Harry moved quickly once he was out of the humankind sight and slipped into Gringots. He got money out more quickly than he should give by simply ignoring the queue and asking for Greeklunk. His old goblin acquaintance quickly helped him replenish his pouch for another year. While he was down in the hurdle Harry stuck his t-shirt in his bag and instead took out a long gown with a hood. At Greeklunk's confused expression he said…

"Someone back up on the street that I ‘ d rather didn ‘ t recognise me."

"Oh right. Bloody paparazzi."

Harry stepped back out into the street and did his school shopping quickly. When he walked back preceding Fortescue's the wizard was still there, showing the waitress a long scratch on his arm.

*

Harry stood in the country lane and rechecked the letter he held in his script. He was sure he was at least in the good village and probably on the right road. It was just that the route went a tenacious way in both directions and Ron's advice on getting to his firm had been rather undefined. Like he'd only really seen the surrounding countryside from the air. Harry folded the letter of the alphabet away and shrugged, there was always another way. He walked over to a where a farmer was sitting near his tractor, fiddling with something in the railway locomotive.

"Hi. I'm looking for the family of peppiness people who keep bird of night as pets."

"Down the lane, crook left at the co-op."The man said without looking up."And tell the man I need my turn back."

*

Harry had to balk the urge to check into a run as he caught sight of the Weasley firm. Outside it in the grow over garden he could see three boy working, flinging something he couldn't make out over the garden bulwark. Harry smiled, they were expecting him today but he hadn't exactly been capable to sacrifice them an exact sentence. As he walked closer the threshold to the mansion opened and mollie Weasley ( Ron had told him all about his kinfolk ) emerged, carrying a tray with drinks on it. Behind her a young girl ( must be Ginny ) stepped outdoors and leaned against the doorpost looking bored. None of them seemed to receive noticed him yet, or maybe the tan had changed his appearance a bit. As he stepped up to the front logic gate he spread his arms wide.

"Aloha !"

"Harry !"Ron jumped in surprise"You ‘ re here."The Gemini the Twins jumped up too and ran to come across him, but the most extreme chemical reaction came from the youngest Weasley. Ginny went dead white under her hair and her backtalk seemed to strike as if she was trying to say something then she bolted through the still undefendable door.

"She has some sort of expostulation to aloha ?"Harry asked the ginger crowd.

"Nah, mate."Ron shook his brain."She ‘ s been jumping and squeaking every metre we so much as mentioned your name. Guess you in the physique was just too much for her."

"Ron, be nice to your sister."Mrs Weasley's voice was inexorable for a moment then turned soft again as she turned back to Harry."She ‘ s just shy Harry. I ‘ m indisputable she ‘ ll get over it the more she sees of you."

"Probably."Agreed Harry"The zep thing doesn ‘ t shoemaker's last. I ‘ ve been told on repeated function that I ‘ m a monolithic disappointment."

"Who told you that ?"Molly Weasley looked aghast.

"Snape."

"Yeah but he said you had floberworms for brain too."Said Ron."And we're fairly sure that's not true."

"Right."Chimed in one of the Twin."We ‘ re pretty certain they ‘ re doxy droppings."

"At least that's up the evolutionary scale."

*

But Ginny's odd conduct didn't stop. Harry found that she was unequal to of staying in a room that he was in and that any endeavour to speak directly to her was enough to place her scurrying away. One morning when he came down and found her curled up on the sofa with a magazine he decided to put a stop to it.

"Ginny."She stiffened and looked like she was about to flee."Don't run away please."He walked around and sat next to her on the couch. She looked like a modest rodent confronted by a snake, eyes wide exposed and too scared to run."Can you tell me why you run every prison term I try to talk to you or introduce the room ?"silence, except for the twitching she could have been petrified."smell Ginny I don't know what it is but could you please talk to me. We ‘ re going to be going to schooltime together for the next six years. Could you talk to me. Please."

"Y… you…"Harry had to strive to hear her swoon whisper."you destroyed you-know-who."

"Oh you ‘ re still thinking about that ?"Harry waved his hand dismissively."That happened geezerhood and ages ago. No one cares about that. Apparently Markus Mandy Michelson is everyone's hero now."

"You ‘ ve got the scar."

"I ‘ ve got a lot of scars. Which one in specific ?"Ginny reached out to point at his os frontale and Harry brushed away the hair to uncover the scar. But apparently this was too practically for Ginny and she bolted up the stairs almost knocking over Ron.

"What ‘ s that about ?"He asked sleepily.

"She ‘ s still shy around me. That sucks."

"Why are you so messed up about it."Ron asked. Then looked up as if he remembered something."You were acting like this about Hermione too, last year. Back before she liked us."

"And that turned out OK."

"You ‘ re not gon na go up up a chimney again are you Harry ?"

"No Ron but I think I do think I need to take drastic action to objurgate this situation."Harry thought for a moment then latched onto a bright plan. An baffle architectural plan. Possibly the greatest plan he had ever devised."You have a few heather here right ?"

"fin last time I looked. My old one, the Twin, Hotspur's and one Charlie left here."

"Excellent. I would like to work some Quidditch."

"But Harry you can ‘ t play Quidditch. The finally sentence you got on a ling you made a terminated fool of yourself."

"Exactly !"

*

This was the mop up plan he had ever come up with.

"You have to follow through."Ron made a jabbing motion with the flat of his hired man. That meant follow through Harry knew, the hand signals were about all he ‘ d picked up during the secret plan."Just boil down on following through. That was the trouble that time."

"No Ron, the problem was that I flew into a tree."Harry tumbled to the reason and spat out a leaf."What's the signal for ‘ You're about to fly into a tree ‘ ?"

"There isn ‘ t one, we'd have to invent it just for you."Ron helped him back on his ling and they flew back up to bring together the Twin. Ginny was sitting a small manner away watching them, when Harry had fallen out of the tree she had jumped up in electrical shock. But as Ron and the twins had begun laughing at him he had seen a dark of a grin cross her human face as well. That shadow was all that was keeping him from giving up the total endeavour and getting his pes back on solid ground.

"Right."Ron said as they hovered at their end of the delivery."You make for the decent hand position. I ‘ ll pull them off to the left wing then pass it to you. Then you can score. Got it ?"

"Aye aye Captain !"Harry saluted and almost overbalanced.

"Oh and by the way, from now on this…"Ron grinned and put both fists out straight ahead."… from now on that means tree."

"I would punch you Ron, but I ‘ d fall off if I tried."Harry began moving off to the right and saw his friend shoot away with the Quaffle. After a moment Ron turned and chucked it ahead of him. He rushed forward to fascinate it, fumbled it, then snagged it in one script.

"I got it ! I got…"clump !

Harry struck the priming hard and rolled to a hitch in the foresighted pasturage.

"Ow."Harry put his manus to the back of his head and sat up. Looking right into the nerve of Ginny Weasley. She had run over to see if he was okay and now stood, wide eyed before him.

"There didn ‘ t used to be four of you."Harry pointed at her with a shaking manus."stopover being four of you, person… girl… Where am I ?"Harry blinked and looked around blurrily. A small haphazardness brought him back to the present and he looked forward. Ginny had her handwriting over her lip and was trying hard not to laugh. Little speech sound kept escaping like steam out of a kettle.

"You ‘ ve got steam in your mouth !"Harry tried to get up and fell back on his behind."Like pee but… broken. Where are my glasses ? The four of you should be capable to find them."And with that Ginny burst out laughing.

The four Weasley's carried him off the pitch and Fred and George IV ( who seemed to have experience with foreland injuries for some rationality ) pronounced him fine.

"Maybe we should conduct a break."Ron said worriedly."You know, present him meter to recover."

"better idea."Harry tossed his broom to Ginny."You take my slur. I am never ever ever ever ever ever getting on one of those again. From now on I walk where I need to go."

"Hey ! I don't want her on my team."Ron said angrily."That ‘ s not fair when we're already behind !"

"Ron…"Harry pitched his voice to equalize Mrs Weasley's"Be decent to your sister ! And besides, your choices are me or her."

"Welcome to the team Ginny."

*

"See ! No one can crush my squad !"Harry grinned and slapped his chest as the game drew to an prescribed close.

"What do you think your team."Ginny glided past him smiling and laughing."When you went off you were eight goals down. How can you say you won ?"

"The team won."Harry explained with sweeping hand gesture."And we all played a part in that."

"And your part is ?"

"Cheerleader. I really should get some pompoms."



Federal Reserve note : Right, thats the minute yr started.

Interesting word about Dumbledore, but it makes sense when you look back on it. Does kind of brand it more tragic however. The whiz of accepting people for who they were died without ever himself being accepted. He probably never even told anyone. The bit about how he did n't move against Grindlewald was interesting too and puts the whole affair in a new light. What if Grindlewald was well aware of Dumbledores flavor and used him to pull ahead big businessman in base hit ? Knowing replete fountainhead that Dumbledore was the only if one who could throw posibly stopped him. Ah well ...

This is why we need JK Rowling to indite some prequels.


# include `` standard legal disclamer.h ''

Ok, thats a very nerdy joke but thats fine 'cos anyone who laughed is just as nerdy.






Kings crossbreed was crowded beyond feeling as the Weasley clan crossed the station towards platform nine and three twenty-five percent.

"hastiness up."Mrs Weasley herded her various charges towards the barrier."Right. seed everyone, while the muggles aren't looking."One by one the redheaded woodpecker shot through the barrier. Harry waited until endure, as the summer had drawn to a finish he had wondered if perhaps he might not be let back into the schoolhouse. He had got the book list but perhaps that had been automatic.

"You go first. I ‘ m fine."Harry motioned Mrs Weasley ahead of him."I want to enjoy my last moment of freedom."She disappeared through the barrier and Harry took a deep breath. There wasn't much more he could do to put this off. He started running forwards, lowered his head and closed his heart as he reached the barrier.

Crack ! Harry bounced back and fell to the ground gasping. The barrier hadn't opened ! He put his hand to his forehead and it came back bloody. His mind reeled.

"They don't want me back."Harry blinked and looked up at the clock. Less than a minute boulder clay the power train was supposed to allow for."They expelled me."

Harry stayed on the base despite the odd looks he was getting. There didn't seem to be often point in getting up. The clock ticked over the 60 minutes. The train was leaving.

Harry looked down platform ten and thought he saw a wisp of pot rise from beyond the data track. Where was the genius platform anyway ? A mad mind struck Harry and he was stood back up in a split second. His feet seemed to move of their own accord and he took first one then another halting stride along the platform. Another wisp of smoke. He broke into a run and willed his wooden leg to carry him faster and faster.

"it's a steam train."Harry dodged past a startled director at the end of the program and jumped down onto the course."It takes a while to travel rapidly up."He pumped his wooden leg for extra amphetamine.

"Digger !"Harry reached onto his backpack and flicked his owl's coop open."Catch me up at Hogwarts !"Harry snap to the edge of the train tracks and looked down. The normal, muggle gear tracks coming out of kings hybridizing were raised up on a sort of long nosepiece, raising them several history above the metropolis streets. Harry glanced down in clip to see the end of the Hogwarts express mail squeeze itself out from between the bricks of the bridgework and head off down a track that looked disused. Up ahead the rail rose up and joined with the others, if Harry was going to do it, he ‘ d have to do it now.

"Please ! Oh god please let me still be born lucky !"Harry prayed silently, then launched himself off the side of meat.

He crashed into the top of the conclusion baby buggy and hung onto it for love life sentence. The train was beginning to pick up speed and Harry crawled to the edge. Thankfully the equipage window was surface. Harry swung his bag in through it then slid down into it himself.

"Harry Potter. Nice to meet you."He said to the aghast first days who's equipage he'd dropped into."See you at Hogwarts !"Harry walked shakily out the door. Once he was safely in the corridor he leaned against the wall and slid down till he was on the trading floor. He wanted to get up and find out his protagonist but for some reason none of his limb seemed to exercise. He caught a glance of himself in the chalk in front of him and blinked in seismic disturbance. He looked a crash ! lineage ran down the left side of his grimace and was matted into the hair above.

"M… Mr Potter."Harry looked around and saw the witch with the trolley standing looking at him. Harry gulped for air.

"Two cauldron cakes please."He said, trying to think of something that would calm his nerves.

She wordlessly handed him the patty and took the price of them without once taking her eyes off him. When he was about to leave alone she finally said.

"Did you… just… jump onto the train."

"No."Harry shook his head"No. Definitely not. You ‘ d have to be crazy to chute on a moving train."

*

Harry moved down the caravan as quietly as he could. Trying to determine his friends without drawing too much care. Unfortunately public lecture travelled fast on the Hogwarts express and he couldn't go five steps without encountering another stare or top a mathematical group of scholarly person without them breaking out in a fit of whispering.

"So ridiculous attention seeking Potter strikes again."The representative was behind him. Harry turned around and sagged when he saw Malfoy and his goons staring at him.

"Malfoy I really don't have the energy for this now."It was reliable. Harry would hold liked doing nothing more than simply collapsing on the floor there for the oddment of the journeying."Could you please, and I mean this in the gracious potential way, sodomise off and die like the morbid composition of dilate rectum flesh you are."

"Big talk for a kid who can barely stand."Malfoy took a step forward and Harry retreated."And I don't see your piddling friends here to facilitate you today. This may just be my favourable day."The three Slytherins advanced on him and Harry drew his wand when…

"Potter !"Harry turned and saw professor McGonagall standing in the carriage. Malfoy and his escort disappeared through a door."How in Merlin ‘ s name did you get here ?"She grabbed him and pulled out her wand, touching it calmly to the cut on his head then whisking away the lineage on his human face."I just spent an unpleasant few minutes arguing with Molly Weasley who was franticly trying to get us to block the caravan. She seemed to be under the stamp that the barrier had sealed with you on the other side."

"It did."Harry nodded."That's how I hurt my head."

"But then. How did you get here ?"

"You honestly, really and truly don't want to know."

"Harry…"

"I jumped onto the train."

"YOU JUMPED ONTO THE train !"

"The barrier had sealed up ! There wasn ‘ t any other way ! And besides, I had a head injury. I ‘ m not sure I was in an entirely intellectual frame of mind."

"That is beside the point Mr ceramicist, but after the stunt you pulled at the end of finis year I suppose I should not be entirely surprised."She straightened up"We will sustain to discuss this further in my office at Hogwarts. At the very least you will receive several Clarence Shepard Day Jr. detention."

"But if I have detention…"Harry grasped at this pale yellow"… then I ‘ m not expelled ? Right ?"

"No Mr thrower. Not this time."She began walking away down the train."Go to my post when we reach Hogwarts."

"After the sorting ?"

"As soon as you reach the castle."

"professor please…"Alright this is McGonagall, you know how to fool McGonagall. She acts bully but she's all mushy interior."… my friend's sister's getting sorted today and she ‘ s worried about it. All her brothers are in Gryffindor, solid household really. I should be there for her. Please ?"

"Alright Mr Potter. After the sorting."McGonagall's eyes had gotten softer as Harry had spoken."But before the feast."

"Of course Professor. I ‘ ll be there."

"And I will owl Mrs Weasley to inform her you are safe."She turned away and Harry was left alone once again in the corridor.

*

Harry eventually found the piranha compartment and slid the room access open.

"howdy freindlies !"

"Harry !"Hermione's mouth dropped open."Ron said you couldn ‘ t get onto the political platform !"

"Couldn't."Harry noticed Ginny sitting quietly in the niche of the compartment. Ron had probably been told to hold an eye on her."Had to take on accounting entry to the train by… other means."

"Apparation ?"Padma had apparently also caught some sun over the summertime, though it was less noticeable on her."You do know that's illegal."

"Couldn ‘ t care less. But no."

"Portkey ?"Neville seemed to consider for a here and now."Or a broom ?"

"No."Ron and Ginny spoke at the same time but Ginny backed down and Ron continued."Harry swore blind he ‘ d never touch another broom."

"Oh god I know what it is."Parvarti put her hand to her rima oris and began shaking her straits."I was talking to Lavender down the early end of the train. I thought she was joking."

"What is it ?"Hermione asked and the vulture seemed to hang waiting for the answer.

"You jumped onto the top of the train."The marauders turned as one to look at him.

"Maybe."None of his friends seemed to want to utter.

"Harry ..."Neville broke the quiet."…you ‘ re crazy."

"I know."Harry sat as the other snapped out of their cushion and started speaking all at once."It ‘ s beginning to vex me."

*

The train meandered its foresightful journey through the mound and Harry ducked out of the conversations around him. His head still hurt and he didn't have the vitality to entertain hoi polloi. He leaned against the cold window as rain started to streak down, leaving little track on the window pane. He closed his eyes and lay there for a long while. fiddling track of piss, swirling, drowning.

"Harry."He shook himself awake and looked over at the youngest Weasley, leaning over to him."Are you alright ?"Harry looked around the compartment, the rest of his Quaker were still talking amongst themselves."You ‘ re face was all scrunched up like you were dreaming."

"Oh, are we there yet."Harry sort of wanted to get back to sleep. Even if it was to bad aspiration.

"Not for a while."Ginny bit her lip worriedly. Harry noticed that her fingernails too looked like they had been chewed.

"Worried ?"Harry grinned as she jerked in surprise. Harry waved his helping hand dismissively."Don't worry. You ‘ ll love it there. moral are easy, specially charms. Friends everywhere. Plus if any of the Slytherins bother you we can render some swift retribution. We're feared by that house."

"That ‘ s kind of what I ‘ m worried about."Ginny glanced at the red edges on Harry's robe.

"Ah."opinion Harry."My guess was properly, and I just made that up to break up McGonagall."

"You ‘ re worried about the sorting."Harry said out flashy."Want to be Gryffindor ?"

"Yes. If I don't my comrade ‘ ll never forgive me."

"Then tell it so."Harry looked at the young girls startled expression."You know what the sorting hat is right field ?"nod."Then tell it you want to be a Gryffindor. Don't take no for an answer. It's your life, don't let a hat make decisions for you."Harry leaned back down and closed his eyes again.

*

"What the hell ?"Ron voiced what they were all thinking as the marauders moved away from the railroad train at Hogsmead. Ginny had left to rent her little boat ride and the six booster now stood in front man of a communication channel of passenger car, each drawn by a cut scaly horse with turn up leathery wings."Charlie told me the passenger car pulled themselves ?"

"Maybe they've changed since your crony day."Said Harry climbing into one of them."And besides…"He looked around"No one else seems to think anything's amiss."

"Still think this is weird."

*

Ginny Weasley stood fidgeting in front of the hall as the sorting hat finished its Song. She was so nervous she wanted to seize with teeth her nails despite the face they were already worn to the substance. Well, at least she was a Weasley. Her name would be called near to last. She saw Harry on the Gryffindor table spinning three forks in the air in movement of him. She tried to catch his eye but failed, he was talking to his real friends. Everyone began to pay care as Dumbledore stood up.

"Before we begin the sorting I ‘ d like to announce two matter. One is that, despite what this empty chairwoman seems to indicate, we have found a new defense reaction Against the iniquity nontextual matter teacher."Ginny looked along the instructor mesa and saw a lank-haired professor grimace. She giggled, that must be professor Snape."Sadly he could not be here tonight as he has been managing the tape drive of his property from overseas. stay assured that he has my good sureness and he will introduce himself, probably at length…"did the lank-haired professor just grimace even more ?"…in your first lesson with him tomorrow. Now the sec thing is that we will be doing this old age sorting backwards."

"What ?"That prompted a murmur about the hall.

"Yes, send for it an old humanity fancy. Now let us go on so that we can delight a splendid banquet after we are all done."Dumbledore sat back down but the murmuring hadn't ceased. McGonagall then took her space, the expression on her cheek clearly showing that the Headmaster had not discussed this with her. She looked down at her report and read…

"Weasley, Ginevra."

"What ! Oh…"Ginny thought as she walked out in nominal head of the shoal."Backwards…"The last affair she saw before she pulled the hat down over her eyes were the predator turning to watch her.

"Another Weasley, seems I see those on almost a yearly footing. But a Weasley girl ? Why I haven't seen one like you in…"

"I chose Gryffindor."It seemed to her that the hat gasped loudly all around her.

"That's not quite how it works Weasley girl."

"No. That is how it works. Harry told me I could pick out my house. I want to be in Gryffindor."

"Quite brave of you to just squall it out it like that. Almost forces me to pick Gryffindor."Shout it out ? …Oh god !

"Ah… You didn ‘ t realise you were speaking out loud ?"
Ginny lifted the lip of the hat just enough to see around the entrance hall. There was whispering everywhere, and every face had an very visage of offend astonishment. Her eyes searched out her brothers at the Gryffindor table. Percy had buried his human face in his hands and seemed to be trying to pretend it all wasn't occurrent, Fred and George were watching her with Brobdingnagian wickedness grins and Ron, Ron just looked mix up. Her eyes flickered retiring Ron to Harry and their regard locked, then the boy did the oddest thing, he pulled up his arm, put his hand medal out and poke forward.

Follow through

Ginny glanced back at the instructor board, where every face mirrored the astonishment of the students. She glanced back to Harry and he jabbed again. Well, if she was gon na follow through then there was only one thing for it ...

"Yep."She said, trying to not sustain her voice break out in whimpers."Definitely Gryffindor."And with that she pulled the hat off her head, set it down on the electric chair and walked steadily towards Harry. She blanked out everything else in the antechamber, the whispers rebellion, the teachers, everything. There was a tush succeeding to Harry and she was sitting in it. She reached the bench and hopped onto it, everyone was looking at her.

"halt perfectly calm."Harry's voice but she swore his backtalk barely moved."feel straight ahead and don't give them any planetary house they're getting to you."Easy for him to say ! She stayed exactly where she was as the silence crawled on. Then something touched her paw by her side of meat. A candy of some variety. Without a intelligence, and before the mute stares of the totally hall, she brought out, unwrapped and calmly ate a liquorice verge.

Every eye in the Charles Martin Hall turned as they heard McGonagall clear her throat then…

"Kingston, Victor."

It was as if the student residence had been holding its intimation the stallion clock time and now let it out in a wave of chatter. Ginny felt someone gonorrhea her on the back and looked sideways into Harry's fount.

"Thank you."Ginny breathed through the noise."I didn ‘ t know what to do. I didn't even realise I was talking out loud."

"Figured as much."Harry said glibly and offered her another licorice scepter."good thing I was paying attention, who the hell is Ginevra Weasley ?"

The small boy with exquisitely waxed whisker and sunglasses apparently named Victor Kingston had reached the hat and was looking down at it worriedly. He looked like he was about to pick it up then looked at the table in the hall.

"Ravenclaw. I think I like Ravenclaw."

"On the plus face you may have started a revolution."Harry had leaned in to verbalise to her again."On the minus McGonagall's gon na kill you…"

A vague looking little girl was now looking at the hat thoughtfully before declaring that she was going to"The red haired girl's house."

"Are you our new planetary house mascot Ginny ?"Fred leaned over and grinned at his Sister.

"We could make up some new banner if you like."His twin leaned in from the other side of the mesa.

"Leave her twins."Harry was holding her by both berm away from her older sidekick."She tricked the hat, swindled McGonagall, caused a cross house revolution and all in social movement of the entire school !"Harry grabbed her and hugged her from ass."You can ‘ t have her ! She ‘ s ours !"

"What's he talking about."Ginny didn't think she could grin more than she was as she shot the question at her buddy across the mesa. But it was Parvarti Patil who answered her.

"He means that you ‘ re the type of person who goes for what they want and has the mettle to see it through and doesn ‘ t care what the rules say or who thinks what !"She stuck out her hand"Welcome to the Marauders."

By the end of the day Ginervrador home ( as it was briefly called ) had an unusually magnanimous stratum of number one years. Filch had to travel some of the bottom.

*

As Harry trudged back from his first off detainment with McGonagall that nighttime ( polishing hundreds and hundreds of memorial tablet push button that were just going to be transfigured into beetle anyway ) he leaned on the bulwark near the portrayal mess and closed his center for a here and now.

"Harry ceramist sir !"

Harry opened his oculus and immediately realised his forefront trauma must have been regretful than he thought. The Hallucination had long pointy pinna and was wearing some kind of get to cloth like a toga.

"Wha… ?"

"Harry Potter should never have got on the wagon train !"

"Who ?"Harry shook his head but the small frame remained"What and/or who are you ?"

"Dobby sir. Dobby the house elf."The odd picayune creature bowed to him, its nose almost touching the storey."Dobby is truly no-count to have caused trouble for such a peachy sensation as Harry potter. But Harry thrower must leave Hogwarts !"

"Caused trouble ? What problem ?"Harry slid off the paries and stood straight. His wand was inconveniently tucked in an inside pocket, knockout to reach. Was this creature a terror ?"What are you talking about ?"

"Dobby thought that perhaps if Harry thrower was hurt he wouldn ‘ t be able to go to Hogwarts."

"What precisely…"Harry heavily enunciated the give-and-take"… are you talking about."

"Dobby thought that if the platform closed…"

"That was you !"Harry snapped forward like a shot and caught the little creature by the arms. The thing whined and tried to break out away but he held on."I could have missed the bloody train !"The creature nodded and whimpered a little more."I could receive been killed ! Wait… knockturn alley…"Harry remembered the India rubber rampart. The elf stiffened again and he seemed to be avoiding Harry's oculus."That was you as well ! Why WHY !"He picked the thing up and shook it roughly."Are you trying to kill me ? Are you ?"The elf was truly crying now and Harry let him go. The misfortunate thing crawled away from Harry and sat on the floor, looking up at him with its immense, shoot down filled eyes. It looked like a kicked pup.

"Look, I ‘ m sorry."Harry reached out towards the elf but it shied away."I didn ‘ t mean value to spite you. The hospital wing isn ‘ t far, can I…"

"No !"Dobby's nerve became a mask of concern."Dobby can not be seen. Dobby ‘ s masters can never know. Dobby isn ‘ t hurt, Dobby gets far worse than this at home. Dobby's masters are…"the elf seemed to stiffen for a present moment then he rushed over to the paries and began hitting his brain on it hard.

"Bad Dobby ! Bad Dobby !"

"Wait ! Hey, Stop !"Harry was torn between the penury to discontinue it hurting itself and trying to avoid grabbing it again since he'd obviously hurt him. He pulled his gown off, quickly balled it up and ( between head bouncing ) slid it between Dobby and the paries. The poor elf continued on for a brace of hits, apparently not realising he was now cushioned, then dropped to the floor.

"Thank you sir."The elf's interpreter was a minuscule quaky."Dobby almost spoke ill of his masters."

"Dobby…"Harry saw a pauperization to trample carefully here."If, IF remember ! Hypothetically I asked who your masters were. Would you hold to punish yourself ?"The elf quickly nodded.

"If I asked you to write it ?"nod.

"If I asked you to act it out like sendup ?"The elf appeared to think about this, cocking its foreland to the incline. Then he nodded.

"If I asked you to tell me why you want me to leave Hogwarts ?"the elf's head stayed very still."How much can you tell me without having to punish yourself ?"

"Danger. Dobby knows that danger has come to Hogwarts. Death…"

"If I asked you whether your masters were involved ?"Dobby tensed like a rod."Just IF recall, if I asked you that would you experience to punish yourself ?"

Dobby nodded. Harry smiled, that meant his masters were involved. Otherwise why would he be forbidden to tell anyone ?

"And is I asked what form the danger would take ?"

But at this Dobby shook his head furiously and put his hands over his pinna. The pitiable elf began rocking backwards and forwards and keening.

"It ‘ s OK Dobby. You don't have to say me."The rocking stopped and the elf uncurled.

"Harry ceramist will leave Hogwarts ?"

"No. But I will be careful, very careful."

"Harry Potter must leave alone, Harry ceramist is in danger."

"I usually am Dobby."Harry leaned forward conspiratorially."That just makes it more fun."





Please inspection, especially if you think it 's bad. Really, it 'll help me improve.


"Wonder if he ‘ s cute ?"Parvarti wondered quizzically as the minute old age wandered to the defence against the coloured artwork schoolroom. They had the socio-economic class start menstruation Mon, so would be the first to meet the new teacher."Dumbledore said he ‘ s foreign, so I bet he ‘ s cute."

"I just inquire if he ‘ ll be a unspoiled teacher."Hermione hung her head a little."After a class of… of bad commandment we need to enamour up. We ‘ ll be golden if we can make it up in time for the OWLs."Harry could tell she had been about to say Quirrell, but had stopped herself. As far as he could tell none of his friends wanted to reckon about the events at the end of last twelvemonth.

"Well, so long as he only has one grimace, I ‘ ll be happy."Harry stuck his workforce behind his straits and laughed."rightfield ?"The others stopped for a moment, then grinned with him."thinking so. Anyway…"Harry was the inaugural to the door and pushed it undefendable."… after Quirrell we can ‘ t do much big can we ?"

"Pipsqueak ! Told you I ‘ d see you again !"

"No…"Harry looked across the room at Markus Maximus Albert Abraham Michelson"…please no…"

"rent a seat up front line my adept lad ! I can already enjoin this is going to be one of your favourite classes !"The marauders filed in the front man row and the other student moved in behind them. All of them looking a little apprehensively at the booming muscled figure in figurehead of them.

"The name's Professor Markus Triple-M Michelson. I ‘ ll be your Defence against the dark arts teacher this year. Thought I ‘ d rent a disruption from the globe-trotting to pass on some of my noesis to the next genesis !"He swept his hat off and spun it across the way, it landed neatly on top of a suit of armour."Oh and by the way the Ms bandstand for Maximus, Mighty and Magesto but they might as well stand for Muscular, Magical and most of all Masculine !"He laughed and put his fist on his hips."So, on to the matriculation !"He grabbed the cash register off the mesa and began yelling out name calling, variously chuckling at the odd names and winking at any girl who answered him quickly. When he got to Potter he said

"Know you ‘ re here Pipsqueak ! Don't need to level ask !"then went on. Harry dreaded looking backwards but did so anyway. Near the back Draco Malfoy looked at him and mouthed the word pipsqueek then sneered. Harry groaned, he ‘ d never hear the end of this.

When the cash register was finished the professor strode up to the social movement of the class. To the shock of all watching he slammed one fist back into the blackboard. lyric jumped off the Earth's surface as if they had been jolted into being.

"Duelling !"The prof said and indeed this was the title on the control panel."Who here has cast something abrasive than jelly-legs at another wizard ?"

A few mitt went up around the class, including Harry's. Neville gulped and tried to go for his handwriting as low as possible, but Padma took it and jerked it up.

"You there !"Markus pointed to Neville. Padma giggled."What have you used ?"

"full phase of the moon dead body Bind sir."Neville appeared to be wishing he had a hole to crawl into.

"commodity ! Good solid state spell ! incantation, for those who don't know is Petrificus Totalus. And who did you use it on ?"

"McGonagall."

"Mc…McGonagall ?"A anxious titter of laughter ran around the classroom."right, OK. Um… Anyone else ?"He pointed at Harry,"How bout you pipsqueak ?"

"Acerbus cuspis."

"The pain-spear spell."The teacher stopped moving and turned back towards Harry."A curse originating in the sentence of the inquisition, considered by many to be wickedness magic trick ?"

"Er…"

"And who did you use it on ?"

"Quirrell."

"right wing OK."Michelson shook his head."Before we dredge up any more assault against Hogwarts instructor lets start on something else. Who here knows what a shield magic spell is ?"Many of the work force went down ( though not of course, Hermione's )"Right ! we'll scratch there."

*

The class let out an hour later. Many of the students had the after-effects of underage jinxes and hex on them from when their shields hadn't been near enough or when their resister had been too good. professor A. A. Michelson seemed to think all of it extremely singular and laughed outrageously at every furiously-dancing, uncontrollably-coughing or unnaturally-warty scholarly person before cancelling their affliction and sending them on their way. Half way through the category he had picked Harry to demonstrate some more serious curse to the form. Harry ‘ s shield charm wasn ‘ t nearly serious enough and he ended up suffering for every magic spell that winged his way.

"I hate him ! I hate that muscle-head illegitimate child !"Harry ranted as they walked to story of deception."He knows my name and he keeps calling me pipsqueak ! He singles me out ! He will pay for this ! right field ?"

The other predator kept a prophylactic distance, giggling behind their hands.

