Chapter 27: Thowing Out The Bait

Dear Readers,

I am proud to present you a new column in The Quibbler. Our new columnist, Oliver Twist, will present you with facts about the wizarding world you never knew and never thought about.

Xenophilius Lovegood

Editor-in-Chief of The Quibbler

Founding Facts

It's the end of August and soon it will be time to return to Hogwarts again. I am sure you all remember the stone walls of Hogwarts, her homey feeling and the warmth that will fill you as soon as you set a foot on her grounds.

And with the beginning of the new year also some new students arrive. They will enter the halls of Hogwarts with huge eyes, innocent of the trials of life. They will stare at this beautiful castle in wonder and will learn to love it like they love home.

But there they will not just learn magic; they will also learn house-rivalry, house-rivalry and prejudice. Why staying friends with your best friend since you were children after he or she was sorted in Slytherin and you yourself in Gryffindor? The Founders of Gryffindor and Slytherin hated each other - the blood-feud cannot be mended even in another thousand years!

Let the Sorting Hat talk about school unity, let him sing. There is no mending of the feud between Gryffindor and Slytherin! There are no friendships between the houses - and no teachers who even try to be fair to every house!

You think that?! Really?!

Then let me tell you a story.

There is an old book in the library of Hogwarts. It's hidden in a little room and its name is ' The Teachers of Hogwarts' .

Last year I found it just by accident. So… whoever you are, when you still go to Hogwarts, go looking for it. There are some interesting things provided in it. Some of these things are some important facts about the teachers who teach or taught at Hogwarts. Just ask the book for the Founder of your house - or maybe another Founder?! - and read yourself. I did it - and I found things you would never have guessed…

Did you know that Slytherin argued about the safety of Hogwarts and that he did not want Muggle- parents come to Hogwarts?! Did you know that even if he and Gryffindor had a falling out in the middle of the Great Hall that three days later the other Founders gave in to his wishes?!

When I read that I searched the library about the historical events at that time. Did you know that at that time Britain was attacked often by Viking-ships? They murdered, they maimed and they made slaves to bring them back home.

Did you know that the Muggles at that time blamed sometimes wizards for the Viking - simply because wizards could hide but did not even thing about hiding their neighborhood?!

Not everyone was so brave and foolish like Gryffindor who nearly lost his life protecting a Muggle village in his neighborhood. Well, maybe he would have lost his life if Slytherin would not have aided him…

So Slytherin was trying to protect his students from the wrath of Muggles who were not protected by his students ' parents - and don't forget: at that time Muggles knew about us. We were living with them, even marrying them.

When they would have known about the school they would have been able to enter it without wards against them…

And the Founders even tried to be fair. They did not only exclude the Muggle- but also the magical parents. Or why do you think no parent ever entered Hogwarts except if their child was mortally wounded?! And even then they had to be brought in and could not come by themselves…

But back to history.

We know, Slytherin left.

Well, I cannot argue that statement. Slytherin left. Rowena died, then Helga, then Godric and finally Slytherin left. 'Hu?!' you might think. 'Isn't that the wrong order?!'

Just check the dates. Even if Slytherin has no date of death, he has a date when he finally left Hogwarts - and that's more then twenty years after Godric Gryffindor's death. So when the Sorting Hat tells you that the unity shattered after Slytherin left it simply tells you that the Founders were a unity until the most of them had died .

So back to our first years…

Back to Hogwarts.

Think about it this way: When the Founders could be united until they died - don't you think you can do it, too? Forget house-rivalry, forget biased teachers and self-named Heirs of Slytherin. Look at your classmates. They are not different then you. They are nervous, they are able to love, to hate, to be sad, to be happy…

Even if they love to learn, even if they are living in the dungeons… they are still humans like you. You can still be friends.

Just forget the red, the blue, the yellow and the green on their uniforms. Their uniforms are all black. They all have classes. They all eat in the Great Hall.

So how about trying a little green for today or a little red?

And when you want to protest, think about this: the Sorting Hat gives you a choice - so how can you really be sure that the red, blue, yellow or green on your opponents black uniform is earned?

