PREVIOUSLY ON… HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT

"Expelliarmus!" Harry heard someone exclaim and right before his eyes, Mulciber's wand flew out of his hand. Harry followed the wand's path and saw Marcus Flint catch it effortlessly. "Alright, that's enough Mulciber, Rosier. Leave them alone." Mulciber didn't move and Flint pointed his wand at him. "Now," He threatened in a whisper.

Mulciber sneered at the prefect. "You're going to regret this, blood traitor."

"I'm sure I will," He drawled sarcastically.

…

"It's my job to win this, otherwise Malfoy will keep the top spot for another month."

"Do you really think it will be that close? You are still beating him."

"Yes, I know. But I also thought I was beating him last month and look how that turned out. I'm not taking any chances here. We don't know if Malfoy is doing something behind our backs that is giving him extra points. We don't know if he has schemes or plans or anything. I'm not risking it, I don't want to rest until I have those study guides in my hands."

CHAPTER 8: HALLOWEEN

"Lily, it's him! I'll hold him off. Take Noah and Harry and go!" He started to move past his wife, but she stopped him.

"NO! James! Please, no!" She pleaded.

"Lily, just go!" He managed to shake off her grip and rushed downstairs.

BAM!

James was thrown back by the force of the explosion and landed on his back before he watched in horror how Lord Voldemort confidently strode into the house.

"Ah, James," Voldemort stated conceitedly as James stood up. "How are you, old friend?"

"I'll be better once you're dead," James growled.

"It's not polite to threaten your guests, James." Voldemort chided. "And besides, it's not wise to do so when you don't even have a wand."

James' eyes widened as he realized that he had left his wand in the living room earlier in the night. He looked into the living room and sure enough, his wand on the arm of the couch. James glanced back at Voldemort and then once again at the living room. Fuck it! He thought just before leaping over the rail of the stairs.

Unfortunately, Voldemort saw this coming.

Almost lazily, Voldemort flicked his wand and cast a white jet that hit James mid-air, causing him to crash violently onto the hall floor.

"I didn't say you could leave!" Voldemort said patronizingly as he smirked down at James's petrified body. "Why don't we go upstairs? It would be rude to keep Lily waiting."

DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE! Was what James wanted to shout, but he was unable to. He wanted to scream, to resist, to fight, to do anything. But he couldn't; he was utterly helpless to do anything but watch as Voldemort levitated him up the stairs to where his wife and sons were hiding.

BAM!

"Please," James was forced to watch as Lily pleaded. "Please, not my sons. Take me! Kill me! Please!"

"Unfortunately, I can't do that," Voldemort said before slashing his wand, throwing Lily across the room, and pinning her to the wall beside James's petrified body. "I'm afraid I made a promise to not kill you." He shot her a vile grin. "However, that doesn't mean I can't make you watch as I kill your sons and husband."

"NO!" Lily gave an agonizing scream before she was silenced by Voldemort.

"Pettigrew!" James' eyes widened as Voldemort spoke these words and suddenly Peter appeared right in front of him.

No... Peter was their friend. Sirius betrayed them, not Peter. Peter would never do that, James thought to himself. All of those thoughts died the moment that Peter Pettigrew shot him and Lily the most vicious smirk he had ever seen on his friend's face.

Master Bedroom, Potter Manor

October 31, 1991

3:37 a.m.

James sat up in an instant, panting heavily as sweat trickled down his forehead. It was just a dream. Just a nightmare. It had felt so real though. But it had to be a nightmare… right?

Sirius had been the secret-keeper - he was the one who told You-Know-Who about their location. It was because of Sirius that James and his family nearly died. There's no way that Peter was also a Death Eater. Peter was his closest friend and had been for the past ten years. He had been his confidant, the unofficial godfather to his sons (and the official one to his daughter), the only Marauder that had stuck with him after everything.

"James?" Lily asked with concern as she gently grabbed his hand.

No, there was no way Peter was a Death Eater, and there was no way that nightmare was real. He would have remembered something this big. He was getting paranoid, the multiple betrayals he had faced over the years were finally getting to him and making him unreasonable. That's it.

"I'm fine, Lils." He squeezed her hand and shot her a reassuring smile. "It was just a nightmare."

Transfiguration Classroom

3:50 p.m.

If Harry had to choose the day he hated the most out of the whole year, the answer would be extremely easy. He wouldn't even have to think about it: the answer would come to him before the question was even finished.

Halloween.

At this point, Harry was surprised that Halloween hadn't been changed to Noah Potter Day, and he was sure that if it didn't get changed during Noah's lifetime, it would definitely get changed after he died. Because that was exactly what October 31st was; freaking Noah bloody Potter day.

Ever since he could remember, Halloween was the day where the whole world fawned all over his brother, worshipping the ground he walked on as if he was Merlin re-incarnate. They even had that bloody Victory Ball every Halloween at the Ministry, and Harry was eternally grateful that he couldn't be forced to attend it now that he was at Hogwarts. He couldn't stand all the people genuflecting to Noah, thanking him for his 'services,' and giving him hundreds of gifts that he ended up lording over Harry.

It was absurd! Harry could never understand why the wizarding world would bend over backwards just to worship what was essentially a normal kid. No one knew what happened that night - not even his parents were able to accurately describe it - and yet everyone treated Noah as if he was the Messiah. Even the bloody Minister of Magic did everything he could to talk to Noah and get a picture with him during the stupid balls.

It also didn't help that during Noah Potter Day, Harry Potter suddenly didn't exist. Not that he ever existed to the public - he had met people who were actually unaware that Noah Potter had a twin. He wasn't even mentioned in any of the books that talked about Noah's 'defeat' of Voldemort. Harry didn't care, of course, that he didn't have every stranger on their knees venerating him for something he did as a baby. He knew he was a better wizard than Noah. One day, everyone else was going to realize that - he would make sure of it.

