Whatever hope Harry's had for his team moments ago appears to be dwindling. Now Roger Davies finds himself on the brunt of an enraged Slytherin assault as they continue to commit six players to each attack.
"If Ravenclaw can just get the Quaffle into their opponent's half, it'd be easy with Zabini away from his posts," says Lee Jordan. "But they're getting absolutely HAMMERED now, probably as Slytherin's making up for their downed Seeker."
110, 120, The goals come flying in while Harry speeds off in pursuit of the Golden Snitch, now flying near the Ravenclaw stands. With Harry speeding on its flight path, the Snitch twirls before turning around and diving to the ground. Meanwhile, he knows he's been acting out of character for Cho thus far, and therefore decides against pulling off what would be a tricky dive. Instead, Harry flies ahead while predicting where the Snitch might pull up to his level.
"Cho's unwilling to take that dive and opts to try and outsmart the Snitch instead," says Lee Jordan. "Looks like her risk paid off, she's coming up behind the Snitch as it nears the centre of the pitch. WATCH OUT, CHO, THERE'S A TON OF ACTION HAPPENING THERE RIGHT NOW!"
Both teams have committed six players each to gain possession as a dozen players battle for the Quaffle. Four Beaters whack Bludgers in all directions while the Chasers get in full-contact to seize possession from their opponents. Even the Keepers form up with their three teammates to bolster these efforts. Just as Harry swerves around the action, Crabbe and Goyle speed towards him with their bats in hand.
"Stop Chang right now!" orders Nott, who's clearly upset that Malfoy's unable to continue.
"Mandy and Morag, form up!" Davies sends his Beaters to intercept the Slytherin pair, but Harry's got his own plan. First comes Goyle who Harry ducks beneath, then he rolls around Crabbe followed by kicking Nott away before speeding off in pursuit of 150 more points.
"Tremendous bit of flying from Cho as she outwits her opponents!" cheers Lee Jordan. "The Eagles' Seeker makes her way towards the far right side of the pitch where the Snitch takes a climb..."
"DON'T LET THAT BITCH CATCH THE SNITCH!" yells Vaisey, who spots the Snitch flying parallel to the ground before climbing straight up, in an 'L' shape. Once Slytherin's Chasers slip past Goldstein in the centre, they exploit their faster brooms as Montague makes a beeline to the left hoop.
"GOAL BY MONTAGUE WHICH MAKES IT 130-50—"
Harry flies diagonally to gain an advantage on the Snitch's 'L' climb, then he reaches out... so close...
"—CHO'S GOING... GOING... YES! SHE'S CAUGHT IT! CHO CHANG HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH FOR RAVENCLAW. 200-130 WE CERTAINLY ARE INDEED! TAKE THAT, YOU RESCHEDULING SONS OF B—"
"That's enough, Jordan." Professor McGonagall 'politely' turns off the megaphone while the stadium erupts into thunderous cheers. Whatever half of Slytherin might've been applauding their team are now drowned out by the noise of everyone else.
Eventually, the megaphone is switched back on for Lee Jordan to announce the standings thus far:
"Hufflepuff are currently leading on 250, followed by Ravenclaw on 200, and Slytherin's on... 130, hahaha! Anyway, Ravenclaw's at the biggest disadvantage since they've only got one game left. Slytherin and Hufflepuff have two in hand while Gryffindor have yet to complete our first match. When is the next match anyway?" Lee Jordan can be heard checking through some parchments. "Oh yeah, Saturday the 7th of December it'll be Gryffindor against Hufflepuff. Man, the timetable's really off this year..."
Even with most of the stadium engulfed in tremendous applause and congratulations, Harry simply lands to get freshened up in the locker room. Sickening joy fills him upon having beaten his own House at Quidditch, and he now tries to shower as quickly as possible. In fact, the only distraction he gets from ruing his role in Slytherin's loss is how 'unique' it feels to be showering in this body.
"You'd better make it quick," says a hushed voice nearby. "God, this is EMBARRASSING!"
"Cho?" Harry's eyes widen as he remembers her having spent the match hidden beneath his Cloak here. "You're very sexy, you know? Look at this body..."
She groans quite loudly now while standing somewhere near the shower's entrance. "Get dressed and stop ogling my privates, for Heaven's sake! Oh, I'm never gonna be able to live this one down."
"I like these very much—"
Cho throws off the Cloak before glaring at Harry now. "So go play with Hermione's, Parkinson's, or Ginny's. Don't touch... no!"
"Just kidding." Harry grins before finishing up in the shower and getting dressed back into Cho's uniform. "At least you can say that you saw me naked, huh?"
"You mean I saw myself naked now, nothing new there. Goodness, look at your face..."
While Cho inspects Harry's bruised cheek, he laughs. "Your face, you mean."
