31: Enter the Malfoys

HOGWARTS, FOURTH EARTH

Atop the main staircase in the atrium, the hallway split in two directions. Down one was the doorway that led to the grand system of stairways that connected the towers and storeys. Down the other was an unassuming little door that led into what seemed like an empty storage room.

"Here it is," Twilight said. She, Rarity, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash gathered in the small room, anxious to see what lay beyond the stone wall. "Ready?"

"Ready!" Pinkie chirped.

"As am I," Rarity agreed.

Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack stepped back to let the other three stand before the blank stone wall. Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie drew their wands, pointing them at the wall. "INCENDIO!" they cried as one.

The flames hit the wall and then flickered into the outline of a glimmering orange door that, like the door to the Luminary Hall, slid open to reveal a room beyond. The six stepped through the door before the flames went out and closed it.

The room stripped them of words. Unlike the Luminary Hall, it was not a convoluted corridor, nor was it mostly dark. Windows set up high—the ceiling was vaulted in a way that almost dizzied those that looked up—filtered sunlight into the room, lighting up the dust flecks that settled in after the years of disuse. The room was mostly circular, with an astonishing diameter. Of course it would have made the perfect ballroom. Rarity imagined hundreds of beings, human, equine, and otherwise, standing around and making small talk, or dancing in the center.

"At least it isn't too complicated," Fluttershy said.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash huffed. "It's just way more boring."

"Look at it this way," Applejack offered. "This way, we're definitely gonna finish exploring before the Quidditch match. How're ya feelin' about it?"

"Pretty confident," Rainbow Dash said. "It's Hufflepuff. We can drive their team into the ground."

"I wonder where this room came from," Twilight muttered, thinking out loud. "There has to be a reason for the name."

"I found something!" Pinkie called from across the room.

Twilight trotted over beside her, looking at a brass plaque on the wall. She wiped the dust away with her sleeve to read the text:

This ballroom was granted to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

For the purpose of celebration of harmony between students, staff, and guests by

FIRE LORD MOSHU

And his wife

MOFA

With special respect to their son

PRINCE SOZIN

"Well, that explains the name," Twilight said as her other friends gathered around to look at the plaque.

"What's a Fire Lord?" Pinkie asked. "That sounds like something I want to be!"

"You think that would be in the Restricted Section?" Twilight wondered out loud.

"Given our luck so far, I don't know that I'd bet on it," Rarity cautioned.

"And it might undermine my credibility to keep asking for permission to get in there," Twilight sighed.

"I wonder what they were like," Fluttershy mused. "Do you think they were kind people?"

"They did obviously donate the funding for an entire ballroom to this school," Rarity pointed out.

"That doesn't mean they were kind," Rainbow Dash said as a rebuttal.

"There's just no way of knowing," Twilight said. "Our best bet is probably to ask Firenze about it. Well, I think I've seen everything. We should probably get down to the Quidditch Pitch."

---

"All right," Ginny said to the Gryffindor Quidditch team before they were to walk out onto the field. "We've had one win so far, but that doesn't mean we can just kick back and relax. We need to treat this game like the first one. One win doesn't guarantee another! Especially against Hufflepuff. They may have a reputation for being athletically weak, but don't be fooled by that. They have top-of-the-line fliers. That's why I want everyone to do their very best today! Now let's go!"

As Ginny led the team out onto the field, Rainbow Dash murmured to Ty, "Like I need to be reminded of that. I'm Rainbow Dash!" She cleared her throat. "Oh, and, kid…"

"Yes?" Ty replied.

"Could you…be more careful out there today? I'm pretty good at catching people, but I don't want to worry that today might be the day I miss."

Ty looked at Rainbow Dash's expression to see that she was genuinely concerned. "There won't be any falling off my broomstick today," he said. "I promise."

"Good."

"I also promise to get the Snitch this time."

"Do your best. But if you don't get it, don't worry. I got this team's back."

The Gryffindor team walked out onto the sunlit field. The chill of approaching winter slipped through the air, nipping any exposed skin. Soon, the first snow would come, and the season would halt. But first, there would be this showdown between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.