However, Harry would be lying if he said he didn't hate how his parents behaved with Noah during Halloween. They were almost as bad as the other obsessed groupies, spoiling him at every turn, doing every single thing Noah asked of them.

Mum, I want a chocolate frog.

Yes, son.

Dad, I want a new Nimbus 2000.

Yes, son.

Mum, I want the whole Zonko's business.

Yes, son.

Dad, I want the Minister to come here and lick the dirt off my shoes.

Yes, son.

Alright, it wasn't that bad. But it was close!

Noah became their whole world; it seemed as if Noah would die the next day and they were making sure that he had everything he wanted. Meanwhile, Harry was put aside as nothing more than an afterthought, something that didn't require their attention. He usually spent those days in his room in solitude, reading, or just alone with his thoughts. It was the only day that Seepy actually let him eat in there and even brought him food. And those were the lucky days; on the unlucky days, he would be forced to come downstairs and spend quality time with his dear brother. It was on those days that Harry considered if it would be better to stay at the Manor or join the dementors in Azkaban. And it was during the nights at the Victory Ball that the dementors actually seemed more appealing than his home.

Unfortunately, Hogwarts wasn't the idealistic escape he longed for. Long gone were the days where Noah was hated by every Gryffindor and forced to be a pariah. Once again, Noah Potter was on top, being worshipped by everyone for his brave and noble and incredible actions of sleeping in a dirty diaper while some dark wanker messed up a spell, blew himself up, and gave him a scar. All the boys were cheering him on and the girls were fluttering their eyelashes at him, some even giving him kisses on the cheek to show their gratitude.

The only thing between Noah and hundreds of betrothal contracts was the fact that the Potters no longer participated in such a barbaric tradition. Maybe I should change that when I become the Head of House Potter, have Noah deal with the hundreds of requests until he goes insane and is forced to spend the rest of his life in the permanent ward of St Mungo's. Now that's something to consider. A smile crossed his features as he was lost in his daydream.

"Mister Potter," Professor McGonagall broke him out of his musings, her disapproval clear in the way her lips had completely disappeared. "I'm happy to see that the transfiguration alphabet is incredibly amusing to you."

"What can I say, Professor? Transfiguration is my passion." Harry deadpanned.

"Since you are so passionate about it, you wouldn't mind having to write eighteen inches on the importance of the transfiguration alphabet and how it can be applied in the everyday life?"

"Eighteen inches? Sure." He shrugged.

McGonagall didn't seem amused. "Make that twenty-four, Potter. By Monday."

"Well, at least now I have plans for the weekend." He gave her a bitter smile before Hermione elbowed him in the ribs roughly.

Harry grunted in pain and looked at Hermione for an explanation, but she just stared ahead as if nothing had happened while McGonagall continued her lesson. As soon as the bell rang, Hermione immediately dragged him out of the classroom before anyone else could even pack their stuff.

"What is wrong with you today?" She hissed at him as they walked through the hallways. "You've barely paid attention, and you haven't even opened your book bag all day. Every time a teacher points this out or asks you a question, you've been disrespectful and you haven't done any of the classwork! And now, you have extra Herbology and Transfiguration homework for the weekend because you're acting like a stupid Gryffindor!"

"Hermione, just drop this. I'm fine," He said harshly.

Hermione stopped in her tracks and forced him to stay with her. "Tell me what's wrong, Harry," She said softly.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

She huffed and let go of his arm. "Fine, if that's how you want to play it, then so be it." She started walking ahead without him. "Just don't expect me to help you until you start acting like yourself instead of like your brother."

Harry scoffed but let her walk ahead. The last thing he wanted right now was to take out his problems on his best friend while in the heat of the moment. He knew that she was right and that he needed to get his head out of his arse, but the only thing he wanted to do right now was to lock himself up somewhere and sulk. Harry sighed. Dealing with an angry Hermione wouldn't help at all, but at this point, he would just have to suck it up until the end of the day.

When he sensed that Hermione was far enough away, he continued walking towards the Charms classroom, only to nearly bump into Noah and Ron just before he arrived. The two were talking conspiratorially before they saw him.

"What do you want, snake?" Ron spat.

"Just going to class, Ronniekins," Harry answered lightly. "Shouldn't you two be doing the same?"

Both glared at him before walking ahead, but not before Noah roughly bumped his shoulder as he made his way past Harry.

He watched as the two turned the corner with narrowed eyes. Noah and Ron were as subtle as a Hippogriff inside a broom closet, so it was blatantly obvious that they were hiding something. While Harry really didn't want to deal with his brother today, he couldn't deny that he was way too interested in whatever they were talking about to let this go. He quietly and quickly followed them around the corner only to see the two of them enter the first empty classroom in the hallway. Pressing his ear to the door, he began listening in.

"Just going to class, Ronniekins," Noah spat. "Merlin, I hate him! He's so bloody full of himself it's a wonder his head fits in the Great Hall."

"It sucks that we can't bloody do anything to him. Stupid Fred and George! Who do they think they are? Threatening to hold the map hostage if we retaliate!"

"I swear, as soon as we're out of school and he doesn't have his snakes with him we'll make him pay. The coward will probably be too scared to do anything."

"That's still months away!"

"Just a month and a half," Noah said, slightly bitter. "Anyways, what did Fred and George tell you? How did last night go?"

"It didn't work," Ron said glumly. "Apparently the Cerberus is magic resistant so the spells did nothing to it."

A Cerberus!? What the bloody hell are Noah and Ron doing that they have to deal with a Cerberus!?

"Do they have any other ideas? We need to get past it to see what's under the trapdoor!"

Trapdoor, what trapdoor?

"They said they have a couple of backup plans but it's going to take a while. They're going to work on it during the winter break which means that by January we should be able to see if they work."

"I just really want to know what's down there," Noah grumbled to himself. "What do you think Dumbledore's hiding?"

"Gold, lots of it. I'm sure."

"Really? But why do you think he's hiding it here instead of putting it in Gringotts?"

