Couple of inadequate chapters now. To take a crap up for the last two foresighted ones.



"One… two… ternion !"

Harry yanked up on the broom and tried like hell to reserve on as it shot into the air. He saw the viewpoint come into view and screamed, throwing his weight up and scraping over the top by an inch. He tried to slow down but the broom didn't seem to get word him. He was forced to try and keep in line it as it careened along the ground.

All he could do was try to aim the thing like a Bull in a rodeo as it bucked and vibrated at sixty miles per hour. He crashed near the wharfage and stumbled to his feet. He stuck the Chimaera to a tree with a quick fixation magic spell and added a really nasty hex for anyone who tried to take away it.

He dashed down the dock and stopped by the walkway up the Durmstrang ship.

"Ayauhteotl !"Harry waved his wand and a multicolor mist appeared over the walk, revealing the wards. Harry dipped his baton into each knob and birl it around like a baton, watching the changing color.

It was like a combination curl, he just had to match them up… done !

Harry ran through the mist and dashed up to the back of the ship and grabbed the wheel. If his ten minute spent reading up on magical boats was anything to go on the starter motor should be… somewhere ?

Harry glanced from the inexplicable quite a little of Victorian-looking knob and switches on the all-inclusive ascendance venire to the three dimensional, ships wheel attached to the middle of a gyroscope.

Bugger… wait ! There were piddling board above the controls. Labels… recording label in German. sod. The but one he could read was the ship's epithet, in sheer copperplate engraving above the controls.

The Spirit of Njordr

"Well feeling, just you and me."Harry put his hand on the throttle, the only control condition he could recognize. He pushed it forward and the ship surged away from the dockage. He pushed it further and felt the wind menstruum through his hair. Ok, this was cool. He rounded the lilliputian cape and the stands of students came into view. Harry grinned, he reached into his gown and pulled out a leather pirate's hat.

If he was going down he could at to the lowest degree put on a good show.
*


"THAT LITTLE dickhead ! HE ‘ S STOLEN MY BLOODY SHIP !"

"I believe I remember hearing you say he could film it out whenever he wanted Igor."Dumbledore commented airily."I believe Harry takes that kind of thing seriously."
*


Harry grabbed the ships wheel and threw it forwards sharply. It rolled forward, swinging in its place of origin, and the ship's nose dipped down into the water. Harry gritted his tooth as the life slid down into lake. The water arched up over the top like it was sluicing over a glass ceiling. Harry forced himself to breath as the close of the sky disappeared and he was surrounded by water.

Harry tried not to think about it. He raised his head and whistled at the sour water. After a long consequence a burn shape appeared and came in close to the ship.

"Miss Myrtle,"Harry waved his hat at the vagrant frame."Lead the way !"

"Aye, aye !"Vinca minor flew away towards the nominal head of the ship. Harry angled the odd wheel to pursue her. The darkness carried on endlessly, Harry could feel the urine all around him. Harry tried to stay fresh himself distracted, unfortunately there wasn't much there to trouble him. He glanced over the ship, it wasn't that gravid, it was fragile with a one mast. A… cutter… possibly ? His recital last nighttime hadn't been very extensive on embark identification. He'd skipped right on to the basics of steering magical ships.

Great… lot of assistant that had been.

The ship had four catapults, two on each position. Probably already planning a spectacular victory solemnization. The relief of the ship was immaculate, varnished and cleaned down to the finish plaque railing. Harry grinned, now he knew why Karkaroff had brought so many students when it was obvious he favored Krum. He was using them to swab the decks.

Harry raised himself up on his tiptoes and looked out past the end of the ship and past the glowing specter out in forepart. There was a woods of seaweed, or lake-weed maybe, stretching out in forepart of them. It was tall enough to arch up over the ship, Harry groaned as he saw Myrtle disappear into it.

As the ship moved into the forest the kelp ( lake-kelp ? ) slid through the water-wards around the ship and fell onto the decks. Without the water they couldn't stay unsloped and fell like wet spaghetti. As the ship moved forward they slid off again just as new single fell down. It was creepy, like the lake was trying to grab appreciation of the ship with slippery fingers.

A shoal of silvery Pisces the Fishes surrounded the ship, shimmering like a rainbow. Then they changed and flickered in waves of yellow and green, rippling in band across the shoal. Harry wondered idily whether they were legerdemain or they were just catching the light.

Suddenly the shoal broke apart and float away from the ship, disappearing in an second into the darkness behind the ship.

"Oh, that can ‘ t be good."Harry looked around desperately for what they were running from. Out ahead Myrtle had disappeared into the gloom. A shadow passed over the ship, moving fast through the water. Harry's eye flicked up but it had already disappeared into the seaweed."Bugger…"

Harry's hand moved to the throttle and he pushed it forward sharply, the ship surged forward. Hopefully away from the thing. Something unripe flashed through the kelp to the left hand, keeping pace. Harry hit the gas harder and the wheel began to vibrate. He held on grimly as the weeds shot yesteryear faster and faster. The Green River affair kept pace, swinging closer through the underwater jungle. Suddenly it jerked towards him, Harry swung the bike wildly but the K thing kept coming. It shot through the wards and slapped down onto the decks.

Harry slammed the gas back, bringing the ship to a stop and stepped out from behind the steering column. The green thing straightened up, dripping, it looked like a eldritch Equus caballus standing up on its hind legs, standing at least eight human foot tall. It's weaponry ended in nipper instead of hooves, giant three fingered claws. It's horse head… no more like a muzzly dog… was covered in lank hair, like it was constituent of the seaweed.

"Are you a Grindylow or a Kelpie ?"Harry backed away from the thing as it stomped towards him."Or maybe a Kappa ? God I wish I ‘ d paid attending to Lupin."

The thing lifted it's head and brayed, showing Harry that it's teeth were discriminating, serrated fangs.

"Stupefy !"Harry jabbed his sceptre at the affair, the spell flew out and impacted into it's bureau. It didn't even flinch. Instead it screeched and lunged towards him like a bull, Harry rolled out of the way and it crashed into the flooring in a mass of flailing wet limbs.

"If I knew what you were I could oppose you !"Harry yelled in foiling as the matter lurched to its feet and came after him at a run. Harry spun and fled off the back pack of cards, dashing out of reach of the tool flailing claws. He put the mast between him and it. It lurched left, Harry matched it. It turned right, Harry matched it again and it screeched like a banshee.

"Acerbus cus…"Harry bit back on the survive word. If he went to dark magic and they found out he was out of the tournament. Harry looked the creature over, heavily muscled forearms and torso, ribs like armored ridges, thin legs… Thin legs on hooves.

"Ferio !"Harry aimed at the hooves and they slid on the wet wood. The tool went down again, crashing headfirst into the floor. It scrambled up again, it's foundation slipping like a cat on linoleum, and hissed. A moment later it was down on all quaternity, it's claws scraping on the deck.

"Clever bastard."Harry jumped backwards as it bounded towards him. He had to duck under it's swiping claws as it tried to take his head off. A instant later he felt his back hit woodwind, he was out of room.

The affair reared up triumphantly, bringing an arm back to rescue the final blow.

"Accio !"Harry aimed under the affair's arm at the shinning throttle. The Spirit shot forward, throwing both Harry and the affair off their feet. The wight dropped onto one of the catapults, its chief resting on the cradle.

"Diffindo !"Harry aimed at the Mexican valium holding the sling down and it snapped up, bringing the tool head with it. There was a repulsive crack and the fauna's neck twisted back. It stumbled backwards and dropped to the flooring, it's arm flailing. Harry watched as it shook then grew still, it's head pointing gruesomely backwards.

"Whatever you are you ‘ re abruptly now."Harry stumbled back to the wheel and pulled the throttle back to a more reasonable speed. myrtle had disappeared, Harry whistled again but she didn't rematerialize. Oh great… wait…

There was a squeaky warbling sound coming out of the H2O. It sounded like the vocal from the egg. Harry spun the wheel to the right to adopt the strait and pushed the throttle forward. The heart kept on sliding through the Black person water, except it wasn't as Shirley Temple Black now. Harry left the controls and went to the side.

Ahead and down there were lights appearing out of the murk. piffling lights moving, flickering, some arranged in telephone line. The lights followed a pattern, laid out along promenades or grouped in clod near edifice. A city, a city underwater. Harry spun the wheel forward and the Spirit began to descend.

Figures swam up to satisfy the ship as it floated down, figures with Zane Grey, lepidote cutis and fishes tails.

"Mermaids ?"Harry glanced at the mythic creatures keeping pace with him. Several of them were carrying mean looking weaponry and had weird tribal tattoos standing out in red against their picket grey skin. They didn't face like the Walter Elias Disney kind of mermaid, not unless they upped the rating.

Harry aimed for the adult concentration of lights, in the middle of the city. There was some kind of town public square, 100 of the fish people were clustered around something in the middle. Harry swung the ship around to get a better look.

There were three human digit tied up with thick, kelpy ropes to a boulder in the center of the public square and an open space where it looked like another shape had been. Harry squinted, trying to identify them through the murk. Two he didn't recognize but the one-third jumped out at him, her blond hair making a dandelion crown around her head, Susan Bones.

Harry cursed as he realized he couldn't actually get the ship down to them without crushing them in the operation. He stuck an arm through the Barbara Ward, wand outstretched.

"Relashio !"The rophy around Susan released and she drifted free away from the stone."Accio !"Harry aimed again and her torso changed direction and came shooting towards him. The moment she fell through the wards she began spluttering and looking around in shock.

"Harry where the hell… are we on a ship ?"

"No, it ‘ s your imagination."Harry pulled her to her feet."You ok ?"

"Yeah, I think…"Susan looked herself over."Dumbledore said we wouldn ‘ t wake up until we reached the surface."

"Barbara Ward must bear screwed with it."Harry shrugged and hurried back to the controls. He lifted the ship away from the square and sent it off the way he'd came as quickly as he could.

"What the sin is that !"

"What… ?"Harry looked where Susan was pointing."Oh… Dead Kappa."

"That's not a Kappa !"Susan said, her voice high with shock."Kappa ‘ s are about this tall."She put her handwriting at her shoulder to demonstrate.

"Ok… It ‘ s a tall Kappa ? It ate fortune of spinach ? Is this really the most authoritative thing happening right now ?"

Susan shook her head then frowned and pointed ahead of them.

"And what ‘ s that ?"She was pointing at a moving, eel like human body in the dark beyond the bow.

"What's… damn it !"Harry whirled the steering wheel to avoid it but they were already too close. It splashed through the wards and landed on the deck. Harry ran up, verge outstretched and ready for a conflict, then burst out laughing."You look farcical !"

"This isn ‘ t funny Potter."Malfoy canceled his bubblehead charm, dragged a clump of seaweed off his head and threw it at Harry, who dodged easily. Beside him Pansy was waking up and staring blearily at her surroundings. The eel thing looked like it was made of dark and seemed to dissolving into the level now that it was out of the water. Malfoy watched it disappear and blaspheme."Do you lie with how long it ‘ ll take to build another one of them ?"

"Not my fault."Harry shrugged.

"You ran into me !"

"Yeah well… um…"Harry paused, trying to consider of any way in which it was not his break. Malfoy saved him the trouble.

"What the snake pit is that !"

"Spinach Kappa."

"Are you crazy Potter that ‘ s clearly a kelpie !"

"Well if you knew the answer why did you ask ?"

"I was wondering why a Kelpie with a expose neck was decomposing on the pack of cards of your sh…"Malfoy looked around, seeming to read in his milieu for the starting time time."YOU STOLE A SHIP !"

"Technically it ‘ s not theft, it ‘ s piracy."

"thrower you-"

"cat !"Susan interrupted."Shouldn ‘ t person be steering ?"

Harry looked at the unattended control panel then back at Malfoy. Harry rolled his eyes.

"lady friend,"Harry shrugged."Always complaining."

Harry grinned at Susan's outraged expression and trotted up the ships wheel. But as he got there a radiance figure materialized out of the blackness behind them.

"Harry You have to get out of here !"Myrtle yelled, her wholly ectoplasmic body vibrating in fear.

"Vinca minor where did you-"

"Harry just go !"Myrtle screamed, glancing back behind her."It ‘ s the giant calamari !"

Harry followed her gaze, there was something moving out there certainly… something big but… NO !

Harry jerked the wheel just in time as a massive fleshy tentacle came out of nowhere and crashed through the railing, raking the deck to Harry's left.

"Get bellow !"Harry yelled to his passengers as he threw the throttle to total. The ship surged forward just as another arm tried to grab at the mast. Harry saw a massive eye through the iniquity to the left, giant and red and bloodshot and staring right at him. Harry jerked the wheel down and the sprightliness rose past the monster, the eye disappearing into the murkiness. Suddenly an arm came out of nowhere and wrapped around the bow of the ship, spinning them around. Harry drew his scepter but before he could use it a dash of silver light impacted the tentacle and it flailed away, smoking.

Harry saw Malfoy stumble away from the nominal head of the ship and dash towards him.

"What the hell on earth is going on !"

"behemoth squid !"Harry yelled back.

"I know that ! I mean this !"Malfoy waved at the complicated control instrument panel."Do you even bang how to pilot this ship ?"

"No."

"You idiot !"Malfoy swung himself in front of the control. His hands began flying over the eldritch knows and button, including all the ones Harry hadn't had the guts to bear upon."You could feature killed us all !"

"I don ‘ t recall inviting you on circuit card the good ship squid-bait !"

"Shut up and do as I say."Malfoy ordered, still working at the controls. A mo later Harry felt a surge of power from the ship. They jumped forward, Harry could even see light ahead.

"Port !"

Looked like daylight…

"wind to port !"

Harry jerked to biography in time to jam the wheel to the left just as a massive soma appeared in the body of water in movement of them. Harry registered a parrot-like beak and flailing tentacles before they slid past and hit the surface.

The ship broached through the airfoil like a hulk, shedding water system in gravid plane. Harry clung on to try to retain some semblance of control. They hit back into the lake with a monolithic plume of sprayer, a consequence later the behemoth squid exploded out of the lake nearby, it instantly spun around and headed for them.

"Hard starboard !"

Harry complied and soon they were racing away from the thing. Harry looked ahead and swore.

"Malfoy there ‘ s a cliff !"

"I know, keep going."Malfoy was bent over the controls.

"We ‘ re gon na hit it !"

"What ‘ s the matter Potter ?"Malfoy glanced up grinning."opinion you liked this sort of thing ?"

"I really hate you Draco."Harry gritted his teeth and aimed the ship directly at the cliff. Behind them the squid was keeping pace just a few meters behind."Malfoy…"

"Not yet."Malfoy's hand was hovering over a big red button.

"Malfoy… !"

"Not yet !"

Harry could see sea gull nest in the cliff face. Another hundred meters. He could see gull. Another hundred meters. He could see eggs !

"NOW !"Malfoy smashed the button as Harry steered furiously to the face. He could learn the anchor Ernst Boris Chain rolling out and felt a loud crash as the ship came to a plosive consonant. A mo later the calamari shot past times, a metre away from their starboard hull.

There was another crash and the seagulls took flight, a colossus spate of white leaving the drop. The titan squid surfaced, right-hand next to the cliff, its eyes were rolling listlessly and it's arms floated uselessly behind it.

"Knocked itself out."Harry grinned and stumbled over to the rail."Knocked itself cold on the cliff."Harry sighed in relief.

"Thanks Malfoy, I really-"

"Harry ?"Harry turned around, instead of Malfoy he saw Susan standing there."He ‘ s gone."

"Gone ? What do you mean…"Harry followed her pointing finger."… Son of a bitch !"

Malfoy was surfing away over the water supply on a disk of light, Pansy clumped by his feet.

"We need to catch him up !"Harry turned to the steering wheel but stopped. The steering cycle was incased in ice."Son of a squawk !"

"We could just drown for it Harry."Susan suggested, shrugging."We wouldn ‘ t win but at least we ‘ d finish."

"I refuse to recede to that backstabbing bastard !"Harry cast around for another way to get back to the starting line. There had to be a way, there had to be… ah !

"No ! Harry NO !"Susan yelled as she saw what he was looking at."No way in hell !"

"Come on !"Harry said laughing as he pulled her over onto the catapult ‘ s rocker."What could go unseasonable ?"

"Are you crazy ! No Harry !"

Harry grinned, and cut the cable.
*


They shot into the air. Harry could feel the force per unit area of the acceleration everywhere, he could see the beach approaching fast, too fast. He raised his wand against the wind and yelled the low patch he could believe of.

"Eizuckerpeitsche !"

compaction !

Harry tried to breath as his stomach spun in dress circle. He opened his centre to see walls of crackly whiteness. Susan was in his branch, holding him tight around the waistline with her fountainhead buried in his robes.

"It ‘ s ok."Harry whispered."We ‘ ve landed now."

"We ‘ ve… ?"Susan poked her head teacher up and looked around. She still looked a small frazzled, her eyes darting every direction."What did we land in ?"

"Meringue."

"Meringue ?"

"Yes."

"Oh…"She was breathing heavily and still hadn't let go of his waist."Harry ?"

"Yes."

"Never do that to me again."

"Ok."Harry smiled."I promise I ‘ ll never shoot you out of a catapult into a pile of meringue again."

"This isn't funny."Susan said angrily, her face flushing red.

"You see me laughing ?"

She was still breathing heavily, her hair falling around her boldness, her brown eyes staring into his, her flushed brim were so close…
*


Hermione jumped up in impact as Harry impacted into the giant hammock of meringue that had appeared on the beach. A moment later the crowd was rushing from the point of view, towards the whitened mountain. Out in forepart was a blond cleaning woman, yelling at the top of her voice.

Susan finger cymbals'mother ? Hermione guessed.

The crew reached the meringue and Mrs Bones began digging into it madly.

"Susan ! Are you in there ? Susan !"She was pulling off vast chunks, rapidly burrowing into the middle of the mound.

"Susan ! Are you Ok ? Can you hear me Su… HARRY thrower WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ‘ RE DOING !"

Harry's answer went down in Hogwarts history.

"I am snogging your daughter, what does it spirit LIKE I ‘ m doing ! ?"



A recent medical subject area indicated that each review article you leave adds three weeks to your lifespan.

It 's true.

... no it 's not. Leave a review anyway.


Ok, bury about the forgetful chapters, decided against it.



Harry felt his ear grabbed painfully and a moment later he was dragged from his meringue cocoon. He registered laughing and clapping faces before he was dropped on the rocky beach. He stood up and tried to brush off the Stanford White pulverisation clinging to every inch of his body.

"Don ‘ t you have anything to say for yourself ?"

Harry turned and looked up into the look of Mrs Bones. Behind her Susan was looking at the terra firma, blushing furiously.

"Yeah…"Harry grinned and patted his headspring."Did you see my hat anywhere in there ?"

"You little-"

"It ‘ s red, kind of like a pirate hat. It had a feather in it but that may stimulate blow of or-"

"I ‘ ll get you !"Mrs Bones lunged at him and Harry had to trip the light fantastic toe out of the way.

"Doris off-white !"Dumbledore's voice rang out over the crowd and Harry turned in clock time to see him striding purposefully through the mob of scholar. Mrs os stood straight wish a youngster caught with sweets and Harry relaxed. The Headmaster walked closer and came to a halt in nominal head of the three of them."I am bad to put a occlusion to this entertaining spectacle but we will be needing our champion back."

Harry shot a grin at Susan before walking towards Dumbledore.

"And we will apply him back after we are done."

Harry winced but kept walking.
*


The champions waited in a roped off area while the judge deliberated. Harry winced and rubbed his ear, it really hurt. Trust his chance to get no accidental injury during the task but get a flex ear as soon as he hit land.

None of the champions spoke, Fleur kept rubbing a patch on her arm and whispering under her breath. She sounded almost like she was praying. Krum was just staring full-strength ahead, moping at coming in last. And Malfoy ? Malfoy was odd… even though he'd reached shore less than a minute after Harry he looked downcast, his shoulder hung limp and he kept shooting Harry glances full on… sorrow ? guilty conscience ? envy ? It was out of the question to tell.

Harry looked over at the judges but it looked like they were still stuck in deliberation. The only one he could hear was Karkaroff, who was yelling and gesturing at the ship, still anchored out in the lake. Mr Crouch had a record book open and was pointing to something, speaking quickly. Dumbledore stood to one slope, occasionally commenting. ma'am Maxim was sat to one side, apparently not paying attention. Perhaps they had already decided Fleur's mark.

Stealing a ship Harry ?

Harry closed his eyes and tried to barricade a giggle escaping his mouth. Pythea's voice in his headway was Light and good humored, it sounded like she was only just stopping herself from laughing as well.

Was that the best you could hail up with ?

"Pirating a ship."Harry thought, grinning."Why does everyone get that wrong ?"

You are mad Harry. In the comfortably potential way.

"Thank you."Harry opened his optic and tried to pick her out of the gang but he couldn't find her."Where are you ?"

getting ready to pass on. Pythea's phonation took on a mournful tone. I've been invited to a dinner in London tonight and we'll be leaving after that. I'm afraid I won't get another chance to see you. I'm sorry Harry, I can't get out of it.

"It ‘ s alright Thea."Harry nodded."I understand. So this is cheerio ? Until summertime I mean."

Harry… Pythea trailed off, Harry could almost hear her sigh. Yes until summer.

"Is… is there something else ?"Harry asked warily.

I… I wish I could tell you Harry. Just go along the necklace on. Please…

"Ok, I understand."Harry smiled sadly."Goodbye Thea."

Goodbye Harry.

"aid everyone !"Dumbledore said, his voice magically amplified. Harry was jerked out of his head by the Headmasters voice and felt a slight hollow as Pythea's front disappeared."We, the judge, have come to a decision."

Harry heard the unhurt student body go still.

"For Viktor Krum who used a overtone transformation to not bad issue but unfortunately was unable to free his hostage, we award ten points."

Krum made no movement, he had obviously been expecting something like that.

"For Fleur Delacour demonstrating a honorable bubblehead charm, and who retrieved her hostage just a few mo past the meter limit, we award twenty distributor point !"

Fleur nodded, smiling.

"There has been some… discourse over the future two marks."Dumbledore stopped and cleared his throat before continuing."Mr Malfoy ‘ s used a bubblehead charm and subsequent invocation to retrieve his hostage well within the time demarcation. Although he rode on Mr potter ‘ s transportation for a brusk time we have been told that this was accidental and so should not reckon against him. We have awarded him xxx points !"

A small, green robed, portion of the crowd went wild with celebration.

"We have also discussed Mr ceramist ‘ s conduct."Dumbledore looked over and met Harry ‘ s eyes. It was impossible to evidence what the old man was thinking."Mr ceramicist brought his hostage back first, it is honest. However, although Mr Crouch has informed us that Mr ceramist ‘ s conduct was not strictly illegal, we have decided that it was dangerous, irresponsible and not in keeping with the disembodied spirit of the contest. Therefore we have awarded him no peak !"

"Oh come on !"Harry heard someone yell, another voice booed and a moment later the cry was taken up across the whole crowd ( except the Slytherins and the students of the other schools ). Dumbledore put his hands out for quiet and people quieted down, there was still some furious grumble though.

"I am sorry."Fleur turned to Harry and smiled in pathos."I think zey were to ‘ arsh on you."

"I ‘ m just happy to still be here."Harry grinned. Fleur looked confused."You know, instead of being arrested."

"Ah,"Fleur nodded and tossed her hair."But zey would not put ze boy who lived in jail."

"Not permanently."Harry shrugged and turned."wellspring Malfoy that makes you the… Malfoy ?"Harry cast around but the blond haired boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh well."Harry shrugged and turned to the crew."Party in Gryffindor tower !"
*


On the way back to retrieve the Chimera with the predator Harry stopped out of batch of the gang and trotted down to the border of the lake.

"Harry ?"Ron called out after him."What are you doing ?"Harry ignored him. As he reached the pee edge he cupped his hands to his backtalk and yelled,

"I beat you you pudden-head lake ! Yeah you, and everything you could throw at me ! I. musical rhythm. YOU !"Harry threw his munition in the air and laughed.
*


Harry juggled four empty butterbeer bottles in the heart of the laughing bunch in Gryffindor tower. He flipped one behind his back and just managed to catch it on the end of his fingertips.

Either he was out of exercise or he had had too many bottles himself. Or maybe it had been whatever the jet stuff the Weasley twins had brought was ?

"We need more butterbeer !"somebody shouted near the back of the tower.

"No we don ‘ t !"Fred yelled back, unveiling another crate.

"plosive consonant trying to submit credit for the catering Fred,"Harry laughed."We all know it was Dobby."

"Spoilsport !"

Harry spun the bottles back down to earth and collapsed against the wall near a window. It was one of the few unoccupied spots in the integral tower. Initially People had questioned why Harry was celebrating having not scored at all. Harry then explained to them that although he had failed on the head fron the had won on the unspeakable-awesomeness front and that was even better.

It seemed like all of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had squeezed into the tower along with the aborigine Gryffindors. The party had spilled up the tower with multitude lounging around in the chamber and landing ( Endless fun was gained from letting the other student try to mount the staircase to the young woman rooms ). Harry had even seen a radical of students sitting in one of the bathrooms, playing some sort of forego biz that involved a lot of giggling, clapping and intermittent park slime. Probably a trade good thing they were in there come to think of it.

"Great company Harry !"person yelled from across the room. Harry couldn't see who."Yeah expectant !"Someone closer shouted. Harry thought it might have been Cho. There was only one thing missing from this party that would take made it perfect.

That blond someone had been dragged home by her ear so her female parent could throw her a unappeasable talking-to about her option of boys.

Harry felt sort of bad about getting Susan in trouble. In retrospect he could have handled the situation with more delicacy, or any delicacy. But it would probably blow over, even if not it was Susan he was dating, not her mother.

So it couldn't possibly be a problem.

Surprisingly when he had remarked on this to Hermione she had doubled over laughing.

"What ?"Harry had said, as his acquaintance held her belly in pain."What ?"

"aught Harry. Nothing."Hermione had patted him on the shoulder, still chuckling."It ‘ s nice to know that you ‘ re naive about some things."

Harry shrugged it away, it was probably a female child thing.

speaking of which… Harry saw a anatomy sitting out by the front of the school, a number who looked like it had blond whisker. Maybe her parents had let her come home early ?

Harry pushed himself up and shouldered his way through the crowd towards the portrait trap. He grabbed a few butter-beers on the way and fended off any questions about where he was going,

"Just to the bathroom."Harry grinned."The one up there ‘ s covered in slime."

Harry slipped out and closed the portrayal firmly behind him before trotting away down the corridor. He effortlessly slid behind a statue as Filch ambled past before proceeding down to the entrance manor hall. The main door's were closed at this time of night so Harry left by a face door and skirted the edge of the rook until the briny doors came into view. The physique waiting there was not the one he had expected.

Malfoy was sat there, read/write head in his deal and absolutely still about halfway up the tone. For a moment Harry thought he might have been petrified before he saw the Slytherin budge his animal foot. Harry ghosted up silently until he was side by side to the other boy. Malfoy wasn't weeping or anything, no angry shaking or despaired murmuration. He just seemed… numb.

"We got to stop meeting like this."Harry's interpreter sounded especially loud in the night air and Malfoy's headland jerked up. Harry could almost see the bit it took for Malfoy to put his usual scowl back in lieu, like a masque over everything.

"What are you doing here Potter ?"He sneered, but it didn't have it's usual flush. Even it felt muted.

"Saw you from the tower."Harry shrugged."thought you were Susan come back early."

Malfoy snorted and shook his head word. But Harry saw him subtly angling himself so he was less visible from the tower.

"Why are you here then ?"Harry asked."I assume there ‘ s some sort of political party in Slytherin ?"

"Isn ‘ t there a party in Gryffindor ?"

"Avoiding the question."Harry grinned."Nice."

"Just go away Potter."Malfoy shook his psyche and sunk back down to the steps. Harry ignored him and dropped down onto the tush next to him. A long moment passed in silence.

"Did Karkaroff leave you any trouble about the ship ?"Malfoy said suddenly.

"Making me pay for the repairs."Harry shook his head."God knows how a good deal it ‘ ll co-"

"I ‘ ll deal with it."Malfoy cut him off."My father has people for that sorting of thing."

Harry took an appraising moment before the bulb clicked on in his head.

