A/N: Thanks for the amazing (and I mean amazing) reviews! Here's chapter fourteen – a lot of you guessed what the title meant... next time I'll have to be sneakier.
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and everything recognisable belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling.
Chapter Fourteen – The Marauder's Map
Harry knew as soon as he entered the Common Room that returning there was a bad idea.
"Way to go, Lestrange!"
"You're the best Seeker we've ever had!"
"We're definitely going to win the Cup this year with you on the team!"
Harry smiled weakly and tried to shake them off. "Yeah, great," he heard himself saying. "Great, now – get off of me – no, really stop –"
But it was no use. The stupid, hypocritical Gryffindors who had just recently all hated him, were now in love with him. Gryffindor hadn't beaten Slytherin in years, it appeared, and now, due to him, they'd won.
Well, if he'd known that, he never would've tried to win the match at all.
Not everyone, however, was in love with him. Led by Weasley and Potter, about twenty people were sitting or talking near the fireplace, completely ignoring Harry.
Finally, Harry was able to shake the Gryffindors off. He grabbed a chilled Butterbeer and headed upstairs.
The dorm room was empty and Harry was glad of it. He undressed and changed into his pyjamas, hopping into the warm bed.
He could still hear the loud sounds from the Common Room – the Gryffindors were now cheering the other members of the team just as loudly as they had him.
Their hypocrisy made Harry wish for home. He was supposed to be in his bed at Lestrange Manor right now, not in Gryffindor Tower. He and Draco were supposed to be training for a new mission or torturing some prisoners ... not in opposite Houses, competing and attending extremely boring classes.
At the very least, he wished he was in Slytherin. He wished he was the Slytherin Seeker, their hero for winning the match against Gryffindor.
Harry sighed loudly and finished his Butterbeer. He placed the empty container on his night stand and rolled over. Within moments, he was asleep.
For the next few days, Harry wanted to scream. Everywhere he went Gryffindors would come up and pat him on the back, thanking him for their victory.
It was ridiculous – if Harry had known that Quidditch meant so much to the school, he never would've tried out. He'd spoken to Angelina about perhaps dropping his spot, but he'd been screamed and yelled at for fifteen minutes straight just for suggesting it, so he hurriedly retracted the idea.
Not everyone was pleased though. Harry had spotted Ron Weasley and Jason Potter talking in low voices in the corridors, shooting him furtive looks and stopping their conversations when he drew near.
Since this was getting too ludicrous, he decided that no matter what, he was throwing the next match. Harry thought it would bring the Gryffindors down a notch if he made them lose against Hufflepuff of all Houses.
But that match wasn't for a long time, so in the meanwhile practices, Harry played the perfect little Seeker. The other members of the team, excluding Weasley, were so confident after their win against Slytherin that they didn't even suspect a thing. The other members of the team made it their mission to speak and be as civil as possible to Harry. Very annoyed with this, Harry was actually glad that Weasley still ignored him.
In between the practices, Harry still had to attend classes. Those stupid classes.
He was just leaving Transfiguration after writing a long essay when a cold voice called out his name and made him turn around to see who it was.
Draco was standing there, leaning against the stone wall. His eyes were ice as he watched Harry walk over to him.
The cousins had been on very cold terms since the Quidditch match and so Harry was very surprised to see his cousin standing there.
"I need to talk to you," Draco said, his voice low.
Harry, who was getting used to Draco's curt tone, nodded and said, "All right."
Draco discreetly pointed his wand at the ceiling above them (pretending to scratch his head) and muttered, "Muffliato." He lowered his arm and said, "We're behind, Henry."
"Behind in what?" Harry asked, a little confused.
"What do you think?" Draco snapped. "We need to focus on befriending Longbottom – this whole poisoning Moody is great and all, but that's not what we're here for. When the Dark Lord finds out about how we've basically been ignoring Longbottom –"
"I haven't," Harry said loudly, talking over his cousin. "I haven't been ignoring him. You have –"
"I can't very well make friends with him when I'm in Slytherin!" Draco snarled. "He's not that stupid, Henry, however much you want to make him out to be. You're the one who has to befriend him and you're too busy hanging out with Granger and researching the poisons and playing Quidditch and being Gryffindor's golden boy –"
"I didn't ask to be in Gryffindor, Draco!" Harry exclaimed. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded angrily.
"With me?" Draco repeated, appalled. "What's wrong with me? You seem to have forgotten who we are and why we're here! We are not here to play Quidditch –"
"You play Quidditch too!" Harry snarled back.
"Really?" Draco asked, feigning stupidity. "I had no idea." He sighed loudly and said, "Honestly, Henry, don't you think we're being stupid and pathetic? The Dark Lord sent us here for a reason and after already failing our first mission; I want to actually do well on this one."
"So do I!" Harry said indignantly. What was wrong with Draco?
"It sure seems like it," Draco said, rolling his eyes. He flicked his wand slightly and the Muffliato charm lifted. He turned away, but was shoved into a passing fourth year as someone crashed into him.
"Keep moving, Malfoy," Moody snarled, as he limped up the hallway.
Draco stared coldly after Moody and once he was out of earshot, turned to his cousin. "Get the ingredients, Henry," he said, his voice cold. "It's time we finished Moody and focus on what we were sent here to do."