Bright maroon and yellow robes met at the center of the field. Rainbow Dash sized up the Hufflepuffs. They certainly didn't look like much, but then again, you couldn't tell one's ability to ride a broomstick by most physical characteristics. Muscles and running speed weren't as important here—

While Rainbow Dash thought this over, the Quaffle was tossed. Snapping out of her reverie, Rainbow Dash charged for it only to have it taken from her by a Hufflepuff Chaser. Enraged, Rainbow Dash charged after the Chaser.

The first goal against Gryffindor was scored right before her eyes. Horrified, Rainbow Dash felt the eyes of the entire audience upon her. She'd messed up; she'd let the opposing team get the first goal.

"Gosh," Fluttershy said up in the stands. "I hope she doesn't let it get to her."

But she did. Two more goals were scored against Gryffindor.

A glint of gold; Ty Dunbar's attention was caught. He took off, chasing after it. Hufflepuff Seeker Summerby saw his quick takeoff and followed, doubting that Dunbar would lead him on a wild goose chase.

"This can't be happening," Rainbow Dash moaned, sitting still atop her broom midfield. She hadn't been able to score a single goal against the Hufflepuff Keeper.

"Rainbow!" Ginny barked at her. "Move!"

"Right…" Rainbow Dash steeled herself to fly again, moving out to find the Quaffle.

The Golden Snitch seemed determined to lose its followers. It wove in between the other players, and Dunbar focused on it with Summerby in close pursuit. Dunbar kept full focus on the Snitch, keeping after its trail, when suddenly, a memory of the last match invaded his mind.

He chanced to look away from the Snitch, widening his scope. He was able to dodge the Bludger; otherwise, he almost certainly would have ended up in another freefall. He put his focus back on the Snitch, speeding up, ever faster, reaching out—

His hand closed around the Snitch before Summerby could even match his speed. Every Gryffindor in the stadium erupted into wild cheering.

Every Gryffindor, that is, except for Applejack. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie didn't cheer either. They saw the scoreboard. They knew the implications. And it was only a matter of time before Rainbow Dash did too.

Rainbow Dash looked up at the scoreboard. Gryffindor had won by ten points: 150 to 140. The former number was the exact amount of points granted by Dunbar's catching of the Snitch. The Gryffindor Chasers hadn't been able to score a single goal.

"No," she muttered.

The teams landed. The rest of the Gryffindor team was ecstatic, but Rainbow Dash, upon touching ground, stormed off to the lockers.

"Rainbow!" a voice called.

Rainbow Dash turned to see Summerby standing behind her. "Erm…I wanted to say I'm sorry," he said.

"For what?" she asked. "You didn't do anything."

"Well, that's not exactly true…" Summerby glanced down nervously. "I've been holding the point that the Gryffindor team having you was cheating."

"And now," Rainbow Dash clarified, "because I lost so epically, you know there's no way they could possibly be cheating?"

"Well…" Summerby shuffled his feet. "I…didn't mean for it to come out exactly that way…"

"And everypony else in this school is going to think the same thing now?"

"Look, Dash, I didn't—"

Rainbow Dash broke into a grin. "That's AWESOME!" she cried.

"I thought you were offended that I, well, rubbed in the loss," Summerby said, perplexed.

"I'm a little mad about that," Rainbow Dash admitted, "but I'd rather us all be sure that Gryffindor plays a fair game. Heck, even I was beginning to be afraid that having me was cheating." She looked back to her team, still celebrating on the field. "Though I guess I didn't really act like a team player today. Thanks, Summerby. I'll catch you later, okay?"

She walked back to her teammates. "Hey, kid!" she yelled at Dunbar. "You really saved our skin out there! Something tells me picking you for Seeker was one of the best moves this team ever made!"

As the team retired to the lockers together, everyone cheered Ty on; he'd put them that much further down the road to the Quidditch Cup.

---

McGonagall adjusted her glasses to read for the third time the document that sat before her on the desk. She was surprised to see such a paper there. She was also surprised it hadn't come earlier. She was even a little ashamed not to have thought about the matter herself.

The house-elves had drafted a letter to her asking for pay, vacations, and support if they wanted to leave the castle. Not all of them had signed it—some were still entrenched in their old beliefs—but over half the kitchen had placed their names at the end, making an official petition.

After some deliberation, McGonagall realized the path to take was obvious. She dipped a quill in ink and began to draft a response.

