Harry Potter 1. Prologue

**Hi everyone. Welcome to The Slytherin Stand. I hope you enjoy my story, and remember that JK Rowling owns everything (except for Star Trek, Metallica, Princess Leia, Dave Mustaine, Nintendo, and any other aspect of Muggle culture that gets referenced)**

**Prologue**

Harry Potter flopped onto his bed at Privet Drive and sighed, allowing the pages of the Daily Prophet to fall from his hands and scatter across the floor. The loss of Sirius seemed too much to bear sometimes, and now hearing how those responsible were dodging justice seemed like a personal slap in the face.

Lestrange was nowhere to be found after the attack; neither were any of the other newer escapees. A lot of the other Death Eaters had also escaped, and between escaping and being found by the Aurors had acquired air-tight alibis. Once again, it was Harry's word against theirs.

Unlike last summer, Harry read the Prophet religiously; he longed to see some sign that the opinion of the Wizarding World had changed, that he had been vindicated, that now something would _actually_ get done about Voldemort.

He held up the mirror and looked longingly at his reflection. "Sirius" he called, no longer believing that he'd get any kind of response "It makes me sick Sirius, they killed you, and now Malfoy walks free. What is wrong with everyone?"

He slowly sat up, and gently placed the precious mirror that he had found too late onto his bedside table. Then in a fit of rage he kicked the scatted pages of the Prophet and stamped his feet in frustration until Uncle Vernon shouted from downstairs for him to shut up.

_Great Harry _he thought to himself as he sat down on the floor, _now you're acting like an angry little kid; Sirius would be so proud._

Absentmindedly, he picked up the closest page and stared it down as if this single piece of paper that was the source of all his problems. As he actually focused on it though, he realised it was actually some good news. Old Peter Nott hadn't escaped from beneath the shelves of prophecies. At least some Death Eaters were paying for what happened in the Department of Mysteries.

Though should he really be so happy about Nott being arrested? In the picture he simply looked like an unkempt old man with two grown daughters flanking him on either side. The caption identified them as Jolene Selwyn and Estelle Harper. Harry had never heard of them, but he knew that this was the family of one of his classmates; Blaise Zabini's best friend, an extremely quite boy named Theodore Nott. Nott and Zabini had been the most skilled Slytherin students in the DA last year. Harry had never been that friendly with them, but Hermione knew them from the library and Arithmacy. After Harry and his friends got back from their battle in the Ministry, the two Slytherins had been the first to visit them in the Hospital Wing. Zabini had pretended to cut off his hand, and with Madam Promfey distracted Nott had walked over to them. He asked Hermione if she was alright; it was the first time Harry had ever heard him speak to her.

Was Young Nott suffering because of what Harry had done in the Department of Mysteries? Whenever Nott _had_ actually spoken he had always been kind. Not at all Slytherin-like. And Hermione insisted that he was a nice guy.

Harry found it impossible to imagine Nott as another Draco Malfoy-Death-Eater-in-training. Would it turn out that after all this, the only Death Eaters that would end up getting arrested would leave behind family members that weren't themselves Voldemort supporters? Family who would miss them? What a terrible lose-lose situation this was.

Aunt Petunia was calling him now, saying that dinner was ready. Harry didn't feel like eating though; instead he crunched up the page and threw it towards his wastepaper bin. The shot was way off, but Harry didn't care; he picked up the mirror and called Sirius's name again.

"I wish I could have found this a earlier" Harry whispered to his dead Godfather "I'm so sorry Sirius."

Meanwhile;

_Commander Chakotay was recuperating in sickbay after his ordeal with the Vori. The Captain and The Doctor were both with him, when the Kradin Ambassador entered. Chakotay had been shown enough evidence to know that the Kradin had helped save him, and were not the "motherless beasts" that the Vori's brainwashing propaganda training had led him to believe. Yet as the Ambassador spoke it was obvious that Chakotay was disturbed. He politely excused himself and left sickbay, with Captain Janeway following close behind, asking her first officer if he was ok._

"_Captain" He replied "I just wish it was as easy to stop hating as it was to start."_

"Now that was an awesome episode!" Theodore Nott said to Camille Zabini as the end credits of the Star Trek Voyager episode began to roll.

"You've said that about every Voyager episode so far" Camille replied.

"I didn't really like 'Threshold' that much" Theo said.

"But it was funny. Fine, every episode except one. Want to watch some of Next Generation now?"

"Sure" Theo said "How about something from the first season?"

Before Camille and Theo could get out the Star Trek Next Generation videos though, Camille's twin brother Blaise stormed into the room calling Theo's name and waving a copy of a kitty-litter covered Daily Prophet around.

"Look Theo, your father is in the Prophet!" Blaise said as he shoved the page in front of Theo's face "he was arrested over the incident in the Department of Mysteries!"

"Oh" Theo said as he read the article.

"What's wrong with you Blaise?" Camille snapped at her brother "Why are you such an insensitive git all the time?"

"Oh it's ok" Theo said before a petty fight started between the twins "I mean, I haven't spoken to him since I was thirteen, and even then it wasn't like we were close or anything, though, so like, why should it upset me? It's not like I'm distraught and going to miss him. I'll be fine."

"Don't tell me it doesn't hurt Theo" Blaise said "the old bastard wanted you to drop out of Hogwarts to help take care of him right? Well if he was really as old and helpless as he made out to be then, he wouldn't be running around with Voldemort now would he?"

"That's not the point Blaise" Theo protested.

"It's exactly the point!" Blaise argued back "you've been beating yourself up over this for three years, but his fine! He was just trying to use you, and if you didn't leave you probably would have been arrested with him!"

"I don't really want to talk about it" Theo said, subconsciously touching the Comm Badge he always wore on his chest.

"Next episode is ready" Camille chimed in as she quickly shoved a random tape into the machine.

"Ok let's watch" Theo hit the play button on the remote, causing the opening theme to play. Annoyed, Blaise grabbed the remote and hit stop.

"Guys this is important!"

"Go away Blaise we're watching Star Trek!" Camille snapped at her brother as she grabbed the remote and tried to pull it from his hands"

"Star Trek isn't going to go away Camille!" Blaise complained as he struggled to keep hold of the remote.

"Well you two will have plenty of time to talk at Hogwarts!" Camille protested.

"Oh stop acting like it's such a big deal!"

At this stage, Theo was sitting on the lounge with a bowl of popcorn on his lap and the Zabini twins on either side of him fighting over the remote. He smiled to himself, for he had long since gotten used to the craziness of the Zabini house. The fights between Blaise and his sister would never grace the halls of Hogwarts, since Camille was a student of the Wizarding Acadamy of Dramatic Arts. So Theo savoured them whenever he could. He had also had only spasmodic exposure to Muggle technologies like TV before coming to the Zabini household, where Mrs Zabini and her Muggle Husband - a cheerful mechanic from Italy - mixed magic and technology together.

Theo savoured it all, because this was the closest he had come to being part of a real family since the death of his own sister Alice.

"Oi kids" Mr. Zabini appeared in the doorway "stop doing that or you'll break another remote."

"We're not kids" Blaise said "in fact we'll be legal adults in February!"

"Well dinner's on the table anyway. Come and get it before I feed it to the cat!"

As soon as there was any mention of the cat being fed, Leia, Blaise's pregnant Burmen cat, got up from her spot on the sofa and waddled into the kitchen.

"Ok guys, lets call this one a draw" Theo said as he got up and followed the cat.

"Ok" Camille said "hay, what were we fighting over again?"


	2. Chapter 1 Off to School

**Chapter 1 – Off to School**

Harry eventually broke free of Mrs Weasley's tight bear hug and said his final good-byes as he boarded the Hogwarts Express with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. As much as he loved Mrs. Weasley, he was glad that he was able to get on the train without her asking for the thousandth time if he was alright.

"Harry are you alright?" Ginny asked "you look pale."

Harry mentally face-palmed himself. Of course he wasn't going to escape that easily.

"Oh I'm alright" Harry said, again for the thousandth time.

"Ok" Ginny said, sounding quite a bit sceptical "Well I'm going to go find my friends. If you want to talk to me Harry, you're free to do so."

Of course; Harry was so used to spending time with Ginny at the Burrow that he had forgotten that they didn't usually hang out at Hogwarts. He was disappointed; her presence had been one of the few things to keep him distracted from Sirius.

"Ok Ginny, see you at Hogwarts" Ron said as his sister went off in search of her friends. Ron then began to lead his two friends to a compartment where they found Neville and Luna.

"Hi guys" Neville said "nice to see you're all back"

"Of course" Ron said "why wouldn't we come back?"

"Well…" Neville shot a quick look at Harry before answering "after what happened in June, I thought that maybe –"

"Voldemort killed my godfather" Harry said, trying to convey as little emotion as possible "I'm not going to hide from him anymore. I'm going to kill him! I'll kill all of those Death Eaters!"

Despite his attempts to hide his anger, his friends still seemed shocked, and no-one could think of anything to say. Fortunately the silence was disrupted by the train whistle, and the next few minutes were spent waving to family and friends on the platform as the Hogwart's express departed. Once they were away from the platform, conversation turned to safer, happy topics, and Harry thought that he may actually enjoy the journey to Hogwarts.

Then Luna – off-with-the-fairies-Luna, ruined it all by asking The Question.

"Hey Harry, are you alright? You look like you've lost some weight over the holidays."

"I'm fine" Harry lied, again for the thousandth time "um, but there's something I have to do. I'll be back soon."

Harry escaped from the compartment before anyone could ask questions and started walking left. He had no destination in mind, so left seemed just as good a direction to go in as right. Once he got to the end of the carriage he heard a door slam behind him and two sets of footsteps catch up to him. He walked faster.

"Harry!" Hermione called as she and Ron caught up to him in the next carriage "Where are you going?"

"I have something I need to do."

"Well tell us" Ron said "we'll help you, ok mate?"

Harry stopped and turned to confront his friends. He didn't want to admit that he was just wondering aimlessly, and he certainly didn't want to get into a fight with them about minding their own business either. Harry quickly thought of something that had been troubling him all holidays; something that he felt like he had to do, but that he didn't really want to. Now that he was put on the spot though, he decided that he should probably get it out of the way.

"Hermione, do you have any idea where I might be able to find Nott?"

"He could be anywhere on the train" Hermione said "why do you want to find him?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ron asked "you want to get him back for what his father did in the Department of Mysteries? Right Harry?"

"Well not –"

"I know, he'll have Zabini onside" Ron butted in before Harry could finish "Don't worry; I'll take him on while you get Nott!"

"Ron, no! Theo and Blaise haven't done anything" Hermione said "there's no reason to go after them. Harry I can't believe you'd do that! I mean they were in the DA!"

"They also told Crabbe and Goyle about it" Ron said.

"I'm not going to attack Nott! Or Zabini" Harry said "I just really want to talk to him. Apologise for locking his father up."

"Apologise!" Ron said "are you insane? Why should you apologise?"

"Well his father is just an old man" Harry said "and Nott's always been nice. I mean his your friend, isn't he Hermione?"

"Well yes" Hermione said "Though he doesn't really say much to me. I do know that Theo spends all his holidays at Blaise's place; I really don't think he gets along with his father. Maybe it's not a good idea to bring him up."

"Have you ever been to _Blaise's place_?" Ron asked her, making 'Blaise's place' sound like something dirty.

"No, why?"

"Well you just seem to be so chummy with them."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, first off, Zabini's a wanker" Ron said.

Harry had to stop a sigh of contempt escaping his lips. While Harry had never been too friendly with Zabini before the visit to the hospital, he and indeed most of the DA had found Zabini's peculiar sense of humour and over-excited demeanour entertaining, but Ron had never warmed to him.

"His not a wanker!" Hermione protested.

"He is" Ron said "and you fancy him!"

"I do not!"

"Look I don't care!" Harry snapped "I just want to find him… I mean Nott."

"Oh just find the noisiest compartment in the train and he'll be there with Blaise." Hermione explained, before turning her attention back to Ron. "And for your information Ron, Blaise has a girlfriend! The two of us are just friends!"

"Hermione most of the compartments are noisy" Harry complained "look I'm going to go search the train; you two can go have your argument elsewhere!"

Before Harry could go anywhere though, he heard laughter from a nearby compartment, and then a familiar voice.

"It's not funny guys! She's my Mother! This is terrible! It's worse than having Voldemort as a teacher!"

"That would be Blaise" Hermione said "Theo should be with him."

"Why does he always have to say that name!" Ron complained.

Harry ignored both of them and walked up to the compartment. He could hear Xanthe Rivers inside saying something about Zabini, and decided to knock on the ajar-door before barging in on their conversation. Hermione and Ron joined him at the door just as Zabini said "Come in if you're ugly". Harry ignored the taunt and entered, to find Zabini, Rivers, and Nott in the compartment, with Nott and Rivers apparently sharing some sort of joke at Zabini's expense.

"Hi guys" Rivers said, smiling in a way that made her silver lip-ring appear more prominent "you want something? Oh, are you coming around to tell us that the DA is starting up again?"

"I don't think I'll start it up again" Harry said to the currently purple-haired girl "not unless we get another bad Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"Oh don't talk to me about Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers" Zabini brooded.

"Hay Zabini we heard you complaining about your mother" Ron said "what's wrong? She getting married again?"

"Yah, she's marrying your father" Zabini snapped "now I'm going to have to find a way to live with you without going crazy!"

"Wanker!"

"Ron leave him alone" Harry said.

"Oi! Whose side are you on anyway Harry?" Ron asked

"Harry's on the side of truth and justice" Zabini said "he fights evil and saves kittens from Voldemort on a daily basis!"

It seemed like everyone in the room was telling Zabini to shut up all at once, but Harry found that he actually didn't mind the mental image of him chasing Voldemort away from innocent kittens; it was a refreshing change from all the disturbing mental images of the past month. He burst out laughing, and then one by one Hermione, Nott, and Rivers joined him. Ron didn't find it funny though.

"Speaking of kittens Hermione" Zabini said, suddenly not looking as carefree as usual.

"What about them?"

Instead of answering, Zabini poked the white ball of fluff sitting on the seat next to him, which slowly got up, revealing itself to be a very pregnant cat.

"Wow, Leia is pregnant?" Hermione asked,

"Yah" Zabini said "congratulate Crookshanks for me."

"Crookshanks? Wait, no Crookshanks can't be the father."

"I'm pretty sure he is"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well his always in the Slytherin common room mingling with the female cats there" Rivers said "oh, and last year Millicent Bulstrode's cat gave birth to a little of kittens with _very_ squashed faces."

"She was very angry, and went around yelling at anyone who had a male Persian cat" Zabini explained "fortunately Crookshanks was smart enough to hide from her."

"You didn't tell her it was my cat?"

"Hell no" all three Slytherins said in unison.

"But you'll tell her if I don't take the kittens?"

"Blaise wouldn't do that" Theo said quickly, going bright red as he addressed Hermione.

"Just promise me you'll help look after them." Zabini said.

"Sure" Hermione said.

"Don't let him blackmail you Hermione!" Ron said.

"It's not blackmail!"

"His threatening to turn you in to Bulstrode!"

"No he isn't!"

"I'm not threatening anyone" Zabini protested "I wouldn't wish the wrath of Millicent Bulstrode on anyone!"

"Plus Theo would never let him" Rivers added.

"Defiantly not" Nott said as he fiddled around with the Star Trek badge on his shirt.

"Thanks Theo" Hermione said, causing him to go even redder.

"Nott" Harry said, remembering why he had come here in the first place "I umm, you see the reason I came here in the first place was well, to apologise to you."

"Why?"

"Well, I need to apologise about what happened to your father."

"Something happened to your father?" Rivers asked her friend.

"Yah" Nott said "he was one of the Death Eaters at the Department of Mysteries in June."

"Death Eater?" Rivers asked "but you said he was too frail to even get around the house by himself."

"I _thought_ he was" Nott corrected "But it seems he was just lying to me."

"Drunk old bastard" Zabini muttered.

"Meow" Zabini's cat agreed.

"So you weren't that close?" Harry asked.

"I haven't spoken to him since I was thirteen" Nott said as he took off his Star Trek badge and began to handle it nervously "actually, I still wouldn't know anything about his arrest right now if Blaise hadn't found the story in the Daily Prophet. I'm fine."

"What about your mother and sisters? Are they alright?"

Nott held his badge tightly for a few seconds before answering. "My mother died giving birth to me" he explained "so I'm not sure what she'd make of all this. And the only sister I've had that's ever really cared about me is dead too."

"Oh sorry."

"You don't have to apologise Potter. Not for anything."

It was almost a minute before anyone could bring themselves to speak again. Nott's comments had really ruined the good mood, and even Zabini couldn't come up with anything to make them laugh.

It was Hermione who broke the silence, suggesting that they return to Luna and Neville. They said good-bye to the Slytherins and returned to the compartment in silence. When they got back they found Neville and Luna in good spirits, speculating about who – or what – the new Defence teacher could be. After Luna suggested that the new teacher could possibly be a succumbs who would attempt to seduce the entire male student body, the conversation became as silly as a conversation could get without Blaise Zabini's input.

**Meanwhile**

The Death Eater sat in Professor Dumbledore's, his face was hidden, but the headmaster could still sense his discomfort.

"So Deepvoice" the headmaster said "you are ready to do this at any time?"

"Everything is arranged" Deepvoice said "I can do it tonight if you wish."

"No. We need to destroy all of the others first."

"I can kill the snake if you need me to."

"I'd rather have one of my other agents do that. You need to make sure no-one ever suspects you."

"Right. Well I'm ready on your command."

"It doesn't bother you? Betraying your Master, your beliefs, your family?"

"Just remember our deal Old Man!"

"Oh I will" Dumbledore said, as he gazed at the photograph the Death Eater had placed on his desk. "You better go now. The Hogwarts Express has just arrived, and I'll need to be in the Great Hall before everyone else gets there."

Deepvoice didn't say anything. He just put his photograph away and grabbed the seemingly ordinary ash tray on the Headmaster's desk. The next second, he was gone.

**Later**

Harry was in a pretty good mood as he entered the Great Hall surrounded by his friends. Why did Draco Malfoy have to show up and ruin everything?

"Mighty Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts" he said, causing the group of Slytherin girls around him to giggle "what bullcrap stories have you got for us this year?"

"Shut up Malfoy"

"You should apologise to Draco for what you said about his father!" Pansy Parkinson said "It's been very stressful for him having these accusations –"

"He should be the one apologising!" Harry screamed. He didn't want to hear anything they had to say; he just wanted to pull out his wand and hurt Malfoy as much as he could.

"Stop that right NOW!" a stern female voice called out. Harry suddenly realised that he had his wand against Malfoy's throat, and both Malfoy's friends and his were pointing their wands around in a show of strength.

"Put your wands away right now everyone!" the woman said "it would be a shame to send anyone home on their first day back!"

"Oh, wow" Ron muttered. Harry turned to look at the woman, and almost gasped himself. The woman who had broken up their fight was HOT. There was just no other way to put it. She looked to be in her early thirties, with dark skin and even darker hair. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of brown with a slight slant to them and were framed by high cheekbones. Her robes were rather tight, perfectly showing off her tall, model-like body.

"We're sorry miss" Ron said, putting away his wand and going bright red. Harry couldn't blame him; he felt his own body temperature rise and pulled his wand away from Malfoy, keeping his eyes on the vision of beauty in front of him.

"Hi, are you a new student here?" Neville asked "I mean, well, not a new student student obviously, but teacher student or… oh I don't know. My name's Neville Longbottom by the way… hahaha, I'd have probably just been starting out here when you graduated."

"Neville she's almost fifty!" Hermione said in shock.

"No way" Pansy said "she can't be that old, that's ridiculous Granger!"

"That's right Hermione" the woman said "I sure don't feel fifty. Don't you know it's rude to reveal a lady's real age?"

"Sorry Mrs. Zabini."

"How do you two know each other?" Ron asked "wait a sec, Zabini?"

"She's Blaise's mother" Hermione explained.

"Blaise's mother?" Ron went redder than Harry had ever seen him go before "MA-MA-MOTHER!"

"Yes, Blaise's mother" Mrs. Zabini said "and its Professor Zabini now Hermione. I'll be your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"You'll be teaching Dark Against the Defence, I mean, Defence Against the Arts, I mean, you'll be our new teacher?" Harry asked.

"That's right" Professor Zabini said "If any of you are taking Defence Against the Dark Arts I'll probably be seeing you a lot. But there is to be no fighting in my classes! Or at least, no fighting without my permission. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes miss" Malfoy said, looking more flustered than Harry had ever seen him before "No more fights. We're done here."

"Good!" Professor Zabini smiled, showing her perfect teeth and juicy lips, "Then I trust I can leave you all alone without you getting into any fights on the way to your tables."

"Oh we'll be fine Miss" Daphne Greengrass said.

"Ok, I'll leave you to it" She said as she turned away "Nice seeing you again Hermione."

"Same here professor."

"I'll see you in class professor!" Ron called out "I'm sure you'll be the best teacher we've ever had!"

"Better even the Lupin?" Hermione asked once Professor Zabini had left "You're just saying that because she's hot."

"She is pretty hot" Ron agreed.

"She's Blaise's MOTHER, Ron. Blaise, who is your age and in your classes!"

"I can't believe that when Zabini was young he got to suck on those – "

"RON DON'T BE VULGAR!"

"Wow, I guess we know how Zabini got to be so good looking" Parkinson said.

"Do you think they really do have Veela blood in them?" Tracy Davis asked.

"It doesn't matter" Malfoy snapped "Zabini's so _proud _to have a muggle father. I can't imagine what sort of self-respecting witch would have children with a muggle and raise them to be like Zabini."

"I heard that she's been married seven times before" Davis said "and they all died suspiciously."

"No, only six dead husbands" Bulstrode corrected "the seventh is a filthy muggle."

"Oi, don't talk about Professor Zabini that way!" Ron said.

"Let's go" Neville said "Professor Zabini wouldn't be too happy if we got into another fight."

"I don't care what that blood-traitor wants" Malfoy said. However he and the girls all made their way to the Slytherin table without a further word, and Harry saw them join up with Crabbe and Goyle. Maybe he was just imagining it, but Harry was certain that Malfoty didn't look too happy with his usually bodyguards.

"Wow, Malfoy doesn't seem too pleased with Crabbe and Goyle" Hermione said as they sat down at Gryffindor table.

"Maybe his pissed off at them because they were in the DA" Harry said "oh look, professor Zabini is going over to the Slytherin table."

"She's talking to Zabini and Nott and Rivers." Neville said "she's talking to _them_!"

"Well of course she's talking to them" Hermione said "Blaise is her _son_. Anyway, I don't think it's just that; Malfoy seemed to have forgiven them at the end of last year. I guess he accepted the fact that Blaise had blackmailed them. But why is he angry with them now?"

"I don't think his that angry Hermione" Ron said "I mean his still talking to them and… OH MY GOD! SHE JUST PUT HER HAND ON NOTT'S SHOULDER!"

"Look at the way she's looking at him!" Neville added.

"Oh god I wish I was Nott right now" Seamus joined in.

"Wow, who is that sexy gal hitting on Nott?" Dean asked.

"She isn't hitting on him they're just talking!"

"Wow she's beautiful" Lavender said "I wonder who she is?"

"Maybe she's Madam Pomfrey's new assistant" Pavarti added "she's been saying she needs one for years."

"I'm going to be spending a lot of time in the hospital wing" Colin Creevly said.

"She can examine me anytime she wants" said Colin's friend.

"She's not a matron she's –"

"OH MY GOD! She just hugged Zabini!"

"Now she's leaving… she HUGGED HIM!"

"That lucky –"

"DAMMIT SHE'S HIS MOTHER!" Hermione shouted "She's allowed to hug him."

"Ma-mother?"

"What were you looking at anyway Dean?" Ginny asked her boyfriend.

"Oh, the um… second most beautiful witch in the Great Hall of course" Dean replied "but don't worry; Zabini's mum has nothing on you. Nothing!"

Ginny giggled and then leaned close to Dean and kissed him. With tongue.

"Oi get a room you too!" Ron complained.

Harry tuned the conversation out and looked at Ginny. Sure, she may not be the stunning beauty that Professor Zabini was, but she was pretty. Of course she was also with Dean, and was Ron's sister, and almost a sister to Harry himself really.

Before Ron could really start lecturing his sister though, Professor McGonagall arrived with the first years, and then the Sorting began.

"Wait Hermione" Ron said as the first students got sorted "when did you meet Professor Zabini? I thought you'd never been to Blaise's house before."

"I met her at the station."

"She seems fond of you"

"Well I'm friends with her son"

"Maybe it's because you're _really good_ friends?"

"Oh stop it Ron, your being ridiculous."

Harry tuned out their argument and tried to concentrate on the Sorting. Personally he didn't care if Hermione had a thing for Blaise; Blaise's family weren't Death Eaters, and perhaps his sense of humour would loosen Hermione up before she really got on their backs over their homework.

Harry was still lost in this fantasy of a carefree Hermione when the Sorting finished, and would have completely missed Dumbledore's speech if Ron hadn't nudged him near the end.

"Look Harry, his about to introduce Professor Zabini!"

"It is my great pleasure to introduce someone who I've been trying to get here to teach for a few years now" Dumbledore said "please put your hands together, for our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Zabini!"

Harry could never remember a new teacher getting quite a welcome. On all four tables boys were cheering and wolf-whistling. Some girls looked a bit annoyed, but most at least clapped for the new teacher.

The cheers did not go down quickly, but eventually Dumbledore did manage to bring quite to the Great Hall again. As he held his hands up though, Harry noticed that his left hand was all shrivelled up.

"I hope Dumbledore's alright" Harry said "Look at his hand, it looks painful."

"I'm sure he'll be alright" Ron said "I mean his Dumbledore right? When has a sore hand ever stopped him before? What type of lessons do you think Professor Zabini will have?"

"Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons of course" Hermione said "seriously Ronald, what other kind?"

An argument may have broken out there, except that Dumbledore finished talking at that moment and food appeared on the table, providing a good distraction for Ron.

**Later**

Theo and Blaise were unpacking in their dormitory, rushing to decorate their bedspace before Malfoy and his goons arrived. It had become a tradition for the two of them to place as many objects relating to muggle culture around the dormitory as possible and watching Malfoy go crazy over it all year. However they had to have their stuff in place and warded before Malfoy arrived, otherwise he would just destroy stuff. After having an epic poster of the Enterprise-D burnt back in fourth year, Theo didn't want to be ill prepared.

Despite being a Pureblood, for Theo there was never a shortage of muggle related items to put near his bed; everyone always gave him Star Trek related stuff, and when away from the Zabini's TV he was more than happy to surround himself with merchandise.

He placed his newest item – a figurine of Captain Kathryn Janeway – the main star of Star Trek Voyager, and a courageous brunette to boot – on his bedside table and then cast enough spells on her to keep any Trek hating wizard away. Camille had given him that figure just before boarding the Hogwarts Express so that he could 'annoy the hell out of that Pureblood pansy Malfoy'.

The next items Theo put up weren't Star Trek related at all, but where more precious to him anyway; four photos that meant the world to him. The first was a picture of his mother; actually it was the only picture of her he had that didn't remind him that she had been an evil Death Eater. Theo had often heard people say that he looked just like her, and when he really looked at the picture he agreed, kind of. She hadn't been hit with a growth accelerator spell when she was younger, and therefore didn't look as skinny and weedy as him. Also on her that small pointy rabbit-like nose looked cute, not stupid.

The next picture was one of the few photographs taken of him and Alice. He was a grubby six-year-old covered in head-lice, and she was on her way to Hogwarts for the first time, with hand-me-down robes and a rusty trunk full of old schoolbooks. She had the same strew-coloured hair as him and their mother, but she wasn't as lanky and looked a lot livelier.

The third was a photo of him and Mirabel Flitwick. She was Professor a tall, elegant, but cheerful woman who had been Theo's foster parent many years ago. She was currently living in a retirement village out in the countryside and in no condition to look after a teenager, but Theo would still spend some days during his holidays to visit her and help her.

The fourth photo was the most recent; it had been taken on Christmas Day three years ago; on Theo's thirteenth birthday. It was the first Christmas he had spent at the Zabini's home, and after more presents then he had ever seen before and a cake with the Federation of Planets logo on it, when Theo was happier than he could ever remember being, someone took a photo of him, Blaise, and Camille. No matter how much the trio moved in the photo, Photo-Theo always had a huge cheesy smile on his face.

"What's the fith photo?" Blaise asked, shuffling off his bed once he was certain his Megadeth poster was in place "is that the one you tried to hide from me?"

"Oh I just wanted to keep it a surprise until we got here" Theo said, placing the large framed photograph behind Captain Janeway and the other photos.

"Oh, it's that one I took of the DA" Blaise said "Oh you blew up the one where the timer played up, I barely made it into the shot."

"I like this one better, you're not trying to look cool. It's more natural."

"Fine. Hey look at Crabbe and Goyle, not even looking at the camera."

"They always pretended that they didn't want to be there… though they got to be pretty good. Do you see the Weasley twins pulling silly faces?"

"Ahhh… Fred and George Weasley… it's just not going to be the same without them this year. Oh man, Ron Weasley looks pretty hardcore there."

"Well he took the whole thing pretty seriously."

"Nah it's not that. He just never liked anything I suggested. Not even the fun things like photos. Strange kid. Oh, speaking of strange…"

"Yah?"

"You and Hermione look pretty chummy in this picture."

"Wha? What are you talking about? We're just standing together!"

"Yah, standing together, and laughing together and… oh Weasley just shot you a filthy look."

"But Weasley usually only shoots that filthy look at you."

"Well Theo, it looks like there's some sort of thing going on there. After all pictures never lie."

"Yes they do, they lie all the time. I went to my sister Estelle's house once and she had a talking photograph, and it lied about the layout of the house and I got completely lost."

"Well this one…, oh crap I think I hear them. Quick, get everything ready!"

Blaise got back to his bed area and finished placing protective charms on his model cars. "What poster are you putting up this year?" he asked.

"Oh I think I'll go with a bit of everything this year" Theo said, pulling a collection of small posters, comic-book covers, and still muggle photos of Star Trek and Star Wars characters out of his trunk.

"They'll be here in a sec" Blaise said as he joined his friend "just put them up and I'll ward them for you."

They finished just as Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle entered the room. The three Purebloods surveyed Blaise and Theo's areas with distaste, and Malfoy walked right up to Theo's bed.

"That thing there with the messed up forehead is a Klingon." Malfoy said, pointing to a picture of Worf "A creature invented by muggles…, I shouldn't know that! You've messed with me too long Nott. You and your stupid Star Trek muggle fantasies!"

"Oh Malfoy, you're such a _P'tach_" Blaise said.

"You're almost as insane as Nott."

"At least Theo has personality" Blaise said "you wouldn't know what to do with yourself if you didn't have someone to pick on, would you Malfoy."

"Well at least my mother isn't a slut!"

"What did you just say about my Mother!"

"I always knew that Dumbledore was a bit whacky in the head, but seriously? Hiring a muggle-loving whore who's obviously messed up her own son? What is he thinking?"

Suddenly Blaise ran towards Malfoy with his wand out, shouting a variety of hexes. Fortunately for Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle managed to block them all and then they grabbed Blaise and slammed him against the wall, each holding a wand to him.

"You know boys I'm quite surprised to see you two here" Blaise said to his attackers "I was sure you'd have to repeat fifth year."

"We both got Os in Defence Against the Dark Arts" Crabbe said "we aren't as stupid as you thought we were."

"Oh, Os in Defence. I guess the two of you should go thank Harry Potter than."

"Shut up Zabini!" Goyle said. He was still angry, but he and Crabbe lowered their wands slightly, and once they did Theo quickly moved in; casting spells that flung them to the far side of the room, and then drawing a magical line down the centre of the dormitory, dividing the room in to two parts, with Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and their beds on one side, and Theo and Blaise on the other. Even the doorway was divided, and Theo had to wonder whether Goyle would be able to squeeze through his half.

"Ok, you have that side of the dormitory, and we have this one" Theo explained "I really should have done this years ago."

Malfoy walked up to the line, and reached out his hand to touch the airspace above the line. There was a loud electrical noise and Malfoy's hand instantly retreated.

"What type of shield spell is this Nott?"

"It's a force field. I've been experimenting with it for quite some time. I think you'll find it more efficient than any normal shield spell Malfoy."

"You_…_you… argh! I can't believe that I actually know what a force field is! I am so sick of muggle-lovers bringing all that junk here."

"Hey Malfoy" Blaise said from the safety of his side of the room "how did you go in your OWLs? Did you get an O in Defence Against the Dark Arts too?"

"It's a stupid subject!" Malfoy said "that silly defence stuff is nowhere near as powerful as the real Dark Arts! Now I'm going to bed before your muggle-craziness spreads!"


	3. Chapter 2: Memories

**Chapter 2 – Memories**

"Ron, she's Blaise's _mother_" Hermione repeated for the thousandth time.

"Yah, but she's so HOT" Ron replied "Isn't she Harry?"

"Yah, she's hot" Harry agreed half-heartedly "But well, she is Blaise Zabini's mother." This conversation and come up hundreds of times since dinner last night, and as Harry ate his breakfast he tried to tune it out. Sure, Professor Zabini was hot, but she was a teacher, and Blaise's mother. Not quite the type of woman he would ever find himself romantically interested in.

"Look Harry," Ron said "It's Professor Zabini!"

"WHERE?"

"She just sat down at the teachers table."

"Wow she looks nice today, I wonder what she's done with her hair?"

"Oh Harry she's just tied it up in a loose bun" Hermione said.

"Do you really like her too Harry?" Ginny asked him.

"No of course not! Well umm… actually I guess she is really beautiful."

"And just because she's beautiful, that doesn't mean she's the only nice looking girl in the school" Dean said "I mean, it's alright to just look at her, and still have eyes for another girl, right Harry?"

"No Dean, it's not" Ginny said before Harry could answer "plus she's at least fifty. I don't know what half the male population sees in her."

"It's more like the entire male population Ginny" Hermione said "every boy in the school except Blaise and Theo."

"Why would Nott be immune to it?" Ron said "Oh my god, he spends his holidays with her!"

"Ron Mrs. Zabini is like a mother to Theo" Hermione explained. "I mean, Harry, would you ever consider going on a date with Mrs. Weasley?"

"No!"

"Exactly."

"Yah but well… Ron's mum doesn't look anything like Zabini's mum."

"What's that meant to mean?" Ron said.

Fortunately, Harry was saved by the bell. Hermione got up immediately, muttering about not being able to wait to see the new timetable, which caused Harry to groan. He had only gotten an E in potions; meaning his dream of being an auror was now over.

"Cheer up Harry" Ron said "you may not be able to become an auror now, but these still plenty of options. Especially since your Defence marks are so high. Maybe we could go into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, or become personal bodyguards for famous Quidditch players. Who needs potions? I hope I never see another cauldron again in my life."

They approached the front of the line just as Professor McGonagall convinced Neville to take Charms instead of Transfigurations. When Harry and Ron gave her their lists of subjects, she gave them a disapproving look.

"I noticed that you aren't continuing on with Potions this year Mr. Potter" She said "does this mean you have given up on becoming an Auror?"

"I don't really have that much of a choice Professor" Harry said "I didn't get an O in potions."

"Hmm… no but you do have an E" She said "there is a way around it. This year we are trialling a study group tutoring session for any NEWT student who is one grade short of their desired course."

"That sounds like a lot of hassle" Ron said.

"That is one way to put it Mr. Weasley. However Professor Zabini is a highly qualified tutor who can help students with any subject."

"Professor Zabini?"

"Yes Mr. Weasley, Professor Zabini. You know Mr. Potter, when Professor Zabini was at Hogwarts the same thing happened to her. She wanted to be an auror, but her Potions grade was too low."

"She wanted to be an Auror?"

"Yes… in the end she managed to get there even without potions, but it took her so much longer. And then she ended up going back to tutoring when she started her family."

"She was an Auror?"

"Yes Mr. Potter. And she also understands the importance of getting into the right courses at school. Which is why she's setting up this study group. I'd suggest you join."

"And if I do, then I'll be able to take potions?"

"Yes Mr. Potter. Though if you get three failing grades at all during the next two years, or if your average grade falls below an E, you will be dismissed from the class."

"I understand Professor. I'll do it. I'll do it and I'll finish up at the top of the class for my Godfather."

"That's… very touching Potter" Professor McGonagall said as she pointed her wand at his timetable, filling it up with classes.

"Professor" Ron said "I'd really like to take potions and the study group as well."

"You too Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes, I really want to be an Auror. I've been really devastated over missing out on Potions, and I'd be glad to have this second chance."

"Weasley, Professor Snape and Professor Zabini both have very high standards. And Professor Zabini will have her hands full with the serious students in this group."

"I'm serious! This is something I really want to do. I'm desperate to keep going with Potions. Don't you dare tell me I'm not good enough!"

"Mr. Weasley, I don't doubt your abilities… what I doubt are you motives."

"Please Professor."

"No"

"Pretty please?"

"Why don't you talk about it with Professor Snape. If he agrees then I'll add the study classes to your timetable. However even if you get in, Professor Zabini can expel you from both study group and potions at any time."

"Don't worry Professor, I won't let her down."

"Actually Mr. Weasley, what you need to concentrate on is not letting down Professor Snape."

"Urmm… I'll, I guess I'll make him proud of me."

McGonagall rolled her eyes and filled Ron's timetable. "You have potions this afternoon. Talk to Professor Snape, and if he agrees then you may continue with _his_ class."

"Thank you professor."

They left with their new timetables and joined Hermione, Ginny and Dean in the hallway.

"What happened to never wanting to see another cauldron in your life?" Harry hissed before they were noticed.

"I changed my mind."

"I can't believe I have double History of Magic on a Monday morning" Ginny complained "I mean that's just not fair… hey Ron, what are you so happy for?"

"Harry and I get to keep doing Potions!"

"… and that's good?"

"That is good" Hermione said "I know you were fretting about that Harry. How are you doing it?"

"These a study group being run this year" Harry explained "I think it's going to be a bit of class help. As long as we do that and keep good grades in Potions it'll be fine."

"Wow that's good, and the two of you look so excited" Hermione said "I don't think I've seen you two ever get this excited about school work before."

"It's going to be an awesome year" Ron said.

"Oh shut up Weasley" Blaise Zabini said as he approached them with Theo in tow "You have real issues you know."

"Go jump in the lake Zabini."

"Come on Blaise, don't hassle him over this" Hermione pleaded "this study group will be good for Ron."

"Do you know which professor is taking the study group?"

"Oh."

"Yah."

"Oh Ron just get over it!"

"But she's so HOT!"

"But she's my mum!" Zabini protested "If my father was here he'd probably mess you up for drooling at her so much."

"Yah well… father?"

"Yes Weasley, my father. He can get pretty jealous sometimes."

"Father… oh yah, the muggle mechanic. So your parents are married?"

"Yes, my parents are together and happy. Now stop oogling my mother."

"Don't listen to him Weasley" Malfoy joined them, followed by Crabbe and Goyle once again. "Considering Professor Zabini's standards you may actually stand a good chance of getting into her pants."

"Shut up Malfoy!" Nott said.

"Oh I seem to have hit a nerve there Nott" Malfoy laughed "though I shouldn't be surprised; if she can put up with a muggle long enough to drop that poor excuse for a son into the world then I guess she wouldn't have any trouble rutting around with someone as hideously ugly as you either."

"You just went too far Malfoy" Blaise said, whipping out his wand, an action which caused Crabbe and Goyle to spring into their own armed and dangerous poses.

Before anything could happen though, Harry felt something inside himself snap. It was like someone had flicked a switch inside him, so that he went from 'joking around' to 'HATE' instantly. Harry had seen Malfoy use that smirk and put down plenty of people over the years, and the only thing that had changed about Crabbe and Goyle was that they were now using their wands to be threatening. But something was different. Harry knew that their fathers had all been there when Sirius had died, and now they were still free.

"Oh what's that look for Potter?" Malfoy sneered "you jealous of Nott? I bet you haven't even had sex yet hero boy!"

Harry didn't think; he just jumped on top of Malfoy and began punching him in the face. "Let's see you smirk this off you junior Death Eater!"

Harry could hear spells being cast around him, but he didn't pay any attention to anything other than Malfoy's screams and the way his face felt beneath his fists. What broke him out of this fit of rage was a pair of scrawny arms lifting him up, and Nott saying "stop you're better than that!" right in his ear.

Harry broke away from Nott's grip and backed into the wall, taking in the scene before him. Crabbe and Goyle were still standing with their wands pointed at Zabini who looked from Malfoy to Harry in shock. Harry's friends all rushed to him, asking what he was thinking all at once, while in the background teachers came running to the scene.

Nott knelt down next to Malfoy, whose face was now a bloody mess. For a second Nott just stayed still with his wand held over Malfoy; his breathing was fast and he kept looking away from the blood on the other Slytherin's face. Finally he placed his wand over Malfoy's face and started uttering healing incarnations.

Soon Nott was joined by Hermione, and then by Flitwick, McGonagall, and Snape. Harry turned away from the scene and tried to ignore the crowd that had gathered. Soon though, he felt a familiar hand clamp down hard on his shoulder.

"I think we need a serious talk Harry" Dumbledore said, leading Harry away from the scene and to his office.

They didn't speak as they walked, and the few times Harry could bring himself to look at the Headmaster's face all he saw was a worried expression. After what seemed an eternity, they reached the concealed entrance to the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore said the password (_Fairy Floss_) and they marched up the stairs. Harry sat down nervously on the student side of the desk, while Dumbledore settled into his chair. The only two things on the desk were the pensieve and an ashtray. Harry stared at these objects as they sat in silence.

"Are you alright Harry?" Dumbledore finally broke the silence "that was quite an outburst back there."

"It's not the first time I've gotten into a fight with Malfoy."

"It's the first time you've snapped like that. Harry, I've never seen you like this. Tell me what is happening."

"It's not fair."

"What isn't?"

"Nothing has happened to them. To their fathers. And Sirius is dead."

"I see."

"I'm supposed to be the Chosen One, but I don't actually make anything better."

"That's not what I'd say."

"What have I done that's been of any use to anyone?" Harry asked "I've led my friend's into a trap, gotten Sirius killed, I even failed to learn Occlumencary. And what was it for? Sure everyone believes that Voldemort's back, but what good does that do when all his Death Eaters are still in power."

"You made a mistake Harry" Dumbledore said "the consequences of that were horrible, but you can't let that overshadow the good you did last year."

"What good did I do last year?"

"Well, let's think about what just happened now" the Headmaster started "Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle are both confident using magic"

"And guess what they'll use it for? I trained two future Death Eaters."

"You can never know that for sure. But they aren't the only students that the DA helped Harry. Zacharias Smith isn't an outcast amongst his own housemates anymore."

"Big deal. But the whole DA was another thing that went wrong" Harry said "I mean, you had to run away because of that!"

"A minor inconvenience" The old man chuckled "Why don't you see for yourself the difference you've made?" With that he flicked his wand and summoned a small glass vial containing what appeared to be white mist.

"This is a memory of Miss Edgecomb" He explained "Kingsley Shacklebolt prepared this after the commotion last year. It's of the very first DA meeting. I think you should take a look at it."

"Fine."

Dumbledore emptied the memory into the pensieve and then took Harry's hand. Then, using his shrivelled left hand, he pulled them into the memory.

They found themselves in a large crowd of Hogwarts students heading straight for the Hog's Head. Harry quickly spotted Marietta Edgecomb and Cho Chang, who were talking to fellow sixth year Katie Bell, as well as the other girls on the Gryffindor team, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson.

Walking just ahead of the group of girls were Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins, leading the mob of students onward. Harry and Dumbledore scrambled ahead of them, and then Harry was able to look back on the group as a whole.

Theodore Nott stood out, with his tall, skinny figure. He walked quietly along with Blaise, Xanthe, and Xanthe's older sister, Hippolyta Rivers. Hippolyta was much more normal looking than her gothic younger sister, and her Head Girl Badge gleamed as she turned away from her sister and responded to something witty her friend and fellow Slytherin Tamara O'Rielly said.

Harry also spotted the students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and his own housemates; including Colin Creevey and the two youngest members of the DA, Dennis Creevey, and his Slytherin friend Matthew Powers, both of whom were sporting some nasty bruises.

As the mob entered the Hog's Head, Harry noticed Crabbe and Goyle bringing up the rear, looking around in a dodgy fashion before entering the pub. Harry turned away from the spectacle. Of course they were found out; anyone who saw such a strange group of students would get suspicious. They really did stick out like dog's balls.

"I don't think anyone has ever united the houses like that Harry" Dumbledore said as they left the mob at the bar and walked over to the table where memory-Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat. "Quite an achievement you know."

"Thank Hermione" Harry said "she's the one that got everyone together; I didn't even know the names of half of my year mates until this day."

The crowd approached the table and gathered up chairs to sit down. As Theo approached, Hermione stood up and formed a V-shaped hand gesture (which she later explained as a Vulcan salute) and said "Hey Theo, Live Long and Prosper!" Theo returned the salute, but went a deep shade of pink and was unable to stutter out the words, before giving up and taking a seat next to Blaise who was trying to be a good friend and not laugh along with most of the other students.

"Sorry Theo" Hermione said as everyone settled down "Thought it was worth a try."

"It... it's alright." he muttered, fiddling around with his Star Trek badge.

"Whoa, you can actually talk?" Zacharias Smith said "I thought you were mute."

"Oi leave him alone." Blaise snapped back.

"Enough!" Hermione said "we're not here to fight. We are here because, well, because, um, - "

Hermione stuttered for a while, and even though Harry had already lived this moment before, for a second he was sure that she was about to become as shy as Theo.

"We're here today because Umbridge isn't teaching us real defence against the dark arts; because the theory she's teaching us just isn't good enough for the real world, or for our exams."

"Here here!" Anthony Goldstein cheered her on.

"And if, well, now that Voldemort _is_ back" she continued "we really are going to need it."

"How do you know that his really back?" Smith protested "all you have is his word for it."

Harry cringed as he watched Smith point towards memory-Harry, and all the eyes in the room stared his past self down.

"Can we go now?" Harry asked as his memory-self started talking "I really don't feel like getting insulted by Smith again."

"Have you noticed anything different about your students Harry?"

"Smith probably isn't quite that big a git anymore."

"What about Mr. Nott?"

"Well, that was the first time I'd ever heard him speak, I didn't really know that much about him, in fact I still don't."

"It wasn't just your first time hearing him speak. Theodore is one of the shyest students I've ever had; I bet most people don't even realise he exists. Yet, didn't he say something to Mr. Malfoy before your outburst?"

"Yah" Harry said "he told him to shut up. I guess he has been a bit more talkative since the DA."

"Bringing people together for a common cause is always a good thing Harry. You never know just how much good it can bring out of people."

"Yet somehow, I really don't think helping Theodore Nott's social life makes up for what happened to Sirius."

Before Dumbledore could say anything to comfort Harry, Hippolyta Rivers stood up and slammed her fists into the table.

"Look here you two oafs!" The Head Girl snapped at Crabbe and Goyle "I'm not afraid to punish those in my own house, especially for comments like that!"

"Thanks Head" memory-Harry said, thankful not only that someone had stuck up for him, but also because Crabbe's spiteful taunt was pretty much an admission that Harry's story was true. Even Smith couldn't doubt him now; in fact if Crabbe had said how much he wishes his father had been able to get at Harry at the graveyard more publicly, then all of those problems he had had to endure that term would have vanished.

"Just call me Polly" the Head Girl said "I'll never understand why Purebloods feel the need to give their children such silly names."

"Um, sure" Harry said "well, as I was saying – "

"Hey can I ask something?" Ron butted in "who invited Crabbe and Goyle anyway? Now Umbridge is going to find out about us and put a stop to these lessons before they even get started!"

"Nott invited us" Goyle said, grinning for ear to ear.

"No you weren't invited" Ron said "damn it can't you two even use proper English?"

"No, he invited us" Crabbe corrected, pointing towards Nott "We were invited by Nott."

At this the Patil twins started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Well, we've never heard any of you talk before" Padma explained.

"And the thought of a mute inviting two other mutes by pantomime was pretty funny" Parvati added.

"But, I'm not mute" Nott said.

"Who cares if you can talk or not" Ron complained "why invite them?"

"That's actually my fault" Zabini said "They overheard me talking to Hermione and said they were going to get Malfoy. Theo invited them along so they would keep quiet."

"It doesn't matter how we all got here" Hermione said "let's just get these lessons all planned out."

"But Weasley is right" Polly said "Umbridge will put a stop to these lessons if she finds out."

"Well we just have to make sure she doesn't find out" Hermione said.

"Ok, we'll need to keep these meetings quiet" Harry said "can we trust everyone here though?" His memory self looked over all of the students, in particular Smith and the Slytherins.

"Hell no" Crabbe said "we aren't doing anything for you guys."

"Of course we can all trust you" Blaise smirked "right guys?"

"Shut up!"

"Oh someone's cranky today" Blaise said "but you still aren't going to tell anyone."

"Like hell we are! Why shouldn't we?"

"Well, Malfoy is going to be really pissed with you two when he finds out you spent your Hogsmeade weekend with Harry Potter."

Blaise did his best imitation of Draco Malfoy's smirk, and the larger boys hesitated a bit before Crabbe finally answered him.

"We really don't care what Malfoy thinks" he said "it doesn't matter to us if he gets his knickers in a twist."

"Of course it doesn't matter to you" Xanthe said "I mean, after all if you and Malfoy ever had a falling out, then Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, and all those other hot girls in our year will side with you and not him. It's not like they only put up with you because your Malfoy's friends."

"What are you talking about" Crabbe said, panic audible in his voice "they would follow Malfoy to the end of the world; if we got in his bad books then they would never speak to us!"

"What a shame" Blaise said "I guess you'll just have to stay on Malfoy's good side. Which of course means that he can never know you were here."

"Fine, we won't tell Malfoy" Goyle said "but we'll still tell Umbridge!"

"Who will tell the whole school; including Malfoy."

Harry noticed that Dumbledore was chuckling softly beside him. "Ah Slytherin students" he said "they really do make the school a lot more fun."

"Fine" Crabbe said "we won't tell anyone. Happy?"

"You know what Zabini?" Goyle added "for someone whose father is a mecha you're actually very Slytherin."

"Thanks for the compliment" Blaise said "but mecha are giant Japanese robots that fight each other. My father is a _mechanic_. He works with cars."

"All a bunch of muggle bollocks" Crabbe complained.

"Wait a sec, your father is a muggle?" Ron asked Blaise in shock "you're a Half-Blood?"

"Yes" Blaise said "why is that going to be a problem?"

"No I just, well, aren't all Slytherins supposed to be Pureblood?"

"Good luck finding enough Purebloods with Slytherin qualities" Blaise answered "There are plenty of Half-Bloods in Slytherin, and even the occasional Muggle-Born."

"Muggle-Borns in Slytherin?"

"Yup" Dennis Creevey's friend Matthew Powers pipped up "though it doesn't happen often; I'm currently the only one."

"Dennis Creevey and Matthew Powers owe a lot to the DA as well Harry" Dumbledore reminded him "the Sorting Hat rarely puts Muggle-Born students in Slytherin because it's afraid of how they'll be treated. Mr. Powers had a tough time dealing with his housemates before you came along and showed him all that advanced defence magic."

"Well, I guess that's a good thing" Harry admitted.

"And you helped show your friend Mr. Weasley that not everyone in Slytherin is a fanatic Pureblood."

"Well, I didn't know that there were Half-Bloods or Muggle-Borns in Slytherin either. Apart from Voldemort himself."

"You helped end a lot of misconceptions that day. And the organisation you helped create unified the houses in a way that no-one else has done in a long time. Ah look, everyone is signing the parchment."

Harry watched on as Ginny shyly passed the parchment on to Michael Corner, who gave her a smile before signing it and passing it on to Cho, who had until then had her eyes firmly fixed on Harry.

"Come on Harry" Dumbledore said "let's get back now."

Harry cast one last look back at the DA members, who were all watching the parchment circle around the table. All of them, he noticed, except Theodore Nott who for some reason was watching Hermione.

Before Harry could think too much on this, he felt himself being pulled up and soon found himself in Dumbledore's office again.

"Are you going to continue the DA again this year Harry?"

"Well, I don't know, I guess it was a good organisation. But I'm going to be busy with studies, and I'm Quidditch Captain… oh, I guess I wouldn't still be captain after what happened with Malfoy."

"Harry, I am prepared to let you walk away from this incident with only a 50 house point loss." Dumbledore said "On two conditions."

"Two conditions?"

"Well actually three" The Headmaster said "I want you to assure me that this won't happen again, and I will need you to publicly apologise to Mr. Malfoy."

"I'd rather be expelled than apologise to him."

"You will apologise Harry."

"Fine. What are the other two conditions?"

"I want you to reform the DA."

"Reform it?"

"Not immediately, but by Christmas at the latest."

"I'll think about it. The other one?"

"I want you to get counselling."

"Counselling?"

"Yes Harry. You've got a heavy burden on you, and it's obvious that you aren't handling it well."

"You want me to see a shrink?"

"Mrs. Lestrange is an excellent councillor and will help you through this Harry."

"Lestrange?" Harry asked in disbelief "you want me to spill all my secrets out to a woman named Lestrange?"

"I assure you Harry, I would never hire Bellatrix Lestrange as a councillor. I think Io Lestrange is related somehow to Bellatrix's husband, but a lot of Pureblood families are."

"I know, it just seems… well, like a really bad joke."

"I assure you Harry, I am not joking. Now I'll book you in for a meeting with her for Wednesday evenings. Then on Saturday evening after dinner I want you to come back here Harry."

"For more psychoanalysing?"

"No. There are things you need to learn about Voldemort if you wish to defeat him Harry. We'll be starting some special lessons for that."

"Special lessons?"

"Yes Harry. But we'll get into that more on Saturday. For now, I think you should try to catch the final twenty minutes or so of your first class."


	4. Chapter 3: Illogical

**Chapter 3 – Illogical**

Blaise and Theo were seated at the back of the Transfiguration classroom, Theo trying to transfigure his orange into an apple, while Blaise was sitting back munching on one of the many apples he had already transfigured before McGonagall start the homework essay early.

"You'd think oranges to apples would be a lot easier than some of the other things we've had to do over the years" Theo complained as his orange became red, but otherwise stayed orange-like "I mean, it's not like they're animals or anything."

"Ummm Theo" Blaise said "I hate to ruin the mood, but everyone else has started to catch up to me."

"Oh"

"Yah, your kinda the only one still transforming"

"Ohhhh…,"

"Hey, don't worry, your upset about the whole Malfoy thing. I would be too if he did that to me.

Theo subconsciously patted the bruise over his right eye. Thanks to the immediate medical attention he had received, it was impossible to tell that his nose had recently been broken, but the swelling around his eye just didn't want to go down completely.

He took a deep breath, and tried to forget about Malfoy. As soon as Malfoy was out of his mind, another person came to mind to distract him. Theo tried to ignore this new distraction, and attempted to transform another orange.

"Hay that's better" Blaise said "Umm… but it kinda has a face."

"Really? I don't see it."

"Right there; it kinda looks like a girl's face."

"Nah, it's just got some lines. Hang on I'll try another one."

This time Theo's apple was perfect, and Professor McGonagall came up to inspect his apple and congratulate him, which only served to embarrass him. Not that he didn't like compliments, but the class was quiet enough for everyone to hear, and he was the last to get his transfiguration right.

Once the professor was back at her desk, Theo brought out his parchment and began the homework, feeling glad that McGonagall had given them an easy first lesson for a change. The classroom was rather quiet for a while, until there was a knock on the door and Harry Potter entered the classroom.

Professor McGonagall seemed surprised to see the Chosen One back in class, but made no comment on the earlier fight and gave him a box full of oranges, directing him to Theo and Blaise's table, saying that "Mr. Zabini will help you if you need it."

Potter cautiously made his way over to their table and took a seat next to Blaise, who grinned at him and gave him a quick high-five under the table.

"That was so awesome what you did to Malfoy before" Blaise whispered "thanks for sticking up for us."

"Oh, that's ok" Harry said, somewhat confused "anytime. So what are we doing with these oranges?"

Theo concentrated on his essay, making sure that he spelt the incarnations right and that he didn't smudge the ink as he wrote. Shoddy 'guaranteed no smudge' quill that barely helped at all. Why couldn't the Wizarding World adopt pen and paper? Muggles clearly had the right idea there.

"Hi Nott" Potter whispered, "are you alright? You're face looks a bit different."

Damn he was observant. He was sitting on the other side of the table and Theo's long fringe obscured most of his face anyway. How had he managed to notice the black eye?

"Oh… Malfoy" Theo muttered "he wasn't too happy that I healed him."

"What?"

"Once Theo repaired Malfoy's face and he regained his sensors, he well, he took one look at Theo and was like "oh great, now you're going to want a favour or something you… well then he called Theo something really not nice."

"Defiantly not something you want to hear."

"Yah, and then Theo said, what was it you said again?"

"I said, 'well fine Malfoy. Next time I won't bother. It's not like anyone likes your face or anything.' And well, then he punched me so hard he broke my nose."

"What an ungrateful little – "

"Boys, if you are not talking about transfiguring fruit, then I'll have to ask you to be quiet." McGonagall snapped at them.

"Sorry Professor."

Theo continued on his essay as Blaise continued to help Potter catch up with the transfiguration. It was no surprise that Professor McGonagall had sent Potter over to Blaise; Blaise's carefree attitude hid a very skilled Transfigurationest. From the very first year Blaise had shown a natural flair for the subject and applied himself hard to his studies, making it impossible for even Hermione to get better marks then the class clown.

For the rest of the lesson the three of them worked well, and Potter soon had his oranges all turned into juicy red apples. The only time they ever spoke of anything other than transfiguration was when Potter asked where his Gryffindor friends were, and Blaise explained that they must be in the other class since they had had Herbology first.

Theo had almost finished his essay when the bell rang and they were free. He quickly packed away his parchment and ink, and then wiped the ink stains of his left hand with a rag he carried around for that very purpose.

"Missing the muggle world already Lefty?" Blaised teased.

"How can anyone possibly prefer writing with a quill?" Theo replied "I mean would it really hurt to adopt pens?"

"And TVs. We need them in Hogwarts too" Blaise reminded him.

"Defiantly" Theo agreed "I'm having withdrawal already."

"You watch TV?" Potter asked as they left the classroom "Oh wait, of course you must. Since you know about Star Trek and stuff."

"Yah I love TV" Theo admitted "Anything science fiction or fantasy wise is good to me. Though Star Trek is my favourite show. I really can't wait until Blaise hurries up and builds a magic-powered one so we can watch stuff here."

"You make it sound so simple" Blaise said "Like, I'm just going to go and pull apart this TV, throw a few spells into it, and then we'll all get to watch Frasier after a hard day at school."

"But you said you could do it?"

"Well, yah, it can be done, but we aren't going to get any reception in Hogwarts, so there isn't much point."

"We could still watch videos on it."

"Argh, that means I have to make a video player."

"And why not a Nintendo?"

"Theo, I do need to do actual school work this year."

"It would be pretty fun having a TV in the school though" Potter said "could you really make one?"

"Eventually. Though if I do get it working then Theo is probably just going to sit in front of it all day watching Star Trek videos."

"Not all day!" Theo protested "besides, I have plenty of Lost in Space videos to watch as well."

"Nerd." Blaise laughed "Oh you were raised by muggles, weren't you Harry? What TV shows did you really love growing up?"

"Oh a few" Potter said, seeming a bit surprised that Blaise had called him by his first name "I didn't really get to watch that much TV growing up. Liked The Simpson's quite a bit. Though my Aunt got pretty angry if she ever saw anyone watch it in the house."

"Ah, that sucks it's a good show" Blaise said "If I ever do get the TV working then I'll bring all my videos. You can make up for lost time then."

"Wow thanks."

"Don't thank me yet" Blaise said "I still have to start making this. I'm not quite sure how many owls I'll need to deliver a TV and its parts into Hogwarts though."

Theo listened as Harry and Blaise talked about TV shows, and remembered the first time he ever saw TV; the muggle child-protection services had taken him and Alice away from their father after some of the townsfolk had reported the two strange children wandering around town.

It was a pretty hard time for the Nott family, and Theo was terrified that he would be separated from his big sister. Alice snuck him out of the offices that they had originally been brought to and together they explored the big building full of strange muggle contraptions. In one waiting room they had found a nice man watching TV. He shared some soft drink with the two frightened children and allowed them to watch TV with him for a while.

Alice had introduced Theo to muggle books many years before, when he was suffering from constant boredom, but nothing he had read from the muggle world, or even the wizarding world, compared to the pure _magic _of the events that were happening in this small box, or the amazing adventures those muggles had onboard their starship. From that moment on, Theo was a muggle-obsessed Star Trek fan. A passion that Alice encouraged.

"Oh-oh, Malfoy alert." Blaise said, snapping Theo out of his memory.

The three boys turned to stare down Malfoy and the Slytherin girls that flanked him. Malfoy shot back his most contemptuous sneer before marching past them. He didn't say a word to them at all.

"Oi Malfoy" Harry called after his enemy "I'm sorry I beat your face up so badly that Nott had to heal you. It won't happen again, and I hope you're alright. Do you want flowers?"

"You'll pay for that Potter" Malfoy snarled "when you're alone, with none of your freak show following you around, I'll get you."

"Wow his really losing his touch" Blaise said as the group left "Well I better get going, Muggle Studies is up a few floors and I really don't want to be late."

"You do muggle studies?"

"Yup, Theo and I have been doing it since third year. Theo decided to be a bum though and drop it this year."

"But you're father is a muggle. Why would need to do muggle studies?"

"Because I wasn't born knowing how television actually worked" Blaise joked as he took off "See you guys. Have fun in Herbology."

**Later**

Theo and Harry made small talk on their way to Herbology, where Harry was reunited with Neville Longbottom. He tried to include Theo in their conversation, but Theo still found himself being left out a lot. He wasn't overtly hurt by this; after all he wasn't the most talkative person around and he kind of did bring it on himself.

After a relatively clean Herbology lesson Theo returned alone to the Great Hall, where he took a seat opposite Blaise; one that faced the other three tables.

"Potter go off with one of his friends?" Blaise asked as he sat down.

"Yah, he met Longbottom in Herbology"

"I can't believe he ditched you like that."

"He didn't ditch me. We just weren't talking as much. I mean he even said 'see ya' and all that before he left. Where's Xanthe?"

"Oh she's off with her friends"

"Which ones?" Theo asked, aware that while Xanthe wasn't really close to anyone, she did seem to be friends with half the girls in the school.

"I think she's over at the Ravenclaw table"

"Ah yah, I see her. Hay are you alright?"

"Huh? Yah of course, why?"

"Not worried about being ditched on your first day back?"

"Xanthe's allowed to spend time with her friends. It's not like she has to spend every second with me just because we're dating."

"I know… but you look a bit down."

"Professor Burbage gave us a lot of homework" Blaise said "that's all."

"If you say so"

Conversation became harder then due to Blaise shovelling food into his mouth at a pace that made speech impossible. Theo ate his lunch a bit more slowly, and didn't try to coax his friend to talk. After a few minutes he noticed Blaise turn around in his chair, presumably to look at Xanthe over at the Ravenclaw table.

"If you keep turning around like that she'll notice you looking" Theo said.

"Huh?"

"Xanthe, she'll notice you watching her."

"I'm not looking at Xanthe, I'm turning around to see what you were looking at."

"I wasn't looking at anything."

"You were spacing out and staring over at the Gryffindor table."

"No I wasn't."

"You were staring at Hermione weren't you?"

Theo felt his face go pink at the mention of Hermione's name, but he still attempted to deflect Blaise's suggestion.

"No, I was just spacing out, as you said. Just thinking of that last Voyager episode. It was a two part one about a race of time altering aliens who – "

"You love Hermione Granger!" Blaise said.

"I…I… nnnnaaaaah. I don't."

"You asked her to go with you to the Yule Ball as soon as it was announced."

"I was just asking as a friend" Theo said "and she said no. It was no big deal. I mean we didn't know her as well back then anyway."

"No big deal? You spent like, two months sulking and then refused to even go on the night. You didn't even ask anyone else to go with you."

"I wasn't sulking. And who else was I going to ask? Millicent Bulstrode? And I just didn't want to go to the Yule Ball anyway; it was my birthday remember? I'm allowed to spend my birthdays however I want right?"

"But you would have gone with Hermione?"

"Well I… um… well… ahhhhh…,"

"I got you."

"Well… these nothing between us. She turned me down and that's that."

"Theo… that was almost two years ago. That doesn't mean she would never ever go out with you."

"Yah but… well… I get all nervous every time I try to talk to her now. She probably thinks I'm some sort of freak."

"Well these only one way to fix that."

"How?"

"Talk to her and let her see how normal you are."

"… I'm not normal though!" Theo said"And well, I can't. You're the one who's good at chatting up girls. What am I meant to talk to her about?"

"Well, she seems to like Star Trek" Blaise reasoned "She said she watched it heaps as a kid, and she gave you the Vulcan-thingy last year."

"You think she'll be interested enough?"

"If she is, then you've struck the jackpot. Anyway, we have Arithmacy next, and she'll defiantly be doing that this year. Why not use that lesson to ask her who her favourite captain is? Or ask what she thinks of the Prime Directive? Or Spock's bloody pointy ears?"

"What if she just thinks I'm a geek?"

"I think Hermione Granger is the last person who can call someone else a geek."

**Later**

Halfway through their first arithmacy lesson and so far Theo hadn't said a word to her at all. Blaise wished he could slap Theo across the face and tall him to get his act together, but that would just get him in trouble and leave Theo to answer a lot of awkward questions.

Blaise looked down at his sheet full of complex mathematics and magic. He was really stuck and would have normally asked Hermione for help by now, but if he did that today then they would start a conversation and Theo would probably let himself be left out. Blaise tapped his quill repeatedly against a particularly hard question; he loved Theo as a brother, but he had the capacity to be an endless source of frustration.

"Are you two alright?" Hermione asked. The three of them were all seated around the one table, with Hermione by herself at one side.

"Just tiered" Blaise muttered, folding his arms and putting his head on the table. He thought about the skiving snackbox sweet he had in his pocket; perhaps if he got sick and had to leave the two of them alone together that would help. Hermione would ask Theo what was wrong with him, and then Theo would have to answer. Soon the conversation might shift from Blaise to other things.

Blaise actually reached into his pocket and grabbed the sweet, before realising that if he did start throwing up everywhere then Theo would insist on taking him to the hospital wing, and then the whole plan would be ruined.

"Well you and Xanthe should probably ease up then."

"Hermione Granger" Blaise said in shock "you have a dirty mind!"

"You give me a lot to work with."

"What's that meant to mean?" Blaise said. He didn't really want to talk about Xanthe at the moment; not that anything was wrong between them, but Blaise was feeling a bit ignored at the moment, no matter how much he tried to hide it from Theo.

Theo, who would probably never get a chance to make a move on Hermione if he started arguing about his sex life with her. Now Blaise just had to think of a way to get Theo in on the conversation without embarrassing him to death.

"What goes on between Xanthe and myself is really none of your concern Miss Granger" He said "We're both sixteen, we both really like each other… but that's beside the point. Theo, have I ever talked about what goes on between me and Xanthe in private?"

"No" Theo said "but well… you do seem to have a dirty mind sometimes."

"Oh how do I?"

"Well, every time I pat Leia you ask if I like stroking pussy."

"You've said that to me too" Hermione complained "and it wasn't funny when you kept asking if you could pat my pussy every time Crookshanks was around."

"I was fourteen, I thought it was hilarious" defended Blaise "wasn't it Theo."

"No not really, and it wasn't funny when, well, ummm…."

"When I asked you if you liked patting Hermione's pussy?"

Blaise instantly regretted the words, as Theo went a deep shade of red and hunched over his work, ignoring the conversation.

"Blaise you are really disturbed." Hermione said "don't be embarrassed Theo, I know you're not like that."

"Oh, ok."

There was somewhat of an awkward silence, but just as Hermione looked ready to get back into her work, Blaise kicked Theo under the table, and _finally _he got it together and started talking to her.

"Hay Hermione, whoseyourfavouritecaptain?"  
Well, maybe not completely together.

"Umm… sorry Theo, what was that?"

"Oh, I was just wondering well, who is your favourite Star Trek captain?" he asked "I mean, you said you were interested in Star Trek didn't you?"

"Yah, my Father is a huge Trekkie. I grew up watching Next Generation. Captain Picard was a huge inspiration to me growing up."

"Yah his awesome" Theo agreed "The first time I saw him he was just well, just awesome."

"Just awesome?"

"He was resolving problems with crystal-like aliens and protecting his crew from danger… I love watching Picard."

"So Picard is your favourite Captain too?"

"Well I… he was" Theo admitted "but the more of Voyager I watch, the more I love Captain Janeway."

"Oh, so you have a little crush on the new lady captain?"

"No, no not love her like that" Theo said, some of his nervousness returning "I mean, she's very intelligent, very caring, very strong-willed,"

For a brief second Blaise found himself wondering if his friend was referring to Janeway or Hermione

"…and she really looks after her crew. If I was stranded 75,000 light-years across the galaxy, I'd want her as my Captain."

"Ah I see. I haven't seen that much of Voyager, or umm… the other new one"

"Deep Space Nine?"

"That's it. But from what I have seen, I still think Picard is the best Captain. He's the Captain that I'd go to for help if Hogwarts were being invaded."

"Yah, but Janeway would be a lot easier to serve under." Theo said "Not to mention that after travelling through Borg Space, Voyager is a more powerful ship then the Enterprise."

"I doubt she could be wiser than Picard"

"Well not wiser, but I still love her attitude; keep your shirt tucked in, go down with the ship, and _never_ abandon a member of your crew."

As Hermione prepared her counter arguments Blaise tried to focus on his work once again. They were having an actual conversation. That hadn't happened since Hermione shot him down for the Yule Ball.

**Later**

As soon as the Arithmacy lesson was over Blaise rushed off, saying he needed to get something from the dormitory. Theo knew that he was really leaving to give him some time alone with Hermione while they walked to Potions, and he was glad. Things were going so well between the two of them. They had spent so much time talking about Star Trek, then muggle technologies that Hermione had for the first time ever not completed her class work.

He was also very afraid. Now that Blaise was gone there was no-one around to help him if something went wrong, and even though he loved science fiction technologies and lived with the Zabinis, Theo still wasn't that good with current muggle technologies, and knew that it was only a matter of time before he stuffed up something.

"They say that the internet is really going to take off in a big way" Hermione explained "but I really find it hard to imagine. I mean, everyone connected? It really is mind boggling. I think I've spent too many years in the Wizarding World to ever hope to understand technology like that."

"Yah, I've heard about that internet stuff" Theo said "but I have enough trouble with a computer as it is. Though it would be good to master the internet."

"A Pureblood wizard wanting to master the internet?"

"Well imagine it. One computer, connected to thousands of libraries around the world. Imagine how much easier it would be to look up stuff."

"Knowing human beings, we'd probably just use it to send each other stupid jokes and porn. Or cat pictures."

"Porn?"

"Yah, well, as you said; one computer connected to thousands of libraries; well by that logic your computer could also be connected to thousands of pornography magazines or movies."

"Well, nah. That's just illogical"

"Illogical? You sound like a Vulcan"

"Sorry, I'm having withdrawal. But anyway, we don't live in a world of Blaises. I think if these too much on the internet it slows down; I don't see why anyone would waste internet speed on something like porn when there are so many other uses it could be put to."

Hermione started giggling, which worried Theo; was his idea about how the internet worked so wrong that he'd just made a complete ass of himself in front of Hermione?

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked

"Oh no, nothing at all" Hermione said "It's just. You're not like other teenage boys, are you?"

Theo wondered how he was supposed to answer that question. Was being different from other teenage boys a good or bad thing?

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Theo asked, trying to ignore the snickering portraits that watched them as they walked.

"It's a good thing" Hermione said "you're… sweet and innocent. Most guys in our year seem to think of sex all the time."

"Oh I think of sex a lot" Theo admitted, and then instantly wished he could take it back. _You idiot_ he thought _don't go admitting that kind of stuff to her! Do you want her to think you're a pervert?_

Hermione burst out laughing, at first Theo had to fight the impulse to run away and hide, but her laughter didn't seem that bad. Like she was laughing with him, and soon Theo found himself laughing too.

"I guess that was a stupid thing to say."

"Nah it's alright. It's just, I guess I wasn't expecting you to be a normal teenage boy."

Ok, so now he was a normal teenage boy, not different. Was that a good or a bad thing?

"Is that a good or a bad thing?" he asked again.

"Oh it's fine" Hermione laughed "you're a good friend whether you think about sex or not."

Wow, she had called him a good friend. Theo didn't think she had said that before. But didn't friends sometimes have a thing against dating friends? _Damn it is this a good or a bad thing? _

"Oh oh!"

"What?"

"Everyone else has gone in."

They had arrived at the Potions dungeon, but the deserted corridor was a sign that they had dawdled too long.

"We are going to get in so much trouble."

Filled with dread, they made their way to Snape's classroom.

**Meanwhile**

Harry was not in a good mood. The reason Harry wasn't in a good mood was partially because Snape wasn't happy about having him or Ron in his class, and partly because Ron and Blaise kept glaring at each other like they wanted to really get violent. It was getting uncomfortable sitting between the two of them.

As soon as they had sat down Snape had began to attack them.

"Ah Mr. Potter, I see you managed to get to this class despite your lower marks and violent outbursts. Though I am surprised to see Mr. Weasley here."

As Malfoy, Bulstrode and Moon had looked back at the two Gryffindor's and giggled, Ron began asking – no, begging more like – to be allowed to stay in the class. Even Harry thought it was a bit pathetic. Of course, no-one really believed that Ron was taking the course for educational purposes, and soon Blaise Zabini was yelling at him to stop chasing after his mother. It had gotten so bad that Harry was worried that they may end up hexing each other.

Fortunately Michael Corner asked in disbelief if Prof. Zabini was really Blaise's mum before it got too bad. And then poor Blaise had been subjected to questions from all the male students about his mother. Rather personal questions.

The upside of that incident was that Snape allowed Ron to take his class after all; the slimy git seemed to be amused by the possibility of Ron and Blaise stirring each other up. It was the only time Harry could remember seeing Snape actually amused by anything other than the Potions of Slytherin students.

Now the class was settled and lessons starting. Harry was hoping for the last lesson of the day to be uneventful.

There was a knock on the door. Snape suddenly stopped looking amused and beckoned the knocker to enter. Hermione and Theo walked in, looking quite terrified.

"Ahh, Miss Granger" Snape said "finally decided to join us? Glad to see this class isn't so beneath you that you didn't even need to show up."

"That's completely illogical Sir" Theo said, causing Hermione to put her hand to her face in an attempt to stop some giggles.

"_Illogical_, Mr. Nott?" Snape asked, seemingly shocked that his quietest student would speak up.

"Well, yah" Theo continued, now lacking some of his earlier bravado "I mean, if Hermione thought this class was beneath her, she wouldn't have taken it."

"I assure you Professor, I am serious about this class" Hermione said once the giggles were gone.

"Well in that case I suppose you'll come on time in the future. I'm docking 10 points, from both of you."

Harry was amongst the many in the room to gasp; that was the first time he could remember Snape taking points off of a Slytherin before.

Hermione and Theo took two seats on the table behind where Harry, Ron, Blaise, and Ernie Macmillan sat. Fortunately, the rest of the lesson was uneventful.

**Later**

"I can't believe they gave us so much homework on our first day back." Ron complained as they sat together in the Gryffindor common room.

"Oh Ron we were given a lot of time to work on those essays in class" Hermione said "don't complain just because you were too busy talking to other guys about Blaise's mother."

"I hardly said a word about her!" Ron protested "did I Harry?"

"Huh?"

Harry had been only vaguely paying attention to this exchange as he finished off his Transfiguration work. It was a good thing Blaise had helped him so much in class, for now Harry only had to go through making small corrections.

"In potions, Zabini started that fight didn't he?"

"Well…" Harry had nothing against Blaise, but Ron was still his best friend. And technically, Blaise had been the one to start the fight "yah he did."

"See"

"Ron, just don't make any moves on his mother."

"It wouldn't work anyway" Ginny sat down next to them "I had Defence today. You really don't want to go there Ron."

"Wow, how was the lesson?"

"Well, she asked if I was Molly Prewett's Daughter" Ginny said "and then she said how they were in the same dorm at Hogwarts and asked me how she was."

"That seems nice of her."

"You're missing the point Ron. Same dorm at Hogwarts? She was in mum's year. She's the same age as our mother!"

"Oh… but how was the lesson?"

"You're hopeless Ron!" Ginny complained as she stormed away to sit with her friends again.

"I wonder what her problem is" Ron asked "Oh by the way Harry, have you seen the timetable? We have Defence first tomorrow, and then Study second! A whole morning of Prof. Zabini!"

"And her son" Hermione added.


	5. Chapter 4: Professor Zabini

**Chapter 5: Professor Zabini's Unconventional Lesson**

From the moment Ron woke up the next day, he was obsessed with the upcoming lessons with Prof. Zabini. At first Harry found his attitude insufferable, and was snappy to the point that Dean had to intervene before they could start a real fight.

As the morning progressed though Harry began to feel like there were butterflies in his tummy. Maybe it was just Ron's excitement wearing off on him, but he felt more excited about the upcoming Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson than he had ever felt about any other lesson. By the time breakfast had come around Harry, Ron, Seamus, Neville, and even Dean were talking about Prof. Zabini obsessively, until Hermione gave them a bollocking and went off to sit on her own.

"Dean I can't believe you've been caught up with this Zabini obsession" Ginny said to her boyfriend after Hermione left "What is so special about her? She is _just_ a teacher!"

"But, we've never had a teacher like her before" Dean said "Yesterdays lesson was – "

"Shoosh!" Seamus said "They haven't had it yet."

"Yah Dean, it's a secret." Ginny added.

"Prof. Zabini's lessons have secrets in them?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but don't worry, you'll find out soon enough." Ginny said "Now Dean I thought you said I was the only girl for you?"

"You are Honey!"

"Oh stop it Ginny" Ron said "you sound just like Mum. Now what's the big secret about Professor Zabini's lessons?"

"I do not! And what about you Ron? Drooling over a married woman like that?"

"I am not drooling!"

"It's only been two days and already this is getting old."

"Yah, well what about when Lockhart was a teacher?" Ron protested "all the girls were drooling over him!"

"We were not."

"Yes you were" Seamus said "now give us guys a chance to fuss over a sexy teacher."

"Well… Lockhart's son wasn't a student here. It's different."

"Ginny" Ron explained "Zabini needs to loosen up. It's not our problem."

"I don't think anyone has ever said Blaise needs to loosen up before" Harry said.

"Since when have you been on a first name basis with that git?" Ron asked.

"Oh Ron you need to stop being jealous of Zabini" Ginny said.

"Why would I be jealous of Zabini?"

