Tanya’s Hogwarts Adventures (Youjo Senki, Harry Potter)

[Half_Baked_cat]

All the world is a stage. Every man and woman has their place to play. And all their movements controlled by the director's strings at the behest of the writer's fingers.

A jerky, unsteady step forwards. A graceless bow by the puppetted actor.

We each have our place to play. Locations to be and movements to make and words to speak. Knowledge mere lines memorized and spoken with no true understanding.

Wide gesture to a board painted black. A mockery of a classroom. Meaningless scrawlings painted in white.

Teachers playing the place of school. Students playing the place of mimic, copying what the teacher does and says in a twisted mockery of education.

Lines of figures lift blades and chop down. A simulation of chopping ingredients. Of creating. Of making. Of understanding what their movements mean. Of what the strings are telling them.

All the world is a stage. Every man and woman has their place to play. And all their movements controlled by the director's strings at the behest of the writer's fingers.

"What are you doing?" Professor Snape asked, coming behind Lily and staring at a puppet version of himself.

Tanya looked up at him and shrugged. "Vincent and Gregory learn better with gamified lessons and Lily learns better with stories," she said before indicating the puppets now collapsed at little desks in a scene meant to mimic Snape's classroom. "This seemed like the most efficient way to help the three of them study."

There was a brief snarl on the professor's face before he waved at them to move. "Well, it is time for you to clean up. Drama Club is starting. After the… disaster of last year's performance, I have selected something that should be more your speed."

Professor Snape swept to the middle of the room, gathering the eyes of the club members onto him.

"Something with a few less acts and scenery requirements to fall apart. While we are not working on the few set pieces and memorizing the lines, we will be working on improv."

Professor Snape's eyes fell upon the puppets that were being used as study tools. "Though a few of you seem to already have a good instinct for certain aspects, I hope that by the end of the year each of you will be able to slip into the personality of an entirely different person and adjust to unusual situations without missing a single beat."

Professor Snape's eyes continued to move over the gathered students, pausing briefly where Paravati was with Lavender and Pansy with magazines of dresses.

"I have also arranged for some more experienced hands at sewing to stop by for a few of the meetings to help with the costumes to avoid any… malfunctions."

With one final look around at the gathered students, Professor Snape gave a quick stomp. "Gather up, we are going to be doing a few warm up games before we get into discussing the play I've picked for you all."

—-

Lucius Malfoy

Waking up to find the Dark Mark returned to its full glory on his arm was not what Lucius was expecting to occur on the first day of November. That he had not felt the call to return to his Master meant that there was something going on, but there was no doubt that Lord Voldemort was returned.

Seemingly, eleven years to the day. Lucius was not the most learned into the machinations of spell work, but eleven being a prime number seemed to be a rather important aspect to the return. Important, but if that was truly the case then Voldemort may still be a bit weak and is gathering his personal strength.

That was an opportunity for Lucius. Whether or not there was a coming Dark Lady and her pet Potter was a concern for the future. A Dark Lord was around now and would be seeking his loyal cohorts to return to the fold. And Lucius would indeed return to the fold and the inner circle.

There was just a few small details he was going to arrange first. It was a good thing he had chosen to only get the Slytherin Quidditch Team the 2000 Nimbus to minimize the financial impact on his accounts as he was dipping into them and did not wish to see them dry up.

The first detail, the detail that was the biggest one and the most beautiful detail in Lucius's life, was to embrace his wonderful wife in a loving hug, lips caressing her neck and up to the lobe of her ear that always got her moaning in such delightful ways.

"Narcissa, my dear, I must apologize," Lucius began with a soft whisper.

"What for, Lucy?" Narcissa asked, using the pet name she kept to their most private of moments.

"I will not be able to holiday this winter with you," Lucius said, breaking the embrace to look his wife in the eyes. "Something has come up that will surely interfere."

Narcissa allowed her impassive mask drop as she bit her lip. "What could ruin our trip in such a manner?"

"He is back. The Dark Lord has returned. I do not know how soon he will call for me, but I am certain it will not be long."

"But it has been so long, how can you be so certain?"

