Hariel Potter and Son of a Black

by Asta-the-GS

Reborn as a son of Sirius Black after an untimely death caused by Higher Powers, how the forcefully-retired sidekick-Tim Drake deals with Magical World. Will the canon survive intact? FemHarry, AU, Crossover Full summary inside.

10. Year 1 Part 5

Warning :: Female!Harry. Crossover. AU. No Beta. My grammar is as bad as house-elf. (very)Slow Burn. This is not a fix-it story, something will be better and something will be worst. This fic is also cross-posted only on two places; and AO3.

A/N :: Wow, Chapter 10 already! Sorry about late update. September-October kicked my butt with real-life issues. Much love to everyone who fav/follow/review/comment/kudo/sub this story!

I also would like to remind some readers that the main characters of this story are both Harry (who is female) and Leo (whose past life was Tim Drake). And this story is taking place solely in Wizarding World. There will be some mentions to Batman and co here and there but they will not be showing up in this story. Tim Drake is dead in this story, he became Leo Black.

Once again, I assured you that I am not bashing Hermione. She just needs a little time to chill. The girl is very high-strung at the moment. I promise it will get better soon.

: : : : : :
Chapter 10 :: Year 1 Part 5
Fight and Flight.

The day the notice of the first flying lesson was put up sparked the newest topic among the first-year Gryffindors. The class would be held outside at the training ground and taught by a witch named Madam Hooch, starting this Thursday after the afternoon class. The conversations exploded among the first-years as they compared their experiences. It seemed those who came from wizarding families had, in some ways, been on a broom before.

Seamus, Ron, and Declan animatedly told them about their times flying on toy brooms when they were young, even the girls like Aoife, Parvati, and Lavender had tried it at least once before. Even someone as quiet as Tetsuya had done it as well, he retold them about how his older brother had taught him how to mouth the broom since he was young. Neville, however, seemed to be the exception, he wasn't allowed anywhere near a broomstick, his grandmother had forbidden him to do so.

So was Leo, in this case. Almost everyone except Harry and Aoife could not believe that he had never flown before, even when he came from one of the oldest pureblood families in Britain. Leo didn't look bothered at all. The boy just dismissed it by telling them that he never had much interest in flying on a broomstick, to begin with.

However, anyone with social awareness could see, even Harry herself could tell that there was more to it than that; living with a squib aunt seemed to be some kind of stigma in the wizarding world. Leo might have lived in luxury but he was still raised outside the sphere of Wizarding influence. Something that even blood-traitors like the Weasleys would take pity on. So, Harry glared at anyone (Ron and Seamus) who tried to dig further for more reasons afterward, until they changed the subjects in the end.

The majority of the first-years were excited to finally have a go at flying on brooms. Meanwhile, the minority like Neville had outright whimpered about the prospect of his feet floating above the ground. The muggleborns and muggle-raised kids like Ryo, Dean, and Harry were ecstatic, the three of them joked about how they should be flying on vacuum cleaners these days and not on broomsticks—leaving Ron confused about what a vacuum cleaner was.

Hermione, however, was unusually pale. The girl looked absolutely horrified about being on the broomstick but quickly masked it with random facts she memorized from some books.

As a solution to the problem of facing the flying lesson, Hermione solved it with the only way she knew how—by reading more books. Hermione checked out Quidditch through the Ages from the library the same evening the notice was posted and proceeded to read through it. Harry swore she could hear the other girl's mumbling from her bed that very night, possibly staying up late finishing the whole thing. Because came the next morning, Hermione looked utterly dreadful, her big curly hair frizzled and puffed up, even more, dark circles could be spotted under her eyes.

No one said anything to reassure the girl either. Both Parvati and Lavender were busy trying to assure their new best-friend—Bonnie, who looked a bit ill (but not as bad as Hermione). Neville was too terrified for himself to console anyone. Tetsuya who became Neville's friend was too quiet to give him verbal assurance. Harry might have tried, but she had something else to worry about than helping anyone else.

"Typical," Harry muttered at breakfast that morning. "As if I wanted to make a fool out of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy, or worse, that limpet hanging from his neck, Posy Parkinson."

"I thought her name was Pansy?" mused Ryo.

"It is," Leo confirmed without looking up from the morning papers.

Yes. The flying lessons would be shared with Slytherins.

Aoife buttered her toast and said. "I don't get why they keep putting us with that house. It's obvious both Houses despised one another."

"We asked Professor McGonagall once," George Weasley said from the seat next to her.

"Something about School unity," His twins—Fred finished it for him, from the next seat over.

"Sounds like absolute rubbish." Harry shoved a piece of grapefruit into her mouth. Leo just shrugged and continued sipping on his tea and quietly reading the morning copy of the Daily Prophet. She still couldn't understand his utter disinterest in flying.

"Oh, it is. We remembered McGonagall's face when she told us that—" Fred started this time.

"She looked as if she smelled dragon dungs." George continued, "Rumor has it, that she held a grudge against Slytherin House ever since her last Quidditch Match at school."

"She could have acted like Snape, hating all Slytherins but nooooo, she's quite fair when it comes to being impartial." This time Lee Jordan, a third-year who was the twins' best friend, piped in. "But when comes to Quidditch, all bets are off."

"It's gotten worse ever since our brother graduated—Charlie, he was our house Seeker. We didn't win every house cup but the losses weren't too bad. He had to step down from playing and let someone else take the role because of N.E.W.T.s. in the seventh year." George grimaced as if remembering an unpleasant memory. "Kings was an all right seeker, even if he's a bit dim, but he couldn't hold the candle to what Charlie had done for our team. I've never seen McGonagall looked that furious before."

"I would have gone crazy too if I have to deal with a post-game McGonagall after a loss like that." Fred shivered. "The House Cup last year was a slaughter."

"Poor Wood." Lee nodded.

The three third-years glanced over at the tall, muscular fifth-year who had his nose buried in Quidditch Quarterly Magazine, blissfully ignorant to the ongoing gossips.

"Just great, I hardly know anything about flying and that git knows it. He's been rubbing it in my face ever since we've met at Madam Malkin's." Harry stabbed the fruits with her fork.

"He could just be boasting though," Ryo said, helpfully.

"Just like he had been doing since day one here," Aoife added between her bite.

Harry's lips curled into a grimace, she remembered what Malfoy had been telling people about how he narrowly escaped the muggles in Helicopters. And how great of a flyer he was, some Slytherins like Pansy Parkinson cooed at his words, while two of Malfoy's goons cheered him on. The boy sure boasted a lot, but there was no way to prove if he was really a capable flyer until they had seen it for themselves during the flying lesson, which happened to be today.

"Look," said Leo. The boy finally put away the papers. "You can't let someone like him get in the way of your first flying experience. I know you've been looking forward to this. It's just like when you first started gymnastics, isn't it? You didn't care if you made a fool of yourself, as long as you have fun, right?"

Harry's scowl deepened; her thoughts wandered back through time. Yeah, she recalled that time when she snuck inside the club and self-taught herself until Ms. Yu caught her. But this was different, back then no one care what she did. Now, Malfoy and his minions were waiting like hyenas for her to make mistake so he could gleefully pounce on her.

Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of posts. Harry craned her neck looking for Hedwig and Bruce but it seemed the two owls were nowhere in sight. Hedwig hadn't delivered anything else since Hagrid's note but she occasionally showed up for pieces of bacon, and Bruce always followed wherever the former went, unless Leo had him send letters home.

A familiar barn owl that Harry recognized as the Longbottom Family's owl. She had seen it several times already in the past two weeks, Neville's Gran had been sending him just about anything and everything that he had forgotten to pack, or already lost—from spare robes and hairbrush to a toothbrush, or a few textbooks. The owl swooped down and dropped a parcel onto Neville's empty plate, startled him when his fork flipped up in the air and almost hit him in the face. The bird didn't wait for a reply, instead of bent down and swiped a piece of bacon before took off.

Once his stupor was gone, Neville scrambled and opened the package excitedly. The next second, he pulled out a glass ball size of large marble filled with white smoke inside.