---

"McGonagall says we can have our pay!" Winky cried happily in the midst of the kitchen.

The study group had returned there to check up on the progress of the movement. Winky was the first to break the news of McGonagall's response. She waved the letter from McGonagall in her hand happily.

"Might I see that?" Hermione asked.

"Yes!" Winky said, handing it over.

Hermione took the letter, reading it aloud. "To the house-elves currently in the employ of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: It has been a grave oversight in my role as headmaster to not offer the proper benefits to staff members such as yourselves. As such, any house-elf who requests a salary or other related benefits will be granted these things. In the interest of preserving a relationship based on freedom of will and respect, at this time, I will only grant these to those who do ask, as I am well aware that many house-elves at this time still do not wish to receive such benefits. However, there is no time limit on when a house-elf may request these conditions. Clothing will also be offered to those who wish for it.

"You may be wondering from where this school will get the funding to support so many house-elves' salaries. However, I am sure that the Gobstones Club, the Rat Race Club, and the Slugs and Bugs Club, while all worthwhile pursuits, do not need school funding any longer and should be able to fundraise for whatever they need, including tournament entry. Nor does the school budget need to provide gobstones for the Gobstones Club any longer; members will be responsible for their own stones. They will complain, but treating you with fairness is of the utmost priority. If funds are still insufficient, I will look into revoking the terms of first-years not being allowed their own brooms so that they may purchase their own and the school budget will not have to factor as many brooms into the system. The first-years will certainly be happy about that. However, as this is an EXTREME measure, do not mention it to anyone outside the kitchens."

"Well, there went the plan of not mentioning it," Twilight broke in.

"I'm all for it!" Rainbow Dash squeaked.

"But by next year, you can own a broom anyway," Ginny pointed out.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash rebutted, "but there will still be other first-years that want brooms."

"Keep reading, Hermione," Twilight encouraged.

Hermione picked back up where she'd left off. "There is no decree maintaining that house-elves cannot walk the halls of Hogwarts as they so desire, nor is there one preventing them from attending staff functions. However, I realize that traditions have cemented these beliefs and that prejudices may make it difficult for house-elves to go where they please in the castle. Should anyone encounter such prejudices or other difficulties, refer all incidents to me, and those who dare mistreat valuable members of Hogwarts staff shall be reprimanded harshly.

"Finally, to the point of the freedom to seek work outside Hogwarts: I am afraid to say that due to previously mentioned entrenched prejudices, it is highly unlikely for house-elves to find employment outside of house servitude or work at Hogwarts. This will hopefully change as time passes, and sooner rather than later. I shall be an advocate for house-elf employment in the mainstream magical community, but as of right now, it will be very difficult to find outside work. I am by no means saying you should not try—I am merely warning you of current circumstances.

"I apologize for my lack of attentiveness to the situation at hand in the past, and wish you all the best of luck. You will begin to receive pay starting next week. Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress." Hermione rolled up the letter. "I can't believe it…"

"House-elves is going to get pay and vacations and even clothes!" Winky gushed.

"Linney will not wears clothes yet," Linney scoffed. "That is too far."

"Maybe you think that now," Twilight said. "And that's okay. But if you ever change your mind…there might be a cake shop waiting out there with your name written all over it."

"That isn't true," Linney said, though Twilight could tell she wasn't sure.

"Well, that settles it," said Hermione. "S.P.E.W. has to go into overdrive. We have to start lobbying for house-elves to have equal working rights outside of servitude…we have to…"

"Is the girl talking about those things again?" a house-elf chided from the furthest stove.

"Sorry," Hermione said quickly. "We'll take little steps."

"We doesn't need these steps at all," that house-elf grumbled.

"You doesn't," Kreacher muttered in return. "He doesn't have any respect for Kreacher, what Kreacher might wants…Kreacher wants to find out all the secrets hidden in this school, all the nasty secrets."

"I have to say," Rarity assessed, "things are definitely looking up!"

---

RIDDLE HOUSE, FOURTH EARTH

"Things are not looking up in your favor…Pettigrew…Scabior."

"In my defense," Pettigrew said, even his voice shaking, "we…didn't tell them where we were stationed…or about our new recruits and allies…"

"I didn't tell them anything," Scabior huffed. "It was all Pettigrew."

