I heard from them was that someone had used powerful compulsion and confusing spells on Hermione to get her to forget about going to Beauxbatons and to reject Potter.”
“That wasn’t you, was it, Severus?” Professor Flitwick asked.
Professor Snape growled. “No! Absolutely not! I have seen Mister Potter’s magic at work, and I would never interfere with any of his friends. He is only a firstie, but I would not want him using his power on me if he got annoyed.”
Professor Flitwick frowned. “That leaves our esteemed headmaster. What has made him so reckless that he would do such a thing to a student? Surely, he knows how influential some of the Alliance families are.”
“Don’t forget the Escort families. The Alliance children, without Miss Granger, stayed at Greengrass Manor for several days after Christmas,” Professor Snape added.
Professor Sprout frowned. “Greengrass! Surely Mister Potter isn’t connecting himself to such a dark family.”
“The Greengrass family is not dark. Cyrus Greengrass does not align himself with any faction. The Ministry lightweights surrounding Fudge call Greengrass dark because he does not do what Fudge wants. Greengrass money does not flow into Fudge’s pocket.” Professor Snape said.
Professor McGonagall replied. “I don’t know what has got into the headmaster. He has interfered with everything to do with Mister Potter. He has made an awful mess of things. I can’t tell you the worst of it. Watch out for the Alliance and the Escort. Albus will certainly try something else.”
Professor Snape asked. “Minerva, what do you know about Potter Hall? Is it really destroyed? Everyone has heard about how it was burned to the ground in the Blood War. Is that true?”
“I have seen it myself, Severus. Potter Hall is a pile of rubble. Nothing was left alive there. We put more wards around it to stop any intruders. Albus told us that there were no dead bodies left. Everything that was living there was burned up.”
Professor Snape slowly shook his head. “Well, I have a question. Mister Potter calls Potter house elves to him and assigns them to watch and protect his allies. Miss Granger has a Potter elf following her around the castle. Her elf has already saved her from injury after Draco Malfoy sent a tripping hex at her.”
“Was he punished for doing that?” Professor Flitwick asked.
“No!” Professor Snape snarled. “The headmaster intervened and ordered me to take no action. Draco will have to murder someone before the headmaster will do anything.”
Professor Sprout frowned. “But where are the Potter elves coming from? The Hall and the cottage at Godric’s Hollow were destroyed. Is there another Potter house that has house elves?”
“I asked my Hogwarts house elf. He told me that the Potter elves are from Potter Hall. The elves say that Potter Hall is still standing and was untouched during the war.”
“That’s not possible! How can that be possible? I have seen the ruins!” Professor McGonagall exclaimed.
“You have seen an illusion.” Professor Snape replied.
“NO!” Professor McGonagall shouted.
“Who could have conjured such a powerful illusion?” Professor Sprout demanded. Then she held up her hand. “Don’t tell me! I know! Who set up those new wards?”
Professor McGonagall moaned. “Albus! He set up the pile of rubble and then built the wards to make sure that none of us could get close enough to see what it was.”
Professor Snape nodded. “That was all done just outside the actual Potter Hall wards, which are still in place.”
Professor Flitwick asked. “I would like to know how the Potter house elves can survive there without a magical source of power living in the house; any ideas, anyone?”
Professor McGonagall replied. “Potter Hall is built over the remains of many ancient Potter houses. Every generation must have left residual magic in each house as the old foundations were built into the new foundations.”
The meeting broke up. Filius Flitwick removed the sleeping spell from the portraits in his meeting room.
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