Rise Of House Falken (Harry Potter Fan Fiction) - Chapter 60

The next two days we were confined to the Ravenclaw tower while the Aurors finished their search and investigation. No updates were given to us about the situation which disappointed many curious Ravenclaws. Everyone was bored and restless since we had nothing to do. No access to the Library for three days means unhappy Ravenclaws.

Only on the third day were we allowed to leave the Ravenclaw tower. We were allowed to head to the Great Hall for breakfast. We were told that the investigation was over and more information will be given to us by the Headmaster after breakfast. We were also told that the Aurors had already left the castle.

I was not idle during these two days. I could ask Sherry to fetch me any book that I wanted so there was no problem there. I was also planning my future actions to make Dumbledore’s life more difficult. I waited two days hoping that the things about the third floor corridor makes the news thus ruining Dumbledore’s infallible image among the people but was disappointed. Nothing was printed on anything related to Hogwarts these two days. Thus, I was forced to act.

I decided to send a letter to Rita Skeeter again. I was sure she will not disappoint me this time too. I sent the letter last night so I am hoping the article makes today’s news.

In the great hall, I saw that Dumbledore was not in a good mood. Explaining not noticing a possessed professor who had been in the castle for the whole year to angry Aurors and Unspeakables must have been very difficult. The powerful wizard image he was so proud of should have taken a huge hit due to this. I am sure will be in a worse mood when he finds out that the stone he recovered from the mirror was a fake. I bet he throws a tantrum inside his office. Unfortunately I had no way to record it.

I don’t know what they did with Fluffy. Since Hagrid was not a Professor and probably never will be, he was not sitting in the Great Hall with the Professors so I cannot judge the outcome from his reaction. I think the Aurors will have a very hard time trying to kill Fluffy since the unforgivables were not allowed. Their best chance would have been to strike a deal with Hagrid to get the beast out of Hogwarts.

The breakfast was a quiet and quick affair since everyone was restless to know what had transpired inside the castle the last few days. Everyone had eaten quickly and were looking towards the professors table in anticipation.

After breakfast, Dumbledore stood up from his chair and spoke “May I have your attention everyone. I am happy to inform you all that the danger has been eliminated from Hogwarts making it safe again. The person responsible for the recent attacks on students was apprehended by the Aurors yesterday. Unfortunately, during the process of apprehending the culprit, Professor Quirrell was hurt and had to be taken to St. Mungo’s for treatment. The diagnosis is that he will need a few months to recover and be fit to resume his normal lifestyle. Unfortunately, this also means that he will not be returning to Hogwarts to continue teaching DADA. Don’t worry, your studies will not be affected since I will be taking over his classes to teach you Defence.

I cannot tell you anything about the culprit’s identity or why he was here due to the ongoing Auror investigation. Coming to your class schedule, the morning classes are suspended but normal schedule of classes will resume from noon onwards.”

There was a lot of cheering around the hall for different reasons. Most were happy that Hogwarts was safe again while some were happy that they will not have to sit in Quirrell’s dreadful class again. It looked like no one was sad about Quirrell leaving.

I was glad I wrote that letter to Rita yesterday. Now when everyone reads the true events in the paper, they will lose more respect for Dumbledore due to the lies he had just spoken. Due to this I was eagerly waiting for the morning post. I liked making Dumbledore mad. His twinkling eyes were irritating.

Just then I heard the flapping of wings and saw the owls entering the hall with the post. There were a lot of owls since the post was blocked for the last two days due to the investigation.

I quickly snatched today’s paper from the post and started searching for the article. The article I was looking for was on the front page.

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CRISIS AVERTED AT HOGWARTS DUE TO SWIFT ACTION BY THE MINISTRY

– by Rita Skeeter

Some of you may already know that after some of my alarming revelations in this paper a few days back about the things happening at Hogwarts, the Ministry decided to act to ensure the safety of the children. The minister personally went to Hogwarts with Aurors to catch the person responsible.

Yesterday night the Aurors concluded their investigation at Hogwarts. My sources say that the culprit escaped the castle when he saw that he would be caught by the Aurors if he did not escape fast. The culprit escaped on the night the investigation by the Aurors began. It looks like the culprit was far more afraid of our Ministry than Headmaster Dumbledore. He stayed at Hogwarts during Dumbledore’s investigation over many months but when he learned that the Ministry was involving itself, he ran for his life.

What alarmed me was the identity of the culprit. My sources have confirmed that the culprit was a spirit of an old Dark Wizard. The Dark Wizard had lost his body and was looking for a way to regain his body. The spirit had possessed a professor and infiltrated Hogwarts so that he could acquire a magical artefact that would help him regain his body back.

The artefact was being safeguarded by Dumbledore inside Hogwarts in an unused part of the castle. I learned that the owners of the artefact were looking for a place to hide the artefact when they learned that some Dark Wizard was after it. Headmaster Dumbledore volunteered to help them safeguard the artefact and in his infinite wisdom decided to store the artefact inside Hogwarts despite knowing that the students would be put in a lot of danger due to his decision. I am disappointed that the other professors at Hogwarts did not object to his decision. I thought atleast they cared for the children.

The artefact is rumoured to be the philosopher’s stone which is famous for producing the Elixir of life. My source told me that it was housed in an unused part of the castle behind a series of dangerous traps involving lethal poisons and even a Cerberus. The first trap was the Cerberus and it was housed behind a door which was locked by a simple locking charm that could have been unlocked by a first year spell. The disturbing thing is that Headmaster Dumbledore pointed out the location of the lethal traps to the children during the opening feast of the year. I don’t know what he was hoping would happen by informing the children this. Many children could have taken this as a challenge and gone there to confirm the warning provided by the Headmaster. This could have led to many children dying tragically. Thankfully there are no reports of dead children which means that the children were not foolish enough to seek danger.

The Dark Wizard was after the stone and only when the Aurors started removing the dangerous traps and the stone did the dark wizard flee. It was confirmed that he was behind all the attacks on Harry Potter. The person he was possessing passed away due to the after effects of long term possession. The professor is rumoured to be the DADA professor, Quirinus Quirrell.

Headmaster Dumbledore put the children in danger foolishly when he could have easily protected the stone by a Fidelius charm with him as the secret keeper. He put the children in danger when it was unnecessary. He also did not notice that one of his professors had a Dark Wizard on the back of his head for an whole year. I think age has finally caught up to him making him senile and it is high time he is removed from Hogwarts for the safety of the children and I hope someone takes needed actions to ensure that.

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I looked up from the paper and saw that most of the children were still reading the paper. Turning towards the Professor’s table, I saw that all Professors were pale with fear. They will be getting a lot of Howlers from angry parents.

Dumbledore had lost all the twinkle in his eyes. He was angry. Suddenly he stood up and stormed out of the Hall. I was disappointed since I was hoping he will show his anger in front of the children. McGonagall and Snape followed him in a hurry.

I was satisfied with this reaction. After seeing the professors leave, the students also started leaving the hall while discussing the article. I also made my way towards the Ravenclaw Tower.

Finally, my plans for this year were over. There was nothing else for me to do this year. Only thing left was watching the aftermath of my actions over these past few days.