"Hey, look! Neville's got a Remembrall!" Seamus exclaimed for people around them to hear. Even Hermione lowered Quidditch through the Ages down just a bit to see.

"A remember—what now?" Harry looked at it with interest.

"A Remembrall," Ron explained from where he'd been shoveling food, there was a piece of sausage half hanging out from his mouth, all the first-year girls grimaced at the sight—which he seemed not to care one bit. "Dad told us about one of those, it's a reminder, for when you forget things."

"My Gran knows I forgot things, well….a lot—and this tells you if there's something you forget—oh…" Neville said, suddenly the smoke bleed from white to scarlet red. The boy's lips turned down into a grimace.

"I believe the red is telling you that you're forgetting something?" Tetsuya asked as he eyed the ball.

"There's a small problem to this though—" Leo glanced from the item to Neville, "—you don't remember what you're forgetting."

"Yeah." Neville frowned deeper, possibly thinking of what he had been forgetting.

"It is alright, I will help you make a list of things you might have forgotten." Tetsuya gave the boy a small assuring smile.

It seemed that Neville had taken refuge from all the craziness Hogwarts had to offer in the quiet Tetsuya. The Japanese boy didn't seem to mind. Ever since the first incident in Snape's class, they were often spotted sharing a table, either in the library or in the common room. The politeness Tetsuya seemed to radiate possibly assured Neville's nervousness. While the boy no longer ran the other way when Harry or Leo was in the same room, the skittishness still hung in the air.

Just as Neville was about to put his new item away, the glass ball was snatched out of his hand by Draco Malfoy who had been walking past their table with his goons.

"What's this? A Remembrall?" Malfoy smirked, "Of course, you'd need one of these, Longbottom. Considering how pathetic your brain is."

Crabbe and Goyle laughed at the comment, Neville turned pink. On impulse, Harry abandoned her food and jumped out of her seat. Leo sighed and wiped his mouth with serviette before followed her, ignoring Hermione's hissing; "Don't fight! You'll lose us more points!" from several seats down. Ryo did the same with his arms crossed, even Ron looked put out at Malfoy's presence. Aoife, however, just sat there and watch with great interest.

"Give it back, Malfoy," Harry warned.

"Or what, Potter?" Malfoy taunted; his goons sniggered. Harry stepped closer; she was almost nose to nose with the pale boy when a familiar silhouette—taller than any of them looming behind the Slytherins.

"Good morning, Professor McGonagall." Leo greeted loudly with a small smile on his lips, both the Slytherins and Harry freeze at his words.

"Good morning, Mister Black—" She replied, her green eyes behind the square glasses eyed the group knowingly. "Is something the matter?"

"Malfoy's got Neville's Remembrall, Professor. I'm asking him nicely to give it back." Harry answered with a sharp smirk of her own.

The elder witch eyed the pale boy sharply as he sneered and quickly slammed the ball back on the table. It's a wonder the thing hadn't break from the impact yet. Neville snatched it back and held protectively in both hands, the smoke still pulsed scarlet.

"Just looking," he said before flounced away, Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind him. No one said anything until the group disappeared out of the Great Hall.

"It's a great day for flying, isn't it?" Harry commented, changing the topic, nevertheless their Head of House looked back at her with knowing eyes.

"It is indeed. It's my best wishes that this year's flyers will be more promising than the last. Even though they can't join the House team just yet." Professor McGonagall simply said, giving all first years expecting look before taking her leave.

Everyone let out a relieved sigh, secretly grateful no house point was lost. Harry wished that she had taken a few from the Slytherins but she'd take what she could get.

: : : : : :

Right after their DADA class that afternoon, Leo and the rest of his fellow Gryffindors hurried down toward the training ground where the flying lesson would take place. It was clear and sunny just like Harry had commented in the morning, although a little breezy from autumn air. After they all marched down the sloping grassy path, they finally reached the courtyard filled with green grass. The lawn was large but walled up with tall battlements and ramparts, it sat against the edge of the forbidden forest.

The Slytherins were already there, so were about twenty brooms lining neatly in two rows facing one another. Fred and George Weasley had complained to them during lunch about the school brooms, saying that some of them were so old that they started to vibrate if you flew too high or always off-sided to the left.

Madam Hooch, their flying instructor, arrived just after the Gryffindors. She had short spiky gray hair, coupled with yellow eyes; giving her a no-nonsense, hawk-liked look.

"Gryffindors, leave your bags by the wall then line up by the brooms!" She instructed with a wave of her hand toward the nearest wall, where a pile of bags—possibly Slytherins'—already lying there. They scrambled dropping their bags carelessly in a messy pile, before shot off to the available brooms, not wanting to end up with the frazzled looking one.

Leo slid next to the one by Harry's side, looking down to check, and found that he wasn't bad-looking, most of the twigs were still there and the handle didn't look too gnarly. Ryo took a spot by Harry's other side, while Aoife took Leo's.

And of course, Neville ended up with that one mangled broom after he was last to arrive.

"Everyone, stick out your right hand over your broom," Madam Hooch said loudly at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP!" shouted everyone.

Harry's broom shot up in her hand at once. She blinked in surprised and a grin spread on her face. Unfortunately, so was Malfoy's—it seemed he wasn't just boasting about flying after all. Leo stare down skeptically at his broom, contemplating.

The broom had lifted up off the ground for a second before flopping back down after his first try.

"Try again with more feelings," Harry whispered to him. Leo sighed, the problem was, he didn't want to fly, not really.

He wasn't afraid of height, no, after all, he did spend years in his last life slinging around between high-rise buildings. Even though he did die from falling off of one, to him that didn't count. It was the act of flying itself that had not interested him.

Maybe he was projecting his desire and the broom could sense it? Well, no matter, now wasn't the time for this.

"Up!" He shouted again, forcing his intention into it. This time it shot up into his hand. Malfoy sneered at him from where he stood. Leo ignored him.

"Good job everyone who succeeded on the first try," Madam Hooch complimented. "As for those of you who didn't, keep trying!"

Leo let out a small breath through his nose as he looked around them. Aoife had no difficulty calling her broom. But he wasn't surprised since she had flown before. Ryo still tried his hardest to call the broom to his hand, until Harry leaned in and whispered something to him—possibly the same thing she told Leo. Ryo's scowl deepened as he tried again. After the third time, his broom lifted and flew into his hand. The boy beamed at Harry, profusely thanking her.

Ron's broom did fly up but instead of going to his waiting hand, it smacked into his face instead. The Slytherins sniggered at his misfortune as the boy groaned in pain. Several others like Dean, Seamus, and some Slytherins, had succeeded in their third or fourth tries. Some like Granger, whose broom kept rolling on the grass instead of lifted, much the girl's ire. As for Neville…. He didn't even twitch at all. The boy stared at the object in despair as Madam Hooch went over to him and insisted that he tried harder calling his broom. Tetsuya with his broom already in his hand could only look at him with sympathy in his eyes.

After another good fifteen minutes, finally, everyone successfully had called the brooms to their hands. Madam Hooch proceeded on by showing them the correct ways to mouth their brooms without sliding off before walking up and down the rows checking and correcting their grips which turned out to be almost everyone, including a sneering Malfoy when the witch informed him that the way his father had taught him was incorrect and the chance of him falling off the broom would increase if he went faster.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," explained Madam Hooch once their stances were up to her satisfaction, "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. Understood?"

"Yes, Madam Hooch." Everyone chorused in unison, even the Slytherins.

"Very well, here we go," she lifted the whistle to her lips. "On my whistle—three—two—"

Before she could finish counting, Neville squeaked in panic and pushed off hard from the ground.

"Come back down, Mister Longbottom!" Madam Hooch shouted, only served to panic him even more. Neville shot straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle, their housemates screamed at the sight—higher and higher he went. And then suddenly he slipped sideways off the broom, plunged downward.

He hit the ground before Madam hooch could get her wand out. With a thud and a nasty crack, Neville lay in heap on the ground. His broomstick still rising higher for several more minutes before it drifted toward the forest, and was out of sight.

"Broken wrist," Madam Hooch announced, waved her wand to conjured a splint for him. Before helping him stand. "Come on, child—it's alright, up you get."