"Maybe he doesn't trust Gringotts anymore. Didn't you hear about the break-in?"

"There was a break-in at Gringotts?" Noah asked incredulously.

"Yeah. Dad told me it happened at the end of July. Apparently, the whole Ministry went mad about it, it's the first time someone's broken in at Gringotts and manage to escape. The Ministry wanted to help with the investigation but dad told me the goblins weren't letting them. Didn't your dad tell you? I think he would be one of the ones in the investigation, given how he's an Auror and all."

"Dad doesn't like to talk about work," Noah said dejectedly. "I've tried to get him to tell me all of his cool stories about him being an Auror and getting the bad guys but he always shuts me down. For some reason, he doesn't want to tell anyone about work, not even Mum."

"Oh -" Ron said dumbly. "Well, what do you think is down there?"

"I bet it's some extremely powerful magical artifact." Noah gushed.

Harry had heard enough by this point. He stepped back and began walking away before either Gryffindor decided to leave the room and caught him. His mind was still reeling from everything that he had heard.

So Noah and Ron are working with the twins, and they have a map of some sort. I'll have to research that, it sounds like something extremely useful. Also, what's with Fred and George telling them to leave me alone - that doesn't make any sense. Anyways, more of a reason for me to stay at Hogwarts during the holidays, I really don't want to spend them with Noah and Ron being their usual selves. But what is this trapdoor? And how does a Cerberus come into play? It couldn't be here at Hogwarts… right? You'd have to be brain-dead to think that putting a Cerberus in a school full of kids could be a good idea. But based on how Noah and Ron were talking, I can't think of another option. So where is it? What is it hiding?

Harry paused.

No. Surely Dumbledore wouldn't put a freaking Cerberus inside the school and then tell everyone where it is!? Who am I kidding? Of course, he would! Why the bloody hell would he not!?

He was getting a headache just thinking about this. He needed more time to process everything, he needed to think, to plan.

Should I try to get past the Cerberus? Noah's probably right, Dumbledore is most likely hiding a powerful magical artifact there. I'll need to research all of Dumbledore's accomplishments and contributions and see if it's worth it. I also need to research more about Cerberi to see if there's any way I can get past them. For now, I think it would be best to just keep tabs on those four and see what they're doing. As much as I love my dear brother, it's probably best I make sure the idiot doesn't get himself killed. Who knows, if he did my parents will probably resent me for it.

Harry scoffed at those thoughts and how true they probably were before picking up the pace. He was about to be late for class, something he knew would make Hermione even angrier than she was at the moment.

Should I tell her about this? Nope, I'd like to live until at least 120, and telling Hermione I'm considering trying to get past a Cerberus is the surest way for her to kill me. What was I thinking? "Oh, hey, Hermione? Studying? I can't today, I'm going to try and get past a Cerberus so that I can enter a trapdoor that is, presumably, at its feet. I'll see you at dinner, though." Halloween really must be driving me mental if I ever thought that was a good idea.

Ministry Ballroom
9:10 p.m.

James watched as the Minister walked away and barely managed not to scowl. As much as he hated the Victory Ball it was expected of him to appear every year with a pleased smile on his face when what he really wanted to do was hole himself inside his house with his wife in his arms and make sure his children were safe and that Noah was happy. With everything that will end up happening, that's the least he could do for his son.

Halloween always brought him bad memories, which was no surprise really, given how close he had come to losing everything on that fateful night. It was the night that his sons and wife were nearly murdered by Voldemort, the day that he had discovered Sirius's betrayal. Even the other three Halloweens after Hogwarts when the war was at its highest point were filled with death, betrayal, and misery.

What he wouldn't give to go back in time. He could change so much, prevent many of his mistakes, save his fallen friends.

Halloween shouldn't be a day of celebration, it should be a day of mourning.

"There you are," James heard someone exclaim brightly before a hand slapped him on the arm. "James, old friend. It's been too long."

James smiled despite himself. "It has indeed," He turned around and looked at his best friend. "How've you been, Peter? Work isn't too boring, I hope?"

Peter Pettigrew had changed quite a bit over the years. Long gone was the chubby, pale boy who followed the other three Marauders around like a lost puppy. He had aged like a fine wine, standing proudly with a lean, slightly muscular body, and a tanned complexion. It was clear that he took good care of himself and he didn't have to look around to know that a few witches were keeping their eyes on him.

Peter threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, you know. The usual. Some of us have to do the tedious work so that the richy rich can live as happily as you do." Peter gave him a genuine smile before bringing him in for a hug. "It's good to see you, old friend."

"It's good to see you too. How long has it been? Almost three months?"

"Four months" Peter replied as he stepped back from him and led them towards the bar where the drinks were being served.

"Oh, that's right! Just before you went on your yearly trip to Mexico? How was it?"

"The usual," He replied vaguely before ordering drinks for the two of them.

"Did you get lucky?" James bumped his shoulder and waggled his eyebrows.

"You know what they say, James. What happens in Cancun stays in Cancun." He smirked at him.

"Oh, come on! You can't just tease me like that and leave me in the dark!" James mock-glared at Peter. "Spill, Pettigrew, or I'll make up some charges to arrest you and interrogate you with Veritaserum." He kept the stern facade for a couple of moments before dropping it and laughing.

"I'm not one to kiss and tell, James."

"Yeah, right. I'm sure it didn't go past a few kisses. Come on, at least tell me how many."

"Guess."

"Alright, one." Peter shook his head. "Two."

"Nope."

"Four?"

"A little higher."

"Five!?" Peter smirked but said nothing else. "Merlin, Peter! You're worse than a teenager!"

"It's just a bit of fun, James." Peter waved him off. "It's not like I'm hurting anyone. Well," He added impishly. "Not unless they want me to."

Both friends laughed at that before James turned serious. "How long do you plan on doing this? The whole playboy thing you've been doing for the past eight years? You know I hate to be the one to spoil the fun, but when are you thinking of settling down? Find a Mrs Pettigrew, have a couple of kids, and spoil them rotten."

