A Black Day for Hogwarts
by Healer Pomfrey

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.

WARNING: Character death!Harry plus others at the beginning. If you don't like it, don't read it instead of complaining afterwards!

It was a grey, cloudy day in November, on which the second Hogsmeade visit of the school year took place, and when dark clouds of thunder began to cover the sky in the afternoon, most of the students returned to the castle earlier than intended - all but three.

For these three, nothing would be like before. There had been a Death Eater attack at Hogsmeade. While the teachers had hurriedly brought most of the students into safety, these three students had fought together with the people of Hogsmeade, unaware of the fact that one of them had been the Death Eaters' target of the day.

Although the three students had really fought well, Lucius Malfoy had managed to hit two of them with a dark spell, too dark for any possible rescue. The third let himself sink onto the ground feigning being dead in a perfect show that consecutively saved his life.

Now however, the boy was weeping over the two figures next to him on the ground. "Can you hear me?" he sobbed. "I need you. You can't just leave me alone. Come back to me as a ghost. That's the least you must do."

HP

At the same time, the Hogsmeade visitors, who returned to Hogwarts, were ushered into the Great Hall to have a cup of hot cocoa, warm up - at least physically - and hear the bad news.

"There has been a Death Eater attack in Hogsmeade," the headmaster informed them in a grave voice. "George Weasley and Harry Potter have been killed by Lucius Malfoy."

A huge tumult broke out, during which someone shouted, "And where's Fred Weasley?"

Dumbledore let out a long sigh. "If he has not returned yet, it probably means that he accompanied the Aurors and his father home who were supposed to take George and Harry to the Burrow in order to bury them. I'm sure that Fred will return to Hogwarts as soon as possible," he said, sounding very different from his usual, cheery self.

HP

It was a few hours later, when the whole school was assembled in the Great Hall for dinner, that Fred Weasley entered the Great Hall and strode towards the Gryffindor table, accompanied by two ghosts.

Together with Ghost George, Ghost Harry followed Fred to the Gryffindor table. Not that he would be able to eat anything; however, he wanted to meet his friends and reassure them that he'd be fine. To his surprise, he realised that neither Hermione nor Neville nor Ginny were attending dinner. Only Ron was sitting there together with Percy stuffing his face with shepherd's pie. Noticing that most of the twins' seventh year friends were missing as well, the ghosts ushered Fred to the common room as soon as the boy had taken a few bites.

Hermione was sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace with red, puffy eyes and a crying Ginny in her arm, while Neville was hovering in front of the two girls speaking to them in a soothing voice.

"Mione, Ginny, why are you crying?" Harry queried in surprise, hovering next to Neville.

"Harry!" Hermione blurted out, tears running down her cheeks. "How dare you let yourself being killed by Malfoy? I love you, and I wanted you to be at my side my whole life."

"I'm sorry," Harry replied, shrugging. "But at least George and I managed to come back to you as ghosts."

"That's amazing," Hermione agreed, forcing a small smile onto her face, but it did not reach her eyes.

HP

During the rest of the evening, Harry and George entertained their former housemates. However, they were only partly able to lighten the dark mood of their family and friends.

"Now stop crying," Harry said to Hermione and Ginny.

"You're the one to talk," Hermione sobbed. "I'm missing you so much."

"You don't have to miss us," George threw in.

"We're right here," Harry agreed, grinning.

Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You talk as if you didn't mind being dead," she said, reproachfully.

"At least I don't have to serve detention with Umbridge anymore and no Occlumency lessons with Snape," Harry commented in a faint attempt to sound cheery.

"Now I suggest that all of you go to bed, and Harrykins and I think about what mischief ghosts are able to do in such a big, old castle, while everyone's asleep," George said, smirking.

HP

The two ghosts spent the night roaming the castle, wondering what mischief they'd be able to do in their ghost forms. 'At least I want to get back at Umbitch and Snape,' Harry thought, when they returned to Gryffindor on time to wake up their friends.

With a combination of surprise and annoyance they realised that most of their friends were already sitting around the fireplace wearing tired and tear stricken faces.

"Ah I'm so looking forward to Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts," Harry said to George in a loud voice for everyone to year.