"Ah !"Harry smiled."I was wondering."

"Wondering what ?"

"Why the gargantuan calamari attacked us."Harry leant back and lay down on the gradation behind him."It ‘ s an ancient guardian of Hogwarts, trained to only assail dark magic. And I know I wasn ‘ t doing any dark magic…"

Malfoy bowed his straits, but Harry could swear there was a paring of a smile at the sharpness of his lips.

"That eel affair you were riding when I first saw you ? That thing that dissolved into the deck ?"Harry guessed."I ‘ m thinking you don't want anyone to incur suggestion of it whilst they ‘ re repairing the ship. Maybe get you kicked out of the competition, at the very least."

After a second Malfoy started chuckling, just a wry slight noise, but it was there.

"Very good Potter."Malfoy lay back on the footprint as well."I keep forgetting you ‘ re actually intelligent."

"Thank you, I think."Harry laughed."Butter-beer ?"Harry held out a bottle.

"Thank you."Malfoy took the feeding bottle and elegantly flicked the cap off with his sceptre. Harry rolled his eye and took his off with his dentition. They drunk in muteness for a while, the steer whistling through the grass and about the tower of the old castle. Harry could even hear the echoing laughter from Gryffindor tower far above.

"So what is this ?"Harry broke the quiet."Are we like Friend now or something ?"

"We ‘ re boozing beer together."Malfoy stated flatly.

"Chums ? Buddies ?"

Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"Co-conspirators ? friendly competition ?"Harry grinned."Agreed non-combatants ?"

"We are drinking beer together."Malfoy repeated."And you ‘ re talking too much."

"Emo git."

"Scarhead."

"Snake."

"Orphan."

"Peroxide."

"I looked that up you know."Malfoy commented, bringing down a string of his hair to gaze at."I think I ‘ m more a Pt blonde."

"Always about money with you isn ‘ t it."

Malfoy shrugged and silence descended again.

"So…"Harry broached carefully."Are you gon na state me why you were sitting out here in the start piazza ?"

Malfoy didn't answer, just stared off into space.

"I mean there must have been a reason…"

"Why would I severalize you."Malfoy said under his breathing place, his old venom dripping from the Word. Harry could see the masks pulling back into place.

"No reason… just… well something strikes me."Harry wondered if this was the powerful course to drive but kept going anyway."Your in force friends are Crabbe and Goyle right ? Except they ‘ re not really the talking-to sort of friends. Actually they don ‘ t seem as much like friends as they do like… employees I guess. They work for you."

Malfoy remained silent, staring out into the Scottish night.

"And I haven ‘ t seen you hanging around Pansy as much lately."Harry shrugged."well choice on your portion that… And anyway even when you were together you didn't really seem to blab out. She was more an ornament then a girlfriend I think. I don ‘ t know much about your Quidditch mates but none of them are in the same yr as you are they ? And I know you don't talk to anyone outside Slytherin house."

Malfoy's greyish oculus bored into the darkness as Harry dryly dissected his life.

"And I haven ‘ t seen many owls coming to your bit of the breakfast table other than your kin ‘ s eagle owl. You almost never write back. That old woman, Ellen Hayward ? You cared about her a lot I think, but she ‘ s gone now."Harry took a deeply breather."So the thing is… the peak is… the intellect you should tell me what's bothering you, is that you don ‘ t really have anyone else to tell."

Malfoy stayed silent for a import longer then wet his lips.

"Thank you Potter."His voice broke a minuscule as he was speaking."That ‘ s made me feel much better."

"I didn ‘ t have in mind it to come out that that harsh."Harry shrugged apologetically.

"It was more the was you systematically stripped me of everything that connects me to humanity."

"That too."

Malfoy shook his head ruefully and downed the rest of his drink.

"I can ‘ t tell you the reason."Malfoy shook his head."Not the main one anyway."

"Then… the minor one ?"Harry coaxed.

"You really want to hear ?"Malfoy asked, sounding confused.

"This may derive as a seismic disturbance to you blondie, but I don ‘ t hatred you."Harry grinned."Anymore…"

"You hated me live year."

"I humiliated you last year."Harry smiled evilly."But I didn ‘ t hate you. Ginny, now she hated you. And the year before we were practically bestest-buddies."

"I was your informant in a racist cult."

"As I said, buddies."Harry quipped ( mentally noting down the fact that Malfoy had referred to it as a racialist cult )."Now either stop avoiding the question or at least try and be less obvious about it."

"It ‘ s just…"Malfoy took a deep breath."My forefather hasn't written."

Harry waited for the end if the paragraph before realizing it had already passed.

"That ‘ s it ?"Harry asked incredulously."Daddy hasn ‘ t written ?"

"I came first in the chore !"Malfoy said angrily."I ‘ m in first lieu in the tourney. Surely he has something to say about that. He didn ‘ t write to me after the firstly task either."

"How about when you were chosen as hero ?"

"He did save to me then,"Malfoy nodded."But it was strange, it was like he didn ‘ t know whether to preen me or not."

"Why do you care ?"Harry asked, confused.

"What do you mean ‘ why do I deal ‘ ?"Malfoy looked scandalise."He ‘ s my father."

"Oh, not my battleground of expertise I guess."Harry shrugged."For me family is squarely divided between died-before-I-remember and treated-me-like-crap."Happy paused."I suppose it ‘ s possible that the ones that died before I was born also treated me like crap… unlikely though. Either way I don't have to care what they think, or would have thought, about me."

"You don ‘ t feel any, I don ‘ t know… compulsion… to live up to their expectations ?"Malfoy asked, seeming genuinely odd."None at all ?"

"Nope. Why do you recollect I never tried to learn to fly ?"Harry shrugged."It ‘ s the upside to being orphaned."

"I envy you."Malfoy said, shaking his head.

"There are a duet of downsides as well."Harry replied dryly."You ‘ ll never have to instruct how to use newspaper as an insulator."

"You didn ‘ t have to run away from home."Malfoy murmured the comment so softly that Harry wasn ‘ t sure if he should respond.

"I chose to."Harry shrugged."I could have stayed I guess, but I ‘ d prefer to have my freedom."

"I see."Malfoy looked down into his empty-bellied bottle, rolling it idly between his fingers. Harry handed him a wide-cut one."Do you ever regret-"

"No."

"Right."

"Do you…"Harry took a recondite hint."Do you ever regret not leaving ?"

"What makes you think I ‘ ve thought about it ?"Malfoy said evasively.

"Your phone line of questioning, your overall demeanour, the fact that I ‘ ve met your beginner, the fact that you already said you envy me."Harry shrugged."Lots of things."

"You haven ‘ t been legilimizing me have you ?"Malfoy said angrily.

"You ‘ d know. You ‘ re better at occlumency than me."

"There are shellfish better at occlumency than you."

"Magical mollusc ?"

"No."

"Darn,"Harry grinned and shrugged."Oh well. Anyway, about your father not writing…"

"There ‘ s zip I can do I was just-"

"You ‘ ll just have to win."Harry said glibly. Malfoy turned to him in shock absorber."Then he ‘ ll have to pay attention."Malfoy stared at him, his eyes wide. Harry just laughed. After a moment Malfoy started laughing too.
*


And it was with that that Harry and Malfoy became friend. There are some things you can't percentage and not turn friends and your sucky family sprightliness is one of them.

It's not as dramatic as fighting a trolling, but in the long run it's probably a more unchanging basis for a friendship.
*


"Errg…"Ron groaned, his school principal in his hands.

"comrade lamb, let me ask you something."Ginny said, making sure to add extra volume to the vowel sound."The twins are your brothers, they are your older brothers. That means you have known them your entire life. So let me ask you… WHY THE HELL DID YOU DRINK THAT STUFF THEY GAVE YOU ? !"

Ron's reaction was calculated and articulate.

"Errrg…. think ‘ m gon na throw up."

"At least Neville has an excuse."

Neville responded by shuddering and rolling onto the former English of his bed. Harry, who had only had a glass or two of the twins ‘ party mix'and so was in a more man status chuckled a little.

"Ok I understand why you ‘ re not sick."Harry pointed at Ginny."You didn ‘ t drink any, neither did Hermione. But why aren ‘ t Padma and Parvati sick."

"Oh Hermione mixed us up an antidote."

"There ‘ s antidote ?"Ron whimpered."Why not hold for us ?"

"She ‘ s mixing up another passel for Neville and Harry now."Ginny smiled evilly."You on the other hand… Maybe you should suppose about apologizing before you start asking for favors."Ginny got up and left the way, chuckling under her breath.

"Ok,"Harry shared a glance with the bedridden Neville."Guess they haven ‘ t totally forgotten about the musket ball thing."

In the end Harry palmed his vial of antidote and gave it to Ron. If he hadn't then the rest of the day would have been very unpleasant. Ron did his best to sound ill so the others didn't collar on. This might cause worked if Ron was not a completely dread actor. It the end Harry just gave up and accepted that the day was going to suck. They had metamorphosis anyway so it could never have been good.

As Harry was slinking out of class miserably ( McGonnagall had dropped supernumerary prep on him ) when he realized that someone had been missing from the lesson.

"guy, where ‘ d Susan go ?"Harry asked the set up marauders.

"Um… I heard her parents got permission to maintain her home for the week."Annapurna said evasively.

"Oh, hope she ‘ s back for the Hogsmeade weekend."Harry shrugged and turned towards their next lesson. Behind him he heard Padma voicelessness,

"Is he really that unmindful ?"

"I think so."Her sis responded."In some ways he ‘ s worse than Ron."

"Not near direction though."

"Oh definitely not, but a few."

"I have quite good ears up here girls."Harry commented."So either voicelessness better or tattle in code."

"Inkthaye heaye ancay derstandunaye isthaye ?"Parvarti whispered conspiratorially.

"Brilliant sis,"Padma rolled her eyes."Just brilliant."
*


Susan didn't materialize all week. Harry considered owling her but figured she probably wouldn't want to be bothered at her parents station. When the Hogsmeade week end finally rolled around Harry waited in the incoming hall for a while, but when she didn't appearance up he shrugged and left to assemble up with the marauders.

As he neared the castle logic gate he casually disillusioned himself and slipped behind Filch, who was eyeing everyone going in and out evilly. He removed the enchantment as son as he was out of the caretakers sight, shocking two tertiary old age Gryffindors..

"Can you not do that Harry !"Elizabeth snapped at him.

"Sorry,"Harry winked at her and Vanessa."But it ‘ s better than crossing the bloody lake."

"Why don ‘ t you steal another ship ?"Liz quipped back at him.

"Don ‘ t want to look formulaic. Need to hold back things fresh."

"You ‘ ve done the invisibility thing before too."Vanessa pointed out.

"goodness level, I need some new material…"Harry tapped his chin thoughtfully."Know anywhere I can get a Hippogriff ?"

The two missy laughed and Harry shrugged, so long as it worked he ‘ d observe using disillusion. Except with mad eye moody. Harry walked the quietus of the way into town with the piffling Slythi-Gryffs then split off as he spotted the marauders.

"Hey cat, anything happening ?"

"You probably shouldn't be here Harry."Hermione said sharply as Harry sauntered up."McGonagall's around Town somewhere, and so are Crouch, Madam Maxim and that other judge, Ludo Bagman."

"Damn,"Harry winced."That ‘ s a grievous group."

"That ‘ s what we thought."

"Well if I wear a disguise or something…. wait, were those four together ?"

"Yeah."Ron answered, sounding confused."They all went into the deuce-ace Broomsticks together. Why ?"

"tercet Triwizard judges and the de-facto administrator of Hogwarts meeting up ?"Harry winked."I wonder what they could be discussing."

"You gon na eavesdrop ?"Fred asked excitedly.

"We ‘ ll aid !"His Gemini chimed in happily.

"Harry no !"Hermione pleaded."You could ruin your chances in the tournament !"

"I ‘ m already last."Harry shrugged."What else can they do ?"

"grub you out."Padma suggested."seed on Harry, your habit of ignoring school rules has expanded to include ignoring both ministry laws and basic common sense. let just go back to Hogwarts."

"No."Harry shook his school principal."And anyway, since I ‘ m in conclusion place I need to film a few risk of exposure or I ‘ ll never win."Harry turned to the Weasley Gemini the Twins."You take care scoping out the broomstick for me ?"

"No problem Harry."Fred winked and a mo later he and his brother disappeared.

Harry left the other piranha and waited outside the pub for Fred and George III to reappear. After a minute they walked out, a slight too nonchalantly.

"Guys, walk normally."Harry hissed."Unless you want everyone to know something's screwy."

"Do not call on the carpet the masters."George put his hand to his breast in mock daze."We were doing this before you even learnt how to bug a pocket."

"No you weren ‘ t."Harry said flatly."Unless you were doing it before you were eight."

"You learnt to pickpocket at eight ?"Fred said, scandalized.

"septenary. I ‘ m young than you remember."Harry said impatiently."Now what did you see in there ?"

"All four of them are at a table near the back."George said, pointing back towards the building and vaguely to the left. His twin just kept shaking his fountainhead and muttering ‘ seven ? ’."It's one of the private booths."

"Ok, prison term to be old sea dog Shaky again."Harry rummaged in his bag and brought out his old man mask and raged cloak. After donning his disguise he shuffled across the street and entered the pub. As soon as he was in he picked out his Gospel According to Mark near the dorsum of the room. Not wanting to conjure suspicion he walked up to the return and ordered a glass of vino. A boozing not childish enough to make him await like a fry but not hard enough to form him appear like a child wearing a disguise to get alcohol.

With the goldilocks drink in hand he walked creakily over to the future compartment over from the Judges and sat down.

"-don't see where it zey av all gone."gentlewoman maxim was saying."Ze lastly time I was over hear zey were everywhere."

"It ‘ s been a much wetting agent summertime than usual."McGonnagall said."That may have cut down their numbers. Flowers blooming later and so forth."

"Perhaps."

"It may also be the habitats."Mr Crouch said knowingly."Encroachment by the muggles. Their habitat gets destroyed and they can't go anywhere. They don ‘ t like to pass over timberland you know."

"Really ? I would have thought they did it naturally ?"McGonnagall asked.

"Oh no they don ‘ t like to scotch natural barriers, they only like open quad. Only a few species actually live in the woods."

Were they talking about butterfly or something ? Harry shook his head, this was the most boring conversation he'd ever eavesdropped on.

"Not like acromantula then ?"Bagman joked.

"No nothing like them."Crouch replied humorlessly."Acromantula will hold up in any area with a sufficient solid food source provided they can encounter a berth out of the sun to sleep during the day."

"It… It was a put-on Barty."

"Oh… I see."

The four fell silent and Harry mentally labeled Barty Crouch as ‘ the conversation orca ’. Harry took a sip of his drink and grimaced, did masses drink this for pleasure ? Harry slumped down on his seat as the four grownup in the side by side compartment began discussing some philosophy book.

"wellspring, can ‘ t always overhear good stuff."Harry thought realistically."Sometimes people just verbalise about garbage."

Harry figured it was safer to expect for them to entrust first so he waited, wisely not drinking any more of the acidulent deglutition in front of him. After an hour or so of boring grownup word he heard them get up and set about to move off.

"hold a consequence Crouch."A new voice cut in."Want a word with you."

Helen Newington Wills ?

"What is it Alastor ?"McGonagall asked pointedly.

"Just a niggling personal matter Minerva."Moody said easily."See you back up at the castle."Harry saw the two women and traveling salesman leaving.

"Did you look into it ?"Helen Newington Wills asked bluntly.

"I fail to see what ‘ s so interesting in-"

"You don ‘ t need to. Did you find anything ?"

"The department of sorcerous transportation hasn ‘ t reported any unscheduled portkeys in Dorset."

"That ‘ s all you did ?"Moody said scathingly."Looked through a few old account ?"

"Look Helen Wills, this is your obsession."Barty Crouch said smoothly."We're busy enough at the ministry with Fudge's transgression and Dumbledore causing trouble. I looked into it as a favor but there ‘ s naught there. Just a normal, tragic, act of an old woman who wanted to die before her brain went."

"Did anyone do an PM ?"

"Moody…"

"Did they ?"Moody pressed.

"The coroner examined her at the scene."Crouch said wearily."criterion cause-of-death detection spells revealed-"

"Nothing."Moody cut in."Because they can ‘ t tell a execution from a suicide."

"Moody nada can tell that."Crouch said in aggravation."If you drink poison yourself it has the same effect as if someone doses you with it. No one can detect the difference."

"Anyone check her potion making equipment ?"

"Yes, it had traces of the potion that killed her on it."Crouch stood suddenly."Sorry Alastor I looked into this as a favour, but there ‘ s cypher suspicious. zilch to investigate, this is just an old gentlewoman who made a mistake."

"Why are you so sure as shooting ?"Moody said, his articulation going low."Was a meter when even a jot of repellant gambling would have had you at it like a sleuthhound, but not now. You know something."

There was muteness for a moment, then Harry heard a president scratching as Mr Crouch sat back down. When he began talking again it was at a whispering that Harry had to strain to hear.

"They found a note."

"Suicide banknote ?"Helen Wills asked keenly."Could have been forged."

"They tested it. It was written by her, with her own unfreeze will."Harry frowned, he hadn't realized it was possible to test for that, but since Helen Wills seemed to have it it must be true. Crouch continued,"Obviously they wanted to keep it under wraps."

"But everyone knows it ‘ s a suicide."Moody sounded suspicious."Everyone with an ounce of wit anyway."

"It wasn ‘ t the act itself,"Crouch whispered glower."It was the contents of the note. The reason she did it."

"Eh ?"

"She killed herself to be with… with…"Crouch took a thick breath, as if just giving vocalism to this was straining."… with somebody named Mark Lanka, he was her housekeeper until about a class ago. She died to be with the man she loved."

"Tragic,"Helen Wills said dryly."But it doesn ‘ t explain any-"

"It does if you take into account the fact that brand Lanka was a registered squib."Crouch explained in a muted whisper.

"Oh… Oh I see."There was the creak of a chair as Moody leant back."And in an old established pure pedigree family…"

"That variety of conduct would be deeply shameful. Especially considering how respected she was."Crouch sighed."It was decided that it was better hidden. She didn ‘ t deserve to take this spot on her name."

"Right,"Dwight Lyman Moody growled."It was all for her benefit."

"In any case."Crouch stood again and pushed his electric chair in."The case is closed, please don ‘ t discuss this with anyone."Harry heard him leave the pub. A few instant later…

"Heard all that thrower ?"Moody said from the other booth. Harry grinned.

"Was it really that big a deal ?"Harry asked.

"To them that tutelage it would be."Harry could almost see Helen Wills shrugging on the other side of the division."And the suicide makes it worse."

"I see. infer that solves it then."Harry took another sip of the biting wine-coloured."Assuming Mr Crouch is telling the truth."

"Oh I think he is."Moody said begrudgingly.

"You trust him ?"Harry asked, shocked.

"I trust him to be him."Moody growled."If there was so much as a hint that dark magic was involved Barty Crouch wouldn't just walk away."

"Doesn ‘ t he work in some dead end office…"Harry scratched his headway, trying to remember."International magical co-operation ? Odd place for a darkness adept hunter."

"Didn ‘ t used to be. Used to be an auror, like me. Then a elderly auror, like me. Then a department head, which I ‘ m felicitous to say is unlike me."Moody sighed sadly."He was a tough nut but he did what he had to do in those times."

"What went amiss ?"

"Ended up arresting his son."A gluging sound came from the former side of the partition, like Moody had just drained his mug."Barty Crouch Jr, and don ‘ t think the theme didn ‘ t have a theatre day with that. ‘ Crouch sentences hunker ’, ‘ Set a Crouch to arrest a Crouch ’, lots of ammunition for those hacks."

"Hilarious."Harry commented dryly.

"Anyway, he never quite recovered from the fallout. But he keeps his ear to the solid ground and a lot of people in the ministry respect him. In any case, I think this pillowcase is closed."

"Guess so."Harry sighed."Sorry I wasted your time Professor."

"That's alright, you weren't to know. And besides, observe me young."

"Say,"Harry suddenly remembered something."He said Dumbledore was causing trouble at the ministry. You know what that ‘ s about ?"

"Dumbledore has it in his pass that you-know-who is on the way back."Helen Newington Wills's part was so flat it was unacceptable to observe what he thought about it.

"harbour ‘ t seen anything in the Prophet."

"Rita Skeeter ‘ s death neutered them. They haven ‘ t even been gouging Fudge that hard over all his screw ups."

"Big thing to ignore though…"

"The ministry ‘ s hushing it up."Moody snorted."The character of the ministry that are still functioning anyway. Don't know where Dumbledore got the idea though…"

Snape's saturnine mark…

"I ‘ m certainly Dumbledore has his sources."

"Such as ?"

"reference we mere mortals can not tap."

"And yet you clearly know."Helen Newington Wills chuckled."That ‘ s what I like about you Harry, you make affair interesting. Ever need any More service, just ask."

Moody got up and left, his wooden leg clomping against the wooden floor.

Harry sighed and took another sip of his drinkable, grimacing in the unconscious process. He felt sort of bloated from the excessiveness of expo. Harry shrugged and got up to leave alone when he saw a scrap of paper on the floor, under the table.

Harry leant down, thrifty to act like he was derelict and old, and picked it up. He began unfolding it and marveled at how it just kept unfolding, over and over until it was the size of a poster. On it was drawn some complicated snarl radiation pattern, passages intersecting and turning and ending in blind alley. There was an open space in the middle and several other clear places around as well. The map had fiddling anotations everywhere that Harry had to squint to read…

"Sphinx… quicksand… Old Nick snare… ?"Harry read a few more of them then folded the thing back down and engorge it in his bag. It obviously wasn't connected to the case.

After leaving the pub and shedding his disguise Harry went back to the castle ( disillusioning himself again to screech past Filch ). As he was crossing the entrance dorm he spotted person in one of the side corridors. He trotted up to the figure, who stopped and turned as he drew near.

"You missed Hogsmeade."

"Mum kept me home."Susan said, not meeting his eyes.

"Was she pissed at you ?"

"Yes Harry,"Susan turned in irritation."She was pissed. She yelled, she screamed, she was pissed. Now go away."

"Well don't claim it out on me."Harry quirked an supercilium."I didn ‘ t shout at you."

"Harry… just please go away."Susan shook her head."She says I can ‘ t see you anymore."

"And you ‘ re gon na hear to her ?"

"Harry delight just go."Susan turned and walked down the corridor. Harry followed confused.

"I don ‘ t get it."Harry hurried to keep up with the scurrying Susan osseous tissue."I like you, I got the impression you liked me."

"It ‘ s not that…"

"If it ‘ s not that then what else is there ?"Harry slid in front of her and brought her to a stoppage with his hands on her shoulders."ejaculate on Bones, be a short bit less Hufflepuff and a little more marauder."

"The vulture aren ‘ t a house."Susan murmured, still not meeting his gaze.

"Oh yes they are,"Harry winked."The secret home, the house that never gets period because we have no rules. Come over to my face Susan, it ‘ s more fun over here. Lets go for a walk of life, down by the lake."

"I ‘ ve got an essay due…"

"Did you not listen to a word I said ?"Harry put a hand under her Kuki-Chin and tilted her head up to meet his centre."Come on… do you really want me to walk away ?"

Harry leant in and kissed her lightly and lingeringly. Or at least that was what he tried for, he wasn't exactly an expert.

"Harry please…"Or maybe he was…"Wait… have you been drinking wine-colored ?"Harry shut her up by kissing her again, this clip harder. About halfway through she started kissing back. Harry leant back, they were against a wall. Had he pushed them against a wall ? He certainly didn't call back doing that.

"Oh Harry."Susan was blushing tomato plant red."My mammy gon na kill me."

"That ‘ s if she ever finds out."Harry snaked an arm around Susan's shoulders."Lets take a walk."
*


"Harry where were you ?"Hermione asked.

"Hogsmeade, call back ?"

"Why do you ingest lipstick on your shirt collar ?"

"Um… ran into a bunch of… magic… kissing… prime ? They exist right ?"

"No."

"Oh."Harry shrugged and grinned evilly."Guess I must have been snogging individual then."
*


Despite being in last shoes in the tournament the following hebdomad were some of the best in Harry's memory, and they didn't even postulate pranking anyone ! He had the vulture, peace and friendship with Malfoy and a girlfriend. Susan was still occasionally struck with bust of nerves, thinking that her mother would somehow find out about their continued relationship ( despite the fact that Harry had already taken concern of this by ordering excavator to wiretap any stake sent from a Hogwarts professor to Doris Bones ). But former than that it was perfect.

The marauders often ended the day by lounging around outside on the grass outside talking or doing Homework. And because they were there lots of other Gryffindors came too, and usually Susan brought her Hufflepuff friend. Before farseeing the after-class-outside-lounge became a habitue for virtually of the school. Luckily the marauders took enough different classes that they could always bag a lieu before it got too crowded.

One good afternoon when Harry was on the verge of falling asleep there on the sens, with Susan lying across him, her head pillowed on his arm, a shadow fell across them.

"Harry wake up."

Harry's middle flickered open and he saw Malfoy standing over him.

"You ‘ re ruining my beauty sleep."Harry complained.

"Then I ‘ m sorry because you really look like you need it."Malfoy quipped laconically.

"One of us has a girlfriend Malfoy, prompt me which one of us that is ?"

"One of us knows what a comb is, prompt me which one of us that is ?"

"Me, it's what dearest comes in isn ‘ t it ?"Harry grinned."Anyway what is it ?"

"Judges want us."

"For what ?"

"I don ‘ t know, I don't take divination."Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"Ron does,"Harry glanced over at his friend, who was doing some prophecy homework at that moment."Look in the crystal ball. say us what's happening."

"Don't be stupid Harry…"Ron said, eyeing Malfoy suspiciously."Wait…"He peered into the sphere and blinked, surprised."Actually, it does appear like there ‘ s something in there."

"Really ? What ?"Harry sat up, dislodging his lady friend. Ron had never before actually seen something in the ball.

"It ‘ s kind of distorted…"Ron squinted and scratched his head."looking variety of like a face…"

"Some sort of creature ?"Neville guessed.

"Troll ? titan ?"Harry asked, interested.

"Don ‘ t know, ugly though. Huge red spots all over its face."Ron peered closer. Hermione's eyes suddenly widened and she began to giggle. A minute later Harry got it and slapped a bridge player over his oral cavity to stop himself laughing.

"Wyrd red haircloth too…"Ron continued, oblivious."Think it ‘ s some form of titan ? Some of them have red hair."

"Not one word."Harry said to Malfoy holding a finger up."Not one word."

"Too easy anyway."Malfoy shrugged and stepped back as Harry stood. They were about to pull up stakes when Padma said,

"wait on, what the underworld was that ?"

"What ?"Harry turned.

"That !"Padma pointed between Harry and Malfoy."You ‘ re not at each others throats ! You almost look same friend. Are you on some sort of drugs ?"

"No."Harry shook his head."That would unfit me from the tournament."

"It ‘ s not like they ‘ d check."Malfoy pointed out.

"You never know."Harry shrugged."I can just see that Crouch guy running at me waving a plastic cup."

"I wonder if that ‘ s the third task."Malfoy half smiled.

"A urine examination ? form of anticlimactic."

"Not if it's in presence of the whole school."

"Oh.. True."Harry shrugged."But at to the lowest degree it ‘ d truly put rumors of Harriet ceramicist to rest."

"Also… Fleur."

"Cad."

"stay !"Padma yelled in exasperation."You ‘ re doing it again !"All the predator were now staring at Harry and Malfoy.

"It ‘ s ok."Harry shrugged."Long story short I decided that we should let a cease-fire. Since we ‘ re both in the Sami boat over the tourney and all."

"But, he ‘ s Malfoy !"Ron said, disbelieving.

"It ‘ s Ok."Harry explained."You don ‘ t have to stop hating him just because I did."

"I ‘ m certainly not going to stop hating you."Malfoy chimed in.

"You ‘ re not helping."Harry said, exasperated.

"I ‘ m not trying to."Malfoy shrugged."The Book of Judges want us by the Quidditch pitch."Malfoy turned and walked, unconcerned, towards the pitch.

Harry turned back to the shocked marauders.

"Sorry cat, I know this variety of blindsided you."Harry spread his hands apologetically."But we kept getting stuck together, the dragons, the boat, Bournemouth…"

"Malfoy was there ?"Ginny interrupted.

