Disclaimer: I do not own any character's objects or anything else that comes from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series as well as anything from the Star Wars franchise now owned by Disney.
Warning: This story will contain scenes of violence, bad language, and maybe other themes that some audiences may find unsuitable. You have been advised.
AN: I decided this would be the first story in a trilogy. I've been contemplating the idea for a while, and I finally decided to accomplish it. If anyone wants to know the details on why, PM me. Be warned, though, I will withhold some info to keep the story surprising (don't want to ruin the whole thing, now do I?). Now here's my new chapter.
'Mind Link Speak'
"Regular Speak"
"Communication Through the Mind or Parseltongue"
'Thought or Spell'
The Grey Assassins:
Chapter 14
It was about two weeks since the Hufflepuffs had been recruited, and they were already joining the others on their first mission.
Spells, explosions, and gunfire shattered the air, sending dirt and debris everywhere. It was utter chaos.
"Keep it up! Don't let them breathe!" Harry shouted.
"Yeah, yeah! Don't get your knickers in a twist!" Draco shouted back.
"Will you two just shut up?" Tracey scolded.
Harry and Draco looked at each other from across the valley and grinned before shouting back, "No!"
The Grey Assassins were in a canyon. A river separated the gorge into two spots. The valley was the entrance to the rest of the depression, which rested between two rows of mountains. The goal was to clear out a base on the other side of the canyon, which was unreachable by any other way. Needless to say, the defenders had the environmental advantage.
The defending wizards, though, had no clue who they were dealing with because of the streaks of what appeared to be metal was flying through the air and toppling their friends.
The Hogwarts students were in three groups. Harry led Blaise, Seamus, and Hermione. Daphne led Tracey, Dean, Ernest, and Justin while Draco led Susan, Neville, and Hannah. Daphne and her group were in the middle of the valley while Harry's group and Draco's group were on her and her group's left and right, respectively.
"Remind me again, what is so important about this place?" Blaise asked Harry as he dodged behind the boulder they were crouching behind.
"The Elders didn't tell me! All they said was to ransack the base for supplies, info, weapons, and the like!" Harry said before he sent a wide but constant range of explosive spells at their adversaries.
'Daphne, put extra pressure on them! I'm going to have the rest of us swing around and attack them from the sides, okay?' Harry asked.
'Okay. I'll signal Draco. You going invisible?' Daphne said quickly.
'Of course.' Harry grinned.
Then, Harry explained the plan to his team. When everyone went invisible, Daphne gave the signal.
All five people in Daphne's group dressed in their Order robes jumped up and sent a hail of spells, bullets, and lasers at the enemy. As soon as that started everyone else broke from cover and ran in a semi-circle, so they ended up beside and behind the row of boulders the wizards were using as cover. Harry made a wide arc with his hand.
For a second everything remained normal, well as normal as this battle was. Then the wizards were gone in an electric explosion.
"Let's go!" Harry shouted in a distorted voice; a feature about their hoods that the Assassins had long cherished.
Daphne and her group met up with the others before everyone suddenly became a blur of light in the midday sun. They traveled through the canyon slashing their opponents down in one swoop with their swords. Finally, they arrived outside the doors of the base.
"Kill everyone. The Elders ordered us to leave no witnesses." Harry said with a slight tone of sadness in his voice. Everyone nodded their understanding, though.
Seamus went up to the enormous hangar bay doors and set up a row of explosives. He walked back to the group, turned, and hit a lit red button on his gauntlet, obliterating the former obstacle.
"You know the doors could have been left unlocked?" Harry joked.
"Eh, who cares?" Seamus shrugged.
"You just love using explosives." Harry replied before leading everyone inside. Behind him, Seamus held a wide grin on his covered face.
The inside of the hangar held five rows of floating brooms with twenty brooms in a row. Wizards inside were running around trying to abandon the base. Others, though, were running toward the intruders. They already had their wands at the ready.
Harry looked to his left and then his right. Seamus and Blaise stepped forward with experimental MG36s in their arms. A second later, 5.56 by 45mm rounds were flying at 920 meters per second toward the would-be-attackers, stopping them dead in their tracks. Blaise and Seamus then reloaded the 100 round magazines and turned the weapons on the other occupants of the hangar. Harry nodded, and a minute later the Assassins were the only living things left inside the hangar.
"Get the crates, sabotage the brooms, and search the dead for anything useful." Harry said to Blaise and Seamus who had put up their guns. "We'll clear the rest of the base."
"We'll handle it." Blaise responded before heading over to the brooms. Seamus nodded and headed toward a pile of crates. Everyone else followed Harry out of the bay.
The group of eleven traveled through the halls of the base eliminating everyone they found. Besides personal quarters the building only held a command center and a cargo bay. Harry had Hannah and Susan download the information from the former while everyone else ransacked the latter.
"Damn! You think that they would have said, 'hey, maybe we have enough quidditch memorabilia, but no! They kept collecting! Bigots!" Justin complained.
"What are you so sore about?" Susan asked. She and Hannah had returned from the command center. There was nothing of use at all.
"He just thinks that our first mission would have been more productive." Ernest said before grinning and continuing, "And he hasn't started his essay for Transfiguration."
"Justin, we got that assignment two weeks ago!" Hermione said with an appalled look on her face.
"Hey, I thought I would have time in between training!" Justin defended himself.
"The Order comes first. You always back up your brothers and sisters." Harry commented.
"Okay, okay! I get it! I messed up! Can we move on?" Justin asked desperately.
Everyone nodded his or her head in agreement, although Hermione still looked shocked.
"But, uh, could somebody help me with it?" Justin asked in a small, timid voice.
Everyone busted out laughing, all except for Hermione.
"I will, Justin." She said, obviously happy over doing schoolwork. "But I will not do it for you. I will just help."
"Thanks, Hermione. Oh, will you all shut up!" Justin said turning towards the others.
"All right, everyone. We should stop. I think he's had enough. I mean his face is redder than a tomato!" Harry said seriously at first but laughed out the last line. Everyone else was close behind, for Justin's face became even redder than before.
The laughter lasted a minute before finally ceasing.
"You done now?" Justin asked, pissed off.
"Yeah. I'm sorry; I couldn't help it." Harry answered.
"Uh, guys? I think I found something!" Neville shouted from the other side of the bay. Everyone rushed over.
"What'd you find, Neville?" Harry asked.
"Books, and they look ancient." Neville answered before moving aside the top of the crate. "I noticed the crate looked different from almost every other one, so I tried it."
"Nice job, Neville. Load them up, and keep looking inside these crates. Everybody look for these crates, but ransack everything here. The Elders will want the quidditch memorabilia." Harry said.
"Why would they want this shit?" Draco asked.
"They'll sell it to fuel the Order. More money equals more resources which equals a more effective Order." Harry said simply.