Lucius pulled fully from the embrace and stepped back, pulling the sleeve of his robe back to show the mark on his arm.

"It has been exactly eleven years and the mark is like it was freshly applied. I do not know what he will want from me, but I can protect you and Draco in a small way."

"How?"

"You must go. The house in London is a bit small and near all those muggles, but you should be comfortable enough and, of more import, safe. Take the house elf with you, I will survive without him."

Narcissa stepped forwards and grasped her dear husband's hands. "Are you certain this is the way?"

Lucius gently cupped his wife's face and gave her a gentle smile. "Yes. I could not bear it if anything were to happen to you. Draco will need to Summer with you, but he is safe at Hogwarts for now. I will endeavor to see you whenever I am able to."

Narcissa nodded sadly, with a slight smile on her lips. "Dobby! Take my things to the London house and get it ready for me," she called out.

A short creature with large, flappy ears and bulbous eyes popped in, bowing. "Yes Misses Narcy. Dobby will be doing that right away."

With another pop, the creature was gone. Narcissa turned to her husband with sultry eyes and slipped a finger behind the clasp of his robes. "It will take him a bit to prepare the house. How about we spend these last moments together… vigorously?"

Lucius smiled, leaning in for a kiss. "Of course dear."

—-

Ron Weasley

"Has anyone seen Scabbers? My rat? The lazy thing isn't in the dorm room."

The various Gryffindors in the Common Room shook their heads.

"We'll keep an eye out for him," Hermione promised, though that failed to alleviate Ron's concerns.

—-

Filius Flitwick

"I believe that will be all for today! Oh, Ms. Degurechaff, would you mind staying behind for a moment?" Filius said at the end of his lesson for the day. A small, confused murmuring broke out at the request, no doubt from confusion at the thought that Tanya of all students would be in trouble.

"Of course, sir," the ever polite student agreed, having to send her friends along ahead of her.

With her things packed and the classroom otherwise empty, Ms. Degurechaff stepped towards Filius's desk. "Is something wrong sir?"

Filius sighed before giving Ms. Degurechaff a smile. "That is what I wanted to find out. You and Ms. Granger are undoubtedly the two best students in your year. Yet the two of you demonstrate very different attitudes towards such an accomplishment."

Filius leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard as he pondered the young girl in front of him. "Ms. Granger is a classic overachiever, constantly sticking her nose in and out of books, first to put her hand up to answer any questions I give, writing more than enough for every answer to demonstrate her knowledge. By any metric, a model student."

Filius leaned forwards and clasped his hands together in front of himself. "Then there is you. Having organized and actively participating in three separate clubs, on the quidditch team, exemplary classwork, tutoring other students, and don't think I haven't noticed you've begun doing morning runs around the castle."

"Is there something wrong with that, sir?" Ms. Degurechaff asked, confusion clear in her face.

Filius sighed again. "Are you bored in class?"

"What." It wasn't really a question, so Filius pushed on.

"Whenever I introduce a new spell in class, you and Ms. Granger are the first two to get it to work. Ms. Granger is very precise about her motions and wording. You, however, seem almost lazy in how you perform the spells and swiftly move onto casting most of them silently or without wand movements. I would not be surprised if you started casting some of them wandlessly at the rate you are going."

Ms. Degurechaff smirked and pointed at a quill on Filius's desk and it began floating at Ms. Degurechaff's will. "I am still not seeing what the issue is, Sir."

Filius took a moment to calm down at the sight of one of his students showing such a casual display of advanced magic. "The issue, as you put it, is I don't want you being bored in my lessons," Filius stated, taking back his seat, a grin still on his lips. "Just between you and me, I rather pride myself on being the most popular teacher. The one the students are most excited to go to class to see. I want to make sure you have the same feeling as your classmates. Of looking forward to my lessons."

Filius dropped his smile and leaned back in his chair. "And that is rather the crux of it. I cannot be pushing more onto most of your classmates in order to keep up with the speed you are learning, but you appear to need something to challenge you."

"It is fine, Sir. I enjoy your lessons."

