The Wordsmith Myth
A Story Teller
This is the first chapter of this what if. Should people want more I will happily write a second chapter
That day had started just like any other school day had started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Fifteen Year Old Harry Potter awoke in his bed, the light shining through the curtains of his four poster bed. He greeted Ron and Hermione in the common room and they all went down to breakfast together. There was nothing in the clear blue sky, the owls flying around delivering the morning mail, or the magically floating candles to suggest that something strange and unnatural would happen that day. Well more strange and unnatural than the boy wizard's life already was.
Most of his classes went as expected as well. Even Defense Against the Dark Arts was still, to his dismay, exactly the same as it always was. With him losing Gryffindor at several house points and earning himself another detention with the toad like Deloras Umbridge which would be served at the end of the class day. Harry was miserable the whole time during lunch, even more so when McGonagall reprimanded him for arguing with a teacher, he had been so sure that she would be on his side. After all she knew as well as he did that Voldemort really had come back.
Voldemort was back. The very thought made Harry sick to his stomach. He had faced him last year… when Cedric was killed by Wormtail. That night still haunted his dreams. He seriously doubted if he’d ever fully move on from that graveyard. He knew that for the rest of his life when he went to sleep, he would have dreams of that graveyard and the events that transpired there.
Ron noticed the look on Harry’s face, “Wish I had some words to cheer you up mate, but things seem pretty grim right now don’t they?” He asked as he grabbed another drum stick from the plate in front of him, his appetite not at all affected by his own thoughts of the future ahead of them.
“Yeah they do.” Harry replied.
“Oh cheer up Harry. Everything will be alright. The ministry has to admit he’s back eventually. And when they do Hogwarts will get to chuck Umbridge out of school.” Hermione assured him.
Harry nodded though he silently thought that by the time the Ministry admitted there was a problem Voldemort might have already become too powerful to beat. Which got him thinking about tomorrow’s lessons with the DA. He had all of Saturday to teach all of the students who joined Dumbledore’s as much as he knew about defending against dark wizards and the like. He welcomed those days. Teaching was a good distraction from his general misery as school most days.
Little did Harry know that Losing house points, Detention with Umbridge, and even the thought of facing Voldemort would seem extremely small later that day. Once lunch ended and potions class came around Snape informed them that they would be making, only making, an Essence of Insanity as part of training for their OWLs. Snape had deemed it a good potion to practice as it contained a good deal of easily accessible ingredients and was challenging to make.
He had warned all of them to be extra careful with making the potion, as accidentally consuming or even getting the potion in your mouth would lead to disastrous, albeit temporary effects. Unfortunately, being extra careful could still only go far in the case of Neville Longbottom, one of the worst potions students Snape has had the displeasure of teaching.
He had put in the wrong ingredients at the wrong time and in the wrong order. His cauldron bubbled and hissed, and smelled strongly of rotting flesh.
“Mr. Longbottom, I believe I told you to take extra care with your potion today did I not?” Snape sneered as he looked at the contents of Neville’s cauldron.
“Yes sir…” Neville responded lowering his head and turning extremely red. He shrank some into his seat as he heard the howling laughter of Draco Malfoy and his friends over where the Slytherin’s were brewing their own potions.
Snape however looked to be more focused on Neville’s potion. Whatever reaction he was seeing come from it he didn’t like because he quickly turned back to Neville pulling out his wand. “Step back boy. Step away from your cauldron.” He hissed urgently.
Neville looked up. “Wh-what?” He asked.
“Did you not hear me you buffoon! Step back from your Cauldron this instant!” Snape ordered also stepping back.
Neville got the gist too late and as he began to rise to his feet to step away, the potion exploded all over him. Neville shrieked in pain as the potion burned every inch of him that it hit down to bone and muscle. He tumbled to the floor still screaming and writhing. Then he stopped screaming, he stopped writhing, he stopped moving entirely. His face now more exposed muscle and bone than skin lay motionless facing the legs of his table.