Everyone nodded and went back to where they were previously. This time, though, they made a more effective process. Open the crate, look inside, and move the crate into a pile of other crates filled with useful items or into another pile of crates filled with quidditch stuff. Fifteen minutes after everyone restarted their efforts, all of the cargo crates were sorted. With them sorted, each pile was put into a huge crate that held all of the crates while leaving no room for the crates to move even a centimeter. Harry then shrunk the crates to have them the size of dice. Everyone then quickly ran out of the bay and into the hangar.
"You guys find anything interesting?" Blaise asked as he saw the others enter the hangar.
"Ancient spell books, swords, and other wizarding tech. You?" Draco replied.
"The crates were filled with that kind of stuff, the bodies held wands and other personal objects but nothing of worth or useful." Seamus answered before Justin pushed past him grumbling.
"Then let's get out of here. You sabotage everything?" Harry said as he started to walk out of the entrance they created earlier. He noticed, though, that Seamus wasn't moving.
"You okay?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, but why is Justin grumbling about quidditch?" Seamus asked.
"Oh, he's sore over not finding mostly quidditch memorabilia and not something fascinating." Harry answered.
"Okay." Seamus said, still slightly confused, but walking.
"So you sabotage everything?" Harry asked again.
"Yeah. I set up C4 on all of the brooms and all around the hangar." Seamus replied.
"Good. Send me the trigger frequency." Harry said stopping a far way outside of the base. Everyone else stepped behind him while turning to face the building.
"There you go. She's all yours." Seamus said after hitting a couple buttons on a holographic screen projected from his gauntlet.
"Thanks." Harry said before hitting a lit red button on his gauntlet triggering the explosives.
The inferno swallowed up the whole building and forced each outer wall to burst forward in crumbles causing the roof to collapse on to the rest of the building.
"Whoa! I think I over did it on the C4!" Seamus exclaimed.
"Nope. I set up some of my own around the whole building." Harry replied simply before apparating back to HQ with his friends close behind him.
"All right, everyone go get changed and meet me here in a half hour. We have to get back to school. We still have another mission to complete." Harry said quickly before walking swiftly out of the transport room. Everyone else followed his example and headed to their rooms. Harry, though, wasn't going to change at that moment and went to meet with the Elders. As soon as he arrived at the doors, he pushed his way inside and removed his hood.
"Welcome back, Harry. I take it everything was successful?" Edward asked ignoring Harry's quick entry.
"Yes, Edward. We eliminated everyone, and found many crates filled with objects. Most were filled with quidditch memorabilia or money, but others were filled with ancient books and the like." Harry said quickly before pulling out the crates, putting them on the floor, and enlarging them. "There you go."
"Great work, Harry. Now before you go get changed, we need to speak with you." Edward said.
Harry nodded for him to continue.
"We want you to know we added in the database. Also, we need you to recruit the Ravenclaws this week and investigate the founders' secret chambers as well as Dumbledore's office. Plant a bug in the last." Edward said quickly but clearly.
"Will do, Edward. Anything else?" Harry replied.
"Nope. Although, I speak for all of the council when I say that we wish to spend some time with you and Daphne soon." Edward said with a grin at the end.
"We will see if we can find the time." Harry responded while turning red. "For now, though, I will see you when we bring in the Claws."
The Elders said their goodbyes to Harry before he left. They noted that his gait was an almost run.
Harry arrived back to his and Daphne's chambers five minutes later. Quickly, he took off his clothes, showered, dressed again, and packed away all of his things.
'Daphne must be waiting with the others in the transport room.' Harry thought as he left the room, and hurried over to meet the others.
"Hey, Harry." Draco said. "Why is your face red?"
"It's red? Huh, I didn't realize." Harry replied nonchalantly. "Now before we go, let me relay what the Elders told me." He said in a stricter voice.
After a nod from everyone, he continued, "They want us to bug Dumbledore's office and recruit the Ravens this week. We'll try this Wednesday, but let's first continue to research them."
"Okay, now let's get back to school before anyone notices." Draco said. It was Saturday.
Everyone nodded and apparated into the Chamber of Secrets. It was a benefit of being or knowing the descendant of all four founders.
"Welcome home, Harry." Deus hissed as he slithered over to the Orderians.
"Thank you, Deus. Did anything of note happen while we were gone?" Harry asked.
"The only thing I believe that you should know is that Dumbledore planted a mirror in a room nearby the library and left the castle." Deus replied.
"Did he leave the grounds?" Harry questioned.
"I apologize, Harry, for I do not know. I suggest you talk to Hogwarts for that." Deus answered.
"Thank you, Deus. Did anything else happen?" Harry said.
"Nothing of importance, Harry. Do you need anything else from me or will you be leaving for now?" Deus asked.
"I am fine, Deus, but I should tell you that I have purchased a chicken egg and a toad and have researched the spells Salazar used on you as well as how to ensure the basilisk will be a girl and how to speed up the maturing process." Harry said with a smile.
"Thank you, Harry! That is one of if not the greatest gift ever given to me! I will ensure that I prove that I am worthy of such a gift." Deus said with what could have been a smile.
"Do not worry about that, Deus. You prove your worthiness every day with your loyalty. I am afraid, though, that I must go now. We still have an enemy on our soil that we must deceive." Harry said.
"Of course. The old bastard will pay for his treachery, but I understand the need to wait. Until we meet again, Harry." Deus said before slithering back to its chambers.
"Would you mind filling us in?" Neville asked.
"I'll tell you guys later, but for now let's unpack. When you're done meet me in the library." Harry said before heading towards the stairs.
"Why the library?" Susan asked. "The room of requirement would be more secure."
"Yes, but that would still create some suspicion on our location." Harry said before chuckling. Everyone also heard Daphne chuckle as well.
"What's so funny?" Ernest asked.
"We also have to help Justin with his homework." He said before he and Daphne apparated into their suite.
"Sometimes… I really don't like that guy… Not all the time… but sometimes." Justin said in a low voice as everyone around him laughed while leaving the Chamber of Secrets.
Twenty minutes later, the Orderians were far back in the library talking.
"So, we all understand the plan?" Harry asked.
A chorus of "yes" made Harry smile.
"So what did Deus have to say?" Neville asked.
"He said Dumbledore planted a mirror in a chamber near the library and left the castle itself for a little bit. He said that he might have stayed on the grounds but he doesn't know. The pipes don't reach out to there." Harry explained.
"You want us to find out?" Hannah asked.
"That won't be necessary. Harry's going to ask Hogwarts about it, but if Dumbledore wasn't on the grounds we'll call in the mercenaries to look into it." Daphne added in.
"All right, so what can we work on right now, besides Justin's essay?" Blaise asked.
"What? You mean you don't want to save him from his procrastination?" Draco asked with mock appall.
"I already hated doing it the first time, and I think sub-par classes are second to Order matters." Blaise replied.
"He's right." Neville said. "That essay was horrible."
"Okay guys, maybe we should stop." Ernest said.
"Ernest's right. Justin has learned his lesson I believe." Harry added.