She throws the Cloak over herself once more while speaking. "I suggest we return to the Room immediately. That game lasted almost two hours now, not to mention the time used before you went for breakfast."
Harry scoffs while looking quite proud of himself. "Given my brass cauldron, and good brewing skills, these doses tend to last longer than that. I give it until 2pm or so, yeah."
"What about that bruise on your face? It looks terrible," says Cho.
"From what I've read, it's only Dark magic injuries that stay through Polyjuice Potion, I think. This'll disappear when I turn back to the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Yes, but everyone's expecting me to have a bruise until it's treated by Madam Pomfrey," replies Cho. "Maybe we should go there right now while there's still time."
"Ah, good ol' Ravenclaw smarts on display, Miss Chang." Harry gives a soft bit of clapping that has Cho giggling. They now swiftly exit the stadium together before Harry seeks treatment in the Hospital Wing. Fortunately, Madam Pomfrey seems completely oblivious to Harry's impersonation as she heals the bruise in about a minute.
"I'll let you take over from here on out," whispers Harry to the invisible Cho, as they walk down the fifth floor corridor. He also informs her of Pansy and the girls' suspicions which hardly bothers Cho.
"Guess I'll have to explain it to them in private if we meet," she replies. "Let them know that ours was a once-off change. Do you think I can tell them about the Room of Requirement?"
"Not yet," says Harry, while keeping an eye out for anyone nearby. "If they ask where I'm hiding out, and how I'm brewing Polyjuice, just say that it's my secret. Shall we swap now? Nobody's gonna think anything of you being in different clothes so soon." He looks around before Cho takes off the Invisibility Cloak. "Isn't your common room entrance somewhere on the fifth floor level anyway?"
"Yes, but you'll need to solve a riddle to get in."
"I'd prefer to kill, rather than solve, a Riddle."
Cho looks bemused at Harry's statement. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind, I'll take that now." Harry wraps the Cloak around him before laughing. "Enjoy being the hero of today, sexy Chang. And please let the Gryffindor team and my girls know that it's actually you before you go and get mushy with Cedric. Oh, and D.A. meeting tonight as we haven't had one all week."
"Thank you for the broom and points today, Harry, very much appreciated," says a smiling Cho, who walks towards the grand staircase where both students head their separate ways.
With his stomach grumbling a fair bit, Harry makes haste to the Room of Requirement where Dobby sets him up with lunch. It amazes Harry how the elf simply never tires of serving him. In fact, Dobby seems most cheerful when he's called upon quite often, such as today for both Cho and Harry's meals.
Once finished with lunch, Harry returns to his room to wait out his reversion while studying. Every so often, he checks the nearby mirror while seated at his desk until his eyes begin to change. From Cho's brown to Harry's green, he notes how the first change usually tends to be his eyes. By late afternoon, a non-Polyjuiced Harry sits on a couch in casual wear after having practiced spells in the main area. He soon finds himself joined by the Gryffindor team who let loose on today's change.
"So, how did it feel to lose your manhood for a few hours?" asks Angelina, while her teammates roar with laughter.
"I'll bet a Galleon that he took a feel of Cho," adds Katie. "Did you, Harry?"
"Uh... well..."
"Guilty as charged!" Hermione tries to look upset but battles through her nonstop laughter. "I can't believe how far you'd go to stop this team Slytherin..."
"What did it feel like between the legs, huh?" asks Alicia. "Hahaha! Now you know what's it like to be one of us."
The twins and Ron remain in shock while trying to crack a few jokes. Mainly they're still surprised at Harry's determination to thwart a team led by those Slytherins.
"Okay, alright, enough, joke's old now," says Harry.
"Old?" Fred and George look at each other and laugh. "Neveeeeeer."
"Do you have any Polyjuice left?" asks Ginny, while standing behind Harry as he leans back on the couch.
"No, not until the 19th, why?" He looks up to see Ginny sighing.
"Oh well, guess you're trapped in here until then. Unless you use the Cloak, shame that you're a now hermit again."
"D.A. meeting tonight? What say you all?" asks Harry.
"Oh yes, definitely!" Ron beams with a smile while Hermione appears rather worried.
"But there's tons of homework to finish over the weekend."
Ron looks at her and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, but we don't have Prefect duties either tonight. Do you want practical experience or not? I know you're a good witch, Hermione, good enough to delay that work just a bit."
"Yes." Harry stands up from the couch before walking towards Hermione sitting against the wall. "You can stay behind afterwards and work in here. I know I'm probably useless with some of that but—"
"You're not useless, Harry."
"—so it's a 'yes' then? Cool, see you all tonight." Harry draws his wand as the rest of the students file out to spend their afternoon elsewhere.
Practicing by oneself may not be the most effective method of improving one's duelling skills, but Harry refuses to be a burden. He'd rather read through various spellbooks over and over than request a duelling partner on a Saturday afternoon.
