Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction based on the Harry Potter universe. All recognizable characters, plots and settings are the exclusive property of J.K Rowling. I make no claim to ownership nor do I make any profit.

Acknowledgments: Thank you to my betas Umar, Yoshi89 and Fezzik for their work on this story.

Self Promotion: I have a discord server where you can chat and read all of my chapters early. If you would like to join, simply copy the link on my profile and for . I had to write it in that format for the site to allow it on my profile.

In addition, you can follow the official ACI100 fanfiction account on Instagram aci100ff or by using the link on my profile to get even more out of my written works.

Recommendations:

Harry Potter and The Prince of Slytherin by The Sinister Man.

Harry Potter and The Boy-Who-Lived by The Santi.

Growing Up Black by ElvindorkNigellus.

The Hero and The Veela by JackPotter.

Stepping Back, and Honour Thy Blood by TheBlack'sResurgence.

The Mind Arts by Wu Gang.

A Cadmean Victory by DarknessEnthroned.

Magicks of The Arcane by Eilyfe.

"Speech."

'Internal Dialogue.'

Parseltongue.

Memories/In Story Text.

Harry Potter and The Dark Lord's Equal

By ACI100.

Year 2: The Looming of Shadows.

Chapter 14: Conspiracies at Christmas.

December 25th 1992.

Longbottom Manor.

7:07 AM.

Normally, if Neville, or anybody else for that matter, had run into Harry's room screaming "Merry Christmas" at the top of his lungs while Harry was still asleep, he'd probably have snatched his wand from under his pillow, leapt to his feet, and cursed the poor sod into oblivion. Of course, Harry would normally be wide awake at 7:00 in the morning, but alas, it was a rather irregular day.

Harry had not returned to the Longbottom's home until nearly 3:00 in the morning. Hell, by the time leaving had even been an option, he could barely stand. He had been mildly worried that he would fall fast asleep while standing next to Gabrielle.

About Four Hours Earlier.

Domaine des Flamels.

After returning inside with Gabrielle, Harry had braved yet another few hours in the shark infested waters of politics. Gabrielle had been more active in steering the conversations away from Harry's upbringing, which he had been very grateful for. Still, by the time midnight came around, he was completely spent. It had been a day that had been very full of mental stimulation, which led him to become even more tired than normal. Unfortunately for Harry, Dumbledore and Flamel were off politicking, or scheming new innovative uses of magic, or whatever the two most brilliant magical minds of the age did when the two of them met up. As a result, Harry braved politics for nearly two more hours. At that point, Gabrielle had realized he was little more than a walking corpse and decided that it was in his best interests to remove him from that environment.

They had gone for another walk in the grounds, though this one had been far less eventful than the first. When they had re-entered the ballroom, Gabrielle just led Harry onto the dance floor, being in the mindset that anything was better than a twelve year old boy playing at politics when half asleep. Much of the crowd had left by then, but quite a few had stayed behind. By this point, Harry was pretty much out of it, and he had essentially just allowed Gabrielle to drag him through the motions of several simple dances for a time that Harry could not even hope to specify.

Finally, at nearly 3:00 in the morning, when all but a few stragglers had vanished, Dumbledore and Flamel re-entered the ballroom. Fleur, Apolline and Jean were sitting at one of the tables in the corner too, but Apolline was actually asleep and Jean looked like he wasn't far off. Having been facing away from the entrance, Harry didn't see the two men enter but Gabrielle, looking over Harry's head did. Just then, the music ended and Gabrielle stopped their motion a bit too quickly for Harry's legs, which were simply too sluggish to catch up with the switch in pace. As a result, Harry literally tripped over his own feet and fell forwards. If he was more awake, he perhaps would have thought that it was a damn good thing that more people were not present but at that moment, his sluggish brain was just able to register the fact that the mistake may lead to a rather painful face-plant.

Fortunately, that rather embarrassing event never came to pass. Before Harry hit the floor, he felt his fall slow as he was enveloped in sudden warmth. When he realized it was a set of arms that were wrapped around him, he tensed for a brief moment.

"Shh." Gabrielle whispered, practically dragging Harry back up write as she clearly tried not to laugh. "It's ok, I've got you." Gabrielle promptly let go of Harry, just to step up beside him and wrap an arm around his shoulders, pulling him close to her as to steady him. There was a mischievous gleam in Gabrielle's eyes as she slowly began to guide Harry towards Flamel and Dumbledore, who both smirked briefly before righting their expressions. "I think you 'ave 'ad too much to think about tonight." Gabrielle said in a lightly teasing tone.