Maybe you are a Gryffindor and have shared a dorm with a Slytherin all along…

Oliver Twist

"Thanks" Harry said, handing back The Quibbler to the blond girl in front of him. She had lend him her newspaper after he had asked her - after all, he could hardly take out his own copy and read that one when he officially not even knew about the development with Oliver Twist.

"I don't mind" the girl - Luna Lovegood, Ginny had called her - said and took the newspaper. "Its always good to know the more important things in the wizarding world."

Ginny snorted while Neville nearly chocked on his own saliva.

"Er… sure" Harry said.

Ginny just roled her eyes at his reply and Neville whispered in his ear: " The Quibbler is known for its more… excentric view on the world…"

"Ah… all right" Harry replied then he contemplated a bit before he added. "Well, the article about Hogwarts didn't seem too excentric in my opinion. There were some details I never knew in it - but all in all it seemed to be the truth. And that's more then the Prophet is writing at the moment."

Neville stared at him then he turned and asked Luna if he could borrow her newspaper for a bit. He opened The Quibbler and began to read while Ginny was looking over his shoulder, also reading.

"Well?" Harry asked when they finished.

"Do you… do you think it's telling the truth?" Neville asked wide eyed.

"Of course it is" Luna said. "Daddy is always printing the truth - and since Oliver Twist is writing for him there are finally a lot more people interested in it. He's now thinking about hireing a few people because he has started to have trouble printing all the subscriptions he has…"

"Ah… all right" Neville said, clearly unsure what to think about that.

Before he could add something else, the compartment door opened and Ron and Hermione entered. And while Ron instandly hunted down the food they had, Hermione plucked The Quibbler out of Neville's hands.

"You're reading Twist's article, aren't you?" she asked.

"Hu? How do you…?"

"I heard the adults talking about the boy who is writing letters to The Quibbler " Hermione answered. "Mrs Weasley thinks that a young boy like him should think about school and not about listening to rumours but Si… Snuffles thinks it's brilliant. Until now I had no time to look at one of the articles myself, may I?"

"Er… I think you already have" Neville pointed out. "But sure, I guess… not that it's my newspaper. It belongs to Luna over there…"

Hermione did not even listen. Instead she started to read out loud.

Harry just roled his eyes at 'his' best friend. As if he couldn't read the article himself…

"Slytherin's in Gryffindor?!" Ron blurted out when Hermione ended. "That… that's a joke, isn't it?!"

"What are you talking about, Weasley?!" another voice said - this time coming from the compartment door. Malfoy was standing in the door, sneering at Ron.

"This article from Oliver Twist, Heir Malfoy" Harry answered, plucking the newspaper out of Hermione's hands and handing it to Malfoy. "It talks about choices - and about Slytherins in Gryffindor."

Malfoy looked at Harry oddly before he snorted, hesitated, but finally he took the article nevertheless and looked it over.

"Rubbish" he finally said. "The same rubbish as always. You shouldn't believe the newspaper of an insane editor, Potter!"

Harry just inclined his head.

"But you also shouldn't disregard an article like that, Heir Malfoy" Harry said softly. "After all there is always the possibility that the article might be genutine or that the article - even if it is wrong - might influence people who don't know better. You might be at a disadvantage if you don't know about something like that, Heir Malfoy."

Ron stared at Harry with an open mouth. Hermione frowned and Neville looked back and forth between Harry and Malfoy as if he was following a duell.

Malfoy just sneered.

"Why so formal, Potter? Forgotten how to insult over the holidays?!"

Harry just smiled.

"Of course not, Heir Malfoy. But after the faux-pas I committed in first year I cannot ask for your forgiveness without being formal."

The apartement was silent enough to hear a pin drop. Harry's friends were staring at him as if he had gone insane and Malfoy suddenly seemed usure what to do with him. Of course, before the summer, the original Harry would have never been civil with the Heir Malfoy. The new Harry instead had been raised the pure-blood way of life and had decided to act on it - it was after all better to minimize his opponents instead of trying to fight the whole world all alone. And Malfoy could be useful at some occasion…

"Potter - what are you up to?" Malfoy sneered, but Harry did not falter. He knew the original Harry had offended the Malfoy heir. Harry had decided to mend the relationship to the Malfoy family. He needed to mend the faux-pas from first year before continueing with his plans.