"Yes," his ghost friend agreed, chuckling. "We're going to have so much fun."

"You better behave yourselves, especially you, George," Ron Weasley admonished the ghosts, causing them to chuckle. "Maybe you could kill Malfoy for what his father did to you," he then suggested, making Harry stare at him in disbelief.

"Malfoy is not his father," he contradicted in a firm voice. "We're not going to take such unfair revenge. There are some people with whom I have to pick a bone, but Draco is not one of them."

HP

During breakfast, Harry and George did their best to entertain the Gryffindor table, before McGonagall approached her house table and informed Harry that the headmaster wished to speak with him in his office.

'How ridiculous,' Harry thought as he swept through the empty corridors behind his former head of house. 'The whole time I waited for him to speak with me and just now...'

He was brought back to reality when they reached the gargoyle that opened on "Black Day for Hogwarts."

To Harry's surprise, Dumbledore was together with Snape, and both men immediately interrupted their conversation when McGonagall and he entered the room.

"Harry my dear boy," the headmaster greeted him, absentmindedly offering him a lemon drop.

"Albus!" McGonagall immediately reprimanded the old wizard in clear annoyance.

"No thank you Headmaster," Harry politely refused the offered sweet. "Mr. Malfoy saw to it that I won't be able to eat these again."

Dumbledore let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry my boy, I've failed you so."

"It's not your fault but Mr. Malfoy's and the Death Eaters', sir," Harry replied, glancing at Snape, who was sitting there wearing a blank mask.

"Mr. Malfoy has already been taken care of," Dumbledore explained and, seeing that Harry looked at him, questioningly, informed him, "Apparently Mr. Malfoy was only instructed to bring you to Voldemort but not to murder you, as Voldemort wanted to fight you himself. Since Mr. Malfoy apparently disobeyed, Voldemort killed him during a Death Eater meeting last night."

"Oh," Harry replied, feeing strangely contented at the thought.

"Nevertheless my boy," Dumbledore continued, "Voldemort is still alive."

"And why does that concern me?" Harry queried. "I'm not alive anymore."

"It might not concern you, but it endangers the whole magical world, and since you're the only one able to defeat him..."

"Sorry?" Harry interrupted the headmaster, casting the old wizard a glare of disbelief.

Dumbledore leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Harry, many years ago, before you were even born, a prophecy has been made about you and Voldemort, and it says..."

"I don't care," Harry interrupted the old wizard in a cold voice. "If you had told me this while I was still alive, I might have cared, but you didn't. You hid everything from me."

"That might be Harry, but it was only for your own good," the headmaster replied in a weak attempt to defend himself. "Anyway, I'd like to teach you wandless magic..."

"No thank you sir," Harry replied and continued in an icy voice, "If I hadn't managed wandless magic a few years ago, I wouldn't have survived all the summers at the Dursleys'."

Seeing that the headmaster and his deputy seemed overwhelmed with guilt, he asked, "If that's all.."

"Mr. Potter, behave yourself," Snape suddenly threw in.

"Why?" Harry asked, simply. "Do I owe anyone anything? No one gave me a proper home apart from Hogwarts, and even here I had to do all the dirty work. No one protected me when I faced Voldemort, had to participate in the Triwizard Tournament, when Umbridge made me use a blood quill in daily detentions and not either when I needed it yesterday. I don't owe anything to anyone, and I merely returned to Hogwarts in order to have fun together with the twins and to entertain my friends." With that he swept out of the room without further forewarning.

"He is absolutely right," McGonagall spoke up, sounding tear-stricken. "We completely failed him from the point onwards when his parents died."

"Apparently yes," Dumbledore agreed in a grave voice. "Severus, do you know why Malfoy murdered Harry in the first place in spite of having other instructions from Voldemort?"

"As far as Lucius said at the Death Eater meeting last night, he did not intend to kill him; however, Potter threw itself into the way when he cast the killing spell at the twins," the Potions Master replied, calmly. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to protect the dunderhead from jumping to death."

"It's not your fault, Severus," the headmaster replied in a gentle voice.

HP

Harry swept straight into the library, only to realise that he was not able to take a book into his hands. 'I need help,' he thought in annoyance, just when Hermione entered the room, seemingly upset.