"It could be because his better looking than you" She said "or richer? Or more popular?"

"Popular? He spends all his time with Nott!" Ron said "And what do you mean that his good looking?"

"Well he is" Ginny said "his perfect looking."

"Oh so your allowed to oogle over Zabini, but I can't even look at his mother?" Dean protested "how is that fair?"

"I am not oogling Blaise Zabini!" Ginny protested "He has enough girls to do that."

"I wonder if Hermione is one of them" Ron asked.

Ron's comment took everyone by surprise. Neville even dropped his toast. Before anyone could answer though the post came, and Pigwidgeon delivered a package to Ron from Fred and George, which exploded as he tried to open it, causing any talk about Hermione or the Zabinis to be completely forgotten.

By the time Ron had finished cleaning up and cursing Fred and George's latest stunt, the bell had already gone and everyone was making their way to their first classes.

"Oh just do it on the way" Harry said as Ron slowly used _scourgify_ to get rid of every stain on his shirt.

"No, I don't want Professor Zabini to think I'm some sort of grub."

Frustrated, Harry grabbed Ron by the arm and started pulling him away from the table. Ron soon stopped resisting and eagerly followed. They arrived at the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and found the rest of the class already there. It was a fairly large class, with students from all houses. They found Hermione, now talking to Theo. Harry thought that there was something different about Theo today.

"Hay, Nott isn't blushing" Ron said.

"What?"

"He usually gets embarrassed whenever Hermione talks to him. He isn't now though."

"Hay your right, I wonder why he gets so embarrassed though?"

"Maybe it's because Hermione is muggle-born."

"What? Why would that matter to him?"

"Well his father is a Death Eater" Ron explained "he was probably brought up the same way as Malfoy."

"His not a pureblood supremacist."

"Maybe not, but it would still be part of how he was raised."

"But doesn't he spend his holidays with muggles?"

Ron shrugged and they moved closer to the pair, until they could hear their conversation.

"Well he probably won't need Defence too much if his going to build things for a living" Hermione was saying "I don't think she should force him to take the subject against his will."

"I know, but she is concerned about him learning it now that Voldemort is around. I think a lot of parents are; this class seems pretty big, and there is another class."

"But she can't force him to take the subject. Oh hi guys. Ready for our first Defence class?"

"Hell yah!" Ron answered.

"Well of course _you_ are."

All of the students were talking excitedly about the lesson. Some – like Ron – seemed to be infatuated with the new teacher, while others were excited about having a _real_ Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher again after a year of Umbridge. Harry liked to think that he belonged to the latter group.

It wasn't long before the class feel silent, and Professor Zabini approached them, wearing purple robes and high heels that made her seem slightly taller than her son, who was walking along beside her and not looking too happy.

"Looks like she _can_ force Blaise to do this subject" Theo said.

"He didn't want to?" Harry asked.

"His doing a correspondence course on magical machines, and his worried that that will take up a lot of time" Theo explained "He didn't want to do defence because it wouldn't help him become a tinker."

"A what?"

"A tinker makes magical machines" Ron explained "Dad does it as a hobby with some muggle objects, but if you can do it well you'll be able to get a very good job."

Professor Zabini quickly greeted her new class and then ushered them into the room. As Harry entered the room, the first thing he noticed was that there were no chairs or desks anywhere, and the floor had been padded to the point where it felt almost bouncy as he walked onto it. The second thing he noticed was that his and everyone else's shoes had disappeared.

"Hello Students, I'm Professor Zabini. Now as you can see we'll be getting straight into it today, so leave your bags at the back of classroom, get your wands out, and if you have any valuable jewellery take it off now please."

"What the hell is this?" Lavender Brown asked as she removed her earrings "A lesson or a wrestling match?"

"Let's call it a cross between the two" Professor Zabini said "Now you'll notice on your timetables that you have Defence twice a week; today and Thursday. This year we shall have one lesson a week that is complete theory, and another that is completely practical. Normally today would be your theory lesson; however I want to see where everyone is at. So today, we are duelling."

Professor Zabini shot a white blast at the blackboard, which caused a tournament bracket with sixteen spaces at the bottom to appear.

"Today we shall have a little duelling tournament" the Professor explained "This will allow me a chance to get to learn your names, as well as let me see how well your Defence skills are. Not to mention a little healthy competition is never a bad thing."

"Xanthe didn't mention this was part of the lesson" Blaise said.

"Of course not." Prof. Zabini said "I want to see how good my new students are naturally; not how good they are after a last minute practice session. I have asked all my classes to keep quiet about the duels so far. The same applies to you. You can talk about them as much as you want on Thursday; by then I would have met all my students at least once."

"Hay wait a sec" Blaise said "now that I'm here there are sixteen of us; you just made me join so you wouldn't have an odd number!"

"Blaise I am perfectly capable of working with odd numbered classes. Please don't be difficult."

"I'm not being difficult; I just don't really want to be here."

"Hopefully I can change your mind soon enough. Otherwise you'll have a tough year. Anyway, in this top hat on the table I have numbered cards. You will each come forward and draw out a number. That will determine your starting position in the tournament."

"Isn't that a very muggle way of doing things?" Tracy Davis protested "Why not just use a randomizer spell?"

"I find this more suspenseful Miss…"

"Davis"

"Well yes Miss Davis. I find this method generates a bit more excitement."

"But it will take up so much time!"

"Oh the matches will be quick. We won't run out of time" the teacher reasoned as she looked over the roll "would you like to draw the first number Tracy?"

Davis did not seem too impressed with the Professor using her first name, but still went up to the hat and pulled out a card. She was a tall girl with light brown skin and dark wavy hair just like Prof. Zabini's. Despite her hight and the many stairs at Hogwarts, she was somewhat on the cubby side.

"It's eight" Davis said, showing the car to the class.

"Ok, our first name is down" Zabini said as Davis's name appeared in the eight spot "you'll get to face whoever draws number seven. Any volunteers for the next draw?"

"I'll go next Professor!" Ron called out, putting up his hand in an over-excited manner.

"Ah, you must be Gineva Weasley's brother. She was the champion in her class. Ronald isn't it?"

"Yah. Hehe, but please just call me Ron."

"Oh shut up Weasley she's my mother!"

"Stop now, both of you!" Zabini said "there will be no fighting in my class!"

"But I thought that's what we were doing this lesson" Lavender asked.

"We will be duelling. Not fighting. And you are?"

"I'm Lavender Brown Miss."

"Ok Lavender, would you like to draw a number with Ronald?"

"Um, sure Miss."

Ron seemed happy enough to draw the number four, but Lavender became mortified when she pulled the number thirteen out of the hat. She begged Zabini to allow her to redraw, but the Professor just told her that thirteen was merely 'ten + three', and in the time Lavender spent trying to work out the cryptic remark, the Professor had already called Blaise and Theo out to pick a number. Blaise drew number one, while Theo got nine.

"No matches yet" Zabini announced "Who wants to see if they can get paired with someone who has already drawn?"

Hermione volunteered next, but remained unmatched at number twelve. The first match came after Hermione when Megan Jones drew fourteen and got paired with Lavender.

"Finally, a match!" Davis sneered, struggling to keep a faint hint of excitement out of her voice.

Harry found himself looking forward to Lavender's fight; Megan Jones seemed like a nice girl, even by the high standards of Hufflepuff niceness, but Harry did not want to see a member of the DA loose to a non-DA member at all.

"Oh Harry, Lavender against Megan Jones, who do you think will win?"

"It bloody better be Lavender" Harry said.

The next students to draw were Jones's fellow Hufflepuffs Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, who drew five and eleven respectively; pairing Justin with Hermione.

"Oh, two DA members Harry" Ron said "this should be an interesting fight!"

"What's that meant to mean?" Hermione asked "don't you think I have a good chance?"

"Wait, I have to go up against Hermione?" Justin asked the class "shit!"

The next to draw was Anthony Goldstein, who Harry secretly hoped would get paired with Ron, due to their different duelling styles, but instead ended up on the other end of the board at sixteen.

The two remaining Ravenclaws; Padma Patil and Mandy Brocklehurst drew next. Padma became Anthony's partner, while Brocklehurst landed in sixth position with Ernie.

"Five people left" Prof. Zabini announced "and from now on everyone will be matched."

"Oh crap" Ron said "Harry, please don't draw number three!"

"Oh no, what if I have to go against Harry Potter?" Mandy asked.

"Well Harry" The Professor said "don't keep us all waiting, pick a number, any number."

Harry walked up to the hat and put his hand in. The class went completely silent; even Tracy Davis seemed to be holding her breath. Harry pulled his number out and held it out to the class; number ten.

"I am so dead" Theo cried as Harry's name appeared on the blackboard next to his.

"Theo it's a tournament" Blaise said "you aren't the only one who is going to loose to Harry today."

"Hay don't count yourself out" Harry said "I'm not invincible." However even as Harry said this, he found himself thinking about how he would cope with either Hermione or Justin in the second round.

"Phew, well at least I don't have to verse you in the first round mate" Ron said.

However, the next draw matched Ron up with Neville, who Harry believed would give Ron just as much trouble as himself.

The final draw was made by Crabbe and Goyle, with Goyle being pitted against Davis and Crabbe against Blaise.

"There, the match-up for the first round has been decided" Prof. Zabini announced.

"And it took a lot longer than a randomizing spell would have" Davis complained.

"But now I'll remember all your names" She said.

"We'll run out of time though" Davis argued.

"No we won't. Duels can be pretty quick when no-one is allowed to use shielding spells."

"What?" Lavender asked "no shields?"

"You'll have to be more creative in defeating your opponents. Or defeat them before they can hex you."

"How do we win?" Ernie asked "is this like competitive duelling?"

"Not quite" the teacher explained "in these duels, you win if you are able to keep your opponent immobilised or on the ground for ten seconds, or if you drive them out of bounds. You must stay in the red square on the ground at all times."

"Oh, ok"

"Now first match; Blaise, Vincent, step into the arena."

Professor Zabini sat down on the only seat available. And took out a quill and notebook while Blaise and Crabbe stood into the arena, bowed, and then started walking away in duellist fashion.

"Zabini should have this, shouldn't he Harry?" Ron asked quietly.

"I don't know, Crabbe and Goyle aren't quite as hopeless as they seem" Harry replied, remembering back to what it was like teaching them in the DA. Both of them had been slow learners, but once Harry had been able to get something through their thick skulls they clung to the new knowledge fiercely and were able to put it to good use.

"But against Blaise you can never be sure" Hermione said "he has a lot of tricks up his sleave."

The match started with Crabbe shooting a _stupefy_ at Blaise, who dodged it gracefully and aimed a spell that Harry had never heard before at the curtains. The nearest curtain flew away from the window and floated around in front of Blaise's wand. Crabbe's next spell was absorbed by the curtain and didn't even reach Blaise.

"Hay, she said no shields Zabini!" Crabbe protested.

"_Blaise…_,"

"You said no shield _spells_ Ma, this isn't a spell; I've just placed the curtain between us."

"You're right, I did say spells. Very well, continue."

"_Flagello chalybs_" Blaise said, and instantly the curtain seemed to turn metallic and whip like. With a flick of his wand the curtain whip cracked on the floor, and Crabbe jumped out of the way.

The next swish of the wand landed the curtain whip at Crabbe's feet just as he was attempting to send a hex Blaise's way. He stumbled back, and unintentionally left the red square.

"Vincent has been forced out of the arena" Professor Zabini announced "Blaise is the winner!"

"But that wasn't defence magic!" Crabbe protested "It was just fancy transfiguration!"

"I said to be creative" the Professor said "though if Blaise doesn't pay any attention to defensive magic in the future, there will be problems."

The next duel was between Neville and Ron. It lasted twice as long as Blaise and Crabbe's and Harry found himself loving every minute of it. It ended spectacularly when Neville, after dodging a number of different hexes from Ron, landed in a well armed trip jinx, and then stunned Ron while he was on the floor. Neville was then a good sport about the whole thing and unstunned Ron himself. Harry felt sorry for his best friend's loss, but he had to admit to himself that Neville had been the better duellist.

The next duel was the first to involve a non-DA member. As Harry had expected, Mandy Brocklehurst went down quickly to Ernie, and Harry found himself cheering for the Hufflepuff prefect just as loudly as the other Hufflepuffs.

Like Mandy, Davis also went down quickly to her DA trained opponent, and Harry found himself quiet miraculously feeling proud of Goyle.

The next match was Harry and Theo's. Harry stepped into the arena opposite Theo, who seemed a shade paler then usual.

"Relax man" Harry said "I'm not going to shoot a bunch of unforgivables at you"

"I know" Theo said quietly, going slightly pink and averting his eyes to their feet. It was then that Harry realised that Theo was more worried about public humiliation then any spell that could hit him.

They quickly bowed and turned away from each other. As soon as Harry had taken ten steps and reached the edge of the arena, he turned around and shot his trademark _expelliarmus _at Theo while dodging what he thought may have been a jumping jinx. Theo didn't dodge the disarming spell in time and his wand was sent flying out of bounds.

Satisfied that the duel was now over Harry lowered his wand, but Theo was not prepared to give up, and lunged towards him. Before Harry could react, the taller boy had collided with him, and Harry fell to the ground; landing just outside the bounds.

"Harry has been forced out of the ring" Zabini announced "Theo wins."

"Hay that wasn't fair!" Ron protested.

"I'm sorry" Theo apologised to Harry "As soon as I lost my wand I panicked. I didn't mean to actually tackle you." The poor kid looked mortified, and Harry noticed he was trying not to look at Ron or the rest of the class.

"Hay, there wasn't a rule against it though" Harry reassured the shy boy.

"Exactly" the professor added "physically attacking an enemy may be banned in competitive duelling tournaments; but in real life a direct attack is the only course of action if you loose your wand. It is either that or be killed. Good job Theo!"

"Thank you Mrs." Theo said, as he slipped back into the crowd.

Harry faced his fellow students and saw looks of shock on their faces. It was only then that he realised that he was out of the tournament; the creator of the DA and the Chosen One had lost in the first round. Oops, how totally embarrassing. Harry wondered if this was what Theo had been so afraid of.

"Well, I said I wasn't invincible" Harry explained to his classmates as he felt his cheeks go pink.

"No, but you let your guard down" The Professor said "that is always a huge mistake. Never underestimate your opponent! Next match!"

The next match was between Hermione and Justin, and Harry found it so thrilling that he almost forgot how embarrassed he was. Eventually Hermione was able to defeat Justin with a body-binding curse, becoming the only member of the Golden Trio to advance to the second round.

The penultimate round saw the final non-DA member Megan Jones knocked out of the competition. Quite literally; Lavender's spell pinned her against the wall so hard she was knocked unconscious, and after she regained consciousness Justin had to take her to the Hospital Wing.

The final match was another thriller, with Padma confounding Anthony who then ran out-of-bounds when Padma shot a jinx at him.

"Well that's the first round done! And half the lesson gone" the Professor said "and so far only one student needing to be sent to the Hospital Wing. There were three in yesterday's sixth year class."

The second round pitted Blaise against Neville, Ernie against Goyle, Theo against Hermione, and Lavender against Padma.

"I'm fighting Theo?" Hermione asked.

"Not fighting Hermione, duelling" Ron reminded her.

Harry looked over at Blaise and Theo. Blaise seemed as cocky as ever, but the confident, talkative Theo from earlier was gone. The blond boy seemed to have crawled back into his shell.

They were only given a minute to rest before the Professor called Blaise and Neville up for the first match of the second round. Blaise attempted to use his curtain whip again, but before he could utter "_flagello chalybs_"Neville shouted "_Incendio_" and the entire curtain and Blaise's arm were set alight. In a panic Blaise ran around in circles screaming; throwing his (magically unlit) wand and the flaming curtain aside and leaving the arena.

His Mother suddenly sprang to life, using her wand to extinguish the flames and then examining his arm in that over-protective way that only a mother could.

"Neville!" Ron hissed at his friend "you just set the _teacher's_ son on fire!"

"Oh, oops."

"It's fine" Prof. Zabini said once she was done healing her son "Blaise, you should _never _rely on the same trick working twice. Good job exploiting that Neville. Now Theo can you take Blaise to the hospital… no you still have a duel. Um, Harry, can you please take Blaise to the Hospital Wing?"

"Ma, I'm fine" Blaise said "you've fixed it. Thank you."

"Harry, take him to Madam Pomfrey please. Now Ernie, Gregory, you two are up next!"

"Yes ma'am"

Harry escorted Blaise out of the room just as the next match started. Harry noticed that the sleave of his shirt was burnt off, and the chocolate-brown skin on his arm still looked slightly red despite the healing that had been done.

"Sorry about this Harry."

"You're sorry?"

"You looked like you were really enjoying the matches."

"Oh that's alright. You know you have a really cool mum."

"Why you – oh wait, you didn't mean that in a sexual way."

"Nah, she's more than just a sexy teacher."

"Yah that – HAY! You dirty-minded little boy! Argh you just be glad Ma threw us out before I could grab my wand!"

"Whoa, I'm just joking" Harry said "sorry."

"Ah that's ok. Guys are always pinning over my mother and sister, so I guess I've gotten quite protective."

"You have a sister? Older or younger?"

"Actually we're twins. Though I'm an hour older."

"Oh, and she isn't a student here?"

"Nah, Camille is a muggle. She goes to a high end drama school anyway."

"Oh ok. Camille Zabini heh?" As Harry said the name an image of a little black girl with a red dress sprang straight to mind.

"Yah, she's never been to Hogwarts before, but back when we were eleven I promised her I'd get her here somehow."

They arrived at the Hospital Wing and Harry opened the door for Blaise. Inside Justin and Jones were just getting ready to leave, and seemed surprised to see them.

"Two people have been hospitalised already?" Jones asked "I can't believe how dangerous these lessons are!"

"Dangerous indeed!" Madam Pomfrey agreed "Miss Jones is the twelfth student to need medical attention from Professor Zabini's lessons. Now whose next?"

"Um, I was sent here for burns treatment" Blaise said, holding up his arm.

"That crazy woman, getting her own son injured too" the matron looked over his arm, and then dropped it in annoyance "you're absolutely fine Mr. Zabini."

"I know, Ma healed me. But she still sent me to you."

"She healed you very well it seems."

"I know. She's very over-protective of me."

"I wish she was as protective over some of the other students. Go hold your arm under the tap for a few minutes. That should get rid of any remaining redness. The rest of you can go back to class now!"

"I was told to stay with him" Harry said.

"Nah don't worry; go catch the rest of the duels." Blaise said as he made his way to the sink "If you're quick you may see the end of Hermione and Theo's duel."

"Yah, that would be good" Justin said.

"Are you actually enjoying this?" Jones asked,

"Yup. Hay Zabini, I take it Longbottom beat you?"

"Yah. He set me on fire, and then Ma got all protective and sent me here, even though I'm fine now."

"Awww, that's sweet" Jones said "I guess your mother does have a soft side."

Blaise looked annoyed as he held his hand under the cold running water. "I know, but this is ridiculous! I wanted to see Macmillan and Goyle duel!"

"Enough!" Madam Pomfrey said "Miss. Jones, Mr. Finch-Fletchley, please go back to class! Mr. Potter, please try and stay out of the way."

Just as Harry bade Justin and Jones goodbye, Ron walked in, holding a sobbing Lavender in his arms. Somehow, Padma had made her hands fall off. Jones was civil enough to the girl who had landed her in the hospital wing, but she and Justin still left quickly. Harry tried to say hi to Ron, however Lavender was clinging to him with her stumps, and Ron had to give her hands to Madam Pomfrey and then help hold Lavender in place while she re-attached them. Knowing he wouldn't be getting an update from Ron, Harry made his way over to the sink.

"Hay Zabini" Harry started.

"Call me Blaise."

"Huh?"

"Calling me Zabini is going to get pretty confusing now that my mother is a teacher here."

"Oh yah. Alright Blaise. Have I ever met you're sister before?"

"Yah, apparently we used to play together when we were really little. I don't actually remember it, but Camille says she remembers your cousin."

"What? That's impossible!"

"Huh?"

"I never had any friends growing up. And my Aunt and Uncle would never have let me play with wizard children!"

"Whoa?" Blaise was so surprised by Harry's denial that he didn't even notice that he had pulled his arm out from under the tap when he turned to face Harry. "You never had friends growing up?"

"Well, I didn't grow up in the happiest environment." He admitted "My Aunt and Uncle are like, well, the opposite of the pureblood fanatics. They hate anything to do with magic, and tried to 'stomp it out of me' growing up."

"Whoa… I guess that explains why things went bad."

"What do you mean they went bad?"

"Oh, Ma said that she introduced herself to your Aunt, and she revealed that she was a witch and asked if she got any unwanted attention from having a famous kid like you in her care. Or something like that. After that neither you nor your cousin ever came back to the preschool."

"Whoa. Well that sounds like my Aunt. Did she start screaming and running away with us?"

"I don't know, I had only just turned four. I can't remember anything from back then."

"Mr. Zabini!" Madam Pomfrey had finished with Lavender, who was now clinging on to Ron with her re-attached hands "if you're finished at the sink please just go! And turn off that tap!"

Blaise sheepishly turned off the tap and the two of them left as quickly as they could. Harry was so shocked by the discovery that he had had friends before coming to Hogwarts that he forgot to say good-bye to Ron.

However as they made their way back to the classroom, Harry stretched his memory back, struggling to remember anything about the Zabini's. All he got was Camille in her red dress.

"Why didn't you say anything about this before?" Harry asked.

"Oh what was I going to say. 'Hay Harry Potter! Do you remember playing with me when you were like, four or something? I can't, but I still got to hang out with a celebrity! Yay, I'm awesome!' Would you really have liked me to say that?"

"Well, no not really."

"Exactly. I don't do the whole hero worship thing. Except maybe if I ever met Metallica. Then I'd be like an excited little girl."

"Well, thanks then. I don't really like people giving me that kind of attention."

"I didn't think you did."

They arrived at the classroom, but found that they couldn't open the door.

"Well that makes sense" Blaise said "I mean, it would suck if someone opened the door in the middle of a duel."

A few minutes later they tried the door again and it opened. Professor Zabini welcomed them in, and Harry noticed his and Blaise's shoes disappeared again as soon as they entered.

"Are you alright Blaise?" Professor Zabini asked as they entered.

"No Ma, madam Pomfrey thinks I'm dying."

"Very funny Blaise. Thank you for taking care of him Harry. Ten Points to Gryffindor."

"I didn't do anything though"

"Thank you anyway. Now boys, you're back just in time for the final round."

"What? Already?"

"The semi-finals were all very fast."

"That sucks."

"Ok, Finalists, step up to the arena!"

For a wild moment Harry wondered who could possibly have made it to the finals. However he found himself unsurprised when Neville and Hermione stepped up to the arena and took their positions.

"Theo, what happened?" Harry heard Blaise ask his friend.

"I panicked" Theo replied "I think Hermione is angry at me."

Before Theo could be interrogated any further, Hermione and Neville started firing jinxes at each other, and no-one could tear their eyes away from the duel.

After a few jinxes had been exchanged, Hermione seemed to get the upper hand by using a leg-locking curse on Neville, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Get up Neville!" The professor roared "you have ten… nine… eight…"

Determined not to make the same mistake Harry had made against Theo, Hermione aimed a stunning spell at Neville. However Neville rolled away, and then reversed the spell on himself and got up just as the countdown reached two.

"Wow, Neville's pretty good" Harry heard Goyle say to Crabbe, who responded by elbowing his friend in the gut.

Neville wasted no time, and threw a leg-locking jinx at Hermione, who was barely able to dodge it, and then send expelliarmus back at Neville. Neville's wand came flying out of his hands, but luckily it landed within the arena. He ran to it, dodging a number of jinxes from Hermione, who was certainly not letting her guard down.

Neville tripped and almost fell out-of-bounds, but he managed to get up before Prof. Zabini could start the countdown, and he grabbed his wand and aimed a stunning spell at Hermione, which hit dead on and sent her dropping to the ground.

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Neville wins! Congratulations, fifty points to Gryffindor!"

Neville humbly accepted the cheers he received, and then went to help Hermione. Who once de-stunned was able to accept her defeat well.

"And it looks like we have ten minutes to kill" the Professor said "I'll let you all off early. No homework today. Although I'd encourage everyone to practice their duelling if they can. I'm happy to make this room available for practice if anyone asks."

**:A Little Bit Later:**

Harry was sitting in his first Study Group lesson between Blaise and Ron. Despite the fact that Professor Zabini was a great teacher, who was able to make even dreary topics such as project management and planning interesting, Harry did not feel too comfortable.

After they had been let out early, Blaise had gone straight over to Theo to console him over some huge blunder that he had made during his duel with Hermione. Meanwhile, Hermione had been in a bad mood, and had more to say about her ten second duel with Theo then about her matches with Neville or Padma.

"He didn't even attack me" She complained "he just stood there with his wand out and his mouth open, I stunned him, and that was it. It was embarrassing!"

She was so upset about Theo going easy on her that she had stormed off to Charms despite being very early.

Ron's mood had been even worse.

"Why did you ignore me back at the Hospital Wing?" He asked as soon as they met.

"Sorry, you seemed busy with Lavender."

"Yah, and you seemed busy with Zabini!"

They argued all the way back to the Library where Prof. Zabini was holding the study group. There they had met Blaise again, who needed the group to continue doing Charms. A fact that Ron immediately teased him about.

"No-one fails Charms! Even Crabbe and Goyle passed!"

As if on cue, Crabbe and Goyle appeared and Crabbe tried to hex Ron for the insult. During the class Harry found out that three was the minimum amount of classes that could be taken in the NEWT years and in order not to repeat Crabbe and Goyle had been forced to continue Care of Magical Creatures with the Study Group.

The rest of the group was rather small; Lilith Moon, a small red-haired girl with thin wire glasses from Slytherin, who needed help with Potions like Harry and Ron. As well as Megan Jones and Wayne Hopkins of Hufflepuff, who both needed help with Transfiguration, and fellow Hufflepuff Zacharies Smith, who was failing History of Magic. Lavender was also present, needing help with Transfiguration. The only Ravenclaw present was Lisa Turpin, who like Blaise had done the unthinkable and received poor marks on her Charms OWL.

The first half of the study group was spent learning about project management, while the second half involved working on their homework, with Professor Zabini coming around to help them individually. She was a good teacher, who made light conversation with the students and offered good advice. If it wasn't for the tension between Ron and Blaise, Harry figured he could grow to really like these classes.

**:Later:**

There were only six people doing Magical Healing this year. Hermione had taken the specialty course because of the obvious advantages it would have later in life; and in the upcoming war.

Her other classmates included fellow Gryffindor Sally-Anne Peaks, as well as Ernie Macmillan, both of whom Hermione knew wanted to be Healers. Also present were Ravenclaws Anthony Goldstein and Terry Boot.

The sixth member of the class was Theodore Nott. Hermione knew that he dreamed of being a healer and would be in the class, but right now she didn't want to deal with him. She had been so embarrassed when he had let her win. Especially after he'd already proven himself by beating Harry. She had made a point of sitting far away from him in Charms, and during lunch (with a very moody Ron and Harry) she made sure she was facing away from the Slytherin table.

However, the first task Madam Pomfrey gave them was to explore the Hospital Wing and take stock of all the equipment and its uses. This gave Theo the perfect opportunity to approach her.

"Hay Hermione"

"Hello Theo."

"Look I just want to say that well, I'm sorry about the duel."

"Oh it's fine. Especially if you just want to protect the vulnerable little girl of the Golden Trio."

"What, NO!" He protested, more vehemently then Hermione would have expected "I know that you're capable of defending yourself. It's just that well…,"

"Well?"

"Whenever I'm the centre of attention like that, well, I panic. Everyone was watching me, and I didn't want to do something stupid like when I tackled Harry –"

"That wasn't stupid" Hermione said "it was a very cleaver."

"I know I just well. Ok, I'll admit that I didn't want to accidentally hurt you; like what happened to Megan Jones, but well, you deserved more respect then that. If I wasn't panicking, I would have given you the duel you deserved. I'm sorry."

"Really? The only reason you refused to fight me was because you went all shy and panicked?"

"I didn't refuse, I just froze and well, yah. Sorry."

"Well, prove it!"

"Huh? How?"

"Well, we've been encouraged to use the room for practice" she explained "Let's have a proper duel; with no-one watching. Are you doing anything tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night, no I'm… a private duel?" Theo blushed slightly, but Hermione thought that he looked happier.

"Yes. How about after dinner at the classroom?"

"Ok. Umm… want me to ask Mrs. Zabini about it?"

"Sure. Tomorrow night, seven o'clock. Don't forget Theo!"

"I won't!"

"Mr. Nott, Miss. Granger! Get back to work!"

"Yes Madam Pomfrey!"


	6. Chapter 5: It's Kinda a Date

**Chapter 5: It's Kinda a Date**

That night Harry dreamt of Sirius. He had had similar dreams before; they all started good, but they all ended with Sirius falling through the veil into oblivion.

He woke up in a cold sweat at the break of dawn, and no matter what he did, he could not get back to sleep again. He eventually stopped trying to sleep, and got up, deciding to do something exciting to take his mind off his godfather.

He wrote up a large announcement, calling for Quidditch tryouts after classes. Yes he knew he had that session with Madam Lestrange, but sorry Prof. Dumbledore, it would just have to be rescheduled.

Once finished Harry took his flier over to the noticeboard and cleared a place for it amongst the multiple offers of squashed-faced ginger kittens to good homes. However no matter what he tried he could not get his flyer to stay up.

After a few unsuccessful attempts Harry wrote up an announcement saying he wanted a ginger kitten and pinned it up. No problem this time. He took down the kitten post and made an alteration to it;

_I would like to buy a kitten, please meet me after class in the Common Room._

This time when he went to pin it up the notice board seemingly refused his flier. It seemed that somehow, Harry had been barred from scheduling anything that could get him out of his counselling session.

"Fine" Harry said as he changed the date of the tryouts to tomorrow evening "I'll go see Madam Lestrange and cry on her shoulder. Happy?"

The notice board remained indifferent to Harry's outburst, leaving in a snappy mood, and sat down and read his new Quidditch strategy book, but even that didn't seem to make him feel better. It wasn't until some noisy second years came down and he was able to tell them off for being too noisy that he feel a bit relieved.

Just as he was getting near the end of an interesting chapter on Chaser formations, Ron came down, looking as irritable as Harry had felt before.

"Morning, you're up early" Harry said, noticing that still not too many people had awoken yet.

"So are you"

"Yah had another bad dream."

"Another one? A dream about You-Know-Who?"

"No. Just about Sirius."

"Oh."

"Well, are you going to tell me what's gotten you up so early?"

"I had a weird dream too."

"Really? What about?"

"Oh it's not important. Just weird. Hay, is that Advance Captain's Quidditch Guide?"

"Yah. Want to have a look at these Chaser formations?"

"Sure."

Harry laid the book down on the table and they both examined it in silence. However Ron seemed a bit distracted.

"Hey Harry" Ron asked after a while "umm…"

"Yes?"

"We're best friends, right?"

"What? Yes, of course."

"Ok good."

"Why?"

"Oh nothing. Hay what do you want to do this morning? Since we have a free period before Potions?"

"Well I've called Quidditch tryouts for tomorrow night. Want to help me plan what the hell I'm going to do?"

"Tomorrow night? Wicked."

They spent the rest of the morning planning out the tryouts; without even taking a break to go down to breakfast. Fortunately Hermione was in a nice mood and brought them up some food. However when she returned after History of Magic to drag them to Potions she didn't seem so happy. Harry couldn't blame her though; who would want to be late for potions twice in a row? He thanked her incessantly for rushing back up to the tower just to make sure that he and Ron were on time.

**:Much Later:**

"You really need to eat something you know" Theo heard his best friend say between mouthfuls of mashed potato. Blaise had just returned from his first lesson of magical machinery, a correspondence only course that he had to work on himself while sitting at the back of Professor Burbage's third year class.

"I am eating" Theo said, trying to remember how much of his own dinner he had actually eaten "I'm just, kinda nervous. This duel has to be perfect."

"It won't be perfect if you get distracted by an empty stomach."

"My stomach is not empty. It has butterflies"

"Hi guys" Xanthe took a seat next to them and gave Blaise a small peck on the cheek "Hi Theo, do you have a date with Hermione or something tonight?"

"What! Blaise, what have you been telling her?"

"I haven't said anything" Blaise said.

"Oh Theo, it's obvious you like her" Xanthe said "you get like, mega shy around her. I mean, you're mega shy normally, but you can't even speak to her without turning into a nervous wreck."

"I can speak to her just fine." Theo said.

"Since when?"

"On Monday they were trying to decide who was the best captain in Star Trek" Blaise said.

"Oh that's cute" Xanthe said "I felt so sorry for you last year in the DA, when you got all tongue-tied every time you tried to talk to her."

"Look don't say anything about it to her ok?" Theo said "just… don't tell her."

"Aren't you going on a date with her tonight though?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, you've been kind of distracted all day."

"I have not."

"You almost killed Su Li in Herbology because you weren't watching where you swung your shovel."

"I…, that happened less than twenty minutes ago! How did you find out about it?"

"I also heard that you accidentally made your potion and cauldron disappear this morning."

"You know, you gossip way too much."

"I think everyone has heard about the disappearing cauldron by now Theo" Blaise said "I mean, if it had exploded that would have been almost normal, but to just vanish? While making a lung clearing potion?"

"Thanks"

"Sorry. But it was pretty funny."

"Who cares" Xanthe said "old news. Now tell me all about your date with Hermione."

"It's not a date!"

"But it's something?"

"Well, we're just duelling."

"Duelling?"

"A rematch from their Defence Against the Dark Art's duel" Blaise explained.

"Ohhh… I see" She smiled

"What's that meant to mean?" Theo asked

"Oh, just that you're going to be alone together in a private classroom that has cushioned floors and – "

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL!"

"Whoa, sorry Theo, didn't mean to make you blush."

"Well… please Xanthe, don't got talking about this with the rest of the school."

"It's like you don't trust me!"

"Well you do seem to know everything that goes on around here" Blaise reminded his girlfriend

"That's because I'm social" she protested.

"Well are you being social tonight?" Blaise asked

"What's that meant to mean?"

"Well, I wanted to take you somewhere nice tonight" he explained "but if you're going to be gossiping with friends...,"

"Oh Blaise, I'd love to go somewhere nice with you" she said "but since we're already eating, I'm worried about what you're going to do with me."

"Why does everyone think I'm some sort of perv?"

"Well if my parents heard that I went off alone with a sexy boy like you after dinner I don't think they would be too impressed."

"You're worried about your parents finding out? My mother is a teacher here! Anyway, it's not like that; I just want to show you something really cool."

"Well...,"

"Come on. Theo has a date for tonight."

"It's not a date!"

"Please Xanthe"

"Alright. After we finish eating. And you better not try anything on me. We Purebloods are brought up to be proper little ladies and gentlemen. Right Theo?"

"Never in my house" Theo said "my father wasn't really that interested in teaching me how to be a gentleman. Or in being one himself."

"Well I had to endure years of etiquette lessons, with none other than Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass."

"I thought you hated every minute of it?" Blaise said.

"I did. I'm so glad that you introduced me to rock so I had something to really say 'screw you all' with."

Before he could reply, Xanthe leaned in and kissed him on the lips, and the two of them remained that way for awhile. Theo found himself wondering what it would be like to kiss Hermione like that.

Blaise had kissed three girls in total, but when he described the kisses to Theo he was rather vague, just saying that it was awesome. He had said that once he had gotten used to Xanthe's lip ring she was the best kisser he had been with, and that he had fun playing with her lip ring with his tongue. Theo wondered what kissing Hermione would be like if she had a lip ring and he could play with that.

_Agrh, there's something really wrong with me _he thought to himself as he watched Blaise and Xanthe come up for air, giggle, and decide to kiss again.

"Ah, Theodore" a voice behind him said "may I have a word with you?"

"Oh sure Professor Flitwick" Theo said to the short charms master "How was your weekend with Aunty Mirabel?"

"Oh yes we had a great time together." Flitwick said "but what about you? You seemed completely out of it in class yesterday."

"Sorry Professor, I had a lot on my mind."

"Oh, are you alright Theo? Getting enough sleep?"

"I'm fine. I've been sleeping pretty well lately; no nightmares in ages."

"That's good. But in that case what is bothering you?"

"Oh it's nothing."

"It's a girl" Blaise butted in.

"Hay, keep it down" Theo said, looking around to make sure no-one had heard Blaise. A few of his housemates seemed surprised to see the head of Ravenclaw at the table, but no-one seemed to be paying too much attention.

"Ah I see" Flitwick said "who's the lucky girl?"

"Well we aren't together" Theo explained "I just well, I-I k-kinda like her."

"They have a date tonight" Xanthe added.

"It's not a date!"

"Ah, I see" the professor said "well good luck Theo."

"Thanks Professor... but it still isn't a date!"

"Oh, and if you want to boost your self-confidence for this lucky lady, may I suggest you join the choir?" The teacher asked hopefully.

"Sorry Professor" Theo said "but there is no way I could do that."

Every year Flitwick tried to persuade Theo to join the choir, and ever year he was disappointed.

"Oh well" he sighed "I'll get you in one of these days. If you can sing half as well as your sister then you'll be a hit my boy. And you'll love it; it doesn't matter how shy you are."

"Sorry Professor, but I just can't sing" Theo lied, while Blaise let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like the word 'bullshit'.

"I find that rather hard to believe Theo." The professor said "anyway, I didn't say anything in class yesterday because I knew you'd get all shy, but you came top of the year in your Charms OWL. Congratulations."

"Wow, I well, Thanks."

"Alice would be very proud of you."

The two of them stayed silent after that, each trying to contain their emotions. Alice had been the first Nott in generations to be sorted into Ravenclaw, and she had been undoubtedly the brightest student in her year; as well as a member of the choir and the star Keeper of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team.

While she was alive she had been one of Flitwick's favourite students, and after her death the charms master had looked out for Theo; getting him help when he showed signs of trauma, and arranging temporary foster care for with his Aunt Mirabel when his father's alcoholism had passed 'acceptable' levels.

"Well you have a good time tonight" the professor said "any girl would be lucky to end up with a nice boy like you. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

Theo wished he had as much confidence in himself as Professor Flitwick did.

**:not too much later:**

It took Harry so long to find Madam Lestrange's room that he was almost a full ten minutes late to their first session together. The councillor had acted polite despite this, inviting him to call her 'Miss Io' and offering him a Butterbeer.

Harry was more inclined to believe Dumbledore's claim that Madam Io was of no relation to Bellatrix Lestrange now that he had met her; she looked more like Mrs. Weasley then the infamous Death Eater, with a stout figure and curly red hair. She seemed young though; younger than most of the teachers at Hogwarts at least.

The room was also not what Harry expected; it was cosy, with a warm fire burning in the heath and a nice view of the lake visible via a large window. He also noticed that there was no couch; just two armchairs.

"You aren't going to make me lay down on a couch?" Harry asked.

"If you would be more comfortable that way you can do that" Miss Io said, turning one of the armchairs into a psychiatrist couch.

"Oh no, it's alright" Harry said "I'd prefer to sit really."

Miss Io quickly turned the couch back into an armchair, and Harry sat down, taking a gulp of his butterbeer and placing it on the coffee table in front of him. That was pretty much when the friendly part of the session ended.

"So Harry" She began "tell me what's troubling you."

"Isn't that meant to be your job?" he said "Dumbledore sent me here; I don't think I need to see a shrink, but obviously you two think there's something wrong with me, so you tell me what's wrong."

"I'm not a mind-reader Harry"

"Shouldn't any kind of mind-fiddler be able to do legilimency in some form?"

"I am a Legilimens, but nowhere near as good as Professor Dumbledore or Professor Snape."

"Well then, you tell me how crazy I am."

"You aren't crazy, you just need some help."

"I've gone through some pretty bad things my whole life without help. Why do I need counselling now all of a sudden? Is it because I hurt Malfoy?"

"You should have had help earlier" Miss Io admitted "Professor Dumbledore was against it because he didn't think you should know everything. Speaking of Mr. Malfoy, why did you attack him. And it was a very violent attack."

"He was saying stuff to Blaise and Theo."

"What did he say?"

"Well… I can't really remember, but it was bad."

"If you don't even remember what he said that was so terrible, doesn't that indicate that maybe it wasn't about Blaise and Theo, but about you?"

"No, it's about Malfoy"

"Why do you and Malfoy hate each other so much?"

"Because his a bigoted git who has tried to make my life hell ever since we met."

"Why do you think he acts like that?"

"I don't know, maybe generations of inbreeding? Why does anyone become a Death Eater?"

"You really do hate Death Eaters don't you?"

"Wow, talk about stating the obvious. Does that mean you love them?"

All of a sudden, Miss Io's polite façade disappeared and she looked almost angry.

"When I was seven my father was tortured and killed for marrying and having a family with a muggleborn woman, by Death Eaters. Then I went to school just as the first war was really starting, and so many of my friends lost their families because of Death Eaters. And do you realise that a lot of the people I help have had their lives ruined by Death Eaters? No, I certainly don't love Death Eaters; I hate them as much as you. The difference is that I don't allow that hate to control my life."

"It's not controlling my life" Harry protested.

"Then why did you lash out at Draco Malfoy?"

"I told you, his a bigoted Death Eater wannabe!"

"And he has bullied you and your friends, right?"

"Yes, all the time!"

"So if he has always been acting this way, why was Monday any different?"

"Argh!"

Harry downed the rest of his batterbeer in one gulp, and resigned himself to another hour of talking in circles about Draco Malfoy.

**:Meanwhile:**

Theo tried to calm his nerves as he entered the classroom with Hermione. At the back of his mind a persistent voice tried to convince him that he would freeze up again, that Hermione would leave the classroom angry at him forever.

_Your going to make a complete arse of yourself _his doubt niggled away at him _even if you don't freeze up, you'll do something stupid. Maybe you'll use a jinx on her, and then you won't be able to lift it. Or maybe you'll get hit by something bad and she'll laugh at you. Or maybe – _

"Theo are you alright?" Hermione asked "you look like you're about to do some sort of hard test."

"Well, I, um… that's kind of what this is isn't it?" He asked "I mean after last time I really better not mess up."

"Oh, oh no don't worry about it" Hermione said "I was probably over-reacting before. I just hate it when people underestimate me. I know you're shy, it's ok."

"Who would ever underestimate you?" Theo asked in shock.

"Well, a lot of people seem to think that I can only do bookish stuff" she said "that I'm not good at like, putting things to good use. Like with duelling or flying."

"… Who's 'lots of people'?"

"Well, mostly Lavender and Parvati. I heard them talking about me on Monday night."

"Well, they don't know what they're talking about" Theo said "I think you've proven that during the duels. Though how anyone can think that after all you've been through with Harry, I have no idea."

"I know that" She said "but it seems that everyone thinks I just sit on the sidelines while Harry and Ron go out saving the world."

"I've never thought that" Theo said "actually, I tend to imagine you and Harry out saving the world while Weasley sits on the sidelines, but I'm sure that's not right either."

Hermione smiled and laughed, and Theo found himself smiling too. He noticed that his doubt was gone, and decided that they better start duelling before it came back again.

"Shall we start?" Theo asked, stepping into the arena.

"Of course" Hermione said as she joined him "ready to lose properly?"

"Talk about a confidence surge" he laughed "but I might win."

"I guess you might. Maybe."

They smiled to each other one more time, and then bowed, banging their heads together as they did.

"Oh no, I am so sorry."

"It's alright… I'm fine. You ok?"

"Yah, I'm alright."

"Ok, let's just move on."

They turned around and began counting out their ten steps, and Theo found the nerves returning. However this time it was a different type of nerves; the same type of excited nerves he had felt when he had gone to that Sci-fi convention with Camille and Blaise and met Patrick Stewart. He had butterflies in his stomach, and it was making him giddy.

He heard Hermione shout out ten, and quickly turned around shouting out "Stupefy!" and dodging the spell he knew would be coming.

Hermione had shouted expelliarmus and it had narrowly missed him, while she had to quickly sidestep his stunning spell.

"This is more like it Theo" she said "_Petrificus Totalus_!"

"_Protogo_!"

Theo blocked the body binding jinx just in time.

"Hay, no shields remember?"

"Oh, I thought that was just for the lesson. Sorry."

"Hay it's ok. Let's use shield spells now anyway. Should make the duel more interesting."

"Ok. _Expelliarmus_!"

Hermione was unable to dodge or counter the spell in time, and her wand was sent flying.

"_Impedimenta_!" Theo shouted, sending Hermione flying backwards and out of the arena.

"I…won?" Theo asked as Hermione picked herself up.

"Wow, you are pretty good." She said "best out of three?"

"Yah, sure."

Hermione was just able to win the next two duels. Theo was about to suggest they go best out of five, but Hermione suddenly realised the time and pointed out that they needed to get back to their Common Rooms before curfew. Theo looked at his own watch and was amazed at how quickly the time had gone by.

"I can see why Mrs. Zabini didn't want us to use _protogo_ during the class, it just makes the duels a lot longer" He said.

"Yah" she agreed "but I like it a lot better this way. It's more like a real duel."

"And anyone who underestimates you is a bloody fool."

"Thanks Theo. And thank you for not holding back."

"That's ok. I think I would be unconscious for a week if I did."

"I don't think I'm that good" Hermione blushed "well, thank you anyway. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Yup. Potions, Defence, and Charms together" Theo said "You aren't going to ignore me in Charms again are you?"

"Of course not" Hermione said.

"Ok, well, goodnight."

"Goodnight Theo" Hermione opened the door to leave.

"Wait!" Theo said before she left "Hermione would you umm…,"

_Surely you aren't going to ruin such a good evening by telling her that you love her? _His doubt resurfaced _now things will be awkward between the two of you for the rest of the year. Just like it was after you made a fool of yourself and asked her out to the Yule Ball._

"Yes Theo?" She asked.

"I umm… I was wondering if you would like to do this again sometime" he said "I mean, it would be nice to have someone to practice with. I mean, if you won't be too busy of course."

"Oh, that sounds good" Hermione said "It would be nice to have a study partner who actually likes to learn for a chance."

"Yah, well I love to learn" Theo said "shall we study other subjects as well?"

"Yes please" Hermione said "I've been struggling with that Healing homework that Madam Pomfrey gave us. How are you going with it?"

"Oh I need some help with it too" Theo lied. He had actually finished it during his free period this morning, but for a chance to spend more time with Hermione, he didn't mind redoing it.

"Perfect. Want to meet up after dinner tomorrow night?"

"Yah sounds good."

"Ok, bye Theo. See you tomorrow."

"Bye Hermione."

She left, and Theo found himself alone with uncontrollable butterflies. It seemed that if anything, his little crush on Hermione Granger wasn't quite so little anymore.

**:Meanwhile:**

"Blaise, where are you taking me?" Xanthe asked, as Blaise led her through some deserted passageways in the dungeons.

"To the most awesome place in the entire school" he answered.

"_The _most awesome place in the school?" Xanthe asked "even more awesome then the Room of Requirement or the Music Hall?"

"Yup. Here we are."

They arrived at the end of a hallway, to stand before a door. It was a rather plain looking door, however pasted onto it was a poster of a man with a denim jacket and long hair.

"Hi Blaise, is this your girlfriend?" The poster asked.

"Oh my god it's _him_" Xanthe gasped.

"Yup" Blaise explained "He won't act much like the real thing; I just played all his albums while I waited for the life coat of paint to dry. Not sure what type of personality he'll end up with. Just that he is awesome."

"Wow. I never knew you could bring muggle posters to life. Has anyone ever done that before?"

"I'm not sure actually."

"Oi" The poster called out "are you going to introduce me or just sit around talking about me as if I wasn't here?"

"Oh Sorry dude" Blaise apologised "Dave, this is Xanthe; my lovely, sexy girlfriend. Xanthe, the one, the only, the greatest guitarist ever – "

"Seriously dude, just call me Dave. As you said, I'm not the real thing."

"You are a god!" Xanthe said to the poster "You're music is wonderful, it's gotten me through some tough times."

"Why, thank you" Dave said "I would play something for you, but unfortunately the poster Blaise used didn't have a guitar."

"Oh, that sucks. Hay, some of the portraits in the Music Hall have guitars. Maybe you can borrow one."

"Yah, I might do that. So, do you two want to go in?"

"Hell yah!" Xanthe said "If the Greatest Rock Star in the World is guarding this place, then it must be the most awesome place in the school."

"Got the password?"

"Hanger Eighteen" Blaise said.

"You got it" Dave said, as the door swang aside

"That is so awesome" Xanthe said as they stepped inside "what is this place?"

'This place', at first glance appeared to be a cross between a teenager's bedroom and a scrap yard. The main feature was a workbench, complete with a vice on one side and some sort of magical apparatus that looked to Xanthe like a death ray from a Martin Miggs comic. On top of it was a red tool box that Xanthe recognised as belonging to Blaise's father, as well as two muggle objects that Blaise had told her were called 'gameboys'.

In the furthest corner was a crate containing an assortment of mechanical parts and muggle objects, as well as a small shelve containing Blaise's Muggle Studies and Magical Machines textbooks, as well as a number of other books.

Blaise obviously hadn't finished moving in yet, but he had already hung up a few posters, and had even found an old desk and placed one of his model cars onto it.

One of the strangest things Xanthe noticed about the dungeon room though, was that instead of being lit by candles, light came from about ten enchanted lava lamps that Blaise had made last year. At the moment they provided normal white light, but Xanthe knew that if she touched one, she could say any colour, and it would change to it.

"This is from Professor Burbage" Blaise explained "it's a workshop; situated where Hogwart's magic is weakest so that I'll have an easier time working with muggle electronics."

"Muggle electronics work here?"

"Well they don't work here, but they will be a bit easier to control" He explained "now I'll be able to make all sorts of things."

"Isn't it a bit dangerous to be locked away in a secluded part of the school while working with muggle technologies?" Xanthe asked.

"At the moment it is" Blaise admitted "but this weekend the Ministry is going to make a rescue-portkey that will take me straight to the Hospital Wing if I bleed or lose consciousness."

"That's good."

"Yah… of course it works if I just touch it too. I wonder if Madam Pomfrey will be upset if I use it as a shortcut to the Third Floor."

"Well I don't think she can blame you. When did you start moving into this place?"

"Just this afternoon. I wanted you to be the first person to see it."

"Wow thanks Blaise."

"I haven't been able to get my gramophone in yet, but next time we can listen to all my Slayer albums. I'll have to transfigure some beanbags too. Make it a bit more comfy."

"I can't wait!" Xanthe said, as she gave her boyfriend a big hug. Grinning from ear to ear, Blaise then went around the room, setting all the lava lamps to red, before returning to Xanthe and proceeding to snog her silly. Xanthe was so glad she had come with Blaise rather than sit around gossiping with Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown.

**:The Next Day:**

The next morning at breakfast Harry tried to put that infuriating session with Miss Io out of his mind. He dreaded the thought that he had to go see her every Wednesday night.

Unfortunately, when Hedwig delivered his Daily Prophet, it did provide a distraction; albeit an unwanted one. Death Eaters had made another attack on muggles; this time on a packed peak hour London train.

While most of the school seemed shaken up over the attack, Harry noticed that some people over at the Slytherin table were actually laughing.

"Bloody Slytherin pigs" Ron said "Over two-hundred dead and they find it funny."

They watched on in disgust as Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson and her gang, as well as some fifth years made a toast.

"Just ignore them" Hermione said "those bastards will get what's coming to them after we defeat Voldemort."

"THOSE SCUM!" Matt Powers yelled, standing up. The third year Slytherin was such a common site at the Gryffindor table that no-one tried to shoo him back to his own table. Though Harry had been tempted to when he and Dennis Creevley came up to him and started talking about how Professor Zabini used to be a duelling champion and was the 'best teacher ever'.

"Hay mate, you aren't going to go over there are you?" Dennis asked his best friend.

"Of course I am! It's gits like that who give Slytherins a bad name!"

"If Matt and Dennis go over there, we should help them" Ron said.

"If Matt and Dennis go over there, I think Malfoy will be in serious trouble" Harry said.

Before Matt and Dennis could leave the table though, three third-year Slytherins; two boys and a petit girl, arrived, looks of concern on their faces.

"Hay Matt, are you ok?" asked one of the boys "no-one in your family was hurt in that attack?"

"I doubt it" Matt said "my parents always drive to work. I got a letter from them this morning, so they should be alright."

"What about you Dennis?" the other boy asked "your family don't live in London though do they?"

"Nah, so they'll be fine" Dennis said.

Meanwhile, the girl spotted Ron and Hermione's prefect badges, and timidly approached them.

"Excuse me" she said "do you mind if we sit here; some of the older kids at our table look like they're about to start throwing hexes around."

"No piss off" Ron said.

"Of course you can" Hermione said at the same time. The Slytherins looked confused, but Matt and Dennis quickly urged them to sit down despite Ron's protests.

Harry looked away from the newcomers and examined the Slytherin table again. The first thing he saw was Blaise arguing with Malfoy's group, while Theo tried to hold him back from hexing the lot of them. Elsewhere on the table, there were more subtle signs of division, with people arguing amongst each other, and many people moving to one of the far ends of the table, or to other tables.

"I think it's going to be a strange day" Hermione said "This sort of thing has been brewing for years. I just hope we don't wind up with some sort of civil war in the hallways."

"I just hope that those Slytherins don't do anything too crazy" Ron said "It would suck if everyone got sidetracked and forgot about the Quidditch tryouts tonight."

Harry was glad that Ron had brought up the Quidditch tryouts, since he had completely forgotten himself. As Hermione said, today was going to be a strange day.


	7. Chapter 6: The Tryouts

**Caution: some Ron Bashing ahead**

**Chapter 6: The Tryouts**

Deepvoice surveyed the table. Lord Voldemort was at the head, with all of his most loyal followers – both marked and unmarked – closest to him. Then there were the fresh escapees from Azkaban, whose escape the Ministry had decided not to make public, and a few new recruits.

As for Deepvoice, he had not even earned a spot on the table, but was instead hovering behind some of the newcomers. He hoped that his Master's attention wasn't drawn to him; while he was good at Occumancy, he still feared that the Dark Lord would discover his planned betrayal.

"You have all done well my loyal followers" The Dark Lord addressed the table "so many muggles dead, and now the mudbloods and muggle-lovers will be panicking."

"My Lord" Avery said "may I make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

"The muggles will continue to pack themselves into trains no matter what" Avery said "I suggest we use this to cull them quickly and efficiently. We won't even need to herd them in. If we target multiple trains a day, we can reduce the number of muggles in London drastically, and once they do get the message, their ability to move around the country will be compromised."

"Yes" The Dark Lord agreed "culling them through attacks on trains and other modes of mass transport would be the most effective way to eradicate them from London. However at the moment we will be risking having too many people captured. While we have nothing to fear from Azkaban, it must be an inconvenience having to constantly escape." he looked towards the new escapees as she spoke, many of whom laughed along with him.

"What about after we have strengthened our position within the Ministry My Lord?" Avery asked.

"We will carry out extensive muggle culling after we have control of the ministry." The Dark Lord announced "Narcissa! How is the work going with Thicknesse?"

"I am working on an Imperio Pin for him night and day My Lord" Narcissa Malfoy explained "by the end of the month it will be ready."

"I say we just use the Imperious Curse and start straight away." Avery protested.

"Do you want our puppet in the Ministry resisting us?" She protested "Or do you want to risk the caster weakening? No! Our control of Thicknesse has to be complete and permanent."

"People can still resist Pins" Avery said.

"Not when _I_ make them" Narcissa said "Thicknesse will be ours within the month; and at first no-one will even notice the difference. Not even him. _You _just focus on how you'll get him to the top once I make him ours."

"Narcissa, you have been instrumental in converting people into our ranks" The Dark Lord said "I am trusting that you will do an exceptional job with Thicknesse. You and your son both have such important jobs to complete for us; I would hate to see either of you fail."

Deepvoice hated to think of what would happen to the Malfoy Family if either Narcissa or Draco failed their missions.

**:Meanwhile at Hogwarts:**

Harry surveyed the Quidditch Pitch. Quidditch had always been one of his favourite things at Hogwarts, and as he thought about the up-coming season he found himself feeling happier than he had in months.

"Looks like some people are already here" Katie Bell said, pointing to the stands.

"I hope they're not just here because I'm the Captain" Harry said "Anyway Katie, you really don't have to try out. I already know that you're a good Chaser."

"Nah, I'll try out" Katie said "and if I'm not good enough you shouldn't let the past few years influence your decision."

"I won't" Harry said "now why don't you go get ready?"

Katie thanked Harry and then went to join the growing group of Gryffindor Team hopefuls by the goals. Harry turned back to the rest of his friends. Ron, Ginny, and Dean had come out with him, and would soon be trying out.

Also accompanying him was Hermione, Theo and Blaise. Hermione's original plan had involved a study session with Theo; a decision that had gotten Ron's complete disapproval.

"Hermione this is Harry's first time hosting tryouts." he had said "his Quidditch Captain! You have to come and watch!"

"I'm sorry guys, alright?" she said "I completely forgot about it ok. I'll go tell Theo and arrange to see him another night."

Theo seemed a bit disappointed by her change of plans, but understood how important it was for her and her friends. Blaise then suggested that they could do homework at the pitch if it was that important to them, and then invited himself and Theo along to the tryouts.

Harry had to admit that it felt strange having two Slytherins in his entourage, but he really didn't mind. Blaise had always been someone who could make him laugh, and this past week he had noticed himself talking to the Slytherin almost as much as he had been talking to Ron.

"Well mate, we'd better let you set up" Ron said.

"Ok" Harry said "good luck you guys."

Ron, Ginny, and Dean followed Katie to the goal posts, and Harry was left alone with the non-flyers. He suddenly remembered the key that Madam Hooch had given him earlier that day, and handed it to Hermione.

"Oh Madam Hooch gave me this" he said "it unlocks the top box. Why don't you three sit up there for a better view?"

"Up… there?" Blaise asked, his voice raising an octave.

"You alright?" Hermione asked.

"Yah I'm 'right. Why don't you and Theo go up? I'll be alright in the grandstand. A bit closer to the ground."

"Blaise has a debilitating fear of heights" Theo explained.

"It's not a debilitating fear!" Blaise protested "I'm just not really that fond of being up high."

"Oh, that's why you never came to any of the flying lessons back in first year" Hermione said "Well we'll stay with you. Don't worry about it. Thanks for the offer Harry."

"Oh Merlin, what type of poor excuse for a wizard gets scared of heights?" a familiar drawl said "though I guess if I had such weak magic blood I'd be afraid of falling too."

"Shut up Malfoy" Blaise said. Malfoy was once again flanked by Pansy Parkinson and the Slytherin girls, but Crabbe and Goyle were nowhere in sight.

"I used to jump out of my bedroom window when I was little" Parkinson teased "there was always a house elf around to stop my fall. I guess kids raised in muggle environments must feel scared all the time; with no magic around to save them."

"Does that mean that Pureblooded children always have someone holding their hand?" Blaise asked "Damn it must be a shock to come into the real world after being babied for so long. No offence Theo."

"None taken" Theo said "no-one in my family ever encouraged stupidity."

"No, you had muggle so-called culture to do that Pimpleface" Davis sneered.

"Leave him alone" Hermione said "true stupidity is calling one of the highest achieving students in the year stupid."

"So the two of you are study-buddies now?" Bulstrode said "How cute. Well be careful Granger; if you sit too close to Nott you'll get lice."

"Why are you all here" Harry said "I'm trying to hold Quidditch tryouts."

"And sorry Malfoy, but you can't buy your way into the Gryffindor team as well." Blaise added.

"Oh shut up Zabini" Malfoy said "I don't need my flying abilities criticised by someone who has a panic attack while hovering off the ground. And Potter, I _am _allowed to check out the competition."

He sounded more board then usual, and Harry got the impression that he sincerely didn't want to be here. Harry was glad that Malfoy didn't see too interested in causing trouble today; while the 'strange day' that Hermione had predicted at breakfast never happened, the tension amongst members of Slytherin house was thick. Even now, Harry felt as if he was standing in the middle of a battlefield, waiting for a war to start.

"Come on" Parkinson said, grabbing Malfoy's hand and pulling him closer to herself "We don't need to listen to these muggle-lovers."

"True, though I think some people need to see how real Slytherins act" Malfoy said as he drew his wand "we don't want Potter and Granger here to think that Nott and Zabini really belong in our house now do we?"

"Draco, there's a horde of angry Gryffindors running towards us!" Lilith Moon shrieked "They're going to kill us!"

"RUN!" Draco shouted, as he took off, almost dragging Parkinson behind him. Moon and Davis took off after them, not bothering to look back at the mob. Bulstrode looked at the approaching Gryffindors with hate. She was a fighter, but she knew when she was outmatched. Instead she turned around to face Harry and his friends, and looked the four of them over as if making a tough decision. Before Harry could ask her what she was looking at, she seemed to make up her mind, and shot a mouthful of spit at Theo, before running after her friends.

"Whoa are you guys ok?" Ron asked as he reached them "what were those gits doing here?"

"Apparently checking out the competition" Harry said "we're alright though, except well…,"

"Except Theo may need to be quarantined" Blaise said "who knows what was in the spit."

"I should be fine" Theo said, looking around at the large crowd of Gryffindors gathered around him.

"I can't believe that cow" Hermione said "why would she do that to you? Disgusting!"

"She's always hated me" Theo explained, keeping his eyes to the ground, "because I'm Pureblood and friends with Blaise… and she also really thinks my mother was one of the greatest witches in modern times, so well, you know."

"Hey, you guys have Quidditch tryouts!" Blaise announced "Hop to it! Come on Theo, Hermione, let's find a place to sit."

"Good luck everyone" Hermione waved to the crowd as she walked off with the Slytherin boys. Harry waved to her, then turned to the mob. He noticed Ron at the front, looking after Hermione with a sour expression on his face.

"Ok!" Harry called out to the crowd "now that we're all ready, let's start the tryouts!"

There was a cheer from the crowd and Harry felt himself smile. First of all he got all the students to form groups and fly around the pitch once. It was a basic thing, but it proved to be very helpful in weeding out those with little flying experience.

The first group were all nervous first years, and only one small boy even made it around the pitch. The second group consisted of giggling girls who kept giving Harry strange lovey-dovy looks. Most of them were hopeless too. The third group were Hufflepuffs.

"Ok" Harry called out over the crowd "anyone not in Gryffindor please go to the grandstand to watch."

The next few groups were a bit more promising, and once Harry had a good number of skilled flyers, he called up the Chasers and got them to fly around the pitch again; this time passing Quaffles and dodging enchanted Bludges that Harry sent after them. From this he choose Katie Bell and Ginny straight up as his first two Chasers, but had a tough time deciding between Dean and a third year named Demelza Robins who was exceptionally good at dodging Bludges. In the end he went with Demelza, much to her delight.

Next off he tested the Beaters, and chose second-years Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Coote. While they were not as great as Fred and George had been, Harry could defiantly see a lot of potential in them.

Finally it was time to try out the Keepers. Harry had deliberately left this position until last in the hope that everyone would have gone by now, but if anything it looked as if the crowd had grown bigger. Harry hoped that Ron would be alright; Harry knew that there was a good chance of the crowd psyching him out now that he was on his broom

He whittled down the Keepers to just two; Ron, who was performing at his best, and a seventh-year named Cormac MacLaggan who also showed plenty of skill.

"Hey, was MacLaggan in the tryouts last year?" Harry asked Katie.

"No he wasn't" Katie said "he was in the Hospital Wing at the time."

"Oh I see."

He got Ron and MacLaggan to do one final round together; each would have five Quaffles thrown at them, and whoever caught the most would be on the team. Ron went first and caught all five; however the last catch was a bit dodgy.

Harry looked over the grandstand as he announced that MacLaggan needed to save all five goals, and caught sight of Hermione. She was still with Blaise and Theo, and the three of them were seated a bit away from the rest of the crowd. Harry was glad to notice that Hermione and Theo were actually watching the tryouts instead of doing homework.

Now MacLaggan flew up to the posts, and the newly appointed Chasers sent five Quaffles his way. MacLaggan did well on the first four, but on the fifth shot he seemed to get confused and skirted off in the opposite direction.

Ron seemed happy to have regained his place on the team; as did Ginny and Katie, who flew up to Ron and both tried to hug him at once. Harry heard a scream coming from the crowd and looked down to see Lavender Brown jumping up and down and waving madly at Ron.

Harry looked back to Hermione. It was getting dark so he couldn't see her face, but she seemed to be explaining something important to the boys. Harry could just make out Zabini pointing at MacLaggan.

"Hay mate, great tryouts!" Ron said as he flew towards Harry "Let's celebrate the new team!"

"Ron we've just picked a team, let's keep the celebrating until after we win." Harry said "and congratulations on making it."

"Ah it was no problem. Especially after MacLaggan let in that last shot. It looked like he was confounded or something."

They landed on the ground and mingled for a while with the crowd. They met up with Hermione and the boys. Hermione seemed a bit sheepish, while Theo began stuttering worse then Professor Quirrell while he congratulated Ron. As Ron started talking about how close he had been to missing, Theo began to get very jittery. More jittery than Harry had ever seen him before. Harry would have just chalked it up to another oddity about him, if Hermione hadn't also been acting a bit evasive.

"It's great Ron" she told him "you're a great Keeper, and you'll do even better this season then you did in the last one." Her voice sounded happy enough, but Harry noticed that she didn't look either of them in the eye, and kept fidgeting with her wand.

Blaise acted the most normal of the three, but he did seem to have a bit on his mind. Just as the sun was finally going down Blaise pulled him away from the crowd.

"Hey Harry, you're a great Captain" Blaise started "and it looks like you chose yourself a great team, and I really hate to rain on your parade…,"

"What is it Blaise?"

"Well, MacLaggan didn't really miss that last shot; Hermione confounded him."

"What?"

"Yah, she figured that no-one need know, but well, the way she and Theo acted, I figured you'd probably guess something was up."

"Yah, I noticed they were both acting strange. Damn, Hermione cheated?"

"Look, I know that that kind of thing isn't looked on very well in Gryffindor, or Quidditch in general" Blaise said "but there's still about a fifty-fifty chance that Weasley would have made it anyway, and besides, skill isn't everything. MacLaggan is the reason I dropped out of music; he is an amazing pianist, but he used to come into the Music Hall whenever he had a free and tell everyone how they should be playing."

"I'm still going to have to do something about this" Harry said "I mean, it isn't fair to MacLaggan, or the team."

"Having MacLaggan on the team just because his a slightly better Keeper won't do your team any good if none of you can work with him" Blaise said "I don't want to tell you what to do with your team, but trust me, MacLaggan is a one-man show. His tried to join just about every band that's ever formed in Hogwarts, but he always gets kicked out because he can't work with other people. If you want to do the honourable thing and redo the tryout, then I guess that's just you, but I think you made the right choice."

"Oi Harry, where are you?" Ron's voice called out "Oh, you're with Zabini."

"Hi Weasley" Blaise said "great flying today."

"Yah thanks" Ron said, his dislike for Blaise overshadowed by his pride "you know Zabini, you really aren't as bad as some of the other Slytherins around."

"Well if you are comparing me to Malfoy then I'd have hoped you had noticed that before."

"Well, your not like Malfoy… but well, hay, want to go flying together some time? As long as you don't go tell the Slytherin Quidditch Team about it though."

"Urgh... No thanks."

"Oh fine" Ron said "I make a peace offering and you don't want anything to do with it."

"Why do you need to make a peace offering?" Blaise asked "I have nothing against you, except when you're pinning over my mother."

"You're a bloody poser" Ron replied "I guess going flying with the likes of Ron Weasley wouldn't do much for your fan club!"

"I don't have a fan club. A fan club would be cool… though weird. And you need to stop making out like everyone is against you. I don't want to go flying with you because I can't fly! If you got your act together then maybe I wouldn't mind going swimming or playing chess with you."

"Bullshit, anyone can fly. And what do you mean 'get my act together'? Shall I start acting like some stuck-up woman-chasing prince?"

"I am not a 'stuck-up woman-chasing prince'! You need to stop acting like some whinny little kid who thinks the world revolves around them!"

"I am not a –"

"Ok guys this is getting stupid!" Harry said "What the hell happened between you two anyway?"

"I wish I knew" Blaise said.

"Oh stop playing dumb!" Ron said.

"I seriously don't know what's gotten you so bitchy."

"I am not bitchy!"

"Yes you are. You're like, the male counterpart of Pansy Parkinson when it comes to bitchyness!"

"That's it! Let's go Harry!"

"Ok, umm… see you Blaise, thanks for the advice."

"I'll see you in class tomorrow" He said "bye Weasley!"

Ron didn't answer, and Harry followed him through the corridors in silence for a while. It wasn't until they were half-way to the Common Room that Harry decided to ask Ron what his problem with Blaise was.

"Well Harry don't you think that his well…, that his kinda…,"

"Kinda what?" Harry asked.

"Kinda stealing Hermione from us?" Ron concluded.

"Stealing Hermione?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Well, she does spend a lot of time with him and Nott."

"Yah, but that's really her choice."

"I know, but what if it's not?"

"What about him? I thought we were talking about Zabini?"

"Not that Nott, I mean not as in not, not Nott… gah, you know what I mean." Ron sighed "though I think it's a bit suspicious that Hermione is fond of him. But what I mean is well, what if being attracted to Zabini isn't Hermione's conscious choice. What if he has like, Veela charm or something else. You heard Ginny say that he was 'perfect looking'"

"Well, so you really do think that Hermione is attracted to Blaise?"

"It fits in. His so good at Transfiguration that he has to be getting help from Hermione, and you know she doesn't usually tutor people. Oh and what about Nott? He seems so awkward around the two of them; he must know and not know how to deal with it."

"I guess it does fit" Harry said "except Blaise is with Xanthe Rivers."

"I know, that's why it's so bad. Oh, and when was the last time you saw them walking around the hall holding hands and stuff?"

"They only got together just before the holidays" Harry defended "and we've been back less then a week."

"I think his going to end up breaking Hermione's heart."

"I'm sure that's not the case. Hermione is way too smart to let that happen to her, and so is Xanthe. It doesn't seem like Blaise anyway."

"How do you know what 'seems like Blaise'?"

"Oh I don't know. But then again neither do you."

"I think I have a pretty good idea."

"No you don't. Hay, why don't you take him up on his offer and play chess with him?"

"I don't really feel like playing games with that git."

"Afraid he might win?"

"Ok, fine. I'll ask him for a match. I doubt he would accept anyway."


	8. Chapter 7: Tornado of Souls

**Chapter 7: Tornado of Souls**

Harry watched as Ogden ran from Morfin and Marvolo Gaunt and almost crashed into the two horse riders. There was laughter, shouting, and crying. The scene descended into total chaos, and Harry felt Dumbledore grab his shoulder and pull him out of the scene.

"That was… strange" Harry said as he sat back down in front of Dumbledore's empty desk. The desk was almost as bare as it had been last week. The only addition was that now there was a small metal nail next to the ashtray.

"Yes very strange" Dumbledore agreed "though also very important. Merope Gaunt is Tom Riddle's mother."

"That thing has a mother?" Harry asked in disgust, while reaching for the nail so that he would have something to fiddle with.

"Of course he does – don't touch that!"

"Sorry" Harry gently placed the nail back in place and put his hands on his lap.

"That's fine" he continued "and yes, you did just see Lord Voldemort's mother. And his father too. On the horse."

"How did those two end up together?" Harry asked "And what is with the nail and ashtray anyway? I mean, I've never seen you smoke. What happened to the rest of the stuff?"

"The ashtray is unimportant" Dumbledore said as he levitated it to a nearby shelf "and most of my stuff was destroyed when I had to flee the office. As for the nail it is an Imperio Pin; a relatively new form of dark magic that uses the Imperious Curse to permanently brainwash someone. Terrible device. Barty Crouch was trying to get this one ready to use on his own son."

"Brainwash? But Snape said – "

"It's not important right now. I believe that Lord Voldemort may be thinking of using them. I'll tell you if I find out more. For now let's concentrate on Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle Senior."

"I don't see why he would go for her over his other lady" Harry said "unless he felt really sorry for her I guess."

"I can make a good guess of what happened" Dumbledore said "You see, Morfin and Marvolo were both arrested after the assault on Ogden. While they were away, Merope's magical abilities blossomed. She then went ahead and made Riddle Senior fall for her with magic. I suspect a powerful love potion would have done it. She probably slipped it into a glass of water and gave it to him while he rode past. However it happened, they eloped soon afterwards."

"Voldermort's mother died giving birth to him" Harry said "and in the graveyard he said he'd killed his father."

"Yes that's right. Three months after their shock marriage, Riddle left poor Merope. I guess she'd stopped giving him the potion, thinking that he'd love her on his own, or stay because of the child. Either way he didn't; she died giving birth to Tom Riddle Junior nine months later in a muggle orphanage. All alone."

"Couldn't she have stopped herself from dying?" Harry said "I mean she was a witch."

"Tom Riddle asked me the same question many years ago. I guess there is no easy answer really. More powerful witches have died giving birth. And I'm pretty sure that after being rejected like that, poor Merope's magic would have been stunted again."

"I suppose so" Harry said, remembering that Theo's mother had died giving birth as well "You know, it seems so strange. All the really bigoted pureblood families I've come across seem to be quiet wealthy. How could the Gaunt's fall so far? Especially since they're direct descendants of Slytherin himself."

"The Gaunt's fall was slow" Dumbledore explained "generations of inbreeding to keep the line pure, as well as bad investments along the way. It's happened many times to many families. The last heir of the once powerful Orre family lived in squalor with a jaw too lopsided to chew food properly. The Nott's lost their entire fortune in less than five years, the Delacroix's were so desperate to keep the line pure that for three generations brother married sister. Bad things happen more than the Pureblood community would care to admit.

"I see. Hagrid said once that everyone has some muggle blood in them."

"I'd say that's true. It probably holds true the other way too. Though it's pretty hard to do any research on the matter."

"I'd imagine it would be."

They sat in silence for a while. There was nothing nearby for Harry to fiddle with, so he just twiddled his thumbs. Dumbledore had said that knowing about Voldemort's life and raise to power would be necessary to defeat him, but so far Harry couldn't see anything really useful about the session. Though he had to admit that it was quiet interesting.

"How has your first week back been Harry?" Dumbledore asked, disturbing the silence with his casual question.

"Very busy" Harry said "lots of homework. And studying. I have no idea how I'll keep above Exceeding Expectations in Potions for the next two years."

"How is Professor Zabini's Study Group?" The Headmaster asked "That helping any?"

"Yah I think so. Professor Zabini is a great teacher."

"I know. After she retired from the glamorous life of professional duelling and being an Auror, she became one of the best tutors in the country. I've been trying to get her to come teach for years, but her husband wouldn't have it. You'd only suggest his wife taking a supposedly cured job if your had a death wish."

"So why did he let her now?"

"Because her son and Mr. Nott kept telling her how bad it was all last year with Umbridge. When she found that I couldn't get a teacher this year, she decided to take the job. The one condition being that I met her Husband. Mr. Zabini managed to come up with quite a long list of bad things he would do to me if I let his wife come to any harm."

"That must have been strange" Harry tried to imagine what a middle-aged muggle could possibly do to harm one of the greatest Wizards of modern times.

"Quite scary actually" Dumbledore said "Luigi Zabini can be a pretty intimidating man if he thinks his family is at risk."

"That seems to be a Zabini quality."

"Indeed it does. So, have you learnt about the Deschamps siblings yet?"

"Blaise and Camille Deschamps; muggle-born siblings who turned deadly wizarding duals into a type of sport, and defeated a Dark Wizard from their era; we learnt about them on Thursday."

"Not straight away? They were Professor Zabini's childhood idols."

"I could guess; after all she named her kids after them."

"Yes. I haven't had a mother in my staff for decades. This should be an interesting year."

They fell into silence again. This time it was a more comfortable silence. However after a while Harry became convinced that the next words out of Dumbledore's mouth would be asking about the session with Miss Io. He dreaded the thought of having to have a conversation anything like that again.

Fortunately, Dumbledore said nothing about Miss Io, and instead wished him a good night. Harry left the office gratefully; it had actually been an interesting and mostly pleasant session.

**:sometime that weekend:**

"Checkmate!" Blaise Zabini said as his Queen moved into alignment with Ron's king. Ron looked over the board, desperate for an escape, but Zabini had boxed his king in with his rooks.

"Well, I guess you have actually beaten me Zabini" Ron said "I suppose you are more than just a pretty face. Best out of three?"

"Sure" Zabini said, grabbing his white pieces and putting them back in their starting positions. The pieces protested being manhandled, but after a few turns of speaking commands to them, Zabini always fell back into the habit of moving them by hand. It was an infuriating habit, but maybe it was common amongst muggle chess players.

"Hullo there, how are the games going?" Hermione said. She and Nott had been in another part of the library working on their Healing assignment. Now it seemed that the two of them and decided to investigate Ron and Zabini's chess game.

"I won the first game" Zabini said "but I must admit that Weasley here has a bit more logic than I've given him credit for. He also said I have a pretty face."

"Oi I didn't say it like that!"

"Oh don't be ashamed Ron" Hermione teased "didn't you say the other night that Zabini was the sexiest person in the world?"

"I was talking about the Professor!" Ron said, wondering how Hermione could have misunderstood him. Hermione may not be the stunning beauty that Professor Zabini was, but she was still one of the last girls in the world that Ron wanted thinking he was gay.

"Damnit can't you just treat my mother like the middle-aged mother-of-two teacher that she is?" Zabini said.

"Oh just get on with the next game" Hermione said, with Nott nodding his agreement.

The two of them sat down and watched the game, which Ron managed to win rather quickly. Just as they were about to play the tie-breaking third game, Hermione and Nott left. Hermione explained that the tension was getting a bit intense and that they needed to practice their duelling. Ron and Zabini waved to them as they left and then got straight into the next game.

It didn't bother Ron at all that Hermione was alone with Nott; to Ron, it just meant that she wasn't alone with Zabini. Ever since he had found out that she was friends with those damn Slytherins, Ron had always been weary of Blaise Zabini; the guy was a genius manipulator and for some reason all the girls went crazy for him.

He had to admit that he was glad Nott was around. Nott was the ultimate third wheel; always around so that Zabini and Hermione wouldn't get too close, and too much of a wack-job to be a threat himself.

_Wait a minute_ Ron thought _did I just think of Nott and Zabini as threats? Threats to what?_

"So Weasley, are we going to play or are you going to just stare at my pretty face all night?"

"You are so going down Zabini!"

**:Later:**

After a first week full of surprises, life seemed to fall into a routine quickly enough for Hermione. She soon got used to Blaise's mother being a teacher, and Ron's irrational longing for her. She was also glad that Harry and Ron had been able to make it into Potions with her; even though they had to share a textbook and kept complaining about it.

