Year 2 – The Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 8 – Efforts at Subtlety

Chapter Summary: Harry's plans don't all go as intended, as he gets to celebrate Halloween, and figure out a way to visit Hogsmead.

Author: Khodexus

Rated T: For occasional graphic concepts and atmosphere, and mild violence. No cussing, no adult situations.

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights for the worlds or characters in Harry Potter. Those rights are owned by Scholastic Publishing Inc and J.K. Rowling. I do own the rights to my original characters depicted here, in as far as they differ from the worlds created by J.K. Rowling.


It was nearly a week later during a free period on Friday that Snape entered the Slytherin common room, immediately silencing all conversation. He swept each occupant of the room with a stern gaze as if fun was not a thing they should have been having before he'd arrived. Then he abruptly drew his wand and flicked it toward the bulletin board, causing a single sheet of parchment to materialize, attached to the smooth surface of the board. Snape then turned, and left as silently as he'd come. Harry watched as a small group of first year students approached curiously to read the notice then dispersed looking mildly disappointed.

"What do you suppose?" Harry asked Draco, observing the reaction.

Draco shrugged, but it wasn't long before Tracey came toward them with the news. "The first Hogsmead visit is coming up!" She announced, excitedly.

"Oh, from the reaction of those first years, I didn't expect it to be anything interesting." Harry admitted.

"Well, they don't get to go, do they?" Draco reminded him.

"Oh, right." Harry replied sheepishly. "Wasn't thinking of that. Though that reminds me, we still haven't heard back from the Weasleys on the subject, have we?"

"No." Draco agreed. "It's been a while since we've even talked to them at all. We should meet up soon. Shall I owl them?"

Harry had just then remembered that he might have to distance himself from the twins, as well as Hagrid, but before he could say anything, Astoria Greengrass cut in. "If you three are going to visit with Gryffindors." She began timidly, "Maybe I could come along too? I could visit with Rachel?"

Harry hadn't realized she'd been sitting close enough to overhear their conversation. Draco glanced to Daphne, who was sitting so that Harry's group was directly between her and her younger sister.

"Makes no difference to me." She said with a shrug.

"I'm fine with it." Pansy added, and suddenly all eyes were on Harry.

"You know, you don't need us to hang out with your friend." Harry began.

"I just thought it'd be easier." Aster replied. "I haven't really found a chance to visit with her yet."

Harry could think of no good reason to say no. And while he might have to eventually cut ties with the Weasleys, he did still want to find out what plan they'd concocted to get him to Hogsmead, so he finally nodded.

"Thanks!" Aster beamed at him, and he couldn't help but smile back.


Harry was able to arrange to meet up with the twins the next day after Study of Ancient Runes, and asked them to invite Rachel along as well. They met at the Astronomy tower, which – according to the twins – was a popular hangout spot for some of the older students since it was never used for classes during the middle of the day. As they arrived, they all pulled up chairs from the various desks and sat in three groups, with Harry, Draco, and the twins leaning close to converse, while Pansy sat with Daphne and Tracey on the other side of the room from Aster and her friends Rachel and Patricia.

"They just put up the notice for the first Hogsmead visit in our common room yesterday." Harry informed his friends.

"Yeah, same for Griffindor." The twins agreed in tandem. "Well, we think we may have found a solution to your problem." It was Fred who continued.

"Great!" Harry smiled, but also glanced at Aster, who was talking animatedly with her friends not too far away.

"Though…" Harry suddenly frowned, remembering one of the things he'd wanted to talk to the twins about, "I may not be able to accept your help after all."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked, looking as confused as the twins.

"Well, you all know I've been trying to better my image as the kind of 'Slytherin' that might be a potential ally to… well, you know." He glanced once again at Aster's group, but they appeared to be fully engaged in their own conversation. "And it might be safest for everyone involved if I publicly distanced myself somewhat from the two of you." He finished, nodding to the twins.

They reacted about how Harry had expected, both of them frowning identical frowns as they conferred with a glance before turning back on Harry. "I suppose I can see why that might be advantageous, but that doesn't mean we still can't get you to Hogsmead." It was George this time, probably.

"I just don't know if I'd feel right, accepting your help, even discreetly, when I'm going to have to stop hanging out with you."

"We can figure that out later." George responded again. "We've already put a lot of thought into this." "And we don't want that to go to waste." "So, we'll still give you a way to get to Hogsmead." "We'll meet up with you tomorrow, and share the details." "When are you free?"

"Why can't you share the details now?" Harry wondered.

"We don't have it with us right now." They said as one.

"Don't have what?" Draco asked this time.

"The details." Was the twins reply.

"What details?" This time it was Harry and Draco's turn to respond together.

"It's best just to show you." Fred insisted. "Trust us, you'll see." George added.

Harry sighed, and shared a glance with Draco, who shrugged exaggeratedly. "I'll find time." Harry said, turning back to the twins.

From there, the conversation turned to other things, though Harry remained curious as to what could possibly require them to wait another day for the twins' idea.

The next day, even though Harry had been working hard to keep up with his homework, he made time to visit with the twins as planned. This time they met about halfway between the Slytherin Wing and Gryffindor Tower, just at the entrance to the Charms Corridor. It didn't appear anyone was in the classroom at the end of the hall just then, and Harry led the way inside.

"So, what's the plan for getting me in and out of the castle?" Harry asked as soon as the door closed.

"We've thought long and hard." Harry thought it was Fred who started, then his brother continued, "And discussed the matter several times." "And ultimately, we decided." "That your need is greater than ours." The last sentence they said as one, as possibly-Fred produced a large weathered square of parchment, folded several times over itself.