"Mione, what happened?" he queried, eyeing his best friend, questioningly.

Hermione let out a deep sigh. "Apart from the fact that I miss you so much already?" she asked, darkly, before she continued, "It's Ron. He's complaining that George died although Malfoy surely only wanted to kill you. Then Fred informed us that Malfoy only wanted to abduct you and kill the twins, and that you saved his life by jumping in front of him. Is that true?"

"Yes," Harry replied, smiling. "I'm so sorry for endangering them, but I'm glad that I could at least save Fred's life. Ron is a jealous git and has always been. He was never a true friend." He sighed. "Mione, if you still take an advice from me, then don't become Ron's girlfriend. Date Fred, he's much more of your intellectual level than Ron. Get to know Fred, now that George is only a ghost like myself, it'll be easy, and you'll be much happier than with Ron."

"I'll think about it," Hermione replied, thoughtfully. "But I think you're right. I wished it was you though. I won't be able to easily forget you."

"No need to forget me, but don't linger on the past. Look into the future," Harry replied, smiling. 'Why did you never tell me while I was alive?' he thought, sadly. 'I'd have asked you to become my girlfriend, and maybe everything would be different today.' Suddenly, he remembered why he had come to the library in the first place. "Mione, sorry, but can you help me look for a spell, please?" he asked, making the girl smile and nod eagerly.

HP

The first class of the Gryffindor and Slytherin fifth years was Transfiguration whilst the seventh years had Care of Magical Creatures, and Harry and George decided to join Harry's classmates in the Transfiguration classroom.

When the students began to practise the spell that would transfigure a wooden cat into an alive one, Harry asked the professor for two wooden cats for George and himself. The professor grudgingly complied, and Harry began to teach his ghost friend wandless magic. After showing the other boy the movement of his hand a few times, he transfigured his own cat into a living cat, which he stunned right away.

"Well done Mr. Potter, five points to," McGonagall spoke up, before she interrupted herself casting Harry a compassionate look.

"Thank you Professor," Harry replied, smiling, seeing from the corner of his eyes that Ron stared at him in clear irritation.

HP

The fifth years' next class was Defence Against the Dark Magic, a class, to which Harry had been looking forward the whole morning.

Together with Ghost George, he hid within one of the classroom walls, where the professor could not see them. As soon as the professor asked a student to read the new chapter from the book aloud, the two friends began to sing, "How much is that kitty on the pla-ate, how much is that kitty on the pla-ate, the one without waggily tail?"

While they continuously repeated their song, the professor strode through the rows wearing a very upset expression. "Whoever is disturbing my class, now stop it or I'll assign all of you detention," she hissed, angrily.

Hermione raised her hand. "Professor, I don't think that anyone here in the classroom is making these sounds. Perhaps it's someone outside."

While the professor strode into the corridor in front of her room, the two ghosts hastily swept through the classroom and hid in the opposite wall, where they continued their song.

Until the end of the class, the very unnerved professor had not found out who was responsible for the disturbance. Seeing that Umbridge was just about to end the class, the two ghosts left their hideout and swept through the class, muttering simultaneously, "What an uninteresting class."

To the fifth years' relief, the teacher was so upset that she completely forgot to give them homework, a fact about which not even Hermione complained.

HP

"Come with me," Harry whispered to George, "let's go and have a look at Umbridge's office."

Together, the two friends made their way straight into the Defence professor's office. Harry pointed at the plates with the cat faces that decorated the walls all over the office. "After serving so many detentions here, I just can't see them anymore," he said, sighing. "Do you have an idea into what we could transfigure them?"

George remained thoughtful for an instant, before he suggested, "We could transfigure all the cats into dogs, but won't she be able to undo the spell?"

"That's true," Harry replied, pensively. "Then let's just try to cast the Expelliarmus spell at them and see what it does."

George agreed, and the two ghosts waved their hands towards the plates on the walls and cast the Expelliarmus spell, causing the plates to burst into tiny pieces. Chuckling, Harry once more waved his wand, using wish magic to make the pieces dance in the air, forward and backward, in the rhythm of the song that the two ghosts had sung in the Defence classroom.