"I don't know." He shrugged. "The whole perfect wife, perfect kids, perfect life - it's your gig. That life is not really for me. While you like to live in the spotlight, I'm happy just being under the radar. I may not be living as lavishly as you are but I'm fine with what I have."

"That's bullshit, and you know it! You're wasting your talents being an obliviator! You've been offered promotions more times than I can count! You could even be an Auror if you wanted to!" James sighed. "Look, Peter. I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, Merlin knows I've made more than a few mistakes in mine. Just remember who it was that was telling us to grow up back when we were at Hogwarts."

Peter looked reluctant for a couple of seconds before relenting. "Fine, fine. I'll think it over. I promise."

"That's all I ask." James took another sip of his glass. "Have you seen your goddaughter? I know she's been missing you."

"Yeah, I was there with her and Lily just before I found you."

"You didn't happen to give Jas another one of your infamous 'I'm sorry I haven't seen you in months' gifts, now would you?" James raised his eyebrows at him.

"Of course I did, James. How else would I win her affection." Peter chuckled a little at that. "Where are the other two menaces? I haven't seen them tonight."

"Well, Noah got himself caught out in the castle during midnight the same day McGonagall, allowed him to play on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team…"

"Really?" Peter breathed out. "But he's just a first-year and - oh," He started sniggering. "Yeah, McGonagall would not be pleased. Where did you bury the body? I'd like to pay my respects to him tomorrow."

"No, nothing like that." James laughed. "I'm sure it was close but thankfully he's still in one piece. In the end, McGonagall removed his permission to play and basically removed all of the points Gryffindor had amassed during the first week and a half."

"Oh, dear."

"Yeah, I'm sure he wasn't the most popular kid there for a while. Remember when we lost ten thousand points because of our little prank at those Slytherins and everyone hated us for the rest of the year?"

"Little prank?" Peter asked seriously. "Are you talking about when we snuck into the Slytherin common room during midnight while using Polyjuice before stupefying everyone and changing the dorm rooms and the common room so that they looked like the ones from Gryffindor tower, changed the students' robes so that they were wearing the Gryffindor color and insignia, and used those complex locking spells we created to lock the Slytherins in right after warding the inside of each dormitory so that no one - not even house-elves - could apparate inside?"

"Yeah," James smirked. "Like I said. Little prank."

"James, they were locked inside for over a day! Dumbledore had to go himself so that he could get them out because no other teacher could!"

"It wasn't a big deal, okay." James waved him off. "Besides, Dumbledore got them out in the end. No harm, no foul. It was a harmless prank."

Peter mumbled something that James couldn't catch before he looked at him. "So I assume McGonagall didn't give him permission to come here?"

"Nope, she's still pissed at him. It won't last long though, I'm sure that by next year he'll be back on the team. We both know how much McGonagall wants Gryffindor to win."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. What about Harry? Why isn't he here?"

James' face turned serious and he sighed. "Harry and I aren't on the best terms right now. Lils and I sent him a letter three days ago asking if he wanted to come and he declined, though he didn't forget to remind us that there was no way that either I or Lily could legally force him to leave the school if he didn't want to."

"I take it that not everything is great between the two of you?"

"No. I just didn't realize how distanced the two of us were until he got sorted into Slytherin. From what I can tell, he wants nothing to do with me, Lily, or even Noah right now."

"I'm sure everything will turn out fine," Peter reassured him. "You know how kids are, he'll come around." He paused and studied his face. "How are you doing? I know that Halloweens are tough on you and Lily."

"Eh," James shrugged almost helplessly. "I'm hanging on. It's the usual really. I'm used to it. Although…" He trailed off.

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything, right?"

"I know, I know. It's just… I had a nightmare. It was the usual really, the one I always have around these days. Except that the end was different. For some reason, V-V- You-Know-Who… he said your name?"

"My name?" Peter choked out.

"Yeah. He called out to you and you appeared by his side as if you were his follower. It's stupid, I know, but it felt so real, it threw me for a loop. I dunno, I think it was just the stress, you know? With it being Halloween and the stress of the job, and after everything with… well, with him, I think the paranoia is finally getting to me. Maybe I should go see a mind healer."

"Yeah," Peter said, looking a little startled which surprised James but he shrugged it off as concern from his friend. "Yeah, I think you should go see a mind healer. It's completely normal, James. Even I have monthly meetings with one. It just helps with everything, if you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed. You know that Lily and I are here and will support you no matter what, right?"

"Of course I know, Peter." James smiled at his best friend. "Thank you. After everything that happened you're the only one, excluding Lily, who stayed by my side. Thank you, Peter."

"Don't mention it, James." Peter mirrored his expression. "Anything for a friend."

Great Hall

9:40 p.m.

Harry sat glumly in the Great Hall beside Hermione as he played with his dessert. Hermione had been giving him the cold shoulder ever since their argument in the hallways and that didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. All the other Slytherins seemed happy to just let him bask in his misery.

As he looked around, his eyes lingered on the head table. It was emptier than usual, with Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout attending the Victory Ball, it looked incomplete. And yet, since it was the Halloween feast they couldn't leave on their own, instead, they would have to leave as a house with the prefects leading them. Thankfully the wait wasn't long now as curfew was nearing, he would finally get to be alone after being forced to spend all day surrounded by his peers.

Exactly ten minutes before curfew Snape dismissed all of them and instructed the prefects to make sure that there was no student left outside before he walked away through the side door that led towards the staff's living quarters.

The prefects gathered the students before leading them out of the Great Hall, with the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs going right while the Slytherins and Ravenclaws headed left. Soon enough the Ravenclaws went upstairs towards their tower while the Slytherins continued on the trail towards the dungeons.

As they were nearing the common room, the corridor was suddenly flooded with a horrible smell and he wasn't the only one as pretty much every Slytherin groaned in disgust.

