Welcome Back to the Madness. A long awaited new update.

Hogwarts happenings

It took me by surprise to realise I had been teaching at Hogwarts for the better part of a month. My days were filled with classes, grading papers, reading magical tomes and too frequent run ins with the evil Madame Pince. Oh and the disapproval of my immediate boss, Minerva McGonangal. I often found myself feeling much like one of the students after one of our little 'chats'.

"Professor Dresden, a moment of your time please." The stern, grey haired lady requested my second week teaching.

"I understand you have been teaching the children basic magical defences, circles and such." she said without preamble. It wasn't a question.

"Yes Ma-am. Even the youngest students can defend themselves with a basic circle and it isn't terribly draining to learn." I replied, fighting the urge to fidget like a guilty school boy.

"Be that as it may, I would prefer it if in future, you would explain to your students why it is important to clean up after oneself when one is finished." She fixed me with a stern glare that would have impressed Queen Mab herself. "Perhaps, Professor Dresden, it is was NOT such a good idea to allow students to practise creating magical circles wherever they please in a magical castle that has been soaking up power for centuries and is filled with house elves! I have had several in my office and quarters, at all hours, thank you very much, in hysterical tears because of circles of salt left in the dorms, unused classrooms and hallways that they can not clean up and one of the poor creatures was actually caught in one! We had to send him to Hagrid to recuperate, he exhausted himself trying to pop out!" She glared at me, waiting for my response, her nostrils flaring, just a little.

For my part I just gaped at her. One; I had little knowledge about house elves but if they were anything like fairies I had probably just pissed off a whole bunch of them by proxy.

Two; Those Little Shits! I had given a lengthy lecture on the do's and don't s of circles. When it was OK to use them and on what. Maybe I had forgotten to included why cleaning up after oneself was important too. My Bad. I hastily apologised and promised to rectify my mistake. Then I beat a hasty retreat. That woman was terrifying! Not surprising considering she was, for the most part, in charge of discipline for an entire school of magical teenagers.

My second call out on the carpet was for teaching the Fifth years my handy little 'flickum bicus' charm. Seems that a certain fifth year Gryfindor has control issues. They got the fire out! And who uses four posters with curtains in a teenage boys dorm anyway!

I did manage to do some good though, After teaching Tracking Charms to the fourth years I noticed that the slight, waif like blonde girl named Luna, whom Mouse absolutely adored, was far better dressed and groomed, and rarely had her homework stolen by 'Nargles' anymore. (I was pretty sure I didn't want to know what Nargles were.. I hate bullies.) I smirked. Wonderful things tracking charms.

I was happily immersed in a delicious breakfast, (a large delivery of pizza and fervent apologies for the circle insult had cemented me back in the House Elves good graces.) and trying to read the Prophet whilst ignored the Toad. She was forever croaking at me about my lessons but I was doing what I do best. Annoying her. This morning that meant ignoring her completely.

A small article about a nasty attack on a Muggle-born family caught my eye and promptly cost me my appetite. It wasn't very long, no more then five sentences but it made something burn within my stomach and gave me an idea. I caught up with Dumbledore after breakfast for a quick chat and his eyes twinkled merrily as he agreed.

A notice went up in every common room and throughout the castle that I and some special guest speakers would be holding a school wide lecture in the Great Hall that Thursday after lunch. Attendance was mandatory, all other classes cancelled that afternoon. A few smiles could be seen from students who would be evading a dreaded class. Cough Potions cough divination cough cough.

Thursday morning bright and early and I collected my special guests. I had debated with myself for a while who to ask for this particular favour and finally decided on Wizard Listens to Wind and Anastasia Lucio, who I knew would bring Morgan and one or two other wardens for muscle. No way was I bringing Ramirez. Way too many pretty ways to get me in more trouble with McG.

