TORMENT (Harry Potter Sequel)

Part II: Chapter Eight

'But,' as Tom stared ever forward, his mind wandered to the next thing plaguing him, 'What do I do now?'

To say Hogwarts was chaotic would be an understatement. To say the Wizarding World was chaotic would be an understatement. It had now been one week exactly since the dramatic death of Aubyn Young, right in the heart of Hogwarts grounds. Since then, the world seemed to have split into two groups: those who stuck with the original narrative, perpetuated by the Daily Prophet that Tom Malumis is an evil psychopath who murdered Harry Potter and now a poor innocent boy and those who have rallied under the name 'Malumists'. The movement that started in Hogwarts has now grown out of the school; and not just the parents of the children as well. Many, many people found out about Aubyn's confession, what he said. On a few occasions already, riots have almost started. You didn't have to be in the Ministry of Magic to tell that tensions were at a high- the boiling pot was ready to overflow.

Hogwarts was somehow even worse. All structure had left the school. There were no 'lessons' anymore, there were just teachers trying to make students, especially older students, not go berserk. Most people didn't even know what to do most days so simply wandered about. Many 'Malumist' students protested any semblance of order that the teachers tried to throw at them. They were NOT going to just let this die down.

Ron's office was completely silent. He sat by his desk and held his head in his hands. Only a year ago this room he was sitting in; this desk he was sitting by, they belonged to Harry Potter. Even now it hadn't set in. Any second he imagined Harry to pop back up, like he always did, like he had before. And now his whole world had been flung upside down. He had been good friends with the Young Family- he had been close with Aubyn. Seeing him be murdered right in front of him was horrible, it was despicable but... hearing his words... hearing what he said.

Again he hid his face away.

'Why does this job have to be so hard...' he thought to himself.

Quietly, Hermione Granger opened the door to the office and slowly walked in. Her face changed to a sad frown when she saw Ron and she walked up to him. Ron didn't look up or move but he did notice Hermione come in.

"What am I meant to do Hermione?" he asked quietly.

"I think..." she whispered, "You've done very well this year."
"I haven't," Ron said lowly, "Nowhere near as well as Harry did."
"Hm," was Hermione's only reply.

"I can't believe he's really gone, Hermione," he said, "I... I can't."

"I can't either..."

"What do I do?" Ron repeated.

Hermione looked at her husband and shook her head, "I don't know," she admitted, "I have no idea what to do. I have no idea what you can do."

"And what about Aubyn? What about him!?" Hermione felt Ron was getting agitated so put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He quickly calmed himself down.

"I..." words failed Hermione, "Trust me, I'm as shocked as you are."
"Well you're a lot better at hiding your feelings than I am," Ron grumbled. Hermione chuckled.

"Oh I've had my breakdowns," she said quietly, "And I think in front of the students you've been really good.

Ron groaned, "Oh don't bring up the students. It's like a war zone in here, we've literally lost complete control. Students in yelling matches with teachers- no lessons- sure they respect the unspoken rules like 'no random anarchy' and..." he struggled for something else, "No... boys in the girls bathroom or stuff like that but with the stuff that matters... Hogwarts is in turmoil."
"Can you blame them?" Hermione asked.