Luckily enough, the following Saturday morning, Harry received a note from his mother. It had been dropped into his book bag during the morning hall traffic jams (yesterday, he believed) so he had no idea who it was from, but that didn't matter: he was thrilled to hear from his mother.
Henry,
I apologize for having to run out so brusquely in Hogsmeade, but some things cannot be helped. I hope you liked your present; I thought immediately of you when I bought it.
The Dark Lord does not wish for me to do this (and I have charmed this letter so that only you can read it) but I really wish that I could see you again, for I know, almost certainly, that Dumbledore won't let you and Draco return home for the holidays.
Can you sneak out of Hogwarts sometime in the near future? I am sure it wouldn't be hard for you, as you still have the Invisibility Cloak that was used in the Hogwarts Express attack and you are you, after all, dear.
Reply with one of the school owls, and direct it to Narcissa's home. Charm the letter as I have.
Say hello to Draco for me.
B
Perfect, Harry thought, smiling. He'd certainly be able to get of Hogwarts and he could ask Bellatrix to get some of the ingredients they needed.
After breakfast was over, he hurried up to the Owlery.
It was deserted, so he felt safe writing his note there.
Mother,
I can get out of Hogwarts this coming Friday, after classes are done for the day. I'll meet you at the Hog's Head at six o'clock, but I'll be wearing the Cloak so make sure your disguise isn't that amazing; well, make it so at least I can recognize you.
Oh, and I was wondering if you could get a few supplies for me: several jimson weeds and oleander plants, as well as some water hemlock. Can you also see if there are any dried leaves of the oleander plant?
See you soon.
H
Harry was anxious the entire week for Friday to arrive. He hadn't told anyone about going to meet Bellatrix, except of course, Draco.
Something had been off with his cousin ever since Harry had gotten the Seeker position on the Gryffindor team and it had been slowly mounting. Draco was more distant with his cousin than ever before and Harry had no idea what he'd done wrong, although he suspected that it was entirely that Draco's old jealously and competitiveness was rearing its ugly head again.
When they were children, and especially when Harry had been chosen for Dark Arts lessons and Draco hadn't, Draco had become so obsessed with being better than Harry that he'd go to any length to do so.
Harry didn't like this one bit. Sure, competition between them was great and Harry was competitive too, but Draco was just getting ridiculous.
The next time they spoke, Draco just nodded and said next to nothing when Harry told him about Bellatrix's letter. He'd handed over the Invisibility Cloak and then stalked away.
Draco would still sit, reluctantly, with Harry during the classes they had together, but their conversations were limited. And, since they didn't have all the ingredients for the poison yet and could do almost nothing to start preparing for it, Draco preferred to spend his time cloistered up in the Slytherin dungeons with Daphne Greengrass, instead of spending time with Harry.
At first, Harry just assumed that it was because of Daphne that Draco was distant (were they even dating? Harry had no idea about that either), but as time went on it wasn't getting any better. Harry was forced to sit at the Gryffindor table for every single meal with Hermione (who, surprisingly, wasn't that much of an annoying braggart when you got to know her and someone you could have an intelligent conversation with), Longbottom (who Harry actually liked well enough, seeing as he was helping him in Herbology and vice versa with Potions. Harry completely understood Herbology now – it had just been the extreme simplicity of it that got him) and Weasley, (who, as a member of the Quidditch team, Harry had gotten to know quite well), as Draco made it clear that Harry was not welcome at the Slytherin table anymore.
Of the three Gryffindors, Weasley was the least friendly towards Harry, but that was no surprise and Harry honestly could care less. He needed to be friends with Longbottom, so he was happy about the progress with that, and Hermione always had to be kept close at bay, anyways.
Finally, Friday arrived and it was none too soon. Harry was extremely anxious to see his mother that evening, and it apparently showed.
"Are you all right?" Hermione asked, a little loudly over the chatter in the Great Hall at breakfast.
"Yeah," Harry said shortly. "I'm fine. What do we have on the schedule today?"
"Charms and History of Magic," Hermione said, "Then Herbology after lunch and then Potions."
Harry nodded curtly. Charms would be a pain – Professor Potter was the most annoying woman on the planet. History of Magic would be the longest it had been yet, as would Herbology. Potions would probably be the same as Charms.
It was basically as Harry had expected and when he thought back later on those classes, he only remembered staring at the clock.
When the final bell of the day rang, Harry had to resist running to Gryffindor Tower right away– he had to keep his cool, as well as his cover.
He dropped his bags off at the Tower and then hurried down to the Great Hall, eating a quick supper before returning to Gryffindor Tower. He made a point of calling out to Longbottom that he was off to bed earlier that evening.
Once he was upstairs in his dorm, he quickly put on his warmest cloak (it was getting rather cold on the Hogwarts grounds, as November had already come and gone). When he'd arrived at Hogwarts, he'd gotten a Gryffindor scarf and hat, but Harry still had yet to even unwrap those.
In the chest that Bellatrix had given him when they'd met at Hogsmeade, he'd gotten his own winter wear and so he quickly tied his scarf on and once he was ready, pulled out the Invisibility Cloak and threw it over himself.
Quietly, Harry opened the dorm room door and snuck down into the Common Room. It was getting rather crowded and so Harry was extra careful not to step on anyone's toes. He hovered near the portrait hole for a few minutes until a girl came in and opened it, so he was able to leave, slipping past the girl easily.
The hallways were quite busy, but it was very easy (for Harry) to sneak down to the Entrance Hall.
