After the News ((Perseus Feynman))

[Nasser Salah G6]

A fifteen year old short boy, certainly taller than the year before and in better shape than he was then but still the same quiet rather serious person was pacing the courtyard, deep in thought. Nasser Salah always enjoyed walking, but today he was not walking for pleasure. The reason for the brisk walk was that he always felt he thought well when he was walking, and Nasser was thinking deeply about what was going to happen next. Suddenly noticing the light snowing that was beginning to fall on his head he walked in and made his way to the student lounge. That morning Nasser had caught his friend Perseus Feynman at breakfast, and told him to meet him that evening in the student lounge and then they would try and find a quiet corner as he wished to talk over a matter with him. It always amused Nasser how different his two best friends were from him. Their appearance was completely for one thing, both Sethia and Perseus had the pale complexion that usually came with red hair whereas Nasser's bronze skin was much darker, since he was of Egyptian descent. Even though all three possessed green eyes Nasser's had the darkest pair of the three. But aside from appearance, it was the fact that all three were from different houses that always surprised everyone.

They could never meet in their common rooms but instead had to resort to meeting in the library or the courtyard or the grounds, and this year the student lounge. Also Nasser and Sethia did not see Perseus in classes since he was a year older. Nevertheless this never stopped the three of them from maintaining their friendship, and Nasser would do anything for Sethia or Perseus, and was sure they felt the same way about him.

The day before everybody had been gathered in the Great Hall to receive the horrifying news of Ginny Weasley's abduction by Death Eaters. Nasser had been affected deeply by this news, and had thought of little else since then. He could not believe that a fun trip to Hogsmeade could have had such a tragic end. How was the magical world he loved going to change now the Death Eaters were back at large? True they had been expecting something like this to happen ever since Harry had warned them about the return of Voldemort last year, but still Nasser had thought they the school had taken enough safety measures to prevent any of the students from being harmed. Nasser had thought of little else since then, and he was waiting for Perseus so they could discuss this and also he wanted to know his friend's reaction to all that was happening.

[Perseus Feynman]

His red hair reflected the light from the torches as Perseus paced around the empty Slytherin Common Room, finishing his antidote for poisons that could kill in a matter of minutes. Perseus was much leaner than the year before and had grown a few inches over the summer. He and his father had traveled back the the United States to view the "super collider" that had begun construction. Not only that, but, Perseus had meliorated his dueling skills by perfecting his martial arts skills and training daily with his father in addition to his Physics/Calculus sessions.

Perseus meticulously poured a throthing substance into a beaker as he cooled it with ice cubes and almalgamated it with his already finished antidote for hazardous poisons. It would ameliorate the proficiency of the potion so that the potion could heal the subject right away. Perseus had been contemplating about the kidnap of Ginny Weasley, just as his two best friends, Nasser and Sethia had. He would do anything to help the two of them especially if Voldemort endangered their lives. Perseus could tell that the kidnap must have been only part of a sophisticated plan for Voldemort to be able to harm Harry Potter, just as he endeavored to the year before.

Perseus slipped his vials of anti-death potions and invisibility potions into the slots he had on his belt and paced the Common Room. Then, deciding that Nasser would be in the Student Study Hall/Lounge by then, Perseus strode out of the Slytherin common room and into the winding corridors of the dungeons. Torches glowed eerily, as they created dancing Penumbrae. The Cimmerian corridors gradually brightened as Perseus passed the Potions classroom and walked up the stairs to the grand Entrance Hall. Then, climbing the marble staircase, Perseus made his way to the hallway next to the courtyard. A storm seemed to be building up, as the snow rained thick upon the courtyard grounds. Perseus hoisted his bag onto his right shoulder and entered the Student Lounge to see and hear the raucous sounds of a large gathering. He spotted Nasser on the far end of the Lounge and strolled over. "Nice day, Nasser!" Perseus greeted as he walked up to his best friend and sat down on one of the couches.