So he ignored the tone of Draco Malfoy and bowed low to the heir.

"I wish to apologies for my attitude the last years" he answered. "I did not wish to offend you in first year - I was merely a child without guidance about the rights and wrongs in the world. As the Lord of the Grim Family and your cousin by blood I beg you for your forgiveness, Heir Malfoy."

"Cousin?" Malfoy asked asktonished.

Harry did not look up while answering.

"My grandmother was Dorea Black."

He knew that being family was important in a plea for forgiveness. Malfoy would not be able to forgive Harry easily if they weren't blood. As blood-relatives instead Harry was able to get forgiveness more easily without the Heir Malfoy losing his face. Family should work together, after all.

Of course, Harry had other means to ensure that Malfoy would not stand in his way - but why forcing something that maybe could be mended through other means? After all, the young Heir Malfoy would loose his face if he swatted away the formal apology of a family member. If Harry had murderered someone of Malfoy's family, then Malfoy would have been able to say no - but the faux-pas Harry had committed was not even enough for a blood-feud among their families… well, at least until Harry entered the Wizengamot as a member…

Malfoy hesitated just a moment.

"I will forgive you, Lord Grim" he finally answered, stocking by the title. "But you still own me your allegiance."

"Aid, Heir Malfoy" Harry corrected. "I am a Lord. I cannot follow you."

Again, Malfoy stayed silent for a minute. Then he nodded.

"Aid it is" he said. "You will not go against me or my house - even if we end up on different sides."

"So mot it be" Harry answered and stood straight again.

Malfoy stared at him.

"I still don't like you, Lord Grim" he said and then he turned and shut the door behind him. Harry instead grinned.

"You don't have to" he answered the closed door.

"Harry, what…? Why?" Ginny asked with huge eyes.

"Because I had to" Harry answered simply. "Albus Dumbledore might think nothing wrong with grudges but I will not let a mere child-grudge become a blood feud between our families. As I am still not a member of the Wizengamot I still could mend it. I wouldn't have been able to if I would have been a member."

Neville nodded.

"I understand. Grams told me often enough not to offend someone because it would do me no good if I had an enemy in the Wizengamot."

"And it definitely wouldn't be good if that enemy would be family" Harry confirmed.

"Definitely" Neville answered. The others just gawked at him.

"But… but… that was Malfoy!" Ron finally stuttered. "Malfoy, Harry!"

Harry snorted.

"I know, Ron" he answered. "But I cannot go around and insult him just because I do not like him. I am a Lord, Ron. A Lord - do you understand what that means?!"

Ron just gawked.

"Harry" that was Hermione. "I don't understand. What do you mean with: I am a Lord?! You cannot be a Lord… I mean… how…?!"

This time Harry sighed and then frowned.

"It's simple, Hermione. My father was a Lord and because he is dead and I am fifteen I am the Lord now."

"Your father… but how do you know that?! I mean - I thought you didn't know anything about your family!"

"I didn't" Harry answered sincerely. "But I found out this summer - and I definitely won't act like a disgrace to my family name anymore."

"But… how did you find out?! I mean you weren't allowed to leave…"

"We should change our clothes" Harry said, stopping her mid-sentence. "We will be at Hogwarts in ten minutes."

"You cannot just end…" Hermione started, this time looking determinded.

Harry sighed.

"I know, Hermione. It's just something I cannot…" he stopped, then he shook his head. "Snuffles told me." He finally said.

"Oh" Hermione blushed. "I should have guessed it myself…"

Harry just left the compartment so that the girls could change. He felt a little bit guilty for lying - but then, it wasn't the first time he had lied to someone and it definitely wouldn't be the last. He just hoped that Hermione would not ask Sirius why he hadn't told Harry about his place in the world before this summer…

When they finally reached Hogsmeade Harry had gone silent. His friends were talking about the holidays, the new school year and guessed what kind of Defence Professor they would have this year.

Harry instead had taken to looking out in the dark. In his mind he could feel the heavy feeling of magic humming at him. He closed his eyes, listening to the humming of the magic that was filling the air.