Harry took the parchment, and examined it briefly, turned it over and unfolded it part way, then laid it across a nearby desk, noticing that it appeared completely blank. "Vanishing ink?" Harry guessed.

"Something very like." Fred confirmed with a smirk.

"What's it say? What's it do?"

"This, is the secret to our success!" They announced dramatically. "It's a wrench, giving it to you." "But anyway, we already know it by heart."

"If it's that useful… how can I accept this?" Harry said, as he started to fold the parchment back up.

"Consider it an early Christmas present." They stopped him before he could hand it back.

"But I can't. I can't let people know we're still friends much longer. It's too dangerous."

"We've talked about that too." George retorted hotly. "And we decided; you don't get a vote, Harry."

"What?!" Harry gasped, confused. "But I have to… to build a persona. I have to make people think…"

"We know." "Believe us, we know." "But you're going to need allies. Allies who are in on your secret, and you can't rely just on Slytherins either." "No offense to Draco or Pansy, but they've got their own prejudices and beliefs, and you need at least one outside perspective to keep you grounded." "And with us, you get two for the price of one."

"But if it's known I'm friends with Gryffindors…" Harry tried to cut in.

"We're already the black sheep of the Weasley family." George insisted. "And we reached out to you in your first year, not the other way around." "Just accept it Harry. It'll make things a lot easier." "You're stuck with us."

Harry felt a little dizzy, and quickly sat down as he tried to take it all in. He'd been bracing himself to push the twins away for their own good. Never in his wildest imaginings had he foreseen something like this.

"Anyways, you haven't asked us how it works yet." Fred suggested, tapping the parchment with a finger.

"I asked what it does. You didn't answer." Harry reminded them.

"Best just to show you." Fred withdrew his wand from his robes, and cleared his throat. "Ahem, I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He intoned, before tapping the page again, this time with his wand.

Immediately, the parchment unfolded itself across the desk, and ink began spreading in lines all across its surface, crisscrossing to form shapes and patterns. It wasn't long before Harry recognized the images. It was a map; a map of Hogwarts Castle and the surrounding grounds.

Last to form were words right across the top in carefully penned green letters.

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Purveyors of Aide to Magical Mischief Makers

are proud to present

THE MARAUDER'S MAP

"So, this shows…?" Harry began.

"Everything." George finished for Harry. "The whole school." "Including…"

This time it was Harry's turn to interrupt. "Secret passages!" He observed. "Like these ones, they lead…"

"Straight to Hogsmead." The twins grinned as they finished Harry's sentence together. "Now these four, we're pretty sure Filch knows about." Fred continued, pointing to four different spots on the map. "And we used to use this one up until around winter last year. But it's caved in – completely blocked." His finger moved to indicate another passage on the map.

"So that just leaves two." Harry observed, "This one's all the way out by… Is that the Whomping Willow?" All the students knew to avoid the cranky old tree, which was liable to attempt to pulverize any who got too close.

"Yeah it is." "We don't reckon anyone ever uses that one."

"I can see why." Harry agreed.

"But this one here, this one leads right into the cellar of Honeyduke's. We've used it loads of times." The twins beamed at Harry.

"Looks like the entrance is at the other end of the corridor, near that hump-backed statue." Harry observed.

"Not near it." Fred corrected. "Right behind that one-eyed old crone's hump. That's the one we'd recommend you use when you want to get to Hogsmead." "Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs." George said wistfully, while gesturing to the heading on the map. "We owe them so much." "Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers." Fred added solemnly.

"Those dots." Harry asked, staring at the parchment. "With the names by them – are they really the people in the castle?"

"Oh yeah!" They smiled, "It shows where everyone is, all the time."

"Brilliant!" Harry grinned broadly with them.

Harry nodded, continuing to examining the map as they said, "Oh, and don't forget to wipe it after you've used it –" "– or anyone can read it." They warned. "Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' And it'll go blank." It was George who demonstrated as he spoke and sure enough, after he'd tapped the map with his wand, the lines and letters disappeared, one by one, and the map refolded itself into Harry's hand.


Harry spent the next few days looking over the map in the privacy of his dorm room. "It even shows Mrs. Norris." He whispered to Draco in the library, "And Peeves, but… none of the other ghosts." He continued.

"You are going to have to let me borrow it sometime." Draco insisted. "And we should check out that secret passage before you have to use it."

"I already did, the twins gave it to me right next to it, basically. We'll have to be very careful with it, even more careful than we are with my cloak. This only hides itself if you remember to wipe it when you're done."

"Did you notice it doesn't show anyone in the house wings?" Draco added. "I watched someone approach the secret entrance to the common room yesterday, but then they just disappeared from the map."

"Yeah, I've been noticing that myself. Same for the other three houses."

"Wish we'd had it first year when we were trying to figure out when Dumble…" Draco paused, "Oh… That's how the twins knew Dumbledore had left!"

"Yeah, you're right." Harry grinned, "This explains quite a few things, actually." He added with a chuckle.


On Thursday they received notice of the next Dueling Club meeting to be held on Saturday, the day before Halloween. And since the time was the same, there was still no conflict with Harry's schedule. When Harry and his friends arrived, Flitwick was already on the stage talking with a small group of mostly older students. Harry scanned the assembled crowd for Susan Bones, wondering if she would want to duel him again.

Harry hadn't thought about it, but he'd rather expected Professor Lupin to return as Flitwick's assistant for the club meeting. And so he was surprised when Snape entered the room instead and stood at one end of the stage surveying the scene. It was a few more minutes before the majority of the students had arrived, and then Flitwick climbed onto the podium behind the stage and called for their attention.