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser was standing in the corner of the lounge looking out of the window at the grounds which were covered in a blanket of white snow. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he gazed outside, his thoughts far away from the scene before him. The advent of Perseus made him forget his thoughts though as he heard his friend greet him and Nasser turned to him with a warm smile. He joined him on the couch, slipped his shoes off and crossed his legs under him Indian style, then looked up at his friend happy to see him as it had been a long time since their last time meeting.

“It is?” asked Nasser. “It’s freezing outside, I was there just a minute ago and now it’s snowing. Not too heavily though, um, are we really going to talk about the weather? I haven’t seen you in ages!” said Nasser. “We’ve got loads to talk about,” he continued enthusiastically. “I like this new student lounge, don’t you? At least it’s a warm meeting place for us in the winter. So, how is the intelligent hard-working Perseus finding his NEWTs year?” asked Nasser. His tone was light and hardly revealed how keen he was to move on to more depressing topics, but Nasser wanted to talk to Perseus about a lot of things anyway other than the kidnapping, like what he had done over the summer and his Christmas plans, but these topics seemed rather frivolous now after the unexpected kidnapping.

((I am very sorry about the delay. I’ll try to get this post a little faster in the future))

[Perseus Feynman]

Perseus returned Nasser's smile with an elated smile and chuckle although his eyes were still wandering in contemplation about the topic he knew they would be discoursing about, soon. He rested his hand on the couch and replied, "I am doing very well, Nasser; I have gotten 100% on every assignment and test on every subject I am taking, with the exception of Divination, Ancient Runes, and History of Magic. So, how is the ever top student, Nasser doing in his classes?" Perseus stopped as he leaned back on the couch and listened to the interminable, profuse, and rambunctious conversations taking place in the group of students on the other side of the room. The sound resonated around the room and Perseus endeavored to block it out by concentrating on what Nasser had to say.

After Nasser answered, Perseus focused his gaze on the fire that was burning with voracious ferocity, as he contemplated about the kidnapp Voldemort had unequivocally ordered. It seemed as if the inequitous wizard was hungry for more power. Moving on to the next subject, Perseus inquired in a low voice, "Do you think that the kidnapp of Ginny Weasley was ordered by You-Know-Who?"

[Nasser Salah G6]

"That's great Perseus, and I don’t think you should worry too much about Divination, why somebody like you persists in taking such a useless subject is beyond me," said Nasser who despised the subject. "History of Magic… join the club. I am so going to fail that class. I now think of it as a kind of break between my other classes during which I can take a nap," admitted Nasser with a little smile. "I'm not doing too badly myself at everything save History of Magic, but I have to spend a lot more time on Arithmancy than anything else, I'm not that good with numbers as you know," said Nasser, amused at Perseus' calling him top student. Nasser was one of the top students, but not the top. Perseus then steered the conversation to the kidnap, and Nasser who hadn't been looking at him raised his head up sharply.

Nasser stared at Perseus intently for a minute, saying nothing. Perseus had wasted no time beating around the bush, or maybe it was just blatantly obvious that Nasser wanted to discuss the kidnap with him. The older boy was looking into the fire, with a serious look of concentration Nasser knew well. Nasser, who had had a lot on his mind and was bursting to tell someone about it, tried to explain to Perseus his feelings about the whole matter after Perseus brought it up. "I don’t doubt it for a second; what completely escapes me is why Ginny Weasely in particular. There have been rumours about him having tried to hurt her when I was back in my first year," said Nasser wonderingly.

Nasser then told Perseus what was bothering him the most. "I wish we knew what he was up to; what exactly we're up against. Dumbledore keeps telling us to take care and that all kinds of safety measures are being taken, but I still feel like we're in the dark. She was just going with Parvati to do some shopping in Hogsmeade. That could have been you and Sethia, Perseus. I just hate this feeling of looming disaster, and the worse thing is that I don’t even know what kind of disaster to expect," said Nasser. His voice was full of passion and bewilderment, and he didn't realize how much he had said before he was finished. He dropped his eyes from Perseus', waiting to see what his friend was going to say.