She turned to the rest of the class. "No one is to move while I take him to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say Quidditch! Come, dear."

And then they were off. But only until they were out of their earshot. Malfoy and his cohorts burst into laughter.

"Did you see his face? What a cry baby!"

Some of the Slytherins joined in, while some looked just as shaken as the Gryffindors.

"Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati, surprising everyone.

"Oooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" jeered Parkinson. "Do you, perhaps, fancy crybabies? Especially the fat ones."

"Look!" Malfoy darted forward and snatched something off of the ground. He waved it in for everyone to see. "It's the stupid ball Longbottom's gran sent him."

The Remembrall glittered in the sun, white smoke drifted lazily inside the sphere.

"Give it back, Malfoy," Harry stepped forward before anyone could do anything. When did the girl move from his side?! Everyone stopped talking and watched the exchange at once.

Malfoy sneered, "I think, I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find—how about—up a tree?"

"Give it here!" Harry yelled, her green eyes glint dangerously. Leo knew that look well.

"Oh-oh," he muttered under his breath.

Without warning, Harry lunged forward. But Malfoy prove too slippery, even startled, he dug just in time—Harry gave chase after him.

"Should we try stopping them?" Ryo asked hastily from his side. His face paled with worry.

"You see that look in her eyes? There is no stopping her, mate." Leo muttered just as Malfoy decided to make his escape by leaping onto his broomstick, and taken off. He hovered above the ground, just by the top of a grand oak, "Come and get it, Potter!"

Harry grabbed her broom.

"No!" shouted Hermione, "Didn't you hear Madam Hooch telling us not to move?! You will get us all in trouble!"

"Then you do nothing, Harmony." Harry snarled and mounted her broom in one swift motion. She kicked off hard from the ground, head straight toward Leo's cousin. With only a wobble, Harry commandeered her broom up in the sky. Higher and higher they went, as Harry chased after Malfoy. Finally, they stopped, the two of them hovered midair facing each other for several minutes, like there were talking to one another. But at the height they were, no one could hear what was said.

Most of the Gryffindors cheered from the ground. Ron and his friends clapped their hands. The giggling trio huddled together whispering among themselves. Hermione turned around yelled at Leo. "Why didn't you stop her!?"

"You think I could?" said Leo, "She didn't even listen to you,"

Before Hermione could retort, Malfoy's shout; "Catch it if you can, then!" and then Neville's Remembrall flew from Malfoy's hair into the air.

"Harry!" Aoife screamed as they saw Harry leaned on her broom, racing toward the falling object.

Leo could feel his heart plummeted just as his friend dive after the ball. A flash of his deadly fall came back behind his eyes as Harry descended downward without stopping, hand stretching out. Malfoy who already came back down stood in shock as the classmates all around them screamed.

Ryo yelled beside him but he could not hear what the boy said. His eyes fixed on his friend, the hero he was supposed to help guide to her destiny—dive straight down, on and on. Just as three feet above the ground left, Harry twisted, catching the small object with one hand as the other pulled her broom upward. And then she was hovering above ground once more, the Remembrall, in her hand, glinting in the sunlight. Their classmates stared at her hovering figure in shock.

Leo's heart unclenched when Harry finally came back to the ground, a big smile on her face as their housemates' cheers erupted.

"Never—do—that—again," Leo hissed just as he reached her. Eyes roving, as he tried to find any injury. Aoife and Ryo sandwiched on each side of her, trying to do the same.

Harry wheezed a little, "No promi—"

"HARIEL POTTER!"

They all froze. Professor McGonagall was running toward them, her face thunderous. Everyone paled again at the sight of the Head of their House, even Harry.

"Never—in all my years at Hogwarts—" she hissed; her glasses flashed dangerously under the afternoon sun. "—how dare you—you could have broken your neck—"

"Professor! It's not her fault—" Aoife tried to say,

"Be quiet, Miss Hawke—"

"But it was—"

"I said, be quiet, Mister Kise—"

"Professor, please—" this time it was Leo's turn, but the older witch swung her furious green eyes toward him.

"That's enough, Mister Black. Potter, follow me, now."

Harry flicked her gaze toward him one last time. She quickly tossed the Remembrall to Leo, before taking off, following Professor McGonagall back toward the castle.

"Prepare to say goodbye to your girlfriend, Black!" Malfoy laughed, his goons and a good portion of Slytherins followed his example.

"Why you little—" Aoife lunged for the boy but was caught by Ryo. Leo turned calmly before stepped in front of his cousin, bringing himself to the full height. He was please to know that he was almost a head taller than him. Startled, the pale boy stepped back.

"Remember, cousin," Leo said, his voice hard, he imitated how Arcturus Black had look-like before his timely demise. He stared down his nose at Malfoy. Everyone stopped talking at once. "If Hariel is to be expelled from the stun you pulled, I will make sure that you also get expelled." He never raised his voice, "And I will make sure no magical school in Europe will ever accept you. Not even your precious Durmstrang."

Malfoy faltered. His face paled a little bit before he tried to put a haughty look back on. The boy sneered, or tried to, "As if anyone would listen to a squib like you."

This time, a smile spread on Leo's face but it wasn't a pleasant one, everyone around him visibly shivered. "Do you want to bet on that, cousin?"

Knowing his battle lost, the blond boy slung back to where his housemates had congregated. It wasn't even a second past before—

"I told her!" Hermione Granger yelled to no one, "It's all her fault! She'll get us all in trouble! Madam Hooch clearly—"

"There is a time and place for your nagging, Granger," Leo said icily, not in the mood to be nice. Startling the muggleborn out of her ranting. She looked shocked at the tone of his voice. It might be because Leo had never interacted with her like this before. There was always a civil distant between the two of them despite Harry's occasionally antagonizing toward her. "And this is not one of them."

"But Madam Hooch stated that we—"

"So, are you saying Harry is wrong to stand up for a friend? Your friend, our housemate." Aoife asked this time, her blue eyes cold. Even Ryo looked at the girl with disappointment in his eyes.

"She should have just left the matter to the teacher!"

"Do you hear yourself? Are you telling me her reasoning is not worth taking into acco—" Ryo asked but Leo stopped him before he could finish the sentence.

"That's enough, Ryo. There is no point in making her see." Leo stared down at the girl just as he did with Malfoy. "She's only worried that her precious house points would be deducted, but not for the reason why. I can see that Granger would rather stay as ignorant as possible. We should leave her be."

The girl sputtered, clearly wanting to defend herself. But nothing came out, she fluttered.

"What are you all doing there?"

Madam Hooch was back and she didn't look happy that no one had stayed exactly where she had told them to, even the Slytherins.

Aoife, Ron, Seamus, Hermione, and a few of the Gryffindors launched into their version of the stories at the same time, they were talking over each other. After a few minutes, it turned into a shouting match when the Slytherins joined in, trying to defend Malfoy.

"Enough!" She said testily. "Mister Black, tell me exactly what happened."

Leo pretended not to see Hermione's huffing, perhaps for being overlooked by a teacher and told Madam Hooch his version of the story. Exactly as it happened, including Malfoy's instigation, producing the object that sparked the incident in his hand, before ending it with Professor McGonagall's interference.

Madam Hooch stared at Neville's Remembrall with clenched jaws before swung her gaze toward the rest of them.

"I see that you all won't be able to concentrate after this. I will end the class for the day and check with Professor McGonagall when it can be held again. Dismiss, all of you. Not you, Mister Malfoy," She grabbed him by the shoulder. "You are coming with me to see Professor Snape! You think you can get away with pulling a stunt like that in my class—the nerves of you!"

"But that squib was lying—" Malfoy tried to say as she dragged him toward the castle. Boulder One and Boulder Two scrambling after their boss. Some of the Slytherins glared at Leo and his housemates, especially, Pansy Parkinson and her friends.

Everyone else also dispersed. They all went to their discarded bags. Hermione was the first to go, but not without giving Leo the stink eye first. Aoife stuck her tongue at the girl's retreating back. Ryo just sighed.