"Expelliarmus!" He fires a disarming charm at the practice dummy (which holds a book in one hand). Sure enough, the book comes flying through the air for Harry to catch, much like an opponent's wand might do.
Next, he returns the book before trying the same spell non-verbally. This time it's about half as effective as its verbal counterpart, but Harry smiles nonetheless.
"Time for some style." He now attempts to cast non-verbally and using a technique which Muggles might call 'Point Shooting'. But it's certainly a challenge to focus on the spell, get the correct wand movements, and fire with minimal time to take aim.
For his first effort, Harry intends to strike a book on the shelf to his right. He therefore concentrates before turning and swiftly firing the disarming charm, only to end up smacked in the face by the incoming book.
"Ouch, too slow."
Regardless of how tedious and difficult it may be, Harry continues practicing non-verbal spells for well over an hour in the afternoon. Some simply refuse to be effective non-verbally while others, such as the disarming charm, do improve a slight bit. With the sun beginning to set at around half past four, this leaves Harry to have dinner nearly alone in the Room of Requirement.
"Thanks again, Dobby."
"A pleasure, Harry Potter, sir!"
Harry eventually checks his watch to see that it's almost six o'clock as he awaits the rest of Dumbledore's Army. Minutes later, the door opens while he grips his wand, wrapping his little finger around its rear hook end.
"Hello, Harry, nice to see you again."
"Oh hey, Miss Lovegood, where are the others?"
"Taking their usual time, since it's unwise for us all to flock up here together. We come in dispersed little groups, you see."
Sure enough, more D.A. members of various Houses gradually trickle into the room. By the time they're nearly all here, Harry sees Cedric entering with a most unexpected face.
"Oh crap, we've been betrayed!" shouts Dean Thomas, as the Head Boy looks at Harry.
"Hey, thought I might bring someone along. She's trustworthy."
"Harry? Oh my gosh, look at you..."
"A Slytherin?" asks Harry in utmost delight. "One of my people has finally arrived!"
"And the Head Girl, no less," says Hermione. "Sign this piece of parchment please, Yasmin, and try not to betray our group, alright?"
"Nah, she's cool," says Harry, while watching the older Slytherin sign the jinxed parchment. But in the meantime, his eyes briefly dart to Cho's miserable friend. "Problem?"
"She's not feeling too well," says Cho, while Marietta eyes Yasmin.
"Can we really trust a Slytherin?" asks Marietta. "Dolores Umbridge was a Slytherin back in her day."
"And so am I." Harry quietens the group before walking up to Marietta. "If you have a problem being here then perhaps you should leave."
"No," says Hermione. "She's part of our group and is here to stay."
"I don't see what's the big deal with Slytherin anyway." Marietta gestures towards her friend. "Cho pretty much made your 'superior' House look stupid today."
"Oh yes," says Harry, while smiling at Cho. "That was a spectacular performance out there this morning. Reminds me of myself in a way."
Cho tries not to giggle while shaking Harry's hand. "Thanks."
"Are you alright, Harry?" asks Yasmin. "With everything that's happened, you know, Azkaban and all that stuff... everyone's worried over you. Well, whoever's not on Malfoy's side these days. It's just not the same anymore without you around Slytherin."
"Yeah, I've noticed."
The rest of the group eagerly listen as Harry and Yasmin briefly discuss what's happening in Slytherin.
"A House divided, eh?" asks Hermione. "So it's those who believe in Harry, and then there's everyone else? Slytherin cannot stand if it's divided against itself."
"Hey, this isn't supposed to be public knowledge, Granger." Yasmin scowls a slight bit at practically everyone gathered around. "Although I reckon it's pretty obvious these days. Malfoy, Nott, and whoever else seem to encourage the crap people are chanting and doing. I'm sorry about your Muggleborn teammate, Cho, for what he's heard out there today."
"Just who exactly are the ones against me?" asks Harry, before Yasmin looks to the ceiling in concentration.
"Most of my seventh-year classmates are with the Ministry's views. Then there's about half the sixth years as well. So that's nearly twenty students between those two years already. Your fifth-year girls, even Pansy, aren't doing anything much. I suspect they don't like Malfoy and Nott."
"But Pansy Parkinson's mum is a Death Eater, and everyone around here knows that," says Susan Bones, who now turns to look at Harry. "I wouldn't trust her if I were you, even if she was your old friend."
"I'm inclined to agree with Bones," says Marietta, though Harry ignores her.
"Who else?"
Yasmin frowns once again. "The five fifth-year boys are obviously pro-Ministry and anti-Harry. So that's Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Malfoy, and Zabini added to the list of your haters. Most of the fourth-years, but only some of the second and third, are also with them. The poor firsties are more confused than anything this year, since your haters are trying to make you look bad." Yasmin now smiles. "So we can say that just over half the House still likes you, Harry. That includes me, Flint's sister, Adrian, Miles Bletchley etc."