[Perseus Feynman]

"I see your point very clearly, Nasser. I for one am also confused by the evil one's actions. Why kidnapp Ginny? Was it because of 'Dumbledore's Army'? I've heard some rumors saying that the DA may be in the way of the evil one's plans. However, if you remember, Nasser, in my second year or your first year, there was all this commotion about the Chamber of Secrets. Of course, as you know, I am almost a direct descendant of Slytherin, so, my Grandfather would know all about it. Although my Grandfather was completely against the pureblood ideals, he still knew a lot about the Dark Arts. He told me, once that Dumbledore may not have found out about the Chamber, but, the only Parslemouth to attend Hogwarts after Slytherin himself may have. I also remembered that Ginny Weasley was somehow 'possessed', probably by a parslemouth spirit. Harry also told me that the only parslemouth ever to attend Hogwarts before him was the evil one; You Know Who. Therefore, there must be a connection between Ginny Weasley and You Know Who that You Know Who must have exploited. What if he uses her as a weapon just as he used Harry last year?" Perseus ranted on while he contemplated the multifarious implications the kidnapp meant. He glanced at Nasser and continued telling him about his thoughts.

"I know that all my talk has been theoretical, but, I just know that this kidnapp was just part of You Know Who's Grand plan. I guess we can only speculate and trust Dumbledore for the moment and follow his instructions..........."

[Nasser Salah G6]

Nasser listened to Perseus’ theories considering the possibilities in his mind and still feeling the same confusion. “Dumbledore’s Army? I don’t know, half the school was part of that last year so why Ginny? Also with Nikolaeva teaching this year I think Harry has decided we’re getting all the training we need in Defence, and I agree she’s a good teacher so he hasn’t tried to teach us himself again. There must be some connection as you say, but until we know what the connection is we’re in the dark. I don’t know what to think Perseus, but I hate seeing this happen to the magical world. With You-Know-Who rising again people are beginning to show their true colours, I’m quite sure you know about that as you must have overheard the Slytherins conversation in the lounge and when you’re in the common room, and I just feel the danger is coming from too many directions,” said Nasser.

Perseus then told Nasser that all they could was speculate and place their faith in Dumbledore. “You know how much I trust Dumbledore and I’m quite sure he has our best interests at heart, but I still feel worried Perseus. He can’t be everywhere at once, and what is he supposed to do, try and stop You-Know-Who from harming any of the other students or worry about the students themselves trying to harm their colleagues? Some of the purebloods are taking the Death Eaters as role-models. I have to watch my back every minute now, in case somebody is trying to send a nasty hex in my direction,” said Nasser. “It’s just that all these years at Hogwarts have been wonderful, and now I feel that the war is beginning and everything I’ve come to love is in grave danger,” said Nasser, who was now staring at the fire intensely as he explained the turmoil inside him to Perseus.

[Perseus Feynman]

Perseus leaned back and considered Nasser's comments and nodded his head, "Well, the new professor is someone we can rely on, but, if Hogwarts becomes a battle ground, the Ministry and its private law enforcement squads plus the aurors would not be enough. I mean, look at the muggle world; the country needs a large military in order to protect its borders from invasion and a substantial amount of people under the police force. Therefore, the DA will eventually be needed. As you know, Nasser, I never joined the DA, because I figured out how to work the patronus charm last year without Harry's help and have already mastered a lot of dueling techiniques. But, this year may be different......." He paused to look at his watch, which ticked with cadence and struck 9:00 as the boisterous crowd moved out of the room, leaving it empty with the exception of a few students huddled in the back corner. Perseus felt his elation dwindle as he thought of the calamitous circumstance the wizarding world was in. He couldn't beleive that the minister, Cornelius Fudge, was still in office after his terrible handling of the situation last year.

Continuing, Perseus said, "It is good for you to be constantly vigilant, Nasser, but, I assure you, only a few Slytherins out of 50 will be willing to follow You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters. I have been keeping an eye on them and I know that they will not cause any trouble, especially under Dumbledore's nose. You may be surprised by Dumbledore's uncanny way of knowing everything that goes on in the world, especially events that occur in the wizarding world of the United Kingdom."