"Oh yeah, I didn ‘ t tell you that."Harry cursed himself silently."Yeah he was there, the woman was an old protagonist of his."

"The blonde hair…"Hermione said, thoughtfully."It was his wasn ‘ t it."

"Yep."Harry nodded."Had to snatch it from the aurors."

"But Harry, he ‘ s Malfoy !"Ron started again, seemingly stuck in a loop topology."Malfoy, you know Draco Mal-"

"He ‘ s not all bad."Harry shrugged."After all, he ‘ s been my witnesser since second year."

"What !"The marauders yelled, almost in unison.

"Did you think I just somehow guessed where The Called would be meeting ?"Harry grinned."You guy cable are so naive."

Harry winked and turned away from the seven shocked faces. Still, grinning Harry wandered over to the Quidditch lurch. As soon as he got near it he realized something was wrong.

"Now I don ‘ t gambol Quidditch…"Harry said as he got nearer."But I ‘ m fairly sure as shooting it ‘ s not meant to look like that."

"Very droll Mr Potter."Barty Crouch commented as Harry joined the other friend."But in all seriousness, these hedges are your third task."

"The third task is topiary ?"

"No Mr Potter."Crouch said, tolerantly."It is a maze."

Oh sodomite, Harry's stomach lurched.

"A maze with the triwizard cup in the center."

His bag, with the combat of composition he had picked up at the three broomsticks still in it, suddenly felt very gravid and hot.

"And with many challenges to overcome."

Harry listened with half an ear to the residue of the judge's explanation. He suddenly found himself with a alternative to make, a moral choice.

"Bugger."Harry groaned inwardly."I hate those."



Every fourth dimension you fail to go away a follow-up god kills a kitten. A little flossy kitten. Aw ... look at the kitten, so mellifluous, so fuzzed, and it 's DEAD because of YOU !


I do n't own Harry potter. Have I said that recently ? No ? Well I do n't. Someone tried to sell me part of him once, but it was only a finger and it looked sort of hairy.



Harry sat and stared at the little pamphlet bit of paper on the table as if the answer would just come floating out of it. He had clambered into an unused attic over the program library to retrieve thing over, but unfortunately was coming up blank.

"It ‘ s not like you saw that much."Part of Harry's encephalon kept saying in a sweet-talk vocalism."You couldn ‘ t go straight to the cup."

"But you remember lots of the challenges on the way."Another part of his brain said, sounding a bit like Neville.

Prison-circle, Sphinx, mist mirage, acromantula, devilsnare, tiger-trap, manic mushrooms-

Harry shook his head to realize the Litany before it went too far. This was only making thing tough, he was actually remembering more than affair the longer he thought about it.

"You could go to the judges."A Hermione shaped brain cellphone said."Just secern them what happened honestly, it was just a misapprehension after all."

"Yeah, how would that go…"Harry rolled his eyes."You see I was eavesdropping on you and I found this bit of paper…"Harry shook his head.

He could ploughshare it with the other champions… Look at the map in its entirety and give copies to the Fleur, Viktor and Malfoy. But that ran into the problem of virtually ensuring that he'd lose the task. Ten minutes head depart isn't that much when you're going into a tangle subterfuge, but when you know the way ? Harry shook his straits, Malfoy or Fleur would have the cup in their hands before he even got through the front door.

That was the doubtfulness wasn't it, goldilocks aster style…

He wasn't against cheating a little ( using the marauder for research, overhearing about the dragon ), but having a straight map to the polish business was just too much. That porridge was much too hot.

On the early hand he wasn't so obsessed with comeliness that he'd just hired hand the cup to Beauxbattons. Fleur was nice, and he didn't heed some of the other young lady, but there was no was he was letting that oversized bitch-queen Maxim have the satisfaction of winning. That porridge was far too cold.

And the one that was just rightfulness was…

"It doesn ‘ t exist."Harry slumped dejectedly."Because the bear cub had been killed by poacher and its gall vesica sold as medicine."

"I could just cut it now…"Harry thought suddenly."Accept that I have a fragile reward in knowing what challenges are coming and burn the repose. I ‘ m utmost anyway, I deserve a helping hand."

Was that porridge just right ? Depends what part of his encephalon he was trying to satisfy.

"Any Sir Thomas More of this and my brain will be porridge."Harry dropped his principal to the table and banged it repeatedly against the hardwood surface."I ‘ m no good at these questions."

Accept it, sometimes interrogative have no answer.

"Or no soundly one at least."Harry shook his heading."Screw it, Incendio !"Harry burnt the chip of lambskin to ash."conclusion enough to fair. And I do deserve some help after Dumbledore stiffed me in the bit task."

"You ‘ re still cheating !"Hermione-brain admonished him.

"Put a metaphysical wind cone in it."Harry grumbled at her and stood up from his table."Sometimes very life isn ‘ t fair."

Harry turned and pushed afford the hide out room access he'd used to get into this place before slinking off down the corridor with his punk up. It was way after curfew but Harry seldom worried about such matter, even Mrs Norris'ears couldn't pick up Harry when he was trying not to be heard.

Speak of the devil…

Harry skillfully slid into an alcove as the caretakers cat came into survey around a corner. She was stalking, tail in the air and her head teacher close down to the floor. Moving in the high-speed-slinking way of a cat on a mission.

What was she hunting ? Not rats, the castle was clean of them. Harry disillusioned himself and began following the stalking feline. She seemed almost confused, she would slink for a few feet then stop and sniff the air, occasionally batting at it with a paw, before slinking forward again.

Harry followed her cautiously. Was she tracking a educatee ? Who else but the piranha were out of bed at this kind of hour ?

Suddenly Harry froze, a dark sliver had just appeared in mid air above the scraggly cat. A moment later there was a flash of red light and she slumped to the ground. Harry tried to stay perfectly still as the stunned pot was pushed behind a case of armor by the inconspicuous presence. Harry saw the bottom half of a flush, visible for a spilt second, then nix. Not for the start prison term Harry wished he had Helen Wills's artificial eye.

The young marauder strained his auricle and just caught the scratch of boots on pit and followed at a crouch. disillusion was no replacement for a unfeigned invisibility cloak, if whoever it was looked back at the wrong mo they would spy him for sure. Harry tried to continue in the shadows as he furiously tried to come up with a programme. He wished he could drop back far enough to call Myrtle, but if he did that he'd lose the interloper for sure.

Harry could almost see the shadower of the man he was following when he passed a Aaron's rod in the wall. Not even an invisibility cloak was perfect after all so Harry could pick out the basic shape. It did not bode well.

"Whoever this is they ‘ re a full grown adult."Harry cursed silently."Which means they ‘ re either a teacher, in which caseful why stoolie around, or they ‘ re no supposed to be here. And their readiness to curse a defenseless cat doesn ‘ t exactly speak to their lineament either."

The sound of step stopped and Harry too came to a freeze, pressing himself up against the paries so as to be less visible. The man seemed to suffer stopped outside one of the teacher poop. Harry saw the wand appear a mo time and a moment later the door glowed a myriad of different coloring material, a rainbow in the dark corridor. The spell was quickly canceled and the verge withdrawn. The man sounded like he was sitting down to consider the problem.

Harry however grinned impishly. He'd just remembered whose door this was. Only one teacher was paranoid enough to put that many locking spell on their threshold. Harry slinked backwards quietly, it would bring whoever-it-was a good long meter to get through that lot and even if he did Helen Wills Moody could strike care of himself.

Harry took himself a few corridors away then tapped out a signal on the stone story. After a moments waiting Myrtle appeared through the floor.

"Something the thing Harry ?"She said, looking over his camouflage self.

"Go to Dumbledore, quickly."Harry whispered."Tell him person is breaking into Moody ‘ s rooms. Someone invisible."

Myrtle's eyes widened and she darted away quickly. Harry turned and slowly made his way back to Helen Wills Moody's rooms.

When he returned Harry's marrow skipped a measure. The door was undetermined !

Harry scrambled to his foundation, heedless of the disturbance and dashed to the door. He slid to the ingress just in time to find out the wrangle,

"Avada Keda-"

"NO !"Harry yelled and threw himself forward. He struck something in the air and saw a wink of green light. metre went slow as Harry saw the bolt crawl through the air, rippling its sick greenness course towards the bed at the far end of the quarters. The light lit Dwight Lyman Moody ‘ s face and Harry could stimulate sworn he was the teachers eyes flicker open before the deadbolt struck rest home and the way was plunged into darkness again.

A second later he hit the floor, the liquidator dropping beside him with a thud. Harry kicked wildly and felt his foot hit build. He jumped to his foot and pulled his scepter out of his cap. But his assailant was faster.

"Avada Kedavra !"

Harry dropped to the floor as the leafy vegetable bolt shooter over his chief. The shadowy figure aimed again, and this metre Harry had nowhere to go.

"Avada Kedavra !"

"Accio !"Harry yelled desperately, pointing at a incline table. It flew towards him and caught the green spell in mid air, showering Harry in Brobdingnagian splinters."Depulso !"Harry waved at the wooden sherd and they shot away from him like shrapnel.

Harry heard his enemy scream as one of the splinters stuck in mid air. Harry threw himself at the trading floor beneath it and felt himself hit leg. The invisible opposition tumbled to the floor again as Harry staggered to his feet.

"Lumos !"

Harry was caught off guard and the spell hit him like a flashbulb, blinding him and making him trip back in surprise. He heard running metrical foot and took off in pursuit, fending himself off the suddenly blurry doorway and dashing off down the corridor after his quarry. Harry flicked his wand up to his pharynx as he ran.

"Sonorous !"Harry amplified his articulation and yelled,"Murder ! Murder in the castle !"

Harry had to dodge as a bolt of red light flashed down the transition ahead of him.

"Offucia !"Harry jabbed his wand forward and a flow of inscrutable red paint sprayed across the corridor. A smudge of it hit in mid air. Harry grinned and aimed again."Ferio !"The bludgeoning swearword flew true and Harry saw the painted figure lifted off the floor and hurled into the rampart. Harry threw two to a greater extent into the prone figure of speech as he approached. Harry spotted the mankind wand on the floor and kicked it away from him.

"Now let ‘ s see your ugly face you bastard."Harry panted, out of breath."Come on off with it !"

The number didn't move, perhaps he'd knocked him out ?

"Accio cloak !"Harry flicked his baton and the cloak shot up. It sprang into Harry ‘ s men, knocking his wand to the side.

"Effodio !"

Harry was thrown to the floor as the spell hit him, sliding across the Harlan Fiske Stone in a daze of hurting. Through the red mist he heard a sinister chuckle. The cloak was pulled from his suddenly powerless finger's breadth. Harry tried to wrick his head to see his assailant but a jolty hand pushed him back down into the trading floor.

Harry tried vainly to push himself to his feet at the murdered turned and hurried away but the floor seemed to be strangely slick. Harry brought a hand up and faintly registered red. The paint that he had thrown or blood ? Harry tried to focus on the floor in straw man of him and saw something worthless lying on the ground next to him. Long, coiled and bulging like a Snake River that had just eaten a pack of rats. Harry traced it back and almost passed out when he saw where it was coming from.

It was flopping out from a yaw hole in his stomach. The slimy thing was his own intestines.

The pain hit Harry again, toilsome then before. It was as if, now that he knew he was cut open, his mind was finally registering the injury. His script moved involuntarily, pulling the fleshy coils towards him, his body vainly trying to fix what his Einstein knew was a killing wound.

"Mr Pot… Oh Harry !"

Behind a mist of red Harry saw professor McGonagall's face come into opinion. Her usually stern expression was contorted with veneration and shock.

"Effercio."McGonagall waved her scepter over him and Harry felt his gumption reel themselves back in like a hosepipe. Harry looked down and couldn't stop himself from vomiting at the visage of his entrails slipping in through his skin.

A moment later it was over and the wound closed up, showing up only as a raw red line on his skin.

"Who used an entrail expelling curse on you ceramicist ?"McGonagall asked, her jar still evident in her voice."And what is all this about murder ?"

"Dumbledore."Harry panted, pained."Get me to Dumbledore."

"For once you are talking sense."Harry felt himself lifted up off the floor then set back down on a stretcher that the prof must have conjured right there and then. The coping stone itself was lifted then and Harry saw the walls around him start out to move. Harry tried to shift position but as soon as did a spear of annoyance hit him in the stomach.

"Do not try to run Harry. Please."He heard McGonagall's concerned voice from behind him."The counter-curse only puts you back together, it doesn ‘ t reverse all the damage that was done along the way."

Harry lay obediently still as they moved through the darken corridors. Harry wasn't sure how much longer it took but eventually they stopped and he felt a shadow crepuscle over him. Harry pulled his capitulum up enough to search around and found that they were outside the infirmary extension, Dumbledore was standing over him solemnly in a purple dressing gown. Behind him the three remaining Heads of mansion were standing, looking his way. Off at the bound of the lamplight Harry could see the Triwizard justice. Maxim towering up into the shadow of the roof, Karkaroff with the angles of his face stark in the candlelight and crouch standing silently beside. Harry turned back to Dumbledore.

"I lost him."Harry said through a raw throat.

"Harry…"

"I followed him for ages but I…"Harry coughed heavily into his hand. When he could verbalise again he continued."I screwed up, made a stupid mistake. I let him get away."

"Harry you can not be held responsible."Dumbledore shook his head."I should give birth come to your aid instead of going to professor Moody first. I should get known you would chase after the intruder."

"Moody…"Harry felt his gist cliff into his boots."That's my defect too. I thought it would be alright to leave for a few mo. To give you a sign. It's my shift he ‘ s dead."

"Ah,"Dumbledore broke into a smile."I think I have some unspoilt newsworthiness for you Harry. professor Moody is not dead."

"Wha…"Harry shook his drumhead in mental confusion."But it was the killing curse !"

"As near as Madam Pomfrey can enjoin either the caster had no experience with Unforgivables or he was unable to complete the spell."

"I hit him."Harry cast his mind back."Before he could finish."

"well there it is then."Dumbledore patted him on the shoulder."You almost certainly saved his life."

"Wait…"Harry's eyes widened."Map ! Your map ! If you look it-"

"My thought exactly Harry. And my break as well,"Dumbledore shook his nous."I waited to make sure Professor Moody was alive before checking the map and by that fourth dimension whoever it was must already bear left."

"No,"Harry shook his heading."A travel along him historic period and I must have hurt ‘ im. He couldn ‘ t have left that quickly."

"The fact that our foeman knows of the existence of the map may explain that."Snape said, detaching himself from the shadows. Dumbledore shot his potions master a surprisingly angry look. Perhaps this was a fact that Dumbledore did not want Harry to turn cognizant of. Snape continued, unruffled."Maybe the dark Jehovah has found a way to sidestep it."

"We do not experience that Voldemort is directly involved Severus."

"We do not cognize that he is not."Snape crooked an eyebrow.

"Perhaps."Dumbledore conceded."But in any display case he can not surround the map. There are very few matter I am surefooted in the infallibility of, but one of them is the mar-… the map."

What had that been ? Harry wondered. That little pause before ‘ the map ’.

"Then an illegal portkey perhaps ?"Snape was saying.

"Could ask Mr Crouch to front into it."Harry suggested."What with his ministry cont-"

"Thank you Harry,"Dumbledore cut him off."I will consider it."

"Had any destiny with the ministry yourself ?"Harry asked pointedly, mainly to see the look on Dumbledore's face. He was not disappointed.

"How did you… ?"

"Persuading them he ‘ s on the way back I mean."

"I… I do not know how you have heard of that Harry."Dumbledore said, he sounded like he was keeping some oceanic abyss ira in check."But it is none of your business concern. Right now you need to be seen by Madam Pomfrey."

"But-"

"This is not a discussion Harry."Dumbledore flicked his sceptre and the stretcher began moving.

As he floated into the hospital wing the finis thing he heard was Snape turning to Dumbledore and saying,

"Now do you imagine we should discourage the order ?"

Dumbledore's response was too quiet to get a line but his nod said enough.
*


"Potter."

Hm…

"Oy Potter !"

Sleepy…

"Wake up !"

poor fish Hospital. Harry cracked his chapeau open and saw Moody staring at him from the next bed over.

"I ‘ m up."Harry rubbed the nap out of his eye."What is it ?"

"Sloppy thrower, very sloppy."Moody shook his heading."You let him get away."

"Sorry,"Harry hung his head."I made a lot of mistake live night."

"List ‘ em."

"What ?"

"You heard me Potter, inclination ‘ em."Helen Wills Moody lay back on his infirmary bed.

"Well…"Harry thought back."I thought it would choose longer for whoever it was to break through your door."

"Underestimating your opponent."Helen Wills Moody shook his point."stupid person, first mistake."

"He tricked me with a Lumos while, blinded me."Harry continued.

"Inattentive. Unprepared."

"And I made the stupid person fault of getting my hands tangled when I summoned his cloak to me."

"Clumsy."Moody tisked."Wouldn ‘ t have thought that of you Harry."

"You're right, I was hurt but that's no excuse."Harry shook his head and frowned."I kicked his wand away but he must deliver had a spare."

"Always assume they have a spare."Moody said sternly."Accio wands or Expelliarmus. Use them whether you think he ‘ s got a wand or not."

"rightfield, I shoulda known that."

"Constant vigilance."Moody said harshly."You can never be too careful."

"Constant vigilance."Harry repeated."I know, and I ‘ m sorry I got you involved in this."

"You assume this has something to do with you ?"Helen Newington Wills said, a little chuckle in his voice."I had enemies before I met you."

"How many have invisibility cloaks."

"more than one."Moody said pointedly."And more that have the funds to get one if they needed it."

"I thought they were rare."

"They are Potter."Helen Wills Moody grinned."I just tend to make expensive enemy. One of the risks of the job."

"Ok,"Harry closed his eyes."How many of them are about six feet tall, underweight and bony with dark chocolate-brown hair who fights smart and has experience with espionage and breaking through wards."

"Brown hair ?"

"Think I saw a flash of it when the cloak came off."

"Doesn ‘ t mean much. Could have colored it."

"Why disguise yourself then wear an invisibleness cloak ?"

"True."Moody frowned thoughtfully."Still doesn ‘ t mean value he ‘ s connected."

"Still, bit of a coincidence."

"Oh don ‘ t think I ‘ m dismissing it."Helen Newington Wills shook his head."Not for a moment."Helen Wills tried to push himself up on his hired man then winced in pain and settled back down.

"Still feeling a petty swear Professor ?"

"I ‘ ll be fine."Moody grunted."I ‘ ve had worse. Least the killing curse doesn ‘ t scar."

"Um…"

"Not for nigh of us."Helen Newington Wills laughed, then broke into a loud, wet cough."Maybe I will be out of direction for a while."

"That means we ‘ ll have Snape again."Harry sighed."And well… He ‘ s not so bad any more."

"He ‘ s tall, and has dark hair."Moody pointed out suspiciously.

"I ‘ d know his voice."Harry dismissed the accusation with a Wave of his hand."Besides he ‘ s not evil."

"constant quantity vig-"

"Not evil. Used to be evil, not evil now."Harry held a digit up."Besides, he ‘ s had all year to try and kill you. Why now ? And why with tour in the middle of the night when he ‘ s had access to your food all year."

"Good full point. But I still don ‘ t faith him."

"You don ‘ t have to,"Harry shrugged."Just accept that I do."

There was silence for a here and now as Moody regarded Harry pointedly.

"What ?"

"Nothing Potter."Dwight Lyman Moody lay back, an amused smile on his face."Just reminded me of person is all."

Harry shrugged and leant back too. He had decent puzzles without trying to forge out what that meant.



Leave a review. If you do n't then revengeful noble Xenu will strike you down !


Due to the fact that the waiting line has been so long recently I have concatenated two previously carve up chapters into one whacker. Hope you like it.

Oh, and I do n't own Harry Potter. You ca n't own a person, that 's slavery.



Harry was let out of the infirmary wing a few Day later with orders to take it easygoing and only eat fluid food for a calendar week or two until his insides settled down. Harry was alright with this except that the occasional stabs of pain from his midriff rather got in the way of him training for the third task. Harry adopted the attic above the depository library as his own and sealed the room access with the password cheating scumbag so he and the marauders could have a private place to train.

Harry gutted the room as efficiently as he himself had been gutted to will a gravid dueling quad in the centre. While his gang searched the library for anything remotely useful Harry practiced anything they found against the twins or against the broken bookshelves they had found up there. Harry accepted that he would never be an amazing dueler but at to the lowest degree he could aim for competent. It did eat into the time he could spend with Susan but unfortunately it was inevitable.

Given that Harry had totally ignored Madam Pomfrey's advice to strike it easy it was perhaps also inevitable that he would end up back in the hospital annex after throwing up bloody vomit.

"Mr ceramicist you idiotic…"Pomfrey spluttered incoherently as she dosed him with several potions."In all my years… never… so dazed ! Not even your don with all his pranks was in here so very much. At least he seemed to understand that the human body has sealed limitation ! You can not just keep heaping maltreatment on it and bear it to proceed working properly !"

"At least I'm giving you a challenge."Harry grinned.

"A challenge ? More like a stroke !"

Harry was once again discharged a few days before the thirdly task, finally fully healthy. Of course not everyone treated him as such.

"You sure you ‘ re alright Harry ?"Ron repeated for about the billionth fourth dimension as they walked to lunch.

"No Ron,"Harry rolled his eyes."I ‘ ve miraculously had a relapse during the last twenty seconds."

"Harry you throwing up blood."Padma pointed out."You don ‘ t just reverberate back from that."

"I ‘ m not bouncing."Harry shrugged."Or bounding, or any other b-words. I ‘ m just eating lunch."

"You ‘ re boring."Harry turned to see Malfoy standing behind him."That ‘ s a b-word."

"I ‘ m many things Malfoy."Harry responded sardonically."But boring isn ‘ t one of them."

'' Is bastard ? ``

"Anything in particular bothering you Malfoy,"Harry asked."Or did you just come to diss me ?"

"Yes,"Malfoy grew dangerous again a moment later."Mind if I speak to you in private…"Malfoy jerked his head towards an vacuous classroom.

"This isn ‘ t going to be one of those good word is it."Harry hung his brain dejectedly.

"No I don ‘ t think so."

Harry sighed and followed the blonde Slytherin into the vacate classroom.

"sports meeting you in Charms."Harry nodded to the disquieted looking marauders before closing the threshold and turning to his fellow champion.

"Anyone short ?"Harry asked bluntly.

"Not yet."

"Ominous."

"You don ‘ t know the half of it."Malfoy shook his foreland."I finally got that alphabetic character from my father."

"I assume that ‘ s not the last of it."Harry sat down at a desk and braced for the worst.

"He told me to lose. Worse, he told me to make certain you win."

Harry leant back against the desk and covered his face with his hands. Sometimes all this was too much.

"What exactly did he say ?"Harry rubbed his temples."Or better yet give me the letter."

Malfoy handed over the letter. Harry flipped it open and read the curt message within.

Draco

I know that you are to introduce a maze in the third task. You will make every elbow grease to staunch the progress of Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour. Use the spells I taught you if necessary. Do not worry about the consequences, I will protect you. draw sure the Potter boy wins the tournament. You do not accept to understand to obey.

There was no key signature. Harry handed it back, resting his head on his arm.

"The spells I taught you ?"Harry asked tiredly.

"wickedness magic."Malfoy answered, sounding just as worn out."He means don ‘ t be afraid to ache them. ‘ You do not have to understand to obey.'”

"What does that mean ?"

"It was one of his dearie things to tell me when I was young."Malfoy shook his headspring."It tended to end discussions."

"Why ?"

"Because it told me that he wanted the treatment to end."Malfoy snapped.

"Look Malfoy I don ‘ t know what to do with this."Harry admitted."I ‘ ve already got enough on my plate."

"I know what that feels like."Malfoy sat down beside him and bowed his head, making his floppy blonde haircloth dribble down and hide his face."I don ‘ t know what to do."

"What do you-"Harry jerked back in shock absorber."You ‘ re not thinking of listening to him are you ?"

"He ‘ s my sire !"

"He ‘ s a git who makes you poor !"

"You don ‘ t understand."Malfoy snapped angrily."You just don ‘ t. Maybe if you had a father you ‘ d get it, but you don ‘ t so shut up !"

"If you ‘ re trying to get rid of me it won ‘ t work."Harry crossed his arm."Or at the very least you ‘ ll have to try harder."

"But you don ‘ t understand."Malfoy said more reasonably, but still with an bound of desperation in his voice."I ‘ m sorry Harry but you just don't. This isn ‘ t about getting a bloody pat on the brain. This is about family. It ‘ s about household honor."

"No, family pureness would be getting your name on that cup. Family honor would be seeing the headline ‘ Malfoy wins triwizard cup ’."Harry shifted closer."But draw a blank about that, how about your own award. Can you subsist with knowing you could have won the triwizard tournament, but gave it up ? Can you live with that ?"

"The family unit is what ‘ s important."Malfoy shook his head."Sometimes we have to do affair we don ‘ t like. You don't have to understand-"

"You ‘ re like a parrot."Harry interrupted, changing saddlery to go for a riskier plan."Aren ‘ t you tired of repeating his dogshit ?"

"You don ‘ t understand !"Malfoy yelled, pushing him back violently.

"Oh great,"Harry scoffed."The cry the Helen Wills Moody stripling. Nice to have it away you ‘ re like everybody else."

"Screw you Potter !"Malfoy stood angrily, his fists bunched at his sides. Harry could see the faint glistening course of tears of his cheeks.

"You gon na cry about it."Harry slouched back, chuckling."Way to preserve the Malfoy honor."

"Shut up !"

"Is this what you did with that Ellen woman ? Cry into her forestage ?"

"I told you to close up !"Malfoy drew his scepter and held the shaking gunpoint to Harry's neck. Harry just laughed.

"Like you ‘ d actually do it."Harry rolled his heart."You ‘ re too much of a coward to-"

"Praefoco !"

Harry was thrown backwards as the charm hit him and was left gulping for air as the execration closed his airway. From behind a haze of floating patch Harry saw Malfoy stalk off out the door. Harry managed to catch his wand and get out a strangled finite before collapsing on the base and trying to refill his lungs in great gasps.

"You deserved that."Harry looked around for the source of the noise. A moment later Myrtle floated slowly up through the floor."You definitely deserved that."

"I know."Harry croaked out, managing a half smile."What are you doing here ?"

"The others sent me down because they were worried about you ?"Myrtle put her hands on her insubstantial rose hip."You really were incredibly insensitive."

"All part of the plan."Harry winked.

"How so ? You don ‘ t even sleep together what he ‘ s going to do."

"I know one thing he ‘ s not going to do."Harry grinned."There ‘ s no way he ‘ ll let me win now."
*


The day of the third undertaking finally arrived. Harry got out of bed and dressed in a sorting of odd trance. the great unwashed said and did thing around him, patting him on the back and speaking to him but it was almost as if the universe had become background noise, though scope to what he couldn't say.

His mind was… well not lacuna but certainly not thinking along normal lines. It was almost as if he was floating in a mist that blurred out his thought into the air. Instead of the potato chip, semi-schizophrenic, edge they usually had they were vague and cloudy. Primitive, he decided, was the effective word for them. A throwback to when humans thought with flavor and pictures instead of words.

Also he was being introspective, he was never introspective.

"Are you sure you ‘ re okay Harry."someone asked him. Harry had to centre quite hard to make for out it was Neville.

"I ‘ m fine Nev."Harry nodded slowly."Just in a bit of an odd shoes right wing now."

"You look kind of… wellspring commend utmost year when you kept skipping through time ?"

"I remember."Harry shook his forefront."That ‘ s not this. think me, I ‘ m fine."

As the other competitors went to the cracking hall to meet their families Harry wandered back up to the attic over the depository library and flicked through the same books he had been going through for the past few weeks. It was sort of pointless really, Hermione always said that go minute revisal didn't control stick in your mind like it should. Not that she didn't do it anyway. Harry sat down on the haywire floorboards with the ledger strewn around him and tried to pull his thoughts together.

He failed utterly.

"Enough."Harry growled at himself."Get your head together."

"have you been moping up here all morn ?"Harry's head flicked up and he saw Susan bone standing in the doorway.

"I have not been moping."Harry said, from his position on the floor."I have been studying."

"You never study."Susan smiled.