"You see," says Ginny. "This is why I like Gryffindor. There's just way too much politics going on in the dungeons."
"I don't see every Gryffindor standing here now, do I? Where's Malone and Finnigan?" Harry's retort elicits an awkward bit of silence, most noticeably from Dean.
"Roger's got his own stuff to deal with now. As for Seamus... he, uh, believes the Daily Prophet like his mum insists. Please don't hate on him."
"Well," says Harry. "Perhaps he'll come good after another explosion to the face in Potions class."
"Harry!"
"Sorry, Hermione, was just a joke."
Once Harry's brief reunion with a fellow Slytherin concludes, the meeting finally gets underway. Today's agenda comprises the Leg-Locker, Full Body-Bind, and Reductor Curses.
"For the first two," says Harry (who spots the admiring look sent his way by Hermione as he speaks), "you'll be practicing on each other. The Reductor Curse, however, is meant for solid objects like these practice dummies. It won't do much, if anything, on a living target so let's not waste our time like that. Real life consists of surprises. Therefore, we'll be splitting up alphabetically. It doesn't matter if you don't know your partner that much, because you sure as hell won't always know the enemy out there..."
He now begins pairing up students according to the sign-up list.
"...Hannah and Lavender, pair up. Katie and Susan... Terry and Cho... Creevey brothers, well, work hard!"
Colin and Dennis nod most enthusiastically while Harry continues pairing the rest up.
"I know there'll be siblings together but let's be fair, alright? I said I'm going alphabetically and that's what we're sticking with. Next, Cedric with Marietta... Justin with Anthony... Hermione with Angelina... Lee with Neville... Luna with Ernie... Patils, you're together."
"Thank you, Harry," they reply simultaneously.
"No games, understand? I'm just following this list." Harry resumes pairing the students up while pacing up and down the room. "Yasmin, you're with me."
"Setting the standard on my first meeting, eh? Fine then." She now smiles brightly. "But I'm a seventh-year and Head Girl, so you'd better watch out."
"Anyway... Zacharias with Alicia, Dean with Fred..."
George laughs. "Fred, we might've been together if that Slytherin Shafiq didn't show up. Whoa, relax there, Head Girl, we're only joking."
"Carry on, Harry," says Yasmin, who folds her arms and scoffs.
"George with Ginny..."
"YES!" Ginny already draws her wand and takes aim at her older brother. "I've been waiting for this for years now! Mum and dad ain't here to stop anything we do, George."
"Bring it on." George grins at Harry before looking at the focused Ginny. "Little Miss Weasley."
Meanwhile, Harry continues pairing the remaining students up, though he can't help but feel bad for Yasmin Shafiq. If not for her surname on this list, the Weasley twins would've been together while Ginny would've been with Ron. At the same time, Harry knows he would've then gotten Zacharias Smith instead of Yasmin, and he'd have certainly enjoyed hexing that condescending Hufflepuff.
"Ronald with... oh." Harry doesn't know whether to laugh or take pity as there's nobody else following Ron's name.
"Nobody left, eh? Typical," says Ron.
"That's what we Slytherins do," says Yasmin. "Come in and mess things up, hahaha! Don't look so glum, Weasley. Hmmm... Harry, close your eyes and blindly select someone on that list. Wherever your finger lands will be the pair that Weasley joins."
"Call him by his first name," says Harry, "or you'll confuse everyone here." He now (almost) shuts his eyes while running a finger up and down the parchment before pressing against it. "I see... ah, lucky you, Ronald!"
"Who'd I get?"
"The Patils."
"Bloody hell!"
"Well, Ron," says Parvati. "Let's see if you're as good with your wand as you danced with Fay at the Yule Ball. Or if you're lucky enough like against McLaggen at the hoops."
As Ron struts over to the twins, Yasmin whispers while walking past Harry. "You did that on purpose, right?"
"Was I that obvious?"
"Nope, nobody but Granger suspects a thing." Yasmin now smiles. "But I know you well enough already. So, let's get started, little fellow Slytherin."
Locomotor Mortis is the incantation yelled by many students taking aim at their partners. Various shades of purple soon flash across the room while laughter and groans echo through the pairs of students.
"Anyone seriously hurt? No?" A leg-locked Harry lays on the ground while surveying the aftermath of the first round. "Don't forget the wand movements: down, left, down, right. Practice those movements again. Hermione, please remind us of the counterspell..."
She giggles before walking over to perform the required spell. With his legs freed, Harry smiles before seeing a few other students casting the counterspell too, namely Cedric and Yasmin.