“He’s… he’s not breathing… oh god… professor is he…. Is he?” Hermione gasped quietly unable to finish the sentence.;
Snape stood silently just looking at Neville’s body. He was very calm. Too calm for Harry’s liking considering what just happened.
“No way… no he can’t have, Neville’s always had accidents but never anything like this.” Ron said. “He’ll be fine, we just gotta get him up to the hospital wing… right? Right?”
No one answered Ron’s question. No one dared to answer Ron’s question. Because they all knew the answer. Dead was Dead. And no amount of magic could return the dead to life. There was just enough time for everyone to start glancing around the classroom and at eachother once more, before Neville twitched and everyone’s eyes shot back to his body.
He slowly started getting up. “Oh. Neville you’re alive!” Hermione sighed with relief and moved to help her up.
But something about this was wrong. It wasn’t right, Neville wasn’t moving like… Neville.
“Hermione stay back!” Harry quickly shouted, stopping in her tracks.
“But Harry, he’s hurt. He needs someone to get him to the-” Hermione began but Snape cut her off.
“Miss Granger I believe that this is one of the extremely rare times in which I must agree with Mister Potter. Keep your distance.”
Neville got completely to his feet. His face,mostly melted away, already looked horrifying, but his eyes had turned white. They held no life, no soul. Just flesh. Neville looked around gasping and groaning and occasionally snapping his teeth.
“Neville? Mate?” Seamus Finnigan asked cautiously.
At once Neville turned and lunged at Seamus with a roar tackling him to the ground and biting into his neck, tearing out his throat and eating him alive.
Ron who was nearest to Seamus got the full grotesque view. “G-G-Get off of him!” Ron yelled, taking out his wand and hitting Neville with a knockback Jinx.
Neville recovered almost instantly and barrelled towards Dean Thomas who just barely managed to jump out of the way. Snape pointed his wand at Neville. “Incarcerous!”
Rope shot from the tip of his want and wrapped itself around Neville’s growling corpse tightly. Neville fell to the ground writhing against the ropes trying to reach someone else to attack.
“Er…. Seamus?” Ron asked as his friend twitched and slowly stood up.
Seamus looked at Ron with the same whited over eyes. Breathing a raspy groany breath which was marbled going through the huge tear in his neck that still poured blood.
“Oh bloody hell.” Ron said, stepping back and pointing his wand at Seamus.
He cast another knockback jinx just as Seamus made to lunge at him, keeping the undead Seamus from reaching him. Harry grabbed Ron and pulled him back as Snape cast the same spell on Seamus that he had on Neville.
“Everyone out. Get out now!” Snape ordered.
Everyone was all too happy to follow that instruction and put some distance between them and their monstrous classmates. They chewed through the ropes quickly and got up to running to the exit to follow the rest of the class. Just before they reached the door Snape closed it and magically locked it.
“Everyone is to return to their commonrooms without question or deviation. Potter. You will go to Dumbledore’s office and inform him of what has happened here. The Password is Toffee Eclair.” He ordered. “I will keep watch and make sure that those… things do not escape.”
Harry did not question Snape’s instructions. He simply nodded and dashed off for the Headmaster’s office. He wondered if Dumbledore would even talk to him. It seemed that Dumbledore had spent most of this year avoiding him at all costs. Harry had not the time to doubt though. Something very bad had just happened and Dumbledore needed to hear about it.
“Hum Hum Hum” A very familiar and welcome cough reached his ears.
“Oh no.” Harry mumbled as he stopped running and turned to face the object of most of this year’s misfortune.
“Well Mr. Potter.” Umbridge said with a sickly sweet smirk. “Skipping class and running in the halls are we?”
“You don’t understand Professor.” Harry tried to explain, “Something happened in potions and Professor Snape asked me to go get the Headmaster and-”
“A likely story, come with me Potter. We will continue this discussion in my office.” Umbridge said, turning and walking toward her classroom.
“But-” Harry protested.