"Thanks, so can somebody go help me start on it?" Justin asked.
Hermione literally jumped out of her seat while saying, "I'll help!"
"You two can go after we discuss how we're going to bug Dumbledore's office." Harry said.
"And recruit the Ravenclaws. Don't forget about them." Hannah added in.
"Yeah, but that will happen Wednesday, so how about we put that off for say, tomorrow?" Justin asked.
"Okay, but I will say that we each need to start befriending all of the first year Ravens. It would be worthwhile to have people to add in as maybe scientists or strategists as well as regular members." Harry agreed. Everyone nodded his or her head in agreement.
"So how are we going to pull off bugging Dumbledore's office? Are we going to do a midnight operation?" Draco asked excitedly. He loved covert ops.
"No, I was thinking of something better." Harry grinned.
"What could that possibly be better than a covert operation?" Draco asked intrigued at what could be better.
Harry then lent over to him and whispered something in his ear. Draco smiled and said, "Oh, that is perfect!"
"Right? I'll meet with you tonight to discuss the details." Harry said.
"What?" Neville asked.
"You don't want to know." Daphne said while shaking her head. "Trust me. These two will be getting in trouble, and it is better that nobody besides them is involved."
"Oh, that'll make it even more fun!" Draco said like a child on Christmas.
"Okay, whatever. Is that everything for now?" Justin asked.
"Yeah. Go work on your essay, lovebirds." Harry joked.
"What?" Justin asked.
"Oh, we all know that the reason you procrastinated was to spend time with Hermione." Harry joked.
"Hey, I'm not the one who is soul-bonded and betrothed!" Justin exclaimed.
"Oh will you two grow up?" Tracey asked.
"Sorry." Harry and Justin said before Justin left the table with Hermione, his face red.
"What exactly is wrong with being in love?" Daphne asked with a tone of annoyance permeating her voice.
"Nothing! Nothing is wrong with it! I was just giving him a hard time!" Harry said trying to calm his soul mate.
"Uh-oh! Mate, you are in trouble!" Draco said.
"Draco shut up before I exclude you from the plan to bug Dumbledore's office." Harry threatened.
"I'll stop, mate." Draco replied, apologetically and politely, while the whole table excluding the trio of Harry, Daphne, and Draco laughed.
"Guys let's leave them alone besides, Harry is already going to get enough from Daphne." Tracey interjected.
"Thanks, Tracey." Harry said.
"Hey, I'm not saving you from her, just saving you from them." Tracey replied.
"Still, thank you." Harry said.
"Don't mention it." Tracey replied.
"She's right you know. You're still in trouble." Daphne said.
"Daphne, I was just kidding around. I love you, and you know that I would happily tell every living thing on Earth. You know that without reading my mind." Harry said sincerely apologetic.
"Okay, I forgive you, but please don't say anything like that again if you unless we need it to help us while we're undercover." Daphne replied. Having a connection between their minds ensured that neither could stay mad at the other for longer than a minute.
"Okay you two, don't start kissing. We get that you guys are good, but please don't." Ernest interjected.
Harry and Daphne both blushed and said simultaneously, "Sorry."
"And there they go speaking at the same time." Draco sighed.
"Oh, shut up." Harry said.
"You guys want to head over to dinner now?" Seamus asked.
"I can eat." Blaise commented. Everyone else replied along the same lines before grabbing Justin and Hermione and heading down to the Great Hall.
Halfway through their dinners, Professor McGonagall came up to them.
"Excuse me, children, but I wish for all of you to meet me in my office after you finish your dinners. I have something to discuss with you that I believe needs to stay private." She said while looking over the table to make sure nobody was listening in. Thankfully, no one was.
"We'll be right over, professor." Daphne said kindly.
McGonagall nodded and walked away.
"I guess we're not going to check out the mirror tonight, huh?" Neville asked.
"Yeah. We'll check it out in a couple of days. I'll talk to Hogwarts tonight before I go to sleep and inform you guys tomorrow." Harry responded.
"Wait, when are we going to discuss the plan?" Draco asked.
Harry thought for a few seconds.
'You okay with what I'm thinking, Daphne?' Harry asked over their mind link.
'Yeah. It'll be great to see Dumbledore's face when he finds out.' Daphne replied.
"Draco, head back to your room after we visit McGonagall. Then wait for everyone in your dorm to fall asleep before coming over to our suite. Make sure to stay invisible." Harry instructed.
"All right!" Draco responded with a grin. With that last comment, everyone went back to their food and finished exactly one minute and twenty-four seconds later.
"Let's go." Harry said when he saw their plates disappear.
Everyone nodded and rose.
"Where do you think you're going, you dirty snakes?" Ronald spat with venom. He was always forced to sit close by them at mealtime. To stop him from finding out anything, the Orderians would keep their conversations vague or normal, or they would cast up a ward that would make it appear as if they were talking about something normal.
"Hello, Ronald. It is always a vile displeasure to talk with you. As for where my friends and I are going, Professor McGonagall requested our presence in her office as soon as we finished our supper. As your otherwise blind eyes can see, we are done. Does that satisfy your obnoxious nosiness?" Harry asked in a polite but cold voice.
"I'm not blind, you Death Eater!" Ronald almost shouted. The group had moved to be by the wall that lead to the entrance hall.
"Yes, you are. You are blind to the truth, and you forget that my parents were killed by Voldemort." Harry countered, still polite even though the crowd including Ronald gasped in shock.
"And what is the truth, if I may so ask?" Ronald asked mockingly.
"That a snake is not evil, just misunderstood, that not all Slytherins are evil, and that a person's house does not determine whether they are evil or not. Their actions do." Harry retorted, his polite tone gone and replaced with conviction. By now, a small crowd of the entire first, second, and third year classes from each house had gathered.
"Look, Ronald, I know I acted a bit like a pompous arse at the beginning of the year, and I sincerely apologize for that. But I have changed since then and I am getting tired of your lip. You do not know it, but you are very lucky." Draco interjected.
"Why don't I believe you, Malfoy?" Ronald asked sarcastically.
"You know what, Ronald, ever since I met you have been nothing but a pain in my arse! You're an arrogant, selfish, egotistical, and overly jealous prick! You are even worse than Draco was at the beginning of the year! And your table manners! Ha! They're a cruel joke on us!" Daphne interjected, fed up with Ronald's attitude and tired of seeing her friends being bullied.
"Oh shut it, you dirty whore!" Ronald shouted. The girls then had to hold Daphne and the other boys, excluding Harry, back from beating Ronald up within an inch of his life right then and there. Harry, though, was barely holding a raging tornado/inferno inside himself at bay. Despite this, however, he stepped up into Ronald's face and looked him dead in the eyes. His eyes filled with barely contained rage.
"No, you shut it Ronald before I lose my patience, let my friends kick your arse, and jump in myself!" Harry spat, venom and malice dripping from his cold voice.