"You know Harry, he seems to be a pretty good teacher."Hermione said. Harry rounded on her."I mean, some grownup wizards can't do shield magic spell and he managed to get half the class doing them in just one lesson."

"He keeps calling me short !"Harry didn't understand why the others didn't get this"And didn ‘ t you hear him ? Mighty, Majestic, Mouldering… He loves himself !"

"Well…"Parvarti chipped in"He is cute."Harry's grimace became rocklike and moody."And he… winked at me."

"You ‘ ll see."Harry turned and began back towards the history of magic classroom"You ‘ ll all see ! After you meet him a few times you ‘ ll agree with me about Markus Mary Michelson !"

*

But they didn't.

Defence Against the nighttime Arts quickly became the most search forward to moral by the total school. Every few lessons Markus A. A. Michelson would introduce a new scrap piece and work with them, pulling them with laughs, belittlement and encouragement, to perfect the spell. From disarming and stunning through to shield and self-defence he taught everything with an identical laugh and selfsame self-important posture. Harry remained sullen and silent in these lessons especially when the inevitable happened and he was called up to serve attest a new spell. He had tried to get the vulture riled up to play a antic on Professor A. A. Michelson but they had flatly refused. Harry had to content himself with dropping potion on a mathematical group off Slytherins that gave them oozing boil. It had been tranquillize complex, whoever the pus hit when the boils exploded developed them as well.

It was on his way back from enceinte detention that he heard someone yell. Harry saw a first class rush past him upstairs and followed him, towards the dissonance. A radical of student were gathered on the thirdly storey. Harry pushed through them without a thought and stopped at the front to see a horrific pot. Painted on the wall in what looked like blood were the words…

Arise those of ancient blood ! Cast out the impure from this house of our fathers ! Be rightful to your line of descent ! Destroy the enemies of the heir ! This is the call to weaponry !

Harry glanced to his English, lined up next to one another stood a group of Slytherins. Malfoy, Goyle and Flint stood face by face, each wearing identical expressions of mirth.

On the floor in front of the letters crouched miserable Victor Kingston, the kid who'd liked the look of Ravenclaw, curled up in care behind his sunglasses.

Harry moved closer on inherent aptitude and put his finger's breadth to the son neck.

"What are you doing ?"A voice behind him hissed but he ignored them.

"He doesn ‘ t have a pulse."Harry murmured, trying to move his fingers around for a better feel."No pulse. Get gentlewoman Pomfrey ! Get Dumbledore !"

"Both are here Harry."Harry looked up to see the schoolmaster walk to the border of the crowd. He stood back gratefully as the school nurse went to work.

"Is he… short ?"An former Ravenclaw at the edge of the circle asked and a susurration of breathless shock swept the crowd.

"No."prof Dumbledore said calmly"He appears to have been petrified."

"Will he recover ?"Harry noticed that the Ravenclaw was a prefect, she had probably known superior.

"Yes fille Clearwater. I think so, in time."Tension seemed to go out of the group but the prefect pressed on.

"Professor…"She glanced up at the writing on the wall."Victor was a muggleborn, do you recall that there ‘ s any danger ?"

"I am sure I can trust every student here to act in a way that does not violate the effective public figure of this school."

"Yeah right."Harry thought and glanced back at Malfoy and the other Slytherins."Seems a war's been called. People are already choosing sides."

*

The beginning attack happened just the succeeding morning. Hannah Abbot was found with a break in arm at the butt of the tone leading down to the Hufflepuff unwashed way. Her bag and books strewn haphazardly at the top. She'd been coming up from the cellar too soon to get breakfast and been pushed back down.

prof sprout took her to the hospital backstage. But no one had seen what happened, not even Hannah, and no matter how much they asked the Professors couldn't find who had done it.

The next day a group of Slytherins cornered a starting time year in one of the amphetamine corridors and began hexing him over and over. Only Flitwick happening past had stopped worse happening.

In a matter of weeks it was no longer good for a muggleborn or half-blood student to be out on their own. Madam Pomfrey was being worked of her pes by the stream of injuries coming into her care.

Then, one morning, King Oliver Ellen Price Wood the Gryffindor Quidditch captain was petrified in the prefects bathroom. The teachers had tried to go along a lid on it but the discussion that had been scrawled on the wall somehow got out.

Mudbloods and blood-traitors cower in fear ! The heir of Slytherin return key and the bedchamber has been opened. move up up around his standard ! Spill the spoilt lineage on the earth !

"It ‘ s getting worse."Harry said as they walked towards their next course of study."I mean just tone !"He gestured out the window.

There was a huddle of students scurrying along the wall and slipping in a door. A moment later a group of Slytherins hurried into the courtyard with their with baton out.

"Harry no !"Harry was aiming his wand out the window but Hermione jerked his arm back."If we start fighting back things will step up ! We have to let the teachers handle it."

"They can ‘ t."Padma said dully as they passed the defense Against the Dark nontextual matter classroom"Not on this scale."Her sis nodded silently. Her normally cheerful mood dulled.

"Padma ‘ s right field Hermione."Ron shook his head."Things are just getting worse and besides, we can ‘ t afford to miss any more Quidditch players."

"Is that all you care about !"

"I just meant…"

"Shut up."Harry snapped back at them irritably."Quidditch is about as much use as you two bickering when thing are going to hell all around us. We ‘ ve got to do something."

"But what ?"Padma said, shaking her head."This isn ‘ t like Quirrell Harry. There ‘ s no malign virtuoso behind it. Its half the school, trying the kill the former half and we don't know till too late which is which."

"With some we got a pretty good idea."Harry murmured darkly as they passed a group of Slytherins. The predator curled around Hermione like a man carapace as they passed and only disseminate back out after they had gone. A sec later Harry's wand vibrated in his pocket."Damn it !"Harry motioned the others to quiet and the sound of hexing could be heard above them. They broke into a run towards the nigh stair.

*

"Leave him alone !"Ginny's own voice sounded shrill in her auricle. She stepped in front end her injured friend and tried to withdraw her fear.

"What ? Protecting your mudblood boyfriend traitor ?"Marcus Flint River stepped out of the mob of Slytherins surrounding her and Colin."Step aside for me. I ‘ d rather not spill wizard blood, even your families, unless I have to."

"Mico Harry."Ginny whispered, holding her wand out in presence of her. Hoping he was in reach."Mico Harry."

"Your boyfriend doesn ‘ t look up to much."flint said stepping closer and eyeing the quivering Gryffindor."Maybe you want a real man ?"

"Mico Ron. Mico Hermione."

"What's that ?"flint leant forward to hear."That supposed to be a hex ? Ha ! What ‘ s it do ?"Flint River laughed and his cohorts around him started laughing too.

"It summons daemon !"

As Marcus'mind jerked up a bludgeoning hex struck him in the breast. He was thrown back and his protagonist drew their wands as the piranha rushed them from the stairwell.

*

Harry was the first to admit that he probably wasn't destined to be a duellist. His commencement strike against the 7th year had been lucky and he now found himself shielding for his life in the middle of a war-zone. early student from other houses had been drawn in or joined in or been pushed in by the crowd and now the corridor was filled with flashing lighting and cries of annoyance.

"You ‘ re dead thrower. Oh you ‘ re dead."flint advanced on him and Harry ducked behind a statue as the big Slytherins curse smashed into the ground near his infantry. A instant one smacked into the stone mavin and it began to topple over. Harry scrambled out as it crashed to the floor and jabbed his wand at his assailant.

"Expelliarmus !"The spell struck Flint but his thick, sausage-like fingers were curled tightly around his verge.

"Confringo !"Harry leapt out of the way of the blasting oath and fell badly on his shoulder. He threw his own back in answer and the snake stumbled backwards. Harry jumped to his invertebrate foot and shot a bludgeoning hex only to experience it rebound off a shield and smack him in the thorax. Tumbling backwards he landed on his back among the debris. His wand skittered off along the flooring. A shadow fell over him and a immense bring up human foot slammed onto his breast, holding him down.

"hullo Potter."Flint River pointed his wand at Harry's case."Now I ‘ m gona have some fun."

A instant later Flint was thrown off him as a sweeping wave of light crack through the corridor, forcibly pulling antagonist apart.

Harry's hand darted out and grabbed his baton while he looked for the beginning of the go. His centre found Albus Dumbledore standing at the end of the corridor with several former teachers behind him.

"Is any scholar here injured or in pauperization of the hospital extension ?"His voice was stony as he eyed the assembled students. A few scholar raised their hands. Dumbledore nodded and turned to speak to the teachers behind him."Please escort them there."No one spoke as the wounded were gathered up. Harry saw Markus Michelson handing Ginny her bag with one helping hand while picking Colin up in his former. As Professor McGonagall walked past him he caught her eyes for a moment, they were common cold, abrasive and disappointed. When the conclusion of the bruise were gone the Headmaster turned back to the remaining students.

"Now can anyone differentiate me why this happened ? Why Hogwarts pupil saw fit to turn this corridor into a battleground ?"He looked over the students and Harry realised that he and flint were decently out in the middle, the two of them surrounded by vanity. Somehow the ringleaders had been singled out."Why students who I thought I could hope to act in right faith instead acted like motley fool ?"

No one spoke. No one wanted to pull attention to themselves.

"You will all regress to your park way now. Tomorrow morning you will all fall to the swell dorm where you will spend your Saturday in silence. You will return the day after that and for many weekends to occur until I decide that the repose and quiet of the schooling has returned. Your parents will also be informed of your disappointing behaviour."Dumbledore gestured at the children."Go off now. Not you Harry !"Harry was drawn back by Dumbledore's voice. Marcus Flint smirked at him with his troll-like smile and slinked off. Harry followed the master in silence as he turned and walked off through the shoal. He stopped before a gargoyle on the instant floor.

"Sherbet Lemon."The childish word seemed oddly out of kilter with the spot. They remained understood as they were raised up by the stairway and walked out into the Headmasters bureau.

Harry glanced around in wonder at the odd silver machines, many moving or making gentle sounds, filling board around the edges of the office. His oculus were drawn to the perch behind the desk where a tired looking red bird sat. Even as Harry watched another of its feathers fell off and twirled towards the story.

Dumbledore caught it before it hit and slipped it into an inside pocket of his robes. He turned and sat behind the heavy desk. Saying cipher, he regarded the bookman before him over steepled fingers.

Harry knew that with any other teacher this was the time to be calm and wait shamefaced, but with Dumbledore he might actually be well off explaining.

"Professor."He began and licked his dry sassing. Dumbledore's eye flicked to his."I heard the auditory sensation of someone being attacked nearby and I went to see whether I could help. When we… I got there Marcus Flint and some early Slytherins had the 1st eld surrounded."He couldn't state what impression this was having on the master. His verbalism was inscrutable."I fired a spell to urinate them back off and they responded, I never thought that so many other students would be drawn in or that it would snowball like this. I ‘ m sorry."

"You cast the first hex ?"

"They had been beating up Colin Creevey before we got there."Harry felt too shamefaced to lie."But I threw the first combat patch yes."

"several educatee are injured Harry."God teeth the ragged bird was eyeballing him as well."And there was some structural impairment to the school. respective paintings were damaged and statues broken."

"I was just trying to serve sir. I didn't want any of that."

"And with this atmospheric state of fear already around the schooling you have given everyone another reason to detest each other."Harry felt very small in front of the continued stare."tough, you have escalated this problem with your action at law. adjacent sentence hoi polloi will be even quicker to draw wands in wrath. side by side sentence the hexes will be worse and people could be seriously offend Harry, do you empathise that ?"

"Yes sir."Harry thought of Marcus Flint's smirk. side by side time they wouldn't wait to cod masses.

"Today you chose to fight hatred with ira and violence. That way will always multiply further hatred do you understand that ?"

"Yes sir."

"See that you do not restate this mistake."

"Yes sir. Thank you."Harry walked out of the office. All the way to the door he could feel the old humanity eyes on his vertebral column.

*

Harry walked back slowly to the Gryffindor commons room. By chance the route took him back past the battleground. Some endeavor had been made to clean up but the shoes still felt damaged. swell clod were missing from the Harlan F. Stone and the broken paintings had all been taken down. The passage was bare. Harry saw crusade at the other end and tensed for a irregular, then relaxed as he saw red hair and freckles.

"Ginny ?"

"Harry."The slight miss moved up the corridor towards him. Stopping just a little way down from him."I ‘ m so good-for-naught I got you into difficulty. I shouldn ‘ t have micod for you. Hermione said you could be expelled."

"If I was expelled every time Hermione said I would be I ‘ d be some sort o'human race record."Harry walked up to his newfangled recruit and ruffled her hair."And I taught you that call exactly so you would call me if you were ever in hassle. All this…"Harry waved his manus at the wrong and shook his head."Not your fault. But why are you back here ? Shouldn ‘ t you be in the usual room."

"I was… waiting… for you."Ginny glanced to the left and bit her lip.

"Remind me to teach you to lie convincingly Ginny."Harry looked into her eyes. There was a surprising sum of reverence there."Why don't you want to tell me ? You don't have to you know."

"lost something."Ginny's representative became lowly with each Son she said."A Diary. moldiness have fallen out in the fight."

"Your diary ‘ s missing ?"Harry shook his pass."Did you write anything bad in there ?"

"Not my diary."

"Whose ? Nicking someone's journal is all very marauder of you but…"

"I found it in my books before I even got here. sentiment maybe it got left there."

"Who ‘ s was it ?"

"The front line said it was Tom Marvolo conundrum ‘ s."Ginny was acting almost like when he'd first met her.

"And the bit you ‘ re not telling me is…"He hated doing this but she was obviously hiding something.

"It was… special."Ginny seemed to shrink into the ground a small."It spoke to me."

"Spoke ? It could talk ?"

"No, he wrote back when I wrote him things."Ginny curled up on the floor and hugged her leg up to her chest."It was lacuna but it wrote back. He was so nice. I had somebody to talk to finally."

"Someone to verbalize to ?"Harry scratched his head. What did she imply ?"You have six brothers don't you ?"

"I can't talking to them."Ginny began to sob a short."They don't understand. They laugh at me. Tom understood. And now he ‘ s gone. What if soul else picks him up ? What if he tells them the clobber I wrote ?"Ginny looked up shocked and scare away and suddenly broke down into tears. Harry just stood there, he didn't know what the hell to do.

"I mess everything up."Ginny gulped between sobs."I lost Tom and everyone ‘ s going to read him ! I messed up the sorting ! I started a fight and almost got you expelled !"

"Ginny listen to me."Harry tried grabbing her shoulder but she wouldn't look at him. With his early bridge player he cupped her human face and brought it up so he could see her heart."Tom sounds like a good acquaintance, I ‘ m sure as shooting you can entrust him to keep your enigma. I mean, other people must have had the diary before you and Tom never told you any of their secrets right ?"

Merlin's beard, he didn't know what he was doing. What did he know about comforting mass ?

"And as for this."He pointed around the corridor."All this we can fix. We can fix everything, don't vexation. I ‘ ll help you."He was babbling, as if she'd care about the corridor.

"And…"Ginny had stopped crying at to the lowest degree."You don't detest me ?"Harry shook his head.

"Only when you cry. Gryffindors don't cry."He regretted it as soon as he said it, that wasn't what she needed to take heed. As he had often done before Harry asked himself where Hermione was when he needed her. She would have known what to say. He smudged a arm against Ginny's nerve to get rid of the snag. At least he could do that right.

"Come on. Lets get back to the usual room."He stood up and held out a hand to her."And as for having a friend to talk to…"He pulled her into a scratchy hug then let her go."… what am I a alien ?"

"Harry."Ginny was looking up at him now."Why couldn't I have had you as a Brother instead of Ron ?"

"Because I ‘ m not ginger and my skin can take a tan. Why'd you ask ?"But Ginny didn't answer him.

"She's probably distraught."Harry thought, putting an arm over her berm and walking with her towards Gryffindor tugboat."I ‘ m no good at this sort of thing."


I own none of the fictional character, places, ect ...




As twenty-four hour period went by Harry found it unvoiced and strong to hold open his Holy Writ to Dumbledore. Little fights were breaking out all over the school. A educatee could hardly go from lesson to lesson without seeing people running scared or hearing hexing.

Harry and other willing students had arranged to walk any muggleborns too and from public lecture. It helped, a little, with both the scholarly person themselves and Harry's guilt trip. But every prison term he heard rallying cry in the distance or saw a smiling on the face of a special K robed student he shuddered, but kept walking. Worse it seemed like more and More pupil from former sign of the zodiac were answering the cry and more and more severe hexes seemed to be thrown around each day. Just a few day ago Su Li had been found with deep cuts all over her, like she ‘ d been rolled in deoxyephedrine. speculative, she had been inside the ravenclaw coarse room.

Harry knew that he was at least partially to blame for the escalation in fierceness but he knew who was really to blame, Markus Michelson !

one-half the while being thrown around had been taught to them in Defence class and Professor Michelson had been pushing them, hell even encouraging them to campaign. His beginning year had been on duelling ! Harry would had pointed this to people and ( even from Hermione ) got grudging concord.

It seemed that the muscle-bound instructor had realised his mistake himself. As the vehemence mounted the instructor had looked more and more distressed and tired. That day ( for the showtime time ever in his socio-economic class ) they had taken musical note from the text edition.

Harry grimaced as he looked around the classroom, a chemical group of Slytherins with Malfoy in the centre sat near the back, with their foreland together. Harry turned back to his workplace and shook his school principal.

"Maybe Dumbledore ‘ s wrong."Harry looked up in daze, Neville was sitting next to him."Maybe, you know… we should try to do something."

"Last time we tried to get involved matter went worse Neville. very much speculative. I don't want to roll in the hay up again."

"But, we can ‘ t just let this go on."Neville was looking at him a little desperately."You ‘ re going to do something, right ?"Harry glanced back at the group of Slytherins. They were grinning now.

"Give me an option."Harry flipped the page on the book in front line of him and dipped his quill again. “'cos I ‘ m invigorated out of them."

Harry felt his booster lean away from him. He had heard the quiet Leslie Townes Hope in his admirer voice and felt bad for dashing it. But what could he do ? He would only make matter high-risk, he couldn't interfere.

And he kept that promise.

For about five hours.

*

Harry closed his rule book and looked around the library trying to work out if it was deserving checking it out. He had been considering employing some of the patch in Secrecy and Illusion to get scholarly person safely between lessons but they were irritatingly either to complex to be preformed quickly or to simple to be of use. He had been trying to find similar books in the program library but the Hogwarts seemed to birth very few of them.

Harry's expression twisted into a really grin for the first prison term in a while. It was almost like they didn't trust the pupil.

He quietly decided that the book wasn't worth it and got up. Madam Pince was hovering nearby frowning at the student cluttering up her library.

"Go on out."She hurried Harry out and gestured at the other students."I have to shut up."

Harry shook his head and trudged away from the fusty place. It was dark already, and Harry hunched a niggling as he walked down the echoing corridor alone. The fact that he was this scared to be alone in the heart of Hogwarts disturbed Harry a lot. It reminded him of cold streets where you were never really safety, never well enough hidden. Harry ‘ s step quickened as he thought of the lovingness of Gryffindor towboat.

Was that a cry ? Harry's metrical unit slowed and he moved to the side of the staircase he was on. There it was again, coming from the top of the staircase. Harry lowered himself flat to the stairs near the top and slipped a periscope out of his air pocket, taking care to prevent lull he pushed it above the top measure.

He could see two people cowering on the floor and three around them in a traffic circle. One of the three moved forward, Harry groaned inwardly as the Moon shone on Malfoy's blond hair. That made the other two Crabbe and Goyle. It also made him outnumbered.

"So niggling mudblood."Malfoy was speaking softly in the night above the stairs."What sort of trance shall we use next ?"One of the students rolled over on the storey and Harry saw her clearly for the first off time. A Ravenclaw, perhaps a class or two ahead of him. Her chocolate skin had raised red splodge like bee stings. It looked like she had been hit with stinging jinx. Lots of stinging Hexes.

"No ! Please finish, please."The young lady whimpered, she sounded like she was crying.

Harry gritted his teeth, this was too much. Dumbledore be dammed ! Harry glanced around for something he could use to help him. He might get one of the Slytherins from a surprise attack but he certainly couldn't beat the early two. If he took out Malfoy he'd be left fighting two pupil expectant than him at the top of a magniloquent staircase. On the other hired man if he took out Crabbe or Goyle he'd be left duelling Malfoy who repeatedly outperformed him in defence social class. Neither of the scholar on the floor looked up to helping him.

"Maybe something darker."Malfoy drawled and his cohorts chuckled."I ‘ ve read about this frostbite curse…"That bloody did it.

He'd get Malfoy and deal with the other two somehow. Harry was just about to push himself up when a voice from across the landing radius.

"Move away Draco."The three Slytherins glanced away from their fair game. In the tail of an archway a figure was just seeable, verge held firmly at shank height in the ready position."Just go back to the Dungeon."The voice was tired but firm. Malfoy squinted into the darkness then sneered.

"Split."

"Malfoy."The figure moved a minuscule into the light. He was a Slytherin boy, maybe 3rd or fourth year with bushy melanize haircloth and cup of tea under his centre to match his voice."You have one of mine down there."He nodded to the former figure on the floor. Harry noticed for the first prison term that it was another Slytherin.

"Well…"Malfoy appeared to see for a moment."This one is no fun anymore anyway, Goyle stunned her or something by mistake and we haven't been able to wake her up. In the interest of star sign single I ‘ ll let you take her."The boy apparently called Split stayed silent for a prospicient mo, his heart flickering to the forms on the storey, then said in his tired representative.

"And the early as well."

"Oh we ‘ ve only just started on her. Got some new stuff to try out."

"Give them to me Draco."Split moved forward slowly holding his wand out."You three are just second class, you don't want to fight me."

"And you are outnumbered."Malfoy trained his sceptre on the fledgling and his two strong-armer did the Saame.

"And you are surrounded."Harry stood up and aimed his wand at Malfoy's chest."So back up wormbait."All the Slytherins faces showed shock. Malfoy rounded on the older Slytherin

"You even taking assistance from Gryffindors now."He laughed."How low can you sink ?"

"Just go Malfoy."Split covered his surprise and gestured away down the corridor."You know you just lost this."Malfoy grimaced, but he seemed to confess.

"No fun anyway."He aimed a charge at the ravenclaw girl on the floor prompting a call from Harry but merely a twinge from Split."They just curled up."with that Malfoy turned and strode down the corridor towards the dungeon.

Harry moved forward quickly. The Slytherin was already crouching over his housemate so Harry knelt down to crack the Ravenclaw.

"Can you hear me ? Are you hurt besides the face ?"Harry looked over her but she didn't seem to be hurt anywhere else.

"Made…"the poor people girls voice was very tranquillity and dry"Made me booze something."

"Ok. You ‘ ll be ok."Harry glanced over to his ally of necessary."hospital wing ?"

"Well obviously."The boy fixed him with a withering stare."You carry Vanessa."He gestured to the student by his human foot."You don't expression like you can negociate her."

"I can supervise hunky-dory !"Harry pulled the arm of the Ravenclaw over his shoulder joint and pushed himself to his feet.

The two of them walked in secretiveness with their burdens towards the Hospital wing and lady Pomfrey. At the bottom of the third staircase Harry leaned against the wall and tried to wet-nurse in air. Split wordlessly held out an arm. Harry laughed under his breath and they swapped passengers. Harry managed the last two staircases promiscuous and they pushed their way through into the Hospital backstage.

"Madam Pomfrey ?"Harry called out and she bustled in, her eyes too looked tired. Harry wondered idly what his looked like these Clarence Shepard Day Jr.."Two more."

"Well put them…"madam Pomfrey cast about then realised she no longer had any free beds."…there."She pointed her wand and two new bottom appeared, squashed in between the single already there. Harry gratefully laid his armorial bearing down on the new bed and looked down at her. It was the outset sentence he'd properly got a flavor at her, she seemed younger than him so probably a first year. She had hanker dark-brown hair and picket peel. She seemed to have passed out at some stage."Do you fuck what was used on them ?"The schoolhouse nurse had already gone to cultivate on the injured students.

"She,"Harry pointed to the other bed."Was forced to drink something. Plus what look like stinging hexes."Madam Pomfrey glanced at the bed nearest Harry and looked up questioningly. Split answered her.

"Vanessa was unconscious when we found her. They said they stunned her, may have been miscast since they couldn't wake her."

"Very well."She began moving her wand around over the two scholarly person, bathing them in pallid downcast luminance."I will describe this in the morning. Your headspring of house will no doubt want to speak to you to get the details."Harry recognised the dismissal and walked out of the hospital annexe.

He surprisingly found Split following him up a flight of stairs of stairs. The Slytherin common way was definitely the other counsel.

"Not that I don't enjoy the attention but why are you following me ?"

"I ‘ m not."This was all snag seemed to cerebrate was requisite. They walked English by side up another stairway.

"Harry Potter."Harry held out his hired hand. The other boy rolled his eyes.

"I know."But he grasped the hand for a brief handshake."Josue schism. But I prefer Split."

"You don't like Draco Malfoy much ?"

"You don't like Draco Malfoy much."They climbed in high spirits. Harry began to wonder if the boy intended to accompany him all the way to the common room."I hate genus Draco Malfoy"

"I can sympathise."Harry kept walking for a minute before realising his companion wasn't following. Harry turned and found stock split just standing there in the middle of the seventh floor corridor."What ? You waiting for the headless Leigh Hunt to pass ?"

"No."The Slytherin glanced both ways down the corridor then looked him up and down."Suppose you can be trusted."The boy walked first one way then the early, back and forth along the hallway. Harry was about to ask what he was doing when a threshold slowly faded into panorama out of the paries.

rent rapped on it three times, then twice. He got the same signaling in return and Harry heard something arduous moved from the other position of the door. Harry moved to see in as the door was pulled open from the inside. Someone in the room gasped at seeing him out there.

Inside the room there stood six bunk bed along one paries. As he watched a small face popped up from under the covers and pulled back in fear. Harry's middle were drawn to the relaxation of the elbow room, over a round table where some bookman had been playing lineup. They too were now staring at him.

"What is…"But Harry's roving eyes began to do his own question. Near one bed was tacked a attenuated rolling-stones poster and a sock tossed negligently over a hot seat had Homer Mrs. Simpson on it."You're the muggleborn Slytherins ?"

"Muggleborn, half-blood…"Split pushed the doorway closed with Harry inside and flopped on the nearest bed. The former student seemed to hold this as a sign that things were alright and went back to what they were doing, but Harry caught them glancing back at him."And anyone who gets in Malfoy ‘ s way when he's hexing someone."

"How many non pure-blood Slytherins are there ?"

"That will admit it ?"tear scoffed."You ‘ re looking at them."He pulled out a crisp packet from beside his bed and tear it receptive. Lounging there munching he looked distinctly un-wizardly."Me and Emma Stoats are the only to the full muggleborns."He pointed to one of the identity card histrion, a tall 7th year daughter who glanced up at her name being spoken."Oh, and Elizabeth now. Thanks to your little friends stunt at the sorting she actually chose this house. Nice and ironic eh ?"

"And you live up here now ?"Harry thought for a moment about how he'd felt earlier that evening. Hanging on to the idea of getting back to the common room.

"Well did you think we were going to outride in the dungeon ?"Emma Stoats said without taking her eyes off her placard."The locks on our doors aren ‘ t that good."

"I know. One allohamora and they pop open."

"And you know that how ?"Split tossed his empty packet on the floor near his bed where there were a few others. Harry just grinned at him.

"Josh ?"A first year on a top hogwash sat up."Where ‘ s Vanessa ?"

"infirmary wing Liz. Malfoy caught her."Harry looked around the elbow room for a reaction but each face just showed resignation. Suddenly Split's promontory jerked up."Damn it."He reached into his sac and pulled out a thin duet of glasses."I took these so they wouldn ‘ t get smashed when I carried her."The boy pulled himself up tiredly.

"I ‘ ll accept them back."Harry offered holding out his helping hand."It ‘ s on my way anyway."

"It ‘ s not even slightly on your way."Joshua said with a sneer, but handed the glasses over. Harry thought he saw fill-in flicker under his shaggy outskirt before the boy sunk back down onto his bed. Harry turned to exit then looked back.

"Gryffindor parole's Aigipan."Every head turned at that."You know where the entering is ?"One or two top dog nodded."well, arrive anytime."

"Why you telling us ?"Elizabeth II again from her bunk.

"Well it ‘ s only fair."Harry glanced out the door then moved to open it fully."I can get into the Slytherin common room."

*

Harry slipped back into the hospital fender wondering if it was after curfew yet. He moved quietly so as not to wake the many patients but noticed as he reached the beds at the end that there was another visitor here. The Ravenclaw girl he had carried ( most of the way ) there was curled up on her bed but another girl was sitting on a chair nearby. The girls were holding hands and had apparently fallen asleep like that. Harry put the specs down on a side table trying not to wake them, then turned to lead.

"The nurse told me you brought her in."Harry twisted back, the new young lady had her eyes outdoors and was speaking quietly."My friend."She nodded at the sleeping girl.

"I carried the other one."Harry nodded at little Vanessa."Book of Joshua Split carried your friend. You know him ?"She had looked up and grinned at the figure.

"She ‘ ll like that."The lady friend disengaged her hand and motioned Harry away from the beds."She likes him."She giggled.

"When she wakes up you can afford her some good news then. Malfoy offered to let rip take the little one without a fight, but he wouldn ‘ t leave without your supporter. A regular knight in sulky armour."

"And what was your part in it ?"They had stopped near the doors, away from all the sleeping patients.

"What else ?"Harry grinned."I was the cavalry."Harry brought his hands together like a claw."Caught ‘ em between us. Intricately planned strategy."He held out his paw."Harry Potter, don't roll out your eyes."

"Cho Chang."As she took his script Harry noticed she had easy callosity, where had he felt that before ?

"Quidditch team right ?"

"Seeker."Cho nodded and smiled, apparently pleasantly surprised to be recognised. It had been mostly a hypothesis on Harry's part, he rarely went to the biz. Her expression became sombre again a present moment later."But seriously, thank you. For helping Lucy."

"It was nothing, thwarting Malfoy ‘ s like a civic duty."But a footling memory surfaced in his pass. A name, maybe he'd heard it in the corridor at some stage ?"Lucy… Kingston ?"

"Yep."

"Then that her brother isn ‘ t it."Harry pointed over at another bed where the petrified boy lay.

"Yeah."Cho nodded sadly."Her parents wanted to take her out of school, but she wanted to stay."She glanced back at the girl on the bed."She didn ‘ t want to miss out."

"I ‘ m sorry."It was all Harry could really think to say.

"Don't apologise."She turned back to him."If you hadn ‘ t got there who knows what they ‘ d have done."Cho shook her top dog again and moved back towards the beds. Harry was once again at a loss for words and turned out of the wing to trudge up the stairs for the indorse clip that night.

It was on a long dark stretchability of hall that he heard a voice behind him.

"Fancy seeing you again tonight Potter."

*

Harry fought fad and hatred as he turned around slowly.

"Not surrounded any more are we Potter."Malfoy drawled, flanked by his two shadows."And you seem to be all alone. How utterly convenient."The blonde boy moved forward with his wand out."Did you like what I did to the mudblood's case ? She didn't need her looks anyway, like anyone would extend to a mudblood."Harry kept his emotions tightly under control and said nil."What, no witty counter ? Well you'll sing in a moment or two. You ‘ ve had this coming a long time Potter, so I ‘ m going to rent a long time over this. I ‘ m going to really enjoy myself."

"Don't bet on it. Acerbus Cuspis !"Harry charged every ounce of rage and hatred he had been holding in into the curse. Ribbons of silver lit the totally hallway, covering the three Slytherins who cried out in pain and fell to the floor.

"Expelliarmus !"Malfoy's baton flew off somewhere. But Harry wasn't done. He grabbed the startled 2d class and yanked him off the ground, pinning him against the rampart.

"Adhaereo !"Harry slapped Malfoy's arms back to the wall as the fixing magic spell took effect. The Slytherin dangled there struggling, his feet a salutary foot off the floor.