"Don't you agree," says Marietta to the crowd, "that our teacher's supposed to know everything he's teaching us?"
"Nobody's perfect so give him a break," says Cedric, as Harry has the eager students practicing for the next twenty minutes. Out of five rounds, Harry manages to hit Yasmin twice before she gets him. Their conversation soon turning to the Quidditch team as everyone continues their practice.
"I can't believe Nott and the lot would kick you, Adrian and Bletchley out. We all saw how great you guys did in January against Gryffindor," says Harry.
"Yeah, well, I'm done arguing for a place on the team. Even after Chang humiliated them they still refuse to change this line-up. Sure, they got a good amount of goals in but it's the final result that matters." Yasmin gives a slight laugh before raising her wand for the next round of leg-locker practice. "Let 'em have the team, we no longer care."
Following this, Harry moves on to their next curse.
"So, it's really curses all evening long?" asks Smith. "I thought we're learning to defend ourselves against the bad stuff out there?"
"Keep complaining and I might be tempted to practice the Cruciatus Curse on you." Harry grins as Hermione gasps at him. "Right, shall we move on?"
More nods and agreement come from many a student who begin casting Petrificus Totalus at one another. At some point, Hermione gets hit by a stray curse which catches her off-guard from another pair. After receiving the counterspell by Angelina, Hermione looks wildly around.
"Who the—?"
Lee Jordan pats Neville on the shoulder before laughing. "Good shot! What was that story you were telling us about the time you tried to stop her and Ron from joining Harry somewhere?"
"I DID IT!" shouts Neville triumphantly. "I got you back for first-year, Hermione."
"Oh ha-ha very funny."
"Great shot, Neville," says Harry, who sees the look of betrayal on Hermione's face. "Excellent, if I may so myself."
"Angelina..." Hermione looks at her partner, who in turn looks at Yasmin as the older girls nod.
"Captain Johnson," says Yasmin. "The Chaser who I so expertly outwitted last year, shall we now pair up?"
"Alright then, Slytherin."
Harry looks, wide-eyed, from Hermione to Angelina to Yasmin. "Wait, what's going on? Why are we all switching partners?"
"We can switch?" asks Lavender. "Hannah, you're a cool girl but I'd like to have my Parvati back, please?"
"Alright, sure, and I'd like Susan back as well."
Sighing, Harry allows the students to shuffle and pick their partners for the next few rounds of Full Body-Bind practice. Meanwhile, he spots Hermione slowly advancing towards him.
She now beckons him over with a curling gesture of her index finger. "Come here, Harry James Potter, I won't bite..."
"Uh." Harry raises his voice to address the crowd. "Anybody wanna take Hermione and swap with me? Anyone?"
"Nope, sorry," laughs Fred, who's paired up with George. "She's eyeing you like a piece of meat now."
"Good luck, Harry," says Parvati, while pairing up with Lavender and Ron. "I know that look from a girl."
"Neville? Would you like to swap with me?"
"Sorry, Harry, but Hermione looks angry... I think." Neville backs off to practice with Luna as Hermione rubs her palms together.
"So, uh, what's the deal, Hermione?" asks Harry. "You look, um, quite flushed."
"Siding with Neville Longbottom over me, huh?" She takes aim at Harry. "Think my misfortunes are funny at times? Petrificus Totalus!"
"Protego! Ha, you can't get me."
"We're supposed to let each other get hit. That's part of checking if the spell's right."
"You can't get me, you can't get me," sings Harry, while flashing his brows at the flushed Hermione.
"Argh! Come here, Petrificus Totalus! Stand still and drop your shield already, HARRY JAMES POTTER!"
To everyone's amusement, Harry flees across the room while Hermione gives chase. Each time she casts the curse, Harry either evades or blocks the spell before finally having it rebound back on her. Now he kneels beside the petrified girl and immediately loses his smile.
"At least this time it's easily reversible. No Mandrakes needed."
Hermione sits up after Harry performs the required counterspell, before the latter softly speaks.
"Sorry I, well, suppose that was quite immature of me." Harry stands up while walking towards the rear wall of the room. His thoughts now on how close he'd been to losing his first friend back in second year. "No shields and running, go ahead and hit me."
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Harry hits the ground with a thud as he now stares up at the ceiling, motionless.
"Right," says Hermione, "next up is the Reductor Curse which works to blast solid objects—"
"Oi," calls Ron. "Did you forget something, or someone?"
"—so it's not useful against people, really. Just like it's most likely foolish to try a torture curse on an inanimate object, so is trying Reducto on living beings—"
"Hermione," laughs Terry Boot. "I think you ought to un-petrify Harry over there."
"She's clearly doing this on purpose," says Anthony Goldstein. "Quite amusing, actually."
Cho covers her mouth while shaking her head. "Poor Harry, someone help him up already."