"Careful who you are making enemies of, Black," Greengrass whispered as she and her friends passed him by. "Just a friendly warning."

"Thank you." He said with a polite nod but offered nothing else. She hadn't told him anything he didn't already know. The blond girl and her friends walked away.

"Your house is full of nutters," one of the Slytherin girls told Gryffindor named Declan Troy, from their similar look, this must be his twin sister who ended up in Slytherins. Yikes, that must have made things awkward.

"Come, maybe we can catch McGonagall before she sends Harry anywhere," Leo commented as the three of them slung their bags over their shoulders and took off toward Transfiguration's classroom. On the way there, they racked their brain, trying to think of the many excuses to help to persuade their Head of House to lessen Harry's punishment.

As it turned out, they hadn't needed any of that. Because Professor McGonagall assured them that Harry was not expelled. In fact, she got off with nothing but a slap on the wrist and the promise that if she repeated it again, she would be sent home, for real this time. The older witch extended the warning to the rest of them as well.

The three of them stared at the Head of House in shock. Leo didn't miss the small smirk on Professor McGonagall's face as she sent them all on their way since the bell chimed, indicating the coming dinner time.

: : : : : :

"I can't believe this," Leo said as he rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration before glared sideways at her. But Harry just grinned smugly back at him.

It was dinnertime, and Harry had just finished telling her friends what had happened after Professor McGonagall had led her away. Her two other friends also stared at her in shock after hearing the news, technically her housemates were all shocked at the turn of this event. Ron had a piece of kidney-pie hanging from his mouth, he stared at Harry with stars in his eyes. The rest of them ignored him.

"You did that thing after a forty-foot dive—"

"Excuse me, but it was a fifty-foot dive." Harry corrected her long-time friend.

"Well, Pardon me. That fifty-foot dive almost gave us all a heart attack." Leo's glare intensified. "We were all so worried that you might have gotten expelled. At least show some remorse, my dear Hariel."

Harry's face fell just a little. Hermione sniffed loudly from where she sat, clearly showing her disapproval. Harry ignored her and said, "I don't regret doing it."

Leo clicked his tongue in annoyance, "And I'm not saying you should. But you have to realize how lucky it is that it was McGonagall who caught it, and not someone else, say, like—Snape—"

"He's right, you are either the luckiest person or the unluckiest, depends on how you look at it. Instead of getting expelled, McGonagall handed you our house Seeker at you instead." Ryo commented as he sipped the pumpkin juice, the boy suddenly grimaced. "Ugh. Too sweet. How can anyone drink this stuff every day?"

"Here, add this. It's water." Aoife said, holding out a jug to the half-Japanese boy. Once he accepted, she turned to Harry with a smile. "Well, no matter what happened, let's me say this, congratulation on making the team."

"Thanks!" Harry replied with a smile of her own. Leo let out a long, deep, sigh.

"Yes, congratulation. I believe it is one of your goals, isn't it? To make the house team?" Her long-time friend commented. Harry nodded with a grin. Of course, she knew she was getting off easy. She could still feel the simmering anger underneath those grey eyes belonged to the dark-haired boy. But instead of dragging the issue on, Leo decided to shove it aside for now. Something which she was feeling grateful for.

Leo spoke again, "You'll be needing a broom then? Do you want me to write Aunt Lucretia for that?"

Harry shook her head, "It's alright. Professor McGonagall said that she will discuss further with Wood what kind of broom would suit me, she said she will take care of it." Harry explained, scooping some Shepard's pie for herself. She paused and lowered her voice, looking at all the first-year Gryffindors who had been listening in, "Most importantly though, Professor McGonagall told me to keep this a secret. Wood will only tell our team. They wanted it to be a surprise,"

All the first-years—except Hermione who pretending she wasn't eavesdropping—nodded enthusiastically. Leo gave her a knowing look. Somehow Harry wasn't too worried about keeping it a secret. Even someone like her who only have two weeks at Hogwarts knew that there was pretty much no secret within the Gryffindor Tower. If it wasn't the first year, it was some excitable upper-years who overhear it from someone else. Even their house ghost—Sir Nick couldn't help himself but brag about it.

Harry thought that by the time the rumors came back to her, it might have been the different stories altogether.

Suddenly two shadows fell on top of her, followed by a pair of arms dropping on top of her shoulder, actually, no, it wasn't a pair. Instead, they belonged to two different pairs of arms.

"Seeker, eh?" Fred Weasley said in a low voice. "The youngest in a century, I hear."

"Well done," George Weasley added, "Wood told us. We're on a team too—Beaters."

"You must be good, little spitfire," said Fred. "Wood was skipping when he told us."

They slapped her back enthusiastically, and then they were gone just as quickly as when they came. Harry blinked and looked at her friends, "Was that some kind of hazing?"

"Don't ask me," Leo turned back to his meal.

For the next fifteen minutes, Harry was swarmed by her new teammates from the upper years Gryffindors, who came to congratulate her as quietly as any Gryffindors could. The Fourth-year Alicia Spinet and the Fifth-year Angelina Johnson welcomed her warmly while citing that they were excited to finally have more girls on the team.

Edmund Kings, the sixth-year who formerly held the team's position as Seeker, also profusely thanked her for taking the position from him (along with the stress that came with it) and wished her luck with Wood. The older happily informed her that he most likely became a reserved Seeker from now on. Making Harry felt slightly less guilty for taking the position from him.

"Seriously, I thought you were a goner, mate," Declan commented from several seats away once all the upper years went away. "I'm not that enthusiastic about Quidditch but what you did was really incredible."

"I believe so as well," Tetsuya said, surprising everyone. "And thank you for standing up for Longbottom-san. Black-san had returned the Remembrall to me. I will give it to Longbottom-san when he comes back from the hospital wing."

That shock everyone, it was the first time the Japanese boy had spoken so much at once. Harry flushed at the compliment. Before she could return the gratitude, however, someone far less welcome than the Weasley twins showed up.

"Having the last meal, Potter?" Malfoy smirked mockingly. Everyone at Gryffindor table glared at him, even Tetsuya. "When are they sending you back to the Muggles? Maybe your squib friend should join you?"

"Sod off, Malfoy!" Ron shouted from his seat, pieces of food flying everywhere. Bonnie and Parvati shrieked and moved out of the way.

"Be quiet, Weasel. Your betters are speaking." The pale boy sneered.

"You little—"

"It's alright, Ron," Harry spoke up, halting the enraged redhead. She got up from her seat and came to stand in front of the pale boy. But not before saying, "It's sweet of you to try to help, but I can handle this."

The redhead flushed at the direct compliment and sat down abruptly. Leo, still in his seat, just looked at them with cool indifference. Aoife's hand was already in her pocket, no doubt grabbing for her wand. Ryo stood up as well, but unfortunately, he was on the other side of the table.

Turning back to Malfoy, Harry crossed her arms and said coolly, "Well, you are certainly braver now with your feet on the ground, standing between your little friends," There was nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was filled to the brim with the teachers, neither could do nothing but crackling knuckles and trying to look menace. Had Harry never lived with Uncle Vernon all her life, she might have been scared. These two were not even as tall as her uncle, or as large.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," Malfoy paused dramatically, "How about tonight if you want—"

"Malfoy, are you asking me on a date-night?" Harry smirked, all her friends except Leo, laughed.

"Wha—? No!" The boy spluttered and flushed, or as much as his pale complexion would allow. "I'm talking a Wizard's duel! Wands only—no contact."

But Harry pretended not to believe it, she narrowed her eyes and looked suspiciously at him. "Are you sure? The way you said it—whatever your girlfriend—what's her name again? Oh, right, Posy Parkinson, what would she say if she heard it?"

"It's Pansy and she is not my anything!" the boy looked ready to explode now, "And stop stalling, Potter! Or are you scared? Do you even know about Wizard's duel?"

"Calm down, I'm just making sure. And of course, I have heard of Wizard's duel before." Harry waved her hand, "Do you want to name our second now, or later?"