"That's it," Harry said, contentedly. "Do you see the quill on the desk over there?" Seeing that his friend followed his gaze, he explained, "That's a blood quill. It makes you write into your hand. That's why my left hand is a bit red." He showed his silverish red hand to his friend.

"What a bitch," George replied, shaking his head in annoyance. "All right then, let's get out of here before the bitch comes back after her next class," he suggested, and the two ghosts left, already pondering what kind of mischief they could do next.

HP

At lunchtime, Harry and George kept their housemates company at the Gryffindor table. Suddenly, Umbridge trippled into the Great Hall, turned straight to the head table and shouted, "Professors, you must see this." Seeing that the headmaster and his deputy rose from their chairs in apparent surprise, she added, "I expect that the student who did this will be expelled immediately."

"George, let's go and watch the spectacle," Harry whispered to his friend, and the two ghosts took off in a hurry, glad that they could just go straight through the walls. They carefully entered the professor's office, making sure to not be seen.

"All my plates are broken," Umbridge just told her colleagues, seemingly on the verge of tears.

"Have you tried a repairing spell?" Dumbledore queried, gently.

"Yes, but it did not work," Umbridge confirmed in a whiny voice, causing Harry to inwardly grin.

'Well, maybe you should more practise your wand work instead of merely reading books,' he thought in amusement.

In the meantime, McGonagall stared at the smaller desk that was apparently meant for students in detention with apparent bewilderment.

"Dolores, is that a blood quill?" she spoke up, alarmed.

"Yes why?" the Defence professor said, for a moment back to her usual self with the false smile. "Even as a ghost Potter's hand is still red, and he deserved it so much," she explained, contentedly.

"Very well," Dumbledore spoke up, pensively. "Let's go to my office and call the Aurors. Maybe they can find out what happened to your plates Dolores."

'What is he playing at?' Harry wondered in confusion, when the three professors left the office, unaware of the presence of the two ghosts.

"Let's go," George whispered, and the two friends once again took a shortcut right through the walls and straight into the headmaster's office.

Shortly after Harry and George, who hovered in front of Fawkes' perch, so that Harry could exchange a few words with the funny bird, the professors arrived.

"Ahh ghosts are keeping Fawkes company, how nice," Dumbledore greeted them with a smile. "Please remain for a moment."

The two witches were wearing very upset expressions, even if for different reasons. 'I wonder if he really calls the Aurors because of the prank,' Harry thought. 'I'd rather think Dumbledore would appreciate such a prank.'

However, the headmaster leaned into the fireplace and called Snape, before he summoned Tonks and Shacklebolt.

When everyone was assembled, Dumbledore spoke up in a grave voice. "It came to my attention that Dolores Umbridge made Harry Potter use a blood quill multiple times. Harry, please come here and show us your hand," he called out to the ghost.

Harry obeyed and showed his left hand to the professors and Aurors.

Tonks stared at Harry's hand, furiously. "Professor Snape, may we ask you to administer Veritaserum to Dolores Umbridge please?"

Snape gave the Auror a sharp nod and, pulling out a small phial from his inner robe pocket, stepped in front of the Defence professor. After a few minutes of a small quarrel, during which the pink robed witch vehemently refused to take the Veritaserum, the Aurors held her in a firm grip and the Potions Master was finally able to place three drops onto her tongue.

Harry followed the interrogation with amusement and cheered loudly, when Shacklebolt finally said, "The use of a blood quill warrants for a one-way ticket to Azkaban. We don't even need a trial for this as it is self-explanatory." With that he made a Portkey, which he fastened securely around the soon-to-be former professor's hand.

"Good riddance," McGonagall spoke up, seemingly contented, when the Aurors had left with a still protesting Umbridge.

"Harry, congratulations to a wonderful prank," Dumbledore said, turning to the boy. "Even as a ghost, you're still extremely powerful. I hope you'll use your powers to help the wizarding world fight Voldemort, even if we failed you so badly."

"I will," Harry promised, feeling completely annoyed at the old wizard.

"Do you remember the diary?" Dumbledore queried and, seeing Harry nod, explained, "That was a Horcrux, and we believe that Voldemort made a few of them. Since you probably won't be able to help me destroy them, I'll see to it, maybe with the help of the Aurors and the goblins. When we manage to destroy them all, I'll speak with you again, so that we can make a plan together with Professor Snape how to finally vanquish Voldemort."