[Nasser Salah G6]

"Well you're right about that, I suppose you can never learn enough about Defence can you? And these are Death Eaters we are talking about, an enemy with less mercy in their hearts than any muggle enemy," said Nasser, convinced by Perseus' logic. Nasser remembered the Patronus Charm, he had never really mastered that till much later in the year after Harry had already moved on to something else, but now his Patronus was a real one, or to use the proper term, corporeal. It was a unicorn, and nobody had been more surprised than Nasser when that was what had come out of his wand, but he was very attached to it as everyone was attached to their own particular patronus, and often wondered if he would be able to produce it if he faced a Dementor.

"I've never wished your words were more true, Perseus. I'm quite sure you know what the Slytherins are up to and I guess I was just being a little paranoid… this whole kidnapping affair has me a little on edge. I mean, she was just in the common room with us yesterday, we were discussing what we had been doing over the last week in class, and Quidditch, you know all that stuff," said Nasser. "It's so hard to believe she's been kidnapped, I hope this doesn't end as badly as we know it can," he said, turning away from Perseus so he wouldn’t see him looking so anxious and depressed.

[Perseus Feynman]

Perseus sat in quiet contemplation as he enjoyed the tranquility of the Student Lounge. He was also thinking about his Patronus Charm. Although Perseus did not take any classes with Harry, he had been able to perform a corporeal patronus charm near the end of his fourth year. It had been a carefully guarded secret, as he had used to travel to the room of requirement every few weeks surreptition to ameliorate his skills. Perseus's patronus took the form of a giant serpent and was very affective as an offensive guard against the iniquitous, loathsome Dementors. He knew that he would be able to perform the charm flawlessly in combat, as he had practiced with Jaquin many times with a real dementor. Of course, Perseus was not disquieted by the rumors that the dementors had lost control; he was not affected in the way Harry was.

"I concur, Nasser," said Perseus in an equally anxious voice. "However, I have heard that the Slytherins had formed a league of purebloods on their own. One group that I know of are the 'Queens of Slytherin' who incessantly attack younger students, even from their own house, Slytherin....."

[Nasser Salah G6]

"Well at least both you and I know of a Slytherin who's better at magic than any of them and who is thankfully on our side," said Nasser moving closer to Perseus on the couch and poking him lightly in the shoulder, at an attempt to lighten the dark mood he had put them both in. Nasser smiled at his friend, the same question he had always pondered on ever since they had met popping into his head as he looked at him. What was he doing in Slytherin? Sure, he was ambitious, and from one of the most ancient wizarding families in Britain, but he was so very different than any of the other members in his house. "I bet there just a pack of vicious girls who just can’t find a better way to vent their anger. Why aren't they in trouble for attacking the younger students? The youngsters are scared enough as it is, they don't need people hexing them and bullying them all the time. I'm going to talk to the younger Gryffindors and make them promise to tell me if they're bullied. It's the last thing we need with what we're going through right now. We have to a put a stop to it," said Nasser determinedly, his smile now gone and his expression grim.

[Perseus Feynman]

Perseus laughed as Nasser poked him, "But I'm sure we've got very competent Gryffindors out there, ready to fight off any of those Slytherin girls. I don't think that we have to worry that much. I mean most of them are going to leave next year, but, we'll still be here. So, if Draco and his cronies decide to start something up, we would be here to 'take them down'." Perseus stopped for a moment to reminisce of all the good times he had with Nasser, going skiing, iceskating, and practicing their dueling skills. He marveled at the younger boy's intelligence and always admired his sense of justice. Perseus saw Nasser's smile begin to droop as they realized how serious the matter was. "Yes, we have to stop this tyranny before it gets out of hand," Perseus said. "I need to attend to some business. But, I'll see you around." Perseus got up from the couch, smiled, and waved a farewell to his friend as he trudged back towards the Dungeons.