"Ugh! Who let one rip?"

"It was Montague, his farts always smell like this."

"Was not, it was probably you, Bletchley. Merlin knows your farts are worse than ten-day-old corpses."

"You're all disgusting." A fourth-year girl cried out. "Whoever did this I'm hexing you so - ugh" She was cut off and suddenly Harry found out why as he crashed against the second year who was in front of him.

Harry tried to look ahead to see why everyone suddenly had stopped only to freeze. Right on the other side of the hallway, there were two, twelve-foot mountain trolls, each with what looked like giant wooden clubs.

"RUN!" Parkinson suddenly screeched, displaying the true self-preservation of a Slytherin by getting the attention of the two trolls.

Before he knew it, Harry was being trampled by the dozens of Slytherins who were trying to escape the two trolls who were walking towards them in what Harry assumed would be the equivalent of a troll's power-walk.

He felt someone grab his arm and roughly pull him. "Come on, Harry!" He heard Hermione scream as she dragged him behind her while the other students were fighting each other to get ahead. Harry began running but the two of them were getting pushed back by the other older students before one of them grabbed Harry from the back and pushed him forwards.

"Don't you dare die on me, Potter!" Flint snarled as they continued running. "You still owe me that favour."

Harry turned to look back to see how close the trolls were behind them before his heart suddenly skipped a beat. For Harry had seen that Theodore Nott had not moved at all, instead, he just stood there completely paralyzed as the other trolls went straight towards him.

"Stop! We need to go back!" Harry screamed.

"NO!" Both Flint and Hermione snapped and tightened their grip on him.

Bloody hell, why did I have to be James freaking Potter's son! Harry mentally screamed at himself before suddenly stopping, shaking both Flint and Hermione off, and dashing towards Nott.

"Harry!" He heard Hermione cry out to him but he didn't stop or look back, his mind solely focused on reaching Nott before the trolls did. He ran faster than he'd ever run before and he could feel his head pulsating at the rhythm of his thundering heartbeat. He managed to reach him barely before one of the trolls did and he immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the way.

"Come on!" He shouted and at that moment, the troll had slammed his club right where Nott had been standing. Harry turned around and started pulling the Slytherin boy behind him only to see Hermione and Flint running towards him.

Flint launched a series of spells at the trolls, managing to slow their approach by a little but clearly not doing much damage as Harry and Nott ran towards the two of them.

"We have to go!" Hermione shrieked as she took hold of Harry's arm with both hands.

"You three, run ahead! I'll try to slow them down!" Flint commanded but taking one look at the trolls it was obvious the spells were barely doing anything and wouldn't slow them down much.

"Oh, don't worry." A vile voice called out, giving Harry chills. "You're not going anywhere." Harry's head snapped towards the end of the Hall where he saw Rosier, Mulciber, and two other sixth years flanking them.

It had to be bloody Halloween, didn't it? Nothing can go bloody right on this bloody day!

"You know, Mulciber, you're becoming a big annoyance lately," Flint remarked bitterly as he continued sending a barrage of spells against the trolls while at the same time slowly backing up and forcing them to do the same.

"I'm sure that'll stop when you're dead. Reducto!" He cried out and Flint barely managed to duck out of the way before the curse flew past where his head had been.

"You three deal with them! I'll distract the trolls!" Flint commanded.

"Sure, Flint! Anything else? Three first-years against four sixth-years! Why not put us up against a group of Death Eaters instead!" Harry snapped at Flint before quickly pointing his wand towards Rosier. "Expelliarmus!" He shouted but the older boy easily managed to block the spell.

"Do you want to trade, Potter!" Flint bit back and when Harry didn't respond he pointed his wand at himself before suddenly two copies of him ran out of his body and towards each troll, running around them in circles and sending out sparks at them to distract them. "I won't be able to hold this for long!" He shouted as he continued launching more spells at the trolls.

Harry watched in amazement before he was suddenly pulled by Hermione out of the way of an incoming spell. "Right," Harry said to himself. "Bad guys. Stupefy! Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy!" Harry, Hermione, and Nott continued sending a flurry of spells at them but the older students blocked them with ease as they laughed cruelly while slowly walking towards them.

"Aw, the firstie blood traitor and his mudblood know a couple of spells." The sixth-year girl flanking Rosier mocked. "How adorable."

"Isn't it? They think just because they've been studying defensive spells that they can beat us." All the older students laughed as they continued moving forward while blocking everything the three of them were sending

"Why are you standing with the blood traitors and mudblood filth, Nott?" Rosier enquired. "You come from a noble family that's always been on the right side, why are you fighting with them? Join us and we'll let you live."

"Over my dead body!" Nott shouted without hesitation.

"Well," The other sixth year drawled. "Since you asked nicely. Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light flew over to Nott from the boy's wand and Harry quickly grabbed Nott and threw them both flat to the ground, just managing to avoid the spell that flew past them and hit one of the trolls on the leg. As soon as it did, the creature dropped backwards, crashing on the ground with a loud noise that Harry was sure could be heard all throughout the castle.

Harry immediately got to his feet and continued sending a barrage of stunning and disarming charms alongside Hermione, not wanting to give the others time to send another spell at them. It wasn't more than a couple of seconds before Harry's eyes widened as another troll turned the corner and started walking towards the oblivious sixth years.

"Stupefy!" Harry exclaimed, aiming his wand not at the older Slytherins, but at the troll's head. The spell hit its mark and did exactly what Harry wanted it to, it riled the troll up and caused it to speed up his pace.

"Oi, Potter! You missed!" Mulciber and the others laughed without stopping the constant shield charms.

"I have to say, Mulciber. It was a bit embarrassing that a first-year beat you all those weeks ago. Now it's going to be even more embarrassing that it happened for a second time." Harry goaded.

"Filthy blood-traitor! Confringo!"