Now, a normal person, as demonstrated by the crowd gathered around the Orderians and Ronald, would have cowered or at least backed up a step. Ronald, though, was too stupid and hardheaded for that.
"Oh did I hurt your little feelings?" Ronald mocked in a baby voice.
"Draco, it seems like we might have to have our plan have two stages. This being phase one," Harry whispered, "That okay with you?"
"Fine by me. I'm ready to kick some serious arse from here to high heaven." Draco whispered back.
"Okay Ronald, you've done it. Everybody go see McGonagall while Draco and I teach this pig a lesson in manners and when to be silent." Harry said to his close friends before addressing the crowd surrounding him, "No one insults my friends like that no matter who they are, so if I were you, I would back up a good ten meters."
"What are you afraid that I can beat you if you're by yourself? Whenever I see you, you're with one of your friends or a teacher. I think you're scared of me!" Ronald said.
"Draco, I am afraid that I am going to have to deny you the privilege of beating the shite out of him. As much as I don't have anything to prove to him, I believe that I need to show what happens when someone insults me, my bravery, my fighting skills, and most of all my soul mate!" Harry, furious, said loud enough for everyone to hear.
Draco grinned and said, "By that look in your eyes, I can tell that you need this more than me. Go show him what happens when someone messes with us once too often!"
Daphne then walked up, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said, "Try not to kill him. It would be terrible if you were no longer enrolled here." She then left a grinning Harry and led the others to McGonagall's office.
As soon as the Orderians left the circle, the crowd filled back into their original spots.
"So are we going to do this or not, snake?" Ronald asked.
Harry grinned and shed his robes leaving on his uniform. Harry then rolled up his sleeves and undid his tie, throwing the latter on the floor along with his robes. He then unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt.
With Harry's arms and chest partially revealed, the crowd could see he had three tattoos: a king cobra poised to strike, a wolf howling up, and a dragon as if it was in mid-flight. The dragon was on his chest and the other two were on his right and left arm respectively.
Then, suddenly, the tattoos came to life and floated off his skin and formed Rex, Umbra, and Zeus.
"What…?" Ronald trailed off.
"My familiars can mold onto my skin. I wanted to eliminate any question of cheating by having them off of me. Now are we going to do this or not?" Harry asked calmly.
"Yeah. Or are you too much of a coward?" Ronald mocked.
"Shut up and fight." Harry said calmly but authoritatively.
Ronald then screamed what could be guessed as what was meant to be a war cry and charged at Harry.
'It'd be too easy,' Harry thought quickly while Ronald charged, 'I'll hold back.'
Harry then sidestepped Ronald's tackle, turned around and kicked him in the back, sending Ronald sprawled out on the floor.
"Coward! You couldn't even handle me! You had to sidestep!" Ronald laughed.
"I thought this was a real fight; not some fake, macho bullshit fight." Harry commented.
Ronald again charged Harry, and this time he humoured Ronald and tackled him. He ducked at the second to last second and then jumped up with all his strength at the last second, causing Ronald to go up into the air before being wrestled onto the ground. From there, Harry then delivered a series of punches to Ronald's body before swinging himself around and locking Ronald's head between Harry's crossed legs.
"Yield!" Harry commanded. "There is no escape!"
"Never, fake lion!" Ronald shouted back.
"Very well, swine." Harry then released Ronald before jumping up and back.
"Ha! You knew your legs would give out, so you tried having me give up instead!" Ronald grinned as he stood up.
"You truly are a deluded, self-assured arse." Harry commented before closing the distance between he and Ronald. He then slid his right leg and foot back, so his chest faced the right. And tilted his foot so it was facing his right. Meanwhile, he raised his hands in front and to the side of his face with his palms still open.
All of this took place within three seconds. It would have been quicker, but Harry didn't want to show his true skill to this puppet and his puppeteer.
"What-?" Ronald began before being punched in the mouth by Harry's left fist, but when Ronald looked at Harry again, it appeared as if he hadn't moved.
"You give up now?" Harry said with a cold fury that was waiting to burst.
"That was a lucky-" Ronald was once more punched in the face, this time with his right fist. Harry, though, didn't stop there. He followed up with a left hook and then a right uppercut. Ronald fell on the floor but was still conscious after that nasty uppercut. Harry, though, didn't stop even though he was holding back his power. He walked up and smashed his left foot onto Ronald's left hand. He didn't break it, but it was pretty damn close to fracturing. Harry then turned and used his right leg to kick Ronald hard in his left obliques (side).
"You yield now?" Harry asked.
Although the look in Harry's eyes screamed encouragement, Ronald looked up and stuttered, "I-I-I yield."
"You are lucky I didn't go full out on you. That was only a small part of what I know. Keep that in mind the next time you think of bothering or insulting my friends again because next time I will put you in the Hospital Wing for at least a week." Harry spat venom.
'Umbra, Zeus, Rex.' Harry called before they leapt back into his skin. He noticed that Fred and George Weasley were helping Ronald up and away. Harry caught their eyes and nodded as he redressed. Harry was delightfully surprised to have the action reciprocated. He never did look into the possibility of having them in the new Order. Harry dismissed the thought, though, for now and returned his clothes to their original positions.
"Harry Potter!" Dumbledore shouted as the crowd dispersed. Harry noted a prefect was following the professor. Oddly, it wasn't Percy.
"Yes, headmaster?" Harry asked politely.
"In my office, now!" Dumbledore shouted before turning around and starting to walk away.
"Yes, sir." Harry said as he began to follow the thief's retreating form.
'So, it is working?' Daphne asked.
'Yep. I have to go now. I will see you after I get out.' Harry said.
'Don't give him too much hell… yet. We need to still have our aces up our sleeves.' Daphne replied.
'I know. I'll see you soon.' Harry responded.
'Good bye.'
As anticipated, Dumbledore led the prefect and Harry to his office.
"You may go." Dumbledore said to the prefect before he left.
"So what is this about, headmaster?" Harry asked.
"You know perfectly well what this is about, Mr. Potter. You attacked Mr. Weasley and hurt him severely." Dumbledore said without his normal grandfatherly tone.
Harry chuckled and said, "If that is your definition of severely injured is, I would hate to hear what you call a murder."
"I am glad that this is a joke to you. Meanwhile, Mr. Weasley is in the Hospital Wing and being attended to by Madam Pomfrey as we speak." Dumbledore said, shocked at Harry's attitude.
"He's in the Hospital Wing? And wait; did you say that I attacked him? You, headmaster, are terribly mistaken. He was begging for a fight and I gave it to him. He's been an arrogant jerk as long as I've known him and that is phrasing it nicely. As for the damage I inflicted, I know how hard I hit him. None of those punches would give anyone his age a concussion or even so much as a fracture. The most I did was bruise him." Harry argued.
"Be that as it may, you did still hurt him more than he hurt you." Dumbledore responded, calming down.