"I do not care," Voldemort said. "CRUCIO!"

As Scabior and Pettigrew hit the ground, their bodies wracked with pain, Bellatrix, Horvath, Quirrell, and Medusa watched and smiled broadly.

When the Cruciatus Curse subsided, Voldemort asked, "Did you see who Stupefied you?"

"No," said Scabior.

"Wormtail?" Voldemort asked.

"N-no," Pettigrew answered.

"CRUCIO!"

The pair writhed again. This time, Bellatrix giggled. "Mightn't I have a turn?" she asked Voldemort.

"Do whatever you wish to them," he said. "I would prefer you left them alive…for now."

Bellatrix cast the next round of Cruciatus on Pettigrew and Scabior, Horvath looking on with interest. Bored, Medusa left, presumably to work on her experiments. Voldemort decided it was time to check up on his little experiment.

"Come with me, Quirinus," he beckoned, and Quirrell followed him out of the room and down the hall; Pettigrew and Scabior's screams and Bellatrix's laughing faded into background noise. "How are our students progressing?" Voldemort asked.

"They are ready," Quirrell replied.

The pair opened a door, beyond which Trixie and Alex sat in the living room. Trixie pored over a book while Alex played some sort of little game on her smartphone. Both looked up upon the entrance of their superiors.

"So I hear that everyone up at Hogwarts knows what we're doing now," Alex began.

"What has been done with Pettigrew and Scabior?" Trixie inquired.

"They are being punished," Voldemort answered simply.

In an example of excellent timing, Pettigrew could be heard screaming, "NO! MAKE IT STOP!"

"That is an example of what happens to those who disobey the Dark Lord," Quirrell said sternly.

"Point taken," Alex said. "Memo to self. Don't tick you off."

"Why could you not have simply killed them?" Trixie asked.

Voldemort grinned wildly just to hear her say that. "They may yet be useful to me. But even more so…we cannot risk death for our own sake, as the being who brought us back will not likely do so again. But should he get it in his head to do so, it would not be good for Pettigrew and Scabior to be revived from death elsewhere, with the freedom to stand against us. This way, we can tighten our control over them."

"Discord is horribly playful," Trixie confirmed. "He would have no problem with leaving you all for dead OR with reviving them in order to start a counter-movement."

"I see you have no problem with the deaths of two of our own," Voldemort observed.

"They were getting on my nerves," Alex piped up.

"They're meaningless to Trixie," Trixie added. "And Trixie has come to recognize the truth about power. Sacrifices must be made." She grinned. "Trixie is now able to cast spells Trixie had only dreamed of!"

"Then it is time," Voldemort said. "Rise. Come to me."

When Alex and Trixie stood before him, he bade them, "Show me your forearms. Today is the day you are marked as true Death Eaters."

Alex and Trixie rolled up their sleeves. Upon each forearm, Voldemort cast an enchantment; it stung horribly for a while, but the pain faded. Trixie looked down at her arm to see a Dark Mark shining there. She wondered briefly where it would go if she transformed back into her unicorn state. Alex admired her own, smiling proudly at it.

"Now," Voldemort said, "you are truly two of us. We will leave you to your own devices now. Just know that this is a bond you can never break. If you dare to break it…simply remember Pettigrew and Scabior at this very moment."

He turned and left, Quirrell following. "I'm quite proud with how they turned out," Quirrell said, beaming. "I wasn't sure at first, but they're growing into such excellent Dark witches!"

"It almost makes up for what we lost in terms of anonymity," Voldemort said, "thanks to Wormtail and Scabior."

"Will we have to strike earlier? Change locations?"

"No. Not at the moment. They do not know where we are. In that, we have an advantage. It may also be incomprehensible to them that we have indeed returned from the dead. It may be that no real damage has been done. We shall proceed as we have been…albeit, with a closer eye on the opposition should they strike first."

"That is good to hear. I had been worried."

"You should not worry. I wouldn't want to see it from you."

---

HOGWARTS, FOURTH EARTH

The Great Hall was abuzz with chatter as students settled down for dinner.

"It's going to take forever for the weather to get warm enough for Quidditch again!" Rainbow Dash moaned at the Gryffindor table.