"Protego!" Both Harry and Hermione shouted in unison, creating a shield over them that blocked the spell just before it was supposed to hit Harry. However, their shield was still weak so when the spell hit it, it exploded, sending Harry and Hermione backwards to land roughly on their backs.

"Any last words, Mudblood?" Rosier sneered at Hermione.

"Yeah," She smirked at them. "I hope that hurts."

"Wha-" Rosier was cut-off when he and the girl beside him were suddenly flung across the hallway when the troll swung its club at them.

The other two Slytherins quickly turned to the troll and Harry, Hermione, and Nott used this as their chance.

"EXPELLIARMUS!" The three of them exclaimed and incidentally, the three of them had their wands trained on Mulciber. Almost in unison, the three spells hit the boy sending him flying before he crashed against the wall with multiple audible cracks that made the three-first years wince.

"A-Avada Kedavra!" The last boy stammered at the troll and once again, a flash of green light left his wand and hit the troll, who, unfortunately for the sixth year, fell forwards on top of the boy. He gave out an agonizing scream of pain only to fall silent seconds later.

Harry, Hermione, and Nott took a moment to catch their breath before their peaceful moment was interrupted. "Guys! A hand here!" Flint shouted at them and Harry shot up back in alarm. The clones were now gone and the last troll was zeroing in on Flint.

"Use the spell the other boy used!" Harry shouted at Flint.

"Are you kidding!? I'm not using an unforgivable! The ministry doesn't care if you use it for self-defense or to save your own life against something like a troll, they send you to Azkaban for life either way!"

"WELL THEN WHAT CAN WE DO!?" Harry exclaimed before helping Flint out by sending a series of spells at the troll.

"THE CLUB!" Hermione suddenly shouted before aiming her wand at the object. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione levitated the spell out of the troll's hand and raised it onto the roof before letting it drop on its head. It crashed with a loud crack, the troll started staggering aimlessly before falling on its back.

The resounding boom was met with a complete silence before suddenly Flint chuckled. The chuckle quickly turned into a full out howl of laughter from the fifth year. "Oh, Granger. You're brilliant. So simple but brilliant!" He laughed even harder at that. "Next time you deal with the trolls."

"I'd rather there not be a next time." Hermione huffed before dropping to the ground and sitting with her back to the wall and her legs extended out. Harry and Nott quickly sat beside her, not being able to stand on their feet anymore.

"You never know." Flint shrugged, still chuckling as he made his way to the other Slytherins. He crouched and pointed his wand at their temple before whispering a spell. He repeated the process with the other three before slumping down on the ground and panting heavily.

"What did you do?" Harry asked.

"That? Oh, that was just a spell from the Flint Grimoire. Let's just say it'll help remind them not to mess with me or either of you two if they want to keep breathing by the end of the year."

"And the other spell? The one you used to make copies of yourself?"

"That's an extremely advanced NEWT level spell that you certainly aren't ready for. I barely managed to cast it today." Flint paused before speaking sternly. "We'll talk about this later. Right now, let's just wait for the teachers to get here and let me do all the talking."

The three-first years nodded and it didn't take more than a minute before a group of teachers appeared and stared at the chaos with wide-eyes. Snape and Quirrell analyzed the trolls while two other teachers Harry didn't recognize but had seen around the castle checked on the other Slytherins. After they were done, Snape and Quirrell strode towards them while the other teachers levitated the older Slytherin students towards the infirmary.

"Explain," Snape said coldly, eyeing Harry.

"Well, sir." Flint began, but Snape still held his gaze onto Harry. "We were walking back to our common room but we saw two trolls standing at the other end of the hallway. Unfortunately, a first-year girl screamed and gathered the attention of the trolls. After that, it was chaos. Everyone started running back towards the Great Hall and most managed to get away, but a third troll closed the exit for the eight of us. We had to fight the trolls but they got Mulciber, Rosier, Carrow, and Avery."

Snape turned towards Flint and narrowed his eyes. "And what about the trolls, two of them are dead. Which one of you used the killing curse on them?"

"Severus, surely you're not suggesting -"

"Quirrell, we both have seen the effects of the killing curse. Even you can't deny that they were used on the trolls."

"That would be Avery, Professor," Flint replied silkily. "The trolls had gotten the other three and he panicked, he managed to cast two killing curses at the two trolls but the third one got him before he could cast the third one."

"And how did you stop the third troll?"

"That was Granger, sir. While Potter, Nott, and I were trying to slow it down with magic. Granger realized that while trolls are extremely magic resistant, they are still susceptible to physical blows. Especially those to the head. She levitated its club and dropped it on its head."

"That was a brilliant assessment, Miss Granger." Quirrell complimented a now blushing Hermione. "And you did it while you were in a stressful situation. 100 points to Slytherin, Miss Granger. Well done!"

"Thank you, sir." She mumbled with a shy smile.

"You are to go to the common room, I'll send the other Slytherins there after we clean this mess and secure the castle," Snape instructed and without waiting for an answer, he strode away with Quirrell behind him.

"You heard him," Flint grunted as he stood up. "Let's go." Harry, Hermione, and Nott got up and followed Flint. As they entered the common room it was clear that Hermione was still keen on giving him the cold shoulder as she strode past him without even looking at him and walked towards the girl's staircase.

Harry shrugged internally, a little saddened by the fact, but sat down on the couches to just relax. He noticed that Nott sat on the couch opposite him but didn't pay him any attention.

"I- I was going to die." Nott croaked out so quietly after a couple of minutes that Harry questioned if it was his imagination. "I would have died but you saved me." He turned to him. "Why?"

"I don't know," Harry shrugged. "I just did. It was nothing."

"No. It wasn't nothing." Nott steeled himself. "I owe you a life debt."

Not knowing how to respond Harry just stayed quiet for a couple of moments before looking back at Nott. "I don't think we ever introduced each other properly. I'm Harry Potter, but you can call me Harry." He finished with a smile.