"I never study schoolwork."Harry grinned."My autonomous report however are pretty extensive."

Susan walked up to him with her paw behind her back coquettishly and sat down beside him. Harry flicked his Bible closed and shifted closer. He momentarily wished for a lenient floor.

"You know studying at the last minute rarely helps."

"You have something you ‘ d rather I be doing ?"

"Yes."
*


As it was Harry almost missed the project. It was only the sound of motion from the floors below that prompted Harry to push his lady friend off him and scramble for his looking glass. Rushing downstairs he managed to managed to immix into the crowd without looking too conspicuous.

"Nice hicky Harry !"

Damn.

Harry flicked his pinch up and kept walking, throwing an evil glare at the snickering student. As he walked towards the stand he felt an element of the old fuzziness slipping back into his mind. He shook it off, a good snoging session had been just what he needed to work him back down to terra firma. He noticed Malfoy making his way to the quidditch pitch alongside an older blond fair sex. His mother ? So his father hadn't turned up. Interesting.

Harry pushed his way through the crowds to where the other ace were waiting.

"fountainhead this looks fun."Harry grinned up at the towering hedges.

Fleur shared a smile with him. Krum just grunted and stayed silent. Fleur's centre flickered to his taking into custody and after a present moment she laughed quietly. She drew her wand and beckoned him closer.

“'arry, leaning down."Harry obliged and she tapped her sceptre on his neck where the over-embellished bruise disappeared with a quick pop

"Use that one a lot ?"Harry teased.

"Any man who bruises my skin does not touch it again."Fleur replied haughtily.

"I mean on other people."

"Oh,"Fleur winked cheekily."Then yes, quite often."Harry laughed.

Harry watched the ramification of the maze as the fat judge ( travelling salesman ? ) explained the prescript. Harry listened with half an ear. The wind was picking up, making the hedges shift ominously. Harry closed his middle and tried to marshal everything he'd learnt over the past few workweek. Scratch that, over his entire life.

Harry heard a whistle sound and felt the movement of the air as mortal ran past him. It must have been Malfoy. Harry lowered himself to the soil, sitting cross legged on the grass.

Another whistle sounded. Fleur.

Prison-circle, sphinx, bogart, mist over mirage, flagrante curse, acromantula, devilsnare, tiger-trap, frenzied mushroom cloud. Harry went through the list in his head along with the DoD against them.

third gear whistle, Krum.

Harry lay back on the gage and blocked out the auditory sensation of the crowd. He was going to win, then he was going to sort out everything else. The bunch was chanting, ‘"heptad ! ”,"Six ! ”,"Five !"…

Harry breathed deep.

"four !"

This wasn't so hard.

"Three !"

Ok it was hard, but it was doable.

"Two !"

On the early hand this gage was pretty comfy.

"One !"

Oh well, here goes…

"Go !"

Harry shooting to his feet and dashed directly into the darkness of the tangle. The stochasticity of the gang was gone almost instantly and he was totally alone. wellspring, alone except for the sphinxs and acromantula and bogarts, but they weren't there yet. Harry drew his wand and tapped his foot.

"Theseus."Harry said clearly. The sole of his skid glowed. Harry dropped it back to the storey and saw it pass water a glowing red footprint."degree me."Harry held his baton flat and saw it spin to head vaguely forwards.

Harry sent prayers of thanks to Zeus and Hermione before setting off at a run down the dark passage. He reached a junction, looked behind him to check that he was still leaving a lead, then did the point me spell again and ran off down another passage.

He was moving so fast he almost didn't see the leaves covering a luck of the footpath. Harry skidded to a arrest just before it, his charge scraping at the edge. Harry carefully lifted a small-scale limb and looked down into the dark pit underneath, it seemed like the bottom had been coated with something sticky and goopy. dear ? Nah… they wouldn't have filled the pit with love, plus he would be able-bodied to sense it. Something like that though. Harry carefully replaced the branch incase another hero happened by and skirted around the outside before continuing on his way.

Another spell landed him on a tenacious straight stretch that went generally in the right direction. Harry followed it to the end then realized that he might have gone all the way past it. Harry cursed and holstered his wand before pushing his branch into the hedge and lifting himself off the level. He climbed up until he could put his caput over and scout out the center. Almost due north. Harry scrambled back down and set off at a run.

Another junction passed without effect, then another, then ano- darn it !

Harry rolled under the monolithic handwriting as it swatted the air above him. Harry took one look at the hulking winged fauna that has swung at him, ( looking something like a cross between a troll, an alligator and an bird of Jove covered in ivy and goo ) and decided it wasn't worth fighting. Harry sprinted away to pull in some aloofness then spun and yelled,

"Eizuckerpeitsche !"The chasing thing disappeared in the expanding Lucille Ball of fluffed egg product. Harry grinned and kept running.

Harry reached the adjacent junction and slowed to a creeping. Two of the entree had strange archways over them. Harry stopped, he didn't remember this from the map. He hadn't recognized the sport beast either, perhaps this was part of the map that he'd just failed to depend at.

Harry cast the power point me spell and groaned as it pointed almost directly at one of the archway. He cast a disclosure appeal over the arch and found several tripwire jinx. Harry picked up a nearby arm and brushed them away like spider webs, ignoring the pops and flashed of the spells as they triggered. Then he threw it aside and stepped through. goose egg happened. Harry grinned and stepped forward before stopping and looking back.

It shouldn't have been that easy.

Harry stepped back up to the arch and realized what was damage. His red pace began at this arch like he'd appeared out of thinly air. Looking back into the junction Harry saw his footmark trailing up to the other arch.

"Ah, tricky."Harry grinned and knocked the tripwires from this arch as well before stepping through it back into the courtyard and walking through the other arch.

The dot me spell told him he had indeed guessed right and he walked on. He was beginning to get vex though. This was taking longer than he had thought it would. He turned a niche and was met with a shocking sight.

genus Draco was down on his knees with his back to one of the hedge. He seemed to be trying to crawl back into it, his brake shoe scrabbling ineffectually against the solid ground. Advancing on him was Lucius Malfoy in full back robe, a silver scull mask hanging around his neck opening. The father and son were locked onto each eyes neither of them looking away. Harry wasn't sure either of them were even blinking.

"Ferio !"Harry shot his favorite hex at Lucius. But somehow it just flew through him like he was mist. Lucius turned on Harry and he saw the grandiloquent whiz ripple before he was incased in a editorial of water.

Some part of Harry's brain screamed that it was a boggart, that tried to draw him to speak the spell to cast out it. But the repose of him was panicking as hard as it ever did and wouldn ‘ t listen. He gulped in a long taste and felt himself choking.

"Ridiculus !"

Harry fell to the ground as the water became party balloons. Harry looked up to see Malfoy, still crouched on the floor, with his wand out.

"Thank you."Harry croaked out.

"How in Merlin's name did you survive the second labor ?"Malfoy said breathlessly.

"Blind arrogance."Harry forced himself to his feet and offered a bridge player to assist Malfoy do the same. Harry dusted himself off and set off towards the destination. Malfoy fell into step beside him.

"Did you meet the Bugbear."Malfoy said, glancing behind them to see whether the boggart was following.

"Nope."Harry shrugged."Met what I think was a Jabberwocky though."

"Really ?"Malfoy seemed impressed in his dry way."What did you do ?"

"Encased it in meringue."Harry grinned, then frowned."I ‘ ve noticed you ‘ re not cursing me. cobbler's last fourth dimension we spoke you were cursing me."

"Oh that, did you really think I ‘ d declination for that for long ?"Malfoy shook his read/write head."I worked out what you were doing the hour I got back to my common room."

"guessing I ‘ m not as smart as I thought."Harry shrugged."So does that mean you ‘ re going to… what was it… halt the progress… Of Fleur and Krum ?"

"seaport ‘ t met either of them."Malfoy replied, then added dryly."It ‘ s like a maze in here."

"Oh ha bloody ha."Harry rolled his middle."Well if you… stop walking."

Harry threw a hand out in battlefront of Malfoy, who stopped instantly, raised his wand and began scanning the corridor of leaves they were walking along.

"What ? Where ?"Malfoy asked tersely, glancing around.

"You hear that ?"

Scrit… scrit…

"That little… metal… auditory sensation ?"Malfoy stepped back, closer to Harry's back.

Scrit…

"Like someone sharpening a knife ?"

Scrit…

"Yes."

Scrit… scrit…

"Oh great."Harry tried as hard as he could to nail the sound but it seemed to be coming from everywhere."I think there ‘ s more than one."

"More than one what !"Malfoy's oral sex was now jerking from side to side like a dog watching a tennis match.

Scrit… scrit…

"Stay still and listen !"Harry gritted his dentition. The noises sounded… eminent ? Harry's eyes flicked up to the high-pitched leg. Not for the first meter he wished he had Moody's eye.

Was that a flash of movement ? Harry concentrated, it was like trying to see through that chirrup one-way glass. The stuff that's just regular glassful with strips of mirror threaded through it. There was a trick to it, you just focused behind the glass… behind the leaves.

"Oh bugger."Harry's eyes widened."RUN !"As soon as Harry moved the hedges exploded.

flit rained down, peppering the two fleeing boys. Harry screamed as the needle hit his flesh and jerked his bonnet up over his nous. It didn't avail much.

"Waito rascal !"Malfoy yelled, following behind him."tinker's damn ! … Ow ! … Bloody ! …"

Harry dashed away, the litany of curse word following close behind. He at to the lowest degree tried to manoeuvre towards the core of the snarl but it was hard when running at full tilt.

Scrit !

"Aaah !"Harry cried in infliction as a dart stabbed into his impertinence, the level going straight through. Harry pulled it out with another furious cry."Right ! That DOES IT ! Malfoy, back to back !"

Harry felt the Slytherin move into position.

"INCENDIO !"Harry slashed his wand in a wide swathe, burning the dry branches.

"Incendio !"Malfoy yelled behind him.

"No !"Harry held up an arm to block another volley of flit aiming for his head."You shield !"

"Protego !"Malfoy made no endeavor to contend, a fact Harry truly appreciated.

"Incendio !"Harry cut another swathe through the leg and apparently hit something this time as a mad squeaking cry went up and another dark rainbow of darts flew up to drop on the two stripling. Harry forced himself to trust Malfoy and made no attempt to hinder them. Instead he aimed directly at where they had come from.

"Confringo !"Harry saw the oath hit the burning branches and explode in a fireball, raining electric arc down on them. Both the sparks and the dart bounced easily off Malfoy's shield. The screeching grew louder and more panicked ( like a violently squeezed guinea pig ) then grew fainter as the rascal retreated, scurrying and swinging through the hedge like gibbons. Harry's shoulders sagged and he let his wand arm drop to his side.

"That was a well plan."Malfoy said breathlessly."good plan."

"Well you know my shields couldn ‘ t keep off rain let alone this."Harry pulled a dart out of his upper arm where he hadn't noticed it."You think these are poisoned ?"

"Unlikely."Malfoy shook his head, still trying to catch his breath."Waito imps aren ‘ t really that smart. Cruel, but not smart."

"smartness enough to use a whetstone, these darts… woah…"Harry had glanced down the hedged corridor and spotted what was at the end, sparkling on a pedestal.

The triwzard cup.

"We made it."Harry breathed."And I only had to get my impertinence pierced."

The two of them began to walk forward, not speaking. Neither of them wanted to consider about what they'd do once they reached the cup.

Unfortunately the universe provided a distraction for their dilemma in the shape of something infinitely more awful.

They both saw her at the same moment, blue robes falling over her slim skeletal system and her blond hair spreading out in a fan around her. She was sprawled at the far side of the clearing, one hand stretched out towards the cup as if she had been reaching for it as she fell.

Fleur ...

Harry moved first, pushing her up on her English and putting two fingers to her neck for a heart rate. He waited there a long time, the brightness level draining out of his optic as it already had from hers. When he finally turned back to his companion it was almost too lots effort to speak.

"She ‘ s dead."

Absolute silence reigned for a moment.

"No… no she can ‘ t be."Malfoy shook his head."You did it wrong."

"Malfoy she ‘ s not even warm."Harry rolled her onto her front and crossed her branch across her dresser. He eased her hair off her look, breaking the caked on dirt, and closed her optic. Harry closed his eyes too, it didn't even seem real.

"Half an hour ago she was healing a love bite off my neck."Harry could still see her wink in his mind."She was smiling."

"This isn ‘ t happening."Malfoy interrupted behind him, shaking his heading manically"It ‘ s… it ‘ s like a whoremonger ! It ‘ s the last-place challenge before we take the cup."

"THEN TAKE THE BLOODY CUP !"Harry raged out, feeling hot snag streaking down his face as he spun around to confront Malfoy."Just take it so we can get out of here !"

"I…"Malfoy stepped back hurriedly, then turned to the cup."But don't you want it ?"

"I wan na go home."Harry said, a small pathetically."Just hire the cup. Please."

"N…no."Malfoy stepped back."You take it."

"Draco…"Harry shook his head."Don ‘ t listen to your father, for once just… take something for yourself."

"You deserve it more."

"I cheated."

"So did I."

"I cheated more."Harry shook his head, the tears coming freely now."I had a map."

"You ‘ re trying to play me again."Malfoy said, still sounding panicked."If you ‘ d had a map you ‘ d have got here quicker."

"Just take the bally cup !"Harry wailed."Can ‘ t you see I don't want it anymore !"

"I…"

"Here !"Harry grabbed his arm."Like this !"

Harry pushed the Slytherin's hand onto the cup and suddenly the humankind disappeared. Instead it was replaced by a swirling vortex of color and light.

Portkey ! Oh god oh god oh god.

Harry just about had time to recognise how badly he'd screwed up when he was dumped on a frigidity stone floor.
*


Harry pushed himself up on pain branch and looked around. He was in the middle of a lobby, marble trading floor and tower, all in black and white-hot marble. Even the great doors at either end were black, ominous portals twice as tall as a person. The only colouration in the way came from the vase of rosebush on a table near the threshold, and a massive tapestry that hung up one monolithic rampart. It was a family tree he realized, must suffer stretched back centuries, fancifully decorated with hiss and flying lizard and other epitome. Harry took all this in in a moment but still only had one thing to say.

"I just wanted to go home."

"The strange thing is Potter."Draco said warily."I am."

"Eh ?"

"This is Malfoy manor."

"Quite correct young Malfoy."

Harry whirled towards the auditory sensation of the part but a spell took him in the pectus and he was thrown back down to the intemperately stone storey. Through the copper of tears he saw three robed trope approaching from the top of a staircase.

On the left Rebel lopped, his savage eyes trained on Harry. On the right, Lucius Malfoy, absentmindedly fingering a long white baseball mitt he was wearing. And in the middle…

"Oh my god."Harry put his hand to his backtalk."You ‘ re back."

"Yes Mr ceramist I have returned."Voldemort smiled his reptilian grin."I said I would did I not ?"

"I believe a told you to come back prettier."Harry said, slowly raising himself up from the floor."I see you failed to contract that to heart."

"A defiant sentiment that would be perhaps more heroic if your face wasn ‘ t lined with tears."Voldemort stepped towards him, passing his two servants. As he brushed by them Lucius gave a little shakiness and rubbed his gloved paw. A giant snake, like a python, curled on the background nearby but made no movement to follow the iniquity lord. Voldemort reached the trading floor and stopped, he made a twisting motion in the air and Harry's wand skittered across the marble tiles and jumped into his hand.

Harry cursed under his breathing time, he hadn't even realized he'd lost it. It must have been knocked out of his hand when he fell.

"Heroics don't interestingness me."Harry found his human foot, his eyes already darting around. Trying to find an exit."But you could at least have fixed the nose."

There were the two immense door but he'd be dead before he reached them. A littler threshold by the staircase but that meant running straight towards them. The stairway itself didn't bear thinking about. Harry's eye flicked to Malfoy, frozen on the floor, his face an unreadable masquerade party. Voldemort followed his regard and turned to the Slytherin.

"I am surprised to see you here young Malfoy."The dark lord said, towering over him."You were ordered to make him take the cup, not to choose it yourself."

"Ung…."Malfoy swallowed, his mouth working wordlessly.

"Come now, you have nothing to fear."Voldemort bent down, bringing his head closer to Dragon's."You have done me a great service."

"He… he… he wouldn ‘ t take the cup."Malfoy stammered."He must have thought something was up. I had to catch his arm and push him into it."

Harry prayed that none of the pitch-black robed ace had noticed who had been hanging onto who's arm when they had tumbled to the flooring a present moment ago.

"Why do you call up he suspected ?"Voldemort was staring directly into Malfoy's eyes.

"We found Fleur."Malfoy said, still apparently frozen to the floor."She was lying perfectly next to the cup. He thought it must own been the cup that killed her, some kind of curse."

Not bad Malfoy, not bad at all.

Voldemort stared into the boys grey middle for a consequence longer, then nodded, apparently pleased.

"Our agent at Hogwarts must have had to kill her to hold on her taking the cup."Voldemort placed a long fingerbreadth under Malfoy ‘ s Kuki then stood, bringing the boy up with him."A ignominy he could not throw out of the body but I suppose he was having to operate from outside the maze. And in any case the result is the like, Harry Potter is here. You have done your skipper a great religious service young Malfoy, almost as smashing as the one your father performed for me."

Again that vellication towards the mitt. Maybe some sort of weakness he could work ?

Voldemort turned to Harry and he suddenly felt Legilimency like he'd never felt it before. It was like an axe was being applied to the back of his brain.

battle back ! He screamed at himself. If Voldemort worked out that he and Malfoy were anything former than sorry enemies then the blonde would die along with him. Harry tore his eyes away but a moment later his human face was jerked back forwards. Voldemort was holding him with illusion somehow, his head felt like it was stuck in a vice.

Blank mind ! Harry repeated to himself. Blank ! His hired man found the shell necklace under his robes and he hung onto it in desperation, pouring every opinion into the little nub of whiteness. Slowly, ever so slowly, the knife receded.

"Amateurish Mr Potter."Voldemort released him and he slumped to the floor."But unfortunately effective."

"Screw… you… snakeface."Harry panted.

"It does not matter."Voldemort dismissed it with a moving ridge of his hand."Your infantile tricks will not salvage you this time."

"Tricks like stabbing you through the oculus ?"Harry grinned evilly."I never got a chance to tell apart ya, but when they squished all this perfect slime came out. Honestly, it was like popping two huge blackheads. Squish…"

"And yet I live."Voldemort spread his hands."And will continue to do so. I am immortal Harry Potter. All you did was undermine me and push me back to being a bodiless soul."

"Squish…"

"I had to survive again by possessing lesser creatures. Creatures beneath me, vermin and snakes. Until Calidris canutus found me, whiff me out in the wilds of Albania."

"Squish… squish… pop…"

"Realizing I needed a more competent handmaiden I had him bring me to Lucius, my retainer of old."Voldemort glanced back at the Malfoy patriarch, still standing on the step."Who did me three great table service. First he was able to realise me a get-go potion that restored me some spirit level of physical form, but one that was wretched and feeble. A disgusting and disfigured travesty of my former power."

"So you did hail back prettier."

"Secondly…"Voldemort ignored his wisecrack like a tolerant father while smiling a grin that never reached his oculus."He made me cognizant of another servant I could use, one that would be capable to-"

"Infiltrate Hogwarts."Harry interrupted."Put my name in the cup ?"

"Five points to Gryffindor Mr Potter,"Voldemort drew his verge."But minus ten for interrupting. Crucio !"

Harry had time to steel himself before the pain hit and cod it out without too much trouble. It still left him gasping and buck but his mind was clear of the usual apparition and disarray left by the extreme point pain. At to the lowest degree he was well practiced at that.

"It all becomes clear."Harry said, picking himself off the floor."So you ‘ ve been here, faint, the unanimous prison term. At Malfoy manor."

"Until Lucius was able to finish the mo potion, a few months ago."Voldemort smiled."And he was able to render his virtually personal service."

The twitch to the glove was not even subtle this prison term. Suddenly Harry had a thought.

"Ellen Hayward."Harry saw all optic, especially Draco's on the floor, movie to him."That was you wasn ‘ t it. She was a champion of this family. This god forsaken family."Harry added, in case anyone started wondering how he'd come by this selective information."The form that pops by unannounced. Did she pop by at the wrongly sentence ?"

"Yes, a fact I regret."Voldemort shook his head, though Harry would be dammed if he saw a trace of self-reproach on that wrestle grimace."She was of a rightful pure profligate home, and an foundation in her own right wing. She will be sorely missed."

"I ‘ m sure you ‘ ll shed a tear every class on the day you poisoned her."Harry spat back, then smiled a another nerve cell fired."And Rita Skeeter ? She was looking for a goop on the triwizard champion. Tried to sneak in."

"Was that her figure ?"Voldemort twitched his head to the side as he smiled self indulgently. It struck Harry as a wholly snakelike gesture."I do not blockade to ask the names of dirt ball I kill. And besides, in her case I did you a favour. You should thank me."

"I ‘ ll send some flowers."Harry replied acidly.

"And now I am finally ready to come out of the darkness."Voldemort said rapturously."And I have just one question to ask you."

"Boxers."

"You have been a stimulating enemy Harry."Voldemort held out his paw."And the Potter kinsperson is old and proud. Your mother ancestry is an consequence but… not an insuperable one. I can put up top executive beyond your wildest dreams Harry, if you join me."

"Ok."

"You… what ?"

"Ok. The robe comes free right field, I don ‘ t have to buy it ?"Harry began to chuckle, unsuccessfully hiding it behind his manus."Got salutary promotion expectation ? Where do you see me in three eld ?"Harry began laughing in earnest, the only phone in the deathly silent hall.

"So I take it you refuse."Voldemort said coldly.

"Yes, you snake faced, impotent, wanker !"Harry choked out between giggles."Did you honestly believe my solution would be yes ? And anyway, what demented logic makes me thwarting you a good qualification for joining your social status ?"

"I thought you might be persuaded to see reason."Icicles could have grown on Voldemort's words.

"well Tom, I guess we were both wrong."Harry grinned."Oh no waiting ! Just you."

"What did you call in me !"Voldemort stepped forward, bristling with anger.

"What… Tom ?"Harry smiled."Tom Marvolo Ri-"

"Crucio !"

Harry hit the trading floor but blanked his mind at the Sami time. He watched his organic structure writhe dispassionately from a point behind his eyes. After a long, long time the writhing stopped and he allowed himself back in.

"Don't try to speak."Voldemort was saying."I took you almost to the bound of what a mind can take."

"That was the point of accumulation ?"Harry pushed himself up from the floor. He knew it was masochistic but…"Then why not go for the record… Tommy."

"You… !"

"Tommy boy."Harry grinned."Is that really the skilful you got ?"

"Crucio !"

Harry couldn ‘ t honesty say how long he lay there behind his own eyes. Longer than the first metre certainly. But eventually the painful sensation stopped and he allowed himself back in. It took him a few moments to reorientation himself, his musculus ached and his throat was raw. His dead body had suffered even though he'd managed to buffer his mind.

"You see my friends."Voldemort was saying, his back to Harry."I have broken his mind just as I will get out the wizarding world to my will."

Harry tried to think whether he had a weapon system on him, with the snake's back turned he might have a chance.

"Sire ! He ‘ s awake !"grayback barked. Damn loup-garou eyes.

His cover broken, Harry slid up onto his knees and looked up into the scandalise red optic of Voldemort.

"I… hav…"Harry couldn't get the news out. He licked his lips and tried again."I have been burned by clock time itself, Tom Riddle. Don ‘ t ever think you scare me. Not ever. You ‘ re nothing."

The room was devilishly silent. Voldoemort stared at him, discombobulation evident on his aspect, then smiled and let out a little laugh.

"Oh how melodramatic."Voldemort mimed clapping."Quite well done, I could almost believe you had some might over the cruciatus. But you don ‘ t do you, you ‘ re simply using occlumency. Sealing the pain away, or sealing yourself from the pain. Very well done, I didn ‘ t think you had that degree of skill."

"Your mistake."Harry tried to smile but the muscles in his mouthpiece didn't seem to require to so he settled for a rictus grin."You make a lot of mistakes don't you Tommy ?"

"Do not say-"

"And that ‘ s the other cause I can ‘ t work for you."Harry did finagle the grin this sentence."I ‘ d get tired of incompetent management."

"Really."Voldemort's voice was silk over razors."Then perhaps I should point you the true power of Jehovah Voldemort. Perhaps I will show you that your will think null !"The Holy Scripture null cracked like whip and Voldemort drew his wand. Harry felt his arm pulled forward against his will.

"Let me give you something you can't block out."Voldemort stabbed his sceptre down onto Harry's arm."Morsmordre !"

Harry stared at his arm in seismic disturbance, at starting time there was nothing, just a blackening of the skin. Voldemort stepped away, smiling. Then, slowly but surely, the scratch faded out of nothing. Growing blacker and more defined by the here and now. Then Harry felt his hand clutch, the St. Mark seemed to writhe on his forearm. He watched as the darkness banquet, like tentacles down every vein, making his hand look like it was encased in blackness ivy.

The darkness advanced, following the blood up his arm. Harry couldn't stop himself from scratching at it furiously, trying to decelerate its advance. Voldemort laughed. The black pipeline came up his berm, across his breast. Then they hit his spine, and the excruciation began.

Rods of hot smoothing iron, knife of flack stabbing into his back. Reaching eminent and gamy as the curse curled up into his brain. Couldn't block it out, it was coming in under everything. It was everywhere. Harry saw spiderwebs grow across his eyes as the curse worked its way into the petite veins. The pain was everywhere now, pulsing up his thorn and into every screaming little synapse. It couldn't be stopped.

Harry escaped the annoyance the only way he could see how. He lowered himself down and smacked his forehead against the floor as hard as he could.

He heard Voldemort laugh before it all went black.
*


Severus Snape leant back in his chair and considered the lunacy of an stallion school, invitee, ministry official, insistence and assorted other hangers on turning up to stare at a hedge.

"It ‘ s not as if they can even see anything."Snape muttered under his breath.

"Eh, what was that Severus ?"Flitwick turned to him from the seat to his left.

"I said I was wondering how much longer Mr Malfoy intends to keep back us waiting."Snape said, without missing a beat.

"Still pinning all your hopes on your own theatre ?"Flitwick said slyly.

"wellspring why wouldn ‘ t I ?"Snape rolled his eyes. He had reconciled with the ceramist boy but that didn't change the fact that he was a Slytherin to the core.

"I personally think Potter will beat him to it. Not a student like him."Flitwick said proudly. Snape rolled his eyes, hearing Flitwick crow about Potter's charms ability was a never-ending irritation.

"What is taking them so long ?"Professor Vector said from the other side.

"The fact that it is a maze and not a run ?"Snape said irritably."There are obstacles in there you know and in any caseful it has only been…"Snape pulled his sleeve up to look at his watch.

"What is that ?"Filius leant his tiny frame over.

"A wristwatch. They are… quite useful."Snape said faintly.

"Oh… But shouldn ‘ t you be looking at the other side ?"

"Other side…"Snape stared at his wrist, the ticker forgotten as his middle bored into the pitch-dark physique standing proud against his blanch skin."No… no no no."
*


Harry came to lying in something sticky. Blood or emesis ? It was ecru and it looked like it had peas in it. Probably vomit.

Harry raised his aching head teacher and looked around. His glasses were lying a few column inch away, he reached for them and drew them up to his boldness. Be blinked a few prison term, at first he though he had gone cross-eyed, then he realized that there really were more than three plume form in the room.

They were all around him, arranged in a circle, all with decease head masks on except for Voldemort himself. Harry's eyes found Draco, standing a niggling outside the circle, he seemed to be expending a lot of effort hard to keep on his case blank.

Harry turned back to Voldemort and tried to make his mouth work.

"Still not as bad as the Torrent."A dark murmuring went up from around the circle. Harry found a dry part of the floor, set his helping hand against it and pushed. He managed to rear himself high enough to yank a foot up and lay it matted on the level. Slowly, surely and against the protests of his aching brawn, Harry stood.

"wellspring done Harry."Voldemort folded his arms."And I thought you would be all out of dramatic, defiant and pointless gestures."

Harry's leg spasmed and he was almost tipped back onto the floor. He staggered for a minute then found his feet again. He lifted his arm and stared at the mark on his arm before letting it drop to his side.