"We can do it now,"

Ron shot up from his seat again, "I'll be her—"

"I am her second," Leo finally got up from his seat, cutting off whatever Ron wanted to say. He pulled himself to his full height once more, dwarfing Malfoy. "And who's yours?"

Malfoy looked at his two gorillas for a second, as if seizing them up.

"Crabbe," the boy said. "Midnight, at the trophy room; it's always unlocked."

"And I will be your referee," A voice called out. Everyone turned to the source and realized it was Tetsuya, and he was out of his seat, standing right behind Crabbe and Goyle. The two oafs startled a squeak when they realized someone was standing behind them.

"And who are you supposed to be?" sneered Malfoy.

"Oh, you don't know him, Malfoy? Perhaps, your family is not as important as you think you are." Leo commented with a lopsided smirk, "Then let me introduce you to the son of the current Japanese Ambassador—Tetsuya Kuroko. His family is also the vessel of the Japanese Royal House, for the last nine hundred years."

Everyone's mouth hung open at the revelation, Tetsuya, however, was nonplused. He bowed politely as if this was an ordinary introductory.

"I am certain that I am more than qualified. I have refereed Wizard's duels for the royal prince more than once." Deadpan, the boy informed them.

"I am honored to have you referee for us," Harry said without missing a beat, forcing herself not to smirk too wide before turning to the pale boy. "How about you, Malfoy? Scared you can't cheat?"

"As if," the boy spat, "Fine! He can be the referee."

Malfoy and his goon were about to leave when Leo called out to them, "Hold on, Malfoy."

"What do you wa—"

"Alias Retaliatus!" A flash of faint light shot out of Leo's wand, it connected to Malfoy's forehead before faded away. Everyone gaped, because no one saw Leo draw a wand at all. Even Harry hadn't seen it coming.

Malfoy shriek a little, hands went to his head trying to find what was wrong. "What did you do!?"

"Oh, just a little insurance." Leo just shrugged, sliding his wand back into his holster. "You see, I don't trust that you will show up on time. Or worse, you could have gone and tattled about our little duel to a certain caretaker." From the boy's expression, it must have been his plan all along. Well, Harry wasn't surprised at all. Leo continued speaking, "So, I put a little jinx on you. If you don't show up tonight, a certain word—let's say—something like 'COWARD'—will show up on your forehead tomorrow. And it will stay there until I remove it with a counterspell."

"How do I know you are not just bluffing!?" pale-faced, Malfoy shouted, clearly shaken.

"You don't," Leo shrugged carelessly. "Feel free to test it out. And by the way, Professor Snape can't help you either. That spell was taught to me by my great-grandfather, the late Lord Black himself. He invented it, see?" Leo smiled chillily. "But do not worry, just show up tonight, and I promise to remove it before your duel."

"Fine!" The boy gritted his teeth and turned on his heels, stumbled into his two friends. "Move, you stupid apes! Wait until my father hear ab—"

And the Slytherins were gone, the three of them stormed out of the great hall. Harry looked around; the teachers surprisingly ignorant of their whole exchange. Everyone went back to their seats.

"I didn't know you know a spell like that," Harry whispered to Leo.

"Of course not," said the boy. "Because it doesn't exist."

"You were bluffing?!" Aoife hissed.

"Absolutely," Of course he was. That boy—

"Excuse me."

The four of them looked up, it was Hermione Granger again.

"Can we help you, Hermione?" Ryo asked with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I can't help but overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying—"

"Please don't do us any favor, Harmony. Everyone at this table can hear what we were saying." Harry said coolly.

"It's Hermione!" She corrected with grinding teeth, "And you should not go wandering around at night! Think of the points Gryffindor will lose if you're caught! That's very selfish of you!"

"Selfish?" Harry turned to her coldly, "Let me tell you something about selfishness. Maybe I am selfish for standing up to a prat like Malfoy. Sure, we will lose the House points and maybe I will get expelled. But do you know what's more selfish? By not helping our housemate, or doing nothing when they need help just because you are afraid to lose your precious points."

Anyone who could hear gaped at what Harry said. but she wasn't done. Harry looked at the other girl up and down, "Are you sure you belong in the house of the Braves, Granger? Or the hat just sorted you here because you nagged it long enough?"

The girl flushed deep red at that. Without another word, she gathered her bags and stormed away, out of the great hall. As soon as she was out of their earshot, Bonnie, Parvati, and Lavender huddled close to whispered among themselves. Harry turned back to her cold Shepard's pie, forcing her breath to slow down.

"Wasn't that a little bit too harsh?" Ryo asked hesitantly.

"It was," Leo agreed, "But it needs to be said. At the rate she's going, she will give herself a brain aneurysm before the term ends."

"The girl seriously needs to chill," Aoife said. "She's just so bossy."

"I agree," Tetsuya said, he already finished with his meal and had his bag slung over his shoulder already. "Granger-san is not a bad person, but she is a little bit interfering,"

"You mean Nosy," Harry said dryly.

Tetsuya gave them a small smile, "Perhaps. But let's leave this matter be. What time do you plan to leave for the trophy room?"

"We should be there early to scout the room. You never know what traps Malfoy might be hiding. We can also some recons on how long it takes from our dorm to the destination after dinner. But you don't have to do that, just meet us later, perhaps at least an hour earlier than the designated time—what?"

Leo paused when the four pairs of eyes stared at him.

"Wow, you planed everything already, did you?" Harry commented, deadpan.

"Of course, I've seen this coming since your argument with him on the train," Leo said. and Harry rolled her eyes. Of course, he did.

Tetsuya cleared his throat, "What time do you want to meet, then?"

"Eleven, in the common room?" Leo glanced back at Harry.

"Yes, sounds good to me." She agreed.

"Very well, I will meet you in the common room at eleven sharps," Tetsuya said before he walked away.

Harry watched the quiet boy go, a little fascinated. "I'm surprised he's joining us." she turned to Leo who was sipping some tea, "Is what you said about him true?"

"Yes," He said without looking at any of them, "Kuroko clan is a minor branch of the Royal house, I said minor but there was nothing minor about it. Tetsuya's father is one of the emperor's closest retainers. I'm surprised he was posted here, overseas."

"Wow, you are Mr. Walking-Wikipedia," Ryo commented, Harry snorted, and Leo, in turn, threw a serviette at him.

Impassively, the boy looked down at his wristwatch. "We should leave soon if we are to scout for escape routes. We only have until the curfew, which is in three hours."

"Well, let me finish this treacle tart and I'm good to go," Harry was about to wolf down this slice of the tart when Ron called her from across the table.

"Hey, Hariel!" She looked up, her three other friends did as well. Surprisingly, he didn't have pieces of food hanging from his mouth. Perhaps he already finished eating. Besides the read-haired boy, Dean, Seamus, and Declan looked at them nervously.

Oh-oh, this couldn't be good.

"What is it, Ron?" Harry kept her voice neutral.

"Are you sure it's okay with Black as your second?" The boy said, glaring at Leo as he spoke. "I mean, he's related to Malfoy, isn't he? Maybe he just lures you there for Malfoy! You can't trust them! He's a Black after all!"

Harry felt a twitch on the corner of her mouth. She wanted so badly to lash out but she could feel Leo's hand squeezing her knee, telling her not to do it.

"Funny you mentioned about the Blacks, Weasley," Leo said calmly from next to her. "You do know that your paternal grandmother—Cedrella Weasley was a Black? That made us related as well. Are you saying we can't trust anything you say?"

"How dare you talk about my grandmama like that! She was nothing like you lot!" Ron was angry now, and completely missing the whole point. "She was kind and generous, that's why you Blacks disowned her!"

"She was disowned for marrying your grandfather. Whom, if I recalled correctly lost the rest of his family fortunes to a swindle." Leo said evenly. Everyone that could hear, gasped. Ron's face was almost the same shade as his hair now. The boy opened his mouth, no doubt, to throw more insult, but—

"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY!" Someone yelled from down the table. Everyone swung around to see a furious Percy stormed down from the aisle. In a flash, he was right by Ron's side, finger pointed at his younger brother. "You will shut your mouth! Or I will owl mother about your disgraceful behavior!"