But suddenly, he skidded to a stop.
Standing just outside the Great Hall doors was Moody, talking to Professors Potter and Sprout.
Harry drew in a deep breath and stopped dead in his tracks. Could – could Moody's magic eye see through Invisibility Cloak?
Harry wasn't about to take that chance, so he quickly backtracked, until he was on the second floor, overlooking the Entrance Hall.
Moody, Potter and Sprout all spent a good few minutes talking – what on earth were they doing? – before Moody and Sprout headed into the Great Hall and Potter headed up the Marble stairs and past exactly where Harry was crouching.
Harry let out that deep breath that he was holding and then continued on his way to the Entrance Hall doors.
He'd heard earlier Filch muttering to himself about keeping the doors open later that evening than usual because the Hufflepuff Quidditch team (who Gryffindor was playing tomorrow in the match) were going to practice well into the night.
It couldn't have been more convenient.
Just by luck, someone dressed in Hufflepuff Quidditch robes came rushing by Harry and out the main doors, allowing him an easy escape to get out of the castle.
Once he was outside, it was just a breeze. Harry quickly made his way to the edge of the grounds and once he was free of the anti-Apparition wards, turned on the spot and promptly disappeared.
Bellatrix was anxious for Henry to arrive. She was once more disguised as the old Muggle woman and sitting anxiously in the Hog's Head. She hoped that Henry would recognize her, as she was wearing her usual black lace veil.
It was just reaching six o'clock and soon Bellatrix would begin to get angry. She tapped her fingers on the smooth surface of the table and looked around her. The bar was quite empty for a Friday night, but the cold weather was probably keeping people in. It was fairly crowded, though, with at least half the tables full.
Suddenly, the door opened, letting in a rush of cold air and little tiny snowflakes. Bellatrix glanced up, but saw nothing and her heart sunk.
The barman frowned at the door and stepped over to close it, securing it tightly with a snap.
A light touch grazed up against Bellatrix's left arm and she immediately tensed.
"Mother?" said a very familiar voice, in a quiet, questioning tone.
Bellatrix immediately relaxed. "Henry, is that you?"
"Yes," said the voice. "Muffliato." The voice paused and the chair to the left of Bellatrix moved just a fraction of an inch and so Bellatrix knew where Henry was.
"Are you Bellatrix Lestrange?"
For a fleeting moment, Bellatrix felt extremely offended that her son didn't know her immediately, but then felt pleased that he was smart enough to verify her identity.
"Yes," Bellatrix said. "I have one son named Henry, who was born on the 22nd of June, every few months I must perform a spell on him that keeps his eyesight working properly and my favourite colour is purple."
Thankfully, the Hog's Head saw so many weird people that no one even looked twice at Bellatrix muttering to herself in apparent silence.
The chair snorted. "All right, fine. And me?"
"Are you really Henry Lestrange?" Bellatrix asked promptly.
"Yes. I was born on June 22nd, my mother is Bellatrix, my father was Rodolphus, my cousin Draco calls me Harry, my wand is the core of a phoenix and I am currently attending Hogwarts."
Bellatrix smiled and then drew from her cloak a medium sized pouch and placed it on the table. Within seconds, the pouch disappeared, as Henry, still under his Invisibility Cloak, took it.
"What are those plants for?" Bellatrix asked.
"Just a school project," Henry said dismissively. "It's really nothing, Mother. Trust me."
Bellatrix frowned and her expression grew dark, but she said nothing – she knew Henry would say nothing more. "Tell me about yourself, then darling," she ordered. "How is the mission going?"
Henry didn't reply for a few seconds. "It's all right," he said, his voice dark, "He's not as stupid as the Dark Lord thinks, at least not with people. He talks to me, all right, but it's not like he would choose to hang out with me." Henry paused and then added, "He is helping me with Herbology, though."
Bellatrix almost felt a surge of rage about that. Her Henry was too smart to need anything from anyone else, let alone Longbottom. "You need help with something, Henry?" Bellatrix said, her voice tight.
"No," Henry said quickly. "But it gives him an excuse to talk to me and vice versa. Nonetheless, it's still hard. He's under Dumbledore's wing, obviously."
Bellatrix frowned. "That's unfortunate, very unfortunate." She paused, and suddenly she felt odd – as if her skin was changing.
"Mother," Henry said sharply. "The Polyjuice Potion."
Bellatrix swept her hand into her cloak and pulled out a vial of turquoise potion and quickly downed it. Her skin stopped tingling immediately and she quickly returned the vial to her pocket.
"Thank you, Henry, dear," she said, straightening her veil. "That reminds me, I need to do that spell on you to keep your eyesight proper – you don't mind, do you, Henry?"
Henry shook his head and Bellatrix drew her wand and whispered, "Point the wand at yourself, Henry."
She held it loosely in her hand and felt Henry move the wand slightly up and to the right. "Dissimulo."
Rippling air fired out of Bellatrix's wand and disappeared as they apparently hit Henry. "That always makes me feel weird," Henry said, sounding as if he was shaking off a creepy feeling.
"It's a necessary part of life, Henry," Bellatrix said. "When you return to our Manor, I'll have to teach it to you – you'll need to learn how to do that yourself one day." She then asked, "What has Dumbledore said to you?"
