Harry Potter and the Unexpected Powers

by Felinity

Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts is not as simple as he would have liked. Instead of just worrying about his O.W.L.s (and maybe girls) as normal teenagers do, war has begun in the magical community, and a strange, disembodied being haunts Harry's steps...

10. Chapter Ten: The Third Encounter

Harry Potter and the Unexpected Powers

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters you recognise! They all belong to JK Rowling! I do own Rhianna Lupin, the plot and the ENQT!

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Chapter 10

The Third Encounter

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Even more slowly, Harry looked up. And found himself nose-to-wand with Peter Pettigrew.

The rat-faced man was smiling maliciously and breathing hard.

"So, Potter," he panted, "We meet again. And this time, you are completely at my mercy....."

Harry shuddered as he held on with all his might. Sirius, Minerva and Hooch had been right behind them. Surely they would help him soon? Pettigrew seemed to sense Harry's thoughts, because he suddenly looked up sharply and cast a spell with his silver hand that Harry didn't recognise.

Immediately, a colourful barrier formed on the other side of the crack, repelling and blocking out anyone who came within a foot of it. Harry could hear furious snarling sounds, then curses being thrown, but nothing seemed to be able to break the barrier.

Pettigrew turned his attention back to Harry. He was frowning.

"Pity I can't kill you right now, while you are so vulnerable," he muttered. "But if I did that, your body would fall down the crack..... don't know if floating charms would be strong enough to catch it..... never my forte at school..... and I need to bring it to my master, he will honour me for it beyond my wildest dreams..... I will be his right-hand man, he will make the other Deatheaters worship me, he will fulfil my every dream for the present I am about to give him..... you, Harry....."

A strange light shone in Pettigrew's eyes, and with a shudder, Harry realized that the man was insane.

"Yes....." Pettigrew hissed, "I will give Master what he desires most..... your life, Harry Potter..... the boy-who lived!" He spat the words, then laughed coldly.

Harry shivered. The man was really, truly, insane. Suddenly, Pettigrew stopped laughing, the light in his eyes died down, and he regarded Harry with almost calculating eyes.

"Do you even know why I hate you so much, Potter? Do you even understand?"

Harry was panting by now, his arms shaking with the effort of holding on to the crack's edge, his fingers starting to slip. Pettigrew frowned and levitated Harry onto the ground next to him with a flick of silver hand. Harry kept very still, not wanting to anger the mentally unstable man who was still pointing his wand at Harry.

"Well, Potter? Do you know?"

Harry shook his head angrily.

"No, I don't," he said, "My parents and Sirius and Remus were your friends, your very best friends, and you betrayed them!"

Pettigrew drew a sharp breath and pressed his wand to Harry's throat.

"Never," he growled, "speak of things you don't understand in that tone, Potter!"

"Oh yeah?" Harry bit back. "I don't understand? Well, why don't you try me, then?"

Neither of the two were aware of the crowd that had gathered in front of the barrier. The whole Order Council was there, still trying desperately to break the unnatural barrier, but also listening to their conversation with interest.

"Very well." Pettigrew agreed, his wand never leaving Harry's throat.

"It all started when we first came to Hogwarts. I met this girl on the train, a red-haired, green-eyed girl, pretty, even though she was still a child at the time. Yes, Potter, she was Lily Evans, your mother."

Pettigrew sounded almost wistful as he said that.

"We talked for a bit. I immediately had a crush on her, but she didn't seem to like me much. She preferred the company of three other first years by the names of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and James Potter."

Again, he spat out the name.

"I tried to get Lily's attention so hard over the years. I convinced the sorting head not to put me in Slytherin, I made friends with Potter and his little gang, I played pranks on my rightful house..... I tried to get good marks, even allowed myself to be humiliated a few times, just to be in the spotlight, just to catch Lily's attention....."

He took a deep breath, pressing his wand into Harry's throat. Harry choked slightly, and Pettigrew relented a little.

"Then, in our sixth year," he said in a rough voice, "There was a ball. A Yule ball. I was so glad. Finally, there was something to catch my crush's attention. I asked Lily to the ball, and she declined. She was already going with Potter. Not two weeks later, the two of them were a couple."

Harry began to feel a little pity for the man in front of him.

"From then on, nothing could catch Lily's attention but James. Whenever I talked to her, she was very cold. I became bitter and started to resent my friends. Black and Lupin as well, for Lily liked them."

The rat-faced man laughed scornfully.

"Perfect Potter, Black and Lupin. Always thought they were better than the rest of us. Always getting what they wanted without really trying hard. Oh no, we normal mortals never stood a chance."

Pettigrew took a shuddering breath and raked his free hand through his thinning hair. Harry dared not move, for the wand was still pressed firmly into his throat.

"After school," Pettigrew continued roughly, a definite edge to his voice, "We all joined the Order of the Phoenix."

Catching Harry's disbelieving and doubtful gaze, Pettigrew smiled cynically.

"Oh yes, Potter. I passed the Phoenix Initiation Ritual. While I was bitter, I was still entirely devoted to the so-called light side." Pettigrew smiled almost amusedly.

"What a fool I was! But of course, Master soon taught me that there is no light or dark..... there is simply power and those too weak to seek it..... Dumbledore and his little group were idealists, a useless bunch, the lot of them..... but I am getting side-tracked. Only about a month after entering the Order, the Dark Lord approached me. Said that out of the whole Order, I had seemed to be the most..... talented..... and best-suited man for his services....."

Pettigrew smiled again, sarcastically.

"Imagine that. Eighteen years on the side of light, and nobody had ever told me that I was talented at anything before..... Needless to say, I didn't trust my lord at first. I even attacked him....."

Pettigrew looked almost ashamed.

"But my lord, of course, was not harmed. He used the Imperius Curse on me to make me sit down and listen to him — and by the end of the day, I knew how wrong I had been..... how wrong to ever think that the 'light side' could ever win....."

The strange light was again shining in Pettigrew's eyes. Harry gulped slightly and tried to back away. Unfortunately, Pettigrew noticed, and with a hiss, he drew out a small dagger and pressed it to Harry's throat.

"Don't move, Potter," he growled, "Don't move, or you'll find yourself without that pretty little head of yours..... we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

Harry gulped again as the knife sliced through his skin and warm blood started to flow down his neck. He could hear some of the Order Council members screaming, and a renewed mass of curses hitting the barrier.

"So....." Pettigrew whispered, dragging his finger through Harry's blood and staring at it in morbid fascination, "I decided to accept the offer he had made me. I would spy for him, passing what information I could gather on the Order..... and in return, he said that I would someday get what I always wanted..... your mother....."

Pettigrew eyed Harry again with his calculating gaze.

"I presume people have told you how much you look like your father? Well, that's not entirely true. There's a lot of Lily in you..... your eyes, your nose, even your smile..... anyway..... more than a year after I had joined his service, master entrusted me with a wonderful task..... I was to become your secret keeper, I just had to convince that idiot Black and Potter..... to my great delight, it didn't take much convincing. It was all Black's idea, I would be the secret keeper, and he the target....."

Pettigrew laughed out loud, though there was no warmth and amusement in that laugh, just cruelty and coldness. Harry shivered involuntarily.

"Of course....." Pettigrew continued quietly, his hand shaking ever so slightly. ".....things didn't quite work out as I wanted them to..... Master — betrayed me, by killing the woman I loved, and then he got himself killed by YOU!"

Pettigrew pressed harder, and Harry started to choke again. Blood gushed out of the cut on his throat, and Harry knew that if Pettigrew cut just a little deeper, he would be dead in an instant.

"You know what happened next," Pettigrew continued smoothly. "I framed Black..... probably the first time I ever outsmarted him..... it must irk him mercilessly."

Pettigrew smiled insanely, and Harry could hear muffled shouts of anger and curses through the barrier.

"So now, Potter..... you know why I did what I did..... you know why I betrayed...... those...... who have admittedly shown me kindness..... and you know why I hate you so much."

His voice was just a little bitter.

"Lily should have been my wife. You should have been my son. You are the living reminder of my failure to get the one thing I wanted the most..... the living reminder of everything that has gone wrong in my life. And therefore, Potter you will pay now....."

Pettigrew put the knife down and picked up his wand instead, shooting a leg- locker curse at Harry and binding his hands with a flick of his wand.

"I will kill you this way..... it gives the caster so much more satisfaction..... so much more fun to kill magically....."

"You would know," panted Harry as he squirmed desperately on the ground.

Pettigrew hit him across the face.

Time seemed to slow down for Harry as he watched Pettigrew raise his wand and prepare to speak those fatal two words. Dimly, he heard the Council members' panicked shouts and the voice that was pronouncing the most unforgivable of curses..... Avada Kedavra.

Harry closed his eyes as the green light rushed towards him. He held his breath as seconds stretched to resemble eternity..... and then, the curse hit. It was unlike anything Harry could ever remember experiencing before. He felt hot and cold at the same time, like he was burning and someone was dumping him in freezing water.....

Harry breathed heavily as he felt the curse descend on his tired brain and heart. Darkness threatened to engulf Harry, everything faded away, he couldn't see, couldn't breathe, couldn't hear, could only feel and fight.....

And fight, Harry did. With all of his willpower and inner strength, he lashed out at the curse, driving the darkness away, struggling for his life. For an endless second, Harry thought that it wouldn't work..... and then, he could suddenly breathe again, the darkness was gone, noises returned, Harry could hear Pettigrew screaming again.

Why was Pettigrew screaming? Harry sat bolt upright immediately, just in time to see a flash of green light, which seemed to be surrounded by small, golden lightning bolts, speeding away from him and hitting Pettigrew in the chest. The rat Animagus let out a choked gasp and sank to the floor.

Harry stared in disbelief at the still figure. What had just happened? Why wasn't he (Harry) dead? Why had the curse rebounded?

A crackling sound on his right drew Harry's attention. It seemed that the Order members had finally succeeded in breaking the barrier down.

A big, black dog jumped over the crack with ease and skidded to a halt next to Harry. One moment later, the dog had transformed into Harry's godfather.

"Harry!" Harry found himself enveloped in a bone-crushing hug. "God, kid, are you alright? What about your throat? Don't you ever do that again!"

A few minutes and an endless series of hugs later, Harry could finally breathe again. It seemed that almost every council member had wanted to hug him and make sure that he was alright.

Harry looked up when somebody sighed exasperatedly. Madam Pomfrey had arrived. The school matron looked stern and disapproving at first, but her gaze softened when she took in the cut on Harry's throat (which was still bleeding slightly).

"Alright, you," she sighed, "Lay down for a minute. I have to fix that cut."

Harry sighed and allowed himself to fall back onto the ground. Madam Pomfrey examined the wound gently for a while, then she drew out her wand.

"I'm going to have to clean that cut," she explained to the anxious on- lookers, "Seems that Pettigrew wasn't cleaning his knife properly. If I don't clean it, the wound will be infected. Hold still, Harry, this will to burn a little."

She swished her wand in a complicated pattern and muttered an incantation. Harry personally thought that Madam Pomfrey had just produced the understatement of the year. It didn't burn a little, it definitely burned a lot!

Harry grimaced, but he had survived much worse. After a few minutes, the burn faded away, and Madam Pomfrey seemed to be satisfied. She touched her wand to the cut, and a second later, it was gone. Not even a scar remained.