And she even managed to accept that The Powers That Be had deemed it wise to give Blaise a private room in a secluded part of the school filled with dangerous objects and guarded by a poster of a delusional rock star. He had taken her and Theo to The Workshop as soon as he was done renovating. The room appeared to be a cross between a workshop and a clubhouse; complete with beanbags and even a hammock. On Blaise's desk were two model cars; a Ford Model-T and a Ford A-Model. The A-Model was actually his portkey to the Hospital Wing.

Blaise's cat Leia gave birth to her kittens during their first weekend. He smuggled one of the newborns into the library to show her on Tuesday, and she had to admit, the little fluffball did look a lot like Crookshanks.

Classes were also different; much more challenging than ever before. Professor Zabini's theory lessons on non-verbal spells were just as interesting as her practical ones, and to keep them on their toes, after each lessons she pulled two random names out of the hat, and a dual was started. So far neither Hermione nor Theo had been called up to dual, but she knew that when it did happen, Professor Zabini would be impressed. The practice sessions they had been having were really paying off.

Theo was the biggest surprise so far though. For over a year things had been awkward between them, but now he had managed to overcome the barrier, and Hermione couldn't have been happier. She had been so shocked to find herself talking with him on Monday, but she soon became accustomed to his presence. They shared a lot of classes, and talked about a variety of things that she would never have spoken about with Harry, Ron, or Blaise.

As she worked with Blaise and Theo on their numerology chart during the Friday Arithmacy lesson that marked the last hour before their weekend, she thought about how good it was to no longer feel awkward around Theo. Now their relationship was even better than it was back when they first met during their third year.

She had noticed him earlier than that of course; he sat with "that show-off Blaise Zabini" in the seats near hers in Arithmacy. She had never really given him that much thought though. Until one day, she got into some sort of silly fight with Ron and Harry. Well, it wasn't actually that very same day since they had both stopped talking to her during the Christmas holidays, but that fight was the reason why she met Theo at all.

The first day back, everyone seemed to notice that there was something wrong with the Golden Trio. Harry and Ron weren't talking to her, and she was mostly alone doing research for Buckbeak's appeal. By the afternoon, she was sick of people asking what had happened, and was emotionally on edge. She happened to overhear Ron say something really bad about her, and that set her off. She ran until she found a secluded corridor on the fourth floor and burst into tears.

She had been so upset that she hadn't even noticed Theo and Blaise approach her. The first she noticed was when Theo walked up to her with his wand out. For a brief second she cursed her luck; to be found in that sort of condition by two Slytherins. However Theo simply made a green and silver handkerchief come out of his wand.

"Here" he had said, handing it to her "this corridor is a shortcut between the Slytherin Common Room and Arithmacy, so we better get you fixed up before Malfoy and Greengrass get here."

Hermione had been so shocked that someone from Slytherin was being nice to her, while Blaise had been shocked that Theo had gone up to someone he barely knew and spoken to her. And it was more than the usual two or three words that strangers usually got from his quiet friend.

"Thank you" Hermione said as she took the handkerchief and tried to dry her eyes.

"It's alright. What's wrong anyway? Can we help?"

"Not unless you can get me a rat or a Firebolt."

"I can do the rat" Blaise said "but I think for now I'll go and annoy Malfoy for you."

"Thank you Zabini" She replied as he left, glad that she wouldn't have to let Malfoy see her cry.

"Did you have a fight with your friends?" Theo had said.

"Yah, they haven't been speaking to me since Christmas. And now everyone keeps asking me what happened. I hate it!"

"I won't ask anymore then if that helps."

"Thanks… but Ron is going around telling people really bad things about me!"

"What a wanker" That had actually been the first time Hermione had heard that particular word, and looking back she was glad she hadn't asked Theo for its meaning at that point.

After that, Hermione found herself sitting with Theo and Blaise in Arithmacy and Muggle Studies all the time, and they became her friends while Ron and Harry were giving her the cold shoulder. They both seemed to love muggle culture, and Theo had almost reignited her old love of Star Trek.

Despite being quiet, Theo made a good study partner, and she became one of the few people who he actually spoke to on a regular basis. Even after she had made up with Harry and Ron, she still remained friendly with the two Slytherins.

"I thought you only had three sisters" Hermione said, snapping out of her memories as she noticed Theo put down four in the Number of Siblings space on the sheet.

"Nah, I have – or had – four older sisters" he explained "Alice; whose dead now – " Hermione noticed the sorrow that crept into his voice as he mentioned Alice, however he kept it under control " – as well as Estelle and Joanne, and then there's Gabriella."

Now Hermione remembered Gabriella; Theo rarely spoke of his eldest sister, and the few times that he had Hermione had gotten the impression that he really didn't want to talk about her.

"Oh" he said, looking over to her side of the sheet and changing the subject "your birthday _is_ this Wednesday. I knew it was sometime next week."

"Oh shit" Blaise said "I mean umm… yah, of course it's on Wednesday. Let's have a party in The Shop!"

"Blaise!" Hermione protested "you're meant to be using that room to work in!"

"I do heaps of work in there." He replied "I'm allowed to have a bit off fun."

Hermione was about to give Blaise a lecture on abusing the privileges Prof. Burbage had given him, but she stopped in horror when she saw the date that Theo had placed in the Date of Birth space.

They had all brought up the topic of birthdays before, but Hermione was sure that Theo mustn't have told her his birthday, for Hermione was sure she'd have remembered that he was born on the twenty-fifth of December.

"Oh, you were born on Christmas" Hermione said.

"Yup" Theo said in mock excitement "As I kid I always got my Christmases and birthdays ruined in one shot."

"Ruined?"

"Well it's also the day my mother died, so Dad was always really depressed and drunk. Of course, I've had two awesome birthdays with the Zabini's, and that makes up for it."

"Oh… I see."

Hermione knew that Theo's fourteenth birthday was not one of those two awesome ones. That night was the night of the Yule Ball. That was the night when her shallowness ruined things between the two of them.

The day after the Yule Ball was announced, Theo had managed to separate himself from Blaise, and then he asked Hermione to the Ball. He was just trying to be a good friend of course, and at that stage she didn't know that Viktor had his eye on her. She had thought that everyone would forget about her until the last minute when either Harry or Ron needed a partner. Yet despite that, she had still said "No" to him before even thinking about it.

It wasn't a "No thanks Theo" or "Thanks, but I have other plans" it was just a flat out "No". When she thought about it later, Hermione realised that she wouldn't have really minded going to the Ball with Theo, however when he asked all she could think about was his acne, and his missing teeth, and his shaggy fringe. Hermione turned down the nicest boy in Hogwarts because he wasn't good-looking enough. It was without a doubt the most shameful thing she had ever done.

Theo seemed to take the rejection well enough, and Hermione quickly tried to make excuses for it, but obviously Theo could tell why she had really shot him down, and after that he started to avoid her, or avoid making eye contact with her. Even Blaise acted a bit colder towards her for a while.

On the night of the Yule Ball Hermione went looking for Theo, hoping to have a dance with him and hopefully repair the damage she'd done. She eventually found Sally-Anne Peaks, who at the time was Blaise's girlfriend. She had been in a foul mood because Blaise had stood her up, saying that Theo was sick and that he was going to stay in their dormitory to keep him company.

Hermione figured that she had been in some way responsible for Theo deciding not to go to the Yule Ball (and by extension, for Blaise and Sally-Anne's break-up) and it had always haunted her. Knowing that it had actually been Theo's birthday just made her feel worse.

"Hey Hermione are you alright?" Theo asked "you look sort of out of it."

"Oh, I'm alright" She said "Just trying to remember how tall I am."

"Yah, I haven't measured myself yet either. Want to measure each other?"

"Yah sure"

They went over to the wall, where Lisa Turpin and Mandy Brocklehurst were also measuring and weighing each other and for some reason that Hermione couldn't understand, they were giggling as they worked.

Theo must have been lost in thought, for as he was measuring her he accidentally flicked his wand too far and sent the tape measure flying across the room and into Daphne Greengrass's hair. The Slytherin girl screeched loudly and thrashed about until Malfoy was able to get the tape measure off her.

Hermione and Theo locked eyes and started giggling. He smiled. He _really _smiled. Hermione had noticed that Theo had too smiles; a small restrained one that he must have developed to hide his teeth, and a real one that was only seen when he was too happy to restrain it.

This smile did nothing to hide the three teeth that he had lost from his upper left side, or the prominent gap between his front teeth – diastema – her parents would call it. However there was something about this smile that Hermione found very attractive; it made Theo's face look well, extremely cute. It was very easy to ignore his physical shortcomings when he smiled.

"What the hell was that for Nott?" Daphne Greengrass yelled from across the room.

"Sorry" Theo called back, his wonderful smile disappearing "it was an accident."

Wonderful smile or not, Hermione was so glad to have Theodore Nott as a real friend again.

**:Later:**

Draco Malfoy stopped by the dormitory after dinner, and faced a tough choice. Urquhart had called Qudditch Practice tonight, but tonight would also be a good chance to work on his own special mission.

However he knew that he had until June to complete his mission; he only had until November to beat Potter in Quidditch. He could always quit the team after he had beaten Potter; that would give him plenty of time to earn his glory from The Dark Lord, and he'd still get a bit of revenge on that self-righteous prick.

He took his Quidditch robes out of his trunk and was about to get changed, when something on the other side of the room caught his eye. Zabini had bewitched a feather-duster to dust his cars while he was out. Stupid muggle model cars, they didn't even move. Draco felt a familiar anger wash over him, the same anger he had always felt when he thought about Blaise Zabini.

_I have to share a room with a filthy Half-Blood! _Draco thought to himself, his teeth grinding against each other as he thought of Zabini spreading his muggleness all around Slytherin – which should mean Pureblooded only – House. With his useless muggle cars scatted around every available surface, his ear-shattering muggle music playing loudly at irregular times, and the ugly faces of those muggle so-called musicians staring down at him from still posters, and don't forget that stupid cat sleeping in the basket by his bed; a cat that was patted by muggles, fed by muggles, and probably even impregnated by some inferior muggle cat.

Why did Zabini act so proud of being part muggle? If he acted ashamed of having a muggle father like Lilith did, than that would be a bit more understandable. Or if he was more like Tracy, whose Mudblood father was at least able to overcome enough of his muggleness to be useful to the Dark Lord and marry a Squib from the Pureblooded Rosier family without causing _too much_ anger.

Draco smiled at the thought of the Rosier family. It was the one redeeming quality about Zabini really, that despite his muggle father, he still had some good blood in him. His uncle Evan Rosier had been a loyal follower of the Dark Lord; and his grandfather still was. His blood-traitor mother had once been Mary Rosier, and then Mary Carrow when she had married Agenor Carrow. Though she ended up killing him and becoming a muggle-loving whore; too bad really.

Draco threw his Quidditch robes away in frustration, however they simply bounced off Nott's stupid force-field. Draco picked them up and shoved them back in the trunk, his anger now directed at that other inferior in his dormitory. Peter Nott may be an old drunken idiot, but the Nott's were still one of the purest families around. His Father had even looked into arranging a marriage for him with the youngest Nott daughter.

_Such a waste of good blood_ Draco thought as he looked in disgust at Zabini and Nott's beds; _the brilliant Rosier daughter only has children with a muggle, and the Nott heir is a lunatic. Such a waste. And I have to share a room with both of them._

Draco quickly left the dormitory, all thoughts of Quidditch forgotten. The world needed changing. And only by completing his mission could he bring about any worthwhile change.


	9. Chapter 8: Birthday Suprises

**Chapter 8: Birthday Surprises**

"Voldemort gave a mission this important to an underage student?" Dumbledore asked Deepvoice.

"It's as a form of punishment" Deepvoice said, and for a second Dumbledore thought he could detect some emotion behind the masked man's façade.

"What could Draco Malfoy have possibly done to make Voldemort want to punish him?" Dumbledore asked.

"It's not what young Draco has done" the female sounding Death Eater seated next to Deepvoice said "Lucius Malfoy has failed the Dark Lord, so now his son has to complete a suicide mission. That's the Dark Lord's form of justice."

"But Viper, surely Voldemort does not hold Malfoy entirely responsible for the loss at the Department of Mysteries?"

"If he punishes everyone involved in a failed operation, he won't have many followers left" Viper explained "and there was another mistake that Malfoy made."

"It was only a minor mistake on Malfoy's part" Deepvoice said.

"The Dark Lord found the Chamber of Secrets fiasco unforgivable."

"What Voldemort finds unforgivable is of little importance now" Dumbledore said to the two Death Eaters "you've both chosen to betray him, without even knowing who your fellow conspirators are."

"If I was caught, I could not risk Deepvoice being discovered" Viper said "that far outweighs any benefit we could gain from being able to contact each other privately."

"I worry about the two of you not being able to regroup if something were to happen to me though" Dumbledore said "especially if Draco's mission succeeds; which by the sound of this plan is quiet likely."

"I have to wonder how Deepvoice uncovered Draco's plan, when even the Headmaster was unaware of anything suspicious going on."

"I simply found out that Draco had made some sort of arrangement at Borgin and Burkes." Deepvoice explained "I then interrogated Borgin until he told me that Draco wanted his Vanishing Cabinet kept in the store. I then asked around, and found out from the Montague's that a similar cabinet exists in Hogwarts and was broken last year. The rest is easy enough to work out."

"I hope you didn't draw suspicion to yourself with those questions" Viper asked.

"No-one suspects a thing. Now Dumbledore can put a stop to this plan before things get to out of hand."

"I won't" Dumbledore said.

"You'll let – you'll let that boy bring Death Eaters into the school, and kill you?"

"If that is how it must happen, then I'll gladly give up my life" Dumbledore said "but I have been wondering how I would be able to get Harry to _accidentally _touch your portkey and be transferred to Voldemorts side without causing any suspicion. Now Deepvoice, if Draco can get Death Eaters to invade Hogwarts, then you can kidnap Harry and take him to Voldemort without raising any concern. Then Viper can destroy Nagini and you can complete your mission."

"No!" Deepvoice said "I won't do that!"

"Do you really think that the Dark Lord won't suspect a trap if Harry Potter was accidentally teleported to him?" Viper snapped "I was worried that this plan would fail, but as long as Draco succeeds, we can do this."

"No! This is madness! His only sixteen!"

"I know you disapprove Deepvoice" Dumbledore said "but I also know you'll do it."

"You know me too well" Deepvoice said "I will do it, but I have to wonder how you can call yourself the Light when some of your own plans are as cruel as the Dark Lord's."

Without even waiting to be dismissed, Deepvoice grabbed his ashtray, and was gone. With a heavy sigh, Dumbledore turned to Viper, who was now removing 'her' Death Eater robe to reveal a pale face with greasy black hair that, despite the voice used in the meeting, was defiantly male.

"What do you think of our informant Severus?" Dumbledore asked as Snape took a swig of a potion to restore his normal voice.

"His very good at Occulmancy, so it's hard to read him" Snape explained "but I still feel that he is a bit too involved in this. I wonder if he'll actually have the nerve to carry out his mission."

"I hope so Severus" Dumbledore said "for all our sakes, I hope so."

**:later:**

Theo was gasping for breath as he reached his dormitory. It had taken seven owls to deliver the huge, heavy parcel to him this morning, and he wanted to get it out of the Great Hall before Hermione noticed it.

"Man, couldn't you have slowed down a bit?" Blaise asked as he joined his friend in the dormitory "Ma is strict, but I don't think we'll get into too much trouble is we're a bit late."

"It's not just that" Theo said as he placed the package beside his bed "It's Hermione's present; I didn't want her to notice it."

"Present?" Blaise asked "What did you get her, a block of marble?"

"No, I got her one of these" Theo explained, as he patted the small bookcase he kept beside his bed.

"An infinitely large bookcase that is portable and evil looking?"

"Not an evil looking one." Theo said "hers has a cat on it."

"Yeah but, a bookcase?"

"She'll love it."

"I know, but if you're trying to hint that you like her, then wouldn't jewellery have been a bit more appropriate for a seventeenth birthday?"

Theo looked a bit confused, and quickly looked at his large present.

"But Hermione doesn't wear much jewellery" Theo said "and she says she never has enough room to keep all her books. Plus how am I going to afford fancy jewellery?"

"It doesn't have to be fancy. And how were you able to afford the bookcase anyway? Those things cost quite a bit."

"I got Camille to sell my Picard photo"

"The photo you got Patrick Stewart to sign?" Blaise asked in shock "wow, I underestimated just how in love you are with Hermione. Can't believe Camille let you sell it either. Hell I'm not even that much of a Trek fan and I still wish you hadn't sold it."

"She didn't want to sell it" Theo admitted "but thankfully she did, so now I have the perfect present for Hermione."

"Well that's good. But do you think you'll be able to carry it up to the Gryffindor Common Room?"

"I don't know where the Gryffindor Common Room is. Why Blaise, what are you planning?"

"Come walk with me to class Theo, I've been talking with Dave and I think we can give Hermione a nice surprise tomorrow morning."

**:that night:**

Hermione drew the curtains to her four post bed as she wished her dorm mates a good night. She had been born around three in the morning, so by the time she woke up tomorrow she would really be an adult.

It was starting to get a bit colder at nights, but for now it wasn't so cold that Hermione couldn't indulge in one of her guilty pleasures. _Not that there is anything wrong with sleeping in the nude_, she reminded herself as she undressed, but she always felt just a bit naughty about being naked while in a room with four other people.

She snuggled under the covers and thought about all the wonderful things in her life until she finally drifted off to sleep.

**:the next morning:**

Theo didn't bother carrying the bookcase, but levitated it and a pile of other presents that Blaise had collected. Which was a good thing, since there were so many stairs between Slytherin Dungeon and Gryffindor Tower.

Dave led the way, often going ahead to scout for danger from the safety of the walls. It was a good thing Dave had agreed to go along with Blaise's plan, because apart from being the only one who knew where Gryffindor Tower was (Theo was by now quite sick of hearing about the Wonderful "M'lady" of Gryffindor Tower) but also since he and Blaise were burdened with gifts, a birthday cake, and a breakfast tray they wouldn't have been able to hide quickly without Dave's help.

"Well here we are" Blaise announce, as they came to a painting of a well decorated curtain "Gryffindor Common Room. So Dave how long do we have?"

"M'Lady is off visiting Violet in the trophy room" Dave explained as he stepped into the portrait "you should have about an hour. Oh, but if it looks like she's coming back early, I'm bailing on you guys. Sorry."

"That's ok dude" Blaise said "if this fails, we're taking the full blame. We won't rat out on you or Dobby."

"Thanks dude" Dave said "you too have fun in there. And wish Hermione a happy birthday for me."

"Will do mate" Theo said "now how do we get in?"

"Should work the same way as my poster does, so there should be something on my side to… ah-ah, here it is. Good luck guys."

Theo noticed Dave reach outside the portrait frame, and then the whole portrait swang back, allowing them easy access to the Gryffindor Sanctuary.

"This has to the worst thing I've ever done in terms of rule breaking" Theo said as they hesitantly entered the Common Room "are you sure this is alright?"

"Hey, Hermione has always said that her dream day would be to have breakfast in bed and then just laze around with a good book." Blaise said "well we're giving her breakfast in bed, as well as cake and presents. You said yourself she'd like it."

"I know but, oh shouldn't we change the trimmings on our robes to red or something? I feel like we're going to get into so much trouble."

"Relax Theo, no-ones up yet, see look around yourself."

"Hay, this is a nice Common Room"

"Yah seems pretty cosy."

"Did I ever tell you that the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Gryffindor?"

Blaise almost allowed the breakfast tray and the birthday cake to crash into each other as he looked at his friend in shock.

"No, I would have thought you'd have been in Ravenclaw if you weren't in Slytherin" Blaise said "I remember how much you wanted to go there."

"Yeah, I really wanted to be in Ravenclaw like Alice" Theo said "but the Sorting Hat said that that was the one house that I could never go to, and said Gryffindor, but I refused to go to Gryffindor."

"Why would you refuse to go to Gryffindor?" Blaise asked "this seems cool, and according to Dave these a hot lady guarding the entrance."

"Why not? Look at me Blaise, I'm bloody terrified of breaking into Gryffindor Tower. I'm too big of a coward to be in Gryffindor."

"You're not a coward Theo."

"I'd never be as brave as Hermione or Harry. No, in the end Slytherin was the right choice for me; it's a pretty good compromise between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."

"No offence mate, but I have always wondered how you ended up in Slytherin. Anyway, time to take our potion."

Blaise reached into his pocket and withdrew the small bottle of pink liquid that Dobby the House Elf had given them. Last year Dobby had been the only Elf cleaning Gryffindor Tower, and had used this potion whenever he needed to clean in the girl's stairwell. Now that a few female house elves had come back to clean, Dobby had an excess supply that he was glad to lend Blaise and Theo.

They had so far tested it with the stairs in Slytherin Dungeon, but as Theo took a swig of the pink goop he couldn't help but wonder if he would turn into a House Elf. Fortunately nothing happened this time either, so he gave the bottle to Blaise, who downed the rest of it.

"Ok, let's go" Blaise said, heading off to the nearest steps. Despite having done this before Theo still felt a massive surge of relief as first Blaise and then he stepped onto the stairs and nothing happened. They went past five doors, and then Blaise reached the sixth year's dorm, opened it…

…then closed it again. Waving his hands at Theo to get him to turn back (not an easy task when you are levitating a bunch of presents).

"What's wrong?" Theo asked.

"Wrong stairs" Blaise said "now quick let's get out of here; before the urge to place Weasley's hand in a dish of warm water becomes overpowering."

They did manage to get back down the stairs without dropping or damaging anything or waking up all the Gryffindors, and then they made their way up the other stairs, and this time opened the door to the sixth year girls dorm.

Four of the beds had their red and gold curtain's drawn, but Emma Malone was sprawled over the top of her still-made bed in her uniform, probably too tiered after a night out with her boyfriend in Slytherin to even draw the curtains.

Theo noticed that around one of the beds were a lot of flowers, and concluded that it had to be Sally-Anne's bed. That was really the one danger in their plan; Sally-Anne and Blaise had once been going out, but had not parted on friendly terms. She was likely to call for McGonagall just to get the two of them in trouble. As for the remaining beds, Theo couldn't tell which one belonged to Lavender Brown and which one belonged to Pavarti Patil, but Hermione's was recognisable; with books on most available surfaces.

He and Blaise approached Hermione's bed and set down their stuff. Blaise whispered her name through the curtains, but when that got no response he parted them a bit.

Hermione was all snuggled up under her blankets, with just the top of her head visible. Theo thought she looked so cute like that, and he really didn't want to disturb her.

"Let's let her sleep" he said to Blaise "we'll just leave everything here and wait in the Common Room."

"Oh come on Theo, we've come this far. And I don't want to be waiting in the Common Room if Weasley comes down before Hermione."

"Good point. Umm… but do we have to wake her up?"

"What? You want to just stand around watching her sleep like some sort of weirdo?"

"Well no but –"

"It will be fine" he said as he placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder and started gently shaking her.

"Hermione, wake up Hermione."

Hermione moaned a bit, and then turned around.

"Hermione, we have something for you" Theo said.

"Go away" she mumbled.

"Hermione, it's your birthday" Blaise said "time to get up and have breakfast in bed."

"Five more minutes."

"Okay, but only five more alright" Theo said.

"Damn it Theo, haven't you learned anything from living with Camille? 'Five more minutes' means at least another hour of sleep." With that Blaise grabbed the edge of Hermione's bedcovers. "Ok Hermione, you have until the count of three before I pull the blankets off and start tickling you."

"Umm… Blaise are you sure that – "

"One!... Two!...THREE!"

**:meanwhile:**

Sirius fell through the veil, Cedric died in a flash of green light before he knew what was happening, and Harry couldn't move or do anything to defend himself as Uncle Vernon picked him up and threw him hard against the cold wall of the cupboard and then –

Someone screamed.

Harry woke up.

There was still screaming; lots of screaming.

"Harry!" Ron jumped out of bed "I think that's Lavender!"

While Harry had to agree that Lavender did have a distinctive scream, he had to wonder how Ron could pick her scream from the other screaming voices – both male and female – that could be heard.

"Quick guys!" Neville said, jumping out of bed and grabbing his wand "something's going on down there!"

Harry followed the rest of his dorm mates out, and almost crashed into the seventh year guys as they ran down. Within seconds all the Gryffindor boys were in the Common Room, as were most of the girls. However there was still a lot of commotion around their stairs, many were pointing up and yelling.

"It's probably just a rat or something" one of the seventh year boys complained.

However it wasn't a rat; within seconds a burning man ran down the stairs, trying to put out the flames with his wand, while an angry girl ran behind him firing hexes.

"HOW DARE YOU COME INTO MY DORMITORY YOU PERVERT!" Sally-Anne Peaks yelled as her prey managed to extinguish itself.

"It's not like that Sally!" Blaise protested; his robes destroyed, his white shirt soaked, and what looked like soggy cake in his charred hair.

"How did you two losers get in here anyway?"

"I assure you, it had nothing to do with YOU!"

As Sally-Anne stood there looking angry and the rest of Gryffindor House tried to work out what had just happened, Lavender and Pavarti walked down the stairs carrying another Slytherin. He was covered in boils and under the effects of a Jelly-Legs Jinx. They reached the bottom and then ungraciously threw their prisoner to the ground.

Behind them marched Emma Malone, rubbing her head and looking grumpy and behind her, wrapped up in a red sheet was…,"

"Oh Merlin, Hermione!" Ron gasped.

"Blaise! Theo!" Hermione snapped "What the _bloody hell _do you two think you're doing?"

"Her-Her-Har- Hermione…," Theo stuttered from the floor. Hermione seemed to take pity on him, and undid the jinx. He got to his feet, ran to Hermione… and still couldn't say anything coherent to her.

"Theo, why the hell did you –"

"Happy Birthday Hermione!" Blaise said "We made you a cake, but Sally-Anne used it to set me on fire."

"You…you…" now Hermione was having trouble finding the right words "you MORONS!"

"We… wanted to, to, well do well um, breakfast in bed" Theo said "and well, it was supposed to be well, well, umm, kinda nice but, but, but well, we well, well, we didn't know you'd, well, that you wouldn't, that you slept, that you, well, that you… oh god I can see down your top!"

With an expression of indignant horror, Hermione slapped Theo across the face; causing him to scream in pain as his boils burst.

"I knew Nott was some kind of pervert." Ron said to Harry.

"I can't believe you two!" Hermione cried "I cannot believe that you would –"

"What is going on here?"

All heads in the room turned to the entrance, where a grumpy Professor McGonagall now stood; looking from Hermione, naked save for some sheets, to Theo who was on the floor trying to heal his boils, and Blaise, who was just plain wet and dirty.

"Oh crap Theo" Blaise said "we are sooo in the wrong Common Room right now. We better get going now."

"Mr. Zabini, would you care to explain why you are in the wrong Common Room?"

"Oh, we just took a wrong turn at the stairs. You know how easy it is to get lost in Hogwarts."

"Mr. Zabini, it's one thing to terrorise the members of a rival house, but I hope you aren't insulting my intelligence."

"No! No! No Professor, never. We just came to well, umm… you see we erm… ok, I cannot think of any good excuse that's going to get us out of trouble."

"Well then –"

"They weren't trying to do anything bad professor" Hermione spoke up "It's my birthday you see, and they decided to surprise me with breakfast in bed. These actually some really good smelling bacon and eggs up in the dormitory going cold right now –"

"They were in the girl's dormitory?"

"No! Well yes they were" Hermione admitted "but it wasn't to do anything bad. They were just trying to do something nice for me, since I'm seventeen now. But well, since I didn't know they were coming I well, I wasn't really dressed to receive guests. And then well, it's just all a big misunderstanding."

"There seems to be no misunderstanding Miss. Granger" McGonagall explained "two boys – two _Slytherin_ boys – were in your dormitory. And no matter how well meaning their intentions were, this violates just about every rule Hogwarts has about being out of bounds."

"We weren't in the Forbidden Forest though" Blaise said.

"Mr. Zabini, you are not really in a position to be making jokes. Now how did you and Mr. Nott get in here?"

"We just walked in professor."

"You walked in?"

"Yup, the portrait just opened for us, and then we went up the stairs."

"Mr Zabini, do you realise –"

Before McGonagall could finish her sentence, the Portrait door slammed shut and Professor Zabini stormed in; even while still in her pyjamas and with her hair out of place, she looked beautiful. However Harry had never imagined that she could look this angry.

"Blaise Arduino Zabini!" She spat "What have you done this time!"

"You do not want to know Mother."

"How bad is it Minerva?" She asked.

"Your son – and Mr Nott – have somehow broken into the girls dormitory and caused quite a disturbance." Professor McGonagall explained.

"Blaise…how did I raise my son to be such a pervert!"

"I wasn't being a pervert Ma! Honest!"

"My own son. And _Theo_! I always thought that if Blaise started acting too stupid you'd at least try to talk some sense into him!"

"Well I uhhh…,"

"Professor it wasn't like that!" Hermione protested.

"Thank you for trying to defend my son Hermione. Now you two! Sixty-points from Slytherin! Each! Both of you come with me!"

"Mary I can handle this for you if you want" Professor McGonagall said.

"Sorry Minerva, I have to handle this. I'm sorry my son is such trouble."

"Mary, they are only teenage boys, and they were trying to do something nice for Miss. Granger, please don't come down too hard on them."

"I'll deal with them Minerva. Blaise, Theo… come with me. NOW!"

They both followed Professor Zabini. Blaise seemed to have gone as pale as it was for a black person to go. Theo was visually shaken by the whole affair, and Harry wondered just how shy he was. Was his Boggart a crowd of people laughing at him maybe? Despite his obvious fear though, he still managed to turn back to Hermione.

"Happy Birthday Hermione" he said, before following the Zabinis.

The room was silent for a few seconds until the portrait door slammed shut. Then McGonagall cleared her throat and looked towards Hermione.

"Miss. Granger" the Professor said "do you have any idea how they may have gotten in here?"

"No Professor, I don't" Hermione said "I'm really sorry about this."

"No apology necessary" she said "Happy Birthday Miss. Granger; and please go and put some clothes on."

McGonagall left without another word, and for a while the whole room was silent. Until Ron started giggling.

"Blaise Arduino Zabini!" He said in a girly voice "why is my son such a pervert?"

Harry found himself laughing along with the rest of the house. The only one not laughing seemed to be Hermione.

"How funny was it when Zabini got in trouble off his mummy?" Ron continued "And he was covered in goop."

"I thought you had a thing for Professor Zabini?" Hermione asked when the laughter died down.

"That's not the point" Ron said "I mean, did you see any of that? And what about when you hit Nott and all those boils burst? Man that was so great!"

"NO IT WASN'T!" Hermione yelled "those were serious boils Pavarti put on him, it must have hurt like hell."

"Serves the git right for looking at you naked" Ron said "How did they get your clothes off anyway?"

"They didn't! I just like to sleep in the nude! It wasn't Blaise or Theo's fault this happened!"

"Not their fault?" Sally-Anne protested "they came into our _dormitory_! How did they get in here in the first place? Those sickos."

"But they came with a large pile of presents." Emma Malone reasoned "hay Hermione, bring them out here, let's see what you got."

"Oh yah, that was so sweet of them" Lavender said.

"Come on Hermione, open them!" Pavarti added.

"Oh you're not going to let them off the hook just because they brought flowers and chocolates are you?" Ron asked.

"They aren't completely off the hook" Hermione said "Anyway, I think I'll open them upstairs."

"No way!" A fourth year called out "I want to see what they got you!"

"Yah" said another girl "what was so great that they had to come into your dorm?"

"Come on, we're all up way too early. Let us see!"

Hermione went pink as the whole room began demanding to see what she got. "Okay, okay" She said "I'll open everything out here… just please let me go upstairs to get dressed first."

All the girls around Hermione parted so that she could return to the dormitory. Harry noticed that Ron was looking at her retreating, scantily clad figure the same way he had first looked at Professor Zabini.

"Hey Harry" Ron said "let's get our presents and get Hermione to open them too."

"Ah, I actually gave my present for Hermione to Blaise" Harry said "He said he was going to arrange a special delivery for all her gifts… but I didn't think they'd deliver it in person."

"You gave Hermione's present to _them_?" Ron asked.

"Yeah" Neville said "He got presents off Emma, Hannah, and me yesterday. Didn't he ask you for anything?"

"Yes he asked me" Ron said "but I wasn't stupid enough to give it to him. I mean look what just happened. He ruined Hermione's birthday!"

Just then Hermione came back downstairs, fully dressed and levitating a large pile of gifts. She had a massive smile on her face as she placed them down and picked up the nearest one.

"Thanks Harry" she said as she unwrapped the heavy book on advanced Artithmacy that he had given her. She then unwrapped her next present; a book from Blaise titled "_101 things you didn't know about the Magical World_"

Then she got to Theo's gift; which was too large to be a book. She opened it, and then her face lit. The gift turned out to be a large wooden box with a cat etched into the side.

"He got me an infinite bookcase" Hermione gasped "this is… wow. My books were starting to get damaged from being knocked about in my bottomless bag. This is… wow. I can't believe Theo got me something so amazing!"

She put the two books she had already received into the bookcase, and then went back to opening presents. Every time she got a book (which was most of the time) she placed it into her new bookcase, and Harry swore that at one stage she even gave the cat's face a quick pat.

**:Later:**

Hermione was in a pretty good mood, even though she had just come from History of Magic and was on her way to Potions. She should have been feeling worse than she was, since Malfoy was in both classes and had spent the morning being an obnoxious git.

"I heard that Nott and Zabini saw you naked today" He had hissed from the seat next to hers "I think I would have started screaming too if I had had to look upon your filthy body. I almost feel sorry for the poor bastards."

Hermione decided just to ignore him; despite the embarrassing scene that morning, she was overjoyed to have new books and that wonderful new bookcase. "Though I guess Nott wouldn't have minded. I bet to him, even a Mudblood's body must be better than being alone and hideous. Like he is now."

Hermione had kept ignoring him. Though in hindsight Binns probably wouldn't have noticed if she had punched him in the face.

"Hay Granger, have you ever seen Nott naked? Damn I wouldn't even wish that on you."

"You know what Malfoy" Xanthe had butted in from the seat behind "I wouldn't wish Parkinson's or Bulstrode's grotesque naked bodies on you, but I bet you've seen both."

"And you would know all about naked woman, wouldn't you?"

"If you're bringing my sexuality into question, then I have a boyfriend. And at least I'm not a pretty-boy like you!"

"No, you're just a freak!"

"No Malfoy, _you're_ the freak!"

Hermione had always thought of Xanthe as strange – not in a harmless silly way like Luna, but in a more unpredictable, _scarier_ way. However it was at that moment that she realised she had begun to warm up to Blaise's pincushion of a girlfriend.

Hermione and Xanthe teamed up against Malfoy for the rest of the lesson, and when outnumbered and without back-up Malfoy had taken up the 'just ignore it' approach himself. After they were dismissed Hermione spent her short break with Xanthe, exchanging notes to see if between the two of them they could piece together what Binns had been talking about while they were teasing Malfoy about his effeminate grooming habits.

Hermione was almost to the Potions classroom, and was looking forward to seeing Blaise and Theo and thanking them for their presents. She arrived at the classroom to find only one other student present; Blaise.

Only Blaise.

No Theo anywhere in sight.

"Oh hullo Hermione" Blaise asked with a hint of caution "are you still mad?"

"No" Hermione said "well, ok maybe a bit. How did you and Theo go?"

"Sixty points off each, scrubbing bedpans for a week and Ma says that if I ever embarrassing her in front of her old house again she'll embarrass me in front of the whole school."

"_She _feels embarrassed?" Hermione asked.

"I think the embarrassment started when I was sorted into Slytherin" Blaise explained.

"I'm sure she's proud of you even in Slytherin."

"She actually sent a Howler to Dumbledore demanding I be sent into Gryffindor."

"She really sent a Howler?"

"Yeah, Dumbledore called me up to his office and told me about it. He seemed surprised that she was the only one to send him one. Apparently his record is seven in one year."

"Seven people complaining about what houses their kids got put in?" Hermione asked "that's ridiculous."

"I know" Blaise said "but I guess Ma had some pretty bad experiences with Slytherins."

"But still, in the end it's just a house."

"I guess."

By now Hermione was starting to lose interests in houses, and was instead wondering where Theo was.

"So, where's Theo?" She asked, trying not to sound worried. After all, Blaise would have said something if he was injured or expelled.

"Well umm… his not feeling so hot, so his gone back to bed."

"Sick?"

"Well… he thinks you hate him" Blaise explained "he thinks his ruined your friendship and you don't want to see him, and on top of that, his boils aren't going to go down until tomorrow."

"No!" Hermione protested "I don't hate Theo! His my friend. And I want to let him know how much I loved the bookcase, and how sorry I am for slapping him."

"Well, it wasn't the smartest thing his ever said. Want to see him during lunch?"

"Yes please, do you think you can get him to come out?"

"Nope. But there's nothing stopping you from going to him. Except a force field, but that's easy enough to get around."

"Go to him… in his dormitory?"

"Yup"

"In Slytherin?"

"Well we both broke into your dormitory; fairs fair."

"Blaise, won't it be dangerous? I mean, I'm muggle-born!"

"So is Matt Powers, and his lived there for two years."

Hermione didn't want to go to Slytherin Dungeon. Even if she could feel safe there, the thought was extremely distasteful. However she inwardly cringed at the thought of going back to rarely speaking to Theo, even though he was still always around. It had been alright before, when he was just the 'shy friend' of Blaise, but now he had become a very important friend to her, and she couldn't let him crawl back into his shell. Not because of another stupid mistake of hers.

"Ok, after class we'll go see him" She said "just make sure his fully dressed before I go into the dorm."


	10. Chapter 9: Books and Blows

**Chapter 8: Books and Blows**

For the first time in a long time, Hermione found herself getting her Potion wrong. She was so eager to talk to Theo that at one stage she even got her rat spleen and chicken liver mixed up.

"Miss. Granger" Snape said after her potion started overflowing "just because it is your birthday, does not mean you are allowed to cause another commotion in my class. Five points from Gryffindor."

After what seemed like way more than an hour, the bell range and Snape finally dismissed them. She quickly said bye to Harry and Ron, and then started to set off towards the dungeons with Blaise.

"Oi, where are you two going?" Ron asked.

"We're just going to check up on Theo" Hermione said "make sure his ok after the whole thing with the boils."

"Why do you want to go and check up on that freak?" Ron asked.

"Look Weasley" Blaise snarled "if you have a problem with me, I can live with that. I don't care what you think of me anyway. However leave Theo out of this!"

"Actually Zabini, I'm entitled to say whatever I want about your pet."

"Ron _shut_ _up_!" Harry snapped at his friend.

"You're siding with _him_?"

"Theo has never said a bad word to you." Harry said "lay off a bit."

"Well I… oh ok. Sorry. But you two better keep out of our Common Room from now on."

"We'll try… but it's such a nice room; much cosier than our one."

"Your dingy dark green dungeon?"

"How do you know what the Slytherin Common Room looks like?"

"Erm…"

"Come on Blaise" Hermione said "let's go see Theo before we completely miss out on lunch."

Once separated from Ron and Harry Blaise led her through the dungeons. At first the route was similar to the one they had used to get to Blaise's Workshop, but soon Hermione found herself in unfamiliar territory.

"You know what Blaise?" she said "I was so tempted to tell Ron that Theo called him a wanker once. Though I guess that wouldn't have made things much better."

"Nah… but it would have been almost worth it to see the look on his face."

"Yeah… how do you Slytherins find your way through all these underground corridors?"

"It's not so bad. Nowhere near as many changing staircases to get us lost. Getting up to your tower was a pain. I have no idea how you Gryffindor's find your way up there every day."

"You get used to them quickly enough" Hermione said "speaking of you in Gryffindor though…,"

"I swore I wouldn't rat out the people how helped us" Blaise said "and you're a Gryffindor Prefect."

"Oh Blaise, I won't tell anyone."

"Sorry Hermione, but a promise is a promise."

"But Blaise… oh I'm going to die if I can't figure it out."

"Here we are" he said as they stopped before a seemingly normal piece of bare stone wall.

"How the hell can you tell that this is the right place?" Hermione asked "what if you walked past it just a little bit?"

"It's never in exactly the same place twice" Blaise explained "But it's always in this general area. You can tell because of the snake on the ceiling."

"The one looking down at us like it wants to attack?" Hermione said, looking up to see a terribly realistic stone snake looking down at them, its stone tongue flickering at them."

"It'll only attack if you give the wrong password" Blaise said "Fortunately it doesn't have fangs. They were removed over two hundred years ago when some kid bled to death."

"It actually killed someone?" Hermione gasped.

"One person in a thousand years is a pretty safe record" Blaise said "and they've banned it from making passwords in Parsletoungue too. Yummy Blood."

Hermione saw the snake back off, and the stone wall slid open.

"Yummy Blood?" Hermione asked.

"Well it is a snake" Blaise resend "Let's go see Theo shall we?"

He led her into the Common Room. It was a low-ceiling, dungeon-like room with a strange green glow to it. Hermione noticed that there were quite a lot of skulls everywhere; from skull candle-holders to skulls decorating the columns. As they approached the centre of the room, Hermione looked up and saw a high dome, and a large chandelier made of human bones.

"No wonder everyone thinks Slytherins are evil" Hermione said "what is the fascination with having human bones everywhere."

"Haven't you read Hogwarts a History?" Blaise asked indignantly "the whole bone house thing was a huge joke by Godric Gryffindor."

"I know" Hermione said "Salazar Slytherin wished for his remains to be kept in the Slytherin Common Room, but Gryffindor was mad at him and placed a bunch of other skeletons in the room with him."

"Mad at him for being a Pureblooded arsehole and leaving the school" Blaise said "so than he placed the remains of ninety-seven other people in here, and then mixed them all up so that no-one would know which bones were Slytherin's. Now the Slytherin students at the time didn't want to be walking amongst human remains, but they didn't want to chuck out their Founder's bones. So they developed this rather gruesome interior decorating. And admit it Hermione, it is pretty cool."

"Cool isn't really the word I'd use" Hermione said "I guess if I wanted to be nice, I'd say it was pretty resourceful."

"Well I'll accept that. Guess it's better than being 'evil'. Come on lets go downstairs."

As Blaise made his way towards a staircase going down, Hermione couldn't help but noticing the strange looks she was getting from some of the students scatted around the room. Trying not to look afraid, she followed Blaise downstairs to the boy's dorms.

They arrived at the sixth year door, and before going in, Blaise grabbed her hand."

"Blaise?"

"Sorry, but you need to be touching either Theo or me to get in" He explained "we finally got that selective shielding device I was working on up and running."

"The force field?" Hermione asked in amazement "but didn't you say that you'd need a pretty big generator to get that working?"

"Yah, we keep it under my bed. It's a bit uncomfortable at times, but pretty warm."

He opened the door to reveal a doorway divided into a red half and a green half. He pulled her through the red half, and suddenly they were in a fairly normal looking dormitory.

Theo was laying on the top of his bed; patting Leia and her kittens while shovelling chocolates into his mouth. He sat up quickly as they entered, and Hermione noticed that for the first time since she had met him he had his hair tied back and out of his face. _Probably to keep it out of the boil pass_ she reminded herself.

It was the first time she had really noticed his eyes. Sure she had noticed that they were pale green before, but when he had his fringe in the way they just didn't look as nice as they did now. Just as she was thinking that, Theo turned his head a bit more towards them and she noticed a large red pimple just below his left eye.

"Hermione?" He asked "You're umm… are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm great" she said "I just, I want to make sure your alright. I'm really sorry I hit you."

"Oh I'm fine. Guess I deserved it a bit. I mean well… I'm sorry."

"Oh Theo!" Hermione sighed, going over to his bed and finding a space to sit down on that wasn't already occupied by a kitten. "You don't have to be sorry; I think it was very sweet what you and Blaise did. It's not like you were _trying_ to look at me naked."

"I know" he said as he picked up one of the squeaking kittens and started patting it "but we ruined your birthday, and I'm sorry about it."

"You didn't ruin anything" Hermione said, and before she knew what she was doing she pulled her friend into a tight one armed hug. He almost dropped the kitten he was holding and went bright pink.

"I think I'll go stand guard outside" Blaise said "don't sit on any of the kittens… or else Leia will _really _ruin some faces."

Blaise quickly left and Hermione released Theo from the hug. "I've had a great birthday so far" she said "it was a bit well, mortifying at first, but I think I can see the funny side. I think that it was pretty sweet of you to come and give me breakfast in bed."

Finally realising that he wasn't in trouble anymore, Theo smiled that happy smile of his that showed that little gap in his teeth, however this time it made his new boils seem more prominent. For a brief second Hermione was torn between feeling disgusted and happy. Before she could think too much about it though, she found herself smiling along with Theo.

One of Leia's kittens wandered close to her. This one was a little white fluffball just like it's mother. There were four kittens in all; one white one and three gingers. All were fluffy and had their eyes shut.

"Thanks for the bookcase" Hermione said "I've been using a bottomless bag to carry them, but they get knocked about so much when I _Accio _them out that it's damaging them."

"Yeah" he said as he nodded along "I've never had that problem myself, but Blaise always dog ears the pages if he reads a book. He tries not to with mine, but you know what it's like when you're absorbed in a good book."

"Yeah" she agreed "you just get caught up in it. I bet he forgets that it's your book and dog ears the pages right?"

"Yeah… maybe I'm being a bit anal about it, but even little things like dog ears or knocks and stuff… I guess I just like looking after books. Figured you'd be pretty similar."

"Yes, I am. That bookcase is perfect. All my books are going to be very well looked after now."

"That's good. I'm glad you liked it."

"It's perfect. Thank you again. Hay, do you have one of your own?" Hermione asked. Instantly she regretted it. She didn't know much about Theo's financial situation, but from a few comments between him and Blaise over the years she could figure out that the Zabini's provided for most of his basic needs. She also knew that Infinite Bookcases were expensive. Of course he wouldn't have been able to afford two.

"Yah I have one" Theo said "Want to have a look? Blaise thinks it's a bit evil looking though, but what can you expect from a Nott family heirloom?"

"Oh wow, let's have a look."

Theo put the ginger kitten he was holding back with Leia and the other kittens, and then reached into his cupboard to pull out the bookcase.

'A bit evil looking' seemed to be a good description of it. Theo's Infinite Bookcase was made of a dark black wood, and the very grain of it formed menacing faces. On the top was a wooden serpentine dragon. Fortunately it was immobile, but the fangs and ruby eyes did scream evil.

"Wow, that is pretty evil looking" Hermione said.

"Yeah, it used to hold a collection of books on Dark Magic that had been passed down throughout the ages." He explained "Dad once said that the oldest book was over six hundred years old, and that even Voldemort used to come around and borrow books from our collection."

"Oh" Hermione said "that… must have been a pretty evil book collection."

"Yeah" he agreed "When I was five I wanted to read all the time. I read just about everything I could get my hands on."

"I was the same when I was that age."

"Yeah, only problem was that well… there was never really that much money for new books. I finished reading all of Alice's, and then I went looking for more and found the evil books."

"You read the same books as Voldemort, when you were _four_?" Hermione asked, not sure whether to be impressed or disturbed.

"Yah… well they were a bit hard, but I looked at the pictures a lot. some were pretty disturbing, gave me nightmares. Others were meant to induce nightmares. One actually tried to kill me."

"Whoa!"

"Yeah, after that Alice started reading a bit, and at that stage she had become really ashamed of the whole Pureblood Death Eater thing. Anyway she was worried about me reading them and I was by then quite terrified of them. So while Dad was passed out we took the whole thing out the back and emptied it. I swear there must have been thousands of books. Then we set the whole thing alight."

"You burnt all those books?" Hermione gasped. The thought of book burning was so repugnant to her that even though these books obviously deserved to be burned she couldn't help but think about those six hundred years of lost history.

"All the ones that didn't turn out to be indestructible" He explained as if reading her thoughts "There are a few still there. It was a really stupid thing to do. Voldemort used those books to gain his power, if Alice and I hadn't destroyed all that information then someone might have been able to use those books to destroy him. Not to mention it was also stupid because a lot of the books fought back, and we ended up destroying quite a large portion of the house."

"Oh my god. That must have been terrifying."

"Yeah. We got in so much trouble then. But Alice always stood by what we did. Anyway, bad news; six hundred years of knowledge that could potentially stop Voldemort and part of our house destroyed. Good news though, I got a new bookcase to keep my Tales of Beadle the Bard in."

"Beadle the Bard?" She asked.

"Yeah, the book with all the kids stories."

"Never heard of it" Hermione said "I was raised by muggles, so I guess we have different children stories. I never really thought about that before. Can I have a look?"

"Of course" he said, opening the hatch of the bookcase and then saying "Tales of Beadle the Bard." The shelves inside resorted themselves, and then the book Theo wanted popped out like a slice of toast. He handed it to Hermione.

The book seemed worn out and old, but to Hermione that made it appear more loved then neglected. She opened the first page, and saw that someone had written a note on the cover in messy handwriting.

_To my little brother Theo,_

_This was my favourite book growing up. I think you need it more than me though. Take good care of it._

_ Love Alice._

"Alice gave it to me after the book burning incident"

"Wow, it must be really special to you"

"Yeah, it is. Hay, do you want to borrow it? Have a read of the stories Wizard children grew up on?"

"Yeah that would be great. But are you sure? I mean, Alice gave it to you."

"Its fine. I know you'll look after it."

"Thanks Theo" she said as he handed her the book "I'll get it back to you as soon as I'm finished. No dog ears."

"Thanks, take as long as you want to read it though. Don't rush."

"I don't have to rush to get through it quickly."

Hermione placed the book in the front pocket of her bag, and then they heard the door open. Thinking it was Blaise Hermione turned around with a smile on her face, only to be greeted by the sight of Crabbe and Goyle in the other part of the room.

"What the hell is this?" Crabbe said pointing to Hermione.

"My friend" Theo said "and if you say one more bad thing about her while she's here I'll take down the force field. Do you think the two of you can take on both of us in a duel?"

Crabbe remained quiet, but nudged Goyle and winked at him. After the third nudge and wink Goyle seemed to get the message.

"Hay Mudblood, how did you get here?"

"You were only talking to me Nott, not Greg."

"Just leave" He said, getting up and edging towards Blaise's bed.

"Fine, take down the force field" Crabbe said "we could probably beat you two. And if not, everyone will know that a Gryffindor beat us. Beat us while in _our _dormitory."

"Yes, and while I'm in detention you can impress Daphne Greengrass and all those other girls with the story of how a Mudblood beat you big strong Purebloods" Hermione said.

"Shut up mud-bitch!" Goyle snapped.

"I told you not to talk like that!" Theo said "the force field comes down in Ten… Nine… Eight…"

"Hay Nott, have you done something to your face?" Crabbe asked "you look much prettier than normal."

"You scumbags!" Hermione said, reading her wand.

"Five… Four…"

Crabbe had his wand ready, and looked ready for a fight. Goyle meanwhile seemed to have doubts. Meanwhile Leia, who had until then been nursing her kittens, jumped off the bed with her hackles up, prepared to join the fight.

"…Two…"

"Come on Vince" Goyle said as he grabbed his friend "this isn't worth it. We'll come back later. After the Mudblood smell has gone."

Crabbe gave the students and cat one last snarl, and then let his friend lead him out.

"Well I guess Goyle is a bit smarter than we give him credit for" Hermione said "but I sure am glad I won't have to explain to Snape what I'm doing in the Slytherin Boy's Dormitory."

"Yeah… perhaps you better get going before they decide to go and find Snape though."

"I guess so" She said "Hay have you had lunch yet?"

"I'm a bit full on chocolate actually."

"But that's not lunch! Why don't you come get something with Blaise and me? If Blaise is still around. I thought he said he'd be keeping guard."

Theo's face went pale and he looked towards the door. "I hope his alright" he said, before taking off to the door. Hermione followed him out the door and up the stairs. Fortunately they didn't find Blaise's hexed body at the base of the stairs, but there was no sign of him at all. Hermione scanned the Common Room.

She saw Crabbe and Goyle sitting with some fifth years, and at a table not far away Matt Powers was playing exploding snap with the three Slytherin's that had been worried about his parents the other week, as well as Dennis Creevly. The two youngest DA members saw her and waved. She waved back; glad she was not the only Muggle-Born, or even the only Muggle-Born Gryffindor in the Pureblood lair.

"There he his" Theo said, pointing to a couch by the green fireplace where Blaise was engaged in a pretty intense make-out session with Xanthe.

"Typical" Hermione said "well, looks like it's just the two of us for lunch."

"Well actually…"

"Yeah?"

"I well… look at me! I'd probably just put people off their food."

"Theo!" Hermione said. She had forgotten about the boils, why couldn't he? "They're just boils"

"Yeah but… sorry. I think I'll just go back to the dorm. I promise I'll get Blaise to bring me some real food for dinner, ok?"

"Theo…" Hermione couldn't stand the thought of Theo sitting alone in his room "well how about the two of us have lunch in the kitchen then?" She asked.

"But – "

"I have a strong stomach. Your boils won't put me off my food. I don't think any of the House Elves will care either."

"Well…"

"Come on Theo. Think of it as a birthday lunch with me. To make up for the birthday breakfast."

"I thought you weren't angry anymore."

"I'm not _too _angry about it."

"Well… ok. If you're sure you want to have lunch with _me_."

"Of course I do. And anyway, I'll need you to help me get to the kitchens."

She saw him give off his little smile, and together they left the Slytherin Common Room.

**:Later:**

"Ron you need to eat something" Ginny said, noticing that her brother was nervously toying with his food.

"I can't" he complained "I just can't concentrate knowing that Hermione and that poser are off alone doing god knows what."

"Come on Ron" Harry said "they're just going to see Theo. What's the worst that could happen?"

Ron looked towards the Great Hall doors for the millionth time. "What's the worst that could happen? They could probably be going at it like rabbits, that's what. Or worse, going at it like Ginny and Dean!"

Dean gave Ron his 'innocent' look, where's Ginny just got the most horrified look on her face. "Ron how dare you claim to know about what Dean and I do in private. For your information, we are _not _at it like rabbits! And what do you care if Hermione and Zabini are? Do you like Hermione or something?"

"No!" Ron said "I don't like Hermione. Not in that way. But she's my friend; and I think I have a right to be worried if she's going out with a complete jerk."

"You don't know that his a complete jerk" Harry said "His never done anything bad to any of us. And his mother is a teacher."

"Forget it Harry" Ginny said "you can't reason with him when his like this. His just jealous and these nothing we can do about it."

"I'm not jealous!" Ron said "I just don't feel comfortable with Hermione snogging Blaise Zabini."

"We've never seen him and Hermione do any snogging" Harry reminded him.

"That's because she's the other woman!" Ron said.

"You know, it is possible that they _are _just friends" Harry reminded him

"Blimey mate whose side are you on?"

"I'm on the side of truth and justice" Harry reminded him "I save kittens from Voldemort on a daily basis."

"Harry!" Ron said "you said… oh god you're turning into _him_!"

"Am I missing something?" Ginny asked.

"Oh on the Hogwarts Express Ron asked me whose side I was on and Blaise said something along those lines."

"Oh I see" Ginny laughed "yeah, I guess that does sound like a Zabini thing to say."

"Oh Ginny, don't tell me your captivated by his Veela charm too"

"If his family has any Veela blood in them, I'd say his mother got it all and _you're _the one that's been captivated. Blaise Zabini is a funny guy, and his nice enough. Just because you've never even been kissed before it doesn't mean you should take it out on him."

"Because I what? Well, I may not have been kissed as much as you" Ron said "but then again who has?"

"Well Harry got kissed by Cho" Ginny said "and Hermione and Krum kissed after the Yule Ball."

"WHAT!"

"Ron, just because you haven't been kissed doesn't mean you should take it out on Hermione and Zabini" she continued "though, if he is cheating on Xanthe for Hermione that would be pretty scum. I'm sure there's nothing going on though. And if Zabini and Xanthe ever did break up, I think he and Hermione would make a great couple."

"First of all they would not make a great couple; they'd be completely wrong for each other on several levels." Ron said "and for your information, I bet any girl in Hogwarts would be happy to kiss me."

"Any girl in Hogwarts?" Ginny asked "I never knew my big brother was such a lady-killer."

Harry turned away from the arguing siblings just in time to see Blaise and Xanthe enter the Great Hall hand in hand. Blaise scanned the Hall with a worried expression on his look. His gaze rested momentarily on Harry and then he turned back to Xanthe and said something. She nodded and then got on tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek before skipping over the Slytherin table. Blaise then made his way over to the Gryffindor table. He managed to get right up close to the four of them before Ron noticed him.

"Hay what are you doing here?" he asked "Where's Hermione? And what the hell happened to you?"

Blaise simply shrugged. His bouncy shoulder-length black hair was a mess, and his clothes were all rumpled up.

"That's actually why I came over" he said "I can't find Hermione or Theo anywhere. Theo wouldn't have voluntarily left the dormitory with those boils on his face, and Hermione would never be able to find her way back from the dungeon, so I'm pretty worried. Have any of you seen them?"

"No we haven't" Harry said "wait, you took her into the Slytherin Common Room to check on Theo?"

"Yah, of course" He replied.

"Have you completely lost it?" Ron asked in shock "taking the most prominent Muggle-Born in Hogwarts into Slytherin Common Room?"

"What's the big deal?" Blaise asked "Dennis Creevly goes there all the time to see Matt. And Hermione can look after herself."

"I'll have to have a word with Dennis" Ron said "As for… what's that?" he pointed to a red mark on Blaise cheek.

"Can we please stay on topic?" Blaise asked "Theo and Hermione are missing."

While all attention was focused on Blaise and Ron Harry quickly got the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and activated it. He soon found Hermione and Theo together in the kitchens.

"That's a hicky!" Ron exclaimed "what were you doing down in the dungeons?"

"Gentlemen don't kiss and tell Weasley" Blaise said with an obnoxious sly smile.

Quicker than Harry would have thought possible, Ron jumped up and punched Blaise right in the face.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU AND HERMIONE DOING IN THE DUNGEONS YOU SMUG GIT!" Ron yelled.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Blaise yelled back "If I'd been making out with _Hermione_ then I wouldn't have lost her now would I?"

"Well…,"

"Ronald Weasley strikes again" Ginny laughed.

"But…,"

"He'd have to be pretty talented to be doing stuff with Hermione since I've had him for most of the brake" Xanthe had snuck up to the Gryffindor table and put her arm around Blaise.

"But Hermione…,"

"She's in the kitchen with Theo" Harry said "she um, sent me a message."

"Oh that's good" Blaise said "I wonder how she got him out."

"Mr. Weasley" came the angry voice of Professor Zabini. "Would you please explain why you just hit another student?"

"Well… I can't Professor" Ron said "I'm sorry."

"You should be apologising to Blaise" She said "now Blaise…,"

She stopped in mid-sentence, then reached out and grabbed her son's collar. Harry could see her eyeing a strange stain on the material that was the same shade of purple as Xanthe's lipstick.

"Mr. Weasley, twenty points from Gryffindor. And you have detention with me tomorrow night" she said "now Blaise, Miss. Rivers, I need to see you both in my office. We need to set some limits here."

Professor Zabini stormed out of the room with Blaise and Xanthe following sheepishly behind her.

"That was weird" Dean said.

"Extremely weird" Ginny agreed.

At that moment the bell rang, so Harry said goodbye to his friends and headed off to Transfiguration.

**:Later:**

Ron felt surprisingly nervous as he wandered through the library looking for Hermione. _What if she's angry at me over the fight with Zabini? _He thought _or worse, what if she doesn't like my gift?_ He looked at the small package he was holding. It wasn't a book, but hopefully she would like it.

He found her in a secluded part of the library hidden behind a stack of books.

"Don't tell me you're studying on your birthday" he said as he sat down next to her.

"Ron! Don't scare me like that" She said "and of course I am; I can't let myself fall behind now can I?"

"There's no way you can possibly fall behind" Ron protested "shouldn't you have one day off just to have fun?"

"I have had fun" she said "today's been brilliant… a bit over the top, but still brilliant."

"I'm glad you've had a good day" Ron said "I thought that what happened this morning and going into the Slytherin Dungeons would be a bit of a downer."

"Well kind of, but going to see Theo was great." She said "It's nice to have someone to talk to who appreciates books as much as I do."

"Ah ok. So where is he now? Don't you two usually study together?"

"His not going to come out in public with those boils on his face" Hermione said "his just so shy."

"Well, at least his a good study partner right?"

"Yeah. Hey where's Harry? Shouldn't you two be messing around in the Common Room or something?"

"I have no idea where he is" Ron said "he just disappeared after dinner. Come to think of it he did that last week too. Anyway, I was kinda hoping to get you alone."

"Get me alone?" Hermione repeated.

"Yeah well, I didn't give your present to Zabini and I haven't really gotten a good chance to give it to you today" he explained, handing the small parcel out to her "I figured I'd come and give it to you in person."

"Wow thanks Ron" she said as she took the parcel and began unwrapping it. Once the wrapping paper was gone she encountered a plain cardboard box, which she opened to reveal…,"

"Oh Ron, that's beautiful" she said, taking the ornately decorated head band out of the box. It was bronze in colour, with a rose decorating it. She put it onto her head; pushing her bushy hair out of her face as she did so.

"Wow, I never really noticed how in my face my hair was getting" Hermione said "this is so much better. Thank you Ron."

"That's alright" he said as he took in Hermione's face "you look really nice like that."

"Thanks Ron."

They sat in silence for a while. Ron didn't want to spoil the mood, but there was a question that he just had to ask. He couldn't put it off any longer.

"Hermione?" He asked.

"Yes Ron?"

"I was wondering."

"About?"

"Well… what is actually going on between you and Zabini?" He said "I mean, are you two together? Or wanting to be together?"

"Of course not Ronald! Blaise is just a friend! And his with Xanthe. Even if I felt more for him, I'd be a bit too scared to steal Xanthe River's boyfriend."

"Yeah she is pretty scary" Ron agreed "So you don't feel anything warm and fuzzy for Zabini?"

"Not at all" Hermione said "His just a friend; just like you and Harry."

"And Nott?" Ron added.

For a second Hermione looked surprised, and then deep in though. "Yes" she said after a bit of though "just like Theo. They're both just friends. Is that what's been bothering you?"

"Well… I didn't want him to hurt you, but well, I guess I did get a little paranoid there."

"A little?"

"Well, a lot. But I guess as long as his not going to break your heart or anything then it's alright if his your friend."

"Since when have I needed your approval to be friends with anyone?"

"I'm sorry Hermione! I didn't mean it like that! I just well, I didn't want you to get hurt."

"Thanks for your concern Ron, but I'm fine."

"I know. I'm sorry. Hey, mind if I be your study partner tonight?"

"Oh alright. Help me sort through these class notes please."

As Ron gathered up a large pile of Hermione's class notes, he had to ask himself what he had just gotten himself into.

**:That Weekend:**

Despite having had to endure an embarrassing lecture about sex from her on Wednesday and having a detention with her later tonight, Blaise was glad that his mother was still happy to have a round of chess with him in the courtyard.

As she destroyed him on the board, they talked about family, friends, and schoolwork all in a friendly enough tone. She never brought up the incident on Hermione's birthday, or what she had dubbed his 'inappropriately intimate' relationship with Xanthe. Blaise was thankful for that; his mother was probably the only person at Hogwarts who could really challenge him at chess and he didn't want to lose that friendly competition.

_Ok maybe not the only person _he reminded himself _though playing with Ron Weasley is hardly friendly._

Just as things were looking really bad for Blaise, he noticed an opportunity that his mother seemed to have overlooked and within three moves he managed to put her in checkmate.

"Wow Blaise" she said "you certainly are a Slytherin. So sneaky."

"Slytherin's are cunning Ma, not sneaky"

"Well you're sneaky anyway. Just don't use it to cause too much more trouble."

"I'll try not to Ma. But you know us Slytherins; were always in trouble."

"Well you try to get through this year without causing anymore pandemonium" she said as she got up "I love you Blaise."

"I love you too Ma. I'll try not to frighten any more Gryffindors."

She smiled and left; leaving him to pack up the finely carved muggle chessboard his Pa had given him on his last birthday. Before he made much progress with the packing up someone sat down opposite him. A tall someone with red hair and freckles.

"Hello Zabini" Ron Weasley said.

"Weasley" Blaise nodded in his general direction.

"Want to have a game?" Weasley offered.

Blaise still hadn't forgotten that he'd punched him on Wednesday, or how terrible the last game they had had together was. However something was different about him today; he seemed less obnoxious than usual, so Blaise decided to give him a game.

"Sure why not?" he said as he picked up both kings and shuffled them around behind his back before holding his fists out. After a look of confusion Weasley tapped his right fist which he then opened to reveal the white king. Weasley then took the king and started setting up his white pieces while Blaise set up the black ones and waited for the first move.

"e-Pawn to e4" Weasley said to the chessboard. When the specified pawn didn't move Weasley looked towards Blaise in confusion.

"It's a muggle chessboard" Blaise explained "you move the pieces by hand."

"Oh right" Weasley picked up his pawn and moved in to the desired position, and then Blaise made his first move.

"So you and your Mum both play Chess?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, she started after her sixth husband died."

"Her sixth husband?"

"Adriano Cipollone. He was a duellist. He died fighting."

"Wait, she was Adriano Cipollone's wife?" Ron asked "but Edglar Voss killed him in the European Duelling Championships twenty-two years ago!"

"You do realise I'm sixteen don't you?"

"Well… I know but your mother looks well, much younger."

"Perhaps we do have some Veela blood somewhere down the line. Now are you going to move or drool over my mother?"

"Sorry" Ron said as he moved his queen "it's just hard to believe that she's married and has a son my age. How did a champion duellist end up with a muggle mechanic anyway?"

"It was actually through chess" Blaise explained "After Cipollone's death she went to a park in muggle Rome to clear her head. It happened to be the same park my Pa went to every day to play chess. After a while they noticed each other, started talking, and then he offered to teach her how to play. Three years later they were married."

"Wow. I'll have to tell my sister that. She says that guys who play chess all the time will never get a girlfriend."

Blaise had to admit that although Weasley still seemed obsessed with his mother, he wasn't being vulgar or anything about it this time. Blaise had to wonder why he was acting so different. _Guilt? _He thought to himself _or does he want something?_

Blaise concentrated on his pawns and they both played the rest of the game in silence. Weasley won the game but he didn't act smug about it. Instead he just stood up and offered Blaise his hand. Blaise also stood up and took the offered hand in a good-sportsman's handshake. _Did Hermione say something to him about the last game? _Blaise wondered.

"Hay Zabini" Weasley started "I'm sorry about what happened the other day. Truce?"

_Or maybe Harry said something _Blaise though. "Yah ok" he said "Truce."

Weasley then nodded and walked off; leaving Blaise wondering what the hell had just happened.


	11. Chapter 10: Army of Death

**Chapter 9: Army of Death**

Greg Goyle grinned at Vince Crabbe as Harper finished telling the group about how he had jinxed a Mudblood Hufflepuff in his Potion class without getting into any trouble. _This club is a brilliant idea_ he thought to himself as he looked around the Room of Requirement.

The club had been Pansy's idea. After she heard about Granger being in the Slytherin Comman Room she realised that something drastic needed to be done. All they needed was a place for Purebloods to come together. They then gathered up as many fifth, sixth, and seventh year Slytherins as possible, as well as a few younger students and a couple of other students from Pureblooded families that had somehow ended up in other houses despite their affiliation. All together they numbered twenty-seven; a number Daphne claimed as special.

As Greg thought of Daphne, he realised that she had been pretty quiet all through their first meeting. Normally it was impossible to shut her up. He wondered what was wrong with her.

"What's wrong Daphne?" he asked. She glared at him and some of the other people laughed. Even Vince rolled his eyes and shook his head. That was bad; when Vince thought he was being stupid, Greg knew that he really was being stupid.

"You idiot" Vince said "she's embarrassed because of her sister."

"Why did you have to bring her up Greg?" Daphne said "it's bad enough that she's being friendly with The Mudblood. Don't tease me about it!"

"I didn't know" Greg said "I'm sorry."

"Oh come on Greg" Pansy said "even you must have seen Astoria and The Mudblood together. Oh wait, you aren't too stupid to know which one is The Mudblood are you?"

"Of course not!" Greg protested. There were heaps of Mudbloods in Hogwarts, but only one that the Slytherins all referred to as The Mudblood. Even Greg was smart enough to understand that Matthew Powers was a particularly troublesome Mudblood since he was also a Slytherin.

"Hay Daph" Vince said "want me and Greg to scare her away from him for you?"

"No" She said "well, I do, but it won't work. She's going through some sort of rebellious phase and the more I try to reason or argue with her the more determined she gets to be around that filth. Hopefully she'll just get board of defying us and then she'll realise how stupid she's acting."

"True" Pansy said "but remember that his still pretty good looking – for a Mudblood I mean. Be careful that she doesn't have too much longer to get close to him. Otherwise hormones might start kicking in and then you'll have a muggle-lover in the family."

"Pansy please don't even _talk _about that!" Daphne shrieked.

But that's why we're here." Pansy said "we need to talk about these things because there is a war going on! Our parents are risking their lives to protect the wizarding blood, and it's time we contributed!"

Greg had never imagined that Pansy could be such an inspirational leader. He had always imagined that it would be Draco who put together something like this. Instead he was just sitting on the sidelines, perfectly content to let Pansy have this glory.

The group began talking about The Mudblood, and the non-Slytherins mentioned some of the worse Mudbloods in their houses. Greg let his mind wander though. He would love to have a chance to hurt all those Mudbloods, but more importantly he noticed that the only girls from his year were Pansy, Daphne, and Millie.

"Hay Pansy" He interrupted her just as she called for order "where are Lilith and Tracy? Shouldn't they be here?"

There were more sighs and eye-rolling all around. Greg hated it when people made him feel stupid. Fortunately though it happened fairly often so he was used to it.

"Greg, Lilith and Tracy are Half-Bloods" Pansy said.

"But they're still on our side" he said.

"Yes they support us" Pansy explained "but no matter how much they try, they'll never be on the same level as us."

"Does that mean we'll have to go after them?" he asked. While he didn't mind terrorizing other Half Bloods, Lilith had always been kind and patient with him. And there was talk of Tracy getting engaged to Vince at the end of the year.

"No you idiot!" Pansy said "they are on our side. Halfbloods like Tracy and Lilith still have a place in society. However it's not at the top. Do you understand? No matter how hard they try they can never overcome their impure blood. They can live and possibly even marry us, but they can never be leaders. Half-Bloods amongst this group will just slow us down; no matter how much they believe in our cause."

"Here here!" Vince's little fourth year sister Eugenie cheered. Eugenie was rather big boned like her brother, but looked and acted a lot smarter than he did.

"Well now that we have all that cleared up are there any questions?" Pansy asked. To Greg's surprise it was Draco who cleared his throat and raised his hand slightly. Greg didn't think Draco would have had any trouble understanding what was happening.

"Yes Draco?"

"Do we have to meet _here_?" He asked.

"Why not?" Pansy said "this place worked for Potter's silly army." She shot a glare Greg and Vince's way as she said that, hoping to remind them how much they owed everyone here after that betrayal.

"Oh fine" Draco said "Now um, how are we actually going to purge Hogwarts? Are we going to go around killing all the Mudbloods and blood traitors?"

"No" Pansy said.

"Why not?" Vince protested "If we get them alone and gang up on them –"

"NO!" Pansy said "you know what all our parents have been saying; we have to finish our education so that we can go to the Dark Lord as fully qualified Witches and Wizards. We can't risk getting arrested or making them close down the school."

"Yes so instead we'll all run around playing pranks on them" Draco said "very impressive plan. We'll be helping the war effort a lot that way."

"Oh it'll be more than pranks" Pansy said "for starters there won't be any Mudbloods coming to visit the common room. And then we'll get Powers out too. And then we'll have to get some of our own people back on side before they get too corrupted, and then –,"

"What's the point of all this if we still let them live?" Draco said "I think Vince is right. Let's gang up on a few and kill them. That should send a clear message to the rest of them."

"You really want to just go out and kill a few random Mudbloods?" Pansy said with a strange mix of shock and awe "when did you turn into such a bloodthirsty killer Draco?"

"Not just a few Mudbloods" Draco said "not first anyway. I say we kill Nott and Zabini first."

"But Nott is a pureblood!" Harper said.

"Isn't your oldest brother married to one of his sisters?" Draco asked the fifth year "How does it feel to have a muggle-loving freak in the family?"

"His not part of _my _family!"

"We'll kill him first" Draco continued "and we'll dump his body in the Library so that Granger will find it. And we'll kill Zabini and leave his body outside his blood-traitor mother's office. And we'll leave a note with it saying "Death to all Muggle-lovers."

The room was silent for a while. The reactions to this plan were mixed; some looked mortified at the prospect of killing and dumping bodies, while others – including Vince and Millie – looked excited. Greg couldn't really decide where he fit in. His father had always told him that he would one day have to kill for their beliefs, but he had never really given much thought to what that involved. It could be rewarding like crushing some weak kid was, however no matter how hard he hit or hexed, the kid always got up eventually.

Not to mention that despite her status as a blood traitor and the mother of Blaise Zabini, he actually liked Professor Zabini a lot. She had so far helped him understand a lot of things that last year he would have found impossible to fathom.

"No" Daphne finally said "if we act that extreme, a lot of people with softer hearts – like Astoria – may go against us. And we'll scare a lot of the first years too. What we need to do first is to show that we actually _are_ better than them. We should control them before we start any killing."

"She's right" Harper's friend Deschamps said "I have a brother whose a first year, and he still thinks it's ok to be friends with Mudbloods. If we go on a killing spree then he'll think that a pure world means a world filled with death. Let's leave all the killing until the end of the year; after we make the younger ones realise that we're right."

"I never needed anyone to show _me_ what was right" Draco said "if they get scared then tough."

"But I heard that you used to want to play with muggle children when you were little" Vince teased "even you couldn't understand everything straight away."

"That's a lie!" Draco hissed "If you and your gorilla of a cousin could grow a few brain cells you'd realise that I'd never want to be around muggle children!"

Some laughed, while others seemed to just figure out then that Vince and Greg were cousins. Now it was Greg's turn to roll his eyes. _Of course Vince and I are cousins. If anyone ever met our mothers it would be obvious that they were sisters._

"Draco's right" Said Leo Yates, a seventh year Ravenclaw who claimed that the Sorting Hat refused to put him in Slytherin purely to keep the numbers even. He was a tall guy with a manic smile and laugh, but otherwise he was pretty average looking. "We need to kill someone; that's what being a Death Eater is all about!"

"Death Eaters aren't about killing they are about purifying the Wizard Race!" Pansy said "that involves a lot of killing, but it's just a means to an end! Now I agree with Daphne and Deschamps, there are a few things we need to take care of before we start killing."

The rest of the session involved a lot of planning. A hit list was drawn up, strategies were devised to prevent them from getting into any trouble, people were divided into groups and given targets. It was mostly thinking work, so Greg didn't participate too much. Instead he let his mind wander.

_This is awesome_ he thought to himself _I'm finally going to be able to _do something _for Wizardkind. Those Mudbloods and other scumbags won't know what hit them when I get to them._

Ever since his father told him that he wasn't smart enough to do anything too good for the world, it had been his dream to be part of something great; something that would use his limited talents to make a difference.

_This is what I've always wanted _he thought _but why, why is it that all I can think about is Lilith? Pansy's right; she's just a Half Blood. _

They continued to make plans for almost an hour. After that Pansy moved to dismiss them, but Eugenie brought up one last important issue.

"What are we going to call ourselves?" She asked "should we try to sound powerful? Or try to keep a low profile at first?"

"I thought we were just Junior Death Eaters" Pansy said.

"That sounds silly" Millie said "we need a more powerful sounding name."

"How about the Dark Lord's Army?" Vince said "so it's like Potter's group except more powerful. Because the Dark Lord is more powerful than Dumbledore?"

"Yeah that's good" Pansy said.

"We shouldn't call ourselves anything with the Dark Lord in it in case someone overhears us talking about it." Daphne said.

"That's true"

"What about Death Army?" Draco said "Or Army of Death? That sounds powerful, and it's not immediately obvious what we're talking about either."

"Perfect!" Pansy said, smiling her widest smile at Draco "Army of Death it is. Unless anyone has any better ideas."

No-one had any better ideas, so they became the Army of Death. Pansy then decided it would be a good idea to get everyone's name down, so she passed around a scroll of parchment and got everyone to sign it. Greg thought it was very similar to when Dumbledore's Army started, but this time he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.

Soon the parchment was signed and everyone was getting up to leave. Greg left with Vince and Draco. Vince was complaining loudly about the soft approach they were taking, however Draco seemed to be brooding. The blond lightened up a bit when Pansy came over to them though. She told Vince off a bit and then proceeded to make out with Draco for a while before going off to find Millie and start work on some fliers that were to be hung up around Slytherin Common Room later in the week.

"Army of Death?" Draco muttered as she left "sorry Pansy but I don't think this is going to earn you nearly as much glory as I'm going to have."

"Your little project in the Room of Requirement is going to be bigger than Death's Army?" Greg asked.

"Of course it will be! I'm going to win this war for us!"

"Do we have to work on it so often though?" Vince asked "Urquhart is going to get pretty angry at us if we keep missing Quidditch practices."

"There will be plenty of time for Quidditch after Dumbledore and Potter are dead." Malfoy said "now let's wait until everyone is gone. I've managed to get in another batch of polyjuice potion so you too can stand guard as I work again tonight."

"But Draco it sucks having to turn into a little girl" Vince said.

"Do you want to kill inferiors Vince?" Draco asked "because if you help me, there will be lots of killing."

Vince chuckled over that, and Draco smiled. Greg found himself chuckling too. He wanted to hurt the inferiors, but he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Lilith got caught up in the killing.

**:A Few Days Later:**

On Wednesday Theo woke up in a pretty good mood. It had been a week since Hermione's birthday and his boils had gone down and people were starting to forget about the incident in the Gryffindor Common Room. Not only that, but he had just finished his Defence assignment last night, and he had duelling with Hermione after dinner. Even Blaise and Weasley seemed to be getting along.

His good mood died when he and Blaise entered the Common Room and found Matt Powers and Astoria Greengrass tearing down fliers and arguing with Astoria's sister Daphne.

"Astoria those are educational fliers, you can't just rip them down like that" Daphne said.

"They're not educational their propaganda!" Astoria said.

"People need to know this information" Daphne said "I don't want any of the younger children getting into trouble because some people insisted on being politically correct."

"Daph these are lies!"

"Please Tori just listen to me about this! I know about these types of things!"

"You know jack shit about muggles yet you want to hate them" Matt said "that's pathetic enough, but don't try to make your sister like you."

"Shut up Mudblood!"

"Oi that's enough!" Theo said, surprising himself a bit with his boldness "don't you have anything better to do than to um, than to be the thought police?"

"Shut up Nott; sometimes you sound even stupider than you look."