Filius was not sure he fully believed Ms. Degurechaff and sighed. "All the same, I suppose I can at least give you some leeway in my classroom. As long as it is not disruptive to the other students, feel free to bring in other reading materials. You will still need to do the assignments and tests, but you are free to treat my class as something akin to study hall."

"Thank you, Sir. Is there anything else?"

"There is one other thing," Filius agreed with a nod. "I've heard about your reason for not joining the Dueling Club, as well as that incident with the troll last year, and the pixies earlier this year…" Filius could see some tension building in the student in front of him, but he continued onwards anyways. "I am curious to see what you are capable of. If you don't mind-"

"I do mind, Sir," Ms. Degurechaff said, firmly, not not harshly. Simply making her opinion on the matter known.

"Oh dear. Well, it was just an idle curiosity. If you do change your mind, I would love to see, but I won't push." Filius said before hopping off his stool. "Thank you for your time Ms. Degurechaff."

"It was no problem, Sir."

—-

Lucius Malfoy

It was most of a month before an unexpected guest announced their presence by ringing the doorbell, the loud gonging echoed through the manor. Lucius was ready for a host of possibilities as the time from the mark reappearing and the current moment had given him and the other free Death Eaters time to meet and discuss what it meant and when their Lord would make his presence known.

But he was not ready for the woman grinning at him when he opened the door. "Ah, Lucius," she hissed out and seemingly slithered up to him in that purple dress robe. "So good to see you, my loyal servant."

There was no warmth to her voice. It wasn't his voice, but the way she spoke, the way she confidently strolled into his home… "L-lord Voldemort?"

"I told you I was immortal," she said, turning to face Lucius, the white of her teeth matching the serpentine skull marking on her face, contrasting her ebony skin. "I will always come back." She gestured at her body confidently while taking a swig from a bottle Lucius had not noticed held delicately between her fingers. "Though the manner of my return may be a bit… different from how you expected."

Lucius followed his master as she stalked the halls of his manor. "Are we to start the war again?" Lucius asked.

"Patience. Dumbledore and the Ministry are unaware of my return. There are other objectives to achieve before my grand return." Voldemort spun on her heel, sneering at Lucius. "You and the others who abandoned the cause this last decade will have much to make up for."

Lucius stopped in his tracks, paling sharply. "M-my Lord! I never gave up the cause."

It was only two steps that Voldemort took to get within Lucius's space, a finger pressed against Lucius head as he trembled. "Do not lie to me," Voldemort commanded. "You chose to save yourself, abandoning a number of your fellows to Azkaban."

With contemptuous ease, Voldemort pushed Lucius away. "You will have time to make up for it. For now, I need time to plan my next steps carefully before I gather my Death Eaters to me. You will find me a suitable wand to use until I can reclaim my own."

"Yes my Lord," Lucius said with a bow, leaving Lord Voldemort to her own devices.

 

[Half_Baked_cat]

Hermione Granger

The excitement of the Chamber of Secrets and the petrification of Mrs. Norris led to a frenzy of students trying to dig up any information they could. All copies of 'Hogwarts: A History' were checked out of the library and eventually Hermione just had to ask the only source she thought could tell them.

In History of Magic, she raised her hand to get Professor Binns's attention.

"You have a question Ms…."

"Granger, sir. Hermione Granger."

Professor Binns seemed a bit out of it, actually holding a conversation instead of just going through the lesson plan he had set in place for over a century. "Right, what would you like to ask Ms. Granger?"

"What is the Chamber of Secrets, sir?"

"Ms. Granger, this is History of Magic. We deal in facts here. Not myths and legends."

Hermione ignored the other students seemingly perking up as she raised her hand again. Getting Professor Binns acknowledgement, she made her case for it being appropriate to be discussed in the class, "But sir, isn't it true that myths and legends have a kernel of truth to them?"

Professor Binns seemed to actually focus on Hermione, as though really seeing a student for the first time in years, possibly decades. "Yes, I suppose that is true, though the legend you speak of is a sensational, even ludicrous, tale."

Professor Binns looked around and saw every student was looking at him expectantly. Possibly the first time in some time he had the interest of the entire class.

