Chapter 108: Consequences
"And now for more important news. Tomorrow this will be in every newspaper, but I wished to be the first to tell you. Many of you will have noticed that the Founders' portraits are no longer moving. This is not because the enchantments on them have faded, but because the Founders themselves developed a very complex ritual... and that ritual has been performed on each portrait. Allow me to introduce the Founders of Hogwarts. Salazar Slytherin!"
Salazar came flying out of the wall from precisely the spot where his portrait had hung behind us, swept in a wide arc over the staff table, and hovered before the Slytherin table, studying everyone with intense scrutiny. Silence fell over the hall once more.
"Helga Hufflepuff!"
Helga made the same sweeping entrance.
"Godric Gryffindor!"
A new ghost came flying from the wall and took up his position before his House's table.
"Rowena Ravenclaw!"
Rowena settled in midair before the Ravenclaw table.
"From this day forward, the Founders will take over the roles of House ghosts for their respective Houses. The other ghosts will assist them in this important work!"
A few isolated claps rang out, and then the hall erupted. Every student was talking at once, staring at the Founders in shock and disbelief.
"I now invite the Founders to speak!"
Dumbledore spoke the moment the applause began to die down.
"So then, dear students."
After the Founders exchanged a glance, it was Rowena who began.
"We are delighted to welcome you to Hogwarts. I will be entirely honest. When we were first summoned into the portraits and learned of the state the school was in, we were horrified."
"Well, naturally. Dumbledore let the whole standard of education go to..."
"Silence."
Salazar spoke a single word, and the castle shuddered.
"You. Minus twenty points from Slytherin for breach of discipline."
The boy immediately hunched his shoulders, while the other students at the green table stared at their Founder in shock and at their fifth-year housemate with barely concealed fury.
"Thank you, Sally."
Salazar made a dismissive gesture at her words.
"Now, as I was saying, we were horrified. Not because of the level of education. We had always expected that teaching methods would change over time, though a great many subjects have been removed from the curriculum...
She shook her head with a faint note of disappointment.
"...no, what horrified us was the discovery that, since our time, the castle's protective enchantments had deteriorated by nearly a third, and Hogwarts had lost its extraterritorial status."
The hall was silent. I could see that some students were bursting to speak, but after what had just happened to the Slytherin boy, every one of them was holding their tongues.
"It came as a profound shock to us, and that is why the teachers worked without rest throughout the summer. Not only did they perform the rituals that allowed us to leave the portraits and take form as ghosts, but they also spent all that time restoring the enchantments. And we can now say with pride that Hogwarts is extraterritorial once more!"
Rowena delivered the last words in a tone that made every student understand perfectly: this was the moment to applaud. The hall was happy to oblige.
"Silence."
One word from Rowena, and the hall quieted at once.
"I also wish to announce that each of us Founders will be teaching our own subject. Unfortunately, we are unable to demonstrate spells in practice, but we will teach the theory, and by the second half of the year, we will find practitioners who can demonstrate these spells for you in person."
The hall held its breath. Only Dumbledore gave the faintest, nearly imperceptible wince.
"I, Salazar Slytherin, will be teaching Chimaera-craft. Naturally, it will not be open to every student. I will observe and select those who, in my judgment, have the capacity to master at least some of this art."
"I, Godric Gryffindor, will be teaching Artifact-making. As many of you know, I created the golems that some people mistake for statues, and I will teach you how to create such artifacts yourselves."
"I, Helga Hufflepuff, will be teaching Combat Magic. In my lessons, those who are chosen will learn to fight for their lives against ten opponents, or even twenty."
"And I, Rowena Ravenclaw, will be teaching my students Necromancy."
The hall fell into a dazed silence.
"And yes, from this day forward, if we observe that any of our students are unable to maintain basic standards of conduct, we will strip them of the right to wear their House colors and reside in their common room. A single large communal chamber has already been prepared for individuals of that kind."
Rowena rose a little higher to survey the entire hall.
"Very well. If I may...
Dumbledore looked toward the Founders with a questioning glance. They turned slightly, caught his look, and nodded their consent.
"...eat!""
He clapped his hands, and the tables immediately filled with plates of food.
---
***Several hours later***
"Draco, I'm glad you came."
Dumbledore looked at me. The entire staff had assembled in his office, including the Founders, and everyone had been watching the fireplace before I entered.
"Very informative, but..."
I shook my head.
"...it seems I've missed some context."
"You're not the only one, Draco. At present, that's all any of us know: that representatives of the Ministry are due to arrive shortly."
"Ah."
I gave a knowing nod.
"Fudge is going to try to cause trouble. You could have just said so."
"I don't think he would actually..."
Minerva didn't get to finish. The fireplace blazed green, and out stepped one Auror, then another. Ten in total. Umbridge followed them, and then Fudge himself stepped into the Headmaster's study. It got very cramped, very quickly.
"There he is! The criminal! Arrest him!"
Umbridge pointed straight at me.
"On what grounds?"
Flitwick asked in a voice that sounded bored at first, though I could tell he was already prepared for a fight.
"He destroyed Ministry property!"
"The Dementor, you mean?"
Dumbledore tilted his head.
"Well, we happen to have a copy of Her Majesty's communiqué, which states plainly that you, Minister, are prohibited from using Dementors to search the train. When you announced that the train would be inspected, I believe you mentioned Aurors only."