"I know the feeling," Ginny agreed.

"Maybe a Fire Lord is someone who governs flames so they don't go awry or set inflammable things on fire," Luna suggested over at the Ravenclaw table.

"Somehow, I don't think that's it," Twilight sighed.

At the Hufflepuff table, Fluttershy recounted a recent visit she'd had with Hagrid: "He told me a lot of interesting things about dragons. He talks about them like they're not scary at all."

"And that's when I put on the Headless Hat," Stevie laughed at the Slytherin table.

"I can't imagine Flitwick was happy with you for that," Rarity said, though she also giggled.

"Yeah, he took it away from me. But it was so worth it to see the look on everyone's face when my head just disappeared."

All this happy chatter was interrupted when the doors were flung open. Filch stormed in, bellowing, "I tried to tell them to stay out, but they wouldn't take no for an answer!"

When those eating in the Great Hall saw the three people following Filch—a tall, graceful wizard with a mane of blonde hair; a slight but striking witch with hair that was half black and half blonde; and a young man whose blonde hair suggested that the other two were his parents—first, there was a collective gasp, then silence.

"I can't believe it," Hermione whispered.

"Who is it?" Applejack asked her.

"Oh…my…Satan," Ebony gushed. "It's him! It's Draco Malfoy! He is, like, soooooo hot!"

The three Malfoys passed Filch and walked right up to the staff table. "Headmistress McGonagall," Lucius said.

"Lucius," McGonagall replied. "What has brought you here at this time? You look as though you've been through something positively dreadful."

"That's because we have," he replied. "We've come to you for help…we don't know what to do…"

"What's happened?" McGonagall asked.

"Perhaps it shouldn't be mentioned in present company," Lucius said.

"No!" Draco cried. "There isn't any use in keeping it a secret! They'll all know when they come for them anyway!"

"Draco," Narcissa warned, "hush—"

"They tried to kill us!" Draco yelled, turning to the whole hallway. "Peter Pettigrew and Christopher Scabior! They came to us to tell us they were back from the dead, and they said the rest of the Death Eaters were too!"

The silence was broken by a multitude of whispers that broke down into nervous laughter.

"Was he always that insane?" Stevie asked.

"I'M NOT LYING!" Draco raged.

"There is simply no way that either of those men could have appeared before you," McGonagall said. "They are dead. Tell me, what really happened?"

"We were under attack by a pair of assassins," Lucius said. "Draco is still…traumatized. The assassins were supporters of the old Death Eaters, and they wanted us killed for our betrayal—"

"Don't make me look like a fool!" Draco snapped. "They weren't supporters of the old Death Eaters! They WERE the Death Eaters!"

"Not possible," McGonagall said, matter-of-factly.

"WAIT!" Twilight stood and rushed to the faculty table.

"What's this?" Lucius commented. "A…centaur?"

"They might not be lying," Twilight said once she reached McGonagall. "In fact, they're probably not. Before my friends and I came here, we saw that several people, particularly evildoers, who were supposed to be dead…weren't. It happened twice to us already. This is probably the same pattern!"

"But it is impossible," McGonagall repeated.

Twilight stared her directly in the eye. "As far as you know on this world."

"She's right!" Applejack called out, standing as well. "It's happened before!"

"And it could happen again!" Rarity added, standing.

Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash also stood. Then Hermione as well: "We should listen and take this seriously. This isn't the first time we believed Voldemort dead only to be proven wrong!"

"There are many things we don't know about the mysteries of the universe," Luna added, also standing. "There could very well be a way that the Death Eaters have returned!"

Ginny stood as well; then no one else. Concerned, Rarity looked down at the Carrow twins. "You don't think I'm lying," she said, "do you?"

"Hestia," Flora said, "what if—"

"No," Hestia said sternly. "Rarity, I think Draco has a reason for thinking he saw what he saw, and so do you. But no one has come back from the dead. Particularly not them."

Noticing the stiffening of Hestia's body, Rarity realized that even if Hestia did understand that there were otherworldly ways of transcending death, she couldn't believe the return of Death Eaters simply because she didn't want to, because of what that would imply about her own parents. Rarity let the issue drop.