"But Perce—" Ron tried to protest,

"I said to shut it!" Percy hissed back at him and Ron shrank back. The older boy swung around to face Leo. "My sincere apology to you, Black. I'll make sure my brother stops antagonized you from now on. Please send Aunt Lucretia my deepest regard."

"Of course, and thank you," Leo said with a serene smile on his face, before getting up from his seat with his bag slung over his shoulder. Harry and the other two did the same, all the desserts ideas were abandoned. They all grabbed their bags.

Together, the four of them made their ways out of the great hall, pretending not to hear Percy Weasley's continuous yelling at his younger brother.

: : : : : :

In the end, Leo had successfully talked Aoife and Ryo out from coming along with them to the trophy room. He cited that the more people going along the hard it was to sneak past Filch and his demon cat. Aoife and Ryo hadn't been happy but they realized that the boy was right, and decided to stay put at Gryffindor Tower—Much to Harry's relieved.

They, however, tagged along for Leo's 'scouting' trip. After leaving the great hall, the four of them made their way toward the said trophy room. It was located on the third floor of the castle. It was a large room with a high arching ceiling. Glass displays were lining every wall, each of them filled to the brim with trophies, plates, Cups, shields, and statues. On one wall, however, contained a long list of Head Boys and Head Girls—Harry was excited to see her parents' names among them. It was hung next to the plaque for Hogwarts Awards for Services to the School.

Once the small 'tour' around the room was done. They spent almost forty-five minutes mapping out the hidden places in the room, every nooks and cranny where traps could be hiding. Turned out there were none, at least not yet. Didn't mean Malfoy and his goons wouldn't try to put some of them later.

Harry, herself, surveyed the room. She thought it was an odd choice for dueling. Sure, the room was always unlocked, and the location wasn't hard to find. But with the display glasses lining every wall, wouldn't it be bad if one of their spells hit it and perhaps cracked or broke the case.

When she voiced her thoughts to Leo, the boy told her, "I don't think Malfoy thought that far ahead. He probably thought to lure you out of bed for Filch to find and catch you."

"And now he can't do it because of your trick," Harry snorted.

"Never the less, once we finished this we need to review what spells you can use against him," Leo said. "I'm sure the prefects will leave us alone if we told them we are trying out spells from the coursebook."

"As long as Hermione doesn't tattle on you, right?" Aoife muttered.

"We will deal with her if it comes to that," Leo assured them.

After making sure the room was free of any traps, it was time for them to secure the escape routes.

Several ways would lead them back to Gryffindor Towers. The fastest one was to go through the attached Armory and then head straight to the moving staircases. But this route depended so much on luck, if the staircase changed to different floors instead of whichever closest to the seventh floor, they might be in trouble. And so, this route became the backup one instead.

The best route turned out to one with a little detour. By leaving from the way they came and made their way down the narrow stairs toward the second floor, they could use the upper-year Transfiguration corridor to travel to another connected tower, and from there made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. There was one problem, if somehow the way out of the room were blocked, they would not be able to use it.

There were several others but Harry's head was already spinning by the time they had tried the fourth one. Even Ryo looked almost cross-eyed. Not to mention, Aoife whom they knew had no sense of direction, at all.

"Well, that's good enough for now, I guess," Leo commented as he looked at them one by one. "Let's go back to the common room and practice your spells."

"Finally!" Harry threw her hands up in triumph.

By the time they made it back to Gryffindor Tower, it was already almost time for the lower-years' curfew. Nevertheless, Leo picked a corner of the common room where they could practice without disturbing everyone else. Aoife and Ryo sat down on the table nearby and started on their DADA homework while occasionally watched her and Leo.

From then on, Leo had her cast any spells she thought that could be used in a duel.

If Harry had to be honest, her arsenal of spells was abysmal, comparing to someone like Draco Malfoy, who had, no doubt, been taught since he could walk about wizard's duel. But Harry had agility on her side, she had been an athlete since she was a child. Leo prompted her to use it to her advantage.

"We don't have the luxury of time to practice new spells. Just pick a few and go with it," Leo instructed her, "and remember to dodge! Vermillious!"

With that the boy shot a red spark right at her head, Harry ducked and roll just in time. "Hey! I wasn't ready!"

Leo clicked his tongue, wand tapping in his hand. "Malfoy is not going to wait for you, Hariel. No matter how much the curtesy dictates. And that spell was pretty harmless, but it can distract your opponent. You might want to remember it for future reference."

"What's the incantation again?"

"It's Vermillious. Vur-MILL-ee-us."

"Vur-MILL-ee-us. Got it," She tasted the word on her own tongue. And without a warning, she flicked out her wand toward Leo, "Vermillious!"

The red spark shot out, albeit smaller than Leo's but it came out nonetheless. The boy dodged it easily, of course. "Hmm, not bad. See, I'm now distracted by your spell you should have a second spell ready. How about—"

They went at it for another hour. During that time, the Weasley Twins dropped by watching them for a few minutes. It seemed they had heard about her duel with Malfoy. They didn't tell her who told them about it. But they did show Harry a useful spell called Disarming Charm. After a few minutes, the twins but not before wishing her good luck.

Harry was concentrating on the new spell; she missed a black look Hermione had given them. But the girl had stormed away without saying anything else. Harry thanked Merlin silently and went back to her practice. Ron, Declan, Dean, and Seamus also dropped by to wish her good luck. Ron had pretended Leo wasn't there once more. Well, a little bit of improvement if anyone asked her. Leo, on the other hand, couldn't care any less about Ron.

By ten o'clock, Elsie Reid came by and told everyone it was time to head to bed. Just as she was leaving, the older girl turned around and whispered to Harry "Good Luck" and to give that brat hell. She winked and skipped away. Harry was sure the fifth-year prefect knew about her duel as well. How? She had no idea. Perhaps, from the Weasley twins.

With a nod between Harry and Leo, they went separated ways toward their dorms. Aoife followed Harry up to the girl's dorm, as Leo went to the boy's side with Ryo.

Harry went through her night routine as usual—she changed into her nightgown. She brushed her hair with Sleekeazy's. she brushed her teeth. Everything went as usual but while changing, she wore her jogger and t-shirt under her nightgown. She loudly said good night to all the girls. Aoife replied back, so were Bonnie and Parvati. Lavender already asleep. Hermione was quiet behind the curtains of her bed but Harry couldn't care less if the girl was asleep or not.

Sliding into her bed, Harry closed her eyes but with no intention of falling asleep. Instead, she went through the breathing method of meditation. Her wristwatch was already set to alert her when the time came. She could hear Bonnie and Parvati's quiet conversation about potion essay. The noise of Aoife's puttering around her bed. Lavender's snore.

All the while, Harry counted her breathing. The only she could not hear at all was Hermione. Hmm, maybe the girl learned silencing charm? Well, anything was possible. But not for long, her roommates fell asleep one after another.

As the clock struck five to eleven, her watch vibrated on her wrist. Harry opened her eyes, and quietly pulled the nightgown over her head. She didn't want to duel Malfoy while wearing nightclothes. Harry quickly shrugged her old club-jacket on before sliding out of her bed as quietly as possible. There was a small noise of a curtain moving, Harry turned to see Aoife peeking out of her curtains. Her friend winked and gave her a thumb up without saying anything else. Harry nodded and returned her the same gesture. She craned her neck to check Hermione's, but there was no movement at all. Harry hoped that the girl had already fallen asleep.

Her wand was still strapping on her arm. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun, and as quietly as possible she crept out of the dorm. There was no one on the stairs either. So far so good. Just as she came down from the girls' side, she spotted two shadows from the boys' side.

"You are here," Leo whispered as they came to meet at the end of the stairs, the boy wore his jacket over his jogger as well. Tetsuya who had following behind, however, had a bathrobe over his night cloth. Harry blinked at the boy, but since he wasn't the one doing the duel, she decided not to say anything.

"I've explained the escape routes to Tetsuya already, he's up-to-date," Leo whispered again as they crept across the common room. A few embers were still glowing within the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows.

"Thanks for doing this," Harry whispered to the Japanese boy.

"It is no problem," he replied just as quietly.