"Nothing in particular," Henry said – Bellatrix could almost see him shrugging. "He just told me that I had to get more 'involved' with the school community because I was being a twat to the teachers."
His mother snorted. "That sounds like you, Henry. What did the old fool make you do?"
"Join the Quidditch team," Henry said dully.
"Quidditch?" Bellatrix said sharply, her temper suddenly flaring beneath the surface. "That is a very bad idea, Henry. You are not at Hogwarts to play games, but to –"
"I know, Mother," Henry snapped. "It was either that or the Gobstones team." He sighed loudly and then said, "How is everything at home?"
Bellatrix knew what he meant – how were things with the Dark Lord. "Good," Bellatrix said carefully. "He is preoccupied these days with the Ministry –" Bellatrix leaned closer and dropped her voice, even though no one could hear them – "his informant in the Minister's office was discovered and sent to Azkaban."
Henry sucked in a deep breath. "I can just imagine his reaction to that." He paused and then asked, "Is everything all right, though? All the others – they're still undercover?"
Bellatrix nodded. "Yes, they are, and being much more careful now –"
Suddenly the bartender came towards the table, all the while digging his finger in his ear as if there was some sort of sound that he couldn't quite get rid of. The Muffliato spell only worked one way, so when he spoke to Bellatrix, she could hear him perfectly. "Do you want anything to drink, ma'am?"
Henry apparently lifted the spell wordlessly because when Bellatrix spoke, the bartender obviously heard her. "No," she said, coldly. "I'm fine."
The man nodded and turned to leave. The moment he was out of earshot, Henry said, "Muffliato," once more. "I have to get going soon," he said, his voice glum. "Otherwise I'll be locked out all night."
Bellatrix made a face, but then sighed. "You're right. I must be going soon as well ... the Dark Lord wants to have a meeting this evening at seven o'clock."
"Mum," Henry said, his voice a little alarmed. "It's already seven fifteen."
"What?" Bellatrix said, jumping up. "Seven – oh, Merlin, I've got to go! The Dark Lord – he'll be angry with me – can't have that –" She tightened her winter cloak's fastenings around her and straightened her veil again. "I'm sorry, Henry, I – I have to go. It was lovely seeing you again – we'll talk again soon."
She turned sharply on her heel and headed out the door, leaving Henry sitting there invisible, more than a little shocked at how quickly his mother had just left him for Voldemort.
"Where were we supposed to meet her?" said Draco coldly, his voice ringing in the near silence of the halls.
"She said the second floor, near the girls' bathroom," Harry said curtly, his voice just as icy.
Harry and Draco had barely spoken in days and their conversations were short and curt. They were speaking today because Hermione had told Harry earlier that day that it was time for them to start brewing the potion – they had everything they needed.
It was December 22nd and everyone who was going home for Christmas had left, leaving the school oddly empty.
Harry and Draco had remained at the school – they couldn't very well go home, after all. Surprisingly, Hermione had also stayed.
"What the bloody hell does that mean?" Draco demanded. "By a bathroom?"
Harry just shrugged. "That's what she said."
They continued on for another floor in silence and when they finally reached the second floor, Hermione was standing near the bathrooms.
"Took you long enough," she said in greeting, turning and starting to go into the girls' bathroom behind her.
Draco and Harry exchanged a look. "Um, Granger? What are you doing? That's a girls' bathroom."
"I know," Hermione said. "But no one ever uses it – it's the best place for us to make this thing."
"Why does no one use it?" Harry asked suspiciously, as he followed Hermione into the bathroom. It was old, like most of Hogwarts' bathrooms, but Hermione was right – completely empty.
"Moaning Myrtle," said Hermione simply, sitting down at a cauldron that she'd placed on the floor.
"Moaning Myrtle?" Draco repeated, looking a little askance at sitting down on a bathroom floor.
"The ghost who haunts this bathroom," Hermione said matter-of-factly, taking out the cork of a small vial of blue liquid.
"Where is she?" Harry asked, slowly sitting down beside Hermione.
Hermione shrugged. "Not here right now. But, when she comes, she won't bother us. Trust me."
"Trust you? That's a risky thing to do," Draco said, finally taking a seat beside them on the floor.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, but said nothing about that. "Okay, so I've got all the ingredients here –" she gestured to a small chest where there were about ten different shaped vials and bottles inside – "What do you want to do first?"
Draco frowned. "Just put them all in and see what happens?"
"Yeah, that," Harry said, picking up a vial of the moonseed berries. He poured a few into his hand and then tossed them into the cauldron. Hermione ordered them after that to put on their gloves and, because it was probably wise to do that
The three of them continued putting all the ingredients in, Hermione writing down each of their steps and how many they put in each time. They finally added the white baneberry that they'd crushed into a fine juice, making the potion a slightly bubbling jet black.
Hermione waved her hand over the cauldron, wafting the smell towards her. She wrinkled her nose as it hit her and immediately slid back on the floor, coughing. "That is bloody powerful!" she exclaimed.
Harry grinned. "Good. Bottle it up – we'll have to test it on something."
"I can do it," Draco said. "I'll do it tonight."
Hermione nodded and reached for the chest, pulling out an empty bottle with a blue stopper. She waved her wand at the bottle and said, "Wingardium Leviosa." The bottle rose and then Hermione controlled it to scoop down and fill up with the black potion. It popped itself shut and floated into Hermione's hand.