"Nah, let's leave him just there." Fred and George soon start laughing with Lee Jordan.
"—so, shall we remain in pairs? Let's get started on the Reductor Curse, there's still over half an hour left."
While the rest of the group stands facing the near-dozen practice dummies, Hermione walks to stand over Harry. For the latter, it's quite a view as he just about darts his gaze up her skirt.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, Mister Potter?" She places her arms on her sides while smirking. "Maybe I should just leave you here, hmm? What? No response? Where's that smart mouth of yours now?" However, she does eventually perform the counterspell before pulling Harry to his feet.
"That was a lovely view up your skirt, Miss Granger. Pink knickers suit you just fine."
"You... pervert!"
"Haha, I love you too." He puts on a smile that pushes his cheeks well up to his eyes. "For someone that's so bushy on the head, you're squeaky clean down ther—"
"REDUCTO!"
Harry's whispering is interrupted by a loud BANG metres behind him. Upon spinning around in shock, he sees Parvati giggling with her group at the remains of a table which had held many Sneakoscopes.
"Whoa, Parvati," says Harry. "Did you just annihilate that table to ash?"
"You bet I did." She high-fives Lavender and Ron. "How about that, Hermione Granger?"
"Excuse me?" Hermione tightens her lips while eyeing Parvati. "Is that a challenge?"
"Blimey, I think it is." Ron grins while looking from Lavender to Parvati.
"Harry, are you just going to stand there?" asks Hermione, while tugging on his arm.
"Nobody but me challenges my Mugglebabe." Harry stands beside Hermione as they take on Ron and Parvati.
"How'd she do such a wicked Reductor Curse?" asks Ginny, who kicks at the ash. Meanwhile, the two pairs go head-to-head casting Reducto on practice dummies.
Standing beside Cho to the left of the room is a groaning Marietta. "Why are they acting like damn children?"
"They're just having fun," replies Cho, as Harry applauds Hermione's destruction of a dummy.
"Reparo! That's my Granger danger. Bring it on, Miss Gryffindor Patil." Harry whistles as Parvati soon blasts her dummy to a smear on the wall.
"Well done, sis!"
"Quiet, Miss Ravenclaw Patil," says Harry. "Reducto!" The repaired dummy bursts into bits on the ground. "That is how we do it in Slytherin."
"You tell 'em!" cheers Yasmin, while clapping in delight.
Cedric soon steps in to cast a pretty effective Reductor Curse too, eliciting many Hufflepuff cheers before Cho steps forward.
"I can do that too, you know. For Ravenclaw, Reducto!"
Another obliterated dummy lands upon the ground as the crowd cheers each one of the contestants on. Hermione now smiles at Harry who knows exactly what she's thinking, even without being a Legilimens himself.
"It's nice to have some unity, eh, Gryffindor Granger?"
"Definitely! I wish it was always like this, Slytherin Snake."
"There'll forever be an element of rivalry in this school which I don't mind." Harry frowns while looking down. "It's just when they take things too far that I do mind. The anti-Muggleborn stuff, for example."
More students of various Houses soon step up to show their worth in casting tonight's third curse. Each time a dummy gets smashed, Harry and Hermione cast Reparo while giving a bit of applause. Then, after having finished their Reductor Curse session, the group is made to revise the first two curses yet again.
"Time's up!" declares Harry eventually, much to the disappointment of the group. "I know we've had a blast—quite literally—tonight, but it's already half past eight."
"Yeah," says Cedric. "Makes sense to leave before Mr. Filch spots so many people coming from the seventh floor near curfew. This evening was really great, Harry."
"And Hermione," says Harry, who smiles as she pokes him in the side.
Cedric and Yasmin soon take charge in having the group exit in smaller clusters to avoid suspicion.
"Shall we walk together to the fifth floor, Quidditch star?" asks Cedric to Cho, while wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"Yep, lead the way, Head Boyfriend."
Shortly after most of Dumbledore's Army disperses, Yasmin approaches Harry and Hermione near the couch.
"Well, I have to say that you two certainly have the makings of Head Boy and Girl." She looks from the beaming Hermione to Harry now. "Before I head back, I just want to repeat that not everyone in the dungeons hates you. But please understand that many are trying to keep a low profile now that you're officially 'gone', if you know what I mean."
"Be careful who you mention this meeting to," says Hermione. "Actually, don't even mention it at all."
"Pansy knows I'm here though," admits Harry, before explaining the hints he's given her. "And the other four as well."
His statement has Hermione swiftly glaring at him. "What? Why would you blow your cover so early?"
"Sometimes I forget that Pansy's mum is actually a Death Eater," says Yasmin, "Especially by how much she defends your name against Malfoy and Nott's insults. Your friendly Parkinson really misses you, Harry, and from what I've observed she doesn't hold anything against you for her cousin's death."