They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice called out from the nearest chair, "I can't believe you are really doing this."

Three wands swung toward the voice—Harry was surprised how fast Tetsuya had drawn his wand. There was a gasp before a lamp flicker on. Hermione Granger, in her pink bathrobe, stared down at the wands pointing at her.

"Oh, it's you," Harry clicked her tongue before withdrawing the wand from the girl's face. Tetsuya and Leo did the same.

"Is that all you have to say?" Hermione asked shrilly. "I almost told Elsie about this reckless endeavor of yours, she's a prefect, she'd put a stop to this nonsense."

"Well, it wouldn't have mattered. She happens to know about it already!" Harry chirped, "She even wished me good luck!"

Hermione's mouth hung open at that. "You—you are lying! She's a prefect! She wouldn't have—"

"Believe me, or don't. I don't care." Harry waved her hand and pushed the portrait open. They climbed through the door. Hermione followed them out, hissing like an angry cat.

"I can't believe you are doing this! You don't care about Gryffindor at all! You talked about standing up for your friend? Here I am standing up to you, for Gryffindor! I'm going to stop your stupid behav—"

Harry didn't let the girl ranted further. She swung around and cut her off. "Oh, really? You are standing up for Gryffindors? You are going to stop us, yes? How?"

"I will—"

"Both of you, shut up," Leo said with a harsh voice, freezing both of them mid-arguing. The boy glared at her and Hermione. "Are you trying to wake up the whole castle?"

Harry bit her lips and looking at Leo sheepishly. She knew part of it was her fault, but Merlin and Morgana! Hermione Granger was so irritating! She was like an itch that refused to go away. And Harry couldn't help but poke and prodded back at the girl.

"Good! Maybe someone will stop the three of you from doing this!" Hermione crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Granger-san is very smart, but sometimes she can be pretty dumb."

Everyone blinked and turned to see that it was Tetsuya who said it. Harry had wanted to laugh so hard but she forced herself not to. Hermione flushed red at his words; the girl bristled and opened her mouth, ready to spew the defense for herself. But the Japanese boy held his finger to his mouth, gesturing for her to be silent.

"It is not my intention to insult you, Granger-san." The boy assured the other girl. "But if you got caught right now with the three of us, you too would be sent home." Hermione gasped after that. "We appreciate your sentiment but perhaps, you should go back before it's too late."

Hermione stared at the boy for a moment, as if to formulate a response. Finally, she said, "Why you, of all people, going along with them?"

"Because I have given them my words, and I do not break my words." Tetsuya replied calmly before turning to Harry, "Let's us go, Potter-san, Black-san."

"Go back, Granger. If we got in trouble it will be on our head." Leo told her.

"Fine! I will go. But I remember this when you all are on the train back home tomorrow that I've told you so! I can't believe I've wasted—"

Hermione's rant was cut off with a gasp. Harry and the other two boys turned around to see that and an empty portrait frame. It seemed the Fat Lady had already gone on her nighttime visit. No one was paying attention during the squabbling to noticed if she had been gone since they climbed out or she had just left. But Hermione was now locked out of the Gryffindor Tower.

"What am I going to do?!" the girl floundered.

"Well, you can wait here until the Fat Lady came back, or," Leo paused and looked at Harry.

Eyes wide, she realized what the boy was about to suggest. "No. No way. We're not taking her with us."

"Good, I'm not standing here waiting for Filch to catch me. This way if he does, I can just tell them the truth that I've tried to stop you." Hermione announced snidely.

Harry snorted at the girl, "Wow, Tetsuya is right, for a smart person, you are dumb."

"Enough, both of you," Leo said sharply. "Granger, keep your nagging to yourself, or I swear I will curse your mouth shut. Hariel, you as well. Everyone keeps to the shadow and follow me."

No one argued with him further. The four of them flitted along the corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. No one said anything as they followed Leo's lead, not even Hermione who looked around with eyes wide at everything. They had taken the shortest route by using the moving staircases which saved them time. Once the stair came to a stop and deposited them on the landing, the four of them tip-toed off toward the third-floor corridor. And before they knew it, they had arrived at the trophy room.

Since they were there ahead of time, Malfoy and his goons weren't there. Leo gestured them to stay in the shadow between two display cases, just in case Filch or Mrs. Norris took a walk this way. Leo and Harry went on to check if the room had been altered after they had left earlier or not, fortunately, they found nothing. Any conversations were done in hushed tones. Hermione was surprisingly quiet.

"Hey, how is Neville? Did he stay at the hospital wing overnight?" Harry whispered to Tetsuya, who became one of Neville's closest friends.

"No, Longbottom-san was back at the boys' dorm since before curfew. He had been sleeping off the pain reliever potion when we left." Tetsuya replied with his voice just as low.

"So, Madam Pomfrey fixed his arm, then? I heard it was broken. If you're in a muggle hospital that would take months to be fixed." Harry asked again. The other boy nodded.

"There were several breaks on his arms, so it took longer than usual."

"He was lucky, it's only his arms. He could have broken his neck with a fall like tha—" But Leo didn't finish what he wanted to say. The boy stopped abruptly and held a finger to his mouth. Telling them to be quiet.

There was shuffling noises from the next room, a second later Harry saw three shadows coming closer and closer; two large and one small.

"I swear to Salazar's grave, if that squib didn't show up tonight, my father will hear about this!" Malfoy hissed like an angry goose as they waltzed into the trophy room, not caring about the noise they were making. There were mumbling grunts that followed but Harry couldn't care less what his two goon's responses were. Could they even speak in full sentences?

"I'm sure your father will hear about this regardless, cousin." Leo took initiative and stepped out from where they had been hiding. The act startled Malfoy, the pale boy let out a girlish squeak. Harry had to bite back the grin forming on her face.

"Black, Potter, Kuroko," He gritted his teeth and righted his posture at once. His eyes swung to each of her party, a sneer on his face. When he saw Hermione, his sneer deepened. "and the mudb—muggleborn. What is she even doing here?"

"Don't mind the reason why she's here, Malfoy. I didn't ask you why you brought Goyle when our arrangement was just our seconds, did I?" Harry crossed her arms and looked at the Slytherin with a raised eyebrow.

"Fine. We can start as soon as Black removes his stupid spell," the boy sneered again, his glare fell on Leo.

"Of course, cousin. Stay still, if you would." Leo gave him a small smile, wand already in his hands. The boy lifted it and pointed toward Malfoy's head, "Diffluo Hexia."

Harry watched as a flash of light appeared at the end of Leo's wand. It didn't shoot out and hit a target like last time in the great hall. Made-up spells or not, Leo needed to make it looked real enough. Just stringing a couple of Latin words together wasn't going to be enough. Harry suspected the boy had done a variation of wand-lightning charm without an incantation, very advance things to do. Harry was still hopelessly behind the boy when it came to spell-work. Even Granger watched with fascination in her eyes.

The flash lasted only a few seconds before faded away. Malfoy quickly patted his head, he turned to his goons as if to ask them if everything was correctly in place. He turned around after Crabbe and Goyle just shrugged it off.

"Let's us begin; the duelers please come forward," Tetsuya announced and gestured for the two of them to come forward. They used the space in the middle of the room as a make-shift arena, it was quite narrow, less than five feet apart. They met in the middle; the Japanese boy gestured for them to stand with their backs together. Harry and Malfoy complied, and Tetsuya spoke again, oddly more formal than usual. "Each of you takes three steps forward, and turn around,"

Harry took a deep breath and she did, Malfoy did the same, obviously knew about the dueling etiquettes well. Tetsuya gauged the distance between the two of them, making sure either of them tried to cheat. Once he was satisfied the boy spoke, "The seconds please stand next to me, no wand will be drawn before your time to substitute, please. Whoever did, that side will be forfeit by default. The spectators please stand behind me. Same rules applied."

Crabbe and Goyle sneered at the shorter boy but did as requested since Malfoy hissed for them to follow the rules. Hermione came to stand behind Tetsuya, but her hand was clutching the wand inside her robe. Leo stood next to the Japanese boy quietly, wand still inside his arm holster, but from the twitch of his fingers, Harry knew her friend was ready for it anytime.