She handed it to Draco who slipped it into his pocket. Hermione took out a large jar and poured the rest of the poison into it, sealing the lid tightly. She put the jar back into the chest, summoning a small rope and tying the ingredients around it.
Harry waved his wand and the date appeared on the top of the lid. "We can't do much else today," Harry said.
The other two agreed and everyone departed, Draco taking with him the small vial of poison.
Harry didn't talk to Draco for two whole days and it was just on the morning of the third day that Draco even acknowledged his cousin. He'd thought that since they'd worked together on the poison, Draco might've been warmer towards Harry, but apparently not.
Hogwarts was still empty for break, but the three of them didn't eat together. Draco ate at the Slytherin table with the remainder of those and Hermione ate with a few Ravenclaw girls at their own table.
Draco and Harry had happened to be walking out of the Great Hall at the same time and Draco muttered, as he passed, "Get Granger and meet me in the bathroom in twenty minutes."
Harry nodded and cast a glance over his shoulder where Hermione still sat, just finishing her breakfast.
Draco walked away, but Harry lingered near the doorway and waited for Hermione to finish. It took five minutes, but once she had exited the Great Hall, he quickly got into step with her.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Draco wants us to meet him in the bathroom in fifteen minutes," Harry said.
Hermione's eyes looked nervously around her and then she nodded tightly. "Okay, I'll meet you there; I'll go get the chest with all the ingredients and stuff."
Harry nodded and walked with Hermione up to the second floor where she continued up the stairs and he departed down the corridors. He used the boys bathroom quickly and then headed to the girls' one and was soon joined by Draco.
"Is she coming?" he asked.
"Yeah," Harry said. "She's just going to get the potion stuff."
Draco nodded, but soon enough Hermione entered the room. "Hey," she said, hurrying over to their usual spot near the sinks and opening the chest up. "How did the poison test go?" she asked Draco.
"It didn't work," Draco said darkly. "The stupid chicken just squawked around and then suddenly sprouted another head."
Hermione threw her hand up to cover her mouth to muffle her laugh. "Another head?" she said.
Draco shot her a dark look and said, curtly, "Yes. I killed it."
Hermione's laugh cut short immediately. "What? Why?"
"A two headed chicken walking around is completely normal to you, Granger?" Draco asked coldly. "It had to be dealt with."
Hermione stared at Draco in horror, but Harry quickly interjected. "Okay, so that poison won't work," said Harry. "What should we try now?"
"Just take out one of the ingredients?" Draco suggested. "And see how that works?"
Harry and Hermione nodded and started to put in the ingredients again, this time leaving out the hyacinth all together.
When they were finished, the potion was an odd green colour – like a mixture of aquamarine and bright lime.
"That doesn't look very deadly," Harry said, smirking.
"Oh well," Hermione said, scooping some of the poison into a vial. She was about to hand it to Draco when she froze, her eyes lighting up.
"What?" Draco and Harry both asked sharply, looking immediately to the doorway but no one was there.
"It's just – I just had an idea ... what if we didn't do this poison as a liquid poison? A liquid poison is great, but what about something like a powder? It would be way easier to do that – just sprinkle it on whoever you're poisoning and then we don't have to sneak it into their drink."
Draco and Harry exchanged an impressed look. "Yeah, that might work... but let's just try this potion and see if this works," Draco said.
Hermione and Harry nodded and Harry opened his mouth to say something else when suddenly, a loud, high pitched shriek of laughter sounded from one of the toilet stalls, making all three of them jump at least a foot in the air.
"Who's there?" Draco shouted, pointing his wand at the toilet stalls.
Another giggle emerged from the stalls, making Harry get to his feet. He walked over extremely quietly, his wand pointed at the door.
A girl suddenly appeared in front of Harry, startling him and making him jump backwards. She was wearing round glasses and had dark hair tied in two pigtails. She was wearing an old Hogwarts uniform, the crest of Ravenclaw shining on her chest. She looked like a normal teen, except for the fact that she was a ghost.
"Hello," the girl said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Harry and Draco exchanged a look and Harry took a step backwards. "Who are you?" Draco demanded.
"I'm Myrtle," said the girl, floating closer towards Draco. "Who are you?"
"Uh, Draco?" Draco said, looking appalled.
Hermione coughed once to muffle a giggle and looked hurriedly away. Harry was grinning widely as well – he loved seeing Draco squirm.
Draco shot Hermione a dark look and then said, "Let's go."
"See you later!" Myrtle called out, as the three of them departed from the bathroom.
Once they were a few feet away, Hermione looked to Draco and said, smirking, "Looks like you have an admirer."
"Oh, shut up."
Christmas Day at Hogwarts was just like any other day. Harry, Hermione and Draco spent the day cloistered up in Myrtle's bathroom, working on their potion and trying to get it to solidify.
Draco had told them that the green potion that they'd tried earlier hadn't worked at all, just made the chicken start barking like a dog.
Dejected, when it came to be about five o'clock, Hermione packed everything up and returned it to Gryffindor Tower, while Harry and Draco headed down to the Great Hall for dinner.
Since there weren't that many people at Hogwarts for the holidays, the tables had been taken away and left with just one large table for the students and another for the teachers.
Harry and Draco took a seat together, Harry leaving a space for Hermione to sit when she arrived.
Bellatrix pushed open the door to the dining room of Lestrange Manor and took her regular seat near the head of the table, casting a long look at the empty chair where Henry usually sat.