Harry smiled and tried to sit up, but his godmother pushed him back down.

"Oh no, you don't," she said sternly. "You, my dear godson, were just hit with the killing curse. We have to make sure that there are no after- effects."

Harry frowned and protested.

"But Minerva, Madam Pomfrey, I'm fine! Honestly! I don't even feel all that tired-"

But he might as well have talked to a wall, because Madam Pomfrey began to wave her wand above his body again, muttering a string of spells and charms. Harry frowned to himself and decided to let it go.

"Well," she diagnosed, "It seems to me, young man, that you are indeed what could be considered fine. A few bruises and ripped muscle strings here and there, but nothing serious, and definitely nothing that wouldn't be cured by a good night's sleep. However, as far as I can tell, battling that curse has tired you out greatly. You should be sleeping right now."

Harry frowned in annoyance and tried to sit up again. This time, he was stopped by his godfather.

"Poppy is right, Harry," Sirius said uncharacteristically sternly, "Rest for now. Don't worry, everything will be taken care of."

"But-"

Snape stepped up behind Sirius and handed him a bottle of shimmering, red potion. Sirius uncorked the vial and put a hand behind Harry's head. Harry scowled.

"Sirius! I-"

His godfather used that very moment to quickly dump the bottle's content into Harry's mouth. Harry choked slightly and swallowed reflexively..... and then the world around him faded into nice, fuzzy, warm darkness.

~*~

Harry didn't open his eyes at first when he woke up. He felt too comfortable. He hadn't had any dreams, the bed beneath him was soft, the covers were warm, he felt relaxed, he could hear a gentle breeze rustling the leaves above his head.....

Harry smiled contently. There was a very slight stinging pain in his throat. Harry wondered where it came from. Oh, right! Pettigrew had cut his throat. Well, then, there was nothing to worry about and he could go back to- PETTIGREW HAD CUT HIS THROAT???

Harry gasped as the memories flooded back to him and sat bolt upright. He looked around the room wildly. Where was he? It looked like- a clearing? Somebody slipped his glasses on to his face. The smiling face of Sirius Black swam into focus.

"Good morning, Harry," he remarked pleasantly, "I trust you slept well? You seemed- reluctant last night."

Harry scowled as he remembered the reason why he had been asleep.

"That wasn't very nice, you know," Harry complained, "You could at least have asked me if I wanted to sleep-"

"Would you have said 'yes'?"

"Well- no, but-"

"See? It was the only way. And you needed to sleep, no matter what you think."

Harry frowned again. He wasn't about to admit to Sirius that he really did feel better now.

"Still," he muttered, not caring in the least that he sounded like a petulant child. Sirius just smiled and ruffled Harry's hair affectionately.

"Do you want something to eat, Harry? After yesterday's events, you must be hungry." As if answering his question, Harry's stomach growled loudly. Harry blushed, but Sirius merely grinned.

"Just a sec, Harry. I'll be just outside, calling a house elf. You shall stay put, Madam Pomfrey wants to check on you before you are allowed to get up."

Harry sighed exasperatedly and slumped back into his pillows. He watched with a slight smile as a bird from the forest stuck its head through the wall and chirped at Harry questioningly.

"I'm fine," Harry told the little bird, "Don't worry." The bird cocked its head to the side, then spread its wings and fluttered away. Moments later, Sirius entered with a tray of breakfast.

"Madam Pomfrey will be here in fifteen minutes," he told Harry. "Try to eat as much of this food as you can. You're still underweight." Harry rolled his eyes at Sirius' stern gaze and accepted the tray of food. As he was very hungry, he had absolutely no problem in cleaning the whole try off. It was hard to say who was more amazed, Sirius or Harry.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," a voice said from the portrait hole. Harry whirled around and came face-to-face with Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, Remus and his godmother. The school matron stepped over to the bed and eyed Harry critically. Grabbing his chin gently, she lit her wand and looked into Harry's eyes. Harry had no idea what she was looking for and was about to tell her that his eyes had not popped out of their sockets over night, when she released him, seemingly satisfied. Harry tried to blink away the red and green lights that were now dancing in his vision.

Madam Pomfrey ignored his complaints and briskly told him to lie down again. Grumbling to himself, Harry complied. She ran her wand down Harry's body again, apparently scanning him somehow. A small parchment appeared above Harry's head. He tried to see what was written on it but could only make out strange, colourful lines that made absolutely no sense to him. Madam Pomfrey, however, seemed to be happy with what she saw and stepped back, pocketing her wand.

"Very well, Harry," she said, obviously feeling pleased, "I am glad to announce that you are back to perfect health, physically and magically."

Harry blinked.

"Magically? What do you mean?"

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore muttered, "This is part of the sixth year curriculum. You see, Harry, every witch or wizard has some kind of magical level. These levels differ greatly from wizard to wizard, depending on how powerful the witch or wizard in question is. The higher the level- the greater the wizard's ability to do complicated magic. When a wizard is ill, his level falls, because the magic inside him is battling the illness, together with the human body's natural immune system. This is why wizards heal faster than muggles. Only when the wizard is in perfect health his level is at its highest point, which means that the wizard can do magic to his full potential. Do you understand so far, Harry?"

Harry nodded.

"When a wizard's magical levels fall to zero, the wizard will die. This is actually what the Avada Kedavra curse does: It destroys the magic in a magical being, and without their magic, magical beings can't survive."

Harry nodded slowly.

"But then," he asked, "How did I survive?"

Dumbledore smiled down at Harry and sat on the bed beside him.

"Well, my boy, the curse was not strong enough to kill you. Your magical levels are enormously high, they have always been, even though you cannot access most of your magic yet. And while your magical levels are high, Pettigrew is a rather weak wizard. It must have taken him a long time to learn how to cast the Unforgivable Curses, I am surprised he managed at all.....

"And while Voldemort managed to disable your mother's protection by transferring a part of it to himself, so that you are equal, the protection is just as strong as it was when any other witch or wizard tries to harm you. It seems that your magical powers, combined with your immune system and your mother's Praesidium Sensus, were stronger than Pettigrew's killing curse. This is how you survived."

Harry thought about this for a few moments.

"So," he surmised, "Had Voldemort cast that curse, thus rendering my mother's protection useless, I would have- died?"

"Most likely, my boy, most likely."

Harry shuddered.

"But Sir, I don't understand. You said that the Avada Kedavra curse kills by destroying a person's magic. Can't muggles be killed by the curse as well? They don't have any magic, do they?"

Dumbledore's smile broadened and his eyes twinkled gently.

"An excellent question, my boy! – A question few people have the answer to. I, however, was lucky enough to come across a book in- a certain, secret library-"he winked at Harry "in my youth which was written by Merlin himself, concerning this very subject."

Dumbledore hummed a little and looked up at the ceiling, apparently collecting his thoughts. Harry waited with bated breath.

"It seems," Dumbledore continued, a dreamy smile on his face, "That our general term 'muggles', referring to humans without magical abilities, is misleading. According to Merlin, every human, no matter if muggle or wizard, has a certain magical core in himself- or herself, for that matter." The headmaster chuckled a little as Harry gaped at him.

"Yes, quite shocking, isn't it? But true, very true..... yes..... there is not so much difference between muggles and magicians as we might think..... or wish, in Voldemort's case....."

Now Harry was completely confused. If every human being had magic, why were there so few people who were taught how to use it? What was the difference between wizards and witches and muggles? If all of them were able to do magic, it was unfair to only teach some of them and leave the others in the dark! Harry voiced his opinion. The headmaster nodded pensively.

"It is not quite as easy, Harry," he explained seriously. "Muggles do, indeed, possess magic, the same magic witches and wizards possess. But they are unable to use it most of the time. Why? The magic muggles possess is in their very core, like a wizard's. But it is so-called 'wild magic'. It cannot be controlled- with a wand or otherwise. It simply exists, not noticeable to the muggles. They do not know of its existence. They do not believe in its existence. There are rare cases, however, when a muggle is in grave danger or need, where the wild magic activates itself and helps the muggle in an uncontrolled outburst. Have you ever heard of such cases? Where muggles did things that are not really possible in their eyes?"

Harry bit his lip and thought for a while.

"Do you mean like, when someone is in danger and suddenly runs much faster than he usually does? Or, wait, I think I once read a newspaper clipping about a man whose son had been run over by a car, and the man just ran on to the street and lifted the car away. Is this what you mean? But I always thought that this was due to hormones, like adrenaline?"

Dumbledore beamed at Harry.

"Excellent, my boy! This is exactly the sort of thing I was talking about. And yes, you are right about the adrenaline. Only that this hormone isn't the reason for the muggles' abilities to do, in their eyes, impossible things. It is really the trigger of their wild magic. When a muggle is frightened, his body produces adrenaline. When the concentration of adrenaline is high enough, the muggle is able to access his or her magic for a very short time. Those outbursts are rather rare and are largely viewed as miracles."

Dumbledore chuckled.

"And wizards?" Harry wanted to know. "What is it that enables us to do magic all the time? And don't we have adrenaline as well?"

The headmaster smiled softly.

"Wizards are only slightly different, Harry. Yes, we do have adrenaline, it makes our magic stronger in extreme situations, sometimes even enables us to do wandless magic, by allowing us to access a large amount of our magical core in one single moment. But there is another thing, another hormone, which muggles don't have, and which is really the only thing that makes us different from them. It is simply called 'The Channel'. The Channel is always there, our bodies produce it constantly, and it allows us permanent access to our wild magic. It also enables us to (hence the name) channel our magic through wands and other items, such as focus stones, or in rare cases even through our hands."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. It made sense in a way. But-

"Won't the hormone, well, run out sometime? When you use up too much of it?" Dumbledore nodded sombrely.

"Yes, my boy," he admitted softly, "That can indeed happen. Many wizards, especially those who seek immortality, overtax their magical powers. In normal cases, this does not really matter. The wizard will feel tired and sleep for a long time, then his magic will be fully regenerated. If, however, the wizard messes with powerful dark magic- calling up demons, for example- the magic may overpower him and turn against him, causing his magical core to literally burn out. The wizard will die instantly, his body most likely being destroyed in the process."

Harry grimaced in sympathy.

"So," he said, "This is what I did last night? Overtax my magical powers?"

Madam Pomfrey smiled at him and nodded.

"Indeed you did, young man," she said rather cheerfully. "You're lucky to be alive. Well, if you don't mind, I must be off. Lots to do until the students return in a month!"

And with that, she bustled out of the room. Harry, however, had another question.

"About 'The Channel'-"he said thoughtfully, "Why do some people have it, and some don't? It can't be the blood, there are loads of muggleborn witches and wizards, and also squibs. So what is it?"

Dumbledore looked pensive.

"Another excellent question, my dear boy," he said, stroking over his beard thoughtfully. "One that even I, unfortunately, cannot answer. It is not yet known why the Channel exists only in some human beings..... it is widely believed that it does have something to do with blood. After all, there are rarely squibs in pureblood families. The most plausible theory I know of is that even those who are considered muggle born witches and wizards have some magical blood running in their veins..... even though it may have been many generations before that a wizard was born from the same family line. When two squibs have a child, the child is usually a wizard. So the Channel must exist somewhere even in those of us who are unable to do magic..... I daresay, whoever finds an answer to this question, which is one of the oldest in wizarding history, will find himself awarded with an Order of Merlin, First Class."