"He attacked an Auror as well!"
The toad was still jabbing her finger in my direction.
"Well."
I shrugged.
You can't help but feel the effect Dementors have on their surroundings. I had no choice but to protect the other students in my compartment, particularly given that someone had, for some reason, deliberately diverted the hired security's attention from keeping Dementors off the train.
"You..."
Fudge looked at me with undisguised hatred.
"...you have been practicing Necromancy! It is prohibited within Magical Britain!"
"Is it?"
I looked at Dumbledore in apparent surprise.
"Er..."
Dumbledore appeared momentarily taken aback.
"...no."
He shook his head.
"Necromancy is not prohibited. Certain spells within that discipline are restricted, as is the teaching of it, but the discipline itself is not."
I turned my gaze back to Fudge, whose face had gone a deep, flushed red.
"Yes, it is! You used forbidden spells, and therefore..."
"I did not, and I am prepared to answer that claim before the Queen's own court. But even if the impossible had somehow occurred and someone had tampered with my memory while I was casting them left and right, Hogwarts is extraterritorial."
I smiled pleasantly.
"*Here*..."
I gave the word full weight.
"...there is only one authority. That authority is the Headmaster."
"This is mutiny! Arrest them all!"
The Aurors, however, looked decidedly uncertain. They had no appetite for a fight with the entire teaching staff and the Headmaster.
"Enough, Cornelius."
Dumbledore released the full weight of his magical presence into the room. Fudge swayed and sank to his knees. His pink deputy lost consciousness completely. The Aurors hunched and stumbled, but kept their footing. The fear in their eyes was plain now, because not a single teacher had so much as flinched from the force Dumbledore had unleashed.
"Take him with you, and when he has composed himself, remind him that I hold a document bearing the Queen's signature confirming Hogwarts' extraterritorial status. The school is once again a sanctuary, one that will receive all who are in need."
Dumbledore closed his eyes.
"There was a time when I was unable to protect one of my own students because the Ministry forbade it, and I had not yet acquired the authority I now hold. Tom was a gifted student..."
One of the Aurors gave the faintest, almost invisible twitch.
"...but we were prohibited from keeping Muggle-born and Muggle-raised students on school grounds. And this was during a terrible war. The consequences were not long in coming. A promising student had suffered several childhood wounds and grew into a monster who unleashed the first wizarding war in Britain. That will not happen again."
"We'll pass on the message."
The senior Auror gave a slow nod. Several of the others hoisted Umbridge up and carried her out through the fireplace, while the Minister, who had still not managed to get back on his feet, was lifted and carried after her. The Aurors filed out behind them.
"Her Majesty did make a mistake, I think."
Dumbledore shook his head.
"She should not have left this man in power."
"She is not a young woman. Mistakes are inevitable."
I gave a rueful smile.
"Right. I suggest we all go about our business. Some of us..."
Dumbledore cast me a sly look.
"...still need to contact their mothers to have the district's defenses reinforced, given that Fudge may decide to retaliate."
I gave a brief nod and left the Headmaster's office.
---
The Headmaster's Office: after the protagonist's departure
"Headmaster, are you certain that was wise?"
"What do you mean, my dear boy?"
The Headmaster looked at Remus.
"Well, openly confronting Minister Fudge like that... Whatever the circumstances..."
"He overstepped. The situation has changed, and he decided no one would bother removing him from office. In that, he happens to be right, but not because anyone finds him satisfactory. Simply because no one cares enough to make the effort."
"I understand, but..."
"Remus, Mr Black has nearly finished establishing his district. As far as I know, they've already achieved self-sufficiency in food and basic goods. By the end of this year, they plan to open several manufacturing facilities, and they already have a number of schools up and running. He even invited us to give a few lectures there."
Flitwick said with a slight smile.
"Schools?"
"Yes, preparatory schools. Before long, Hogwarts will be admitting many more students who already have a solid foundation. And I'll tell you more: Veela and werewolves have already enrolled their children with us."
Remus stared at the Charms professor in undisguised shock.
"Yes. Certain arrangements will need to be made for the latter, but your own example demonstrates that they can be educated together."
"That's..."
Remus was lost for words.
"But he's Malfoy's son, surely?"
He spoke with desperate hope.
"He is."
Dumbledore nodded.
"And I must say, I am very glad indeed of the young man he has become. Purposeful and remarkably responsible. Looking back, I am even glad that I quietly buried the matter of his father's death."
"You buried it?!"
Snape asked with open disbelief.
"Yes. Pursuing it would have meant placing the boy with a guardian who would not have treated him well."
"That concern didn't stop you with Harry."
McGonagall was not pleased.
"But several things coincided in this case. After the war, the Ministry had no funds whatsoever. None at all. Bellatrix and Narcissa's donation came at a critical moment. It allowed us to continue accepting students without interruption, and even to slightly increase the one-time allowance provided to Muggle-born and Muggle-raised students for purchasing their supplies."
"So you accepted a bribe."
Remus stared at the Headmaster.
"Yes. I am not proud of it, but at the time there was no other way. Either that or freeze the Malfoy and Black accounts and plunge Britain into an even deeper crisis."
------------------------------------------
Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 376
2.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 391
3.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 196
support me on Patreon for instant access to the 120+ advance chapters: patreon.com/redofic