"First thing's first." He began, once they'd all quieted down. "You've no doubt noticed that Professor Snape is here today, graciously filling in while Professor Lupin is temporarily unavailable. The three of us have discussed the future of the Dueling Club, and we've come to the conclusion that if we spend every club meeting just teaching new spells, we'll never have time for much actual dueling. So starting next week – every Saturday between club meetings – we'll be setting up in the great hall to allow club members to learn new spells and practice dueling under supervision. During the meetings themselves, we'll focus primarily on competition.

"Now, before we begin, does anyone have any questions?" There were more than a few questions, but after the first dozen or so, Flitwick declared that they needed to move on, and he would answer more questions later. "We'll start off with a quick lesson then dive right into dueling. Who here can name the Three Core Wand Defenses? Miss Clearwater?"

"The cut, the wick, and the douse." She supplied.

"That's correct! A cut is a technique where you counter the energy of an opponent's spell by knocking it aside with energy from your own wand. A wick is a similar technique, but instead of simply deflecting the spell, you catch it and control it briefly before redirecting it at a target of your choosing. Finally, dousing – the most difficult of the three – robs a spell of energy completely, eliminating all its effects. Today we're going to learn only the first of these techniques."

Draco raised his hand, "What about slicing?" He asked, once called upon.

"Slicing is an advanced form of cutting." Flitwick explained. "Instead of simply knocking a spell aside, you deflect it with precision and finesse, either back at your opponent, or even toward another target. This is different than wicking because you do not yourself gain control of the spell at any point, and thus cannot add to it, or change it before releasing it again."

"Isn't it sometimes better to cut than to slice?" One of the older Ravenclaws asked after raising his hand and being called upon. "Even if you're proficient at the more advanced technique?"

"That's correct. Slicing is a lot trickier, and therefore easier to miss, resulting in a failed defense. So even if you are very good at it, sometimes it is more prudent to be cautious and simply cut an incoming spell. Slicing is actually a lot more common in team dueling, when you can redirect an opponent's or even a teammate's spell and surprise a new target."

Hermione Granger was called on next, "Is there an incantation, or is this a different kind of magic?"

"There is no incantation." Flitwick confirmed, "This is pure force manipulation. It is similar to how you can reinforce a shield by concentrating or focusing your will, except in this case you are simply projecting magic through your wand to form a sort of invisible force saber, and using that to deflect an incoming spell, much like parrying with a sword. So to start with, I'm going to give you a brief lesson on just how to accomplish this. Everyone pair up, and we'll practice focusing force through our wands."

Harry found Susan and together they followed Flitwick's instructions. Harry felt he got the hang of it fairly quickly, and when Snape came by, he confirmed that both he and Susan were doing it 'adequately', even though the energy they were focusing was invisible to Harry. In truth, it reminded Harry not only of maintaining a shield, but also the game of exploding surprise he had played briefly during his birthday party that summer, and like with that game, there was a sense of pressure and motion around the tips of their wands as tangible evidence of their success.

However, when they moved on to the next aspect of cutting – actually deflecting a spell – Harry discovered quite quickly that while the feeling was similar, in practice the sheer focus required to actively deflect a hostile spell was vastly greater than anything else he had experienced up to that point. Still, between him and Susan they had both managed to do it a couple times before Flitwick called a halt to the lesson so they could begin actual dueling.

Harry found himself ushered to the side of the room along with the rest of the students, while Snape and Flitwick raised their wands, and simultaneously intoned, "Eccitant!" Seven sets of identical glowing circles came to life near the center of the hall. Each set consisted of three concentric circles partitioning the areas within them, with the outer ring of each set spanning what looked like thirty or forty feet in diameter. "These are your dueling circles." Flitwick explained. "Outside the outermost ring and within the innermost ring are both out of bounds, the remaining two levels make up your dueling space. If your wand crosses out of bounds your opponent scores a point and you must restart the set. If both duelists are in the outer level, any hit scored is worth a single point. If one duelist is in the inner level, a hit by either duelist is worth two points, and its three points for a hit if both duelists are in the inner level. The first duelist to reach fifteen points wins the match. Any charms, jinxes, and hexes are allowed, but transfiguration, curses, or using any tool or weapon other than a wand are strictly prohibited.

"Now, if there are no pressing questions?" He paused as if he didn't expect any questions, but a hand went up from one of the sixth year Hufflepuffs.

"So if any part of your wand crosses out of bounds, you have to reset?" He asked once Flitwick called on him.

"Oh, parts of your wand can go out of bounds. It is only if your entire wand crosses the boundary that you must begin a new set."

"Now, shall we get started? Professor Snape, if you will?" As Flitwick spoke, Snape came forward carrying a large silver cup, then he waved a hand over it, and first one, then another slip of paper flew into the air where he caught them deftly between his fingers. He handed the papers to Flitwick, who read them, then called out, "Miles Hanley versus Benjamin McEwan!" The two first year boys he'd named came forward, and Flitwick directed them to one of the dueling circles. "Please wait until all the circles have been filled before starting your duel."

Next from the cup were, "Natalie Barons versus Collin Creevey!" followed by "Zacharias Smith versus Ronald Weasley!" for the initial second and third year matches.

Harry had reason to dislike both of the duelists in his year; Ron for being part of Seamus' gang, and Zacharias for trying to get him, Draco, and Hagrid in trouble during their first year at the school. "Who are you going to root for?" Harry asked Draco in a low tone.

"Normally, I'd root against Ron." Draco replied, "But I'd be perfectly happy to see Smith trounced." He finished, mirroring Harry's own thoughts.

"Why, what do you have against Smith?" Pansy asked.

"He's the reason Harry and I lost fifty points near the end of our first year." Draco explained.