The headmaster chuckled at his own thought. Then, he pulled his strange watch, the one with many little planets in it instead of numbers, out of his pocket and studied it carefully for a while.

"Dear me, look at the time! I am afraid that I must be off. The ministry department heads are awaiting me for a short meeting. Good day to all of you!"

As soon as the portrait had fallen shut, the other three stepped forward. Sirius and Remus sat down on the bed beside Harry, while Minerva conjured herself up a chair.

"By the way, Sirius," Harry asked suddenly, "Whatever happened to Pettigrew? I- the curse rebounded from me on to him, didn't it? Is he- I mean, he's not- dead?"

Sirius smiled and shook his head.

"Don't worry about the rat, Harry," he said, "He's not dead. Seems that you managed to diminish the curse's power enough that it didn't even kill Pettigrew. He was pretty weak though, still is. He couldn't transform into his Animagus form right now even if he weren't sitting in a ministry cell with tons of protection charms on it."

Harry gaped at his godfather.

"You- Are you serious? Pettigrew's with the ministry?! But- does that mean that you're free? How did you manage to achieve that so quickly?"

Sirius laughed and held up his hand.

"Calm down, Harry," he smiled, "Things are not quite as easy as you might think. Firstly, yes, Pettigrew is currently sitting in one of the ministry's holding cells. That shouldn't really surprise you, Albus is the temporary minister, remember? He made sure that Pettigrew was taken to a capable medi-witch or wizard and then taken to one of the ministry's high security cells, where he will be unable to break out until his trial."

Harry frowned. Why did Pettigrew have to have a trial? Wouldn't it be much easier to just throw the rat into prison and then pardon Sirius? Harry voiced his thoughts. Remus shook his head sombrely.

"No, Harry," he said softly, "While I agree that it would be much easier, it would be illegal. No prisoner can be sentenced for any crime if they didn't have a trial." Sensing Harry's upcoming protest, he held up a hand.

"I know that Sirius didn't get one fourteen years ago, but that doesn't matter here. What was done to Sirius was a crime in itself, and we will not make the same mistakes as Fudge. No, Pettigrew will have a fair trial, during which Sirius will hopefully be freed. This will also clear Sirius's name in the public eye."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

Sirius snorted.

"You of all people, Harry, should know that. The wizarding community believes me to be a murderer, and just because someone tells them that I have been cleared of all charges, they will not stop mistrusting and shunning me. No, I will be freed in a public trial, people will be able to witness its outcome, we'll make sure that the newspapers print some decent articles for a change, and I might have the chance to live a normal life in the future."

Harry nodded. That made sense.

"So," he asked, feeling quite energetic, "When will your trial be?"

"In two days." Harry sucked in a sharp breath. Two days..... such a short time. And yet, when waiting for something, an eternity.

Sirius and Remus left shortly after, saying they had Order business to attend to. Minerva stayed with Harry as protection against the demon which was probably still on the loose somewhere in Hogwarts.

Harry had fun with his godmother, she told him about his mother, which made Harry extremely happy and sad at the same time. Sad, obviously, because he had never had the chance to know her, and happy, because he now had something of his mother to hold close and treasure.

After lunch (Dumbledore was still at the ministry, Sirius and Remus were away on Order business) Minerva left Harry, saying that she still had some work to do as well, and Snape took her place.

They had another lengthy, enjoyable tutoring session, and when it was over, Harry felt that he was slowly getting a grip on the material. To Harry's great surprise, Professor Snape even offered to help him with his homework (two essays, one on the twelve uses of Dragon's Blood, the other on truth potions). He seemed to be very pleased when Harry told him that he had already done them on his own. Then-

"What do you say, Mr. Potter? Another game of chess?"

Harry groaned.

"You're doing this only to torture me! I'm hopeless at chess! You're only going to beat me again!"

Snape grinned.

"Maybe. But if you don't play, you won't learn. Now, I've watched you during Quidditch games, you're really not bad at strategy, you just need to learn to use your skills on the chessboard."

Harry sighed and agreed. They set up the chessboard with practiced ease, Professor Snape, this time, choosing the white pieces.

"I want you to watch what I am doing, Harry," Professor Snape instructed. "By the end of the game, try to tell me what strategy I have used. At the same time, try planning ahead your moves. Watch the way I play and then try to guess which move I will use to counter yours. Take as long as you need, we have another three hours until dinner."

And so they played.

Harry followed Professor Snape's orders and watched his professor's strategy closely. At first, he could not make heads nor tails of it, but after a while, it became slightly clearer. Unlike Ron, Snape had a very aggressive playing style. He protected only his king and other essential pieces, while attacking ruthlessly with the others, always managing to take Harry completely by surprise.

Matches with Ron always lasted for hours because Ron was more the cautious type and took almost no risks, while matches with Snape were seemingly always short. Their match ended after only ten minutes- and Harry had only managed to take out one of Snape's pieces.

Groaning in frustration, Harry sat back. Snape was smirking at him.

"So, Harry," he asked nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair with his hands entwined behind his head, "What can you tell me about my strategy?"

Harry bit his lip thoughtfully as he studied the chessboard.

"You've got a very offensive style," he observed. "You protect only when you have to. Other than that, you strike quickly and unexpectedly, not giving me time to move my pieces to safety. You're using the element of surprise." The Potions Master's smirk widened.

"Very good. And what can you do to counter my moves?" Harry snorted.

"Obviously not try to play defensively. That didn't go over well."

Snape snorted as well.

"No, it didn't. You allowed me to corner you already after your first move. You never even had a chance. The trick with playing chess is not to give in to your partner's rules. If he is cautious, then so are you. The match will drag on for ages, but sometime he will make a mistake out of pure boredom, allowing you to strike and corner him. If your partner's style is aggressive, then you retaliate, trying to get through his rather weak defence while at the same time taking out as many pieces as you can. It's really quite simple."

Harry couldn't help it. He laughed.

"Simple? You just beat the crap out of me, and you expect me to be able to win against you?"

Snape smiled.

"No, Harry, I don't expect you to win just yet. But who knows- maybe you won't lose quite as badly either, hmm?"

Harry snorted as he began to set the chessboard anew.

"Whatever. I pick white this time."

This time, Harry countered Snape's moves with his own aggressive ones, and to his surprise, it worked. By the end of the game, which lasted for about fifteen minutes, Harry had still lost spectacularly, but he had managed to take out five of Snape's chess pieces. Which was more than he had ever managed before.

Harry sighed, feeling at least a little satisfied. Snape was smirking at him again.

"Better," he nodded, "And now we're going to try the slow version." Harry sighed as he helped set up the chessboard once again. Snape picked white and started a very slow chess game. Harry managed fine in the beginning, but after an hour or so, his concentration began to slip. He started to make careless moves, putting his chess pieces in unnecessary danger. Snape, of course, used the situation to his advantage. Nevertheless, the game continued for another hour and a half, in the end Harry had been beaten spectacularly without managing to take out even one of Snape's chess pieces.

"That's it!" he shouted in exasperation as the white king forced his own to surrender. "I give up! Completely! I told you I was hopeless at chess!" The Potions Master smirked as he leaned back in his chair.

"No, you aren't," he insisted, crossing his arms. "You just need to learn to concentrate better. Brewing potions can help you with that, you know?" Harry scowled.

"I can brew potions just fine without being able to concentrate any better, thank you very much." he mumbled.

Professor Snape leaned forward in his armchair, studying Harry intently.

"Oh, can you? What do you say to a little test then, Mr. Potter?"

Harry grimaced, but his pride forced him to accept. So, not five minutes later, he found himself brewing a cheering potion, something he had learnt and botched spectacularly in his fourth year. Harry bit his lip as he carefully measured the beetle eyes. Thirty-four, five, six..... thirty-seven. He added them to the softly simmering cauldron in front of him one at a time.

The potion hissed and changed colour from transparent to yellow. Harry inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Until now, it was looking exactly as it should. Turning the heat down a little with a wave of his wand, remembering that the potion had to simmer for a few minutes, Harry turned his attention to the next ingredient he had to prepare, which happened to be a bezoar. Harry had to grin a little as he remembered his very first potions lesson.

While cheerfully grinding the stone to a fine powder, Harry forgot completely that Snape was still watching him closely. The professor smiled as he leaned against the wall in front of Harry's desk, watching his once most-hated student work.

He had to admit that he was pleased with the boy's progress. In only two tutoring sessions he had managed to give the boy enough knowledge and self- confidence that he was now making what appeared to be an effective cheering potion. At the same time, he noticed that Harry seemed oblivious to his presence, working quickly and quietly. Severus wondered if maybe the boy worked better because there were no distractions.

He watched with a soft smile as Harry tipped his powdered bezoar into the simmering cauldron, making the potion turn a soft blue. There was something relaxing in watching the boy work.

He frowned slightly as Harry's hand hovered uncertainly over the asphodel. 'Not that, boy!' Severus thought. 'It isn't even part of the potion! You'll make it blow up!' As if sensing Severus' thoughts, Harry's hand moved on and descended into a glass of lacewing flies. Severus sighed in relief.

It was strange, Severus mused, how mistaken he had been in his judgement of Harry..... he had allowed past grudges to blind him, thereby transforming Harry Potter into a mirror image of his old rival. But now that he took a closer look..... Harry didn't even seem to look that much like his father. In fact, Severus thought, without his glasses, the boy might actually look more like his mother than his father..... with a tan, of course. Lily, being a typical red head, had always had a rather pale complexion. Something that had irked her to no end, Severus remembered with a soft smile.

It was something that Severus would never admit to others, but he had had a small crush on Lily while they were still at school. Even though she had been in Gryffindor, she had never taken part in her housemates' taunting of the Slytherins and even defended him on some occasions.

She and Severus had become tentative friends in their third year, both of them loved to study and they had met in the library regularly, though in secret. When Lily and James had started going out after the Yule ball in their sixth year, Severus had been bitterly jealous and hated Potter even more. Not Lily, though. He could never bring himself to hate her.

His friendship with Harry's future mother had been another reason for turning back to the light side- one Severus had never told anyone about. He suspected that Albus knew, though. The old coot always seemed to know everything, and Severus didn't like that damn, knowing twinkle in the man's eyes that seemed to brighten every time their conversation turned to Severus's and Lily's (rather secret) friendship. Not that it happened often.

Severus shook himself out of his thoughts as Harry's potion turned red, indicating that it was done. Harry sighed contentedly and stepped back, turning the heat down. He turned to look expectantly at his professor. Snape pushed himself away from the wall and walked to the cauldron, inspecting it closely. He already knew that the potion was perfect but wanted to keep up pretences.

"Congratulations, Mr. Potter," Snape said in his smooth, cool classroom voice. "It seems that for once in your life you have managed to get a potion correct. Five points to Gryffindor."

Harry laughed, feeling pleased with himself.

"Why, thank you Professor. You can't give out house points during the summer, though."

Snape smirked and began to clean up the ingredients Harry hadn't used.

"I know that. I wouldn't have given them to you otherwise."

Harry gaped for a moment before he did something unbelievably childish, yet just as satisfying. He stuck his tongue out. Snape stared at him for a moment in complete shock, then he did something Harry had never seen him do before. His lips quirked up and then he laughed. Sure, Harry had seen the man sneer, or smirk, or grin, or in the last weeks even smile, or chuckle. But never laugh.