"Let me down ceramist or el…"

"Shut up !"Harry pointed his ward right hand at Malfoy's face. Some of that fury must induce been left over because his wand flared red sparks causing the hanging boy to cry out in bother again."There, see how you like it ? You two stay down !"Harry pointed his baton at Crabbe and Goyle, just starting to lift themselves off the floor."Or I swear I will hex his face off and that testament scar I guarantee it !"Harry turned back to his nemesis who was still vainly trying to embroil himself off the wall."Stop moving ! stay moving and listen."Harry rested the tip of his wand rightfield between Malfoy's eyes, the boy did indeed quit moving."You are a pathetic lowlife-scumbag Malfoy you know that ? You are a regorge little bastard and you are finally gon na pay for it."

The Slytherin's eye were crossed as he tried to expect at the decimal point resting on his nose, he was even quivering.

"Her brother, her god-damn buddy in the hospital backstage ! And you force her to drink some poison and hex her while she lies on the story like the footling coward you are then you laugh."Harry moved his closer trough he was right in his victims face."Well it stops now you hear me. All of it stops. You lord it over the early worms like the lord o ‘ worm-hill so you make them stop or else Malfoy. Oh yes, I can make good that threat. Remember first year ? I know where you sleep Malfoy. I know and I can happen you any time I want. So from now on any time any Slytherin hurts anyone in this school it is officially your fault and it will do back around Malfoy. right field back to you. Anything anyone in this schooltime suffers you suffer twice over. From now on Malfoy EVERYTHING cum BACK TO YOU !"

Harry's spit peppered Malfoy's face but the trembling boy didn't seem to notice. His eye were wide and glued to Harry. Harry moved even closer and moved his wand to stab up under the Slytherin's chin. He squirmed and twisted his head trying to get away from the sharp wood point. Harry jerked his heading back around with his other mitt so he could look straight into those terrified grayish eyes."So keep your fucking theatre in wrinkle or I will get you. Understand ?"The boy nodded quickly. Harry waited for a present moment then nodded then jerked his wand away.

"Good."He turned and strode off down the hallway without another Word. Let him form out how to get off the paries.

*

The next day Harry watched from an upper berth windowpane as a group of Slytherins walked past a first year Gryffindor who ‘ s bag had spilled out all over the storey. As she noticed them coming she froze in fear but Malfoy jerked his top dog to the others and walked on. Some of them looked shocked but he just jerked his head again and they eventually moved off.

"Did you do something ?"Padma had waited with him and was now looking at him shrewdly.

"Yes."

"What ?"

"I…"Harry glanced out the window again and sighed."You know what Hermione keeps saying about not sinking to their level ?"

"You sunk ?"

"Like a stone."


The fragile pacification teetered often enough over the next few hebdomad but it never broke. whispering flew around the shoal about what might have caused the sudden thawing of tension and most hit not far off the mark. Harry caught professor Dumbledore watching him during breakfast one day and looked away guiltily.

"How long do you call back it ‘ ll last ?"Ron asked one day in defence force family. It had become a good class to chat in. Markus Michelson was sprawled on his desk, apparently asleep but twitching occasionally."You know, the peace."

"Until Malfoy forgets."Harry flicked over the page in his defence reaction book, at least pretending to pay care to the deterrent example. He had told the marauders what had happened in universal condition but had kept back the particular. Like that he had used the pain-spear spell and how good it had felt to do so.

"Christmas maybe."Padma finished another line and dipped her quill for More ink. Only her and Hermione actually bothered to bring notes anymore."He'll probably bury over the fracture then everything will start up again."

"You ‘ ll have to remind him then Harry."Ron jabbed him in the ribs."Eh ?"

"Maybe."Harry tried to wait engrossed in his defensive structure book of account. He really didn't want to think about what would bump if Malfoy forgot.

Markus Michelson snorted and rolled over. They took that to mean that the year was dismissed.

*

The teetering and fragile gem that was Harry's peace of mind did concluding till the winter breach and Harry waved his friends off among bunch of students who ( although eyeing one another nervously and muttering ) were staving off actual violence. Unlike terminal yr Harry would be alone in the castling for Noel, all the marauders had plans for kin Christmas Day and he would have felt like an intruder at any one of them. Harry turned and walked slowly back into the castle, he was the close marauder there. Virtually the last Gryffindor come to that, with everything that had happened very few students in any house had wanted to stay on.

Joshua rip passed him on the stairs carrying a very muggle-looking travelling bag. True to form he had a crisp packet open in the pocket of his gown, munching them as he walked. He nodded at Harry before carrying on down to the entrance manor hall. Harry tried to put to work out how many scholar would be at Hogwarts. Two other Gryffindors, two Hufflepuffs, one Ravenclaw and Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy. Harry shuddered, why the hell was Malfoy staying for Xmas ? Didn't he have a gargantuan mansion made of atomic number 79 to go to ?

Harry chuckled in the empty hallway and gave the fat lady the password reminant. He sat down at the now empty marauders set back and pulled over a book. There was one benefit to being here alone, he might actually recognise a question in class once in a piece.

*

A few twenty-four hour period later ( having got truly sick of his schoolbooks ) Harry was wandering the corridors when he noticed that he was near the outcast Slytherins room.

"Split ‘ s not staying over break."Harry thought."Have the others gone back as well ?"He walked backwards and forwards and saw the room access appear on cue. Three taps, then two. Harry waited a prospicient moment then heard a scratch on the other side. The threshold opened slowly.

"Oh it ‘ s you."genus Vanessa pulled the door unfold for then closed it behind him."What are you doing here."

Harry looked around. It looked like her and the girl called Elizabeth were still there, they had pulled most of the pillows and comforters off the seam to work a kind of snuggle in one corner of the room. respective gorge toys had moved there as well, including a fatigue looking rabbit with one ear.

"I was checking to see if anyone was still here. Didn ‘ t expect to rule anyone. Why are you staying over Christmastide ?"

"My aunty and uncle are holidaying in Spain."genus Vanessa said, then added to Harry's confused expression"I live with them."

"Oh, what about you ?"Harry turned to the other girl.

"Isn ‘ t it obvious ? I ‘ m keeping Vanessa company."Harry felt a sudden lovingness of tactile sensation towards the niggling pair in front end of him.

"Where have you been hiding yourselves though ? I haven't seen either of you at meals."

"We don't want to eat with Malfoy."Elizabeth II pulled a sweet packet from the corner of the nest and ate one."It ‘ s not safe."

"So what have you been eating ? Too much Honeydukes is bad for you y'know."

"Josh showed us a way you can get to the kitchens."Vanessa curled up next to her friend."We slip down at night. It ‘ s not safe otherwise."

"Ok. That stops now."The two girls looked up."From now on you can eat safe at my mesa ok ?"The young lady looked at one another and something seemed to pass between them. After a moment Elizabeth nodded."Also this stops."Harry pointed around at the room."Your not living alone here anymore. Get your stuff and displace it to the Gryffindor tower."

"That's not allowed."Elizabeth took the initiative again while her admirer just looked on."What will everyone in your sign say ?"

"Currently everyone is a fifth class doing so a good deal OWL revisal she wouldn't placard if a herd of centaur moved in to the common way and a first year who I ‘ m not sure observation anything much other than the imaginary butterflies flitting circle her head."

"Luna Lovegood ?"

"That's the one."Harry grinned."Please act your stuff. Otherwise I ‘ m just gon na be sat there worrying about you all gap and that gon na be a very sad Yule for me. Please ?"

Another foresighted look passed between the two girl then genus Vanessa giggled and nodded.

"Ok, we ‘ ll come."

*

Harry reasoned in the days that followed that there was no reason to stop with just the Slytherins. With that in mind Harry embarked on a crusade of opinion and cajoling with the aim of moving entire remaining population of the early two houses to the Gryffindor vernacular way.

"Because it ‘ ll be fun. You remember fun, you have that in Hufflepuff right ?"Harry quipped at the amused Susan Bones.

"Yes we have fun."Susan shot back at him amicably, leaning against the railing in one of the courtyard and bundled up tight against the low temperature. Like the rest of Harry's year she was used to his foible."Its just that students aren't usually allowed in each others common rooms."She didn't add that Harry wasn't supposed to enjoin people the word, knowing by now the futility of asking him to follow the rule.

"No one is going to care."Harry flicked coke at her, causing her to bat at him and almost push him off the rail."The passwords ‘ ll modification after the gaolbreak anyway and its not like the instructor'll mind."

"You mean not like they ‘ ll find out."

"Mind, find-out, what's the difference ? Anyway, your alternative is staying in the Hufflepuff cellar… alone."Harry rubbed an imaginary binge out of his eye."wellspring alone except for Stevens which I class as far deficient to alone."

"He is beginning to get on my nerves…"Susan looked thoughtfully down at the dry land around her animal foot.

"Come on."Harry urged."Everyone together for Christmastide. If we have to stay locked up here we should make the most of it right ?"She looked at him appraisingly then smiled.

"will you teach me to juggle ?"

"Erg,"Harry slapped his hand to his forehead and groaned"If that's what it takes…"

"Ok, I ‘ ll ejaculate. If only so you have the entire set."

In the end the teachers probably did have a good idea what was going on, the fact that all but three of the student came down to breakfast together was definitely a cue. But either because they had their own vacation design to think about or because they actually approved of what Harry was doing they did not complain. One thing was for certain, Malfoy did not approve and scowled openly across the corking hall at them at every repast. Harry took this as ground enough for all his efforts.

*

When Xmas finally came Harry and his cross-house compatriots rushed gleefully to the tree and filled the Gryffindor coarse elbow room with shred wrapping paper.

"But if you open it carefully you can reprocess the paper."Mathew Stevens complained at which period Harry soaked him with water. The refilling sprayer bottle from Neville was quickly becoming his favourite gift."Hey !"

Harry grinned then spluttered as another jet of body of water hit him in the side of the human face.

"Aguamenti charm."Martin Fredric the solitary Ravenclaw said in a lecturing tone."You ‘ ll learn that after owls."

"I ‘ ll learn you !"

The ensuing piss fighting turned the report to mush and it was a sodden but laughing chemical group that stumbled down to a late breakfast.

*

Weeks later Harry was sitting out in the insensate sunlight idly flicking through a Christmas present tense ( a turn book on permanent and semi-permanent charms ) wondering how firmly it would be to realize an invisibility cloak when a shadow fell across him.

"Potter."

Harry answered without looking up.

"Malfoy, something I can nullify helping you with ?"

"Do you have to get some pathetic endeavor at humour every time you open your mouth ?"

Harry glanced up and fixed Malfoy with a flat stare. The smirk disappeared from the Slytherins face and he backed up a step.

"I was coming to warn you."The Christian Bible seemed to tumble out of his mouth like he wanted to get them out of the way."I couldn't intercept it so it ‘ s not my fault."

"What isn ‘ t ?"

"I ‘ ve been stuck here but my friends have been meeting up over the geological fault. Making plans."Malfoy glanced around as if checking no-one was watching."I only found out because Montague came back early."

"The foreigner for once Malfoy."Harry smirked evilly."See how it feels ?"

"volition you please be severe !"Malfoy swallowed and continued at a whisper."Something bad is going to happen."

"Bad how ?"Harry flipped his book closed.

"I don't know. It was planned over break like I said. It's not my fault."Malfoy added the stopping point bit at a rush.

"We ‘ ll see. What do you know about it."

"First day back. Montague said everything had to be ready for the maiden day back."

"What had to be gear up ?"

"I don't know !"Malfoy wrung his hand and stepped back a pace."I keep telling you I was out of the loop-the-loop here at Hogwarts. I shouldn ‘ t be held…"But Harry cut him off.

"If you tell me its not your fault one more time…"Malfoy fell silent and Harry began pacing backwards and forwards, thinking desperately."Do you think you can get Montague to enjoin you what's happening ?"Malfoy shook his head quickly.

"He won ‘ t say. I think someone told him not to."Malfoy suddenly stood up."Someone ‘ s coming !"And with that he strode off quickly into a corridor.

Harry buried his face in his hands. He had so hoped that the unpleasantness of the term was over, that he could deliver something approaching normality for once, to go to school without conspiracy and threats. He chuckled wryly, he should give known better.

*

Harry waited anxiously as the shoal term approached. One or two former betimes starters filtered back into their assorted houses and Harry's impromptu recruits into Gryffindor went back to their own houses.
All except Vanessa and Elizabeth II, they didn't really have a star sign to go back to. As Gryffindor educatee filtered back they eyed the new reaching warily and complained until Harry took them aside and explained in no incertain terms where they could stick their ailment.

Finally, a few mean solar day before the beginning of school, Harry pulled together the courage to do what he had been putting off for a spell. He went to warn Dumbledore.

"sherbert Lemon."The gargoyle statue obediently moved aside and Harry moved up the tenacious staircase and knocked on the doorway at the top.

"Enter."Harry pushed the door open to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk search up curiously, then he frowned."Harry that password is not to be used by students."

"I ‘ m sorry sir, but I needed to narrate you something."

"And you seem to be being rather free with sealed other passwords as well."At this Harry drew himself up.

"That I'm not apologising for. Would throw been stupid for everyone to spend Christmas alone, especially the first years."He met Dumbledore's gaze this sentence and didn't faltering.

"Harry you can not resolve which rule to obey and in what office. I thought I made that clear in our last conversation."The Headmaster's face was stern and Harry wondered whether he shouldn't have just warned him by owl."If you can not support by the normal of this institution…"

"Abiding by the rules wasn't working."Harry was almost surprised to pick up his own voice, even though it was coming at barely a susurration."citizenry were getting hurt all the clock time. It was only a matter of clip before something regretful happened."

"So you take the law into your own script ? Sink to their layer ?"Dubledore's vocalism was quiet now but his words seemed to unhorse a fire in Harry's chest of drawers.

"You think that ‘ s how it was ? How it works ? You think thing would be full around here if I ‘ d just let Malfoy carry on ?"Harry shook his headway and glared at the old man."Must have taken you a lot of pearl to build up a tower this big. I pity the poor elephants."

"Insolence !"Yelled one of the portrayal on the rampart.

"Mr Potter."Dumbledore stood up, his chair scraping back loudly. His hands were clenched in clenched fist on the desk in movement of him."I am the headmaster of this school. Please try to address me with something resembling respect."

"You should be thanking me you still have a shoal ! That it's not a rubble heap full of cadaver !"Dumbledore's eyes were glinting dangerously and his sassing had formed a severely blood line, but Harry wasn't finished."It ‘ s not like you were doing anything to stop it ! So pardon me if I don't have respect for someone who sat idly by while everything went to pot. Not such a ripe determination in my book, bit of a bloody misunderstanding. One of many you ‘ ve made recently. Anyone remember who hired professor Quirrell ? Not such a good decision there either. In fact…"Harry thought back and stiffened angrily."… the initiative ever decision you made about me was to put me on the doorstep of an abusive family and ruin the next seven geezerhood of my lifetime so NO Dumbledore. I don't esteem you."Harry saw with surprisal that the Headmaster's angry nerve had twisted into something different. Was it regret ? A long consequence passed before he spoke.

"Harry…"He said finally as if speech production from a inscrutable wellspring."…you are not incorrectly about some of the affair you have said. I am as capable of misunderstanding as any early human being. And for what it is worth I am no-count for placing you with your auntie and uncle. There were intellect at the clip. And I know that you can, in your mind at least, apologise what you did to Mr Malfoy. I know all about justifying questionable actions. But I implore you to do chasteness. The road you are travelling goes to dark blank space and each act along its path grows Sir Thomas More slowly to justify."

Harry didn't respond, he didn't quite know how to. All the cause Harry had for doing what he did still made sense, they just paled when faced with the calm assuredness of Professor Dumbledore. The oceanic abyss voice full of knowledge that held some sorting of unknown botheration. Or guilt. Harry felt like he was falling slowly down a deep hole. He moved his hand up to strike his steadily reddening neck and felt leather under his fingers. The leather cord. As his fingers touched it he felt the case pendent move against his skin.

You must trust that you know the way you need to walk, not anyone else, and above all you must trust yourself."I don't know how to act except to do what seems powerful at the time."Harry drew himself up. He wasn't wild anymore. He just needed to utter."And I hope… I trust that I know how far I can go down that path without turning dark. And I know the Slytherins are planning something big for the first day back and if I find out what it is I ‘ m going to try and stop it. That's what I came to tell you."

Dumbledore sat back down and regarded him quietly. When he spoke it was very slow and careful, as if picking through a minefield.

"What is that around your neck Harry ?"

"It was a gift."

"May I see it ?"

"No."The two wizards stared at each former for a few moments more. The whirring of the silver auto was he only sound to be heard.

"Very well Harry, you may go."Harry grasped onto that with rest period and turned away from those piercing eyes.

*

The days crawled forward and Harry became more on edge with every passing 60 minutes. He had warned some of the other students there to be on safeguard and owled the residue of the marauder tell them the bad news but still no entropy was forthcoming. The day of the arrivals dawned bright and low temperature and Harry waited anxiously in the entranceway hall with his verge concealed up his sleeve.

He saw the first few bookman wander up from the gate, walk into the ingress Radclyffe Hall and greet their friends, then walk off down a corridor. Harry relaxed a fraction, the attack couldn't possibly happen until all the Slytherins got there. Harry waited patiently as each group of students walked past, greeting some of them. Marcus Flint River walked past at the head of a group of Slytherins. He sneered at Harry and his mitt seemed to jerk towards his wand. Harry just watched him as he walked out of vision. Perhaps he had been incorrect about who was the ringleader ?

"Harry !"Harry turned at the sound of his public figure and felt some of his stress precipitate away as he saw the marauders.

"Hey guys. Did you miss me ?"

"Yes Harry."Padma rolled her optic."Every time I heard something conceited or arrogant I thought of you."

"I ‘ m touched."Harry grinned then grew grave."Did you get my last owl ?"The marauder nodded.

"Did you tell Dumbledore ?"Hermione asked pointedly. She looked relived when he nodded.

"How did you find out anyway ?"Ron asked him.

"Overheard Malfoy taking."Which was true in a way."Listen, people in the other mansion know and are getting set. Hopefully they ‘ ll cakehole up in their common way where they can't get got at and stay there money box tomorrow. But we still don't have the slightest clue what they actually have planned and that makes my nerve itch."

"What else can we do ?"Neville was hovering around the edge of the grouping.

"Nothing much. That's what ‘ s really screwed up."Harry jerked his head back towards the school."come on lets go. Before we get cryopathy out here."The predator followed his confidential information and trouped up to the common room.

*

But cryopathy was not off the docket for long. Harry tucked his arms in and tried to get out of the wind behind a chimney stack while still keeping watch through the windows far below. Although of course of action they couldn't see into the Slytherin dungeon, there were only a limited number of corridors that led up from the entrance. Currently a marauder was watching each and every one of them. Well… unless there were secret enactment that they didn't know about.

Harry hunched down further and glanced over at the next ceiling where Hermione was clearly visible, sitting cross legged on the dark tile. Harry knew that Neville was hidden somewhere on the ceiling on the early side of meat ( probably in the vestige in the lee of a little crooked column ) but for the sprightliness of him he couldn't spot him. Harry stifled a yawn and went back to watching the corridor, without any clearer plan keeping watch was all they could do.

Had his wand just mico'd in his sac ? Harry grasped the dark-red wood and felt the oscillation clearly, a flying glimpse left and right-hand showed him who it was. Neville had appeared out of the swarthiness and was gesturing for him to come. When the boy saw him notice he turned and disappeared down the other side of his ceiling.

"Damn it ! mico Hermione !"Harry passed on the signal and scrambled towards Neville's position. He caught up to him soon enough and choked back a oath when he saw what his friend was looking at. It looked like an U. S. Army."moldiness be one-half of Slytherin planetary house !"

"They aren ‘ t all Slytherins."Neville's voice quavered a fraction as he said that."I saw Filch try and get in their way. They just hexed him, didn ‘ t even stop."

"Where are they going ?"Harry hissed.

"I don't know. The kitchens are that way. Maybe they ‘ re going to poison everyone !"The two scholar slunk along the roof to celebrate up with those below them.

"You don't need an army to poison people."Harry said as he looked up and saw Ginny scrambling towards them from the other side."Bets on the Hufflepuff common room. cum on, if we bomb it we can take in it there before them."

"Oh great."Ginny groaned and turned around."Back the way I came."The three of them broke into a run.

"Why Hufflepuff ? Why the nether region ?"Harry ranted as they ran."Surely they hate us more by now !"

"Does Hufflepuff have more muggle-borns ?"Neville guessed, sounding winded.

"No, we do now."Ginny shook her head."Maybe its just that their common room is closer. Or underground !"

"I guess we ‘ ll find out when we get there won't we !"Harry yelled back as he darting ahead"Wouldn ‘ t want to ball up the surprisal !"He slid down a retentive ceiling and dropped into a bush. Shaking himself free and ignoring the two thuds near him he dashed down the tiny corridor nearby and pulled to a arrest behind a mainstay. The smell of cooking wafted through to him as he leaned around the boundary. He pulled back an jiffy later. They were all there, the Slytherins, they seemed to be talking quietly. One of the senior unity seemed to be explaining something while the others looked on but Harry's heart was beating in his pinna and he couldn't hear anything.

Harry glanced up and down the corridor. The Slytherins had stopped mere meters from the picture of a vase of yellow rosiness that covered the entrance to the Hufflepuff common room. Harry was right between them and it. He felt someone movement behind him and spun around with his wand out, then relaxed.

"Ginny."Harry whispered."Where ‘ s Neville ?"

"Broken ankle."She was panting and looked scared. Harry shushed her to be quieter."What are they doing ?"

"Talking."

"Talking ?"

"Yep."Harry nodded."Run back and find Dumbledore. I told you the password didn ‘ t I."

"Hermione's already gone."Ginny was gripping her verge in her small hired hand. She was trembling.

"Then follow her !"

"No !"Ginny shook her headland."This is my flaw. I need to help."

"imbecile ! This is no-ones f… you hear that ?"Harry cocked his ear against the wall. The muttering from the Slytherins had stopped and all he could hear was the occasional make of feet. Then a representative called out.

"Brock."And the painting dissolved like smoke, leaving a dark opening visible. Then another voice, high and reedy"Colloportus."And an odd squelching stochasticity came from the focal point of the painting. But still there was no movement from the Slytherins.

"I don't like this…"Harry ground his teeth. But then Slytherins all yelled at once, as if in one voice…

"SERPENSORTIA !"

Then there was a wink of light, the speech sound of running feet like a stampede and harsh laughter dwindling away as the footsteps left.

"That's it ?"Harry said, shocked."They took an army here to take on rap down ginger ?"

"Harry ? Do you hear something… moving ?"

Harry's ticker froze and he stepped around the pillar.

"Ahhh !"The trading floor moved in a black tide. C of snake slithered and hissed along the reason towards him. In the vanguard of the wave one rose and hissed at him, little flaps flipping out like a cobras."Ginny run !"Harry gestured her away but she stepped out following to him and jumped back, grabbing his hand, when she saw the snakes.

"Harry ! What do we do !"

"Like I have a hint !"They retreated towards the Hufflepuff common room as the snakes advanced. More and more seeming to rise up on their tails to keep an eye on them."How about…Flagrate !"

A combustion line scratched across the floor in front of the snake in the grass but it wasn't thick enough to phase them. They just piled over and kept coming.

"dorsum through the room access !"They jumped through. Harry barely registered the yellow suspension and low, beamed ceiling. He cupped his hands to his back talk and yelled."Wake up Hufflepuffs ! How do you fold your bloody door !"

"Harry !"He spun back to see Ginny pointing her shaking wand at the hole. A longsighted dark Hydra, the size of a python was dropping over the edge of the step into the way."What now ?"

"I don't know ! Jinx it or something !"

"What Jinxes body of work on snakes ?"

"fountainhead I wouldn't try jelly wooden leg !"Harry aimed his sceptre at the monumental snake"Confringo !"But the blasting cuss barely shifted the monolithic snake. It only hissed cheap and began coming right at him."Diffindo !"Red lines appeared on the snakes hard flank but it kept coming. It shook itself and coiled up, hissing and staring right at Harry's face.

"Its going to strike !"Ginny yelled.

"Oh, screw it. Acerbus Cuspis !"Once more the dark piece flew from Harry's wand and struck the serpent hard. It convulsed like it had gone mad, its hard muscled coils smashing a hot seat to matchwood. Harry repeated the spell, trying to fill himself with the rage that had made the magical spell so in force conclusion clip. The lance of light came out faster and brighter. The Snake shook with pain then went still, either passed out, bedaze, beat or wisely deciding to play at one of the former.

"What is this racket."A few fleece anatomy appeared from one of the rounded corridors. One at the front end had the head boy badge pinned to his jammies."Students are trying to log Z's in… WHAT THE HELL IS THAT !"

"Its a Snake Frankie. You can tell by the legs it hasn ‘ t got."Harry turned to the massed Hufflepuffs and picked out a familiar face."Susan ! How do you close your painting !"

"What Harry ?"She rubbed her eyes like she'd just got up. Which, Harry noted from her yellow pyjamas and big, fluffy, hedgehog-shaped slippers, she probably had."Are the Slytherins attacking ?"

"They have attacked ! There's about a million more of those…"Harry pointed at the giant snake on the trading floor. Then back at the hole, through which a few modest snakes were already climbing."Out there so how do you close up the picture !"

"Brock !"someone in the gang had caught on."You say the password again. Brock !"But the picture remained unresolved. More ophidian piled in."Brock… brock !"

"They sealed the door Harry."Ginny said suddenly."Colloportus, it sealed the doorway open."

Harry cursed, he should have remembered that. It was in Beyond Alohomora.

"Anyone know a comeback ?"Harry glanced at the Hufflepuffs clustering around then back at the rapidly filling threshold."Anyone ?"

"Yes."Said a tall missy in the dorsum of the gang."It takes five moment and you have to be touching the door."

They all glanced back at the waterfall of black now falling out of the hole.

"Yeah… that's not gon na happen."Harry drew his sceptre and pointed it at the hole."service me ridicule ! Confringo !"

"Impedimenta !"“ Stupefy !"“ Reducto !"Spells Harry didn't know were yelled out all around him. The snakes were blasted back one by one but they kept coming."Herpestidae !"Made a shady brown fauna appear that tackled a black asp and bit it on the neck but it was overwhelmed by the flood. A repulsion hex pushed the bunch back but it was not enough. Some fifth years pushed a sofa in front of the snakes and pushed it over on top of them but they just kept coming, climbing over the obstacle.

"Incendio !"Harry yelled. But he missed, barely grazing the large asp that he was aiming for and hitting the couch. With a bang it burst into merry flame and the snakes on top of it shrivelled and hissed, dropping off charred. Harry grinned despite himself."Another lounge !"Harry pointed to the right of the one already there."And one on the left hand too !"

"Got you Harry !"One of the older scholarly person yelled as he levitated a heavy xanthous chesterfield out of an alcove and dropped it with a squelch on the snakes trying to sidestep the side of the obstruction."Incendio !"And that couch began burning too. Harry glanced to the other side and saw some heavyset scholar throwing shock on an already electrocution cast.

"Back now. Back."Harry motioned everyone away from the flaming wall. And breathed a deep breath."Think that should stop them ? Until Dumbledore comes I mean."

"It should."Susan Bones rubbed a hand over her sweating hilltop. She had gone quite red."I'm scared of snakes."

"No one likes snakes."Harry winked and waved back at the couches."Even special crispy. You seem to be holding up though."

"I ‘ m a Hufflepuff."Susan seemed to find some intensity in those words and stood up straighter."We don't get scared easily, and we don't run away even when we do."

Harry looked around and saw that the puffs were all still standing together, wands out. Even the piddling first of all eld stood berm to shoulder with their housemates. Not a single one had left since the struggle started.

"Go Hufflepuff house…"Harry grinned and pushed his travail filled hair out of his face. His eyes found the only other Gryffindor in the elbow room."Regretting your alternative Ginny ?"

"Regretting yours ?"Ginny grinned then her eyes widened and she pointed."Harry !"

Harry's eyes followed her pointing finger and he saw what had made her outcry. Floating up from behind the flaming the Snake River came, squirming and writhing on the air as they levitated over the couches.

"Oh, ejaculate ON ! apply me a gap !"Harry yelled and the spells began to fly again, blasting the snakes out of the air as they floated over. But once again there were simply too many, once they were past the burn wall the serpent fell to the ground and continued their advance."Now I know why they picked Hufflepuff."Harry thought as he backed up, casting hex after hex."Its in the cellar, there ‘ s no way out."They were back to the bedroom room access now, the snakes still coming.

"rachis in the rooms !"The foreland Boy, Frank Co yelled.

"And plug around the threshold with rag !"Harry yelled as he darted back into a room. Instantly he felt like his bones were being pulled back while his torso stayed where it was. He was thrown back on the storey and rolled, jumping up and scrambling away as long fangs bit the stone where he had been.

"Harry ! This is a female child elbow room !"Harry was pulled to his feet by Susan finger cymbals."The door won ‘ t let you in !"

Harry glanced around but there were Hydra between him and every former doorway."Then you get in and exclude the door !"

Susan gave him a withering look and turned to the snake in the grass with her verge drawn and a shape look on her face. Harry grabbed her and tried to push her towards the room access, only to ascertain himself on the floor again being pulled up by his collar.

"Before you try manhandling me again."She stated flatly."You might require to try gaining some weightiness and height. You really are titchy."She darted back and slammed the room access on the start missy inside.

"Wonderful."Harry hexed for all he was worth. But their backs were already to the doorway and there was nowhere left to go."I hope you actualize your bit of pointless heroic meter has earned you a gray death."

"And a place in Gryffindor heaven."Susan said shakily but with a laugh in her voice. Harry nodded and managed a one-half grin."You never did teach me to juggle."

"Bit late now. Well…"Harry eyed the Snake River rising up to discover then shut his middle."…bye !"

The Snake lunged.

"Sacesiassce !"

Harry opened his optic and saw the snakes poised on the point of biting.

"Sissciaszysscasi."The Snake River withdrew and began to slither back the way they had come. Harry looked around for the source of the odd vocalisation.

"Scicceozaz."The hissing serpentine voice was coming from a draped bod standing by the door. He was motioning the Snake out, keeping them moving. He was standing right in the substance of the flow but none of them were biting him.

Doors around the plebeian elbow room began to break open and scared faces peeked out. As the snake in the grass left the students filed out of their way. No one spoke, they were all simply watching the cloaked figure. The man raised his hired hand and pushed back his toughie. Frankie atomic number 27 was the first to mouth.

"Oh my god. You ‘ re a Parselmouth !"

Standing there, robed and Sir Henry Rider Haggard and with declamatory cup of tea under his eyes, was Markus Michelson.


Disclamer. You know the drill.



Harry and Ginny followed Professor Michelson silently as he walked slowly up through the schoolhouse. As they walked Ginny quickly whispered the legend of Salazar Slytherin and what it meant to be a Parselmouth. Harry listened in shock, it was all too a lot to hold in. Other teachers has arrived soon after Professor Michelson and begun vanishing the serpent. They had left just as professor Sprout began trying to rejuvenate Hufflepuff house to liveable conditions. All the piece Markus Michelson had just stood there, with everyone staring at him.

"Where are we going ?"Harry asked the teacher in strawman of them bluntly. Markus turned and smiled.

"You, my short rapscallions, are out after curfew among other thing. So we are going to talk to Dumbledore. Luckily your acquaintance already got him up out of bed."Markus opened the door to his own office. The walls seemed to be covered with odd prize and native art. On one wall there hung a wooden carapace painted with promising colours that spun and shimmered on the aerofoil. A curt sword hung above the desk, it had just one curved edge and the end didn't have much of a point. It resembled a machete more than anything else.

inside the federal agency three figures waited, with very different posture. Hermione stood twitching, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Marcus Flint lounged his enceinte heavy physical structure over a chair, his expression arrogant and sneering. Dumbledore was, as usual, inscrutable.

"howdy again Harry. How has your path been treating you ?"

"I…"Harry was struck silent by the head for a import then smiled."There were some Snake on it."

"So I have heard."Dumbledore looked over at Hermione, who withered under his regard."Miss farmer woke me from a pleasant dream involving my favourite brace of horseshoe eloping with each other to tell me that she looked out the windowpane of Gryffindor tower and saw one quarter of my school was marching to war. But when I sent teachers to discover out the root of the trouble the solely student found out of place are the two of you."The old necromancer looked over the rims of his eyeglasses at Harry and Ginny."I have only asked Mr Flint to fall here because Miss Granger insists that he is involved."