By the time they'd finished their discussion, all seven dueling circles were full, and Flitwick called for each pair to start. Harry and his friends had already moved close to the circle where Ron would be dueling Zacharias, and similar groups were forming around each of the other dueling circles, comprised – Harry observed – mostly of students in the same year as the duelists. Meanwhile, Flitwick positioned himself so he could look down on the duels from a platform on the stage while Snape remained in between the circles.

Ron and his opponent stood at opposite ends of the outer level. Once Flitwick gave the go-ahead, both Ron and Zach raised their wands in a brief salute, before falling back into a dueling stance. They watched each other warily for a long moment, then a crack echoed from the neighboring fourth year circle, and Ron stepped forward right into the inner level, and cried, "Slugulus Eructo!"

"Protego!" Zacharias shouted, erecting his shield just in time to block Ron's hex. Harry felt a moment of nausea at the mere memory of the effects of the spell Zach had just been spared. Almost immediately after Ron's spell dissipated, Zacharias countered with, "Depulso!"

The force of the translucent bubble of energy was enough to push Ron back several steps into the outer level, despite getting his shield up in time, but he was very quick to retaliate, "Colloshoo." This time getting the grey burst of light past his opponent's shield, hitting Zach low on his leg. A little counter Harry hadn't noticed before on the far side of the dueling circle rotated from 0 to 1. The glow from the dueling circle flared upward, and Ron's next spell fizzled against an invisible barrier between him and his opponent.

"Bad form, attacking a disabled opponent, Mister Weasley." Snape chided, "Start a new set." He instructed.

"What's that about?" Harry wondered aloud.

"When one duelist is disabled, the dueling circle nullifies all spells until a new set is started." Draco explained. "And, the shoe sticking jinx is a textbook disabling charm."

Harry glanced away to the seventh year dueling circle as a brief chant rose up around the two duelists there. When he turned back, Ron had resumed his dueling stance, and was waiting for Zacharias to do the same before the light from the runes returned to their original brightness. Then Ron almost immediately launched another charm, this time attempting a disarm.

Instead of blocking, Zach sidestepped the red beam from Ron's wand, while simultaneously casting a stinging jinx at the red-headed Gryffindor, earning a yelp from Ron, and a point on his score counter, tying them 1 to 1.

Ron recovered quickly, however, and cried "Erruccatto!" creating a stream of small explosions that danced around the dueling circle, and managed to score a point around Zacharias' shield. Harry jumped as some of the explosions came very close to where he was standing, but he was happy to note that the effects of the spell seemed to end abruptly at the edge of the circle.

A loud cheer went up from the fifth year students nearby, seeming to startle Zach as Ron pressed his advantage, stepping forward once more into the inner level and scoring two more hits, before Zacharias backed out of bounds. Harry watched as Ron's score counter ticked up twice for each hit, then once more when Zacharias stepped out of the circle, making the score 7 to 1. This flurry drew an answering cheer from Seamus and a couple of the Gryffindor girls close by, though Harry noted Dean Thomas didn't seem to have come to the club meeting at all. Zach took a moment to collect himself before stepping back into the circle, and both duelists resumed their starting positions for a new set. The Hufflepuff boy did not look happy.

This time, Smith conjured his shield first thing, easily deflecting Ronald's disarm, then also blocking another cracker jinx, expanding his shield to fend off the multitude of tiny explosions. He grinned when his opponent scowled, but the third year Weasley brought his wand forward and shouted, "Anaegis!"

Immediately, Smith dropped his shield to avoid Ron's spell, even though it was apparent to Harry that the shield breaker charm hadn't been cast correctly. In the brief moment that followed his feint, Ron swiftly incanted, "Locomotor Mortis." Binding his opponent's legs together and scoring another point.

In the next exchange, Zacharias managed to hit Ronald with a sneezing hex, followed almost immediately with Snape's tongue locking hex. That, of course, disrupted not only Ronald's concentration, but a few other duels nearby as the high pitched strangled snorts Ron made elicited nearly a full minute of laughter and jeers from the onlookers, even though the hexes were dispelled rather swiftly by the dueling circle.

After the noise finally died down, the two started a new set, and Zacharias swiftly stepped forward into the inner level. Apparently having regained some confidence after Ron's embarrassment, he fired off several more jinxes and hexes in rapid succession, only this time Ron was much quicker with his defenses.

In a few moments they were both dueling from the inner level, weaving back and forth to dodge as they both tried to stay on the offensive. Then suddenly, both were hit nearly simultaneously, resulting in Ron being knocked back into the outer level, and Zacharias dropping his wand.

Harry glanced to the score counters, wondering which hit would count, and was surprised to see both counters click upwards 3 times. Both had scored, putting them at 11 to 6 in favor of Ron as they restarted the set once more.

Ron only needed 4 more points, a fact both opponents seemed to recognize as Ron stepped forward into the inner level right away as the set began. He raised a shield to block Zacharias' jinx, then followed up with a third cracker charm, and a disarm, both of which connected, ending the match. Harry joined in with the cheers this time, a little surprised at how much he'd enjoyed watching Ron win his duel.

"Good show, Mister Weasley." Flitwick congratulated, recording the match score on a sheet of parchment as Snape retrieved two more names from the silver cup. "Hermione Granger versus Padma Patil." Flitwick announced after Snape handed him the names.

Harry was curious what sorts of spells Hermione might bring to bear against Padma, but the duel started off a bit slow, and Harry realized that because the girls were friends, they might not go all out against each other. So when Blaise started chatting with Draco about strategies they could use in the upcoming quidditch match, Harry found himself drawn into the conversation. The next thing he knew, Hermione had won, and Flitwick was announcing two new duelists. "Hannah Abbott versus Harry Potter."