"Oh, very well," Professor Binns said slowly. "The Chamber of Secrets, let's see here…

"The tale begins over a thousand years ago, though exact dates have been lost to history, with the founding of our great school. The four most brilliant witches and wizards of the day came together to build this castle far from muggles to protect wizards and witches from the prosecutions of the common people. The four Great Houses of this fine institution were named for our four Founders, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin.

"For a time, they worked together peacefully, seeking youngsters that showed the potential for magic and bringing them here to be educated. Over time, a rift between them began to form between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective on who was admitted to Hogwarts."

Professor Binns seemed to look around, seeing that he still held the attention of the entire class. "He believed that students should be limited to magical families as muggle parents were not as trustworthy. After some time, an argument between Slytherin and Gryffindor occurred, forcing Slytherin to leave the school. That is as much information as reliable sources provide."

Professor Binns paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, pursing his lips and making him look like an old tortoise.

"This is where the facts of the situation ends and we come to rumors and legends built up over time. The way the story goes is that Slytherin had a hidden chamber, one which the other founders knew nothing about, constructed.

"Slytherin, according to legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none could open it into his True Heir arrived at the school, unleash the horror within, and purge the school of those unworthy to learn magic."

A brief hush passed over the class, interrupted by Tanya raising her hand. Getting Professor Binn's acknowledgment, she asked, "Considering the recent events, is it possible to narrow down what this horror might be? Surely we know something about Salazar Slytherin that could eliminate the various beasts that can petrify a cat and are dangerous enough to quote unquote purge the school."

Professor Binns seemed to get annoyed at the question. "This whole thing is arrant nonsense. There is no horror."

"If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it," Tanya said confidently. "There is currently someone attempting to bring the legend to life, so we would do well to prepare for the worst case by examining the history and legends, comparing them to the current situation, and working to prepare for what may be happening."

Professor Binns scoffed. "I doubt that there is anything to worry about something that could only petrify a cat."

"Spiders trap their victims in webs, inject them with a paralyzing toxin that then slowly liquifies the insides that the spider will later drink. For all we know, purification is only step one in the horror's feeding process."

Hermione had to agree with the shudder Ron gave at Tanya's description of how spiders eat.

"I really don't think-"

"Pulling at the strings of the legend will help us better understand the Founders and the time period they lived in," Tanya interrupted, giving a rather vicious looking smile. Hermione was having a hard time thinking of when Tanya was this animated outside of Drama Club. Though, that smile caused an unbidden mental image of Tanya's face covered in blood again. It was far too easy to picture her friend that way.

Professor Binns's face was contorted in a manner that made him look constipated before he released a breath he did not have.

The class was intensely focused on the biplay between the two, nearly every student leaning forwards in anticipation.

"Fine. The horror within is believed to have been some sort of monster only the Heir of Slytherin would be able to control. There are a few creatures that can be controlled through hereditary means, though you would be better asking the Care of Magical Creatures Professor then myself for them, and there were rumors of Slytherin being a parslemouth. So, it is possible it may be a serpent of some manner. Now can we please get to the lesson I had planned?"

Professor Binns seemed rather annoyed as Tanya sat back, satisfied.

"Thank you Professor. That does seem like it would narrow the list significantly on what the monster may be."

Everyone was looking at Tanya, though Hermione's eyes looked over at Harry. Last year he revealed to the Magical Language Club his ability to speak to snakes. Hopefully no one would blame him as the heir to Slytherin.

—-

Harry Potter

Rumors that he could talk to snakes and that the monster from the Chamber of Secrets was a monstrous snake briefly sprang up until it was pointed out that Harry was teaching Parselmouth to the other Magical Language Club members. Which meant that anyone could, with the right mentor, learn it.

Harry was glad that the suspicious looks he was getting died away quickly as everyone quickly pivoted to trying to figure out what exactly the monster was. He did not understand what most of the things people were talking about were and when questioned about the limits of what counted as a snake, Harry was unhelpful.

He had only talked to a very small number of snakes and only in brief passing, like the previous year on his cousin's birthday at the zoo that resulted in a python escaping its enclosure.

For now though, he had a Quidditch match to play. The first official match of the season against the Slytherins, though they had an unofficial match earlier in the year.