Hermione arrived at the table and within minutes, Professor Dumbledore clapped his hands and dozens of dishes of delicious food appeared on the tables.
The house elves entered through the door leading from the kitchen, with steaming plates full of turkey and potatoes and stuffing.
Harry piled everything that he could reach onto his plate. He didn't want to admit it, but the food here tasted better than back at home at Lestrange Manor.
Bellatrix waved her hand and the candles that sat around the room immediately lit up, their flame glittering prettily.
Harry glanced up at the floating candles. Each of them had a string of garland wrapped around it, which, in Harry's opinion, made them look like stupid candy canes.
Lestrange Manor was dark without the flames, without a decoration in the house. She never decorated for Christmas – that was silly and shallow.
Harry finished his dinner within a few minutes and had to wait for everyone else to finish as well, before the dessert would appear.
Once Bellatrix was finished her supper, the houseleves brought out beautiful cake, decorated with black chocolate and green icing. It was gorgeous.
The rest of the Hall finished their dinner in good time and the puddings appeared on the table. Cakes, cupcakes, tarts, pies ... everything Harry could possibly want.
This was Henry's favourite cake, Bellatrix thought rather morosely, as she cut herself a piece. Dark chocolate with mint. She wondered if they had that at Hogwarts.
Harry scanned the table for a mint chocolate cake and finally spotted one near the other side of the table. He got to his feet and retrieved it, bringing it back to his place.
The cake was more bitter than the ones Harry had at home – but that was probably just his feeling at eating it.
She finished her dessert and the houseleves whisked away her plate. She looked longingly at the seat where Henry should've been sitting. Her heart ached - she missed him so much.
Harry paused, his fork half way to his mouth. It had just hit him – Christmas just wasn't the same without his mother.
Next year, he would be sitting at the dining table in Lestrange Manor no matter what.
Next year, Bellatrix thought, smiling sadly. Next year.
"Hermione," Harry said, his voice low, grasping her shoulder to get her attention. She jumped slightly and turned around to look at him.
It was the second weekend after Christmas break had ended and so the Gryffindor Common Room was crowded. It was a cold January Saturday evening, after curfew for the younger years.
Hermione wrenched her arm from Harry's grasp. "Yes?" she asked curtly. "What do you want?"
"Can you come to the library with me?"
"Now?" she asked, surprised.
Harry nodded.
She narrowed her eyes at him, but got to her feet nevertheless.
They exited the Gryffindor Common Room and headed out into the hallway.
"What are we looking up?" Hermione inquired, as they started towards the library.
"I'll tell you when we get there," Harry said in a dark voice.
They walked in silence the rest of the way and once they'd arrived at the library, and Hermione and Harry were sitting at their usual table, Harry leaned forward and whispered, "Remember when I told you about Horcruxes?"
Hermione sighed loudly. "I thought this might be it. Listen, Henry: I looked all over the library for any information about it, but there's nothing."
Harry was dejected. "Did you check the Restricted Section?"
Hermione hesitated. "No ... no, not yet. Henry ..." she paused again. "Do you have any idea what a Horcrux is?"
Harry didn't know how much Hermione knew, so he said, "Just a little."
"Really?" Hermione said, looking surprised. "What do you know?"
"Um ... well, apparently, it's some sort of way to split your soul –"
"Your soul?" she repeated sharply, looking alarmed.
"Well, yeah, and apparently that makes you immortal –" she opened her mouth alarmed, but Harry kept talking, "That's about all I got from the book in Dumbledore's office. I was hoping you could help me look up how someone would –"
"How?" Hermione said, gaping at him, horrified. "You want to know how to make Horcrux? Why?"
"Just interested," Harry said quickly.
She still looked alarmed and said, "Well, if it's something like that, I don't have a doubt that it will be really dark and dangerous. I don't even want to think what you would have to do to split your soul."
Harry thought back to the section in the book he had read.
The one thing that man has always searched for is a solution to Death. A Horcrux is an object, either inanimate or animate, that contains a part, a fractured part, of the soul of the owner. Once the soul is encased in this object, the owner now is immortal until that Horcrux is destroyed.
Hermione was right, this was very Dark Magic.
"I – I was going to ask Professor McGonagall for a note for the Restricted Section, but I don't know about that anymore," Hermione said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Henry, but I can't help you with this. I don't even know where to begin. I'm sorry."
Harry felt a surge of anger at Hermione's through and through goodness. Honestly, it wasn't like he was asking her to help him make one ... he just wanted to know how to.
Hermione got to her feet then, still looking apologetic and scared.
"Don't tell Draco, all right?" Harry said sharply, standing up to face her.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, but nodded slowly. "All right."
"Hand me the baneberry, please," Hermione asked, reaching out her hand.
Draco handed her the small white berries and Hermione dropped them into the slightly steaming cauldron in front of her. The cauldron let out a soft whistling sound, along with a puff of red smoke, and then started to smoke just faintly, although the smoke was still red-tinged.
Hermione peered into the cauldron and gasped. "Look!"
"What?" Draco asked, leaning forward.
"It's not a liquid anymore! It's like a ... mush, I suppose."
"Really?" Harry inquired, intrigued. He leaned forward as well and peered into the cauldron. The poison was a reddish mush
"Did you add everything?" Draco asked.
"I think so," Hermione said, looking over her list. "Baneberry, belladonna – wait, did you put the belladonna in?"