Shaking his head at the fact that miracles still happened, Harry began to clean his workspace. Next to him, Snape was muttering a string of Latin words. Immediately, a set of empty potions vials floated over to them. The potion filled itself into the vials, then corks appeared out of nowhere and stoppered the potion. With another flick of Snape's wand, the vials floated away and put themselves on to a back shelf with soft clinks. Harry watched them go in surprise.

"You're going to keep them?"

Snape pocketed his wand nonchalantly and shrugged in a very unSnapeish manner.

"Sure, why not? Why waste a perfectly fine batch of cheering potion when it can be of use later?"

Harry shook his head in disbelief. Snape just smiled as he took a look at his watch.

"We have to get going, Harry. Dinner starts in approximately five minutes."

And so they left Professor Severus Snape's private lab, both marvelling at what they had learnt that day.

~*~

Upon entering the Great Hall Harry was relieved to see that most of the Order members had left. Those who had remained were sitting at one table and waving to Harry. Harry quickly smiled at them and made his way to the high table.

Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore were back, looking slightly exhausted. Harry sat down next to Professor Flitwick and his godmother.

"Where have you been?" Harry asked his godfather and friend curiously.

"Order business," Remus said seriously. "There were rumours that Lucius Malfoy had been caught while torturing a muggle born. Unfortunately, they were only rumours. I suppose it would have been too good to be true....."

"Why don't you just arrest Malfoy?" Harry asked, piling some vegetables onto his plate. "I mean, everyone knows that he is a Deatheater." Sirius sighed and rubbed his temples wearily.

"Everyone knows alright," he grumbled, "But there's no damn proof! That man is simply too smart, every time we think that we have him he slips away in the last minute! He is Voldemort's right-hand man for a reason. And he has friends in high places. They always help him out of critical situations. Bunch of Voldemort supporters, if you ask me."

Harry listened, shocked.

"But Professor Dumbledore is the minister now!" Harry argued. "Why don't you just throw these people out?"

"I can't do that, my boy," Dumbledore interjected sternly, regarding Harry over the top of his half-moon spectacles. "These people are powerful, most of them are even rather popular with the magical community. Alas, even I can't just throw them out without good reasons. I can, and will, however, make sure that their perfect images will be slowly destroyed, so that in the end, nobody will object when they are removed from their posts."

Harry gaped at his headmaster in shock. He had never pictured Dumbledore to be capable of something so utterly..... Slytherin. The headmaster smiled at him.

"Politics, Harry," he smiled, his eyes twinkling overtime. "Nothing you should concern yourself with. Aren't you going to eat?"

Harry blinked and looked down at his plate. His food was getting cold. Mentally shrugging, Harry stabbed a piece of carrot with his fork and put it into his mouth.

~*~

After dinner, Sirius escorted Harry to his room. Harry stopped short once they had entered. There was a second bed in his room, on the wall opposite of his own.

"Sirius," Harry asked with a frown, "What is the meaning of this?" Sirius sighed.

"The demon, Harry," he reminded his godson patiently. "You mustn't be alone, remember? That means that someone will be staying with you at all times, even at night."

Harry's frown deepened. He was beginning to feel very cross. They were all treating him like a bloody child! He was no child, he was almost fifteen!

"And what are you going to do next?" he asked angrily. "Now I can't even sleep alone. Will you be going into the bathroom with me as well?!"

Sirius was rather shocked at Harry's outburst. He had never seen Harry acting so much like- well, like a teenager.

"Harry," Sirius said soothingly, "Please calm down. Of course I won't go into the bathroom with you. We are only trying to protect you!"

"What if I don't want to be protected?" Harry yelled. "You're treating me like..... like..... like I can't take care of myself! You're treating me like a bloody child!"

Sirius' eyes hardened as he gripped Harry's shoulders tightly.

"Watch your tone, Harry," he said sharply. "And yes, we are treating you like a child, because this is what you are!" Sirius and Harry held a furious staring contest for a few seconds, then all the rage in Harry suddenly seemed to ebb away and he just felt like crying.

"I- I'm sorry Sirius, I don't know what came over me. I know you are only doing what you think is best....."

Sirius sighed as he led Harry to one of the chairs and sat down next to him.

"Harry....." he began, rubbing his temples wearily, "I know that this is hard for you, and I know that you think we shouldn't treat you like a child anymore..... but you have to face the fact that you. Are. Not. Even. Fifteen. Years. Old! ("Three days," Harry muttered.) You have to realise that we are older and more experienced than you are. (A/N: Bla, bla, bla..... Don't we all just hate those kinds of speeches?! I can't believe I'm writing this!!!) So please, trust us on this! You mean a lot to all of us, Harry, not because you are the boy-who-lived, but because of who you are. You are just Harry to us. We are only doing this because we care about you, not because we want to annoy you.!"

Harry nodded, still feeling bitter. He knew this, but it didn't help at all. Sirius sighed as he realized that they weren't getting anywhere.

"Why don't you go to sleep, Harry. I'll send a house-elf to Snape for the potion."

Harry nodded wordlessly and made his way to the bathroom. He took a quick shower and changed into his pyjamas. Hearing voices in his bedroom, Harry put one ear against the door and listened.

"Did you tell him?" came the unmistakable voice of his godmother.

Harry heard a sigh and realized that this had to be Sirius. He felt a little guilty, but continued to listen.

"I did," Sirius said.

"How did he take it?" Another voice. This one belonged to the headmaster.

"Not good," Sirius said sadly. Harry felt even more guilty. "He started yelling at me about how we were treating him like a child and that he could take care of himself, and the likes."

"Harry yelled at you?" His godmother sounded shocked. "I don't think I have ever heard him yell....."

There was a brief silence. Harry realized that it was too silent, and quickly turned on the tap again. Unfortunately, he couldn't understand much of the conversation after that.

".....acting.....age." Harry heard the headmaster say.

"This..... to....more often?" Sirius sounded vaguely horrified. Harry pressed closer to the door.

"I.....so. Harry....." Harry frowned. They were talking about him, and he couldn't understand what they were saying! Quickly he turned the water off.

"Well, I think we should get going now. Sleep well, Sirius." Dumbledore said.

Harry kicked the shower stall in frustration.

"OUCH!"

"You alright in there, Harry?" came Sirius' concerned voice.

"Yeah!" Harry yelled back quickly, hopping around on one leg in pain. "Just fine....."

Two minutes later, he exited the bathroom. Sirius gave him a look.

"What was that about, Harry?" Harry grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, nothing. I just, er- slipped and hit my toe on the shower stall. That's all."

"Ah." Sirius was still eyeing him doubtfully.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to bed now," Harry said quickly. "Do you think you could, um, extinguish the torches?"

"What? Oh, right, yes, of course..... I'll just go to bed myself."

Harry nodded gratefully and Sirius slipped into the bathroom. There was a potion on Harry's bedside which Harry quickly recognised as a dreamless-but- not-visionless sleep potion. Harry got under the covers and uncorked the vial. Taking a deep breath, he gulped the potion down and immediately slumped back in his pillows. The world grew warm and fuzzy, then everything went black.

~*~

The next morning, Harry slept in late. The sun was already up when he awoke, the birds had stopped their early-morning concert. Harry yawned and stretched widely.

"Good morning, Harry."

Harry jumped about a mile, instantly fully awake.

"Oh, hello Sirius. What are you doing here?"

Sirius looked a little cautious as he gestured towards the bed he was sitting on, a book in his hand.

"You know, Harry, I slept here..... because of the demon."

Harry frowned darkly as he remembered his new sleeping arrangements.

"Right." He got up quickly and stretched again. "I'm going for a swim in the great lake now. You coming?"

"Sure," Sirius agreed. He vanished into the bathroom to change while Harry changed in his bedroom. He jumped into the pleasantly warm river and just swam around for a while. Sirius joined him not much later.

"Ready?" he asked, and Harry nodded. They both held their breath and dived under the wall of Harry's room. With a loud splash they landed in the lake's cold water. Sirius let loose a couple of colourful descriptions for the water's temperature. Harry laughed so hard that he thought he would drown.

In the end, they both calmed down and slowly began to swim a lap in the lake. They didn't talk much, knowing that it would only tire them out. After playing a little game of Catch with a few sticks and the giant squid, Harry and Sirius dived back into Harry's room. They enjoyed the warm river for a while.

"Sirius," Harry asked, "What time is it?"

Sirius shrugged.

"When you woke up, it was half past eleven, so I think it should be around noon now."

Harry sputtered in shock.

"Twelve o'clock? I slept this long?"

Sirius grinned.

"I think Snape put something in your potion. Albus told him that you would need much rest after your encounter with the rat."

Harry nodded. He had almost forgotten about the trial. It would be the next day, while Harry's birthday would be the day after that. Sirius roused him from his thoughts.

"You do realize that you have Quidditch practice today, don't you? Mr. Skillridge will collect you at a quarter to three in the Entrance Hall. Albus contacted him about it yesterday."

Harry nodded with a smile. He was looking forward to meeting the team again.

~*~

Not much later, Sirius and Harry went down to the Great Hall for lunch- or rather breakfast in Harry's case. Nobody else was there, as lunch was usually served at one o'clock. They had a wonderful time, Sirius entertained Harry with stories of the marauders. One particular incident which involved the Slytherin Quidditch team and brooms changing into vacuum cleaners while singing the Hogwarts school song, had Harry in tears of laughter.

Dumbledore, Snape and Flitwick chose that particular moment for their entrance. Sirius, of course, was only too happy to enlighten them about Harry's source of entertainment. Dumbledore chuckled merrily, his eyes twinkling overtime, while Flitwick kept falling from his cushions, he was laughing so hard. Snape merely scowled, remembering the incident all too well.

After lunch Sirius left Harry, telling him that he had to prepare for the trial. Remus took his place.

They walked back to Harry's room in comfortable silence. Once there, Remus suggested a few rounds of chess, and Harry agreed. He actually beat Remus, who was a terrible chess player but loved the game nonetheless, twice.

Then, a big eagle owl flew into the room through the open window and handed a note to Remus. The friendly werewolf read it with a frown.

"Harry, I'm sorry, but there is something I need to attend to right now. I'm sorry, but I have to ask that you please go outside until Mr. Skillridge picks you up. The demon won't be able to get you there."

Harry frowned, but nodded. Remus walked him to the front doors.

"What is it that you have to do?" Harry asked curiously. "Does it have anything to do with whatever you were doing yesterday?"

Remus nodded tensely. Harry sighed, knowing that he wouldn't get anymore information.

"Just one question, Remus, what time is it?"

"Half past one, Harry. I'll see you at dinner, and good luck with your Quidditch practice!"

Harry nodded and allowed the door to fall shut behind him.

He surveyed the school grounds calmly, wondering what he could do to pass the time. His mind wandered to the Founder's Realm, but he really didn't feel like walking the whole way there.....

Sighing a little, Harry decided to go down to the lake.

It was a beautiful day. Warm, with a gentle breeze. The air was heavy with humidity, though. Harry wondered if it was going to rain soon. He plopped down under a willow tree at the lake, smiling as he watched a small butterfly.

"Why were you not at the meeting lasssssst Ssssunday?"

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin and whirled around.