"That means nothing."Harry shook his head, causing shooting pains to run up and down his spine."You put a pretty tattoo on my arm it doesn ‘ t mean anything."

"It means I own you Harry Potter."

"I ‘ ve got a Hungarian horntail on my chest does that imply it owns me too ?"Harry grinned, his sensation of temper was coming back. He couldn't stand up straight but he could one-liner for England. Harry looked down at his shaking body."I notice I ‘ m not dead yet ? Do you still actually think I ‘ ll come over to your side of meat ?"

"You are still alive for one reason only."Voldomort drew his wand."To tell me something."

"I already told you boxers."

"Crucio !"

Pain. pulley. Fading. Floor. Blankness. Time…

"Well…"Harry stood again, working the kinks out of his shoulders."We ‘ ve established that you don ‘ t learn quickly."

"potter I have humored you thus far."Voldemort stepped stuffy."It stops now, how lots does Alasor Dwight Lyman Moody have intercourse ?"

The dubiousness caught Harry off guard.

"Wha ?"

"Crucio !"

Harry waited then sunk back, finding that this clock time he'd landed with his expression squarely in the vomitive puddle.

"Lovely."Harry wondered if it was worth standing. It was fairly readable he wasn't leaving this elbow room alive, unless by some miracle Moody, Snape, Dumbledore or maybe the ministry found him. He certainly couldn't leave by his own steam, not the shape he was in. Not without a wand. In that suit the best affair he could do was stall the psycho in social movement of him for as long as potential, and that meant…"Hold on, I ‘ m getting up…"Harry lurched to his feet.

"I know Moody was investigating wretched ma'am Hayward ‘ s death-"

"Her murder."Harry corrected.

"Cru…"Voldemort raised his wand angrily, then let it fall, the swearword not even fully formed. He hissed in soreness."I know he was investigating it. I know he was doing so at your urging. How much is he aware of ?"

"Why the hell would I severalise you snakeface ?"Harry shrugged."We ‘ ve already established that you ‘ re incapable of torturing me."

"Really, well let us see how you cope with this."Voldemort smiled evilly."Imperio !"

Harry felt the curse enter into like a parasite, shooting into his learning ability and wrapping it in candy-floss. He tried to kibosh it out but it was tricksy, it found gaps in his blocks. Little wiggling tendrils like ancestor, finding a lilliputian gaps then growing, splitting his mastermind apart.

Tell me everything.

Harry tried to shake up it away, vainly,

How much does he hump ?

Why not tell him ? Harry drew his hands up to his head, he knew that phonation was wrong but he couldn't call back exactly why.

Tell me.

Tell him ?

Tell me.

"Don ‘ t !"The Neville voice in Harry's mind broke through the fuzz. Waving it's short mental arms and shaking it's read/write head."It ‘ s Voldemort Harry ! Voldemort !"

You will tell me !

"Are you being intentionally dense Harry ?"Hermione shouted at him from the other side.

But the prissy man wants me to tell him something. Harry blinked like an owl and rubbed his eyes, too much was happening in his head.

Tell me now !

"It ‘ s Voldemort Harry ! VOLDEMORT !"Padma hissed in his ear.

How much does Alastor Dwight Lyman Moody know !

"He killed your parents !"

William Tell ME !

"Can ‘ t you see him ?"

YOU will evidence ME !

"ALL OF YOU stoppage shouting !"Harry shouted and dropped to his knees. The voices disappeared and Harry was just left as he was. A scared teenager in a room full of murderers.

"All of who Potter ?"Voldemort said in his slimy patronizing voice."No one is talking."

Harry just stayed on the floor and tried to breath.

"What is the matter Potter."Voldemort slid closer."No jokes, no witticisms ?"

head feels like concrete.

"Maybe now you will state me what I want to know."Voldemort stepped up so he was right wing on top of Harry."Maybe now-"

"Please."Harry muttered through clenched teeth.

"What was that Mr potter ?"Voldemort slant down.

"Please no more."Harry shook his head and held a hand out towards the night lord.

"Are you ready to tell me ?"

"Yes… yes…"Harry stretched his arm out far, pawing at Voldemort's gown pathetically."I ‘ ll tell you… THIS !"

Harry's fingers clamped down on a scrawny leg and he pulled, putting all his free weight behind it. Voldemort fell backwards, his grimace contorted with craze and ire. cry of horror came from all around but Harry ignored them. He grabbed up and caught Voldemort's wand out of the air and yelled,

"AVADA-"

Harry was hit from all face by swearing and was thrown back into darkness.
*


Snape's point snapped to the position as he saw a shining lynx spring through the wall.

"He ‘ s not at any known location from the last war."Shacklebolt's deep voice came from the patronus."I ‘ ll keep looking."

Dumbledore shook his head and lowered himself back down behind his desk.

"We should be doing something."Minerva was pacing back and forth across the floor of the headmaster's business office. If she had been transformed her tail would have been twitching irritably.

"She is right."Snape shook his nous."I could resolve the bidding, maybe find a way to warn-"

"No."Dumbledore shook his head."We have discussed this."

"And you have unreasonably dismissed it !"Snaps snapped."You clearly intend for me to spy for you in the future anyway so why not-"

"Severus ! I have made my decision."Dumbledore stood sharply, slamming his hired man down onto his desk. In the background Fawkes trilled sadly."We need to reconvene the order. Minerva, see if Alastor has recovered yet and adjoin the Weaseys, Lup-"

"For what ?"Snape interrupted."So we can give birth even more people sitting on their hands while Harry dies ?"

"Severus…"

"No Dumbledore. No…"Snape stood to face the old adept and crossed his arms."You have ten seconds to give me a compelling reason why I should not go to the boy 's aid. Otherwise I am leaving."

"Severus there is no need-"

"Nine."

"terror will not-"

"Eight."

"You are being unreasonable."

"As are you. Seven."

"I forbid it !"Dumbledore said through gritted teeth.

"Six. It is not yours to forbid."

"You are risking your life !"

"It is mine to take a chance !"Snape snapped cutting his manus through the air like a scythe."And you are down to five."

"This could ruin everything Severus."Dumbledore said, suddenly seeming panicked."If we truly have war on the way I will postulate optic among the death-eaters. By doing this you risk exposing yourself."

"Also my selection to make. Not yours."Snape shook his chief."And have you thought of how will the loss of the boy who lived upshot this war ? Perhaps spared a thought to what it would do to people ‘ s team spirit to see the living evidence of Voldemort ‘ s deathrate die ? Have you thought of that ?"

"confidence me Severus."Dumbledore's voice was harsh and low, with dangerous undertones."That the fact that Harry gives masses hope is never far from my mind. But-"

"By rights you ‘ ve had ten mo by now."Snape interrupted."But I ‘ ll give you one stopping point chance."

"Severus please…"

"Not ripe enough."Snape turned and stalked towards the door.

He kept expecting to be stopped, some spell or last ditch argumentation, but none came. He closed the doorway behind him and allowed the moving staircase to get hold of him down. As it moved he summoned his patronus, it's little pointed head and it's midget forked spit sniffing the air.

"I ‘ m about to do something very dangerous."Snape said to it softly, pushing his watchword into it."I don ‘ t know if I ‘ ll getting even, but it ‘ s something I feel I must do."

Snape licked his mouth, this wasn't going well. He should just proceed it short.

"I love you."Snape cursed his bluntness."I realize this is a strange time to bring it up but… but… well I just feel like it should be said."

Snape waved the Snake away and it sparkled through the paries, heading south towards London.
*


"Albus ?"Minerva asked softly after the Potions master key had gone. Dumbledore hadn't moved or talk, he was just staring off into outer space."Albus ?"

"feeling in on Alastor."Dumbledore repeated."And contact Lupin. I will do the rest."He was still staring at the door, his sharp eyes boring into the old wood.

"I understand."McGonagall stepped towards the door, then paused. This was not easy to do but…"Albus…"

"Hmm ?"

"He ‘ s not wrong you know."Dumbledore stared at her. McGonagall couldn't keep that gaze for long and turned to depart the room.
*


"Potter… Oh Potter… Time to stand up again."

Harry's eyes cracked out-of-doors and he looked up into Voldemort's font. His whole organic structure ached from the level cake of curses that he had suffered over the last time of day. Or was it longer ? He had such a trembling reach of metre when he was unconscious. Harry managed to raise his head and look around.

Yep, still in the like seat, surrounded by nasties. Or… wait… was there one more of them than before ? Harry's eye's scanned around the circle of iniquity surcharge figures. Maybe it was his resource. That or the pain sensation was making him hallucinate.

There was one difference, Draco was no longer lurking idily behind the melodic line. He was standing in the center, just a few tempo from Voldemort. He was facing Harry and he had his wand.

"seed on Potter."Voldemort urged."Up ! Up ! Where's that Gryffindor spirit ?"

"I ‘ m not a Gryffindor."Harry muttered."I ‘ m a marauder."But apparently Voldemort didn't hear him.

"Now we can ‘ t have you lazing around all day potter. Up !"

Harry felt himself lifted off the floor and dropped back onto his feet. His knees buckled and he stumbled, only to be pushed unsloped again by the invisible force. He fell the former way, his custody coming up to stop himself but again he was caught and put away vertical. He tottered but managed to accommodate his equalizer on shaking legs.

"That ‘ s better."Voldemort said indulgently.

"Why the hell haven't you killed me."Harry groaned weakly."Is it just sadism ?"

"Oh you will die Mr Potter."Voldemort smiled."There was never any question of that. I intend your death to be the final exam star sign to the world that I have returned, the seal for my immortality and retribution for what happened on Allhallows Eve 14 years ago."

Seal for my immortality.

Seal for my immortality ?

What the the pits did that mean ? Harry filed it away for later.

"So yes Harry you will be killed. I was going to cave in you the gift of a painless death, and I would take in killed you myself after your ill advised evasion attempt."

"Murder attempt."Harry said darkly."I never expected to live. Just hoped to demand you down."

"The Gryffindor smell returns."Voldemort smiled."But you would be dead except for one thing. I would still like to jazz how much the old auror knows. And young Malfoy here seems to call up he can make you recount me."

Voldemort stepped back and let Dragon do forward.

He has a plan. Harry overrode all dubiousness in his creative thinker. Every little sly voice saying that Malfoy had betrayed him was squashed in an second. It didn't matter if he was wrong, it didn't affair if he was being too trusting, because if he was wrong he was dead anyway. Harry decided he would rather hope.

"You really should tell him Potter."Draco said."You know that. I don ‘ t really want to do this to you."

"Just do what you have to do."Harry dropped his head to his bureau and waited for whatever was coming.

"Depulso !"Harry flew through the air and impacted onto one of the marble walls with a painful thud."Adhaereo !"Harry sagged as the sticking charm took force, hanging a enlighten foot above the floor.

"familiar spirit Potter ?"Malfoy smirked as he sauntered over."I think a bit of payback is in order."

He has a programme. He has a plan.

"Bullabazooka."

The bubble head spell ? What the he… Oh no !

"Augmenta !"Malfoy stuck his wand through the belch and Harry felt H2O begin to fill the shimmering sphere.

"What are you doing boy ?"One of the last eater called out harshly. But Voldemort silenced him with a undulation of his hand.

The pee was up to his nose and Harry was beginning to panic. He jerked his head frantically, trying to shift the bubble. But it didn't work and the water closed over his head sending him spiraling into insanity.

He tried desperately to keep some shred of self-control or good sense as he breathed in the water in great gulps. But anything he had went out the window as waves of pain coursed out from his chest, settling into every cell of his torso. With his psyche in rag he was unable to block it out.

A moment later the bubble popped and Harry was left coughing and wracked with pain.

"You see I had this brilliant idea."Malfoy was saying cheerfully."Just because you an blockage out the cruciatus whammy doesn ‘ t mean we shouldn ‘ t use it. It just means we have to find some way to subvert your mind. A good dose of paralyzing fright for example."

Harry didn't corporate trust himself to speak. He just string up there and panted.

"So just state your Lord what he want ‘ s to recognize and this suffering can end."

Why not ?

"Just tell him !"Malfoy yelled."amercement then, lets try this again !"

Harry screamed as he was drown then plunged into a world of pain once more. By the end he couldn't even move. Didn't have the will. He really was betrayed, all promise was gone.

"I don ‘ t want to have to do this Potter."Malfoy smirked."But you ‘ ve insulted my headmaster, and I take such things seriously. After all, this is a true old pure blood house."

A twinkle came on in Harry's encephalon. That finale phrasal idiom, ‘ old pure stock house ’, why use that phrase ? Where had he heard…

When he'd hit the wall… had it sounded a little… hollow ?

Harry breathed deeply. If he was right he would have to trust that willpower could supercede strength and stubbornness, muscular tissue because in a few second he would have to run. Harry tried to move his legs as much as he could on the wall, working the cramps out in preparation.

Why hadn't Malfoy done it yet ? Harry lifted his head up. Malfoy was just standing there waiting.

He needs a understanding, Harry realized. He can't just do it out of the blue air, he needs a reason.

"Malfoy…"Harry licked his lips."Old pure blood firm ? That 's a joke. Your Church Father did n't severalise you ? Your mother was a whore."

"Reducto !"

Harry braced himself and screamed as the trance hit his bureau. The marble tabloid behind him shattered and he was thrown into the passage beyond.

MOVE NOW !

Harry found some muscularity and, as curses started sparking against the wall above his forefront, started to run.



Review, please. Or I 'll kill this small fluffy fauna. No not that one the other one.


"Where is Harry !"Ron yelled."Why the hell won ‘ t you tell us ?"

"Mr Weasley calm down."Professor McGonagall spread her hands calmingly. The marauder had ambushed her outside Dumbledore's office. Normally she would make taken family period for the bad spoken language, but this seemed like an exceptional circumstance."If I knew I would tell you."

"You ‘ re trying to find him though."Neville asked desperately."Dumbledore ‘ s doing everything he can ?"

"Everything that can be done is being done."McGonagall answered."No get out of my way-"

"Please Professor."Padma stepped in front of the instructor."We ‘ re not useless. front at all we ‘ ve done. We know this is unplayful. We know this is frightfully, Fleur is already dead. We know you ‘ re trying to help but so are we. And we ‘ re not useless. So use us."

McGonagall took a rich breath, ready to lecture them. Ready to brush them aside.

"Please,"Miss Weasley pleaded."There must be something we can do."

"We just want to help."Padma added with the others nodding behind her."We need to do something."

McGonagall took another breath, this time to ready herself.

"Go to the hospital wing."She could see the lights come on in their centre."If Dwight Lyman Moody is capable to be moved have him taken to the schoolmaster office. Then corral the prefects together and help them get everyone back to their common rooms."

"Is that it ?"Ron asked hurriedly.

"Yes."McGonagall paused, in for a penny…"No. Mr or Miss Weasley, one of you go to my position and flue your parents. Tell them Dumbledore needs them. say them it's for ‘ The monastic order ’."

"Dad ‘ ll be at work."

"Get them wherever they are."McGonagall snapped."Make nuisances of yourselves until you get them. You know how to do that. And receive Viktor Krum and watch him. He was the only other one in that maze, if he tries to run off. plosive consonant him."

"Got it."Ron nodded and McGonagall strode off. As she went she could hear them breaking themselves into groups to charter the different tasks.
*


Harry's foot skidded on a bottle as he pelted down the dusty corridor holding his aching chest.

"Which way ‘ d he go ?"

"Split up !"

Harry slowed down enough to go silent and ducked under a low electron beam. He took another turn. And another.

"Another bloody maze."Harry thought as he reached a small staircase down. It ended in a massive subway storage room, piled high with loge and crates. There was a suit of armor, perfect with steel, in one turning point and what looked like a choke up alligator shoved up against the back wall. Even stranger matter were piled haphazardly all over the topographic point, unknown devices, behemoth bones and artifacts covered with motheaten dustsheets. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust.

Harry managed to get behind a box and collapsed down on the story. He couldn't run anymore, not without passing out again. The words of Madam Pomfrey floated out of his subconscious…

The human body has certain limitations. You can not just keep heaping ill-treatment on it and expect it to keep working properly.

He had reached those limits. He had passed those demarcation line. Harry leant his head back against the rough Sir Henry Joseph Wood. Unless he found a way out of here soon and got some medical tending there was very real opportunity he would die anyway. If there was a way out of here. If he hadn't just escaped the frying pan for the nonexistent safety of the fire.

Harry's eyelid drooped. So tired…

"diaphragm you !"

Running feet !

Harry jerked awake in a mo. person was in the elbow room. more than than one someone.

"Got you you little… Petrificus Totalus !"Something thumped against the floor. They weren't after him ? Harry leant out from around his box.
*


"Petrificus Totalus !"

Draco was caught off sentry go as the go smacked him from the side. In that instant he knew he was utterly. He felt his petrified torso scrape along the level as his momentum carried him into a mint of waste bags.

"well picayune boy…"Draco saw a masked face come into view. A moment later the mask came down and the cruel grimace of Walden Macnair."You ‘ re like a fiddling rat aren ‘ t you. Well you ‘ ve reached the end of the run…"

Dragon could only stare at the evil smirking man leaning over him.

"We ‘ re going back to the dark lord boyo."Macnair stood and flicked his wand down towards Draco."And then you can see what happens when you try to put one over on the wickedness Jehovah. Oh you ‘ ll… oh… oh… o…"

Macnair had frozen, footling gulps of sound popping out from his mouth. His wand fell from his hobble fingers as a thin dribble of blood began seeping from his lips. He blinked in confusedness, and turned towards the door.

revealing both the invertebrate foot long blade embedded in his back and Harry Potter.

Malfoy could only watch as Harry dropped to one knee and scraped Macnair's wand off the story. He stood again, with obvious travail and croaked,

"Finite Incantatem…"

Malfoy felt his limbs go slack and he pushed himself to his feet.

"Harry are you allr-"But that was all he got out as Harry stumbled forward and collapsed into his arms.

"You ‘ d better be intimate some healing charms."
*

Harry hadn't meant to fall in onto his acquaintance, his knees had just refused to solve anymore. He found himself unable to do anything other than cling limply as Malfoy dragged him behind a box and propped him against the wall.

Harry couldn't even talk as Malfoy left again. A moment later he returned, dragging the physical structure of Macnair.

"Thanks."Malfoy whispered.

"Owed you one."Harry felt his breath coming in ragged gasps."Why was he trying to get you ?"

"What do you mean why ?"

"I mean I…"Harry had to split up off as he was struck with a wracking cough. When he brought his handwriting back from his back talk it was spotted with blood."I assumed you would try to take place my dodging off as an accident."

"Harry…"Malfoy shook his head."Do you hump what Voldemort does to people who make that kind of mistake ?"

"Evisceration…"Harry grinned."I ‘ m betting evisceration."

"As a start."

"So we ‘ ve become so-and-so in the walls."Harry tried to move his peg again, they jerked a lilliputian."Does this paries have an expiration ?"

"burrow that goes to a champaign south of here."Malfoy nodded."My father doesn't know about it."

"But you do ?"

"Oh please. I practically lived down here before I came to Hogwarts."Malfoy hesitated."You got my hint didn ‘ t you ?"

"‘ Old pure line of descent menage'?"Harry chuckled painfully."Old pure profligate houses used to receive virtuoso servant. Wizard retainer need servants musical passage. I got it."

"Good. Good…"Malfoy nodded again. He seemed to be looking for something. Hoping…

"Shall we go then ?"Harry grabbed the bulwark and tried to stand. He got about a pes off the floor before his pegleg gave out and he fell back to the floor."Did you have to reducto me so hard ?"

"You ‘ re blaming this on me ?"Malfoy stepped tight and lifted Harry's arm over his berm."You were the one who kept calling Voldemort Tommy Boy."

"It was irritating him."

"Exactly."

"Wait…"Harry stopped as they staggered out from behind the packing crates."Can you get me to a sky ?"

"A… a what ?"

"I mean a window."Harry shook his gossamer infested straits."A windowpane or a skylight or something. I just want a… way to see upwards."

"Alright Harry."Malfoy started moving them forward."I ‘ ll liquid body substance you."

Harry saw where they were headed, a heavy chimney. When they reached it Harry dropped to his knee in strawman of it.

"What are you doing Harry ?"Malfoy asked."We need to strike, they ‘ ll find us."

"We need people to know."Harry slid himself onto the round the bend roofing tile."We need to get Dumbledore or someone or Moody or somebody or-"

"I get it."Malfoy sounded confused."But they ‘ ll have closed the flues."

"Not what I ‘ m planning."Harry stabbed his stolen wand into the air."Just giving them a sign they can ‘ t ignore.

"What si-"

"Morsmordre !"

Harry was bathed in sickly greenness Christ Within as the go erupted up the chimney. As it hit the sky Harry saw it blossom out and form the glowing scull.

"There,"Harry grinned. The blood on his face and the light filtering down from above gave him the spirit of a swim clay."Now we can go."

"You ‘ re insane Harry."

"So I ‘ m told."
*


"Let me through !"Krum tried to labour past the Twin Falls and was thrown back.

"Nope."

"I just vant to go to the bathroom."

"Nope."

"I vill not try to run !"

"Nope."George V shrugged."Sorry pal."

"Don ‘ t you know who I am ?"

"Yep."Fred folded his munition."You ‘ re Viktor Krum."

"Quiditch hero."

"Triwizard champion."

"infant magnet."

"Winner of beldame Weekly's least charming smile award."

"Moody bastard extraordinaire."

"Now ask who we are."

"You… you…."Krum spluttered incoherently."Who do you think you-"

"Glad you asked."George grinned."We are part of the marauders."

"We are Harry Potter."

"We are his eyes and ears."

"His good right field hands."

"And if you think you ‘ re getting past us."George V drew his sceptre."You ‘ ve got another matter coming."
*


"We have not found them master."Crabbe lowered his head in shame.

"Obviously you have not as they are not here."The darkness lord snarled and turned his wand on his cowering handmaiden."Crucio !"

Snape tried to remain dispassionate as the death eater screamed in infliction. It was far far harder than he remembered. He was very thankful of the masquerade that covered any slips in his expression.

"And you Lucius ?"The nighttime lord turned on the blonde wizard."Surely they can not conceal from you in your own home base ?"

"I have asked the sign of the zodiac elves to-"

"sign of the zodiac elves ? planetary house elves ! You leave a task I gave you to family imp ? !"

Snape felt his stomach clinch and sent a understood entreaty that it was not him at the receiving end of that ira, or the punishment that followed it. Had it always felt like this ? Surely not… he remembered being almost aegir for this oeuvre, gaining a sense of triumph that he had hoodwinked the dark lord. Now he just felt scared, scared and small and stop dead like a rat. He just wanted to get out.

"And you Severus…"

No…

"You who come crawling back to me late and unapologetic."

"I have explained Master-"

"And I have excepted your explanation."Dismissed with a undulation of his retentive pale hired hand."Or else you would not be here. I am not displeased that you can persist my spy in the order."

"I live to delight you my lord."Oh lord let me will this place safely.

"And you have taught Harry potter and the betrayer Malfoy for the past four years."The wickedness Maker said thoughtfully."Where would they go ?"

"Malfoy I can not speak to."Snape shook his head."His renunciation came as a gross surprise to me-"No need to lie there."-so I do nor assume to forecast his future actions."

"And Potter…"Impatient, soon to be anger.

"thrower is a rat. He will go to ground."Snape lied quickly."We have searched the secret passages but Potter has also shown a preference for the rooftops-"and is not pillock enough to veil there where there is no escapism."-we should turn back there."

"skipper !"Snape was interrupted as frenetic wizard dashed in from the garden."The dark print has been cast !"

"What ! I gave no orders to honk the print !"

So who… Oh smart boy. Snape felt the muscles in his face twitch, wanting to split into a foolish grin.

"sea captain,"Snape felt those red eye turn on him."Potter may have plaster cast it himself to monish the ministry. It is the variety of thing he would do."

"That…"The darkness Creator looked almost impressed."That is surprisingly resourceful."

"You are… pleased my God Almighty ?"

"It is pleasing to feature an opponent who is not an old fool."The dark lord smiled."I almost feel immature. And besides this is only one scene of my plan."

"My lord the ministry will-"Snape began but was cut off by a curt undulation of the dark lords reduce hand.

"The ministry will line up us."The shadow lord looked off into the distance, his eyes narrowing."Good."
*


"Thank you all for coming at such short notice."Dumbledore was speaking from behind his desk looking out over the berth."But the fact is that what I have feared has come to pass. Voldemort had returned."

The people crowding the business office didn't speak, didn't murmur, they had expected this. McGonagall shook her read/write head, if it wasn't for the horror of the situation it would almost be like old times.

"And Harry ceramist and Mr Malfoy are both most likely in his clutches."Dumbledore shook his fountainhead."We need to be ready as soon as we know where they are."

"How can we get him ?"mollie Weasley said from the book binding of the room.

"Severus is trying to find out. If he can safely adjoin us he will."Dumbledore didn't stumble over the evasion.

"And if not ?"

"Shacklebolt is also looking into it."Dumbledore held up a hand to stop any further expostulation."Now you all remember what to do. Be ready to leave the consequence we get the word."

The way was filled with spooky shuffling and muttering as people began shucking off any heavy or restrictive wear or transfiguring them into garments more accommodate to combat.

McGonagall herself checked that her hair was securely out of the way before casting some safety charms against small hex. She glanced towards the room access to the pillar. A marauder would undoubtedly be stationed outside, waiting for news. She thought of going out there, but what was the use if they knew nothing more.

"They know."Minerva turned to see the tired face of Mad Eye Moody."They ‘ re good kids."

"They know what ?"

"That we ‘ re doing everything we can."

"Are we ?"Minerva felt like a traitor for voicing that though.

"Can you think of anything else ?"Moody didder his fountainhead and sighed. He was leaning rather heavily on a cane. McGonagall had seen him when Longbottom had lead him up here. The auror had practically been leaning on the kid. Helen Newington Wills noticed her looking and growled."I ‘ m fine. Nothing a petty fight wo n't bring around. Warm the old sinew up."

"Surely you yourself don ‘ t intend to-"

"If we can drag bureaucrat from their desks and housewife from their kitchens and look them to defend like aurors then this real auror is certain as Hades going too."Helen Newington Wills shook his head."We ‘ re not ready."

"We should be. We ‘ ve had months."

"wellspring we ‘ re not. And it ‘ s too late now."Moody sighed."You think we ‘ re too old for this ?"

"If the old don't conflict it falls to the young."Minerva glanced back at the threshold, thinking of a piffling black-haired boy with too many scars for his age."And none of us want that."

"Guess not."

"Minerva !"McGonagall turned to see Dumbledore behind her."Where is Lupin ? I asked you to get him."

"It is wide-cut moon Albus."She saw a glint of something unknown cross the headmaster lined face."You knew that. Didn ‘ t you…"

McGonagall was interrupted by the radiance lynx that burst in through the rampart of the office.

"The dingy mark was raised over Malfoy manor !"Shacklebolt sounded hurried."Aurors have already been dispatched."

"Fawkes !"Dumbledore held out his hand and the Phoenix fluttered over onto it."Everyone take a tail feather. Be ready to defend the second we arrive. Our primary feather chore is to observe Harry."

If he's still alert. Minerva found herself praying as she grasped a yearn feather.
*


Harry pushed the grievous wooden door open and felt the wind hit his face.

"We ‘ re out."Harry smiled as he leant against the doorcase, gulping in the Nox air.

"And you ‘ re walking on your own."Malfoy said encouragingly.

"Yeah."Harry rolled his middle."Give me a few more time of day and I ‘ ll be running marathons."

"I was being sarcastic."

"Oh. So was I."

"I know."

"I was more obvious."Harry chuckled, then froze as he looked up at the sky."Oh shit."

"What ? Wha… Oh…"

The two stripling stared at the wide lunation hanging just over the horizon. Harry reacted first.

"Move !"Harry pushed Malfoy away from the door and pushed it shut before slamming on three evil locking charms and an eviler curse.

"My dad doesn't know about-"

"Doesn ‘ t need to."Harry cut him off."Greyback ‘ ll track us, probably already behind us."

As if on cue a rasping bark sounded, echoing from rich down the tunnel.

"Then what do we do ?"Malfoy had his wand out and was backing away from the door.

"Run."Harry ignored the ache in his stage and started towards the sharpness of the field and a pocket-size stand of trees."Maybe we can turn a loss them."