Nott studied him carefully before his face relaxed slightly. "Alright, Harry. I'm Theodore Nott, but you can call me Theo."

"Does that mean I can't call you Theodore?" Harry said with mock seriousness and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Maybe you should just call me Nott," Theo grumbled before both boys chuckled.

It was less than ten minutes before the rest of the Slytherins strode into the common room and it quickly became chaos with everyone talking loudly about what happened. Not really wanting to deal with the crowd of people for the rest of the day, Harry stood up and gave an imperceptible nod to Theo before he started walking towards the boys' staircase. Unfortunately, he was intercepted by Parkinson's brother who harshly grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"I've had a pretty crappy day, Parkinson, so trust me when I tell you that I am not in the mood for games."

"Where are Mulciber and the others, Potter?" He snarled at him.

"If you're a good boy and ask nicely tomorrow, then I'll consider telling you. Right now, go bother one of your bigoted lackeys and leave me alone."

In a second, Parkinson dropped his arm, and instead, he roughly pushed Harry towards the wall where he held him with his wand to Harry's neck. "What did you do to them." He growled.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Flint warned as he placed his wand on the back of Parkinson's neck.

Suddenly, almost twenty wands were in the air, each aimed at a different person to the point where Harry didn't know who was supposed to be his allies and who were his enemies. The tension in the dead quiet common room was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Harry considered reaching for his wand on his easily accessible holster but decided against it. If a spell were to be launched the whole common room would be in mayhem. Especially considering that some of the students didn't seem hesitant to use unforgivables.

"You want to know what happened to your bigoted friends?" Harry whispered, capturing everyone's attention. "The four idiots had the brilliant idea of threatening the lives of me and my friends by dueling us while the trolls tried to kill us from the other side. You are making the exact same mistake as they did, they messed with me and if you don't lower your wand you're going to end up just like them. In the infirmary fighting for their lives." Harry slowly raised his arm and gripped the fourth year's wrist. "I. Dare. You." He growled. "Please, give me a reason. Just one. Do your worst, Parkinson. But you better know; if you do, you better make sure I'm dead because if you take a shot at me and I step out of here alive I swear on my life that I will burn you and your whole family to the ground!" Harry looked around with satisfaction as he could tell that there was not a single person who didn't believe he would fulfill that threat. He waited for a moment to see if someone was actually going to do something but when nothing happened he continued. "Nothing?" He scoffed mockingly. "Good. Maybe you're not as much of an idiot as I thought."

"You're going to regret this, Potter," Parkinson whispered threateningly.

"Don't make threats you can't keep, Parkinson. It makes you look like an idiot. So why don't you save face and just drop it before you embarrass yourself and your friends more." Parkinson's reluctance was obvious for a couple of moments where he hesitated before he finally dropped it and slowly everyone followed. When every wand was now lowered, Parkinson scoffed at him before leaving and soon enough more murmurs started around the common room.

When no one was looking at him, Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding before he made his way towards Flint who was finishing talking to his friends.

"You crazy son of a bitch!" Flint whispered as he slapped his back. "You're full of surprises aren't you, Potter?" Harry chuckled but didn't really know what to say. "You should take your own advice though, Potter. One of these days someone isn't going to stand down and you will have to actually live up to your threats because if you don't, people will stop taking them seriously and you'll be a dead man walking."

"I know, I know. I'm still working on that." Harry replied vaguely before turning serious. "Thank you, Flint. For backing me up here and helping me out earlier."

"It's nothing, Potter. Don't mention it. What are allies for?" He shrugged.

"Yeah." Harry extended his hand out. "Allies?"

Flint snorted but took it nonetheless. "We've been allies for the past month and a half, Potter. At least you're finally catching up."

"So does that mean I can call you Marcus?" Harry asked impishly.

"Only if you want to suffer a horrible death. The only one who gets to call me Marcus is Gemma, Potter. So don't get any ideas."

"Fine, fine." Harry rolled his eyes.

"You should go to sleep now. It's been a long day for all of us." Flint said in a way that sounded too uninterested.

"Caring about my well-being, Flint? Keep acting like that and I might think you actually like me." Harry said mirthfully.

"I'm telling you to go to sleep because tomorrow I'll be taking over Higgs' class and I don't want you to be falling asleep while I do." Harry raised a curious eyebrow at him. "Today's events have shown us that we need to speed up your Defence lessons and start seeing more offensive spells." Flint leaned in and whispered at him. "We may have won today but it was sheer dumb luck, Potter. We both know it. Next time, we won't be so lucky so we have to train harder."

"Alright," Harry nodded. "I'll tell Hermione tomorrow." Harry paused for a second. "I know you said that you wouldn't be teaching any more people but -"

"No!" Flint said with a tone that brokered no argument.

"Look, I'm testing out the waters with Nott to see if he would be a good ally. Every ally won is a good ally, Flint. You know that as well as I do. Just think about it. Please."

"Alright, fine," Flint grumbled. "I'll think about it but if he joins it won't be for a while where you will make sure you actually trust him and I expect him to be able to keep up with the lessons as good as you and Granger have been."

"Deal!" Harry said quickly before Flint could back out and immediately headed towards his dormitory, leaving a grumbling Flint standing there.

Harry smiled to himself. All in all, maybe this Halloween wasn't as bad.

Headmaster's Office

11:25 p.m.

"You called me, Headmaster?" Snape asked as he entered Dumbledore's Office.

"Good evening, Severus," Dumbledore said gently as he invited the Potions Master to take a seat. "You were missed today at the Victory Ball."

"I'm not sure my appearance would have been appreciated, given my background, Headmaster," Snape repeated the answer he always gave. Dumbledore looked like he was going to say something but Snape beat him to it. "But I'm sure you didn't ask me here to talk about that. You want to know about the incident?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Yes, please, Severus. What happened?"