"Mmhm." Harry said absently, trying to keep his eyes from falling shut. "That and it's… I don't even know what time it is."

"Almost three, I believe." Gabrielle said just as they neared Dumbledore and Flamel. The Delacours had stood to join them now, and oddly, Harry noticed that Gabrielle's sister, Fleur, was glaring at him. Currently, he had nowhere near the mental capacity to deal with that problem, so he just let it wash over him meaninglessly.

When they finally reached the figures gathered near the exit of the ballroom, Harry had pretty much given up on the whole walking thing and was pretty much just leaning against Gabrielle and allowing her to gently drag him along. When they stopped, he was pretty sure she was the only thing supporting him at all, but if she minded, she didn't say anything. "You look as if the night has taken a great deal from you, Harry." Dumbledore said, the twinkle in his eyes on full blast.

"Mmhm." Harry repeated, nodding slightly. "I have no idea how she's so awake right now." He mumbled, slightly tilting his head towards Gabrielle.

"Likely the same way I and Nicholas are awake." Dumbledore said with a smile. "Jean too, I suppose." And it was true. Jean, who had looked half asleep a moment or two earlier, was now looking perfectly alert as he stood with his heiress and wife, who did not look overly happy to be awake once more. When Harry clearly didn't get it, Dumbledore smiled. "Occlumency, Harry."

Even in his bleary state, Harry's attention was caught, if only for a second. "That's possible?"

"It is." Dumbledore said with a small chuckle. "I do not actually believe that you are too far from potentially learning that skill, either. A few more months, perhaps." When Harry tried to sigh and wound up yawning, Dumbledore's smile widened. "Well, I believe we should take our leave." He turned to the Delacours. "Will the four of you be doing the same?"

"No," Jean said, "we will be staying the night 'ere, but we wished to inform Gabrielle of the fact before going off to bed."

Gabrielle nodded. "Thank you papa. I will be following you to sleep very soon. 'ave a good night."

"You as well, princess." Jean told his daughter fondly, leaving the room with Fleur and Apolline in tow. Harry was a bit confused as to why Gabrielle didn't follow, but then he realized that it may have been rude if she just stepped away and let him fall on his face.

"I will await you at the floo, Harry." Dumbledore said. "Say your goodbyes and meet me when you are ready." Flamel followed him out of the room and left Harry and Gabrielle alone once more in the vast ballroom.

Harry yawned and shook his head slowly, trying and partially succeeding to pull himself back fully to the land of the living. "Thanks for everything, Gabrielle." He said a bit awkwardly. He really needed to get better at this whole thanking people thing.

Gabrielle just rolled her eyes. "You are so nervous to say a simple thank you." She said, clearly amused. "Where is that famous Gryffindor courage?" As she said this, she smiled at Harry and surprised him by doing the absolute last thing he expected. Slowly stepping so that she was now in front of him, Gabrielle wrapped both arms around him once more, but this time it was obviously meant to do more than keep him upright. Again, as soon as the impulse to tense arose, an odd, soothing sensation seemed to fend it off, and Harry felt himself tentatively hugging the taller girl in return, allowing himself to relax into the embrace and enjoy the contact in a way that was not at all typical for him. When the two of them split apart, Gabrielle smiled at him. "See? Was it really that 'ard?"

Harry flushed. He had no answer for the question.

Gabrielle laughed, wrapping an arm around him once more as she began to lead him from the ballroom and into the entrance hall. "Just promise me one thing in return, 'arry?"

"Hmm?"

"You will write to me, yes?"

Harry couldn't help but smile. If he was more alert, perhaps he may have wondered why on earth somebody like Gabrielle would even want to keep correspondence with him. As it was, his mind was not that sharp at present, so he just went for a simple response. "Sure, Gabrielle. If you'd like."

The Present.

Longbottom Manor.

As a result of that late night, Harry not only slept much later than was typical, but he honestly found himself thoroughly exhausted. Exhausted enough, even, that he did not even have the capacity to lunge for his wand. When he realized it was Neville standing in his room, he also realized, rather swiftly at that, that Neville would not be going away anytime soon. Grumbling something along the lines of "be there soon" Harry very groggily slid out of bed and made his way over to the closet, dressing as swiftly and efficiently as he could be expected and making his way down to the sitting room, where the presents for both Harry and Neville were laid out under a rather splendid tree.

"Merry Christmas." Augusta greeted Harry with a knowing smile. "How did last night play out?"

