OOO

Thanks to Wood's news about Snape refereeing the next Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, Harry had been in high dudgeon all evening and hadn't even noticed Neville's prolonged absence. Nott had retreated into studying, if only to get a reprieve from listening to Harry's near-constant brooding over the subject.

When Neville finally returned to the common room, pale and trembling, Nott immediately noticed that something was out of place. Setting down his textbook, he walked over to Neville who was attempting to sneak up to the dorms without drawing anybody's attention.

"Is something the matter Neville?" He looked the other boy over. "You look shaken."

Neville shook his head, but then Harry drew next to Nott and joined in. "You're paler than Nearly-Headless Nick," he added. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Neville shook his head. "Just had a bit of a run-in with Pansy and Ron."

"Pansy and Ron?" Nott's mouth curved downward and his eyes narrowed. "What did they do this time?"

"Nothing much. Just a…" he mumbled something that the two boys strained to hear.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"Leg-Locker Curse," Neville sighed.

"A Leg-Locker?" Nott sounded aghast.

"Yeah," he nodded miserably. "And I couldn't even get out of it myself. Your pal Draco and a bunch of his other Hufflepuff friends came along and got me out of it. Susan Bones was the one who used the countercurse, not me."

"Well what did you do then?" Harry pulled out his last Chocolate Frog and handed it to Neville, guessing that, as worried and nervous as he was, Neville could use it more. "Tell me you socked them in the jaw or something."

Again, Neville shook his head 'no.' "I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. The others looked like they were going to duel, though; at least they were until Madame Pince stepped in."

"You should report them," Hermione interjected in a superior tone, having walked up behind Nott. "Ron and Pansy both. Maybe if they get detentions they'll think twice about it."

"Yeah," he muttered. "Twice as hard about how to get me back for giving them detentions. No way."

"Well you can't just be a rug and let him walk all over you!" Harry protested. "Pull out your wand the next time – Slytherins aren't the only ones who know curses!"

"It'd probably just go wrong and I'd end up looking stupid into the bargain." Neville chewed on the Chocolate Frog.

"Don't talk like that," Harry shook him by the shoulder. "You're a Gryffindor right?"

"Don't know why…"

"But you are! And that means that the Hat must have seen something in you, better than what it saw in them!" He grinned. "You're a Gryffindor and they're just stinking Slytherins." Nott viciously elbowed him at that point and Harry twisted around, looking surprised. "That hurt! What was that for?"

"For Millicent," Nott replied. "Before you start raging on about Slytherins in general."

"Oh." Harry's face fell and he looked abashed. "Well… yeah."

"Besides," Neville pointed out, "Ron said that he wanted to be in that house. That he begged the Hat to put him there and not in Gryffindor like the rest of his family."

"Well he's a git," Harry retorted. "And that would hold true no matter what house he got into. You're worth a lot more than he'll ever be – him or Pansy. Trust me."

Neville nodded but looked unconvinced. "I need some sleep. You want the frog card?" He held it out for Harry to take.

"Dumbledore," he shrugged, flipping the card over. "And look – it mentions Flamel."

""Lovely," Nott glanced at it. "At least we know why it's here; Flamel must trust him deeply if they worked together."

"And at least it further confirms your hypothesis," Hermione added.

"Hypothesis?" Nott looked at her severely. "You mean to suggest that it was a simple supposition?"

Hermione looked askance. "I'm just saying it was an educated guess, wasn't it?"

"I never guess," he retorted. "I know." Then he walked off to pick his book back up and resumed reading.

"Well then!" Hermione huffed. "One way or another, though – we do know what's down there."

"Let's just hope it can be protected from Snape." He stuffed the card into his pocket. "Let's hope that I can be too, for that matter."

OOO

Despite Harry's best efforts to remain unconcerned about the upcoming match, he couldn't help growing increasingly on edge as the day approached. Each time he saw Snape, he averted his gaze as his thoughts flew back to Nott's discussion of legilimency. He wanted to maintain his strength, show that he could stand up to Snape and the Slytherins, but it was getting harder day by day as Snape bore down on him, in and out of class.

"I'm going to go crazy," he muttered to Nott over dinner. "Snape is driving me up a wall and the game hasn't even come around yet!"

"Just remember – avoid eye contact and you take away one of his tools."

"If he even is a legilimens. We don't know that for sure."

"Doubting me too?" He snapped and took another

"No…" Harry took a sip of his pumpkin juice. "I'm just saying that not even you know everything. Maybe you're mistaken and we're getting worked up over nothing. Maybe he's just really creepy."

"Whatever else Snape may be," Nott replied with a frosty tone, "I'm sure that he is a legilimens. Too many facts point in that direction and coincidence can only count for so much. He hints at what you're thinking, constantly bores into you with those eyes of his, has a whispered history of knowing dark magic that follows him like a shadow – if he's not a legilimens I'll snap my wand."