“Now Potter, you know how I feel about lying. I suppose we’ll just have to have some extra lessons about the dangers of lying to me.” She interrupted as she kept walking.
It was no use. Umbridge would take any excuse to torture Harry. She would never listen to him. So neither would he listen to her. Harry bolted back down the hall and found himself tripping on the floor which suddenly became very oily. He looked back at and saw Umbridge with the most malicious smile he had ever seen on her amphibious face. As though he had done the one thing she had hoped he would do all year. He wand in her hand and pointed at the floor where Harry had slipped.
“Running away from authority now Potter? Tsk Tsk Tsk, I suppose I’ll have to teach you the error of your ways in a more prompt manner won’t I?” She asked.
Harry wasted no time taking his own wand out of his back pocket. Umbridge laughed. “Please do you think there’s anything you’re capable of that I can’t deal with?”
Harry wasted no time. Knowing she would simply block any directly attacking spells he pointed his wand at the suit of armor next to her. “Bombarda!”
The suit of armor exploded and pieces of it went flying all over Umbridge who only had enough time to screech and duck. Giving Harry the opening he needed. He pointed his wand at Umbridge.
“Petrificus Totalus!” He yelled, shooting a white light from the tip of his wand.
It hit Dolores Umbridge, her arms snapped to her side and she fell onto her back. Harry quickly cast finite on the floor removing the oily texture Umbridge had created and scrambled to his feet before dashing off to Dumbledore’s office. Reaching the ugly gargoyle that acted as the entrance Harry stopped completely out of breath.
“T-Toffee Eclair.” He wheezed out. The Gargoyle and the platform beneath it began to rise into the air.
Harry rushed up the ascending stairs before the platform had risen completely and he knocked furiously on the door to Dumblefore’s office. Without waiting for an answer he burst in to see Dumbledore feeding Fawkes.
Dumbledore looked at him with a piercing gaze. “Hello Harry, shouldn't you be in class?” He asked calmly and cheerfully.
“Just was… Professor… Something… Happened.” Harry panted leaning over his knees trying to regain the ability to speak full sentences.
“Breathe Harry, breathe.” Dumbledore suggested, “I find that one often has trouble gathering their words when out of breath.”
Harry took a second to catch his breath and launched into his story of what just happened to Neville and then to Seamus. That they became walking corpses that seemed to want nothing more than to attack and eat fellow students. Dumbledore listened calmly and waited patiently for Harry to finish his story.
“Well…” Dumbledore said solemnly, “It is a truly tragic series of events that have transpired.”
“I believe that all we can do, as sad as it is, is make sure that poor Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Finnegan can’t bring anyone else to harm. Then we must inform their kin of this tragic accident.”
Harry nodded. Even with everything that had happened there was a level of calm he felt in Dumbledore’s presence. The man never panicked and it rubbed off on Harry.
“Now Harry if you would be so kind as to lead me to-”
Suddenly Ron burst in the door.
“Mr. Weasley.” Dumbledore greeted calmly.
“Sn-Snape sent me, professor. Got to tell you, Neville and Seamus got out…” He said. “They… they can still do magic.”
Harry felt his heart fall to the pit of his stomach. “But they didn’t seem able to earlier.” He said.
“Snape locked the door to keep them in, a few moments later the blew into the wall and Seamus was standing there with his wand out.” Ron explained.
“I believe that now would be a good time to have everyone return to their dormitories.” Dumbledore said to himself.
He magically announced that all remaining classes were cancelled and all students were to report to their dormitories. He then contacted Madam Pomfrey and told her to cast protective charms on the Hospital Wing.
“We must remain level headed, if we do we can deal with this crisis.” Dumbledore assured everyone still magically projecting his voice through the whole school.
“Harry, Ron, I believe that you two should make your way back to your common room as well. Be sure to tread carefully on the way.” Dumbledore said.
They nodded and left hoping that Dumbledore and the staff would have this crisis solved soon.