McGonagall cleared her throat. "We shall be glad to offer you protection from whatever has happened. Consider yourselves welcome here at Hogwarts. But we shall have to discuss…what you saw…elsewhere and at a different time. Is that clear?"

"Very clear," Narcissa said.

"We may move to my office now, if you like," McGonagall said.

"May I come too?" Twilight asked. "I might be able to help clear things up."

"Most certainly," McGonagall said. "It would be helpful to have your…experiences on the table."

Then she rose, leading the Malfoys and Twilight down the Great Hall. Twilight's gaze connected with each member of the study group, and as she looked at them, they joined the group: Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Ginny, Hermione, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Luna.

"This is quite the group," McGonagall said. "Miss Granger. Miss Weasley. Miss Lovegood. Do you understand—"

"Quite a lot," Hermione said. "More than you might think."

"Were you friends with him?" Applejack whispered to Hermione. "I mean, you two bein' in the same year during the war—"

"We weren't exactly friends," Hermione replied, equally quietly. "But by the end of it all, we weren't enemies."

---

The motley group assembled in McGonagall's office; McGonagall herself sat at the desk, looking out over everyone.

"Centaurs at Hogwarts," Lucius commented. "Only last year would I have taken that as a sign of how far wizarding civilization has fallen."

"And now?" McGonagall asked.

"The war's end has forced me to rethink many things," Lucius admitted. "While I'm not entirely sure humans and centaurs belong in the same facility, I can't say with certainty that they don't. After all…I owe my life and that of my family to several centaurs, house-elves, and a werewolf."

"But why don't you think we belong here?" Rainbow Dash asked angrily.

"As much as your kind contributed to last year's battle," Lucius replied coldly, "the fact remains that you are not true witches."

"OH YEAH?" Rainbow Dash cried.

"I order this conversation to cease, lest it should become necessary that I intervene!" McGonagall barked. Silence fell. "Thank you. Now, Lucius, I wish to ask you: what did truly happen to you?"

"My life was attempted on by two hooded assassins at our manor," Lucius explained. "We did not know why we were being targeted, and assumed that it was because of our past involvement with the Death Eaters. We fled. We eventually took refuge at the Shrieking Shack, and our pursuers caught up to us there. We saw their faces, and they did have the appearance of Peter Pettigrew and Christopher Scabior. The one resembling Pettigrew did claim that they were indeed Pettigrew and Scabior, and that Voldemort himself and other Death Eaters were also alive and in hiding. I do not know whether they were using enchantments or Polyjuice Potion to create the illusion."

"But we saw this happen before!" Pinkie Pie pointed out. "First there was Jafar, and he was supposed to be dead TWICE! And then there was Mother Gothel! All sorts of bad guys came back from the grave for us!"

"This might explain what we've been seeing in the stars about chaos and disaster," Twilight muttered.

"You see," Rarity clarified, "while we aren't sure exactly how it's being done, we think there's a link between these resurrections and someone calling herself the 'angel of darkness.' You might recall that one of the Chocolate Frog cards you gave to us featured a woman called Maleficent. She has been making advances recently, and where she has struck, an old villain has returned from beyond the grave."

"There was never a Chocolate Frog card for anyone named that," Ginny said. "Unless you mean…those cards that were banned…"

"You SHARED them?" McGonagall was stunned.

"Ginny and Luna and I understand the implications of where they came from and what exactly is going on," Hermione pointed out. "Do I have permission to explain it to the Malfoys so that they understand?"

"I do not know that I would recommend it," McGonagall said, her eyes flickering toward Lucius.

"I would recommend it," Lucius said. "In fact, I demand to know what you are not telling me!"

"Only that in recent light, it seems that there is a possibility that the Death Eaters that attacked you were, in fact, who they claimed to be," McGonagall said. "It also, as you suggested, may have been an illusion. We shall treat both with equal possibility until further notice. Until then, you were right to come here, and frankly, you should have done so sooner. We will not hesitate to deter these assassins from finding you. You may even stay under this roof."

"Why are you being so kind to us," Narcissa asked, "after all the years we worked against you?"

"There was a saying," McGonagall said. "Albus Dumbledore always said that help would be given at Hogwarts to those who asked for it. Recently, I heard another version: that help would be given to those who deserved it. Your assistance in the arrest of the remaining Death Eaters after the battle has earned you this much at least."