"Well then where does that leave me?" Harry asked through a mouth full of pork chop. "What am I supposed to do at the game if I'm always looking over my shoulder, worrying about what he's going to do?"

"You just play Quidditch." Nott scraped the last of his potatoes off the plate. "We'll worry about Snape."

"We'll?"

"Everybody will be at the game, won't they? Even if it is against Hufflepuff, Draco and his housemates aren't going to let Snape get away with anything either. Hermione took a tip from Pansy and has been practicing the Leg-Locker curse all week."

"Practicing on who?" Harry smirked knowingly.

"Well why not?" Theo bristled. "We went back and forth. We both needed the practice."

"I hope it pays off. Otherwise I'll be lucky not to break my neck."

"That won't happen."

"Is that a promise?"

For a moment, Theodore paused in mid-bite, as if reflecting on the carelessness of making such an assurance. Then he nodded.

"A promise," he affirmed, then continued eating.

OOO

"I want that thing out of here!" Pettigrew pointed a trembling finger towards the dragon's egg. "Haven't you managed to corner Hagrid yet? Can't you figure out any other way to get past the damn thing?"

"Not yet!" Quirrell snapped, throwing himself into one of the chairs that the room provided. "Can't you shut up for five minutes? I came here to get some peace. It's getting tiring, having Snape hovering over me constantly."

"I thought Snape was on our side," Pettigrew gnawed his lip and drew closer to the fire.

"Years ago. He doesn't know the master is with us again," Quirrell replied icily. "And he's such a good distraction even without knowing. Why run the risk that his loyalties have changed?"

"The only risk I care about right now," Pettigrew replied tensely, "is if that thing hatches."

"There's nowhere else safer to leave it!" Quirrell shot back, agitated. "Stop whining about it! Unless you toss it into the fire, it won't get hot enough to even come close to hatching."

"You're not the one who has to sit in here watching it all day."

"Would you rather I tossed you back into the forbidden forest? Or better still, rather I turned you out? Then you could explain to Dumbledore and the rest why you're not dead and where you've been hiding all these years." Pettigrew fell silent, crossed his arms and turned away. "I thought so. Keep your mouth shut and it will be out of here soon enough." He sighed and sank down into the cushion. "I promise not to fail you master, I swear."

There was no reply, but Quirrell shivered nevertheless, reflecting with no small measure of desperation about how urgently he needed to figure out his way past the dog – not to mention whatever else the teacher's might have lying in wait.

OOO

Once the day of the tournament finally arrived, it relieved Harry to see that Dumbledore was attending the match; even Snape would be hard pressed to try something with the headmaster looking on. However, it reassured him even more to see a solid block of friendly faces wearing yellow and red, with even a green mixed in, looking worried but resolute.

Harry waved to them from the field as Wood lead the team out to assume their starting positions. Despite the grim looks on their faces, Draco managed to give him a wink and Harry nodded, feeling slightly more at ease. He was a bit worried, not merely about Snape but also about the fact that Ron and Pansy were sitting nearby, haughty looks on their faces, gesturing towards Harry and – Harry guessed – making snide remarks.

The moment he took to the air, however, every other concern disappeared. It didn't matter that Snape was watching the match. It didn't matter that the Sorcerer's Stone was at risk. It didn't matter that, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ron's red head pushing towards his friends. All the sounds were distant – the cheers from the stands, the commentary streaming from Lee Jordan, the thumps of the Weasley twins hitting the bludgers. His ears were filled with the white noise of the air rushing around him.

All that existed was his vision, scanning the earth and air for any flash of gold. It wasn't long before he caught a glimpse of the Snitch he sought. Diggory noticed from across the field and was urging his broomstick forward, but it was too little too late. Harry sent his Nimbus into a plunge that brought the crowd to its feet and elicited a collective gasp.

Flying past Snape with a whoop, he lifted the Snitch in triumph as a full-fledged fight broke out in the stands.

Gryffindors were spilling onto the field and Snape's face looked as though he wanted to vomit. Harry couldn't resist casting a triumphant grin towards the Potions Master before he was distracted by his teammates leaping on him, slapping his back and screaming.

"Harry!" George screamed as he and Fred hoisted the Seeker. "Bloody good show!"

"I'll say!" Fred balanced him on their shoulders. "Didn't even give Snape a chance to bring us down!"

People were waving flags and cheering, adding to the crowd that was rapidly forming around the team. Even the Ravenclaws and, despite some hesitation due to their loss, the Hufflepuffs joined in the celebration.

"Wonderful Harry!" He hear Hermione's voice about the crowd and saw her standing a short distance away next to Nott, who was sporting a cracked lip and had a nasty blotch on his cheek.