Harry rubbed at his eyes as he answered. "Fairly well, I think. Let's talk about it more later, I really don't have the brainpower for that right now."

Augusta smiled knowingly. "Exhausting politics, or a late night?"

Harry grimaced. "Both." Augusta actually laughed lightly, joined in by an impatient looking Neville who was rather amused at his friend's plight nonetheless. After another moment, Augusta gestured for the two of them to bare down on their pile of gifts with a smile, and the two of them did just that.

The first gift that Harry opened was one sent by Lavender Brown. It was nothing much, just a package of Honeydukes chocolate, but Harry was appreciative nonetheless. Seamus Finnigan sent him some chocolate frogs, as did Fae Dunbar and Eloise Midgeon, his other yearmates in Gryffindor. Lavender was not the only surprise gift he received. He had not expected a gift from Tracey Davis, and was rather taken aback when she sent him a book that caused his eyebrows to raise in surprise.

A History of Parseltongue and Its Sacred Speakers.

Harry suddenly felt rather guilty about not getting anything for the Slytherin girl. He would have to ask Daphne what Tracey may be interested in before remedying that mistake. Speaking of Daphne, she had of course sent Harry a present, which wasn't overly surprising. Her gift, however, did pique his interest.

Ancient Runes and Their Applications In Warding: A Detailed Guide To A Sound and Subtle Defense.

Warding was something that Harry was aware of, but not something he understood too intricately. He thought that for now, the wards in the book may be beyond him, but he would certainly be looking at it anyways. Perhaps he was wrong and some of the basic runes could be drawn using rudimentary Elder Futhark? It was a stretch, but Harry was hopeful nonetheless. Seeing as he had bought Daphne a rather rare book on Charms, he thought the trade off between the two of them had been fair.

As had become a sort of tradition, Dean had opted for a hand drawn picture. This rendition actually made Harry laugh aloud. It was a stunningly accurate depiction of Harry, pulling up out of his death defying dive with the rogue bludger exploding in the background. Harry had an odd look on his face in the picture, which was brought into sharp relief by the explosion and Dean's shockingly lifelike representation. It was intense, almost like that of a wounded animal. Clearly, Dean had depicted the exact moment in which Harry had realized his plan had worked because it was clearly morphing into a look of sheer triumph. Privately, Harry thought that this was Dean's best work yet, something he would have to make clear when he saw him upon their arrival back at Hogwarts.

The Quidditch team had opted mostly for sweets and small trinkets, but Ron had gone a little bit more personalized. He had managed to scrape up enough galleons to buy Harry a poster of Puddlemere United, Harry's favourite team. Harry smiled at the image of Ron opening Harry's gift, something he was all in all rather proud of.

He had arranged for Ron to get a new wand. Granted, he would have to wait for his parents' return from Egypt a few days before the new term, but Harry had sent him a seven galleon voucher to Ollivander's. It just so happened that seven galleons was the exact price for a wand. That had taken some convincing in letters shared back and forth with Mrs. Weasley, but she had eventually relented.

Fred and George too had gone a bit more personalized. Harry had received some joke items, as was typical, though he laughed when many of them were customized so that their effects would be, in one way or another, manifested in Gryffindor red. That just happened to be the same colour that the paint had been that they had used against Snape at the Halloween feast.

Parvati had opted to get Harry a present as well, which would have surprised him a whole lot more a month and a half ago. With the way she had been slowly sliding into his life over the past six weeks, however, Harry couldn't say he was overly surprised. Inside the package was an absolutely stunning watch.

It was a positively splendid gold colour with the Gryffindor crest done in the center in what appeared to be rubies. Frankly, Harry was flabbergasted. He didn't even have a guess as to how much that cost. He could not for the life of him work out why Parvati and her family had spent so much on his Christmas gift. Her note explained nothing on the matter. The only things it contained were the typical holiday greetings and a question as to whether or not Harry had read her book from last year. Idly, he realized he had forgotten all about it. He couldn't even remember what the book had been about, and added it to his mental to-do list.

Finally, Harry only had three gifts left. This time, the elves had checked them all diligently, so he could be certain that none of them were from his mysterious "secret admirer". When he opened the first, his jaw fell open in a mix of shock, hysterical amusement and outright indignation. He wasn't sure whether to laugh, sigh, or scream.

Inside was a muggle contraption that Harry knew on sight. He was not surprised that the sender knew of it. In fact, it was perhaps the most typical thing he could imagine in regards to the crazed ex-auror. That and the note that was attached to the vest in the package.