"Good luck, Harry." Pansy and Draco encouraged him, nearly at the same time.

Harry nodded, excused himself from the conversation with Blaise, and stepped into the circle Granger and Patil had just vacated. He was joined a moment later by the blonde Hufflepuff, Hannah Abbott. Literally the only thing Harry knew about the girl was that she was friends with his regular dueling partner, Susan Bones.

Harry gave his opponent a salute then dropped into his dueling stance. Hannah did the same, and they both waited. A sharp sound from another duel seemed to startle Hannah, so Harry immediately swung forward, stepping into the inner level while casting, "Expelliarmus!"

His opponent did not get her guard up, and her wand went flying right into the center circle between them. Harry watched as only two points were added to his counter. He'd thought that the wand landing out of bounds would count for a third point. He'd have to ask about that later.

In short order, they had resumed their starting positions, and this time, Hannah took the offensive right away, with a tickling charm that Harry deftly blocked with his shield, only to swiftly call out, "Fumos!" While stepping once more into the inner level.

The blonde Hufflepuff raised her own shield, but the dark mist from Harry's wand went right around it, surrounding her as Harry followed up with, "Inflamarae!" He put an extra flick in his wand motion as he conjured a small ball of fire from the tip, lobbing the projectile upward to arc over Hannah's shield within the mist.

A yelp and the score counter ticking upward, told Harry his charm had hit, but Hannah recovered quickly, incanting, "Tepidaerus!" And summoned a brisk wind to dissipate the mist.

"Langlock!" She shouted, in the same moment Harry cast, "Everte Statum!"

Harry dodged to one side, narrowly evading the beam from Hannah's wand, while the girl made an 'umph' sound as the force of his jinx knocked her back several paces to the edge of the dueling circle. "Locomotor Mortis!" Harry added swiftly, his hex catching Hannah before she could raise another shield, and tripping her as her legs were invisibly bound together, at which point she fell backwards out of bounds.

As they moved to reset once more, Hannah was scowling at him, and the score read 8 to 0 in favor of Harry. Once again, the score counter didn't give him a point for Hannah's wand going out of bounds, but Harry was still winning handily. He resisted the urge to grin, as he moved back to the outer level and fell back into his dueling stance, waiting for Hannah to do the same.

Both stilled once more, and Harry stepped forward swiftly and flicked his wand. "Depulso!"

But, Hannah was a mere moment behind him. "Glacius!"

Harry's eyes widened as the white blue beam from Hannah's spell cut right through his banishing charm, and impacted his chest, immediately filling him with a bone chilling cold. "Stupefy!" Hannah shouted, hitting Harry with another jinx before he could get his guard back up. He reeled, his vision blurring, but he still made out Hannah raising her wand again for another charm.

Harry dropped his wand.

When his head was cleared, Harry checked the score counters, confirming that Hannah had scored 5 points, two for each hit, and one for Harry's dropped wand.

He retrieved his wand, and they both returned to their starting stances. Harry tried to still his mind, and focus on his next maneuver. This time, Hannah moved first, "Dextra Mortis!"

But Harry was already raising his shield, "Protego!"

Harry blocked the arm binding jinx, and the two more that followed it; getting a measure of his opponent's speed before dropping his shield and letting loose, "Langlock!"

At nearly the same time, Hannah was incanting, "Stupefy!"

Both spells hit, and Harry took a moment to shake off the disorienting effects of Hannah's jinx, and was happy to note that his opponent was still trying to get out a dispelling charm around the impediment of her tongue being stuck in place.

Harry immediately stepped forward into the inner level, and cast the same spell Hannah had opened this round with, "Dextra Mortis!"

He was surprised when the tongue tied Hannah managed to deflect his jinx with a well-timed cut.

Harry recovered quickly enough, and followed up with, "Depulso!"

This time, Hannah missed her cut, and she stumbled backward out of bounds.

Harry finally took a moment to glance at the score counters, which read 12 and 5.

After the jinx had been lifted, Hannah returned to the circle, and they both resumed starting stances for what he hoped would be the final time.

Harry only needed 3 more points, and so he stepped into the inner level right as the match renewed, "Expelliarmus!" He shouted.

Hannah stepped forward at nearly the same moment with her own charm, "Protego!"

Hannah's shield was a perfect disc, and strong enough to deflect Harry's disarming charm right back at him. He couldn't bring his defense up in time, and could only watch as his wand went flying.

They took up their starting positions once again, and Harry tried to steady himself. The last thing he needed was to let frustration dull his edge.

Once again they both stepped forward to the inner level as the next set began, this time, Harry swished his wand as if casting a charm, as Hannah incanted another, "Protego!"

But Harry's charm was a feint, and it took Hannah only a moment to realize this. Harry smiled, and Hannah held her shield, both of them waiting for the other to make a move. Finally Harry determined to test the resilience of her shield, "Everte Statum!"

His blasting spell impacted her shield hard, but she didn't move. He repeated the charm once, then twice, then switched to, "Bombarda!"

The crashing boom from his charm reverberated in the space between them, and this time Hannah was pushed back, cracks forming along the surface of her shield. But before Harry could bring a fourth blasting charm to bear, Hannah dropped her shield and countered. "Stupefy!" She shouted.

But Harry cut her spell out of the air and followed up with a swift, "Depulso!"

His spell caught her right in the midriff, and she stumbled back another step. Harry wasn't certain if his spell had hit her in the inner or outer level until he saw his score counter tick up 3 points, making the final score 15 to 8 in Harry's favor. Then the runic circles flashed to signal the end of the match.

Quite a few of the nearby students cheered Harry's victory, and he bowed once to Hannah before vacating the ring for the next match between Anthony Goldstein and Su Li. He mostly chatted with his friends after that, except when they were in the dueling circle.