At this point, Draco leaned over to Hermione and whispered to her, softly, "I want to speak to you outside this office. Now. Bring Weasley and Lovegood."

"Professor McGonagall?" Hermione said. "Permission to leave?"

"I…suppose," McGonagall said. She watched as Hermione, Luna, and Ginny exited, then with surprise as Draco followed. "Whatever could they be speaking about?"

"Who can even say?" Applejack answered. "Maybe they're just catchin' up. They were classmates, after all."

"So tell me," Lucius said, "how did it come to pass that six centaurs were enrolled at this school?"

"They are here under special circumstances," McGonagall answered calmly. "They have an interest in studying magic, and have come with an irrefutable recommendation. As such, I have enrolled them as first-years, though they are much older than the traditional age. So far, they have not only excelled at what is in their capacity to achieve, but it has also challenged them, and they have gotten on quite well with the younger students. I have not been given any reason to regret that decision."

Just outside the office, facing his former three schoolmates, Draco hissed, "You had better tell me what is really going on. Whatever it is that you aren't telling my father."

"And why should we?" Ginny countered. "Why would you believe what we had to say? And, more importantly, how do we know you didn't make this up to get back within our walls under good graces? You WERE with the Death Eaters. If there really is a…revival of them, how do we know you aren't at the forefront of it?"

"Because, unfortunately, I owe you a debt," Draco hissed. "Especially you, Granger. You three all know that if it weren't for you…and Potter and Weasley, and, to give credit where it's due, Longbottom…I wouldn't be standing here. I would have met the same fate as Crabbe. You remember Crabbe, don't you? You weren't the only ones who lost friends to the war. I'm not devoid of humanity."

"I'm still not sure I trust you," Ginny seethed. "You were the one who tried to kill Dumbledore in the first place."

"I trust you," Luna said softly. "I know why you weren't able to kill Dumbledore. You aren't a killer, Draco. I—"

"Luna!" Ginny said with indignation.

"I don't think now is the time for wild accusations about Draco's involvement with a…Death Eater revival," Hermione said calmly. "If anything, Draco, I'm more concerned with the fact that you've never been anything but a stuck-up, prejudiced brat. But I don't actually believe I'm in any real danger from you, for what that's worth."

"Does there have to be so much bad blood here?" Luna asked worriedly.

"Depends on what kind of blood he thinks is valuable," Ginny answered.

"Then we'll make a deal," Draco said coldly. "If you tell me what you know…about what those centaurs mean about coming back from the dead…then I'll stay out of your hair, and you'll stay out of mine. You won't have to put up with me being a 'brat,' as you put it, and I won't have to put up with you being naïve simpletons."

"SIMPLETONS?" Ginny growled.

"Ginny, please, no…" Luna begged.

Hermione sighed. "All right. We'll tell you, and we go separate ways. The six of them are our friends. They've seen people come back from the dead before because they've seen other worlds. They aren't even native to this planet. They've seen things we've only ever dreamed of, and that includes the 'Maleficent' they mentioned, who might just be even more powerful than Voldemort was from the sounds of it. I'm not saying that this is definitely what happened with Pettigrew and Scabior. It might have been a hoax. But whatever the case, we'd best watch out, because in any case, someone is using the names of the Death Eaters, and that can't be for anything good. That's the truth. Take it or leave it."

Draco thought it over. Then, very simply, he said, "You were right not to tell my father. He doesn't believe in such things. He'd dismiss you as liars. And my mother would agree with him. That's all I needed to know."

He turned to re-enter the office; Luna, Hermione, and then Ginny followed him.

"Ah, there you are," McGonagall said. "We were discussing lodging arrangements. The Room of Requirement can easily be converted into a space for you to stay; otherwise, as you are all still Slytherins, we could make special arrangements for you to stay in the Slytherin common room."

"We shan't mix with students," Lucius said. Narcissa nodded.

"If it's all the same," Draco said, "I'd rather take the space in the common room."

"Why?" Lucius asked incredulously.

"It isn't anything against you," Draco replied. "It's simply that…well. I never did have much of a seventh year, did I?"