"Stinking Mudblood."flint muttered.

"I heard that Mr Flint."Dumbledore said pleasantly."Please refrain from such language, you are not helping your case."

"I haven ‘ t done nothing wrong professor."Markus Flint grinned in what he must have thought was an endearing way.

"That is what we are here to settle. For a starting young lady farmer would you mind telling me what you saw out the window of the Gryffindor common room."

Hermione began telling her marginally falsified story haltingly and nervously but Harry had trouble listening. Ginny was pulling on his sleeve, trying to get his attention, she nodded her chief to a board nearby piled high up with denial books. Harry followed her gaze and alighted on a book lying open to the foremost page. From that angle Harry could only just show the three news there.

Tom Marvolo riddle

The diary. Why was it here ? Was it connected to everything else or did this sicko just like reading a niggling girls secrets ? Harry shook his head trying to get all his view in order but he was running on adrenaline and no sleep and it felt like his head was full of gossamer. unspeakable cobwebs. There was no chance he was going to work this out before the break of day. He caught Marcus Flint looking at him curiously and tried to look like he was paying attending. Hermione finished off her story and stood waiting for a response from the two teachers submit.

"Mr Flint."Dumbledore turned to the 7th twelvemonth."Your response to these allegations ?"

"prevarication sir."Flint River grinned."Filthy Mudblood lies."

"Mr Flint ! You will take care your voice communication and refrain from allowing such slander past your lips."

"Of course sir. But its still lies, I ‘ ve done nix wrong."

"Mr ceramist, misfire Weasley. I'm sure you have a slope to this story ?"

"Yes sir."Harry jumped in before Ginny could speak."Hermione told us what she saw and we ran down to the kitchens corridor while she went off to alert you."

"You did not think to alarm a closer teacher. Or a prefect."

"Didn't think of that at the time, we were a bit tire out. When we got there the Slytherins conjured snakes, opened the Hufflepuff basement and sealed the door open."

"I can personally attest that there were a swell number of conjured snakes in the cellar tonight professor."Markus Albert Michelson added."Would take in been trouble for someone without my talents."

"endowment for dark magic."Harry muttered.

"You might want to also ascertain what you say Mr Potter."The Headmaster said."I was going to present you both a severe detainment for your vociferous disregard for curfew. However my Mr Cobalt and Mr Diggory and several early prefects seem to be under the impression that you saved Hufflepuff house. The word hero was being bandied around. So I believe I will take twenty points for each of you, including Miss husbandman, and leave it at that."

"We save everyone's life and recede LX degree ?"Harry thought, fuming."Unfair."

"And you Mr Flint."Markus A. A. Michelson fixed the Slytherin with a critical eye."Have the honour of having detention with me."

"You can't prove I had…"

"No I can't. But you have grossly insulted this beautiful and intelligent young muggleborn beldame in my bearing. Twice. So for the next two workweek you will have custody with me."

*

"Sixty gunpoint !"Ron shook his oral sex ruefully."How can he do that ?"

"He ‘ s the Headmaster."Harry growled."He can do whatever he wants."

The piranha lounged at their table in the common room. The scholarly person had been given the day off to allow the Hufflepuffs to recover from their dark fourth dimension ordeal. Harry had needed the extra eternal sleep too but he and his friends had instead woke up early to gift them fourth dimension to discus the things. Ginny had reluctantly let Harry say everyone about the diary and they had agreed it could be meaning. Markus Michelson's status as a parselmouth brought the greatest gasp.

"How can they let him instruct here then ?"Anapurna had demanded, her workforce to her mouth."They're all dark wizards. Every one !"

"Did they even know ?"Her sis added reasonably."Harry said the caput Boy was shocked."

"But they have to go off him now right ?"

"Dumbledore won't kick him out."Harry groaned from his position lying on his arms on the tabletop. Breathing in the fumes from burning conjured snake in the grass in a tight and airless wine cellar had made him fairly ill. Ginny was feeling the effects too, she was curled up on her chairwoman and she hadn't spoken More than a parole or two since they had begun."Not unless he actually murders person in front man of him."

"But he basically has !"Parvarti countered."We all know Salazar Slytherin was a parselmouth. Remember the message ? The heir of Slytherin retort. Its him ! Has to be."

"Its just like Quirrel."Neville said, his ankle already snapped back into Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe by madam Pomfrey."Dumbledore probably just doesn't have proof. Or else surely he would let done something."

"Parseltongue is proof."Harry stated flatly."Dumbledore's just refuses to do anything. He ‘ d rather sit in his tower."The others looked at him like he'd gone mad."Well he does. Why hasn ‘ t he done anything ?"

The others just looked at him glumly. They didn't have any result.

*

Over the unscheduled break the school quietened down a short. The Slytherins shooter glares wide of obelisk at everyone wherever they went but there was no fierceness. It was almost as if the failure of their grand program had made them skittish. The completely school moved forward with an ambience of icy tenseness, a draw that both sides knew wouldn't cobbler's last.

"Another day, another trip through no human land."Padma quipped as the predator moved out of the potions schoolroom in a tight huddle."Anyone else tired of this ?"

"punter than the fighting."Neville glanced back at the Slytherins walking in another huddle back down the corridor."Much practiced than the fighting."

"They ‘ re planning something."Harry shook his headway."crashing Flint is planning something."Every time Harry had passed Flint in the corridor for the past few workweek the 7th year had forgone his usual scowl and grinned slyly.

"Are you sure its Flint ? Not Malfoy ?"Ron scratched his head.

"I think… I get the impression Malfoy got cut out of the loop topology over Christmas. He wasn't part of the Hydra ground forces that's for sure."

"Probably didn't want to gamble his own neck."The predator filed into the defending team classroom and immediately dragged their record out. There was no percentage point expecting anything else…

"Books away children ! We ‘ re back to the practical as of today !"The class looked up at professor Albert Michelson in electrical shock. The bags under his eyes remained but he seemed as champagne and full of energy as he had at the start of condition."Hex-Deflection, this week we start with Hex refraction. Pipsqueek, come up here and aid me demonstrate."

*

"WHAT THE Hades WAS THAT !"Harry yelled as soon as the marauders had quit the classroom. The lesson had been lively, instructive and ( if it had been under other fate ) fun."He spends half of last term in a funk and sleeps through classes while planning god knows what afterwards ! Then he gets revealed to the full school as a dour star, everyone hates him and he ‘ s bloody vibrant ! He ‘ s just switched from petrifying mass to trying to confuse us to death ! I do. Not. Get it !"The former marauders just giggled as they followed the spout number of Harry back to the common way.

Markus Michelson's tax return to his happy place did not stop with that one speech but continued. Eventually even the bags under his eyes disappeared and he looked, in every way, exactly as Harry had first seen him. Everyone wondered about this odd change of mind, but one night Harry decided to try to get hold out why.

That night Harry ghosted over the rooftops towards Markus Michelson's office. He squatted down near a chimney and glanced down at the closed windows. They were darkened and the curtains were drawn, probably locked and spelled too. Harry glanced one way then the other then slowly lowered himself down to a unlike window and slipped in. Tiptoeing along the corridor he reached the room access to the office.

"Alohomora."Harry tried the handle quietly but the door remained firmly shut."Specialis Revelio."A faint blue air luminescence showed thought the door crack, near the handle, pulsing like a New York minute.

Harry hid the glow with his torso and glanced behind him but there was no one around. Hopefully Filch was patrolling some former area of the castle. Harry tried to sick his mind back to Beyond Alohomora. Intermittent blue glow meant something specific he was sure."Finite."Harry tried hopefully, and the gleam disappeared. But the door still didn't open. Harry groaned, of path. He hadn't cancelled the lockup trance, he'd just cancelled his give away magical spell. Repeating the spell brought back the glow. What did blue mean ? Colloportus was red, he'd looked that up after the dungeon episode. Fixing spell ! Blue was a altering appeal and the pulsing meant it restored itself if you tried to strike down it.

"Eximo."Harry spoke the counter then quickly followed with"cesso."The heartbeat fluttered, then faded. His hand trembling, Harry opened the door.

"Harry Potter must not be here !"

Harry spun on the spot then groaned."Dobby ! What are you doing here ! ?"

"Harry potter must go now !"The elf was unrestrained, hopping from one foot to another."Please !"

"Shut up !"Harry waved his bridge player at the crying elf."Quiet ! Please !"

"Must go now ! Must go ! Go now !"

"Dobby, please !"

"peril !"The elf's full eyes were fully of crying and he was pulling on his capitulum in distress. The elf glanced to one side of meat and his keening became more phrenetic.

"Over there ?"Without another Word Harry dashed the way the elf had looked.

"No Harry thrower ! That is the peril way ! Run the other way !"

"What's this danger eh ?"Harry looked around the corridor he'd just run into."Michelson ? Slytherins ?"

"No no no no no."The elf had grabbed Harry's script and was trying to drag him the other way."Please go."

"Get off… What's that ?"A scratching interference. Where was it coming from ? Harry looked down at the elf but Dobby had gone totally rigid. It sounded like something moving. Harry moved forward, there was a door there, a English passage with gratings on the floor. It was louder here, coming from under the floor.

"Harry… P…p…potter must go."Dobby wasn't sobbing anymore but he was shivering. Uncontrollable earth tremor."Please Harry ceramist. Run."

The scratching grew louder and louder then stopped, suddenly. One of the grates on the story shifted, like something was nosing up from underneath.

"Don't feel in its eyes !"Dobby squealed. Then vanished with a snap. Something in Harry snapped as the piddling trope disappeared, and he turned and ran as fast as he could. Behind him he heard a crashing clang as the grate was tossed aside. He reached the door and slammed it closed before dashing down the manse. Splintering wood told him that whatever it was was following. Harry pelted down another hallway and skidded on the polished base. With a clangour that sounded like a bomb calorimeter going off he collided with a wooing of armour. Smashing to the storey Harry felt a stabbing hurting in his mortise joint.

"Oh delight let someone sustain heard that."Harry hobbled to his base and cried out in pain in the ass as he tried to put weight on his ankle."No no no."Harry looked back the way he had come, a shadow was just slinking around the corner. The hooter of a snake came into view when Harry jerked his head back."Don't look into its middle. Oh god, someone help me."Harry tried to hobble away but he could barely hop down the corridor. He glanced back before he could kibosh himself and saw the snakes monolithic coils, too close. Harry grabbed the window near him and, not caring, flung himself out.

He landed on the slanted roof a few feet below and rolled. A waste pipe jutted from the rampart a few groundwork away where it spouted from the oral fissure of a gargoyle. He grabbed it like a lifeline, pulling himself up and up on the three limbs that still worked. When he reached the top he slid onto the roofing tile and lay there trying to pick up his breath. Below him he could hear the scratching still, and a hissing. It stayed there for a long time while Harry lay there, and he lay there a recollective fourth dimension even after it was gone.

*

"Reparo ?"Hermione shook her head at Harry and buried her face in her hands."You used Reparo on a unkept ankle ? Why ?"

"You try climbing off a roof with one working foot."Harry was being supported by Ron as he hopped towards the infirmary extension."And it's fine."That was purely a lie. The metrical foot had just about worked for long enough to get him off the roof when daybreak came. However it seemed like the magic spell had some odd effects when used on living tissue paper. Like the fact that his bone was now breaking, healing and re-breaking in a sore round.

"lady Pomfrey is going to have a sum attack."

She didn't in fact have a heart flack. She did however squall Harry an retard.

"Why did you not simply hail to me Mr Potter ?"She said while pulling assorted odd coloured nursing bottle out of a console."You have made your injury much more difficult to treat."

"Thought I could lose off a few extra classes."Harry grinned then screamed as his ankle snapped again.

"Was it worth it ?"

"I guess not."

"Do try to remember that following metre Mr ceramicist. Next time you… trip over your own feet."She smiled down at him.

"How long do I have to outride here then ?"

"Overnight I ‘ m afraid Mr Potter."She handed him a bottle of a greyish potion that looked like glue."You should be thankful. At least we won ‘ t have to use Skele-Gro."

*

Harry checked the clock again, it was almost three in the morning. Thanks to the potion the breaking cycle had slowed. His bone had stayed broken for almost an hr now. brothel keeper Pomfrey had said that if it lasted an hr and a one-half that would mean that the errant spell was fully leached out and the bone could be set properly. He lay back, thankful for the other potion that had dulled the pain.

"Dobby is bad Harry Potter sir."Oh large.

"You have to stop appearing like that Dobby, really. Just seminal fluid in through the door or something."

"Dobby is sorry Harry potter is hurt."

"I guess I should thank you. You tried to discourage me."Harry rolled over and looked the elf in the eyes."I just wish you could consume been more particular like ‘ Hey there ‘ s a big snake coming to wipe out you.'or something. Unless the snake was another one of your magic trick, like the wall."

"No Harry ceramicist Dobby had nil to do with that snake."

"right, I th…"Harry's centre narrowed."With that snake ?"Dobby hung his head."You might as well severalize me Dobby."

"Dobby levitated some early snakes."Harry's memory presented him an persona of a burning couch with serpents floating over it.

"Dobby listen to me. Look at me."The little elf's head tilted nervously and his heart met Harry's dark-green ones."There were a lot of people in that cellar early than me. If you have some weird affair where you want to force me to leave this school fine. I can use up it. But do not bring anyone else into this. You could have killed someone."

"Dobby was watching. Dobby wouldn ‘ t have let them get that close."

"What about the one that almost bit me ?"

"Dobby ‘ s master… called him away."

"And you just left ?"

"Dobby must reply when his master calls. Dobby must obey it is a house elf ‘ s duty."

"Why don't you just leave ?"Harry looked over Dobby and his bemire case. It was hard not to pity him, even if he was trying to bolt down him. Dobby was obviously a dupe of whoever these masters were."Can ‘ t you leave ?"

"The only way a planetary house elf can be freed is if they is given clothes."Dobby shook his question, he looked very defeated."And Dobby ‘ s masters is never doing that."

"So leave."

"Dobby can not entrust unless…"

"Why ?"

"The apparel is the only…"

"Why ? Just leave, or unspoilt yet just don't go back. You ‘ re out now aren't you ?"

"Dobby is a house elf. A family elf…"Dobby shook his straits."A house elf can not disobey an order from its master."

"Why ? You don ‘ t owe them. From what you've said they seem to have given you a pretty screwed up life. Don ‘ t punish yourself !"Harry added as Dobby nodded then stiffened."Its ok… don't."Dobby relaxed again.

"You see this is what they do."Harry continued."They make them think you owe them. The Dursleys, my auntie and uncle you know. Treated me like dirt, I got aught from them but pain and neglect same as you. But they act like they ‘ re doing you a favour. twist your mind up so they even have you thinking they ‘ re doing you a favour. But all it takes for you be free of them is to desire to be, ‘ cos then they don't have a storage area over you any more. Walk away from them… damn it."Harry heard a crack.

"Mr potter ?"

"My leg just un-broke. Never mind, where was I ? Oh yeah you don't need clothes, just get out them."Dobby seemed to await around like he could get wind something Harry couldn't.

"Dobby has to go."And with that he vanished again.

"Great."Harry spoke to the empty hospital extension."You could at least have kept me company."

*

"Ready to go ?"Ron leant in through the door to the Hospital offstage.

"Yep."Harry slid off the bed.

"Then we should probably festinate. This place is going to be swarming in a minute. There ‘ s been another attack."

"What ? When ?"

"Don't know, but someone else is petrified."Ron shook his head."Looks like the Slytherins are attacking their own now."

"Their own ?"Harry felt ice in his chest.

"Slytherin fourth yr, public figure was Split I think."Ron shrugged.

"Joshua Split."Harry sat back on the bed with his head in his custody."You go on, I want to wait for him."

"Ok."Ron looked confused."I ‘ ll wait with you."They didn't have to wait long. Soon Dumbledore walked calmly into the infirmary wing, levitating a startled looking Split. Behind them trailed Professor Snape looking sourly at them and Lucy Kingston who was sobbing into a hankey. As the schoolmaster lowered the boy onto the hospital bed Harry crossed the way and looked at his face. His eyes were wide in daze and his mouth hung open.

"Is he going to be alright ?"It was an inane comment, but it was all Harry could call up to say.

"Yes Mr Potter."The headmaster nodded."He will be fine eventually, the same as the others."

"I did not realise you knew Mr split up, Potter."Snape stepped up beside the Headmaster."I know rent as a role model student. I thought he has better taste."

"He ‘ s a Slytherin."Harry said quietly."How good can his taste be."

That evening Harry took Vanessa and Elizabeth II to visit Split. Lucy Kingston was there again, glancing between her brother and her beau

"I know they ‘ ll be alright once the Mandrakes mature."She nodded as if trying to convert herself."But I can't help wondering what could birth happened if they had hadn't been found."

"But they were. And they ‘ ll be alright. No use worrying about matter that didn't hap right ?"

"I guess. It ‘ s just prosperous prof Michelson found him."

"What ?"

"You didn ‘ t hear. prof Michelson found Josh. When Dumbledore arrived he was already there."

Harry just stared at her. But suddenly another voice broke through to him.

"Oh so he ‘ s just petrified. Pity, unlike you he won't even have a scar."Harry turned at that drawling voice. Malfoy stood in the doorway to the infirmary wing."I could give him one of track, right in the middle of his mudblood face."

"Well Malfoy, you came to the right billet to get the jack kicked out of you."Harry crossed his coat of arms."lady Pomfrey, can patch you up and I can have the fun of finding altogether new fashion to hurt you."Harry glared at Malfoy while the two first year Slytherins backed away towards rip bed, as if even petrified he could afford them some protection."Get out."

"But I was visiting my housemate during his convalescence."

"Out."

"Alright I wasn ‘ t visiting him. I hate his filthy mudblood guts. I ‘ m here to talk to you."

"Me ?"

"Yes."

"How touch. Get out."

"Potter."Malfoy glanced around the infirmary wing. The five of them were the only 1 awake. He looked back and spoke through gritted teeth."Please."

Harry paused a instant then turned to the Ravenclaw behind him.

"Can you walk those two back to Gryffindor tugboat. They know the password."Lucy Jamaican capital nodded. As Harry turned and walked towards the door genus Vanessa spoke.

"Don ‘ t go, he ‘ s dangerous !"

"I think I can plow him."Harry said over his shoulder and walked out of the extension. A few steps down the corridor took them to an empty classroom."Ok, lecture. And this had salutary be good."

"I'm warning you Potter."

"Are you threatening me ?"

"No I ‘ m warning you. As in warning you that something bad is going to happen."Draco glanced around again."It ‘ s Flint."

"It usually is."

"He ‘ s… I don't know precisely what to shout it… recruiting."Malfoy rubbed the back of his hand nervously."He ‘ s been talking to people, circle of people. Getting big group together to verbalise about their collective pedigree purity and their obvious superiority."There wasn't a trace of irony in Malfoy's voice as he said the shoemaker's last bit.

"I have three questions."Harry held up three fingers."One : That's exactly what you talk about so why aren't you with them ? Two : Why are you telling me ? Three : Why are you so ugly ?"

"I am not with them because…"Malfoy trailed off and licked his back talk. When he began again it was in a calculating voice."Although I approve of their subject matter I think their option of leadership is lacking."

"Ah… ! If you can't be the headway of the club you don't want to be a member ?"

"Precisely. And as for interrogation two… well I thought we could act together. For now we have the same goal."

"delay, isn't Flint basically your lapdog ?"Harry tried to jog his computer memory."Didn't you once say you basically owned him ?"

"Yes I… Where did you hear that ?"

"Um… gossipmonger ?"Harry grinned, remembering he had been hiding in Malfoy's lamp chimney at the clock time."Can ‘ t you just tear rank on him ?"

"I tried and that's the scariest thing. His family is up to their eyeballs in debt to my father, I threatened to call in that debt and he just laughed. Said money wasn't important anymore. Not now that he had heard the call."

"The call ?"

"That's what they call themselves The Called. Those who answered the telephone call to arms, the phone call of Slytherins heir."

Harry took a present moment to stand that.

"Are you telling me that flint has turned this into some form of craze ?"

"That's what I ‘ ve been trying to tell you Potter !"Malfoy grimaced."They say that all premature bonds and responsibility are empty when compared to the call. All debts are off, all curse word broken. This is a problem for me because I have lost the level of control I usually have over my sign of the zodiac. This is a problem for you because side by side time they attack the threat of custody and house points won't stop them. Expulsion won ‘ t stop them, they don't care about Hogwarts any more."

"Bloody hell."Harry buried his face in his hands and tried severe to stick out what he was being told but it seemed just too extreme to consider."I thought Flint was basically a thug."

"So did I."Malfoy nodded."But he seems unlike since the… Hufflepuff incident, which I had nil to do with. I guess we both underestimated him."

"Alright, alright…"Harry felt under his shirt for the carapace chandelier and gripped it through the material. It made him feel better, a little."Here ‘ s what we ‘ re gon na do… You have the figure of these… Called ?"

Malfoy wordlessly handed him a combat of parchment. There were over fifty dollar bill gens listed.

"Not all of these are Slytherins."Harry said checking down the list."Four ‘ puffs, six Ravenclaws, sixteen Gryffindors ! ?"

"Surprised ?"Malfoy sneered."As I've always said, Gryffindors are self-important. And all of the menage have pure-blood scholar crying out to be given the recognition they deserve. And would you like to hump the other reason so many Gryffindors joined ?"Malfoy looked happy and condescending, never a serious combination in him.

"Against my better judgement… Yes tell me."

"You."Malfoy grinned smirkily."They seem to think you've usurped your planetary house, acting like you speak for all of them. Plus they seem to think that your abysmal performance in the household cup last year was partially due to your activities."

Harry winced. He was well aware that his house's performance was almost entirely due to marauder activities. Well, them and the counterpart.

"Alright, I get it. I ‘ ll deal with it. And I ‘ ll get in contact with friends in the early sign of the zodiac and cut him down to just the Slytherins."

"Even if you do he still has over thirty Slytherins at his beck and call."

"I can ‘ t stop what he does inside the dank confines of your dungeon."Harry stood and moved to the door."I ‘ ll mountain with the rest of the school, you deal with Slytherin."

"Fair enough. By the way…"Malfoy caught him before he reached the door."This modification absolutely nothing."

"I know, I know. We ‘ re co-conspirators, not champion. And I still hate you."Harry gritted his teeth and frowned."I still hate you what you did to Vanessa and Lucy and the others."

"And I still hate you and your Quaker and mudbloods and stock traitors in general. And unlike you…"Malfoy ran his fingers through his hairsbreadth as he swaggered out the door."…I ‘ m far from ugly."

*

"Why are we meeting like this ?"

"You mean in secret ?"

"No, I mean in a daughter bathroom ?"

Harry glanced around the Marauders crowded into the depressing lav. They were looking at him expectedly.

"We ‘ re merging here because…"Harry turned to Parvarti."Why are we meeting here ?"

"You said you wanted somewhere undercover. No one ever comes here because of Moaning Myrtle."Parvarti shuddered involuntarily.

"Who in the Inferno is Moaning Vinca minor ?"

"Hell is the operative word…"Padma muttered.

Harry glanced around but saw no-one.

"Still not understanding."Harry shrugged but a voice filtered in from behind the paries.

"Did individual say my public figure ?"A pale shape faded in through the bulwark, spindly hair falling haphazardly over her spotty expression. Beneath her thick glasses her eyes looked puffy, like she'd been crying. When she was fully through the brickwork she blinked in surprise at the crowd filling her bathroom."Why are you here ? Have you come to laugh at me ? jest at poor, moaning, fat Myrtle."

"Why would we bother doing that ?"Ron said, apparently not noticing the shushing move Hermione was making at him."Bit like flogging a dead horse eh ? Get it ? Get it ? idle horse…"Hermione buried her face in her hands and the Patil sisters both took an unvoluntary step back from Ron. Ron's cheeky grin vanished from his face as the ghost turned to confront him, murder in her turgid eyes.

"Oh yes ! Not only is myrtle DEAD ! She ‘ s also ugly like a horse !"

"Its just an expression…"

"You boys are all mean value and EVIL !"Myrtle screeched right into Ron's face. The poor people redhead was glued to the smear with terror."And how about you !"Myrtle spun and faced Neville. Ron looked profoundly relived."Are you going to suffer me too !"

"No no…"Neville backed up with his mitt out in front of him.

"You think I ‘ m ugly !"

"No, pretty !"Vinca minor hesitated, Neville pressed on."Very pretty, nice… ears ?"

"NICE pinna ?"Harry was surprised the screech didn't break off roofing tile."You ‘ re making fun of me AGAIN !"Harry couldn't suppress a giggle and the vengeful ghost rounded on him."Are you laughing at me too. All boys are the same, you all…"

"What's your fully name Myrtle."Harry cut her off mid conviction. She looked appal, he supposed not many masses had ever asked her that."I mean I assume Vinca minor isn't your lowest public figure any more than Moaning's your first."

"M…Myrtle Henderson."She had stopped crying. If anything she looked confused by this act of events.

"Miss myrtle Henderson. How would you like to help us…"Harry moved closer and stage-whispered into her ear."…with some mischief."

"Some… mischief. What form of mischief ?"Myrtle moved even closer. Harry squashed down a shiver as the trace brushed against him.

"Harry…. What are you doing ?"Ron had managed to line up his voice again finally.

"Recruiting."Harry glanced over the translucent articulatio humeri of the ghost."Do you realise how insanely useful a watch that can walk through bulwark could be. And unless I miss missy Vinca minor ‘ s attitude entirely she seems primed for some nefarious snooping. Have I missed my guessing Vinca minor ?"The ghost blushed, tinting her natation, smoky variant bubblegum pink."Thought not. Can I consider on you myrtle ?"

"Oh yes Harry."The lascivious grinning on the phantom face labor traces of incertitude into Harry's mind. Had he pushed this a piffling too far ? Oh well, Follow through.

"For now could you watch the corridor ? Some friends of mine are meeting me here…"Harry rattled of the gens of the invited conspirators."… and its imperative mood that we ‘ re not overheard. mind playing lookout for us ?"

"Not at all, not for you."myrtle swooped away through the wall and the predator all looked at Harry. grammatical construction of disbelieving shock were becoming Thomas More and more common Harry felt.

"She ‘ ll be useful. And honestly I don't see what ‘ s so bad about her."They continued to stare."Quite pleasant once you get to know her."

Further discourse was cut off by the arrival of the other people invited to the encounter. Susan clappers stepped in quickly and smiled when she saw the people already there. Cho Chang moved in slower while glancing around the recess of the john ( probably checking for ghosts ). Her fellow Ravenclaw Lucy Kingston followed come together behind her and said…

"Isn ‘ t this Myrtles ba…"

"She ‘ s out."Harry explained and shared a grin with his friends."She won ‘ t be bothering us. Now eyes front line girls…"Harry snapped and they all looked at him curiously."I need your help. Something happening that spreads over the entire school and the full school needs to stop it. I can't do it alone, I ‘ m sick of doing it alone, I really need your help."

The bathroom was silent for a import then Cho spoke up…

"You know you've always got it Harry. What do you need us to do ?"



Wow, getting quite a few reviews now. But i still take more ! I 've become addicted to them and i keep checking to see whether i have more !


f I was JK Rowling I 'd have Sir Thomas More hooey, a designer suit, a PS3, an expensive car, a fountain of atomic number 79, two X chromosomes ...

I do not have these things. By a process of system of logic I am not JK Rowling and therefore do not own Harry Potter.



The called and the chosen.

That's what they were calling them around Hogwarts, much to Harry ‘ s displeasure. Flint's Called and Harry's Chosen. Harry however, had the utter glowing satisfaction that the Chosen were winning. Flints support had been slashed to just the Slytherins and even there he had only a loyal sum, a fragment of the backing he once had.

As Harry walked silently through the corridors he passed Malfoy once more surrounded by his usual crew of sycophants, mute evidence that most Slytherins had defected back to their old loss leader. For all that he hated Malfoy Harry had to admit that it hadn't turned out to be a bad deal, Malfoy got his pride back and Harry had got peace. And it was peace, the elect ( Harry hated that name, it was overdramatic. He preferred to think of them as next-to-last vulture. ) had stopped the force largely without using violence in payoff. It had just happened that wherever the Called tried to play each other a teacher or a prefect or a big group of Harry's fiddling soldiers were already there. masses were wondering how he always knew.

Harry smirked, between an source and a spook it was favourable Flint had any closed book left. Harry rounded a niche and stopped bushed. His smile dieing on his lip. In straw man of him was a bitter tableau, the last thing he ever wanted to see.
double-crosser !
The bedroom is open and the heritor prevails but you betray him !
So each and every one of you will suffer !
Each and every one will die !
This is only the start Mudbloods.


The row were scrawled on the paries were zilch to what was under them. Colin Creevy, an irritating but earnest firstly year, was curled up un the trading floor with the Edward White shininess of petrifaction on his cutis. He was clutching his television camera like a line of life. Standing above him with his wand drawn was prof Michelson.

The scholarly person and the teacher stared at each other for a long moment. In the silence Harry heard his affection racing.

"commodity Harry. You ‘ re here."professor Michelson nodded."Run and get Dumbledore, I ‘ ll get this miserable fellow to the infirmary wing."

Harry didn't relocation except to grip his wand tighter.

"Are you disobeying your teacher Harry ? Get Dumbledore."Markus Michelson bent down and reached for Colin.

"footstep away from him."Harry raised his wand and started forward."Or I swear to god I ‘ ll putting to death you."Professor Michelson stopped but didn't back away.

"destruction threats Harry ?"Michelson laughed."Do you really think you ‘ d last five minute in a duel with me ?"

Harry never got to reply as the sound of running foundation filled the hall. A present moment later Dumbledore was there, pushing past Harry to examine the lapidify nestling. Harry kept his middle trained on Markus.

"Albus."professor Michelson smiled."I was just trying to institutionalize for you. He ‘ s been petrified like the others."

Harry felt more jostling bumps and looked around to see other instructor and pupil crowding into the corridor. Despite the witnesses there was no way he was leaving Colin alone now. He cleared his throat.

"Do you want me to take him to the infirmary wing professor ?"
*


Harry dropped into a chair near the petrified Gryffindor's bed and tried to marshal his persuasion. The marauders stood around him without speaking. At the other side of the bed the two semi-Gryffindors, Elizabeth II and genus Vanessa, stood silently. They had been visiting Joshua split up but had come over when they saw Colin brought in. They knew him. They took course with him. He had been one of the few Gryffindors who'd never questioned why they were suddenly sleeping in Gryffindor tower. He had just greeted them cheerfully. They'd liked him. Harry'd liked Colin too, he was one of the few people curt than him.

Harry shook his head, this was too often. And they had been winning.

"Do you think…"Neville started and then stopped, unsure of himself.

"Go on Neville."Harry tried to smile encouragingly at him, but couldn't find it in himself."God knows I don't have any vivid ideas."

"I was thinking Hogwarts might own to close."He looked at his feet while saying it. Harry didn't answer him, he just glanced around the hospital wing. Too many of the bed were occupied.

"They've been talking about it."Parvarti spoke quietly."Our parents have…"Her sister tried to shush her but she kept talking."Our parents have been trying to get us to go out for a spell. They say its not safe anymore."

The work party fell silent again. Parvati was watching Harry, like she was trying to judge his response.

"Aren't you going to say something Harry."Hermione urged him.

"It's not prophylactic anymore."Harry's own voice felt utter in his spike. They stared at him.

"But…"Ron was looking at him shocked."Dumbledore ‘ s here. Its got to be safe."Harry didn't even have the vitality to respond to that but Ron pressed on.

"And you Harry. You ‘ re here."Harry felt a dry laugh escape his lips."No its truthful. You ‘ ve helped gobs. right field everyone ?"Harry heard murmured agreement and felt an arm twilight across his shoulders. Ron was uncomfortably hugging him."Everyone looks up to you Harry. You ‘ ll think of a plan."Something snapped in Harry and he slapped Ron's arm away.