Potter,

You haven't been writing to me complaining about your workouts, which clearly means they're getting too easy! If you're not complaining, then you're not doing enough, and we need you to be doing more than enough!

I hope you enjoy this weighted vest — might be my favourite muggle invention. It's customized a bit with magic, but that's the fun part. You'll never outgrow the thing, and I can promise that your workouts will never be too easy ever again thanks to old Mad-Eye. It'll start at 12 kilos, but you can adjust it easily. Just tap it with your wand and say "next level". Careful with that though, cause I may have forgotten to add a "level down" feature.

See you soon — you better be ready!

Moody

"Mental," Harry muttered with a shake of his head and an exasperated, intentionally dramatic sigh, "absolutely mental!" Augusta leaned over curiously, obviously interested in what had drawn that reaction from Harry. When she spotted the vest and the note, she laughed more uproariously than Harry had ever seen. Neville too was in fits, but that was only until Harry promised to put the vest on him in his sleep with a permanent sticking charm. That had shut him up quickly. When Augusta commented with complete seriousness that Neville should be doing the workouts with Harry, even going as far as to scold him for his laziness, Neville was well and truly no longer the one laughing.

As soon as Harry opened the second to last package, he knew exactly who it was from. Despite that, he quickly let his eyes roam over the note written in tall, looping handwriting, allowing his smile to widen with every word he read.

The Merriest of Christmases to you!

I have heard from Minerva that you have been near bored in her class, something I cannot allow to happen for any longer. As an avid addict of the beautiful art that is Transfiguration, I decided to do my part to assure that the subject bores you no longer!

Enclosed is a book very similar to the one I sent you last summer. The difference, as I am sure you have deduced, is that this journal discusses my personal theories and suggested practices and methods for Transfiguration as opposed to Occlumency. Between the two of us, I am rather more adept at Transfiguration than Occlumency, and I am very eager to see the leaps and bounds I expect from you in the former subject, as I am to see how quickly said leaps and bounds are made.

Enjoy your holidays and the wonders of family!

Yours truly,

Albus Dumbledore

"He never disappoints when it comes to magic." Harry noted, absently holding the book in his hands as if it were a priceless piece of art. Even in spite of her dislike of Dumbledore, Augusta too was grudgingly impressed, if suspicious, and Neville was blown away. After all, he didn't know about the Occlumency book, so to him, a handwritten book on magic from Dumbledore was every bit as mind blowing as it had been for Harry on his birthday.

Finally, there was only the gift from Neville and Augusta remaining. When Harry opened the package, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He hadn't known what to expect but if he had made a list of one hundred things, this would not have been on the list.

The Serpent's Tongue and Its Tantalizing Prospects.

Harry gaped at Augusta. When he had told her about his new found Parseltongue ability, she had shrugged it off. She had told him he should be proud. After all, it was a rare ability that would surely grant him advantages that other people would not have. In her mind, it was idiotic for people to condemn somebody for such a gift, and she had told him he was being just as idiotic for letting their words get to him. Now, resting in his hands in the form of this hulking, ancient looking tome was the physical manifestation of Augusta's words.

"Just to check," Augusta said carefully, "what is the title of the book?"

Harry blinked. "You… don't know?"

Augusta rolled her eyes. "Use your brain, Harry. Of course I don't know; it's written in Parseltongue!"

Harry frowned. "I… didn't know Parseltongue could even be written."

Augusta sighed before gracing Harry with an oddly fond, If mildly exasperated smile. "Well then, it seems that you have a lot of reading to do."

Later That Day.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Ginny peered at the entrance of the Great Hall, waiting for her victims to exit it. It had taken a fair bit of convincing on her part for Hermione to allow her to do this part alone, but she had gotten there in the end. Now, Hermione was out of the way, waiting in the lavatory with the potion. This would be far easier for Ginny if she was alone. As she stood in the corner safely under her disillusionment charm, she saw what she was looking for. At last, Crabbe and Goyle were exiting The Great Hall. Not wanting to make a scene in the Entrance Hall, Ginny pursued them, still invisible down to the dungeons. Only when she was sure that they were alone did she first aim her wand at Crabbe. She, or more specifically, Tom, had been practicing this spell for quite some time on her pet pixie, but it would be difficult with humans. Right before casting, she felt an odd shift as her mind went blissfully blank as thoughts and emotions that were not hers surged to the surface. Sure, these were humans but they were pathetic, weak willed humans with no chance of standing against her.

"Imperio."