Ebeneezer always said he was way to crotchety to be allowed near children and he definitely would have issues with Severus. I didn't get along well enough with the rest of the Council to want to ask anyone else so Listens to Wind it was. He heard me out and readily agreed, as did Commander Lucio. They both thought it was high time the 'Wanded' wizards were reminded that they were not the biggest, baddest fish in the sea. Then we returned to Hogwarts, via the port-key Albus had given to me and I may have failed to describe properly before activating. I thoroughly enjoyed my companions discomfort at the end of the ride and was plotting how I could slip Morgan a port-key to Antarctica when Listens to Wind, having gotten his breath back, belted me on the head with his staff! "Warn us next time." Morgan and Lucio were both glaring at me as Morgan assisted his commander to her feet. The two wardens he'd tagged into this were left to clamber to their own feet. Then they were ALL glaring at me. I swallowed. Maybe I should have just asked the Old Man.

Deciding to make an entrance we waited until the Great Hall had filled with the student rabble and they had settled into their seats before Morgan simply blew the doors open. With Morgan (who had the scariest appearance out of all of us) as our spear head we moved in a diamond formation down the central aisle, Morgan, Lucio and the two wardens in their distinctive grey cloaks and bearing the drawn, gleaming silver swords of the Wardens, Listens to Wind in his traditional native American garb, carrying his own hand carved staff, and with an adolescent timber wolf walking at his side, and me in my black leather, spell wrought duster, carrying both my blasting rod, runes lit with sullen light, and my staff, which I was tapping against the stones, sending of sparks. All we needed was a soundtrack...

The hall was silent as we walked up to the Professor's dais and the lectern I had seen at the Welcoming Feast. I noted most of the staff in attendance including an odd looking woman, draped in dozens of shawls who looked like a grasshopper. She sat as far from the Toad as she could. Even Hagrid was there looking huge even sitting down. Flitwick and McGonangal looked serious and Severus.. he was against the wall at the back of the Great Hall, staring with wide eyes at what must have been his worst nightmare. Either that or the man was an excellent actor, which was a given due to his role in this war. Today's display would give him an iron clad reason to alter his past behaviour. At least, it had better. I was one sneer away from knocking him out on behalf of all Harrys everywhere. Whilst I enjoyed his company away from the students, he was a right bastard in his role as evil dungeon Bat.

Gaining the stage I stepped forward to the lectern whilst my companions took their seats, fanning out behind me. I noted they all took positions so that no one part of the hall was unobserved. I turned to face the Great Hall and the listening students and staff.

"Outside these walls there is an escalating tension in the Wizarding World, and a resurgence in acts of violence by a certain faction of your World. We are here today to explain to you all why going out into the Mundane world, or Muggle as you call it, to start trouble or have malicious fun is a BAD idea." I could see some of the students, mostly from the Pure blood's are Better set, sneering at me. I fixed them all with a steady glare.

"First of all there are Laws that govern all things pertaining to the Mundane World and whilst your Community has some immunity to our laws, there are some rules we will not tolerate seeing broken." I turned and leveled a look at Madam Umbridge, who, for once held her tongue and did not so much as croak, err cough.

"If you go into the Mundane world to do harm, then I would like you to take a good look at the woman seated beside me." Lucio stood up, her face implacable and unreadable, her eyes hard. "This is Commander Lucio. She and her men are here today as Guests. If you go out into the world to torture, maim or kill humans for fun, you will meet her or those she leads in her offical capacity. She and or her men will come for you. Out of nowhere and without Mercy. If you raise your wand to harm another person, not in self defence or in the defence of others, then you will be hunted down, brought to trial and judged. If you are found to be a violator of the laws of Magic you will be executed. Neither your blood status or your family name will stay the blade of justice, they care not a whit for your perceived social status. They do not accept excuses. The sentence for breaking the Laws or for using black magic is Death. By Beheading. You will not be able to run from them, wards will not keep them out." As I said this the Wardens behind me stood, their blades unsheathed and humming in the magically charged air of Hogwarts. I allowed the students, many who were quite pale, to take this sight in for a moment. Madam Umbridge was looking more like a ghost than Myrtle. (I refused to use that cruel if accurate nickname.)