"No," Harry and Draco both said. "Did you?"
"No," Hermione said, thoughtfully. They all looked back to the poison. "Well, that must've done it," she said. "Add everything except the belladonna and the hyacinth and we've got a powdery poison."
"If it works," Draco said, darkly. "Let's leave it for a few minutes and see what happens."
The other two nodded and Hermione set about writing down the ingredients and amounts of each on a fresh piece of parchment.
Harry was ecstatic that they had done it and couldn't wait to poison Moody. He couldn't believe that they'd finally done it - Bellatrix would be so proud to know that Harry had made his very own poison.
After about thirty minutes, they checked on the poison again. It had turned into a jet black powder, very fine and thin.
Hermione refused to let them touch it – after all, she didn't know what it would do to anyone.
Since Draco wanted this whole poison making process to be finished A.S.A.P., he volunteered to take it down to the grounds and test it right away. He scooped some of it up and put it into a vial, calling, "I'll be right back," as he tucked the vial into his cloak and took out the Invisibility Cloak from his backpack and departed.
Once Draco was gone, Harry leaned back against the wall, his hands behind his head. "Phew," he said, "Finally, we're finished. What's that been – four months?"
Hermione didn't answer and Harry looked at her to see why not.
She was looking at his arm and Harry sharply remembered his Dark Mark. He quickly pulled down his sleeve, covering it. It had been stinging earlier that day, which meant the other Death Eaters were probably communicating with each other. The burn that meant the Dark Lord wanted the Death Eaters happened at least thrice weekly, but he'd told Harry and Draco just to ignore that – they couldn't very well leave now anyways.
They lapsed into silence and then Hermione asked, curiously, "Does it hurt?"
Harry shrugged. "Sometimes," he said vaguely. He was not allowed to speak to anyone who wasn't a Death Eater about how Voldemort controlled the Death Eaters with the Mark.
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I don't understand you," she said after a few moments of silence.
"Why?" Harry asked, surprised. "You've known us for almost five months now and you helped us make a poison. What on earth can't you believe?"
"That you're – you know! He's evil! Why the hell did you join him?"
"You've been blinded by Dumbledore, Hermione," Harry said, getting annoyed. "You believe that what he says is right, that that's this way to live. You've never considered that what the Dark Lord says is correct."
"Correct?" Hermione repeated, looking horrified. "How is killing Muggleborns and Muggles the right thing?"
"Muggles are inferior to us and Mudbloods have no place in our world," Harry said promptly. Both he and Draco had been trained that this was the answer since birth.
She looked disgusted. "Muggleborns have just as much right to learn magic as you, you know!"
"Oh yeah?" Harry snorted. "Name one Mudblood who deserves to know magic."
She stared at him coldly. "How about the one who's been helping you make this poison?" She paused and then said, loudly, "I'm Muggleborn and I'm not ashamed to say that."
Harry paled immediately and his mouth dropped open. Hermione made a disgusted sound in her throat.
"Oh, you're just revolting," Hermione said scathingly, jumping to her feet. She crossed her arms and stomped her foot. "Just because of who my parents are, you immediately think that I'm inferior to you."
Draco, who had just appeared in the doorway, looked quizzically at the scene. "What's happened?" His eyes rolled over Harry, who was still sitting on the floor next to the cauldron, and Hermione, who was standing there, looking furious, with her arms crossed.
Harry said nothing in response to his cousin; he was reeling inside. Hermione was a Mudblood? The girl he might –
He shook his head to clear that thought.
How on earth hadn't they known earlier? It was almost the end of the first semester, for Merlin's sake! Harry was flabbergasted into silence.
Finally, he was able to speak. "She's a Mudblood," Harry said, through tight lips.
Draco looked horrified. He drew his wand, pointing it at Hermione. "Why didn't you tell us that?" he demanded.
Hermione likewise drew her wand and pointed it at Draco. "Because I knew you would react like this," she hissed. "What does it matter anyways? Who cares if my parents weren't magical?"
"We do," Draco spat. "You're an outsider; you don't belong in our world!"
Sparks shot out of Hermione's wand, but she did nothing just stare at Draco with cold, angry eyes. She looked over at Harry for a few moments, then turned on her heel and left the bathroom, kicking the chest full of ingredients out of her way as she went.
"Well, you'll be happy to know that the poison works," Draco said, holding up the empty vial. "The chicken dropped dead almost immediately as I sprinkled it on it." He paused. "If you want to test it on a human, then it's up to you to find whoever it is and kill them without anyone finding out. I'm done with this poison." He tossed the vial to Harry and turned on his heel, leaving Harry alone in the bathroom.
Brilliant, Harry thought darkly. No Hermione, no Draco.
Hermione refused to even talk to Harry for a good two weeks – she returned to sitting by herself in classes and at mealtimes. She refused to acknowledge him at all.
But, now that the poison was finished and it was only a matter of time before they could kill Moody, Harry didn't feel too bad. Since he and Longbottom got on rather well, he started talking more and more with the boy.
They still were continuing their tutoring lessons, but Harry no longer needed help with Herbology so it was just Neville who was getting help in Potions.
Neville obviously knew that something was off with Hermione, but he didn't mention anything about it.
One evening, about the end of March, as they worked over Neville's Potion essay, Harry asked, "Are you going home for Easter?"