"And right now you look like you've just gotten out of bed and decided to come up and pick a fight without even bothering to get dressed or brush your hair!" Blaise said. Daphne was a bit un-kept this morning, with her dark hair all frizzy and knotted.

"Shut up Zabini!" Daphne said "you're just the type of person we're trying to protect the younger kids from."

"I am, am I?" Blaise said "Hay Matty, let's have a look at those fliers."

Matt handed the fliers to Blaise, who held them out so that Theo could read them too. The first one had a large picture of Adolf Hitler on it with the heading "Quarter Blood Squib = 9,700,000 dead. How many could a quarter blood wizard kill?"

The next poster had a picture of a witch burning at the stake and the words "NEVER AGAIN" printed over it. The third had a picture of muggle soldiers surrounded by dead bodies and swinging guns around, while the fourth showed a deformed child with the text claiming "Muggles have genetic deformities! Interbreed with them at YOUR CHILD'S risk."

"You know what Daph? Crabbe and Goyle are as Pureblood as they come and I'd hardly call them perfect examples of human genetics."

"Shut up Zabini! And don't you dare call me 'Daph'"

Blaise quickly flicked through the rest of the fliers, which were pretty much more the same. Theo looked around the Common Room and noticed that other people had begun finding the fliers. Some were laughing at them, others were reading them thoughtfully. Still others like Matt and Astoria were getting angry and tearing them down.

"This is all bullshit, _Greengrass_" Blaise said "And aren't some of your friends Half-Bloods? That's a bit hypocritical of you isn't it?"

"Lilith and Tracy know their place in society, and they obviously have the ability to overcome their muggle heritage. Unlike some other Half-Bloods I know."

"I'm quite proud of my muggle heritage" Blaise said "my Father helped make me the man I am today. Sorry your Father is such an –"

"Blaise leave it at that!" Theo said. The fact that Marcus Greengrass was a misogynist pig was something that both Greengrass sisters often complained about, but Theo knew what it was like to have people put him down for his own Father's faults. Even if Daphne was a bit of a bitch, Theo didn't want Blaise to stoop that low.

"Yes Blaise, leave my father out of it" Daphne said "if you really want to have a go at anyone's father, why don't you say something about Nott's drunken lunatic of a father. Hay Nott, did your father really start downing muggle booze because he was too perpetually drunk to Apperate to a wizard bar?"

"You have no sense of honour do you Greengrass?" Theo asked.

"I honour my family and my race Nott. And that is why I will not allow anyone to remove these fliers. Though you'd think they wouldn't be needed with you and Zabini being perfect examples of what muggle contamination does to wizards."

"Daphne leave them alone" Astoria said "you're entitled to your own opinion; but when it's absolute garbage you shouldn't force it on others."

"But Tori…" Daphne said "It's not just an opinion; its centuries of undisputable facts. And I don't want all the horrors of the muggle world to hurt you. Please Tori, just take the time to _listen _to what I'm saying. And please stay away from that Mudblood. Where is he anyway?"

"I've just finished casting fading charms on all your propaganda materials" Matt said "I guess you and your friends will have to go lock yourselves up and redo them. I guess sitting around spitting out hate must be quite enjoyable to a bunch of hags though."

"What did you call us Mudblood?"

"What's going on here?" a smug voice disrupted them all. Pansy Parkinson had finally emerged from her dormitory, looking neat and tidy and with her prefect badge all nice and shiny. Millicent Bulstrode, Lilith Moon, and Tracy Davis followed close behind her all looking smug.

"Well Pansy, it seems that I've discovered a group of vandals." Daphne said "These three" she pointed towards Theo, Blaise and Astoria, "were taking down fliers. And _him_" she pointed at Matt "he faded all of them. And he had the gall to call us hags."

"Those fliers are educational materials" Pansy said "posted by the AD to ensure public safety. Therefore they are protected by the Freedom of Education Act as well as Hogwarts Health and Safety Regulation 634."

"That's a bunch of bollocks" Blaise said as he threw his handful of propaganda aside.

"And you're also littering Zabini" Pansy said "We don't want to live in a filthy Common Room… do we Nott?"

Theo tried to answer her, but he had just become aware of most of the Common Room looking his way and found he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Well I guess with all those muggle tendencies of yours the two of you probably wouldn't mind living in a pig sty" Pansy said as she raised her wand "_Limus Nuntias!_"

Before Theo or Blaise could raise their wands to stop her they were covered from head to toe in mud. Or at least Theo hoped it was mud. It smelt more like manure but he knew it couldn't be because of Gamp's Law. Unless she had just summoned it from a pile of manure in the greenhouses. _Oh yuk!_

"You filthy bitch!" Blaise said as he pulled out his wand. Once his wand was drawn Pansy's gang all drew theirs. Theo quickly came to his aid, and Matt and Astoria weren't far behind. Unfortunately more students seemed to appear out of no-where and pointed their wands at the small group.

"Attacking other students is a big no-no Zabini. Especially a Prefect." Pansy said "I think all four of you need a detention tonight."

"Not tonight!" Theo said, thinking about his duelling practice with Hermione.

"Why not Nott?"

"Ummm… ahh…,"

"That's what I though. Shut up!" Pansy then looked over the four of them with disgust "And you know what Mr. Powers? I think I need to talk to Professor Snape about you. Derogatory comments about Miss Bulstrode because her great-great-grandmother was a hag? Well Muggles are notoriously intolerant so what can we expect?"

"Somehow Miss Prefect, I don't think I'm the intolerant one here" Matt said.

"Oh Mr. Powers why must you make things worse and talk back?" Pansy said "Now I'm going to have to take twenty points off of Slytherin. Where is your house pride? I guess Mudbloods must find it hard to feel pride in noble and long traditional houses."

"Now whose being the intolerant one?"

"I think they've learned their lesson Pansy" Daphne said "Now let's go get some breakfast while we still can. Before the smell makes me completely lose my appetite."

"Yeah" Millicent agreed "Nott smells almost as bad as he did the first time he came to Hogwarts."

The girls laughed and left, with Pansy promising to tell Snape about the detentions. Some of the students who had come to Pansy's aid also insulted them as they left. Soon after a few other students came up asking them if they were alright. A large fourth-year girl who claimed to be an expert at cleaning charms offered to get the "mud" off of them, but Blaise declined.

"Thanks, but after all this, I'm only going to feel properly clean after a shower. Come on Theo, let's hit the showers. Good thing That Parkinson Bitch did this on the one day we get first period off."

"Uh, ok."

And with that Theo followed Blaise back towards the dormitories, thankful to be away from all the prying eyes of the Common Room. Inwardly he cursed those Pure-Blood fanatics. He hadn't felt that good all week and now they hand ruined it.

**:Meanwhile:**

Deepvoice kept to the shadows, watching on in silence as Narcissa worked on her pin. Pius Thicknesse was sedated on a hospital bed while Narcissa's sister Bellatrix and the Dark Lord watched on.

"So after you place the pin into his head Thicknesse will be our puppet?" The Dark Lord asked Narcissa.

"He will be better than our puppet My Lord" Narcissa explained "his pin will plant a seed in him that will sprout into a muggle-hatred so powerful, he'll soon start working for us on his own accord. And he'll be convincing others to join us too."

"That sounds way too slow Cissy" Bellatrix whined "and I don't see what makes it better then a curse."

"Now Bella, let your sister explain everything" The Dark Lord said.

"Thank you My Lord" Narcissa said "now I have finished making the pin, so now all that's left is to attach an Idea on it and then drill it into Mr. Thicknesse's head. I am going to make him disgusted with anything that mixes the Wizarding World with the Muggle one. And he'll see a marriage between a wizard and a muggle as bestiality; with the muggle as the beast. That disgust will eat away at him, and soon any other ideals he held will be adjusted due to that disgust. Knowing his ideals as I do, I know the end result. He'll want all traces of the muggle world destroyed. And he'll sell out any of his friends to do it."

"Why not just make him want to destroy the muggle world in the first place?" Bellatrix asked "this sounds like the long way around."

"It is Bella" Narcissa said "but it's the only way around. If I put in an Idea that is too farfetched for him his subconscious will recognise it – I mean, will consider it - untrue and fight it. We'd lose his co-operation at best; at worst he dies and someone discovers the pin. Also Ideas work better if they are subtle, and based on emotions. Basing them on logic can ruin the targets mind."

"I like the subtly of this method a lot Narcissa" The Dark Lord said "It strikes me that if he comes to agree with us this way, he'll be irrevocably loyal."

"Yes My Lord" Narcissa said "as long as he doesn't suspect that he is being manipulated while the Idea takes hold, he will become one of your most loyal servants."

"Excellent. Now prepare the pin Narcissa. I'm going to enjoy watching this."

"Yes My Lord" Narcissa picked up the pin in a pair of tongs and placed it on top of Thicknesse's skull. She then brought her wand and used it as a hammer. Once the pin was in place she tossed the tongs and placed her wand firmly on the pinhead.

"The mix of magic and muggleness is disgusting" she said as purple mist started forming over the pin "wizards shouldn't have to be forced to wear ugly muggle clothes when out; we shouldn't have to hide our monuments behind perverse muggle ones. Copulating with a muggle is disgusting, just like bestiality! You don't want to see it. You don't want to see anything of the muggle world, least of all children that have been tainted by muggle parents. It's disgusting! You will never let muggles force their way on you! And you'd hate to ever go bald!"

As soon as she finished she pushed her wand forward until the pin was buried in Thicknesse's skull.

"Bravo Narcissa" The Dark Lord said "I cannot wait until those ideas manifest themselves in his policies. I will have Avery arrange for him to work his way to the very top of the Ministry."

"Thank you My Lord." Narcissa bowed "I am honoured to have served you."

"Just one question Narcissa, why did you make him not want to go bald?" The Dark Lord asked as he delicately placed a hand on his own bald head.

"A precautionary step My Lord. The pinhead stays just beneath the skin and could be found with careful observation. Having a full head of hair makes it harder to detect."

"I see. Very cleaver Narcissa. You have helped restore some of your family's lost honour tonight. The Dark Lord then looked towards Deepvoice "Unlike some people we all know" he added "now go and take Thicknesse back to his house. When you get back we'll be having a feast. Maybe we'll leave you some."

"Yes My Lord" Deepvoice said, levitating the unconscious Thicknesse and leaving the room as fast as he could. Once he was away from his Master he allowed himself to think about how devastated Dumbledore would be when he realised just how fast the Dark Lord's plans were moving.


	12. Chapter 11: Singing to Thestrals

**The song Theo sings is Metallica's 'For Whom the Bell's Toll'**

**Chapter 10: Singing to Thestrals**

Harry was starting to not mind his counselling sessions too much. Sure they took up a perfectly good Wednesday night that could have been better spent on Quidditch, and it was getting harder to explain his weekly absence to his friends, but he no longer felt frustrated at Miss Io every time she said something obvious. In fact, he was starting to think that she may even be able to emphasis with him.

But she didn't understand him. No, it seemed like no-one could possibly understand what he was going through. Not his friends, not Dumbledore, and not Miss Io. How could she possibly know what it was like to have such a huge responsibility to deal with?

"Well I'm glad you're doing better Harry" She said.

"Yeah" He agreed "being back at Hogwarts and with my friends helps a lot. I guess it's just the atmosphere."

"Yes that often helps. Harry do you talk to your friends about what happened in the Department of Mysteries?"

"Yeah we talk about it."

"Really?"

"Well, not that much I guess."

"Why not?"

"Why not? Because it's a fucking nightmare! I don't want to have to _think_ about it!"

"And you get snappy with them when they try to talk about it?"

"Well… yeah I guess I do. But I just don't want to think about any of that."

"You need to face up to it one day Harry; you can't just pretend it never happened."

"I know. I'm the Chosen One, and no matter what they do to me, I still have to go out and save the world. I just wish I could be normal and put Sirius's death behind me."

"Harry listen to me" Miss Io said "if you had no world saving responsibilities, you'd still have to face what happened. Normal people don't just put things like that behind them; they grieve and cry just like you are now."

"I'm not crying!"

"Do you cry often Harry?"

"I did at first, but not now."

"These nothing wrong with crying Harry"

"I know that, I just haven't needed to cry much these last few weeks."

"Well that's good."

"Yeah I'm over crying I guess."

"Maybe not. Harry was there any funeral or memorial for Sirius?"

"No, we never had one. There was nothing to bury and everything was too hectic afterwards. And if there was I wouldn't want to attend it. That would just be way too painful."

"Funerals are always painful, but they help us to come to terms with a loved one's death."

"I don't want to go to a late funeral for Sirius. It should be done in his honour; not as something to cheer me up."

"You're right Harry. You have to say good-bye your own way."

"What if I don't want to say good-bye to him just yet?" Harry said "I mean, I'm not punching Malfoy's face in or yelling at people anymore, so what does it matter if I try to let myself believe that he might come back?"

"Hmm… Harry, did you ever go to Cedric Diggory's funeral?"

"The Diggorys invited me, but I couldn't face them after what happened."

"Perhaps you should visit his memorial in the Memorial Garden?"

"I've never been to the Memorial Garden"

"You just go past the greenhouses and follow the castle wall. It's a nice little place; a good memorial to everyone who has died whiles a student of Hogwarts. Though not many people go there. Can't say I blame them; it is a sad place."

"I see."

"It might do you good to go visit though. Add a bit of closure. And it wouldn't be as hard as trying to let go of Sirius."

"Yeah it might" Harry agreed, he hadn't really thought of Cedric that much lately, but he did still owe him something.

"I think you'll feel better after you do Harry" Miss Io said "now we're almost out of time, would you just like to quickly tell me how things have been going with you and Mr. Malfoy?"

"Well, these not much to say really" Harry said "I still get angry when I think about him, but I hardly see him lately. I guess that's a good thing, though it seems that his still up to no good."

"Up to no good how?"

"Well I've heard that these been some pretty nasty things happening in the Slytherin Common Room." Harry explained "Fliers, very mean pranks, and today some students attacked Blaise and Theo with mud. I think the reason I haven't heard much from Malfoy is because his organising some kind of Pureblood Slytherin gang."

"But you haven't seen much of this alleged groups actions?"

"Well no, but something's going down. You can feel it. I mean today there was way more tension between the Slytherins than ever before. And believe me, that's saying a lot."

"Harry, Mr. Malfoy is probably avoiding you for his own reasons. Maybe his just gotten older and more mature. I know you're still angry at him and his father, so it makes sense that you are still looking to vilify him."

"Oh he doesn't need me to vilify him. He does a good job of that himself."

"Just remember not to get too paranoid about this" She explained "I know you're looking for someone to blame, but it doesn't have to be Malfoy."

"Alright then."

"Well that's good Harry. Now you have a good night and I'll see you next week."

"Yes Miss Io, good night."

Harry left her office and slowly made his way back to the Common Room. When he did arrive he saw Ron straight away talking to Ginny about something by the fireplace. He was about to join them, when something in his peripheral vision caught his eye.

It was a large poster, with one small lonely wizard surrounded by muggles. In large print were the words:

5000 OF THEM FOR EVERY 1 OF US!

Still not worried?

"Hard to believe how many of them there are" a second year said to him.

"Well there are about six billion people in the world" Harry said "And most seem to be muggles."

"It's kind of scary though" the kid said "I mean, even without magic if they ever wanted to go to war with us then they could win with their numbers."

"But why would they go to war with us? Most of them don't even know we exist."

"I guess so"

At that moment Ginny saw Harry and called him over, saving him from getting into a debate with the kid. He sat down with the siblings and allowed himself to relax for the evening. He put all thoughts of going to visit Cedric's memorial out of his mind completely.

Well, maybe not completely out of his mind.

On Friday after class Harry called a Quidditch practice session, and afterwards he and Ron stayed behind for a bit of extra practice. Ron was having a bit of a slump and thinking about quitting again, and Harry just had to make him see reason.

"See your doing fine" Harry said as Ron blocked a fast Quaffle he had just thrown.

"Yeah, but no offence Harry, you aren't the best Chaser" Ron said. Harry laughed along with him, and got ready to throw again when Ron pointed to the ground and cried out "Slytherins" in disgust.

Harry looked to where Ron was pointing and saw the Slytherin Team march onto the pitch.

"Oh crap Ron, I forgot that the Slytherins had the pitch after us."

"Oh great, you mean they have a right to be here?" Ron asked "now we can't even shoo them off… whoa, I see girls down there!"

"Girls?" Harry asked. Since he had been at Hogwarts the Slytherin team had always picked the biggest and strongest players to muscle around the pitch, a strategy that meant he had never seen a girl play on the team except as a reserve.

"You didn't know?" Ron asked "I thought you kept track of the other teams?"

"I knew the Slytherins had three new Chasers, but I only know their last names. Urquhart, Vaisey, and Selwyn."

"Urquhart's new?" Ron asked "but isn't he their captain?"

"His played reserve for just about every position at some point" Harry explained "come to think of it I remember Vaisey; she's that muscley girl who played reserve Chaser against Ravenclaw last year. I should have remembered her."

"Oh yeah I remember that game; Montague and Warrington were both out due to Inquisitional Squad related injuries. Though that was probably the best they played all year, so maybe we should be a bit worried."

"Well Urquhart's waving us down. Let's go apologise and tell him we'll be quick."

However Urquhart didn't seem to mind them flying around at all. Harry noticed that when he and Ron landed, the Slytherin captain seemed rather pleased to see them.

"Hey, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley" Urquhart said "I'm Garth Urquhart, I'm not sure if we've ever met before."

"Nah I don't think we have" Harry said "you've never played Gryffindor before have you?"

"Never had a chance unfortunately" Urquhart said "the main team-members never seem to get injured until around the New Year. But I look forward to facing your team."

"Yeah" Harry agreed, finding himself warming up to his Slytherin counterpart "I'm guessing you'll be making a few changes in the team –" Malfoy snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Have you got a problem Draco?" Urquhart asked.

"Plenty" Draco said "most of them being along the lines of 'if it isn't broken, don't fix it'"

"No Malfoy, the Slytherin team doesn't need fixing" Ron said "that's why you always loose to us."

"This coming from one of the worst Keepers Hogwarts has ever seen" Malfoy said.

"That's enough" Urquhart said "You know Malfoy, we aren't going to be winning any matches if our Seeker and Beaters don't even show up for practice."

"Hay! Remember who supplies this team with all the best equipment." Malfoy sneered, causing Vaisey and Selwyn to both clutch their new model Nimbus 2002s tightly and smile. Harry noticed that Malfoy also had a Nimbus 2002; meaning that his broom was _almost_ a match for the Firebolt.

"Yes Malfoy" Urquhart agreed "let's not waste your Father's generous donations on lousy riders now okay? And just remember that I'm not touching any of your bribes." As he spoke Urquhart casually swung his own broom in front of him. It wasn't it a Nimbas 2002.

"You have a Firebolt as well?" Ron said "wow no wonder you were made Captain."

"Actually it's the other way around" Urquhart said "I've been saving up for one since they came out. Then when Miles – " he pointed to his Keeper Miles Bletcherly, a tall seventh year with a Nimbas 2001 " – relinquished the Captaincy to me, a few friends and relatives banned together to help me get it before term went back."

"Oh I see. Sorry about that." Ron said "Hay Bletcherly, why did you give up being Captain?"

"Because the team was getting a bit too pure" Vaisey muttered to Selwyn. Harry heard her, but if Urquhart or Bletcherly heard her then they both ignored her.

"Well I'm n-not really g-good with w-w-well, being a l-le-leader" Bletcherly explained "Garth is b-better at th-this stuff."

"Ah I see" Ron said.

"And apparently Draco wasn't good enough" Goyle said.

"Drop it Goyle" Malfoy said.

Goyle went silent and Urquhart sighed. "Look guys" He said "If you two want to keep practicing I don't mind sharing the pitch."

"You have to be joking!" Vaisey said.

"Eva, there is such a thing as good sportsmanship" Urquhart said before turning back to the Gryffindors "but guys, don't expect me to be quite as friendly when the match is coming up. I can get pretty competitive."

"That's alright" Harry said "thanks for the offer, but we were just finishing up. We'll be gone once we finish packing."

"Okay then" Urquhart said, holding out his hand "Both don't worry about packing; I mean we'll be using the same balls right? Well it was nice meeting you Potter. And you too Weasley. Good luck both of you."

They both shook Urquhart's hand, much to the disapproval of most of his team. Harry and Ron then left the pitch, both in very happy moods.

"You know what Harry?" Ron asked.

"What Ron?"

"I actually like that guy!"

"Yeah I know. I can't wait to face _his _Slytherin team."

"Not sure about Vaisey though" Ron said "she's like a butch Pansy Parkinson."

"Yeah I know. But as you said, the game she played in last year was Slytherin's best."

"I wonder what she meant about the team becoming 'too pure'?"

"I'm not sure Ron, but I remember something interesting Oliver Wood told me once."

"What?"

"He said that the Slytherin Quidditch Team is the only place in Slytherin where Blood Status doesn't matter. In fact, I think Bletcherly is a Half-Blood."

"Yeah I heard that too" Ron said "about the Slytherin Team being neutral. Though I guess if you have people like Montague as Captain it doesn't really work out that way."

"Yeah, Montague was pretty bad. Though he did keep Bletcherly on. I think Flint had a more even team though."

"That stupid troll?" Ron asked.

"Well I never really cared to ask about the blood status of his team" Harry said "but I don't think Oliver would have told me about the Slytherin tradition of a neutral team if Flint didn't follow it. It makes sense really; they wouldn't have won the house cup for seven years running if they didn't get the very best players available."

"Yeah. I guess so" Ron agreed as they approached the castle "Hay look, Blaise and Professor Zabini are playing chess."

"Wow, you're calling him Blaise now?" Harry had noticed Ron being friendlier towards Blaise during the past week, but he still hadn't heard him say his first name yet.

"Yeah we play chess together more often now" Ron explained "but I've never played his mother before. He says that she's really good. Want to go see if she'll verse us?"

"Nah I'm not really in a mood to play chess at the moment" Harry said. Playing Ron was hard but fun. However the only time Harry and played Blaise he'd ended up check-mated in four moves and Ron had spent the rest of the evening moaning about his friend 'being taken in by the most obvious trick in the book.'

"Oh ok then" Ron said "see you around mate."

"I'll see you later" Harry said as his best friend took off. Harry didn't really feel like going back inside. He walked away from the courtyard, planning to walk around a bit. When he got to the greenhouses he remembered what Miss Io had said about the memorial garden.

Harry had not told his friends about his sessions with Miss Io. He could imagine Hermione asking about every little detail about his sessions and Ron prattling on about how he didn't need a crazy shrink. Maybe if he followed her advice and convinced her he was better he wouldn't need to see her every week. That would be one way to stop the questions about what he did on Wednesday nights.

_And I do still owe Cedric something _Harry reminded himself.

And so Harry found himself walking past the greenhouses, and following the wall of the castle until the greenhouses were off in the distance and he had come to the corner of the castle. He turned the corner and continued walking, and soon found himself in unfamiliar territory.

The castle itself kept this area in the shade, and in the other direction a steep slope led down to the Forbidden Forest. Now that he thought of it, Harry could remember coming here a couple of times on hot days, but he had never explored any further.

He almost missed the Garden. In fact he would have gone straight past it if a Thestral hadn't landed near him and walked into it. The Garden was actually a courtyard built into the castle. Harry had never thought of Hogwarts as more than one large building; from most angles it looked like one large building with a few towers poking out the top and some courtyards tucked away in places.

However from here it looked like the castle was made up of two main buildings, and in between them was a fancy archway. He walked through the archway, and noticed nooks on either side with gardens of white roses tucked away in them.

Soon he came to his first memorial plaque. The stone looked old, but it seemed like someone had come along and magically fixed all the weather damage and erosion. The engravings were a bit hard to make out, but after a bit of squinting he could make out the name:

_Here Lay _

_Isolede of Dorset_

_7th January 893 – 24th October 906_

He could see an inscription underneath Isolede's name, but he could not make it out at all. There were a few other plaques around, but despite the enchantments used on them they had not survived the last thousand years.

He kept walking and was soon in what appeared to be a tunnel covered in vines. Not for the first time, Harry found himself wondering how Hogwarts had been built.

He emerged into another courtyard that was surrounded on all sides by the walls of the castle. There were three more tunnels leading off from this courtyard and Harry had no idea which way Cedric's memorial was. He tried checking the dates on the plaques for clues but couldn't find anything useful. The latest date was 1004 and that was closest to the left tunnel; but that path was the most overgrown and looked the less used.

Just as he was deciding to give up he heard a sound coming from the right tunnel. That path also looked the most used of the three so Harry decided to follow it. He just hoped he didn't get lost overnight here.

As he walked he walked past a few gardens. In the first one he noticed a lot of deaths in 1766. That may have been the year a deadly plague of dragonpox had swept through Wizarding Europe. He would have to ask Hermione. At least the 1700's date was much more recant then anything he had seen before. It looked like he was going the right way.

He also quickly realised what he was hearing too; singing. Harry had no idea if it was human singing or if the singer was near Cedric's plaque, but every time Harry came to a fork in the path he decided to go towards the singing. The dates kept going up as he went so it seemed to be working.

The singer was male – a tenor Harry decided. He could see a large courtyard ahead of him and could just make out a tall figure standing next to a Thestral.

"_Blackened roar, massive roar fills the crumbling sky_

_Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry_

_Stranger now, are his eyes, to this mystery_

_He hears the silence so loud"_

The boy who Harry could now recognised paused for a second, and then seemed to go rigid as the Thestral he was patting jerked its head in Harry's direction and snorted.

"Hello Theo" Harry said to the singer "sorry if I scared you."

"Oh um well, it's alright" Theo said "I rarely see other people here that's all. What are you doing here?"

"I actually came to see Cedric Diggory's memorial" Harry explained "I figure after more than a year I owe him at least that."

"I see" Theo said "his plaque is over here. Next to Alice's."

"Thanks" Harry said, making his way towards Theo.

"Umm… shall I leave you alone?"

"Oh, no it's fine" Harry said as he stood next to Theo and found Cedric's plaque.

_Cedric Amos Diggory_

_14.10.1977 – 24.06.1995_

_When you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort._

The Hufflepuff crest adorned Cedric's shiny plaque. Harry found himself wondering what it would have been like if he had died in that graveyard. His plaque would be next to Cedric's but with a Gryffindor crest on it. Someone would have come up with a nice little verse for him too.

He wondered if that would matter to him after he died. And did it matter to Cedric? What good were these symbols of love and loss after death? After all, death truly was the end. Cedric wasn't around to appreciate his memorial or the grief of those he left behind.

Likewise, Sirius wasn't going to come back to make Harry's life all better. Both of them – and his parents too – they were all gone forever. And when he died, Harry realised that that would truly be the end of everything. Eventually, _everyone_ was lost.

"Hay it's alright" Harry felt a soft hand on his shoulder and looked at Theo. The taller boy had his eyes fixed firmly on the ground but gave Harry's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Harry was shocked to notice that tears were starting to form in his eyes.

_Shit man, don't cry, _he urged himself; _not in front of Theo – you barely know him! Don't cry!_

"Hay, the Thestral is gone" Harry said as he tried to discreetly wipe the tears away from his eyes.

"Yeah, they only stay if I'm singing" Theo explained "they um, well I guess they must like it."

"You have a lovely singing voice; was that Weird Sisters you were singing?"

"Nah, it's a song by Metallica, they're a pretty cool muggle group that Blaise is really into."

"I know who Metallica are. My cousin Dudley thinks they're gods."

"So does Blaise."

"I got that impression."

"Yeah… well can you please do me a favour?"

"What type of favour?"

"Please don't tell Professor Flitwick I can sing."

"…okay?"

"His been trying to recruit me into the school choir since I was eleven. I just tell him I can't sing, but if he knew I wasn't completely tone-deaf he'd be a lot more persistent."

"Why don't you join the choir? You sound amazing."

"I can't sing."

"Yes you can. I just heard you."

"No I can't around other people. I can't really explain it, but ever since Alice died I just haven't been able to sing anything without thinking about her and, and it hurts."

"Oh I see" Harry said. Now he turned his attention to the Ravenclaw plaque next to Cedric's.

_Alice Adele Nott_

_20.02.1974 – 19.12.1988_

_When all seems hopeless, impossible to advance, keep dreaming. Keep singing. Keep hoping. Keep striving to make the world a better place. A true champion can come from anywhere._

"So you were eight when she died?" Harry asked "and it still hurts?"

"Of course it still hurts! It was about a week before my eight birthday and I _watched _her die! That's not the kind of thing you just get over. It's always going to hurt."

"I'm sorry" Harry said "I wasn't going to ask about you seeing the Thestrals, I understand it hurts to talk about."

"No! You don't understand!"

"Erm… sorry" Harry said again. He had never seen Theo look really angry; not even when he was being insulted by Malfoy. But just for a moment he did look angry.

"No it's alright" Theo said "I'm the one who's sorry. It's just well, I can live my life and be happy. I've accepted Alice's death. I still miss her, but I've accepted it. But the thing is it was just so traumatic that well, for a long time afterwards I wasn't alright. And when I think about those years after Alice's death and how much I lost… I just get angry."

"I'm not quite sure if I follow"

"It's alright. I guess I'm just a bit messed up still."

"Oh okay?"

For a while afterwards there was silence. Harry found that after the last year he didn't really have much grief left for Cedric. He hadn't really been that close to him after all. But he did still miss him in a way. Maybe if he had been alone he would have found himself reminiscing on that last year they had together; after all it was the last year of real peace. Instead though, he found himself wondering about Theodore Nott and his sister.

"Hey Harry" Theo asked "I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Sirius Black was important to you wasn't he" Theo asked "I know he died at the Department of Mysteries, and I noticed that the battle last year has effected you more than anyone else that was there. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, he was my godfather" Harry said. He noticed Theo's puzzled expression but really didn't feel like explaining everything right now "I saw him die. Or at least I think he died. There was never any body. As for whether or not I'm alright… well to be honest I'm really not sure." He felt tears threatening to surface again but refused to let them shed.

"I see" Theo said "I've never had a godfather; Alice was all I had growing up. So I'm not sure what it would feel like to lose someone like that."

"What about your father? Or your older sisters?"

"My father… he never got over my mother's death. And he drank a lot. And I reminded him of her a lot. He blamed me for what happened to her. So did my other sisters. They don't think I was worth losing her."

"That's… that's terrible! And after all that, Alice died too?" Theo nodded and whipped his eyes "What happened to her anyway?"

"She was murdered."

"Murdered? In front of you?"

"She was murdered by my sister Gabriella."

For a second Harry's entire world stopped spinning. The courtyard had been quiet before but now it seemed dead silent, with only the sound of his and Theo's breathing disturbing the quiet.

"How could someone murder their own family?" Harry was not aware he had spoken out loud until after he heard his words echoed back to him. Theo just sighed and shook his head.

"We're a Pureblood family; a radical Pureblood family. Both my parents were Death Eaters, and Gabriella joined up just before Voldemort's fall. She was so proud of our pure blood. She always saw Alice and myself as a shame to the family because we were interested in muggle culture growing up, but she just ignored. She was furious at Alice when she went to Hogwarts and made friends with a muggle-born boy. But when a rumour started that they were more than just friends, Gabriella found out and apparently that was crossing the line."

"I'm… I'm so sorry. What happed to Gabriella?"

"She's in Azkaban now. Never to be released. I can never forgive her for what she did."

"Why would you want to forgive someone like that? I just, I just can't believe people would do that. Just because she liked muggle stuff and had a muggle-born friend and wasn't in the right house and, and just because she was different."

"Actually the house wasn't a problem" Theo explained as he fidgeted with his comm badge "We're actually descended from Rowena Ravenclaw in the female line, so it's kinda okay for us to be in Ravenclaw House."

"That's beside the point" Harry said "I… I just… I'm sorry. I guess you don't really like talking about this."

"I don't particularly like talking about it, but I _can_ talk about it. And I'd rather talk about it then let Alice be forgotten."

"I can't imagine ever being okay talking about Sirius's death. It's just so painful."

"You'll be able to talk about it one day; it just takes time. You know there's actually a counsellor at Hogwarts. Her name is Io Lestrange and she's pretty good."

"I'd rather not get counselling."

"Well, you could always talk to Hermione. She's a very understanding person."

"But she doesn't understand _me_."

"Well, if you ever feel ready to talk and need a shoulder to cry on, I'm usually here once or twice a week. I mean I know we're not that close or anything, but I do know what it's like to miss someone."

"Thanks Theo. If I need a shoulder I'll come and find yours."

"Okay. Well um, it'll be dinner time soon. I better head back."

"I'll come with you. I don't really like the idea of finding my way out of here in the dark."

"Yeah this place does change sometimes."

"I don't get how they made this place" Harry said as they left the courtyard "or why it has to be hidden so well."

"Haven't you ever read Hogwarts; a History?" Theo asked in genuine surprise.

"Oh not you too"

"Huh what do you mean?"

"Oh don't worry. Let's go have dinner."

"Sounds good to me."

As they left the courtyard Harry saw a couple of Thestrals. They were both looking at Theo longingly as if craving another song.


	13. Chapter 12: A Good Half Blood

**Warning: This chapter is a bit gory. I had some trouble writing it.**

**Chapter 11: A Good Half-Blood**

Draco cautiously stuck his head out the door to make sure no one was watching. For the third time Crabbe and Goyle had disobeyed his orders and gone to Quidditich practice instead of standing guard for him.

Once he was sure the coast was clear Draco exited the Room of Hidden Things and marched angrily back to Slytherin Common Room. Draco was often angry these days; angry with the vanishing cabinet, angry with Crabbe and Goyle, and angry with that Half-Blood Urquhart. He chuckled to himself as he realised that for once Harry Potter and his lackeys were actually fairly low on his list of hates.

_Maybe I should take a break from my mission for a while _Draco thought to himself _let off some steam on the Quidditch Pitch. Get ready to beat Potter next month. Then I can quit the team with my head held high and go hex Urquhart's Mudblood girlfriend._

Draco found himself feeling a bit better. However his mood deflated again as he turned the corner and found professor Snape waiting for him

"I had a feeling I'd find you around here Draco" Snape said.

"Good evening Professor" Draco said, trying to turn on his charm.

"Come with me Draco, we need to have a talk in my office."

"We can talk here professor" Draco said, looking around to see if there were any other students around. He knew what Snape wanted; the slimy git had been following him around lately, spying on him. Draco was convinced that Snape was after _his _glory.

"I would rather we discussed this in private" Snape said as a group of fifth year Ravenclaws walked past shooting them curious glances.

"I think I know what you want to talk about professor" Draco said, quickly looking at the Ravenclaws. The thought of the whole school hearing that he had put Severus Snape in his place seemed like just the ego boost he needed right now.

"You do now Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes professor. And you know what, I think you're underestimating just how valuable I am to some _very _important people."

For a moment Snape let his cool façade drop and Draco congratulated himself on putting the uppity professor in his place so well. The Ravenclaw girls were looking out the window pretending they weren't interested in what was going on. It was a double victory for Draco; the whole school would know that he showed Snape who was boss, yet no-one really knew what was going on except for him and power-hungry Snape.

"Well Malfoy I'm glad you realise what's happening" Snape said as he regained his composure "Now I don't have to go through pages of infractions with you."

"Pages of infractions?"

"Concerning your prefect duties; or rather your lack of them. When was the last time you did a patrol Mr. Malfoy?"

"A… My prefect duties?" Draco asked, beginning to feel less sure of himself. It had been at least three weeks since he had done any of his duties.

"Yes Mr. Malfoy, your prefect duties. IIt seems you have completely forgotten the responsibilities that go with the prefect badge. However many teachers have noticed that you still enjoy the privileges associated with being a Prefect."

"The privileges?"

"Docking points off of the younger Slytherins, handing out detentions, using the prefect bathroom, so it appears you haven't forgotten that you are actually a Prefect." Snape then curled the corner of his lip up in a cruel smirk and looked for a brief second at the Ravenclaws.

"I had hoped Mr. Malfoy to have discussed this with you in private, however since you obviously knew this was coming and have shown no interest in your responsibilities to this school, I shall relieve you of your prefect position immediately."

"You're going to take away my prefect role?" Malfoy said "you… who the hell else are you going to get to be 6th year boy prefect?" Crabbe couldn't handle being a prefect and Goyle probably couldn't handle anything without someone to help him every step of the way. And there was absolutely no way that Snape would even consider…

"Mr. Malfoy there _are_ four other boys in your year. Now you can either give your badge to your replacement in a dignified manner, or I will take it now and send it to him in the mail."

"You're going to replace me with _Zabini _aren't you? You've never appointed anyone with a muggle parent a prefect before, but I guess since his _mother _teaches here that makes it alright to support _them_! Are you planning to become husband number eight are you?"

"Mr. Malfoy, this shall be a joint decision between me and professor Dumbledore. You don't know who we'll choose."

"You're using Dumbledore as an excuse so you can pick that filthy Half-Blood without appearing to be a muggle-lover! My father always said you were only half a man."

"Your badge Mr. Malfoy" Snape held out his hand "since you obviously cannot conduct yourself with dignity I shall take it now."

Draco felt his self control falter as he glared at Snape's palm and then shot a murderous glance at the Ravenclaws who had moved slightly further away.

"Draco don't make me accio it off of your robe"

Draco pulled his prefect badge off his robe and pegged it as hard as he could towards the floor next to Snape.

"Fine take the badge! But no real Slytherin will listen to a word Zabini says!"

"Very mature Draco; now I suppose you have time for those other important things?"

"Fuck. You." Draco said, turning around and marching away from his pathetic excuse for a Head of House.

"What are you bimbos gawking at?" He snarled at the Ravenclaws as he walked past them.

One thing he was sure about; Zabini would pay!

**:Meanwhile:**

Greg lingered behind as his team mates headed back to the castle. He had seen a fleck of red hair in the stands and looked forward to seeing a friendly face after the fight he and Vince had had with Draco.

"Hello Lilith" Greg said as Lilith Moon emerged onto the field "did you see us practice?"

"Yeah, you were great" Lilith said "the team seems a lot more organised with Urquhart as captain."

"Yeah" Greg said "the others think his a bit of a loser, but if he gets us the cup I don't care."

"Really? Even though both his parents are Mudbloods?"

"I'll rip him off about that after we win. If we fight about it now we'll get creamed by Gryffindor. Again."

"Yeah that makes perfect sense; but isn't it just the biggest double standard?"

"What do you mean?"

"Half-Bloods are so inferior and useless" Lilith said, imitating Pansy Parkinson's girly voice "except when we need them in Quidditch and to help with homework."

Greg understood the double standard, but he had never really thought of it like that. Rather he believed that there was some important part of the way things are that in his stupidity he just couldn't understand. He had often had difficulty determining the line between a decant Half-Blood and a bad one.

Until now his mother's advice had always driven him well on this matter. _"Now listen here Greg, this is important_" _she had said before sending him off to Hogwarts for the first time_ _"about half the students you'll be going to school with are Half-Bloods. They can be confusing, since unlike Mudbloods it's not readily apparent what they are."_

_ "But they're still part muggle aren't they?" He had asked her_ _"so they're not like us anyway."_

_ "No dear, but there are many different types of Half-Bloods. You have those that have a muggle parent, some that have Mudblood parents, and others whose parents were proper wizards and witches but their grandparents and great-grandparents weren't. Being Half-Blood isn't the same as being Pure or Mudblood. There are many that inherit enough wizard blood to still be alright."_

_ "But they still have some muggle blood in them no matter what right? So they're still not as good?"_

_ "Yes Greg dear, even the best of them will never be as good as us. Now you watch out for them, and stay close to Draco. He'll be able to pick them well."_

"It's just so confusing" Greg sighed "hay do you want to go back to the castle and eat?"

"Yeah that sounds good" Lilith said "you sure you won't be kicked out of the club though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well Greg," her cheeriness vanished and she looked around to make sure they were really alone "do you guys talk about me or Tracy in your Pureblood thing?" "No. Why?"

"It's just, this whole week Pansy and the other girls well, they just aren't as nice to me or Tracy anymore. Even Daphne has grown a bit distant."

"But you all still talk; and why would they not like you or Tracy anymore? You're both good half-bloods!" as far as Greg was concerned Lilith was as perfect as any Half-Blood could be. Growing up with a muggle father had shown her just how cruel muggles could be, but despite her violent father and weak mother she had grown up strong and determined to put a stop to muggle abuses.

In fact, even though Greg would never admit it to anyone else, he thought that Lilith was smarter and much more thoughtful than a lot of Purebloods he knew. Perhaps her red hair and poor eye-sight were the only things she had inherited from her muggle father.

"I know Greg" she said "but even though I agree with them, even though I've been friends with them… things have changed now, and I don't think our friendship will ever be the same again. This war is changing everything."

"Hay it's alright. I still think of you as the same old Lilith. If that helps at all." This was actually a white lie; Greg was under the impression that most girls would easily cry over something like this, however Lilith was still staying strong and his opinion of her only improved.

"Thanks Greg" Lilith said "it's nice to know that I'm not completely subhuman."

"Of course you're not" Greg said "Your just the type of person wizard-kind needs."

"You're so nice Greg. Hey, did you know that this weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend?"

"Yeah, the AD is getting together for some drinks at the Hog's Head"

"I see. Hay after you've finished do you want to have a look at Spintwitches? I'm thinking of getting some new Quidditch gloves, and then maybe after we could go to Honeydukes?"

"Yeah Honeydukes sounds great" He said, trying to forget how badly he had thrown up after his last visit to the candy shop "and I think my club is getting a bit worn."

"Okay, what time shall we meet?"

Suddenly Greg realised what was going on. _Is Lilith asking me out on a date? _He asked himself. _No of course not. Don't be stupid Greg. She's just a friend and is really glad I'm being nice to her, that's all. As if she would want to go out with me anyway._

Greg and Lilith continued to make plans for the weekend, and when they got to the Great Hall they found Tracy and sat down to eat with her. Soon the conversation turned to Tracy's upcoming birthday and her plans to decorate an empty classroom for a massive party. Of course her birthday wasn't until January, but as usual Tracy was planning something really huge.

Meanwhile Draco was nowhere in sight, so Vince came to sit with them. Greg didn't know if he was imagining it or not, but his friend seemed to be trying to avoid looking at Tracy. It wasn't until the girls left to go research party spells and Greg and Vince had started on the third helping of desert that he found out what was troubling his friend.

"My parents have been talking with _her_ family" Vince said between mouthfuls of chocolate-chip ice-cream "and as soon as she turns seventeen they're announcing our engagement."

"Oh cool" Greg said, feeling the slightest hint of jealously. He wondered how his family would ever find a wife for him. An arranged marriage would be his only chance of ever having a woman in his life, but even with his pure blood he doubted his parents would find a family willing to risk him getting their daughter pregnant with more idiot children.

"It's not cool at all!" Vince said "I don't want to be married to Davis!"

"Why not? She's nice enough, comes from a good family on her mother's side, oh and she is sort of pretty."

"Sort of pretty? I hate brainless fatties!"

Greg found himself laughing so hard that he almost chocked on a slice of apple pie. He may not understand what the word 'irony' meant, but he sure did have a good sense of it.

Vince however seemed unable to grasp such a concept and laughed along with Greg, thinking that his friend was simply finding it funny that he had insulted Tracy.

"Look Greg" Vince explained after they had both calmed down a bit "my parents think I'm too stupid to be wanted by any Pureblooded girl, and that's why they want me to marry Tracy. The Rosier family would never want me under normal circumstances, but since her mother is a squib and her father a Mudblood, they don't have much choice."

"Yeah, not the best blood" Greg agreed.

"Exactly. But you know what? I'm sick of having second best of everything. You know Greg, I think if I wanted to I could have Daphne."

"Daphne? But isn't she dating Harper?"

"I'm just as deserving of a sexy Pureblood girl as that pretty boy! The two of us need to make a stand Greg. Like when we told Malfoy where to shove it today. Why should we have to pollute our bloodlines?"

"Well we might have idiot children"

"We're not idiots Greg! We know as many jinxes and hexes as Potter, we can control people better than Malfoy, and we did alright in Charms too. Who cares if we can't read or write well? Now that I'm of age, my Father is going to start teaching me Dark Magic when I go home this Christmas; then all that nerdy stuff won't mean shit!"

"Yeah! No-one will doubt us when we're dark wizards."

"Yeah, oh look it's Malfoy."

Draco Malfoy was storming towards them looking furious. Greg wondered if he should hex him now before he started having a go at them.

"I knew I'd find you two here stuffing your faces" Malfoy said

"Shut up Malfoy!" Vince said "we don't take orders from you!"

"That's a shame" he said "since I wanted the two of you to help me with a bit of killing."

"Killing?" Vince asked, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Yup, killing" Draco said "it's time to show Zabini what happens to uppity Half-Bloods who don't know how to respect their superiors."

"Oh yeah!" Vince abandoned his ice-cream to go stand by Draco, suddenly best friends with him again.

"What about you Greg?" Draco asked.

"Count me in!" Greg said, getting up and following his friends down to the Slytherin Common Room.

**:Meanwhile:**

Theo and Xanthe arrived before Dave out of breath and excited. Theo had to wonder though, if what Xanthe said was true then just how would Blaise react?

"Whoa guys, what's all the excitement for?" Dave asked.

"Blaise is getting something special tomorrow" Xanthe said.

"Oh what's he getting? Hurry up and tell me then I'll let you in. Good thing you guys got here before I left."

"Off to see the Fat Lady again?" Xanthe asked.

"She's not fat! She was just painted with a thick brush."

"Alright, then sorry. Anyway, Blaise is going to be a Prefect."

"What's a Prefect?"

"He gets to give out detentions and stuff" Theo explained.

"Oh awesome! I'll tell those Nun's on the third floor; they love hearing about what you students are up to."

"That's great, now mind if we go in now?" Xanthe asked.

"Got the password?"

"Angle of Death"

"See ya guys."

They entered The Shop and Dave slammed the door shut behind them. Blaise was so engrossed in placing some sort of charm on a disembowelled gameboy that he didn't even notice them at first. Theo noticed Xanthe edge closer to him and quietly stopped her; it would be a very bad thing indeed if Blaise was distracted during such a delicate procedure. Theo could still remember how close the two of them had come to being expelled after Blaise had accidentally created a red-shelled Koopa Trooper and then not-so-accidentally set it loose in the common room. Who knew what damage would unfold if Xanthe did hug him and surprise him? It certainly wouldn't be a good way to start as a Prefect.

"Okay guys, I'm done" Blaise said as he layed down his tools and pocketed his wand "you can make noise now, nothing will explode."

"Yay!" Xanthe cheered as she flung herself at Blaise in a tight embrace. He seemed confused at first but quickly embraced her back.

"What's the special occasion honey?" Blaise asked "you haven't hugged me like this in weeks."

"I don't need an excuse to hug my boyfriend!" Xanthe snapped, pulling away from him and pretending to be deeply offended. At least Theo hoped she was only pretending to be offended.

"Okay sorry" Blaise pouted "you can hug me whenever you like… in fact I'd be happy if you hugged me more often… but there is a special occasion isn't there?"

"You're a prefect" Theo blurted out, hoping to head off either an argument or a lovey-dovey scene between Blaise and Xanthe.

"Theo!" Xanthe said "you don't just blurt something like that out!"

"I'm a prefect?" Blaise asked.

"You will be" Xanthe explained "Some friends of mine heard Malfoy have a huge argument with Snape. Snape said he could either hand his badge to you, or that he'd take it and mail it to you tomorrow."

"Oh great" Blaise said "That's one way to make being a prefect seem terrible; if it has to be given to me by Malfoy then I don't want it."

"It won't be" Xanthe assured him "Malfoy chucked a huge tantrum and practically _threw _the badge at Professor Snape."

"He threw a tantrum?"

"Yes, apparently he acted like a spoilt little brat and didn't want to give up the badge."

"Oh that sounds so like Malfoy" Blaise laughed "in that case I will wear my badge with pride, and rub it in his nose every chance I get. And then I'll see if I can get Ron Weasley put on detention."

"Blaise, you can't just constantly abuse your prefect powers" Theo said.

"Why not?" Blaise said "Malfoy did."

"And he just had his badge taken from him."

"Oh yeah, good point. Well, I'll certainly stand up for justice. I'll make all those Pureblood gangs pay for any step out of line they take."

"Well that's one good thing I suppose" Theo admitted "but why do you want to give Weasley detention anyway? I thought the two of you were getting along alright now."

"Not than you can put him on detention anyway" Xanthe reminded them "his a Prefect too remember?"

"Well, yeah I guess we get along alright" Blaise said "but his still a little arrogant bastard. The other day we were playing chess, and my mother was with us, and you know what he did? He beat me – beat me pretty well I'll admit – and then he acted like a little brat and teased me about it. Then asked Ma for a game. I know he is capable of being a good sport… but the little shit just wanted to humiliate me in front of my own mother."

"Guess its back to all that bickering" Theo sighed. He had gotten used to the idea that he and Blaise could talk to Harry as much as they wanted without Ron getting jealous anymore.

"Only if _he _keeps it up" Blaise said.

"Well you'll be seeing a lot more of him once you're a prefect" Xanthe said "You'll have to go to meetings together and do patrols – "

"I'm beginning to wonder if being a prefect is really worth it" Blaise said.

"You'll be a great Prefect!" Theo said "Tons better than Malfoy. Oh, Matty Powers and Tori Greengrass say congratulations, and they wanted me to give these to you." Theo then took out a package and gave it too Blaise.

"Wow, a half eaten box of chocolate frogs. Theo control your chocolate cravings!"

"I didn't eat any! Well, not yet."

"They were eating them and trading cards when we told them" Xanthe explained "So Matt decided to give you the rest of the packet."

"Well that was nice of him" Blaise said "So do you two want to help me eat these?"

"Yes!" Theo said

Blaise smiled and placed the bag on the table so that they could all help themselves. He then collapsed into the nearest beanbag with a chocolate frog and invited Theo and Xanthe to do the same. As soon as Theo landed in his beanbag he opened his frog and then started biting into that sweet, sweet chocolate.

"So Theo" Xanthe asked as she ate "Where are you going to take Hermione this weekend?"

"What do you mean?"

"In Hogsmeade this weekend" Blaise said "Going to take her out?"

"Well I… we haven't got any plans" Theo said "but well, are you talking about a date?"

"Well duh!" Xanthe said "Why not? You can talk to her alright now, and the two of you spend a lot of time together. Ask her out; take her to Madam Puddifoot's."

"What the hell is Madam Puddifoot's?" Theo asked.

"A really bad idea" Blaise said.

"What do you mean a really bad idea?" Xanthe said "_You _took me there!"

"I mean for Theo and Hermione" Blaise said.

"No way, it will be perfect"

Theo finished his frog and then grabbed another. Chocolate always seemed to help when people around him were arguing.

**:Meanwhile:**

Greg watched as Draco placed some meat in front of the door to their dormitory. Draco hadn't explained what he was planning and Greg couldn't figure it out. However if it involved hurting Blaise Zabini then it had to be good.

The cat flap on the door opened and Zabini's white birman walked out, sniffed the meat, then saw the three of them and hissed.

"You know, you're a mean bitch of a thing you ugly little fluffball" Draco hissed back "the perfect cat for an arrogant Half-Blood traitor like Zabini."

"Hssssss!"

Draco laughed and pointed the wand at the cat. "Imperio" he said.

The cat no longer looked mean. Actually it was quite docile now and Greg noticed how beautiful it was.

"Go and kill all of your kittens" Draco ordered the cat. The cat jumped back through the cat flap and the three boys followed. From their side of the dorm they had a good view of Zabini's cat as it jumped onto his bed and approached the kittens.

"Genius Malfoy" Vince said "it's going to kill them all."

The cat raised its paw to strike the first ginger fluffball, and then stopped and growled.

"Kill them!" Draco hissed, and much to Vince's delight the claws came down.

However Greg found that he couldn't watch. It was the strangest thing about him, but even though he found it rewarding to hurt weaker humans, there was a part of him that found the thought of harming animals repulsive. Maybe he was soft deep down. Or maybe he just hadn't gotten over watching Vince torture his pet bunny Fluffbum when they were seven. While Draco forced Zabini's cat to kill its own babies, Greg looked away and hoped he wouldn't throw up.

"Stop being a baby Greg" Vince said "the stupid cat is ripping them – "

"Shut up!"

It wasn't long before it was done, but the destruction of the kittens wasn't enough for Draco.

"Come here" He said "come to us!"

Without a backwards glance at the massacre, Leia made her way back through the cat flap, and then came back in on their side. Greg's brain hurt just thinking about how that must work.

"Come to us kitty" Draco smirked. She approached, then stopped and hissed.

"Don't defy me!" Draco said "grab her Crabbe!"

Vince grabbed the cat by the scruff of the neck, and instantly got his arm scratched to pieces. Yelling in pain he threw her against the wall. While the cat was still dazed Draco cornered it and pointed his wand at it again.

"Let's get busy boys" Draco said "We're going to leave Zabini a message that even he'll get."

**:Later:**

Theo, Blaise and Xanthe didn't return to the common room until late, and as soon as they walked in Theo knew that something was wrong. The room went noticeable quieter and many people he recognised as being Pureblood bigots looked at Blaise.

"I guess they've heard about the new Prefect" Xanthe said "Well I'm going to try and have an early night. See you tomorrow guys."

They bid goodnight to Xanthe and then made their way to their own dormitory, trying to ignore some of the looks they were getting.

Blaise screamed when he saw what awaited them.

They had killed Leia, and using a giant knife had nailed her corpse to the door. Theo put his hand on Blaise's shoulder, and then averted his gaze from the door before the bloody knife could trigger a flashback of Alice's death.

The blood. The knife. The screams. Theo felt his chest tighten and sweat pour down his neck.

_No, Blaise needs me! Block it! Think of happy times. Like when Alice smuggled me into Hogwarts and I got to watch her play against Gryffindor. That was a fun day. And what happened wasn't my fault. _

"Leia" Blaise cried "Oh my god Leia how could anyone do this?"

Theo heard a disturbing sound from upstairs. They had heard Blaise's scream, and now some of them were _laughing_.

Like when Alice died.

_Happy thoughts, like when we had saved up money to rent Star Trek videos and we watched them in the library. Happy thoughts! Cling to the happy thoughts, not _that_! Okay, okay, it's getting a bit better now. Focus Theo! Blaise needs you!_

"They think this is a joke" Theo said "those, those, god Blaise I didn't even think they could do this!"

Blaise didn't reply, instead he began to gently pull the knife out as his eyes filled with tears. Soon he had the bloody knife on the ground and Leia's body cradled in his arms. It was only then that Theo noticed the words carved into the door:

KNOW YOUR PLACE BLOOD TRAITOR!

"We have to go get your Mum" Theo said "we have to tell her what happened."

"Hay Blaise" They heard Xanthe's voice coming down stairs "Someone said that was you screaming but… Oh my god where's all that blood coming from!"

"Oh no the kittens" Blaise gasped "Theo take Leia."

Blaise placed Leia's body in Theo's arms and then raced into the dormitory. Xanthe took one horrified look at the mutilated body and followed Blaise through the door. Theo then followed, dreading what they would find inside.

Blaise was already standing over his bed, where blood was obvious against the green duvet. All four kittens were dead, and bloody paw prints could be seen.

"They must have Imperioed another cat to come in and do this" Blaise said "or they… they could have gotten Leia to do it. Oh god I should have done something to that cat flap! Why didn't I?"

Theo laid Leia on the bed next to her kittens and then pulled his best friend into a one armed hug. "You couldn't have possibly known that they would do this" Theo cried "don't blame yourself."

"But I should have been more responsible!" Blaise said "I knew that this place was full of twisted sickos that hated me, I should have protected Leia more!"

"You did all you could" Theo said "Xanthe, can you please go and get Mrs Zabini?"

"Shouldn't we tell Professor Snape?" Xanthe asked.

"Yeah, may as well get him too" Theo said.

Xanthe left, and soon Theo heard the sounds of arguing coming from downstairs. He didn't want to look at the dead cats, so he just looked at his friend. Theo then realised that this was the first time he had ever seen Blaise cry.

**:The next day:**

Greg was walking around the grounds with a small group of AD members who had decided to have lunch outside today; Vince, Draco, Pansy and Millicent as well as some of the fifth years. All were talking about Zabini's cat and how awesome it was that they had gotten away with it.

"I knew my son shouldn't have been put in this house of sadists" Pansy said, imitating Professor Zabini's rant from last night.

"That woman really isn't fit to be a teacher" Millie said "apart from marrying a muggle, I mean look at how unstable she was just because a stupid cat was killed."

"She shouldn't have tried to mess with Slytherin issues" Harper said "and as Snape said, these no way to tell who did it. Damn Draco that must have taken a lot of self control not to threaten him or say anything else to give yourself away."

"Yeah" Deschamps said "if some Half-Blooded muggle-lover had taken my prefect badge I think I would have just hexed him into oblivion. What you did though… that was much better."

"It's not hard to plan something like that" Draco said "you just have to control your feelings and then try and think of what will hurt them the most. Simple as that."

"I still can't believe that anyone would even think of replacing you with Zabini!" Pansy said "so did he get his badge this morning?"

"No not yet" Vince said "maybe Snape's reconsidering."

"He won't" Draco said "Snape's still just a Half-Blood himself when it comes down to it. And I'm starting to doubt that he is one of the worthy ones at that."

"Of course his worthy" Vince said "his a Death Eater! How more worthy can you get?

Greg stopped paying attention to the conversation at that point. He had just spotted Lilith sitting alone by the lake. He went over to her, knowing that no-one in the group would notice his disappearance until they realised they had leftover food in the basket.

"Hi Lilith" Greg said.

"Hello Goyle."

This was bad; Lilith had never referred to him as 'Goyle' before. Greg wondered what he had done to make her sound so angry.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked.

"What's wrong with _me_? Why don't you ask what's wrong with _you _Greg."

"With me? What's that meant to mean?"

"It _was_ you who tortured that poor cat wasn't it? You Vince and Malfoy."

"No-one can prove it"

"So because you won't be caught that makes it all alright?"

"It was Zabini's cat" Greg said, trying to convince himself just as much as her that it was alright "His a…a…"

"A Half-Blood" Lilith finished "like me."

"Not like you" Greg said "his proud and arrogant and doesn't know his place. We _had _to do something!"

"But what does his cat have to do with it?"

"It showed him something."

"Greg I don't see how you can be alright with this. Torturing animals is something that twisted little muggle boys do, something that leads them to becoming twisted muggle sociopaths. How could you condone something so, so _muggle?"_

Greg remained silent. Partly because she was right, but also because he had to wonder what that made Vince.

"Greg, is it worth having a muggle free world if we have to _become _muggles to do it? I, I can't believe everyone thinks this is okay."

"Lilith…,"

"Just go Greg! Go have a picnic with your exclusive little group! I hope you can all figure out what you're fighting for."


	14. Chapter 13: Letter to Blaze

**Chapter 12: Letter to Blaze **

The day after Leia was killed Blaise and some friends buried her in the Memorial Garden, which Theo thought was a good idea. As well as being a memorial for dead students, it also doubled as a pet cemetery. Theo had read that this practice was not actually allowed, but century's worth of dearly departed pets had still been buried here. And now Leia and her kittens joined them.

When Theo had suggested to Blaise that he give Leia a little funeral, they had agreed that only Mrs. Zabini and their close friends should attend. Of course, looking back Theo wasn't surprised that what seemed like half the school had shown up. The entire DA (minus Crabbe and Goyle of course) stood nearby, with Harry, Hermione and Ron at the front with himself, Xanthe, and the Zabinis.

Standing with Matt and Dennis amongst the DA members were Astoria Greengrass and the other two Slytherins that had recently befriended Matt. They didn't look out of place at all even though they had never been a part of the group.

Also crowded into the courtyard were a large number of the moderate Slytherins, as well as younger students who had probably never been on either side before this incident, and some of the staff were also present. Professor Dumbledore had even dropped in.

Of course, Theo doubted that most of the people gathered today had ever recognised Leia from all the other cats in Hogwarts, even if she was the only Birman. The turnout wasn't for her or the kittens; it was because of the way she died. And because of the message that had been left on the door. The war had reached Hogwarts, and Leia was the first casualty from within this sanctuary.

"I can't think of anything to say" Blaise said.

"But you always have something to say" Theo said "just say something about Leia and what a great cat she was."

"I'm not going to bawl my eyes out in front of half the school" Blaise said "I'm not."

"Stop being so stubborn Blaise" Mrs Zabini said. She had just read out a letter from Camille and her eyes were a bit damp.

"We'll okay." He turned to face the crowd "Leia really was the best cat I ever could have hoped for. I love cats, and this is hard. Loosing Leia is like losing a friend." He paused to wipe his eyes "and the fact that it happened like this… it's horrible. Poor Leia, and her kittens. They were going to start heading off to new owners soon. Sweet little Taffy, Winkie, Fluffy, and All Terrain Attack Vehicle. Sorry I let this happen."

There was some applause and Theo went to comfort Blaise. Once he let go of his friend's shoulder Harry came up to them.

"You can't blame yourself for this Blaise" he said.

"But I do."

"You shouldn't. Mind if I say something?"

"Go ahead."

Harry turned to face the crowd and cleared his voice. "There's a war going on out there" He said "and until it's over, well we all have to be careful. What happened to Leia shows that it is getting into this school, and well, we have to be able to defend ourselves. Professor Dumbledore asked if I was going to start up the DA again. Lots of people have actually. And last week Professor Zabini offered to help me with it. I've been pushing it towards the back of my mind, but after this… I'm going to start up Dumbledore's Army again. And anyone can join."

The crowd cheered, and despite his earlier self control Blaise grabbed Harry in a huge bear hug.

"Thanks man, this is just what we need!" Blaise said as he let go of the Chosen One.

"For Leia" Harry said "and Taffy, Winkie, Fluffy and… and the other one." He then looked past Blaise and locked eyes with Theo "and for Alice too. For everyone who's been hurt by this."

The crowd cheered, and Theo noticed many teary eyes. Suddenly he noticed a familiar but unexpected face standing in the archway away from everyone else. Goyle had shown up. He noticed Theo looking at him and then snuck away so quickly that Theo wondered if he had actually seen him at all.

Mrs. Zabini said a few more words, laid a rose on the grave, and then by mutual agreement everyone started to dissipate. Theo gave his best friend another quick hug and then stepped aside as Xanthe practically jumped on Blaise and began squeezing him tight. He noticed Harry talking to some DA members, while Hermione and Ron were walking right towards him.

"Honestly Hermione, the only other funeral I've been to was my Uncle Bilius's and let me tell you, it was nowhere near as elaborate as this one. Trust Zabini to make a big issue about his cat dying."

"Ron!" Hermione gasped, before elbowing him in the ribs "Shut up! Hi Theo."

"Hi Hermione" he replied. He then quickly turned back to Blaise to check he hadn't heard anything. His friend was still hugging Xanthe, but both of them were shooting Ron nasty looks.

"Hi guys" Theo said to the two Gryffindors "thanks for coming today."

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world" Hermione said "How's Blaise holding up?"

"His putting on a brave face, but well, he really did love Leia. It's hard on him."

"Yeah, hey we were talking, and Harry suggested that maybe we should all get together at Hogsmeade this weekend. You, Blaise, Xanthe, and the three of us."

"Oh that sounds good" Theo said, feeling simultaneously happy that he would be seeing Hermione this weekend and disappointed that they wouldn't be alone. Though if they were with friends, that minimised the chances of anything happening. But didn't he want something to happen? Yes he did, but what if it involved rejection? What if something happened and then she didn't want to be his friend anymore? What if?

"Are you alright Theo?" Hermione asked.

"Earth to Space Cadet" Ron said "we're talking to you, are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh I was just thinking, about well, about stuff."

"I just asked if the Three Broomsticks would be fine with you guys" Ron said.

"Um well I guess, um well…"

"It's fine, we'll go" Blaise stepped between them "so how about eleven o'clock on Saturday?"

"Sounds good" Ron said "Hey, sorry about Leia."

Blaise tensed up a bit and Theo thought that he was about to give Ron a bolloxing, however he just sighed and said thanks. There was a moment of awkward silence, but thankfully it ended quickly when Harry came over to them with Hagrid.

"I'm really going to miss him when 'e goes" Hagrid said to Harry "an' not bein' able to visit the rest o' the family in the forest; that just kills me."

"I'm so sorry Hagrid" Harry said "but at least his got you now."

"I suppos' that's al'right in the end" Hagrid said "but still…,"

"Aragog not going so well?" Hermione asked the groundskeeper.

"His tryin' to hang on for me" Hagrid said "his a fighter, but we both know 'ts goin' to end soon."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"'Ts right, there ain't much to be sorry 'bout Hermione. Anyway I'd better be headin' back. Sorry about yer cat Blaise."

"Thank you professor" Blaise said "and I hope your friend can well, I hope it isn't too bad for him."

"Thanks Blaise. Yer a good kid. Well I'll be seeing yas aroun'. Oh an' Harry, don't forget that Dumbledore wants to see yer on Monday."

"I won't" Harry said "bye Hagrid."

After Hagrid left they were mostly alone. Soon the Gryffindors left and Xanthe wasn't far behind them, leaving Blaise and Theo alone in the courtyard.

"Hey Theo" Blaise said "you know how we said you should try to arrange a date with Hermione?"

"Well, yeah?"

"I never said to force me to spend a day with Ron Weasley!"

**:The Next Day:**

Ever since waking up this morning, Theo had been a bundle of nerves. Sure, he wouldn't be alone with Hermione, though he really wanted to be, but all morning he had been psyching himself up.

_ Today is the day _he told himself as he looked down at his toast, _today I will tell her how I feel._

He glanced across the Great Hall, watching her talk with her friends over at the Gryffindor table. _I hope we'll still be friends after this _he thought to himself.

"Relax Theo" Xanthe said "we'll be there, and so will Harry and Ron. By the time you and Hermione end up alone together the ice will be well and truly broken."

"You'll be fine" Blaise added "just try not to have a nervous breakdown before we get out of here okay? Now hurry up and eat something."

Theo glared down at his breakfast, trying to convince his tummy that food was actually a good idea. After only a few bites though the post came in and a scruffy school owl landed and propped a thick envelope on his plate before flying off.

"Oh, what have you done this time?" Blaise asked.

"I don't do anything wrong" Theo said "not usually. I don't really know what this is."

"Well open up" Xanthe said "let's have a look."

Theo opened the envelope and started to pull out the many sheets of parchment, but noticed something heavy was at the bottom. He reached down to the bottom of the envelope and found…

_Oh shit!_

"Oh-no, what is it Theo?" Blaise asked. Theo turned to his friend, dreading how he would react to what he had just discovered. Fortunately though, Theo was saved from answering when another school owl dropped a large brightly-coloured box in front of Blaise and then took off again like a filibuster firework.

"This… seems interesting" Xanthe said, referring to the box's air holes and habit of wobbling around. Theo found himself smiling when he notice a tag addressing the mystery box to a "Blaze Zabini."

"Be careful Blaise" Theo told his friend. Blaise nodded and drew his wand, inching it closer to the growling box. Theo found himself holding his breath, and noticed Xanthe doing the same. They huddled together, watching as Blaise inched his wand ever closer to the enigma.

…And suddenly they all jumped back as a small paw shot out of one of the air holes and batted at the approaching wand.

Once recovered from the shock, Blaise laughed and then eagerly undid the green ribbon binding the owner of the paw. As soon as the lid was free a kitten jumped out and meowed at Blaise.

If he was really honest with himself, Theo had to admit that this was one of the ugliest kittens he had ever seen. It was a big fluffy calico cat with a patchy black and orange coat. It had wide yellow eyes situated on a face that seemed almost completely flat.

Looks aside though, there seemed to be an instant connection between Blaise and this ugly kitten. The kitten started purring as soon as she laid eyes on him, and Blaise smiled again for the first time since Leia's death. He began patting the kitten and with his free hand he took a crumpled letter out of the box and held it out so that Theo and Xanthe could read it too.

_To Blaze Zabini_

_Im' realy sorry abuot what happned too Laya and the kittins. This kittan saw go-ing too be killed becuse her ownar could'nt find an home for her. I hoqe she is a goob cat for you, and she realy neebs a ownar how will look after her and bee nice too her anb i now you miss Leya and the kittons and they cant be replaysed but i hope she maks you haqqy. _

There was no signature, but judging from the spelling, the fact that this used to be one of Millicent Bulstrode's kittens, and a certain dopy face watching them, Theo had a pretty good idea about who had sent Blaise a cat.

"Wow" Blaise said "I guess Goyle does have a conscience after all."

"That is pretty amazing" Xanthe agreed "people are going to be so shocked when they find out."

"Maybe we shouldn't tell people it was Goyle" Blaise said "I mean, his just done something sort of nice to me, I guess it would be really low of me to turn around and make all his friends hate him."

"I thought Slytherins were supposed to be low" a familiar voice said. They turned to find Ron Weasley wearing a smirk that would put Draco Malfoy to shame, as well as Harry and Hermione, both trying to work out if their friend was being intentionally mean or just making a bad joke.

"Hermione!" Theo gasped as he saw her.

"Theo!" Hermione replied "how are you today?"

"I'm good. And you?"

"Yeah I'm very well thank you. Anyway, don't mind Ron guys. He just thinks his funny."

"I'm supposed to be the funny one though" Ron complained.

"Well you failed this time" Blaise said "and by the way, the Sorting Hat has never described Slytherins as the lowlifes and criminals of the wizarding world."

"Hay I'm sorry, it was just a joke. No need to be so touchy."

"I'm not touchy!"

"Guys please, just give it a rest" Harry said "umm… nice cat Blaise."

"Meow?" the Cat asked.

"Yeah thanks" Blaise said "sooo… how much did you guys hear?"

"Enough" Harry said "what makes you think Goyle gave you the cat anyway?"

Blaise just handed them the note and then went back to patting his new kitten. Harry and Ron started sniggering as they read Goyle's letter, but Hermione looked genuinely confused.

"I think I need a translator" she said after re-reading it "this makes absolutely no sense at all."

"I'm really surprised he spelt 'Zabini' right" Xanthe said "I guess he must really admire Professor Zabini if he took the time to learn to spell her name properly."

"Please don't even suggest it" Blaise said "and 'Zabini' isn't that hard to spell."

"He got 'happy' wrong."

"No he got 'happy' right" Harry said "he just got the p's around the wrong way."

"Whatever" Blaise said "just don't go around telling everyone; I don't know why his being nice to me now but it would be great if I could get this to continue."

"I knew there was a Slytherin reason why you didn't want to expose him as a secretly nice guy" Ron said.

"Oh shut up"

"Anyway" Hermione changed the subject "we were thinking of heading off to Hogsmaede now. Do you guys want to wonder around with us for a bit or just meet up at the Three Broomsticks?"

"You guys can all go ahead" Blaise said "I'm going to go and get Gargoyle settled into her new home."

"Gargoyle?" Harry asked.

"It seems like a fitting name for her" Blaise explained as he picked up the purring Gargoyle "anyways, I'll meet you all that the Three Broomsticks at Eleven. Have fun."

Theo didn't know if he was imagining it or not, but he could have sworn that Blaise shot a quick mischievous grin in his direction just before leaving.

**:A Bit Later:**

Greg saw her outside Delany's Party Supplies. She was sitting on a beach outside with her face almost hidden behind a picture of some Ministry big shot named Thicknesse who had made it onto the front page of the Daily Prophet.

He sat down next to her as quietly as he could and when she didn't respond he had to wonder if he had been too quiet or if she was still ignoring him.

"Hello Lilith" he said.

"Haven't you got a meeting to go to?" She asked coldly, not even lowering her paper.

"It doesn't start until this afternoon" he said "…I brought Millie's last kitten. The one she said was too ugly and that no-one would want. She was going to drown it, but I saved it."

"I thought you were allergic to cats."

"I am… so I gave it to Zabini. I mean, sure his a Half-Blood. And a blood traitor" he added to distinguish Zabini from Lilith "But he did take good care of the other cat."

"Where do we draw the line Greg?" Lilith lowered her paper and looked him in the eyes. Her glasses seemed to be magnifying the sadness in her eyes.

"What line?"

"Zabini is supposed to be the worst kind of Half-Blood, but he still treats animals better than some Purebloods."

"I'm sorry"

"It's not your fault. I just, I just can't figure out where to draw the damn line!"

"But you're smart; surely you can figure it out?"

"But I'm not Pureblooded like you Greg! I've always had that muggle influence in my life; it's always there in the back of my mind, making me doubt, and I CAN'T GET RID OF IT!"

"…I guess there are harder things to deal with than just being dumb. But you're still good, don't worry."

"It's not just me I'm worried about Greg" she sighed "I… dammit Greg she's my best friend, I don't want to have to shun her."

"Huh?"

"It's Tracy" Lilith explained "I mean, this whole thing got me thinking, well… should I really be friends with her?"

"Why not?"

"Well, she's Zabini's second cousin." Lilith said "and when you look at it, well even though Zabini's father is a muggle, his mother defiantly has all the good qualities of a Pureblood. She's smart and strong and beautiful."

"And a blood traitor"

"I know but, Tracy's mother was her cousin, and she's a Squib. She didn't get all those pure characteristics. And her father's just as bad as Zabini's really. But I guess what I'm saying is that well, at least Zabini has all the pure stuff on his mother's side, but how the hell could Tracy have gotten anything from a Squib?"

Lilith was crying now, and Greg, unsure about how to make her happy again, instinctively decided that putting his hand on her shoulder would be the best thing to do.

"We don't consider Zabini a good Half-Blood" she continued "but when you look at it his probably purer than Tracy. So why should we accept her? But, she's my best friend and dammit Greg I DON'T WANT TO LOSE HER!"

As Lilith cried Greg thought about the problem a bit, and then came up with one of his rare cleaver insights.

"But Tracy's father," Greg said, trying to work out how to explain what he had just realised to Lilith "he was like Nott."

"Nott?" Lilith asked.

"Yes" Greg said "Nott is from one of the most noble Pureblooded houses, and both his parents were well respected Death Eaters. So was one of his sisters. And the other Nott sisters both made good Pureblood marriages and everything, but look at him. His a crazy muggle-lover and his bedhead is covered in pictures of muggle's in stupid uniforms."

"His a blood-traitor" Lilith agreed "but what can that have to do with Mr. Davis?"

"Because his a blood-traitor too!" Greg said "a blood-traitor to the muggles! If Nott can resist his Pureblood heritage and be a blood-traitor; even with the influence of sure a noble family, then there must be Mudbloods that can resist their muggle heritage. Mr. Davis certainly was, I mean his a Death Eater! And squibs can still have good children, so Tracy probably inherited a lot of really good stuff from both of them."

"Perhaps your right" Lilith said "oh god I hope you are right Greg. I don't want to lose Tracy."

"You won't" Greg said "she's a good half-blood too!"

"Yeah… I'm sorry for acting so weak."

"You aren't weak."

"Yes I am… and I'm sorry for going off at you for what happened to Zabini's cat. I should have tried to understand. I guess the world needs people who can be cruel like you a lot more than they need a bleeding heart like me."

"No" Greg said "once all the muggles and Mudbloods are dead, and we've gotten rid of all the blood-traitors and other scum, what good will someone like me be? The world will be a happy place full of love and freedom and all the glory that comes with it. I wouldn't have too much use, but you are the type of person the new world needs Lilith."


	15. Chapter 14: Theo's Special

**Chapter 13: Theo's Special**

At eleven they finally arrived at the Three Broomsticks and Theo could see Blaise waiting for them at the door. It had mostly been a good morning, with Xanthe leading Ron and Harry into conversations about Quidditch and other things that didn't interest Hermione at all, leaving him free to talk to her about other things.

"Other things" however, did not include his feelings towards her, but rather House Elf rights and their Magical Healing assignment. Not that he minded; he didn't want to bring that stuff up while the others were around anyway.

"Hay look it's Blaise" Xanthe said as she began waving to him. Once he saw her Blaise simply grinned from ear to ear and waved back. Theo was so glad to see his friend happy again, and found the goofy grin to be contagious. He then turned back to Hermione, to find her smiling to.

Harry however, was not smiling. He had an iron glare set on a shady looking man nearby selling some silver cups to someone.

"Mundungus!" Harry shouted "what the hell are you doing with my Godfather's things you bloody thief!"

Mundungus looked guiltily at Harry before gathering everything back into the sack, and then there was a crack as he Disaperated...

...But...

"_Accio Sack_!" Blaise was fast, and his summoning charm hit Mundungus just before he vanished, causing the sack to fly to Blaise and the contents to scatter across the ground.

"I can't believe that _bastard_!" Harry snarled as he approached Blaise "thanks for that mate."

"No problem" Blaise said "wish I'd had know it was your Godfather's stuff earlier though; I've spent five minutes watching him sell stuff."

"I can't believe he'd stoop so low" Harry said "Sirius let us all use his house, and now that his gone the vultures are circling."

"Vultures tend to do that" Blaise said "before I was born Ma was married to a much older rich man who never saw any of his family and was really lonely. Anyway after he died all these obscure relatives that hadn't spoken to him in years emerged from the woodwork. Once they realised that he had left everything to her they got really nasty. Took her to every court imaginable, spread lies about her being a gold digger and a murderer... in the end she had enough and went to Italy to escape."

"But I thought we could trust Mundungus" Harry said "Isn't your Mother loosely connected with the Order in some way? Did she ever tell you anything about him?"

"She's actually a full member now" Blaise said "and no, she hasn't told me anything about him."

"Does it really matter what people think of that scumbag?" Ron said "now that we got the stuff off of him, shouldn't we like, pick it up or something?"

The picking up didn't take too long; mostly it was just a matter of finding all the scattered silverware. It wasn't until Blaise made an interesting discovery that the conversation started up again.

"Oi Harry," Blaise said as he stood up with a gleaming treasure "was this your Godfather's locket?"

The locket in question looked rather new, but Theo had a feeling that it was actually quite ancient. When he looked at it he felt a rather strong sense of pride.

"Hay can I hold it?" Xanthe asked, and then without waiting for a response she reached out and grabbed it. "Wow" She said "I feel, I feel like I did just after the Sorting. I felt so proud to have made it into Slytherin, and this kinda recaptures it."

"I know" Blaise said "I felt that too. When I picked it up it was like, like I was part of something really great."

"You know, until now I've never really thought there was anything that special about me" Theo said "but for some reason, I feel quite proud of myself."

"You never thought there was anything special about yourself?" Hermione asked "but how can you feel that Theo? Your cleaver, and nice, and your probably more ambitious and a bigger overachiever than I am. You have plenty of reasons to be proud of yourself. Anyway mind if I have a look?"

Blaise handed her the locket, however Hermione didn't get the same smug expression that Blaise and Xanthe had given off after coming into contact with the locket. She did seem to get rather excited though.

"Hay Harry, Ron, I recognise this" she said as she showed it to them "this is that locket we couldn't get open last summer, remember?"

"Oh yeah I remember that locket" Ron said "didn't we end up chucking that in the trash or something?"