"Don't do that!" Harry exclaimed in shock, glaring at the snake in front of him. It was rather small and inconspicuous, a common garden snake.

"Sssssorry," it hissed, sounding vaguely amused. "Ssssso, are you going to anssssswer my quessssstion?"

Harry settled back down.

"Sssssure. I'm ssssssorry I missssssssed our meeting, but I wassss injured and in the hossspital wing."

The snake looked vaguely confused, as far as Harry could tell.

"The hosssspital wing?" it hissed. "What issss that?"

Harry sighed, reminding himself that the snake couldn't possibly know about that.

"It'sssssssss a human thing," Harry said, "It's the placccccce where the sssstudentssss from Hogwartssss go when they are injured or ill."

The snake nodded.

"I've been elected to bring you newssss from the Dark Lord," the snake explained. "Every week, one of the sssnakessssss who hassss been at a meeting will give me information, whichhhhh I will passssss on to you."

Harry nodded in understanding.

"It'sssss nicccce to meet you," he said, "Ssssince we will be meeting quite frequently, do you have a name?"

The snake drew itself up proudly.

"Of coursssssse I do," it said, "My name issss Sssarrasssrina."

It took Harry a while to understand the name through all the hissed s's. The snake's name was Sarrassrina. (A/N: Sara-s-reena)

"That'ssssss a nicccce name," he commented.

"Thankssss," said Sarrassrina. "And what shhhhall I call you, young ssspeaker?"

"Harry. My name issss Harry."

"Very well," Sarrassrina said contently, "I am to tell you of the Dark Lord'sssss meeting. Unfortunately, there isn't muchhhhhh newsssss. The Dark Lord isssss sssstill trying to recuperate from the attack on thissssss prisssson, Azzzzkaban."

Harry nodded. He had expected that much.

"The Dark One isssss alssssso breeding more of thosssse ssstrange creatures he callssss Aychrydssssss, truly tactlesssss thingsssss they are, downright rude."

Harry blinked.

"Wait a moment. You can talk to thessse thingssss ?"

"Of courssse," Sarrassrina said haughtily, "They are part basssilisssk, I think. The Dark Lord communicatessss with them via ssssnake sssssssspeechhhh."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. It was a clever move from Voldemort. That way, he was the only one who could give the Aychryds orders- well, the only one apart from him, Harry. But somehow, Harry doubted that they would take orders from him.

"Isssss there anything elsssse you found out?" He queried.

Sarrassrina shook her head, as good as snakes can shake their heads, anyway.

"I'm afraid not, Harry. The Dark one isssss trying to get hissss followersss to work together better. He issss making them do all sssorts of strange gamesssss and missssionsss. We sssnakessss did not underssstand their purposssse."

Harry grinned, imagining Lucius Malfoy and a few of his fellow Deatheaters sneaking around corners in a maze, trying to find the treasure without being surprised by other groups.

"Thanksssss, Sssarrasssrina," Harry said, smiling at his new friend, "I apprecccciate the information. I will sssssee you again on Sssssssunday, alright?"

Sarrassrina nodded, hissed a goodbye and vanished into the bushes. Harry slumped back down into the grass and thought about what he had just heard.

Soon, he dozed off.

'Harry!'

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Wha- what?"

Nobody answered. Of course, it was the mind-speech link to the Order Council!

'Yes? What is it?' Harry thought.

'Mr. Skillridge will be here in a few minutes,' Harry recognised his godmother's voice, 'I suggest that you go get your broom.'

'Alright.'

Harry got up quickly and steadied himself against the tree as the world started spinning in front of his eyes.

"Ugh," he mumbled.

As soon as the world had righted itself, Harry started to sprint up to the castle. He met Minerva in the entrance hall.

"Looking forward to another Quidditch practice, Harry?" she asked with a smile, seeing the eager look in Harry's eyes.

Harry grinned.

"Sure. I never got to tell you about the first one, you know."

"That's right. You'll have to tell me as soon as you get back."

Harry nodded and gave the password to Merlin's portrait. He quickly scrambled inside and got his broom and Quidditch uniform.

"By the way," Harry said, as they walked back to the entrance hall, "What about Pettigrew? I mean- has he recovered from the curse?"

Minerva looked thoughtful.

"I'm not quite sure, Harry. He is stronger than he was before, that much is certain, but I do not know whether or not he is back to full strength. He is, however, definitely strong enough for the trial, and the ministry's medi-wizard has allowed the administration of Veritaserum to Pettigrew."

Harry nodded. He couldn't wait to see Sirius free! But another thought struck Harry.

"Minerva, what if Sirius is freed? Will I be able to live with him? Or will I live with you? You're both my godparents..... or will I just stay at Hogwarts?"

"For now, Harry, as long as there is war in the wizarding world, you and Mr. Black will have to stay at Hogwarts. Neither of you is save anywhere else. After the war..... we will see."

Harry and Minerva smiled at each other, even though a small voice in Harry's head told him that he most likely would never live to see the end of the war. A sudden 'pop' informed them of Mr. Skillridge's arrival.

"Professor McGonagall, Harry, what a pleasure to see you two! I trust you are ready to go, Harry?"

Harry grinned and waved 'goodbye' at his godmother.

"Of course."

Mr. Skillridge pulled a small stone out from his pocket- it looked exactly like the portkey they had used the week before. He tapped it twice with his wand, said "Quidditch Stadium", and off they were.

Harry decided that he really hated travelling with portkeys. That feeling of a hook behind his navel, the colours swirling nauseatingly around him.....

Harry was glad when his feet slammed into the ground of the stadium. He took a look around- nothing had changed from when he had seen it the week before.

Harry laughed a little at himself. Of course nothing had changed, it had only been a week- even though it felt like more. John (Mr. Skillridge) seemed to sense some of the thoughts running through Harry's mind and grinned at him.

He pocketed the portkey.

"You really don't like travelling by portkey, do you?" he remarked as they strolled inside the stadium towards the changing rooms.

Harry smiled.

"No, I don't," he admitted. "But- I thought Dumbledore said that portkeys did not work anymore on Hogwarts grounds. How did we get here using one?"

"Ah, yes," John said, "I thought Albus explained that to you..... you see, Harry, there are different kinds of portkeys. There are portkeys which activate themselves at a certain time, portkeys which activate themselves as soon as someone touches them..... the first kind is usually one-way.

"And then there is this kind of portkey. I only got it yesterday. It can only be used to reach a specific location, in this case, Hogwarts. It has been keyed to the castle's wards, and I am the only one who can activate it. Normal portkeys don't need to be touched by a wand, but this one does- the portkey checks my magical signature, making sure that it is really me trying to activate it. Then I have to speak the password, and only then the portkey works."

Harry nodded. It made sense, somehow.

"And last week? Didn't you have such a portkey last week?"

John shook his head.

"As I said, I only got this portkey yesterday. Last week's portkey was one- way."

"But aren't such portkeys a little too simple to make? Couldn't just anyone make such a portkey?"

Mr. Skillridge smiled.

"Oh no, Harry. That would be far too easy. The portkey must be made by the keeper of the wards of whatever place you want to portkey to- in Hogwarts' case, this means Albus Dumbledore. Only Albus and two or three of his closest allies know the key to the Hogwarts wards. And neither of them will give the secret away willingly."

Harry nodded and stepped into the changing room, closing the door half behind him. John waited outside.

"But- what if someone forces them to reveal what they know?" Harry asked. "What if someone uses Veritaserum or tortures them?"

"Merlin, let's hope that it never comes to this, Harry. In that case, both the headmaster and his allies have taken a potion which will immediately make them forget the information. They would die without being able to say anything."

Harry shuddered as he finished changing into his robes and stepped out of the changing room. John regarded him with a frown.

"You've grown, Harry."

Harry started and looked down at himself. It was true, the uniform that had fit him so perfectly only the week before, was now about two inches above his ankles.

"But-"he stammered, "How is this possible? It's only been a week! You can't just grow two inches in a week-"

"Well, Harry, you are a wizard. Things like that are possible in the wizarding world- though I will admit that I have never heard of a case like that before. A month, yes..... but a week....."

Harry nodded doubtfully.

"What now, though? Are you going to cast that spell again?"

John smiled as he drew out his wand and simply tapped the robes. Immediately, they adjusted their length and fit Harry perfectly again.

"No need to. The spell I cast is still on them. Every time you see that your robes have become too short, tap them with a wand- any wand will do- and they will immediately fit you again."

Harry nodded.

"Amazing."

John laughed and slung a friendly arm across Harry's shoulders.

"It's magic, Harry. Magic is amazing."

Just as they entered the room where Harry had met the players for the first time, there was a shrill, bell-like sound. Harry cringed.

John grinned at him.

"You'll get used to that some time."

Harry was saved from an answer by the arrival of a short, blond-haired woman who seemed to be about 25 years old.

"Hiya John, Harry!" she exclaimed enthusiastically.

Harry grinned at her.

"Hello Ann."

(A/N: Ann Lee, she's one of the chasers, remember? If you want a more detailed description, go read chapter eight, The Attack on Azkaban, again. Just for the record: Alex McDougal- Keeper, Samantha Strey- Chaser, Ann Lee- Chaser, Matthew Curdigan- Chaser, Gill Kane- Beater, Jean Iron- Beater. Harry's the Seeker. ^_^)

There was no time for a longer conversation, however, as the other team members appeared almost at the same time. A chorus of greetings was exchanged, then the team trudged outside into the stadium.

"We begin as usual," John instructed, "Ten laps around the field."

"Ten?" Harry whispered in alarm to Alex, who was standing next to him. "That's twice as many as last time!"

Alex grinned as they started to jog slowly.

"Well, you missed a few practices, Harry," he said matter-of-factly, "John added one lap to our exercise each time we met. Don't worry if you don't manage all ten laps, you've only had one practice after all, and after that little escapade of yours last Wednesday, I daresay you still tire a little easier than usual."

Harry looked at the Keeper in surprise.

"You know about that?"

"Of course we know," Gill answered instead, having listened to their conversation. "We were wondering why you weren't at practice last week, you know, and we annoyed John with our questions until he told us."

She grinned at him, and Harry grinned back.

"You should stop talking now," Matthew commented, "Or all of you will be collapsing after the ten laps."

Harry grinned some more and they continued in silence. After only three laps, it became apparent to Harry that he really wasn't fully recovered. He was starting to feel more and more tired, and he was getting a stitch in his sides. Biting his lip, Harry concentrated on his feet and tried to ignore his exhaustion. The other team members threw him worried glances, but Harry ignored them.

After the fifth lap, Harry felt as if he might just collapse. Fortunately, John had noticed that as well, because the next time the team passed him, he stopped Harry.

"That's enough for now, boy," John said firmly. "Take a little break and then start stretching. The others will join you as soon as they are done."

Harry was too exhausted to even bother with protest. He just nodded and plopped down on the soft grass. John threw him a concerned glance and went back to observing the other players.

Harry closed his eyes for a while, breathing in and out deeply. He listened to the rhythmic thud-thud-thud of his team-mates' feet and calmed his breathing. Slowly, some of Harry's strength returned. After about five minutes, Harry got up and began his stretching exercises.

By the time he had finished the other players arrived, panting slightly. Harry watched as they stretched, then grabbed his broomstick and waited for John's orders.