He felt sick by just listening!

The more he listend, the more nauseated he felt by what he heard.

"Harry? Are you all right?"

Harry startled and looked at Hermione who watched him with a worried expression on her face.

"Er… yes. I am fine, Hermione" he answered.

"You sure?" Ron asked. "You look a little bit queezy."

"Just nervous" Harry answered. "You know… I'm not sure if I should look forward to this year…"

"Why?" Hermione asked surprised.

Harry just snorted.

"Four words, Hermione: Quirrel, Basilisk, Dementors and Tournament."

"Oh… yeah… well… maybe this year will be nothing…?" Ron said, now with understanding in his voice.

In that moment they hit the wards of Hogwarts and Harry had to bite his cheek so that he would not cry out because of the pain he felt as soon as the wards settled on his shoulders. Like a rock the wards fell on his shoulders, nearly breaking him with their wight. The nausea sparked and his head started to ache as if someone had hit it with a war hammer.

Blood filled Harry's mouth when he refused to cry for pain. He turned his head and looked outside so that no-one in the carriage could see the agony that was displayed on his face and the tears that threatened to fall.

"I don't think that this year will be a quiet year, Ron" Harry replied, proud of himself that his voice was nearly tremmour-free while he still felt as if his head had exploded with pain.

"I definitely know now what I have to do first" he thought to himself. "I will go mad if I have to feel this strain for the whole year I am here!"

In that moment a soothing sensation softly caressed his mind and the strain eased.

Again tears threatened to fall, but he helt them back. He could not cry - the others mustened know!

"Well, you can at least hope for a quiet year" Ron said in that moment. Harry shrugged, still refusing to look at the others.

"I will think about it as soon as I know that the Defence Professor is no-one who wants me dead" he answered.

"Touché" Ron snorted. "Well then let's stop hoping until after the feast."

"Exactely."

With that Harry turned and closed his eyes. The soothing sensation still caressed his mind and eased his unease. It was this warm feeling that finally reminded Harry why he loved Hogwarts so much. Why he considered Hogwarts his home. And why he had decided to come here in the middle of the lions den to kill of the pride that was hunting him.

A maybe foolish step to do - but a step he would not change even if he would think about it again. Even if he had to destroy the school and everything it stood for - he would have come here for his revenge and he never would regret it…

And then a familiar whisper filled his head, its origin in the soothing feeling that caressed his mind.

"Welcome home" it said. "Welcome home, child. Welcome home, child of my child."

"Harry? Are you truly all right?" Hermione asked him in that moment again. Ron was also looking at him with a funny expression on his face.

"Oh, I am, Hermione, I am" he answered, bathing in the warm embrace that aided him with swatting away the pain he felt. "Why shouldn't I be alright?"

"I'm not sure - you just suddenly looked as if you were far away, you know…" Hermione answered. Harry just smiled.

"Don't worry, Hermione" he said. "I am really fine. I am just happy to be back, you know."

"And I thought you worried…" Ron said.

Harry shrugged.

"I still do. But I am back at Hogwarts - and whatever comes comes… even with Voldemort… I cannot change it even if I wanted to…"

Ron snorted.

"And a minute before you looked as if you wanted to balk…"

Harry shrugged.

"No" Harry answered sincerely. "I might worry about what will happen this year but Hogwarts… Hogwarts is home, you know, mate?"

Ron blinked, then he shrugged.

"If you think so, mate" he answered and Harry let it go. He knew Ron would never understand his feelings. Harry was not even sure if anyone else would. Hogwarts was home. But not like it had been home for thousands of orphans and unlucky ones. No. For Harry Hogwarts meant more - even more then it had meant for the previous Harry who had been an unlucky orphan.

But that was something Harry surly would not discuss with any of 'his' friends.

When the Sorting Hat started to sing, Harry was startled. He knew that the latest Oliver Twist text in The Quibbler was about the Founders - but he was still surprised that the Sorting Hat had decided to sing about their history this year.