Harry, Daphne and Tracey dueled in a total of three matches each before the club meeting was over, while Draco, Pansy and Blaise only had time to duel twice.

In addition to winning his match with Hannah Abbot, Harry also won against Parvati Patil after a swift but tense duel, and handily defeated Millicent Bulstrode with very little effort, a fact which seemed to greatly frustrate the physically imposing Slytherin girl.


Harry awoke Sunday morning excited enough that he barely felt the chill in the air. The castle was well decorated for the upcoming Halloween feast that evening, but first was the trip to Hogsmead. "Just don't get overexcited." The Carrows had cautioned him. "You might end up being disappointed. While it is definitely fun and good to get out of the school for a lick, there is nothing truly exceptional about the small village, beyond it being the closest civilization to Hogwarts."

That didn't stop Harry from wolfing down his breakfast as he tried to keep his anticipation from being too obvious. There were a few people, after all, who were well aware that he did not have permission to visit Hogsmead. Still, he supposed anyone who did notice might just as well assume he was excited for the holiday, which wasn't even that far from the truth.

But before Harry could make his way through the secret passageway, he accompanied Draco and Pansy to the entry hall, where they spotted Filch watching all the passing students suspiciously, alert for any who were not on the list he held, checking off the name of each student who walked through the doors.

"Well, I'll see you two later." Harry offered his friends in a low tone. He didn't think it necessary to 'advertise' that he wasn't walking out the door with them, so he separated right at the stairs, and descended casually toward the Slytherin wing.

From there, he ducked into an alcove, and swiftly donned his invisibility cloak. He was careful not to rush as he went back up the stairs to the third floor corridor, conscious of the sound his footfalls made, however soft. He found himself shortly in front of the statue of the one-eyed witch.

He produced the map from a pocket of his robes, and then tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear, I am up to no good." He whispered, and watched as the map sprang to life before his eyes. He waited a moment for the figure of himself on the page to tap the statue with its wand, and reveal the password in a little speech bubble just as it had before. "Dissendium." He read aloud, and the hump on the witch's back split right down the middle, revealing a sort of stone slide leading into the darkness through the wall behind it.

Harry remembered the last time he'd encountered a passage into the earth beneath the castle. That time he'd ended up in the lair of a deadly magical monster. But that was then, and he doubted any such danger awaited him this time as he hoisted himself into the passage, and slid down the stone tunnel to the bottom. "Lumos." He muttered, banishing the darkness with the light springing from his wand. He took a moment to bundle his cloak back up under his sweater, and glanced up the way he'd come. There was no hint of light from above, and he figured the passage must have closed itself. He wiped the map, and tucked it back into his pocket, before setting off at a trot down the tunnel.

He quickly lost track of the distance he'd traveled along the winding uneven passage, and had no idea how much further he had left to go. He stumbled once or twice, and forced himself to slow down, despite his excitement. He was very grateful for the warmth charms on his robes when the time stretched to what seemed an hour or more, and he still hadn't reached his destination. Finally, he came to the bottom of a series of stone steps, rising up into the darkness. He slowed even further as he began to climb, holding his wand aloft, losing count of how many steps he'd ascended somewhere around a hundred. At long last he found a wooden plank ceiling that he guessed was the underside of a trap door. After pulling his cloak back out and extinguishing his wand, he felt his way to the wood, and pushed up carefully, so he could peer out through the gap.

He appeared to have emerged in a cellar, filled with crates and boxes. There didn't seem to be anyone about, so he exited the passage completely, and carefully closed the trapdoor behind him. Once closed, it was basically impossible to detect that there was anything there but the floor, so Harry did a quick mental inventory of the surrounding objects, for when he might have to come back this way. Then he slung his cloak around his shoulders, and made his way up the stairs, toward the sounds of muffled voices, a door chime, and the sweet smell of candy.

He crept into the main part of the store, where it seemed half the students in his year had amassed, pouring over the shelves lined with sweets of all variety, everything from perfectly normal toffee, to Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans, to blood-flavored lollipops. It took him only a moment to spot Draco and Pansy, who stood together next to a shelf with all sorts of gummy treats with a sign indicating a wash room just beyond them. Harry took the hint, and ducked past them into the short hallway, checked to make sure no one was looking, and shed his cloak once more, before emerging quietly. "Find anything interesting?" He asked in a soft tone, though he still managed to startle Pansy enough that she squeaked.

"Don't sneak up on people, Harry." She admonished.

"Sorry." Harry shrugged, and tried not to grin at her reaction.

"That didn't take you long, did it?" Draco observed.

"Felt like a while." Harry countered. "So what's worth buying here?" He rephrased his earlier question.

"We've only just started browsing." Pansy confessed. "They've got all the usual stuff, like chocolate frogs, and every flavour beans. I was thinking we might want to try something a little different, that we may not have tasted before."

"Okay." Harry nodded.

They spent several minutes deciding what to try, and Harry almost bought a box of jelly bombs, but the last one was snatched up by another student before he could get to it. It appeared that the inventory was somewhat limited, particularly for the more popular items, so after perusing a few more shelves, they picked up two small bags of smoke drops, three large dukesicles (which were charmed to stay frozen for hours), a half dozen chocolate frogs, a box of animal snaps, and a case of glow pops.

From there they made their way to Zonko's Joke Shop, where they of course found the twins hunched over a counter, talking in low tones. Harry approached to see if he could make out what they were looking at, and to no great surprise, he discovered it was a box of assorted fireworks. Harry considered buying the box for them, but wasn't sure he could justify another gift so soon, and made a mental note to pick it up before Christmas. They spent some time browsing, and the twins happily explained the function of everything they looked at, as well as anecdotes of uses they personally had found for them. Apparently they were quite familiar with the store's inventory.