"So, he is going to get no punishment for starting a fight with words and fists? Are you kidding me? You do not know half of the shite he has pulled on Daphne, my friends, and me. I don't know about this place, but from what I've heard school is supposed to teach us and prepare us for the real world. And in the real world when someone does what he does and then starts a fight, that guy is asking for a beating from the person or people that he has repeatedly insulted and offended. So, in the real world when something like this happens, the person who is in my position does not receive nearly as much shite as the other guy." Harry argued with a fiery passion.
"Excuse me for a moment." Dumbledore said before leaving his office to calm himself down again.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Harry shot, from his gauntlet hidden underneath his robes, listening and video recording devices all over the room. Once satisfied, Harry grinned on the inside and decided to look around the room more closely while staying in his chair.
Harry noticed Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes he remembered from his initial briefing. There was something odd about his energy, though. Harry had felt phoenixes' magical signatures but this one was different.
Before Harry could contemplate any further on this curiosity, Dumbledore returned.
"Harry, I am sorry for what Ronald has done to you and your friends, but you could have just come to one of your professors such as myself." Dumbledore said; his grandfatherly voice back.
'Yeah, and I would never remember what he did. The same thing if I told another professor because it will always circle back to you, you bastard.' Harry thought.
"So am I in trouble or free to leave?" Harry asked.
"What is the rush?" Dumbledore asked back.
"Before Ronald started abusing my friends and me with his words, Professor McGonagall wanted to see my friends and I in her office as soon as we finished our suppers." Harry replied, still waiting on an answer. "So may I go?"
"You may go but not immediately. We still need to discuss your punishment." Dumbledore stated.
"Let me guess… detention with Professor Snape." Harry sighed. He really was quite deceptive at times.
"What is wrong with the potions master? From what I hear, you show great strength in potions." Dumbledore replied.
"He hates me." Harry said simply.
"No, he does not Harry. If you wish, though, to be placed somewhere else for detention, I will oblige." Dumbledore responded after a second of thought.
"Thank you, headmaster." Harry said, visibly brightening up. On the inside, however, Harry was screaming, "NO! Don't do that!"
"You are very welcome, Harry. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights, you will have detention with Professor Flitwick. Good night." Dumbledore said while he got up and escorted Harry out. "I would recommend to talk with Professor McGonagall tomorrow as it is almost curfew."
"Yes, sir. I will talk to her after class. Good night." Harry replied before heading off to his suite.
When he opened the door, Daphne immediately hugged him and shut the door.
"I saw what you did. Nice job." She said. "Although, I would have preferred to have been next to you helping teach that prat a lesson."
"Don't worry, Daph. I'll let you take him around the block next time." Harry grinned.
"So Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with Flitwick, huh?" Daphne asked. She had been looking through Harry's eyes as he sat in Dumbledore's office.
"Yeah, but it could give me a chance to start to try to see if we can turn him towards our cause." Harry said. "So what did McGonagall have to say?"
"She said that she wished for all of us to be there as well as you, so we were dismissed." Daphne replied.
"Well, how about we go now?" Harry asked.
"Won't that reveal a part of our identities?" Daphne asked.
"You're right. That would be very hard to explain how we got over without being caught or our cloaks." Harry replied.
"Tomorrow." Daphne began.
"Morning." Harry finished with her.
She nodded.
"So why are you still in your uniform and not your pajamas?" Harry asked after a second of thought.
"Draco is coming, remember?" Daphne half stated, half-asked before there was a knock at the door.
"Oh, yeah." Harry said before answering the door.
"Hey, Harry." Draco, still invisible, said.
"Hey, Draco." Harry replied.
"So how was it?" Draco asked after the door closed and he disillusioned himself.
"What? Dumbledore's office or the fight?" Harry asked with a grin.
"You know damn well which one!" Draco exclaimed.
"Okay, okay. I bugged the place out with video and listening devices. He didn't suspect a thing." Harry said.
"Erg! You know I meant how did the fight go, you prat!" Draco shouted.
"Ahem. Regina is sleeping." Daphne interrupted.
"Sorry." Draco apologized sheepishly.
"All right. Let's stop focusing on the past and start planning out the prank." Harry said.
"Okay!" Draco said excitedly.
For the next half hour, Harry and Draco discussed, modified, and finalized their plan.
"So we're clear on it, right?" Harry asked.
"Yep. I'll get everything together and meet you in your office on Tuesday morning instead of exercising." Draco said as he stood up.
"Cool. By the way, let everyone else know that we need to meet McGonagall tomorrow morning in her office to hear what she has to say. Meet where we usually do, though. I don't trust Dumbledore." Harry replied, standing up with Draco.
"Will do. I'll see you in the morning." Draco said as he activated his gauntlet at the door.
"Good night." Harry responded before closing the door behind Draco.
Harry then dressed in his pajamas and went to bed. Daphne was already asleep along with their familiars.
The next morning, Harry and Daphne woke up at the usual time and woke and fed their familiars before dressing and getting ready for the day. When they finished, their familiars molded into their skins as tattoos, and the couple left. Quickly they went downstairs into the
Entrance Hall where they met the others.
"Morning." Harry said as they walked up.
"I'm glad to have you finally show up." Draco replied.
"What has got you in a sour mood?" Harry asked.
"I don't want to talk about it." Draco responded.
Harry quirked an eyebrow at the others; they could only shrug in response.
"He wouldn't tell us either." Blaise said.
"Yeah, and I am not telling any of you. So if I were you, I would let it go." Draco said with authority.
"We'll see, but for now we have to talk to McGonagall. Let's go." Harry said.
"What do you think she has to discuss with us?" Tracey asked.
"Well, it sure isn't about our grades." Justin said with a slight tone of sarcasm.
"Oh, not you too!" Seamus exclaimed. "It's bad enough having a bitchy Draco. I don't think I can take a bitchy Justin as well."
At that comment, the group excluding Draco and Justin laughed.
"I'm not being bitchy!" The two exclaimed simultaneously.
Everyone laughed even harder at this.
Draco and Justin let their friends tire themselves out for a minute before Draco lost his patience.
"You done?" Draco asked.
A chorus of "yes" was his response.
"Thank you." Draco replied before everyone went silent once more as they walked.
"So how did it go last night?" Blaise asked after a few seconds.
"I got it done." Harry answered simply. He didn't want the paintings to reveal anything to Dumbledore.
"No, I meant how was the fight with Ronald?" Blaise asked with a slight chuckle.
"You know, you are the second person to respond like that." Harry laughed.
Everyone laughed a little at this before going silent again.
A few seconds later, the silence was broken again. "So how was it?" Blaise repeated.
"In one word? Awesome." Harry replied. "Just awesome."
Everyone nodded at this and proceeded towards McGonagall's office.
After a few more minutes, they arrived. Before Harry could knock on the door, though, it was opened.
"Hello, children, but what are all of you doing here at this hour?" The professor asked.