There were butterflies in his stomach as he headed down to the pitch. This was going to be his first match against a friend. Draco had started off as a bit of a bully, but halfway through last year he changed his tune. Harry did not fully trust it, but followed Tanya's lead for now and let Draco prove he was capable of being a friend.

Oliver Wood gave a speech meant to inspire the team, but only caused the butterflies to flap harder. He was stopped from leaving the locker by a hand on his shoulder.

"You ok?" Tanya asked, looking Harry in the eyes.

"Uh, yeah," Harry said, giving his friend a smile that was much more confident than he felt.

Tanya was silent for a moment before nodding. "Take a deep breath and remember, it is just a game."

With that, the two of them mounted their brooms and flew out into the stands in coordination, their names being called out by Lee Jordan on the speakers as the crowd. After a lap around the field, Harry flew up into his position to wait for the game to start while Tanya landed on the sidelines next to Ron, ready to sub in if needed.

Harry looked at the opposing Seeker, Draco Malfoy. Draco looked confident, smug even. Harry took a deep breath in. It was just a game. It was just a game.

The whistle sounded the start of the game and they were off. Harry began looking for the snitch. The sparkle of gold of the golf ball sized winged ball. Harry was not going to think about Draco. He was just going to fly and catch the ball.

With his focus on searching, Harry lost track of time and the score. He did not know when he thought he saw a sparkle and made a dive. Seeing the movement of the sparkle, Harry adjusted his trajectory. He was doing an angled dive, but now he was heading straight to the ground. Just before hitting the ground, the snitch moved, the chase was on. Harry flew upside down after the snitch, hand out to grab it, his back brushing against the grass.

Then he twisted, feet landing on the wall of the stands. He was standing triumphantly on the wall being held up by just his broom and his feet sticking against the stands…

For a moment till gravity made him fall to the ground, snitch in hand.

Looking around, Harry realized he was at the base of the stand that the score was displayed on. There was cheering going on.

Slytherin was at 220 points.

Gryffindor… won with 350 points.

Harry was grabbed and picked up as the Gryffindors rushed the field.

—

Harry was still riding high on the win when he filed into Defense Against the Dark Arts, but that was quickly wiped away. Lockhart had not brought in any more 'practical' examples for the students to try themselves against since that first day. The man seemed scared of Tanya for some reason, which amused Harry. Sure, Tanya was good at magic, but she was not going to hurt anyone. She liked theater club and flying, not dueling. And she was always trying to keep everyone calm. She was a very peaceful person.

Lockhart's fear aside, the pompous fool instead spent the lessons reenacting scenes from his books. Which would be fine if he picked one of the students from the Drama Club who enjoyed acting, but Lockhart kept picking Harry and dragged him up front to play the role of some monster or other. As much as Snape seemed to hate Harry, no matter what assurances Tanya made to the contrary, Potions was no longer Harry's least favorite class. Lockhart had ruined his opinion of DADA for now.

And it looked like today Harry was supposed to pretend to be a Yeti. Just another class made unbearable by Lockhart.

—

Tanya Degurechaff

It was getting late in the day. Curfew was about to set in. Tanya and his roommates were getting ready for bed. Parvati and Lavender on Lavender's bed doing each other's hair. Tanya was jotting down a few thoughts into her journal. Hermione was brushing her teeth. Lily was…

Tanya put her pen down. "Anyone seen Lily?"

"No," Lavender said, suddenly realizing how quiet the room was. "You think she got lost on one of her explorations?"

Hermione spat out the toothpaste she had in her mouth. "That can't be it. She knows that Tanya will silence her when lights out is called if she hasn't finished telling us about whatever she found."

Tanya rolled her eyes. "Getting enough rest is an important part of a growing body."

The other girls giggled, but Tanya stood up. "I'm going to check the common room."

The other three girls made noncommittal noises as Tanya headed out of the dorm room and down to the common room. There were a few older students milling about, but it was mostly empty and no Lily to be seen. On the mantle over the fireplace was a familiar looking cat seemingly watching the room.

Heading over to the mantle, the confidence of Tanya slowly drained from her as she realized she was about to do something that could seem incredibly foolish if she was wrong.

