Darius strode forward towards the professors who were rushing towards their group, both of them firing off Patronuses at the dementors to further repel them. Prof. Flitwick’s Patronus in particular, was extremely fearsome and sent the dementors scattering with just its aura. No less expected from one of the most formidable charms masters in the country.

“I’m glad to see you got most of the students gathered together, Darius”, said Flitwick as he gave a relieved sigh. “I shudder to imagine what those dementors might do to innocent children. Keep them together and safe for just a while longer. And keep up with the Patronuses, you lot. You are doing an excellent job with them and I’m glad to see those lessons paid off.”

“Professors Vector and McGonagall are already on their way to the village and we’ll be joining them shortly. We teachers will sort out the decision in short order and the we can head back up to the castle. It’s better if we head back together. There are still a few dementors around the castle ground boundaries and we don’t want any untoward incidents”, Lupin added.

“Before they could hurry off, Darius quickly asked his question. “What’s going on here, professor? This happened very suddenly and I’m not sure about the cause. Is it the same as the quidditch incident?”

“I’m sorry, Darius but we really need to hurry now. We need to repel the rest of the dementors and find any remaining students out there. There will likely be an announcement made when we are back in the castle.” And with that professors Lupin and Flitwick rushed off.

Darius gave an annoyed sigh at the lack of answers as the two sped off but kept his eyes peeled and vigilant for any stray dementors. Most of the students were still in shock while the few that had been close to the dementors debilitating aura sat huddled and shivering from the cold. Darius found even Mione clenching his hand tightly. He gently squeezed her hand back with a smile and she glanced at him with a weak smile. They both started handing out some chocolate to the students to calm their nerves and get them over the worst of the dementor effects.

The professors returned a short while later but with a few additional people. There was Madam Rosmerta, owner of the Three Broomsticks, Gryffindor quidditch captain Oliver Wood, Head Girl Penelope Clearwater, DMLE head Madam Bones and two unknown people in official Auror garbs. Darius couldn’t fathom what brought this combination on at first but there were a few clues. The presence of the DMLE head, Aurors and the dementor rampage meant a criminal element and right now it could only be Peter Pettigrew.

This did not bode well. There was no such incident in the canon timeline and Darius had to make sense of the events leading up to it before it escalated even further and blew up in their faces. It was no longer just a book he enjoyed but a living, breathing world with plenty of people he cared about. No was some cowardly traitorous rat going to harm any of his people.

They headed back to the castle shortly after, the adults splitting up between the carriages to ensure the protection of the students in case the dementors got out of hand again. Darius instructed DA members capable of the corporeal Patronus to do the same and they smoothly did the same in no time. Darius couldn’t help but smirk at the gobsmacked expressions of Madam Bones and the Aurors at their efficient deployment followed by over a dozen Patronuses fired off to provide an escort for the carriages through the castle boundaries. While Darius’ training may have made it seem a simpler spell than it actually was, the truth was far from it. Over half the Auror force couldn’t even manage a proper incorporeal Patronus let alone the corporeal ones. Darius and Mione sat together in a carriage with some other 3rd years, the duo’s Patronuses escorting them all the way back to the castle.

There was a grim mood at the Halloween feast that night. News of the dementor rampage had spread throughout Hogwarts and rumours were spreading like wildfire. They ranged from the likely reason that Peter Pettigrew was spotted to the collapse of the Ministry and complete loss of control over the dementors. The students were terrified and the whole situation could spiral out of control soon. Loath as he was to admit it, Darius realised the only person present in the hall who could completely calm down the students in the hall was the wizard seated at the centre of the Head Table, Albus Dumbledore. He stood with a serene smile and all eyes were immediately on him, the entire hall’s population listening with bated breath.

“I am very pleased to see all of you here today evening for the Halloween feast despite the incident which marred the evening earlier. At the moment, all I can tell you is that the cause of the incident was the sighting of traitorous Death Eater Peter Pettigrew in the village of Hogsmeade. Unfortunately, he managed to get away before people capable of capturing him arrived at the scene. Nevertheless, it is only a matter of time before that happens. In the meanwhile, I would like to award each member of the DA 20 points for their part in protecting their fellow students and another additional 20 to Darius Icarus for his splendid handling of the situation in a moment of crisis.”

There was a loud roar of approval at that and a thunderous applause from all four tables, especially from those who had been in Hogsmeade at the time. Despite himself, Darius couldn’t help but blush and gave a thankful smile in the direction of the students. The headmaster continued after the sound had settled down a bit.

“I am glad to see your appreciation for Mr Icarus’ actions and want you all to remember that we all have the potential to do great things in life, if only we commit ourselves to it whole-heartedly. Now, it is time for dinner and I won’t keep you for much longer from the excellent feast which awaits us. Please put the unpleasantness earlier behind yourselves and try to enjoy the wonderful feast now. The feast may now begin.”