"You requested us last night, and when Harry was unable to be present, you said to meet you today at some time. We are always up at this time, exercising, so it wasn't hard to come over." Daphne replied.
"Yes… I heard about the fight between you and Mr. Weasley." McGonagall said turning to Harry.
"I apologize for that, professor. I know there should not be any excuse for my actions, but I think I should say that he was asking for a beating." Harry said slightly sheepishly.
"Oh, he deserved it! I might be a teacher, but I cannot stand that fool. He is even worse than how your father and his friends were. They may have been troublemakers, but at least they weren't the jerks that always get away scot-free and were arrogant jerks!" McGonagall replied.
"Uh…" Harry managed to say which was better than his friends' reactions towards McGonagall's comments. They just stood there totally dumbstruck.
"Oh, do you all think that teachers don't realize these things and that we didn't have to deal with them when we were children your age?" McGonagall asked.
"If I think about it, no, but it still is very surprising." Dean said.
"Well, now you children know. Now please enter my office so we may talk freely. The walls have ears." McGonagall said looking at the sleeping paintings.
The thirteen Orderians complied with McGonagall's request and entered her office. The professor closed the door behind them and summoned chairs for the thirteen students. She then swung around her desk and sat down as the Orderians did as well.
"So as much as I am not much of a gambler, I would bet much money that you all are wondering why I called you here. Am I correct?" McGonagall asked. Everyone nodded in response.
"I know your secret." You could see the tension in the air rise and hang over the Orderians heads like stacks of Grand Pianos.
"And what secret would that be?" Harry asked carefully. All thirteen children were prepared for almost anything in the form of an attack.
"In actuality, I know two." She corrected herself.
"And what secrets would that be?" Harry repeated.
"Who Dumbledore really is." She responded. The tension in the air slightly lessened.
"You know what he had been doing to me and my family?" Harry asked, interested.
"No and yes. I remember in the beginning of the Order that Dumbledore persuaded your parents to give him much money to fund the Order. He always wanted more from him, however, I don't know what he has currently put you through besides placing you with the Dursely's." She answered.
"And what Order would that be?" Harry questioned.
"The Order of the Phoenix. We fought You-Know-Who during the war more effectively than the ministry." McGonagall explained.
Harry nodded. "So what else has Dumbledore done?" Draco curiously asked.
"He has always been a puppeteer with people, manipulating whoever he deems necessary in his game of chess. His other deeds I could not say with certainty." She responded.
"As much as knowing about the headmaster is important, would you mind telling us the second secret, Professor?" Daphne asked, turning the once relaxed atmosphere timid again.
"I know that you thirteen are a part of an organization that is very secretive, so secretive that I, even after years of research, do not know its name. What I do know is that they cause trouble as children in a unique way unlike what everyone thinks are their peers." McGonagall revealed.
"How do you know that an organization such as this exists?" Blaise asked warily.
"I know this because almost every student that has exhibited these traits has at least tried to change the world into a different way of thinking. The others must try to change the world more secretly to this hidden agenda. I've noticed that all thirteen of you had some of these telling characteristics, but after meeting and talking to Harry for some time, you all now have all of these traits. I would not call that a coincidence." McGonagall explained.
If it were not for the wonderful techniques that they had learned about focus, control, and secrecy, the Orderians would have their mouths and eyes wide open in shock. They did have that training, however, so their only reactions were to think quickly.
"What did you mean by calling us here, professor?" Harry asked calmly, leaving her last comment ignored for the time being.
"If you mean that are my actions of good will towards you and your friends, then yes. I do not wish to reveal or harm any of you." She responded intelligently.
"Then what do you wish from this secret organization?" Harry asked carefully.
"It depends… Are you thirteen members of this organization?" She asked in return.
"What do you guys think? Should we trust her?" Harry asked.
"I don't know…" Draco responded.
"She hasn't done anything against any of us." Hermione said.
"She might have a point." Susan agreed.
"And she did call Dumbledore out on some of his acts of evil." Dean responded.
"Eh, she could still be lying to gain our trust for that. Even though, it is highly unlikely." Neville disproved. "Not to say I am against allying ourselves with her. I'm just being honest."
"What do you think, Harry?" Blaise asked.
"It is your call, Harry. You are the leader." Seamus agreed.
"Daphne and I both agree. We have no choice but to reveal ourselves. We've come this far, and we can't stop now. We're just going to have to be careful of any tricks or such. As for her request, let's hear it first." Harry said. "That okay with everyone?"
Harry was answered with a chorus of yes's.
"After much thought, professor. I've come to a decision." Harry said.
"I am all ears." She replied sincerely.
Harry slid his small sword into his hand but kept it covered by his robes before saying, "You guessed correct, professor. We are the newest members of the Grey Order, also known as the Grey Assassins (AN: hint for the third installment's title)."
McGonagall lay back in her chair with a look of wonder on her face and in her eyes. "I can't believe it. You actually exist."
"Yes, we do. Now before I ask my question again, let me tell you something. Any one of us could easily kill you and make it look like it was an accident, kidnapping, or even that you never existed. We might be children, but we are already more dangerous than some of the worst criminals to ever exist in the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds. So I would remain truthful." Harry threatened. "Do we have an understanding?"
McGonagall looked slightly taken aback at this but nodded and said, "We do, Mr. Potter. Now ask away."
"Why did you contact us besides knowing?" Harry asked.
After so many surprises, the Orderians thought there would be no more. They were wrong.
"I want to topple Dumbledore from his seats of power." McGonagall said.
After a second of shock passed over, Harry looked at Tracey and asked, "Is she lying?" with a quirked eyebrow.
Tracey lifted up her arm, and with it her gauntlet, and said, "Nope. She is telling us the truth… no matter how surprising it is."
"I told you I wouldn't lie." The professor commented before turning to Harry. "So what may I ask happens now?"
Harry glanced at his teammates before answering, "For right now? Nothing. I'll meet with our contact here to send the message up. After that, we'll wait for a reply, but I believe that you could pose some use for us."
"Thank you, Mr. Potter." McGonagall said with a tone of sincere gratitude.
"Don't thank me yet. It isn't just my decision. In the meantime, though, this meeting never happened. All thirteen of us were on the grounds…" Harry trailed off.
"What is it, Harry?" Draco asked.
"I forgot to contact Hogwarts last night to see about Dumbledore." Harry explained.
The others nodded.
"Would you mind informing me, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall half asked, half told.
"I forgot about something I had to do. You need not worry, professor." Harry replied.
"How am I supposed to trust you if you won't trust me?" McGonagall asked.
"Well, you don't have anything to lose unlike us." Hermione defended.
"Besides your life of course." Hannah said.
McGonagall nodded and said, "You are right. I will see you later in class."
The Orderians then said their good byes and left to go to breakfast.
When they arrived, they quickly went over to their seats and ate. Harry, though, ate very quickly to the confusion of his friends.
"Hey, don't worry, Harry. Nobody's stealing your food." Seamus joked.
