Among the Junior Death Eaters, there was one that took Harry's words to heart. Surprisingly, it was Pansy Parkinson that actually stopped to think. Her father was the last Death Eater killed in the Alley. Potter had killed him by decapitating him with a Flame Whip Charm. It wasn't the animal that killed him, it was the wizard. Suddenly Pansy realized they were all poking a caged wolf with a sharp stick all the while thinking they were safe from retaliation. The Light-side believed in the rules that restrained them. Potter had just put them all on notice that the wolf was no longer caged. Any further poking was at their own risk. Pansy suddenly recognized her own mortality under these new rules. Maybe direct confrontation was not the best solution.
The Aurors and several teachers immediately deployed to find the missing Boy-Who-Lived but no sign of him was found. None of the ghosts or portraits reported seeing a sign of him either. Snape even checked Myrtle's bathroom but the hormonal ghost said she hadn't seen Harry but he was always welcome to her plumbing. (Snape shuddered at that innuendo.)
Dumbledore didn't believe Harry hadn't left the school grounds because the wards hadn't been triggered. There was always a chance the youngest Marauder knew some way around the wards but the Headmaster didn't think so in this case. His conversation with Sirius that evening enforced that belief. The dog animagus was too calm especially after the events of the last Friday so Dumbledore knew Harry had been in contact with his family. But Sirius also lacked the hint of gloating he would expect if Harry had reached London. Thus, Harry was somewhere in the school.
The Ministry was going insane with Harry's disappearance. The Aurors were treating Harry as their top suspect for the abductions but surprisingly, Miss Bones spoke to her aunt about Harry's oath. That created another ruckus when they realized they still had an abductor to deal with and had managed to run off the Boy-Who-Lived. Dumbledore tried to calm them but Fudge was letting his fear rule his rather limited intellect. The man was an instinctive politician and supported the mob's rush to judgement on Mr Potter. Now that decision - and the mob - would turn on him. The fool had actually said they set the whole thing to make him look bad. (Fudge never said who 'they' were.)
Albus had missed most of Harry's rant in the Great Hall but received a full report from Professor Crowling. While Albus believed killing should always be a last resort, he did accept that Harry had little choice when he was outnumbered as badly as he was in the Alley. Yes, he could have run but that would have exposed more people to the Death Eaters. For good or ill, Gryffindors were trained NOT to run.
"Stay safe, Mr Potter," the old wizard murmured.
"I can't believe the little twit is doing this to me again!" the Indian witch growled as she paced. Harry's five friends were gathered in an unused classroom discussing the disappearance of said wizard. Right now they were mostly watching the furious young witch spout off on her missing boyfriend.
Ernie leaned over to Ron. "Wherever Harry is, he might want to stay there a while," he whispered. Ron went to reply but they were both hit by an advanced colour changing charm. They now looked like candy canes or an old barber shop pole as the strips animated to twist around.
"Knock it off you two," Padma said through clenched teeth. "Harry's out there somewhere alone! Anything could happen to him!"
Ron was frowning down at his red and white stripped robes. Absently, he said, "He'll be back once he's cooled off. (Bloody hell, these are my last clean robes!) He just needed to get away for a bit. Give the bloke a break. (Ernie, what's the spell to fix this?)"
"What is that supposed to mean, Ronald?" Hermione demanded.
"It means I want my bloody robes changed back!" the wizard shot back. "I didn't even say anything." Padma rolled her eyes and cancelled the spell with a swish of her wand. "Thank you," Ron grunted.
"Now, what about Harry?" Padma asked in a falsely calm voice.
"You saw, Pad," Ernie answered for his friend. Ron was sharp enough to see things but wasn't gifted at putting it into words. "Harry completely lost his temper. He needed to get away to calm down. In fact, I bet ten minutes of my snog time with Hermione that his elf minion is with him right now. And you know how much that time means to me."
"Ernie!" Hermione protested turning crimson with embarrassment but slightly pleased all the same.
"But Harry Potter's Puffer would lose because Dobby is here to deliver Master Harry Potter sir's letters," Dobby suddenly said from his place on the table next to Ernie. The Fifth year Hufflepuff jumped away with a yell at the sudden voice right next to him. Dobby just smiled and held out his envelopes.
"Dobby, where is Harry? Is he okay? Is he safe? Can you take me to him?" Padma fired out.
"Dobby can't say, yes, yes, and no," the elf replied before blinking away with the envelopes left behind.
"Bloody elf's been around Harry too long," Ron said with a grin. Daphne ignored her boyfriend's quip as she reached for the two envelopes Dobby had left behind. One was addressed to the group and the other was just to Padma. The Slytherin witch silently handed the on to Padma and then opened the other.
Padma took the envelope and quickly opened it. While she was silently reading, Daphne started to read the other one aloud.