"Professor McGonagall, is that you?"

The cat looked down at Tanya from its perch. It had similar markings to Professor McGongall's animagus form, but that did not mean too much when there were a number of cats in the castle and Tanya was not familiar with all of them.

"I'm going to look so stupid if you aren't Professor McGonagall," Tanya muttered to herself before speaking back up, "Professor, if that is you, Lily isn't in the dorm room. Do you know where she might be?"

The cat continued to stare at Tanya for a moment before the portrait hiding the entrance to the Common Room opened up and the seventh year prefect came rushing in. "Anyone know about a second year girl?"

Tanya turned and spoke up. "Is it Lily?"

The prefect nodded. "She's been petrified."

In a motion, the cat hopped down from the mantle, transforming into Professor McGonagall. "Where is she?"

Spoiler: Chapter title song

View: https://youtu.be/agC3lIfPuQU?si=q68qPLJ8Kv9uFZ2g

 

[Half_Baked_cat]

Lily Moon

Exploring the castle was a fun activity Lily did rather often. So many nooks and crannies to find. Why just today she found a classroom on the second floor behind a door pretending to be a wall. A boring find since it was just a dusty old classroom, but it was a secret classroom so there was something neat about that. Maybe there are secret classes taught in the secret classroom, but if that was true, the room would not have a layer of dust over it, would it?

Having found something though, Lily determined she should head back to the Gryffindor tower so she could tell her friends all about it.

"Hello Colin," Lily said to the camera loving first year.

"Oh, uh, Lily, right?" He asked, nervously, fiddling with his camera.

"Yeppers," Lily said, striking a pose. "I just found a hidden room!" Colin's camera flashed, taking a picture of Lily in that pose. Lily smirked as she sidled up to Colin. "I'll show you it another time, but I gotta get back to the dorm room and tell my friends all about it!"

"Sounds great," Colin said, swallowing thickly.

Lily bounded over to Colin and gave the boy a hug before skipping off. She was taking a path that was a bit less direct, but she liked going through the hallway with all the suits of armor. She once tried to compliment Mr. Filch on how shiny he got the armor there, but the meany head just growled at her, causing Lily to flee.

Lily tripped. There was nothing to trip over, but she suddenly was falling forwards. She tried turning and her eyes caught sight of one of the suits. So shiny you could see your reflection in them.

Eyes.

Yellow eyes.

Lily could not move. She knew her body thudded against the ground, but she felt nothing. She could still see the suits of armor, but could no longer see the eyes. Indeed, she was looking mainly at the wall between armors, unable to move her eyes.

She could not move.

She could not speak.

She had a mouth trapped partially open, and could not scream.

She was on the ground, unable to move.

She heard someone find her. She did not feel them touch her. She did not feel when she was lifted up and moved. She saw the castle float by.

She saw the Hospital Wing and heard as Madam Pomfrey fussed over her. She did not feel the softness of the bed or the warmth of the blanket draped over her.

Lily felt nothing. Smelt nothing. Tasted nothing. She could hear those around her and see what was directly in front of her eyes.

Lily could not sleep. She was aware of it getting dark in the room. And then light.

Time meant nothing until a mop of blonde hair along with curly brown, straight brown, and black came to visit.

"Madam Pomfrey said we could visit you," Tanya said.

If Lily could, she would have smiled and hugged her friends for visiting, exuberantly telling them everything.

Lily could not read Tanya's expression, so stoney that it was like she was the petrified one. Hermione and Lavender and Paravati were all sad, tears prickling their eyes.

Lily wished she could feel the hugs Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender gave her, or the hand Tanya laid on her shoulder. All she got was the sight of them doing it, but could not feel it.

It was almost like ice was in her blood. The lack of sensation painfully prickling at her constantly.

After a few words were said, Tanya told the others to go on without her.

Now alone, Tanya looked Lily in the eyes.

"Madam Pomfrey said you might be somewhat aware of your surroundings." Lily wasn't sure, but she thought Tanya might be stroking her head. "I don't need you falling behind in your studies more than necessary."

Lily would have smiled at Tanya pulling out the Snape puppet if she could.