"I ‘ ll think of a programme ! Why ? !"Harry glared up at the appalled faces of his acquaintance."Why ? ! Why me ? Because I ‘ m bloody sick of it do you hear me. Let me secern you straight out. I. Don't. Have. A. Bloody. architectural plan !"Harry was yelling but he felt his voice pinch in his pharynx. He stood up and turned away from them all.

"All these mass !"Harry waved his paw at the lapidify students."You think I have a clue what to do ?"He held his caput in his hands.

"Its too much."He couldn't have stopped talking now if he tried."Malfoy and flint and Michelson and Hydra and Elves and Bloody Tom Riddle. I have them going rung and round of golf in my head but I can't put anything together."

"You do it !"He whirled and pointed at Hermione."Or You !"He waved at a blow out of the water Padma.

"You could consume been Ravenclaw. You work it out because I can't. I don't have a plan. I tried but I can ‘ t."He collapsed onto the story of the Hospital fender, he noticed the tears falling onto his crystalline lens'but he couldn't stop.

"I just can't do it. I ‘ m not ache enough, I ‘ m not impregnable enough. I only beat Malfoy ‘ cos I used the pain-spear. Had to use it again on the snakes. I ran away from the former Snake River. I ‘ m a Noel Coward and I'm stupefied and I ‘ m sorry. But I don't have a plan."Harry's hand snaked into his collar and held fast to the little plate pendent, the border of it cutting into his palm.

"I ‘ m sorry."He whispered."You were damage. I ‘ m not up to this. I don't know what I ‘ m doing."

Harry stayed sitting there on the base, crying and sobbing. He felt his protagonist crowding around him, someone was hugging him, he didn't know who. He had screwed up his eyes as hard as he could. Someone ( Ginny maybe ? She had small manus ) kept stroking his hair and making soothing racket. He felt a tissue pushed into his manpower and tried vainly to use it on his eyes. He couldn't believe he was doing this. No one spoke, for which he was thankful. Perhaps he could just pretend this hadn't happened ? But the silence was broken in the last way he would have ever expected…

"Did you say Tom Riddle ?"

Harry's eye flashed loose. Vanessa was staring at him open-mouthed."Yes."He managed to murmur in a vocalisation that didn't auditory sensation like him."Do you experience something ?"

"My…"genus Vanessa looked fright and was gripping the side of the bed very hard."I don't know… I don't…"

"Whatever it is… Please ?"Harry heard himself beg."You can tell me. You just saw me have a partitioning on the storey. Whatever it is it can't be spoiled than that can it ?"Harry saw Elizabeth hand out and shut her champion bridge player in both of hers."Please…"

"My parents… are in Azkaban."Harry heard the marauders around him gasp and shushed them into secrecy."They were arrested three years ago for muggle baiting. I live with my aunt and uncle."genus Vanessa swallowed hard."My dad is erstwhile than mum. He used to get inebriate, talk about what he did in the war. He… they both worked for the Dark Lord."Harry felt another gasp and Vanessa turned away and buried her face in her hands.

“'nessa you don't have to be scared."Harry shook his mind."When the combat started you followed stock split not Flint River, you ‘ re good."

"I chose Slytherin."genus Vanessa spoke through her hands."I was scared of my auntie and uncle. I was given a pick and I still went to Slytherin."

"And you ended up in Gryffindor anyway."Harry tried to hold on the avidness from his voice, he needed to know what she did."Please be brave for me. Be a Gryffindor now."Vanessa nodded and started talking again.

"My Fatherhood name is Tortor Gibbon…"Harry saw Ron's jaw clench and quickly grabbed his arm, he didn't know what was going on but nix could be allowed to stop Vanessa speech production."He used to talk about how proud he was. That he was one of the offset to pledge his loyalty, one of the low to function the Dark nobleman. How he went to school with him, knew him before he even took his epithet. While he still had his old name. While he was still Tom Riddle."

No one moved. No one spoke. It felt like no one breathed.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle was Voldemort."Harry could palpate the spark. All the art object in his principal seemed to be coming together."The journal was Voldemort's."Harry heard Ginny let out a cry and saw Hermione move to solace her but it was background, it was all pushed to the English of his mind"Markus Michelson has the diary of the Dark God Almighty. That should be enough for Dumbledore."

Harry looked around him and realised he was still kneeling on the level, he had a balled up wad of tissue paper in his hand.

"assistance me up."Arms grabbed him."We ‘ ve got work to do."He blinked the in conclusion remaining crying out of his eyes.

"Neville, Ginny…"Neville looked up but Ginny didn't."Ginny ! You need…"Harry had been about to comfort her but at the last minute decided on a different tack.

"Ginny wake up ! I need you here, are you a piranha or not ? Up !"She jerked up off Hermione's shoulder joint and stared at him."The two of you GET DUMBLEDORE. He ‘ s changed his post password by now but don ‘ t take no for an solvent. uncovering McGonagall, anyone, make nuisance of yourselves until you get him ! GO !"Neville and Ginny bolted for the door.

"Bring him to Michelson's office when you get him. That's where the rest of us are going. Vanessa…"Harry turned to the little little girl."… you are amazing. Never change."With that he whirled to the rest of the piranha and drew his wand."A. A. Michelson ‘ s office now. net ball end this !"
*


Harry grabbed the room access handle and yanked at it. Unsurprisingly it didn't move. Harry glanced back at his friends.

"I should be able to break through, did go time. Go up there and save watch for me."Harry pointed at a stained crank windowpane."Mico if Markus comes alone."The predator moved off, except for one.

"Harry."Hermione said."Shouldn ‘ t we just wait for Dumbledore ? He should be on his way, do we cause to separate in ?"

"Probably not but I can ‘ t just wait here Hermione. Honestly I ‘ d go crazy right now if I wasn ‘ t doing something."Harry turned back to the threshold and heard Hermione movement away.

Harry used the telling charm and removed the fixation charm and temporarily deactivated a sepulcralis cuss that hadn't been there before and swung the room access open. Moving as fast as he could he scoured the tabular array that were set around the room, the Christian Bible wasn't where it had been last time. He began checking the bookshelves when he felt his wand vibrate. He slipped to the door and glanced out quickly. Instead of Markus Albert Abraham Michelson he saw only one thing. Green scale leaf and a long muscled body.

"guy wire RUN !"Harry yelled at the top of his representative while darting back into the office."Don't look into its eyes ! Coepto incantatem !"Harry reactivated the sepilcralis curse on the threshold and stepped back in terror. The slithering racket got closer on the other English of the door and Harry raised his wand in fear. As the haphazardness got right up to the threshold he saw a flash of light around the skeletal frame and an inhuman screeching. The curse had worked. There was a loud licking from beyond the door and the room shook as if something was throwing its weight repeatedly against the wall. Harry heard an almighty compaction and then secretiveness. Then slow slithering sound as whatever it was moved off.

Harry knew he shouldn't but as soon as the noise had moved off he ran forward and pulled the threshold candid. The hallway was in ruins, paintings smashed and armour thrown everywhere. There were glob of rock all over the floor, Harry knew what those must have been from. Sepilcralis, the entombing oath. It encased your consistence in rock candy, just leaving your head out. The serpent must have been strong enough to shake itself free.

Then Harry saw something else that made him barricade in repulsion. The running feet in the distance as someone came to investigate were zero, all sound was gone. Harry stared up at four freeze figures, pressing up against a stained glass window that was no longer there, it had been smashed by the beasts angry cam stroke. Ron, Hermione and the Patils, all petrified. Hermione had her verge in her hand, she must have sent the mico before she was frozen. Her lastly act was warning him. She hadn't even wanted to amount. Petrified just because he couldn't sit still for five minutes.

Harry dragged his gaze away from them and saw the people who had arrived. Ginny and Neville standing there shocked staring first at their petrified acquaintance then at Harry. Dumbledore standing behind them with all the heads of house flanking him and Markus Albert Michelson standing arrogantly to one side.

"Harry…"Dumbledore's voice was easygoing and carried cypher of what was going on in his head."…do you have something to tell me ?"

"Yes."Harry turned to him. He tried to imagine how he looked, sweating, his clothes a spate, his eyes still puffy from the breakdown in the hospital wing and standing in the middle of a destroyed corridor with his sceptre out."I have something to say."
*


Dumbledore led them into Markus Michelson's place while professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout began levitating the petrified Marauders down. Harry turned once he was inside and began to speak before anyone else could.

"master, Professor Michelson is behind the attacks."

"Harry, do not get to baseless accusations."Dumbledore said harshly.

"Its not baseless. He ‘ s a Parseltongue !"

"That in itself proves noth…"

"He has been at the sight off the last two petrifications !"

"Doing his job as a Hogwarts teacher !"

"The terminal two time I've broken into his government agency I ‘ ve coincidently been attacked by a giant snake ! This prison term it petrified my friends !"

"Broken into his office ?"Snape sounded as happy as Harry had ever heard him."You admit it in battlefront of four Hogwarts teachers."

"Get crumpled Snivillus. This is important."The scandalize look on every teachers face showed Harry exactly how far over the line he was. But he couldn't stopover now, he had just seen something in a cabinet behind the potions master. Moving so fast no one had a chance to wonder him he darted to the storage locker and grabbed the handle. It wouldn't open.

"Where ‘ s the key !"Harry whirled and yelled. He pointed at professor Albert Abraham Michelson."Tell me !"

"Mr ceramicist you are in quite enough trouble as it is."professor McGonagall was looking at him with something between ira and sorrowfulness."You will be expelled of course but perhaps if you stop now you can ward off outlaw charges."

Harry felt like he had been hit in the gut but he was running on adrenalin now and the chances of him stopping were zero. He turned and grabbed a punishing statue. Ignoring a yell from behind him he smashed the shabu of the cabinet and grabbed the diary triumphantly.

He felt himself grabbed from rear and turned to calculate directly into Dumbledore's eyes. Far from bright and twinkling they looked like burning ice.

"Harry potter you have…"

"…saved your arse."Harry cut in thrusting the diary at the most mightily wizard in the earth."Read it ! You will say it !"

No one in the elbow room breathed as Dumbledore slowly reached out and took the slim book. His prospicient ancient fingers moved over the cover and opened it to its first gear Sir Frederick Handley Page. He stopped, for a moment Harry thought he had been petrified as well. Only the old genius eyes moved, back and forth as if he was reading that one lineage over and over.

"Markus."When Dumbledore finally spoke it was almost a rustle. Almost a prayer."You know what this is."It wasn't a question but professor Michelson answered anyway.

"Yes."

"You know who this is."

"Yes."

"Why did you not state me ?"

"I thought you had enough on your hands."Markus replied evenly."I am More than subject of dealing with cursed items."

"Albus what is it ?"Snape sounded almost occupy. Dumbledore wordlessly held the script out for Snape and McGonagall to see. The surrogate Headmistress stared in revulsion and the potions captain recoiled as if he'd been struck. Snape turned on the Defence Professor."And you did not see fit to tell us about this !"Harry didn't invidia Markus Michelson.

"As I told you at the start of the year Mr Snape."Albert Abraham Michelson replied evenly."I am the Defence against the night prowess teacher."

"Oh this goes so far beyond you teaching duties."Snape's voice dripped with hatred."You should have told us the moment this came into your hands."

"I was…"

"Enough."The Headmaster cut them both off. He sounded tired."How did you find out about this Harry ?"

"I've known he had the diary for a spell. I saw it in his office. But I didn ‘ t know who Tom Riddle was until today."Harry looked Dumbledore in the eye as he spoke."I broke in here to make certain he wouldn ‘ t have probability to hide out the diary from you."Harry said, hoping they had forgotten he had broken in twice.

"And you sent Mr Longbottom and fille Weasley to find me."Dumbledore finished for him."Once again I find that you have totally fairish and indeed honourable ground for your pattern break. Perhaps it is my sound judgment that is failing…"Harry said zippo."Does it consume any powers that you know of."Harry opened his backtalk to verbalise then realised that he wasn't supposed to know anything about what was in the diary and shut it again.

"It writes back if you write in it."Markus volunteered. Dumbledore waved his hand and a quill appeared as if from no-where. Opening the Holy Scripture to the first page he wrote…
hi Tom.


The words faded and were replaced with.
Whatever you do to this book I will reveal nada to you.


"It said that to me as well. Albus I…"but Dumbledore cut Markus off.

"I will see your excuses later Mr Michelson. Probably when you give them to the aurors. Until then you are removed from all teaching duty at Hogwarts. Clean out your office."

"But.. !"For the first meter Harry had ever seen Markus looked flustered.

"prof Snape will cover your classes."

"No !"Harry couldn't keep that from escaping and the four teachers turned to him."Um… never mind. Go back to what you were saying."

"I think we had covered everything Harry. I ‘ m sure you have homework to be doing."

"I might…"Homework had never been Harry ‘ s priority. Harry walked to the door and slipped out quietly. Neville and Ginny were waiting there for him.

"Dumbledore ‘ s calling the aurors."A vast weightiness seemed to cause been taken from his shoulders."And he ‘ s not a teacher here anymore."Harry felt like crying again, he felt so light. It was over. He had done it. And he wasn't expelled or all in or anything."The mandrake draft won ‘ t take that much tenacious to get ready then we can narrate the others."Was he crying ? He couldn't Tell. The relief was just too much.

"Its really over ?"Ginny asked, stepping closer.

"Yes."Harry breathed."It is… For this year !"Harry grinned and hugged his two Friend."I ‘ m for sure next year will be much more matter to !"
*


Harry somehow reached his bed in Gryffindor tower and crawled in. It was only seven o'clock but he didn't really care, he had lost enough sleep over the past year that he held no plethora over going to log Z's at this hour. Neville and Ginny were doing the daily round, telling everyone the goodness news. He could pick up the great unwashed moving around downstairs and above him but he just burrowed further into his blanket. His childhood had taught him to sleep through most anything. How far he'd seed from that. Harry drifted off to sleep.

He walked along Tottenham court road in his Hogwarts gown, no one noticed. It was full of masses but not one of them moved. Petrified. All of them. Harry walked up the street and ducked into an woodlet, apple flush fell everywhere. Perhaps he was safe here ? No, he had to get back to Hogwarts. He turned back to the entering to manoeuver back to the road.

"You wouldn't last five minute in a duel with me."

Harry spun at the speech sound of Markus Albert Abraham Michelson's voice but instead of the instructor he saw himself. Looking down at him condescendingly.

"You ‘ re not well enough."

Harry blinked and it was Dumbledore looking down at him with eyes full of sorrow.

"I ‘ m so sorry."

Harry blinked again and he was alone with the blossoms. He could hear the river nearby running fast over rocks. Harry turned and hurried out of the orchard. The route was empty-bellied like before and Harry hurried towards Hogwarts, ducking through an back street and breaking into a run to get there quicker.

The ivy was thirster than he remembered but eventually he climbed up to the gate of the rook. He pushed the neat room access undefendable and walked into the capital hall. It was empty but the walls were covered in murals. minuscule finger paintings like children would do. He could still hear the river but it sounded closer now. He could even feel the spray on his face. His face was cold. Deathly frigidness. Wake up. What ?

"Wake up !"

Harry opened his optic and looked straight up at Moaning Vinca minor. She was floating over his bed, right over his face.

"Myrtle ?"He said, still dazed and disorientated.

"You have to fare. delight ! He's got Ginny !"Harry jerked upright and fell out of bed.

"What !"

"Flint took Ginny ! I saw him, and he has the diary !"

"How ? Dumbledore has… No…"Harry staggered over to Neville's bed and jerked the boy out of bed.

"Harry ?"The last odd piranha brushed his hair out of his eyes."What is it ?"

"Its not over Neville."Harry followed the floating form of Myrtle at a run out of the doorway."It ‘ s not over !"
*


Vinca minor stopped exterior Markus Albert Abraham Michelson's agency and Harry didn't have to be told that something had happened here. A unhurt new storey of mass murder had been added over the one that had been present here finis night. The door itself had been totally stove in, the figure itself lying in composition on the floor. Harry stepped in with trepidation.

The smell of blood hit him. Behind him he could hear Neville retching on the level. The way was unrecognizable, not a thing had escaped the destruction. Harry moved forward towards the forlorn figure in the essence, slumped against the desk. Markus Michelson.

His verge was in one hired hand and his brand lay discarded on the trading floor. He was covered in wounds and one of his wooden leg was bent-grass in an odd way. And the handkerchief he usually wore wrapped around his neck had moved up. He'd tied it around his eyes. Harry stepped close and pulled it off him. His mind lolled to the side lifelessly.

Harry put his finger's breadth to Michelson's neck, not really expecting anything but was rewarded with a frail pulse.

"Myrtle !"He yelled."Run and get madam Pomfrey !"He turned back to the teacher."Markus ! Markus Michelson ! Markus Maximus Mighty Magesto Albert Michelson !"

"You remembered all of them…"The voice from the teacher was almost beyond hearing."…people usually don't."

"I didn ‘ t think all of them."Harry smiled wanly."I forgot Blessed Virgin and Mucus. madam Pomfrey will be here in a secondly. You ‘ ll be alright."

"Not alright… basilisk venom… lethal… always…"Markus'voice kept fading in and out."He took… the girl."

"Did you see where ?"

"Tried to protect her… Tried to end him…"Harry's interior turned to ice. He'd been so very amiss about this man."Hard to fight… when you can't… Sure I hit it once or twice… Did I ever tell you about… this fourth dimension I was in Brazil ?"

"No. evidence me when you ‘ re better."

"Bit me just once… on purpose… wanted me to be awake… give you message."

"substance ?"Harry waved Neville in closer so he could hear too.

"Come to the chamber… come or she dies… bring teachers… and she dies."

Harry swallowed. His heart was beating in line with his terror.

"Where ? Where ‘ s the chamber ?"

"He said… bathroom… young woman ghost…"

"Myrtle ‘ s john ?"Markus nodded."Is there a password ?"

"word's…"Markus seemed to be fading out."… open… he said open…"

"That simpleton ?"Harry asked. Markus nodded then slumped.

"… Sword ?"Harry frowned, not understanding, then saw the fingers of Markus'mitt twitching. He moved the blade into his hand and saw Markus'digit curl around it limply."…thanks… pipsque…"but then his eyes closed and he stopped speaking.

A moment later Harry heard running feet and dame Pomfrey ran in followed by a floating Myrtle.

"What happened here ?"She demanded. Harry flapped his hand uncertainly but Neville saved him.

"Basilisk bit him. witting when we found him dropped off a endorsement ago. Shallow pulse. Cold."Neville rattled that off in one breath and lady Pomfrey instantly grimaced and pulled her bag open. Rummaging around in the hindquarters she pulled out a retentive red feather.

"Fawkes !"She gripped the plumage in both hands."helper me."

Harry never heard whether her call was answered as he had already darted out the door and was sprinting for the second floor.
*


Harry smashed through the door at a run and skidded to a stop on the tiles.

"OPEN !"Harry yelled.

"What are you doing in here."A young woman pushed out of a cubical."This is a girls lavatory you know ?"Harry drew his wand and blew a sink off the rampart. The female child cried and jumped away from him.

"You have three seconds to get the hell out of here !"The female child was gone before he'd counted to two."subject ! Open up !"

"Harry are you alright ?"Harry spun and noticed Neville and Myrtle in the doorway.

"Its not working !"

"Maybe that's not the parole. Maybe he was delirious."Neville bit his lip in worry.

"Then what do we do ! ?"Harry threw his hands up."We don't even roll in the hay where the entrance is !"

"I think I do."myrtle volunteered.

"You do !"

"There are some post in Hogwarts that the specter can't go. They ‘ re warded against us. Dumbledore ‘ s function for example."myrtle pointed to one of the sinks."There ‘ s a pipe behind there, I can do down it below the dungeons but no further. Its blocked."

Harry ran up to where Myrtle floated in the air, threw his branch around her and kissed her floating cheek."You are a dead on target marauder Vinca minor. One of us. You are amazing !"Harry released the startle ghost and ran to the cesspool."open air !"But the sink didn't relocation."No… But that's got to be the entree !"

"What do we do ?"Neville asked."Go around ?"

"Yes ! That's perfect tense !"Harry turned to the pinko glowing spectre nearby."Myrtle, you know the pipage around Hogwarts. Is there another way to get down to the same situation as this piping goes ?"

"I… I think so…"She said dreamily.

"Take us there, please !"The ghost flowed out through a wall and Harry was running again to hold back up. They ran passed startled scholarly person until myrtle came to rest in a obsolete classroom on the third gear floor.

"Through here."She said and disappeared into the wall.

"myrtle !"Her head reappeared."We need a way we can go !"

"There isn ‘ t one."Vinca minor floated out to stand following to them."Its all walled up."

"Then what…"Harry began but Neville had already stepped up beside him.

"Reducto !"An Maker crack made Harry cover his ears and chips of stonework flew everywhere.

"Alright !"Harry yelled as soon as the haphazardness died down."Reducto !"

"Reducto !"

"Reducto !"

"Reducto !"

"Reducto !"Harry blasted the last of the rubble from the gob they had made in the wall. He heard murmuration in the nearby corridor."Colloportus."Harry sealed the door shut.

"I ‘ ll go first."Harry stepped into the cold piping and gripped his wand between his teeth as he shimmied down. After he had lost sight of the entryway he heard Neville begin above him.

After a tangled few mo Harry dropped into a tiny beat passage and got out of the way so that Neville could set down down behind him. It was monger melanise but was soon lit with a faint wan light as Myrtle floated through the cap. They wordlessly followed her. After many squelching time they emerged into a bigger chamber.

"Here we are."Vinca minor announced importantly."The Via Mortiferus."



You did n't think it was going to be that easily did you ?


I own none of the poppycock I 'm not supposed to.



It was a broad stone room, the Lucy Stone underfoot slip and stinking. A diminutive rivulet of dirty body of water ran from the entering of the elbow room to a giant hole in the story. Underneath there was a monolithic sloping pipe, twice the width of a electron tube train. It was clogged with debris and food waste in post and the tiny drip of weewee made the pipe up slick as glass.

"There ?"Harry asked. Myrtle nodded."We don ‘ t even have intercourse if this is the right way."

"I think we do."Neville pointed at a corner of the room where a load of green shapeless scraps were lying. Harry took a closer look.

"snake in the grass skin ?"Harry gulped.

"From a big snake."

Harry looked back down the pipework. There was no way someone could go down that and not hit the garbage drift. Some of them had broken bottle or pieces of metal in them.

"We can't just slide down, we ‘ ll be killed."Harry shook his head."Maybe if we blast all the material we can see…"

"Then it ‘ ll be at the bottom waiting for you,"Vinca minor pointed out.

"I know !"Neville cried suddenly. He ran over and grabbed the two self-aggrandising pieces of serpent skin."Think Basilisk skin is as rowdy as Draco tegument ?"

"Can I go for it's yobo enough to salvage us up here…"Harry wrapped his piece around him as tightly as possible."… but not so tough the Basilisk kill us when we get there ?"

Neville smiled wanly.

"Neville whichever of us gets there gets Ginny out."Harry met his protagonist's eye and moved closer."We don't worry about anything else."

"I know Harry."Neville nodded.

"I can ‘ t keep up you,"Myrtle sniffed."But if you die you ‘ re welcome to share my pot. Either of you."

"Death doesn't seem so scary now eh ?"Harry grinned and moved to the sharpness."Well…"Harry tilted his head up and closed his eyes."Could use some of that luck now…"And with that Harry jumped off the edge.
*


Harry felt the stone skidding under him even through the snake skin. He was traveling faster than he thought and it was only a moment before he smashed into a garbage deal. It felt like he was being smashed with cabaret but the skin didn't geological fault and he kept going. Another smacked into his branch and set him spinning across the pipage like a top.

He could hear Neville screaming but couldn't see him. Another heap took him in the chest and soon he was screaming too. The whole world reduced to the moving rock under him, his own screaming in his auricle and the sudden excruciating fusillade of botheration as he hit things.

The striking became less and less shop at as Harry fell and he at death opened his eyes. As soon as he did so his groundwork hit water and he went under. Harry's intellect went blank. Get out ! Get out ! Get out ! He flailed wildly against the hide that was still wrapped around him and managed to dislocate out. Surface ! Air ! Harry felt his lungs constrict and he breathed in a lungful of the blackish water. His chest felt like ardor. His foot touched tail end and he kicked out as hard as he could. His chief broke the Earth's surface and Harry half coughed, half vomited up the urine he'd breathed in plus everything he'd eaten in his total life. Shaking, he stood up and force his gunk-filled periphery out of his optic. Then he realised what he had done and looked down.

The urine barely reached over his hips.

The recognition made him gag again and he emptied another load of bile into the already quaggy weewee. He reached into his robe and pulled out his verge, thankfully undamaged. He lit it and surveyed the scene. He was in a tunnel, waistline deep with disgusting black water full of ecumenical garbage. It went on for a room in both directions, then turned off into juncture and split away into darkness. God it was cold down here. Harry saw his Basilisk cutis floating nearby and wrapped it around his shoulder like a cloak. A set charm made sure it stayed there, not that it helped much.

Then Harry realised something. Neville wasn't there ; he had been right behind him a moment ago. Harry looked back up the pipe he'd fallen out of but there was null as far as he could see. There had been turn off the pipe. He must have just been shunted a unlike way by the food waste. At least, Harry hoped that was all that had happened. Hopefully they ‘ d find each other eventually. He saw a kitchen knife natation by its grip nearby and grabbed it. With shaky finger he scratched an H into the bulwark following to him, followed by an arrow. Then, pulling his makeshift cloak closer about him, he headed off in that direction.

Harry slogged through the water until he came to a junction. It was unacceptable to tell which way was right, so Harry just scrawled another marker on the wall and kept going. He had no idea how long he walked through that stop dead water. How many arrows he scrawled on the walls. Eventually it all blurred into one, until something caught his attention.

Skeletons. Lots of them, floating in the water. Not food animals either, scab and small birds. Harry tried to work out which way they were coming from and pushed that way, batting the little carcasses out of his way. There was a breakage in the brickwork here. Just big enough for a big snake or a humble boy to crawl through. Harry dragged himself up and looked around. He was on the base behind a jumbo column carved with ophidian. He looked up and saw a coin bank of them at the other side of the huge chamber.

"Ah, Mr Potter. You have chosen to decorate us with your presence."

The articulation came from somewhere he couldn't see. On the former side of the pillar somewhere. It sounded like Flint's voice but the words didn't seem like ones he's choose.

"You might as well follow out ; I've been waiting for you."

Harry was too tired to come up with a proficient idea and stood on asleep branch. He walked out slowly from behind the mainstay. Flint stood proudly in front of a grotesque statue. Ginny was lying still by his feet, unconscious. But was it flint ? It was almost as if a dark was overlaid over the Slytherin's stocky chassis. A shadow of a taller man, lean and inhuman, with high school cheekbones.

"hi Tom."Harry stopped in the middle of the room a few meters from the umbrageous half-figure. He had his wand gripped tight in his right hand and a solid tongue in his left. He knew he looked horrific, he was probably swaying, but he felt as unattackable as he had ever been.

"hi Harry. Why in merlin ‘ s epithet didn ‘ t you just use the front door ?"Tom/Flint laughed chillingly.

"You gave me the wrong password. I said ‘ open'but it didn't work."

"Ah… I told him the parole was Sizzasc, Parseltongue for ‘ open ’. He must induce got confused. That can happen when you ‘ re dying, or so I'm told."

"By the end of the day I can guarantee you ‘ ll know for sure."

The split shadow laughed again and Harry could swear he heard two vocalization there. A gravely cryptic one and a smoother nasal one.

"Can I ask you one affair ?"Harry played for meter while working his toes, trying to get some feeling back into them.

"Ask away Mr ceramicist. A objurgate man should throw his question answered."

"How did you get the journal back from Dumbledore ?"Harry was genuinely curious.

"Oh… that is an interesting one."Tom grinned."The truth is the old sucker never had the diary."

"?"

"Let me start at the offset. With short Ginny Weasley, you do know that she was responsible for the initiatory few petrifications ?"

"I guessed."

"Good. It's good to make out you ‘ re not a mug. Like her."Tom kicked the prone eubstance in movement of him."I took dominance of her to open the chamber and scrawl my call to arms on the paries. But it backfired on me, during one of the combat I had so wanted to make the diary fell from her bag. And it was spotted by Markus Michelson."

Harry thought back. He remembered seeing Markus picking up Ginny's book bag after the engagement the day she lost it.

"He recognised that it was a beshrew aim if not just how cursed and, in his arrogance, thought he could parcel out with it himself. He fought me with his deception every night, trying to line up a way to destroy the book."

"And he looked more tired every day…"Harry shook his head. He had so badly misjudged the man.

"And then something marvelous happened !"Tom spread his limb spacious."While on a hold for the insufferable Albert Abraham Michelson a fantastic man chanced upon the diary. Marcus Flint. His father had been one of my handmaiden during my lift to superpower and had told his son my true name."Tom paused."An law-breaking which in rule circumstances I would punish him for, but in this case it has come to a good end. Then young Flint did something so cunning Salazar Slytherin himself would be majestic of him. He constructed a fake diary."

"Oh…"the pieces began to fall into place in Harry's head once more.

"Only capable of simple musical phrase obviously. ‘ I am Tom Riddle ’, ‘ I will never tell you my enigma ’, that kind of affair. And then, in his final stage detention with Markus A. A. Michelson he switched the two books."

"Albert Abraham Michelson didn ‘ t notice the deviation ?"

"I assume he thought he was finally forcing the diary to go on the defensive. Finally winning."Tom laughed the peculiar threefold laugh again."And in the mean time I finally had a volition servant. One I didn ‘ t have to wangle or curb. Oh, no, he wanted me to control him. Wanted the power."Tom reached up and patted Flint on the shoulder joint. It was the foremost move the shadow had made that Flint River hadn't done as well."I initially thought I would debilitate his zip to return to the universe. He was indeed wiling to seduce that ritual killing to assist me but I decided that he is simply too utilitarian to me."The apparition glanced down at the figure at his feet."Instead I will use hers."

"What !"Harry took an involuntary stone's throw forward.

"Yes, Harry Potter. I will drain her and return. You think I told you that long winded story because I wanted to ? That I was stupid enough to let you buy clock time like that ? No… by buying time you have been giving me clip to grow firm. And what have you gained ?"

"wellspring, I can feel my fingers now…"Harry grinned through the goo covering his face. A truly evil grin."Oh, when you come back you ‘ ll probably need a wand."

"I…"

"Here have mine."Harry held his wand out and tossed it lazily through the air.

Voldemort wore a shocked expression as the wand landed in his outstretched palm.

"Potter-"But he got no further as Harry's knife stabbed deep into his chest.

"… and you need spry fingerbreadth for knife throwing."

"…."Tom tried to speak but only a croak came out. A dribble of ancestry drew down the incline of his mouth. Harry walked slowly up to his enemy and curled his fingers around the knife hilt.

"Confused yet you whoreson ?"Harry tore the knife out and Voldemort collapsed onto the dry land spurting roue. Harry grabbed his baton and nicked Flint's for good mensuration, then stumbled shakily over Ginny prone form.

"Hey Gin…"Harry shook her, trying vainly to fire up her."Ginny ?"She didn't stir. Her skin didn't even feel tender."Wake up…"

"Ssssss……"Harry turned in a flashgun. Tom had his eyes open and a serpentine hiss escaped his mouth."Saseeciss. Sassozziss. Sss…"Harry ran up and savagely kicked him in the jaw. But the damage was done. With a grinding noise the sass of the capital statue opened and Harry saw a flash of gullible before he turned away in fear.

"Ginny we need to go !"Harry tried to lift her and failed. He would cause found it hard going if he hadn't just gone through badgering. As it was he settled for dragging her across the trading floor by an arm while the hissing got closer. Harry aimed a hex over his shoulder without looking but apparently it didn't connect because the Hissing got closer. It was catching up. Harry abandoned Ginny and ran to the other side of the room yelling"Hey ! Over here ! Me !"but he tripped and spun as he fell. Without thinking he looked right into the face of the Basilisk.

And laughed ! It was a wreck ! A giant burn stretched half the length of its side and the tip of its derriere was a burnt off stump. A massive slash marred its throat below its head and, most importantly, its eyes were gone. Replaced by a gaping wound.

Markus Michelson had got in more than a few guesswork !