Harry didn't end up buying anything from Zonko's, and soon they were back outside wandering the street as they discussed where to go next. Before they could decide, Harry spotted a commotion up ahead, in front of an establishment named 'the Three Broomsticks'. "What do you suppose?" He asked, as they drew closer, stopping near the edge of a rapidly forming crowd.

"…hope to win?" Sneered a tall fair-haired Ravenclaw boy in the center of the gathering. Facing off against him was an even taller Hufflepuff, thick and burly with a head of dark curls. Both had their wands drawn.

"I'm sick of your lip." The Hufflepuff growled back, bringing his wand forward decisively.

Neither spoke an incantation, but cast their charms wordlessly, first a spark of pale pink that deflected harmlessly off the Ravenclaw's silver-blue shield, then after dropping the shield a red flash from the Ravenclaw that met a silvery ball of magic halfway between the two boys. Then there was a green arc of liquid light which the thinner boy dodged, already firing off a red disarming beam which sent the Hufflepuff's wand spinning end over end through the air into a nearby bush.

The blonde wizard's crow of triumph was cut short, as the larger boy growled and charged straight at him, his hands balled into fists. The thinner fair-haired boy backed up a few paces, and tried to raise his wand, but made a 'umph' sound instead as the two collided. The Hufflepuff's momentum carried them both into a nearby cart, scattering boxes and butterbeer bottles across the cobblestones.

"What's this about?" Harry asked no one in particular.

"Cannae say." Responded a sandy haired boy to Harry's right. "Dinnae see how it started meself."

The thick Irish accent made Harry take a second look, and sure enough, it was Seamus. The fair haired bully was noticing Harry at just that same moment, and both of them backed away from each other, only to stumble into their friends on either side.

"Break it up! Watch it, watchit!" Before either Harry or his rival could say a word, a local witch burst between them, shoving her way through the crowd with wand raised. For a brief moment, Harry was certain he saw a flash of bright red hair, but when he looked again; the woman's hair was actually quite dark.

"Oh hey, Seamus, are you…" Pansy began in a sing-song tone.

"Let's not start a fight here." Harry quickly interjected.

Seamus was giving them a sour look, but when he glanced to either side, neither Dean nor Ron seemed inclined to fight. "C'mon." Ron said, and the three of them started to turn and walk away.

"Yeah, not a good place to make a scene." Draco agreed after a moment, and the three of them moved away from the square where the fight was being broken up.

Shortly, Harry found himself in an alley with Draco and Pansy. He looked around and spotted a shaggy black dog trotting away and around the corner, then he glanced back toward the square just as the Weasley twins came into view. "Whatcha doing in here?" One of them asked.

"Didn't want to make a scene." Harry explained. "And we spotted Seamus and his cronies. We just decided to take the better part of valor this time, especially since I'm not technically supposed to be here."

"Probably for the best." The other twin nodded. "Besides, we're pretty sure those people out there breaking up the fight are undercover aurors." "Don't want them to catch us with these." They each produced a pair of butterbeer bottles from beneath their robes then quickly hid them away again.

"Maybe it's time to head back up to the castle." Draco suggested. "If you get caught with those, we'll ALL get in trouble." His smile softened the harshness of his words, and Harry thought he appreciated the twins' resourcefulness in this instance.

"Guess we don't need to visit the Three Broomsticks now, anyways." Pansy agreed, and they all set off to find a place to open up one of the bottles together.

Harry was a little sad to cut his Hogsmead visit short, but was perfectly happy to spend time with his best friends, in an out-of-the-way nook of the castle grounds, laughing over a bottle of butterbeer.

By the time the evening came around, Harry was feeling hungry again, which was just as well, since the Halloween feast was utterly delectable. Harry himself had second helpings of every single dish, and even went back for thirds and fourths of a few of his favorites. The whole great hall was lit with fiery streamers that slithered overhead like orange snakes. Hagrid's pumpkins had been carved into wickedly smiling jack-o-lanterns, who cast their own glows across the gathering, and there were even swarms of what appeared to be live bats enchanted to fly about the room but never get in anyone's hair.

Finally, the castle ghosts gave a grand performance to end the celebration as they'd done in years past, emerging through the walls, and entertaining the guests with a variety of skits and reenactments, before the students were sent to bed. Harry, Draco, and Pansy made their way to their dorm rooms, full and exhausted, but Harry had no sooner closed his eyes, it seemed, than their Prefect, Cassius Warrington was awakening him and the other 3rd year Slytherin boys. "Everyone up, they're summoning us back to the great hall." He told them. "Don't dawdle." Confused, but curious, Harry redressed, assuring the other boys that he had no idea what was going on. They found all the other Slytherins meeting in the common room, where Snape was already waiting for them, as the prefects rounded up the last of the students.

"Any idea what's going on?" Harry asked of Gemma Farley.

"No clue. Professor Snape didn't tell us, just instructed us to wake everyone up to go back to the great hall." Gemma whispered back.

Once the last student had been rounded up, they all followed Snape out, with the prefects taking up the rear. As Harry came up the stairs into the entry hall, he spotted the Hufflepuffs ahead of them passing through the double doors into the great hall. Upon entering – the hall now devoid of all signs of the earlier feast – Harry saw that the Gryffindor students were already there. It was only a minute before the Ravenclaws joined them, crowding forward, and asking around to see if anyone else knew what was happening.