"I'll need to make you some puppets of the other professors, but…" Tanya cleared her voice and put on her best Snape impression. "Today class, we will be covering the subtle art of transfiguring a toad into a stool…"

Lily watched and listened as Tanya performed a one person puppet lesson for her. She tried answering the questions asked in her mind when the puppet Snape asked them.

It felt like too soon before Tanya had to leave.

The boys stopped by briefly, but as the light faded and returned, Lily looked forward to when Tanya would visit. She didn't know how long it was between the visits, but Tanya would break out puppets, some of the ones Lily made and some that Tanya had made.

Lily could tell Tanya was good at the constructing part, but… the McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout puppets were really bad. Lily loved them anyways because her friend made them to help her with the classes she was missing.

The pain of not feeling anything slowly died down as Lily continued to not feel anything. And the only time that seemed to really matter was when Tanya visited. It was the closest way to mark the days Lily had as everything else blurred together, even the visits of her other friends who tried talking to her, but kept saying the same things each time.

Time spun and lost meaning.

Only the Tanya Puppet Pals brought Lily back to herself. Reminded her of who she was. Reminded Lily she was Lily Moon, a student and friend to Tanya Degurechaff.

It was only in watching the puppet shows that Lily was Lily. The rest of the time she ceased to exist, just a frozen body with a fractured mind.

—-

Albus Dumbledore

Dealing with a petrified student was a rather simple issue compared to a resurgent Voldemort that was laying low. It was unfortunate that all of the normal potion ingredient channels seemed to be out of mandrake due to a recent outbreak of Viscera Veil and flesh eating slugs eating up crops, but Sprout was working on a crop in her classes so it was only a matter of time before young Ms. Moon would be cured of her current malady.

Far more concerning was that Voldemort was not just laying low, but had not even summoned his Death Eaters to him in over a month and a half. A month of his movements being untraceable. Students were to go home for the holidays in the morning and Albus would have the rest of the month to attempt to counter Voldemort's plans, but where to start? How do you counter what you do not know is coming?

How do you counter something most would not believe without evidence to put in their face?

The ministry would not take a single move to add extra security around Azkaban without proof of the threat. They would not even accept any of his arguments to get rid of the Dementors any of the times Albus had previously brought up the issues with using Dementors as guards, why would they move now?

Albus had sent letters to a few members of the previous Order of the Phoenix to start gathering steam there, but with such limited resources what was there to protect first? Harry was already well protected by the ancient magics his mother had gifted him in her sacrifice, but where else? What else?

Albus sighed before straightening up as he was alerted to a guest coming up the stairs to his office. The gait of the strides and opening of the door without knocking could only mean one individual.

"Ah, Severus. How may I help you?"

"I just got back from a rather important meeting," Severus Snape said scowling. "Voldemort has been hiding out at the Malfoy's for some time now. And SHE has just recently decided to gather us together to discuss HER plans."

Albus blinked for a moment before leaning forwards, a glint in his aged eyes. "I'm sorry Severus, but you seem to-"

"Voldemort is a woman." Severus interrupted. "Whatever method she used to return to physical form has caused her to come back as a woman. I'll let you take a look at my memories of the meeting later, but we have more important things to deal with first."

Albus schooled his face into seriousness and nodded. "Yes yes. I agree. There are more important things to deal with, though I would be very interested in learning of what method he used to return with. But first, what is he planning?"

"She is planning on breaking her other servants out of Azkaban, both to reward her most faithful and as a way to undermine the minister."

Albus nodded, having suspected a breakout was on the table. "Sadly, there is not much we can do to stop the breakout as the minister is unlikely to believe increased security measures are necessary." Albus furrowed his brows before asking a question. "Did Voldemort say why he wants to undermine the minister? I would think with how much influence Malfoy has garnered over Fudge that Fudge would be a useful puppet for them as things currently sit."

Severus nodded gravely. "She is planning on installing Malfoy as minister. Use the breakout as an excuse to force a vote of no confidence followed by Malfoy running a campaign to be the new Minister of Magic. Control of the highest office without open violence and no one in the public any the wiser."