"We wouldn't have thrown it away" Harry said "but Sirius didn't recognise it either, so it's not his. Oh. Oh Merlin, I know what this is. When Dumbledore showed me Voldemort's parents... I saw this. This belonged to Voldemort's mother!"

"That thing has a mother?" Xanthe asked.

"It was Merope Gaunt's" Harry said "a family heirloom that originally belonged to Salazar Slytherin himself."

There was a slight silence as everyone digested that information. Oddly enough for Theo, he found the pride he had felt before evaporate when he realised that he was in a House whose founder spawned Voldemort. Though that was silly really, since he had already known that Voldemort had been a Slytherin and it wasn't like he was Salazar's son.

"That belonged to Salazar Slytherin?" Blaise asked in awe.

"Yeah" Harry said "There was quite a lot of dark stuff at my Godfather's house. But I have no idea how this could have gotten there."

"Mind if I have another look at it?"

Harry handed the locket over to Blaise, who gave it a thorough inspection and tried opening it.

"I told you we couldn't open it." Ron said.

Blaise ignored Ron and placed the locket around his neck and tried again to open it. He was unsuccessful, and continued his examination. After a while he made his judgment.

"There's something wrong with this locket" Blaise said "and I don't just mean that we can't open it. Something has been grafted onto it; possibly inside it. Something that doesn't belong. Some sort of foreign magic that's quite frankly broken it."

"How the hell can you tell that just by fiddling around with it for a minute or so?" Ron asked.

"I know machines and magical devices. I add strange spells to stuff all the time, and I can tell when there's magic on something that doesn't belong."

"Okay, if you say so." Ron said.

"Do you think it can be fixed?" Hermione asked.

Blaise looked thoughtful, but Theo knew how he would respond. This was the sort of challenge Blaise loved. Even if he didn't think the locket could be fixed, he would bloody well try.

"Sure it can" Blaise said "remember Ai-Luan's Second Theory of Magical Repair? Theoretically any device effected by magic can have that effect removed or reversed by magic. And since there is theoretically no limit to how much magic you can use on a non-electronic object, there has to be a way to get it open."

"A lot of experts say that Ai-Luan's Second _and_ Third Theories of Magical Repair are rubbish." Hermione replied.

"Well yes, but so far no-one has ever discovered the limit" Blaise said "So I should be able to bombard this thing with enough magic to open it."

"But what if you open it the wrong way and it's dangerous? and there _has _to be some limit!"

"There doesn't _have _to be a limit! Anyway I'm not that desperate to open it. If it looks dangerous I'll ask a professional. Of course this is all only if Harry is okay with me fiddling around with it."

"Hmm..." Harry looked at the locket, and then smiled "I guess it would be interesting to see what's inside it. who knows, the tampering could have something to do with Voldemort. Yeah do whatever you can to open it. Just remember to be careful."

"Sure thing." Blaise said, beaming over his new toy "and I'll keep you updated if I discover anything."

"Great, thanks Harry" Xanthe said "now I'll never get him out of his little workshop."

"Oi I'm not the one here whose too busy for this relationship"

"Hay guys, drop it" Theo said "now have we got everything? Let's go get those drinks, alright?"

The Gryffindors led the way into the pub, while Theo stood between Blaise and Xanthe practically breathing in the tension. They managed to find a nice circular table and settle down. It wasn't long before Madam Rosmarta came to take their orders.

"Everyone like Butterbeers?" Xanthe asked the Gryffindors "Ok then, five Butterbeers and Theo's Special."

"What the hell is Theo's Special?" Ron asked.

"It's a drink Theo here came up with on his first visit here" Madam Rosmarta said.

"Theo designed a drink?" Hermione asked.

"Well I don't really stock that much for kids except Butterbeer and a few special flavoured waters" She explained "But when Theo here said he didn't really like Butterbeer I asked him what he would like instead. The result is Theo's Special. It's usually off menu except when he comes in or on his birthday though."

"You don't like butterbeer?" Harry asked, looking like it was air that Theo wasn't too keen on.

"I'm not too fond of alcohol" Theo explained "not even of pretend alcohol. And after I saw how it affected House Elves well, nah, I just can't drink it."

"You have no idea what your missing" Ron said.

"Give him a brake" Madam Rosmarta said "the boy knows what he wants, let him drink in peace. Five Butterbeers and a Theo's Special coming right up."

"Wait" Hermione said "could I please try a Theo's Special as well?"

"Are you sure about that hon? Its well, a pretty filling drink."

"That's alright, I haven't had lunch yet. I'll manage"

"Alright then. Four Butterbeers and two Theo's Specials coming right up."

Madam Rosmarta left and suddenly Theo's anxiety returned. What if Hermione didn't like his drink?

_She's not going to hate you just because the drink you always have tastes bad _he assured himself _though I bet she'll think you're a weirdo when she sees what you designed._

"Hay Theo" Blaise asked "what did you get in the mail this morning?"

Theo didn't know whether to be grateful to Blaise for silencing his doubt or worrying about how Blaise would react to what he had found in the mail and now carried in his pocket.

Fortunately, Theo was saved by one of those well timed distractions that often cropped up when around Harry Potter and his friends. This one was in the form of Lavender Brown and the Patil twins coming to join them. Lavender brought her own chair and squeezed in between Ron and Xanthe, seeming to smother Ron with puppy eyes. The Patil twins were a bit more polite in taking positions between Harry and Blaise.

"Hay Ron" Lavender said "I was watching you during your last practice session; you're going great! Mind if we join you guys?"

"Sure go right ahead" Ron said "would you three like some drinks?"

"We have our own thanks" Pavarti said as she and her sister held up their own Butterbeers.

"Nice of you to join us" Ron said "anyway we were just... oh god no."

They all followed Ron's glare to where Ginny was kissing Dean Thomas over at another table.

"That little son of a bitch" Ron said "how dare he kiss her like that in public!"

"It's just kissing" Xanthe said "be thankful they aren't groping at each other like the horny teens they must be."

"Oi she's my sister!"

"You'd be acting the same way if you were with someone you loved" Xanthe replied "anyway Lavender what have you been up to?"

The conversation turned into a gossip fest which Theo didn't participate in. He noticed that Harry was also disinterested in the conversation, instead choosing to watch Dean and Ginny.

The conversation abruptly ended when Madam Rosmarta returned with their drinks; four Butterbeer and two giant, extremely chocolaty thickshakes.

Theo started to drink his straight away, allowing that chocolaty ice-cream flavour to drown out that horrible voice of self doubt. Hermione however was examining her drink as if she had just been told to eat an entire banquet by herself.

"This is your usual drink?" Hermione asked "is there ice-cream in here or is that just melted chocolate?"

"It's a bit of both" Theo explained "soft-serve ice-cream, lots of chocolate, milk, and a few hundreds-and-thousands. I get one or two every time I come here."

"Hundreds and thousands of what?" Ron asked.

"He means sprinkles" Blaise explained.

"How the hell can you drink all that?" Lavender asked.

"Theo's a chronic chocoholic" Xanthe explained "After we first learnt the multiplier charm he made an infinite supply of chocolate and sat up eating it all night."

"You'll get really fat if you keep that up" Lavender said.

"Oh I can't get fat." Theo explained "When I was six I started losing my baby teeth... and then the adult teeth that came after them... well I lost them too. Anyway my father tried to magic them back into place, but he ended up making me grow seven inches instead. Since then my metabolism has been really weird, I can eat as much chocolate as I like and it doesn't affect me."

For a second Theo got the strangest impression that all the girls at the table wanted to take him outside and bludgeon him to death with their steel Butterbeer mugs.

"Wow you are so lucky" Padma said.

"Not really" Theo said as he looked down at his bony hands "there are some negative side effects as well."

"I didn't realise growth spells could affect metabolism so much" Hermione said "I... I don't think I'll be able to get through all this." She looked at Ron who was sitting next to her and eyeing the drink with curiosity "hay Ron, do you want to share with me?"

"Sure" Ron said as Hermione conjured up another straw and offered it to him. The two of them started drinking together.

"Well Theo you certainly have good taste" Hermione said "I like the drink... but I think my parents would kill me if they could see me drinking something so full of sugar."

Conversation started up again, but Theo wasn't a part of it. For the first time in his life, chocolate was not helping him feel any better. As he watched Hermione and Ron's heads come closer together as they shared their drink, and the smiles they shared with each other over this guilty pleasure, Theo actually started to find the taste of his own drink repulsive.

Suddenly Ron and Hermione looked into each other's eyes, before shyly looking away. Theo felt his stomach churn and his drink turn to acid in his mouth. Had he just witnessed some sort of connection between the two of them?

_Well he has known her a lot longer than you have _his doubt said to him _think of all they've been through together. They faced tough challenges together in their first year to get the Philosopher's Stone, then in second year he and Harry defeated the Basilisk that had petrified her. This was all long before she became aware of your existence._

_ But, he made her cry quite a few times _he tried to reassure himself _and she's often said that they have next to nothing in common. She told Blaise once that him and Harry are like brothers to her, she wouldn't start thinking of them as boyfriends. Anyway, your being silly, they're just sharing a drink, it doesn't mean anything._

Hermione and Ron had stopped drinking and now she was giggling at something he had said.

_ No, it doesn't mean anything. Nothing at all. Of course she would fall for someone like _you _over her friend of many years. After all, you spent a year not talking to her, and you come from nice Death Eater stock. The muggle-born girl and the Death Eater's son. What a cute couple you'll make._

Theo stopped drinking and looked down at his drink. Normally whenever he got upset or started doubting himself, chocolate got him feeling better. This time though, it only made him feel worse.

"Erm, Theo, did you hear me?"

Theo had been so caught up with staring at Ron and Hermione that he hadn't even noticed the Patil twins try to include him in the conversation.

"Oh sorry Pavarti, what was that again?" He asked.

"I asked what you wanted to do after you left Hogwarts" she said "I'm still tossing up a few options myself, but what do you want to do?"

"Oh, well that's easy" Theo said "I've always wanted to be a Healer."

"A Healer?" Padma asked.

"Yeah, it's the only thing I've ever really thought of doing. Or I guess nursing would be good too."

"I never really pictured you as the caring type" Parvati said.

"Theo is the most caring person I know" Blaise said "just because his in Slytherin doesn't mean he can't be caring."

"Damn what _can't_ Slytherins be?" Ron asked.

"Oh no it's not that" Parvati asked "we know not all Slytherins are like Malfoy, it's just that well, aren't your parents Death Eaters Theo?"

It had finally been said. His father's arrest hadn't been secret and his mother was pretty infamous in her day. Still though, it hurt to be confronted about them like this. Especially after what he had just realised about his chances with Hermione.

"My Mother died giving birth to me, so I never had her influence over me." He explained "and the Dark Arts twisted my father and my sister into people that I really, really would hate to be like."

"Your sister was a Death Eater too?" Padma asked "wow it's amazing that you didn't end up like them."

"Did your mother really die giving birth to you?" Lavender asked "ohhh you aren't cursed are you?"

"Oi can't you just give the guy a brake?" Blaise slammed his fist down on the table and shouted at Lavender.

"Well if he's cursed I don't want to - "

Theo didn't even wait to hear the end of her sentence. He got up and rushed out the door without a single look back. It was all too much. He kept his face down so that no-one would see the tears forming in his eyes.

He heard someone running behind him and felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder.

"Go away Blaise!" he cried "I just want to be left alone!"

"I'm not Blaise."

Theo felt as if the world had stopped spinning. Why oh why hadn't he realised that the hand on his shoulder was too small and feminine to be Blaise's? It wasn't his best friend who had come to console him, but Hermione.

"I'm.. I'm sorry Hermione." He said "I didn't think it would be you... I thought..."

"It's fine" she said "do you want to sit down? I can leave you alone if you really want... but are you sure that's what you want?"

Good question. He felt like being alone, but if Hermione wanted to be with him and help him feel better...,

"Nah it's alright" he said "let's sit down. Thanks for following me."

"It's alright, someone has to make sure you're doing okay." She said "ah, that bench over there is free."

They sat down in front of Delany's Party Supplies, and for a while stayed silent. She pretended to be interested in the people walking past as he dried his eyes.

"I never realised it could be so hard from the other side too" she finally said "I've always wanted to prove myself, since my parents are muggles and well, there is that expectation we aren't as good. I guess it must be worse if you have to well, live with the fact that your parents are actually bad people. Oh sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I meant..."

"No you meant it like that" Theo said "and your absolutely right. My parents were bad people. My father still is. You don't have to apologise for it."

"Yeah, but they are still your parents" she said "and I'm pretty sure Death Eaters still love their families."

"Most think their doing the right thing" he said "my father probably did at the start. But after my Mother died he went a bit crazy... and then after Voldemort fell I guess he went more crazy. And Gabriella certainly isn't a good person."

"I'm sorry to hear that" she said "that must have been really hard for you, growing up with that."

"Yeah. It was."

They stayed silent a bit longer. Not an awkward or a strained silence, but Theo felt uneasy just the same. Should he tell her more? Should he change the subject and never bring up his family again?

"Theo, what did Lavender mean back there? About you being cursed?"

"Oh that?" Looks like he would be telling her more "well, it's a common belief that witches can't die during childbirth because their magic protects them."

"That's not true" Hermione said "the magic does protect them but if things go really wrong nothing can help."

"I know" he said "but back when death in childbirth was more common, well it became quite shameful amongst wizarding families to have a daughter or sister die in childbirth. People believed that it was a muggle weakness and it meant that the witch didn't have that much magic."

"Stupid silly superstitions" Hermione said "I bet that logic would have killed more women, since they would be less likely to ask for help."

"I know" Theo said "but usually when it did happen, especially if the mother was seen to be a really powerful witch, well in those circumstances people believed she died because the baby was cursed in some way."

"What?" Hermione asked "that's crazy! Oh... grrr... it doesn't surprise me that Lavender believes such rubbish. Don't let it bother you Theo; Lavender only believes things that don't stand up to logical thinking."

"I guess" he agreed "it's just... well, people have often blamed me for what happened to our family after Mother died. Jolene has always said that I'm cursed and that I should have been killed at birth. And when my father has been drinking a lot, well, sometimes he says, he says... he says things would have been better if I hadn't been born."

"Oh Theo, that's terrible."

"If I wasn't born my mother wouldn't have died, and Dad wouldn't have lost his mind and money, and you know what? I bet Alice would be alive too. Maybe I am cursed."

"Of course you're not!" Hermione said "How can anyone blame a baby for that stuff? Don't cry Theo; you said yourself that your parents were bad people. Maybe it's just something they had coming to them? It's can't be your fault!"

"I know" Theo said "I've had people tell me it for years... but sometimes I can't help wonder if things wouldn't have been better if I were never born."

"Don't say that! Don't you ever say that Theo! If you were never born then I would be missing out on a very good friend. Not to mention that the world would be missing out on a very good person."

"Well I, wow thanks Hermione. That means a lot to me. Even though well, I'm not really the best friend you could have."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... I spent so long not talking to you, even when we were working together in the DA. I just made everything awkward. I was an idiot last year. I'm so sorry Hermione."

He just hoped she wouldn't ask why he had been such an idiot. How could he possibly explain himself without admitting that he loved her? Though then again, maybe this was just the chance he had been waiting for. Screw Ron Weasley, he was going to tell her how he felt. Right now!

"No Theo, it's my fault" she said "I'm the one that was acting like an idiot."

"No, never; you were the perfect friend. You put up with my presence even when I was being a jerk."

"You weren't being a jerk Theo; you were being shy and hurt, and it's my fault. Because I was so shallow."

"I don't understand you... please don't cry Hermione... we can't both be teary eyed. _I _was the one who tried to avoid you, who couldn't find the words to say to you... who got all uncomfortable whenever you came near me. Hermione, I... I want to explain why I was like that."

"It's okay Theo, I know"

"You do?"

"It's because of me... because of the Yule Ball. You were being so nice to ask me out and I was just so horrible to you!"

"Oh..." Theo had always considered his blundered attempt to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball as the trigger that made things awkward between them. But how could she possibly blame _herself_ for that?

"I know" She sobbed "I didn't even think about it. I just rejected you... I rejected you because you weren't the best looking or most popular boy out there! I wanted to take it back as soon as I said it... and I... I just can't believe I could think of something so, so shallow."

"Oh." Theo said. He knew he had never been the most attractive guy around, and when he saw his rabbitty, weedy features he had often wondered why he thought he stood any kind of chance with Hermione.

"I'm sorry Theo" she said "I would have loved to have gone to the Ball with you. As soon as I thought about it I realised it would have been a wonderful idea. I just, I don't know why I said no. I didn't think! Looks aren't that important to me! I'm sorry Theo."

"It's alright. I... I shouldn't have asked like that. I always thought I'd stuffed that up with being too forward."

"No Theo, it wasn't your fault. It was mine."

"But if you had said yes then you wouldn't have gone to the Ball with Krum."

"I know" she said "but I think well, at the time he was a bit old for me. I would have had just as much fun with you. And Theo, I'm sorry I was so shallow back then. You're a good friend for standing by me; even though I did make it so awkward."

"Hermione it's my fault things went awkward" he said "you see I... well I...,"

_So are you really going to tell her now? After she just told you why she rejected you the first time? Do you want things to be awkward again?_

_ She said looks aren't important to her... and she said she _wanted_ to go to the Ball with me. Besides, Ron isn't any supermodel either._

_ As a friend. She wanted to go with you as a friend. Not as a boyfriend. And at least Ron has all his teeth._

"What's wrong Theo?"

"Well... you're a great friend Hermione." He said "I don't want to ever lose you as a friend. We were both much younger and less mature back then. Let's just forget it."

"That sounds like a good idea" Hermione said, wiping her eyes "Friends forever?"

"Friends forever" Theo said. _Just friends _He though.

_Just friends._

That's what Hermione found herself thinking as she and Theo began to compose themselves. It wasn't a really pleasant thought either. She couldn't understand why that should be; she had just gotten one of her lowest moments off of her chest and Theo wasn't upset with her about it. Why did she find herself feeling disappointed?

_It couldn't be that you want to be more than Just Friends is it? _She thought to herself.

But wasn't there that moment with Ron before? When she had looked into his eyes and felt _something_? It was a strange tingly sensation; very similar to what she felt now, as she considered being more than Just Friends with Theo.

_Damn it Hermione what is wrong with you? _she thought to herself _it's not even midday yet and already you've started feeling things for two different boys. Not only that, but they're the two boys you could _never _have._

She would never be able to make a relationship work with Ron. The thought had crossed her mind before and all she had seen were potential problems. And Theo, well there was no way she could risk their friendship after this.

Suddenly Theo giggled and flashed her that wonderful smile of his. She found herself smiling too; it didn't matter that he had some missing teeth and a big pimple next to his lips, Hermione just wanted to see him keep smiling forever.

"We sort of dined and ditched back there" he said.

"Yeah we did" Hermione said "oh well, I'll give Harry the money for the drink next time I see him. "Who do you think will cover you?"

"Oh Blaise always pays for me" he said "I don't have any money of my own. It should be alright though."

"Okay then. So do you want to go off and do something?"

"Yeah alright. I heard there was a new second hand bookshop opening up around here, want to go see if that's up yet?"

"Sounds great!"

They got up and joined the crowds. Hermione felt some warmth on her neck, and looked up to see the clouds parting and the sun shining down onto her and Theo.

**:That Night:**

Blaise was in a pretty foul mood as he worked on his magical Gameboy that night. He didn't know why; maybe he was just frustrated at Theo for blowing another chance with Hermione. Or maybe he needed a break from his particular project.

He found himself fiddling around with Slytherin's locket. He hadn't taken it off since Harry told him he could keep it. A part of Blaise had considered never trying to fix it so that he would never have to return it. However he couldn't resist a challenge; he had already promised himself that he would start working on it tomorrow.

He heard Dave talking to someone outside and placed the Gameboy aside. Soon Theo came in, looking slightly more nervous than usual.

"Hi Theo, how's that Healing report going?"

"Oh I couldn't concentrate on it. I well...,"

"Thinking about Hermione again?"

"No actually, I was thinking about you."

"Me? Oh I see, checking up on me to make sure I haven't blown myself up in here."

"What?" Theo looked confused "whose been worried about you being blown up?"

"Oh Camille has been saying it's inevitable for weeks now" Blaise explained "and Ma's dropped in to check up on me too."

"It's nice, she's worried about you"

"She babies me though. I don't think she reckons I _can _adapt this Gameboy for use in Hogwarts."

"She's just worried that's all. Don't worry about it. _I _know you can adapt that Gameboy."

"Thanks" Blaise grunted "anyway, if you're not here to scrape my brain matter off the ceiling why are you here?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"No, but you said you were thinking about me?"

"Yeah well... you seem cranky, maybe I should tell you later?"

"What is it Theo?"

"Well...,"

"Spit it out!"

"Remember the letter I got this morning?"

"Oh... yeah. So what was in that anyway?"

"Well... I didn't tell you before because I didn't know how you would take it after what happened to Leia. You see I well, I got this."

Theo held is hand out, and in his palm Blaise could see a nice shiny Prefect Badge.

"Oh." He said.

"I know" Theo said "I... I never asked for this, and well, I know you were expecting it - "

"But you would make a much better Prefect than me anyway" Blaise finished for him.

"What? No I don't think - "

"Oh of course you do!" Blaise said "you're the good boy, you get all the good grades, you don't blow stuff up, and it might help that you're a Pureblood!"

"You think I got this just because I'm a Pureblood?" Theo asked with hurt in his voice.

"You know what Theo, it felt really good to think that someone was going to recognise me as more than just that funny good-looking Half-Blood. I was surprised to hear I'd become Prefect, but it felt bloody good because I knew that despite what everyone says, I _can _handle a bit of responsibility!"

"I'm - "

"Shut up! Blaise said "I just wanted to drop to my knees and cry when I found Leia, but I didn't! I didn't because I knew that I was going to get that badge soon and then I could do something to stop all those arseholes!"

"Blaise I'm still going to do something to them" Theo said "Hermione and Ron think that together the three of us can - "

"Wait a sec" Blaise said "you told _Ron Weasley _about this before you told me?" _Ron Weasley? _That guy is the biggest douchebag in the whole school! Actually no, his the second biggest douche I mean."

"After Malfoy?" Theo asked.

"After _you!_" Blaise said "you're a real good friend Theo. Leia was violently murdered because _I_ was going to be Prefect!"

"I know it's not fair. That's why - "

"It's more than bloody unfair" Blaise said "it's a fucking betrayal that's what! Thanks Theo for kicking me in the nuts when I'm down!"

"Blaise I never asked for this to happen!"

"Fuck you! Seriously fuck you! I'm just as capable of being a Prefect as you Theo! I'd be better even, since I'm not completely mental!"

"You know Blaise, maybe you're the one that should go get fucked!" Theo cried "I didn't ask for this and you certainly don't have to be such a bastard about it!"

"Oh you knew this would happen!" Blaise said "that's why you went to Weasley first."

"Maybe there is something wrong with you tonight" Theo said as tears ran down his face "here Blaise, take the stupid badge!" He slammed the badge onto the desk and then turned to leave "if that's more important than our friendship... then I hope it makes you happy!"

Theo ran out of the room, Slamming the door so hard that Dave shouted something after him.

"I thought you were my friend!" Blaise hissed to the space where Theo had been. He then looked at the badge; it wasn't really as shiny now as it had seemed before.

"You know what Blaise?" Dave had entered the room via a photocopied poster Blaise had hung up "You're a real arsehole sometimes."

"Shut up you or I'll put you through the shredder."

"See? Anyway you have another guest, try and be nicer to her. Wanker."

Blaise ripped the poster down just as Dave retreated. He then heard a strange Squeak from the corner and turned around to find Gargoyle staring at him.

"What do you want?"

"Meow!"

"I feed you before. How did you get here anyway?" Blaise found himself feeling a bit cheerier talking to Gargoyle. Once he realised that he was smiling at her he set his face back into a scowl. _She isn't Leia _he told himself _not my Leia! This isn't the kitten meant for Camille that loved me more than her. She isn't the one that would only let _me _pat her when everyone thought Camile was a little superstar. This isn't the best friend I had before Hogwarts._

"You'll never be Leia."

"Meow."

Gargoyle jumped on the workbench and gave Blaise a glare more intense than what most humans were capable of.

No, she wasn't glaring at him. She was glaring at the locket.

"This belonged to Salazar Slytherin" Blaise explained "Do you want to take a look?"

He took the Locket off and placed it next to Gargoyle. She just hissed and pushed it away.

"Can you sense the foreign magic too?" Blaise asked "You might be a good little helper to me."

"Meow!"

Blaise patted Gargoyle happily for a moment, however as his mood lightened he realised the full extent of what he had said.

"Oh crap Gargoyle, what the hell was I thinking?"

"Meow?"

"Dave!" Blaise ran to the door still holding the purring kitten "Dave!"

"What?" he heard the disgruntled poster's voice from just behind the door.

"Your right Dave... I am an arsehole! I'm sorry about what I said to you. I'll get you a new poster up in here tomorrow. Sorry mate."

"Hay... it's alright" Dave said "apology accepted. But you do know that apologising to me is the easy part right?"

"Oh yeah" Blaise said "I was totally out of line with Theo. I just... I just felt like, like he had betrayed me."

"He didn't ask for it though" Dave reminded him.

"I know" Blaise said as he made his way back to his workbench and picked up the Prefect Badge. "I just thought, well maybe people were starting to respect me."

"I respect you."

"Really Dave?"

"Well duh, you brought me to life." Blaise could see Dave's face peeking out from one of the tattered pieces of poster on the wall "I guess that doesn't count for too much, but you're in here working on projects no-one else in this school could understand. You've definitely earned my respect."

"Thanks Dave. It's nice to know that Dr. Frankenstein can at least get his creature to take him seriously."

"Meow!" Gargoyle nudged up against him.

"And you too Gargoyle. And Theo too. At least before this." He looked again at the badge in his hand "I can't believe I called my best friend a mental case. How can he ever be friends with me again? I wasn't just out of line... what I said, that was unforgivable."


	16. Chapter 15: Battlelines

**Chapter 14 - Battlelines**

Theo didn't return to his dormitory that night. Blaise knew that because he couldn't sleep; at the slightest sound he sat bolt up in bed and turned to the door hoping to see his friend walk in.

Finally Blaise did get to sleep, but it was a restless sleep, and hardly long enough for a growing teenage boy. He got dressed and fed Gargoyle as if in a daze, and then plodded along towards the Great Hall, hoping in equal parts for a chance to make up with Theo and for breakfast.

Finding Theo proved to be ridiculously easy. As Blaise shuffled through the Entrance Hall he caught sight of Theo walking down the stairs looking lost in his own world. He fought off the feeling of nausea building in his stomach as his words from last night came back to him, and made his way over to Theo.

"Hey Theo" Blaise said as the taller boy almost walked past him. Theo stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of Blaise's voice and answered without turning to face him.

"Hey Blaise."

"Look Theo..." Blaise started, cursing his lack of experience with sincere apologises "I umm... I need to give you this."

Now Theo did turn to face him, and he wore a look Blaise unfortunately recognised. It was the same expression Blaise had seen his friend make when he left his father forever. What Blaise thought of as a mixture of 'you hurt me' and 'I failed'. It was a look Blaise had hoped he would never have to see again.

"Here you go, you take it." Blaise held the Prefect Badge out to Theo. "I think the Slytherin prefect should be someone who isn't a complete arsehole."

"I never said you were a completearsehole"

"I know you didn't. But I was."

"That's an understatement."

"Look will you take the bloody badge I'm sorry! Sorry. really I am. I don't know why I said what I said, but Theo, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve it."

Blaise thought he saw Theo's face lighten, but like a true Slytherin his body language remained cold.

"I guess it was just a bit too soon for me. You'll make a great prefect Theo. And I'm sorry I called you a mental case. I know that must of hurt, and it's not true. Please just don't hate me."

Theo seemed to think about it for a while, and then he unfolded his arms and started fiddling with his comm badge.

"Your actually sorry about this"

"Of course I am! I treated my best friend in the world like trash just because I didn't get the badge. Theo I... I truly would not have said what I said if I was completely sane at the time. Sorry."

"That's alright" Theo said, his face breaking out into that contagious gappy smile of his "I'm sorry too, I should have told you first. Are we friends again?"

"Of course we are!" Blaise said "you know, you give in too easy."

"What's that meant to means?"

"I would have done your homework for a month if you had wanted me to."

"But you already do more homework than me. Besides, I generally get better grades than you."

"Well forget about homework than. I would have done anything to make it up to you; even make you a life-sized chocolate Enterprise."

"Oh, that does sound good; but you don't have to do anything Blaise, I'm just glad we're friends again. I would have done anything to make it up to you too."

Blaise found himself laughing, and then he hugged Theo "you dolt, you're not the one that did anything wrong."

"Well actually...,"

"Actually what?" Blaise broke the hug and looked at his friend critically.

"Well I was pretty upset last night"

"I can understand that."

"So I decided to spend the night in the Room of Requirement."

"I see"

"And when I first came in there was an owl and some writing equipment there."

"You needed an owl?"

"I needed to vent, so I wrote a letter explaining what happened and how I felt."

"Ah-ah."

"And the owl looked eager to head out, so I sent it off with the letter."

"Sent it off?" Blaise said "sent it off where?"

Theo looked down and continued fiddling with his comm badge."

"Theodore, where did you send the letter?"

"... to Camille."

Blaise heard himself groan. Camille! Even though Theo was older than him and Camille, she still saw him as a little brother that needed to be watched over. Blaise could understand that, he saw Theo as a little brother too sometimes, but he knew that even though he was Camille's real brother, he would not get off lightly for making Theo upset.

"Oh who cares, what's the worse she can do?" Blaise said, putting his hand on Theo's shoulder "come on, let's go get some breakfast."

"Sounds good" Theo said as the two of them walked into the Great Hall. They both ignored the hourglasses displaying the house points; Slytherin had dropped so far behind the other houses that Blaise had lost interest in the competition. He was so happy to have Theo's friendship back that he didn't overhear the two First Years standing in front of them.

Sébastien Deschamps looked at his friend Rick Tan and sighed. Seb's brother Guy had been made a Prefect this year and had gotten him all excited about winning the House Cup. Now it looked like there was no way Slytherin could ever catch up.

"Couldn't you ask your brother to stop docking points?" Rick asked "A lot of the points we've been losing have been taken from our own Prefects."

"He can't just ignore it when students are breaking the rules" Seb said "like with Jim." Seb said the name of their 'friend' in a very dark tone. They hadn't spoken to Jim Robinson since he lost twenty points for Slytherin after getting some older Slytherin's involved in some fight with a couple of Dumbledore's Army guys.

"I thought Jim was a pretty neat guy" Rick said "I guess what they say about Half-Bloods is true."

"Jim's a half-blood?" Seb asked "but aren't both his parents wizards?"

"But his father's muggleborn, so I think that makes him half."

"How does that work?"

"I'm not sure, you're the one with the older brother. Let's go ask him about all that Mudblood stuff."

"You shouldn't say 'Mudblood'"

"Why not? All the older kids do."

"Yeah but you know Jessica gets upset when they call her that. And the four of us did promise to look out for each other even if we got sorted into different houses."

"Yeah, but you know she was part of that whole thing that got Jim in trouble. She probably brought those Ravenclaw guys and egged them on. We don't need her."

"Yeah!" Seb agreed "I guess Guy was right about her. Stupid Ravenclaw Mudblood. It's really depressing here, want to go get breakfast?"

By now Blaise and Theo had both made a start on their breakfast and had already put the fight last night behind them. Blaise was amazed at how well Theo was taking it, and was so relieved by how well things were going that he didn't even get worried about the angry letter he was about to read when he saw Camille's owl Cher flying towards him.

"She must be angry, she's gotten the red stationary out" Theo joked as Blaise took the letter and patted Cher.

"That doesn't mean anything special, you know she likes colourful things OH SHIT!"

"What?"

"It's a Howler!"

Smoke was coming out of the red envelope, which had Blaise's name printed in menacing capitals on it. He gulped, and with shaking hands opened the corner of the envelop.

"BLAISE WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Camille's voice boomed through the Great Hall, stopping conversations and turning heads towards Blaise.

"I KNOW YOU HAVE A BIG MOUTH, BUT HAVEN'T YOU REALIZED THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU JUST _DON'T SAY_! YOU REALLY UPSET THEO, YOU BIG _JERK_! _THEO, _YOUR BEST FRIEND! I KNOW YOU'RE UPSET ABOUT LEIA, BUT SHOULDN'T YOU BE LASHING OUT AT THE BASTARD'S WHO DID THIS, RATHER THAN THE ONE PERSON WHO _DOESN'T _THINK YOU ARE AN OBNOXIOUS GIT?"

"Surely you aren't the only one who thinks I'm not obnoxious right?" Blaise quietly whispered to Theo.

"STOP BEING JEALOUS BLAISE! JUST BECAUSE THEO GETS TO BE A PREFECT DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH A DICK TO HIM! MAYBE IT'S A GOOD THING THEO GOT THE BADGE, SINCE YOU'RE BEING SUCH A LITTLE GIRL!'

'NOW YOU BETTER GO APOLOGISE TO THEO _RIGHT NOW_! BECAUSE IF HE SENDS ME ANY MORE LETTERS SAYING YOU'VE TREATED HIM LIKE SHIT, I'M GOING TO GO TO HOGWARTS, RAID YOUR LITTLE CLUBHOUSE, FIND THE LARGEST NOVELTY WEAPON YOU HAVE, AND THEN SHOVE IT UP YOUR ARSE WHILE YOU SLEEP!"

"Novelty weapons?" Theo asked over the snickers echoing through the great hall.

"Umm.. I don't know what she's talking about" Blaise replied.

"BLAISE YOU'RE A REAL NASTY PIECE OF WORK YOU KNOW, SAYING THOSE THINGS TO THEO. IF I WAS YOU I'D BE ON MY KNEES BEGGING FOR FORGIVNESS!"

The Howler seemed to take a deep sigh, giving Theo enough time to realise that he was being stared at and start twiddling his comm badge in response.

"Anyway Blaise, send me an owl when you've apologised to Theo." Camille said in a refreshing non-shout "If his still pissed at you - which wouldn't surprise me, I wouldn't forgive you that easy - then I'll try and talk to him. Anyway I sent Ma a letter explaining what happened, and umm... I guess that was probably a bit too extreme. Sorry little brother."

"I'm at least half-an-hour older than you" Blaise muttered at the envelope.

"But yeah... good luck. I hope she doesn't get too angry at you. And I hope you and Theo can work things out. Bye."

The Howler ripped itself up and fell to the table in pieces. Cher, who had been rattled by the extreme loudness of her mistresses voice, edged closer to Blaise with a confused look on her face. Meanwhile, Theo had gone bright pink and Blaise could hear some remarks and laughs that were certainly directed at him.

"So..." Blaise said "shall I get on my knees now? Or are you cool?"

"Oh I'm cool" Theo said "umm... can we get out of here, people are staring at us."

Blaise looked down at his half-eaten breakfast and for a moment wondered if there was any possible way he could still finish it. Not that it mattered, he had just regained his friendship with Theo and wasn't going to let a hungry tummy disturb that.

"Sure" He said, getting up and flipping the bird to a few fifth years who were pointing and laughing at them "let's blow this place."

They got up and marched out of the Great Hall. Blaise saw Hermione out of the corner of his eye running over to join them.

"What happened?" she asked as she caught up to them "Is everything -"

"Yeah we're cool" Theo said "nothing to worry about."

They left the Hall and with no destination in mind Blaise began leading them towards The Shop.

"No, Theo, you sent Camille a letter, and she sent Blaise a Howler." She said "what happened?"

"I was a douchebag" Blaise said "I was cranky, I said stuff to Theo that was completely out of line, but now we've sorted it out and it's all good."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked him before turning to Theo "Theo what happened, are you sure things are alright? Want to talk about it?"

"Not really" Theo said "We're both over it."

"Okay" Hermione said, somewhat doubtfully, but thankfully she was smiling "well I'm glad you two were able to sort things out pretty quickly. So anyway Blaise... what are these novelty weapons Camille mentioned?"

"Erm... what novelty weapons?" Blaise asked. Damn needing to ask Camille for money to buy them. He would have rather have had no-one know about them. Not because he was worried about getting into trouble, but because this project was something he didn't want to unveil until it was perfect. And also, he wanted Theo to be really surprised on his birthday.

"The ones Camille threatened to sodomise you with"

"Ermm... she means sex toys"

"Blaise!"

"We'll why did you ask? And no, I will not tell you anymore; your both Prefects."

"Your sex toys are safe. we weren't told anything about them during the Prefect debriefing"

"There's a debriefing?" Theo asked.

"Yeah, we had it on the train" She said "hmm... I wonder if you'll have some sort of introduction during tonight's meeting."

"Introduction?"

"Oh Hermione don't scare the poor guy" Blaise said.

Just then the bell rang, and they all started making their way back upstairs to their classes. Hermione and Theo were both talking about Prefect stuff, and Blaise could see how much it worried Theo.

**:Later that Night: **

Harry was on his way back to the Common Room after an interesting but somewhat strange lesson with Dumbledore. The memory they had looked at this time had been Dumbledore's own; a memory of the first time he met eleven-year-old Tom Riddle.

Harry had to admit, Voldemort had been a somewhat creepy kid; he had reminded him of some sort of demonic kid from a muggle horror movie. Maybe he should describe him to Blaise and see if he knew what movie.

The strange part about the lesson wasn't so much seeing a child Voldemort, but the interrupted conversation with Dumbledore afterwards. The professor had been talking about Tom Riddle's school years, when suddenly the ashtray started shaking and _growling _from its new home on the shelf and Dumbledore shooed Harry out of that room as fast as he could, saying that he had a special meeting.

_I guess he is still keeping secrets from me _Harry fumed _after all that happened last year, after he promised to tell me everything... that lying old bastard! Well maybe I'll just stay quiet about Blaise's new treasure. We can both have secrets._

Harry was shaken out of his rage by a small figure coming down the stairs ahead of him with a green Slytherin tie. Harry grabbed his wand, preparing for trouble...

"Oh Hi Matt" Harry said as he recognised Matt Powers "what are you doing up here?"

"Hi Harry" Matt replied "I just had a detention cleaning the windows on the North Tower. Got in trouble for insulting Eugenie Crabbe."

"Really, what did you do to her?" Harry asked, expecting to hear about some cool prank Matt and Dennis had pulled.

"Apparently, my dirty blood is an insult to her" Matt sneered "so in other words, I'm on detention for being a Mudblood."

"How the hell do they get away with that? You need to tell someone about that!"

"Shall I complain to Snape?" Matt asked "he so cares about student's problems and stuff."

"Well no, but someone needs to know."

"Its fine; they'll get what's coming to them once the DA starts up again. Are you going to teach us that bat-boogie hex Ginny uses?"

"Ermm... I don't know how to do that one myself" Harry said, deciding that anyone capable of such an evil grin should certainly not be let loose with that kind of hex so young.

"Oh well. I know you'll teach us a lot of cool stuff. And you'll have a lot more people; this Slytherin inquisition is making a lot more people want to join up."

"Really? Is they getting that bad?"

"Yup. Tori's sister and her pals seems to be cracking down really hard on any non-Pureblood in our year, plus she always has Parkinson - whose a Prefect - at her side. All the Prefects are in on it. It'll be good having Theo as a Prefect."

"Yeah. Hermione and Ron want to help him out. It must suck being the target of all those bastards though. It's absolutely stupid that the Hat put you into Slytherin."

"What did you just say?"

"Huh?"

Matt looked as angry as Harry had felt while fuming over Dumbledore..

"What the hell is that meant to mean?" The younger boy replied with a whip-like voice "are you saying that just because I'm muggle-born I can't be a Slytherin?"

"No Matt, sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Your certainly ermm... Slytherinish?"

"I've always been ambitious, and a bit cunning, and well... what the hell do you mean by 'Slytherinish' anyway?"

"I know you are, I just meant well... Slytherinish, umm... I'm in Gryffindor alright? I don't really care what Slytherinish is, as long as I destroy it on the Quidditch Pitch."

Matt chuckled a bit and Harry felt the tension leave. "Well I'm not sure about your chances. Urquhart is training his team relentlessly. Though Malfoy seems to be a no-show. But still, with the way they're flying you'll be in trouble. Especially since you're going to be organising the new DA."

"The DA doesn't start until a bit later in November" Harry said "Professor Zabini wants to help me with it, but she needs to get some sort of tests ready. And when I talked to her after class she seemed more preoccupied with whatever was happening between Blaise and Theo anyway."

Harry was still on friendly terms with Urquhart, but he wasn't happy to hear how his rival team was going. Harry had enough worries about Quidditch with Demelza presently sick and Ron _still _losing confidence.

"You're just pushing it back because you're scared and want more time" Matt said.

"Of course not"

"Whatever. Just be prepared to be defeated in the next few weeks."

"Why do you even care about the Quidditch Team? Apart from Urquhart and Bletcherly their all Pureblood fanatics."

"I care because I'm a Slytherin"

"I know that... but, oh I don't know. Your certainly a Slytherin, but don't you just wish that sometimes you were in a house where people were nicer and no-one cared about your blood-status?"

"Yes that would be nice... but only if that house was Slytherin. Though if no-one cared about my blood-status at all, hmm... well in that case I'd just be a nobody wouldn't I?"

"A nobody?"

"Maybe. I wouldn't trade being the only muggle-born in Slytherin for the world. It's good to be unique."

"You actually _like_ all the attention they give you?"

"Well as my Dad always says, these no such thing as bad publicity."

"You are crazy."

"Well, I'm not crazy enough to get caught out of bed this late by one of the Slytherin Prefects. I better get going."

"But these still an hour to go before your curfew."

"Try telling that to Pansy Parkinson. Night Harry."

"Night Matt. I'll keep you updated on how the DA is going."

"Thanks" The young Slytherin said as he walked off with a parting wave. Harry thought about what Matt had said and placed his hand on his forehead, feeling his scar.

_Your wrong Matt _he thought _being unique like that isn't all that good. Crazy kid._

**:Meanwhile in Dumbledore's Office:**

Deepvoice could not believe what Dumbledore was proposing to do. Wasn't this old man supposed to embody all that was "good" in this war? Why the hell was someone like this allowed to work with children?

"You cannot seriously be considering this" Deepvoice said "I thought your kind despised Dark Magic on principle?"

"_I _despise the Dark Arts on principle" Dumbledore clarified "I've always believed that nothing good can come from perverting magic so much."

"Perverting magic. That's foolish thinking. If you seriously believe that there is only one proper way to use magic than you have no hope in this war!"

"So you agree that there is nothing wrong with what we have been discussing?"

"Of course not! What you people are planning... it's wrong!"

"So now a murderer is teaching me about morality?" Dumbledore's words were harsh, but his tone was more curious than judgemental.

"Do you have any idea what Imperio Pins can do to a person's mind?"

"It is slowly turning Pius Thicknesse into a loyal follower of the Dark Side." Dumbledore said "and it did so without causing him any harm. There are those within the Order that say this technique would be in our best interests to master. Think about it, would you rather be killed in battle, or simply change your mind about which side you're on?"

"I'd rather be my own man with my own mind!"

"Yet you had no qualms about using the Imperius Curse during the last war?"

"That was different! I had to... and even so, you only control a person's body with the Imperius Curse. Their mind, soul and will are still their own."

"So you want people to believe in your cause, yet you oppose changing their minds? It sounds to me like you just want to justify murdering those who oppose you."

Deepvoice felt rage bubbling up inside him, but he controlled it. Despite his anger at this old Half-Blood, He had to wonder if what he was saying was true. The war wasn't the same this time around.

"We aren't trying to change minds, we're trying to save the Wizarding Race; and remember, just because I have turned to you it does not mean I agree with your muggle-loving crap."

"I know that Deepvoice. I know you are still the same bigot you always have been. Yet I suspect that you don't disagree with me as strongly as you did during the first war."

Deepvoice considered saying what he usually did about muggles and muggle-lovers, but decided he may as well tell the truth. After all he was betraying everything he has ever stood for to this man, so why not be completely honest?

"It's different having children" He explained "you notice, similarities. Wizard children and muggle children are pretty much identical, and when you see the muggle parents interacting with their children the same way you do... it's easy to forget the differences. Seeing muggle children playing like normal children makes you humanize them."

"You make it sound like a bad thing."

"IT IS!" Deepvoice insisted "I've never understood how you of all people can _encourage _muggle rights. I read about what those beasts did to your sister. How can you deal with seeing their children in your school?"

"I have never seen their children in my school" Dumbledore said. "What happened to my sister was terrible, but I can't imagine all muggles are like the boys who tortured her. Just like I can't imagine that all wizards are Death Eaters."

Deepvoice sighed and shook his head; he should have known that there was no way of getting through to Dumbledore. Not for the first time, he wondered if he had made the right choice by turning to this crook.

"Our different views are not the main issue here" Deepvoice said "we're talking about your people using the Imperio Pin. And I have to say that if you use it, I'll be going back to the Dark Lord. Back to the sane side."

"Voldemort uses the Imperio Pin as well." Dumbledore said "or is it alright for the 'sane' side to do that?"

_Of course it isn't _He wanted to scream, however he couldn't show any weakness in this matter.

"Deepvoice," Dumbledore continued "we are _not _committed to using the pin, it is merely one option on the table. I personally am against it, but before I do make a final decision I wanted your opinion on the matter. You have more experience with the procedure and long term effects than anyone else I know, so even though you are biased against it due to the failed pinning attempt on - "

"It wasn't a failure" Deepvoice said. "We got what we wanted; his a perfect Death Eater and he believes in our cause. The Pin worked... we just didn't realise the consequences. Didn't realise that he would never be able to connect with any other human being in a meaningful way ever again. Not even his own parents."

"Maybe you over-estimated your son's treacherous nature" Dumbledore said "He was six at the time right? Even with the emotional deficit cause by the Pin, who's to say his beliefs aren't his own? You did raise him, and you did say it didn't work."

"You still just don't _understand_!" Deepvoice said, putting all his rage in that last word "It worked perfectly, we got the son we wanted... but it's still just not _him! _After all these years I can still see it! After all these years it still hasn't sunk it! And I know what type of person he really is, my brother was... oh you know all this."

"I do, and I think I understand. I was thinking of it the way a Legilimens would approach the mind... but the way you say it... it seems to be just as much about the soul too."

"You would have to ask Cissy."

"I don't want to force people to become like your son" Dumbledore said "even if they agree with us, even if they stop fighting us... there is a price. And I'm not sure I'd want that heartlessness amongst my people. I will not allow Imperio Pins to be used by the Light Side."

Deepvoice felt relief flood through him. If Dumbledore had insisted on going down that path, he had no idea what he would have done.

"Thank you" he said "I... I know it must be a very tempting option to look at."

"Very tempting" Dumbledore agreed "thank you for advising me on his. I think you'd better get going now; a few of the other teachers will be coming around here for our weekly card games... and not all of them know about you."

"I understand. Thank-you... thank-you for listening to me about this."

"I appreciate being advised by those who know what they're talking about."

Deepvoice reached for the ashtray portkey, but decided that he couldn't leave the old man without one more word of warning.

"If you do use an Imperio Pin, I will betray you!"

"I know that."

Deepvoice snorted, then grabbed the porkey and disappeared.

**:Meanwhile:**

Theo's first Prefect meeting had so far been blessedly uneventful. He had gotten up as the Head Boy - a non-descriptive Ravenclaw named William Fu - had introduced him to the other Prefects. As soon as he saw all those eyes on him, Theo had felt that familiar urge to run away. The only thing that stopped him was Hermione's reassuring smile looking up from the crowd.

"Well Theodore, would you like to say anything?" Fu asked.

"Ummm... Hi."

"Well, okay" Fu said after about ten seconds of awkward silence "let's leave it at that. You can sit down now."

Theo made his way back to his seat. Under normal circumstances he would have been happy to escape the spotlight. But this time Theo actually wished he had been able to think of something to say just so he didn't have to go and sit down with Pansy Parkinson again.

Fu was joined by Head Girl and cheery Gryffindor Sally Puckle, and they began talking. Theo tried to pay attention to them, but he could feel Pansy's hate-filled eyes boring into the back of his head. He saw her hand move closer to his side of the desk and then pull back. he looked where her hand had been, careful to avoid looking at her face. She had left a note for him. He grabbed it, and opened it behind his desk so no-one would see him reading.

_I think you are an even worse choice of Prefect than Zabini. He possibly could have done some of the duties without fucking up. Why don't you put away your muggle toys, stop hanging out with filth, and start showing some of that Pureblood supremacy? I doubt you can; you're _nothing_ compared to your mother. _

_Stay in the corner and be quite. You can't replace Draco, and if you get in our way, you will be hurt. Badly._

_Nothing compared to your mother. _How often had Theo heard that in his life? Theodora Nott, nee O'Powell, had been a loyal Death Eater, leading some of the bloodiest attacks on muggles and the Light Side during the first war. While doing that, she had also managed to give birth and raise four Pureblooded daughters. She was so dedicated to the cause, that she had even fought in a battle against the Order of the Phoenix while seven months pregnant with him. He had always heard that he was a disappointment from his elder sisters. Especially from Gabriella.

Theo had never realised it before, but Pansy actually was a lot like his eldest sister. He turned to look her in the eyes. For a second she looked surprised - maybe she had been expecting him to get upset and run off? - but she returned his fierce glare, with a smirk that was very much like Gabriella's.

_I will not stay in the corner and be quiet _he thought _I will stop you. I'll stop all the Gabriella's in this world. I don't know how, but you'll pay for everything you've done Parkinson!_


	17. Chapter 16: The Slytherin Stand

**So happy now. I went through a lot of names for this chapter, and once I hit on 'The Slytherin Stand', something clicked in my head, and I felt like this was the perfect name for the entire story. Before I was leaning towards "The Divided House', but this sounds a bit more ambiguous and much more dramatic. Anyway, it has to be better than 'Space Cadets.' Hope everyone enjoys the new chapter.**

**I don't own Harry Potter. **

**Chapter 17: The Slytherin Stand**

Ron and Harry were both devastated. They had just finished their Thursday morning potion class, and just before the lesson ended, Snape had gone and ruined their day.

"I can't believe we both got 'P's on that essay!" Ron said "and that git Snape just had to rub it in!"

It was their first failing grade in Potions that year, and Harry was now dangerously close to having his average stay below Exceeding Expectations for long enough to get kicked out of the class.

It was worse for Ron though. Despite Professor Zabini's tutoring, this grade had put Ron's average way lower than what was allowed. He was now facing having to drop Potions and the study group, and had taken his frustration out as they left the classroom by not-so-accidently spilling ink on Lilith Moon's violin case.

"You really didn't have to lash out at Moon for that though" Hermione said "now we're also five house points down!"

"She has to be cheating!" Ron said "She does just as well as us in the Study Period, yet she's top of the class! It makes no sense whatsoever!"

"It doesn't mean she's cheating!" Hermione said.

"But she probably is" Blaise said.

Harry hadn't noticed Blaise and Theo join them, and frankly he didn't care if Lilith Moon was cheating or not. However he found that he just had to ask why Blaise would think so.

"Well she really wants to be a beautician" Blaise explained "and without potions that isn't going to happen; it's like the main topic that she needs to get into beauty school. If I desperately needed a boost in Muggle Studies I'd cheat too."

"Blaise!" Hermione hissed in disapproval.

"What? My dream or following the rules?" Blaise asked "what about you Theo? If you were struggling with Magical Healing would you give up your dream or cheat?"

"Erm..." Theo looked at Hermione and blushed before answering somewhat uncomfortably "I would just study harder" Theo said as he looked at Hermione "no need to cheat right?"

"You would cheat, wouldn't you?" Hermione asked "Theodore I can't believe you!"

"Well, only if I really, really had to" Theo admitted.

"Theo!"

"Give him a brake Hermione" Blaise said "what if you needed to cheat in order to get into the Magical Law Academy, or Interspecies University, or wherever you decide you want to go?"

"I wouldn't need to!" Hermione protested.

"What if you did though?"

"Well... I wouldn't! I'm not a Slytherin!"

"How would you cheat in Potions anyway?" Ron asked.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed "don't you even think about it!"

Harry didn't join in much while the others argued about ways to cheat, but he personally would have welcomed any method of staying in Potions he could use.

It wasn't long before they arrived at Defence Against the Dark Arts, and soon Neville, Lavender, and Padma had joined in the debate. The only thing that did stop them was the arrival of Professor Zabini and the start of a practical lesson on tripping and impediment jinxes. Ten minutes before the end of the lesson Professor Zabini got them all to stop as she took out her hat and began the familiar ritual of drawing out two names for this week's duel.

So far, Harry had been called out once. His opponent had been poor Megan Jones, who he had stunned within twenty seconds. Ron had also been called up in one of the first weeks, where he lost again in a rematch to Neville. Last week Hermione had bested Crabbe, who seemed to be developing a pretty aggressive battle technique.

"The first duellist today will be..." Professor Zabini pulled a name out of her hat "Tracy!"

Tracy Davis gave a smug grin towards Crabbe and Goyle. Harry couldn't help but notice that Crabbe simply ignored her. Davis had been up before, in a duel she lost against Anthony Goldstein. However Harry got the feeling that she had vastly improved since then.

"And your opponent will be" the Professor drew out the second name "Theo!" Theo stepped forward with a small smile on his face. This was the first time Theo had duelled since the first lesson, and Harry was interested in seeing if the quiet Slytherin actually could duel.

The two of them got into the ring, and gave the most reluctant bow Harry had ever seen.

"Don't forget we're duelling for real Nott!" Goyle shouted "don't glomp her!"

"Be quiet Greg!" Zabini said.

Goyle shut up, and the room was silent as Theo and Davis each took ten steps, and then...

"_Reductio!"_

_ "Protego!"_

Theo's shield blocked Davis' curse and then he quickly followed it up with a full-body bind that she was barely able to dodge. She followed that up with a series of nasty hexes that Theo was able to shield against rather quickly.

"_Protego Domesticus!_" Theo shouted, and in a flash of blue he was encased in a translucent dome. Davis continued with her hexes, but now she wasn't even saying them out loud. Harry sure would have liked to be able to fire off non-verbal spells that quickly. The next second though, Harry found himself and his classmates jumping to the floor as her hexes bounced off Theo's dome.

"_Orbis" _Theo hissed, casting what Harry remembered as being aFirst Year level impediment spell that made someone spin around once. However Theo's spell seemed to simply make his wand glow and vibrate.

"You can't hide under that spell forever Pimpleface!" Davis screamed "why don't you come out and fight like a man!"

"Oi!" Zabini said "there is no need for that taunting Miss. Davis!"

Theo's dome seemed to be weakening. Harry gasped as one of Davis' hexes showed up on the other side of Theo's dome as a faint red light. Theo also saw the hex, and it seemed to be the signal he was looking for. He took one step forward, and as his dome disappeared he shouted out "_Laxomaximus_" and the glow from his wand shot out and hit Davis at lightning speed. Theo then ducked to avoid the last of Davis' hexes as the Slytherin girl was sent into uncontrollable spinning.

"You dirty traitoooooooooor!" she shrieked as the super-powered Orbis did its work "_Shikitto_!" Harry was glad that no-one had gotten off the ground yet, as hundreds of little blades started flying across the room. Theo however couldn't dodge her blades and cried out as they cut his face and blood splattered to the floor around him.

At the same time Theo got a shield spell up, Zabini placed a counter-curse on Davis and then demand them both to stop.

"This has to be one of the most mean-spirited friendly duels I have ever seen!" Zabini said "Is everyone alright?"

"_Dimcurio_" Davis shouted, hitting Theo with a curse that made him yelp out in pain. Harry recognised _Dimcurio _- it was an extremely mild version of Cruciatus. He wondered what the textbook had meant by 'extremely mild.'

"Miss. Davis!" Zabini shouted "I said this duel was over! And _Dimcurio_ is not appropriate for these classes!"

"It's still legal!" Davis protest "and it was anything goes in the first lesson!"

Theo was quietly healing his cuts with his wand, and was quickly joined by Hermione.

"That was low, even for someone like you" Hermione said to Davis.

"What's that meant to mean Granger?"

Hermione crossed the duelling strip in record time and pointed her wand at Davis' throat.

"If you ever attack one of my friends like that again Davis, then _I'll_ use _Dimcurio_ on you!"

"Miss. Granger stop it!" Professor Zabini said "Threatening, attacking each other after the duel... endangering non-combatants. Girls I want both of you to have detention with me tomorrow night!"

"Yes professor" Hermione said "I'm sorry."

"Arse-kisser!" Davis muttered.

"How are you Theo?" Zabini asked.

"Oh I'm alright" Theo said "I can heal most of these cuts myself."

"Still, I want you to go see Madam Promfrey. Hermione, could you please take him there?"

"Oh no, I'm alright..."

"You're going to the Hospital Wing Theo. Hermione, please escort him out."

Hermione summoned her and Theo's bags and the two of them left the classroom together. Davis glared at the door for a full ten seconds after they were gone.

"Tracy" Professor Zabini said "I thought I made myself quite clear during our second lesson together, but the first duel was anything goes because I needed to see how everyone thinks when in battle. I hope to teach you all not only spells, but also honour and mercy. And while _Dimcurio_ may be legal in tournament duels it is a spell banned in this school. I am being lenient with you because I did make you duel competitively, however I will still be taking this up with Professor Snape."

"Fine" Davis said "but stop calling me Tracy! I am not one of your favourites!"

"I do not play favourites, Miss. Davis."

"Sure" Davis said back. She then mumbled something under her breath.

"What was that Miss. Davis?" Zabini asked.

"Nothing Professor" Davis smiled, before leaving the ring and taking her place between Crabbe and Goyle.

Zabini appeared to be considering harsher disciplinary matters, but then decided to let it go.

"Alright class, it is only two minutes until lunch, so why don't you all go a bit early? Harry, Ron, could you two please stay behind for a bit?"

Harry looked at Ron and was greeted with a look of dread. Harry couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated with his best friend. _Why are you so worried? You didn't even want to do Potions in the first place. Please don't say you're that desperate to be around Blaise's mum. _

"You wanted to see us Professor?" Ron asked once everyone else had left.

"Yes boys" she said in a business-like manner "I believe Professor Snape gave you back the results of your last Potions essay this morning?"

"Please Professor, don't kick us out of Potions!" Ron begged "we both really want to be aurors after Hogwarts!"

Professor Zabini held up a hand to stop Ron. "Ron, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you just don't seem to have the aptitude for Potions."

"But Professor - "

"Ron, how badly do you really want to be an auror?"

"Well... heaps, of course!"

"Professor McGonagall said that the two of you did discuss other options."

"Yeah, but this is what I want to do!"

"Very well. I figured you might say something like that. I've already spoken to Professor Snape and he has said that if you get an O on your next practical and next essay, then he'll let you stay."

"An O?" Ron protested "I'll never get an O!"

"And you'll never get to be an auror with that attitude!" Zabini snapped back "aurors need to have confidence in their abilities. If you study hard you can get an O _and _keep your average grade good enough to stay in the class. Now Harry,"

"Yes Professor?"

"One bad grade is not the end of the world, but you'll have to work extra hard from now on to keep up."

"Yes Professor."

"Now personally I believe you would be able to get into auror training on your track record alone as long as you make an effort with Potions. You could too Ron if you work on your attitude. But that is no reason for the two of you to abandon the class. It will be much easier with a Potions N.E.W.T, believe me."

"Thanks Professor."

"Now boys, how is the DA going?"

"I want to wait until after the game with Slytherin this weekend before I start it up again" Harry said.

Professor Zabini grinned and winked at them "that's the spirit boys! Let's see Gryffindor keep a firm hold on that cup."

"Yes Miss!" Ron grinned.

"Miss?" Zabini asked.

"I mean, Professor."

"Anyway Harry, there has been quite a lot of interest in joining the DA this year, so why don't you at least start taking names? It will be much easier to organise once you know how many people you have."

"Okay Professor, I'll do that."

"You could try putting a sign-up sheet in the Entrance Hall. Or get friends to put them up in all the Common Rooms."

"I think I'll put a big one up in the Entrance Hall" Harry said.

"Excellent! If you want any other help then just ask and I'll be there."

"Thanks Professor" Harry said.

"No problem Harry. Oh, while I've got you here, I have something for you."

She opened the draw of her desk and pulled out an old photograph and gave it to Harry.

"Hagrid told me about your photo album, and he said you didn't have any photos of yourself from between your parent's death and coming to Hogwarts."

"I have a few" Harry said, referring to a couple of muggle photos of Dudley that he was in and a school photo from the year the Dursleys had for some reason decided to pay for him to get one.

"Thought you might like another one" she said "I knew I'd taken a few of you with Blaise and Camille during the open day at preschool. I got my husband to find a nice wizard photo so I could give it to you."

"Oh thanks" Harry replied. He hadn't really missed having photos of his younger self before, but once he took a look at the picture in his hand he felt fresh anger at the Dursleys for denying him this small thing. As he looked at the happy, laughing figures of four-year-old him, Blaise, and a dark skinned girl in a familiar red dress that must be Camille, he felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

"Thanks a lot Professor" he said "I'll put this straight into my album."

"Oh that's okay Harry. Now why don't you two go and get some lunch?"

"Alright Professor" Harry said "thanks again."

Harry left the classroom feeling rather elated. He noticed Ron glaring at the small photograph, but thought nothing of it as they opened the door and came across Blaise talking to Lavender, Padma, and Neville.

"...They all went crazy after that" Blaise told them "Davis scratched her head until it bled!"

"Eww" Lavender said, looking disgusted even as she stifled a giggle.

"Yeah, though Bulstrode turned it around on us pretty well" he continued "said they'd all gotten head-lice off Theo. Even when we came back from Summer Holidays they were teasing him about it. Though if Malfoy's father really combed through his head with a tiny comb like the git claims he had to, then I guess it's worth it. Extreme Malfoy grooming and all that."

"Malfoy has more girly hair then most of the girls in our year" Padma agreed. She then caught sight of Harry and Ron. "Oh hi guys" she said "Blaise is just telling us about the time he and Xanthe put itching powder on the pillows of the Inquisition Squad's pillows. Any troubles with Professor Zabini?"

"Nah everything was good" Harry said.

"For you" Ron added "Oi Zabini, why do the Slytherin's always say Theo has lice?"

"Not all Slytherin's say that." Blaise answered "I don't and neither does Xanthe or many others. If you must know why the jerks say it, it's because the first two years he came here from home he had them. And because his much poorer than them."

"I'm poor but they've never said I'm dirty" Ron said.

"Why are you in such an antagonistic mood today?" Blaise asked.

"I am not antagonistic!" Ron said "why don't you stop being such a, such a..."

"A what?"

"A Slytherin!" Ron spat.

"Well why don't you stop being so immature?" Blaise asked "I thought you had grown up!"

"I have, but that doesn't make you any less of a prat!" Ron said.

"Oh Ron just drop it" Harry said.

"Harry!" Ron protested "fine I will! Hey guys, want to go get some lunch? Harry wants to spend some alone time with Blaise."

Neville looked between Harry, Ron, and Blaise with concern, however Lavender squealed and took Ron by the arm. Ron walked off with the girls, and Neville just shrugged and waved good-bye to Harry and Blaise before following after them.

"What was that about?" Blaise asked once the two of them were alone.

"Ron just has some jealousy issues" Harry said "I think it comes from being overshadowed by so many siblings."

"I guess I can understand that" Blaise sighed "I was the same way with Camille for a long time... though why the hell is he taking his inferiority issues out on me?"

"It's complicated" Harry said, thinking about how Ron used to accuse Blaise of 'stealing' Hermione.

"Wasn't something my Ma said was it?"

"Well... it could have been" Harry realised, holding out the photograph "she gave me this."

"Ahh.." Blaise examined the photo "damn I was a cute kid."

"I really wish I could remember that far back" Harry said "It would be nice to have memories of friends before Hogwarts. Oh."

"Oh?"

"Ron has always been the first friend I've ever had. It never occurred to me that he might get jealous over someone whose been friends with me even longer."

"Wow" Blaise said "You mean he and I are fighting over a girl? And the girl is you?"

"I never knew I made all the men crazy" Harry said with a dry chuckle.

"Are you kidding?" Blaise said in a strangely high pitched voice "with those sparkly eyes, that sense of humour that emerges at just the right moments, those Quidditch player muscles... hmmm.. speaking of Quidditch..."

"Yeah?" Harry asked, noticing his friend's voice go back to normal.

"Did you ever end up telling McLaggan what happened at the tryouts?"

"Nah" Harry said "I asked Katie about him and she said pretty much the same things you did... plus I just couldn't do that to Ron. I'd hate to see what would happen to his confidence if he knew Hermione cheated for him."

Blaise suddenly started laughing. Fearing a curse of some sort, Harry considered running back to the classroom to get his mother. However he soon composed himself, and to Harry's alarm wore a mischievous grin that would put the Weasley twins to shame.

"I'd forgotten that Hermiome cheated for Ron then" Blaise said "I'll have to remind her of that next time she mentions that cheating is bad."

"Yeah" Harry laughed "You've caught her out there. So much for not being Slytherin; I guess there is a bit of Slytherin in everyone!"

"Except you of course!" Blaise said.

"Well actually, the Sorting Hat really wanted to put me in Slytherin."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Harry questioned himself. _You haven't even admitted that to Ron and Hermione, _he reminded himself _yet you confess to Blaise? _

"Really?" Blaise asked

"Yeah" Harry said "but I'd heard that all the dark wizards came from Slytherin and told the hat not to put me there. No offence!"

"None taken" Blaise said "It's just... I don't see much Slytherin qualities in you."

"Well, coming from a Slytherin - whom despite being half-blooded I cannot imagine in any other house - I don't really know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult."

"Despite the traditional rivalry between Slytherins and Gryffindors, I'll take that as a compliment."

"I'll take what you said as a compliment too then" Harry said.

"That's good. Now my almost-Slytherin brother, want to have lunch at the Slytherin table with me today? You'll get to piss off a lot of people."

"Hmm... why not?" Harry said "These been a part of me that's wanted to tell this whole school to get fucked ever since Umbridge showed up. Let's go stir up some trouble!"

"Wow, I see some of your hidden Slytherin showing now" Blaise said "let's go piss off all those Tracy Davis's!"

Harry carefully placed his new photograph in his defence textbook and then they made their way to the Great Hall. Harry found himself wondering what it would be like to actually stir up trouble willingly.

"Hey, this is going to be safe right?" Harry said "I won't cause a riot or anything by sitting at the Slytherin table will I?"

"Nah" Blaise said "These like, a big gap in the middle of the table now. One side of the gap is the Pure-Freak side, the other the 'Traitor ' side. No-one crosses that gap at meal times any more. You probably have a higher chance of being hexed by Malfoy at the Gryffindor table."

"What about the bullying?" Harry asked "there won't be troubles for you guys later will there?"

"Of course there will be" Blaise said "but it will be worth it. You're a symbol of everything they hate, and your also my friend. I'm not letting them dictate who I can and cannot sit at the table with!"

"Yeah" Harry agreed "you can't let them beat you."

They arrived in the Great Hall and Blaise led Harry over to the Slytherin table, where they quickly found Xanthe talking to Matt and Astoria.

"Hi baby" Blaise said as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Oh hello Blaise" she said "and... Harry? What are you doing here?"

"His sticking it to the man!" Blaise said as he sat down next to his girlfriend and punched the air.

"I sure am" Harry said as he sat down next to Astoria "I was wondering how the Hall would look from over here."

"Oh no" Xanthe said "you've been spending too much time with Blaise. His troublesome sense of humour is starting to rub off on you."

"I thought you liked my sense of humour" Blaise pouted.

"Hay guys" Matt said "one of Parkinson's cronies is glaring daggers at Harry."

They all looked to the 'Pure-Freak' end of the table and Harry saw Tracy Davis glaring at him in disgust. She saw him looking and nudged Millicent Bulstrode, who took one look at him and appeared to snort like a bull before giving him the figure.

"What is with all those girls" Hary said "last year they seemed to be attached to Pansy Parkinson, but now they're bitches in their own rights."

"Yeah it's strange how that happened" Blaise said "especially with Davis."

"Actually I'm not really surprised" Xanthe said "The same thing happened with Polly's year once they started their N.E.. They went from about nine people with one main bitch and her followers, to nine gits all making trouble by themselves."

"How does that happen?" Matt asked "and why in Sixth Year?

"Well in First Year, the really bigoted ones usually make friends with other bigots, and then they all form this big group by the end of the year" Xanthe explained "It's them against the big bad dirty muggle-loving world. Hey Harry, Blaise, have you two tried this new curry? No idea what's in it but it tastes addictive."

"Nah I haven't" Blaise said, proceeding to pile a big lump of the curry onto his plate. Harry took one look at its slightly green colour and decided not to risk the mystery ingredients.

"But that can't be right" Matt said "well, I noticed that our year did that, but the only really bad ones are Eugenie Crabbe and the Rookwood cousins. Isn't most of your year dickheads? And weren't Polly and Tamara the only sane people in their year? They wouldn't really group all together if there were so many of them would they?"

"Yeah" Astoria said "Aren't Malfoy and Parkinson's friend's two separate groups?"

"Not really" Xanthe explained "They are all one group. However Malfoy is sort of a lone wolf within the group. A very vocal and popular lone wolf, but still his on the outside."

"But isn't he their leader?" Harry asked.

"Not really" Blaise explained "Crabbe and Goyle follow him around because well, they're both guys and don't want to be stuck with a large group of girls all day."

"And of course Malfoy is rich and powerful and charismatic" Astoria added.

"That too" Blaise continued "but really, they seem much more at ease when Malfoy isn't around and it's them and the girls. Anyway, it's all one group. Parkinson is their leader, and Malfoy is... kinda their spokesperson. Though Parkinson has a huge crush on Malfoy and follows whatever he says, so it doesn't make too much difference."

"Yeah" Xanthe said "they're a complex group, but they follow the same pattern as all the other Slytherin git groups."

"You have just way over complicated things for me" Harry said "I liked the Slytherin's better when it was just Malfoy, his thugs, Parkinson, and her silly gang. Oh, the Slytherin gits I mean... not you guys."

"Don't worry about it" Blaise said "anyway, I guess we just know more about them having to live in the same Common Room and share dorms with them."

"Though originally it wasn't too much more complicated than that" Xanthe said "You have Parkinson and Malfoy at the top."

"Malfoy actually _on top_ only some nights" Blaise added.

"Yes, well within the dungeon... BLAISE!"

"What? You're free to interpret that any way you want."

"So immature! Anyway, Malfoy and Parkinson are the ringleaders. Then there are their... well, actually Parkinson's best friends; Bulstrode has been friends with Parkinson since they were little. And Daphne -" Xanthe said the name with a touch of anger "- became quick friends with them even though she wasn't from an actual Death Eater family."

"Did something happen between you and Daphne?" Harry asked.

"Our mother and Xanthe's mother are good friends" Astoria explained "We all grew up together; Xanthe and Daphne used to be best friends. But last year Parkinson told Daphne that she wouldn't be her friend or recommend her to Umbridge for the Inquisition Squad if she was friends with Xanthe."

"Xanthe, your such a good friend" Xanthe said in a nasal sounding but accurate imitation of Daphne Greengrass "but you've been a real embarrassment. If I keep hanging out with you I'm never going to advance in society. Maybe if you and your sister stop well, associating with the riff-raff in this school we can be friends again."

"That is harsh" Harry said "They're both cows! Oops, sorry Tori."

"That's okay" Astoria said "my sister has been a pretty big cow lately."

"Anyway, Daphne and Bulstrode... they're the 'in' girls" Blaise said "they're smart, they think for themselves... but they were around Parkinson all the time, so they pretty much just backed her up."

"And then we have Crabbe and Goyle" Xanthe said "Like Daphne and Bulstrode, they're both pureblood and thus respectable... but they can't think for themselves. They're the outer circle. The followers."

"That I get" Harry said.

"It's amazing how different your Crabbe is to ours" Matt said "Eugenie Crabbe would never be a follower - except a follower of You-Know-Who. Hard to believe his her older brother."

"What about the other two girls?" Harry said "Davis and Moon? Surely they're higher up in the pecking order than Crabbe and Goyle?"

"Nope" Blaise said "they're Halfies like me. We can never be higher than a pureblood. Even if you are really friendly with them."

"Unless you are actually Voldemort" Harry pointed out. Blaise chuckled, but the others flinched noticeably.

"Oh come on guys, he is right there."

"He doesn't have to say the name" Astoria said "why are you so casual about it Blaise?"

"Why wouldn't I be? My Ma always referred to him as Voldemort. I didn't even know it was taboo to say his name until I came to Hogwarts."

"Can we please stay on topic here?" Xanthe asked "Anyway, Davis and Moon are both half-bloods, but they still follow all that stuff."

"How could you possibly agree to an ideology that hated you?" Harry asked.

"Well Lilith's father was really abusive and her step-brothers were arseholes" Xanthe explained "and she believes all muggles are the same as them. Yet she's really kind, so maybe there is some hope for her. And Davis... she's actually Blaise's cousin you know."

"What?" Harry asked as he almost choked on his lunch.

"Ma doesn't talk about her side of the family much and hasn't mentioned Davis" Blaise explained "but it's easy enough to figure out. Ma's from the old Pureblooded Rosier family. I know that the infamous Death Eater Evan Roiser was her brother. I also know that Davis' mother was a Squib from the Roiser family, and the sister of Evan Roiser. Therefore, we must be cousins."  
"Having a Squib parent doesn't make you half-blood does it?" Matt asked.

"No of course not" Blaise said "but her father was muggle-born."

"And a Death Eater" Xanthe added.

"What the hell?" Harry said, glad that he hadn't attempted to eat more of his lunch "how can a muggle-born become a Death Eater?"

"With a lot of very messed-up twisted thinking" Xanthe said "muggle-borns can become Death Eater's under 'special circumstances'. In Mr. Davis's case, 'special circumstances' meant murdering his parents. They had to let him in after that."

"Holy crap!" Matt said "That is totally messed up! Is he still free?"

"Oh his dead now" Xanthe said "died in Azkaban a few years after the war."

"I've heard Parkinson and Bulstrode talking to Daphne about him" Astoria said "apparently he was some sort of really lower-class Death Eater. More of a novelty than anything else. Parkinson's father used him to practice cruciatus curses on. Though he was _insane_ loyal. And insanely sadistic. They all thought it would be good to get some of his crazy genes into the wizarding blood. So he was hitched off to a pureblood squib."

"That is just crazy" Harry looked up the table to where Davis was talking to Daphne "No wonder Davis is so messed up. But still, why haven't I noticed she was messed up before? As you were saying Xanthe, they used to be one big group with only two brains and mouths. Now well, they're still a big group, but why has Davis come out of her shell? Or Crabbe and Goyle for that matter."

"Oh yeah, I was getting to that" Xanthe said "well its simple really. They all did the same subjects and stayed together until last year. Did Hermione ever mention that I was the only Slytherin that didn't do Arithmancy for the O.W.L years? Anyway, they stayed together throughout the past five years. It seems to be what we Slytherins do best really. But now well, this year we're all split up. The gang aren't in all the same classes anymore. They have to be gits by themselves or else no-one in the class would put down the 'inferiors.'"

"Oh, I guess that makes sense" Harry said.

"It happens every year" She said "but this year I think You-Know-Who's return has pushed them all to become even bigger gits."

"Oh great" Harry said "Now instead of just dealing with Malfoy, I have to deal with all those idiots."

"Yeah well... whoa Daphne is coming over here!" Astoria gasped.

"POTTER GET AWAY FROM MY LITTLE SISTER YOU CREEP!" Daphne Greengrass screamed once she was within hexing distance of him.

"DAPHNE LEAVE US ALONE!" Xanthe got up from her seat, and Harry saw her clasp the handle of her wand.

"NO YELLING IN THE GREAT HALL!" McGonagall called out "ten points from Slytherin!"

"You just lost us ten house points Greengrass!" Xanthe snarled.

"_I _lost ten points?" Daphne said "well Rivers, how many points have the people from this side of the table lost Slytherin?"

"What do you want Daphne?" Astoria asked.

"Tori, isn't following The Mudblood around bad enough?" Daphne asked "I don't want you exposed to Potter!"

"Well I don't want you exposed to a bunch of You-Know-Who followers!" Astoria said "you know how much Mum worries about you."

"Dad approves of the Parkinson's and Bulstrodes" Daphne said "and I wrote home saying you were growing a bit too chummy with a Mudblood boy. You know how much that worries both of them!"

"Which muggle-born is Tori getting too chummy with here?" A small voice said. Harry looked behind him and saw little Dennis Creevey had joined them. "You know what Matt," the small Gryffindor said "we haven't had lunch together in ages. I've actually been missing the stupidity of some of the people at this table. Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not" Matt said "take a seat mate. And don't mind what Daphne here has to say. She's been brainwashed."

"One day Powers," Daphne said "Mudbloods like you won't even dream of mouthing off at their superiors!"

"You know what Daph?" Blaise said "I think you've said all you need to say. Bye-bye."

"I'm not going anywhere unless I get to bring my sister with me" Daphne said "and DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME 'DAPH'!"

"You should leave" Harry said, and noticing that Bulstrode, Davis, Crabbe and Goyle were approaching them added "and tell your friends to piss off as well."

"You have some nerve Potter!" Daphne said "coming to _my house's _table, and telling _me _to leave."

"Harry was invited here" Xanthe said "you belong at the other side of _my house's _table!"

"What's going on here?" Millicent Bulstrode sneered as she and the gang came to Daphne's side "Is Potter here for the Mudblood party?"

Miles Bletcherly, the Slytherin Keeper who had been sitting close by with Garth Urquhart, suddenly got up and slammed his fists into the table.

"Oi! I d-d-don't like that word!" Bletcherly said "It's an in-insult to my m-mother! And t-t-t-to Garth's parents, and m-ma-many gr-great wizards!"

"Oh great" Crabbe said "the team dummy is trying to talk."

"Shut up Crabbe" Urquhart said "we're a team, we don't have these arguments with each other."

"That's hard with such an impure captain" Goyle said.

"If you two and Malfoy let all this stuff get in the way of the game this weekend, you will not be on the team anymore! I should have kicked the three of you out before now!"

"You couldn't do that Urquhart" Bulstrode said "you'd just weaken the team if you got rid of three Purebloods! And if you threw away Draco's brooms."

"Hey guys" Harry said to the gang "where are Malfoy and Parkinson? I wasn't aware that you five could think without them around."

"Not that they're actually thinking for themselves Harry" Blaise said.

"Why are you still talking back to us Zabini?" Bulstrode said "didn't what happened to your cat teach you anything?"

"This is enough!" A Seventh Year girl got up and approached the gang "you lot are not welcome here. Go away!"

"Are you going to make us go away McDuffie?" Davis asked "I'd like to see you try."

