Moments later, other owls began to descend onto the table, all trying to land in front of Daphne and have their loads freed.
Daphne, already warned the previous morning, did not move to touch any of them except those she knew. Neville immediately stood, drew his wand, glared furiously at all the owls and stunned the lot. Yet again he did it with one massive cast.
Those owls still trying to find a spare spot on the table among the earliest owls, cutlery, crockery, serving platters, condiments and the like dropped onto the table as if they were marionettes whose strings had just been cut.
"Mister Longbottom," called Professor Babbling.
"Yes, Professor?" he called back, staring at everything before him for an owl to suddenly start moving again.
"Why did you just stun all those owls?" she called.
"Because the last time this happened, Professor," he replied. "Lord Potter was attacked by booby-trapped mail!"
Before she could say another word, there was a sudden rustling of material from behind and just off to one side of Neville, an auror removing an invisibility cloak. A catch of movement in the corner of his eye saw another auror, further down the table, also remove such a cloak.
The first one firmly declared, "Aurors! We'll take it from here."
That had many of the students gasp in shock. They had no idea aurors were within the school and invisible until that moment.
Headmistress Lady Marchbanks, not missing a beat, firmly called, "Aurors, the crime scene, if it is a crime scene, is yours."
The auror didn't say a word back and, as his partner - at least, the second auror Harry had spotted - walked up to join him, he said, "Lord Potter, Heir Longbottom and friends, please stand up and step away from the table."
The seven were happy to comply, as were the next four along, where owls had also dropped onto the table after being stunned.
The first auror was already casting detection charms over the whole table before they'd all finished getting to their feet, stepping back over the benches and moving out of the way.
"Yep!" he declared, as even Harry saw at least three of the loads on owls glow for a moment. "Definitely tainted mail."
Looking to the Headmistress he said, "It's now official, Ma'am. Under my authority as senior auror on site, I now deem this part of this table... and ten feet of it either side of me... to be a crime scene.
He then turned to the students and said, "Go find somewhere else to sit and finish your breakfasts."
Susan immediately said, "The Hufflepuff table will welcome us." And led the way.
The four non-group Gryffindors that sat nearby all moved further down the table and found gaps to sit there.
As Susan and Hannah, leading the other five, approached the Hufflepuff table, the 'Puffs all slid down to give them enough room at the end.
While he'd followed, Harry was ropeable. Someone had dared to attack one of his. Some ones had dared to attack one of his.
He was just in the process of sitting down between Hermione and Daphne when he stopped. "No!" he snarled.
Stepping back over the bench he spun and stormed back to the Gryffindor table.
One of the aurors, seeing him approach, said, "Lord Potter, this is a crime scene. Please go and sit down."
"No!" he barked back, coming closer. "Not just no; but, Hell No!
"This," he snapped, jabbing a finger at all the still stunned owls, "Was an attack upon the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter. By my authority as One of the Seven, I demand to be informed of the identity of all those who dared... DARED!... to send one of mine tainted mail."
"Errr..." stuttered the auror. "Madam Bones has been contacted and I expect her presence, shortly."
"Right," he snarled. "No moves are to be made to free or awaken any of the owls until each and every sender of such mail is identified. Understand me, Senior Auror?"
"Y-yes, sir!" he snapped back.
There were very few times anyone outside of the auror chain of command could give an order to an auror. One of the Seven, doing so to protect their House, was one such. The auror knew that. All aurors knew that. It was one of the first things they learned at the Auror Academy.
They also learned it was a very bad thing for them and theirs if they did not immediately obey.
Harry was standing still in his rage, staring at the still stunned owls. Everyone was silent. And it was because the young man standing in front of the aisle not far from the head of the Gryffindor table, almost in front of the head of the Ravenclaw table next to it, was radiating magic in a near palpable aura.
"Lord Potter?" called Headmistress Lady Marchbanks.
Harry appeared not to have heard her for a moment before he turned his cold expression upon her.
"Your intent?" she asked. She need not ask more and she knew it.
"To deal with the perpetrators... personally," he quietly replied. However, with the power of magic he was effusing, his words were heard clear down to the bottom of the Hall.
She hesitated a moment before she asked, "Do you not feel that might be a little... extreme?"
"If one of those items was designed to cause harm?" he asked. "No."
Just then Madam Bones rushed in with a half dozen aurors hurrying to keep up with her.
Seeing Harry standing there and effusing magic, she hesitated a moment before she hurried over to the head end of the Gryffindor table. "Johnson," she snapped. "Report."
With a glance to Harry, who was now coldly staring back, the auror, Senior Auror Johnson apparently, immediately and quickly gave his report, indicating the three Harry had seen glow green earlier.
"And, Ma'am," he added, "Lord Potter wants the identity of those who sent the tainted mail."
Bones spun around to stare at Harry. "Why?" she demanded.
Harry just stared back for a moment before he firmly replied, "You're not a daft moron, Madam Bones. Please don't pretend to be one."
She stared back for a long moment before she said, "My aurors can handle this, Lord Potter."
"Really?" he sneered. "How many of those who sent tainted mail to me after the first task did you discover?"
When she didn't answer he said, "Someone with a lick of sense will apply tracking charms to each and every bloody owl to find out who naffing sent them!"
Bones winced as if in pain. They'd not thought to do that. And it was patently obvious.
She turned to quickly look at the ankles of all the owls she could quickly see, to see if any of them had the blue ankle band that showed them to have come from the Owl Post Office; none of them did. That meant they were all personal owls; or, at least, family owls.
Turning back, she said, "Then trust me when I tell you we will be doing precisely that."
"And, when you discover the identity of the senders?" he demanded.
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