"Well done, team," he praised. "Today's practice will be about special moves. I have invented a few. The first one is called Chaser's Feint for now, though the Beaters also take part in it."

John proceeded to explain the new move. Harry had to grin, it sounded like it would work very well, especially as it could be varied.

Basically, the Chasers and Beaters had to fly very close together, so close that they were actually touching, and form a line in the air. The other team would not know who had the Quaffle since they wouldn't be able to see anything but a blur, as the flyers would be flying at top speed.

About twenty feet from the goal posts, the players had to split up: Two flying off to the right and two to the left, leaving the middle person, a Chaser, to fly straight towards the goal. Naturally, the opposing team would assume that this person had the Quaffle and would try to block him/her- when in reality one of the Chasers who flew off to the side had it and would be able to score with relative ease.

The second time they performed this move the Chaser on the other side would have the Quaffle- and the third time, when both Chasers on the sides would be blocked, the Chaser in the middle.

(A/N: Hehe, this was fun! I claim that move- if it doesn't already exist!)

After about half an hour, they were done with the theory- John had made it much more interesting than Oliver, and the team was dying to try the new moves out. Harry himself got to take part in a few of the moves, but since he was the seeker and had to keep an eye out for the Snitch all the time, he couldn't do too much.

The rest of the time was spent actually trying the moves out, changing them around, discovering varieties, perfecting them. In all his time playing Quidditch, Harry had never had this much fun.

After realizing that the other players were genuinely interested in his opinion and saw him as an equal, not just a kid, Harry took part in the discussions. At the end of practice they had designed seven new moves and were feeling extremely confident for the new Quidditch session.

"Say, Jean," Harry asked the man next to him as they were changing back into their normal clothes after practice and a shower, "When exactly is our first Quidditch match? Against whom will we play? And where will it be?"

Jean smiled at Harry with a strange gleam in his mischievous, grey eyes.

"You don't know?" he asked, grinning like a Cheshire-Cat. "John or Dumbledore haven't told you?"

Harry shook his head mutely.

Jean's grin, if possible, widened.

"Well, my young friend, you're in for a surprise." Jean paused dramatically. "Our first game will be on October first, against the Vice- World-Champion, Bulgaria, with Victor Krum no less, who has won the Best- Seeker-Of-The-Year-Award two years in a row now. Oh yeah, and the game will be at Hogwarts."

*Crash* *Clutter*

Harry had stumbled over his own legs and landed hard on the stone floor, his broom crashing down with him. Harry sat there gaping and staring up at his hysterically laughing team mates.

"You're kidding," he managed weakly, "Please tell me that you're kidding!"

The others shook their heads, grinning widely. Harry let himself slump backwards until he was lying completely on the cool stone floor. He was feeling slightly dizzy.

"Harry?!" came a concerned voice from the doorway. "Are you alright? I heard a crash and-?"

John entered the room fully, closing the door behind him.

"Please tell me it's not true," moaned Harry, "Please tell me that our first game is not against Krum and not at Hogwarts!"

John sounded vaguely apologetic as he helped Harry up.

"Sorry, Harry. It's really true. But-"he added quickly, "It's for your own benefit, really."

Harry snorted.

"My benefit? How so? I get to make a fool of myself in front of the whole school, hell, the whole WORLD, by losing spectacularly against Victor Krum?"

Alex tut-tutted.

"First of all, Harry," he said sternly, "You won't make a fool of yourself. You're the damn best seeker I've ever seen. I wouldn't be surprised if you beat Krum. But-"He held up his hand, quelling Harry's furious protest- "- even if you don't, nobody will hold it against you. Krum hasn't lost a single game during the past two years, there is simply nobody as good as him. Well, maybe except for you. We'll see."

Harry sighed, not feeling much better.

"And why is the game at Hogwarts?"

"Simple," Matthew grinned, "Because you are there. It's tradition that whenever there is a new player on a national team, their next game is held in the Quidditch stadium closest to their current hometown. In your case, that is Hogwarts."

Harry sighed as he finished buttoning up his shirt.

"I guess," he said. "John, how will I be getting back to Hogwarts?"

"I will be taking you, of course," John said matter-of-factly. "We will be using the portkey again."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. No more Knight Bus.

Shortly after that, Harry said goodbye to his team-mates and he and John portkeyed back to Hogwarts. The entrance hall was deserted.

"Well," John said cheerfully, slapping Harry's shoulder, "I must be off. Good-bye, Harry, and I hope you will actually manage to come to the next practice."

Harry blushed, but John was smiling mischievously.

"Bye, John," Harry said with a smile, and then the man tapped his wand against the portkey, gave the password and vanished with a slight 'pop'.

Harry was alone in the entrance hall. Something wasn't quite right, Harry could tell. There was something in the back of his mind, something he had forgotten..... the torches on the wall began to flicker precariously.

"Oh, shit," Harry said softly, "Damn, damn, damn. This is not happening."

He closed his eyes firmly and concentrated on his link with the Order members.

*Sirius? Remus? Minerva? Anyone?* Harry thought desperately.

There was a short silence, then-

*Harry?*

It was Sirius. Harry took a deep breath, trying to calm down as the light in the torches died completely and a chilly wind picked up. Something was darkening the windows as well.

*Sirius,* Harry thought desperately, *I'm in the entrance hall. There's nobody with me. That thing is coming. It's all dark and windy-*

*Hold on, Harry,* came Dumbledore's mental voice, *We're in the defence classroom. We're coming.*

Harry bit his lip. The defence classroom was quite far away from his current location, so it would take them a few minutes to get to him.

"Well, Potter," a high, cold voice hissed, "It seems that we meet again. Your friends are not very cautious about not leaving you alone, are they?" The voice laughed softly, chillingly. It came from all around Harry, echoing off the walls, closing in on him.

"Think we will have another..... session? I really enjoyed the one with the graveyard, did you not?"

Harry turned around wildly. Where was the demon? Why couldn't he see him? Not another 'session', please..... Harry realized that what he needed most right now was time.

"Who are you?" he blurted out quickly.

The terrible voice laughed softly.

"I, stupid boy," it hissed, "Am your worst nightmare. My name- is Salazar Slytherin."

Harry gasped, completely speechless.

The voice- Slytherin- chuckled scornfully.

"You didn't expect that, did you, boy?" he said, a sneer in his voice. "Yesss- I have come to seek my revenge.....on you."

"Why?" whispered Harry, shocked. "What have I done to you?"

Slytherin, again, laughed scornfully. An icy gust of wind hit Harry in the face, making him stumble backwards.

"You, stupid little boy," hissed the demon, "Have banished me."

Harry blinked.

"I- what? I banished you?"

The demon sighed, apparently exasperated. It was an eerie sound, echoing all around the room. Harry turned some more, beginning to feel quite paranoid.

"Let me explain then, young fool," Slytherin-demon hissed. "You may know that, while I was still alive, I strived for immortality."

Harry nodded, even though he did not know if Slytherin could see him in the total darkness. Dumbledore had mentioned that in their first conversation about the demon.

"Good. Well, apparently..... I was rather successful..... though not completely so...... I survived, for hundreds of years..... to weak to really do anything..... biding my time, waiting for only one thing..... my true heir....."

Harry shuddered.

"Voldemort."

It was not a question.

"Yesssss....." the demon hissed, his voice coming from behind Harry. Harry spun around and raised his wand, but he couldn't see anything.

*Hurry up!* Harry thought desperately.

*We can't go any faster!* came Remus' worried mental voice. *Oh- damn it, not now! Harry, the corridors changed on us-*

Harry almost groaned and quickly listened to the ever-circling demon.

"My heir, Tom Marvolo Riddle..... how he hated it when I called him by that name....."

The demon chuckled. The sound was not in any way nice or soothing, however. It was cold and sharp enough to cut steel.

"I influenced him, of course....." Slytherin hissed, "It was so very easy..... he was just a young, impressionable child when I found him, barely six years old..... living at that dreadful orphanage. I made sure that he got training in the Dark Arts before he ever attended Hogwarts. I made sure that he was sorted into my house..... I made sure that he became the most powerful wizard in this world, helped him become what he was fourteen years ago, helped him on his path to rule the world..... we were successful..... nobody could stand against us for long..... Voldemort would finish my task for me..... to rid this world of those who are unworthy of living..... those whose blood is polluted by mudblood....."

Harry clenched his fists and mouth shut. Voldemort himself was only half- blood! But Harry didn't think that the demon would appreciate his remark, so he kept silent.

"And then," the demon hissed, "There was you! You, in one night, destroyed the work of a thousand years! You almost killed my true heir, and you- a mere infant! banished me!"

Harry was blasted off his feet and thrown backwards into a wall. He gasped for air desperately.

"I was banished," Slytherin continued more calmly, "Banished into the headstone of my grave..... Godric had a field day when he put it there..... one last humiliation from him to me, a marble angel....."

Harry slowly regained his breath.

"Gryffindor supplied your grave stone?" he asked incredulously.

The demon laughed cynically.

"Oh, yes. Loathe as I am to admit it, the foolish man beat me in a fair wizard's duel..... thirteen years after I had left the school. It was a duel of life and death. Gryffindor"-he spat the name- "killed me- and since he was the one to end my..... life in duel, he had to be the one to bury me as well..... it's wizard's custom, but you wouldn't know about it, young fool....."

The demon seemed to think for a while. This gave Harry time for another mind call.

*How long? I'm not sure how much longer I can hold him off!*

*Almost there,* came Sirius' panting voice, *Two minutes, Harry. The stupid corridor carried us all the way up to Trelawney's classroom.*

Harry mentally groaned. Slytherin's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Isn't it ironic, Potter," the demon hissed, "That you were the cause of both my imprisonment fourteen years ago, and my new-found freedom?"

Harry gasped.

"What?"

"Yesss, Potter," the demon sounded like it was smiling cruelly, "I was very surprised myself..... let me make this a little clearer for you..... my grave is on Little Hangleton's graveyard....."

Harry looked at him blankly.

"The same place where my true heir's father is buried..... the same place where my true heir returned only weeks ago....."

Harry gasped as he remembered.....

***************************FLASHBACK****************************

Harry ran as he had never run in his life, knocking two stunned Death Eaters aside as he passed; he zig-zagged behind headstones, feeling their curses following him, hearing them hit the headstones – he was dodging curses and graves, pelting towards Cedric's body, no longer aware of the pain in his leg, his whole being concentrated on what he had to do –

"Stun him!" he heard Voldemort scream.

Ten feet from Cedric, Harry dived behind a marble angel to avoid the jets of red light and saw the tip of its wing shatter as the spells hit it.....

**************************END FLASHBACK************************

"Yesss....." Slytherin hissed maliciously, "Do you remember it now? When the angel's wing shattered, I was set free..... but most unfortunately, my imprisonment in the stone statue had made me almost solid..... the force of the stunning spells sent me tumbling into you..... you, of course, did not notice..... I was whisked away with the portkey..... I was disoriented and confused, blinded by the sudden noise and colours...... it was only once we were in the castle that I finally managed to detach myself from you..... and I haven't been able to leave since then."

Harry was absolutely speechless. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. He didn't know how to react. He didn't know what to do or say, when-

"But enough dilly-dallying," the demon said sharply, "You, Potter are going to pay for what you have done to me. You are going to pay n-"

*Crash*

The doors on the top of the marble staircase flew open.

