Hmmmm....perhaps Harry should leave most of the pranking to the twins, Remus, and Dobby! But on the other hand at least his students know that even their jedi master can have his clueless moments via his girlfriend/fiancee! Their response to Harry and Hermione was priceless! I also enjoyed Dobby's prank on Voldy! Snape better hope that it never occurs to Voldy that he could have avoided praying to the porcelin god. I also loved Voldy's firm technique with his little friend.....just blast the thing open! Snape's precaution on the replacement bottle might have worked but he'll pay for it in spades! It couldn't happen to a more deserving person! I doubt that any DE could get a reasonable insurance policy, but if Snape could even get an appointment I'd be suprised! Will the DE's start volunteering for missions just to avoid the madman with the bad attitude? On the whole it might be easier to face a lightsaber and lose a few body parts then to deal with their boss. Who's coming up with Voldy's current plans? Is that person plotting an escape hatch for themself if necessary? After all, Voldy's "favorites" seem to meet unpleasant ends eventually! Did Nagini find a nice spot to hide during Voldy's nap? I also liked seeing Draco's run in with Prof. McGonagall! I do feel a little sorry for Mr. Filch though, having to deal with Draco must really get on his nerves! Does he get overtime for the inconvience? Trust Dumbles to come up with another nasty plot, and I hope he freaks out when he realizes the Longbottoms are safe. Will Amelia and Augusta use that little written statement of his soon? (crosses fingers hoping to see Augusta putting the beatdown on Dumbles) I also respect Harry's decision to take care of the lemon drops himself. He and Dobby make a great pair! I loved seeing Harry and Hermione's talk with Trelawny, and I hope that she does accept that they were trying to help her! I was wondering, if she does start to trust them would they be able to track the blood item(s)that Dumbles used to keep those compulsions on her? Dobby was able to find Hermione's.....or could he do that because he was a trusted friend? It looks as if Narcissa might make a move soon; will it be to get herself and/or Draco out of this mess or set Voldy up with the Aurors. I was also wondering if Draco's mission will be the thing that leads to both he and Dumbles being booted from Hogwart? As always, thanks for a fun chapter! :)
Author's response
Harry has never been much for pranks...probably because Dudders pulled so many cruel jokes on him. Association, don'tchaknow!
Response: I recall a similar incident as a younger man, (waaaayyyy back in the late Cretaceous) when my then girlfriend said something similar about silk straps. The next morning at Quarters, I received a gift of 47 sets of silk straps. Even the Division officer bought a set!
Dobby thanks you for your praise. He quite enjoyed pranking the-most dangerous psychotic in Britain.
~Snape better hope that it never occurs to Voldy that he could have avoided praying to the porcelain god.~
I can just see that conversation...
"Severus?"
"Master?"
"Do you recall last week, you had me force myself to vomit?"
"Yes, master. You had to purge the contents of your stomach in order to..."
"Why didn't you simply vanish the contents of my stomach?"
"..."
"it is a simple healer's technique, is it not?"
"..." (Snape pulls his collar away from his neck.) "Is it getting hot in here?"
"It's going to get much hotter! Crucio!"
Voldy's technique worked until Snape replaced the bottle, and yes, he's going to feel some heat for doing that. He will calmly explain that Voldy is taking a very dangerous chance with his life and all. Voldemort will listen nicely and then disregard him entirely. In May he will find a way to overcome Snape's restrictions entirely. I want him nicely addicted by the time he faces Harry. ...Not that it's going to do him much good.
~Will the DE's start volunteering for missions just to avoid the madman with the bad attitude?~
Hey! There's an idea! A nice quiet prison cell four hundred feet beneath the antarctic ice shelf has to be more comfortable than living under Voldemort!
Draco is a punk. He's had daddy's name and money behind him for so long he's never learned self-protection, so naturally he doesn't understand that there are people smarter than him (Dumbledore has a similar mindset.)
Insurance: I understand Lloyds of London will insure pretty much anyone. It'll only cost you every nickel you have.
~Who's coming up with Voldy's current plans?~
Why, I am, of course.
Escape hatch? Not likely. I want his troops to see for themselves where following a madman has gotten them.
I also feel for Filch. Draco is a malingering aristocrat who should have had a personal meeting with Robespierre and Msu. Le Guillotine in the courtyard of Le Bastille.
Overtime? Actually, I don't think Dumbledore pays him at all.
My question is: Why would a magical school employ a non-magical janitor, when the elves do all the work? Especially given that he hates students with a passion, and has a grudge against the world.
Sooner or later, Dumbley is going to learn that he's been two steps behind his enemy all along...but not just yet. And yes, he's going to throw a tantrum.
The notebook, parchments and statements, are just to keep him out of trouble after Harry does his thing. If he decides to stir the waters, he'll find himself in a whirlpool.
Harry's decision: Is my own. If I'm going to condemn him, I'll do it myself.
I'm getting some grief over Trelawney. Harry's innate sense of fair-play, made him revive her, but his duty to his troops will make the final decision.
The only way I can see them tracking the blood is the way Dobby did before. However, given that he's lost control over Harry, Hermione and Ron, not to mention Arthur and the rest of the Weasleys, when Dumbledore discovers Trelawney is gone, he'll put the numbers together and might decide to destroy the blood, or move it to some place not even a house-elf can get to it. There are good's and bad's with either move.
Narcissa: Here's a nice empty canvas. Until that pile of...typing called HBP came out, many people felt she wasn't as bad as Lucius. Most wrote her as being the unwilling accomplice. I've written her both ways, myself, but here, she is very much a Death Eater. Her only conflict is that she wants to protect her spawn...an understandable reaction, after all.
Draco's mission: Basically, yes.
Thanks for a wonderful review.
Alorkin