"Lose a werewolf ? At night."Malfoy was easily keeping stride with him.

"We can try."

"We ‘ ll fail."

"Do you want to die right here ?"Harry hissed angrily."amercement, hitch and get mauled !"

"We need a better plan."

"wellspring we don ‘ t…"Harry shook his head."You ‘ re decently. They can outrun us easily. We try to break away this way we ‘ re dead."

"So what ?"

"I don't know !"Harry grabbed his bureau as a thrust of pain shooting through him."I don ‘ t know Malfoy… I ‘ m sorry."

Harry felt a shoulder pushed under his and allowed himself to be supported. They would go faster like this anyway. Wait…

"Malfoy you go."Harry felt the early stripling slack to a halt.

"What ?"

"If you drop me they ‘ ll find me. consider me back. probability they ‘ ll ignore you."Harry let his head cliff, he was just slowing them down."It ‘ s the best chance for one of us to get out of this."

There was a recollective moment of silence. All Harry could hear was the strait of his own labor breathing.

"Stupid Gryffindors."Malfoy muttered under his breath before yanking Harry forwards.

"Malfoy…"

"Don ‘ t say it again Harry ! Just don ‘ t !"Malfoy shook his head."We ‘ re getting out of this ! We have to because otherwise my father ‘ s won. You understand me Harry ? And I didn ‘ t spit in the typeface of the dark Godhead just to see my father win."

Harry let himself be led in silence. A New York minute of perch came from behind them, lighting up the dark field. Harry craned his neck opening and saw the doorway in the hill glowing a deliquium blue.

"How long do you think it ‘ ll take them to get through ?"Malfoy panted.

"Not long enough."Harry shook his head."We can ‘ t run. Won't oeuvre. We need to do something else."

"Like what ?"

"Like fight."

As Harry began explaining he saw Malfoy's reflexion go from hopelessness to a vicious grin. They pushed further into the forest as another split second of light slashed out behind them.
*


"What the hell was that ?"Auror Dawlish scowled.

"I didn ‘ t see anything ?"Jandred said irritably.

moron never see's anything. Tonks found herself thinking and only just stopped herself from saying it out gimcrack. Instead she said,

"I saw it too Dawlish."

"Of course you did."Dawlish rolled his eyes as if he assumed she was lying."Just concentrate on the gate."

"Yes sir."Tonk's turned back to the gate of Malfoy manor, trying to ignore the glowing scull in the sky. She tried the normal unlocking spells, not really expecting them to work.

"Oh motility over."Dawlish pushed her out of the way."You ‘ ll never open it that way."

"I ‘ d just starte-"

"Quiet trainee."

Tonk's gritted her teeth. Whenever Dawlish called her trainee he made it sound like an insult.

"If you ‘ re not going to do anything utile you might as well enquire that light."Dawlish sneered."The one you saw."

"But sir the dingy ma-"

"Probably vandals."Jandred shrugged.

"Sir ?"

"I gave you an order missy."Dawlish smiled at her."Go enquire the Inner Light. pass on this to us."

Tonk's didn't trustfulness herself to speak. She just turned and apparated for the rough location of the light. She appeared a few feet above the priming and fell backwards as she landed.

"Ow !"Tonk's picked herself up and looked around. It was obvious where the light had come from. There was a threshold lying on the trading floor, blown off its hinges. Tonk's lit her wand and glanced over the field of bare dirt around the jolty tunnel entranceway. There were course all around, human and dog.

No… not dog.

Tonk's looked near and cursed under her breathing space. wolfman. And some of the early shoeprints looked like children. She sent a spray of red sparks into the air and set off in the centering of the hunt. She ran as fast as she could through the tall grass and only slowed as she reached the edge of the trees.

She had to, or she'd have crashed into the decease eater.

Tonk's had her wand out and ready to unchurch before she realized he was in no material body to fight. One of his legs was trapped in a bear trap, he was writhing on the ground, his mouth open to scream. Silenced she realized. Tonk's stunned him and conjured Mexican valium to tie down him just in vitrine. Sir Thomas More red sparks in the air, not that she thought they'd be heeded, and she picked her way deeper into the forest.

Not a stat mi further she found another. This one a Tree had engulfed. Only his legs were visible, hanging limply. He was clearly dead, suffocated.

Tonk's swallowed and kept going, carefully.
*


"Do you believe Harry ‘ s alright ?"

"I don ‘ t know Herm."Padma shook her point as she shepherded some first years towards their classmates."I don ‘ t know."

"He usually gets out ok."Pavarti said with a washy smile."I don ‘ t know… I just kind of always assumed he could survive anything."

"Everyone has limitation. Even Harry."

"Then why has he never reached them ?"
*


Harry pushed open the disused farmhouse door and staggered inside.

"Razorcurse on the doormat."Malfoy said quickly, breathing in little gasps."Maybe crash the lieu with them inside."

"No."Harry wrenched open a wardrobe and pushed it's subject on the floor before shoving it against the door."We can thin them out with booby traps and curses but we ‘ ll have to fight them somewhere. Here ‘ s as good as anywhere. It ‘ s defensible, doesn ‘ t look like anyone lives here anymore."

"But Harry…"

"I ‘ d rather assemble them on ground I chose than in the centre of nowhere."Harry ducked into another room and pulled open a chest of drawers.

"What are you looking for ?"Malfoy was nervously eyeing the surrounding woods.

"Anything we can use."Harry leant against the doorframe before pushing away and looking in what looked like the bedroom."I don't even know… I ‘ m just keeping moving."

"Shall I block up the windows ?"

"Do it."Harry nodded."Add something nasty if they try and get in. Then get upstairs."

"You think we can really get them ?"

"Hope so."Harry grinned evilly."I want to get me a wolfskin rug."
*


McGonagall fell out of the phoenix flame and instantly became her cat form. After scanning around with senses far better than her own she transformed back and nodded to Dumbledore.

"Alastor in movement. Minerva, if you would second him up."Dumbledore motioned them forward."Kingsly, bring up the rear."

McGonagall let Moody fade in battlefront of her, his eye whirling in its socket as he tried to take in everything. She knew her character and transformed again to pursue him. Her sensitive ears picked up the early members of the gild following conclusion behind.

The gate of the manor was wide open. Minerva saw Moody break and murmuring a few spells before stepping cautiously over the threshold. She slinked after him. They probably looked very much like Filch and Mrs Frank Norris McGonagall realized.

The astray courtyard fanned out in front of them, a fountain quietly tinkling away in the core. There was a band of crushed rock around it, then grass, then flowerbeds. She saw Moody instinctively move to the side where the bush would give him cover.

Smell…

McGonagall lifted her nose to try to pinpoint it. Coming from the other side of the fount. She pressed her belly down close to the crushed rock and slinked around the edge. She poked her little monotonic head around the corner and saw black textile. Negroid robed sprawled on the ground. Vacant reflection. verge fallen from outstretched handwriting. They were aurors, or had been. Her eye landed on the sand next to the bodies and she shied back in surprisal. A wing shape was scratched there in the dirt as if with a boot, a symbol the rescript used. She darted back in shock and transformed back.

"It ‘ s a trap !"She yelled, crouched behind the stonework."The auror's are dead ! He ‘ s-"

She was cut off as the jet exploded, throwing her to the floor. She felt herself pulled sharply out of the way as the jinx began flying.
*


"Ferio !"Harry shot out a window and ducked as the answering swearing blew a glob out of the wall. He looked across at Malfoy who was crouching under another window."How many of them are there ! ?"

"I don ‘ t know potter I ‘ m not trying to count them !"

"Bugger !"Harry popped up and aimed a spell at a spot of darkness before being bewilder backwards as a fireball engulfed the window."Depulso flames !"

The fire exploded outwards and Harry was pretty surely he heard someone scream in pain. Harry dashed to another gap in the walls and shot a stunner at a crouching physique on the ground.

"I think there ‘ s five of them !"Malfoy shouted at him."Plus Greyback !"

Harry was about to serve but had to throw himself forward as the whole back wall of the house was ripped away. He had to circumvent as a violent storm of spells flew at him from the now unprotected back. Harry looked back and grinned in sadistic pleasure as he aimed his sceptre at the floating wall.

"Finite !"The area of brickwork dropped and Harry heard person cry out. A cry that ended in the crunch of Harlan Fiske Stone hitting earthly concern, and flesh."Got one !"

"At the disbursal of a wall !"

"Still got one !"Harry ducked behind a dresser and tried to disregard the way the level was slanting. Harry looked out in time to see a fig trying to climb the stairway."Stupefy !"

The dying feeder blocked his charm but Malfoy's caught him in the incline and pitched him off the building. Harry was about to scream something encouraging when he was driven to the floor by a falling ray. He looked up in time to roll out from under another. He looked up further to see the red eyes and hooked claws of the werewolf burrowing through the ceiling.

Harry raised his wand but was blown to the side of meat as the rape from outside stepped up.

"Draco little supporter !"Harry looked over but the blond boy was nowhere to be found."No no no…"

Harry clutched his wand and prayed as Greyback fell in front of him.
*


"Harry !"Draco tried to yell but was cut off as a strong arm wrapped around his head word. His wand was pried from his digit as he was dragged backwards. He tried to struggle but he was lifted off the dry land and carried. Draco kicked as intemperate as he could but his captor only grunted. He felt the heating system of the burning wood get further away.

He was dumped, wand less, onto the floor. He rolled and looked up at his kidnapper. His father.

"Father I-"

"Listen you fool."His founding father reached down and grabbed him by his pilus."You have made a jeer of everything I taught you. You are a ignominy to the Malfoy name."

"No…"genus Draco found himself trying to shake up his head.

"Shut up !"The Slytherin felt his jaw clamp shut. His father continued."You are a walking corpse while you are within the drab master compass. And whatever else you have done you are still my son. My only if heir."

"Father I-"

"You will go into hiding."Lucius continued hastily."You will go where he can not find you."

"No !"Malfoy found himself saying. Not as strongly as he'd have liked but still…"I won ‘ t go."

"This is not a game genus Draco !"His father cuffed him with the back of his hand, sprawling him on the floor."You must continue the kinsperson railway line. Regain something out of the mess you have made of everything."

"I don ‘ t forethought !"

"Listen to me !"Lucius grabbed him by his ear and pulled him painfully to his feet."I risk the dark lord ‘ s displeasure just by doing this much. You will obey me !"

"No ! Let me go !"Malfoy punched out blindly and felt his fist hit soma. He was dropped to the storey and tried to scramble away. There was a fallen death eater on the early side of the farmyard. His wand near his hobble fingerbreadth. Malfoy dashed towards it.

"Crucio !"

Malfoy felt pain beyond imagining. Flames ran up and down every nerve. How had Harry survived this ? Occlumency ! Malfoy tried to blank his mind but the torture was already over.

"Maybe now you will mind to me !"His father yelled, the flames from the farmhouse painting his blanch physiognomy a unholy red."Maybe now you will-"

"Drop the sceptre !"

Both Malfoy's turned to the new vox coming from the boundary of the forest.

"drib it now !"
*


Tonk's advanced on the end eater. Trying to shift his aid from the kid onto her.

"Drop the wand or I ‘ ll be forced to hurt you."She tried to remember the exact phrasing the auror enchiridion had taught her but her psyche was a blank."And step away from the child."

"This is my son Whitney Young lady."The death eater said with a smirk."I will discipline him how I see fit."

"Not with an inexcusable you won't."Without taking her eye's off him she dipped one hand into her pocket and pulled out her badge."You are under arrest for-"

"Avada Kedavra !"

Her training kicked in on inherent aptitude and she threw herself to the side. Her answer was in the air before she even hit the priming and it hammered her opponent back towards the farmhouse despite his raised shield.

Tonk's pushed herself up and ran between the death eater and the kid, who was still sprawled on the floor.

"spring up !"She yelled."more than aurors are coming !"

The death feeder responded with a outpouring of nemesis that she was forced to open priming coat to counter.

"Reducto !"Tonks blew up the solid ground near his feet and saw him stagger away, blinded."Stupefy !"

"Protego !"He cast subterfuge but it worked, making her duck to avoid her own magic spell."Crucio !"This one went panoptic and she grinned, this was almost over.

"Imperio !"

It caught her by surprise. The piece taking her over, covering her. She tried to oppose it off but it was useless. She could already see his sceptre coming back up. It was an old dark whizz john, the next piece would be-

"Avada K-"

"Expelliarmus !"The magical spell hit the death feeder from the side and threw him into the side of meat of the farmhouse. Already weakened beyond hangout the paries caved in, burying the expiry feeder in debris. With a outrageous crash the rest of the theater teetered, then fell sideways, almost like it was folding. As it crashed to the terra firma a huge cloud of rubble was thrown up, covering everything.

Tonk's looked in the centering the spell had come from. The boy was standing there, the wand of the fallen dying feeder in hand. His face contorted in horror.

"Father…"He ran to the English of the debris pile and began levitating vast chunks of brickwork off."Father of the Church I didn ‘ t mean…"He stopped and stumbled back, tripping over a rock and falling to the ground.

From where she was Tonks could just see what he could. The death eater she had fought, with a objet d'art of Ellen Price Wood enlighten through his dresser. Dead.

The boy was shaking, his hands clasped over his lip. Tonk's was about to go to him when something shifted in the peck of rubble. A ray was pushed aside and a dishevelled figure crawled out from under it, his finger barely managing to find purchase as it clawed its way free.

"Harry !"The boy was up on his feet and running towards the figure. He managed to throw the rest of the rubble off the one called Harry and pulled him away from the wreckage. Tonk's watched as he leant him up against a rock."Harry are you ok ?"

"Fine."Harry croaked, his hide covered in black ash."Just fine. Need water."

The boy conjured some and doused Harry with it, making him look almost human. Tonk's jumped as the water revealed a scar on his forehead. Could it be that Harry ?

"This is blood."The former boy was saying."Did greyback get you did-"

"Nah,"Harry waved a charred script."I ‘ m an old hand at the werewolf fighting thing."

"Is he short ?"

"If he ‘ s not he ‘ s got the longest, most invisible, neck in the world."Harry grinned, his teeth were stained with blood.

"Are you sure you ‘ re ok ? Harry look the aurors are here."The other boy said encouragingly."We ‘ re safe. We ‘ re alright we can go back-"

"No !"Harry grabbed the former boy's arm."What you need to do is work fakes of us !"

"What ? I don't unders-"

'' I need you to hit fake army corps so it looks like we 're dead ! ``

'' W ... Why ? ``

"Because I worked it out. Who it is."Harry was talking fast now, his eyes desperate."Who killed Fleur. Who tried to kill Helen Newington Wills. Who put my name in the cup in the showtime place. It ‘ s so simple it all comes down to the map. So mere I should have… Dumbledore should have… Anyone could have worked it out ! Even forged if he ‘ s smart, and I know he is, I know what he ‘ ll try to do next."

"But why do I have to make fak-"

"Because right now he thinks he ‘ s safe."Harry grabbed the other boys shoulder joint."And a man's aliveness is at stake along with the residue. He thinks he ‘ s safety but if we survive he won't so he ‘ ll move him and we won't find him. That ‘ s why we have to die Draco. We have to die."

"I…"The boy genus Draco paused, the flames of the burning mansion still popping in the night."I can ‘ t do it."

"Malfoy you ha-"

"I know what you ‘ re asking I just can ‘ t."Draco shook his head."That variety of transfig if beyond me. I can ‘ t do it."

"I can."Tonks'voice caught in her throat. Why had she said that ? The two boys turned to her. Harry's heart wide as if only now really noticing she was there.

"Who the hell are you ?"Harry tried to bear but collapsed back on the base."And why are you majestic ?"

"I ‘ m Tonks. Auror Trainee Tonks. Hi !"She made a sort of wave. It was a strange introduction, amidst consistency and a burn house.

"You know her ?"Harry turned to Malfoy, clearly confused.

"She tried to fight…"Malfoy swallowed and glanced towards the ruins."She fought them."

"You trust her ?"

"fountainhead I think."Malfoy glanced at her squinting."I think she ‘ s my cousin."

What ! Tonks'jaw dropped.

"Well well well."Harry grinned his bloody grin again."I guess we need three bodies."



More reviews please, if I reach 100 I get a plastic toy !


I do n't own Harry ceramist, but ( hopefully soon ) I will own a small-scale plastic toy.



"We found them near the ruins of a house nearby."Shacklebolt said tonelessly.

McGonagall felt something happy chance inside her and she squeezed her eye tight shut against the tears.

"There was one of my Trainees there too. Nymphadora Tonks."

"I remember her."Minerva murmured.

"It looked like she was caught by greyback."Kingsley shook his head."Perhaps a blessing she died."

"Never say that !"Moody snapped. Shacklebolt flinched, then nodded,

"We found Potter in the wreckage and Malfoy a few yards away."Shacklebolt continued."It looks like he got out of the wreckage but someone cursed him and…"He shook his head sadly.

mollie Weasley was sobbing, her husband trying to ease her. The rest of the rescript was locked in silent grief, avoiding one another's gazes as eye grew red.

"They went down fighting though."Kingsleys late part, usually so still, now sounded funereal."Did better than us really. Found Cramore stunned in the woods, Kirrimson was deadened nearby. We pulled what was left of Greyback and Malf… Lucius Malfoy from the wreckage. Two were stunned behind the house Gibbons and Goyle, one early dead and cauterise beyond recognition. We ‘ re working on identifying him."

"Those shaver leave three stunned and four dead."Helen Wills took a long pull from his hip flask."And we walk straight into a trap and get sent home with our tails between our legs."

"We ‘ re still alive."McGonagall was shocked to happen those words slipping from her lips.

"Wish it were the other way round."Helen Wills Moody grimaced.

"What do we do now ?"Dadelus said looking to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore said nothing. He was just sitting at his desk, staring into space.

"Dumbledore ?"

Fawkes hopped off his rod and flapped down to down on the desk. The capital of Arizona nuzzled up against Dumbledore ‘ s cheek, trilling softly. The old Headmaster slowly raised his head.

"We go on."Dumbledore's Holy Scripture were holler in the mum room."We go on."

"Specifically ?"An acrid representative said from the doorway. Snape was standing there, looking more than a piffling haggard.

"Severus why are you here ?"Dumbledore asked angrily.

"I am here because the dark lord ordered me to be."Snape strode forward."Shall I remind you, lest the item have slipped your mind, that he believes I am his spy."

"I had not forgotten that."The headmaster said evenly.

"Good. Now specifically what are we going to do ? Other than ‘ go on ‘."

"A lilliputian respect Severus."Arthur Weasley said from the other slope of the room."Harry ceramist is dead and-"

"I am mindful of that."Snape cut in."The catastrophe of three untried life story snuffed out is not lost on me. But what you all seem to have ignored is that they have given us a natural endowment as they went. They struck the dark lords forces a heavy blow, their numbers and team spirit have suffered thanks to our protagonist and we should not let that forfeiture simply evaporate. We need to use this clock time to marshal our forces. We can take the ministry to heel, two respected aurors saw the decease eaters and five mass are dead. Including the boy who lived. They can not ignore that. We can either accept that Harry is gone and use his death as a catalyst to cement the ministry behind us or we can sit here and wallow in guilt."

Snape's mouth snapped shut and he stared down the headmaster who returned the gaze evenly.

"We can not use Harry ‘ s dying as a political bargaining chip."Albus said, a veiled threat in his words."It is sickish to even indicate it."

"Oh please,"Snape scoffed."It's is simply a means to an end. Harry himself would have been for it."

Probably reliable, Minerva admitted to herself. How did she feel about this plan ? It chilled her to her very heart to think about it. Making Harry a martyr was an affront to him. But if it ensured that the ministry was working with them instead of at interbreeding aim like in the last war…

"I will not allow Harry's sacrifice to be used this way."

"It is not yours to allow."Snape shook his head."The prophet will get the story sooner or later. Do you call up Fudge, beset as he is by scandals, will not try to use it to his advantage ? All we can do is do so first."

Dumbledore's backtalk snapped shut. Minerva, and everyone else in the room, could see that he'd been backed into a corner.

"It is wrong."Dumbledore murmured softly."We will regret doing this."

"Not as much as if we don't do it."

"I know."Albus was once again staring into space, seemingly lost in his own mind."We go to the ministry. Molly, Arthur if you would take up on the job of informing Harry ‘ s booster ?"

"Of course Albus."President Arthur nodded.

"Minerva, Kingsley, Alastor and Severus, we should depart for the ministry. The remainder of you, go home. I am sure that we will meet again soon."As the order began to propel the doorway outburst opened to reveal Bartemius Crouch.

"Is it true ?"The outstandingly excited man asked."They are saying that Potter and the Malfoy boy are drained and that the dark lord has returned. Is it true ?"

"It is."Dumbledore said simply.

"Then… what you have been saying all year…"Crouch bowed his psyche."If only we had listened."

"It would have made little difference."

"But it would have made some."Crouch looked up."Are you going to the ministry ?"

"We are."

"Then so am I."
*


Harry felt like he was being passed through an bowel. The squeezing-pressing-rippling from every face hit every bruised and battered part of his physical structure. Which right now was almost of him. He dropped onto carpet and felt someone cosmetic surgery him up and lay him gingerly on a lounge. Tonks'couch he assumed, mostly because it was pink.

"So that was apparation was it ?"Harry coughed painfully."It felt a bit like being born."

"Don ‘ t try to talk Harry."Tonks began running her scepter up and down his arms. She grimaced as she saw impairment under his tegument."You ‘ re too badly offend Harry. You need St Mungos."

"Just get me walking. We don ‘ t have time for Sir Thomas More anyway."Harry twitched with major nervous get-up-and-go, or minor brain equipment casualty."We have to get going."

"Harry a construction fell on you, don ‘ t be a complete idiot."Malfoy said, pushing a looking glass of water into Harry's charred handwriting."Besides, you already died once today."

"We ‘ ve got no time to waste."Harry shook his head."They ‘ re probably already moving. We should- OW !"

"Sorry !"Tonks shrugged and grinned impishly."Had to pop your shoulder back in. Get ready for the ribs…"

Harry bit down hard as his ribs snapped back into shape one by one. He felt his hired hand quivering and water splattering everywhere. He just lay back and tried not to call as various parting of his physical structure were patched up. He looked away, dire for something to trouble him. His heart found Draco, hovering nearby. No doubt freaked out more than a bit by the squirming surface of Harry's skin.

"How are you holding out ?"Harry asked through gritted teeth.

"How am I-"

"I mean about your father."Harry closed his eyes as the skin on his right wing leg began to bubble."How are you dealing ?"

"I ‘ m…"Malfoy sighed."I ‘ m trying not to think about it. I… I killed my own father."

"You had to."Harry winced."He woulda killed you."

"No. He wouldn ‘ t."Malfoy sounded grim. Harry opened his eyes. His friend was crouched on the floor with his knee drawn up to his chin."He was trying to bring through me from the iniquity lord. He was going to cover me. Even though he would induce risked his place in the darkness Godhead ‘ s circle, maybe even his life, to do it. He was trying to see after me."

"That's bollocks, he used an unforgivable on you."Tonks said from near Harry's foot."Did you hear him ? ‘ Family wrinkle ‘ and all that. He wasn ‘ t trying to save you. He was just looking after the folk name."Tonks broke off then popped up, looking contrite."Sorry, didn't mean it like that."

"It ‘ s alright."Dragon said quietly. He had drawn his knee up closer to his chest.

"Draco come on."Harry reached out with his newly repaired arm and tipped Malfoy's headland back up."This is a completely screwed up situation. You want to hide. Unfortunately I need to save the earth again and I need your assistance. So you have thirty moment to be emo in then we ‘ re back to business."

"You ‘ re a bastard Harry."Malfoy shook Harry's paw away.

"I ‘ m not. I ‘ m just in a rushing. Alright that ‘ s enough."Harry pushed off the lounge and stood. His body… sort of worked."We ‘ re going now."

"You ‘ re still not better you idiot."Tonks snapped at him."You need to rest !"

"I ‘ ll rest when I ‘ m dead."

"You are dead."Malfoy pointed out acidly.

"Only temporarily"Harry drew out his steal verge and grinned."Now lets go come apart more ribs. Preferably not mine."
*


The news had apparently already pass around to the wizarding public and the foyer of the ministry was packed with people. As the rules of order appeared in a hearth it set off a wavelet of people that ended with a splash as someone tripped into the fountain. The phone was barely hearable over the screaming riotous randomness coming from the crowd.

Riotous… that was the Word wasn't it. Snape thought as Dumbledore prestiged his way through the crowd. It was nearing a riot, when you pushed this many people together, gave them a reason to detest, to rage… this could get violent.

A glimpse at the other order phallus showed him that they realized it too. They had instinctively pulled together defensively. Moody's eye was virtually a blur, searching out threats.

Snape even saw that some of the bunch had conjured placards or simply burnt their complaints into the air. Cornelius Fudge's figure figured prominently, and not in a flattering light.

The Order reached the lift, a hoop of aurors looking spooky around them. It took Snape a bit to realize that they were actually having to guard a shield in office to keep the crowd back. Dumbledore stepped forward and gestured to be let through. The school principal auror, agitate his head.

"Can ‘ t let anyone through."The Lady Jane Grey haired man shouted over the haphazardness of the crowd."Orders of the Wizengamot."

"Of which I am head."Dumbledore seemed to accept no difficulty making herself heard."I do not intend it was in the spirit of their orders to keep myself, two decorated aurors, a department head and two Hogwarts instructor from entering."

"I can not give up anyone to enter."

"Oh… That ‘ s unfortunate."Dumbledore drew his wand and tapped the ward lightly. It dissolved. The edict pushed forward ahead of the crush of hoi polloi and got into the rise. Kingsley jammed the grating shut just before the thrust crashed against it. One of the aurors was thrust into the metal Browning automatic rifle. Snape saw him mouth ‘ facilitate me'as the ski tow slid up and away.

Snape tried to breath evenly. The urge to mash the button for level nine was surprisingly strong. Snape felt a little groan as the rhytidoplasty rose further away from the department of whodunit and up towards the office of the minister.

"Do we actually have some variety of program ?"Snape said over the clanking machine.

"We will have to guess the situation."Dumbledore said after an uncomfortable pause.

Oh how I wish I was on level nine.

"I think we can safely put on what that the situation is."Snape saw even four scratch yesteryear, office actor stared into the passing airlift. The hope in their eyes as they saw the headmaster was palatable."The Wizengamot will have heard that crowd out there and be looking to write their own skin. They will no doubtfulness be politely throwing Fudge to the wolves. And why not ? He ‘ s had it coming all year."

"Instability is hardly what we need right now."Minerva commented.

"And you think Fudge is what we need ?"

"Fudge has let Roma burn."Crouch said with dark ira."We can not provide him to remain in office."

"You are not in the order."Snape snapped at him.

"And you are not in the Wizengamot."He retorted.

"But I am."Dumbledore said quietly.

"So what do you purport we do ?"Snape eyed the plaque acerate leaf of the cosmetic surgery as it clicked towards one.

"If Fudge is prepared to admit what has happened we should try to avoid a the stupor of a new minister."Dumbledore had his eyes closed, he looked weary."If not… we shall see…"

The lift clicked up in silence. Dumbledore's rim were moving soundlessly, twitchingly.

"Would you be minister ?"Shacklebolt voiced the silent question.

Click… click…

"… too many misunderstanding. All wrong…"Dumbledore muttered under his breath. He seemed to be swaying with the bm of the ski tow. His heart were still besotted shut."I should never…"Dumbledore trailed off, leaning against the metal of the wall.

The others in the lift shared traumatise glances. Crouch had his script to his nerve in shock and Moody, for once, had both optic fixed on one place. Their leader, apparently broken down. The lift jerked to a stop and a petty bell dinged. No one moved.

Snape bent down in front of the headmaster, putting their faces level.

"We ‘ re here Albus."He said sharply. The old world eyes flickered open.
*


"Harry ‘ s… dead ?"Hermione shook her mind."No…"

"The aurors said it was quick."Mrs Weasley was sat across the table from them in an unused classroom."He didn't suffer."

"Liar."Ginny hissed with surprise anger.

"Ginny ! I know you ‘ re an-"

"Any way Harry would go down wouldn ‘ t be quick."Neville agreed.

"What really happened ?"Padma pressed.