Little did they know that soon there would be nowhere less safe than the Gryffindor common room.
That day had started just like any other school day had started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Fifteen Year Old Harry Potter awoke in his bed, the light shining through the curtains of his four poster bed. He greeted Ron and Hermione in the common room and they all went down to breakfast together. There was nothing in the clear blue sky, the owls flying around delivering the morning mail, or the magically floating candles to suggest that something strange and unnatural would happen that day. Well more strange and unnatural than the boy wizard's life already was.
Most of his classes went as expected as well. Even Defense Against the Dark Arts was still, to his dismay, exactly the same as it always was. With him losing Gryffindor at several house points and earning himself another detention with the toad like Deloras Umbridge which would be served at the end of the class day. Harry was miserable the whole time during lunch, even more so when McGonagall reprimanded him for arguing with a teacher, he had been so sure that she would be on his side. After all she knew as well as he did that Voldemort really had come back.
Voldemort was back. The very thought made Harry sick to his stomach. He had faced him last year… when Cedric was killed by Wormtail. That night still haunted his dreams. He seriously doubted if he’d ever fully move on from that graveyard. He knew that for the rest of his life when he went to sleep, he would have dreams of that graveyard and the events that transpired there.
Ron noticed the look on Harry’s face, “Wish I had some words to cheer you up mate, but things seem pretty grim right now don’t they?” He asked as he grabbed another drum stick from the plate in front of him, his appetite not at all affected by his own thoughts of the future ahead of them.
“Yeah they do.” Harry replied.
“Oh cheer up Harry. Everything will be alright. The ministry has to admit he’s back eventually. And when they do Hogwarts will get to chuck Umbridge out of school.” Hermione assured him.
Harry nodded though he silently thought that by the time the Ministry admitted there was a problem Voldemort might have already become too powerful to beat. Which got him thinking about tomorrow’s lessons with the DA. He had all of Saturday to teach all of the students who joined Dumbledore’s as much as he knew about defending against dark wizards and the like. He welcomed those days. Teaching was a good distraction from his general misery as school most days.
Little did Harry know that Losing house points, Detention with Umbridge, and even the thought of facing Voldemort would seem extremely small later that day. Once lunch ended and potions class came around Snape informed them that they would be making, only making, an Essence of Insanity as part of training for their OWLs. Snape had deemed it a good potion to practice as it contained a good deal of easily accessible ingredients and was challenging to make.
He had warned all of them to be extra careful with making the potion, as accidentally consuming or even getting the potion in your mouth would lead to disastrous, albeit temporary effects. Unfortunately, being extra careful could still only go far in the case of Neville Longbottom, one of the worst potions students Snape has had the displeasure of teaching.
He had put in the wrong ingredients at the wrong time and in the wrong order. His cauldron bubbled and hissed, and smelled strongly of rotting flesh.
“Mr. Longbottom, I believe I told you to take extra care with your potion today did I not?” Snape sneered as he looked at the contents of Neville’s cauldron.
“Yes sir…” Neville responded lowering his head and turning extremely red. He shrank some into his seat as he heard the howling laughter of Draco Malfoy and his friends over where the Slytherin’s were brewing their own potions.
Snape however looked to be more focused on Neville’s potion. Whatever reaction he was seeing come from it he didn’t like because he quickly turned back to Neville pulling out his wand. “Step back boy. Step away from your cauldron.” He hissed urgently.
Neville looked up. “Wh-what?” He asked.
“Did you not hear me you buffoon! Step back from your Cauldron this instant!” Snape ordered also stepping back.
Neville got the gist too late and as he began to rise to his feet to step away, the potion exploded all over him. Neville shrieked in pain as the potion burned every inch of him that it hit down to bone and muscle. He tumbled to the floor still screaming and writhing. Then he stopped screaming, he stopped writhing, he stopped moving entirely. His face now more exposed muscle and bone than skin lay motionless facing the legs of his table.