Albus felt a shiver of fear run down his spine. This was insidious. He could easily throw the plan off by stepping into the ring and taking on the role of Minister himself, but it was a step he never wanted to take. It was too much power. Too much temptation for Albus. No, he would need to find another for the role.

Albus briefly looked Severus over as an option, but quashed that thought quickly. Severus was a trusted agent and capable as a double agent spying on Voldemort and the Death eaters for him, but he was also not trusted nor well liked among the populace.

But there was one man Albus could think of that was generally well liked, trusted, and was already within the ministry so stepping up into a new political role would not be too outrageous.

Convincing Arthur to run would be tricky as the man loved his current position within the ministry and had no further ambitions as his life was as perfect as a man could possibly desire, but the man did have a sense of duty that Albus could lean on. If he learned of what was coming, then surely he would agree to run.

Albus rubbed his temples as he sighed. "This is going to be tricky. I trust you will keep me up to date on any further maneuvering?"

"Of course," Severus agreed with a sneer as though the question itself was insulting. "What are you planning?"

Albus looked Severus in the eye and weighed his options. "I am going to have to help run a counter campaign against Malfoy. I just hope the man I am hoping to lean on is willing to step up."

—

Arthur Weasley

Arthur was not a terribly complicated man. He had a steady job dealing with muggle artifacts, a wonderful wife that filled his chest full of love, a gaggle of children he loved dearly, and a warm hearth to come home to every night. What more could he want? He could spend his weekends either in the company of his wife, or sneak off to the shed in the back and work on his hobbies experimenting with muggle artifacts, like his Ford Anglia.

Everything he could ever want he already had and anything else he may need was just a matter of budgeting time and money to eventually get.

So he did not think too much on receiving a message from Dumbledore for a personal meeting. Perhaps the twins had caused a bit of mischief just before the winter break. Regardless, Arthur stepped up behind Molly, gave her a gentle hug and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, but Albus asked to see me. I'll try to make it quick."

"Oh, what does the Headmaster need that couldn't be said in a letter?" Molly asked, twisting in Arthur's arms and returning the hug briefly.

"The letter did not say, just that he wanted to speak with me about something. Shouldn't take too long, then we can get on our way."

"It better not, Bill will be waiting for us and I do not want to keep him waiting."

"Of course, dear," Arthur said, giving his wife a quick peck on the lips before taking a pinch of Floo Powder and tossing it into the fireplace. "Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office."

The fireplace erupted into green flames and Arthur stuck his head in, contacting Dumbledore directly in a call.

He was quickly answered and invited to step through.

"Thank you for answering my summons so quickly, Arthur," Dumbledore said, smiling kindly as he offered Arthur a seat and a lemon drop.

"Not a problem Albus," Arthur said, taking the seat. "I hope whatever the twins might have done, this will not take long. The missus and I were just about to head off to Egypt to visit our eldest."

"The twins have not caused much trouble so far," Dumbledore said, setting his candy dish down and taking on a more serious look. "I suppose I'll cut to the chase then. I want you to run for Minister of Magic."

Arthur's mouth fell open as he processed what Dumbledore just said. "Me? Why me?"

"You are a good man, Arthur. I fear we will need good men in key positions all too soon."

"Ok. I suppose I have a few years to think on it, but I'm not sure about this."

"I'm afraid you will not have years. There are certain individuals who are planning on pushing for an election much sooner and while I would like to counter their endeavors, I feel my efforts are better spent helping the right man get the position instead. I want you to be that man."

Arthur looked like a fish surprised to be on shore as he flapped his mouth open and closed before he swallowed thickly. "I'll need to talk with Molly about this," he finally managed to get out.

"Of course," Dumbledore said, standing up and helping Arthur back to the fireplace. "Maybe the two of you could talk it over and think about it while in Egypt. I'm sure the sun and space will do you some good as you think it over."

Arthur just weakly nodded as he was sent home to a wife that grew concerned at his dazed look.

"What is it?" Molly asked.

"He wants me to run for Minister of Magic."

"Oh, that's nice," Molly said, smiling for a moment before what her husband said fully sunk in. "HE WHAT!?"