Immediately, Crabbe froze as his posture straightened. Goyle whirled around as fast as he could but before he could do so much as move, Ginny had hit him too with the Imperius Curse. It was rather difficult to maintain the curse on two people and if the people in question had even an ounce more will power than these two idiots, Ginny may have failed. Luckily for her, these two had absolutely no resistance to the spell, so she simply instructed Crabbe to remove some of his hair and hide in a broom closet while she instructed Goyle to walk with her up to the lavatory. Of course, she was disillusioned once more as to not draw questions about why on earth Ginny Weasley was walking with Gregory Goyle. Eventually, they got to the lavatory, and Ginny told Goyle to wait outside. If Hermione's plan would have worked, this would have become a whole lot more complicated when she saw Gregory Goyle waiting. Fortunately, Ginny had examined the hair that Hermione had rested away from Millicent Bulstrode during the duelling club and, after a quick detection spell, she knew that it would not work.

Sure enough, the next number of minutes were spent with Hermione crying over being turned into a sort of cat/human hybrid. Ginny assured her that such things could be reversed and assured her that she could handle just fine on her own. If Hermione was not hidden in a stall, she may have seen the satisfied smirk on Ginny's face. As it was, the stall door between them made that impossible and by the time Ginny had gone through the most uncomfortable shift from her body to that of Vincent Crabbe, her face was blank.

Quickly, she exited the bathroom to find Gregory Goyle still waiting for her. "You will come with me down to the Slytherin common room." Ginny told him in a much deeper voice than normal as she conjured Slytherin robes over her now naked body. A few months ago, it may have bothered Ginny that she suddenly knew exactly how to get into the Slytherin common room, but now, the fact didn't even register. As a matter of fact, Ginny felt as if she was watching most of these occurrences from a third person perspective, almost. It was hard to explain, but it felt right, so Ginny did nothing to stop what was happening. "Once there," she continued, "you will subtly probe Draco Malfoy about anything he may know about the Chamber of Secrets, but you will act naturally while doing so. In particular, if it has been opened before and what happened when it was. Specifically, who, if anybody, was caught. Do you understand?" Goyle nodded dumbly, and the two hulking figures lumbered their way down to the Slytherin common room.

When they reached the blank stretch of wall that Ginny somehow knew led into the Slytherin common room, she swiftly commanded Goyle to give the password and the two of them entered. The room was mostly empty, which wasn't really all that surprising given the fact that in Ginny's years, most of Slytherin had gone home for the holidays.

'Wait?" Ginny thought idly. 'My years?"

Before that thought process could go any further, a blissful sort of feeling passed over Ginny's mind and she thought no more.

Mildly perturbed by Ginny's observation, Tom Riddle shifted completely into control with an internal sigh. He had come a long way during the school year but for all of Ginny Weasley's blissful ignorance and youthful foolishness, she was rather strong willed and she was not unintelligent. Tom supposed it was inevitable she was going to notice something if he influenced her mind as much as he had been doing tonight. It was a shame he would have to physically take over, for he had other things he would have liked to do tonight in her body. Now, this would likely use up the energy he had while controlling Ginny and that business would have to wait for another time. In the end, he supposed it was of no consequence. After all, those plans may even change. Tom unfortunately had no memories after the death of Myrtle Warren. As a result, he had no idea who took the fall for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, or if, in fact, he himself had been the one to take the fall. This was important information, for Tom's number one goal, at present, was to get Albus Dumbledore out of the castle. Then and only then could Tom act on his more pressing plans.

With this in mind, he, in control of Ginny's body, or Crabbe's, depending on how one viewed the situation, took a seat beside Goyle on a couch near the fire and directly across from Malfoy.

"It's about time the two of you got down here." Malfoy said with a sigh. Then, he smirked rather cruelly as he pulled something from his pocket. "Here — read this. It should give you a laugh." Internally, Tom cursed. He had no idea if he could communicate Imperius commands mentally. Well, "he" could, but when possessing Ginny… she did not quite have the magical memory for that spell. He had been left no choice but to force the spell quite intensely for it to even work, in spite of his uncertainty, Tom was thinking with all of his might his desire for Goyle to react naturally. Thankfully, the command must have worked, for Goyle snickered after finally finishing the article on Arthur Weasley's failed second attempt at raiding Malfoy Manor. Figuring Crabbe would react in the same way as Goyle, Tom too snickered.

"Thought so," Malfoy said, leaning forward and taking back the article, "seriously, the nerve of the blood traitor." He scoffed. "Like he would ever find anything. Like father wouldn't keep it all hidden away where the idiot could never hope to find it." He sighed. "Personally, I'm hoping whoever this Heir of Slytherin is manages to get one of the Weasleys before this is all over."