"Oh by the way Potter" Bulstrode said "Pansy and Draco are in the library. Working overtime to come up with a final solution for all the Mudbloods and traitors in this school. And we will win Potter." She waved a chubby finger in front of his face. "Maybe you should think about that."

"Shut up you BITCH!" Dennis pointed his wand at Bulstrode "you'll never win! You'll never get rid of people like me, or like Matt. We aren't scared of you!"

"This Mudblood says he isn't scared of us" Crabbe said as he pulled out his own wand "let's show him why he should be!"

"There is a minor Gryffindor infestation at this table we need to take care of" Davis said as she, Bulstrode, Goyle and Daphne also drew their wands. Harry found himself instinctively draw his own wand against the Slytherins, and found Blaise, Xanthe and Matt at his side doing the same. Astoria also drew her wand and pointed it at her sister. Both sisters stood off against each other with their dark curly hair framing their sombre pink faces.

"Go away Daphne" Astoria said "I don't want to have to hex my own sister."

"Come and sit with me Tori" Daphne said "don't be a part of something that leads to so much trouble. There doesn't have to be a fight here."

"Oh there is going to be a fight here alright" Crabbe said "some mudbloods are going to get it, and Potter is going to get it, and Bletcherly will be stuttering a lot more once I've finished with him!"

"Don't you dare threaten us!" Urquhart said as he, Bletcherly, and McDuffie also drew their wands. Behind them, other Slytherins of all ages also began standing up and moving closer to the scene. Many bearing their own wands down on the gang.

Harry looked to the other side of the table and saw more people coming over to them. Harper and Deschamps from the year below them marched closer with their wands out. Vaisey and Selwyn from the Qudditch team and some other Fourth Year girls were coming for them. Eugenie Crabbe and the Rookwood cousins were getting in on it. Even a group of First Years were getting their wands out.

_Oh Harry _he thought to himself _why did you ever think this would be a good idea?_

"What is going on here?" A distinctive voice said. Harry looked towards the speaker and for the first time in his life was glad to see Snape glaring daggers at him.

"Potter, Creevey, are you two causing trouble here?" Snape asked.

"Yes sir" Harry said "we are."

Snape's glare seemed to get more intense as he shifted it fully to Harry. Harry couldn't shake the feeling that the Professor was using Legilimency on him.

"Twenty points Potter and Creevly." He said "twenty points from Gryffindor _each_. Now go back to your table. And Potter, You'll see me after dinner tonight for a detention! And I'll be having a talk to Professor Zabini about you continuing my class. Now everyone else move along. And get put those wands away!"

Blaise picked up Harry's plate and promised to catch up with him after he'd eaten or in Charms. Harry smiled at his friend, took his half-eaten lunch, and walked with Dennis back to the Gryffidor table. Behind him, the storm at the Slytherin table subsided. For now.

**Author's Note: Just letting you all know that I haven't forgotten about Theo and Hermione's trip to the Hospital Wing... but you'll have to wait until the next chapter to see how that turns out. **


	18. Chapter 17: Keeper and Seeker

**Well that was a long delay. Sorry about that everyone. **

**There are a few reasons why there was such a delay between chapters; one being that I had an itch to work on a few other projects, such as another HP fanfic called Sourblood. **

**I also also just having trouble writing this Chapter. Especially the part about Theo's flashback (Apologies to anyone out there who suffers similar symptoms to Theo; I'm not sure how realistically I have depicted this scene). I also felt like it was time to edit what I'd done. All the chapters have been replaced. The changes are mostly small, but bigger ones include:**

**Chapter one and two have been merged into one chapter. They are still mostly unchanged though. **

**Camille Zabini is now a Witch, but attends the Wizarding Acadamy of Dramatic Arts.**

**There are a few more minor details dropped about Theo's life before Hogwarts.**

**Theo becomes more troubled after seeing Malfoy being bashed and when finding Leia's body **

** Death to Typos**

**Well, after way too long, here is the next chapter. As always feedback is welcome. And Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling.**

**Warning: blood and gore ahead**

**Chapter 16: Keeper and Seeker**

Whilst the rest of Slytherin House were making their stand in the Great Hall, Theo was up in the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey had healed his cuts rather quickly, but she had some news for him and Hermione.

"I am sick to death of all these injuries happening during those barbaric Quidditch matches" the matron explained to them "fortunately this year Madam Hooch and I were able to work out a compromises that should give you Sixth Years some hands on experience before you're work placement next year. Miss. Granger, Mr. Nott, how would you two like to be Quidditch medics?"

"Medics on brooms?" Theo asked "like... flying around... for everyone to watch?"

"You'll have brooms, but you'll be based on the ground." Madam Pomfrey explained "Madam Hooch hasn't let me attend a Quidditch game for ten years... but finally I can at least get some students with healing training to stand on the sidelines and mop up the mess."

"You aren't allowed to attend Quidditch matches?" Hermione asked "I've always thought it was stupid you weren't on the sidelines... why would Madam Hooch ever dream of banning you?"

Madam Pomfrey's expression grew sheepish for a second, but when she spoke again her voice was stony. "Ten years ago Hufflepuff and Slytherin were playing, and the game had been going on over two nights. It was raining hard. All the players were suffering. Anyway I intervened and healed them up. I made them all stop the game and well... Madam Hooch didn't approve."

"Yeah, but that was a long game" Theo said "surely she could have just let it slide?"

"Well, I also did it during the next game when after ten minutes in a Chaser got hit by a bludger." Madam Pomfrey explained "Hooch thinks I have over-protective issues when it comes to Quidditch. But now I can have student medics on the field."

"Sounds like fun" Hermione said "so how is it going to work?"

"Well, luckily I have six Sixth Years and there will be six games" the matron explained "so one student can be the medic at each game. Now, you two are both tied for top of the class, so one of you can be first."

"One of us?" Hermione said.

"Yes Miss Granger, why don't you and Mr. Nott work it out amongst yourselves?"

Theo was about to tell Hermione that she could go first, but she had turned to him with a determined face and her fist out, saying "Rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock?"

Theo shrugged and decided to play against her. As they waved their fists and chanted the names, he did some quick strategising. They had been talking about Kirk and Spock earlier that day, so maybe she would expect him to go with Spock. In which case she would either try to disprove him with paper, or poison him with lizard. Theo decided to go with the one option that could beat them both.

"Paper!" Hermione declared as she flattened her hand

"Scissors!" Theo declared as he made the winning scissors gesture.

"Oh, I was sure you'd go for Spock." Hermione said "well congratulations Theo, you get to be the first medic of our class."

"Yeah... wait what?"

"Wonderful" Madam Pomfrey said "Mr. Nott can oversee the Slytherin Gryffindor match this weekend, and Miss. Granger can have the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff match in a few weeks time."

"Well at least Harry and Ron are in good hands now" Hermione said.

"Wait... I only have one more day to prepare" Theo said "I... I don't think I can do this. Hermione, you should do the first match. I know you really want to."

"It's fine Theo" she said "you do it. I know you can do it; you're a natural healer. Or are you more worried about the flying?"

"Ha!" Madam Pomfrey laughed "Theodore Nott afraid of flying. I remember the time his sister smuggled him in to watch her match against Gryffindor in her second year. After the game the two of them went flying together, and his boy here is a natural."

"Oh I'm not that good" Theo felt himself blush "Alice was the only flier in our family."

"Your sister played Qudditch?" Hermione asked "you never mentioned that before."

"I didn't?" Theo asked. He was sure he had told Hermione about Alice's Quidditch playing before, but then again he did still find it hard to talk about her at times so it was possible he had never mentioned it.

"You never have" Hermione said.

"Oh sorry" Theo said "well, yeah she played Keeper for Ravenclaw. She was one of the best Keepers Ravenclaw, no, the whole school had seen. No-one _ever _scored a point against her while she played for Ravenclaw."

"No-one ever scored against her?" Hermione asked, her voice betraying a lot of admiration from someone who was not really interested in Quidditch.

"She is the only Keeper in Hogwarts History to play against all the opposing houses and never let anyone score a point!" He said, feeling his boyhood excitement about Alice's Quidditch games bubble up again. "In her second year she was a reserve on the team, and half-way through the match against Slytherin the main Keeper got knocked out. She was brought in when Slytherin were a hundred points in front, but they never scored again, and Ravenclaw came back! After that they made her their main Keeper, and the next match against Gryffindor she brought me to see!"

"That would have been amazing" Hermione said "being a little kid in Hogwarts."

"It was; and Alice was amazing too! Ravenclaw had been in last place for years, but thanks to her they were able to reach second place, and could have even taken out the cup if the Gryffindor Seeker hadn't caught the snitch just before Ravenclaw was about to take the lead in points. And she did it all on a school broom!"

Hermione gave Theo a happy laugh and then shook her head. He instantly tried to work out if he had done anything wrong - the laugh sounded happy, but how could her shaking her head be good?  
"I never realised you were so into Quidditch" Hermione said "you should really talk to Harry and Ron more, I bet they'd hang on to your every word once they find out your sister was such a great player."

"Of course he was into Quidditch" Madam Pomfrey said "that was really the first thing Professor Flitwick and I noticed when we first found him; little Theo was into whatever his big sister was into. They both sang together too, and oh my they both had good voices. Professor Flitwick signed Mr. Nott here up to the choir that day!"

"You never told me you can sing" Hermione said "did you ever go into the choir?"

"Oh no I couldn't do the choir" Theo said "my voice well... it isn't the same as it was back then, coz well, I was pretty little then, and now well... umm.. I kinda grew and erm... developed. And my voice it umm.." _Great Theo _he thought to himself _not only are you lying to her, but you had to mention going through puberty and then get all flustered didn't you?_

"Your voice broke?" Hermione asked with that reassuring smile that Theo loved.

"Yeah that happened" Theo said. He wondered if he would have been able to tell the truth to Hermione if Madam Pomfrey hadn't been there. After all, he had told Harry without any problem.

"Tsk, Mr. Nott I cannot believe how shy you have become" Madam Pomfrey said "Now Miss. Granger, if you had known him when he was eight you wouldn't recognise him. He was such a bubbly and talkative little boy."

"Wow" Hermione said "Theo, I cannot imagine you being talkative. I would have loved to see you as an eight year old."

Theo felt himself go tense at her words. Did that mean that she didn't like him because he was so quiet?

"Anyway, did you get to see Alice play any other games?" Hermione asked.

"Oh we made sure he didn't sneak in for Alice's next game against Hufflepuff" Pomfrey explained "Alice almost got banned from the game when she talked back to Professor Flitwick about it, but we made sure she didn't bring him along. Though of course if we had known it would have been her last Quidditch game we wouldn't have tried to stop her."

At the sudden reminder of Alice's death Theo felt a familiar tightness in his chest and then found himself struggling for breath. _Alice could have been one of the greatest Keepers of all time _he found himself thinking _if only she hadn't come home for Christmas to see you._

"Theo are you okay!" Hermione asked, panic looming in her voice "you just went all pale, is it because of Alice? Theo? THEO!"

_If she hadn't of come home to see you, then Gabriella wouldn't have done it. Alice wouldn't have been in any danger at all. She wouldn't have suffered! _For a second the Hospital Wing was gone and he was back in the corner of Alice's room. She was screaming as kind hearted Mrs. Tucker from the library pinned her down, and looked in his direction with the gazed over eyes of someone under the Imperious Curse.

"THEO! THEO!" He was suddenly aware of Hermione grabbing him by the shoulders, and saw Madam Pomfrey conjure up a brown paper bag. He wanted to tell her he was alright, but he was hyperventilating and couldn't get the words out. He felt sick, and his last though before he was thrown back into the flashback was _oh please let me not throw up on Hermione, please don't throw up on Hermione. Oh god I can't be having a panic attack in front of Hermione!_

Next second he was back in Alice's room, where kind Mrs. Tucker was powerless to stop her hand from lifting up that butcher's knife and stabbing his screaming sister. And stabbing her again, and again, and Mrs. Tucker had always been nice and helped them why was she hurting Alice? And Alice just kept screaming and screaming and Theo was crying as her blood splatted against him and blood went everywhere and Gabriella was in the hallway laughing and he couldn't do anything and Alice was hurting.

"THEO!"

He was on the floor, drenched in sweat and breathing into a paper bag. Well, at least he hadn't thrown up on Hermione. Speaking of Hermione, he couldn't help but miss a breath once he realised where her hands were. While Madam Pomfrey had steadied him and forced him to breath into the bag, Hermione was crouched down next to him with both her hands desperately clutching his.

He had always wondered what it would be like to have Hermione hold his hand, but this was certainly not the way he had wanted it to happen. He took a moment to take in the softness of her hands and to gently caress her fingers with his thumb. He decided that despite still feeling the effects of a panic attack, he quite liked having his hand in Hermione's. Now if only his palms weren't covered in sweat.

"Are you alright Theo?" he had never seen her look so worried before. He wanted to tell her not to worry, but he knew swatting the paper bag away from his mouth wasn't a good idea.

"He'll be alright" Madam Pomfrey explained "won't you Theo? Just a mild panic attack, you've gotten through worse than this before."

"This is mild?" Hermione asked "God Theo what's happening, does this happen all the time?"

Theo managed to shake his head and pat her hands with his free hand. His breathing felt a lot more normal now, and Madam Pomfrey finally removed the paper bag.

"I used to get flashbacks and panic attacks a lot" Theo said "especially before I came to Hogwarts. But I haven't had one in almost two years. I... it's scary to have them, but the worst is over, I can handle it from now."

"Are you sure?" Hermione said, squeezing his hand tighter "Jesus Theo I didn't realise you had anything like this going on."

He felt fresh worry and his stomach was telling him that vomiting was imminent. _Oh please, Hermione please don't stop liking me. I can't... I want you to love me._

"Theo!" she squeezed his hand again "it's alright, you can handle this." She looked over his shoulder to where Madam Pomfrey was still keeping him steady "should we get him to a bed?"

"Just give him a second to get his breath back" the matron said "he'll probably have some vertigo."

After a while the matron got Theo calmed down and he was able to get up. Hermione helped him stand, keeping one hand in his as she helped him towards a bed. As he sat on the bed, he found himself in a tricky predicament; he really did not want to let go of Hermione's hand, and she wasn't making any moves to let go either. But hadn't they now been holding hands longer than was needed?

She blushed when she noticed she was still holding his hand, and gave his hand one final squeeze before letting go.

"Sorry about that Theodore" Madam Pomfrey said "I didn't realise saying that would set you off. So was it more a panic attack or a flashback?"

"Flashback" Theo said "It was almost like being back in Alice's room... and its not your fault. When I saw Leia murdered I could feel a flashback coming along... but I... I don't know how I did it, but I managed to push the flashback aside to help Blaise. Since then I've felt like well, like it was only a matter of time before it caught up with me."

"I see" Madam Pomfrey said "did you go to see Madam Lestrange while you were feeling like this?"

"I dropped in on Wednesday night, but she had someone else with her. These been quite a lot going on lately, so I haven't had a chance. I... I guess I also thought I could just get over it."

"Silly boy" Madam Pomfrey said.

"Do you get flashbacks and stuff often?" Hermione asked.

"Not really" Theo said "I haven't had anything like this happen in ohh... over two years. The worst thing for me is nightmares, but even they started to decrease after the DA started."

"That's good" Hermione said "well, good it doesn't affect you all that often. Do you want me to stay with you while you're here?"

"That would be nice" Theo said.

"What about classes Miss Granger?"

"Oh do I have to?" Hermione said

"You want to skip class for me?" Theo said.

"Of course I would" Hermione said "but only for you Theo."

Theo found himself smiling; she would only skip classes for him? That had to be a good thing.

**Saturday Morning**

Harry felt strangely relaxed as he led his team into the Great Hall before the match against Slytherin. But then again, Ron was sitting beside him being nervous enough for the whole team.

"I can't do this Harry" He said "I just can't."

"You won the cup for Gryffindor last year Ron" Harry said "you can do this."

"But I've been sucking badly Harry"

"You can do this, now eat something. Please."

Ron struggled to force down some food, and Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table again. The bright green Quidditch robes were right in the middle of the table, with Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Vaisey and Selwyn on the 'Pure-Freak' side of the gap and Urquhart and Bletcherly on the 'Traitor' side.

There was absolutely no contact between the two sides of the team. No contact between Urquhart and the other Chasers; _How the hell were they meant to function as a team?_

"Demelza, Ginny, Katie" Harry said to his own Chasers "The Slytherin team is divided... you'll be able to make the most use of that. Force the Chasers to pass and fly in formation, because I don't think they can work together at all. Jimmy, Ritchie, Crabbe and Goyle are much bigger and stronger than you, but they haven't been practicing nearly as much as you. Fly rings around them, hog the Bludgers, keep them out of the game and bombard the Chasers,"

Jimmy and Ritchie nodded... then glanced at Crabbe and Goyle in terror. Harry wasn't worried though; they may be the smallest Beaters in the Cup this year, but they could outfly Crabbe and Goyle.

"Here comes Hermione and her Slytherin friends" Ginny said.

Harry followed where Ginny was pointing and saw Hermione walking towards the Gryffindor table with Blaise, Xanthe and Theo. Blaise and Xanthe were wearing Slytherin scarves and beanies, but Theo was dressed in smart pale green healer robes. Harry wondered whether he should shoo the Slytherins away if they came to the table. Sure they were his friends, but today was game day. Until the game was over at least, Slytherin was back to being the enemy.

In the end Harry didn't have to say anything to the Slytherins. They gave him a friendly wave before heading to their own table, and Hermione came over to sit with the team.

"The Slytherins have their own medic now?" Katie asked Hermione.

"No" Hermione said "Madam Pomfrey is getting her sixth year students to act as medics during the Quidditch games from now on. Theo will patch up players from both teams, not just Slytherin."

"Sure" Ritchie said.

"He will! Doing well in Healing is much more important to him than silly house rivalries."

"Well at least we're in good hands" Ron said "but why couldn't you be our medic Hermione? I'd feel a lot better knowing you were looking out for me."

"Oh um, thanks Ron. I'll be the acting medic for the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff game. Just well... just how the draw went."

"How was that determined?"

"By our grades"

"But... shouldn't you be first then?"

"Ron, I'm not perfect at everything I do. Now eat some breakfast, you'll need your strength."

Ron did manage to eat his breakfast, and the more he looked at the gap between the Slytherin table, the more at ease he became.

Soon Harry was leading his team out to the Quidditch Pitch, and then into the change rooms, where they listened as the students took their seats. First match of the year; and Harry's first match as captain. For now, everything was perfect.

"Remember" Harry said to his team before they stepped onto the pitch "The Slytherin team is divided. However we stand united! We are capable of working together as a team, but they aren't. We communicate with each other; they don't. The Slytherin team is a mess; we cannot lose! Let's go show them the power of a united team!"

The team cheered, and Harry led them onto the pitch. They faced the Slytherin team, Harry and Urquhart shook hands, then Madam Hooch blew her whistle and everyone took to the air.

Harry flew above all the other players. He took a look in the direction the Snitch had taken off in, then did a quick survey of the pitch. As captain, he would not only have to keep an eye out for the Snitch, but he would also have to keep a much closer eye on the rest of the team so he could direct them if needed.

And of course, he would have to watch Malfoy.

Malfoy was circling the pitch at the same height as Harry. And as they passed each other Malfoy glared at Harry with fire in his eyes. The aloof Malfoy of the past few months was gone; the old Malfoy was back and after Harry's blood.

"Well there they go, and I think we're all surprised to see the team Potter's put together this year. Many thought, given Ron Weasley's patchy performance last year, he'd be off the team. But I guess a close personal friendship with the Captain does help."

Zacharias Smith was commentating. That pouncey Hufflepuff that as far as Harry knew no-one really liked. Harry hoped that Smith's commentary wouldn't put Ron of.

"And here's Slytherin's first attempt at a goal. Urquhart speeds away from the Gryffindor's with his Firebolt, rushes to the goals and... and Weasley misses it. Well what did I say? Very lucky for Slytherin though; The Gryffindor Chasers are out flying them something fierce. At this rate Urquhart's Firebolt will be their only chance at getting near the Gryffindor end of the pitch. Though they could make it up if their Beaters play well; After all, Coote doesn't have the usual build of a Beater. They usually have more muscle."

"Aim a Bludger at him" Harry said to Ritchie as he flew past. The smallish Beater smiled, but instead aimed a Bludger right at Vaisey, who had just regained possession for Slytherin. Harry heard a satisfying 'thunk' as the Bludger found it's mark and Gryffindor regained possession.

After that first goal Gryffindor came back hard. Only twice did Slytherin make it back to the Gryffindor side of the field, but both these times Ron had managed to block the goals. Once because Selwyn had shot from an impossible angle, and another time he blocked Urquhart by the narrowest of margins.

Harry hated to admit it, but at the moment Bletcherly was certainly being the better Keeper. He blocked goals left right and centre, but the Gryffindor Chases just kept coming, and he couldn't stop all the goals. Within an hour the score was sixty-ten Gryffindor's way.

Urquhart called a time out, and Harry found his team all in high spirits.

"If it wasn't for that Smith git this would be a dream game" Ginny said "you were right about the Chaser's Harry... they can't do anything together."

"And Crabbe and Goyle are way too slow" Jimmy said "we've got this one in the bag"

"Don't let your guard down" Harry warned them "Bletcherly is going great, despite what the score says. And Ron, watch out for Urquhart coming up with his Firebolt. I haven't seen the Snitch yet, but Malfoy is all fired up. That worries me. I want us to have a cosy lead - preferably over a hundred-and-fifty points - before he catches sight of the Snitch."

"So now that you're Captain you can make us get your points for you?" Katie asked.

"I intend to get the Snitch; Malfoy hasn't beaten me to it before. But I'd rather him hesitate to get it. We should play to our strengths in this game."

What Harry wouldn't admit to the rest of the team, was that there was something about Malfoy today that scared him. He may not have seen much of Malfoy over the months, but Harry could tell that he had changed; for the worse.

They flew back out, and straight away Urquhart raced towards Ron with the Quaffle. This time Ron had no problems blocking it; the confidence the rest of the team were feeling was contagious.

The Chasers began wearing away at Bletcherly again; the stuttering Keeper saved four impressive shots within ten minutes, before Demelza snuck Gryffindor's next point past him. The Gryffindor beat-down continued for Slytherin, until the score was one-hundred to ten.

Oh, looks like Malfoy has seen something Potter hasn't" Smith said. Harry had stopped his search to watch the latest goal, and in that moment Malfoy had found the Snitch and was zooming upwards.

Harry shot after him, but he couldn't close the gap as fast as he normally would have like to. The Nimbus 2002 was almost as fast as Harry's Firebolt.

The Snitched changed direction; it began descending. It sped away from Harry, but now he was closer. He was going to catch it.

There was a heavy thud on his back and he went off course. Malfoy had crashed into him from above and was now rolling off him. At first Harry thought it may have actually been an accident, but when he saw Malfoy's face he knew that it was no accident.

"You!" Harry grabbed Malfoy's collar, and was jabbed in the stomach. He almost fell of his broom, but was able to get back on and land his heel into Malfoy's exposed kneecap.

The whistle sounded. Madam Hooch separated them and awarded both sides a penalty shot. Ginny took the shot for Gryffindor and was blocked by Bletcherly. However Vaisey's shot for Slytherin whooshed right past Ron.

"Harry!" Katie said once the penalties were over "Why..."

"I'm sorry. Just keep playing!"

And keep playing they did. one-hundred-and-ten to twenty. Then one-hundred-and-twenty to twenty. Katie scored the goal that put Gryffindor over a hundred points in the lead. This would be Slytherin's worst defeat in centuries; as long as Malfoy didn't get the snitch.

Harry flew amongst the Chasers, and saw Urquhart shoot Selwyn pure hatred as she attempted to pass the Quaffle to Vaisey - who was blocked by Ginny - rather than Urquhart, who was completely open. Ginny took the Quaffle Selwyn practically handed her, and scored Gryffindor's fourteenth goal of the match.

Harry wasn't going to let his guard down again; he tuned out the rest of the game, and focused on Malfoy and the hunt for the Snitch. He wasn't sure how long he tuned the game out for, but he was brought back to it when he heard Smith taunting Ron again.

"And Weasley lets in another easy goal from the sub-par Slytherin Chasers. Not that it does Slytherin any good. Score one-hundred-and-eighty to thirty."

One-hundred-and-eighty. Gryffindor were exactly one-hundred-and-fifty points ahead. But what frame of mind would that put Malfoy in? Would he avoid the Snitch, waiting for Slytherin to close the gap by just one more goal? Or would he be more determined than ever? Willing to end the match in a draw rather than risk Slytherin falling further behind?

Harry thought it would be the former. He really thought that Malfoy would never yield a draw to Gryffindor.

But a few minutes later, Malfoy proved him wrong. He went at full speed, and Harry saw the Snitch ahead of him. Harry rushed to catch up, but they were at opposite sides of the stadium, and the Snitch wasn't moving inward. It would have been impossible for Harry to catch up, except for Jimmy and Ritchie. They were flying rings around Crabbe and Goyle just as Harry had told them to; they had complete control of both Bludges, and kept them both shooting across Malfoy's path. The Slytherin Seeker was forced to dance around them, and soon Harry found himself closing in. He kept away from the Bludges that were hampering Malfoy. The Snitch was heading towards the Gryffindor goalposts, and Harry could see him and Malfoy closing in from both sides, meeting the Snitch in the middle.

Harry sped past Ron, and the Snitch was ahead of him. He reached out his hand; the Snitch was trapped between the two Seekers and a goalpost. Harry got closer, his arm stretched as far as it would go. The crowd silent in anticipation.

And right before his eyes, Harry saw a gloved hand swallow the Snitch, and he ducked to avoid a Bludger and a swirl of triumphant green and silver.

Malfoy stopped in front of the Gryffindor goal post, and held the Snitch high above his head. He looked at Harry like a madman...

And then the other Bludger - shot by Ritchie before the capture - connected directly above Malfoy's left eye.

His skull cracked, his blood was shed, and the impact sent him backwards; slamming the back of his head into the top of goalpost with more bone shattering force.

The Bludger bounced away from the goal, heading towards the Beaters... but Malfoy wasn't so lucky. He slid down; his right shoulder smashing onto the bottom of the hoop, and his hips slamming into the post.

Like a bag of meat being thrown against the goalpost, Malfoy was completely limp as he fell.

But he never let go of the Snitch.


	19. Chapter 18: Blood

**After having a lot of trouble with the last chapter, this one came quiet easily. hope you all enjoy; reviews would be appreciated.**

**Chapter 17: Blood**

Theo didn't think about the crowd, or the broom, or the fact that it was Malfoy. He took off towards the Gryffindor goal posts, pointing his wand at Malfoy and shouting out the spell to slow him down. When Theo was close enough; and when Malfoy was falling slow enough, he conjured up a stretcher and caught the falling Seeker.

Not slow enough. Malfoy hit the stretcher with some force and bounced back up. Theo circled tightly around the stretcher, holding him down, and slowly they descended.

The other players started circling around them, but Madam Hooch kept them back. Theo could hear the crowd, could hear Smith, could hear Goyle shouting at him to hurry up and land so that Malfoy could be healed.

But Theo didn't hurry. Malfoy had a serious head injury, and more than likely a spinal one as well - that dislocated shoulder might not have been all that had been damaged in that second impact - Malfoy needed to be moved with the utmost care, and as slowly as possible.

Not that Theo didn't want to hurry up himself. Just sitting there looking at Malfoy's horrific injuries with no way to help him... he was defenceless, just like when -

_I am not defenceless, I am getting him down in the safest way possible. I am assessing the damage done to him; his panting and shaking, but he isn't losing blood too fast. I can immobilize him just in case he does have a spinal injury, and then he won't be able to make it any worse as I stop the bleeding. See, I'm not helpless. This isn't like with Alice, I can help, I can make it right. Just don't panic! I need to make it right. For Alice._

Theo fought back his panic - he could not fall apart like he had yesterday, at a mere comment about Alice's death. He needed to be able to heal this bag of bones and blood that had once been Draco Malfoy.

_You've seen blood before, and it didn't destroy you. Don't let Alice weigh you down; she would hate it if she stopped me becoming a Healer!_

The panic was in its place, and Theo was certain that if there was life after death, then Alice would be next to him, helping him. He was almost to the ground now, and he was ready to help Malfoy. He looked over his patient again, trying to work out what else he could do.

He called out for someone to get Pomfrey; while he could save Malfoy, he wouldn't be able to fix him up enough to be moved. His skull was all smashed up, and through the blood Theo could see some specks of white stuff. There was a lot of blood - almost impossible to tell that Malfoy was a blond - and Theo kept expecting to have to fight off the panic... but maybe his inner monolog and the calming drought he had taken were working better than ever. Even the smell wasn't too much.

The smell of death. Blood and fear and shit and piss. Theo hoped Pomfrey wouldn't be too long... How long could he keep Malfoy alive without causing permanent damage?

Theo's feet were on the ground now. He eased Malfoy down, immobilized him, and made sure his airways were clear. They were clear, but Theo didn't want to risk pouring the painkiller potion down his throat. He got the syringe out of his emergency kit, filled it with the potion, and injected it just above Malfoy's heart. Then without a single thought of the crowd or his own feelings, he began work on the skull. On stopping the bleeding.

As the blood stopped flowing, Theo noticed that not all of it was coming from the head. Malfoy was crying, and the tears in his left eye were of blood. Blood and a black jelly seeping out of the corners of his eye. The vitreous humor - the black jelly that filled the eye and kept it round, usually only visible through the tiny opening that was the pupil.

If the vitreous humor was leaking... there was nothing Theo could think of that would cause it to leak anywhere but into other parts of the eye. Unless...

Unless of course the entire eye had been destroyed. If the whole thing had been ripped to pieces, then there was nothing that could be done. Sure it could be refilled and sewed up with magic, but the result would give Malfoy worse vision than if he had just been given an artificial magic eye.

It would have to been taken out. If it was leaking, then some of the discharge could get into the wounds in his brain. And Theo knew that Pomfrey would need easy access to his brain to stop any internal bleeding. An empty eye socket would be ideal.

_But how could it have been ripped apart? _His doubt said. Eyes are tougher than they seem; and it's not like Malfoy had been stabbed. If he was wrong, then Theo would rip out a perfectly good eye, heal the optical nerve so that the eye couldn't be easily reattached - and it wouldn't be feasible to reattach it anyway. The eye would dry out or get dirty, or 'die' once cut off from a blood supply. Theo could be ripping out a perfectly good eye... and what kind of Seeker would Malfoy be then?

_It's Malfoy... the bastard who killed Leia, who taunted Hermione and Blaise. Why should I care so much? _

_ It matters because _I'll_ be the one doing it. The Hippocratic Oath remember? I can't judge my patients, I have to heal them. Now, should I remove Malfoy's eye? Or do I patch him up and wait for Madam Pomfrey? She'll know what to do... but most of that stuff will end up on his brain. He'll have brain damage as it is, but if I delay it..._

Theo put it off and got back to the skull, he cleared away blood and other fragments. Now he could see some of the damage. He used a hair-loosening spell to swish Malfoy's hair out of the way, and now he could see the healed gashes, and the bulgers under the skin where skull fragments were sticking up at awkward angles. Theo had only been concerned with stopping the blood, but now he began to heal the bone. He made sure the skull remain fragile and slightly fragmented; Pomfrey would need to see where the worse damage was to fix the brain.

Her view shouldn't be obstructed by hair either. He used a hair loosening spell to swish Malfoy's hair away from the worst wounds...

And saw a bump.

He looked closer... that bump wasn't natural. And the red on it wasn't all blood. Rust... this had been on Malfoy's head a while.

No, not on... _in_. It was the tip of a tiny nail.

A medical instrument? Unlikely. But still not that safe to play around with.

Except Malfoy's eye wasn't looking so good. it was sagging, and sinking, and more vitreous humor was seeping out.

But how could that have happened?

Theo would have to pull it out to examine or heal it. Given the way it looked, Theo doubted Malfoy would still have much vision in it, but he was still a bit hesitant.

_I'm not going to let the damage to his brain get any worse; if I make a mistake, it won't be because I was too scared to do anything! _

Theo used a healing spell, even though he knew such spells were generally useless on eyes. Once confident he had no choice, he used his wand to slowly pull out Malfoy's eye.

It wouldn't move.

The nail! It was right above the eye, and if it was long enough to pierce his eye when he was hit...

It had to come out! It obviously didn't have any safety charms on it and if it had destroyed the eye, what was it doing to the brain?

Theo laid a cloth out on the ground next to him, and then removed the nail with a simple extraction spell. The spell made the nail disappear from Malfoy's head and reappear on the cloth.

_I shouldn't feel sorry for those that are inferior to me. I shouldn't care what happens to those that are different... those dirty dirty muggles. They mean nothing! I am better than them!_

Theo paused for a second as the strange thought entered his mind. For a second he remembered who he was, and that there was a crowd around him, his bloody and unconscious enemy, the thin nail on the cloth that seemed to be rotting away, and that Alice...

He pushed it all aside, concentrating only on shooting a healing spell where the nail had been, and then he began to pull the damaged eye out again. Slowly, gently, and despite the obvious damage, once it was out he kept it attached to the optical nerve. Just in case there was something Madam Pomfrey could do.

Now the socket was open, and Theo was able to poke his wand in and clear up some of the blood and vitreous humor. He then began to shoot his healing spell in there too. He wasn't at it long when Pomfrey joined him, followed closely by Crabbe and Goyle. He briefly told her what he had done. She thanked him and then told him to stand back with the other students. He thought maybe he sensed praise in her words... but she had no time to praise him. Malfoy needed her attention.

Maybe he should have stayed and watched her... he might have learned a lot... but he couldn't. Now that he wasn't so completely occupied with saving Malfoy, the blood was beginning to disturb him.

He had just ripped out Draco Malfoy's eye. And now he wondered if it really was necessary. It had been so gory, just like...

Theo couldn't stay there watching Malfoy. He turned and walked away, painfully aware of the crowd that parted for him... that looked at him with shock and awe and disgust. Never before had he wanted to hide so much.

_Why do you want to be a healer? _He asked himself _did you think it was all spells and potions? Did you think there wouldn't be blood?_

_ Yes, I knew there would be blood. But I'm not a defenceless little kid anymore. I can stop the bleeding! I can stop it! And I _did _stop it!_

He went to the grandstand, and soon found a bathroom. He gripped the edge of the sink and fought down the urge to vomit. He had stopped the bleeding. He stopped it! STOPPED IT! Why did he still see Alice then?

He looked at his reflection. He was pale and bloody. But he didn't throw up.

He just gripped the basin harder and cried as Malfoy's face kept merging into Alice's. He cried as Malfoy's gasps turned into Alice's screams... and back into gasps again. He had stopped the bleeding, but all that had given him was a new nightmare. Had he really expected anything different?

But he didn't throw up or have another panic attack. He kept the flashbacks away. He just kept crying.

He looked up at the mirror again, and saw that some people had entered. Harry Potter, holding a strange map, and Hermione and Blaise, Xanthe and Weasley. Even Urquhart and Bletchery, and behind them, Professors Zabini and Flitwick.

No-one said anything. Professor Zabini just walked towards him with her arms outstretched, and he collapsed into her embrace.

With the support of his friends, he cried until he felt human again.

**:Later:**

"Is he going to make it?" Deepvoice asked.

"He will live" Dumbledore said "the question is whether or not he'll wake up again."

"I heard that he was treated by a student first. A _Student!_"

"Madam Pomfrey doesn't go to Quidditch games. Draco was lucky that there was a student medic on hand. If Mr. Nott hadn't been so quick then Draco _would _be dead now. None of the teachers at the Pitch would have been able to do what Mr. Nott did quick enough to help; we were right to let him treat Draco."

"Nott? _Peter Nott's _dirty lice-ridden son saved Draco?"

"Yes. If Draco wakes up, he will have a life debt to Theodore Nott."

"Well... so be it. If Draco wakes up, then I don't really care who I have to thank."

"Yes you do. It's in your nature to judge people. We need to stop the act; You're not detached enough for your Deepvoice persona to aid your Occulmency, and I need to know how this situation is effecting you. Lucius, I need you to talk to me as Draco's father."

Deepvoice completely blocked his mind. His first thought was that Dumbledore was no different from the Dark Lord; Dumbledore had needed Draco's mission to succeed, and now that Draco had failed he was through with the Malfoys. He didn't care about the fake personas and acting that Lucius was using to cover up his Occlumency - he had said his name, and now when the Dark Lord used his Legilimency he would notice something being concealed... would be able to find this fantasy and realise it's truth. Dumbledore had peeled the mask back already, and was trying harder to expose him.

"Lucius, this will not expose you to Voldemort" Dumbledore said "you're son is fighting for his life and your mind isn't organizing things properly. I merely need to befuddle you a bit and no-one will be able to make any sense of this. However, I need to know where your hart is. Because Draco has failed; even if he were to wake up tomorrow, his injuries won't heal enough for him to fix a vanishing cabinet - or to even walk up and down the stairs at this school - for a very long time. Draco is going to be transferred to St. Mungo's as soon as his neck is healed enough for him to travel, and Madam Pomfrey doubts that he'll be back this year. So Lucius, now that Draco has failed, what will happen to your family?"

His family. There was still hope; Narcissa's pinning of Pius Thicknesse was very important to the Dark Lord. Even though Lucius and now Draco had failed, their family was safe as long as Narcissa succeeded.

But what would people say about Draco? He hadn't been to see Draco yet - after this meeting he would leave and then Professor Snape would go to the manor to tell them what had happened - but he had read Pomfrey's report; Draco was damaged for life.

What use was he in the Death Eater world now? Now more than ever, Draco needed Dumbledore's world to prevail.

It was the thought of Draco being treated as an inferior in the world Lucius had for so long strived to create made him obey his former teacher. He removed his hood, his mask, and his voice disguiser. Now he was Lucius Malfoy once more.

"Are you alright Lucius?"

"Is that a trick question. Of course I'm not."

"No, of course not. Oh, you were right about the pin. Both about it not being fully absorbed and about its removal being inevitable. Mr. Nott had to remove the pin ... and it was still intact enough that we could hear the idea."

"You heard it?"

"'I shouldn't feel sorry for those that are inferior to me. I shouldn't care what happens to those that are different... those dirty dirty muggles. They mean nothing! I am better than them!' You know, I think I can see where you and Narcissa went wrong."

"Yes, we have also realized our mistakes. We used the word "inferiors" and also made him think he was "better than them". Of course, a child's mind can be moulded much easier than an adult mind, and he took "them" to mean not only muggles, but well, everyone. He sees the whole world as inferior to him, and as a result he has no empathy for anyone."

"Not only that, but you told him not to care about anyone who was different... which would be bad even in an adult, since everyone is different."

"It was one of Cissy's first attempts, and these things are rarely done on young children!"

But you did it! Both of you! You tried to alter your son's mentality... you wanted to control his mind, soul, and will."

"I know! I just... I knew he would end up like Julius if we didn't do _something_!"

"Your little brother? I remember the two of you getting along quite well in Hogwarts."

"It got worse after I graduated. If you knew Jules at all you would know that he wasn't like the rest of us. He took on everyone else's problems, he thought it was his responsibility to make everyone happy. Even the umm... you know."

"He married a Muggleborn woman. When I heard that I knew the two of you wouldn't be getting along anymore."

"It's just... he was such a great little brother. So talented, with his whole future before him. But he... he had to look at _those_ people and care about them too. He wouldn't listen to reason... he just let his emotions guide him when it came to people."

"Empathy. And I believe that was one of the traits you had wished Draco had more of?"

"Had _any_ of. _Still _had any of. He had plenty of empathy when he was seven. That's how this all started. He was lonely and had a window that could see the local muggle playground. He didn't see that many wizard children, and the ones he did get to play with he didn't really get along with. We should have known he would go to the playground."

"You said it yourself Lucius, wizard children and muggle children aren't any different. They just want to play and make friends and feel like they belong."

"He met this little Asian boy; most of the families in the town are white, so the other kids were really mean to that one little boy. The muggle society at its finest right?"

"Wizards have in the past been guilty of racism against other wizards. It is not simply a muggle fault."

"Well if you really knew Jules, then you'd know what he'd have done. And Draco was just the same; he befriended the little Asian muggle boy and helped him stand up to the bullies. Draco's first friend was a _muggle_."

"And because he made friends the way other children did, you had to change him."

"Julian took his Mudblood wife and fled to Australia. I have nieces and nephews that I'll never meet. I lost my brother to your muggle-loving crap; I wasn't going to lose Draco too!"

"Julian lost _you_ to your muggle-hating crap Lucius! It is _your_ beliefs that have caused all the harm here. You didn't lose Julian Lucius, you drove him away. Threatened to kill him! And because of your hateful beliefs, you've destroyed Draco too! Draco has spent eight years unable to have any sort of real relationship. And now that the pin is out, we have no idea what he'll be like if he wakes up."

"He _will_ wake up! Not only that, but he'll be just, like, Jules! That's why I'm having this conversation with you, that's why I betrayed everything I ever believed in! Because I saw that the pin hadn't been absorbed. What we had given him was so totally against his nature that he couldn't absorb it all. _Eight years_ and that way of thinking was still being rejected. I knew then that it never would be who he really was... and eventually it would come out and Draco would be just, like, Jules! Except, in my world someone like Jules would be killed. Don't say I destroyed Draco; I'll help you win this war... now that the pin is out I need to help you more than ever, because your muggle-loving world is the only one that Draco can be safe in!"

There was a long pause. Lucius was gripping the edge of Dumbledore's desk, struggling to hold back his tears. He noticed that Dumbledore wasn't looking at him. Lucius wondered if his whole world was really so twisted that he didn't deserve to be looked at. After all, look what had happened to Draco.

"I trust you Lucius" Dumbledore said "you may never come to agree with me, but you will do anything to save Draco. It often surprises me, when I meet a man so twisted and evil, and then I see that he can be redeemed after all."

"Not everyone can be redeemed."

"No. Only those that wish it can be redeemed."

"I don't wish to be on your side."

"You'll do anything for your son... it is the most purest form of love. Lucius, even if we disagree, we are on the same side here."

"Very well. I suppose I better get home so I can be told that Draco is in a coma and permanently disfigured."

"Lucius..."

"Yes?"

"I think your wrong about Draco waking up and being like Jules. He was driven by artificial hatred and intolerance... but beneath that, he was raised with your ideology. With your beliefs. I think he will wake up being the same Draco he was before the accident... except confused and in pain. Of course, with his empathy and compassion unlocked, I'm not sure if he'll stay that way."

"He won't. It's just not in his nature."

"Of course, Healer Patrov came up with another theory."

"Who?"

"His a Mental Healer from St. Mungo's. He says that the area responsible for memory has been damaged... however since the pin had a nice little imprint of what he was like at eight years old, those memories may be the clearest for him. Draco could wake up thinking his eight years old and planning a new way to get to the playground to play with his muggle friend."

"Maybe that would be for the best. But what would... did you say this Healer Patrov knows about the pin?"

"Yes, his spent the last hour studying it."

"Who else knows?"

"A lot of people. Mr. Nott was questioned by Aurors, and there are a lot of Healers working on Draco at the moment. Plus we had to tell his gang how he was going."

"You told all those people? You idiot! Don't you know what _he_ will do if he finds out Cissy failed to make a successful pin for her own son?"

Dumbledore went pale... but after only a moment of horrid realization, he threw some floo powder into the fire.

"You come with me... I'll get my people to get Narcissa out of harm's way. I'll get Viper to try and distracted Voldemort. We'll get her out... but if something goes wrong, then you'll need an alibi."

Lucius followed Dumbledore through the fire place. He didn't want an alibi, he wanted to keep his wife safe as they waited for Draco to wake up. But he knew that it might already be too late... and in that case it was more important than ever that Lucius was able to serve Dumbledore.

He had to save Draco.

**:Meanwhile:**

Avery never liked killing other Purebloods, but he felt great satisfaction as bitchy Narcissa Malfoy cowered before him, her empty hands held up between her face and his wand.

"The Dark Lord is very disappointed in you Narcissa" He said "Was the control you promised even possible? Was someone supposed to come along after Thicknesse was in power - and in our utmost trust - and take the pin out? Would we have Thicknesse turning around and betraying us just because you were too incompetent - or too treacherous - to do a job properly?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Please, just put the wand away!"

"You know perfectly well what we're talking about. Oh, but Hogwarts is slow to tell parents when their little kiddies are hurt, so you'd be surprised we knew."

"Hurt? What happened to Draco?"

"Xhang was one of the Healers who went to Hogwarts to treat Draco after his little Quidditch accident. He found out about your failed pinning and got word to the Dark Lord while they were yanking out Draco's eye."

"His... oh Merlin what's happened to Draco?"

"If I was you, I'd be more worried about what's about to happen to _you_ rather than little Drackey. After all, he will _probably_ live. If you can call being a one-eyed brain damaged gimp living. You on the other hand, have failed for the last time."

"Probably? No! No please, you have to let me see him! He needs me!"

"Don't worry Cissy. From what Xhang tells me, Draco wouldn't even notice if you were to visit him or not. In fact, he may never wake up again."

"No!"

"Oh yes. And if he _did _wake up, he'd probably wish he were dead."

"No! Oh Merlin no! Please you have to let me go to him!"

"You know Cissy, you're quite beautiful when you're begging for your life" He had been transfixed with the way her cries made her well busted chest heave up and down, and he couldn't help but eye the rest of her very attractive body. Oh, what is it that makes vulnerable women look so appealing?

"You know what?" he said "maybe if you could do a little something for me; make me feel good enough, I could prolong your life long enough for you to see your little brat one last time."

She looked at him with the terror many women had shown him before. But beneath that terror there was something else; a deep longing for what he offered.

"Yes" she said "please, anything. I'll do anything, but please let me see Draco!"

"You really are cute when you beg" he said, as he used his free hand to brush his robes aside and reach for the belt of his trousers.

He suddenly jerked his hand away as he heard loud cracks just outside the Manor. People were apparating here, but who? Back-up? No, that would be unneeded. Aurors? No, the Malfoys weren't traitors. Visitors? It didn't matter, he had to leave now.

"You have visitors Mrs. Malfoy. It looks as if our time together has been cut short. In your case cut short quite literally."

"Wait, no! Draco!"

"You'll see him in hell"

"Draco!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

She died quickly, with her son's name still on her lips and tears in her eyes. Oh she looked beautiful sprawled out dead on the tiled floor, but he had no time to admire her. He stepped into the nearest fireplace and flooed away just as the Order of the Phoenix forced the front door of Malfoy Manor open.

He felt no remorse.

**:Later the Night:**

Harry had retreated to his dormitory; the mood in the Common Room was just downright awkward. If they had won the game they would be celebrating, or if they had lost everyone would be moping, but the entire house seemed completely unsure what to do about this draw.

Or what to say about Malfoy. Most of Harry's housemates were happy to say that Malfoy deserved what he got. Most of the house were happy to rubbish him, and while Harry agreed with everything that was said, he couldn't help but hear that crack as Malfoy's skull split open. Or see the blood on Theo's Healer robes as he stood shaking over the bathroom sink.

Had he really wanted to hurt Malfoy _that _badly? He had bloodied Malfoy's face too, but he hadn't been sickened by that. Why was he now feeling sorry for that arsehole?

"Hullo Harry" Ron said, poking his head through the doorway "mind if hang out with you up here?"

"Of course. This is your Dormitory too."

"I know" Ron said, sitting down on the end of his own bed "It's just... I'm sorry Harry."

"What for?"

"Well... we came together well enough for the game, but things have seemed a bit well, strained since yesterday."

"Well, you were rude to me and ditched me."

"Yeah but... well, you lied to me."

"I didn't lie to you"

"You said I was the first friend you'd ever had. But, you were friends with Blaise Zabini long before you were friends with me."

"But, Ron I was four. I don't even remember being friends with Blaise."

"I remember meeting Luna when I was four"

"Well good for you. Ron, I didn't lie to you; I don't remember playing with Blaise Zabini when I was four"

"I thought I was special"

"Oh god. You _are_ acting as if I'm a hot girl and Blaise is your rival"

"What the hell is that meant to mean? And why do I get the feeling that the idea came from _Blaise_? Hey wait... I'm not gay!"

"I didn't say that"

"Of course not, but it's what your implying. I don't fancy you Harry; you aren't _that _special!"

"Ron... hang on, _are _you gay? I mean, the way you're talking kinda makes me think that maybe, well...,"

"Oh for Merlin's sake Harry, if you must know, I fancy Hermione."

"Oh. ...Really?"

"Yes. Please don't tell her."

"You got it, not a word. When did this happen?"

"I don't know alright? Now will you stop saying I might be gay for you?"

"Yeah sorry. But what did you mean before then, about me being special?"

"I can't say. You'll just think I'm being all gay or sissy."

"I won't, promise."

"Well, Harry your famous."

"Don't remind me. And please don't tell me that that is the only reason we're friends."

"Of course not! It's just, you could have been friends with anyone. Malfoy was practically begging to be your friend, and his rich and comes from a good family, and he already had Crabbe and Goyle... I actually thought you would shake his hand."

"What, and make friends with that git?"

"I know, stupid right? But Harry, you didn't have to stick with me. You could have been best friends with anyone. But you stuck with me... ugly stupid poor Ron Weasley."

"You're not ugly or stupid. And I don't care how much money you have."

"I know... but I've always been the least talented and likable in my family, and even at Hogwarts it was the same story. Yes I have Hermione, and Neville and Dean and Seamus... but you're the only one who has ever thought that I'm well, awesome."

"That's not going to change just because I'm friends with Blaise."

"But it _is _changing! You share more classes with him then me, and the two of you talk about muggle things that I don't even understand. He makes you laugh and his more talented than me at everything. I've been replaced. And now I'm not even the first friend you've ever had."

"That's stupid! I can't just replace you; you're my best friend. And you'll always be my best friend. And the very first friend I ever remember having."

"Thanks Harry. But I can tell that... never mind. So, what do you think is going to happen to Malfoy?"

"Theo reckons he'll have permanent brain damage and will probably lose his eye for good."

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. His lucky Theo is well, Theo. If I was medic I would have just let him fall."

"So would I. But, I think I would regret it later."

"Why? With Malfoy gone, I bet things will start to quieten down. Unless Crabbe and Goyle can lead this Slytherin Inquisition."

"I don't think Malfoy was the leader of that. I think it was Parkinson. Either way, they all seemed to be gits at the table yesterday without Malfoy to stir them up. Things aren't going to get better now that Malfoy is gone. Not at all.


	20. Chapter 19: Matters of the Heart

**Chapter 18: Matters of the Heart**

It was now Monday during lunch time, and Draco's bed was surrounded by his supporters. Even Lilith, who usually spent a fair chunk of her lunch break in the music room, was here.

Greg found it painful to look at Draco. Draco had always been someone he could look up to, someone who was so confident in their abilities that they just screamed out to be leaders.

Now though, he looked utterly destroyed. Already he was starting to lose weight, and big chunks of his once neat hair were missing, exposing the scarred skin of his skull.

And even with his eyes closed - closed for who knows how long - it was easy to tell that he was missing an eye. His left eyelid sagged inwards, reminding Greg of that horrible moment when Nott had pulled out the eye.

Pansy was sitting beside Draco's bed, holding his lifeless hand. Later today Draco would be taken to St. Mungo's, where he would continue to lay lifeless.

Alone.

Details in the Prophet had been hazy, but Draco's mum had been killed, and his father had vanished. There was no mention on who was behind the attacks on the Malfoy's, but everyone knew it was Aurors.

But why would Aurors attack the Malfoy's right after Draco's accident? Greg wished he could ask Draco; Draco would know, but he and Vince were too stupid to figure it out and he didn't want to bother the girls with his stupid questions.

"Alright, Lunch is almost over" Madam Pomfrey said "say goodbye to Mr. Malfoy everyone, we're going to have to get him ready for his trip."

"Can't we stay a little longer?" Millie said "at least until the bell goes?"

"Go and get some food before the bell goes Miss Bulstrode" Pomfrey said.

"Can't Pansy at least stay?" Lilith asked "after all, Draco is her boyfriend."

"I'm afraid she'll just get in the way" Pomfrey said.

"But she won't be able to see him again for ages!" Daphne said.

"It's alright" Pansy said "Come on everyone, let's go get some food."

Pansy held Draco's hand up to her lips and kissed it. She than leaned over his body, and Greg was sure she would kiss his face too. But, maybe the damage was just too much for Pansy. She squeezed Draco's hand once more, and then led the gang out of the Hospital Wing.

They walked along the halls in silence, and Greg couldn't help but notice that despite how calm Pansy had spoken in the Hospital Wing, she was furious.

"Look" Tracy said "It's one of Potter's friends"

"Loony Lovegood" Pansy sneered "let's go tell her what we think of her precious Potter!"

They marched towards the small Ravenclaw, who was sitting by herself in front of a window and reading an issue of the Quibbler. Vince nudged Greg and pointed to the silly tiara Lovegood was wearing.

"Loony Lovegood" Pansy said to her victim.

"Hello" Lovegood said, not looking up from her Quibbler "you're name is Parkinson isn't it? Sorry about what happened to Malfoy."

"You don't sound very sorry" Pansy said.

"Well, I guess it is a bit hard to feel sorry for someone like Malfoy. But I wouldn't wish what happened to him on anyone."

A loud smack rang through the air as Pansy slapped Lovegood across the face.

"Draco doesn't need your pity!" Pansy said "what are you anyway? Just one of Potter's show girls. And if you think your such a princess with the stupid tiara than your even more fucked in the head than I thought!"

"It's not a tiara" Lovegood said "it's a replica of Rowena Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem. The real one enhanced the wearer's wisdom, but this one only aids concentration." Lovegood turned her attention from Pansy to Vince, and with her innocent spaced out expression said;

"You know Crabbe, maybe you should borrow this? A bit of Ravenclaw wit might do you good."

Vince stormed towards her, snatched the diadem off her head, and dropped it to the floor.

"This is what I think of your Ravenclaw wit!" He said as he crushed it under his boot "so much for your superior brain power Loony!"

"My father made that for me!" Lovegood said, showing serious emotions for the first time "that was his birthday present to me!"

"Well tough" Pansy said "You know what, you sicken me. Piss off Loony!"

However Lovegood stood her ground, and Pansy led the gang away before another word was said.

"Are you alright Pansy?" Lilith asked once they had left Lovegood behind.

"I'm fine" Pansy said.

"No you're not" Lilith said "your crying. What's wrong Pansy? Don't let Loony Lovegood get to you."

"It's not just her" Pansy said, allowing Lilith to pull her into a hug "it's this whole school. There are Mudbloods and Blood-Traitors everywhere, and everyone hates us. Now that Draco's in a comma no-one cares about him, and they all think he deserves what happened. I hate them. I hate them all!"

**:Later that Night:**

Harry and Dennis had been measuring out newt eyes and other small sticky things for an hour now. All in complete silence. All with Snape's disapproving glare hanging over them.

By the time the detention was over, Harry's hands were stained many different colours, and he was glad to be free. He barely acknowledged Snape as he made his way to the door.

"Professor Snape" Dennis said "Can I talk to you about something?"

"If it's about Potions, than your marks are satisfactory enough" Snape said "anything else you should be taking up with your own Head of House."

"But, it's about Slytherin students Sir" Dennis said "and Professor McGonagal said I should talk to you about it."

"Very well Mr. Creevey. Potter, why are you still here?"

"Just leaving Sir" Harry said, closing the door behind him. Rather than actually leave though, he pulled an extendable ear out of his pocket and listened at the door.

"They just go around threatening people, casting jinxes, and the Prefects dock points and hand out detentions for bogus reasons" Dennis said "their main target is my friend Matt Powers; they give him detentions pretty much for just being muggleborn. It's really not fair."

"In that case how come _you're_ telling me this and not Mr. Powers?"

"Because he thinks you're on their side. Everyone does."

"And just whose side is that?"

"The Pure side. The side that thinks all muggleborns are scum and doesn't care about Halfbloods either."

"How do you know I'm not?"

"Because you're a teacher, and if you were into discrimination and You-Know-Who then Dumbledore wouldn't keep you on as a teacher"

"What do you really know about what Dumbledore wants?"

"I know he isn't on their side. If he was, You-Know-Who would have won the war and I'd be dead."

"Mr. Creevey, may I remind you that we're talking about school rivalries, not the war."

"Where were you when Blaise's cat was killed Professor? The war is here!"

"Nonsense."

"It's not! And even if it was, Blaise is a Slytherin, his cat was killed in the Slytherin Common Room, and there are plenty of other bad things happening. Don't you even care about the students in your own House?"

"Do you have any proof who killed the cat?"

"No, but Malfoy has all but confessed."

"The important words there are 'all but'. And do you have any proof that detentions have been unfairly handed out or points docked for inappropriate reasons?"

"About half of Slytherin House will tell you they were!"

"And will the other half refute this claim?"

"They'll lie about it."

"So it's one large group against another. This so-called Pure side is innocent until proven guilty. Now Mr. Creevey, I suggest you leave before you yourself incur more detentions."

"So you're not going to do anything? You're going to totally ignore bad things being done to half your students?"

"And you want me to punish the other half without any proof they did wrong? They are my students too."

"Why don't you just divide Slythrin House in two. That way we can have one House called 'Slytherin' and another called 'Jerks'"

"Mr. Creevey, I don't have to sit here and listen to you tell me how to run my own House. Twenty Points from Gryffindor; and you'll be here serving detention for the rest of the week. Now get out."

"Fine" Dennis said "But you need to have a real long hard think about what type of Slytherin you are. Sir."

Dennis ran towards the door, and Harry was only just able to get out of the way before he swung it open and slammed it shut.

"Oh, you were listening?" Dennis said when he saw Harry

"Yeah" Harry said "let's get out of here before Snape comes out. That was really brave how you stood up to him"

"His a jerk" Dennis said, as he and Harry began to make their way out of the dungeon "If he doesn't do anything he'll ruin Slytherin House."

"I liked your idea for a new House" Harry said "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Jerks. Sounds like it would solve a lot of problems."

"Yeah, and their house colours can be green and brown and their House animal the Ass. Either type."

"Yeah" Harry said "well, I never thought I'd want to help Slytherin House, but it would be great if the Pure-Freak lot were out of Slytherin. Oh, And Zacharies Smith should be resorted into Jerks as well."

"Definitely" Dennis said "That guy is a huge Jerk."

**:Meanwhile:**

Hermione's detention was just as uncomfortable as Harry's. Professor Zabini had them polishing duelling plaques and chess pieces in her office, and paid them little attention while she marked assignments. Without the Professor's sharp attention on her, Davis made a number of threatening gestures at Hermione. At one point the Slytherin was able to use an oiling spell to mess up a plaque that Hermione had just finished polishing.

After they were dismissed, Hermione confronted Davis.

"You're a complete bitch" Hermione said "you didn't have to act like such a child in there!"

"How can I be bitchy and childish?" Davis said "seems Potter's number one slut isn't as smart as she makes out."

"You... you... forget it. You're pathetic. I don't care what you say or do to me; I can take anything you can dish out and return it to you threefold! Oh, and if you or your gang torment Luna or any of my friends again, I _will _hurt you."

"We broke her toy crown" Davis said "that's not nearly as bad as when your Boyfriend Nott ripped out Draco's eye."

"If you say anything to him about that I will cast shrinking spells on all your clothes and use that oiling spell on your face every chance I get! Theo saved your precious Draco's life, and by taking out that useless eye potentially avoided further brain damage. How dare you make out like Theo purposely mutilated Malfoy! Oh and um, he isn't my boyfriend either!"

"You sure he isn't?"

"Well umm... no... I'm, I mean, yes he isn't. Erm, No he isn't my boyfriend, and yes I am sure."

"Well that's a relief. You two would make the ugliest children ever!"

Hermione pulled out her wand, but Davis just casually turned her back and walked away.

"Don't bother Granger" She said "I came prepared."

Hermione hears a quite 'immobulus' and is frozen in place as Crabbe and Goyle step out of the shadows.

"Well Mudblood" Crabbe said "I think it's time we showed you where your place is."

"Vince, we're right outside Zabini's office" Davis said "we were just acting in self defence, now let's go."

The three Slytherins left, and Hermione found to her dismay that she couldn't even move her mouth. Crabbe and Goyle were getting way too good. She silently begged Professor Zabini to come out of her office, but the door remained tightly shut. In the end it was Harry and Dennis, back from their own detentions, who found her and unfroze her.

They made their way back to Gryffindor Tower together, cursing the Slytherin Jerks the whole way.

**:Later:**

Things eventually went back to normal, with the exception being that Malfoy was gone and Blaise was becoming somewhat scarce. In fact, the only time Ron saw Blaise outside of classes was during their weekly chess game in the library.

"Nice to know you do come up for air sometimes" Ron said as he opened with Pawn to e4 "Hermione and Theo mentioned something about you locking yourself up in some Shop."

"They told you about the shop?" Blaise asked, counter-playing with Pawn to c5.

"They mention it" Ron said, moving his Knight to f3 and being answered by Pawn to d6 "but they don't explain what they're talking about."

"Good" Blaise said, frowning and fiddling with his necklace as Ron moved his Pawn to d3, rather than d4.

"Why good?" Ron asked.

"Because" Blaise said, moving his g Pawn forward one space in preparation for a sort of early Dragon Variation "I don't particularly want you coming down and visiting me in the Shop."

"Why not?" Ron asked, moving a Pawn to b3 "I apologised for getting pissy about the photo, I thought we were being civil again."

Blaise shook his head, and finchettoed his Bishop on g7. "Yes, we're civil" he said, watching Ron's d Pawn take a step forward "but how long until your next hissy fit?"

Ron remained silent as Blaise moved his Queen to a5. Ron was too troubled by Blaise's point to feel too happy about his opponent's Queen blundering out so early in the game.

"I'm sorry" Ron said, developing his light-squared Bishop to d3 "I just, I really don't want you to do anything bad to Harry or Hermione."

"What terrible things could I do to them" Blaise said as the black Pawn finally captured Ron's d4 Pawn.

"I don't know alright" Ron said, ordering his b3 Pawn to take Blaise's attacking pawn, only to be completely ignored. Oh yeah, of course, Blaise's queen was pinning that Pawn in place. _Stupid stupid_, _keep focused Ron!_

Ron castled, and Blaise captured the pinned Pawn. Ron couldn't help but feel a bit strange looking at the board; Blaise loved forbidding pawn structures and having his Bishops and Knights out to attack, with the Queen and Rooks safely tucked away ready to unleash carnage later on. These scattered Pawns and the undefended Queen just didn't seem Blaise-like at all. Ron captured the Pawn on b3 with his Knight.

"I don't think you're worried about me hurting Harry or Hermione" Blaise said, moving his light-squared Bishop to h2, and right on Ron's King's doorstep "I think you're worried about me hurting you."

Ron knew he would eventually have to capture Blaise's sacrificial Bishop and leave his king exposed, but that didn't mean he couldn't do something about that vulnerable queen first.

"Are you planning to hurt me Blaise?" Ron said, moving his Queen to a4; right next to Blaise's queen, but protected by a knight and placing the black king in check. "right now, you just annoy me a bit."

Instead of replying straight away, Blaise looked over the board for an escape, and found it by moving his Knight to b6; standing between Ron's Queen and Blaise's King, and supporting Blaise's Queen. Both stone ladies were standing off, growling at each other as they waited to see which player would either come to their rescue or sacrifice them.

"I don't have any intention of hurting you" Blaise said as Ron moved his Queen to b5, still next to Blaise's queen, but now supported by both a Bishop and a Knight, and pinning Blaise's Queen to the edge of the board. "But you're jealous of me, and you're going to get upset every time I go anywhere near your friends."

Blaise moved his Queen back a square to a6. Still he was within range of Ron's Queen, but was protected by a Pawn. And now, the Queen was backing up Blaise's Knight, preventing Ron from unleashing the carnage he had intended upon Blaise's Queenside Pawns. Ron looked at his position grimly, and wondered if it had been worth toying with Blaise's queen. He still had no way of preventing the gap in his Kingside defences that was to come. Then again, if he could capture the Queen, then Blaise wouldn't be so eager to sacrifice one of his Bishops.

"I'm not jealous" Ron protested, moving his Queen to d5, exposing Blaise's Queen to his Bishop. "I just really would prefer it if you didn't try to turn them against me."

"That's stupid" Blaise said, continuing the dangerous dance of the Queens by moving his to a5 "I'm not saying anything to them about you. You turn them against yourself."

Ron took the Pawn he had first moved, and slammed it onto the e6 square. "You're not going to replace me Blaise" Ron said as his opponent used the ease in tension to take the g Pawn and place his bishop right in front of Ron's king. "I've been with Harry through more stuff than you can imagine - " Ron's King took the bishop " - and I don't care if he has other friends, but please just leave me my best mate!"

"What the hell is with you?" Blaise said, capturing Ron's e6 Pawn with one of his pawns "I'm not trying to break up your soppy little love affair with Harry, I just think his a swell guy and a good friend."

Ron moved his Rook to e1, ready to cause havoc if the e file became available. "Look, just stop crowding me out!" Ron said as Blaise activated his Knight to f6, threatening Ron's Queen.

"I'm crowding you out?" Blaise said as Ron retreated his queen to c4 "You're completely mental!" Blaise shoved his queenside Rook next to his King, looking straight down the d file at Ron's Bishop.

"I guess so" Ron said, retreating his Bishop back to c2 "Don't worry about it. I'm sure everything will work out in the end. Is that necklace the locket Harry gave you to work on?"

Blaise clutched the locket, and if looks could kill Ron knew he would be dead.

"Harry didn't say I couldn't wear it" Blaise said "shut your trap and mind your own business."

"Okay okay. Your move."

Blaise looked at the board in frustration, and then knocked over his King.

"I've had enough" he said "I forthfit. Good-bye Weasley, I'm going to go back to the Shop. Where yes, I will actually work on opening the locket."

Blaise stormed away, leaving Ron to pick up the pieces of the game and wonder just what was so wrong between the two of them.

Ron slept uneasy that night, wondering how he could stop Blaise from taking away his friends without acting like a complete moron.

_Maybe I should just accept the fact that Harry and Hermione are too good for me. _He thought.

_No! Hell no they are not too good for me. I'm the one who sacrificed myself on McGonagall's chessboard for them. I'm the one who went to Aragog's Lair with Harry. It was Harry and I who went into the Chamber of Secrets, and who crashed my Dad's car into the Whomping Willow. I was the one he rescued from the bottom of the lake, I was a founding member of Dumbledore's Army. Hell I even joined Spew for Hermione. I'm their best friend, not Blaise!_

Ron felt better, and soon fell asleep. He couldn't remember any of the dreams he had, but when he woke up in the morning he felt more confident than he had all year.

He decided that sometime today, he would tell Hermione how he felt. After all, he had heard whispers in their last Prefect meeting that the Newt Ball would be announced soon. This could be the perfect time to make her his girlfriend.

Unfortunately, Hermione wasn't around at Breakfast.

"She said something about going to a Shop and studying with Blaise and Theo" Lavender said "What Shop is she talking about, do you know?"

"No idea" Ron said.

The first lesson Ron had for the day was Potions, and Hermione and Theo emerged for that.

But he didn't get a chance to say anything to her during Potions, or during Defence. When they did speak, it was about Blaise.

"What did you say to him about the locket?" Hermione said "he stayed up all last night working on it. Theo and I camped in his Workshop to try and get him to come out. Now he won't wake up at all."

After Defence, Hermione stayed back to talk to Professor Zabini about Blaise. Harry and Ron didn't see her at all during lunch, and she wasn't in their Charms class. Since Charms was their last class of the day, Harry and Ron both retreated to the library to study for their Potions assignment.

An hour later, they were joined by Theo.

"Mind if I sit with you two?" Theo said "it's getting packed in here."

"Sure" Harry said. Theo sat down next to Harry and proceeded to take a number of medical texts from his backpack.

"Tough Healing assignment?" Ron asked.

"Nah, I've finished that" Theo said "just doing more research on brain injuries. Trying to make sure I'm prepared in case well, what happens to Malfoy happens to one of you."

"You did well on Malfoy" Harry said "Madam Pomfrey said you saved his life."

"I ripped his eye out."

"He would have lost it anyway."

"Look, what's done is done" Ron said "If I get my head split open on the Quidditch Pitch, then I'm sure you'll save me. Put your book away Theo, I think you need to take a break from all that Healing stuff."

"Shall we work on your Potions stuff instead?" Theo said "I know a lot about Medicinal Potions if you need any help."

"No, no Healing stuff" Ron repeated "Damn Theo, you're worse than Hermione. Let's just hang out, like regular guys."

"Ron, we kinda need some help with the Medicinal Potions" Harry said.

"We'll do it later. For now, let's just talk about normal teenage stuff. Have a break from You-Know-Who and the Pure-Freak Slytherins and Malfoy's accident"

"What type of 'normal teenage stuff'" Theo asked "Quidditch? Pranks? Girls?"

"Girls?" Ron said.

"Umm... yeah I guess" Theo said.

"Are you sure you want to go down that lane Ron?" Harry said "I mean, you told me not to tell anyone about um, your girl concerns."

"Girl concerns?" Theo asked.

"Well um, oh you can keep a secret right Theo?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well... I kinda like Hermione."

"Oh... you do?"

"Yeah. I wanted to tell her how I felt today, but every time I got a chance to speak to her today, she just wanted to talk about Blaise. You sure there isn't anything going on between those two?"

Ron thought he saw a sour look cross Theo's face as the Slytherin turned his gaze back onto his book.

"Hey, it was just a joke" Ron said "sorry, I know they're just friends."

"Yeah" Theo said "just friends."

"Do you think it's a bit weird that I've started feeling things for Hermione? I mean, last year she was just a friend. A special friend, but still."

"As long as you two don't start acting like Bill and Fleur I don't mind" Harry said "Though... you two have to make it work, otherwise well, I don't want to think about that."

"When did you start feeling things for her?" Theo asked.

"I'm not sure. I guess well, it just happened."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah, I hope things don't get awkward if she rejects you" Harry said.

"Do... do you think she would reject me?" Ron said, some of his self doubt returning.

"Well, she could" Harry said "though, I don't know, there might be a spark there. Not that I'm an expert on such matters."

"She better not reject me. That would just suck... what if we couldn't talk to each other as friends afterwards? Though... I think your right... I mean, why would she turn me down? And even if she did, we'd still be friends. After all, we've been through so much together."

"Yeah" Harry said "I'm sure she'd still be friends with you. Hey Theo, are you alright? You're looking kind of pale."

"I umm... I have to go" Theo said "I um, I forgot... something. Bye guys."

Before Harry or Ron could say another word, Theo had packed his books and was practically running away from the table.

"That was weird" Ron said "I wonder what's wrong with him?"

"I'm not sure" Harry said "maybe his still a bit shook up from the whole Malfoy thing."

"Yeah, that must be it" Ron said "so um, do you think I should tell Hermione tonight or wait for the Newt Ball?"

**:Later:**

Theo ran out of the library, past the hidden Room of Requirement, up a floor, past the Music and Art Halls, and eventually found an empty classroom to hide in. He sat down behind the deserted desk, hid his face in his arms, and cried.

_She'll say yes. _He thought _she'll say yes and then she'll be with Ron. And she'll be better off with Ron, they have been through so much together. Who the fuck am I anyway? Just some messed up nerdy Slytherin. Just a Death Eater kid. Hermione will never be with me!_

"Oh that's bullshit, you and Hermione are made for each other!"

Theo jumped, spun around, and saw Dave looking down at him from a large watercolour landscape.

"How long have you been there Dave? Was I really saying all that out loud?"

"I saw you run past the Music Hall and thought I better make sure you were alright. As for the mumbling out loud, I only caught 'Death Eater' and 'Hermione will never be with me', which as I said, is bullshit."

"It's not bullshit. Seriously Dave, why would Hermione want to be with me?"

"Well, you're both smart, you both have similar interests, you laugh at each other's jokes, even when they suck. You two have chemistry."

"These a better guy out there for her."

"Is it the rock star I was modelled off?"

"Very funny. His name is Ron Weasley."

"That arsehole?"

"You know him?"

"I spend most of my time listening to Blaise. I know of him."

"Well, his not that bad. He and Hermione have been friends since First Year. Them and Harry Potter. The three of them are like a real dream team; they've saved people, fought Voldemort, saved each other. How can I expect to compete with him? I'm not a hero."

"No Theo, you're not a hero. You're a survivor. And an intellectual. And a real gentleman. You're what Hermione wants. _She's _ a hero, so you really don't have to be."

"But Ron really likes her."

"So? But _you _really like her! What makes this Ron Weasley guy such hot shit that you're just going to let him have what you want. What about what Theo wants?"

"It's about what Hermione wants Dave."

"Does she want to be with Ron Weasley? Did she ever say she loved him or wanted to be with him?"

"Well, no, but -"

"No buts! Theo, you always sell yourself short. How do you know that she wouldn't want to be with you unless you asked her?"

"Well, I... umm..."

"Exactly! Now I may just be a poster with a thing for a painting, but I can tell you a few things about your situation. For one thing, you really love her. This isn't just some sort of high school crush, you have really deep feelings for her. For another, there is chemistry between you two. If you told her how you felt, I bet she'd fall into your arms."

"She wouldn't."

"Yes she would. And most importantly, you are a really top guy Theo. Hell, Blaise thinks your awesome, and we all know how hard he is to please."

"I'm not that awesome."

"Yes you are. You know Theo, I think that's the only really problem here. _You _don't think you deserve to be with Hermione. You don't think your worth anything. Look Theo, if you just believed in yourself a bit, you'd be fine. You'd probably be off making out with Hermione somewhere and you'd be able to stop all those Pure-Freaks single-handedly."

"Camille said something similar to me once before" Theo said "but it's too late Dave. Ron's going to tell her how he feels tonight. Probably at dinner in oh, twenty minutes or so. And she won't turn him down."

"Well, you're just going to have to get to her first aren't you?"

"But after Charms she went up to the Gryffindor Common Room. I don't know the password to get in."

"It's 'Amortentia'. But you don't need it, I'll take you there."

"But -"

"Come on!"

Theo ran out of the room after Dave. Following a portrait along the walls of Hogwarts at high speed was quite a challenge, especially with all the moving staircases Theo had to run up but Dave was oblivious to.

But he kept up.

There was a part of him, growing larger with every step, that thought that maybe, just maybe, he was about to become Hermione Granger's boyfriend.

He arrived at the Portrait of the Fat Lady panting and out of breath. Dave was standing next to her, and judging from her blush and giggles, he was working his magic on her.

"His totally nuts for this girl" Dave was saying, "Ah there he is. Say Hi to M'Lady Theo."

"Hullo there."

"And if he doesn't tell her how he feels right now, some other jerk is going to go and take her!"

"Oh Davey, I really feel for the poor boy. But he'll have to wait here until she comes out. I can't just let in strange boys from other Houses. Especially after those two Slytherin boys went on a panty raid in one of the girl's dormitories last month."

"Amortentia" Theo said.

"You... Dave!"

"Sorry, it must have slipped out. But he has the password, and his a real gentleman too. I vouch for him."

"Well, oh alright. In you go dear."

She opened her portrait, revealing the passageway to Gryffindor Tower for him.

"Thank you" Theo said.

"That's alright dear. Now you! Dave, you have some explaining to do!"

"But, M'Lady..."

"No buts! I trusted you with those passwords!"

Theo was almost too nervous to feel sorry for Dave. He walked into Gryffindor Common Room, ready to face Hermione.

**:Meanwhile:**

After classes, Hermione found herself in her favourite armchair reading the Tales of Beedle the Bard. It was the first time she had picked it up since Theo had leant it to her. With everything that had happened since them, she had almost forgotten about it, but now that she was up to date on all her assignments it seemed the perfect chance to make a start on it.

Of course, a distraction cropped up almost straight away. She was halfway through 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot' before Lavender and Parvati sat down next to her.

"Hermione, did you see the noticeboard?" Pavarti asked.

"No I didn't look at it. Why?"

"The Newt Ball has just been announced!" She said.

"Oh yeah, that's right" Hermione said. The Newt Ball - an annual dance for the Sixth and Seventh Years - would be held on the last day of the school year. It was the Head Boy and Girl plus the Seventh Year Prefects who did all the organising for it, but she had heard them talking about it during some of the Prefect meetings."

"Padma and I went last year with Roger Davis and Mark Hilliard" Parvati said.

"I remember" said Hermione "you both told us all about it afterwards."

"It was so amazing. I wonder who I should go with this year?"

"Who are you going to go with Hermione?" Lavender asked "Are you taking Ron?"

Hermione thought she detected some faint aggression in Lavender's voice, but before she could dwell on it Emma Malone joined them, with a sulky Sally-Anne tagging along.

"Have you guys heard?" Emma said "the Newt Ball is on. And we can finally go."

"You went last year" Sally-Anne said.

"I know, but this year we're all going, as actual Newt Students! Isn't it exciting?"

"I guess it is" Hermione said "are you still with what's-his-face Emma? Umm... the Quidditch Captain Guy."

"Garth" Emma said "yes we're still together. I would have thought you'd have remembered his name Hermione."

"I just had a mental blank" Hermione said "Yeah, I know who he is of course."

"Well you lot all have fun" Sally-Anne said "the whole Yule Ball fiasco has turned me off dances."

"Sally-Anne, you can't let one jerk ruin your whole love life" Parvati said "come on, it's been two years. I'm sure we can find you a nice guy to go out with."

"Wait um, Sally-Anne" Hermione said "Um, about the whole Blaise thing."

"What about it?"

"Well, I'm sorry. What happened then was um, it was sort of my fault."

"Your fault?" Sally-Anne asked "how was Blaise Zabini standing me up your fault?"

"He didn't stand you up" Hermione explain "his best friend was really umm... sick. Yeah, Theo had a really bad stomach bug, and he got it because I gave him one of the Weasley twins prototype Skiving Snackboxes. The reason he didn't tell you exactly what was wrong with Theo was well, because some of his Symptoms were quiet embarrassing."

"He actually was staying back to be with his sick friend?" Sally-Anne said.

"Yes. And because I gave Theo the thing just an hour before the Ball, he didn't have time to tell you. Anyway, it's my fault the Yule Ball was such a bad night for you. And Sally-Anne, I'm really sorry."

"I cannot believe that you actually fed someone a Weasley twin experiment" Emma said.

For a second Hermione panicked, she had never been that good at lying, and how could she invent a plausible excuse for that?

"Well I... well, okay, sometimes, I just do stupid things. I'm not perfect."

"Well it doesn't matter" Sally-Anne said "Blaise is still with Xanthe -" She spoke her name with venom "- and he doesn't have any trouble making out with her in front of me."

"I've rarely seen them being affectionate in public actually" Hermione said "and Xanthe is pretty cool."

"Even you like her Hermione?"

"Why not?" Pavarti said "Xanthe is friendly enough."

"Hmpf. Well no offense Hermione, but I don't particularly care for either one of your Slytherin friends."