"All right," Harry grudgingly agreed, thinking, 'Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come back as ghost. On the other hand it's fun, especially since no one can harm us.'

Together with George, he finally left the office and returned to Gryffindor to look for his friends.

HP

On the following day, the headmaster announced that Professor Lupin was going to return to Hogwarts as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. "He will arrive tomorrow evening after the funeral of George Weasley and Harry Potter, to which we expect many of you to participate. Of course we won't force anyone to go; however, everyone who is going to join us shall meet us here in the Great Hall after breakfast. We'll have enough Portkeys available.

To Harry's and George's surprise, almost the whole school went to attend their funeral, apart from two handfuls of Slytherins who preferred a quiet day off in their house. The two ghosts observed with mixed feelings how everyone held on to the group Portkeys and vanished from Hogwarts.

"Let's prank them all," George said, glancing at Harry.

'If only to get some distraction,' Harry thought, wondering if the Dursleys would show up at his funeral. 'I'll ask Hermione later on,' he resolved, before he replied, "Do you already have an idea?"

Of course George had ideas. Not only did the two ghosts prepare every single bed in each of the dormitories, not only in Gryffindor but in the whole school, so that all students would have to struggle with their bed covers in order to get into bed that night, but they also cast a time-delayed charm at the ceiling of the Great Hall.

While the rain that seemed to enter the charmed ceiling never reached the floor, George and Harry decided that from dinnertime onwards, it should rain chocolate frogs and that they very well should reach the floor and could either be eaten or just jump away.

"What else? We still have time," Harry spoke up, thoughtfully.

"Let's go into all the teachers' offices and either charm all tests and homework to only show best grades," George suggested, making Harry cast him a questioning look.

"Do you have an idea how to cast such a spell?" he queried. "Otherwise I'd suggest that we just vanish all of the parchments on their desks."

The mischievous ghosts had just finished casting the Fidelius charm at all of the toilets on the ground floor, when the students returned from the funeral. If Harry had expected them to return teary-eyed, he was horrified, when everyone was pale like himself and seemed in deep shock.

"What happened?" he asked Hermione and Ginny, who were both sobbing as much as on the day when he died.

"Harry," Hermione cried. "It was so horrible. Bad enough to have to bury you and George, but then Voldemort showed up and killed Fred.

"What!?" Harry and George blurted out, simultaneously, just when another ghost appeared behind them.

"Hiya George and Harry," Fred greeted them, grinning.

"Voldemort said that he was the one to decide who has to die and not Malfoy, and before we knew what happened, he killed Fred, saying that it was his fault that he had had to kill his most faithful follower," Hermione moaned.

"Welcome to our ghost life then," Harry greeted his friend. "We're going to have even more fun with you around."

HP

While the three ghosts quietly observed how it rained chocolate frogs in the Great Hall, Harry informed the twins, "I still have to get even with Snape and Voldemort. Will you help me?"

"Of course," Fred and George promised, grinning.

"We could just disturb his Potions class..."

"... when he teaches the seventh years..."

"... and makes them brew something complicated," the twins suggested, causing Harry to shake his head.

"No, I don't want to endanger or kill anyone in the process. I just want to thoroughly annoy Snape," he replied, when a sudden idea shot through his mind.

A few days later after curfew, Harry made his way to the Potions Master's private lab, knowing that Snape had to brew the Wolfsbane potion for Remus Lupin that evening. From within the wall, he observed the professor brew his potion and waited for a point, at which the Potions Master was fully concentrated and counted his anti clockwise stirs. 'It's now,' he thought and suddenly jumped into the room shouting "Booooo."

Before the Potions Master had even realised what happened and hid from the exploding potion, Harry was again hidden in the wall.

"Cicero," Snape called his house-elf. "Please seek out the Bloody Baron and instruct him to keep these annoying ghosts of the twins and Potter out of the dungeons. I assume that it was one of them to whom I owe that I have to spend the rest of the night brewing the Wolfsbane a second time."

