Chapter 115: Murders Within The Walls I

"Avada Kedavra!"

Ducking and rolling instantly, already expecting an attack but caught off guard by the lethal nature of the spell, he watched the radiant green spell smash into the wall, directly behind where he'd been standing seconds earlier.

Hearing another spell, he dived into cover behind a suit of armour. As this new spell, black in colour, impacted where he'd been standing moments earlier, he was quite thankful for his reflexes.

His wand was drawn at the ready for a third attack, only to see a fleeing outline of a small man-like figure, disappearing into a secret passageway he didn't know about. Since he had no knowledge of the passageway, he decided against giving chase, lest he walk into a trap. Plus, now he was in a defensible position of sorts, with a classroom behind him to retreat into if need be. He could always jump out of the window if push came to shove, his logical mind processed as his heartbeat raced.

*Just buy time, the paintings are awake and are getting help, just stay alert,* he mentally told himself while the paintings were shouting up and down the corridor doors. Their combined voices echoing like a great beast, which left little doubt that the whole school would hear of the attack within minutes.

"The teachers are coming! The teachers are coming!" shouted a painting. "Do not panic! Do not panic! The teachers are coming!" the guard wizard 'portrait' announced, obviously panicking, as he moved madly from painting to painting. Despite almost being killed minutes earlier, he couldn't help but laugh at the portrait's antics. It reminded him of the old *Dad's Army* episodes he had watched, and listened to from his cupboard doorway, relieving the tension in his muscles.

He moved out from behind the suit of armour, as he'd seen the outline of the all-too-familiar Deputy Headmistress approaching rapidly. "Mr. Potter, what happened here? And why are the portraits screaming that a Killing Curse has been cast?" the Deputy Headmistress demanded in a no-nonsense tone.

Composing himself, suppressing the shock he was feeling, he explained, "Madam, someone just tried to kill me." He pointed to the destroyed painting, as well as the black spot on the floor, where the stones were cracked and broken from the second spell's impact, watching the dawning realization appear on her features.

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(Headmaster's Office)

Sitting on the couch as the staff swarmed around the office directing the Aurors to the crime scene, he sipped on the offered tea. He was sure it was spiked with Calming Draught, since his emotions had settled down far more rapidly than normal. Plus, he could feel his mind reacting to it too. All of which was rather uncomfortable since he didn't like the idea of being drugged, but it had been offered by his Head of House, and he doubted Flitwick would drug him with anything illegal. If it had been anyone else, he would have refused. Plus, his ring didn't warm, meaning it wasn't harmful.

"Mr. Potter, you're taking this awfully calmly," the Headmaster said after finishing talking to one of the Aurors.

"Why wouldn't I? Panicking wouldn't help the situation; emotions can wait until everything is sorted. Not to mention," he paused to meaningfully sip at his tea. "This tea is spiked with Calming Draught." He wanted them aware that he was being given something, since it would make him seem even more in control of himself. Someone who's panicking wouldn't be able to sense or detect the potion.

In truth, he was rattled, but he needed to stay calm and collected as he processed the events. "I will admit I did expect someone would try to kill me after I freed Sirius from jail, but I didn't expect it to occur whilst inside Hogwarts. After all, this is meant to be the safest place in Britain," he said to the listening audience. "The question is who would want to kill me, and has the means to get away with it?"

"A fitting question," the half-goblin stated, tapping his chin. "Who has the means and the motive to try such an attack, in the middle of a school corridor of all places?" his Head of House asked the room from where he was sitting across the room.

"I got another question: has the Tonks family been informed? They are my acting guardians whilst Sirius is away on holiday," he probed, wondering where his aunt was.

"We were yet to be informed that the Tonks family were acting as your guardians. We were under the impression that the Headmaster was your guardian of choice for this meeting," one of the younger Aurors stated, whilst sending a look at the Headmaster, who was making himself busy talking with the Deputy Headmistress.

Taking a sip of his tea to help smother the urge to lash out at the Auror, Harry answered, "Next time don't assume, just ask. After all, I'm right here, and does it look like I'm incapable of answering?" He really had to wonder if all Aurors at the Ministry were incapable, not counting Madam Bones.

"I'll contact the Tonks family immediately," the Auror apologized.

"Headmaster, out of interest, how many attempted assassination attempts on average do you receive a year? After all, men in your position surely must receive their share. Also, what tips do you have on keeping the number to a minimum?" he asked casually, now that they were in an exclusive club of sorts.

"Two on average, not counting cursed mail," the Headmaster added with a bit of humor, breaking the tension in the air. "Hogwarts Ward Scheme filters any harmful mail, so don't worry about it."

"So one down, one to go," Harry piped up humorlessly.

"The Tonks family has been informed, and are on their way here. Madam Bones is coming to oversee the investigation," the Auror announced to the room.

"Thank you," Harry said, beating the Headmaster to the punch.

Several minutes later, his extended family arrived. "Andy, Ted," he said in greeting, giving them a short hug. "Did they tell you what happened?" he inquired, wondering what the pair had been told by the Aurors.

"Someone cast a Killing Curse and an Organ Liquification Curse at you, less than an hour ago," Ted replied, looking serious for a change. "You okay?"

"I'm not surprised that there was an attempt on my life, but simply that it was in the school halls. I expected it when I freed Sirius that I could upset some well-connected people, especially seeing the fallout. I'm rattled, but otherwise fine," he offered.

"The Aurors are currently sweeping the building and the known passageways. Professor Sprout has gone to check on Tonks and tell her what happened. The Aurors are also going to be sweeping our rooms for any cursed items, in case this was aimed at the family rather than just myself," he explained to the pair.

"We're just waiting for Madam Bones to arrive for the official statements and questioning. I wanted you here to help protect my rights and act in Sirius' place since he's somewhere in the Caribbean with Remus."

"Alright, I doubt I'll be needed though. Have you told Sirius yet?" Andy asked, referring to the charmed mirror, since she had one to share with her daughter.

"No, I haven't had time. Besides, he can't do anything; he'll just worry and insist on returning. Even if I told him right now, he probably wouldn't be able to get a portkey back for a day at least."

"I'm going to check on my daughter, if you don't mind," Ted stated, more than asked.

"Of course, Ted," the Headmaster replied, clearly watching and listening to the exchange. His voice was authoritative, likely an attempt to remind everyone he was present in his office in his school.

"Ted, tell her I'm fine. I know she'll be up in arms, but I promise to talk to her as soon as this is done," he requested, knowing Tonks was rather protective of him. His piece said, he dove into his mind, reliving the memory, looking for anything he missed, anything about his attacker that would be useful to the investigation. Only one thing was clear: it was an aged, overweight man, based on the outline of the shadow.

But shadows were hardly reliable, and he knew a couple of potions that could be used to change one's appearance, or it could be a Metamorph like Tonks, but the ability was extremely rare.

At least it eliminated the Slytherin Quidditch team from his list of suspects and Lord Malfoy, since the man may be a killer, but he wasn't fat.

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