Harry didn't answer Seamus's teasing, however.
"Dude, are you okay?" Seamus asked, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Harry answered simply.
"How is he not choking?" Hermione asked Susan.
"You're asking that? I want to know how he's minding his manners while eating so quickly!" Neville grinned. The group erupted in laughter at this. Harry, however, didn't pay any mind for he had just finished.
"Can you guys cover me for a minute?" Harry asked suddenly.
"Why?" Draco asked.
"I need to talk to Hogwarts." Harry whispered to the other Orderians. The others paused for a second and nodded all at once.
"We got your back." Neville stated.
"Thanks." Harry nodded.
"No problem." Draco said before everyone appeared to go back to talking with one another, but in actuality, they were being extra careful of people coming up.
Meanwhile Harry was talking to his castle.
"Hello, Harry. What can I do for you?" Hogwarts asked.
"Hello, Hogwarts. Can you tell me where Dumbledore went when he left the actual castle?" Harry responded.
"That is a trivial request, but if you need to know, let me tell you that he never left the grounds." Hogwarts answered.
"Where did he go on the grounds?" Harry asked curiously.
"He went to the groundskeeper, Hagrid's, hut. It looked like another one of his normal visits until I noticed a bright flash of magic inside." The castle replied.
"Did Hagrid come out later?" Harry asked concerned.
"Yes. Fifteen minutes after Dumbledore left." Hogwarts responded.
"Thank you, Hogwarts. I must go now, but I am very grateful for having you in my service." Harry said.
"No thanks are necessary. It is my pleasure to serve my true lord and not a fraud such as Dumbledore. Good bye, Harry." Hogwarts replied before drawing out of Harry's mind.
"We have our answer… Dumbledore never left Hogwarts grounds. He was in Hagrid's hut." Harry said to the others after returning from his mind.
"What'd he do in there?" Justin asked.
"I don't know, but Hogwarts informed me that there was a flash of magic inside the hut while Dumbledore was present." Harry answered.
"You don't think he…?" Hannah trailed off.
"No, no! He didn't do that! Hagrid walked out fifteen minutes after Dumbledore." Harry responded. He noted everyone sighed in relief.
"So what do you think happened?" Justin asked.
"I don't know, and I don't see any way to find out." Harry replied.
"There might be a way…" Dean trailed off.
"How?" Harry asked with a confused look on his face.
"Never mind… it won't work." Dean said.
"Come on, tell us. How bad could it be?" Seamus inquired.
"No, it's ridiculous. Just, please, drop the subject." Dean pleaded.
"All right… but you are going to have to tell us one day." Seamus bargained.
"Fine, just not today." Dean said.
"Whoa! You did teach him a lesson, Harry!" Ernest exclaimed in awe as Ronald walked past their group.
Dumbledore's child spy had heavy bandages on his left side, a sling for his left arm, and a face that was completely purple.
"You think that's a lesson? That was just a warning." Harry said to his friends, deadly serious.
Ronald sat down in an empty seat far away from the Orderians and began to eat. His table manners were a little improved, but that was only because of his virtually useless arm.
"Should we go over there and make sure he got the message across?" Draco grinned, looking for a fight.
"No. He won't mess with any of us again… probably. Besides, we would be no better than him if we went over there, picking a fight." Harry persuaded.
Draco and the others nodded.
'I'm proud of you.' Daphne said.
'What for?' Harry asked, confused.
'For remaining rational. I felt your blood boil when you saw him and remembered.' Daphne replied.
'I just knew you would want me to be smart.' Harry smiled.
'Aw…' Daphne said.
"Hey, guys? Guys! Hey, I'm talking to you!" Draco exclaimed into Harry's ear.
"What do you want?" Harry sighed.
"I wanted to know if you two were ready to head to class. We're about to go." Draco replied.
"I'm ready." Harry said before turning to Daphne, "You ready?"
"Yeah, but I want to hang with the other Gryffindor girls." Daphne said.
"All right, I'll see you next class." Harry replied before giving her a hug and saying, "Bye."
Daphne left after adding in her own, "Bye."
"Let's go." Draco said as he turned around towards the exit.
"All right." Harry replied, moving in beside Draco.
"So, are we still good to go on the other phase of our plan?" Draco whispered.
"That depends… do you have the materials?" Harry asked back.
"You wound me! How dare you think that I would be so irresponsible in my tasks!" Draco said dramatically.
"You forgot something didn't you?" Harry sighed.
Draco was silent.
"It's all right; I specified that we meet tomorrow morning, not today." Harry consoled.
"I know, but this item slipped my mind completely." Draco replied.
"Dude, we're still learning. Plus, no matter how hard we train we are still only human." Harry said, assuring one of his closest friends.
"Okay." Draco said, feeling better.
"Hey, slow pokes! What are you guys doing?" Seamus asked as he walked up.
"Nothing much, just planning on how to approach a sensitive subject." Harry replied.
"Dealing with who?" Tracey asked, coming up with everyone else.
"Seamus." Harry said sadly.
"What sensitive subject?" Seamus asked warily.
Harry paused for a moment before speaking empathically, "Look Seamus, Draco and I know your secret."
"What secret?!" Seamus asked, alarmed.
"And I want you to know that as your friends we are here for you… but we think it's time you came out of the closet." Harry answered, completely serious.
A few seconds passed where everyone was silent in shock before everyone, excluding Seamus, started laughing at Harry's joke.
"Not funny!" Seamus exclaimed as they got onto the Grand Staircase. He was really pissed off.
"Eh, it's kinda funny." Justin said sympathetically before busting out laughing once more.
This revived outburst doubled the strength of their laughs. A minute later, everyone managed to recover him or herself.
"Well, this is our stop." Susan stated when they reached the third floor.
After everyone had exchanged goodbyes, Harry said to the Hufflepuffs, "Remember to be kind to the Claws. They're the next step."
Hannah, Susan, Justin, and Ernest all nodded their heads in understanding as their reply. "We'll see you guys." Susan said before they left.
"Uh, guys? We better hurry. We have two minutes to get to Binns's class." Blaise said, looking at his watch.
"Apparate? Or Shadow travel?" Draco asked, turning to Harry.
"We can't risk it. We'll just need to hurry." Harry said before taking off at an almost run towards History of Magic. His friends followed closely on his heels.
They arrived exactly a minute later at the door to the classroom, but before entering, Dean hesitated and had a confused look on his face.
"What is it, Dean?" Neville asked.
"I just realized something." Dean said.
"What?" Tracey asked impatiently.
"Professor Binns probably wouldn't notice us missing even if we skipped the whole class." Dean realized.
"Oh my god." Seamus sighed. "You're right. Why haven't we just skipped History? The class is completely useless, and it's a waste anyways since we've been learning from the Order. We might as well use this as a training period."
"I'm not sure…" Draco trailed.
"Me neither. It'd be very risky in case someone like Dumbledore or other authority figure came looking for us." Neville agreed.