"The second reason why starting trouble with the broader World out there is that you might step on something big and bad's toes. If you enter the territory of the wrong supernatural being and start killing what it sees as it's lawful prey, well you may just end up on the menu yourself. There are a lot of things out there a whole lot bigger and meaner then Dark Lords. These beings do not take kindly to invasions upon their territory, and will more often then not see you as desirable prey. Killing or consuming magical human can boost their own supernatural power." I paused. "Part of this years Defence curriculum will cover the many powerful supernatural factors that make up the larger part of the supernatural world." the students whispered some about this, but seemed more relaxed. After all they all knew there were creatures such as Goblins and Centaurs who cared little for Wizards. I had chosen my order of reasoning for this purpose. Madam Umbridge going purple at the idea was just an added bonus.

"The Third reason is the 'Muggles' themselves. Their not backwards, primitive, powerless nor stupid. You may have magic to kill with, but the non magicals have so many more ways to kill you. Without Magic the normals have spent the time you have spent on creating spells on figuring out their own way do what you can do with magic. In many ways they have surpass you. Candles, quills and parchment for example are things long since mostly abandoned in the outside world in favour of more efficient alternatives. They are still used, but not so much in every day life.

To this end the Non Magical world has put a lot of effort into how to kill their enemies and how to communicate and travel over long distances." I paused. "They are also very good at exterminating peoples they do not like or see as a threat." I turned and nodded to Listens to Wind. "This is Wizard Listens to Wind. I have invited him here to speak on just how destructive humans as a whole can be."

As Listens to Wind approached the lectern I withdrew and took a seat. What followed would, I was later told, was a lecture that no student present forgot, nor failed to pass on to their descendants. Listen's to Wind spoke of the devastation that the white man brought to the Native Americans, of watching his own tribe of people systematical wiped out by violence, disease and starvation. He spoke of staying out of things because he believed it was not for him to interfere, until it was too late to make a difference and of having to live with that guilt. He told the students that doing the right thing, the honorable thing was never easy, that it always had a price. Then he spoke of both the World Wars, and of wars fought within countries and borders for territory or wealth. His voice possessed a magic of it's own as he told the gathered students just how good the non magicals were at killing one another. He had seen the utter devastation left after bombings during WW2, whole city blocks wiped out, nothing but rubble remaining. He spoke of air raids and compulsory blackouts and of how planes could, way back then, pinpoint where to drop a bomb just from one stray light in a window. He went on to explain that now the planes do not even need that. At this point Lucio joined him and they both led the students through just how much more advanced the Non Magical world was, tearing down much of what the sheltered magicals had believed. Finding out that they would not be able to hide much longer had come as a shock. Realising that they be wiped out completely if the Non Magical world found out about them in a negative way had several of the more intelligent Slytherines and the entirety of Ravenclaw house revising their future plans.

I retook the lectern and gave a bow to my fellow Wizards. "Thank you Wizard Listen's to Wind and Commander Lucio"

I turned back to the students. "There is one more reason that you should not consider joining this so called Dark Lord Voldemort." I allowed my staff to light up with fiery red hellfire. "I have already notified the White Council that the Warlock Tom Riddle jnr and his followers have commited crimes against the Laws and Magic herself. Commander Lucio and her Wardens are here not just as my guests, but to remove the Warlock problem once and for all. Should anyone be contemplating an attack upon this school I will protect it with extreme prejudice. I will not be using non lethal magic against monsters who would harm children"

The hall was completely silent.

AN.. will leave it here.. the gauntlet has been thown. Like me I am sure you can imagine someone just let the doxies loose among the owls...

I've gone over this three times, hopefully not too many mistakes. Thank you all for your patience. Next up, Halloween.