"You really don't know who it is?" Goyle asked. Tom felt some relief at the phrasing. The question had obviously been asked before, but the way Goyle asked it made it sound natural all the same. Maybe the Imperius was not as difficult while possessing Ginny as he had feared it might be.

Draco frowned glancing around the common room to assure that they were still alone. "I've told you, Goyle, I have no idea. If I did, I'd have sent them flowers by now." He paused. "Father did send me quite the interesting letter today though."

"What'd he say?" Tom asked, as curiosity got the best of him. He did his best to dumb down the question as best he could and hoped it was believable, judging by Draco's wide grin, it had been. Evidently, this boy was much like his grandfather had been. Full of a delusional sense of self importance as well as primed and ready to bask in any and all opportunities to show his superiority in any way he could. In this instance, it was clearly by revealing information that he thought was rather mind blowing. Tom had to resist the urge to smirk. It was so easy to play children, Slytherin or not.

"This isn't the first time the Chamber of Secrets has apparently been opened." Draco said in a hushed voice, a smirk spreading across his pale, pointed face as his grey eyes sparkled sinisterly in the fire light. Privately, Tom revilled at how childishly easy this whole thing had been. "It was opened fifty years ago," he continued, "at least, according to messages left behind by the supposed Heir." He scowled. "Wish I knew who did it though." He said, annoyed. "If I did, I could maybe figure out who was doing it this time!"

Tom felt a bubble of internal panic rising within him. He needed this information, the child had to know. "You dunno who opened it last time?" He asked. "Nobody was caught?"

"Oh yeah," Draco dismissed, his smirk returning, "somebody was caught, but they definitely didn't open the Chamber. The Heir got away with it."

Now, Riddle's heart raced in anticipation as he asked what he knew would be his final question for the night. "How do you know it wasn't them?"

Draco rolled his eyes, but he was clearly amused. "Well, do you think it was the oaf Hagrid who opened the Chamber?"

This time, Tom had to resist far more than a smirk. Hagrid had taken the fall? Hagrid? He applauded his past, or future, or whatever self for that accomplishment. Not only was it a positively brilliant frame job, but the fact was inarguably hysterical, and it was the perfect angle to take against Dumbledore. If things didn't calm down soon, surely Hagrid's protector would be removed. Then, if things continued, the stupid oaf would be next. That meant that Tom not only had a direct shot at removing Dumbledore, but it meant he had two people to take the fall before a true investigation even started.

This really was all far too easy.

December 26th 1992.

Longbottom Manor.

2:32 PM.

Harry sighed as he managed yet another of the fourth year Transfigurations. He had been in possession of Dumbledore's journal for one day, and already, he could feel the leaps his abilities in Transfiguration had taken. He could only imagine what the book would do for him in six months, or a year, or ten years. Now, he thought the fourth year curriculum in Transfiguration may be within his abilities to complete by February, let alone Easter. Soon, he would have to look into the vanishing spell. That bothered him. From what he knew about magical theory, making something disappear shouldn't even be that difficult. With that in mind, it was terribly annoying that Gabrielle had used what was probably a simple spell to best him in their little game. Of course, it was obvious that, at least for now, the older girl was miles ahead of him, so she would have bested him at some point. But still…

Before he could ponder anymore, Harry cried out and leapt about a foot into the air when a stinging hex slammed painfully into his rear end. In mid air he turned, firing off a stunner at top speed. The figure of Mad-Eye Moody batted the spell away easily, but he did raise an eyebrow. Before he asked whatever question he obviously wanted to, he roared at Harry, just as Harry knew he would. "CONSTANT VIGILANCE, POTTER!"

Harry sighed. "Good to see you too, sir."

Moody scowled, but in spite of himself, he had to break character. "That's another thing," he said, "stop calling me sir or I'm gonna put you six feet under in a hurry. Sir is for the useless politicians. It's Mad-Eye or Moody for now, you hear?" Harry nodded, crushing the impulse to answer with a "yes sir" and waiting for the man to go on. "Good," Moody Said gruffly, "now, you got that spell off pretty quick, Potter. Been working on that, have you?"

Harry pondered how much to tell him. "Uh… kind of?"

Moody snorted. "Drop the game, boy. I know you've been practicing Supplementary Occlumency." When Harry gaped at him, Moody fired another stinging hex. Harry dodged this one and glared back at him, but it got the desired effect of stopping him from gaping like a fish. "Stop that idiot act, Potter. I've been around for way too long. A lot of my detractors will say a lot of things about old Mad-Eye, but none of 'em will say that I don't know my stuff." He peered at Harry evaluatively. "So, when did you start learning Occlumency?"

