Harry Potter and the Children of the Clan

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"So what does James have to say about our fella?" Ted asked.

Victoire looked up from the piece of parchment that Harry's large owl had dropped on the table in front of her just before dinner had ended. At the moment they were using one of the large window casings as a small 'reading room'.

"Uncle 'arry got home this morning just after dawn. He's in good shape, no injuries. He spent some time talking to Aunt Ginny and the kids. He'll be up here tomorrow for the start of the new week," she told him and then looked back down. "Um, he then slept for a good part of the day. I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow. We should be able get him to talk to us."

"Let's hope so, because nobody else is," Ted said with some annoyance.

"Of course they aren't, Teddy. But what would they say? Professor Potter is off somewhere fighting evil witches and wizards, again. Remember the stories about how closed mouth nearly everyone was about Tom Riddle and his gang."

"Yeah, and look at what happened," Ted replied. "You'd think they'd learn a lesson, wouldn't you?"

Vee smiled a small sad smile as she looked into those troubled, haunted eyes. She laid her hand on his forearm and said,

"I know, Teddy. Things might have been so different if they had."

True to James' message, Harry was at the faculty table the next morning. He seemed to spend more time in whispered conversation with the Head and with Bill Weasley than he did eating and this had Victoire more than a little concerned. A flagging appetite was always a danger signal where her uncle was concerned. The conversation at the students' tables was muted and a lot of glances were being directed up to the head table. When Harry stood up, the room went quiet. When he came to stand behind the podium, there was a collective intake of breath. He never stood behind the podium. It was either in the open at the edge of the dais or sitting on his stool that he magicked into the Great Hall.

"Good morning, everyone," he said by way of an opening. "As you are all well aware, I was absent for a few days this past week. I, and Professor Sprout, believe that you need to know why. Perhaps not all the details, but at least the major reasons. A significant threat has made itself known. One consequence of that threat was the seizing of several prominent members of the East European magical community as well as an Auror investigator, and good friend of mine. As a result, I spent several days in the effort to secure their release. I, and the many others involved, were successful. And while not unharmed, the captives are alive and expected to make full recoveries."

This was met with some applause and comments. Harry resumed after quieting them down with a raised hand.

"The real issue at hand is who committed the kidnappings and what their motives are. As of now, the information is sketchy and not terribly conclusive. But from what we know, we are acting on the assumption that this is a conspiracy aimed at bringing unwanted and unfavorable attention upon the magical world with the intention of using muggle prejudice to greatly diminish our numbers so that the conspirators can then establish themselves as some sort of overlords of both the remaining magic users as well as muggles, with little resistance."

Over the stunned silence that followed, Harry could hear several iterations of the phrase 'witch hunt'. He nodded.

"Exactly. A modern day version of the witch hunt. Now, under ordinary circumstances, I would fear more for muggles living on the fringes of their society than I would for any true magic users, but with instigators from inside our community, the threat is much more dangerous. Now, at this point you might be wondering why I'm telling you this. It does seem like it's taking place a long way away. But that distance is very deceptive. These kinds of ideas can travel very quickly and as I'm sure you know, there are more than a few people here at home that might find the idea attractive. What these people have planned isn't all that different than what we experienced with Lord Voldemort."