"It wasn't a simple death." Harry balls his fist tightly while looking at the Head Girl. "That was bloody ruthless murder, and I couldn't do a thing to stop it. We fought so hard to briefly shake off Voldemort and his zealous follower, nearly got back to that portkey Cup, but then..."
"Harry, that's enough." Hermione now reaches out to hold his hand before looking at the Head Girl. "Don't let him relive that horrible experience, please."
"I understand," says Yasmin softly, before turning to leave. "Perhaps it's best if I don't mention seeing you to anyone, including Pansy. Just be warned that I've already been approached by Theodore Nott."
"About what?" asks Harry.
"Umbridge has got plans for what she calls the Inquisitorial Squad, top-secret stuff for now. The plan is to recruit 'worthy' Slytherins to form a group that'll be like Prefects 2.0, even able to punish and dock points as they please from anyone."
Harry immediately starts laughing. "I didn't know the finer details but Malfoy already slipped about that. Well, he slipped about some 'squad' thing when coming across Ronald and Hermione in a corridor. Bet he reckons they forgot all about his nonsense."
"Idiot," scoffs Yasmin. "I wish you were around to be Prefect, Harry, and not that father's boy."
While Hermione gifts Yasmin with a fake Galleon that she explains, Harry smiles. "See if you can convince Pansy and the girls to get onto the Inquisitorial Squad. That'll give me a bit of an advantage against Miss High Inquisitor herself."
"They're favouring Purebloods so your Millicent and Tracey pals have less of a chance than the other three. Plus..." Yasmin now shakes her head while pocketing the coin and looking at Harry. "Nott's still got the hots for Pansy, no doubt he'll want her close by."
"Who can blame him?" asks Harry. "Pansy's really pretty, but Nott's seeing her more for her blood status. I suppose the looks are just a bonus in his opinion."
"Disgusting cockroach that he is," mutters Hermione. "Even I'll agree that you're a better match for Parkinson than Draco Malfoy or Theodore Nott could ever be. With their attitudes, those two should just marry each other and get lost."
Yasmin laughs before exiting the room, leaving Harry and Hermione alone as the latter prepares to work on her assignments. But after just ten minutes of sitting beside her on the couch, Harry stands up.
"What's wrong?"
"I'd rather not be a distraction to you, Hermione."
"Don't be silly. Sit down and read as I write, you're not distracting me at all." She looks up as he begins walking towards his room's concealed entrance. "Harry, you really need to keep up as much as possible, or else it'd be an impossible task once you're enrolled again. Where are you going, anyway?"
"I need to chat with someone."
"Seriously?" Hermione smiles a slight bit. "Are you so lonely that you're, what, seeking out ghosts at night for social interaction? I hope you're not speaking with Nearly Headless Nick, because you don't really know him too well. He'd be over-delighted to chat with you and might accidentally let it slip that you're around."
"Ghosts are the last people I'd chat with now. They're loud, easily seen, and would certainly compromise my hiding," says Harry. "Plus, who the heck can I chat with anyway? Your House ghost is way too talkative, the Bloody Baron might also let slip that I'm around, and the Fat Friar is...well... I dunno. He's just far too darn happy and all over the place."
"The Grey Lady of Ravenclaw doesn't talk to anyone," says Hermione. "You'd be wasting your time there."
"Yeah, well, I think she's hot."
"Oh my God," sighs a face-palming Hermione. "Keep yourself under control, she's dead."
"Just kidding, relax, although I do feel sorry for how she's sad all day. Anyway, for your information, Muggle wuggle, I'm headed to Professor Snape."
"Tell me you're joking."
"Nope, not at all." Harry enters his room before stepping out with his Invisibility Cloak in hand. "Need to apologize for this morning's events."
"And you're just going to waltz up to him while he's patrolling a corridor or two? Great idea."
"Come on, don't be like that." Harry throws the Cloak over himself while heading for the Room of Requirement's exit. "I may be expelled but Severus Snape is still my Head of House."
While traversing the seventh floor corridor, Harry checks the Marauder's Map which shows Snape on the fifth floor. He therefore makes haste to eventually catch up with the Potions master, near the clock tower's interior. As usual, Snape's robes billow out slightly (in a rather bat-like manner) while he walks through a light breeze. Now Harry deliberately knocks into a suit of armour in the darkened corridor, causing Snape to spin around with wand at the ready.
"Who's there? Show yourself this instant."
"One boy under an Invisibility Cloak looking to speak with you, sir."
"You!" Snape swiftly approaches to grab Harry's Cloak before leading them to the nearest empty classroom available, where it's taken off. "Do you take me for a fool? I could tell that was you this morning, Miss Potter."