Even if the history the Hat was singing about was slightly wrong…

Harry sighted when the Hat exclaimed that Slytherin had said ' We'll teach just those Whose ancestry is purest.' He knew that history got that one wrong. There had never been any talk about purity like they knew today from the proud man that had been Slytherin - but that was something long lost in time…

So Harry bit his lip and kept quiet. Instead he took the time to scrutinize the woman who would be his new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He was sure that they would learn nothing in her classes - and after she started talking he just got more convinced that his prediction would hold true.

He sighted inwardly.

"I will check the wards" he thought to himself. "Not only do they feel as if they want to kill me by just being there but the choice of Defence Professors is also unbelievable! There must be a curse on the Defense position. No-one can have this much bad luck in choosing their teachers…" Well, except it was a part of the plan - Harry wouldn't put it past the Headmaster to explicitly hire bad professors when it somehow would fit in his plans…

Still - it was better to check the castle-wards now before having another Defense teacher who couldn't teach next year.

"I should have checked them last year", Harry thought. But there was nothing he could do now - and last year he had been busy with his preparations for this year. And these preparations had been more important then a curse on the Defense position…

"Oh how I hate to be me" Harry thought wryly. "Sometimes I truly wish I would have never started my plan to get revenge. There is simply so much to do and too less time to do it…"

And it was in this moment that he wished he had recruited someone else to aid him with his plans…

But there was no-one - well, except Regulus and Augusta who did not know what he was up to. Not that he did not trust her… but he had not decided what he should tell her and what he shouldn't tell… and until then he had no-one but Regulus, the house-elves and his own insane mind to aid himself. But having the help of just one person and two house-elves was nothing when you compared his forces with those of Albus Dumbledore or Tom Riddle, better known as Voldemort.

"Well, I never planed to go against them one on one" Harry thought wryly. "We would be dead before even one curse was hurled at us…"

Riddle and Dumbledore would strangle them with their bare hands for daring to interfere with their plans…

Harry smiled when this thought entered his mind. Then he buried it beneath his Occlumency shields and turned to 'his' friends and entered their conversation as if nothing had happened at all.

This year would be the turning point.

This year he planed to drive them all insane. And he would start with a man who saw it coming for more then fourteen years…

Harry surpressed an insane grin when his eyes met those of his first target this year.

For a moment Severus Snape felt a cold shiffer running down his back. It would take a long time until he would understand what he felt at that time of the year…

And while the students returned to the dorms, an enthusiastic little teacher hurried for the library to search it wholly. It took him the better part of the next hour to finally find what he was looking for, but in the end he found it.

In a little room, hidden in the farest corner of the library, the book he was looking for, was situated on a pedestal. ' The Teachers of Hogwarts' it read.

The tiny professor smiled, then he placed a hand on the book and whispered: "Salazar Slytherin."

The book glowed and then it opened somewhere in the front. The first thing the tiny professor saw was the picture of a regal looking man in plain, black clothes. The man had starteling green eyes and he looked coolly at those that opened the book on his page.

He was quite handsome but the tiny professor could tell that the man was no-one that should be crossed. On the other page were listed the things Salazar Slytherin had done and taught. The tiny professor also found a date that showed when Salazar Slytherin had left Hogwarts. There was no date of death and neither a date of birth but there were a lot of other interesting information. The tiny professor absorbed himself in the book, first reading Slytherin's entry, then those of the other founders. Finally he started to check the book itself.

Another hour later the tiny professor looked at his watch and cursed. He put the book away and hurried out of the library. Maybe he still would make it in time for the first teacher's conference in this year…

"Welcome to the first teacher's conference in the new year" Albus Dumbledore said, looking at the teacher's faces around him. "There are some points I have to discuss with everyone…"

"Like the story The Quibbler has been printing?" Minerva McGonagall asked sharply. "I cannot understand how Xenophilius could print such rubbish! I know he is a little bit… odd… but he has never ever printed something utterly false before! He was a Ravenclaw for Merlin's sake!"

"But the story he has printed wasn't rubbish at all, my dear Minerva" Filius Flittwick squeaked. "I checked the facts behind the story - and it was true. There really is a book about the teachers of Hogwarts in the library and it really contains the story like this Oliver Twist has written it down."

"So he didn't make that up?" Pomona Sprout asked surprised.

Flittwick just shook his head.