"He…"molly Weasley looked down, her hands silently running up and down the edge of her robe. When she began speaking again it was softly."He was buried under a farmhouse. He fought off seven of them and left them short or stunned. He went down like a torpedo. His parents would have… would have been so…"

"Angry."Padma broke in, grinding her teeth."tempestuous that Dragon sold him out like that."

"Don't you dare say such things !"Mrs Weasley's head jerked up and she shouted. Hermione could see her oculus red with tears."The Malfoy boy died too. It looked like they escaped together. Who knows how many of those seven were him !"

Hmm…. Hermione felt a light ejaculate on in her head. But if they didn't know…

"He crawled out of the wreckage. Probably looking for help !"

Maybe…

"And person cursed him for it !"

Who ? And why didn't they-

"I…"Padma stepped back."I… I didn ‘ t know."

"We ‘ ll you shouldn't have judged."mollie took out a handkerchief and patted her eyes."They took their eubstance to St Mungo ‘ s. You can visit if you want. I know how-"

"Wait… Um Mrs Weasley."Hermione raised her hired man un instinct before realizing that it looked stupid."What do you stand for looked like ?"

"What ?"

"You said it looked like they escaped together."

"Well no one saw them obviously. The aurors only got there later."

"Who killed them ?"She pressed hurriedly.

"missy Granger that macabre tal-"

"Please !"Hermione pleaded. Out of the quoin of her eye she saw Padma sit bolt vertical. She'd got it too.

"We don ‘ t know."Molly Weasley was obviously very flustered."They had obviously left by that time."

"Without taking their injured with them ?"

"Well…"Mrs Weasley went soundless as she searched for the answer."Maybe they were scared off."

"Herm…"Saint George said excitedly."You ‘ re not thinking that Harry-"

"fountainhead doesn't it sound just like him ?"Hermione said with a broad grin.

"What are you lot talking about ?"Ron asked, confused. Hermione ignored him

"Mrs Weasley, where is everything happening."On seeing the erstwhile woman's confused expression she elaborated."Where is the… the focal detail of all the stuff going on now."

"Well the ministry but-"

"Then that ‘ s where we need to be."
*


Dumbledore nodded and stepped slowly out of the raising. Took a deep breathing place and seemed to stiff himself.

"Albus if you are not up to this-"

"I am o.k. Severus."

Snape let the old wizard go ahead. He was pushed aside a present moment later as Crouch pushed past, a look of pure determination on his face. Snape and the other three remaining order fellow member shared a worried glance.

"Well come on then."Minerva broke the secretiveness and strode forward. Snape followed her out of the airlift and into the recollective gallery, the long walk to the government agency of the minister of religion of magic.

One English was open bay window ( not real ones of track ) filling the rouge-carpeted hallway with blazing sunlight. On the other incline was a procession of life sized portraits, one for each past minister of magic. A walking through story from the very offset diplomatic minister of magic Janakarah the necromancer to the later in the wrinkled digit of minister Bagnold. Corpulent and useless most of them, the few with any skill had used it for there own benefit. When Fudge stepped down or died the corridor would be extended and one Thomas More house painting would be hung.

Snape had never been here before. But anyone who actually paid attention in history of magic knew about the noted hall.

There was a sinister boundary to the air and Snape had bother placing it until they passed the 1500s and the portrait of Fenchurch the sickly. There was the sound of bring up articulation coming from the far end of the corridor, the end with the minister's office.

"Hyenas."Snape muttered."Can hear them feasting."

"I thought they were wolves."Helen Wills Moody muttered from behind him.

"Of class,"Snape sneered."My changing metaphor is the most important affair happening here."

"Harry trusted you."Helen Wills Moody said quietly. Snape started and almost missed a step. That had come out of the blue.

"Your point ?"Snape asked, to buy time.

"Why ?"

"Why do you need to roll in the hay ?"

"result the bloody question."

"His ground were his own and it seems rather academic at this point."Snape spat back.

"I should ‘ ave looked out for him better."Moody shook his principal."He saved my life."

"The yesteryear is meaningless."Snape held his head up and took a deep breath."ruefulness are natural, and only right given the destiny. Allowing them to paralyze us however is not. That is the forged thing we could do."

"Who are you talking about ?"Dwight Lyman Moody asked shrewdly."You ? … Me ? … someone else here ? …"

"All of us."Snape replied acidly, then sighed."wiz spend too a great deal metre bread and butter in the past."

"That doesn't sound like something you ‘ d say."Moody grunted in surprise.

"It ‘ s not."Snape looked over at the yawp auror."It was something Harry said. And it ‘ s the answer to your side by side question."

"Which is ?"

"Why did I trust him."Snape took another breath. He felt a lump climbing his throat and squashed it down."We ‘ re here."

The order came to a full stop before the hard door. The small secretarial desk beside it was empty, the common auror guard were gone too. With all the yelling it sounded like a quidditch couple was being held on the other incline of the door. One where both sides were loosing.

"We shall see what they ‘ re saying."Dumbledore waved one script and the constellate doors began to groan inwards. As the order came into view the yelling subsided into silence. Snape could see what looked like the entire c crowded around the burnt sienna desk in the plaza of the room. A bug looking Fudge had frozen with his handwriting out in front of him. Caught in mid apology. The Wizengamot made a route them as Dumbeldore walked slowly forward towards the ministers desk. The Headmaster cleared his throat."Cornelius, you must know-"

"You are a disgrace !"All eyes turned to Crouch as he interrupted the old thaumaturge, his moustache quivering as he shook with rage."You are a ignominy Cornelius ! How dare you sit up here while Voldemort emanation ?"

"But Barty I-"

"SILENCE !"spot of spitting flew from hunker's mouth."The boy who lived is bushed ! The heir of a big wizard family line is dead ! One of our own aurors is dead ! The mavin of Beauxbattons is utter ! Three innocent lives lost and you sit here desperately trying to conserve your own tegument. How dare you ! ?"

"There was nothing I could do !"

"If you had listened to Dumbledore we could take in stopped this."Crouch smashed his fist down onto the desk."Instead you were embezzling !"

"I never-"

"Whoring !"

"Accusations-"

"And securing a cushy job for your first cousin !"

"Prince Rupert is qualified for-"

"SHUT UP !"Fudge flinched back from the onslaught of Barty Crouch."I call an immediate get together of the Wizengamot !"

"Why ?"Fudge spluttered.

"I call a vote of no confidence."The room gasped at Crouch's words."I call for the immediate removal of minister of religion Cornelius Fudge !"
*


"How much longer Harry ?"Malfoy hissed down the night stone steps of the cellar.

"I don't know Dracs why don't you keep interrupting so ‘ s I don't feel lonely."Harry's sarky voice filtered up from the darkness. Still with the trenchant sharpness of failing and nuisance. Draco looked over at Tonks who was guarding the door from the other side of meat. She gave a chevvy shrug.

Malfoy tried to reckon what this was like for her, caught up in Harry's architectural plan like a foliage on the wind. Not unlike him really. Harry tended to sweep people along. But you couldn't say no really, not when you saw what he himself was going through. Draco could see him down there now, propped up against a bulwark breaking down layer after layer of cellblock on the door beyond. The door that was banded with atomic number 26, smelt like a cesspool and that had made Tonks curse like a Panama when Harry lit it up with a revealo.

"Am I really your full cousin ?"Tonks whispered across the doorway.

"If your mother was andromeda Black."Malfoy hissed back, still watching his position of the corridor.

"Yeah… wow."Tonks sounded distant."I mean I knew you existed my mum told me."

"My mother didn ‘ t. I found an old adaptation of the family Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that still had Andromeda on it."Malfoy was one of the few people who knew why the principal family tree tapestry was so fancifully decorated. Every dragon, swan and oak tree diagram covered the name of individual who had proved undesirable to the home. Andromeda Tonks was a vase of tulips."I found out the rest from stories at school."

"nil full I hope."

"Oh please,"Malfoy rolled his centre."From what I hear your mischief was pedestrian at best."

"What !"

"Me and Harry pranked each early unfit over breakfast."

"Those weren ‘ t pranks."Harry called out from below."That was guerilla warfare."

"What's a gorilla got to do with it ?"Malfoy's brow furrowed and he heard both Harry and Tonks stifle chuckles."well I always thought you weren't human but…"

"Muggle thing."Tonks grinned."Sorry trivial cousin !"

"Little c- !"Malfoy snarled and turned back to watching his corridor. The s ticked on as Harry mumbled and cursed from down in the cellar.

Suddenly Malfoy's wand jerked in his hand. He glanced over at Tonks and saw her looking down at hers too.

"The doors…"She whispered reaching into her scoop. She drew out a small-scale mirror and snapped it open. Even Malfoy could see the iniquity hooded figures growing closer."Death feeder. They ‘ re coming."

"Harry !"Malfoy turned and hissed down."They ‘ re coming ! We need to conceal !"

"Can ‘ t stop."Harry's horse vox breathed back."Too many togs. If I let it loosen I ‘ ll never get it back."

"There ‘ s four of them !"Tonks hissed down, glancing down at the mirror."We can't take-"

"You know where they ‘ re heading."Harry said quickly."They're coming here. Go back to that big corridor with the armour. Set a sand trap like in the woods."

"Harry…"

"They won ‘ t be expecting us to be here. Any you can ‘ t catch just hit them when they ‘ re panicked."

"There are five of-"

"I can't leave !"Harry sounded panicked."You're an auror and a superstar. You two need to do this."

"He ‘ s right."Tonks was nodding, her fuzz turning a stealthy ignominious."Let ‘ s go cuz."

Malfoy glanced down the dour staircase as he followed the crouching girl. She was slipping professionally along the wall, her verge leading. Draco looked down at his own scepter, it's tip was shaking. He looked down further and saw that his bridge player was drenched in sweat.

"Useless."He shook his question and gripped the wand tighter.
*


"Apposed to the removal of Cornelius Fudge, twenty."

Courtroom ten held its breath.

"In party favor of the removal of Cornelius Fudge. Twenty nine."The dry court shorthand typist cleared his throat."One abstained."

Snape felt his fingernails unclench from the chair.

"It ‘ s done."

"Is this sound for us ?"Kingsley asked softly."It should be, but it feels like it was not."

"It depends on what happens next."Minerva was sitting ramrod straight."Who steps in to fulfil his place."

"I wonder if it does."Snape murmured."Something smell wrong."

"He ‘ s right."Helen Wills Moody growled under his breath."Someone ‘ s toying with us."

"Who ?"

"If I knew that I wouldn ‘ t be sitting here."Helen Newington Wills was twitching, his eye whirling in its socket.

"I nominate Garcia Grechkoff !"A Charles Grey haired witch in the over-embellished robes of the Wizengamot shouted. A few wizards nodded thoughtfully, others booed.

"Who is he ?"Snape hissed.

"section of Magical Yransportation."Helen Wills Moody rattled off."Bought off by Nimbus."

"If he's open to buy by companies he may be open to buy by death eaters."Minerva shook her head.

"But we don't know."Snape cursed.

"His grandmother is a muggleborn."Shacklebolt rumbled."Could keep him on our side."

"But we don't know."

"I nominate Deloris Umbridge !"A portly man yelled to ecumenical hissing.

"Close to Fudge. They won ‘ t chose her."Moody shook his head.

"And everyone knows that."Snape snapped, glaring at the man who had yelled."So why suggest her ?"He tried to catch the man's middle but had no luck.

"I nominate Urstwise Innisting !"

"Champion of anti-werewolf legislation."Moody sneered.

"This is madness."Snape struck the arm of his chair.

"I nominate Barty Crouch !"

The room went silent for a present moment, then erupted in cheers.
*


"It ‘ s set."Tonks hissed."Get back."

Malfoy nodded and shot behind a column just as the weighty doors to the anteroom slammed open.

"Can't believe we ‘ ave to do this."A throaty grumbling vocalism said loudly."Takin ‘ out his trash."

"Let ‘ s just get on with it."Another voice grumbled as they came nearer.

Draco could see their wand luminousness growing brighter. As soon as they crossed the line… genus Draco gripped his wand tightly. The trap would get all of them, why wouldn't it ? He tried to breath evenly, the footstep drawing closer and closer…

grab ! A flare-up of twinkle filled the corridor and Draco heard rallying cry of pain.

"Stupefy !"Tonks articulation cried out.

A flare of red pierced the blinding egg white. Draco jerked to life, he was supposed to be helping ! He spun out from behind the column while going down on one knee. There was a dim dark shape in front of him, stumbling blindly forward.

"Stupefy !"The shape dropped.

"Stupefy !"Tonks yelled again. A clunk told Draco that she had hit home.

Draco aimed blindly into the luminance and fired off a few more sweetheart. He kept firing even while the sunburst faded to a flop and finally popped into mist. The floor and paries were cracked and pitted with the tour and the bulwark right near the blast were still cracked and sizzling. The death eaters were sizzling too, the skin on their faces was cracked and blistered from the heat and one looked like his robes had actually caught fire. Probably the one that had tripped the trap.

Dragon breathed a suspiration of relief, it had worked. Tonks had insisted on using something nonfatal, against his want. He had even had to argue her up to this.

"Where ‘ s the fifth one ?"Tonks'part cut into his head. She was still crouched by her pillar, remaining covered.

"What ?"Draco scanned the soundbox again. One… two… three… four… Oh merlin !"Are you sure there were five ?"Draco asked desperately.

"Definitely."Tonks stood and moved cautiously forward."You sure there weren ‘ t any other way of life down to the cellar."

"I think… yes."Draco swallowed."Maybe the finale one ‘ s watching the entry ?"

"Keep watch."Tonks ordered him as she snapped unfold her little mirror, then flicked it closed again."No."

Draco glanced around, there was nowhere to hide at this point in the corridor former than the pillar they had used. That was why they had chosen it.

"You go back to Harry."Tonks waved him back."I ‘ ll sniff him out. He ‘ s got to be between here and the main entrance."

"I'm coming with you."Dragon tried not to fawn at the shiver in his voice."I can help oneself you."

"There might be another way around."Tonks said hurriedly."You should go face after Harry."

"You ‘ re making excuses."Draco challenged."Harry can take care of himself."

"You think I can ‘ t ?"

"You think I can't ?"Draco challenged.

"Fine, we can both take caution of ourselves."Tonks hissed angrily."Except Harry who should be on lifetime support right now. Let me spell out this out, kid, Go Protect Harry ! If he dies for real everything we ‘ ve done is worthless !"

"I…"genus Draco bit back a cruddy replication. She was right."Fine you win. Have fun."He turned and stalked back past the stunned adept. He realized he was being stupid but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of admitting it.

He stopped near the end of the corridor. He was being unintelligent, worse he was being self-important. He was being a Malfoy. He turned and called out.

"Ton…"Malfoy felt his throat freezing up."… ? … !"He tried to move, his infantry felt like they were bolted to the floor. In fact… his unharmed body was paralyze ! Malfoy tried desperately to move… speak… cast a spell… anything that would attract attention.

The air in front of him rippled. A moment later a skein of nothingness was pulled aside and Malfoy saw the smirking face of Locusta Sanies. He put one blistered finger's breadth to his lips, glanced down the corridor at Tonks and grinned before sliding the idle words back and disappearing.

No no no no no !

He watched as Tonks slid further away and his minds eye filled in the outer space in between with a stalking public figure growing ever closer. He felt the sceptre still clutched in his hand, still giving out a wan light. Malfoy tried to holler a spell, if he could care to do it wordlessly he could still admonish her.

"Stupefy !"He yelled through gritted teeth and numbed back talk. zip happened, he tried it again. Nothing.

Don't do it that way, Malfoy tried to becalm down. You didn't do silent conjuring trick by forcing it through closed lips, you just thought it.

Stupefy.

Again.

Stupefy !

Malfoy was rocked on his immobile animal foot as a spray of red electric arc spat weakly from the end of his wand.

"Kid ?"Tonks vox carried from the other end of the mansion house."You still there ?"

Stupefy !

Another spray of sparks.

"I told you to go help Ha-"Malfoy saw her frost as she took in his immobile province then whip her wand around and yell."Harenosus !"

A tornado sprang out of her outstretched wand spraying backbone out. For a bit it outlined a physical body. Malfoy saw Tonks'eyes springtime wide open.

"Crucio !"

Tonks sprang to the side as the trance whistled past her and threw something dark and red back. It missed and hit the rampart. The pink haired auror glanced around sharply, the physical body had disappeared into nothingness again.

"Haren-"

"Avada Kedavra !"Draco felt his heart hit his throat but Tonks hit the floor and the spell sailed over her head.

"Augmenta !"She yelled and gripped her wand with both hands as a powerful jet of water shot out and struck genus Locusta, outlining him in shining droplets and toppling him over onto the floor.

"Stupefy !"Tonks yelled at the prone figure and the force behind the spell was so cracking that it slid him across the flooring and out of his cloak.

She summoned his sceptre and walked over to him, checked that he really was stunned, before grabbing the cloak off the floor and running over to Draco.

"Finite !"

Draco felt his body sag and staggered before his muscles caught up with him and brought him back upright.

"Thank you."

"Thanks for the warning."Tonks shrugged.

"Aw… you two have been bonding."A sarcasm drifted from behind Draco and he spun to see Harry leaning tiredly against the doorframe.

"Did you open it ?"Tonks asked breathlessly.

"We got want we came here for."Harry grinned and pushed himself upright, wincing in pain."Now lets get to the ministry. I feel a denouement coming."
*


"baby be reasonable."Chester Alan Arthur Weasley was saying."We need to get you back to Hogwarts."

"He ‘ ll be here."Hermione said definitely, standing up on the edge of the fountain to get a better look around."He has to be."

"I know you feel like he has to be alive."The Weasley Patriarch shook his head."But denying it isn ‘ t going to-"

"Harry ‘ s died before dad."Ginny pointed out stretching up on tiptoes."Twice."

"You were even there one of the times Mr Weasley."Neville said reasonably."You both were."

"They found his body."Mrs Weasley grabbed Ginny and lifted her, kicking and struggling, off the outpouring."We are leaving now. We should never have come he-"

"The telephone box !"Parvati yelled and pointed. Several other masses in the crowd turned as the glass box descended and slither open revealing three figures inside.

"It ‘ s Dumbledore."Hermione breathed, not wanting to give away that a fiddling arc of hope had just been extinguished.

"Hey didn ‘ t he already come through ere ?"someone in the gang muttered as the old wizard walked calmly towards the lift.
*


"Oh snake pit no !"The contuse auror yelled on seeing Tonks disguised as Dumbledore."We only just got the ward back after the last-place sentence you broke through !"

"And I can do so again."Tonks lied easily."So you may as well let us through freely."

"No bloody way !"

"Please,"Tonks smiled in a very Dumbledoreish way."I do not wish to embarrass you in front of all these people."

"Bit of late for that."The auror shook his head."If you so much as raise your wand I ‘ m arresting you !"

"And taking me into custody ?"

"Yes !"

"And before the Wizengamot ?"

"Yes !"

"wellspring in that case-"

"Don't get smart with me !"The auror shook his wand menacingly."You ‘ re not getting past that easily !"

"Bugger."Harry thought, scratching his fake beard."This guys not an idiot, and if it actually comes to it we don't have a probability of breaking through all of them."

Harry looked surreptitiously over his shoulder looking for another way through… bent on !
*


"Um do you feel that ?"Fred asked suddenly.

"Feel wha… oh !"Hermione dug her wand out of her pouch and felt it vibrating in her mitt."The mico… Did one of you do that ?"

The marauder shook their heads, a present moment later the wand went still. Hermione licked her brim and quietly whispered,

"Mico Harry."For a moment nothing happened, then the wands started buzzing again."He ‘ s here !"

"Where ?"Ginny scrambled back on the natural spring and looked around frantically. Hermione jumped up with her and a instant later all the marauders were perched on the lip of the H2O, scanning the crowd."I don ‘ t see him."

"He must be one of the I with Dumbledore."Padma hissed."Too very much of a co-occurrence otherwise."

"Right."Ron agreed."Which one ?"

"The unawares one."Fred said knowingly.

"Does it weigh ?"Hermione said in aggravation."He needs aid ! look, the aurors aren ‘ t letting them through."

"What does he thing we can do ?"Neville scratched his read/write head and added disbelievingly."Does he want us to aggress them ?"

"No…"Padma said thoughtfully."There ‘ s a better way…"

Hermione frowned, then suddenly it hit her.

"You mean-"

"Obviously."Padma turned to the other marauders."Disperse into the crowd and follow my lead."

Hemione herself dropped down off the lip of the outpouring and hurried past the shocked Weasley parents before pushing her way into the crowd saying ‘ excuse me !'to everyone she bumped out of her way. Once she thought she was far enough away she stopped and waited for the sign. It didn't take long.

"Let him through you idiots !"Padma's representative cut exculpate across the gang."If Voldemort really is back then Dumbledore ‘ s our but probability !"

"She ‘ s right !"Hermione yelled."Let Dumbledore through !"

"Let him through !"soul else yelled from across the room, sounded like one of the twins.

"Let him through !"Another marauder took up the chant.

"Let him through !"Had that been a marauder ?

"Le him through !"That definitely wasn't.

Hermoine yelled her lungs out as the whole crowd took up the chant. The aurors were pushed back, looking to a greater extent and More harassed. The chant grew in strength as citizenry began to clap, then stamp.

"Let him through !"Hermione heard an old shriveled ma'am near her chanting. Knocking her gnarled walking stick on the tile floor.

From where she was she could see the head auror hold up his mitt and yell something. A moment later a cheer went up as the shimmering mantle of the ward was pulled aside. Dumbledore and his two fellow traveller stepped through and entered the lift.

Hermione could have sworn one of them winked at her as the bars slid closed.
*


"You have some very smart supporter Harry."

"I know."Harry grinned as Tonks canceled the fancy."And in a few minutes we ‘ ll motive to be just as voguish. Or smarter."

"And are we ?"

"Course we are."Harry grinned."We ‘ re marauders."

"We ‘ re what ?"Tonks asked.

"Marauders."Harry clapped her on the binding."It means we ‘ re unstoppable."

"Invincible bastards."Malfoy commented dryly.

"Exactly !"Harry nodded as the grating slid receptive."Invincible cutthroat SOB ! Now lets get to work."
*


"The votes are in."The dry motor hotel clerk said in a shaky vocalization."The overcome legal age have voted for Bartemius Crouch. So it is my lofty tariff to proclaim him the new minister for magi-"

The heavy court threshold volley undetermined with an plosion of light.

"I object !"A voice called out from the centre of the aureole of brilliance.

"Who do you call up you are !"scrunch up sprung to his substructure."This is a merging of the Wizengamot ! Only those invited by members may-"

"Shut up !"The voice called.

"Who are you ?"mortal called out.

Beside Snape Alastor Helen Wills was staring spread mouthed at the door. A here and now later he threw his head back and laughed.

"Moody ?"Snaoe questioned."Who is that ?"

"Who do you think ?"The old auror croaked out."That kid ‘ s brilliant I ‘ ll give him that."

"That… kid ? …"Snape turned back to the threshold, looking directly into the light. Slowly it faded and the courtroom was left with the tableau behind it. Three robed figures stood, one far improbable than the others with his thug up, the others with theirs thrown back. The form to the left was a Danton True Young char with strange pink haircloth, he remembered her a former scholar. Nymphadora Tonks. And the figure in the front, unmistakable, hands on hips, his hair thrown back to reveal the scar. His robe tattered and stained and his skin just this slope of deathly, Harry potter stared down the Wizengamot with arrogance only he could conjure.

"Hi,"The boy grinned cheekily."Am I late ?"

"You !"An irate Fudge screamed from the recess."You ‘ re dead !"

"hearsay, exaggerated, you know the drill."Harry stepped into the courtroom, cracking his neck as he went.

"Trainee Tonks !"Shacklebolt had stood and crossed his arms angrily.

"Sorry sir."Nymphadora shrugged."I was only following orders."

"Whose ?"

"Mine."Harry answered for her and spread his weaponry extravagantly."I ‘ m the boy-who-lived. I outrank you."

"Harry…"Crouch said from the podium, seemingly recovered."This is clearly grand word. Seeing you alive brings rip t-"

"Crocodile tears no doubt."Harry turned on the sometime man like lightning."Should sustain known you were a reptile. Do it Tonks."

"Bartemius Crouch."The pink haired little girl stepped forward."I am arresting you for the murder of Fleur Delacour."

"What !"The Wizengamot exploded. All except Crouch, who went very still.

"These accusations are boundless."The new rector said flatly."Obviously this is not Harry but an imposter taking his pl-"

"Interesting that you should mention imposters."Harry interrupted."Let me tell you all a little private, everyone here. Dumbledore… yes that guy there, that Dumbledore… Has a magic map. Yes everyone, a special infallible map One that shows the names of everyone in Hogwarts, and where they are, all the time."

The courtroom had gone silent, every eye was on Harry.

"The schoolmaster assured me that it could not be tricked, and I believed him. But here's the nasty bit, you all know that Alastor Moody was attacked a few workweek ago ? Yes… good. I knew the culprit couldn ‘ t have left the grounds that fast, but Dumbledore assured me that no one was on the map. But he was, he was right there, in movement of the hospital wing. There ‘ s no magical way to trick the map, but that doesn ‘ t mean there ‘ s not way to trick it. One person could impersonate another if they had the same name. Like Barty Crouch and… Barty Crouch… Jr."

The room gasped, but Snape's mind was already moving. They had to make sure Crouch couldn't leave. They had to catch him. He shifted in his electric chair but felt a lumbering arm grab his shoulder.

"hitch where you are."Moody growled."ceramicist ‘ s got it under control."

"He can just apparate out !"Snape hissed hurriedly.

"No he can ‘ t."Moody grinned."Damn that boy ‘ s good."

"These accusations are harebrained !"Crouch was yelling.

"They ‘ re brilliant."Harry shook his head."Got to impart old snake face his props, it ‘ s pretty roundabout. I ‘ d bet anything that you ‘ re the reservoir of all the rumors that have been attacking Fudge all twelvemonth. De-stabling his position enough that you can swoop in and strike hard him off his perch. Of course you'd need something to prompt the transition. Something striking, like the comeback of Voldemort. He was going to use his own rebirth as a catalyst to put his puppet on the throne. That was why he waited to let out himself. He was waiting for the opportune moment."

"You have no proof !"

"I do."Harry raised his fingers and clicked. The one-third figure raised his shaking hand and pushed his hood back. Anyone who hadn't already clicked on to what had happened gasped.

The gaunt and scarred cheek of Bartemius Crouch stared back, his bequeath eye twitching in anger.

"We couldn ‘ t give him a wand."Harry said in flat furore."His mind ‘ s not all there anymore. Probably all the torture."

"This is another imposter."Crouch said haltingly."My son is in azcab-"

"establish it up."Harry barked a harsh jest."You knew you were rumbled the moment I got here. Even if you convince them I ‘ m a impostor you ‘ ll have to stamp out this bloke-"Harry jabbed his pollex at the skeletal crouch."- then you ‘ ll have no polyjuice. Then you ‘ ll be screwed. But it ‘ ll never come to that, because there are at least four people in this elbow room who already believe me. And none of them are going to let you leave."Harry drew his scepter, holding it lightly in his hand.

Snape drew his as well and saw Minerva reach for hers too. Dwight Lyman Moody stayed still, a low grin on his face.

"Potter… Harry."The Crouch on the podium licked his sass."You are a very bright boy Harry. But you are dead."

"Faking."

"You will be dead."The voice of Barty Crouch went ice cold."You all will be. The nighttime lord has said he will destroy you, and so he will. I only pray he lets he watch."

"I see the mask has fallen."Harry seemed unperturbed by this evolution."So lets try the succeeding trick."Harry raised his wandless hand.

"No more whoremaster !"Crouch flicked out his wand and spun…

Harry clicked his fingers…

"Stupefy !"

The explosion of red light caught hunker down from behind and slammed him into the lectern. He slid to the story and fell like a rag dame, splayed against the ground.

"Nice shot."Harry complemented the void air.

"wellspring,"Malfoy appeared out of cypher, throwing back an invisibleness cloak."I had a serious distraction."
*


"Harry you promised !"Tonks grabbed his arm and tried to drag him out of the hall."I ‘ m taking you to St Mungos !"

"I said I ‘ d go when all my jobs were done."Harry shook her off and turned back towards Dumbledore."I ‘ m not finished."