"Well okay, we won't try and get you back together with Blaise" Lavender asked "but there has to be another boy out there. Oh, why not Neville?"

"No thanks."

"Now Neville is a great guy" Hermione said.

"Yeah, but I don't think his my type."

Hermione, Lavender, Pavarti and Emma all started listing every decant boy they could think of, but for every one there was a reason for Sally-Anne to object. This went on until Hermione saw Theo walking across the Common Room, his green and silver tie and robe trimmings drawing some suspicious glances.

His eyes locked onto Hermione's, and with the briefest of pauses, he made his way over to her.

"Whoa whoa, what are you doing here?" Sally-Anne asked as Theo joined them "... again."

"I um... I um um, err, I umm..."

"Do you need to see me Theo?" Hermione asked.

"Yes" he said "yes yes I do. Um, Hello Hermione."

"Theo how did you get in here?"

"Well I um, errr... well... Dave."

"Dave?" Hermione asked "oh yes, of course it was Dave! I should have realised last time. How could I not see that? Well Theo, you tell Dave that if I catch him giving out our password again I'm going to scribble all over him as he sleeps!"

"Don't, please go easy on him. The Fat Lady is already threatening to do some bad things to him."

"Alright then. Anyway what brings you here Theo? Is anything wrong, you seem a bit rattled?"

"Well um I um er, you are a umm... good friend Hermione. A um, very very, good friend. And erm, well I... I um, I'm a bit scared to say this but I I I... erm... can I talk to you alone please?"

"Oooooo" Lavender said "are you asking Hermione to the Newt Ball?"

"I... yes. Yes I guess I am. Hermione, would you like to go to the Newt Ball with me?"

Hermione hesitated for a second as she thought of Ron. She had thought she felt a spark between her and him the other week in Hogsmeade, but since then, there had been nothing. But with Theo... once she had admitted to herself there was a possibility of her feeling something for him she had just been feeling more and more drawn to him.

"Yes" She said "I'd love to Theo. That, that would just be awesome."

"Wow, really?"

"Yes really, I bet it will be a lot of fun to go together."

It was only then that she remembered how she shot him down for the Yule Ball. She watched his face burst into that big cute smile of his, and felt so relieved that she had finally made things right with him. She wondered if this meant they were together? After Viktor asked her to the Ball he had taken hold of her hand, but even then they hadn't really been like, dating dating. Had they? Either way it didn't matter, Theo was keeping his hands firmly in his pockets.

"You two are so cute together" Emma said "Oh, Nott, can you help us out a bit? We're trying to think of a date for Sally-Anne. Know any other quiet Slytherin's she could go with?"

"Umm... why don't you and Urquhart set her up with Bletcherly?"

"Hmm... maybe. But I think he has a thing for Tara McDuffie."

"I don't want to go out with any bloody Slytherins" Sally-Anne said "no offence Nott."

"Um, that's alright."

"Well, If Miles doesn't want to go with McDuffie then I think he'll be a good match for you" Emma said.

"I'd rather Neville."

The rest of the girls continued arguing about matches for Sally-Anne, but Hermione found her attention fully on Theo.

"Reading Beedle?" He asked.

"I finally got around to starting it" Hermione said "Sorry it's taken me so long."

"That's alright. It's been really busy for everyone lately"

"Yeah, but thanks again for letting me borrow this. So far it's an interesting look on Wizarding Society."

"Yeah, I felt pretty similar when Alice and I first found muggle fairytales."

"How did you find out so much about muggle culture? Was it all during those few days when the muggle child services took you and Alice away?"

"Nah, we'd been going to the local library for ages. The librarian was really nice to us, but... well um..."

"She was the muggle that Gabriella made erm...,"

After the flashback in the Hospital Wing, Theo had told her a generalized version of what happened to Alice. She knew that a muggle had been put under the Imperious Curse and forced to stab Alice, but to think it was someone he knew!

"Yeah" He said "hey, have you ever seen the Original Series episode where Kirk has to fight the Gorn?"

They spent a while talking about Star Trek. And then they went back to Fairy Tales, and then they rejoined the main conversation that was still about getting Sally-Anne a date.

"What about Ron?" Theo suggested.

"Ron Weasley?" Sally-Anne said "hey, he wouldn't be too bad.

"Hell no!" Lavender said.

"Why not?"

"Because!"

"Because why?"

It was then that Harry and Ron entered the Common Room. When they saw Theo they both had the most peculiar expressions, and Theo went visibly paler.

"Hello there Ron" Lavender said.

"Hello Lavender" Ron said.

"We were just talking about you" Sally-Anne said.

"Really?" Ron said, shooting a curious glance at Theo.

"No we weren't" Lavender said.

"Yes we were"

"Were not"

"Whoa whoa stop!" Ron said "what's going on here? And Why is Theo here?"

"He came to ask Hermione out to the Newt Ball" Parvati said.

"You... you asked Hermione to the _what_?" Ron said, glaring at Theo with a rage that scared Hermione.

"The Newt Ball" Pavarti explained "every year the Sixth and Seventh Years get to go to the Newt Ball. It was just announced about an hour ago, and Theo came up here and asked Hermione out. It was really cute."

"You asked her out to the Ball that was only announced an _hour _ago" Ron said to Theo "YOU?"

"I... I'm sorry" Theo said "It...it's not like you think."

_Not like you think _Hermione replayed in her head. So there weren't romantic feelings there. But still, Ron's possessiveness had gone way too far.

"Ronald Weasley just what is your problem?" Hermione said.

"_My _Problem? That sleazy Slytherin had the gall to ask you to the Newt Ball!"

"And I said yes, because I want to go with Theo!"

"You... what? But his a... a... a complete arsehole!"

"Like how Blaise is a complete arsehole?" Hermione said "just because his a good friend to Harry and I? Ron, this has gone too far! I'm not yours; you can't control who I'm friends with, or what I do!"

"But Hermione... I... _I_ wanted to go to the Newt ball with you."

"Well I wouldn't have gone with a close-minded mean tempered control freak like you anyway!"

Hermione regretted the words straight away. They were way harsher than she had intended, but she didn't apologise. Ron needed to hear it.

"Hermione you.. your... fine! Have it your way!"

Ron stormed out of the Common Room, with all eyes turned to him. Harry looked torn between going after him and staying, but in the end it was Lavender who ran out after Ron.

"Um Harry" Theo said "Can... can I please talk to you. In private?"

"Alright, let's go up to the Dormitory" Harry said "this had better be good."

**:Meanwhile:**

Lucius Malfoy was finally going back to Malfoy Manor. With Narcissa's funeral and his disappearance, the family lawyer had managed to transfer ownership of the manor to Draco. Now the manor would remain undisturbed until Draco regained consciousness. It was a good hideout for the Death Eaters.

Dumbledore had allowed Lucius to see Draco one last time before he disappeared. When the Order of the Phoenix discovered Narcissa's body, the two of them had made their desperate plan.

They planned for Lucius to gain Voldemort's complete trust, by disowning his dead wife and unconscious son.

"I am sick of the Malfoy name being associated with failure My Lord" Lucius had told the Dark Lord "I wish to sit at your right hand one day, and to do that I need to redeem myself. But Narcissa and Draco are beyond redemption, and I do not want their failure dragging me down. They are useless to me; I wish to devote every day of my life to serving you."

He had expected Bellatrix to say something in support of Narcissa, but there was none forthcoming.

"I agree with Lucius My Lord" Bellatrix said "Your cause is too great for such terrible failures. I have no sister!"

Lucius felt a fresh stab of grief. This conversation had taken place on the day of Narcissa's funeral, and as far as Lucius knew, no-one had shown up.

"So Lucius, you want nothing to do with your failure of a wife and son?" Voldemort said.

"Nothing at all" Lucius said "they are a shame to the name of Malfoy."

"Liar!" Voldemort said, striking Lucius down with the Crucio curse "You still have feelings of longing for both of them! You still _love_ them!" The pain stopped, and Voldemort smiled at Lucius "but your mind wants to be free of them. Your desire is to serve me. Alright Lucius, I'll give you the chance you seek. I'll help you eliminate this weakness of love so that you can restore your family honour."

It was a cruel plan that Dumbledore had come up with. He had used magic similar to the Imperio Pins on Lucius not to change his thoughts, but to trigger a sense of disgust every time he thought of Narcissa or Draco. Lucius's loss would now be used to build more trust with Voldemort, so that Lucius could still carry out his mission.

Dumbledore was a sick bastard for using Narcissa's death and Draco's accident this way.

But Lucius didn't know what that made him, since he was the one acting out this heartless plan.

But so far things had been going well. If you could call living in this memory filled manor with no company but a few House Elves and Lord Voldemort himself well.

Today, the Dark Lord had invited Lucius for a stroll around the grounds. Lucius accepted the invitation; Voldemort was the new master of this household, and one did not keep him waiting.

"How are our plans going My Lord?" Lucius asked as they passed Narcissa's favourite rose beds.

"Well, very well" Voldemort said "Avery has Pius in position. We simply need to wait until the best time to kill Scrimgeour and then Imperio him. Now Lucius, how are your plans going?"

"My Plans, My Lord?"

"To restore the Malfoy honor?"

"I cannot plan for that My Lord. All I can do is to wait at your feet for an opportunity."

"Oh Lucius, it appears that in learning humility and loyalty, you have lost your initiative. You know what I was thinking?"

"What were you thinking My Lord?"

"Now that Draco is gone, it seems almost pointless to restore the Malfoy honour when in a few decades there will no longer be a Malfoy family."

"Yes, it is unfortunate. But I guess it can't be helped."

"Can't be helped? Why not Lucius? Are you sterile?"

"Well, no My Lord, I can still have children, but without Narcissa - "

"There are plenty of other Pureblood Women out there."

"But My Lord, I've disappeared... I can't just go out dating again."

"Dating? Oh Lucius, you seem to be missing the point entirely. Dating is at best for making sure we can live with the other person, at worse, it is a way that love can weaken us. You do not need to go dating Lucius; you do not need _love_. The Dark Side needs babies Lucius, and I want your Pure Malfoy Blood to provide me with them."

"Yes my Lord, of course my line will continue. But as I said, I have disappeared from society, how can I find a wife?"

"Oh Lucius, you are not the only one of my servants currently in hiding. Let's go back to the parlour; I have someone I'd like you to meet"

"Yes My Lord" Lucius said as they headed back towards the Manor.

"Lucius, do you remember many years ago, when you tried to make a marriage contract between Draco and Alice Nott?"

"Peter Nott's youngest daughter?"

"Yes her. She isn't with us now; good thing too, she went Mugglelover. Imagine if her and Draco had babies. And if those babies inherited Draco's unaltered demeanour."

Lucius felt his blood boil at the mention of Draco, but he kept calm and agreed with Voldemort that such a thing would have indeed been terrible.

"Yes, so terrible. But the merging of the Malfoy and Nott bloodlines itself wasn't a bad idea at all. Two of the Purest lines in all Britain, what a good linage for the Death Eaters of the future."

They entered the Malfoy parlour, were they were greeted by a women Death Eater. He recognised her as being amongst the group that escaped from Azkaban around September. Lucius doubted she had ever been pretty, but her time in Azkaban had ruined any beauty she once had. Her straw coloured hair was long and limp, and her nose was a bit too large for her face. Some of her teeth seemed to have rotted away in Azkaban, but her front teeth were still visible, showing the hideous gap between them.

"Lucius Malfoy, I present Miss Gabriella Nott, eldest daughter of the Nott Family, and the last Death Eater to be initiated before Harry Potter... delayed our plans last time."

"Mr. Malfoy" She said "A pleasure to finally meet you. Let me warn you straight up, I am going to be like my mother before me; a warrior as well as a mother."

He was going to put his own wife and son behind him, for this woman?

Of course he was. He had to be totally loyal to the Dark Lord now.

For the first in his life, Lucius found that he truly hated Lord Voldemort.


	21. Chapter 20: Couples and Quarrels

**Theomione. Say it out loud, it sounds funny. Hmm... Hermidore? Nah that's terrible. Theone/Theonie? Nah, the spelling of that is confusing. Thermione? Hmm... maybe not quite direct enough. And it sounds like something biochemical. I like Theomione best.**

**Hey readers... what is the strangest name you can come up with for a Hermione/Theodore pairing?**

**BREAKING NEWS: A day after posting this chapter, this fic received it's 10,000th hit. I guess it has gotten there pretty slowly, and most of those hits are for the first four chapters, but I still feel like I've reached a milestone. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the twenty-thirty or so fans who have stayed with this story for so long. And welcome to any new readers; I'm fairly busy and generally update The Slytherin Stand every month... or two if one of my other projects demands more attention. So, yeah... it might be a really good idea to add this story to your alerts if you want to keep reading. **

**Anyways... enjoy this latest chapter everyone. Oh, did I mention that I like reviews? :)**

**Chapter 19: Couples and Quarrels**

Harry led Theo up to their Dormitory, trying to work out just how he felt about this turn of events. Did Theo's actions equal a betrayal? Why on Earth would he want to hurt Ron by doing this?

"Why did you do it?" Harry asked once they were in the Dormitory. "You know Ron really, really has a thing for Hermione, why did you have to go betray him like this? Is it because of what's happening between him and Blaise?"

"No, it has nothing to do with Blaise" Theo said.

"Then why did you ask Hermione to the Ball Thingy?"

"Because I love her!"

That was not the answer Harry had been expecting. Theo loved Hermione? He had never even considered it. He had been worried about something happening between Hermione and Blaise, and since last week he had been worried about Ron and Hermione... but Hermione and Theo?

Actually, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. But that didn't change the fact that Theo had betrayed Ron... did it?

"I didn't even know the Newt Ball was on" Theo said. "But I felt like I had to tell her how I felt. Knowing that Ron liked her, and was going to tell her... I've had a crush on her since Third Year. I, I just couldn't stand the thought of Hermione being with Ron and me never being able to tell her how I felt. I just didn't think about how it would affect Ron. I'm sorry if I like, betrayed you two or anything."

Harry was about to go off at Theo, but then a vivid memory surfaced. A memory of asking Cho Chang to the Yule Ball, only to learn that she had already said yes to Cedric. It had really hurt him to watch the two of them dancing together.

And even though he would never admit it to anyone else, it did hurt to see Ginny with Dean.

Now Ron would feel the same pain... but could he really fault Theo for what had happened? After all, Harry had often wished he had gotten to Cho first.

"No it's alright" Harry said. "I know what it's like to have feelings for someone, and see them with someone else."

"Really?"

"Yeah. During the Yule Ball, I asked Cho Chang to go with me, but Cedric had already asked her."

"Oh."

"Yeah, that was hard. It'll be hard on Ron too, but it would have been hard for you if the roles were reversed. Congratulations on your new girlfriend."

"Well, I'm not really sure if she's my girlfriend or not" Theo said. "I started to tell her how I felt, but I got scared and stuttered. Then Lavender asked if I was trying to invite her to the Newt Ball, so I said yes and she accepted. But, there was an incident with the Yule Ball she feels like she owes me for, and I still haven't told her how I felt, so I don't think we're like, together-together."

"Oh I see" Harry said. "I think. Well, still, good on you. You still need to explain things to Ron though."

"I guess I owe him that. I'll talk to him tomorrow."

"I think we better do it now" Harry said, taking the Maruader's Map out of his pocket. "I can find him on this map, and then I think we better go to him and you better explain everything. I've never seen him this angry before, and the longer we let him dwell on it the worse it will be."

"Yeah, alright. You'll come with me right?"

"Of course" Harry said, finding Ron and Lavender in an empty classroom near the Common Room entry. Harry noticed Theo looking at the map with interest, but the Slytherin didn't ask any questions.

Harry put the map away, and then went back downstairs with Theo. Harry asked Hermione if she wanted to go see Ron as well, but she just rolled her eyes and declined. Harry and Theo left the Common Room together, intending to make things right with Ron.

**Meanwhile:**

Ron found an empty classroom and sat behind the teacher's desk. Hermione didn't want anything to do with him; all because Theodore Nott had gotten to her first and told her Merlin-knows-what. Ron cursed himself for confiding in Nott; Slytherins were after all, Slytherins.

He pulled out his wand and began swishing it around. He soon found himself conjuring some birds, but stopped when he remembered that he had learnt that spell by watching Zabini teach it to Hermione.

Zabini and Nott. Both of them were bastards. And to think he had trusted them. Trusted those Slytherins! And now they had Hermione converted to their side.

And he had really thought Nott was alright.

Even though his parents had both been Death Eaters and he was friends with Zabini.

The door crept open, and Ron got a nasty remark ready in case it was Hermione or Nott. He swallowed the remark when he saw it was Lavender.

"Hi Ron" Lavender said. "Nice birds, did you conjure them yourself?"

Ron looked up at the two sluggish birds he had conjured before he had stopped. They circled each other, and Ron found he didn't want to zap them into nothingness just yet.

"Yeah I conjured them" Ron said. "I could make more if you wanted."

"No that's okay" she said, sitting on the desk next to Ron. "I just wanted to make sure you were feeling okay."

"Yeah, I'm okay" Ron said.

"Are you sure? That was a pretty bitchy thing for Hermione to say."

"Yeah... but what can you expect? She has Zabini and Nott in her ear all the time. Damn I really thought Nott was alright."

"He probably didn't know you wanted to ask Hermione to the Newt Ball" Lavender said.

"He fucking did too know it!" Ron said, bashing his fists into the table. "I told him right after classes finished. He must have run straight up to the Common Room to get to Hermione first."

"Really?" Lavender asked. "What a jerk! And I thought he was alright for a Slytherin."

"So did I" Ron said. "Can't believe I forgot that all Slytherins are jerks. What did he say to Hermione to get her to go with him?"

"Not much" Lavender said. "He just stuttered, acted shy and innocent, then asked her and she said yes. She didn't even think about it."

"She didn't even think about it?" Ron asked. "She, just said yes."

"Yeah. Don't worry Ron, we know what Hermione is like. She just thinks everyone is too stupid for her, and is all miss-perfect. I bet she would only consider a boyfriend who was a fellow geek. And since Nott just saved Malfoy everyone thinks his a hero and a really really good guy. His her Little Mr. Perfect. They'll be like the smart goodie-goodie couple that all the teachers think are _sooo_ perfect. Hermione would never be interested in a real man."

"A real man?"

"Like you!"

"Like me?" Ron said, raising his voice an octave as Lavender inched closer to him. Things may have gotten interesting then, if the door hadn't chosen that moment to fling open. Ron felt his blood boil for a second reason when he saw that Nott was standing in the doorway with Harry.

"Hey guys" Harry said. "Are you alright Ron?"

"Yeah I'm pretty alright" Ron said. "For a guy that just got stabbed in the back!"

"Ron I'm sorry" Nott said. "Please let me explain, I really wasn't thinking about how it would affect you."

"How the fuck was that meant to affect me?" Ron said. "You _knew _I was crazy for her, so you just waltzed up to Gryffindor Tower, forced your way in, and put on the cute hapless act so she would go to the Ball with you? How could that not hurt me? How can there possibly be a reason for doing that?"

"Because I feel the same way!" Nott said. "And the thought that I would never have a chance to tell her how I felt was just... hard."

"But you still didn't tell her any deep feelings" Lavender said. "You just asked her to the Newt Ball. There was no romance or confessions or anything!"

"Well I... I... I'll tell her later."

"Typical Slytherin" Lavender said.

"Yeah" Ron agreed. "You just wanted her because you knew I wanted her! That's all this is. You really are just like Malfoy, a spoiled brat! Well just because Daddy gave you everything doesn't mean you can have any girl you want! You can't have _my _friends just because your Mummy raised you to be a selfish spoiled - "

"My. Mother. Is. DEAD!" Nott said. "And you're talking about Hermione as if she's a thing. Hermione chose to go to the Ball with me."

"Because she thought you were being all romantic by coming to the Common Room" Lavender said. "But you know, I'm glad you did this Nott. Hermione isn't good enough for Ron, and the two of you seem made for each other!"

"What do you mean she isn't good enough for Ron?" Nott said.

"Hey guys, can we just calm down a bit?" Harry asked.

"Well," Lavender said to Nott, ignoring Harry completely, "If Hermione can be such a bitch to her friend after he bears his soul to her, then she deserves a snivelling Death Eater child as a boyfriend!"

"Okay this has gone too far!" Harry said. "Ron, I know you must be really hurt now; which is why you would have done the exact same thing as Theo did if the situation was reversed."

"I would not!" Ron said. "I would never stoop that low! My parents raised me to treat people with some basic respect. If Nott had told me he was madly in love with Hermione, I wouldn't have gone behind his back like that. I wouldn't have assumed I was the better man for her just because what? Because of my rich prestigious Pureblood family or some other Slytherin superior trait? You know Nott, I thought you were I good guy. I guess I didn't really know you at all."

"Well of course you don't really know me at all if you think I'm from a rich prestigious family" Nott said. There was anger in the Slytherin's voice, but it came out in teary eyes and clenched fists rather than raised voice. Ron wondered if maybe he had gone too far. After all, his family were Pureblood but had no money or prestige. He really didn't know anything at all about Theo's family.

Except that his father was in the Department of Mysteries last year.

And that he joined the DA and saved a life just last week.

"Oh yeah that's right" Lavender said. "Ron doesn't know anything about you. In fact no-one does because you don't even talk to anyone except Blaise Zabini."

Oh yeah, Nott was also friends with Zabini.

"You know Nott, I really don't want to know anything more about you" Ron said. "You're Slytherin, you're from a Death Eater family, and you fucking stabbed me in the back. You're scum!"

Ron expected some retort, but instead Nott just spun around and shot back out the door with that awkward trying-not-to-run-away walk of his.

"Coward" Ron said.

"Don't you think that was a bit harsh?" Harry asked.

"What? Don't tell me you're taking his side!" Ron said.

"I'm not taking sides" Harry said. "The other night you told me you had a thing for Hermione, and that really shocked me. Now I've just found out that Theo has a thing for her as well. I don't know who's the better boyfriend for Hermione - "

"You're Ron's best friend for five years and don't know if his the best person for Hermione?" Lavender asked.

"No I don't!" Harry said. "Because I'm not Hermione. It's her choice, and this matter is between her, Ron, and Theo. I'm not taking sides; all I'm saying is that Theo realised that this was his last chance to act on his feelings for Hermione, and he did that. If the situation had been reversed, you would have done the same thing Ron."

"I'm not a back-stabbing Slytherin!" Ron said.

"No, but you would have done it because it would have hurt not to" Harry said. "I know what it's like to see the girl you like with someone else, and if I was in Theo's position I would have done the same thing!"

"I can't believe you're taking his side!" Ron said. "What about everything you about always being my best friend."

"You are my best friend and I'm not taking sides!" Harry said. "But I think Theo did what he had to do and you shouldn't have said all those things to him."

"Well why don't you go run off and comfort him since I've hurt the poor delicate Death Eater's feelings so much."

"His not a Death Eater!"

"Well his a back-stabbing Slytherin whose just screwed me over, and now your siding with him! Your siding with the son of one of those bastards that killed Sirius!"

"Okay Ron, you're upset. I brought Theo here to apologise, but that didn't go so well. And now you're pissed off at me. Well, you have Lavender to comfort you, so I'll just leave you to your own self pity and talk to you when you've calmed down."

"I'm calm enough to know that you're betraying me too" Ron said. "Just go Harry. Go hang out with _Theo_, and _Blaise_."

"Ron I -"

"He said go" Lavender said. "I think you should just leave us alone."

"Fine" Harry said, stepping through the door. "But Ron, don't act like a complete git like you did back in Fourth Year."

And with that, Harry was gone. Ron tried to work out what he had done. Had he just driven away his best friend? Had he lost Hermione and Harry? What did he have left?

"Don't worry about him" Lavender said. "You're worth ten of Harry Potter."

"Ten of Harry?" Ron asked.

"Yup" said Lavender, leaning in to kiss him.

**Meanwhile:**

Theo wanted to put as much distance as he could between himself and the fiasco he had just created. However as he go to the stairs he realised that in doing so he would be ditching Hermione. He leaned against the wall, trying to regain his composure before he went back to see her.

"Oh, so it didn't go so well?"

"Dave!" Theo said, turning around to see the rockstar patting a lion in a massive African Wilderness painting behind him. "Were you following me again?"

"No I wasn't following you" Dave said. "I knew you'd have to come past here on your way back so I waited. I was expecting to see you with Hermione though. I guess things kinda, didn't work out so well?"

"Well, I was too scared to tell her exactly how I felt" Theo said. "But, I ended up asking her to the Newt Ball and she said yes. So, everything is good. How did things go with M'Lady?"

"She's not angry at me anymore" Dave said. "But that's awesome with you and Hermione. So, why are you out here alone and looking like you're about to burst into tears?"

"I had a fight with Ron Weasley."

"Oh. He found out."

"Yeah, he came around not too long ago."

"And you fought. Both of you?"

"Well, I don't think I said anything too bad to him. But he was still pretty upset."

"Ah I see. And you're pretty upset too. This is about more than just Hermione isn't it? What did the little git say to you?"

"Nothing much."

"You look like it's pretty deep."

"Come on, I was bawling my eyes out before, and you think this is worse?"

"Yeah. this is something you're burying. What happened?"

"You sound just like Blaise did back in First Year."

"Don't change the subject. What did Weasley say to you?"

"He didn't intend to hurt me as badly as he did" Theo said with a sigh, turning his eyes to the floor. "He just, he accused me of being selfish because I was from a rich family and got everything I wanted."

"Where did he get that from?"

"A lot of Pureblood Slytherin children are from rich families. He just assumed I was too and well, it reminded me of just how much that isn't the case. You know things weren't that good for me before I came to Hogwarts right?"

"I do now."

"Well, hearing him talk like that well, it made me think of what my childhood really was like. It was like I really was scum."

"You're not scum" Dave said. "Sounds like his being the selfish one. Don't worry, I'll make life hell for him!"

"Well he didn't know - " Theo began, lifting his head to look at Dave as he spoke, but stopping mid sentence when he caught someone in the corner of his eye.

Harry was standing just a few metres away, looking a bit awkward.

"Oh Harry" Theo said. "Did you come looking for me?"

"Yeah" Harry said. "I'm sorry for what Ron said back there. I don't think he knew that talking about your family would hurt you so much."

"I know."

"And his been worried so much about Blaise talking me and Hermione away from him that well... his not happy with you right now."

"I know. But I'll be alright."

"That's good."

"Herm-hum" Dave cleared his throat, and looked down at Theo expectantly.

"Oh right" Theo said. "Dave, this is Harry, his Hermione's best friend. Harry, Dave; His erm, a poster that Blaise brought to life. His also the Fat Lady's boyfriend."

"Hi Harry" Dave said. "I hear you're the school's resident hero?"

"That sounds like me" Harry said. "Though sometimes I wish it wasn't really the case."

"Really? Hmmm, guess things are a bit more serious outside the portrait world. So, who are you going to this ball thingy with?"

"Oh um, I only just found out it exists, so I haven't had a chance to think about that" Harry said.

"Hmm..." Dave said. "You should talk to Blaise - "

"No" Harry said.

"Not like that" Dave said. "Ask him about his sister. I'm sure she'd love a chance to visit Hogwarts. You can take her to the Ball."

"That's a good idea" Theo said. "I'm sure you and Camille would have a good time. And given how much Blaise and Mrs. Zabini approve of you, you're probably the only guy in the world apart from me that Mr. Zabini wouldn't try to scare off."

"I'll think about it" Harry said. "Hmm... I'm starting to get hungry; want to go to dinner Theo?"

"Yeah alright" Theo said. "But can we go get Hermione first?"

"Sure. Well, nice meeting you Dave."

"Same Harry. Good luck with the hero thing."

"Thanks."

They left Dave and made their way back to Gryffindor Common Room. They walked in an awkward silence, and Theo got the impression that Harry wanted to comment on whatever he had overheard. Theo hoped Harry wouldn't bring it up; he had just regained his composure and now wanted to go see Hermione.

Fortunately the silence was only broken when they arrived in front of the Fat Lady.

"Erm, Theo" Harry said. "Could you please block your ears for a sec while I say the password?"

"Armortentia" Theo said, causing M'Lady to roll her eyes and swing open.

"Oh" Harry said. "Alright then."

They found Hermione with her nose buried in Tales of Beedle the Bard while the rest of the girls discussed potential dates for Sally-Anne Peaks. Hermione finished the paragraph she had been reading, then joined the two boys as they made their way out of the Common Room and to the Great Hall. Harry filled Hermione in on their encounter with Ron, and Theo couldn't help but feel he had irrevocably damaged Hermione and Ron's friendship.

**Meanwhile:**

After a long night of trying to open the locket, Blaise had fallen asleep wearing it. He was awoken from this restless sleep by an incessant pounding at the door and someone calling his name.

"Blaise!" His mother said. "I know you are in there. Open this door right now!"

"Dave!" Blaise said. "Open the door."

There was no response from Dave, and Blaise's mother was still demanding to be let in. Blaise rolled out of his hammock and trudged towards the door. He opened the door and saw his mothers face go from furious to worried.

"God Blaise, you look terrible" She said. "have you had any sleep at all?"

"Of course I've slept!" Blaise said.

"Hermione and Theo said you stayed up working on a project all night."

"Yeah. They were supposed to be helping me, but they fell asleep."

"Well I can't blame them. And you shouldn't be pulling all-nighters like this. I was really worried when you weren't in class today."

"I missed class?" Blaise said. "What time is it?"

"Almost dinner time" She said. "why don't you pack some pyjamas and tomorrows books and come to my office? I'll get a bed ready for you and we can have dinner and an early night. How does that sound?"

"I'm too old to sleep in my mother's room and I've been sleeping all day" Blaise protested.

"Well that sleep today doesn't seem to have done you any good at all."

"I have work to do" Blaise said, holding the locket.

"You've done enough work last night. Now you be at my office in time for dinner or else. I want to make sure you don't miss tomorrow either."

He stiffened as she grabbed him and planted a kiss on his forehead. She left and Blaise let out a sigh of relief. Then a groan; he had been making progress with the locket last night and wanted to get straight back into it. However his mother was not a woman to be ignored, so he took off the locket and placed it gently in it's container, then got his bag and headed off.

On his way to his mother's office, he ran into Dave.

"Blaise!" Dave said. "Nice to see you up and about. Man you look like shit."

"Thank you."

"Hey I need a favour" Dave said. "Could you find me a picture of Ron Weasley?"

"Why do you need a picture of that git?" Blaise asked.

"Revenge."

"Revenge? What did he do this time?"

"He got into a fight with Theo."

"What? Theo got into a fight with someone?"

"Fight is the wrong word. It was more like a torrent of verbal abuse. I found Theo afterwards ready to burst into tears."

"What? He made Theo cry?"

"Theo didn't actually cry. At least not that I saw."

"That prick! You can make his life hell with a picture?"

"Yeah. M'Lady has agreed to help me with it."

"Okay. I'll go through last year's school photos and get one of him. Where's Theo now?"

"He went back to Gryffindor Tower with Harry."

"Huh? Back to... I think I'm missing something here. Theo is in Gryffindor Tower?"

"Yeah, he went there and asked Hermione to the Newt Ball."

"The... wha? Okay, I have to go see my Ma. Fill me in on the details as we walk.

**Three Days Later:**

It was snowing heavily on the day of Lucius Malfoy's second wedding. Three days after the Dark Lord introduced Lucius to the eldest Nott daughter, and now Lucius was marrying her. They stood in the centre of the Malfoy ballroom, surrounded by Death Eaters and other supporters of the cause. They wore not elegant robes and dress but their Death Eater robes, and standing before them was not a preacher, but the Dark Lord himself, conducting the ceremony.

"We are gathered here today," the Dark Lord said. "To witness the joining of two noble and pure bloodlines. Today is a celebration of all we are fighting for. Today, we usher in the dawn of a new era for Wizard-Kind."

No mention of love or even of Lucius and Gabriella as individuals. For a second Lucius felt disgusted that he could have ever wanted this world.

But he suppressed it. He blocked all thought from his mind as he listened to his Master's speech.

"Lucius Malfoy and Gabriella Nott" He said. "Two powerful, loyal servants. Two champions of the Pure Blood. Your marriage honours us all. May your sons and daughters be amongst my most distinguished followers."

Lucius couldn't help but feel horrified by this service. It wasn't like his wedding to Cissy... but damn thinking of Cissy triggered that disgust. He cleared his mind, and focused on the face of his young bride.

Gabriella had an expression that reminded him of Bellatrix. This service was quite obviously to her liking.

"Gabriella Nott," the Dark Lord said. "Do you consent to become a member of the House of Malfoy? Do you agree to take this man, to be the father of your children, your ally in our struggle, and your companion in the night? Do you consent to mix your blood with his?"

"I do" Gabriella said.

"And do you, Lucius Malfoy, consent to join with this daughter of the House of Nott? Do you agree to take this woman, to be the mother of your children, your ally in our struggle, and your companion in the night? Do you consent to mix your blood with hers?"

_No _Lucius thought _I'd sooner die than betray Cissy like this. No I can't, I have to think of Draco._

"I do" Lucius said.

"Good" the Dark Lord said. "And do both of you, as a couple, pledge that your children will be my loyal servants. Proud of their blood and willing to defend it, with their lives forfeit if they are over wise inclined? "

"I do" Gabriella pledged.

"As do I" Lucius said.

"And with that, I now pronounce you husband and wife. My followers, I present to you Lord and Lady Malfoy!"

The crowd cheered as Lucius took his new wife by the hand and led her down the aisle. He wondered if everyone was really okay with this; was power worth giving up the pleasures of being human? Worth giving up love? Maybe he would have said yes if he had never met Cissy, or had never had Draco. But still;

_How can anyone be alright with this?_

He soon separated from Gabriella and began mingling with the wedding guests. He was looking for some sign that there was anyone else in this room that agreed with him. He was desperate for some hint that the world hadn't gone completely crazy.

He couldn't find it.

Everyone he spoke to was full of congratulations and good wishes. there was no fear or disgust in their voices. Logically Lucius knew that there had to be others like him around. He couldn't be the only one! Maybe Viper was here too, but if she was she did nothing to reveal herself.

Lucius had never felt so alone in his entire life.

He had never imagined that he could feel so alone in a room full of Death Eaters.

Eventually the cake was cut, the bouquet was thrown, and the guests were starting to get restless. Lucius had long since had enough of this night, and was ready to make his exit before he let his Occlumency guards down.

But he couldn't escape without his new wife.

He found her with her sisters and their husbands. Jolene and Ethelred Selwyn were both acquaintances of Lucius', and he knew that Ethelred Selwyn was just as Pureblooded as the Malfoy's.

Estelle and Henry Harper were a bit more of a mystery to Lucius. The Harper's were one of the 'Modern Pure' families that had sprung up around about two hundred years ago.

"Yes Henry" Gabriella said to her brother-in-law. "I know that the Harper family has been Pureblood for many generations. I'm just curious about your mother. Michelle Noonan. I know Ireland has it's share of old families, but I thought the Noonan's had gone extinct?"

"Her branch of the family settled in Australia not long after the Muggles began colonizing the country" Harper explained. "Her side of the family weren't in contact with the Irish Noonans much after that. There was no international floo network back in those days."

"Ah, is your mother from Australia?"

"Yes."

"So, did she go to Hogwarts?"

"No, she emigrated after graduating from Ngama Sorcery School."

"Ah, and her parents?"

"Died before she came out here."

"Hmm... how convenient."

"Are you accusing Henry of something Gabriella?" Estelle said.

"Not yet" Gabriella said. "But after what happened to Alice, I don't want to see my sister married to a Half-Blood."

"I'm not a Half-Blood!" Harper said.

"Don't even say something so terrible!" Estelle said, shielding her pregnant belly from the accusations.

"I'm sure you're carrying a beautiful Pureblood baby Estelle" Gabriella said. "I'm just being careful; blood-traitors are everywhere."

"I have known the Harper family for a long time" Ethelred said. "And I can tell you Gabriella, they would not marry a Mudblood."

"Trust us Gabriella" Jolene said. "We know these men."

"Very well" Gabriella said. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you Henry Harper. Ah Lucius. Finally come to meet your new family?"

Lucius had already met the Nott's, but still he allowed Gabriella to introduce him to them.

He made idle conversation with his new family members, and then mentioned to Gabriella that some guests were getting restless and the Dark Lord was getting ready to retire for the night. For a brief second distaste flickered across her face, and Lucius wondered if maybe she felt the same way as he did about this wedding.

_Of course not Lucius; that distaste was because you're almost fifteen years older than her. She is _not_ your ally._

Gabriella bid her sisters and in-laws goodnight, then linked arms with Lucius. He led her through the crowd, escorting the guests all to the Apparition points. Soon the only one left was the Dark Lord; he clapped and smirked as he watched the newlyweds go upstairs to do their duty to him.


	22. Chapter 21: Flight of the Mudblood

**Sorry for the delay. I've been having ideas for a sequel to Sourblood swimming around my head and I just couldn't continue this story until I wrote them down.**

**I'd also like to point out that we're at around the midpoint for this story. After this I'll be writing scenes that I've been imagining for ages :). Still, it can take me a while to complete new chapters, so if you want to read about the Slytherin v Slytherin match, Newt Ball, and Christmas Holidays... might be a good idea to add this story to your alert list. **

**Chapter 21: Flight of The Mudblood**

It didn't take long for Harry to realise that what had happened with Ron was more than just a schoolyard fight. There was a wall between them now, and Harry was faced with the very frightening prospect that he and Ron may never be best friends again.

Worse, Harry had a feeling that Hermione and Ron's friendship had been broken beyond all repair. After dinner that fateful night, Harry and Hermione had returned to Gryffindor Tower to find Ron and Lavender having a very public snogging session.

"That bastard" Hermione had said. "He got so angry at Theo for asking me to go to the Newt Ball because apparently he wanted to ask me. But... but... that bastard!"

"He does have feelings for you Hermione" Harry had said. "Or, he did."

"Then he has the capacity for love equal to a Death Eater. He doesn't even care. His just moved on... I was _nothing_ to him. Just a pawn in whatever game he wants to play with Blaise and Theo."

"But Hermione - "

"He was just going to use me. And we were friends!"

Hermione had run up to her Dormitory with tears in her eyes while Harry stood looking at his former best friend with rage burning within him.

_I want to be able to forgive you Ron. But did you really care that little about Hermione? Did you lie to me because of some plan to get Hermione 'back' from Theo and Blaise?_

The next day, Harry found himself smiling as Blaise hinted that he and Dave had organised some payback for Ron. Harry and Hermione found out all about Blaise's revenge when they returned to Gryffindor Tower to find a giggling crowd gathered around the Portrait of the Fat Lady.

"You can't do this!" Ron's voice boomed through the halls. "I... I have the password, I'm a Gryffindor... open or I'll get McGonagall!"

"I have already summoned her" The Fat Lady said. "I am no Sir Cadogan, and just because you have the password doesn't mean I am under any obligation to let you in if I think you are a threat or menace."

"How am I a threat or menace?"

"You've cause enough harm amongst your fellow students this weekend that I don't think it is in Gryffindor's best interests to let you in."

"But I... what have I done to harm my fellow students?"

"Breaking hearts, picking fights, ruining Gryffindor's good reputation. I won't have you!"

"Won't have who, M'Lady?" McGonagall walked past Harry and said.

"This pest Professor" The Fat Lady said. "Ronald Weasley. I've received a lot of complaints about him, and am using my privilege as Guardian of Gryffindor Tower to banish him forever!"

"You cannot be serious" McGonagall said.

"I'm dead serious. I believe it is in the best interests of Gryffindor House to banish Ronald Weasley. There have been precedents."

"Yes there have been" McGonagall admitted. "But, what has Mr. Weasley done to deserve banishment?"

"We'll, he has been unacceptably rude to other students. Both fellow Gryffindors and a few very nice Slytherins; so add tarnishing Gryffindor's reputation amongst the other Houses to his list of crimes. He has also been acting inappropriately with his girlfriend in the Common Room."

"As terrible as these things are, they don't amount to a banishing" McGonagall said.

"We'll I am the judge of that Professor. I am the one who decides who comes through this door. And I am not being unreasonable; I have already told Mr. Weasley that three sincere apologies will get him instantly un-banished."

"I'm not apologising to anyone!" Ron said.

"Mr. Weasley" McGonagal said. "Please just apologise."

"...But...,"

"I may overturn a decision made by the Guardian of Gryffindor Tower if she has unreasonably banished you. However, since she has given you a reasonable way to get back into the Tower, there isn't much I can do."

"Reasonable?" Ron said. "It's not reasonable. She wants me to apologise to a Slytherin! This has to be Blaise Zabini's doing. He was able to get into Gryffindor Tower before, he must have corrupted the Fat Lady! And he has it in for me, so now his kicked me out of my own Common Room."

"Mr. Zabini is the Slytherin you have to apologise to?" McGonagall asked.

"Well, no. She didn't say anything about Zabini."

"Well I don't see any reason to suspect him. Come with me Mr. Weasley; I'll arrange somewhere for you to sleep and study until you swallow your pride."

"But..but...,"

"But?"

"My stuff's in there."

"We'll get it later. Now follow me."

As Ron and McGonagall walked past him, Harry caught sight of something different waving to him from the walls. He saw Dave sitting with a group of nuns and grinning. The poster gave him a wink and Harry couldn't help but giggle.

He didn't see the pain on Ron's face as he looked back and saw his best-friend laughing at his misfortune.

**Meanwhile:**

Blaise was surprised at how happy he felt. His mother had locked him out of The Shop for a week, and Xanthe was cross with him, but he felt like a huge load had been lifted from his shoulders. Must be due to him and Dave getting the Fat Lady to banish Ron Weasley.

"You've hardly spent any time with me lately" Xanthe said as they finished off their dinner.

"It's not like you've been there for me every day of the week" Blaise said. "You're always off gossiping; you can't blame me for wanting to hang out with Dave instead of being ignored."

"But you're not hanging out with Dave" she said. "Dave says you just ignore him and tinker with that locket all day."

"I don't tinker with it all day!"

"You spend most of the day with it" Theo said. "I'm kinda glad your Mum locked you out of the Shop; it was kinda scary watching you obsess over it that night."

"You don't understand Theo" Blaise said. "There is something really, really wrong with this locket. There is something inside it messing with whatever powers Slytherin put in it, _and I want to open it!_ I have to find out what's in there. It's driving me crazy."

"I think you should give it back to Harry" Theo said. "It seems to be effecting you really badly."

"It's a locket, it's not doing anything wrong to me" Blaise said.

"You said yourself that there is something really, really wrong with it" Xanthe said. "Are you sure you should be playing around with it?"

"I have to" Blaise said. "If I can't get it open I'll never know what is inside it. And I have to know!"

"Alright" Theo said. "But after the Shop gets reopened, promise you won't skip classes or stay up all night working on it."

"But Theo...,"

"Promise or I'll tell your mother about the locket."

"You wouldn't!"

"It's for your own good."

"Fine, fine I won't skip class or stay up late to work on it."

"And could you also stop wearing it outside the Shop?" Xanthe said. "You just seem really grumpy when you have it on."

"That's ridiculous" Blaise said.

"Please Blaise? For me?"

"Oh alright Xanthe. I'll keep it locked up in the Shop just for you."

"Thanks Blaise. Hmm... so what are you and Theo doing tonight?"

"Well Theo is going to go and work with Harry and Hermione on our Potions assignment, and I was going to go to the... hmm... I don't know what I'm going to do actually."

"Would you like to hang out with me?" Xanthe said. "Since I'm like, supposed to be your girlfriend and you've been too busy with that locket to spend any time with me."

"I... I'm sorry alright. But don't you have some friends to gossip with?"

"Not tonight. I've missed you too much. And besides, Urquhart has called Seeker tryouts for this Friday, so everyone is talking about that."

"This Friday?" Theo asked. "Isn't that well, a bit soon?"

"A lot of the Pure-Freaks are saying that" Xanthe said. "But it's been like, two weeks almost. And with the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff game just two weeks away, this may be Urquhart's last chance to book the pitch until after then."

"Ah, yeah that makes sense" Theo said.

"Are you going to try out Theo?" She said.

"What? Me?"

"You flew really well when you caught Malfoy" she explained. "I bet you'd make a good Quidditch player."

"No thanks" Theo said.

"It'll never happen Xanthe" Blaise said. "Have you finished eating? Why don't we leave Theo to his studies and go hang out? As distracting as the locket is, I've missed you too."

"Awww... that's sweet Blaise. Well, I'll see you around Theo."

"Bye Xanthe."

"Later Theo" Blaise said.

"Later Blaise. Oh, are you two going to the Newt ball together?"

Blaise stopped and stared at Xanthe. Ha hadn't even thought to ask her about that.

"Of course we are" Xanthe said. "Right Blaise?"

"Right on" Blaise said.

**Later that Week**

Wednesday morning saw Harry struggling with the blood replenishing potion that Snape had set as an in-class exam. Harry had panicked at first, but as Theo's advice came back to him, Harry found that it actually wasn't that hard to get it to the correct brown-red colour. At the end of the class Harry noticed that his potion was looking just like Hermione's. Maybe he would be able to get that O and stay in Snape's horrible class.

Ron however, had a bubbly cauldron full of pink goop. Despite what had happened between them, Harry couldn't help but feel sorry for his friend.

Neville, Dean, and Seamus had all approached Harry earlier in the week to say that they were not going to get involved in the whole affair, however Harry had a feeling that Dean and Seamus were more inclined to take Ron's side.

The Gryffindor girls had all sided with Ron and Lavender and were shunning Hermione, but Hermione seemed to be taking it well. She simply pointed out that she wasn't close to any of them, and that if they turned mean on her she could easily hex them.

The fight with Ron was not the only thing on Harry's mind. The strange conversation between Theo and Dave also kept coming back to him. He had no idea what Theo had been talking about when he said things hadn't been good for him before Hogwarts, but it made Harry think about his life with the Dursleys.

He had told many people that the Dursleys were horrible to him, but he had never gone into detail before. He had even downplayed his imprisonment when the Weasleys freed him and took him to the Burrow for the first time. The Dursleys had never seriously hurt him or starved him, so Harry had always just told everyone that they were simply mean. And just being mean wasn't the same as being abusive.

Yet, whenever Harry allowed himself to dwell on the early years of his childhood, he couldn't deny that the Dursleys had hurt him.

But he had never let that upset him before. Not when he was at Hogwarts.

Later that night, during his session with Miss. Io, he decided to bring the Dursleys up.

"It's never really bothered me before" Harry said. "Well, not while I've been at Hogwarts or at the Weasley's. But ever since I heard Theo mention that things weren't that good for him before Hogwarts, well I've been thinking of the Dursleys a lot, because things weren't that good for me either."

"That sounds like a rather vague trigger" Miss Io said. "Has anything else been happening that may have gotten you worried about your life outside Hogwarts?"

"No not that I can think of" Harry said.

"Alright then" She said. "Now, you mentioned the Weasleys just then. They've been a surrogate family for you haven't they?"

"Yeah they have."

"And you don't dwell on the way the Dursleys treat you when your with the Weasleys?"

"No" Harry said. "The Weasleys are more a family to me than the Dursleys have ever been. Mr. Weasley is like a father to me, and Mrs. Weasley is like the mother I'd always wanted. And Ron..., oh god."

"What is it Harry?"

"Ron's like a brother to me" Harry said. "But now he doesn't want to have anything to do with me. I... I don't know if I'll be able to see his family again."

"I see. There aren't any other relatives you can talk to about this?"

"These Ginny, but we haven't spoken since the fight." _And I'm too afraid of losing her to approach her and talk about it _he thought.

"I think you better have a talk to her. Let her know what her family means to you. Maybe you should write a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and let them know what's going on."

"But their Ron's family. I shouldn't be trying to like, force myself on them or anything."

"Harry, from everything you've told me, and everything I've heard about the Weasleys, they are more of a family to you than those abusive Dursleys."

"The Dursleys aren't really abusive...,"

"You've just told me that they repeatedly locked you in a cupboard, failed to provide you with adequate clothing, allowed their son to beat you up, belittled and insulted you, and purposely set out to make your life as miserable as possible. Harry, just because they didn't beat you up, starve you, or molest you doesn't mean they weren't abusive. You're very lucky that you came to a happy, safe place like Hogwarts and met people who care for you. You're coping really well considering what you've been through.

"But now that such a large part of your support net has been taken away from you, it's natural that the hurt and anger you've been able to just ignore are troubling you a bit more than normal now. Especially since you haven't quite gotten over losing Sirius yet."

"I... I guess that kind of makes sense" Harry said. "You know, the first night I met Sirius he offered to take me away from them and let me live with him."

"Yes, I bet you jumped at the offer."

"I sure did."

"And now even though you're starting to accept Sirius's death, I think it will take you a lot longer to accept that you've lost that means of escape. And if you let this fight with Ron sever all your connections with the Weasleys, then you're going to have problems coping with losing them. And I think you'll be reminded much more of what it was like with the Dursleys."

"Yeah... I'll write to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley tonight. Let them know what's going on."

"That's a good idea Harry. Also, keep close to your friends; you need all the support you can get."

"Yeah."

"Now, we've gone a bit over time, did you want to continue?"

"No, I think that's enough for tonight."

"Okay. Let me know how everything goes then."

"I will. Thanks Miss Io. See you next week."

"See you next week Harry. Bye."

As Harry left Miss Io's office, he realised that was the first time he had ever sincerely thanked her.

When he got back to Gryffindor Tower, he spotted Ginny straight away talking to her friends. Harry asked her for a privet word, and she seemed friendly enough as she said yes and let him lead her off to an empty nook

"This is about Ron isn't it?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah" Harry said. "I just, I want you to know that I'm really sorry about what happened, and I want to try and fix things. But I think Ron is really out of line, and well, we're still good right?"

"Still good?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah well, you're not angry with me because I'm fighting with Ron are you?"

"Of course not Harry. I mean, I'm a bit surprised you sided with Nott over Ron -"

"I was trying not to side with anyone. But I didn't like the way he was talking to Theo, so well, I told him off about it and he saw that as siding with Theo."

"Whatever. I saw Ron and Hermione's argument, and I saw the way he went off snogging Lavender Brown after Hermione apparently broke his heart. Personally I think they were both a bit out of line, but I don't hold what happened against Hermione, I'm not going to shun my own brother for it, and I don't see how this should affect my friendship with you either."

"Thanks Ginny. That really means a lot to me. I was worried that since I wasn't on speaking terms with Ron anymore, that well, you and your family might not well, like me that much anymore."

"Harry that's stupid! After all you've done for my family, we aren't going to disown you just because Ron's hormones have started causing trouble."

"Thanks Ginny. Your whole family has always been there for me. I'm sorry if this whole situation has made things awkward."

"Don't worry Harry. It's not like you could just turn around and snub Hermione and Nott because Ron had a hissy fit."

"I know. But I was just really worried I'd lost you all. Especially since I haven't seen you since the whole incident."

"Oh sorry, I should have talked to you straight away. The girls and I have just been a bit busy preparing for the ball."

"The Ball?"

"The Newt Ball. I'm going with Dean, so my friends have been helping me pick out new dressrobes and stuff in the catalogues."

"Oh, right. Yeah I forgot about that."

"After all the trouble it's led to you've forgotten?"

"Well, it did come along quite suddenly. And it has caused a lot of trouble."

"I guess. Do you know who you're going with yet?"

"Not sure. Maybe Blaise's sister."

"Ah okay. Hmm... you know, we haven't spent much time together this year. Want to do something together soon Harry?"

"Um, yeah sure. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, do you want to come with me to watch the Slytherin Seeker tryouts?"

"The... Slytherin tryouts?"

"Yeah. Matt Powers is going to try out and I want to watch him fly. But none of my friends want to go, and it would be nice to go with someone else whose really into Quidditch."

"Why don't you go with Dean?"

"He doesn't think it's safe to go to a pitch full of Slytherins" Ginny said. "He _forbade _me from going. As if his the boss of me."

"Oh I see. Well, I'll let him know I'm going with you. Should make him feel better."

"What? Are you saying I need your protection?"

"No, but I'm in a big mess with Ron for getting involved in whatever's happening with him, Hermione, and Theo. I don't want Dean to think I'm trying to come between you and him too."

"Oh, right. Sorry Harry, I thought, never mind. But, you do want to go watch Matt Powers fly right? It's not a matter of you going to protect me is it?"

"Ginny, I remember fighting alongside you in the Department of Mysteries. You don't need my protection at the _Quidditch Pitch_, and I'd really like to watch Matt fly."

"Okay. Thanks Harry. It's a date. A platonic date I mean."

"Of course. Thanks for staying by me Ginny."

"Anytime Harry. Anytime."

The Quidditch Pitch was packed, and not just with Slytherins. Greg even saw Potter and the Weaslette in the stands, looking excited if not awkward.

_Of course their here _Greg thought _they want to gloat about Draco not being Seeker anymore._

There had been a large number of applicants for the Seeker position, but after a number of simple tests Urquhart had narrowed it down to three flyers. Harper, Lilith, and The Mudblood. Vince had sneered and beat his broom in frustration when Urquhart had announced that The Mudblood had made it to the final test, but Greg wasn't surprised. He was easily one of the stand-out flyers, and was certainly on par with Lilith and Harper.

"If Urquhart chooses The Mudblood, let's beat him up" Vince said.

"But what if the Mudblood flies better than Harper or Lilith?" Greg said. "I mean, we have to take the best Seeker right? Otherwise we'll just get beaten."

"Damn Greg, don't tell me you want a filthy Mudblood flying with you?" Vince said.

"No of course not" Greg said. "But I want to win!"

What he didn't say, was that flying with Lilith sounded even more appealing than winning to him. Not that he couldn't have both; she was an undoubtedly good flyer too.

"Don't worry guys" Vaisey said, her and Selwyn flying next to the Beaters as Urquhart and Bletcherly explained the final test. "There hasn't been a Mudblood on the team in over two-hundred years; and we aren't about to let one join now."

"But what if he wins the test?" Greg asked.

The final test Urquhart had devised for the hopeful Seekers was the ultimate test of speed, agility, and precision. Simply put, it was a race around the pitch. However, along the way the flyers had to dodge Bludgers from Greg and Vince, and capture flags attached to the ends of Bletcherly, Vaisey, and Selwyn's brooms. At the end of the lap Urquhart was hovering with a potentially tie-breaking flag behind his broom for whoever crossed the finish line first. In the end, whoever had the most flags would be Seeker.

"He won't win" Vaisey said. "We won't let him. Eleanor, if he tries to get your flag kick him out of the air. Beaters, knock him off his broom. I won't fly with a Mudblood!"

Urquhart blew his whistle and the crowd cheered. Greg took up position in the middle of the pitch with Vince, while Bletcherly and the Chasers got into position along the track. Harper, Lilith, and The Mudblood were poised to start. Lilith gave him a quick smile, and Greg winked back to her. He was desperately hoping that she made the team.

The whistle blew again and they were off. Greg threw the bludger up in the air and whacked it towards The Mudblood. Vince had been quicker with his Bludger; it reached The Mudblood first, however he simply swerved around it and then ducked below Greg's. The movements had put him behind Lilith and Harper, but now Greg and Vince had to fly after the Bludgers before they could hit him again.

The Mudblood almost caught up as the racers reached Bletcherly. However he wasn't fast enough; his broom may be a superfast Millennium Speedster like Harper's, but Harper was able to grad the flag of the end of Bltcherly's old Nimbus 2001 and Greg caught up to a Bludger and sent it straight towards The Mudblood.

It missed it's mark, but again The Mudblood was slowed up dodging it. Greg went after the Bludger, and out the corner of his eye he saw Vince line up his next shot, and Lilith getting all the speed she could out of her Cleansweep 11. She was right behind Harper now and gaining fast. They were approaching Selwyn, either one of them could get her flag. No, Harper was just slightly too fast, had just slightly better reach...

Greg hit his Bludger towards Harper and he was almost knocked off his broom. Lilith gracefully dodged his out-of-control broomstick and swiped Selwyn's flag.

"Greg what's wrong with you?" Vince said, chasing after his Bludger after another miss on The Mudblood."

"We have to test those two somehow" Grag said, racing after his Bludger. Harper had regained his balance and was now neck-and-neck with The Mudblood. Both were gaining fast on Lilith, who was pushing her broom farther than Greg would have thought possible. _She is so beautiful on a broom _he thought.

The three of them were now much closer, and he couldn't get a clear shot at The Mudblood. Still, he aimed ahead of Powers's path, but the shot was easily dodged without costing the Mudblood any ground.

They were all about equal as they came up to Vaisey. Three hands reached out for her flag, whilst one leg reached out for The Mudblood's face. Greg also saw Vince's next Bludger aimed straight at Powers's back.

Neither leg nor Bludger found their mark though. The Mudblood swerved to avoid Vaisey's kick, and upon seeing the incoming Bludger he flipped over on his broom, and righted himself just in time to swipe Vaisey's flag from the side. The crowd below cheered and Greg felt his jaw drop. Mudblood or no, this Matthew Powers sure could fly.

Vaisey's kick ended up landing in Lilith's gut, and Harper ended up crashing into Vaisey. In the few seconds it took for them to untangle themselves and fly towards the finish, Powers had gained a massive lead. A Bludger from Vince did little to slow him down.

Greg sent the other Bludger towards Powers and it almost hit him. Vince got the other Bludger flying after Powers in record time, and Greg thought that maybe, just maybe the rain of Bludgers might be slowing him down enough. Lilith was catching up, with Harper right next to her. Harper was overtaking her; now he was just ahead of her. But would it be enough? Greg had almost caught up to his Bludger, but he knew he wouldn't get a chance to get Powers with it.

And there was no way Harper was going to catch up with Powers; unless Vince's next shot connected. Greg could see Vince carefully aiming his shot. He swung his club with both hands and sent the Bludger with a loud crack to the spot Powers was going to be.

It was a perfect hit, but Powers was able to pull off the perfect dodge. He spun his broom upside-down at the last possible second, flew past the finish line upside-down, then righted himself and gracefully took Urquhart's flag as Harper and Lilith finished.

Vince whacked his club against his broom handle and shrieked out a big 'NO', but it was drowned out by the roar of the crowd. Powers raised his two flags in the air and suddenly people were on their feet screaming. Greg saw Potter and the Weaslette jumping up and down, he saw Zabini and Rivers break from their snogging session to cheer, Astoria's sister was hugging the Creevey Mudblood, even Nott and Granger were down there and looking excited. Everyone was so happy for the snivelling little Mudblood.

"I give you the new Slytherin Seeker" Urquhart screamed in a magically amplified voice. "Matthew Powers!"

The crowd cheered again and Powers looked as happy as a pig in shit. Vince flew in next to Greg and whacked him over the head.

"What was that for?" Greg asked.

"You hit Harper" Vince said. "He could have got that flag and then they'd have to do a tie-breaker, but you ruined it."

"How was I to know that Powers would get a flag and come in first at that point?"

Selwyn also flew in beside the two Beaters, and her face was contorted with rage. So was Vaisey's, but she just kept flying until she was with Urquhart, Bletcherly, and Powers.

"You hit me you bastard" Harper said, flying towards Selwyn and the Beaters with Lilith.

"I'm a Beater" Greg said.

"Idiot."

"I think Vaisey is going to try and talk Urquhart out of it" Lilith said.

"He won't change his mind" Harper said. "Urquhart's hardly better than a Mudblood anyway."

"Make Harper Seeker!" Vaisey said when the noise of the crowd died down.

"What?" Urquhart said.

"Harper!" Vaisey said. "He should be the Seeker!"

"Powers won the challenge" Urquhart said. "And he won it with the Beaters unfairly targeting him. I only saw one Bludger aimed at the other two. Powers was undoubtedly the best flyer!"

"I won't fly with a Mudblood!"

"You won't? What kind of a Slytherin are you? Willing to throw away our best chance of winning the Quidditch Cup because of some stupid prejudice?"

"His. A. MUDBLOOD!"

"Well his our Seeker; if you don't like that you're off the team!"

"I challenge your Captaincy! Selwyn, Crabbe, and Goyle are all with me; I have the numbers."

"So we're going to let Hooch decide this?" Urquhart said. "Fine; she's a very reasonable referee. Let's go get her now."

"She, she is reasonable" Vaisey said. "She won't let such a hated person stay as Captain when the majority of his team wants him gone!"

The crowd was booing now, and Greg felt queasy. As much as he hated Mudbloods, he couldn't help agreeing with Urquhart; Powers was a great flyer, and could possibly secure Slytherin the Cup this year. Normally that would count for more than his blood on the Quidditch Pitch. Taking on anyone who could give Slytherin an advantage no matter what the cost, that was the Slytherin way of doing things.

But if he said that to Vaisey, she'd say he was a mugglelover. And what if he let slip that he really respected Powers for flying so well? Vince had punched him in the gut last year when the DA lessons and forced Greg to admit that Hermione Granger was quite a skilled witch.

Once again, Greg felt he was just too stupid to understand the whole obvious blood-status thing.

**:Later:**

"Please Potter, it would really, really make a huge difference" Urquhart said, as he helped Harry levitate a large crate down the stairs. "We've gotten half the old Slytherin practice bookings, plus tomorrow afternoon to stage the tryouts, but Vaisey managed to book half the free sessions ahead of us. The Broomstick Formation team let us have their weekly session, and the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff teams each gave us one of their sessions, but I need more. I have a week to recruit and train a team and Potter, your hour on Thursday afternoon could really help."

They reached the Entrance Hall and Harry set the crate down in the designated area. Two hours had passed since Urquhart had chosen Matt Powers as his new Seeker. In that time he and the rest of the team had gone to see Madam Hooch and she had come up with an extreme solution that satisfied both the Slytherin Captain and the opposing majority of his team; a game. The two factions of the Slytherin Team would play a game of Quidditch next weekend, with the victors winning the right to be the Slytherin Team.

If Urquhart wanted to keep his team, he had to find two more Chasers and a pair of Beaters, train them, and then defeat Vaisey's Slytherin all in a week. After the mediation, Urquhart, Bletcherly, and Matthew had began a mad scramble to get as many practice sessions for their team. Now Urquhart wanted the only Pitch booking Harry had been able to get for this week.

Harry thought about it; as much as he wanted Urquhart to win, his team had only managed one practice session last week. If he didn't get his team out flying again soon, it would be a lot harder to get back in form after the Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff game. And Gryffindor's next opponent was Hufflepuff, who had the best record against Gryffindor since Harry had been at Hogwarts.

However, that last practice session had been the day before the incident with Ron. Now that things were so wrong between them, Harry had been dreading the next session. And besides, he really wanted to see Urquhart beat Vaisey.

"Yeah sure" Harry said. "You can have my booking. You better beat those jerks though."

"Thanks Potter, I will; don't worry about that. What are you setting up here?"

"Oh this?" Harry said, placing a quill, ink bottle, and notebook on the crate. "This is the sign up book for the new Dumbledore's Army. I want to have the first lesson the Monday after the Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw game."

"Sweet" Urquhart said. "Mind if I sign up now? Even with Umbridge gone, I really want to be a part of it this time around."

"Sure, go ahead" Harry said, putting a sign above the crate and casting a protective charm over the whole set up as Urquhart wrote his name in the book.

"Oh, Urquhart?" Harry asked.

"Yes Potter?"

"What should I wear to a Slytherin vs. Slytherin game?"


	23. Chapter 22: Slytherin vs Slytherin

**UPDATE: Sorry about not updating last month (September.) I'm currently pre-occupied with an original novella that is getting to the stage where I just have to write. My characters and the world I've made are demanding all my attention. Hopefully I'll be able to finish my first draft of the novella and start writing more Slytherin Stand this month and the next chapter will be up either late this month or early November. At the moment my Harry Potter fanfic output is at a halt until I get a draft of this original story finished, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my fans here. Also, my other fic - Scorpius Malfoy and the House of Gambaru - will continue to be updated, purely because I was smart enough to write seven chapters before uploading. Once I finish my novella and get back to writing Slytherin Stand, I will attempt to write a few advanced chapters so as to avoid another hiatus.**

**Thank you again to all my followers, and I promise to get back to you all with the next chapter as soon as possible. **

**Chapter 22: Slytherin vs. Slytherin**

Despite giving up Gryffindor's only Quidditch training session for the week, Harry still found himself rather busy. The DA book was filling up quickly and he spent a lot of time with Professor Zabini planning his lessons.

"I don't want you to make me obsolete Harry" she had said. "And I know it must be hard accepting my meddling, but you'll have a greater range of age and skill among your students. Plus a lot more of them too."

"It's fine professor" Harry said. "It'll be good having help from a former auror. Plus, since you are teaching defensive magic, I thought it would be more useful to have other kinds of lessons too. Like, teaching people reasons why the Death Eaters and that whole philosophy are so bad. Since there are some people who just don't seem to get it."

"I can provide that" she said. "Growing up in that sort of family, having to kill to get out of it, and seeing its effect on other people. Yes, I can help you there as well."

"Thank you Professor."

There was also an awkward moment that Tuesday when Professor Zabini drew Hermione and Lavender's names out of her hat for the weekly dual. Hermione managed to disarm and stun Lavender quickly, but not before a number of nasty hexes were sent her way. Harry had to admit he had been frightened for Hermione when he saw the rage in Lavender's eyes.

On Wednesday Snape gave the class the results of their Healing Potion assessment. Snape gave high praise to Lilith Moon, much to Harry's chagrin. When it came to Potions, Moon seemed lost during most of the Study Group sessions; however she managed to produce flawless Potions in class. All this despite the fact that - judging from the ratty condition of her Potions book - she had not received a new book when Harry and Ron had.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief when Snape gave him his results. He had just managed to scrap through to get on 'Outstanding'. He would be able to stay in Snape's horrible class and keep working towards being an auror.

Snape left Ron until last, and then gave him the results with a sneer.

"Well Mr. Weasley, it seems that you truly did take this class just to waste mine and Professor Zabini's time. A 'Poor', Weasley? After you begged to stay in my class, after you were told you needed to lift your game to stay here, you still give me a 'P'? Even Potter managed to scrape an 'O' for this assessment."

"Yeah, but Potter had Nott telling him what to do."

"And you had Professor Zabini to tutor you" Snape said. "Potter was smart enough to pick up his game when needed. Even if he still needed to ride the coat-tails of someone more capable."

"Whoa" Blaise whispered to Harry. "Did Snape just praise you?"

"Yeah he um, kinda did" Harry said. "I think."

"This is amazing" Blaise said.

"Now Weasley, it seems there is no way I can possibly get anything through that thick skull of yours. I don't see the point of you continuing this class."

"You know what, neither do I" Ron said.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for backtalk Weasley. Now get out of here. Now! You've wasted enough of my time."

Ron packed up and left without another word. At lunch Harry tracked him down to see if he was alright. Unfortunately, he was with Lavender at the time. Lavender immediately told Harry to "piss off; Ron doesn't need to hear you gloat" and then Ron agreed with her and walked off before Harry could say another word.

The next morning, Harry received a pile of letters at breakfast. Most were from the Weasleys; Harry had thought about sending Mr. and Mrs. Weasley a letter, but he hadn't been able to word it right. However, it seemed that Ginny had already told her family about their conversation.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley both let him know that he was still part of their family, and that they would write to Ron about the situation. Fred and George had also written him a letter, saying not to worry if Ron was being a git. The only mention of Hermione was from Mrs. Weasley, who had written that "it's quite noble of you to stand by that other boy if you think that Ron crossed the line with him. Even after what happened with Hermione."

Harry was reminded of Mrs. Weasley's cold treatment of Hermione after Rita Skeeter's articles in the Witch Weekly. He groaned; this whole situation was getting blown way out of proportion, but if Ron wouldn't talk to him what else could be done?

Harry also felt his stomach lurch as he read the last paragraph in Mr. Weasley's letter. "We were planning on having Christmas at the Burrow," he wrote. "However if you and Ron are still fighting during the holidays that might be a bit awkward. how do you feel about Christmas at Grimmauld Place? Do you think you'll be alright going back there so soon?"

Grimmauld Place or The Burrow with Ron. Neither option appealed to Harry; but if he just stayed at Hogwarts and didn't spend Christmas with the Weasleys, then would they think he didn't want to be with them anymore?

The third letter was from Blaise's sister. She mentioned that Blaise and her mother seemed to be trying to match her up with him, and that she would love a chance to come to Hogwarts for the Newt Ball if Harry wanted her for a date.

This one wasn't too hard for Harry; he had no other girls in mind for the Ball, and frankly didn't want to find a date. There was no reason why he couldn't make all the Zabinis happy, so he quickly wrote back that he would be happy to take Camille to the Newt Ball, and sent her owl back with his reply.

The last letter in his pile made him wonder if he had made the best decision.

_To Harry Potter_

_I understand that my daughter has asked you to the Hogwarts Newt Ball. I just want to let you know that if you do take Camille, I'll also be at the Ball, and I'll be watching you like a hawk. Do not think you'll be getting up to any hanky-panky with her. And if you hurt her in any way, I will make you pay._

_Of course, Blaise and Mary both assure me that you are a real gentleman, so I'll trust you for now. I'll try and not be so scary and over-protective when we meet._

_~ Mr. Luigi Zabini_

How closely would Mr. Zabini be watching him? What if he saw that Harry had a thing for Ginny? Harry had to wonder just what he had gotten himself into.

**:Meanwhile:**

Lucius found Gabriella in his study. Or, it had once been his study, but now his wife had completely taken over. Ever since the wedding, she had been ordering documents from Australia and doing research. Lucius hadn't asked her what she was doing; apart from when they were with the Dark Lord or in bed, he had no contact with his new wife. Worry about Draco had also been distracting him, but as he heard Gabriella laughing like a maniac, he had decided that now he should see what she was up to.

"Oh, you do still live here" Gabriella asked. She kept her back to him as she spoke, and concentrated more on sealing a large envelope. Lucius studied his former study: one side had family trees of notable Irish and Australian Pureblood families hung on the walls, as well as Australian birth records and some scrolls of parchment from the Ngama Sorcery School scattered around. On the other side were numerous transfiguration books, and a large painting of a jackal covering the wall. On the desk Lucius saw that his favourite photo of him with Narcissa and Draco had been replaced with a solemn one of Theodora Nott.

"Yes I still live here" Lucius said. "And don't worry, I won't intrude upon you enough for that to become obvious. I just heard you laughing and decided to see what was so funny."

"I see. Well you should have come up before I sealed the envelope. I'm sure you'd appreciate seeing the evidence first-hand."

"Evidence for what?"

"That Harper _is _a filthy Half-Blood! And Estelle knows it!"

"The Harper family can trace their history back two hundred - "

"His mother is a Mudblood! Carol Noonan isn't an orphaned daughter from an Australian branch of the Noonan family; she's a Mudblood whose lying to everyone; even her own husband and children. And her parents are alive; they found Henry and Estelle during their Outback honeymoon."

"The muggles found them?"

"They sure did. And Estelle just buried her head in the sand, pretended it never happened, and went along and get pregnant with an impure child."

"I don't see what else she could have done. She'd already married him."

"She could have divorced him... she could have _killed _him! And if she couldn't face the shame then she could have kept the secret and not brought a filthy child into the world!"

"It's not that bad. Harper may be a Half-Blood, but he seems to be one of the better ones. He may not be the most ideal husband for a Nott daughter, but he isn't a mugglelover."

"His been writing to them."

"Who?"

"His muggle grandparents. His been writing to them for the past two years."

"How do you know that?"

"Easy. Once I found the muggles, I wrote to them, saying I was Estelle's estranged sister and a good friend of Henry's. They told me everything."

"So now what are you going to do? Confront Estelle over it?"

"Now what's the point of doing that? She's perfectly aware of her treachery. No Lucius, this envelope is going to someone who wants revenge against her. It's going to the only person who could possibly be more angered by this than me."

"The Dark Lord?"

"No silly. My litter brother Theodore."

"Your little brother? But why would he be angry at Estelle for having a Half-Blood husband? His a Blood-Traitor himself; he was disowned for abandoning his ailing father for a Half-blood."

"Yes... and guess who disowned him?"

"His father."

"No Lucius. It was Estelle."

"Estelle? But what right did she have to disown him?"

"Exactly. She said since Father wasn't completely sane, she could act for him. She was desperate to make me understand that when she told me... not that I disapprove of her decisions; Theodore was just like Alice, something had to be done. But imagine what it must have been like for him; Being told he can't go to Hogwarts anymore because his father needs someone to stay at home and look after him. So like a good little Pureblood son, Theodore doesn't get on the Hogwarts Express for his Third Year of Hogwarts, but instead stays home to clean up after Daddy's long sessions with the muggle booze."

"Your father answered the call when the Dark Lord came back, and seemed pretty sharp until he got injured in the Department of Mysteries."

"Yes, I imagine he managed to not starve or kill himself for a while, and then improved greatly when the Dark Lord came back into his life. I heard it got so bad without the Dark Lord or Mother that he needed someone to take care of him. Theodore ended up being that someone, and you know how Father repaid him? Do you?"

"I'm afraid I don't."

"He got drunk on a bottle of that horrible muggle rum, and then attacked Theodore with the broken bottle. Left a huge gash in his arm I heard; could have killed him."

"That... that's terrible." Lucius said, an image of Draco being hurt coming to mind. "How could someone do that to their own child?"

"My father was sick!" Gabriella said. "He needed Theodore to stand by him, even in the bad times. Though, I can't _really_ blame little Theo; he was always too weak. I don't think he'd ever seen Father's violent side either. But you know what he did after he'd stopped his arm bleeding?"

"Sent a letter to Hogwarts?"

"Yes... he sent a letter to his Half-Blooded friend at Hogwarts. The little Halfblood told Flitwick, and then the two of them came to Nott Cottage - along with the friend's blood-traitor mother and muggle father. An actual _muggle_! They arrived at around the same time as Estelle was visiting. They fixed up Theodore's cut, fussed over him, and then asked him if he wanted to leave with them. And Theodore said yes. He abandoned his family for _them_."

"You can't honestly expect a thirteen-year-old to stay and look after someone who attacks them can you?"

"He could have stopped Father from drinking. It's Theodore's fault Father was in such a way in the first place. If he was too weak to do that, he could have at least gone with Estelle. But once she saw the muggle that had come to get him, she began yelling at him. Estelle called Theodore a blood-traitor, a mugglelover, she threw every insult she could at him, just because he wanted to get away from Father. Now do you see why I'm sending this envelope to Theodore? After what Estelle did to him, after what she said to the Half-Blood friend that rescued him... can you imagine how angry he'll be when he finds out she _married_ a Half-Blood? Theodore may be weak, but I hear his still a Slytherin. Estelle's hypocrisy will get to him. He'll want revenge."

"He'd want revenge on you too" Lucius said. "Especially after what you did to his sister. I assume the letters you got from Harper's grandparents are in that envelope; he'll know your free."

"Yes, he will" Gabriella said. "And that will be _his _punishment!"

**:Later at Hogwarts:**

The Pure Slytherins had charmed all the silver out of their clothes and flags. Greg and the rest of the Pure Slytherin team were playing today, and they were wearing Quidditch robes of solid green.

Greg felt confident; Vaisey was a good Captain, and had been working them hard all week. Not only that, but she had brought together a good team. Harper had been given his rightful place as Seeker, and Urquhart and Bletcherly had been replaced by Lilith and Deschamps respectively.

Greg was so glad to be on the same team as Lilith; and she really was a better Chaser than Seeker anyway. Vaisey had been impressed enough with her flying at the tryouts, and had tested her out in formations the first chance they had the Quidditch Pitch. Of course, Vaisey had expressed some doubts upon finding out that Lilith's father was a muggle, but Greg had assured her everything would be good.

Greg examined the rest of the Great Hall. Very few people were wearing green; the Traitor team wore robes of what was meant to be silver, but that looked more like grey to Greg. Most of the school were wearing grey scarfs and had grey banners... but they didn't look dreary; they looked ready to kick some serious arse.

Especially the Traitor Slytherin team. Urquhart's team was made up of an odd bunch of students; some Greg knew were good flyers, others he had no idea about. Daphne's little sister Astoria was a Chaser, and Greg knew she had some skill. Tara McDuffie had made the team as a Beater, and Greg had seen her hits enough to know she could be a serious hassle for him and Vince.

The other two flyers were unknowns to Greg. Paige Puckle was a small Second Year who was taking up the Chaser position, while the other Beater was Robert Parkinson; a Fifth Year second-cousin of Pansy's whom Pansy didn't like talking about due to his Mudblood mother.

Breakfast was a blur to Greg; he remembered eating a lot, and telling Lilith she didn't have anything to worry about a lot too. Then he was walking out of the castle with his team mates, and all too soon he was walking onto the pitch with his heart beating at double speed.

"And here we are folks, back again to see Slytherin verses, Slytherin" Zacharies Smith was commentating again. Greg wondered if he could get away with sending a Bludger his way. "Why they're making the whole school watch this inner house squabble I have no idea. It's not like the rest of us all care about Slytherin."

There were huge boos from the crowd, and not just from Slytherins. Greg took his place on the pitch; standing next to Vince and staring down at McDuffie.

"Well, fine, you do care, I get it" Smith said. "No idea why. Anyway, representing Slytherin - Green Slytherin that is - Vaisey, Selwyn, Moon, Crabbe, Goyle, Harper, and Deschamps! Representing Grey Slytherin - sorry Prof. McGonagall, Silver Slytherin... but those robes still look grey to me - Urquhart, Greengrass, Puckle, McDuffie, Parkinson, Powers, and Bletcherly! Okay, now the Captains are shaking hands -"

It was without a doubt the most reluctant handshake Greg had ever seen on a Quidditch Pitch. Urquhart and Vaisey both had looks of total disgust on their faces and their hands were going white. Madam Hooch actually looked kind of afraid for the two Captains.

"I want a nice clean game" Hooch said. Vince snorted, as did Powers. It took Greg only a moment to catch on; a clean game with _two _Slytherin teams? As if.

The Snitch was released, followed by the Bludgers. Finally, the Quaffle was released and the teams were off.

And the carnage had begun.

Greg raced towards the nearest Bludger; McDuffie was on his tail, but there was no way her Cleansweep would catch up with his Nimbus 2002. Meanwhile he was aware of the Chasers in an all-out brawl for the Quaffle. Just as he got in range of the Bludger, the Chasers dispersed and Puckle emerged with the Quaffle. Greg had to give her credit; she may be small and young, but she was tough.

Greg sent the Bludger flying in her direction. It was a perfect hit; she dropped the Quaffle, Vaisey caught it... and then Vaisey was knocked in the gut by the other Bludger. Damn Parkinson had good anticipation.

Urquhart gained possession, and with his Firebolt he quickly out speed the rest of the Chasers. Of course, if Greg could send a Bludger his way, that speed made changes in direction a bit harder... but McDuffie beat him to the position, and sent one behind Urquhart to slow down the Chasers following him.

Now Urquhart was at the hoops. He shot for goal, and was blocked by Deschamps.