"Well, let's not think about it now. We still have to make it through this class." Harry interjected before leading everyone inside.
As they entered, Harry found Daphne near the back of the class and headed toward her.
"Secret passages?" Harry asked as he sat down and noticed her Gryffindor friends were not sitting with her but in the middle of the class.
"Yep." She responded looking over at him in the next desk over. "What took you so long?"
"I questioned Seamus about his sexuality, and we realized how useless this class is." Harry replied.
"Are we going to start skipping?" Daphne asked.
"We haven't decided yet. I thought it would be better to have everyone involved in the decision." Harry answered.
"Thanks." Daphne smiled.
"Anytime."
"Are you two going to be like this all of class?" Draco asked.
"No…" Harry started.
"We're…" Daphne continued.
"Not..." Harry followed up.
"Going…" Daphne said.
"To." Harry finished.
"Arseholes." Draco replied before turning his head back towards the Grey Order History of Magic Textbook on his desk. Harry and Daphne grinned.
While the Grey Assassins inside Hogwarts always showed up to their History of Magic lessons, that did not necessarily mean they paid attention. Two days after each had been recruited, or arrived in Harry's case, he or she brought his or her Orderian books to each of his or her classes. After applying an illusion charm, these books allowed the children to learn actually useful information and not the mediocre lessons from their incompetent teachers.
Harry noted, however, Draco was looking at their plans. He could tell Draco was already experiencing the joy of pulling it off.
"Calm down, boy. We still have until tomorrow." Harry half joked.
"I know, but I just can't stop thinking about it!" Draco said, joy rolling off his tongue with each word spoken.
The next morning Harry and Draco met in Harry's office in his suite and finalized the plan. They had everything together. All that was left was to set it up and watch the fireworks.
Finally, it was Wednesday morning.
Headmaster Dumbledore woke up at his normal time of five o'clock a.m. After his good morning stretch, he stood up and magicked his robes onto him. Next, he went over to the bathroom and used his magic toothbrush to make his breath lemony fresh. Then, he sat down on his toilet.
At first, everything was fine until it happened. It was a huge explosion in the pipes, strategically placed to only destroy the water running into the Headmaster's bathroom.
All around Dumbledore, including under him, filthy water exploded up into the air and onto the chess master. Shite, piss, and other sewage covered Dumbledore from head to toe.
After a few seconds, the Headmaster opened his eyes and screamed at the ceiling. When he had run out of breath, Dumbledore opened his eyes and screamed again. This time, however, he screamed in anger. He screamed this time because there was a note on the ceiling. The small sheet of paper with a small bit of tape on each corner had just three words on it. Harry and Draco.
Dumbledore rushed off of the toilet and into his bedroom while quickly cleaning his robes with a spell. He quickly used a secret staircase that led him up into his office. Once inside, he sat down in his chair and popped a lemon drop into his mouth before contacting McGonagall with a spell.
"What is it, Albus? I was sound asleep." She asked, annoyed.
"Minerva, please retrieve Mr. Potter from his room and bring him to my office immediately." He replied before ending the spell.
"Old coot." McGonagall mumbled to herself.
While the transfiguration professor was getting dressed, Dumbledore was making another call.
"This better be good, Albus."
"I need you to bring Mr. Malfoy into my office immediately." The headmaster waved off Severus's threatening tone.
"Fine." The potions professor said before ending the call.
"This'll be fun to watch." He said to himself while getting ready. Two minutes later, he met Draco outside of his office and led the boy to Dumbledore's office.
When the Slytherins walked up to the gatekeeper gargoyle, they noticed McGonagall and Harry doing the same.
"Hello, Severus. Ready for some fun?" Harry grinned. It had been agreed to just have McGonagall be aware of their operations at Hogwarts until Saturday when she would swear an oath in front of the Elders.
"Always, Harry." Severus grinned back. "I just wish I could join in the fun."
"Don't worry. We'll have enough for you and then some." Draco replied, grinning as well.
The two professors and two students then walked up to the gatekeeper and went up the winding staircase.
"Come in." Dumbledore called out after McGonagall knocked on the door.
"Thank you for bringing these two here, Severus, McGonagall." The headmaster was answered with a nod from both professors.
"You may go back to your beds and get a few more minutes of sleep. This is a private matter among Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy, and me." He dismissed the professors. Severus and McGonagall acted groggily and nodded before leaving.
"You wanted to see us, Headmaster?" Harry asked innocently.
"Are we going to have to do this the easy way or the hard way?" Dumbledore cut the crap. "Why did you prank me?"
"I thought it'd be fun." Harry shrugged.
"Hey! You are not taking credit for our idea. We both thought it up together, so I get half of the credit." Draco interjected.
"Oh, you knew what I meant!" Harry countered.
"Shut up, you two! It doesn't matter about the credit! You are both being punished!" Dumbledore redirected the conversation back on track.
"How do you know it was us?" Harry asked with a grin.
"There was a note on the ceiling with your names on it." He replied, shocked at the question.
"That's not vindictive, though. Someone could have easily framed us." Harry defended them.
"You just admitted it, though, when you said 'I thought it'd be fun' if I recall correctly." Dumbledore countered. "This office has surveillance on it every second of the day and night."
"Yes, but you can't use that against us." Harry grinned.
"Why not?" Dumbledore asked, getting angry.
"We or Draco's parents have never signed media release forms. We're underage, so it is illegal to use it." Harry grinned in victory. The headmaster fell perfectly into his trap.
"May we go now, sir?" Draco asked, grinning as well.
Dumbledore sat for a moment, thinking. He couldn't believe an eleven year old had beaten him even once, not to mention four times. "You may le-"
The reason he stopped was that Harry and Draco were screaming "Fire!" He looked down and noticed his whole desk and his left sleeve were on fire.
He screamed for a moment before his mouth was filled with water.
Once they saw not even an ember sparking, Harry and Draco canceled the streams of water flowing from their wands.
"Sorry, Headmaster. We noticed the fire and reacted." Draco apologized.
"Get out. Now." Dumbledore commanded. He knew that the children started the fire, but he knew that they had probably set it up to look non-incriminating.
Harry and Draco stood up and walked out the door. Draco, though, poked his head around the doorframe before saying, "By the way, sir, I would recommend taking a bathe or something. You reek horribly." He then closed the door quickly behind him.
"You think he's angry?" Harry asked when they reached the bottom of the stairs.
Just then they heard a scream of rage coming from the headmaster's office. Normally, the sound would have been undetectable, but Harry and Draco had enhanced hearing.
"I'm not quite certain. I thought he was happy when we left." Draco replied with a grin.
"Don't you mean 'I thought he was happy that we left'?" Harry asked. Immediately afterward, they broke into laughter and kept it up even after parting ways.
AN: Well, there you go everyone! Chapter 14! Please always remember to review, or if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. I will get back to you as soon as I can. So remember: Occidere prima vel occidi.