"Lumos!" a voice exclaimed loudly, and instantly they were bathed in bright light.

The demon, wherever it was, shrieked loudly and hissed, "We will meet again, Potter!"

Then, the torches on the wall flickered back to life, and the swirling darkness on the edges of the room vanished.

Harry stared speechlessly up at the three adults on the top of the stairs. He was still huddled against the wall, shivering ever so slightly. Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus hurried down the stairs and towards Harry.

Sirius helped him stand up.

"Are you alright, kid? The demon didn't hurt you, did it?"

"No," Harry said dazedly, rubbing the back of his head where it had hit the wall. He could feel a small bump forming. "No, it's alright, you were on time, only just....."

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into his headmaster's kind eyes.

"Let's take this up to my office, Harry."

Harry nodded.

They made their way to the stone gargoyle in silence, Sirius and Remus throwing the still dazed Harry concerned looks from time to time.

"Fizzing Whizbees," said Dumbledore and they all stepped on to the moving staircase and let it carry them up to the headmaster's office. Once up there, Dumbledore led them through the door to the sitting room-like chamber Harry had been in before when they had discussed the demon. Almost automatically, Harry went to sit in 'his' armchair. The others claimed seats as well.

Harry proceeded to tell them what had happened in the entrance hall. By the time he had finished his tale, they were all frowning heavily.

"Thank you, Harry," Dumbledore said, frowning deeply. "This is both good and bad news."

The other three looked at him in surprise.

"It is good news because we know the identity of the demon now..... this might help us eliminate him. It is bad news because Slytherin is quite possibly the most powerful dark wizard who has ever existed."

Harry gulped.

"Another bit of good news, at least for the students and staff here at Hogwarts, is that the demon seems to be intent on getting revenge solely on you, Harry..... this means that if we protect you well, which we will, nobody else will be in danger from him."

Harry nodded doubtfully.

"Enough of this for now," the headmaster said firmly. "I will inform John of the circumstances so that we don't have a repeat of today's events. But there is another, more important thing we need to discuss with you."

Harry frowned

"What is it?" he asked curiously.

Sirius sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"It's the trial, Harry," he said tiredly, "You might be called as a witness."

Harry gasped and sat up straight.

"What?!"

"We're sorry, Harry," Remus said apologetically, "We did not know ourselves until this afternoon. Apparently, Pettigrew's barrister, who is no other than Nethan Nott, a known Death Eater, has requested that our barrister get more witnesses. He claims that the word of a werewolf and an escaped convict will not be enough.."

Harry frowned.

"And so you decided to add a not quite fifteen-year-old to the list?"

Remus grinned.

"Ah, but Harry, you are not just any not-quite-fifteen-year-old. You are the Boy-Who-Lived. People trust you, now that your name has been cleared again. After we suggested you as a witness, they were perfectly happy."

Harry snorted and turned to Professor Dumbledore.

"What about you, Professor? Wouldn't it be better if you were to be a witness at this trial?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled down at Harry.

"Ah, but my dear boy," he said, "I can't. I am to be Sirius's barrister."

"Oh," Harry said softly. Then- "What happens at a wizard's trial?"

Dumbledore nodded and retrieved a stack of parchments from his office.

"This, Harry," he explained at Harry's quizzical gaze, "Are the plans for the trial. Since Pettigrew is the accused, he will be given Veritaserum. Nethan Nott, as the defendant's lawyer, will then question him. He will, of course, try to play Pettigrew's crimes down and question him mainly about his years at school where he was still loyal to his friends."

Harry frowned deeply.

"But he wasn't. Loyal, I mean. Not really..... Pettigrew told me how bitter he felt at school, how jealous. If he tells all that, there won't be a chance for Nott to prove the rat's innocence!"

But Dumbledore shook his head.

"It's not quite as easy, Harry," he said seriously. "Veritaserum, while it makes the drinker tell the absolute truth, still leaves them a certain freedom in what they say. Unless they have been stunned before they take the potion and enervated only for the questioning, the drinker is able to think, and to a certain extend, evade incriminating answers. Since this is a public trial, Pettigrew will definitely not be stunned before his statement."

Harry nodded in understanding.

"So Nott will ask him questions that allow Pettigrew to give positive answers?"

"Exactly, Harry," Sirius answered. "The trick with any interrogation is to ask the right questions. Albus, please go on."

"After the administration of Veritaserum to the accused, Nethan will be allowed to question his client. After the questioning he will give a statement that he believes in his client's innocence and intents to prove it. After that, the other barrister, that is I, will be allowed to question Pettigrew as well. After my questioning, Pettigrew's guilt will be as good as proved. However, the formalities require me to find witnesses. Sirius, being our key witness as well as secondary accused-"

"Hang on there," Harry interrupted, "I thought Pettigrew was the accused. How can there be two people charged with the same crimes at the same trial?"

Sirius grinned.

"It works in the wizarding world, Harry," he said seriously. "Wizarding trials are different from muggle trials. In this trial, it will be determined which of us has committed the crimes we are both accused of. However, since I was the one to officially press charges, Pettigrew is the primary accused, while I am the secondary accused."

"Wow," Harry said, amazed. The wizarding world was really strange.

"May I proceed now?"

Harry blushed a little and nodded to his headmaster (who was smiling indulgently).

"As I said," Dumbledore continued, "Sirius, being our key witness as well as secondary accused, will also be given Veritaserum. I will question him first, then give my statement. After that, it will be clear that Sirius here is innocent of the main charges."

"Main charges?" Harry inquired.

Sirius grimaced.

"I've not only been accused of being a Death Eater, murdering your mum and dad and killing twelve muggles, Harry. I've also been accused of hurting an underage student, breaking into Hogwarts and more specifically Gryffindor Tower and stealing a potentially dangerous magical creature."

"Oh." said Harry. "But that's not so bad, is it? I mean, you broke into Gryffindor Tower to protect us, no me, from Pettigrew, and you didn't hurt any students, and we stole Buckbeak for you."

But Sirius shook his head grimly.

"Think, Harry. When I broke into Gryffindor Tower, I damaged a portrait in my desperation to get to you. You're saying that I've never hurt a student? Remember what happened to Ron when I dragged him into the Whomping Willow?"

Harry blanched. Ron's leg had been broken.

Sirius nodded grimly.

"Exactly. And Harry, think. If they discover how Buckbeak has been stolen, you, Hermione and Albus here, as well as Minerva, because she vouched for Hermione, will be in big trouble. And I mean Big Trouble. Changing time is one of the most serious law- breakings in the wizarding world you could possibly commit. You and Hermione might be expelled from Hogwarts, Minerva might lose her teaching position and Albus might be fired by the school board."

"Oh, Merlin," Harry whispered, having gone very pale. "What are we going to do, Sirius?"

Sirius shook his head helplessly.

"There's nothing we can do, Harry," he said, "Since I'm going to have to take Veritaserum, I will reveal that fact in Nott's cross-examination. When you are questioned you will have to make sure that everyone understands how this happened and that I am deeply sorry for it."

Harry nodded nervously.

"But- what about the time-turner incident?"

Dumbledore sighed deeply.

"We will have to pray that the jury will forgive it, after hearing our reasons. Many carefully hidden facts are going to come to light in this trial, Harry. Be sure to tell the absolute truth, even though you will not be under Veritaserum."

Harry nodded anxiously. There was a sickening feeling in his stomach, he felt more excited than before exams.

"Now," Dumbledore said, smiling soothingly at his student, "After Sirius's questioning, Nethan will be allowed to call his first witness. They will be questioned by both him and myself. After that, I will call my first witness, which will be Remus here. He will be questioned by both of us as well. After that, Nethan will be allowed to call in his next witness, and so on. Don't worry, the maximum number of allowed witnesses is ten, so the trial won't go on forever. After the questioning of the last witness, none of whom shall be under Veritaserum, Nethan and myself have to give another statement. After that, there will be a pause, allowing us and the spectators to have a late lunch. The jury will have their first meeting."

"How long is this going to take?" Harry wanted to know. "When will the trial begin?"

"The trial starts at nine o'clock in the morning," Remus answered, "And the first part, which is by far the most important and longest, will take about five hours."

Harry exhaled loudly. That would be a long, nerve-racking procedure.

"After the break," Dumbledore picked up again, "The jury will be allowed to ask questions. They will be allowed to call up witnesses from both sides and question them themselves. When all questions are cleared up, Nethan and myself are allowed to make a final statement, in which we will plead for the lightest possible punishment for our clients. After that, the jury will meet and come to a decision. The verdict will be presented by one of the jury members. The judge will lead us through the trial and make sure that things don't get out of hand. We are hoping for a very positive outcome, Harry."

Harry nodded, his stomach churning with the thoughts of his own questioning.

"Will Ron and Hermione have to appear as witnesses as well? They were with me in the shrieking shack."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, Miss Granger will be questioned after you, but she will only have to confirm your statement. She will portkey directly to the ministry court building at seven-forty. As for Mr. Weasley, he will be unable to attend due to the fact that he is currently in Romania. I'm afraid that we have no floo connections outside of Britain, and Mr. Weasley is not able to apparate. He would have to get here by muggle means or use a portkey, which takes some time to prepare, but I am afraid that the owl I sent him will not reach him in time."

Harry nodded again, biting his lip.

"Who else will be there? As witnesses?"

"Aside from yourself, Remus and Miss Granger?"

Harry nodded.

Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"Well, there will be mostly people from the Order who knew Sirius at school..... mostly to confirm Sirius' friendship with James. Hagrid will also have to give a short statement, even though he is not one of the official witnesses."

Harry nodded in a daze. He was not looking forward to the next day.

~*~

The next morning, Harry was woken by a very anxious godfather.

"Harry!" Sirius called softly, shaking him gently. "Wake up!"

"Whassamatter?" Harry mumbled sleepily. A glance at the clock on the wall showed him that it was half past six.

"Si'ius! 'smushtooearly!"

Sirius chuckled.

"You have to get up, Harry, I'm sorry. Today's the trial, remember?"

Harry growled and turned over.

"don'care. Wannasleep."

Sirius sighed dramatically.

"I'm sorry, godson-of-mine, you leave me no choice."

Sirius ripped away Harry's bed covers, scooped the boy up in his arms, and dropped him in the icy cold river. Harry gasped and spluttered as he instantly woke up.

"SIRIUS!!! ARE YOU MAD?! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS!!!"

But Harry's godfather was already out of reach, laughing hard. Harry glowered at him as he finally remembered that he was able to change the water temperature.

It turned from freezing cold (courtesy of Sirius) to bathtub-warm. The swift change of temperature left Harry breathless for a moment before he relaxed.

Sirius, meanwhile, had managed to compose himself.

"What? Are you going to stay in there? You do know that you're still wearing pyjamas, don't you, Harry?"

Harry glared at him.

"I figured that since they were already wet, I might as well keep them on."

Sirius grinned- Harry noticed only then that he was wearing swimming trunks- and slipped into the river as well. They swam around for a while, Harry dunking Sirius as often as he could to get revenge for his rude awakening.

Finally, they got out, dressed in their best, formal dress-robes and went down into the great hall for breakfast. Remus, Dumbledore, Snape and Minerva were already there, all dressed up like they were.