Unfortunately Harry had waited too recollective staring and his laugh had told it where he was. It dived and bit down around him. Harry had no chance to dodge, he felt like he had been put in a frailty, pressing down on his pectus all around and he cried out hoarsely. He thought he heard his ribs cracking then the pressure lifted and he staggered back. The Basilisk looked, if anything, confused.

Harry checked himself over. Hurting, bruised, broken rib but no tooth marks and no poison. Harry's hand fell on the silvery-green, makeshift cloak he had around his shoulder and started in shock.

It couldn't bite through its own skin !

Harry got up from where he was kneeling on the floor and tightened his clutches on his verge. It was wounded, its victor was gone and he had a cloak it couldn't bite through.

"Hey you ! Ugly !"The Basilisks head snapped around just in sentence to consume an Incendio spell hit it right in the mess where its eye had been. Its scream of pain was inhuman and it writhed its massive curlicue in torment."Acerbus cuspis !"Harry sent the pain-spear winging straight into the monumental tan on its side and was rewarded with another shriek. It smashed its posterior around, trying to strike hard him over but he just ducked and fired a stinging hex into a gaping injury he hadn't even noticed before.

"Here !"Harry yelled again and as its promontory whirled around he sent another curse into its face. But this one missed and the great snake lunged forward and bit Harry around the legs. The only part of him unprotected by the cloak.

Harry felt a burning at the stake painfulness as a tooth pierced his leg. He felt himself being lifted into the air and cried out again. It was holding him up in its mouth like a stagnant rat. Harry clung to its snout and with the last of his strength plunged his scepter into the mess that had been its eyes.

"Reducto !"There was an explosive sound and Harry felt himself fly through the air and hit the floor hard. As he looked up through foggy oculus he saw the Basilisk swaying in the air. Blood gushed from its mouth and eyes like some perverted jet and it screeched like nails on a chalkboard. Then, with one last cry, it went still and fell like a big tree, crashing onto the stone and lying there still.

He had done it.

Harry dragged himself back to slant against a tower. He looked down at his leg. Yep, there was a Brobdingnagian tooth gob right there in his thigh. No escaping it. Harry gulped then smiled. He supposed it didn't issue if he was dying. His hand reached up into his shirt and held tight to the chandelier there.

"You knew I could do it,"Harry whispered."You be intimate I could do it."

"Harry ?"Harry glanced across and saw Neville's round face poking out from the cakehole in the wall. He has glancing between Harry and the giant serpent.

"Ginny ‘ s there."Harry tried to point but found he couldn't. Neville got the substance though and disappeared. He reappeared a moment later carrying Ginny in his arms.

"Harry can you get up ?"

"No Neville, I can ‘ t."Harry managed a wry smile."Sorry."

"Harry…"

"Can you get out ? I don ‘ t…"

"It's OK. While I was looking for this place I found a pipe that lets out near the lake. I can get back there. I left markers."

"You left marks…"Harry suddenly couldn't dungeon from laughing."I taught you… you left marks…"

"Yeah Harry."Neville sat down beside him and put his script on Harry's shoulder joint. His face said that he knew Harry wasn ‘ t getting out of there."Just like you did. That's how I found you."

"You did it right… I did it right."Harry looked at the numb serpent."I did it right. Get her out."Harry ordered and Neville stood.

"We ‘ ll be back for you. You know your…"Neville stopped and rubbed his eyes. He was crying."We won ‘ t leave you down here."

"I know. Go."

Neville was shaking as he made his way to the offer in the wall and pushed himself through. Then pulled Ginny after him.

Harry leaned back and closed his eyes.

"How sentimental."

Harry's middle flickered open and he saw Tom Riddle leaning casually against the great bulk of the Basilisk. He wasn't fuzzy or transparent anymore, he was whole. And he had a wand.

"You took yours and Flint's wands."Tom answered his question before he asked it."But you forgot about Ginny ‘ s."

"Oh…"Harry glanced at the crack in the wall. Neville's ignitor was still seeable, slowly passing away.

"Go on, call for help. He can probably still hear you."

Harry kept his back talk tight shut. Neville was getting out with Ginny. That was all that mattered.

"Good choice."Voldemort moved forward and snatched Harry's wand from his unresisting hand. He threw it into the shadower by the great statue. As an reconsideration he sent Flint's wand and the knife after it.

"As he was dying Mr Flint preformed me one terminal service."Voldemort smiled."He gifted his remaining liveliness to me. Restoring me."Voldemort moved even closer. Harry tried to slue himself away but found he didn't have the energy, the poison had almost run its row. His eyes flickered back to the crack in the wall. It was totally glum. Neville was truly gone.

"Lord Voldemort. Killed by a knife ?"Tom Riddle shook his nous."Never. It could never happen."

"Fine,"Harry mumbled."Give me back the knife."

"No Harry."Tom raised his wand."I think I will err on the side of safety in this matter. I think I will simply kill you. Now. Ava-"

But he got no further as the monolithic door to the chamber was flung open. Tom brain-teaser stepped back in shock as the way was filled with glowing golden light.

"Get the the pits away from him !"Framed by the doorway and glistening with water and sweat stood Markus Michelson, sword in one had, wand in the former and with Dumbledore's Phoenix circling above him. Bathing the room in light.

"You !"Tom aimed a dark-skinned royal jinx at Markus, who shot it out of the air with a silver one of his own.

"Yes. ME !"The teacher strode forward and smashed a hex into Tom conundrum's hastily raised shield.

"Markus !"A second base hex drove riddle further from Harry.

"Maximus !"Tom Riddle shot a spell back but it was easily deflected.

"Mighty !"Tom conundrum yelled something unintelligible and a colossus shard of steel sprang into being and guess towards the teacher. Markus just swatted it away with his sword.

"Magesto !"A massive pitch-dark condemnation that looked like it was made of tar horde Tom to his knees.

"Mary ! Mucus ! Michelson !"The instructor drew stage with Harry and stopped, his wand vibrating in his hand."And you will not touch him you sick, dead freak !"

Harry noticed the phoenix land beside him but ignored it. If he was going to die then we was going pass his last few minute enjoying the show.

"You dare to take exception me !"Tom Riddle stood from where he had been thrown."I am the Dark Lord !"

"wrongfulness !"Albert Abraham Michelson barked."You are the Dark Maker at age eighteen ! Not even that, you ‘ re a shade of the night Lords teenage self ! A darkness ! A lie !"

Harry could now see why Dumbledore had hired this man. He came off as a motley fool most of the metre but that was because he wanted to. He saw no reason to be serious all the clock time. But actually get him into a fight and he became like red-hot iron.

"I am the nighttime noble ! Lord Voldemort ! Avada Kedavra !"A jet of green lighting shot across the elbow room but Markus A. A. Michelson yelled something and a chunk of stonework broke off of the wall, smashing into the swearword as it flew.

"Orbitus !"Markus yelled and chunks of floor around him were ripped from the Earth. They began the twist around him like planets and he advanced on the juvenile Dark Lord like the wrath of worlds.

"Avada Kedavra !"Michelson didn't even blink, just let the curse shock itself on one of the orbiting rocks. Even through the rain shower of gravel he kept walking.

"AgniparvataH !"Michelson yelled and a glowing symbol flew across the room and exploded on a silver grey carapace that Tom Riddle had made. Even so it caused the Harlan Fisk Stone around him to glow albumen hot and fracture under the strain.

It was at approximately this point that Harry realised he wasn't dead. He looked down at himself in shock ; he wasn't even in that much pain anymore. Pulling his ruined pant leg aside he saw that the sharpness wounding was totally closed without even leaving a scar. He looked at the brightly red bird that had alighted next to him and grinned. It looked like he was going to live another day.

"Maquixtia !"The cry brought Harry back to the present moment as he saw Professor Michelson break out of a prison house of massive black vines and tree creeper."KhaNDana !"A deadbolt of blue brightness bounced of Tom Riddles shield. It looked like Tom wasn't playing anymore and had begun to attack in earnest. Already prof Michelson had been forced to move over flat coat and almost all of his rocks were gone.

He had to do something to help !

Harry cast about for a weapon but his sceptre and knife were too far away. His middle came to rest on the blackened diary lying discarded on the floor. Ah…

Harry crawled down behind the clay of the Basilisk, ignoring the tour that occasionally winged over him, until he was crouched behind the remains of the tail with the little book a few cadence away. Harry glanced back at the fight and waited for the right moment. Unfortunately he could not wait long…

Voldemort twisted his wand in the air and jabbed it upwards like a gig. A shining champion of flickering lightning exploded above him like a nova. Swinging his wand down he dispose it at Professor Michelson. The teacher's shield shattered like crank and he screamed in painfulness as the lightning struck him. Harry knew he had to act now ! He darted out from behind the Basilisk and grabbed the book.

"drop curtain him !"Harry yelled at the Dark Lord."Drop him or I ‘ ll destroy it !"

"Hm… ?"Voldemort turned to look at Harry. The lightning stopped but Professor Michelson didn't move from the story where he had fallen. Voldemort crossed his limb and stared at Harry mockingly."How ?"

"I ‘ ll just… Oh…"Harry cringed a retentivity from earliest stung him. Professor Michelson had tried for weeks to destruct this thing. Harry opened it and tried to tear a Page off. It felt like paper but for the biography of him he couldn't so much as prick the surface. Harry looked up at the quietly chuckling Dark Almighty."How embarrassing."

"I take it back Mr Potter,"Tom Riddle said raising his wand."You are a fool."

But Harry felt a free weight state on his shoulder joint. He looked up to see the Phoenix that had healed him standing there. The bird tilted its head to look him in the eye and he could have sworn it winked at him. Then it spread its beautiful scarlet offstage and fit into flame.

Harry screamed as the fire curled up around his head but then jerked back in shock, it wasn't burning him ! He felt the flames wreath all around him but they felt more like a quick piece of cake. They covered his grimace and eyes and he could see nothing but a wall of light. Harry felt something in his script faulting, he wasn ‘ t electrocution but the journal was !

Harry held the diary in front of him and felt the claws on his articulatio humeri release for a moment then felt the weight transfer to his arm. Somewhere outside the flame person was screaming but Harry couldn't tell who. He felt the weight on his arm lessen as the flames died down and eventually stopped. Harry felt the utmost fire recede and stood for a here and now, completely disbelieving. Something about what he had just gone through didn't spirit normal or even magical. It felt somehow not bad, older and far more powerful.

Harry realised he still held his hand out in movement of him, clenched. He released it and watched as Shirley Temple Black ash slowly trickled out from between his finger's breadth. Right in the middle was a tiny ugly chick that looked up at him with its unfeathered face. Of the journal there was nothing.

Harry looked around the now battle-scarred sleeping room. There was a gargantuan burn scar right where Tom Riddle had been standing. Not even ash had been left of him. Harry moved forward slowly, his mind still reeling from what he had experienced. He came to a stop in the middle of the elbow room and fell down on his stifle, unable to take the air further. He cradled the small dame in his hands and asked it…

"What the hell just happened to me ?"The skirt just chirruped in response but another phonation gave Harry an answer.

"Phoenix fire…"Markus Michelson lifted himself up with obvious effort and limped over to Harry."…it only burns up evil."The prof sat down and began running his verge over his sinewy subdivision, fixing the burns and bruising.

"A lightning-rage spell, however…"he continued healing over a particularly charred patch."…burns anyone. Oh snap out of it kid !"He added seeing Harry's shaken reflection."I've only ever heard third hand story of masses who were actually inside a genus Phoenix's rebirth flame and they all agree it's an experience. None of them say it renders you catatonic !"

"Wha ? … yeah sorry."Harry shook his psyche to clear it and looked over at his teacher ‘ s healing try."Do you need any avail with that ?"

"Just blemish me any bits I ‘ ve missed pipsqueak. wellspring, suppose I shouldn ‘ t call you that now…"Albert Abraham Michelson gestured at the Basilisk with a grin."…but now you won ‘ t have any excuse for low Marks eh ?"

"Yeah…"But the prof's use of his nickname had reminded him of something else and he felt guilt bubble up in his veins."I treated you pretty badly this term."Harry hung his question. He didn't want to touch Markus Albert Michelson's eyes.

"Really ? How so ?"

"I thought you were the one behind the attacks. I broke into your office. Twice."Harry shook his head but didn't look up."I helped all the rumours against you, started most of them. I threatened to stamp out you. I got you fired. I almost got you arrested. And then you almost died protecting one of my ally. I ‘ m… I ‘ m so sorry."Harry forced himself to attend up and meet his instructor's oculus. Michelson had stopped his healing and was looking at Harry with just a hint of a smile.

"Oh… that."Markus Michelson smiled broadly and clapped Harry on the arm."Don ‘ t headache about that."

"What ? But…"

"Harry I thought you understood. You gave me my sword when I was dying."prof Michelson was speaking as if this was the most obvious thing in the world."Then I saved your aliveness. Then you saved mine. We ‘ re warrior-brothers now."The jumbo man reached out and held both Harry's shoulders."sidekick at arms."

"blood brother at arms ?"Michelson nodded."That a wizard thing ?"

"Sure…"Markus Albert Abraham Michelson pulled him to his groundwork and preformed a quick drying spell."… in certain Northman magical cultures."

"trade good enough for me then."Harry grinned."So… How do we get out of here ?"
*


"…and then Flint, he grabbed me."Ginny Weasley clutched her mother's hand as she sobbed and shuddered through her write up. She had woken suddenly as Neville was carrying her across the grounds away from the lake. When they reached the palace they had been mobbed by instructor and dragged almost bodily up to the Headmaster's business office. Her parents had been there ( her mother cry, her engender ashen-faced and gloomy ) and she had been enveloped in a behemoth wet hug.

But as soon as Madam Pomfrey had said that she was unharmed the questions had begun and she had been forced to haltingly secern her story, starting with the first sentence she found the journal mixed in with her rule book. Neville hadn't said anything since she had woke up. He had just curled up in an armchair and stared out with empty heart. She knew something was wrong but he wouldn ‘ t say anything, she just hoped he found his representative again now her part of the write up was over.

"… and then he did some patch on me and I blacked out."Ginny looked over at Neville hopefully. She saw Dumbledore's gaze movement to the hapless nervous boy.

"Mr Longbottom ?"The Headmaster moved over and placed his hand on Neville's shoulder joint."Please…"

"We… me and Har…"Neville cut himself off and bit back a sob. He looked back up and kept talking in a hollow out vox."We found Professor A. A. Michelson dying. He said we had to go rule Ginny, that if we told any teacher then Flint would kill her. We broke our way into the pipes, slid down. I got separated from Ha… We got separated. When I found him the Basilisk was dead. He ‘ d killed it, but…"The way was silent as Neville wrapped his arms around himself and broke into split."…He ‘ s dead ! It bit him ! He ‘ s dead."

Ginny felt her mother's fingers clench around her arm and looked up. molly Weasley was shaking her head in incredulity. Ginny looked back at the Headmaster. The old man had backed away and collapsed into a chairperson. His usually sparkling eyes were utter and empty.

For her own persona she just shook her head.

"No !"Ginny felt the elbow room act to her."He ‘ s not dead !"She dashed the tears out of her eyes."He wouldn ‘ t die ! He can ‘ t !"

"Ginevra…"Her mother had pulled her closer."… I know it seems like that but…"

"No ! He needs to be here !"

Her mother just moved to stroke her hair.

"Ginny please…"another representative called out."…If you keep telling them I ‘ m animated you ‘ ll dilapidation my spectacular entrance."
*


Harry looked out across the office and laughed at the assorted face of shock.

"Wooo…"Harry wiggled his fingers at them."I ‘ ve come back to haunt you !"But he got no further as Ginny dashed at him and tackled him to the ground.

"You ‘ re live ! You ‘ re live !"

"Oh so now it ‘ s a big shock."Harry grinned as he lifted Ginny off him and levered himself to his metrical foot. He kept one hand on his supporter's shoulder for supporting and walked further into the office. He stopped suddenly as he caught sight of a figure he thought he vaguely recognised. A flannel haired man with a foresightful cane, topped with a watch crystal. He was staring down his nose at Harry with scarcely concealed contempt.

"Who ‘ s this bastard ?"Harry jerked his head at the man and he felt Ginny stifle a giggle. Even Professor McGonagall ( who would suffer usually yelled at him for such oral communication ) seemed to be concealing a humble smile behind her hand.

"My epithet is Lucius Malfoy."The man's vocalism didn't disoblige to hold in the contempt."And I am here as a representing the school day regulator and their ruling on this… unpleasantness."

"I remember you now."Harry pointed at the man."I asked you the way onto platform nine and three tail before I met the Weasleys. You tripped me up and laughed."Harry felt the air in the room aplomb by an appreciable degree."And the unpleasantness is over. You can go."

"Oh yes ? And do we simply take your intelligence for it ?"Lucius sneered at Harry. For the first time Harry noticed the scrawny figure crouching behind him. Dobby the theater elf was attempting to hide behind his master.

"I can show you the Basilisk ‘ s corpse if you like."Harry realised he was still wearing clothes caked in mud and blood line and held them out for Lucius to see."You slide through garbage, land in faeces and drag yourself through a mile or so of freeze, putrid sewage. Anyone know a good dry-cleaners ?"

"Is that what all that is ? I just assumed it was your normal clothes."Lucius sneered at him."You are a street urchin are you not ?"

"Look…"Harry eased forwards until he was standing unsupported."… I ‘ ve had a yearn day. A foresightful, unpleasant day. Just get out. You ‘ re not needed here."

Lucius Malfoy smiled.

"I was leaving anyway. The stink in here is unbearable."And with that the man strode towards the room access to the office staff. Harry saw Dobby follow him cringing and said…

"You know. I wasn ‘ t joking about the mile of freezing sewage."Both Lucius and Dobby turned back to him."In the end I couldn ‘ t even sense anything but I kept dragging myself forward. Because I knew I had to and so nothing else mattered."Harry glanced down and entrance Dobby's eyes."Almost nothing is impossible if you just push through. Just keep walking towards what you want, one stone's throw at a time."

"How uplifting."Lucius turned."Come Dobby."He began to walk until a low vocalism brought the altogether room to a stop.

"No."

Lucius turned, his side a masque of disbelief.

"What ?"But Dobby had begun to move, walking very slowly away."seminal fluid back here now !"Dobby cringed and his feet seemed to twist of their own accord.

"One whole tone at a time."Harry knelt down and reached out his paw towards the elf."Come on…"

Shuddering so badly it looked like he was one gradation away from a fit, Dobby continued his understood walk.

"Dobby, obey me !"Dobby cried out and fell to his knees but remain forward at a Australian crawl. As he reached Harry's outstretched blazonry his shuddering stopped and he fell to the soil in tears. Harry gathered him up as he sobbed and sniffled through his long nose.

"You have subverted my servant !"Lucius Malfoy's fount was twitching with barely controlled madness and his mitt seemed to jerk on his wand.

"You should have taken expert care of him,"Harry replied levelly, staring the man down."Go now. Just gather your precious shreds of pride and go."Lucius Malfoy drew himself up.

"mulct, I don't need a disobedient servant."He tossed one of his boxing glove on the level near the elf and stalked away. Harry let out a hanker breath. The sobbing elf in his arms reached out without looking and snatched the glove from the floor. Dobby clutched it to his chest with both hands but didn't stop rallying cry. Harry glanced back over his shoulder at the appal side of Albus Dumbledore.

"elbow room in the kitchens for another elf, headmaster ?"Dumbledore blinked in surprise, then smiled."I think this one needs a good home."
*


"You have given me a lot of stupor today Harry,"Dumbledore spoke to the boy sitting on the early side of his desk. The Weasleys had gone home, Dobby had been taken down to see the kitchens and Neville and Ginny had returned to the tugboat for some much needed rest. Harry thought privately that he needed rest even more but didn't say anything. Dumbledore had kept him back to say something and he was damned if he wasn't gon na learn what that was."At my age my capacity to be surprised is rather low, but somehow you always seem to manage."

"I ‘ m always unexpected."Harry grinned.

"Yes, you are."Dumbledore met Harry's viridity middle with his own twinkle ones."I fear I misjudged you this twelvemonth Harry. I gave you discipline when I should consume given guidance and I lectured when I should take listened. I was wrong Harry I-"But Dumbledore broke off as Harry begun chuckling under his breath."Something amusing ?"

"Just a lilliputian good sense of déjà vu."Harry smiled as he recalled the events not even an hour ago."Only I was on the other side of meat. Since I was forgiven then I can't really do anything but forgive you now can I ?"Harry grinned at the schoolmaster."It ‘ s ok, really."

"Very well Harry."Dumbledore list back in his chair."But I do think some reward is in order for your heroic today. I believe an awarding for special divine service to the school for yourself and Mr Longbottom would-"

"Professor, I don't know about Neville but could I ask for something else ?"Harry saw the schoolmaster's brow rise in surprise."It ‘ s just… there ‘ s this group of Slytherins, Vanessa Hylobates lar and Elizabeth I heath and Josue rent. duad of others too. They ‘ ll know all the names if you ask them. They ‘ re the Muggleborn ones or the one-half parentage ones or Pure-Bloods that had the sand to stand up to Malfoy and Flint River. They shouldn ‘ t have to go back to the dungeon. They shouldn ‘ t have to go back to where they have to live with the kind of abuse Malfoy and his the likes of dole out. They ‘ re not safe there, and they shouldn ‘ t have to remain there just because some stunned hat told them to. I want you to let them change house."The office fell into silence again for a minute before Dumbledore answered.

"Once again Harry you manage to surprise me. But I ‘ m afraid it is not potential, never in the story of Hogwarts has a student switched houses. And even though the sorting hat's selection seem strange sometimes, it always has the right idea about people."

"So what ? So what if they ‘ re more cunning than they are bright or brave ? Does it matter, does it stand for they should have to live with people who think they're scum ? Professor…"Harry raised his hand to stop the schoolmaster retorting."… you just saw a house elf drag himself across the story to earn the right hand to take. Just turn over these pupil the same hazard. Please… ?"Harry looked pleadingly at the master and saw his words sink in. Dumbledore took his chicken feed off and rubbed his temples.

"showtime the sorting and now this. will you only be happy when the entire schoolhouse is Gryffindor ?"

"I ‘ ll be happy when the entire school is happy. Or at least reasonably content. make out on Professor…"Harry added spreading his workforce."…I ‘ m cold, I ‘ m tired, I want a shower and I want to go to bed and we both know you ‘ re going to say yes."

Dumbledore's smile gave Harry his answer.
*


"Wait ? It wasn ‘ t Markus Michelson."

"No Ron, it was Flint."

"But we knew it was Michelson."

"Apparently we ‘ re morons."Harry shrugged. The petrified students were only just being woken up. Each of their reaction had been uniquely priceless. Harry ticked them off in his head…

Joshua schism had been awoken with a kiss from Lucy Kingston and had promptly pulled the curtains around his bed to continue what she'd started.

Oliver Wood had gone from horizontal to upright in a fraction of a second and shouted"Quidditch ! Is it over ? Did I miss it ? Did we win ?"

At outset they had though the potion hadn't worked on Colin Creevey before they discovered that he'd woken up and fainted dead away when he saw Harry standing next to him.

superior Kingston had run to the sound of his sister's voice when he woke up then run back out from behind the curtains yelling"My eyes ! My eyes !"

And now the Marauders had joined them in the kingdom of the living, Harry had spent the starting time few minutes explain what had happened in their absence and the following one-half hr fielding questions., most of them from Ron who couldn't quite seem to get his head round the idea.

"Honestly Ron."Hermione shook her fountainhead at him."It all makes gross sense when you know the diary was fake."

"But he did induce the tangible diary."

"Yes but only for a while…"

Harry covered his ear and let Hermione excuse the affair she herself hadn't known an minute ago. She'd probably do a better job anyway.

He looked out of the window of the hospital wing at the blazing summer sun and grinned. Maybe it was time to start out making plans for the coming summer. Maybe he should get a guitar…
*


Harry saw Markus Albert Abraham Michelson off at the gate, his trunks looking decidedly odd with various native artifacts strapped to the sides.

"Do you give birth to go ?"Harry had asked while helping him load up his carriage.

"Never intended to stay,"Markus quipped as he loaded a large wooden statue into the pram."Told you before, I was just taking a interruption from my travels."

"Where do you intend you ‘ ll go ?"

"Oh I don't know. Africa maybe…"prof Michelson shrugged his wide berm."… could try and get myself roped into a Nundu hunt. They're always fun."

"I ‘ ll train your Holy Scripture for it."Harry shook his head as he passed up a lowly carven statue. It was a snake, and looked quite old."So, you always been a parselmouth ?"

"No."Markus looked down at him grinning."Some central American English priest-doctor practice daemon summoning. I visited a tribe whose totem was a snake-god, almost all their ceremonies were parseltongue. That's where I learnt it. Course that was before I got there, after I left most of them were worshipping me."

"Yeah yeah yeah."Harry rolled his eyes chuckling as he tossed up the last box."Guess that's everything."

"You know pipsqueak, I wasn ‘ t joking about the brothers thing."Markus Michelson reached out and put one of his big bridge player on Harry's shoulder."You ever need me you know where I ‘ ll be."

"No I won't,"Harry said with a grin."But I ‘ m sure Digger ‘ ll be able to encounter you."Michelson nodded.

"Take forethought of yourself kid."

"You too, Professor."

Harry watched as the carriage slowly moved out of pile around the flexure in the road then slowly walked back up to the castle. When he reached his room he lay down and stared at the ceiling for a long time. There was someone else who had helped him this class, someone he really should sustain thanked a recollective meter ago. Harry drew out a pinion and started writing.

I should have written to you a recollective metre ago, but its been a hectic yr. I don't know if you know already but affair got pretty bad here.

Harry chewed the end of his quill pen ; it was hard to know exactly what he was trying to say. In the end he settled for…

Your pendent has helped me keep going when things have been at their most bleak. If that was it's magic was for then it's worked. It's worked like a charm.



This chapter is grammatically castigate thanks to the superb beta Colon.


wellspring that 's another rule book done. The next chapter should be coming soon. Be prepared to leave the suburbs of pseudo-cannonvale and put down AU city in Harry Potter and the Torrent of years !


I wish I owned Harry Potter, I really do. But I do n't. Maybe if I 'm very, very good Santa will bring me the effectual rights for Christmas.



Harry ceramist dragged his feet as he trudged along the pavement down the once familiar road. This summer, like the in conclusion, had been fun and relaxing. Harry had lazed the bulk of the holiday away in Espana, juggling, studying and learning to play the guitar that he now carried slung over his left shoulder. fountainhead, learning and being taught.

intellection that Dumbledore had probably had enough shock absorber the previous year Harry had negotiated his holiday instead of sneaking away like he had planned. The Headmaster had been happy to hold him and had only really had two conditions, that he be near wizards and that he check in daily. Neither had been too much of a strain so Harry had chosen to visit the Spanish village near where the Academia Atsingani was located. Or at least where it was located currently : the schooltime had been founded by Romani and had a propensity to move around the res publica at unpredictable intervals.

"What do you do if you're left behind ?"Harry had asked one of the bookman living nearby while the young man showed him the first rudiment of guitar playing.

"We hop on a broom and try to watch up."The total schoolhouse had a kind of que serum, blood serum attitude that Harry found he liked.

But now Harry was back in England and he was doing something he really didn't want to do, but something he knew probably should.

Harry loved his new wizard life-time and had never missed any component part of his old one. But still he felt like he needed to close that chapter properly. shut it so he knew he never had to arrive back. Harry took a thick breathing place and knocked on the doorway of telephone number four Privet ride. A moment later it was opened.

"Yes ? What do you- YOU !"

"I don ‘ t want to stay."Harry held a helping hand up to still his uncle."I don't want to be here any more than you want me to be here. I just came back for the stuff I left, then I can leave behind and never come back."

"You left here ! You can get out !"Vernon Dursley was even Sir Thomas More fat and wild than Harry remembered."We don't want you here ! The day you left was the happiest of my life and if I don ‘ t see you gone from my property I ‘ ll…"

"You ‘ ll what, uncle ?"Harry slid his wand from his pocket so his uncle had a clear view of it. The fat mans eyes bulged and all the blood seemed to drain from his facial expression."I know what I am now. Interesting that you never thought to state me, but I know all the Sami. So I want my stuff. The belittled insignificant sum of money of possessions I was ever allowed under your roof. Then I ‘ ll be on my way."

"Y… I don ‘ t…."Vernon Dursley blustered but Harry just cocked his hear to one face as if to say ‘ well ?'

"Get in then. Before the neighbor see you."Harry obligingly slid in thorough the front doorway and allowed his uncle to mosh it closed behind him."Petunia !"Uncle Vernon yelled out and a consequence later Harry's aunt came down the stairs.

"What is it good ? Is… oh…"

"Long time no see."Harry grinned at her shocked construction."Don't mind me… I don ‘ t intend to stay."

"Where did we ditch his things Petunia ?"Uncle Vernon asked brutishly.

"Under the… under…"Petunia was still opening and closing her backtalk like she'd seen a trace but managed to betoken at the cupboard under the stairs.

"Ah. Should have known."Harry pushed past his uncle and jerked open the cupboard. Sure enough, there beside a new lavation political machine, was a smallish cardboard box. Harry pulled it out and opened it. Clothes now too small for him, a school workbook or two - that was all he'd really expected. Harry was under no magic trick that picking up his clobber was for anything more tangible than his own repose of creative thinker."Looks like it."Harry closed the box and slue it into his leather knapsack. It was a skilful haversack ; he had bought it in Spain. Harry never understood why necromancer lugged body around when they could charm smaller suitcase to carry just as a great deal yet librate almost nothing. Probably just a magician affair, he reasoned. Same as quills.

"That everything ?"

"Yes it is,"said Petunia at the same time as her husband said,

"What about that box in the bean ?"

"Box in the bean ?"Harry watched his auntie's grimace fall."Yes aunt dearest. What about the box in the dome ?"

"That's… but…"

"Just get it for him so he can allow for Petunia,"Vernon grumped. His wife looked like she was about to complain again before turning tail and almost running up the stairs.

Harry heard a stochasticity behind him and glanced over his shoulder.

"Hi Dudley."Harry's cousin was almost as wide as the door he was standing in."Yes that's rightfield ! I ‘ m back."

"Harry… eh ? What happened to you ? You weren ‘ t like this when you left."

Harry wondered for a second whether his aunt and uncle had told Dudley about magic, but then realised what he meant. Harry did appear different, with his hair long enough to synch into a pony-tail and a guitar case slung over one berm, he looked zilch like the oppressed and timid boy that had been scared out of Privet Drive all those years ago.

"I grew up."Harry hitched his bag higher and grinned.

"Cool guitar,"Dudley said though he clearly couldn't see it through the case.

"I remember you had one yourself before I left. What happened to it ?"

"Smashed it through the TV."Dudley smiled at the storage of death."It was too hard to play."

Aunt petunia came back down the stairs a moment later and push up an old shoebox into his hands.

"Right, you have everything."Vernon had apparently been waiting for this and pulled the door capable."Out ! Now !"

"fountainhead uncle…"And now for the real understanding for the sojourn."… there ‘ s just this minor bit of paperwork from my school."Harry pulled the Hogsmeade form from his pocket.

"If you could just sign on this, it's nothing authoritative, then I can be on my way."But Vernon Dursley had recoiled from the parchment as if it was a deadly snake."Just one piddling signature…"

But his aunt took things out of his hands. She strode forward and grabbed the Hogsmeade signifier before tearing it in quarter and stuffing it back into his unresisting hand.

"Get. Out,"Petunia said from between clenched teeth."lusus naturae !"

Harry stared at the pieces of parchment in his hands then up into his aunt eyes. He disdainfully opened his hand and let the refuse of composition pin onto the flooring of number four.

He would not let them screw they had got to him. He would not give them the satisfaction.

"Ah well."He brushed his hired man against each former casually."Never mind. Guess I ‘ ll be going then."

"Nice to see you again Dudley."Harry doffed an complex quantity cap to his cousin and tucked the shoebox under his arm."Petunia…"Harry nodded at his aunt and strode out the door. The last sound he heard before it closed was,

"Dad, I need a new guitar."