"Then it's settled," McGonagall said. "Lucius, Narcissa, you will stay in the Room of Requirement. Draco, you will take an empty bed in the Slytherin common room. Rarity can show you the way there. With that, I believe we have concluded business. I have work to attend to, and would prefer to work in solitude. You are all dismissed."

The group moved out and split up. Rarity led Draco toward the Slytherin common room, and the two shared as few words as possible. Lucius and Narcissa moved toward the Room of Requirement—a room that could transform, so the six Equestrians had been informed, into whatever was needed. The rest stayed back in the hallway in a tight group.

"We had to tell Draco about the other worlds, and Maleficent," Hermione admitted. "The good news is, he believes it, and he isn't going to let on to anyone else. The bad news is that he's just as stuck-up as ever."

"What happened between you and him?" Fluttershy inquired.

"He allied with Voldemort for power," Hermione explained, "but he couldn't carry out crucial tasks. Murders. He was always our enemy, but after the battle…well, if you were to ask Voldemort, he'd probably say Draco went soft. Harry, Ron, and I ended up saving his life from a fiend-fyre that killed one of his best friends. So he's in our debt. And after the battle, his family reported the remaining Death Eaters to the Ministry, which put them on the Ministry's good side. The problem is that they all have a lingering belief to some degree that pure-blood wizards and witches are better than everyone else. Centaurs, house-elves, witches and wizards with Muggle parentage…maybe that's changed over the summer after all that happened. But it doesn't really seem that way right now."

"I think it's more important," Luna reminded everyone, "to think about the implications. Two people using the names and faces of known Death Eaters have reappeared. They might even be those Death Eaters, back from the dead."

"And that's what really worries me," Twilight admitted.

---

Alone, McGonagall sat down to pen a letter. It seemed she was doing a lot of that nowadays, whether it was to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the house-elves, or the current recipients she had in mind. This time, it seemed more urgent than usual. If there was some sort of revival of Death Eaters, there were scant few wizards she wished to contact regarding the matter who weren't already in the school building. However, three names did come to mind. And so she set quill to parchment to begin her plea:

"Dear Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Longbottom…"

---

Chapter 31

· You'll notice that my design of the atrium is once again stolen from the game version of Hogwarts. As is the actual "ballroom," which is based on the last room of the Incendio challenge from the game adaptation of Sorcerer's Stone…albeit originally in an entirely different location.

· And you'll see a reference to Avatar: The Last Airbender here. I had to make up names for one generation before Sozin because as far as I can tell, Sozin's rule is when the Fire Nation stopped playing nice. His parents were probably more peaceful. So here they have an influence on Hogwarts.

· By the way, there is no official title for the spouse of a Fire Lord. Which made it awkward to write the plaque.

· Summerby is the canon name of the replacement Hufflepuff Seeker. I was too lazy to think up a good first name for him.

· I don't see McGonagall as the kind of person to turn down house-elf requests. I added the stuff about the clubs because the budget has to come from SOMEWHERE and have real-life consequences for the school. Those three clubs are all canon, by the way.

· Fluttershy has still been visiting with Hagrid. I just haven't been chronicling their teatimes. Other mundane and pointless scenes like Quidditch, yes. But not that.

· "Oh my Satan" is another My Immortal joke. In MI, Ebony says that expression and is dead serious about it. Not realizing that it kinda sounds ridiculous, at least in the Hogwarts context. Also, her obsessive crush on Draco Malfoy is another gag I lifted and you're not seeing the last of it.

· I really do believe that the Malfoys, Draco in particular, underwent a lot of personality changes after Half-Blood Prince. But I know it couldn't have been sudden. I hope I came across all right with that balance.

· I determined the level of how each of the three girls should react to him by my fanon about them. Ginny hates Draco because the two of them have no reason to be on good terms at all, and he trashed her brother one too many times. Hermione is neutral because even though he still views her as of "impure" heritage, I kinda ship that (though after all she and Ron put me through in Deathly Hallows to get together, I am NOT going to break those two up for it). And because the A Very Potter Musical sequel had Luna basically as Draco's bestie, and she's kinda chill about everything anyway, she's most receptive to him and hates that there's fighting.

· AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! I bet you were all wondering if I was seriously going to do a Harry Potter arc without Harry, Ron, or Neville. The answer? Of course not! They just haven't had a reason to get involved until now!