They ate in silence. Harry's stomach was churning in anticipation and dread, and if it hadn't been for the adults' constant nagging, he wouldn't have eaten a thing. As it was, they made him eat a giant pile of pancakes and some fruit, all claiming that he would need his strength later on. At one point, when Harry refused to eat any more, Sirius threatened that he would force-feed him if he didn't. After that, Harry ate his breakfast without complaint.

Somewhere half-way through the meal, an owl with the Daily Prophet arrived. Harry glanced at the headline and almost spit his orange juice across the table.

The headline read:

BLACK VERSUS PETTIGREW: THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY

Sirius grinned at Harry.

"Always one for dramatics, those reporters, eh?"

But Harry could tell that Sirius was just as nervous as him.

They were done at seven-thirty and walked into the small chamber beside the great hall.

"Why must we leave so early?" Harry complained as he- unsuccessfully- tried to stifle a huge yawn. "I mean, the tr- the t-"Harry yawned again, "the trial doesn't start until nine o'clock."

"It's the rules," said Remus. "Everyone who is going to be directly involved in the trial- which we are- must be at the court at least an hour in advance. At least this way, you will have more time with your friend."

Harry nodded, brightening a little.

"What about you, Professor?" Harry asked Snape. "Will you be a witness as well?"

Snape shook his head.

"No, at least I don't think so. In wizarding trials, everything is possible. I will, however, supply the Veritaserum."

Harry nodded, a little astonished. But he supposed that he shouldn't be. Veritaserum, from what he knew, was extremely dangerous and difficult to brew, and Snape was one of the world's best Potions Masters. Certainly the best in Europe.

"I trust you know how to floo?" Dumbledore asked politely. Harry nodded and grabbed a pinch of floo powder from a vase the headmaster offered him.

"Where to?" Harry asked.

"Just watch," said Remus, as he threw the floo powder into the flames. The flames turned green in an instant and Remus stepped in.

"Ministry Court Building, room seven, case #15682, secondary witness, Remus Lupin."

The fire glowed golden for a second, then Remus disappeared.

"Whoa," said Harry.

Sirius grinned.

"The Court building is one of the most secure in the wizarding world."

Harry nodded and threw his floo powder into the flames. He stepped in and said VERY clearly:

"Ministry Court Building, room seven, case #15682, secondary witness, Harry Potter."

Again, the flames glowed golden for a second, then Harry was swept away. He closed his eyes and tucked his elbows tightly to his sides. The journey seemed longer than usual; after a minute, Harry was sure that he would throw up.

Finally, he was thrown out of a fireplace, just barely managing to catch himself so he didn't land flat on his face. Harry was pleased to note that he had managed to stay quite clean, he brushed what little soot there was off quickly.

Looking around, Harry realized that he was in a relatively small room. It was bare except for the fireplace. Harry shrugged to himself and stepped towards the door. Two relatively young wizards intercepted him.

"Name?" The first one asked curtly.

"Oh..... Harry, Harry Potter." Harry said, a little surprised.

He watched with a little annoyance as the eyes of the two wizards did the customary flick up to his forehead.

"What an honour to meet you, Mr. Potter!" The second wizard exclaimed enthusiastically, shaking Harry's hand wildly.

"Um," said Harry.

"Please don't be offended by our questions, it's the law, you understand....." the first one said, pushing his colleague aside and shaking Harry's hand instead.

"Er," said Harry.

"Mr. Potter, do you think that you could, well, sign this card here for me? It's for my little daughter, you see, she's a great fan of yours?"

"Uh," said Harry.

"I think that will be enough." a firm voice behind Harry said. At the same time, a hand was put on his shoulder. Never in his life had Harry been so glad to see Severus Snape.

"Oh, P-P-Professor!" The first wizard exclaimed.

Harry realized with a grin that he must have been a student of Professor Snape's not too long ago.

"Mr. Winters," Snape responded coolly. "Do you think that you could let Mr. Potter and myself pass now without causing a scene?"

Both wizards blushed brightly.

"R-right, Mr. Potter," the second one stammered. "Um, reason for your p- presence?"

Harry had to fight back a grin when he saw how unsettled the man was because of his former Potion Master's glare.

"I am to be a witness at the trial number 15682," Harry said politely.

The man nodded hastily and scribbled it down.

"You may p-pass, Mr. Potter."

Harry thanked the man with a grin. About five seconds later, Snape was standing next to him in the gigantic entrance hall.

"That was fast," Harry remarked.

"Yes, well," said Snape, a devilish glint in his eyes, "He was a Hufflepuff."

Harry burst out laughing.

After another five minutes or so, the rest of their group had arrived.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Harry asked, realizing that they still had much more than an hour until the trial would start.

Dumbledore pulled out his pocket watch and studied it for a few seconds.

"Ms. Granger should be arriving any time," he said, "I suggest that you, Harry, wait out here for her, while the rest of you should follow me to the court room."

Harry nodded in agreement. He knew that it was safe for him to stay alone in the Court building. Nobody would dare to harm him in front of the ministry officials' eyes.

Suddenly, Harry heard a sound from the small side room with the fireplace.

"Name," came the muffled voice of one of the wizards.

"Hermione Granger."

Harry broke into a wide grin. Hermione was there! It took only half a minute for her to answer all kinds of questions, then Harry saw her step into the entrance hall. She spotted him immediately.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed and launched herself at Harry. Laughing, he hugged her back. It was so great to see his friend again!

"Hermione! How are you?"

"I'm great! Oh, Harry, my parents took me to Italy for two weeks, you wouldn't believe what an amazing wizarding culture they have! I redid my history essay completely, and I added a few Italian plants to my Herbology project, you know, the one where we're supposed to describe the properties of at least fifteen magical herbs, and now it's ten scrolls long instead of six, I hope Professor Sprout won't mind....."

With a big grin Harry listened to his friend's chattering. He had truly missed Hermione. After about three minutes, Harry said tentatively:

"Um.....Hermione?"

"And you wouldn't believe what- oh- yes, Harry?"

"Didn't you want to go to Bulgaria with Krum?"

"Oh," Hermione said, "Yes, I wanted to- but my parents didn't want me to go. They said that they didn't like for me to spend two weeks with a boy they don't even know."

"Oh," said Harry. Then, a little awkwardly, "Are you and Victor, um..... you know?"

Hermione giggled a little.

"No, we aren't," she said, "We're just friends."

"Ah," said Harry. He was surprised at how relieved he felt by this news.

"So, um- shall we go in?"

Hermione nodded and they walked towards the great doors Harry had seen his professors and Sirius disappear through.

They stopped in front of the heavy oak doors.

"I'm scared," Hermione admitted quietly.

"Me as well," Harry mumbled.

"I'm sure it'll be alright," Hermione said.

"Yeah," Harry said.

They glanced at each other.

"Oh hell," said Harry, "Let's get this over with. We're Gryffindors after all."

Together, they pushed the doors open and stepped into the Court room. The doors swung closed behind them, and Harry and Hermione were left staring in awe at the room in front of them.

This was not the small, dingy court room Harry had seen in Dumbledore's pensieve. This room was not dungeon-like, the benches were not wooden..... it looked more like a theatre than anything else, really.

The room was gigantic. The great hall of Hogwarts could easily have fit into this room at least five times. Everything was done in red and gold. Gryffindor colours, Harry and Hermione realized with a grin. The seats, even those of the spectators, were a deep, red velvet, looking extremely comfortable. Harry guessed that at least ten thousand people could fit into the gigantic room. The jury's bench was at the front of the room, facing away from the spectators. In the middle, there was a throne-like armchair behind a beautifully carved table, obviously the judge's place. To the left and the right of the judge, there were several comfortable-looking long benches, apparently designed to hold the witnesses.

On each side, there was also a raised stand. Harry guessed that this was where the people being questioned sat.

In the benches on the right side of the room, Harry could make out Dumbledore and the others. He gestured at Hermione and the two of them went down the carpeted marble steps to sit on one of the benches.

"Hermione!" Sirius exclaimed. "It's good to see you again!"

"Hello, Sirius," Hermione grinned, "Hello, Professors."

The professors either nodded to her with a smile or greeted her, then they went back to their conversations.

"Professor Lupin!" Hermione exclaimed in surprise.

The werewolf smiled at her.

"Hello, Hermione," he said, "It is good to see you again. Please, call me Remus while it's still the holidays."

"Still the holidays?" Hermione asked excitedly, "Does that mean that you are coming back to teach?"

"Yes," Remus grinned at his student's enthusiasm, "I'm teaching Defence again this year."

Then he turned back to Professor McGonagall.

"I can't believe it," Hermione said happily, "We will actually learn a lot this year! It's important that we have a good teacher, what with the OWLs approaching and everything."

Harry grinned and nodded. Of course Hermione wouldn't have forgotten about the Ordinary Wizarding Levels they would be taking in the end of the year.

The rest of the time they spent chatting about their summers. Hermione told Harry about the great time she had had in Italy, while Harry told Hermione about everything that had happened to him so far (eliciting many gasps)..... even the fact that he was now playing on the English National Quidditch Team. Ron and Hermione would have to cover for him when he was at training.

Upon receiving this news Hermione squealed again and squeezed Harry in a gigantic hug.

"Oh Harry, that's so great!"

"'ermione," Harry choked, "Can't.....breathe!"

"Sorry, Harry," she released him immediately. "But you do realize that you mustn't neglect your studies because of this, don't you? As you know, we're taking our OWLs this year and it is extremely important that you don't fall behind-"

Harry clapped a gentle hand in front of her mouth.

"Don't worry, Hermione," he said firmly, "I won't. Besides, I have a feeling that with my new powers, keeping up with my studies won't be a problem."

Hermione nodded.

"I still can't believe that you're the heir of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Merlin! Harry, you must be so powerful!"

She continued like that for a while, making Harry blush very deeply. The devilish grin Sirius and Remus wore while watching them told Harry that he would be teased mercilessly for the rest of his life.

Harry was glad when Hermione finally agreed to change the subject.

About half an hour before the trial was due to begin, the doors burst open again and a mass of people streamed into the room, claiming the best seats they could reach. Harry and Hermione watched with growing horror as seat after seat was occupied, until it was clear that there wasn't any space anymore. People settled down on the steps or pressed against the wall, all trying to fit into the suddenly small-looking room.

"Hermione," Harry gulped. "Please- please! tell me that they aren't going to watch the trial."

Hermione, too, was staring in terror at the thousands of witches and wizards in front of them.

"I hope so, Harry, I hope so," she whispered, looking panic-stricken, "But I'm afraid that's exactly what they're going to do."

A fight broke out in the doorway. Apparently, yet more wizards tried to enter, but the people in the room wouldn't let them, afraid of being squashed.

In the end, the ministry's hit wizards had to be called to break up the commotion. Harry shook his head in disbelief. These people seemed to think that this was a muggle rock-concert, not a trial.

Suddenly, the clock above the door chimed nine times.

It was nine o'clock in the morning.

The Trial of the Century was about to begin.

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A/N: Hello, everyone. I'm sorry about this cliffhanger, but the chapter was getting too big. Fanfiction.net wouldn't accept it anymore. The Trial is in the works, I am writing as fast as I can, it will be up by the next weekend at the latest. I hope you enjoyed this chapter,

Thank you to all of you who reviewed the last chapter!

See ya!

Felinity ^_^