“He’s… he’s not breathing… oh god… professor is he…. Is he?” Hermione gasped quietly unable to finish the sentence.;
Snape stood silently just looking at Neville’s body. He was very calm. Too calm for Harry’s liking considering what just happened.
“No way… no he can’t have, Neville’s always had accidents but never anything like this.” Ron said. “He’ll be fine, we just gotta get him up to the hospital wing… right? Right?”
No one answered Ron’s question. No one dared to answer Ron’s question. Because they all knew the answer. Dead was Dead. And no amount of magic could return the dead to life. There was just enough time for everyone to start glancing around the classroom and at eachother once more, before Neville twitched and everyone’s eyes shot back to his body.
He slowly started getting up. “Oh. Neville you’re alive!” Hermione sighed with relief and moved to help her up.
But something about this was wrong. It wasn’t right, Neville wasn’t moving like… Neville.
“Hermione stay back!” Harry quickly shouted, stopping in her tracks.
“But Harry, he’s hurt. He needs someone to get him to the-” Hermione began but Snape cut her off.
“Miss Granger I believe that this is one of the extremely rare times in which I must agree with Mister Potter. Keep your distance.”
Neville got completely to his feet. His face,mostly melted away, already looked horrifying, but his eyes had turned white. They held no life, no soul. Just flesh. Neville looked around gasping and groaning and occasionally snapping his teeth.
“Neville? Mate?” Seamus Finnigan asked cautiously.
At once Neville turned and lunged at Seamus with a roar tackling him to the ground and biting into his neck, tearing out his throat and eating him alive.
Ron who was nearest to Seamus got the full grotesque view. “G-G-Get off of him!” Ron yelled, taking out his wand and hitting Neville with a knockback Jinx.
Neville recovered almost instantly and barrelled towards Dean Thomas who just barely managed to jump out of the way. Snape pointed his wand at Neville. “Incarcerous!”
Rope shot from the tip of his want and wrapped itself around Neville’s growling corpse tightly. Neville fell to the ground writhing against the ropes trying to reach someone else to attack.
“Er…. Seamus?” Ron asked as his friend twitched and slowly stood up.
Seamus looked at Ron with the same whited over eyes. Breathing a raspy groany breath which was marbled going through the huge tear in his neck that still poured blood.
“Oh bloody hell.” Ron said, stepping back and pointing his wand at Seamus.
He cast another knockback jinx just as Seamus made to lunge at him, keeping the undead Seamus from reaching him. Harry grabbed Ron and pulled him back as Snape cast the same spell on Seamus that he had on Neville.
“Everyone out. Get out now!” Snape ordered.
Everyone was all too happy to follow that instruction and put some distance between them and their monstrous classmates. They chewed through the ropes quickly and got up to running to the exit to follow the rest of the class. Just before they reached the door Snape closed it and magically locked it.
“Everyone is to return to their commonrooms without question or deviation. Potter. You will go to Dumbledore’s office and inform him of what has happened here. The Password is Toffee Eclair.” He ordered. “I will keep watch and make sure that those… things do not escape.”
Harry did not question Snape’s instructions. He simply nodded and dashed off for the Headmaster’s office. He wondered if Dumbledore would even talk to him. It seemed that Dumbledore had spent most of this year avoiding him at all costs. Harry had not the time to doubt though. Something very bad had just happened and Dumbledore needed to hear about it.
“Hum Hum Hum” A very familiar and welcome cough reached his ears.
“Oh no.” Harry mumbled as he stopped running and turned to face the object of most of this year’s misfortune.
“Well Mr. Potter.” Umbridge said with a sickly sweet smirk. “Skipping class and running in the halls are we?”
“You don’t understand Professor.” Harry tried to explain, “Something happened in potions and Professor Snape asked me to go get the Headmaster and-”
“A likely story, come with me Potter. We will continue this discussion in my office.” Umbridge said, turning and walking toward her classroom.
“But-” Harry protested.