'Oh well I better leave,' Harry thought, knowing that even Peeves was scared of the Bloody Baron. 'At least I got my revenge for several unpleasant Occlumency lessons,' he mused, as he contentedly made his way back to Gryffindor.

HP

During the following months, the whole school realised that the three ghosts were the greatest pranksters that Hogwarts had ever seen.

"Worse than the Marauders," they even heard McGonagall moan in a staff meeting.

Whiles the teachers were more than annoyed, most of the students thoroughly enjoyed the ghost trio's pranks and jokes, and the three never became tired of developing new ideas for more interesting pranks.

HP

It was on a very hot day in May that the headmaster's voice suddenly sounded through the school. "All students return to your houses immediately and remain there. Voldemort has just entered our school grounds and is probably going to attack our school."

"Come on," Harry said to the twins, and the trio floated outside to greet the Dark wizard and a few Death Eaters right in front of the entrance doors, while the teachers waited in the still safe entrance hall.

"Hello Tom, what do you want?" Harry addressed Voldemort.

"I want the school now that I managed to get rid of you," Voldemort replied, haughtily.

"To get rid of me?" Harry queried, snorting, before he waved his hand in the direction of his enemy and unexpectedly cast the killing curse. "Bye Tom," he shouted, chuckling, when the evil wizard moaned and sank to the ground.

"Help with his followers," he whispered to the twins, and the three ghosts repeated the curse until the men under the black hoods shared their master's fate.

HP

The trio swept into the entrance hall and informed the teachers, who were gathered watching the doors with anxious expressions.

Two minutes later, Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey confirmed Tom Riddle's AKA Voldemort's death, and Dumbledore asked Harry and the heads of the houses into his office. He called the Aurors, who immediately headed outside to verify what they had been told.

"Harry, we all owe you," Dumbledore said in a grave voice. "Even as a ghost, you're the most powerful wizard. Thank you so much what you've done for the wizarding world today."

"You're welcome," Harry replied, shrugging.

"I'll see to it that you'll receive the Order of Merlin first class," Dumbledore promised, causing Harry to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"No thank you sir," he replied in a firm voice. "Instead, I'd like to ask something else."

"Whatever Harry, whatever," the headmaster reassured him.

Smirking, Harry explained, "I'd like you to retire as headmaster sir. Professor McGonagall will make a wonderful headmistress. Moreover, I'd like to see Professor Snape retire as Potions professor and merely remain as Potions Master and head of Slytherin. Hermione Granger will make a wonderful Potions professor, while Neville Longbottom will be well able to replace Professor Sprout as Herbology professor. I know that Hermione and Neville still have to take their NEWTs, but they should be able to do so before the beginning of the next school year."

To his surprise, Dumbledore smiled and his baby blue eyes were twinkling happily.

"My boy," he replied, "I fully agree with you in all points but one." Seeing Harry look at him in expectation, he continued, "Professor McGonagall does not want to become headmistress. She insists on teaching Transfiguration and remaining the head of the lions. Instead, I'd like to ask you to become my successor as headmaster."

Harry stared at the old wizard in shock. "Me?" he asked, incredulously.

"Yes my boy," Dumbledore replied, smiling, and offered lemon drops to his colleagues.

"Err, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a ghost sir," Harry said in confusion.

"If a ghost can teach History of Magic, who says that a ghost can't become headmaster?" McGonagall threw in. "Harry, please think about it, and I'd be happy to remain as your deputy."

Harry looked at Snape. However, the Potions Master's face remained indifferent, before he replied, smirking, "As headmaster, it would be your obligation to keep your prank playing ghost friends under control though."

Harry sighed, still unable to believe that he was really being offered the position of the headmaster. "Excuse me headmaster, but do you really mean it?" he enquired, giving Dumbledore a sharp look.

"Yes my boy, I really mean it, and I believe that my colleagues agree with me. As I told you before, even as a ghost, you're the most powerful wizard around, and until the beginning of the new school year, you have much time to study so you can take at least your OWLs during the summer. In addition I'll teach you some spells that will come in handy for your paper work and I'll teach you a charm that you can place on your hands in order to be able to grip objects. However, you must not teach this spell to any of the other ghosts."

"All right sir, thank you sir," Harry replied, still feeling very confused to become the new headmaster of Hogwarts.

The End