Harry sighed, seeing no reason to lie. "Late first year." He answered honestly. "Well," he amended, "technically mid first year, but I didn't really start making progress until near the end."

Moody nodded stiffly. Anybody else would have been surprised, impressed, even. Anybody else may have said that he was too young to learn Occlumency or cautioned him against the practice. Not Moody though. He didn't show it, but Harry could tell that he approved. "How far in are you?"

Harry ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "I can defend my mind against weak probes." He started. "I can do it by imagining them physically forced out and willing it to happen." Moody nodded. "I'm working on clearing my mind while somebody is looking through it and I can obviously use Supplementary Occlumency, as you've figured out." He paused. "I can sort of do thought streams too, but I'm not that good at them yet."

Moody actually looked impressed. "That's a start." He said approvingly. "I suppose having a good teacher helps." When Harry looked confused, Moody chuckled. "Come on, Potter, I'm friends with old Albus and it was my job to put together mysterious puzzles. He's way too interested in you and you've suddenly made leaps and bounds in obscure sub skills of Occlumency?" He snorted. "Honestly, I'd give 'em back all my damned awards if I couldn't figure that one out."

Harry blushed. "Mad-Eye," he asked, since Moody sounded almost rude for some reason. When the man grunted in acknowledgement, Harry asked, "would you… uh, mind not telling Augusta? She's… not a huge fan of Dumbledore's, and I don't think she'd approve of him in my head."

Moody thought for only a second before nodding. "Don't worry, Potter." Moody told him. "I've kept my fair share of secrets over the years and I can keep this one too. Gus hasn't been Albus's biggest fan for years now, but he's doing too much damn good for you for me to run off and ruin that." He nodded, as if in affirmation. "Your secret's safe with me."

Harry frowned. "Do-do you know what she has against Dumbledore?"

As soon as he asked the question, Harry wished he hadn't. Moody's face darkened immediately and his posture stiffened. In spite of that, he did not get mad, he just sighed, suddenly looking as if the motion had aged him ten years. "I have a damn good idea," Moody admitted, "but if she hasn't told you, I won't be either." He shook his head. "If you want to know, you can ask her yourself."

Then, Moody's visage became a whole lot more business like. "Now!" He snapped. "I want fifty push-ups, now!" Harry stood there for a second, blown away by the ludicrously spontaneous request. When he had to dodge another stinging hex, he got the point, and he didn't ignore any of Moody's orders from that point forward as the psychopath led him through a rather torturous impromptu circuit. Finally, when Harry was breathing heavy and standing on shaky legs, Moody waved his wand and conjured a target. He didn't ask Harry to do anything, he just glared at him warningly, as if daring Harry not to be able to do it and find out what would happen.

Still breathing heavily, Harry took a few shaky steps closer to the target and took aim. Clearing his mind and thinking harder than he had ever thought before on the sole intent of the spell, he brought one, resounding word to the forefront of his thoughts.

'BOMBARDA!'

Instantly, a bolt of pure red energy left Harry's wand, seeming to sizzle in the air as it streaked towards its target. Then, as it made impact, a resounding bang rand through the room and the echo reverberated off of the walls as the spell reduced the target to nothing more than splinters. Harry blushed. "I… uh, haven't quite figured out the control thing non verbally. I… uh, sort of overpower it just to get it to-" but he trailed off. That fact didn't seem to have upset Moody at all.

On the contrary, the man was laughing, actually laughing! Harry had never seen Moody laugh like this, but he was doubled over, hands on his knees as he laughed uproariously. For an instant, Harry was seriously concerned for the man's mental stability. Then, as Moody straightened up and wiped a stray tear of mirth from his eye, he actually smiled broadly at Harry. Mind you, even the man's smile was terrifying, but Harry took it as a good sign nonetheless.

"Merlin's balls, Potter. Would you please shut up?" When Harry gaped, Moody didn't even fire a hex at him. This time, he laughed deeply once more before turning to Harry. "I admit, Potter, I didn't think there was a bleeding chance in hell you'd actually manage the blasting curse non verbally! I just wanted to scare you into seeing how close you could get and hopefully you'd learn a thing or two along the way." Then, Moody smirked viciously. "But that," he said, rubbing his hands together in ecstatic excitement, "that, I can work with!"

December 27th 1992.

Severus Snape's Personal Quarters.