"From what we've gathered. A group of six mountain trolls entered the castle through the front door while the Halloween feast was happening. They roamed the castle and happened to end up near the Ravenclaw and Slytherin common rooms by the time they were seen. We were alerted about the trolls near Ravenclaw tower so all the teachers went there first and it wasn't until the three trolls there were dealt with that we were alerted about the other three trolls near the dungeons. By the time we got there, Potter, Granger, Nott, and Flint had dealt with them after Carrow, Avery, Rosier, and Mulciber were extremely injured. Thankfully, they will all live and they were the only ones injured."

"Do you know how they dealt with them?" Dumbledore asked.

"Flint gave me a version of what happened but knowing the Slytherins as I do, it was most likely a modified version of events. However, I think the story is somewhat accurate. The eight were surrounded by the three trolls and after Carrow, Mulciber, and Rosier were taken out by them, Avery panicked and used the killing curse on two trolls before the third one got him. After that, Miss Granger took care of the third troll by knocking it out with its own club."

"Yes, it seems like a sensible story although I'm sure that something else happened there." Dumbledore scratched his beard while deep in thought. "This is very serious, Severus. Young Avery apparently already knows how to use unforgivable curses." Dumbledore thought to himself for almost a minute before he finally spoke. "Since Avery seems to have used the spell in self-defense and possibly saved lives by doing it, I won't tell Amelia about this in my report. However, I expect you to keep an eye on him and his friends. I won't have people using unforgivables inside my school, Severus. Not one." Dumbledore threatened and Snape nodded in agreement. "Do you still have your contacts with the previous Death Eaters?" He asked.

"Of course I do," Snape said, slightly irritated. "I would be a pathetic excuse for a spy if I didn't."

"I want you to send a letter to Avery Sr and tell him what happened here today. Tell him that you managed to hide the fact that his son used an unforgivable from me but that he might not be so lucky next time. Advise him that unless he wants a full investigation by the DMLE, no charges should be pressed and the whole thing should be considered an unfortunate accident. Also, advise him that under no circumstance should Avery use an unforgivable since I'm extremely against them. If Avery is smart, he and his allies won't press charges against the school and we can hopefully avoid the DMLE coming here to investigate. However, if anyone does press charges we'll have to move the stone and I'll be required to tell Amelia about the unforgivable." Snape nodded as he internally grumbled at the fact that he would have more things to do tonight. Dumbledore thought for a second before looking up at him. "Ravenclaw and Slytherin common rooms… they are on the other side of the castle from the third-floor corridor. Did you-"

"Went to make sure nobody tried to steal the stone? Of course," Snape drawled. "I sensed this was a trap from the beginning. However, when I arrived there was no one there, I made sure to also check for magical means of concealment. I checked on Fluffy and stayed there for a couple of minutes but no one ever stepped close. After that, I went to help the other Professors deal with the trolls."

"Hmmm…" Dumbledore trailed off. "It's possible that this was just a series of unfortunate events. However, we should be more alert. This could have been our enemy testing our reaction times and to see how we would act during an emergency. I also don't think it's a coincidence this attack happened when I was out of the school. We need to keep both eyes open, Severus."

"Indeed." He agreed. "Are you sure that someone is after the stone? And that if they are, they are inside the castle?" Snape questioned.

"I am sure of it, Severus. The vault that was broken into was the one where I kept the stone this summer. Whether the person is inside the castle or not, I am not sure. However, I am positive someone will try to steal the stone before the end of the year comes, which is why it's imperative that the DMLE not come here. This scheme is the perfect opportunity to capture Voldemort and question him about his plans and how he achieved immortality. It's taken several years of planning but if we succeed, we might reduce the threat of Voldemort to the point where young Noah's job will be extremely easier than the alternative and our victory will be secured."

"And are you sure that will work? The prophecy is very clear and very definite."

"Just because the prophecy says he is the one who has to vanquish him doesn't mean we have to do nothing. It just means he'll have to be the one to deliver the finishing blow.

Dumbledore gave a deep sigh before standing up and looking through the window at the Hogwarts grounds.

"As much as I don't want him to, Noah Potter must be the one to kill Lord Voldemort."

Meanwhile…

A hooded figure was strolling through the empty castle under disillusion, silencing, and multiple other magical concealment charms. It didn't take long before the figure reached the third-floor corridor.

"Alohomora." The hooded figure whispered before opening the door.

However, the figure was met by the sight of an angry Cerberus.

Potter Manor

November 1, 1991

12:45 a.m.

Another hooded figure was under similar concealment charms inside the Potter Manor. It had been waiting there for close to an hour before the Potters finally arrived.

"Ugh!" James Potter groaned as he stepped into the living room and slumped onto the first couch he could find. "I'm knackered."

"Too knackered to join your gorgeous wife upstairs?" Lily Potter asked seductively, immediately getting James' attention.

"You know I'm never too tired for that, love," James smirked.

"Good," She gave him a heated kiss for a couple of moments. "Let me just head to the loo and then we can get started." She winked at him before leaving the room, swaying her hips provocatively as she left.

"Merlin, Lily. You're going to be the end of me." James whispered happily.

Seeing as James was alone, the figure finally made its move. It sent a silent stunning spell at the Potter patriarch before repeating the spell two times just to make sure. The figure placed James in a sleeping position before pointing its wand at his head.

"Obliviate! Sirius Black was your secret-keeper. He graciously accepted the responsibility and never suggested switching secret-keepers at the last minute. Peter Pettigrew isn't and was never your secret-keeper. He wasn't there when the Dark Lord attacked. Peter Pettigrew is your best and closest friend and he would never betray you. You haven't had any nightmares featuring Peter and you aren't even considering going to a mind healer, nor did you have a conversation about it with Peter or anyone else."

The figure stunned James Potter again before quietly leaving the house and apparating out of the property.

Thanks, Proton6 and MasterChaos1 for alpha reading and ATP Synthase for beta reading!

Next chapter we'll see how Harry and Pettigrew deal with the aftermath of their respective Halloweens.