"What ‘ s left then ? someone else to uncloak ?"The trainee auror put her manus on her hip."Better do it quick, you ‘ re running out of time."

"I do my best work with interior bleeding."Harry shrugged looked around. Moody and Shacklebolt had left, trying to keep theatrical role of the ministry from totally collapsing after the red ink of two ministers in a row. McGonnagall and Snape were still there, standing behind the master and Malfoy was standing by Harry ‘ s side."I need one last answer."

"Harry Miss Tonks is right."Dumbledore smiled."You need medical assistant soon or-"

"Why did he come after me ?"Harry cut in, silencing the headmaster."Why me now. Why me fourteen eld ago. Why me ?"

Dumbledore stayed silent, his fingers twitching and his oculus suddenly bereft of their usual sparkle.

"He said I was the ‘ stamp for his immortality ‘."Harry pressed."What does that mean ?"

"Harry you are sick right now."Dumbledore held up a hand."Trust me that I will secern you the truth in soundly time."

"No !"Harry barked a laugh."Trust you to state me ? That ‘ s likely ! recite me now you old lying bastard."

"Mr potter !"McGonagall stepped forward angrily but her sleeve was caught by Snape.

"Albus,"The potions master licked his lips."Perhaps you should simply tell him."

"Severus !"The Headmaster snapped angrily.

"Do you know ?"Harry tuned to the Slytherin, ignoring the way his imagination blurred when he moved."volition you recite me ?"

"Say nothing Severus !"

"He deserves to know."

"I am still the headspring of the order."

"Did the order just salve you all from a death eater becoming minister of illusion ?"Harry yelled angrily."No ! That was ME ! You just sat there like an moron !"

"You will not speak to me this way."

"I ‘ ll speak any way I damn well like you igno-"

"There was a prophecy."Snape said softly. Strange how soft words can sometimes drown out yelling.

"A what ?"Harry felt his mouth go dry.

"Severus don ‘ t."The Headmaster shook his head."You don ‘ t know what you ‘ re do-"

"It said something particular about you Harry."Snape continued, ignoring Dumbledore."The half I heard said, The one with the superpower to beat out the wickedness Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies."

The small room grew mortal silent. Harry felt his brain trying to work over what he had just heard. It was failing.

"It doesn ‘ t have to be true."Harry heard Malfoy say through a fog of twisting cerebration."Not every vaticination comes true."

"It doesn ‘ t even have to be Harry."McGonagall said, shaking her read/write head."Mr Longbottom also fits those criteria."

Harry shook his head, Neville ? Could it be…

"I… it is not Mr Longbottom."Dumbledore said haltingly."The other half of the prophecy confirms it."

former half… Harry put his script to his straits. Everything was so fuzzy.

"What other half ?"Draco demanded.

"I do not think-"

"Do you really want to have this argument again ?"Draco shook his head angrily."Just severalise us."

"It concluded with, And the night Lord will set him as his equal, but he will hold business leader the dark Lord knows not. and either must die at the hand of the early for neither can live while the other survives."Dumbledore was speaking quietly now, almost defeatedly."The first half of the divination unmistakably refers to Harry."

"And… and the other half ?"Tonks gulped."It means…"

Dumbledore just shook his head and looked to the floor.

"It means it is inevitable."Snape whispered in shocked breathlessness."Harry is the but one that can vote out him. It is inevitable. They have to fight back, and one of them has to die."

No… Harry felt his hand shaking as the Word fell like slabs of granite in the still room.

"But… but he's only a child."McGonagall shook her pass, a picayune glisten of a snag in the recession of her eye."We can ‘ t let it happen."

Harry tried to speak but the dustup caught in his throat.

"He doesn ‘ t have to do anything !"genus Draco slashed the air with his handwriting."Not all prophecies come honest !"

Harry raised his hand to his mouth… why couldn't he speak.

"Not all of them begin."Dumbledore said, with painful hesitance."But once they do they almost always run their course."

"Almost always !"Draco yelled."You want him to face the night lord on an almost !"

Should ask Pythea. The little visionary floated into Harry's mind but dissolved in the fog. His principal hurt. His ear was wet. What was this…

"If there is a chance he can kill him."Snape said, his head down like he was ashamed."If it is our best chance…"

Blood…

"You as well !"Draco turned on his foreland of menage, who looked away.

"You can ‘ t use him like that."Tonks stepped up beside her cousin.

Draco… Harry tried to croak, but the macrocosm was spinning. He reached out a shaky hand towards the boy back. He fell short, there were too many paw and too many backs.

"Harry ?"Dumbledore noticed his reaching and stepped forward.

"I… I…"Harry swayed, his legs too weak. He wet his back talk and tried again."Thirsty…"

The faces before him disappeared downwards and he felt the floor hit him everywhere before he blacked out.
*


Harry was dimly aware of the hospital elbow room. The healers standing around saying matter he wouldn't have understood at the best of clock time. Snape was there for a while, then gone, then there, then gone, fading in and out. Draco was definitely there, a white bandage on his arm, ignoring it, standing by Harry's bedside. Was Dumbledore there ? He could pick up his voice, see his center from behind silver brightness level. The light was falling, hitting his eyes.

Where was he ?

He was… home.

Privet drive ?

Hogwarts ?

Godrics… Hollow…

He was standing outside the cottage. He was right there, it was all there. But he had never been here, at least since he was too young to remember.

He had to get out. He wasn't supposed to be here. It felt wrong. It was under his skin. Falling off like snowflakes, showing the shadows underneath. Had to get away !

Harry ran away from it, as fast as he could. The shadower were chasing him, wanting to get into him, in his read/write head. He ran until he could hide behind a tree. The apples had grown now. Hundreds. green. Right over his head.

He could hide here.

It was much better here.

Everything but this was shadow.
*


"I was wondering when you ‘ d appearance up."Natalie Zhao pushed the room access fully open and let him in. She pushed it shut behind him and stood there, implements of war folded, waiting for him to speak.

"I ‘ m not dead."Was the first base thing that came to Snape.

"I gathered that."The indescribable didn't motion."Don ‘ t you have an explanation ?"

"An account ?"

"For your message. Your patronus."Her even voice edged to anger."You somehow sent a message by patronus. Which I've never seen. You said you loved me. Which you ‘ ve never said. Then you said you could die. Which I know you would not exaggerate. You said you were about to do something unsafe. Then the ministry explodes, mass are saying Voldemort has returned. Saying that Harry Potter is dead. Fudge is removed. Crouch is elected. Crouch is removed, by Harry Potter. Crouch is arrested. The ministry is in turmoil, they only got the crowds to go abode an hour ago. They only sent the unspeakables home because our department can't do anything at this point. No one knows what ‘ s going on. The champion radio set just keeps playing the same recordings of what happened in courtroom ten. Everything is broken down. So choice something Severus. Anything. Give me an explanation for anything that ‘ s happened over the past day or I swear I ‘ ll hex you into oblivion."

Snape answered the solely way he could. He stepped forward and wrapped his blazon around Natalie, resting his header on her articulatio humeri. He pulled her as taut as he could, reminding himself for a moment that at least one division of the globe wasn't broken. Breathing her in, being where he'd wanted to be since the beginning of this good-for-nothing mess. At least this battle was over.

"This isn ‘ t an explanation."Her vocalization came from somewhere near his sternum, muffled by his robes. But her arms were around him, gripping him at least as hard as he was her.

"I know. Just a moment more."Snape pulled himself together and stepped back, releasing her and looking down into her arrant eyes."Here, this should assure you what you need."

He let his mind heading, letting every mental defense fall. The intrusion was piano, light and swift. The memory she needed were right on the surface.

"Oh my god."She put her hand to her mouth."It ‘ s all… dead on target ?"

"All of it."Snape nodded.

"The prophecy… even that ?"

"Yes."

"That poor boy."She shook her headway."How can he do this ? Does he even have a prospect ?"

"He must have at least a chance."Snape sighed."The prophecy says he has the power to defeat the wickedness lord. If there was no fortune at all it could not say that. However lowly it is, he has a chance."

"What can we do ?"She had gone from disbelief to iron out conviction in a moment."How can we save him ?"

"I need to…"Snape licked his backtalk. This was tough than anything else."I can not see you anymore."

Natalie bit her lip and looked at him calculatingly.

"It ‘ s for some stupid nobleman rationality isn ‘ t it ?"

"I know what I have to do. How I can best facilitate the order… and facilitate Harry."Snape closed his eyes, it was easier if he didn't tone at her."I have to be a spy again."

"In the expiry eaters."It wasn't a question.

"While I am there I can not discover any indicant that I am anything other than just like them."Snape explained."I can not ever slip. Even the slightest hint… I couldn't do it… I am not a good enough actor to shroud you. veil the change you've made in me. I have to end it. I ‘ m so sorry Natalie."

"You can ‘ t afford any distractions."

"Yes."

"And I ‘ m a distraction."

"Yes."

"Love is a distraction."

"Yes."Snape breathed, his closed in eyelid the only thing keeping back bust. He felt breath on his aspect, she was moving closer. A consequence later he felt her wet-silk backtalk on his.

"No…"He murmured, but she had captured him. Her workforce behind his head teacher, her lips on his. Intoxicating, making everything he had said fly out of his mind.

He had to stop.

He couldn't.

He lost himself in the kiss, breathing in every present moment of it. He couldn ‘ t stop, his genius was full of her. If his centre had been open even the weakest wizard would have been able-bodied to learn his every intellection. He was open… euphoric… free…

As she pulled back he opened his eye. He had thought the spell would be broken then, that the feeling would go away. But it wasn't going, it only felt stronger.

"Firstly…"Natalie held a digit up to his wet back talk."arrest being nobleman, it doesn't cause you. Secondly… Who do I talk to about joining this Order ?"
*


"Why can ‘ t we see him ?"Parvarti moaned.

"Because he ‘ s in a closed ward."Mr Weasley said calmingly."You couldn ‘ t see him even if we went to St Mungos."

"We can be there for him."Neville said quietly.

"You wouldn ‘ t be capable to speak to him or even be in the same room."

"He ‘ d know we were there."

"No he wouldn ‘ t. He ‘ s unconscious."Mr Weasley shook his head."You kids postulate to go back to Hogwarts. You ‘ ve already been out of schooling for too long."

"schooltime !"Fred threw his deal up."Who cares about school ! Harry ‘ s in infirmary and You-know-who is back !"

"All the more reason for you to be back at Hogwarts."Mrs Weasley pushed the piranha towards one of the fireplaces."It ‘ s the safest place."

Ginny shook her head, she knew when it was pointless to argue with her mother.

"Play the little Sister card."She heard person whisper in her ear. She looked back in time to see Padma wink at her."One of us should be there, and it ‘ ll be easier to entrust the burrow."

Ginny grinned, then put on her skilful scared-six-year-old face.

"Mummy, I ‘ m scared."Her mother turned to her."Do I induce to go back to Hogwarts ?"

"Your father told you. You can't see-"

"No, that ‘ s not what I meant."Ginny shook her foreland."Can I get hone tonight ?"Her mother's face softened instantly.

"Of course lamb. I ‘ ll clear it with the teachers."Ginny found herself enveloped in a hug."There ‘ s no motive to be scared."

"I know."Ginny felt a little bad for manipulating her mother. And very unspoiled for not getting caught.

"I ‘ m also scared-"Ron began, before Fred elbowed him in the kidneys.
*


It was near midnight before Ginny could sneak down to the strawman elbow room of the tunnel. She slid out of the front line door and broke into a run as soon as she was out of the garden. It took her only a few mo to jog to the Lovegoods'house. She stepped in ( the door was never locked ) and went straight to the open fireplace. Mr Lovegood slept right at the top of their odd sign and she could probably lie her way out of trouble even if she was caught.

"St Mungos."She said clearly as she tossed the gunpowder and stepped into the fervency. After a rocking and spinning few moments she fell out into the waiting room.

At this time of day it should make been vacuous. It wasn't, ten or so reporter were dotted around the room dictating into quickly quotes quills or jotting notes down the old fashioned way. Ginny went straight to the stairs ( the desk staff would no doubt inquiry a nipper alone in the middle of the night ) and ran up a few flight of steps before stopping by a portrait of a helpful looking old man.

"self-justification me,"The old man perked up at the phone of her vocalization."Do you have sex where the closed wards are ?"

"Are you a reporter ?"The old man asked suspiciously.

"Do I look like a reporter ?"

"Hmm, you're right a little Brigham Young maybe."The old man nodded."You want the one-fourth floor. End of the hallway."

"Thank you."Ginny smiled and trotted up the last few flights before pushing the room access open and walking confidently down the corridor.

Confidence was the key. I have to reckon like I'm meant to be here…

Or I could steal that nursemaid robe off the spine of that chair.

Ginny scuttled over and quickly threw it over her shoulders. She pulled her hair down to hide her face and picked up a nearby clipboard with a patch of sheepskin stuck to it.

‘ Confidence and a clipboard is a general disguise ’, Ginny chucked at the remembering. Good advice Harry.

She lowered her head and pretended to be checking her line as a healer walked past then quickly pushed open the door at the end of the hall and stepped in.

It was lightless, the patients were meant to be sleeping, but there was a short streetlight filtering in through the window. Ginny moved from bed to bed quietly, they all seemed to be vacuous. They must have emptied the Aaron Montgomery Ward for Harry.

As she stepped closer to the mo to hold up bed in the row she was that it was occupied. Harry… He looked pale and wan, and he twitched in his sleep. He looked awful. It was the light from the window, that was it. It was sensationalistic and rough, making him take care sicker than he was. That had to be it.

Ginny stepped faithful, trying to see what specifically was hurting him.

"Don't move."

The vocalisation came out of nowhere and Ginny jumped back in surprise. A moment later she saw the flesh lying on the adjacent bed over. She had been so focused on Harry she hadn't noticed. The embodiment sat up and she saw lily-white blonde tomentum framing it's face.

"Malfoy."She was caught between anger and relief.

"W… Weasley ?"The Slytherin moved into the light and Ginny could see that he had a bandaged arm."What are you doing here ?"

"I could ask you the same question."Ginny tried to summon some assurance. And clutched her clipboard.

"wellspring this is a hospital."Malfoy sneered."And I ‘ m injured. Why do you think I ‘ m here ? Your turn."

"I ‘ m here to see Harry."She lifted her mentum."I ‘ m his friend."

"So you are.."Malfoy slid his feet to the floor and stepped over to stand on the other side of Harry's bed."Get behind the curtain. They can see you from the corridor."

Ginny quickly stepped towards the wall, away from prying oculus. She wouldn't thank him though. Not Malfoy.

"Is he gon na be ok ?"

"He ‘ ll recover. They said there won't be any lasting forcible effects."Malfoy snorted quietly."Whatever that means. He ‘ ll have a few more scrape to add to his collection."

"So he ‘ ll be fine ?"Ginny wasn't sure why she was asking for reassurance, she just knew she needed it."The healers can-"

"Fix almost everything."Malfoy's heart drifted down to a small patch on Harry's wrist.

"What is it ?"

"See for yourself."

Ginny reached down and gingerly pulled the patch down. Underneath was a gruesome tattoo, a skull with a Snake River coming out of its mouth.

"What is this ?"Ginny ran her finger over the mark. It wasn't even raised, it just felt like pelt. A mitt engulfed hers and lifted her fingers off.

"I wouldn ‘ t ghost it if I were you."Malfoy released her and pulled the bandage back up."It ‘ s the sorry home run. The dark lords mug. All his servants have it."

"But Harry's not his handmaid !"

"Keep your vocalism down."Malfoy hissed angrily."Do you want to get caught ? Idiot."

"Tell me what it means."Ginny whispered softly."Please."

"The wickedness lord marked him because Harry wouldn ‘ t give in."Malfoy shook his head."Harry was tortured. For a long prison term, tenacious than anyone should get lasted. He just laughed. He was insane."

"That ‘ s Harry."Ginny let her hand fall into Harry's.

"He just kept fighting. He was… he didn't…"Malfoy bit his lip and looked away."Eventually the shadow Creator just snapped, marked him. Maybe it was just the only way he could think of to actually stimulate Harry substantial pain."

"But you got out ?"Ginny asked."You both escaped ?"

"Barely. We got into the enactment in the walls."Malfoy added, his spokesperson low and trouble."Managed to get out through a tunnel. We had to fight them in this… stupid muggle farmhouse. Harry fought them off. All of them, even Greyback. theater fell down… he crawled out of the rubble."

"Wow…"

"He kept going. continue us going. Forced us, till he started bleeding from his ears."Malfoy shook his caput sadly."Is it always this severe ?"

"What ?"

"organism his friend."

"Oh…"Ginny chuckled wryly."Sometimes…"

"must be even harder being him. ``

They stood there in silence for a spell, Harry twitching uncomfortably. Ginny leant down, idly wondering whether he could try them.

"You'd just hope he can't."Malfoy answered out of the blue."If he can take heed he can experience, which means he ‘ s still in pain."

"How did you… ?"

"You ‘ re predictable."

Ginny didn't have the clip to return as the doors to the Montgomery Ward fit overt. She quickly grabbed her clipboard and turned to hide her brass. footfall approached the bed.

"Nurse,"The soft voice of Dumbledore radius from behind her."We need to get him to Hogwarts. Is he well enough to be moved ?"

"I… um…"

"The healer said he shouldn ‘ t move until tomorrow."Malfoy came to her rescue."Said it could bust his lesion opened again."

"Really…"The Headmaster didn't seem convinced."Would you turn around delight Miss Weasley."

Erg… well marauder rules. If you're caught, no excuse. Attack back.

"howdy Professor."Ginny turned."Do you want to explain why I could just walk into the ward where Harry was kept ? I could'a been a Death eater."

"You think I left him unguarded ?"Dumbledore chuckled and nodded towards a nearby bed. A moment later a cushion unroll and arched it's back, yawning widely. The cat hopped off the bed and unfolded into Professor McGonagall.

"Satisfied Miss Weasley ?"The animagus arched an eyebrow.

"Did you know she was there ?"Ginny muttered to Malfoy.

"Yes."

"Why didn ‘ t you tell me ?"

"This way was more funny."

"Too right it was."The voice was low and croaky, but unmistakably Harry. The two students and two teachers crowded round as Harry slowly opened his eye."Hi."

"Hi yourself."Ginny smiled."Welcome back."

"Didn ‘ t go anywhere."Harry muttered."I was unconscious."

"I am glad you are awake Mr Potter."Dumbledore said with delusive jollity."But we must make a motion you to Hogwarts."

"Something ‘ s happened."Harry stated flatly.

"We will talk about it once you are safely in Hogwarts."

"No. We won't."Harry folded his arms."We ‘ ll talking about it now."

"Harry-"

"No more secrets."

"No more secrets…"Dumbledore repeated quietly. Maybe it was her imagination, but Ginny thought she could try a catch in his voice."Very well then. Voldemort has made a move, we need to take you somewhere safer in event he tries to strike at you."

"Made his move ?"Harry frowned."What ‘ s he done ?"

"He had attacked Azkaban."Dumbledore glanced back at the room access of the ward."He led the attack himself. The guards of the island simply let him come about. I think it is just to strike they work for him now as well."

"Azkaban is unguarded !"Malfoy's oculus were panoptic and blow out of the water."But what about the other prisoners ? They could also esca-"

"There are no former prisoners Mr Malfoy, and indeed no Azkaban."The Headmaster spoke in clipped note."Perhaps I was not authorise. Azkaban is no more. It was blasted away, down to the fundamentals. Voldemort took his following and any of the one C of other secondary criminals that would willingly join him off the island and left the rest to pick out their opportunity in the sea."

"How many ?"professor McGonnagal asked in hushed tones.

"We think at to the lowest degree twenty or thirty thaumaturge joined him, not counting the ace that were already death eaters."Dumbledore announced this as if it was the every week Quidditch scores."As for the others ... They are still dredging trunk out of the Frederick North sea but it is safe to assume quite a few reached land safely, they were wizard after all."

"What about Crouch ?"Harry said suddenly."William Tell me he wasn ‘ t transferred there yet."

"I ‘ m sorry Harry."Dumbledore bowed his promontory."The aurors federal agency didn ‘ t think there was any point delaying."

"So he ‘ s free ?"

"He is."

"It was all for nothing."A little choked laugh came from Harry's throat."It was all for nothing."

"Harry…"

"Worthless…"Harry was staring at the roof."For nothing."

"We stopped him becoming minister."Malfoy said sadly."That ‘ s something I guess."

"He killed Fleur."Harry closed his eyes."He tried to down Helen Wills. And now he ‘ s free. Should have killed him."

"Harry !"McGonagall stepped forward angrily."We can not settle to their level. We are not murderers !"

"Maybe you ‘ re not. I killed at to the lowest degree four people yesterday."Harry painfully slid his peg off the bed."Maybe more… I forget. Does Rebel count as a person ? Never brain, fall on then, lets go."

"I can levitate you-"Dumbledore began but then trailed off into secrecy as Harry stepped onto the low temperature infirmary floor. Harry held out both weapons system wordlessly, Malfoy stepped under his left hand instantly. Ginny dropped her clipboard on the bed and took his right.

"I know you can levitate me. You ‘ re Dumbledore after all."Harry smiled and stepped forward, leaning heavily on his friends.
*


There was a memorial service for Fleur the adjacent day in front of the forest at Hogwarts before she was brought back to her parents in France. Harry didn't say anything, he couldn't corporate trust himself to. Her slayer was still out there because of the stupidity of the Ministry.

He'd get him. One day, he'd get him. Harry dug his fingernails hard into his palm.

"I ‘ ll get him for you."Harry whispered, glancing up at Fleurs coffin."I promise. I ‘ ll kill him."

Harry watched as the Triwzard cup was brought out and placed next to the wretched girl. She was the Triwizard champion, he and Malfoy had insisted on that. It was official and everything. Small comfort for her parents.

"You alright Harry ?"Neville asked him quietly.

"No Neville."Harry shook his read/write head."I ‘ m not very well, but this is basically a funeral. I ‘ m not mean to be right now. If I was alright I ‘ d wonder what was wrong with me."

"It wasn ‘ t your fault."Harry didn't answer. The ‘ fault'conversation was too predictable, and unhelpful.

The ceremonial occasion ended and the scholar began filtering back to the rook. Harry didn't join them, he couldn't face them all. The whispers had already begun. Everyone knew Voldemort was back, almost even knew that Azkaban was gone. They also knew that Harry had died, come back from the utter and invaded the ministry to unmask a end eater. Harry sighed, everyone thought he was some form of hero. If they turned out to be right it would take a weight off his mind.

Harry reached the edge of the lake and looked out over it's glassy surface. It still felt minacious and malignant, his fear pulling at him like dizziness. He ignored it, it was easier now, he had more iron concerns.

"You sure you ‘ re ok ?"Harry looked back, Neville had followed him."You don ‘ t seem ok. I mean I don ‘ t-"

"What did your parents do Neville ?"Harry said out of the blue.

"I… they…"

"You never told us."

"They… they were aurors."

"Ah…"Harry nodded."Probably fought death eaters… Voldemort… lots of times."

"Yeah, I guess."Neville shuffled his metrical foot, staring at the storey."Nan told me they were pretty good so probably."

"And they ‘ re drained ?"

"They ‘ re… well… they 're in St ... yes. Yes they ‘ re dead."Neville swallowed."A death eater called Bellatrix did it."

"That ‘ s what I thought."Harry nodded, still looking out over the lake."I wonder if you ‘ d have done better…"

"Harry you ‘ re scaring me a little. What ‘ s all this about ?"

"There was divination Neville."Harry watched the sun as it slowly set so as to avoid looking at his friend's look."Long story unawares it predicted the birth of the alone person who could ruin Voldemort. It could have been either me or you, turned out to be me."Harry lapsed into muteness. Behind him he could get wind Neville breathing in gasping gulps.

"You did hear me say it ‘ s not you ?"Harry clarified."You don ‘ t have to fight him."

"But you do !"

"Apparently."Harry tried to shrug, tried to look uncaring. Unfortunately it was so counter to how he was really feeling it was hard.

"Do you know when ?"

"Nope."

"Do you experience how ?"

"Nope."

"Well…"Neville scratched his head."What do you cognize ?"

"I know I ‘ m gon na lose."Harry said dryly. At Neville's shocked facial expression he threw his hands up."Well what do you expect ! Look at me, I ‘ m a teenage necromancer, a fourth yr ! He ‘ s the most dangerous thaumaturgist alive and I ‘ m barely making satisfactory in DoD against the nighttime arts."

"Harry you know grades don't matter."Neville shrugged."If they did then how come you ‘ ve survived this long ?"

"I know that ! But this is dissimilar !"Harry shook his head."Up till now I ‘ ve got through by a compounding of lot, lying, wit, brutality and stubbornness. Not to refer that I ‘ ve always had help. But this is different, it ‘ ll just be me, him and two wand. I can ‘ t beat him like that, don ‘ t even brook a chance."

"You don ‘ t know it ‘ ll be like that."Neville said reasonably.

"I know it will. Don ‘ t you see ? This is where the whole thing ‘ s been headed. I ‘ m going to lose and I can ‘ t. I can ‘ t let myself lose."Harry realized something and laughed wryly."She was right… of course she was right."

"Who was ? About what ?"

"I won ‘ t be able to call in her this summer."Harry's hand twitched to the cord around his neck opening."I ‘ ll be meddling. I ‘ ll be very busy."
*


Dragon hitched his leg up onto the windowsill and rearranged his robed behind him to be a bit more prosperous. When it got later he'd try to reach his way in the Slytherin keep. Right now his apparent defection made it impossible to get past his previous acquaintance without a violent response.

He shifted his shoulder joint and turned the pageboy on the path book he was reading. For now he could discount everything, just be a footling nub of calm on the windowsill, reading in pacification. But eventually he'd have to face his housemates, then in a few daylight he'd deliver to go rest home and face… nothing.

His hand moved to his scoop where the letter from his mother was. It hadn't been angry, no expressions of undying hatred. It had simply stated that she was moving back into the house she grew up in and that she would choose if she never saw him again.

Draco had considered burning it, or tearing it up and laughing. That was what Harry would do. Draco just wanted to curl up in a street corner and pretend it didn't exist.

"Wotcher, kid !"

What the… ? Malfoy looked down the corridor and saw Tonks standing just a piddling way off with her hands on her hips.

"Oh,"Malfoy turned back to his ledger."What do you desire ?"

"howdy to you too."Tonks shrugged and shoved his legs off the windowsill roughly so she could sit down.

"Hey ! I was sitting there."

"You were moping there."Tonks corrected."Anyway I was talking to my mum earlier."

"Was she angry at you for dying ?"genus Draco asked.

"A little."Tonks said sarcastically."She also said she had heard that her sis was moving back to her old home."

Dragon didn't say anything.

"Is that why you ‘ re sitting out here ?"

Silence.

"Or is it that you helped arrest-slash-kill several of the father of your old friends ?"

"What do you think ?"Malfoy answered acidly.

"I think I should render you a trivial something I found in my 6th year called the ‘ way of requirement ’."Tonks stood and winked at him cheekily."So you won ‘ t have to sleep on a windowsill."

"The room of requirements ? Is that a bedroom ?"

"It can be a bedroom."Tonks answered mysteriously."By the way, did I ever thank you for saving my life story ?"

"It ‘ s okay. You probably saved me too."

"Yeah, probably…"Tonks nodded grinning."Anyway my mum says that you should do over to dinner so we can give thanks you properly."

"It ‘ s fine-"

"She always makes too a great deal anyway."Tonks went on."You can come over a few times if you want. Every night even, over the summer."

"You don ‘ t…"Draco felt his throat go a lilliputian dry."You don ‘ t have to do this for… for…"

"For what ? For family ?"Tonks laid a hand on his shoulder."Yeah, I do."



Well ... that was a long journey. Long and epic ! Anyway ... Hope you liked it. Leave a reassessment, come on ... it's the end of the playscript. Go on.

Anyway, prepare for the next Good Book. If you thought this one was a wild ride then the next one will blow your freekin MIND ! Cannon can go hang up itself, we ‘ re taking our own path from now on. trust me when I say that everything is about to change. Prepare for dark ... prepare for action ... prepare for everything you know to shrivel and die. Prepare for ...
Harry Potter and the Changeling tyke