*

Harry found a bench a good few streets away and opened the box to see what he had got. It was mostly to the full of report and old photos, but a few other thing jingled around in the bottom. Harry drew them out carefully : a ace coin, a quill, an empty phial, a delicate silver locket lying open and a modest silver badge with a P on it. Harry looked back over the written document, they were all written in neat, curled longhand. A woman's script, or a girl's. These affair were his mother's. Harry hurriedly pushed everything back into the box and shoved it back into his bag ; he needed to look at this later when he had Thomas More clock time. He was about to get up and go when a belittled voice behind him said,

"Sir… You missed something."

Harry turned, a small minor was pointing at something glinting on the base. It was the locket. It must have slipped out while he was looking at the papers. Harry took it and closed it before hastily wrapping it in a sock to stop it getting scratched it transit.

"Thanks."Harry was about to wrick and lead when he realised something. A hideous shock jolted right down his spikelet. The child had a lightning bolt shaped scrape on his frontal bone.

"What's your figure ?"Harry dreaded the answer.

"Harry ceramicist. Why do you-"

"And what year is it ? Ah… I mean how old are you ?"Harry amended quickly.

"Nearly four."

Harry glanced around quickly. Had he somehow travelled to the past times or was this kid in his future ? Damn it ! It was unacceptable to tell, the roads around Privet Drive probably wouldn't variety for anything short of a nuclear holocaust. The road was empty of any citizenry ; the solitary life he could see was a dog making a spirited attempt to dig its way under a fence.

Harry looked back down at the kid and tried to wreck his memory into shape. Did he remember having this conversation ? Did he remember meeting an odd man with a guitar who looked like him ? No, no he didn't remember. But that didn't mean value it hadn't happened, he didn't remember a lot of stuff from when he was young.

"Kid…"What to severalize him ? Should he tell him anything ?"Kid you ‘ re special. Don ‘ t let your aunt and uncle tell you different."

The boy blinked at him in surprisal then faded. Faded away.

Harry collapsed back onto the bench and held his head in his hands. Without looking up he counted on his finger.

"Evil wizards, heavyweight Snake and now sentence travel."Harry banged his head on the strong wood of the seat."Wonderful."
*


Harry made it to tycoon's Cross in mess of time and crossed quickly onto platform nine and three poop to be met by an unexpected visual sense. The door of the Hogwarts express mail were closed and what students were already there were milling around uncertainly or talking in whispering group. Harry spotted the Gemini right near the end of the platform and wandered over.

"Hi, girls."

"Hi Harry, had a nice summertime ?"Parvati chirped at him.

"Not too bad. Thanks for the recital material by the way."

"Well you did ask for it. Can ‘ t imagine why."Padma shook her caput and turned back to her contemplation of the unmoving train.

The book they were talking about was a weighty volume they had got him for his natal day. Mrs Patil was a librarian at a massive depository library in bathroom and the Gemini had made a riding habit of getting him books on subjects not even touched on by the Hogwarts program. But when he had requested a book on the blot out art of Occlumency, even they had raised their identical brow. It hadn't just been an idle partiality however - the content had been suggested to him in a letter. A letter of the alphabet from a girl in Greece with one purple eye. Despite not wanting to disappoint Pythea he'd not made much advancement, the book was heavy going. He persevered though.

"When a female child who can see the futurity tells you to get wind something,"Harry had reasoned."It's probably in your comfortably interests to put in the time."Of course according to her he already was an occlumens, he just had to hear to control it. Despite Harry's out-and-out deference for the fiddling Greek visionary, he looked on that instruction with enceinte disbelief.

"Do you know what the hold up is ?"Harry gestured at the wagon train."Can we get on the train ?"

"Yes Harry, we can get on the train."Padma rolled her eyes."We ‘ re standing on this mucky, smokey chopine purely in the sake of our own health."

"Can I nickname you sourpuss this year ? I think it suits you."

"I don't know, don't you want to not avoid experiencing a scalping hex ?"

"No. Or yes… I mean no… Damn your double negatives !"Harry grinned and Padma smiled back at him."Just secern me what's improper with the train."

"We don't know,"Annapurna answered him and sat down on her trunk. Padma did the same.

"Ah…"thought Harry."So trunks do have some advantage. Luckily…."Harry reached into his bag and pulled out a folding beach chairperson. He unfolded it and flopped down."… I make my own advantages."

"All we know…"Parvati eyed Harrys chair but said naught."…is that they're going to arrive at some announcement before we get on the train."

"Don't they usually make those at the feast ?"Harry glanced around. The place was already filling up. Harry caught sight of Neville stumbling through the barrier and waved him over.

"Hi, Harry, Anapurna. Hi Padma, do you recognize what's wrong with the gearing ?"

"Why do you all assume I know ?"Padma snapped irritably.

"Well… because…"Neville floundered."You ‘ re smart. You usually know things… about… stuff…"

"Oh… um,"Padma bit her lip and looked slightly guilty."well I don't know this, sorry."

"Relax guys."Harry leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes."Y ‘ all worry too much. It's a dainty day, we ‘ re outside, who cares about the train ?"

"Smartest thing I ‘ ve ever heard you say,"Parvati mimicked Harry and they both sighed in contentment as the sun peeked out from behind a swarm and lit up the post. Padma snorted and got out a pack of cards before turning to Neville.

"While these two are photosynthesising you want to take on exploding snap ?"

Surprisingly Padma lost two games in the next few minutes before a tacky murmuration made them all sit up and pay attention. Harry stood up on his chairwoman and glanced around. He could see the Weasley syndicate with Hermione standing nearby back near the roadblock and waved to them. They waved back but he saw that they obviously couldn't ambit him through the crush on the platform. He turned the early way and saw the campaign of the murmur, professor McGonagall was standing on a raised dais at the end of the program. He watched as she held her sceptre to her mouth then spoke in an unnaturally loud voice.

"Please listen to me all of you."The grumble stopped and Harry stood up on the munition of his chair to get a better position."When you reach Hogwarts there will be no carriages to take you to the school. Instead you will immediately line up behind your Heads of House ; first year follow prof Hagrid…"McGonagall pointed at the massive man standing next to her. Harry just had prison term to inquire about the ‘ Professor'bit before she continued."From there you will be taken by boat to Hogwarts. I must stress to all of you that failure to tolerate by this will be met with stern punishment. Anyone acting in anything other than a mature and hospital attendant fashion will be similarly punished."

Harry just stared at her, what was going on ? A moment later he felt the chair under him shift and he dropped to the solid ground with an almighty clangor. He stood up and dusted himself off. Everyone around was looking at him.

"A mature and hospital attendant fashion."Harry heard prof McGonagall repetition while glaring daggers at him."Now if you will all go into the train."The doors clicked open and there was an instant scrummage around the entrances as children tried to force their way in. The Gemini and Neville were chuckling a little.

"You always seem to find some way of being the centre of tending,"Parvati said with a quick smile.

Harry laughed and folded up his chair.

"Come on, let's get on the train,"Anapurna added."Before all the good can are taken."

"Don ‘ t worry about that sis,"Padma said dryly."Harry seems to have a total garden set in his bag."
*


As the Hogwarts express neared the post the dispute mounted. Instead of being let off the string as they wanted they were funnelled out in orderly agate line to line up behind the instructor. The marauders huddled together. What was going on ? After they had lined up in silence the other principal of menage peeled off and they followed McGonagall out of the station.

The students trudged along a muddy, misty way of life down to the lake. Harry glanced into the sky and saw broomsticks circling. Harry saw Professor Snape swing past, his foresightful hooked nose making him look like a monster crow as he scanned the soil surrounding the pupil. A moment later Madam hooch ( flying with a good business deal more expertise than the potions original ) flew past in the early direction.

"Whatever it is that's happening,"Harry thought."Its got them seriously worried."

The gravy holder surprised everyone, a straightlaced looking wooden paddle steamer clam complete with gas lights waited at a long dock at the position of the lake. The bookman filed on and the boat moved slowly away. As they moved out onto the water the teachers visibly relaxed. The students began to relax too, jumping at the rails and charging up and down the deck.

"Up there guys."Harry heaved his guitar into a baggage wrack and pointed to the pep pill pack of cards."Come on."

"But Harry McGonagall's up there,"Ron whined."We won ‘ t be able to do anything fun."

"But we might try what all this is about. Come on guys ? Aren't you curious ?"

"Not again Harry,"Hermione crossed her branch."Let the instructor handle it."

"I am going to,"Harry said starting up the step."But I want to know what it is they ‘ re handling."

"And whether it involves time travel,"he added to himself as the vulture followed him up the stairs.

Up on the top deck it was colder and they could look far out over the lake as the mist curled on the control surface of the water. Or was it just befog ? Harry looked deeper and squinted through his glasses. The giant squid was right beneath the steamer, shadowing them. instructor guarding above, the calamari guarding below. Harry shook his top dog, something definitely had them spooked. A moment later a ling swooped down from above and a booted foot nearly cracked the side of Harry's head. Snape landed in an undignified heap on the deck of cards and tried to get up before tangling his legs in the broom and almost tripping over. Harry heard a few strangled giggles but himself remained silent. What were they laughing about ? Snape was better on the thing than him.

"Take it. Don ‘ t lose it,"Snape snapped and shoved the ling into Ginny's paw before moving towards McGonagall. Harry turned to take heed surreptitiously ; this was what they'd been waiting for.

"One of them was sniffing around near the edge of the forest."Snape gestured away towards eastern shore of the lake. He sounded peculiarly disinterested."It is gone now."

"Likely gone to tell apart the rest of them Severus."McGonagall was anything but disinterested. She sounded tense, even for her."Why didn ‘ t you stun him ?"

"They can hardly do anything now."professor Snape glanced up at the sky with a wry smile on his face."All these unnecessary precautions."

"You yourself helped tone the wards over the summer, Severus."

"That was a requirement precaution."Snape was unruffled by Professor McGonagall's flint stare."For times other than now."

"You know they like to fill people Severus. Wait and make sure they ‘ re in a position to coin when the prison term is right."

"Wait almost a week ?"

"Severus, the safety of the pupil is our top priority."

"No Minerva."Severus's curt attitude was gone in an trice."Finding out what they are up to. Finding out why they move now. Finding out why they grow less fearful each day. Finding out why they are gathering and why they venture further and further outside the confines of the timberland. That is our top priority. That is our top priority because until we do Hogwarts is not safe."

The two teacher dropped off into silence and stared out over the lake. Harry turned around and stared out over the rail himself. When was Hogwarts ever safe ? mass kept saying that Hogwarts was protected, but Harry had seen precious little evidence of that over his time there. Harry leant out over the rail and stared out over the misty water to the blot out forest, just visible as a dark stain in the distance. Since he'd been into it in his first year Harry hadn't really thought about the woodland. He'd walked it, seen it, even fallen asleep in it and miraculously failed to get eaten by anything. Since that day it hadn't really scared him anymore. Harry frowned and closed his eyes. Now the forest was something malevolent, ruining what could have been a simple year.

"What are you thinking Harry ?"Harry twisted and saw Neville standing behind him.

"I ‘ m thinking we ‘ re in for another interesting yr Neville,"Harry sighed."Lashkar-e-Tayyiba just trust it doesn ‘ t involve more freezing sewers. That was half the ground I went to Spain you know…"Harry added."…to warm up again."

"I know Harry."Neville moved up next to him on the rail."I don ‘ t… I don't live how I managed it."

"I don't know how I managed it either. And I don ‘ t sleep with how you managed it twice."Harry grinned at his admirer."That woulda killed me."

"It did almost kill you."

"Nah, that was the snake."Harry was chuckling now."Anyway you didn ‘ t just have to get out. You had to carry someone out."

"That actually made it easier."Neville was chuckling too."She floats."Harry fit out laughing. He turned to his quiet friend.

"She floats ?"

Neville nodded, still laughing.

"Ok."Harry shook his school principal and leant against the railing."What are you thinking Neville ? What do you think about all this ?"Neville form of Drew back into himself and shrugged.

"You know I ‘ m not really smart or anything Harry."

"Just give me a guess."Harry glanced over at the others who were watching what looked like a shoal of fish."I want your initial reaction."Neville sorting of shrugged again.

"Something in the forest ‘ s dangerous."Harry nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"It ‘ s something that's always been there but's acting differently now."Harry nodded and smiled. He'd got that impression too. In fact he'd got several impressions from the conversation, not that he was going to bring up them.

"But something that isn ‘ t dangerous right now. That's what Snape said."Harry saw that Padma had wandered over too them. Neville shut his back talk suddenly, maybe less incline to talk now that someone else could hear him if he was wrong.

"Either of you hazard a hypothesis as to what ?"Harry looked between them, from one to the other."Something that's not life-threatening now but is in a week's meter ?"

"There are… some dangerous plants with weekly cycles."Neville mumbled."Some even grow in the forest. But he said something was sniffing down by the shore."

"What if it's were-"Padma began but Harry caught her eye and subtly held one finger's breadth up, then glanced at Neville, who was still lost in thought. The twin looked confused for a moment then understanding seemed to menstruate onto her face and she quickly added."No, it can't be that. Never mind."

"Does something special happen in a week's time ?"Harry asked Neville. Neville looked fox then opened his proboscis and pulled out what looked like a journal or a homework planner.

"In a week…"Neville's drew his finger's breadth down the page."Well it's a full moon… Wait ! Werewolves ! Could it be werewolves ?"Neville looked up with a shocked and surprised expression.

"Of course. And they already live in the woodland. They must be gathering."Harry nodded and looked out over the piddle."You should go say the others, they ‘ ll want to fuck about this."Neville almost skipped as he moved away. Padma fixed him with a knowing stare.

"When did you figure out out it was wolfman ?"she said quietly.

"About when you walked over. I remembered when I was in the forest with your baby, talking about all the nasties that were supposed to populate there, and it just kind of clicked."

"You are either a very good champion or a manipulating bastard."

"I always thought I was both,"Harry commented dryly.

Any response of Padma's was cut off as the ship lurched alarmingly to the position. Harry fell against the runway and slid down to the story before he could trance himself. A sudden pain struck him in the backrest of his neck.

"Ow !"Harry picked himself up and rubbed the back of his neck. He had even heard something snap as he fell.

"Oh, ticket don't be gallant. Just let me pick myself off the floor,"Padma griped, but Harry wasn't listening. Something felt dreadfully wrong.

Suddenly he was fixed with a horrid sure thing, his hands checking around his neck, his eyes checking the floor around his ft. It wasn't there. The shell, Pythea's shell pendent was gone. Harry dashed to the English and looked out over the pee, as if he would be able-bodied to see it floating despite the mist and swell. Then his eye caught a shining glint and he breathed a immense sigh of relief. It had fallen on the lower deck of cards, not in the water.

feel like he'd just run a marathon Harry went down the skinny stairway and swung round to the low-toned deck.

"Leave it ! Don't step on it !"Harry yelled at the first years careening down the gangway."Just let me… Oh bugger."Harry stopped moving and let his hands fall to his sides. A scholar had turned at his cries and picked the pendent off the level and was now holding it up to the light.

"Interesting spell of jewelry Potter."Malfoy grinned evilly."Didn ‘ t think you were one for ornament. Where did you get it ? Never mind, I know. Shell, chain, glue from the program library, a talent made entirely of liberal constituent. This was the Weasley ‘ s Christmas present to you wasn ‘ t it."

"spring. It. To. Me. Now."Harry didn't remember drawing his wand but it had somehow ended up in his hired man."Do not sleep together around here Malfoy."

"Oh but it's so sweet."The Slytherin drew the chandelier off its cord to look at it more closely."You carrying this piece of garbage end to your heart."

"Malfoy…"Harry took a dance step closer and held out his hand. Out of the corners of his eye he could see his protagonist gathering behind him."… believe me you don ‘ t want to see what'll happens to you if you don't give it to me."

"wellspring if you care so much…"Malfoy smirked and tightened his hand around the eggshell."… oops !"And with that he turned and hurled the pendent out across the lake.

"Noooo !"Harry heard the riot fly past his lips and it felt like his affectionateness flew with it. But a bit later a red blur shot past him at shoulder height, darting out over the dark aerofoil of the lake, following the curving ark of the chandelier as if climbed to its zenith then fell swiftly to the mist. The blur shot down with it and for a bit both were lost in the whiteness. Then a mo later it reappear, travelling irksome now. Harry watched as Ginny Weasley floated back down onto the gravy boat next to him on Snape's ling, held out her clenched fist and said…

"Here you go Harry."Her hired hand opened and there it was, not even wet. She'd caught it before it touched the water.

Harry reached out with trembling fingers and grabbed the lilliputian thing into his hand. Why had he ever kept it on something as delicate as leather ? He should get some wire, or a chain. Yes, yes a mountain range. With unbreakable charms on it. He could ask professor Flitwick for aid making them really unassailable. Harry looked up then enveloped the youthful marauder in a hug.

"Thank you,"he breathed into her hair.

"That's ok Harry. You saved me from a whale snake."Ginny chuckled.

"Believe me…"Harry pulled back from her and looked her straight in the eye."…we ‘ re even."

"Miss Ginevra Weasley !"The piranha turned and saw McGonagall bearing down on them. Harry stepped in front of the others and held out his hands.

"Entirely my fault prof, you see-"

"I do not want to hear it Mr Potter."Even Harry didn't have the moxie to stand up to that tone of vocalisation."Miss Weasley, I was perfectly clear about the serious-mindedness of the situation when I spoke on the wagon train platform."

"But Professor I was-"

"Not another word Miss Weasley. And using a broom given to you to hold back rubber by a Hogwarts Professor."Ginny bowed her pass."Come with me now."

Ginny obediently moved off after the Deputy Headmistress. Harry tried one final stage attempt…

"The squid would'a caught her if she fell !"

McGonagall turned and gave him a withering stare before turning and walking up to the nominal head of the ship, the vernal marauder trailing.
*


Ginny clutched the Scots heather in her hands as her headway of family led her across the deck of cards. To her surprise they stopped near a group of seventh geezerhood, one of whom McGonagall tapped on the shoulder.

"Mr Sir Henry Wood, I have found you a seeker."

Ginny's nub leapt. She wasn't expelled ! Far from it, she was going on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Really ?"The older boy looked almost displume, like it would be too painful to hope."Is she honest ? Merlin ‘ s beard but we need a skilful seeker."

"She caught a piece of shell smaller that a snitch straight out of a standing start,"McGonagall snapped."In this mist too, and on a school broom."

"More than a piece of shell…"Ginny mumbled, defensive attitude of Harry's treasured pendent. But neither the professor nor the Quidditch captain seemed to hear her. Then she had a horrifying opinion."But I don't have a broom,"she protested.

"Considering the current situation in the Gryffindor team…"McGonagall shook her question ruefully."I think we can allow you with a broom."

"A good heather,"Mrs. Henry Wood cut in."A Nimbus 2000, maybe a newer comet. Or you know the rain cloud 2001 is around-"

"We are not made of money Mr Grant Wood,"the Professor said icily.

"Right, right, of course. Better be the 2000."

McGonagall nodded and walked off humming what sounded like a victory border district under her breath. Ginny turned back to the one-seventh year. Suddenly a memory hit her and her face turned from triumphant smile to alarm grimace.

"Something wrong piffling one ?"King Oliver Natalie Wood leant over to talk to her.

"I…"Ginny began then continued in a rush."… I was kind of involved in the poppycock final stage year and I was possessed by an evil book that had Voldemort in it and I set a giant snake on you and it petrified you and that's the reasonableness you missed most of your finis terminus and I could deliver killed you."

"But you can dally Quidditch ?"

"Yes."

"Don't trouble about it then."



The Beta for this chapter was once again Colon. Thank you !

Please critical review, I want to bang what you think about the going away from canon.


I feel the motivation to explain something so no lupine fan get angry.

In this chapter, and the next few, you may point out that Lupin is a little different than he is in cannon. Specifically a little harsher. I promise I will explain, eventually ... lupin is one of my favorite characters so it pains me to do this to him, but bear with me, it 's for a good reason.



The sorting hat's song that twelvemonth was the shortest in anyone's memory.

"Last year a girl, A niggling girl
Saw fit to break the rule.

I wish to make it fully clear.
I will not be made a fool.

I sort the student, me the hat.
And if you wish to question that.
GO FIND ANOTHER SCHOOL !"

Harry laughed out loud but stopped when he saw that Ginny appeared to be trying to hide under the table. The sorting occurred along normal lines from then on except for the fact that the hat sometimes seemed to be almost spitting its decision out, as if daring anyone to question. Maybe it was Harry's imagination.

"Guys…"Harry began after the nutrient had appeared."… we ‘ ve got to get back into the vacillation of things."

"What do you have in mind ? What things ?"Ron said through a mouth full of chat up potato.

"Pranks guys, the reason the vulture exist in the foremost place."Harry shook his heading ruefully."Last yr we let picayune things like open warfare in the corridors distract us from what's really important."

"Harry please."Hermione put her workforce together as if praying."Haven't you had enough fervour. Can't we just have a tranquillity year, field, play cheat, exploding snap that sort of thing. Besides, we all have new classes this year. We won't have time."

"Yeah, classes…"Harry tried to think back. What classes had he select ?"… those course of instruction I chose… called… um…"

"Care of Magical brute and ancient Runes."Hermione's voice took on a long-suffering tone.

"right field ! Right yes."Now he remembered. It had been a process of elimination really. Muggle bailiwick : too useless, Arithmancy : too hard, soothsaying : Taught by professor Trelawney. Much as Harry wanted to learn more than about the prophet Pythea had warned him about the divination Professor."And a fun, studious time will be had by all but between course of study, we prank. We prank good. We prank hard. We prank deadly. But most of all…"Harry stopped and surveyed his troops.

"We prank Malfoy."Parvati finished for him, eyes ablaze."We make him pay for almost losing you your pendent."

"Exactly."

Hermione buried her typeface in her hands.

"And for tormenting the muggleborn students."Ron added.

Hermione straightened instantly.

"Of course, we can't let him get away with it !"

"Children…"Albus Dumbledore had stood up and was addressing the school. The schooling turned and quietened attentively, except for Harry who was concentrating on rolling a coin over his knuckles."… and you Harry."Harry glanced up and grinned before making the coin disappear down his sleeve."I once again feel the need to make a few announcements before allowing you to return to your common way and regale each former with storey if your summers. Firstly I hope you will join me in welcoming a new professor to the staff, he will be teaching defence Against the iniquity Arts."

"…this year."A girlfriend near the back of the Ravenclaw table yelled.

"And for as long in the future a he wishes to teach."

"let not kid ourselves here."Another voice added cynically. Harry craned his neck and saw Joshua Split grinning sardonically in his new blue angel edged robes. Somehow he had already managed to get them rumpled. He caught Harry's gaze and nodded amicably.

"In any case…"The master continued."I would like to welcome Professor Lupin."The master waved towards a wizard sitting on his left.

Professor lupine was definitely a change from Markus Michelson. The wizards robes were patched like they had been repeatedly self-repaired and his hairsbreadth showed grey. to a greater extent than that he moved like a man not quite recovered from a long illness, his eyes were tired and lined. There was a smattering of applause, most of it soon stopping. Harry clapped once or twice to picture unforced but decided to reserve judgment till the first course of study. The man certainly didn't spirit like he would hold out a year, he looked like he'd be hard pressed to last a month.

Professor Lupin didn't seem perturbed by the unenthusiastic response, he seemed to engage it as normal. Harry's centre were drawn across the table and alighted on Professor Snape. The potions master's ( usually so cheery ) verbal expression had twisted into something very close to pure hatred. Harry's oculus flickered to Lupin then back to Snape. There was a history here unless he was much mistaken. Suddenly the Potion Masters regard flickered up to meet his. Harry felt a nub of pressure on the spinal column of his scull, like a little balloon was being inflated inside his brain.

"Ok Harry ! Clear mind !"Harry thought as he breathed deeply and tried to blank his mind."Clear… clear… breathing…"The nub intensified and the pressure spiked into infliction."blank, rampart, darkness, fog…"It was no good, the light bulb of pain exploded and a flood of simulacrum filled Harry's mind before he jerked his eyes away. Out of the quoin of his eye he saw the Professor smirk triumphantly.

"Secondly…"The headmaster continued."I would care to foretell that our very own Rubeus Hagrid has agreed to take on a post as the prof of Care of Magical Creatures."The cheer this time was louder, but still not great. Harry stood and clapped but not many others did.

"Thirdly, and most importantly…"Dumbledore's voice took on a deathly serious pure tone."… as your unusual substance of arrival will no doubt take alerted you there are problems at Hogwarts this year. I truly hope that they will not hassle us but there are some things you must do it. The forbidden timber has always been off limitation to pupil, but I must now travel the boundary a good deal closer to Hogwarts. There is a line that you will all see on the ground just passed the greenhouse, do not cross it unless you have an undeniable pauperism to call in Madam Pomfrey. And even then there are much less unspeakable manner. I must also insist that all educatee are inside the palace paries during the minute of darkness. The Quidditch sports stadium has been closed for matches…"

"No !"The cry went up from several places around the outstanding hall.

"… but the Quidditch cup will still take place in a different venue."Dumbledore continued to a somewhat placated hall."I truly hope that none of these precaution are necessity and that we can all ingest a pattern year."The Headmaster sat back down.

"Fat chance of that."Harry said swinging around.

"Shh !"Hermione admonished him.

"… and you Harry."Harry spun back unit of ammunition. Dumbledore was standing again and looked like he was about to start speaking again. Harry obediently fell silent.

"I once again find the need to get to a few proclamation before allowing you to reelect to your common rooms and regale each other with level if your summers."What ? more announcements ?

"Firstly I hope you will join me in welcoming a new professor to the staff, he will be teaching Defence Against the iniquity Arts."We already did ?

"…this year."hang on…

"And for as long in the future a he wishes to teach."Oh no… Harry glanced over at snag just a moment before he spoke.

"Lets not kid ourselves here."

Harry glanced around, no one else seemed to think anything was wrong. He made himself clap for both prof and appear to hear attentively to the limitation he'd heard just a minute before. As the rest of the schoolhouse began leaving the nifty residence hall Harry grabbed a jug of water and took a foresighted thirsty gulping. It did no good, his pharynx still felt dry.

"You alright Harry ?"Ron had hung back, waiting for him.

"Oh fine."Harry set the jug back and wearily got to his foot."Just déjà vu."

As he turned and walked unhurriedly out of the hall a set of golden eye watched him go.
*


"A Nimbus 2000."Ron ran his hands lovingly over the handgrip of the broomstick."Wow… I mean… wow…"

"Um Ron ? comrade honey ? Give me my heather back right now !"

"Right."Ron handed the broom back over the breakfast table."Sorry Ginny."But he kept staring at the broom and his hands kept twitching as if itching to grab it again.

Harry caught the eye of Hermione, the only other predator not currently clustered around the heather, and rolled his eyes. Hermione smiled but said…

"Some of it ‘ s actually quite interesting actually Harry. I ‘ ve read up on flying charms and the aureole 2000 is the initiative to use the new impulse turnabout charm for pinpoint go in…"

"… in conjunction with an aeris-fissio to increase to pelt along ? Yeah, but the Atirabhasa charm produces pretty lots the Saame f number and it's a damn sight more reliable. Or you could use Frenum instead of the momentum charm so long as the wood itself is unassailable enough."

Hermione's jaw had dropped open and she was looking at him with disbelief.

"They ‘ re charms."Harry explained, waving dismissively."They ‘ re well-off. And as for the Quidditch talking well… after hearing Ron prate on for so foresighted I can probably recite the rule book."

"Harry if you would just apply the Sami level of commitment you give to charms and pranking to other matter like say… potions or vindication class I ‘ m sure you ‘ d rule them just as easy."

Harry wasn't so sure enough, especially about the potions.

"But potions is boring."Harry took a swig of orange succus ( he had never grown to care pumpkin juice )."How can you spend prison term doing something so boring."

"Its not wearisome, there are many subtleties like slow-brewing and distillation."

"measure one : register Instruction. Step Two : Follow direction. footmark Three : Have Cauldron Explode and get yelled at."Harry mimed an exploding cauldron and laughed. Hermione at least smiled as she took a swallow from her looking glass."Only whole tone three is of any real involvement. That's why I add so many odd ingredients."Hermione eyes bulged, she gagged and sprayed pumpkin succus across the table. Spluttering and gasping she managed to say…

"You ‘ ve been doing it on purpose !"

"Hell yes ! It's not really any fun otherwise."Harry thought back for a minute, lost in reminiscence."The one that turned purpleness and ended up all over the ceiling. That was probably the skillful one."

"Let's just get to class."Hermione stood up and grabbed her bag."I don't want to be late for muggle studies."

"What are you talking about ? We have animal first off don't we ?"

"Oh, right yes."Hermione bit her lip before nodding."Let me just go, um, get some fifth wheel parchment. I ‘ ll meet you there."She moved off down the table quickly. Harry watched her go, frowning.

"That was odd."Harry took another sip of juice then turned around at the auditory sensation of a loud bash. Ron was helplessly flailing at his face, trying to strike hard away the two leathery backstage that had emerged from his nose. One from each nostril."Tried to grab the broom again didn ‘ t you Ron ?"

"I couldn ‘ t help myself."
*


Hermione hurried away from the great hall, very aware of the little golden hourglass hanging around her neck opening. She had felt Harry's stare as she walked out of the hall, she would suffer to be more thrifty in future. He was too shrewd sometimes. The issue if someone found out would be unspeakable. McGonagall had made that clear…

"You will have to ratify this."McGonagall had said, pushing a long form over to her."Make sure to say it carefully."

She had dutifully read through the document. It seemed to be a standard from, there had been various references to the punishments for different infractions.

"There ‘ s a bit that's been written in in different ink at the bottom."Hermione had noticed.

"We thought it necessity to add that."

“'I swear that I will never ever ever ever narrate Harry Potter about the time-turner.'You mention Harry by name ?"

"We thought it prudent."

"It ‘ s underlined."

"I know."

"In red."

"I know."

"And there ‘ s a big arrow pointing to it."

"Just sign the form."

Hermione had done so and been handed a small hinged box, like a man of jewelry would come in. On the binding had been a bantam label
Time-Turner
Property of the department of Mysteries
Warnings :
Keep with you at all times
Do not attempt to open
Do not use in conjunction with other method of time-travel
Do not induce paradoxes or step in with the fabric of causality
Do not immerse


Hermione hurried to her lesson. She just needed to be more thrifty. This year couldn't be that hard, could it ?
*


"Where are you going Harry ?"Parvati called out to him as he stepped out of the primary door of Hogwarts.

"Well I was thinking of going to my magical creatures class."Harry shrugged and grinned impishly."But if you wan na ditch I ‘ m game."

"The witching creatures socio-economic class are being held inside this year. Probably because of all the security. Didn ‘ t you read the card ? I ‘ m really looking forward to it…"Parvati continued as Harry turned to follow her."… I wonder if we ‘ ll do unicorns or maybe an Abraxan."

"Acromantula and yetis and bicorns oh my !"

"Oh come on Hagrid wouldn't be allowed to bring those things into the school."

"Really ?"Harry chuckled."Bet you a galleon whatever we see today has Sir Thomas More teeth than me."

"You're on."Parvati had stopped in presence of a threshold on the 3rd floor. All the marauders had, the berth held some stir up memories. Hermione hurried towards them ( not from the direction of Gryffindor pillar Harry noticed ) and stopped nearby.

"Is that… ?"

"Fluffy ‘ s room."Neville finished for her in a articulation full of dread.

"Ooo."Harry said as he moved to open the door."I think I hear that galleon calling."

"Great, y ‘ r all here."Hagrid waved the predator over. The room looked different to when the Cerberus had occupied it. It had been cleaned for one thing and the trapdoor was gone, replaced by flat Harlan Fisk Stone just slightly less worn than the rest of the floor. If you weren't looking you'd never see it.

The students were sat on cushions in a circle around Hagrid, who himself was standing next to a massive batting cage covered in a grim cloth.

"Sorry we have to take the moral in here but its for your own beneficial y ‘ see. Now, have a tone at this…"Hagrid pulled the textile off and the whole class shied away."…A six-headed Vorompatra. Ain't she a beautiful creature."

The ten fundament marvellous ostrich-like wight stuck its heads through the BAR and glared at the scholar with all twelve of its red, beady oculus. Then it drew back its heads and screeched like a banshee.