1:43 AM.

Severus Snape awoke with a start in the darkness of his personal quarters that were just off of his office. This was not particularly unusual for the Hogwarts Potions Master. Snape often awoke in the middle of the night but on those occasions, it was usually from night terrors, and that only happened on particularly hectic nights when he had to focus his Occlumency on more pressing matters than suppressing dreams. Tonight, Snape had experienced no dreams, so it took him several seconds to realize why he was awake at all.

Then, two shocking revelations washed over him.

The first was that the wards that he placed on his office and potions stocks every night before turning in were no longer active. Even more worrying, they hadn't just been breached, they had been completely shattered! And second, Severus Snape was not in his bed. Instead, he was in a most uncomfortable kneeling position on the cold, hard floor.

Groggy and confused, Snape opened his eyes, which widened comically. Then, he blinked, not willing to believe what he was seeing. Turning inwards to his mind, Snape briefly checked that he wasn't dreaming.

He was not.

So why then, was he in a kneeling position, seemingly unable to move a muscle but clearly not under the full-body-bind? And more confusing, why was Ginevra Weasley standing in front of him with an almost teasing smirk on her face, twirling her wand absently between her fingers?

"Good evening, Professor." She greeted in a voice far too sweet and innocent.

"What is the meaning of-" Snape began, but he never finished, and he was both shocked and horrified at what came next.

"Crucio."

A wave of pure agony washed over Snape, agony that he had not felt in more than eleven years. He did not scream, but oh did he want to — did every fiber of his being want to. After about five seconds, the curse was lifted and Snape was left panting. He likely would have been shaking too, but whatever magic the Weasley girl, or more likely, whoever was impersonating her, had in place held him completely still.

"It's quite rude to interrupt, Professor." Ginny told him chidingly, actually going to the effort of putting her hands on her hips. "You should have waited until I gave you a chance to ask questions." She paused. When no interruption came she nodded. "Good boy," she said, smirking at the look of fury that contorted Snape's face as he fought the spell in vain and she reached down, going as far as to pat him mockingly on the head like a well behaved pet. "Now, do you have any questions?"

"Who are you and what is the meaning of this?" Snape snarled in fury. This could not be Ginevra Weasley! No first year had this kind of power! This was clearly wandless magic, and absurdly advanced, disgustingly powerful wandless magic at that. He had only felt similar magic from one other.

Ginny smiled. "I think you can see who I am very clearly, Professor." She told him. "As for the meaning…" Ginny reached into her robes and withdrew an oddly specific amount of boomslang skin and powdered bicorn horn. Snape's mind whirled. Not only was this the second time those ingredients had gone missing in the last three weeks, but they were oddly specific.

"So it was you then?" Snape hissed. "Brewing Polyjuice Potion." He sneered. "And you expect me to believe you are Ginevra-"

"Crucio."

This time, the spell was applied for longer and Snape couldn't help but scream. Fortunately for Ginny and ironically, very unfortunately for Snape, the Potions Master always warded his office and quarters against any sound from escaping out into the corridors. Conveniently, that ward had not been obliterated.

When Ginny lifted the curse, Snape was panting worse than ever. "I said, no interrupting." She said before smiling. "Anyhow, the meaning of this, Professor, is quite simple. These ingredients are pretty obvious. Once is a coincidence but twice…" she trailed off before shrugging. "I can't have you notice and start investigating," she said, sounding almost sympathetic. "I'm sorry, Professor, but I really only have one option." And then, before Snape could do so much as tense or widen his eyes, her wand was aimed at him once more. This time, he did not feel the agony of the Cruciatus curse. Instead, he heard one word before his mind went completely and blissfully blank.

"Obliviate."

Author's Endnote:

Well, things are beginning to pick up and the plot is starting to form, even though you guys may not be able to see all of it yet.

Things are going to get crazy soon enough, so prepare yourselves for the chaos that is to come some time not too far in the future. On that note, I will unfortunately not be posting next Sunday. I have reached the part of the year where I am not comfortable posting unless I am several chapters ahead, which I currently am not. I was supposed to get ahead this week, but I had some rather personal matters to attend to that kept me away from writing. I do apologize for this inconvenience, but it will only be a one week break so I can get further ahead and assure that the quality stays up to par.

With that being said, I will be posting chapters early on my Discord, and two of them will probably be up at least before I post the next chapter on here, so feel free to join the server i fyou would like.

Please read and review.

PS: The next chapter will be posted on Sunday, June 21st 2020 at approximately 3:00 PM EST.