"I looked up everything" he said. "I also proved the date ' The Teachers of Hogwarts ' book was connected with Hogwarts. Very impressive charms work. I would be unable to do something similar even if I would know all the charms used."

"But you were able to confirm some facts?" Snape asked with a raised eyebrow. Flittwick nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes! Oh yes!" he said with bright eyes. "And what I found out is unbelievable! The book is about one thousand years old! I would guess that Rowena Ravenclaw herself cast the spell to connect the book with the castle!"

"So the facts of the article…"

"True! It has to be - except Slytherin did something to confuse the book and I doubt that even he was able to do something like that!"

"Interesting" Albus said.

"I never thought that Hogwarts would contain secrets like that!" Filius Flittwick said enthusiastically. "And these are not the only facts that have been twisted in time! Did you know that the names of the Houses were not based to the last names of the founders?! The founders would have had some problems if they really had decided to name the Houses after their last names as Helga Hufflepuff was in fact the sister of Godric Gryffindor! And Rowena Ravenclaw was his wife! And then there is the fact that Slytherin was a heal…"

"Filius, please!" Albus interrupted. "I am sure we can discuss this another time. Now we should turn our awareness to the resent problems."

"Oliver Twist" McGonagall guessed.

"Yes" Albus answered sighing. "Him also."

"What else?"

"Harry" Albus answered. "I fear he might be slowly influenced by Voldemort. He should not have known what he knew at the trial… I need you to look out for him. If he really is starting to be influenced we must know it as fast as possible to stop the influence."

"Influenced… how?"

"I am sorry, Minerva" Albus said sighing. "I am not sure. What I know is that Harry has a connection to Voldemort and I guess that now that Voldemort has his body back he might somehow have found a way to influence young Harry."

Minerva McGonagall looked at him in dismay.

"What should we do?"

"Watch him. If he displays an a-typical behaviour come to me instantly. It might safe Harry's life if you do."

"We understand" Minerva said, nodding. The other teachers also nodded their content.

"Thank you. Now…"

"And what will we do about this Twist-fellow?" Minerva McGonagall interrupted Albus.

Albus just shrugged.

"Until now he did nothing that is worrisome. We should read his articles and act when it changes but I would let him be until he does something more then questioning the Ministry and the Daily Prophet. "

"But his last article was about Hogwarts!" Minerva McGonagall said worriedly. "What if he starts to criticize us? He is after all a student at Hogwarts - and Xenophilius Lovegood has shown him that he can write what he wants and that no-one will reprimand him for it."

"I do not believe he will start to criticize us badly" Albus answered confidentially. "He might have written an article about Hogwarts but there was nothing bad in it…"

"And it was definitely based on the truth" Filius Flittwick added.

"I am quite sure that the young man will soon stop writing again - after all he will have classes to attent and then there are his homework and his friends. I am sure whoever it is will soon have no time anymore to write…"

Minerva McGonagall just pressed her lips together but said nothing anymore. There was no arguing with Albus. If he wanted to be blind he was until it was too late. That Twist had already started his doings at Hogwarts with his last article, Albus would not see until it was shoved into his face.

So they turned to the more important tasks for the next school year.

Albus had forgotten all about the article Oliver Twist had written when the meeting finally ended. He had other things in his mind. Like the weapon that might be turning into a weapon for Voldemort. Albus would have to look closely at the boy - and he would have to decide on the next step he had to take…

"Maybe it is time to teach Harry some things he might need against Voldemort… and maybe I should ask Severus to teach him Occlumency…" Albus thought and returned to his study, not seeing the little shadow of a house-elf popping out of existence after hearing everything they had discussed in the meeting today, not knowing that somewhere in the castle the boy he was thinking about, was briefed on everything that had been discussed in the meeting today.

"I see" the boy said after hearing everything. "Well, let's show the almighty Albus Dumbledore that Twist is not taken lightly. Let the war being." The boy knew that whoever would have the longer breath would finally win. But it did not matter at all. The boy had strings he could pull the old man wasn't even aware of.

Harry was sure, that in the end he would win this little war he had started against the Headmaster of the renowned school of magic - even if it might cost Harry everything he had to bring the old man down to his feet…