"Her name is Isabelle."Hagrid said fondly.

Not one of the students spoke until Annapurna leaned towards Harry's ear and hoarsely said…

"You owe me a galleon."
*


The shaken marauders made their way to defence against the sorry arts.

"It ‘ s eyes… It kept staring at me."Neville kept mumbling as they walked down the corridor.

"It was staring at everyone Neville it had six damn heads !"Harry threw his deal up in the air and shook his head.

"He probably just wanted to originate the year with a bang."Hermione rationalized, kneading the bound of her robes in her fists nervously."The rest of the year won ‘ t be like that. Surely ?"She even seemed to be rocking back and forth a little. Ron tentatively reached out and rested his hand on her berm comfortingly.

"We can only hope. Though perhaps we shouldn't."Padma said dryly.

Harry just shook his hear again and thought that perhaps arithmancy wouldn't have been so bad. As they entered the Defense Department classroom prof lupine looked up from what he was doing. The vulture were the starting time ones there.

"You needn't bump your seats students, we will be going somewhere else for the lesson today."The teachers articulation was horse and tired. The marauders waited for anything farther instructions but none came, the professor had gone back to writing something on a flat solid of parchment.

Harry shrugged and made three juggling balls appear from slender air ( the inaugural time he'd done this half of Gryffindor house thought he'd mastered conjuring, it had been workweek before anyone had caught on to the manual dexterity of hand ) and began spinning them idly. When the rest of the class were there professor lupin called the registry then rose wearily from his seat and told them all to follow him. As they trouped through the school Harry whispered…

"Where do you think he ‘ s taking us ?"But the answer became apparent almost instantly as they entered the staff room.

"Now, I do not want any of you to get appall. But there is a dark tool in this press, a boggart."Most of the course of instruction ignored his warning and became dismay."Mr, Longbottom is it ? Mr Longbottom would you come to the front please."

Neville gingery moved to the battlefront of the family. Harry listened with half an ear to the description of the properties and proper demurrer against boggarts. The more he saw of Professor Lupin the more he got the feeling he'd seen him somewhere before.

"Alright Mr Longbottom ?"tinker's dam ! Should really have listened to that."Ready ? Go !"prof lupin flicked his wand and the closet opened. Out stepped Isabelle in all her glory.

"Oh bloody perdition ! Not again !"Harry yelled.

Neville seemed to have been petrified, his wand rigid in his hand as the gigantic boo stomped towards him making the undercoat handshake. Then he seemed to rupture out of it and yelled…

"Riddikulus !"The elephant-birds six heading suddenly snaked together into a tangled air mile and it fell to the floor.

"commodity, good ! following one up."professor Lupin was smiling and motioned Susan Bones up. The boggart became a snake in the grass and was quickly changed into a slinky.

"Ok, I get the idea."Harry thought as he slowly moved up the line. informer, at-bat, toad frog and spiders were changed into more amusing things and Harry thought it might actually be fun to see what happened when he came face to expression with the creature. The death student in movement of him moved away and he stepped up, wand in script. The boggart seemed to ruffle for a moment, then shot forward. For a moment Harry saw a wild blue yonder flash then he felt urine all around him and his mind became a lacuna slate to the full of terror.

"Can't breath ! Air ! Air ! Can't breathing time ! Can't…"Harry flailed helplessly."Drowning !"Harry's thoughts were interrupted as the water system disappeared. Harry caught a flare of something globe-shaped and Ag before he dropped to his knee on the floor.

"Are you hurt ?"Harry looked up at the phone of the Professors voice then shook his school principal."Perhaps this will teach you to pay more tending when your teacher speaks in future."With that lupine turned away and started talking to the rest of the family, lecturing them on other boggart properties. Harry felt an arm snake in the grass around his shoulder joint and looked up to see Hermione's kindly face.

"Why didn ‘ t you speak the spell Harry ?"

"Couldn ‘ t breath."

"The water wasn't real you know."But Harry just shook his head.

"Couldn ‘ t breath."

The class was dismissed a few minute later. Harry slouched along a few steps behind the relaxation of the marauders with his hired man in his pockets. Malfoy would surely have spread this story across half the school before the end of the day and the early half by breakfast. Harry decided he hated professor Lupin.
*


The adjacent day Harry was bodily dragged from tiffin by Hermione.

"seminal fluid on, or we ‘ ll be late."

"And would that be so bad."Harry tried to dig his blackguard in to slow her down feather but he just ended up stumbling ( why did he have to be smaller than everyone ? )"Are you that excited about antediluvian rune ?"

Harry was the only marauder joining Hermione in that subject. In accession to the care of charming creatures they were all taking, and now regretting. Ron and Parvati had signed up for divination, against Harry advice. Neville was taking muggle survey along with Padma who was the lonesome vulture doing three electives ("Why !"Harry had asked."And arithmancy ?"). Apart from Hermione of course, who was doing everything.

"I am excited !"Hermione entered the classroom and took a seat right at the front.

"Not the fanny I would have chosen but whatever."Harry thought as he sat down."At least cypher in this class can eat me or drown me."

"Good dayspring year. I am professor Babbling."The prof looked a lilliputian like an older Hermione, but a more dotty one. She had obtrusive ink stains on her cuff and even a spot on her cheek. She was obviously good at her subject though if the detailed calligraphy that hung in scrolls behind her desk was any indication."Well shall we get started."

Harry rested his header in his hired hand as the Professor begun explaining some obscure runic script in quick flowing speech while scraping symbolic representation on the circuit board. After about half an hr she asked them to understand a bit of it. Harry turned to Hermione.

"I assume you noted all of that down ?"

"Well of course !"

"Good."Harry held up a sketch of a dog with flossy ear."Because I didn't."



Questions, comments, angriness ? Please review.


Despite the extra precautions around the schooling classes continued more or less as normal. Hermione's hopes had been counterbalance and Hagrid had just been trying to set off the twelvemonth big. Creatures class was, from then on, not quite so terrifying. Harry had reduced his own fearfulness by talking to professor Flitwick who had assured him that all the cages Hagrid had were built with the strongest unbreakable charm. Flitwick himself had inspected each one of them. Harry felt better after that and tried to convince the other students of the same thing.

"Unbreakable charm won ‘ t break."Harry said to Susan castanets as they wrestled a squirm vine into a pot and packed it down with clay."He could bring anything into class and, so long as its in a cage, it should be fine."

"I know that. I mean, I know that's true but its not the same when the fauna ‘ s actually in movement of you."Susan shook her head, she had a point of worldly concern on her cheek. Harry reached out and brushed it off for her, ignoring the odd fluttering smell in his stomach.

"Well…"Harry swallowed and continued."… at least its not snakes !"Harry jumped at her hissing and holding up a piece of vine, making it wriggle like a snake. Susan snorted and shoved him backwards into a flowerbed.

Harry left herbology with mud all down his back.

"Not one word."He warned the snickering marauders."We ‘ ve got a job to do this night remember ?"

The marauders quieted down. It was unfeigned, tonight Draco Malfoy would pay.
*


Harry slid along the wall up to the entrance to the Slytherin green room. myrtle ( intentionally dimming herself ) wafted through the paries. A moment later her top one-half slid back into slew and she gave him a wink and a thumbs up. Harry made one end check around for the lookouts he knew were at each end of the corridor then said the password. Grinning he slipped into the usual elbow room and up the steps. How had they ever managed without a ghost ?

It took Harry a good five hour to give Malfoy's door. Obviously after last year the third year had seen fit to add some extra protections to his apartment. Harry glanced over the boys bed. Malfoy'd got rid of the chemise bear at some gunpoint but seemed to lack it, he had his blankets bunched up in forepart of him and was hugging them. Harry shook his headspring and made his way to the dresser. Harry opened the top drawer ever so slowly and sprinkled a liberal measure of a grim powder inside. He then did the same with the former knickers and with the clothes hanging in the wardrobe. Chuckling to himself silently Harry slid out of the elbow room and closed the door.

The adjacent morning Harry watched for Malfoy carefully during breakfast but he never showed. Most likely in the hospital annex Harry reasoned, the lesion had probably burst by now.

"Step 1, success."Harry leaned back and shared a broad grin with the other marauder."On to maltreat two. But that will sustain to wait for the weekend."

"But it ‘ s a Hogsmead weekend ?"Ron pointed out.

"Yep, footfall two takes place in Hogsmead. Let me tell you about it…"Harry began but was interrupted by Hermione.

"But Harry you can ‘ t go to Hogsmead. You don ‘ t have a permission conformation, its not allowed. I mean… you… Dumbledore said that…"Hermione trailed off under Harry's mocking gaze.

"I have left the country against Dumbledore ‘ s regard. I shouldn ‘ t think the schooltime yard will furnish too much hassle. Now…"Harry leant forward conspiratorially."This is what I think we should do, cut in if you ‘ ve got some suggestions."
*


The Saturday sun rose bright and early as did the scholarly person bore to be off to Hogsmead. Harry waved his friends off at the front gate in a temper of mild scare. He had made a promise to contact them early outside the three broomsticks but, despite his cockiness, he actually didn't have the vague clew how he was going to leave the grounds.

Ginny had wanted to issue forth with him but he had refused saying at the time that it would be too obvious she wasn't supposed to be there. Now he was regretting it as she might have been able to fly him over the paries. Harry walked up to the logic gate but saw Filch checking students as they wandered out, there was no way he could get out that way.

Harry walked along the paries in the direction of Hogsmead looking for some cranny or flaw. He could probably have climbed the bulwark in places but for the fact that he knew they were not simple Oliver Stone. He reached the lakeshore without finding anything and was about to grow back when an idea struck him. The lake. Harry scrambled down to the edge of the water and looked out to his right, drop for a good 30 meters but a chip of beach after that. He could even see the route the coach went along.

Remembering the boggart Harry eyed the water with cryptic hunch. But it looked like it was his only alternative. He would probably be alright so long as his capitulum was above water.

"The things I do to get Malfoy."Harry shook his head as he took off his skid and tied the lacing together so he could loop them around his neck opening. He reluctantly stepped into the urine and winced at the cold, he went deeper and began to fall out the cliff around. Eventually the lakebed sank and he could no longer partake it with his feet. Harry could feel the inky blackness all around him as he kicked for the far shore. The water sapped his courage and Harry's heart raced until he was capable to put his metrical unit back on land.

Harry drew himself up onto the beach and wasted no time in performing a quick drying charm on his apparel before heading up into the village.

In Harry's ruling the piranha were not shanghai enough that he had managed to will the castle.

"Where were you ?"Padma hissed."You're late, we ‘ ve been waiting."

Harry just rolled his eyes and said…

"Is he here yet ?"

"No."

"Then I ‘ m not late."Harry started off down the road and the marauder didn't really have a choice but to follow him. They all trouped into dame puddifoots to the surprise of the proprietor, she rarely saw radical of Sir Thomas More than two in her shop. The third year moved towards a pair of hufflepuffs sitting at the table skinny the window.

"Hi !"Harry greeted brightly. They looked up."I know you don't want to be disturbed but we are playing a massive prank on a horrific git known as Draco Malfoy. Oh you know him too ? Well the only way we ‘ ll be able-bodied to watch the results of our masterly misrepresentation is if we can have this table. So, do you mind ?"The match looked at each early for a moment.

"genus Draco Malfoy ?"

"Yes."

"Mind if we watch too ?"

Harry smiled

"Course not. In fact…"Harry turned and addressed the whole workshop ( after a fast eye scan to see that there were no Slytherins present )."… anyone wanting to see Draco Malfoy get his deserts come to the window now."Harry heard chairperson screak back and the other four couples in the café all crowded around the window.

"There he is !"One of them pointed. Draco Malfoy was scurrying down the street, occasionally scratching at his chest and arms. Harry twirled his baton around and held it under his Kuki like a microphone.

"ma'am and gentlemen…"He began."… I would care to welcome you to the first ever instalment of The New Marauders TV Show ! With our special guest… Malfoy !"Several of the patrons were shooting him odd looks but others were grinning.

"Earlier this week person impregnated Mr Malfoy's clothing with brech gunpowder which, as you know, causes unplayful problems to any bare skin it touches."A snickering began all around Harry."And yes, the powder got on his underclothing too."Malfoy was almost level with them in the street now.

"Now Malfoy knows by now that pretty practically all his clothing is infested so as soon as he reaches Hogsmead he ‘ s going to need to visit…"Draco ducked into the shop class opponent."… gladrags wizardwear. What Mr Malfoy is incognizant of is that we have an broker inside gladrags wizardwear, hidden using the magic of his kind. I think we should all hire a moment to thank Dobby the house elf for his employment in this endeavor."Harry and the vulture clapped and a few of the others did too, getting into the biz of it.

"It probably won ‘ t take Malfoy long to get his stuff since it is just schooling robes for the most part. But you see the other thing of which Mr Malfoy is unaware is that Mr Dobby has made sure he gets the clothes we pre-prepared. These dress have a jinx on them, a jinx commonly known as the emperors-new-clothes jinx."A couple of the student broke out laughing."Ah, so you ‘ ve heard of it, or can at least guess what this picayune spell does. For those that can ‘ t… Ah ! Here ‘ s Mr Malfoy now."Some of the café crowd laughed, some looked away and some just grinned in gloat as Malfoy walked off down the street in his ‘ robes'oblivious to the stares he was getting from everyone.

"Of class we left him his boxers."Harry continued."There are some thing I just don't want to see."
*


"Even though I am truly frightened right now."Harry thought as he swam back past the cliff."That was so worth it. Malfoy won ‘ t live this down for years."

Harry was right, the whole school knew how Malfoy had walked through Hogsmead and into the three broomsticks half-naked. The whole school day had a funfair guess as to who was responsible too. Over the next few weeks the marauders were treated to another chapter of ‘ The many knowing and calculating stares of Minerva McGonagall'but no one could testify it.

"We need to do more stuff like that."Harry said to himself as they waited for the refutation class to set out."I wonder where Snape buys his robes ?"

The others just grinned. A bit later Hermione hurried in through the doors looking flustered before landing down in her seat.

"Where did you go Hermione ?"Ron questioned."We all left fortune telling at the same time."

"What do you intend ?"Padma turned around."We were just in arithmancy."

"We were all just in transfiguration."Harry argued, confused."We must birth all been there, it ‘ s not an optional class."

"Harry are you softheaded ?"Ron asked, stunned.

Any retort Harry had been about to deliver was lost as the door to the classroom banged spread and Severus Snape strode in. Arrogantly making his way to the front of the class he stood behind the desk.

"Professor Lupin."Snape said smugly."Is unavailable to instruct today due to ill health."The teacher smirked."So I will be taking today's moral. Turn to… ah ! Werewolves ! Chapter 32."

"But Professor !"Hermione began but Harry shushed her to quiet. He wanted to sleep together where Snape was going with this. Did the potions schoolmaster want them to guess what was threatening the shoal ? The students began scribbling away, making bank bill on the chapter when Harry felt a shadower descent across him.

"Mr Potter, taking notes ? I might almost call back I was imagining things."Harry looked up, directly into Snape's eyes. This time he didn't even have clip to set about to acquit his nous and the insistency broke through instantly. Harry tore his regard back down to the paper in front line of him. Harry heard a triumphant boo from above him but ignored it.

"Learning all I can about werewolves sir."Harry said flippantly."Especially since they live so close."

"closer than you know Potter."What was that about ? But Snape continued on a unlike stable gear."Did you enjoy the Hogsmead weekend Potter ?"

"Professor you know I don't have a permission form. I could never go to Hogsmead."Harry tried to look destitute, unsuccessfully."It would be wrong."

"Really, I have been hearing from members of my house who saw you in Hogsmead that weekend."

"fountainhead professor I hate to tell you this but I heard a fellow member of your house walked into the three broomsticks in his under trunks so I don't hump how far you want to confide their judgment."

"Oh and I suppose you simply heard about that from second mitt story ?"Snape sneered.

"Oh professor you know if I ‘ d been there I would take taken the opportunity to confound mud at him. No mud ergo I was not there."

"Do not be flippant with me Mr Potter. 30 points from Gryffindor. I know your eccentric so well ceramicist. You are just like your father."

"Whatever."Harry grumbled as the teacher moved off.
*



Professor lupin was back in tutelage of the class after the weekend and, much as the man was inexplicably cold towards him, Harry welcomed the return. Anyone was meliorate than Snape.

On night in the run up to Hallowe'en Harry remembered the box he'd got from the Dursley's reaching into his expanding bag he dragged it out and opened it up on his bed. With the contents strewn out it seemed a lot lupus erythematosus. Harry quickly separated the newspaper publisher into junk ( broadsheet, old homework appointment, mawkish love letter ) and interesting stuff like photos.

One of the photos caught his eye and he drew it out, six figures stood on the grass outside Hogwarts. one-time scholarly person, sixth or one-seventh twelvemonth. Harry's eyes found two students on the left wing of the word picture locked in an embrace. One with center like his and the early with everything else, his parents.

But Harry had noticed something else, nearby them was another student, the merely one in the picture who seemed to be sitting still for it to be taken. He knew that human face, he'd been lectured by it originally that day. That must have been where he recognized professor Lupin from, he must give birth caught a coup d'oeil of him in the moving-picture show. Sure enough on the back of the film were scratched some public figure in pencil, Remus Lupin appeared near the bottom of the list.

Harry frowned, if his parents and lupin had known each other why was the professor being so insensate to him ? Harry pushed the box's substance back into it and slid off the bed. He would receive the solvent to this puzzle. Moving through the forsake common room Harry pushed open the portrayal door.

"Is it even worth telling you its past curfew ?"Said the fat lady but Harry just smiled at her and keep out the door. Moving silently he made his way to the defence reaction instructor office. Luckily there was still a spark peeking out from under the door. Harry went to the door and knocked.

"One moment."professor Lupin opened the door in a washed-out dressing nightgown."Oh its you. Shouldn ‘ t you be in your usual room."

"I came to ask you something."Harry drew out the photo."About this."

lupin seemed to withdraw into himself, then deflate and sigh.

"Ah."Was all he said, and all he appeared to be going to say so Harry prompted him.

"You knew my parents."

"Yes I did. I was in the same twelvemonth as them."

"And the same house."Harry pointed to the robe of the the great unwashed in the ikon."And you and my mother were prefects together."

"Yes you have sufficiently proven that you are observant."The student and instructor still hadn't moved from the doorway. Lupin had not invited him in."Where did you get this ?"

"In a box of my mother old poppycock. Nothing much, letters, pic, a locket."

"Lilly didn ‘ t wear a locket."For the beginning time lupine seemed vaguely interested."She wore a pendent."Harry frowned and drew the ash gray matter out of the box."Yes that's it. It's a pendent."

"But it was open…"Harry looked nigh at the short affair. It was true that now it was closed the seam around the edge was almost inconspicuous and the matter was slender enough to slip by for a strong chandelier. Harry tried to get a fingernail in the crack but the thing seemed to be solid.

Was it a locket or had he imagined it ? No, it was a locket because it had been open when he first got the box. He'd closed it so it wouldn't get damaged. Harry put it back in the box and mentally filed it under mysterious.

"Seems like you know a lot about her for someone who was just in their year. Seems like you must cause known them. You and the other the great unwashed in this picture."

"Everyone but me in that ikon is dead."The usually mild mannered Professor snapped, but Harry was in no mood to engage this anymore.

"Really,"Harry flipped the picture."rose wine McKinnon ? Sirius lightlessness ? Peter Petigrew ?"

"Yes, yes, yes !"The instructor roared and Harry took a footprint backwards."rosiness was tortured and killed along with her stallion family during the war ! And the other two, well ? Dog Star Black betrayed us all to Voldemort and got Lilly and St. James the Apostle killed. poor shaft managed to dog him down the side by side day and made him pay at the cost of his own life. We found both their soundbox in the wreckage left behind by the duel. In the row of two days I lost everything. Can you understand that ? Can you even comprehend ?"Harry bowed his head.

"No, I guess I can't."He moved to leave then turned back and said."Do you desire the picture ?"But the prof had already closed the door.
*


"Ginny eat something. Anything."Parvati leant over the mesa with a denture of fruit and held it out for her. Ginny just shook her nous and tried to breath evenly. Stroking the grip of her broomstick calmed her a piffling, but not enough to defecate eating anything an option.

To be funfair it was a wonderful day for Quidditch, not a swarm in the sky and a pleasant zephyr. Ginny just wished she were playing on the pitch behind the tunnel not in front of the entire school.

"Time to go sis."She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Fred hovering over her."Don ‘ t worry, you ‘ ll feel a lot better once you get up there."

"Yeah,"His similitude chimed in"Our 1st couple we felt just the Saame, everyone does."They led her away from the table. Just as she was leaving she saw Harry shudder suddenly and look around like he had just woken up before sighing and burying his face in his hands.

"What was that ?"She thought as she left the Great entrance hall in a stream of people.

"Do we even know where we ‘ re playing yet ?"She said to cave in the silence.

"We took a look-see earlier."George I's brass broke into a broad grin."It ‘ s all-fired brilliant."

"Where is it then ? Tell me you gits !"Ginny kicked her brother in the tibia lightly making him stumble.

"Oy ! We need our beaters in top experimental condition !"Wood was stalking over. His face showing no sign of body fluid."No playing about. This is the most important mates of the year ! Slytherin are the team to beat. They won the cup last year and the year before and they all have new brooms courtesy of genus Draco Malfoy."

"I was just…"

"fountainhead don't ! Lets just get to the pitch."Wood stalked off.

"Don't listen to him Gin."Fred wrapped his arm round her shoulder.

"He ‘ s just stressed out. We tried to lighten him up earlier but he hexed us both good."

Ginny giggled. She knew what her Brother ‘ lightening up'had probably involved.

Just then the new Quidditch locus came into view and Ginny gasped. A monolithic stand had been erected at the edge of the lake, hanging onto the cliff and built up on the beaches. The goals stuck straight up from the rippled water.

"Awesome isn ‘ t it."St. George breathed and he and his brother set off towards them. Ginny was about to follow them when she felt a helping hand encircle her arm. Looking back she saw Harry's familiar cheek. He looked exhaust and kind of deadened. The last time she had seen him like this was back when the blood war was at its height, when there seemed to be no answer to it. Back when he had almost given up. It wasn't quite that bad yet, but it was similar.

"About an hour and a half into the game."Harry said quickly."You should probably check around the theme of the Gryffindor goal."

"How do you get it on ?"

"Déjà fucking vu."Harry said in a low growl before walking off towards the stands. Ginny shook her head teacher worriedly, Harry swore a bit more than the relaxation of them but he usually saved it for life-threatening place. If he was just dropping f-bombs into conversation something was going on. But whatever it was it was going to give to wait. Her first proper Quidditch match ever was about to start.
*


"Go ! Go ! GO !"Ron screamed and the gang screamed with him as the two seekers dove for the snitch..

"He ‘ s blocking her."Parvati yelled and pointed.

Suddenly the stoolpigeon spun and snapped back directly towards the seekers. For a moment the crowd held its breathing spell as the two musician came together in a whirl of robe. Then a cry of triumph sounded out of the sky and Ginny broke away holding something glinting gold.

"She did it !"Ron leapt from his chairman, he had never been prouder of his little sister. He turned to Harry who was laughing more than shouting, head word thrown back and eyes sparkling.

"Of course she did. Marauders don't lose."Harry snapped a grinning then his grimace went grey and he pointed back into the sky where Ginny was still hovering, showing off the sneaker. From where she was there was no way she could see Malfoy dropping from above her.
*


She had won ! She had really done it ! It had been tint and go for a moment there but she had grabbed it right out of Malfoy's manpower. She hadn't even needed to use Harry's tip to get it since she'd spotted it barely an hour into the match.

She saw a shadow cross over her and looked up just in time to see a kick smack into her case. She heard a massive crack and suddenly she was falling, a mess of broom and robe. Whoever had hit her was falling with her, tumbling over and around each other.

A bit later she hit the water and a moment after that the lake bed, the piss hadn't been nearly late enough to slow her twilight. She kicked up as in force she could in gown and boots but she was waterlogged and barely moving. After what seemed like an infinity she just managed to break the open before being dragged back under. She felt for her gown clasps and snapped them off before starting to kick back onto the aerofoil. But she was too worn out and hurting from the collision, the sunlight on the surface tantalizingly close.

She felt the dandy from somebody in the water with her and a minute later felt herself lifted up by a giant hand on her dorsum. She broke the surface and gasped one desperate breathing spell after another.

"Y ‘ r alright now. Y ‘ r alright."She heard Hagrid's voice and looked down into crimson aspect. He was just improbable enough to still be capable to stand on the bottom but even for him the water came up to his chin."Gave us all a bit of a scare."

"Who hit me ?"Ginny's head was still swimming from the lack of oxygen.

"Malfoy."The groundskeeper articulation had gone low and life-threatening."Snape picked him out ‘ o the piss with a piece but no-one could see where you ‘ ad gotten yourself to."

"I didn ‘ t get myself anywhere."Ginny croaked. Now that the water was shallower Hagrid sat her on his shoulder then finally set her down on the pebbled beach. She could see her team-mates rushing towards her across the shake. Behind them by the stands she saw the predator hurrying towards her. prof Snape seemed to be trying to halt them and was shouting something, Harry simply ignored him and ducked underneath his arms. A moment later they had all crowded around her and she was forced to repeat the words ‘ I'm fine'over and over to finish them fussing over her.

"Deplorable ! Disgusting behaviour !"Somewhere else on the beach she could see prof McGonagall shouting in another part of the beach. Ginny stuck a finger into her ear and wiggled it around. It was full of water supply and everything sounded distorted."I have never seen the like."

"Minerva it was clearly an accident."Snape had sidled over."If it had been intentional do you think he would have let his own broom become damaged like that."He pointed away to the English at where Malfoy's broom lay, cleanly split in the middle with the bristles knocked far out of whack. Ginny suddenly had a sinking feeling.

"Professor ?"McGonagall turned towards her."Has someone found my broom ?"McGonagall raised her eyebrows, perhaps she hadn't realised it was missing. The teacher turned towards the lake, raised her wand and said…

"Accio Ginerva ‘ s broom."For a mo nada happened then something flew out of the H2O, something much too minuscule. A moment later another joined it. No one spoke as a pile of shards and splinters grew near Professor McGonagall's ft. Even the bristles came out, ending up in a sodden heap.

Ginny heard her fountainhead of theatre act on Malfoy again and start yelling but it felt like setting randomness. Kneeling down she picked up a few matchwood of woodwind and let them diminish through the sally in her finger's breadth. Growing up with six pal gave you all sort of training in how to hold in bout but null was working. She felt herself startle sobbing and covered her case with her hands so no one would see. It wasn't working. Giving up she stood and ran away through the gang on the beach. She couldn't look at anyone aright now.

The last thing she saw before she left was professor Snape levitating the shards of both her and Malfoys brooms into a scraps can, a look of glee on his face.
*


Harry watched her go. He wanted to go after her but didn't have the swooning idea what he'd say when he caught up.

"soul please…"Harry gestured after Ginny, a supplication unclouded in his voice.

"We got it."Padma nodded and her, her sister and Hermione began following the fleeing redheader. Harry felt himself bunching his fists and saw that the people next to him were doing the same.

"No one does that to a Weasley."Fred muttered.

"No one does that to a marauder."Harry shook his head and punched his fist into his palm."Not and gets away with it."

"Malfoy ‘ s gon na pay."George chimed in shaking his fist."Screw prankster contention, you want to help us Harry ? All of you guys ?"

"Won ‘ t make Ginny experience better."Harry felt a flicker light in his brain."But I know what might. And I ‘ ll take your help. You in ?"

"In an instant."

"Obviously."

"And we ‘ ll need outside help too, people who helped us last year. A lot of stuff could go improper, even the commencement stride's a doozy and they just get voiceless after that. Ron, Neville I definitely won't have much prison term for my assignments for a while. Savvy ?."

"We got you Harry. But what do you have in mind."

"Humiliation."

"But I thought you said we weren ‘ t going to get Malfoy directly."

"We ‘ re not."Harry smiled his crocodile smile."We ‘ re gon na let Ginny do it."
*


Over the next few weeks Harry became a shade. He rushed into example previous or barely by the Melville Bell and began to look even more run down than Hermione. He could be found at odd clip in the depository library or pawing over odd sheets of parchment with the Weasley twin, speaking in whispers.

ma'am Pince had raised her eyebrows further that Harry had thought humanly potential when he'd taken out certain volume. But none of them were actually restricted so she stamped them out with only her usual point of distain.

"Mr ceramicist do you seriously think I will believe this is your essay ?"McGonagall had confronted him one lesson."When the handwriting is not yours and in fact strongly resembles Miss Grangers. What are you spending all your time on anyway ?"Harry had simply leaned confining to his teacher and whispered…

"Winning you the Quidditch cup."

They had no homework set that lesson.

Harry lost so many degree in Snape's classes that he considered simply not turning up since that would lose him less overall. However potions gave him the gross opportunity to simper at Malfoy over his caldron. Everyone in schoolhouse knew Harry was up to something and it was an easy guess as to who was the specify object, even the object himself. Malfoy spent potions class sweating under Harry's gaze, wondering what he was planning.

"What are you up to thrower ?"Malfoy had confronted him after one lesson.

"I ‘ m not up to anything Dracs."Harry gave his Nemesis a thumbs up."Just surfing along you know Que serum sera."As Draco hurried off Harry glanced back at the potions skipper. Again the press mounted and he lasted barely a counting of five before he had to bust his heart away. He thought he saw Snape sassing ‘ just like your Padre'before he turned away. Harry shook his psyche to clear it, Snape wasn't a priority right now.

Harry signed up to stay at Hogwarts over Yule but encouraged the piranha to visit their families.

"I have so often still to do I ‘ d be bad society anyway."

"Wish we could ride out mate."Fred said shaking his caput dejectedly.

"Yeah, we promised we ‘ d help you then we just leave."St. George also shook his pass, unconsciously falling into the precise rhythm of his twin.

"Don ‘ t worry. It ‘ ll be finished by the end of the vacation anyway."

Harry's Christmas presents were as near as they always were, the standard Patil book set this year was basically a big encyclopedia of charms and Neville had found him a fool hat that flashed different colors as the bells jiggled. Hermione had got him a homework planner.

"Bless her."Harry thought, taking a bite of Honeydukes deep brown."She tries."

Harry was waiting by the gradation as the students returned from the their dwelling with a bundle wrapped in theme under his arm. He caught mint of the marauders plus Fred and George coming and walked out to meet them.

"Is that it ?"Fred said excitedly.

"Is it finished ?"His twin added.

"Yes and yes. And its awesome !"Harry moved past the Gemini the Twins to stand in front of their youngest sibling. He thrust out the parcel."Merry Christmastime. This is sort of from the Gemini as well. fountainhead everyone helped actually."

"Don ‘ t do yourself down mate."Ron said."It was mostly you."
*


Ginny looked down at the parcel in her hands, it dawned on her that it was very sweep shaped.

"You didn ‘ t buy…"She began but Harry stopped her.

"I didn ‘ t buy. I repaired. Was a lot of fun actually. thinking of doing it when I leave school."

"But my broom was far too founder to repair."

"Your nimbus 2000 was too smashed to fix. Malfoy's 2001 on the other hand had a fairly simple gap. rectifiable with a little effort. And he just threw it away like garbage."Harry tutted and shook his capitulum."Wasteful."

"And you fished it out ?"

"Wouldn ‘ t be the first time I ‘ ve dumpster dived Gins. Now unwrap the hoot thing."

Heeding him she ripped the paper off and stared in awe at the broom shining in her hands, looking like new.

"It doesn't look just like a 2001."She said running her bridge player down the recursively curving handle.

"Well we used some parts left over from your broom as well. Plus she's got some unlike appeal and spells we researched and we corrected the listing on the butt end."Harry shrugged."hypothesis she ‘ s kind of a chimera really."

"Did you distinguish her ?"Ginny asked, quickly slipping into utilization of the female person pronoun.

"I hadn ‘ t but I think I just did. The Chimera."Harry leant forward conspiratorially."And you and her, my little protégé, are going to win us the Quidditch cup."



critique, it makes me felicitous. Tra la la !