"Very funny, sir, but I think we both know what's going on with Slytherin these days. Can't you stamp out the anti-Muggleborn stuff before it escalates to 'Mudblood', ouch!"
After smacking Harry's head, Snape swiftly pulls up his left sleeve. "Look, and use what's left of your brain after Azkaban."
"Dark Mark, Dark Lord, of course, sorry." Harry sighs and straightens up before speaking again. "This hurts me as much as it hurts you, sir, I'd never wish for us to lose our Cup-winning streak. But neither do I want everyone worshipping their 'oh-so-perfect' Pureblood discriminative team."
"Leave them be then, you've got other pressing issues at hand."
"I've got Muggleborn friends, sir! In case you might not have noticed over these past few years, Hermione's one of them. I absolutely cannot just stand by and let her be bullied over something out of her control. It's not her fault Mr. and Mrs. Granger are Muggles, is it? Let's not forget the countless other Muggleborns around here, even those hiding in Slytherin. I suspect there certainly are some with us now."
"Very few, less than a handful I'd reckon," says Snape. "Who do you think you are? Betraying your own House with this supposedly noble crusade of yours? What makes you think anyone in Slytherin, myself included, would just allow you to sabotage our chances this year?"
It's very fortunate that Snape's casted a few spells earlier to prevent eavesdropping from outside, since he's nearly shouting now.
"Well maybe it's because I'm a Half-Blood, sir!" Harry stands face-to-face (or rather, looking up a slight bit) with his Head of House. A fiery glint of determination wells up from within, causing his eyes to glisten in the slight moonlight. "Sorry I'm not one of your perfect Pureblood students, Professor."
"What does that have to do with betraying our House, Potter? Answer my question right now."
"I know you dislike me and don't care about where I come from, but I was brought into this world by a Muggleborn. My very first friend who I met on the train is a Muggleborn. Do you have any idea how difficult it is for me to keep that kind of friendship going, sir?"
"Don't ask me that question." Snape's expression now surprises Harry a fair bit. "Carry on with your little sermon, I doubt anybody's sneaking around the fifth floor anyway."
"I respect you a lot, Professor, perhaps more than you'd care to believe. So maybe I do feel like rubbish for working against my own House, my own people. But right now, the main thing on my mind is bringing down these discriminative fools who've already made Hermione's life hell with insults. Not a day might go by without her hearing 'Mudblood' from at least one of them. What makes it even worse is that she could've ditched me long ago but noooo. She stuck by me through thick and thin, from Quirrell to Tom Riddle and onwards. How can I just lose such a brilliant girl who's almost died for me?"
Snape remains surprisingly quiet while staring Harry down as the latter speaks.
"I'll do whatever it takes to curb the Dark Lord's influence in this school. If it means doing so via Quidditch, via turning into girls or Weasleys, then so be it. With all due respect, sir, feel free to have Professor Dumbledore stop me if it bothers you that much. It's either my 'noble crusade' as you put it, or me spending these days with Sirius at home."
"The Headmaster has informed me that your Occlumency lessons are to begin next month," says Snape. "Treat it like your little mission against Slytherin and you might make some progress."
"Call me a traitor but I'm proud of it."
"I didn't call you a traitor, Potter. Just remember how much effort people like Professor Dumbledore have put in to get you out of trouble. Last thing we need is for you to screw up and reveal yourself before there can be reason to allow you in here."
"Surely, expelled students can visit their old school?" asks Harry, eliciting a scoff from Snape.
"Not when the Minister is convinced that the Headmaster is plotting to overthrow him. And let's not forget how Cornelius Fudge views you as the next Dark Lord."
"But I'm not the Dark Lord! He kills Muggleborns, I befriend them. That's a pretty big difference right there."
"Enough!" Snape turns on his heels while heading for the door. "We've wasted enough time with your 'apologies'. Do what you feel is right then, Potter. But if I have to hand over the Cup this year then you'd better get it back next, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Sixth and seventh year I'm expecting you to bring that Cup into my office, nobody else's! And even if you miss out on this year I don't care. In that case I'll just wait until 1998, '99... the new millennium even, if it means you making up for this year's sabotage."
"I'll do my best, Professor." Harry slips back under his Invisibility Cloak before making his way up to the seventh floor again. He still can't help but feel there's something about Severus Snape that remains unclear. No point in dwelling on such thoughts now, though, as Harry enters to find a happy Hermione powering through her stack of assignments.
"So, how'd it go?" she asks, while writing quite swiftly now.
"Not sure. Truth be told, it wasn't as bad as I'd prepared for."
"That's a good sign then." Hermione levitates a stack of books off the couch for Harry to sit. "Over here, Mister."
"Let's see what there is to learn from my Granger tonight." He now sits beside Hermione and reads over her work while resting his head on her shoulder. "You're so cosy that I could surely fall asleep on my hardworking... pillow..."