All the plates magically filled up with food and drinks magically as usual, sent up by the house-elves working underneath in the kitchens. All the students dug in hungrily, tired after a long day and the horror show at the end. Darius also ate his food with equal gusto but his mind was elsewhere. He did not believe for one second that Dumbledore gave them the whole truth. The man never gave the truth straight out. The story had too many holes in it for anyone who knew where to look and seemed more like a hastily cobbled up story to sooth the students. But that would not do for Darius at all. If he was to make any difference in this world, he needed to get his facts straight so that he could see the way forward.

There was no way that a consummate coward like Peter Pettigrew would place himself at risk other than by a direct order by Voldemort himself. That meant he had met up with Voldemort and he was likely back in England in the Riddle manor with Babymort. Furthermore, he could easily sneak into most places in his animagus form but he was in his human one, another fishy occurrence. The question was, what was he doing here, so far from Voldemort.

Darius made up his mind to talk to Lupin later. He had been brought into the fold by Sirius and knew some of Darius’ secrets. Lupin should be able to give him the full story. Or maybe Oliver Wood and Penelope Clearwater could, but they would likely be told by Dumbledore to keep the true incident shrouded in shadows for some inane reason like not causing a panic.

Though Darius might have done a lot of good by changing certain events in the canon timeline, it also distorted the timeline at the same time. Each time he acted, the ripples spread further and changed events even more. He knew he had a good head on his shoulders but he would really need to put it to good use now. From his perspective the fight between the two sides of the wizarding community was like a strategy battle between Dumbledore and Voldemort, both of whom were looking to achieve their own agendas but now, he was in the game as a third shadow player. He was tweaking and changing events to disrupt their plans but had to be incredibly careful about it. Either of the two powerhouses could destroy him with ease despite all his advantages.

Mione seemed to have sensed his brooding and gently clamped his hand. “Don’t get so caught up in what happened today evening. You did your best and handled it in the best way possible. You were absolutely amazing out there and I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mione! I needed that. I guess I was overthinking things unnecessarily.” And he was. Mione’s voice of reason calmed him down. He could only do as much as was possible for him and that should be sufficient for him. He had already changed a lot of things for the better. The only thing he had to truly focus on was getting stronger himself and protecting his loved ones. He was not going to lose his mother, girlfriend or any of his friends to a senseless war.

They had a peaceful dinner after that and retired for the night. The next morning, Darius finished his Vertentes earlier than usual and headed to the DADA classroom to talk to Remus. He had to know the true incident at Hogsmeade if he was to figure out Voldemort’s scheme.

He knocked at the professor’s door and waited till he heard a loud, “Come in!”

“Good morning, professor Lupin! I am here in regards to the Hogsmeade incident yesterday. I haven’t fallen for Dumbledore’s story and was wondering what really happened.”

“Sigh! I was wondering when it would come to this but you straight out started with it. Fine, I know you won’t rest till you know the truth.

In short, Pettigrew cornered Wood just behind the Three Broomsticks and was putting him under the Imperius. The last thing Wood remembers was a wand at his face and a cry saying, Imperio! Miss Clearwater was passing by the back alley and noticed someone with a wand at another person and was about to step in to arbitrate any arguments when she noticed Pettigrew. She recognised him immediately from the several photos of him which cropped up in the Daily Prophet after the trial and his escape and let out a large scream. Madam Rosmerta rushed out from the rear entrance of the bar when she heard a girl’s scream and banished Pettigrew far away breaking the partial Imperius. She immediately brought both students in and floo-called the DMLE of the Ministry. Pettigrew must have already apparated away by the time and the Aurors were too late. Unfortunately, the dementors were close to where Pettigrew was banished and saw him before his apparition. They immediately set to chase him down and when he disapparated away, set upon the nearest human inhabitation, Hogsmeade. You already know the rest.

Mister Wood was extensively questioned but he was woozy for the most part and can only say that he was being instructions to do something and it involved blood. We are pretty sure it was something to do with shed blood so are working on the assumption that he wanted to start a bloodbath within Hogwarts for reasons unknown.”

Darius‘ mind went into hyperdrive after that.....most people assumed Voldemort was dead so they considered the rat to be working on his own.... but the real instructions were certainly from the Dark tosser...... imperius someone and something involving blood....... he is getting someone to shed Harry Potter’s blood to resurrect his master!! It was so obvious! The Ceremony of Bone, Flesh and Blood required the blood of an enemy and he would definitely choose Harry. Events have changed enough that the events from a year later may occur now. Bertha Jorkins was never found by them in Albania, since that happens just before the summer and Pettigrew didn’t really have any contacts, so Voldemort didn’t know of the Triwizard Cup and couldn’t form a plan around it. It certainly made sense and seemed the likely explanation. The ceremony only required Harry’s blood to be taken against his will and that was likely the reason Pettigrew didn’t simply let lose a severing charm and collect the blood.

This is not good, once Babymort knows his first attempt has been thwarted, there is no way he will simply give up. There will definitely be a repeat attempt and Darius will have to be on the lookout for that. But ominous plans aside, it was a great relief to know what the actual plans were, or at least get a pretty accurate guess at it. They will definitely lay low for a while after this attempt and Darius would have some breathing space. He will definitely need to step up his training.