Draco too came rushing out of the stands. However, he didn't immediately move towards Harry as Nott and Hermione did. Instead, he made his way through the crowd to where the Hufflepuff team was trailing off the field and caught Cedric by the arm.

"Hey."

"Oh, hey Draco." Cedric gave him a rueful smile. "Sorry we didn't provide much entertainment today. Over a bit quickly."

"I just wanted to tell you, good job." Draco smiled at him. "Harry happened to be closer when he saw the Snitch. And he was in overdrive anyway – nerves over Snape being the ref you know. They wanted it to end early before he got the chance to bury them under penalties. It's not the best situation; but I wanted to let you know that I still think you're a brilliant Seeker."

"Thanks Draco," Cedric clapped him on the shoulder. "It means a lot." He nodded towards the crowd. "Now you'd better hurry if you want to get a chance to congratulate your friend. I need to go get washed up."

"I'll see you later then, in the common room," Draco backed away and waved.

"Later," Cedric replied with a nod as he joined the team in the locker room.

Draco then joined the crowd that was thronged around the Gryffindor team, casting a brief glance up towards the window where he knew Sirius would be watching. When they saw Draco approach, the Weasley twins dropped Harry off of their shoulders and they reached pull Draco closer to them.

"Did you see that dive?" Fred grinned as Draco nodded enthusiastically.

"Forget the dive – did you see the way he laid our brother out?"

"Oh, so that was you that did that?"

"Neville helped," Draco admitted.

"You're going to have to tell us everything," Fred grinned as Draco high-fived and chest bumped Harry.

"I want to hear it too," Harry added. "I noticed there was a scuffle but didn't see what went on."

"Yeah, you were too busy beating us," Draco replied, the grin still plastered on his face.

"Pretty much. I'll join you in a bit – I need to get my broom back."

"Take your time," Fred replied. "We'll get the house elves to bring some dinner back to the common room for you. Once you get back, you won't get a moment's peace all night long, trust me. So go ahead and take a moment for yourself; it's probably the only quiet you'll get all evening."

"I'll keep that in mind," Harry smiled, heading for the locker room to be alone with his thoughts.

When he emerged some time later, the field was already empty, save for bits of refuse left there from the impromptu celebration. He started for the broomshed, still exulting in his victory over both Hufflepuff and Slytherin, when he noticed a very familiar figure swooping down the castle steps and heading for the forest.

"Snape," Harry breathed and jumped back onto his broomstick, following quietly at a distance, listening carefully as he skimmed the tops of the trees for any indication about what Snape was doing beneath the dense canopy.

What he heard sent him shooting back to the common room with a tale of his own to tell.

OOO

"Gryffindor?" Lucius Malfoy repeated slowly. "You're sure?"

"So Pansy Parkinson told her father – who was kind enough to tell me. I haven't had any communiqué from my son for months, not that I considered that strange. Theodore is a quiet boy, to say the least. However, this report troubled me deeply. I was wondering if your son had said anything to you."

"Not specifically," Narcissa replied, watching the elder Nott carefully, as one might a viper. "But he does mingle with Gryffindors like the Potter child."

"And this does not worry you?" Nott quirked an eyebrow.

"What our son does is our concern," Lucius replied icily. "Suffice it to say that if we thought his social circle was putting him in any peril, we would intervene."

"I wonder if you are aware of how much peril he's in," Nott snapped. "He's a Hufflepuff consorting with a Potter and other Gryffindors, failing in his academics if the rumors hold true, getting close to children like the Diggory boy and the Bones girl, eschewing company like the Smiths. The apple has fallen quite far from the tree, Lucius."

"I think you had better leave," Narcissa replied standing. "Limit your concern to your own child."

"By the time you show concern it may be too late. Times are changing, or so I hear."

"And yet perhaps not as much as one would think or hope," Lucius retorted. "I agree with my wife. Perhaps it would be best if you left. I trust you know the way out?"

"Very well." Nott stood with an affronted air. "And so I do. Pardon my interference; I merely meant to give you fair warning." He swept out of the room and down the hallway. However, before he left, he paused at the entrance of one of the many studies contained within the house. After a quick glance around, he entered into it, one of the trusted few who knew at least some of Lucius' hiding places thanks to their former spots in Voldemort's inner circle.

Moments later he left, a slim volume in his hand, and flooed back to his own home.

If he had been Sorted into Gryffindor, the boy was likely beyond his influence. However, there were other ways to make sure that the renegade child didn't interfere and damage his father's reputation. Whatever happened to the boy as a consequence – well, that was his own fault for siding with the wrong crowd.

Thoughts of guilt never even occurred to the widower.

OOO

A/N: Why yes, that is a twist at the end. :) Next time – Norbert, the forest and a few more twists and turns.