"And Urquhart misses the first goal attempt of the game" Smith said. "Now, remembering how half the Chasers on the Pitch performed the other week, that's no big surprise. Okay, now Selwyn in possession, passes to Moon, Oh, good shot by McDuffie, but an even better dodge by Moon. She's approaching the Silver goalposts, oh, almost got blocked by Urquhart, and now she glides past Puckle, and... oh, good save by Bletcherly. Now it's Greengrass in possession..."

Vince and McDuffie were sending Bludgers back and forth across the pitch so fast, that Greg rarely got to send off any shots. Of course, when he did he proved slightly more accurate than Vince or McDuffie; he even managed to knock Urquhart around a bit. But it was a somewhat quiet first hour for Greg, and as such he managed to get a pretty good look at the crowd.

The most obvious was the sea of grey - sorry, silver - that filled the stands. The second was the banner.

UNLEASH SUPERPOWERS!

Greg didn't get it, but for some reason he wasn't surprised to see the Creevey brothers holding it up.

"Harper's moving!" Smith screamed. "Has he found the Snitch? Powers is following... oh, wait, his just darting across the field to cut off Urquhart. Smart move... but not very effective. Now Urquhart passes to - whoa, that Bludger just hit the Quaffle out of the sky! Who hit that? Goyle? Wow, good shot... but why - oh."

Greg knew it was a big risk, but when he had seen that shot line up, he couldn't resist. He had been in front of Urquhart and Astoria, and just as he saw that Urquhart was going to pass, he saw Lilith. She had fallen back after getting winded by a Bludger from McDuffie, and was now right by the Silver posts and in the path of his shot. And now the Quaffle was heading her way... if only she could catch it and dodge the Bludger.

She could! Lilith caught the Quaffle with her fingertips while swerving out of the path of the Bludger. It was the most beautiful movement Greg had ever seen on a broomstick! And so fast. She covered the short distance to the posts before Bletchery knew what was going on.

"That was AWESOME!" Smith said. "Who'd have thought - now Moon takes the shot, it's wide open and... oh god."

Bletchery had is whole body stretched out and his broom completely vertical attempting to block the shot, but it made no difference; the Quaffle hit the inner edge of the hoop, bounced up... and away from the hoop. It almost fell into Bletcherly's outstretched hand.

"How.. how... how the fuck did she miss that? Oh, sorry Professor, it won't happen again. But seriously... it was wide open, she was at a perfect angle... how could you have MISSED! Especially after such an AWESOME play. Who'd have thought Goyle was smart enough to come up with that little play... and he HIT THE QUAFFLE! Is, is that even possible? That was so perfect; is that even legal? How could you fu... mess that up?"

There was no mention of Lilith's beautiful catch, and Greg hated Smith for bagging Lilith out about the miss. Especially since he could see how upset Lilith was. But still... no-one had called him awesome before. In fact, no-one had ever treated him like he had any talent before; except Lilith. It was a pretty good feeling.

But still, when play resumed Greg made sure to find Lilith.

"That was a beautiful catch" Greg said as they raced down the pitch. "Don't listen to Smith."

"Thanks Greg" Lilith said. "But this isn't a good time. I need to score now!"

The first score came ten minutes later; the players were getting weary after an hour-a-half straight flying, and after one rough play Vaisey elbowed Urquhart in the ribs. Astoria took the penalty shot, and she got past Deschamps. After that the floodgates were opened, and the Traitors scored twice more before they hit the break at the two hour mark.

"How could you miss that shot?" Vaisey said to Lilith once they were in the dressing rooms. "He was on the other side of the hoops!"

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again" Lilith said.

"It better not" Vaisey said. "Why the hell did I think having a Half-Blood on the team after the schism was a good idea?"

"That's stupid" Greg said. "Slytherin has won plenty of Quidditch Cups with Half-Bloods on the team, and Lilith made an absolutely perfect catch while dodging that Bludger. You should all know that bad shots happen."

"Don't tell any of us how to do our job" Vaisey said. "We don't tell you how to swing your club around? Although, I do want to make it clear to you that this game isn't the time for showing off."

There was a knock on the door, and Hermione Granger strolled in wearing her light green medic robes, offering to patch them up.

"Piss off Granger" Vince said.

"It's my job to patch you up" Granger said. "Though if it was my choice... well, it's not."

"We don't need any patching up" Vaisey said. It was obvious even to Greg that she was lying; all three Chaser's were battered, bruised and bloody.

"We'll be at a disadvantage if she patches up the Traitors and not us" Greg said. Mudblood or not, he couldn't understand why his team would put themselves at a disadvantage by not seeking Granger's help. They wanted to win right? And Granger was talented enough to make them feel as good as new.

"We don't need to be patched up by a Mudblood!" Vaisey said. "Get out of here Granger; before I hex you into oblivion!"

"Fine" Granger said. "But don't say I didn't make the offer."

Granger was gone, and in no time at all the team was ready for action. They flew out onto the pitch for the second time, and in barely anytime at all Selwyn had scored the team's first goal.

After that, the game started getting really violent. Chasers were hitting each other, Bludgers were being shot at Keepers, and both Seekers kept cutting across the pitch. Powers even deliberately rammed Vaisey. Penalty shots were given everywhere... but even though the Silver Slytherins were causing just as many fouls, they were blocking more goals, meaning that after three hours the score was 70-40 to the Silver team.

"Powers is diving!" Smith said. "Oh, I see it... his seen the Snitch. Seen it for real this time!"

Powers was making a sharp dive, and there was no way for Harper to catch up. Greg sprang to action, sending as many Bludgers as he could towards Powers. but somewhere in the melee McDuffie got a hit in, and managed to almost knock Harper off his broom. Greg kept trying to hit Powers, but he knew it was already too late. There was no way Harper could catch up, and Powers was too nimble to be knocked off course. The Mudblood got the snitch and the sea of grey in the stands cheered.

The Traitors had won 220 - 40. They were the new Slytherin team. And Greg, the whole Pure side...

"We lost" Greg said to himself, fuming as Powers and the traitors descended to the ground and got mobbed by excited fans. Smith was saying something, but all Greg could hear was that roar of the crowd, and that little voice of doubt telling him that this was all his fault.

He flew to the sidelines and walked towards the dressing rooms in a daze. He was soon joined by the rest of his team, and they made their way to the dressing rooms in silence.

Once the door was slammed shut behind them, the silence ended and the accusations started.

"How the hell did we lose that?" Vaisey said. "We were just slaughtered by Half-Bloods and Traitors and, and, a MUDBLOOD!"

"We all had trouble getting past Bletchery" Lilith said. "And in the end Powers was just too nimble."

"Shut up!" Vaisey said. "_You_ had trouble getting the easiest possible goal past Bletcherly, and just like a typical Half-Blood your trying to shift the blame to your Pureblood superiors. Are you saying it's Deschamp's fault because he got harder to block shots than Bletcherly? Or that it's Harper's fault because inadequate Beater support stopped him catching up to The Mudblood?"

"Well no but -"

"No buts Moon! We would have won if you weren't dragging us down!"

"Don't pick on Lilith" Greg said. "We all made mistakes. Deschamps let in some pretty easy penalties, All the Chasers got some stupid fouls, Harper was no-where near Powers when the Snitch showed up, and even Vince couldn't get as much Bludger possession as Parkinson."

"Oh, and you didn't let McDuffie get some crucial shots in either Greg?" Vince said. "You may have looked all flashy hitting the Quaffle, but that doesn't give you the right to blame us for everything and pretend you and your little girlfriend are all perfect. Hell Greg, what is it with you and her? You're going to be engaged to my sister one day."

"We're friends" Lilith said. "And Greg isn't trying to act all haughty on you, his just calling it as he sees it."

"Well, I guess we can't really blame this entirely on one person" Selwyn said. "But Moon, can you honestly say to us that you tried as hard as you could in that game? Even though we were playing against your own people?"

"_My _people?" Lilith asked.

"Well you _are _a Half-Blood" Selwyn said. "You must have some loyalty to them."

"That's absurd!" Lilith said. "I know first-hand how terrible muggles are; I hate everything those Blood-Traitors stand for!"

"Half-Blood isn't really that much better than Mudblood as far as I'm concerned" Harper said. "I mean, can you imagine actually having a living muggle in your family tree? You could never be rid of that influence."

"I'm on your side!" Lilith said.

"No you're not" Vaisey said. "Someone like you can never truly be on our side! You just stay with us because you recognize your superiors, but I know your type; deep down you think you're an equal with us. You think your just as smart, just as beautiful, and just as magically talented as us. Well guess what... you're not! And because you'll never accept how useless and stupid and ugly you really are, you'll never be on our side!"

Lilith's eyes were tearing up now, and her mouth was opening and closing without making any sound. Greg had never felt as angry as he did now; and that rage was directed straight at Vaisey. He stepped forward, not sure whether he wanted to comfort Lilith or attack Vaisey.

Vaisey snorted. "Well Moon, it seems you're just as weak as a muggle after all. Why don't you go cry your eyes out for your muggle daddy... you ugly bitch!"

Lilith bolted out of the room. Greg began to follow her; he got to the door, opened it, and -

"Where are you going Greg?" Vince asked, smug amusement smeared across his face.

"The Dark Lord is a Half-Blood too" Greg said. "Do any of you think _he _isn't on our side?"

"_Potter_ says the Dark Lord is a Half-blood" Vince said. "Are you honestly stupid enough to believe that?"

"I'm smart enough to know that Lilith makes Vaisey and Selwyn look like gorillas in wigs; and that I'm not the only one in this room that thinks that."

Greg slammed the door on Vaisey's profanity-filled response, and ran off in the direction that Lilith had gone. He ran down the corridor, and eventually came to the bathrooms. He couldn't see where else Lilith could have run off to, so he opened the door to the girl's lavatory and walked inside.

Contrary to rumours he had heard, the girl's bathroom wasn't any more clean than the boy's bathrooms. The only differences he could sense were the lack of urinals on the walls and a lack of that strong pee smell he was used to.

He heard Lilith's sobs echoing through the room, approached the stall with the closed door, and gently knocked.

"Go away" Lilith said.

"It's just me; Greg" Greg said.

"Go away Greg."

"Okay, but first, I just want to let you know that they're all full of shit. You're more than equal to Vaisey. In fact, you're better than her, and just about any Pureblood I can think of."

"Greg, my father is a muggle."

"Well you know what? I don't care. You're obviously nothing like him; you're smart, and kind, and you're the only person who has ever like, listened to me, and not just well, ignored me because I'm a dumbass.

"Lilith, you haven't got any muggle psycho-evil in you. And you certainly don't look or smell dirty. Hell, I think you're the most beautiful witch in this whole school. And you're smart, and, and you stick by your friends... and you're like, ambitious and all those other things Slytherins are meant to be. Not to mention that you're a very good Quidditch Player; don't let them tear you up over that missed goal; the catch was amazing enough."

Lilith was silent for a while, but at least her crying had subsided. The door creaked, and slowly it was pushed open and Lilith's face appeared. It was red and wet, but still beautiful.

"Do you really mean all that Greg?" Lilith asked. "Or are you just being nice to me because I'm your friend."

"I'm your friend because of all those things" Greg said. "So well, I guess both answers work."

"You're not a dumbass Greg" Lilith said. "You may be a slow learner, but I think you have a lot more insight than most wizards in this school. And you can be quite witty at times."

"What does witty mean?" Greg asked. "Isn't it like, that Ravenclaw thing."

"Wit means you're able to say things that are cleaver and funny; and I think you're as witty as any Ravenclaw but without all that stuffiness."

"I don't say any cleaver things"

"You don't say much of anything out aloud. But I know you better than most people."

"Well, if you say so. Thanks Lil. And you know what, I think you're much kinder than any Hufflepuff... but without any of their lameness."

"Thanks Greg. I'm glad you're my friend; when I'm with you, it doesn't matter that you're a Pureblood and I'm a Half-Blood. You make me feel like well, we're equal."

"You know what Lilith?"

"What?"

"I'm not so sure about all this blood purity stuff."

"What?"

"There is no way in hell your inferior to me; you're so smart, and so good at magic, I don't think it makes any difference at all that you have a muggle father."

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew my father. He and my step-brothers, and his friends... their beasts! They've always hit me and mother... and done... terrible things. I wish there were no muggles. I wish they would all just die!"

"You're not a muggle Lilith! And it's disgusting that people treat you like one. Hell, even Granger and Powers seem sane and talented enough to warrant being treated as people."

"That's a pretty dangerous slippery-slope. If we start treating Mudbloods as people, we have to tolerate all that muggle-rights crap. Even a Half-Blood like me - "

"You're a witch Lilith. And a bloody good one at that."

"Thanks Greg. That really means a lot to me."

"Lilith?"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering..."

"Yes?"

"Would you like to go to the Newt Ball with me?"

Lilith burst into tears again. Greg held her, trying to figure out just what he had said that was so wrong.

"Greg..." she said, "... your betrothed to Eugenie Crabbe."

"She's only just turned fourteen" Greg said. "We aren't engaged yet... it's just in the planning stage. And well, I don't think she wants to be engaged to me. I don't really want to be engaged to her. And she's smart, so maybe the engagement will be broken off and she'll find someone else anyway."

"But Greg... I know that, but even though you're kind and reasonable, the rest of our House isn't. I can't be seen to be breaking up an engagement between two Purebloods; they'll never let me get away with it. I can't go to the Ball with you Greg... even though, I really want to. I'm sorry I'm not as Pure as Eugenie."

"Actually, I'm glad you're not my cousin" Greg said, his chin quivering. "I've always felt weird about being matched to Eugenie... and I guess I'd feel weird about well, feeling for you if you were related to me."

"I know Greg... I just wish... I wish I could go to the Ball with you. That would make me so happy. I'm so sorry I can't go with you."

"It's okay. I know, what about a dance?"

"Huh?"

"We'll have one dance together. People do that at Balls right? We should be able to get away with that."

"Alright, one dance. One dance that makes up for me not being well, a suitable partner for you."

**:Later:**

Theo didn't think there had ever been a Quidditch victory party in the Great Hall before, but the Pure-Freak Slytherins had retreated back to the common Room and students from all the Houses wanted to celebrate the victory. It felt like the four tables were no-longer House tables, and students darted back and forth at will. Even the teachers seemed to be enjoying themselves; though Theo doubted anyone would get a smile out of Snape tonight.

Theo was sitting down to dinner at the Slytherin table with Hermione. They had talked a lot about the game... which was strange for Hermione, but it was a good strange. Not so good was when the conversation shifted to the Newt Ball, and they fell into an uncomfortable silence.

Hermione had said it would be a really fun night, and he had agreed. Then she had gone silent; whether she was waiting for him to say something else or was psyching herself up to say something he couldn't tell. He wondered if he should tell her how he felt; after all, they were going to the Ball together, and they were getting along really well. But then again, that was all the more reason not to tell her.

They had a good friendship, and Hermione was probably so eager to go to the Newt Ball with him because of the Yule Ball fiasco. There was no way he could risk making things awkward between them again; he couldn't let her know how he felt unless he was sure she felt the same way.

"Hey, why aren't you two joining the party?" Blaise said as he grabbed their shoulders from behind. He had a big grin on his face, and Xanthe was right behind him.

"You know we're not party people" Theo said. "And anyway, we were both hungry. Hey where's Harry?"

"Oh bull, you can eat and mingle" Blaise said. "Harry's just chilling with Urquhart. They're talking Quidditch too fast for me to keep up."

"You know Blaise, it's really good seeing you so happy" Hermione said. "You've seemed pretty down lately."

"What do you mean I've been down?" Blaise said.

"See Blaise, it's not just your mother that has seen it" Xanthe said. "You were pretty down for a while."

"No I wasn't, I've been fine."

"Blaise, we could all see it. Though, I guess if you don't want to talk about it... huh? Is that an owl?"

"Yeah, it is" Blaise said. "Looks a bit like Malfoy's owl."

"Is Malfoy's owl still here?" Hermione asked.

"No idea" Theo said. "All his stuff just got packed up and sent away when he went off to St. Mungos. Not sure what happened to his owl."

"Well, it looks like that owl is flying towards us" Blaise said.

Sure enough, the large eagle owl did come straight to them. It landed right in front of Theo and dropped a large brown envelope in front of him. Theo felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up; there seemed to be something sinister about the envelope, with his name written across it in red ink. Or maybe it was just the way the owl was looking at him, and how similar it looked to Malfoy's owl.

The owl took off, and Theo slowly opened the envelope. Inside was another envelope, and a loose letter. He unfolded the letter and began to read.

_Dear Theodore_

_ It's been a long time since the two of us had any contact with each other. Maybe that's for the best; I hear you've grown up to be a perfect little blood-traitor. I can't believe you choose those Zabinis over your own family. Your father needed you... though I guess I can understand why you left; you were always weak, and it must have been really scary to learn that the harmless old man was crazy and could kill you. _

_ Anyway, I heard about the way Estelle handled the situation. She sure was angry at you for going off with your Half-Blood friend. She really hated the fact that you had anything to do with such filth didn't she? Well, I bet you'd be interesting in knowing just what a hypocrite she is. _

_ In the other envelope you'll find some interesting information about Estelle and her husband. I don't care what you do with it Theodore, but remember how much she hurt you. Remember that she wanted you to stay with your crazy father and never go to Hogwarts, and remember how much she hated your Half-Blood pet._

_ I heard you made it into Slytherin dear brother. Congratulations. Now here's your chance to show you deserve to be there; go and get your revenge on Estelle. _

_ Oh, and on the topic of revenge, I'm free now. What are you going to do about it little brother? Are you man enough to come after me? Just a little hint; I have powerful friends. You'll need some serious dark magic to get me._

_Signed, your sister,_

_Gabriella._

Gabriella.

Theo was shaking as he got to the end of the letter. Gabriella was back, and she knew what had been happening in his life. For a moment Theo felt more anger than he had ever felt before in his life; Gabriella was meant to be in Azkaban for life! She had used an unforgivable on a muggle, she had killed Alice... Alice was dead forever. It wasn't fair, Gabriella shouldn't be out. She shouldn't be free, not while Alice was still dead.

"Theo, are you alright?" Hermione asked, gently putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Gabriella" he said, his anger suddenly giving way as helplessness washed over him. Gabriella was free, she could come after him... and there was nothing he could do. Images from the day Alice died flashed before him, feeling as vivid as reality. He could feel a panic attack coming on, and what was the point in fighting it? After all, Gabriella was free.

"Theo!" Hermione said, shaking him now. "Theo what's wrong, say something!"

_It's not real _He thought to himself, trying to shake the memories of Alice's murder out of his head. _It's over, Alice is long dead and Gabriella isn't here right now. Hermione is though. Hermione is here, and she cares about me._

Before he knew what he was happening, he had grabbed Hermione and was sobbing into her shoulder. He felt Blaise's reassuring hand on his back, and slowly the panic began to ease.

"Gabriella's free" Theo said. "She sent me.. that."

"It's alright Theo" Hermione said. "She isn't here now."

"And if she was, she'd get mowed down and sent back to Azkaban before you even got a good look at her" Blaise said.

"Thanks guys" Theo said, slowly removing himself from Hermione and wishing his tears would stop. He didn't want to let go of her, but the panic had subsided enough for him to realise how awkward he was making things. Fortunately Hermione didn't completely let go of him, and kept a firm grip on his hand.

"Do you want to go see Madam Pomfrey?" She asked.

"I... I think I'll be alright" Theo said.

"What about later tonight?" Blaise said. "Want to go see her and get some Dreamless Sleep Potion?"

"Yeah, that might be a good idea" Theo said.

"Okay" said Hermione, getting up and pulling him to his feet. "Let's go now."

"Wait" Xanthe said, picking up the envelope and letter. "What do we do with these?"

Theo felt sick just looking at the envelope. Gabriella was back and Alice was still dead.

"I don't care just get it away from me!" He said. Xanthe nodded and put it into her bottle-cap covered shoulder bag, and the four of them left for the Hospital Wing.


	24. Chapter 23: The Newt Ball

**Hello everyone, sorry for the long delay. Unfortunately I'm taking a break from Fanfiction at the moment, but since it's been over a year since I last updated this story, I thought I better write a few more chapters. This will probably be the last chapter I write for a while, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten Slytherin Stand, and it will get finished. Actually, if I get a chance it could even end up getting a re-write to correct any mistakes both spelling and continuity wise that have probably crept in.**

**Enjoy. **

**Chapter 23: The Newt Ball**

Harry found himself with quite a lot on his mind leading up to the Newt Ball. However, little of his problems had to do with the Ball itself. The two big ones both involved Ron. The first one solved itself rather quickly; Harry had been dreading starting Quidditch training again while being on such unfriendly terms with Ron, and the rest of the team had asked Harry just how he was going to manage practices with such a wall in place.

Fortunately, Harry was able to stop agonizing over the problem on the day of the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw game. He received a letter from Ron at breakfast, saying he was quitting the team. It hurt Harry to see his friendship with Ron unravelling, but after all the tension it was somewhat of a relief to be able to not worry about the Quidditch situation. In fact, Harry quite enjoyed the all-night game that saw Hufflepuff win with a narrow final score of 610 - 580.

In any other time, the high scores Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had been able to run up would have been a major worry for Harry; however he still had bigger problems.

The other problem on Harry's mind was where to spend the holidays. He still hadn't replied to Mr. Weasley's invite, and he still had no idea what he was going to do. He tried to distract himself with preparing his first DA lesson, but his stress must have been obvious to his friends; the day before the first lesson Luna, Neville, Ginny ambushed him as he was finalizing his lesson plan in the library, trying to work out what was bothering him so much. Soon they were joined by an over-eager Blaise.

"Okay, Hermione's taken Theo to some Prefect thing" Blaise said, "Harry, and you guys, now's the perfect time to start planning."

"Planning what?" Harry asked.

"I want to throw a surprise party for Theo" Blaise said. "Preferably I'd rather it be on his actual birthday, but since that's also Christmas and people generally have other plans. I need to know what everyone's doing."

"Oh, I see" Harry said. "Where's the party going to be?"

"At my place" Blaise said. "Theo usually stays with my family during the holidays. Though we're thinking we might spend a few days with Xanthe and Hermione's families afterward. So, what are you doing these holidays?"

"I... I have no idea" Harry admitted.

"Sorry Harry, I should have realised this would be a tricky situation" Ginny said.

"It's okay" Harry said. "And even if I do go home with you for Christmas, I don't know whether things would be better at the Burrow or Grimmauld Place."

"I think there's something you should know" Ginny said.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Mum and Ron had a fight" Ginny said. "They've been sending some pretty angry letters to each other; I'm actually surprised Ron hasn't received a howler yet."

"They've been fighting?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. I don't think Mum realises just how serious this is. Ron wrote to her saying that if you were coming home for Christmas then he was going to stay at Hogwarts. And then Mum wrote back telling him he was being childish... you get the picture."

"I sure do" Harry said. "And that pretty much settles it. It doesn't matter if Ron's being a total git; if I spend Christmas with his family, then there's no way I'll be able to fix things."

"I'm still trying to understand just why you want to fix things" Blaise said. "From what I've seen, he hardly seems worth all the trouble."

"Watch it Blaise" Ginny said. "Ron may be a big git at times, but his still my brother."

"Yeah. You wouldn't be saying that if you were with us in the Department of Mysteries Blaise" Neville said. "Ron's been with Harry through everything; it's a friendship worth trying to repair."

"But one impossible to repair if one friend is a total dickhead" Blaise said. "And I would have been at the Department of Mysteries if I knew what was going on."

"Can we just focus on the problem at hand?" Harry asked.

"What problem?" Blaise said. "You're welcome to stay at my place. Oh, and I don't live that far away from your place either. We can go blow up your aunt and uncle's letter box if you want."

"That sounds awesome" Harry said. "But I don't think spending the holidays with you will make Ron realise I'm not trying to betray or replace him."

"You can spend Christmas at my place" Luna said. "I live in the same village as the Weasley's, so you can see them. However you'll have to sleep on the floor in my Dad's room. We only have the two bedrooms, and I'm not sure he'd be too happy with you taking Mum's place on the double bed."

"Erm, thanks Luna... but no thanks."

"Why don't you just spend the holidays with Hermione?" Neville asked.

"Hmm... that could work" Harry said. "Though, she's never invited me around to her place before."

"I'm not sure that's the best idea either" Ginny said. "Mum isn't looking too kindly on Hermione after this."

"Well why does your mother even need to know where Harry is spending his holidays?" Blaise asked. "Harry, you could just tell her your staying at Hogwarts and then go spend the holidays with whoever you want."

"I'm not going to lie to her" Harry said.

"Well, you could spend the holidays at my place" Neville said. "I'm sure Gran won't mind, and we usually erm... go out all day on Christmas, so you can go to Theo's party too."

"Hey, that sounds perfect" Harry said.

"Yeah" Blaise said. "Why don't you stay the night too Harry? Then we can go pay a visit to your aunt and uncle in the middle of the night. It's not like your spending the entire holidays with me."

"Yeah, that sounds good" Harry said. "You don't mind Neville?"

"Of course not" Neville said.

"You should come too" Blaise said. "Maybe Harry can stay two nights, and you can stay the second you could help Harry and I blow up a letterbox!"

"Thanks for the offer, but I don't think my grandmother would approve."

"We're not going to tell any adults that we're blowing up muggle properties. Well, I guess Theo and Hermione will count as adults then, so... well, no parents."

"She'll figure out that we're up to no good" Neville said. "She always does."

Harry's lesson plan was soon forgotten as they planned the holidays out. It was decided that he would spend most of the holidays with Neville, but after Theo's party he would stay a few days at Blaise's place before returning to the Longbottom's. Also in the plans was an afternoon lunch at the Weasley's, and a day at Hermione's place. Ginny thought it would be a good idea for her to visit Hermione at least once despite what her mother thought, and soon Blaise was organising a party at Hermione's place on the last day of the holidays.

"Well, I hope Hermione is okay with this party" Harry said once all the plans were decided upon. "So, I'm sorted for the holidays, Theo's party is sorted, and now we've got another party arranged. Guys, I think the only thing left to do is plan tomorrow's DA lesson."

Eventually the lesson did get planned; and the next day after dinner Harry was standing in the Great Hall with Professor Zabini and Hermione watching as students gathered around. There were students of all ages and from all the houses; however Harry noticed that Slytherin uniforms were the most common in the crowd.

Harry divided the students into groups; making sure at least one original DA member was in each group. All of the original DA members were present; except of course for Crabbe, Goyle, and Ron. During the hour they went through basic defensive spells, with the older students helping the younger ones.

It was rewarding to watch his new students getting better at the spells, but at the same time Harry was disappointed; this was nothing like the first DA, and after all the build-up seemed rather anti-climactic. At the end of the hour Harry congratulated the students, and promised to see them all again next Thursday.

"That was very good Harry" Professor Zabini said as people began leaving. "You probably could have my job one day soon."

"Thanks Professor" Harry said. "But hopefully I won't need to take over from you any time soon."

"Well, given the average time a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher lasts here, you might."

"I bet you will be here next year Professor" Hermione said. "Someone has to break the curse, and I think you could do it."

"Thank you Hermione" Professor Zabini said. "If the course can be broken, I'll be happy to break it. Now you two, there is something serious we need to talk about."

"Serious?" Harry asked.

"Dress robes" Professor Zabini said. "Have you got any?"

"Yeah, I've got some green ones" Harry said.

"Harry, those would be way too short for you now" Hermione said.

"Nah, I'm sure they'll be good."

"You've grown a lot since Fourth Year" Hermione said. "Mine are even getting a bit small, and I haven't grown nearly as much as you."

"Do you need new ones too Hermione?"

"No, I was able to adjust my old ones without them losing their shape" Hermione said.

"Okay, now what colour are they?"

"Really bright blue. Why?"

"I'm taking Blaise and Theo into Hogsmeade to get new dress robes on the weekend. I wanted to get Theo something that would look good with your robes."

"Oh, of course" Hermione said. "Do you want me to go get them now so you can have a look at them?"

"Tomorrow after class would be fine. Now Harry, would you like to come with us on the weekend? Camille will be wearing red and black dressrobes, and I saw this really regal black and dark-green set that I think will look good on you."

"Yeah, sure" Harry said.

"Excellent. On Saturday just go with Blaise and Theo to the Hogsmeade Gate after breakfast and I'll meet you there."

"Okay, thanks Professor."

"Your welcome Harry. Now just make sure you're a real gentleman for Camille."

"I will Professor."

"Okay. I'll see you two later. Goodnight."

**:Later:**

Theo didn't know why he felt so nervous; after all, they were just going to buy dress robes. Mrs. Zabini would probably end up picking out robes for him, Blaise and Harry without too much input from the three boys anyway. Why was he so uneasy about this? True, last time he and Blaise had needed to try on dress robes together Blaise had ended up looking rather snazzy while Theo ended up looking like a skinny fourteen-year-old boy in a dress.

Maybe he was just nervous because tomorrow night he would be dancing with Hermione and still had no idea what he was going to wear. Mrs. Zabini had originally planned to take them to Hogsmeade two weeks ago, however she had gotten swamped with exam setting, Christmas decorating, and helping Harry with the DA lessons.

Today was the 19th of December; and instead of having a fortnight to prepare for things they were rushing out to Hodsmeade after class, desperately trying to find decent robes before the shops shut.

"Theo, seriously, just calm down" Blaise said. "You look like you're about to go into battle."

"Give him a break" Harry said. "I'd probably be just as scared if it was me getting - "

"Shh!" Blaise said.

"Oh, okaaaay" Harry said.

"Wait, what am I getting?" Theo asked.

"Dress robes" Blaise said. "You are getting dress robes just like us. Nothing else."

"But -" Harry started.

"Just. Dress robes."

"What aren't you two telling me?" Theo said.

"Nothing" Blaise said. "Well... oh alright. It was going to be a surprise -"

"No-one said anything to me about it being a surprise" Harry said.

"Did you really think he would go along with it if he knew?" Blaise said.

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"Go along with what?" Theo asked.

"A haircut" Blaise said.

"A haircut?" Theo said. "That's it? Why would I be so against that? Though, I'm not sure if I need another one so soon; I did get a trim just before we left for Hogwarts."

"Yeah, but you barely let them touch your fringe" Blaise said.

"So?" Theo asked. "I've been trimming that myself; I can still see fine."

"We're not just going to have your fringe trimmed" Blaise said. "Ma has specifically instructed the barber to cut it all off and to shorten your hair at the sides. Hermione is going to have her first good look at your face."

"What?" Theo asked. "No! My face is perfectly visible; but my acne doesn't stand out so much and I'd like to keep it that way."

"You won't have any acne after this" Blaise said. "We're taking you to a beauty spa -"

"No!" Theo said. "No, no hell no. And anyway, I've tried every potion imaginable."

"Not this one" Blaise said. "Ma's sure this lady knows what she's talking about."

"I'm not sitting around in a beauty salon like some old witch desperate to avoid going wrinkly" Theo said.

"We'll do it too if it makes you feel better" Harry said.

"What?" Blaise said. "But both of us have good... oh, sure. We'll get the works. We'll be right with you every step of your make-over."

"I don't want a make-over" Theo said. "Remember last time you convinced me to trim my fringe? I had people coming up and commenting on it for months; and Millicent Bulstrode wouldn't leave me alone. I don't want that kind of attention!"

"Theo," Harry said. "We just thought that well, maybe if you actually liked the way you looked a bit more, you might like, gain enough self-confidence to tell Hermione how you feel."

Theo paused a bit. He had never wished to be more attractive or for that matter cared much about his appearance; however he had also never really had that much self-confidence. Miss Io had often advised him to trim his fringe and 'stop hiding', but it was one bit of guidance that he had never been prepared to take.

Though, it would be good to look as snazzy as Blaise tomorrow night. He was already planning to tell Hermione how he felt, and any confidence boost would be handy.

"Okay" Theo said. "I'll do it. But you two better do the beauty salon thing with me. And do it every step of the way!"

"Of course Theo" Blaise said. "Every step of the way."

It was at that point that Mrs. Zabini arrived. She looked a bit worn out, but still happy. She smiled at the boys as she approached; especially Theo.

"Sorry I'm late boys" She said. "I got caught up with marking the First Year's assignments. Now let's go; we've got a lot to do and need to be back in time for the DA lesson. Especially you Theo; I've actually lined up a few surprises before we get the robes."

"A make-over, I know" Theo said. "Harry told me."

"I didn't know it was supposed to be a surprise" Harry said.

"Harry! Oh, fine" Mrs. Zabini said. "Well, how do you feel about it Theo?"

"I'll give it a go" Theo said. "Though Harry and Blaise are coming into the beauty treatment thingy too."

"Perfect" Mrs. Zabini said. "You'll all be new men for the ball."

New men... Theo felt himself getting nervous - what would he look like after today? And would he get any unwanted attention from his new look?

**:Later:**

Theo had skipped the DA lesson, and was now in his Dormitory examining his reflection in the mirror.

For the first time in a long time, he really liked what he saw. His hair was shorter and neater, and whatever had been in that bathtub at the beauty salon, it worked. His skin was nice and smooth... except where the hairdresser had left some classy sideburns. It was strange seeing his face free of pimples, and also strange seeing his jaw line and ears clearly, rather than through long stringy hair.

He briefly wondered how he would look with a goatee or something. He had started growing facial hair recently, but had always done his best to banish it quickly. Thoughts of experimenting even more with his appearance were quickly dismissed as he remembered that encounter with Millicent Bulstrode and the other Slytherin girls he had had after returning to the Entrance Hall.

It didn't help that Harry had been talking about the manicure Blaise and a young, curvaceous witch from the salon had talked them all into getting. The Slytherin girls had been walking past and heard them, and Parkinson and Greengrass had proceeded to tease Harry and Blaise on their perceived sexuality. Whilst they, Moon, and Davis burst into giggles, Bulstrode noticed Theo's new look. At first she just stared, wide eyed and open mouthed. Then the insults started to get directed at him.

"Look girls, Nott thinks his hot shit" Bulstrode said.

Daphne was the first to look at him, and her mouth fell open.

"Shut up Bulstrode" Blaise said. "Theo always looked nicer than you."

"Nott if you wanted to look nice for Granger, you're wasting your time" Parkinson said. "Mudbloods have no taste."

Theo had his wand out in seconds, and Blaise and Harry were right behind him. Unfortunately the rest of the Slytherin girls also had their wands out. Theo wished Mrs. Zabini hadn't already left them alone; he Blaise and Harry were good duellers, but they were outnumbered.

"What do we have here?" The cold voice of Professor Snape said, approaching from seemingly out of nowhere.

"They're threatening us Professor" Daphne said, sounding as scared and weak as she could.

"Tough Potter" Snape said. "You're such a big man, threatening girls. You and your friends have each lost ten points for your respective houses. Well Nott, it looks like your new look doesn't make you a bigger man either. All three of you better move along."

"Yes Professor" Theo said, lowering his wand and heading off. Blaise and Harry followed reluctantly, and Bulstrode got off one final comment.

"You still have ugly teeth Nott!" She said. "No proper Pureblood girl would ever find you sexy!"

They left the Hall as the girls started giggling. Once away from them, Blaise nudged Theo in the ribs and smiled.

"See?" He said.

"See what?"

"They think you look good."

"That's not what I heard" Theo said.

"Of course not" Blaise said. "They hate you, they aren't going to admit they think you're sexy. Especially not Bulstrode. Read between the lines Theo; no 'proper Pureblood' girl would find you sexy... but that doesn't mean you aren't sexy."

"That makes no sense whatsoever" Harry said.

"It's not meant to" Blaise said. "We're talking about girls. Girls don't make sense!"

"Hermione does" Theo said.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Blaise asked.

"Well... kinda. I think" Theo said.

"See? Even Hermione makes no sense at all."

"I just wish Snape made more sense" Harry said. "How could he not figure out that the larger gang were the ones throwing insults... well, I guess this is Snape I'm talking about. Anyway, do you two want to help me go set up the lesson?"

"I... I need to go do some stuff" Theo said.

"Theo... come on, you can't let them get to you" Blaise said.

"It's not that... I really need to do stuff" Theo said, before heading off without another word.

And that was how Theo ended up in his Dormitory, contemplating his new look in the mirror. Yes he liked what he saw; but when he smiled, he saw that gap, and those missing teeth. The gap he could live with, possibly, but those teeth - lost through a combination of bad dental hygiene and rough childhood play - would always bother him. He still was the same scroungey looking kid as he was before.

He knew there was something he could do about his teeth. Madam Pomfrey had offered him the skele-gro like potion that would regrow his missing teeth overnight. He had previously declined the potion, due to the pain that went with it. However...

He left, heading for the Hospital Wing. If he took the potion now, his teeth should be regrown and his mouth recovered enough for speech in time for the ball. He was determined to look his best for Hermione.

**:The following night:**

Hermione was in the Entrance Hall, all dressed up and waiting for Theo.

She wore the same blue dress robes she had worn to the Yule Ball, but had adjusted them to fit her more adult figure. She had spent all day getting her hair right too... and now she realised that no-one had seen Theo since yesterday evening.

"It'll be alright" Harry said. "He'll be here soon."

He sounded doubtful, but Hermione appreciated the effort. Harry was also waiting with her for his date; Blaise and Professor Zabini had gone off to wait for the rest of their family, and had not yet returned. Even though he knew Camille would show up, he looked scared.

"Thanks" Hermione said. "And don't worry, Camille won't bite."

Harry just laughed at that. Hermione was sure that not only would Camille not bit, she would be very impressed with Harry. His new dress robes were black and dark green, and went perfectly with his hair and eyes.

Also waiting with them were Ginny and Dean, Neville and Luna, and Xanthe. Xanthe looked to Hermione like a character from some sort of gothic romance, however with her make-up kept to a minimum she still looked quite nice. The rest of her friends looked rather elegant and beautiful. Maybe a bit too much so; Hermione couldn't help but notice how often Harry kept looking over at Ginny. Fortunately Dean hadn't noticed. Yet.

"Oh look" Neville said, "It's Blaise and... wow."

Wow was right. Blaise was walking down the stairs, looking very dashing in black pinstripe dress robes with dark purple edges that matched up with Xanthe's ... outfit very well. Walking next to him was Camille, looking gorgeous.

Hermione had only briefly met Camille a few times before on Platform Nine and Three Quarters and in Diagon Alley, and knew from these encounters that she was a rather attractive looking girl, with shoulder-length smooth black hair and facial features that looked like softer, slightly more Mediterranean versions of her brother and mother's. And of course she was tall with the shape that drove most teenage boys crazy.

However that body was draped not in casual muggle clothes or a W.A.D.A uniform like any of the other times Hermione had met her, but in a form fitting red dress (technically a dress robe Hermione supposed, though it looked like a muggle dress) with black trimmings. Her hair was also not tied back in a simple ponytail like any other time Hermione had seen her, but was unrestrained and teased, and decorated with what liked like little red flowers, but that Hermione recognised as being enchanted clips.

"Wow indeed" Harry said, his eyes glued to Camille as she and Blaise made their way towards the group.

"So that's Professor Zabini's daughter" Dean said. "You sure did get lucky Harry."

"And you didn't?" Ginny asked.

"What I... um, of course, it's just that um... yeah, I'm lucky."

Dean was saved from further Ginny wrath by the arrival of the Zabini twins, and Blaise making exaggerated introductions for everyone. Everything in Camille's voice betrayed the fact that she was excited to be at Hogwarts, and she was so genuinely interested in everyone that even Ginny quickly warmed to her. Once they were done with the introductions, Hermione noticed Camille look behind the group with a puzzled expression.

"Whose that boy over there?" Camille asked. "The one in the Navy Blue dress robes? He looks familiar."

Blaise and Harry looked at the mystery boy, and then started snickering. Hermione couldn't tell why, but she had to admit, there was something familiar about that boy.

"I don't know" Hermione said. "But I think his coming over to us."

This for some reason caused Harry and Blaise to laugh harder, and Camille to gasp.

"Oh Merlin" she said, "Is that _Theo_?"

"No" Hermione said. Though the more she looked, he was the right size, and had almost the right coloured hair, but still... "It can't be."

But then those green eyes looked right at Hermione, and she knew it was. Her hands shot to her face as her mouth tried to simultaneously smile and gasp. He looked amazing.

"Hello" he said as he approached the group. Hermione assumed his greeting was directed at everyone, however his eyes stayed on her.

"Wow Theo" Hermione said, moving closer to him without even noticing. "You look amazing!"

"Thanks" he said, smiling that big, face-filling smile of his. "You look so, so amazing yourself."

Hermione thanked him for the compliment, but couldn't help looking at that smile. He still had very noticeable diastema, but that was the only gap in his smile.

"Your teeth!" Hermione said. "You, you regrew them!"

"Yeah" Theo said. "That's why I haven't been around; it was a hard night, and I only regained the ability to talk about twenty minutes ago. I'll be able to get that gap in the front fixed in a couple of weeks too."

"You don't have to do that" Hermione said. "I mean well, you could if you wanted to. I just think well, it... kinda suits you. You have a nice smile already; you don't need more dental spells."

"Thanks" Theo said. "I... I'm glad you like well, everything."

Hermione realised that she was standing close to him and on her tip-toes... bringing their faces close together.

She wanted to kiss Theo.

_Shallow _she thought _now that he looks so much nicer, you want to kiss him. So shallow Hermione._

_ But no, _she reassured herself _I have wanted to kiss Theo before... I'm not just being shallow. _

Before she could properly debate the pros and cons of kissing Theo, Neville suggested they go into the Great Hall and find their table. Whatever was happening between her and Theo ended, and they followed the group into the Great Hall.

They walked hand in hand; Hermione had grabbed Theo's hand, and it felt so natural that neither one of them noticed.

**:A little Later:**

Greg couldn't take his eyes off Lilith. Her hair was looking amazing, and her black dress robes only added to the effect. His mother had brought him new dress robes, but they were the same ugly shade of green as his Yule Ball robes and were not very well fitted to him, making him look like a boulder in a green tablecloth.

Eugenie Crabbe was beside him, laughing at some joke of Vince's. She was by far the youngest girl here, and had plain robes the same colour as Greg's. He felt rather self-conscious being here with her, even if they were likely to be betrothed one day.

Vince was sitting on the other side of Eugenie, scoffing his dinner down as the two of them made jokes about non-purebloods. Greg wondered if he would feel better if Eugenie didn't look so much like Vince. Probably not.

On the other side of Vince was not Tracy, but a pretty seventh year called Ally, who seemed easily impressed by the tales Vince told of hurting mudbloods. Next to her were Guy Deschamps and Millicent, and Brad Harper with Daphne. Next to Daphne sat Pansy, who had refused all invitations from any potential partner out of respect for Draco. Lilith and Tracy were sitting next to her; Lilith looking more beautiful than ever, and Tracy, seated between Lilith and Greg, looking like she wanted to hurt Ally.

Suddenly the conversation in front of him stopped, and Greg saw Harper glaring at someone behind him. Greg turned, and saw Professor Zabini with her husband.

The shock of seeing an actual muggle at Hogwarts was enough to make Greg almost not notice how beautiful the teacher looked tonight. Her husband was a shorter, happy looking man, with heavily tanned skin and thinning black hair. There was no mistaking him for anything but muggle, with that strange suit he wore.

"I can't believe they actually let a muggle come here" Deschamps said. "What a disgrace!"

"Yeah" Harper said. "Ah look, their filthy half-blood son isn't too far behind. With that freak girlfriend of his and all the Gryffindor... wow."

Greg had a pretty good idea what that 'wow' meant. also sitting down at a round table with Zabini and Rivers was Potter and a beautiful girl who just had to be Zabini's sister. She looked almost as beautiful as Lilith.

Also with the group was the Weaslette and her boyfriend, Longbottom and Loony Lovegood, and Granger with some tall guy Greg didn't recognize. For a second, Greg envied that table of blood traitors. None of them had been expected to date their twelve-year-old cousin over the girls they really loved.

"Filthy blood traitors" Eugenie said.

Greg wished he could be a blood traitor.

**:Meanwhile:**

Harry felt happier than he had in ages. The food was good, the music was good, and he was surrounded by his friends. Even not being with Ginny didn't seem so bad; she was still his friend, and Camille was an absolutely fascinating person. She was certainly one of the few people who had been able to show a lot of interest in him without coming across as being obsessed with his celebrity status.

She was also, of course, drop dead gorgeous.

"So, The Wizarding Acadamy of Dramatic Arts" Harry asked. "All I know is that it's a small magical school in London that focuses on theatre and stuff. What's it like going there?"

"Oh it's a great school" Camille said. "But it's not small at all. I have classmates from all over Europe. Though English is the official language thankfully. I'm no good at learning languages; I'm failing French at school, and Dad hasn't even been able to get me fluent in Italian yet. I'd be so lost if I had to communicate in a different language for school. I don't know how some of my friends do it."

"I don't think I could do it" Harry said. "Though, I've never really attempted it."

"You don't have language classes at Hogwarts?" Camille said.

"No" Harry said. "Though, I heard you can do one by correspondence for extra credit. Hermione signed up for one once; but she said it was pretty pointless since they didn't require any verbal tests and they never sent an instructor to help."

"Wow... now I feel really bad about Blaise becoming fluent in French, since that's all he really had."

"Blaise speaks fluent French?"

"Yeah. After I wrote to him saying I had to learn French, he made it his mission to learn the language before me. His been so competitive with me ever since I was accepted into W.A.D.A and he wasn't."

"Blaise auditioned for W.A.D.A?" Harry asked.

"Nope. So, he didn't mention that? Can't say I'm surprised. Though I'm sometimes glad he didn't; otherwise I wouldn't really get to know so much about Hogwarts. Oh, sorry. You asked me about W.A.D.A, and somehow I've gone and turned the conversation towards Blaise and Hogwarts.

'Anyway, it is a nice school; though it's more modern than Hogwarts, and since it's in London, it just doesn't feel as well, magical. There's three theatres, as well as an art gallery and music rooms. The name may be Academy of _Dramatic _Arts, but really there's a strong focus on all the arts. And all the normal magic stuff like Potions and Charms of course. We also have a large garden and an indoor Quidditch Pitch."

"You have Quidditch?" Harry asked. "Cool. How many teams at your school?"

"Four teams, just like Hogwarts" Camille said. "Though, we don't have houses like Hogwarts does, so we're divided by what art we specialize in. There's Visual Art, Drama, Music, and Literature. I play Seeker for the Drama team."

"You play seeker!" Harry said, loud enough for everyone at the table to briefly look his way. "Wow, Blaise never said you play. I'm Seeker too."

"That's awesome" Camille said. "Though, I can't believe Blaise didn't say anything. Oh, and I've played for Great Britain too."

"No you haven't" Harry said.

"I have. Though, not the Great Britain professional team of course. We have an unofficial league between students from Britain, Spain, France and Germany; most of the students are from those four countries. The teachers don't encourage it, because they think it eats into our studies too much, but they still let us do it."

Harry realized that Camille probably got to play more Quidditch at W.A.D.A than he did, and suddenly found himself wishing he had some sort of artistic talent.

"That sounds so wicked" Harry said. However, before he could launch into a conversation about Quidditch, another thought occurred to him. "So, you don't have houses? So, no Slytherin? Do you still have trouble with Pure Blood bigots and all that?"

"Well, not really" Camille said. "We're a modern school, established by a well known half-blood, and we learn about muggle arts as well as wizarding ones. Therefore, the really over-the-top purebloods don't usually send their children to W.A.D.A. Though, on the other hand, since you have to apply and audition to be a student, most muggleborns never hear about us until they've already started at another school."

"So you don't get many of them either" Harry said.

"Not really. which, I guess is a bit unfair. Though, blood purity is just not an issue at W.A.D.A. From what Blaise has told me about what happens at Hogwarts, I guess that's a good thing."

"Yeah" Harry agreed. "Lots of Quidditch and no Draco Malfoys. I wish I had some sort of artistic talent."

"Hey, Hogwarts is still an amazing school. I mean, there's so much history, and magic. What was it like when you first saw the castle?"

"It was so well, amazing" Harry said. "I'd really, really never seen anything like it before."

Harry continued talking about Hogwarts. At times he worried that he may be rambling on, but Camille seemed enthralled by everything he had to say.

After dinner, couples started to trickle onto the dance floor, and Harry wondered if now would be the best time to ask Camille for a dance. As he was wondering about the timing though, Ginny and Dean, and then Blaise and Xanthe left for the dance floor. Camille then asked Harry for a dance, and he was only too happy to accept.

**:Later:**

Theo and Hermione were the last to leave their table and head off to the dance floor. They had sat talking for so long that Theo had barely noticed their friends get up. Now though, there was a lull in the conversation; should he ask Hermione to dance now? He didn't want to rush things, what if she wasn't ready?

"Soooo..." Hermione said, beginning to blush a little "shall we erm, ah, want to dance?"

_Oh crap, things are awkward again _Theo thought. He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible as he accepted. For some reason, he found himself hesitating as he took her hand.

_Come on Theo _he thought, _you're not being too forward; you were holding hands with her before. Stop over thinking it; that's what's making it awkward now. _

Theo smiled as he firmly held Hermione's hand closer to his chest. She smiled back.

They made their way to the dance floor, and Theo was determined that tonight, he would tell her how he felt.

**:Meanwhile:**

Lilith was sitting at a table near the dance floor with Tracy, watching Greg dance with Eugenie. She was so tiny compared to him; it would have been funny if Lilith didn't know they were being forced together.

"Sorry Lil" Tracy said. "I just don't get it."

"Get what?" Lilith asked.

"What's so special about Gregory Goyle" Tracy said.

"What do you mean?" Lilith asked. "His a good friend."

"Yeah, but you're looking at him as if you wish you were Eugenie."

"Well... is there anything really wrong with that? I mean, apart from the fact that it could never happen."

"Well, I guess there is nothing wrong with it" Tracy said. "It's just, if you want to get all worked up over someone that you can never be with, why Greg? He doesn't seem like he's worth the risk."

"Risk?"

"Well Lil, I didn't really want to worry you, but some of the other girls don't like the fact that there is obviously something going on between you and Greg."

"There isn't really anything between us. It's just... I think we'd both like it if there was, but we know it can't happen."

"I understand. But still; why Greg? He's like, the least appealing guy in Slytherin."

"More unappealing than Zabini or Nott?" Lilith asked.

"I mean in matters apart from blood status" Tracy said. "Like, just pure sex appeal. I mean, to us, liking Nott or Zabini would be almost as bad as liking a boy from our own side who was above us. Pansy would be pretty pissed off either way. And of course there are so many other guys on our side; Brad, Guy, Draco before his accident... why Greg?"

"Why Vince?" Lilith asked her friend. "He is just as lacking in 'sex appeal' as Greg, and he is also quite cruel at times. Why do you want to be with him so badly?"

"Because he's a realistic option" Tracy said. "Not only is it highly likely that we will be together - as long as he doesn't get a better girl on his own - but being with him would mean that my children will well, they wouldn't be purebloods, but, they'll still be considered acceptable. Having Vince as a father will really help any children I'll have."

"As long as he doesn't treat helpless children the same was he treats helpless animals" Lilith said.

"Well he's the best pureblood I'm going to get!" Tracy said. "My father was a mudblood and my mother is a squib. Boys like Brad or Guy aren't interested; I'm not pretty enough for them to overlook my heritage. And if they were, their parents would never allow it."

"Not pretty enough for boys to overlook my heritage?" Lilith asked.

"Not you in particular" Tracy said. "Though, if you were more like those erm, slutty half-bloods you probably could."

"My mother is an unrepentant blood-traitor and my father is a _muggle_" Lilith said. "It doesn't matter what I look like."

"Sorry I said anything" Tracy said. "But Lil, if you could have any boy in the school; pureblood, mudblood, any house even... who would you choose? And remember, it doesn't matter if they'd choose you too; even boys who have girlfriends or wouldn't look at a half-blood. Who would you want?"

"Greg Goyle" Lilith said, shooting a glance at Greg as the song ended and he and Eugenie started walking off the dance floor.

"I know you have a little thing for him" Tracy said "but I mean like, if you could choose _anyone_!"

"I'd choose Greg" Lilith said. "He may seem dull and stupid, but he isn't. There is so much more than meets the eye, and he's just a wonderful person. He's also one of the few people I know who really accepts me. He well... he really doesn't seem to care that I'm a half-blood. I... I think I love him Tracy."

"Wow, really?" Tracy asked. "I guess... that's good. Shame about Eugenie though; maybe if she wasn't around there well, would be a chance for you two."

"I'm pretty sure Mr. and Mrs. Goyle would have found someone else to match Greg up with" Lilith said with a bitter chuckle. "Hey, maybe you would be betrothed to him."

"I think I'd like that better than being betrothed to Vince to be honest" Tracy admitted. "Oh, don't worry; I can't realistically have him, and if I could choose anyone, he'd still be at the bottom of the list."

"Who'd be at the top?" Lilith asked. "If you could have any boy in the school, regardless of blood-status or house, or if they were already taken. Who?"

"Ermm..." Tracy said, going bright red. She was saved from having to answer however by Greg and Eugenie approaching. Greg had a smile on his face, while Eugenie had such a bratty pouty face that for a second Lilith thought she looked nine rather than twelve. Lilith felt herself cringe; she had long ago embraced pureblood culture as being better than muggle culture, but even so, there were some things they did that made her reconsider. After all, Greg was pretty much a man, whilst Eugenie was still a little girl.

Greg was a decent young man, but after all Lilith had gone through at the hands of those filthy muggles, she could imagine Greg being older and more lustful. And having a completely different face of course.

"Hello girls" Greg said as they approached. "Hey Lilith, I was wondering if you wanted that dance I promised you yet?"

"Sure" Lilith said, ignoring the worried look on Tracy's face. "As long as that's okay with you Eugenie."

"Go ahead" Eugenie said, her voice full of spite. Lilith just smiled at Eugenie, determined to put the young girl at ease. Greg held his arm out, and she took it. together they walked to the dance floor, and Lilith felt like she had butterflies in her stomach - except it was a good feeling.

A new song started. Greg seemed to have no idea how to dance, but neither did Lilith. It was just fun being together and moving. Then the next song came on, and it was one of Lilith's favourite songs.

"I love this song" she said.

"One more dance?" Greg said. "I don't think Eugenie would mind."

"Oh, alright."

They danced throughout another song. And then another. The next song to come on was a slow one, and Lilith found herself moving even closer to Greg as they slowly swayed around.

"Lil" Greg said "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?" Lilith asked. Greg then moved his face even closer to her, and she had a very good idea what he was about to say.

"No Greg" she said, pulling away from him. "We can't."

"I could talk to my parents" Greg said."They'll see you're a good half-blood... and they wouldn't have to wait until you've grown up for us to get engaged. And even if we never get married... we're sixteen. I just... I love you Lilith."

Lilith let go of Greg's hands, and slowly backed away.

"Lil?"

"I love you too Greg" she said, feeling tears streaming down her face. "But even if your parents didn't mind... our friends would. I'm sorry."

"But Lil -"

"I'm sorry Greg" she said. "For everything."

Lilith turned and ran away, wiping the tears from her eyes. She left the dance floor, but didn't return to her table. Instead she left the Great Hall, sat down at the base of the staircase in the Entrance Hall, and started crying.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but eventually she heard people approaching. She looked up, and saw Vince, Pansy, Daphne, Harper and Deschamps standing over her. They all had their arms folded and their expressions were stern. Had Tracy been right; were they really that angry with her? But they had been her friends for years; surely they would understand.

Lilith got up, and tried to smile.

Vince grabbed her by the collar and threw her back down.

"Don't you dare smirk at me you bitch!" Vince said. "Not after what you just did to my sister!"

"I didn't do anything to your sister!" Lilith said.

"She's so excited about having a boyfriend, even if it is Greg" Vince said. "Until she decides otherwise, no half-blood is going to ruin her relationship!"

"Relationship?" Lilith said, trying to get up. "She's twelve, his almost seventeen. And they're first cousins!"

Lilith was pushed to the ground again, and saw Daphne pointing her wand at her.

"So now you're going to judge our customs?" Daphne said. "Do you honestly think your father's filthy muggle customs are better than ours? I thought you were on our side, _Moon_!"

"I am on your side!" Lilith said. "But I love Greg, and I can't help that!"

"So what you're saying is that you can't control yourself?" Pansy said. "That's no surprise; it looked like you were going to fuck him right there on the dance floor. What a little muggle animal you are."

"I'm not a muggle!" Lilith cried. "Vince, I'm not going to take Greg from Eugenie. I know my place!"

Vince's face remained expressionless as he kicked her in the side. Lilith felt like all the wind was kicked out of her, and after struggling to catch her breath again, all she could do was cry.

What were they going to do to her?

"You don't know your place" Vince said. "If you did you would never have tried to drag down the Quidditch team, and you wouldn't try to seduce a pureblood."

"I didn't mean to" Lilith cried. Vince kicked her again. And then again before she could even catch her breath. And then again.

"You've crossed the line this time Moon" Daphne said, fighting back tears. "I guess we shouldn't have expected better... but I did you know. Even though you're a useless half-blood!"

"Yeah" Harper said. "Why don't we take her back to the Common Room and show her what happens to half-bloods that aim too high."

"Yeah" Vince said, picking Lilith up by the shoulders. She was always painfully aware of how tiny she was, but had never considered just how tiny she was compared to Vince. "Well Moon, there is one thing you can do right I bet. I think I might give you a bit of pureblood cock since you want it so much!"

"Um, Vince" Daphne said "that's a bit too far - "

"She's just a half-blood honey" Harper said. "Don't worry about it. She'll thank us for the _privilege._"

_You're a witch not a Muggle! _Lilith thought, reaching for her wand. She was a witch; she was not defenceless!

"_Expelliarmus_" Pansy said, sealing Lilith's fate with a voice as cold as the frozen Black Lake. Once Pansy had Lilith's wand, she snapped it over her knee just as dispassionately. "If you're more muggle than witch, you won't be needing this."

"No Pansy. No Vince. NOOOOO!"

"Put her down NOW!"

Her attackers froze. Lilith strained to see over Vince's shoulder, wondering who the heavily accented man who had come to her rescue was.

"It's the muggle" Deschamps said.

"Zabini" Pansy sneered.

Any hope Lilith may have had vanished when she caught sight of the little muggle that had joined them in the Entrance Hall. He had a fire in his eyes, but what good was a stupid muggle against five wands?

"What are you doing out here muggle" Vince said.

"I came out for a smoke" Zabini said. "But now I'm here to help the girl. Put her down."

"Fuck off you.. you... _muggle_!" Daphne said.

Instead of fucking off, Zabini begun walking towards them.

"That's no language for a young lady" Zabini said before pointing at Vince. "Now you, _grassone_, let her go."

Vince did let Lilith go; then he turned his wand onto Zabini.

"Your son calls me that" Vince said. "I don't like it when he insults me, and I sure as hell aren't going to let a muggle insult me!"

"Not going to let me?" Zabini said. "And how are you going to stop me?"

"We're armed you idiot!" Harper said, pointing his wand at Zabini. Deschamps and Daphne also pulled their wands out, but Pansy kept hers pointed at Lilith.

"You have wands" Zabini said, continuing to move closer. "Good for you; but I wouldn't be scared of little _ruffiani _like you lot even if you were the spawn of Satan. Now let the girl go."

Daphne was shaking. Lilith couldn't figure out why; she was good at hexes and she wasn't queasy about hurting people.

However she wasn't a killer.

"They're going to kill you!" Lilith shouted at the short muggle. "Get out of here!"

Pansy slapped her across the face, however if Mr. Zabini was afraid, he didn't show it.

"Kill me?" He said. "What, have you all forgotten where you are? You're in a magic castle where the paintings on the wall talk!"

He gestured around the hall, and now Lilith noticed all the paintings that were looking on in disgust. Famous witches and wizards, sentient beasts, knights, nuns, dancers, a fat lady... so many witnesses.

Now Mr. Zabini was standing right in front of the group with his arms crossed. Lilith's 'friends' looked more unsure of themselves now. Maybe nothing bad would happen tonight after all.

**:Meanwhile:**

Hermione and Theo had stopped dancing, and had found a little table in the corner to sit down at and enjoy a butterbeer and milkshake. Behind them was a large painting of the Eiffel Tower - nearby were paintings of other famous landmarks; the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Great Pyramids of Gaza, and Uluru were the closest ones Hermione could see.

She had decided to tell Theo how she felt. Right now.

But getting the words out was tricky; especially since he seemed to have something big on his mind as well.

_What if he isn't interested in you in that way? What if you ruin your friendship with him?_

_ Come on Hermione, he probably does like you too. Yeah, he must feel something special for you._

_ What if he doesn't?_

_ "_Theo, can I ask you something?" Hermione said.

"Sure, sure" Theo said. "What do you want to ask?"

"It's just well, about times when we're together like this. It's well, I like it, but umm, I wonder - "

"HERMIONE! THEO! Thank god I found you!"

"DAVE!" Hermione shouted as she turned and saw the rock star looking down at them from the Eiffel Tower painting. She felt so angry at the poster that she couldn't think of anything else to say - but at the same time, she did feel a bit relieved. What if she had stuffed up or Theo turned her down?

"Dave you had better -" Theo started.

"Blaise's dad's in trouble!" Dave said. "Those Pure-Freaks have ganged up on him!"

"Where?" Theo asked.

"He's alright for now, and just in the Entrance Hall" Dave said.

"Thanks Dave" Hermione said. "Theo, there's Blaise and Xanthe over there. Get them and go; I'll find a teacher."

"Alright" Theo said. "Dave, go keep an eye on things."

"Sure, now hurry!" Dave said, before disappearing into the painted Parisian night.

**Well everyone, I guess I'll see you all next year...**

**JUST KIDDING. The next chapter is nearly done, and I'll have that up before I go back on hiatus. I'm not that evil. **


	25. Chapter 24: Blood Traitor

**Okay, here's the next chapter; and potentially the last chapter for a while. Sorry, but there is just so much going on right now, both in life and in writing. But rest assured, I will get to the end eventually. **

**Enjoy. **

**Chapter 24: Blood Traitor **

"I don't care if there are any witnesses!" Vince said to his friends "it's just a muggle!"

Now Lilith was worried again; if they really didn't care about what happened afterwards...

"Dad!" Blaise Zabini ran through the doors drawing his wand, and Xanthe Rivers and Theodore Nott were not far behind.

"Fuck off Zabini!" Deschamps said, pointing his wand at the newcomers. "Do you really think two of you and your useless muggle father can take us on?"

"Don't you dare call my father useless!" Zabini said. "And yes, I think we can take you turds on!"

"Blaise, don't push your luck" Mr. Zabini said.

"Don't worry Dad; Hermione has gone to get help."

"Lilith" Rivers said, spying her on the ground. "What happened?"

"I don't need your help!" Lilith said.

"Looks to me like you do" Rivers said. "Why are your so-called friends ganging up on you? I thought you were all on the same side?"

"She's not on our side!" Harper said. "She's an arrogant half-blood who doesn't know her place!"

"Doesn't know her place?" Rivers said. "What, because she danced with Goyle?"

"A half-blood shouldn't be trying to get into the pants of a pureblood" Harper said.

"But, you're a half-blood" Rivers said. "And from what I've heard, you've already gotten into the pants of a pureblood. Why aren't you the one on the ground crying?"

There was a pause as River's words sunk in, and then...

"I am not a fucking half-blood!" Harper said.

"Stop spreading bullshit you blood-traitor!" Deschamps said.

"Shut up Rivers" Pansy said.

"TAKE IT BACK!" Daphne shouted, running up to Rivers and pointing her wand at her face. "Take. That. Back!"

Lilith had never seen Daphne so angry before. Had she really slept with Harper? And could he really be...,

Rivers seemed unfazed by Daphne's threat, and calmly lifted her wand up, and said "Accio brown envelope of evidence."

Sure enough, a brown envelope flew out from the archway leading to the Slytherin Dungeon, and once River's had it she started handing out documents from it.

"Is that...?" Nott asked.

"It sure is" Rivers said. "Harper's mother is only pretending to be pureblood. See, here's a birth certificate from a muggle hospital, an application for revealment from Ngama Sorcery School, oh, and here are some photos of Brad's brother with his supposedly dead grandparents. Look at those tacky muggle clothes."

The five other Slytherin's looked at the documents and at Harper in disbelief. Daphne had some documents from Ngama, and as she read she slowly backed away from Rivers and lowered her wand.

"Ah, looks like muggle relatives are more common amongst Slytherins than you care to admit" Mr. Zabini said with a chuckle.

"Shut up!" Vince said.

"We'll have to be more careful about who we trust" Pansy said. "We have to check everyone in the AD!"

"But this can't be true!" Harper said, looking up from the letter he had been reading with pleading eyes. "Guy, back me up, you know -"

"No" Deschamps said, turning away. "I'm sorry Brad... but this...you _lied_ to us!"

"I... I didn't know!" Harper said. "It.. it can't be true. Daphne you -"

"Leave me alone!" Daphne said, tears trailing down her face. "I... I can't take this!"

Daphne burst into tears, and ran off towards the Dungeon. Lilith then realised that no-one was paying any attention to her. She pulled herself up, trying not to cry out as the pain where Vince had kicked her flared up. She was about to sneak up the stairs, but froze when she saw her wand on the floor, snapped in half.

Tears escaping her eyes again, Lilith made her way to her wand, and then crumpled to the floor in front of it. She picked it up, and cried even harder.

Willow. Seven inches. Phoenix feather core.

It chose her. But now, she was as powerless as a muggle.

She was dimly aware of the commotion around her as Granger arrived with Professors Zabini, McGonagall, and Snape. She was aware that Professor Zabini seemed angry at her husband and son, but she couldn't follow what she was saying. She couldn't follow what any of them were saying; all she could think about was her broken wand, and how powerless she had become.

Eventually someone helped her up. It was only after she had already taken hold of the offered hand that she realised that it was the muggle Zabini who was helping her. She didn't even care anymore.

Greg also showed up at some point, and helped her up the stairs, away from the scene.

**:Later:**

"You can't expel them" Snape said for what had to be the third time since Dumbledore had invited him into his office for this private conversation. "How many times do I have to say that?"

"Once is enough" Dumbledore said. "But Severus, what they did is worth a few years in Azkaban. From what the portraits say, Vincent Crabbe was going to rape the girl."

"Vincent Crabbe will be taking over Draco's mission after the holidays" Snape said. "His father has finally got the Dark Lord to give him the mission. And if you don't expel Crabbe, how can you justify expelling the others?"

"Why would Mr. Crabbe want his son to have an almost suicide mission?" Dumbledore asked.

"That's the problem" Snape said. "Everyone else knows it's a suicide mission, and the Dark Lord has no parents he needs to punish yet. If he can't make Vincent Crabbe take Draco's place, he might scrap the whole plan. Then how are we going to get Deepvoice in a position to do what has to be done?"

"Maybe we need to scrap our plans too" Dumbledore said, looking at the ring on his finger. "After what happened to his wife, Deepvoice may be tempted to use the power we will give him for himself. Maybe Harry should unite the Hallows himself."

"Do you honestly think he will accept his own death?" Snape said. "And what about Luci... erm, Deepvoice? Yes, he'll be tempted with the stone, but who wouldn't? and after all you've put him through, how can you even think about just tossing him aside?"

"So instead we should just ignore the suffering of Lilith Moon?" Dumbledore said. "We should just let her attackers stay at Hogwarts, with a clear message that they won't be punished if they go after her again?"

"What do you think I've been doing all year?" Snape said. "Half my students are going around terrorizing the other half; nothing as bad as this before, but there have been beatings and pets have died. I have to ignore it, because I cannot have rumours of me favouring the blood-traitors getting back to the Dark Lord."

"I can't just let this go unpunished" Dumbledore said. "What other options do we have for getting Harry to Voldemort? Maybe we could use the Slytherin students to our advantage; start a riot, and then it would be plausible if you captured Harry in the confusion and took him to Malfoy Manor."

"People would die" Snape said. "If of course, you _could_ start a riot without those five. You're also forgetting the whole reason why we need Deepvoice; they'll be watching me, but De - "

"I know" Dumbledore interrupted with a sigh. "But can't we do that without the vanishing cabinet?"

"Possibly" Snape said. "But every other option I see will result in more death and suffering. And will be more likely to go wrong. Now that Draco is out of the picture, we need someone else to finish that vanishing cabinet and bring Death Eaters into the school. That someone will have to be Vincent Crabbe."

"I don't like this at all" Dumbledore said. "True, I've never liked anything about this whole plan; but at least we can avoid a war. If we don't stop Voldemort from using Mr. Crabbe."

"Mr. Zabini didn't hear anything about rape and didn't see Crabbe kicking Moon" Snape said. "Apart from the attackers, only the portraits know about that. The portraits will stay quiet on your command, and with a bit of memory altering -"

"What did Luigi Zabini see?" Dumbledore said. "How much memory altering will we need to do?"

**:Meanwhile:**

Lilith had just finished telling Greg what had happened. They were in the Hospital Wing, even though Lilith only had a few bruises. Greg had tried to fix her wand with as many different types of adhesives as he could conjure or find in the Hospital Wing supply cabinet, but nothing seemed to work.

"It's no use Greg" Lilith said. "It's broken. I'm... I'm completely powerless."

"We can get you a new wand" Greg said. "Even without Ollivander's, there's still the Wandmaker in Knockturn Alley. Well, a lot of their wands are pretty dodgy, especially the bowturkle ones, but they get it right sometimes. I got mine there, and even though troll whiskers are supposed to be bad, it's been good to me."

"Thanks Greg" Lilith said. "But what's the point? If I get a new wand, Pansy will just snap it again."

"I won't let her!" Greg said.

"How are you going to stop her Greg?" Lilith said. "If you stand up for a half-blood, you may as well be one."

"You know, maybe they're wrong" Greg said, recalling his envy of the blood-traitors and attempting to mask the hatred he felt for his supposed best friend.

"About what?"

"Well, the whole blood thing" Greg said. "I always figured the only reason I didn't understand why I was so superior was because I was stupid, but what if they're actually wrong. I mean, Zabini's father helped you, and he's a muggle."

"One good muggle" Lilith said. "How many bad ones?"

"Well, Pansy and Vince are meant to be good purebloods" he said. "But, what they did to you was horrible. Maybe there are good and bad with everyone."

"Maybe" Lilith admitted. "But muggles are still weak. And the Dark Lord will win."

"I hope he loses" Greg said.

"What?"

"I hope he loses. Because then, it wouldn't matter that I'm a pureblood and you're a halfblood with no connections or social standing."

"That... would be nice" Lilith admitted. "But the muggles -"

"They can't be as bad as what our friends are becoming" Greg said. "At least, not most of them. And you know what? Potter is really strong. And so is Dumbledore. Maybe the Dark Lord won't win."

"Then we'd be in trouble for supporting the wrong side" Lilith said.

"Well, let's stop supporting the wrong side" Greg said.

"Greg, you'll turn seventeen during the holidays. Aren't you supposed to pledge loyalty to the Dark Lord. What would your parents say if you didn't."

"Well... maybe they don't need to know" Greg said. "Let's run away."

"What?"

"Let's run away; no more Pansy and Vince, no more Eugenie, or Dark... or V-V-Voldemort. Let's just go, and be together."

"What if the Dark Lord defeats Potter and Dumbledore and comes after us?" Lilith said.

"Would we really be any worse off?" Greg said. "Look what Vince was going to do to you. Look what Pansy did. And the others helped. We may as well risk it."

"But nothing bad is going to happen to you" Lilith said. "You'll just have to be married to Eugenie. If she doesn't find someone else and her parents call off the whole thing anyway."

"_And_ I'll have to become like Vince" Greg said, clenching his fists has he thought about the monster Vince had become. "But, even so... It would be bad just knowing that you're my inferior."

"I am your inferior Greg."

"No you're not" Greg said. "Lilith, I want to be a blood-traitor. Please, run away with me."

**:Later:**

Tracy Davis hadn't seen most of her friends in ages. It actually worried her quite a bit; Pansy and Vince had looked livid as they watched Lil dancing with Greg, and Millicent was still comforting a distraught Eugenie.

Tracy knew Lilith was in trouble. She knew and it chilled her to the bone; but she didn't do anything about it. How could she? It was a pureblood word out there. Her father had known that; that's why he killed his muggle relatives, and she sure knew it too. If she stayed by Lilith's side... what would happen to her?

She was sitting by the dance floor, watching all the other couples. A seventh year half-blood named Paul had asked her to the ball a few days ago. He had seemed like such a nice guy; if her mother hadn't been negotiating with the Crabbes - if she hadn't had a chance to court a pureblood - she would have said yes.

Of course, Vince had gone with that Ally bitch, who was now dancing with Paul. Tracy accepted that it was a pureblood's world; that didn't mean she had to like it.

Near Ally and Paul, she saw Ron Weasley dancing with some Gryffindor slut. She was glad her earlier conversation with Lilith had been interrupted. The two of them were being so open, that if Tracy had had a chance to answer, she may have blurted out the name of the idiot boy she had had a crush on for the past two years.

Normally, that wouldn't be a problem since she and Lilith were such good friends. however, they now lived in dangerous times. If word got out that Tracy had a crush on Ron Weasley, things would get hard for her very quickly.

She felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around in time to see a paper plane fall to the ground next to her seat. She picked it up, and deciphered the barely-legible handwriting inside.

_Lil got hurt dut is allrite now. Plese meat us in the closet first left from the toq off the marbal starcase. bo not show this letter to anyone._

_- Greg_

Tracy got up and left the Great Hall. True, these were dangerous times, but she still didn't suspect a trap. And besides, Lilith and Greg were her friends. She went into the Entrance Hall, up the marble staircase, and after some searching found the closet Lilith and Greg were hiding in (it was the first one to the _right_.) They were both wearing muggle clothes (or in Greg's case, the most muggle-like clothes he owned) and had large backpacks.

"What's going on?" Tracy said. "Lilith, are you alright?"

"I'm fine" Lilith said, much too snappy for someone who was so fine.

"Our friends attacked her" Greg said, sounding uncharacteristically cold. "We're running away."

"What?" Tracy asked. "What happened?"

"They... didn't like that I was dancing with Greg" Lilith said.

Tracy bit back her reply. She had often told Lilith that in such matters you had to play by the pureblood rules; in Lilith's case, by having her and her mother beg the Goyle's for a chance for courtship. Of course, this was not the time for 'I told you so.'

"After that, Pansy, Vince, Daphne, Guy and Brad cornered me and well... Vince kicked me. And Pansy snapped my wand."

"They were going to do worse" Greg said, his voice sounding dangerous. "Fortunately Zabini's father stopped them."

"The muggle stopped them?" Tracy said.

"Well, stalled might be a better word for what he did" Lilith said.

"Okay" Tracy said, not thinking of the slight relief she felt as she decided that muggle Zabini's actions made no difference to her views on muggles and muggleborns.

"Anyway, we're leaving" Greg said. "And we thought you might like to come with us."

For a second Tracy wanted to say yes. However she thought of all the sacrifices her parents had made so that they could have a decent place in pureblood society. About all her mother had done to make some pureblood families see Tracy as an acceptable candidate for their sons despite her heritage.

Tracy wasn't going to let all that go to waste, and she wasn't going to be on the losing side of a war.

"I'm not going anywhere" Tracy said. "I'm not a traitor!"

Tracy saw the hurt looks on Greg and Lil's faces and wondered if she had taken things too far. After all, Lilith was her best friend and had been since they met on the Hogwarts Express. The last year had changed thing yes, but she was still Lilith.

"I won't tell anyone I saw you though" Tracy said. "And... good luck. Both of you."

Tracy hugged Lilith, and realised that her friend was crying. How had things come to this?

"Thanks Tracy" Greg said, as she and Lilith parted and he gave her an awkward one-armed hug.

"I hope we'll meet again" Lilith said. "At a more peaceful time of course."

"Of course" Tracy said. "Good-bye."

Greg and Lilith closed the door of the closet behind them, and Tracy knew deep down inside that she would never see them again.

**Later**

Dumbledore and Snape's conversation was interrupted by Madam Promfrey rushing in to the office to tell them that Lilith Moon and Gregory Goyle were missing.

"Thank you Poppy" Dumbledore said. "I'll get on it straight away."

The matron left, and Dumbledore turned to the window and begun muttering.

"What did you just do?" Snape asked once the headmaster was finished.

"I lowered the wards around the school."

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't think Mr. Goyle or Miss. Moon know any secret passages out of the school."

"You want them to... oh."

"Yes. If we are not going to expel Vincent Crabbe, then those two are better off away from here."

"You're right. So when shall I begin the search?"

"You can start now" Dumbledor said. "But stay away from the Quidditch Pitch and don't go flying; those two are the type to use their brooms to run away."

"I agree" Snape said, heading towards the door.

"Severus" Dumbledore said. "There is one other thing on my mind."

"Yes headmaster?"

"Pansy Parkinson is the leader of the purebloods, right?"

"It appears she is."

"And we also know she snapped Miss. Moon's wand, right?"

"Yes, it was her."

"I see. In that case, I should be able to justify expelling her and giving the other four detentions for the rest of the year."

"I suppose so" Snape said. "With Parkinson and Draco both gone, things might improve next term."

"Let us hope so" Dumbledore said. "Now go look for those children Severus. I hope you don't find any trace of them."

**The Next Day**

Harry had mixed feelings as the Hogwarts Express begun its journey back to London. The disappointment he usually felt whenever he had to leave the school was there, but he also felt relieved to be getting away from all the fighting that had been going on.

He also had mixed feelings about spending the holidays with Neville; on one hand, it would be nice to get to know his quiet friend better, especially after what they went through in the Department of Mysteries. On the other hand, Neville wasn't Ron. And on the third hand, Neville's grandmother seemed kinda scary.

He looked across the compartment; Neville and Luna were playing a game of exploding snap, and Ginny and Xanthe were browsing through a magazine together. The only person who looked anywhere near as conflicted as him was Hermione. She was gazing out the window, lost in thought.

Harry didn't know how things were between her and Theo at the moment. He knew Theo had taken her aside to tell her how he felt, but then they had been interrupted by Dave and the confrontation between Mr. Zabini and the purebloods. This morning, Theo and Hermione had seemed ill at ease around each other. Especially when Theo left with the Zabini's and gave Hermione an awkward one armed hug.

Harry didn't even know if it was safe to ask Hermione what was going on.

Luna and Neville finished their round of exploding snap and invited Harry to join in the next one. He accepted; no matter what else was going on, he still had a lot of good friends, and that was good enough for now.

**:Meanwhile:**

Draco was awake.

He could see an unfamiliar ceiling, but there was something wrong, something different about the way he was seeing it.

He also couldn't see his parents; but he'd thought they were just there with him. They'd both been disappointed in him because he'd made friends with Jung. He'd promised to be good but -

He raised his hand, and couldn't take look away. That wasn't his hand; it was huge.

Then he remembered. He was older now, and hadn't seen Jung in years. He _had_ been a good son to his parents. He wasn't a blood-traitor.

But where were they now?

Draco dropped his hand, closed his eye again, and fell back into oblivion.


End file.

Harry Potter, Drama