"Yeah," Neville said, nodding. "It's only ten days, but I decided to do it. It's more fun than staying here and studying, anyways."
Harry nodded, a little disappointed that he was leaving. After all, a time when half the school was gone would've been perfect for Neville to have been taken away by Voldemort.
Hermione was one of the ones who left for Easter Break, but most everyone else stayed. The fifth years had quite a bit of homework, at least something due in each class. Harry (since he didn't have much else to do seeing as Hermione was gone and Draco had developed some sort of problem with him) had finished most of the homework within the first three days of the ten day break.
Once that was finished, he spent a few hours each day in Myrtle's bathroom, testing Voldemort's spell on the potion and then delivering it to the animals out in the grounds. Testing it on animals wasn't the best idea; Draco was right – he needed to make sure that the poison actually worked on a human.
Harry had spent hours pondering over who he was going to poison. Murdering a student was out of the question – a kid ending up sick and dead "under mysterious circumstances" with two Death Eater kids at Hogwarts? Yeah right. Even if Dumbledore believed their pathetic tale about turning from the Dark side, Harry knew enough about the Ministry of Magic to know that they would immediately suspect Harry and Draco. Even if they couldn't prove it, the damage would be done – Harry's 'spotless' reputation ruined and Neville would become suspicious.
It was something Harry couldn't afford to do it.
But, nevertheless, Draco was correct. Testing the poison on animals was fine and all, but it was all for nothing if it didn't work on a human.
The only option Harry saw was a villager from Hogsmeade. That was going to be easier by far, but still tricky. Harry had to time everything perfectly – make sure that he had an alibi for the three days after the murder and make sure that Draco did too.
That shouldn't be too hard – Draco was joined at the hip with his Slytherin friends and Harry could just spend the evenings working with Neville on homework.
Problem solved.
So, for now, animals would have to do. It was going rather well already – one of the animals hadn't reacted at all to the poison, but when Harry came back to check on it the next day, it was dead.
A day was good, but three would be even better. The spell had to be stronger, especially if he was going to test this on a human.
Other than the poison, there really wasn't much to do. The Horcrux research had come to a grinding halt without Hermione. There wasn't even a point in looking around the library when Harry had no idea what he was even looking for.
So, with all the stress of the poison, befriending Neville and trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with Draco, he'd taken up flying around the Quidditch Pitch to clear his mind.
The Quidditch match against Hufflepuff had gone rather well, and, even though Harry had gotten the Snitch, the Hufflepuff Chasers were too good and had scored too many times on Ron Weasley to get themselves the win.
No one at all blamed Harry (in fact, the match seemed to renew everyone's new found admiration of him) and everyone had grumbled at Ron for a few days, but soon got over it.
Gryffindor wasn't out of the Quidditch Cup match yet, but Slytherin was. They'd lost to Ravenclaw and if Gryffindor lost to Ravenclaw as well, after Easter break, then they'd be out too. Hufflepuff was guaranteed a spot in the final match, but it was either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw – the school seemed to be split. The Hufflepuffs wanted Gryffindor in the final because they'd already beaten them once and it would be easier to beat them again than Ravenclaw. The Slytherins, however, wanted Ravenclaw in, even if that House had beaten them.
It was all very odd, Harry thought. Everything to do with Houses seemed so important to the students – the House Cup Tournament and the Quidditch Cup were of course always competitions, but even just in the classroom whoever answered a question correctly and got points for their House always received dark glares in return from the other House.
Harry thought it was kind of hilarious. These four Houses were supposed to supply the Light side with fighters, but they couldn't stop fighting amongst themselves. There were the two main rivalries – Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw and Gryffindor vs. Slytherin, but when it came to a House that stood out among the rest for hatred, it was definitely the Slytherins.
In all reality, it was no wonder that the Slytherins seemed to have a tendency to join Voldemort. Going to school with the same people for seven years who hated your house and then suddenly you're supposed to work with them to defeat this evil guy who himself was a Slytherin? Yeah right.
No one else seemed to understand this, but it was completely obvious to Harry. Why join the side that you had nothing in common with?
When everyone returned from Easter break, they were all hammered with huge tests, the likes of which the third year Gryffindors had never seen before.
Jason and Melinda had been up very late studying for a huge Transfiguration test and were starving.
So, they decided that it was time to go to the kitchens to get some food so that they didn't die of starvation.
Having just left the Common Room, they were currently on the seventh floor, huddled together under the Invisibility Cloak. In his hands, Jason was holding a very peculiar map, illuminated by Melinda's wand
This map, the Marauder's Map, was magical; enchanted to show everything about Hogwarts and was made by Jason's own father. Sirius and Remus had made it as well. Another of their friends, Peter something, had also helped, but neither of the three other Marauders ever spoke about Peter.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Jason said, tapping the map with his wand. Ink immediately sprung up from the wand tip, black lines scrawling over the parchment and forming into a map of the castle, complete with little dots with labelled names all over it.
They made it all the way to the kitchens and the eager house elves just passed off several delicious treats.
Jason glanced down at the Map as they were leaving and a dot that was heading towards the Gryffindor Common Room got his attention. It was late and so seeing someone moving about other than them caught his attention immediately. He just skimmed the name, but then felt as if he'd been electrocuted. He started and then peered closer, trying to read it correctly.
Harry Potter?
A/N: Uh oh! Henry's in trouble!
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