They barely had time to start conjecturing with the newly arrived Ravenclaws, before Dumbledore called for their attention, "The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle." He began, just as McGonagall and Flitwick were closing the double doors behind them, "I'm afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here." The assembled students began to murmur at this announcement. Those closest to Harry were mostly curious, but Harry also heard some worried tones not too far from him. "I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbances should be reported to me immediately, send word with one of the ghosts." The headmaster turned to leave, but then turned back, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing…" A simple motion of his wand sent all the long tables and benches floating to the end of the hall, stacking themselves neatly against the wall. Another wordless charm summoned hundreds of plush purple sleeping bags on top of comfy looking mats all along the length and breadth of the chamber. "Sleep well." And then the teachers were gone.

The moment the door closed behind them, the students began talking in low tones. Those closest to the Gryffindors seemed to be chatting the most animatedly, "Everyone into their sleeping bags!" Shouted the Head Boy, Percy Weasley. A few students even quieted down. "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!" But Harry wanted to know what had happened.

"C'mon." He whispered to Draco and Pansy, making his way closer to his rival house, as it seemed they were the only ones who knew.

He tried to catch the eye of one of the Weasley twins, but then stopped as he heard Maximus Cuffe exclaim, "You're sure it was Sirius Black?!"

"That's what Peeves said." Lavender Brown replied. She was standing with a small group of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws talking softly with Cuffe and a couple other Slytherins.

"What's this about Sirius Black?" Harry asked, moving to stand next to Maximus.

Most of the non-Slytherins frowned when he approached, but he didn't care. He was vaguely aware of the Prefects and Percy moving in their direction, trying to break up conversations and get everyone to lie down. But that was inconsequential next to this potential news.

"He was here in the castle." Maximus told him. "Shredded a painting, and scared off whoever was in it, according to Peeves."

"He was trying to get into Gryffindor Tower." Lavender added, looking miffed, for some reason.

"What for? Why would he…" Harry stopped, as a dreadful thought occurred to him.

"The real question is; how did he get into the castle?" Maximus intoned theatrically. "It's quite the mystery."

"Come on, settle down." Percy was right on top of them now, and the Slytherins reluctantly drew away from the other students.

"What do you think it means?" Draco asked as they searched for a group of unoccupied sleeping bags.

"I think he was after me." Harry whispered.

"But then why would he…"

Draco was interrupted by Pansy's gasp, who up until then had remained silent. "He thinks Harry's a Gryffindor, like his parents!"

"That's what I'd been thinking." Harry agreed.

The three of them quieted and quickly climbed into their sleeping bags as Gemma Farley patrolled past them.

"This is bad." Draco resumed whispering once the prefect was out of earshot. "Azkaban couldn't hold him, and now we know even Hogwarts isn't safe. But at least no one was hurt, right?"

"Though wouldn't it have been…"

"No!" Harry hissed, cutting off whatever Pansy had been about to say. "No one deserves that. Not even Seamus." Pansy was immediately contrite. "Honestly, a part of me hopes Black finds me." He added, angrily. "I'm ready for him."

"Don't say things like that." Pansy was quick to retort. "Look, I'm trying to be nicer. But you don't get to say things like that if you don't want me saying mean things about people like Seamus. Black is dangerous, and no matter what you've been through, you don't know what he's capable of."

"I've faced Voldemort already." Harry ignored their gasps, "Sirius can't be more dangerous than that."

"The lights are going out now! I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!" Percy's voice carried across the hall. A moment later the candles were all extinguished, plunging them into near total darkness.

"Don't. Say. The name." Draco whispered from Harry's left. "And we should try to sleep."

"Listen to Draco, Harry." It was Daphne, from just beyond where Pansy was laying down.

Harry sighed. He wondered how much of their conversation she had heard, but knew they were right. Still, sleep did not come easily or quickly to Harry, who lay awake for a long time staring up at the stars drifting slowly across the ceiling overhead.

Harry didn't really expect the whispering to cease entirely, and he was proven correct in this. The Head Boy and Girl, as well as all the prefects continued to walk between sleeping bags trying to hush the remaining gossipers, while ghosts occasionally floated alongside them providing a little extra light from their luminous forms.

Harry shifted from time to time, feeling restless with nervous energy, and periodically checked the time with a whispered 'Tempus' charm. It seemed a teacher came into the hall about once an hour to check with the Head Boy and Girl before resuming the search of the castle, until at last Dumbledore himself appeared around three in the morning, quickly moving to speak with those he'd left in charge.

Harry strained his ears, but could not make out a single whispered word between the Headmaster and Percy Weasley, nor between Dumbledore and Snape once the Head of Slytherin house entered a few minutes later.

With a sigh, Harry rolled away and tried once more to sleep, or at least rest comfortably until dawn. He did, however, eventually fall asleep at some point in the early hours of the morning, wondering what the future would bring.


Author's Comments: Wow, this has been a real long time coming, but it's finally here. I must apologize again for how long it's taken me to get back to this. I've had a lot going on, including a business venture that has occupied a great deal of my time and creativity. But I'll keep at this whenever I have a spare moment, no matter how long it takes to finish this series.

I wanted to mention that while I haven't had much time to write new material, I have had the opportunity to do some significant editing to the earlier portions of the story. The entire first year has been edited, and while the overall story is the same, some important details have been changed in order to better serve a number of things, including plans I have for the future, as well as just being more interesting and entertaining to read in general. I've grown as a writer, and have found ways to better tell this story in places.

I'd love to hear what everyone thinks of the changes, once you have a chance to go back and reread them.

Anyways, thanks for sticking with me, and giving me the inspiration to continue working on this. I hope I can get another chapter to you in a timely manner, but I guess we'll see how it goes.

Cheers!

Once again the copyrights for the Harry Potter worlds belong to J.K. Rowling. All original characters depicted here and this story are copyrighted to me.