“Now Potter, you know how I feel about lying. I suppose we’ll just have to have some extra lessons about the dangers of lying to me.” She interrupted as she kept walking.
It was no use. Umbridge would take any excuse to torture Harry. She would never listen to him. So neither would he listen to her. Harry bolted back down the hall and found himself tripping on the floor which suddenly became very oily. He looked back at and saw Umbridge with the most malicious smile he had ever seen on her amphibious face. As though he had done the one thing she had hoped he would do all year. He wand in her hand and pointed at the floor where Harry had slipped.
“Running away from authority now Potter? Tsk Tsk Tsk, I suppose I’ll have to teach you the error of your ways in a more prompt manner won’t I?” She asked.
Harry wasted no time taking his own wand out of his back pocket. Umbridge laughed. “Please do you think there’s anything you’re capable of that I can’t deal with?”
Harry wasted no time. Knowing she would simply block any directly attacking spells he pointed his wand at the suit of armor next to her. “Bombarda!”
The suit of armor exploded and pieces of it went flying all over Umbridge who only had enough time to screech and duck. Giving Harry the opening he needed. He pointed his wand at Umbridge.
“Petrificus Totalus!” He yelled, shooting a white light from the tip of his wand.
It hit Dolores Umbridge, her arms snapped to her side and she fell onto her back. Harry quickly cast finite on the floor removing the oily texture Umbridge had created and scrambled to his feet before dashing off to Dumbledore’s office. Reaching the ugly gargoyle that acted as the entrance Harry stopped completely out of breath.
“T-Toffee Eclair.” He wheezed out. The Gargoyle and the platform beneath it began to rise into the air.
Harry rushed up the ascending stairs before the platform had risen completely and he knocked furiously on the door to Dumblefore’s office. Without waiting for an answer he burst in to see Dumbledore feeding Fawkes.
Dumbledore looked at him with a piercing gaze. “Hello Harry, shouldn't you be in class?” He asked calmly and cheerfully.
“Just was… Professor… Something… Happened.” Harry panted leaning over his knees trying to regain the ability to speak full sentences.
“Breathe Harry, breathe.” Dumbledore suggested, “I find that one often has trouble gathering their words when out of breath.”
Harry took a second to catch his breath and launched into his story of what just happened to Neville and then to Seamus. That they became walking corpses that seemed to want nothing more than to attack and eat fellow students. Dumbledore listened calmly and waited patiently for Harry to finish his story.
“Well…” Dumbledore said solemnly, “It is a truly tragic series of events that have transpired.”
“I believe that all we can do, as sad as it is, is make sure that poor Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Finnegan can’t bring anyone else to harm. Then we must inform their kin of this tragic accident.”
Harry nodded. Even with everything that had happened there was a level of calm he felt in Dumbledore’s presence. The man never panicked and it rubbed off on Harry.
“Now Harry if you would be so kind as to lead me to-”
Suddenly Ron burst in the door.
“Mr. Weasley.” Dumbledore greeted calmly.
“Sn-Snape sent me, professor. Got to tell you, Neville and Seamus got out…” He said. “They… they can still do magic.”
Harry felt his heart fall to the pit of his stomach. “But they didn’t seem able to earlier.” He said.
“Snape locked the door to keep them in, a few moments later the blew into the wall and Seamus was standing there with his wand out.” Ron explained.
“I believe that now would be a good time to have everyone return to their dormitories.” Dumbledore said to himself.
He magically announced that all remaining classes were cancelled and all students were to report to their dormitories. He then contacted Madam Pomfrey and told her to cast protective charms on the Hospital Wing.
“We must remain level headed, if we do we can deal with this crisis.” Dumbledore assured everyone still magically projecting his voice through the whole school.
“Harry, Ron, I believe that you two should make your way back to your common room as well. Be sure to tread carefully on the way.” Dumbledore said.
They nodded and left hoping that Dumbledore and the staff would have this crisis solved soon.
Little did they know that soon there would be nowhere less safe than the Gryffindor common room.