"Standard rules; No deadly spells, No physical contacts. The duel ends when once of you yield or lost consciousness, the later your second can take over the duel afterward." Tetsuya explained once more, the wand also in his hand. He looked at both of them. "Are you agree to these rules?"

"Yes," Harry replied, finger sliding across the holly wood of her wand.

"Yes." Malfoy sneered the answer from where he stood. "Stop stalling, Gryffindor. It won't help your housemate win."

"Manners must be observed, Malfoy-san. As a British wizard, you should know that." Tetsuya said without a pause, his face as blank as ever, there was no sneer in his voice. Harry lifted the corner of her mouth into a smirk.

Ignored Malfoy's muttering insults, Tetsuya lifted his wand. "Duelers, bow!" Neither of them actually bowed, however. Malfoy just jerked his head, a sneer still on his face. Harry inclined her head at an acceptable angle back at him.

"Wands at the ready,"

Malfoy lifted his wand over his head, with his other arm in front of him. His stance was practiced with the elegant arch of his arm. There was no doubt Malfoy was taught to perfect it since he was young.

Harry couldn't let that little fact distract her. She moved into a position of her own. It wasn't something fancy like Malfoy's. With her wand raised at an angle in front of her, her other arm relaxed next to her. her legs slightly bent, ready to move at the moment noticed.

"At the count of three. One—Two—"

Before Tetsuya could finish, however, there was a noise coming from the next room. Everyone froze in their spots and turned toward it, even Malfoy.

"Sniff around, my sweet, I'm certain they're hiding around here."

It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. It seemed the caretaker was on them. Tetsuya was about to signal the canceling of the duel with someone shouted—

"Flipendo!"

And a streak of yellow light shot out of Malfoy's wand toward her. She side-stepped just in time to dodge the Knockback Jinx, but in doing so the spell hit one of the display cases behind her. The impact rattled the whole case. There was no break on the glass, however, the trophies inside fell on top of each other, creating loud noises that would soon alert Filch.

"Prat!" Harry hissed just in time to see Malfoy and his goons ducking out of the door during the commotion.

"Go!" Leo mouthed to the others, pointing for them to move toward the Armory. The three other Gryffindors did without any protest, just as they pulled the door of the Armory closed, Filch's voice could be heard.

"They're in here! I heard them!" Filch sounded so excited. But none of them stop to listen anymore. The four of them ran, as quietly as possible, down the long gallery full of suits of armors. They could Filch getting nearer and nearer, they didn't stop to look back, with Leo in the lead, they almost reached the doorpost—

Before they could pass through successfully, one of Hermione's bathrobe's sleeve got caught by a piece of armor, she squeaked in panic and pulled it with all her might. As the result, the sleeve came away but so was the whole suit of armor.

The crashing and clanging were loud enough to wake the whole bloody castle.

"Merlin!" Leo hissed and pulled Hermione up to her feet. "Keep going!" He told them and Harry didn't wait to see what he did.

She kept running, but Hermione was in the lead this time, Tetsuya was bringing up the rear. The boy didn't look so good at running. They ran and ran, down the corridor to another. Harry had no idea where Hermione was leading them. Not until Leo caught up with them.

"You are all going the wrong way!" Leo hissed.

"Tell that to Hermione! She's leading us!" Harry hissed back. Leo grabbed and pulled Hermione before she could turn at another corner. The girl was about to protest when they heard the laughter floating in the air. Peeves was around here somewhere, and the poltergeist would no doubt gave their location away—just for fun.

"Take a right, now!" Leo hissed and shoved them all toward what looked like a Charms corridor. Several doors lined the wall. "Pick a door, Hurry!"

"They're all locked!" Harry tried all the door she could, both Peeves and Filch could be heard just around the corner now.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying, "Did you see?"

"Use your wand!" Leo hissed and he cast a smokescreen in the corridor, probably in the hope to obscure their pursuers. Tetsuya was bending over his knees, breathing heavily. Hermione's hair was just as frazzled as her pale face.

Harry picked the door at the end of the corridor—just because it was the one closest to her, jammed her wand at the doorknob, and snarled, "Alohomora!"

The lock clicked and the door swung opened, Harry shoved Hermione in first before pulling a wheezing Tetsuya in with her. Leo followed and slammed the door shut just as quickly. Everyone but Tetsuya—who was still trying his breathing back—had their ears pressed against the wooden door, listening.

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now tell me where did they go?" Filch sounded irritated, there was meowing noise that followed, no doubt, belong to Mrs. Norris.

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," Harry could hear Peeve said in his singsong voice.

"All right—Please."

"NOTHING! Hahah! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha Haaaaa!" And then there were several whooshing noises and Filch cursing in rage, the meowing followed him. The sounds started to move away but no one had moved for their spots. For the moment they were relatively safe.

Harry took a deep breath, letting her head thumped against the wooden door. Tetsuya was still wheezing, trying to catch his breath back. The boy had couched down with his head bent over.

"Not one for running, eh?" Harry teased as she looked at the Japanese boy.

Tetsuya glanced up from where he was, his pale eyes narrowed down just a fraction, "Potter-san, do—be—quiet," he said between breaths.

Harry was about to laugh at him when she was shushed suddenly by Leo. "Shh! Don't—make—any—sound."

Leo mouth the words slowly just as everyone turned to look at the taller boy. He had his finger to his lips, before he slowly moved it away, and pointed forward at something in front of them.

Harry's eyes followed his finger and then she saw—no, this could not be happening! On top of everything else that happened tonight, she could not believe what was in front of her eyes.

They were not in a classroom, not at all. They were in a corridor. It was quite dark, but with the moonlight streaming through the high windows, all four of them could see clearly the sleeping form of an enormous body. It was obviously canine, its gigantic size wasn't the only problem, however. It was the head or heads. Three identical heads slumped on the huge paws. Soft snores were coming out from each of the heads, some saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs every time it breathed out.

Hermione let out a high pitch scream but it was immediately smothered by a hand over her mouth. Tetsuya had sprung from his hunching to cover her mouth with his hand. But it was too late, the noise had already alerted the beast. One of the six eyes popped open and looked right at them. And the next second, all six of them were opened. The beast lifted itself up towering over them, growling thunderously.

"Good doggie?" Harry said lamely.

"Fumos!" Thick fog streamed out of Leo's wand and floated out in front of them, obscuring the beast from seeing them. But everyone knew that the fog wasn't going to save them from becoming doggy's snacks. Leo hissed for them, "Go!"

Tetsuya was the quickest and pushed the door open. He all but dragged a shocking Hemione out before Leo and Harry scrambled after. Between Filch and the multiple-heads dog a size of Hagrid's hut, they'd rather take Filch.

As soon as the door was slammed shut, all four of them ran once more. Filch and his cat must have gone off to look somewhere else. Because there was no sign of him anywhere, not that they had time to care. All of them ran as fast as they could, good thing that it was Leo who led them this time. Through the correct moving staircase, they reached the seventh floor in no time. Finally, they arrived back at the portrait of the Fat Lady, who thankfully was back where she was.

"Where have you all been?!" she asked, looking at the untidy clothes and sweats pouring out on their faces.

"Never mind that—Pig snout!" Harry panted out the password when she saw Tetsuya starting to sway sideways. Leo was quick to grab the other boy before he could fell over. The portrait swung open, and the four of them scrambled inside. Tetsuya collapsed on the floor right when they were inside the safety of the common room.

Harry took a deep breath and sat down with her legs stretch out on the floor next to the boy's collapsed form. Hermione was panting in the armchair nearby. Leo looked winded but still standing straight.

"That was the Charms corridor, wasn't it?" Harry said. "Why in the bloody hell did they have a Cerberus in school full of children?!"

"It's obviously guarding something," Leo rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Cerberus or a type of hellhound, a mythical beast said to guard the gates of the underworld—"

"Are you saying that corridor was the gates to the underworld?" Harry suggested, she knew it was lame but she couldn't help it.

"Of course not!" Hermione snapped from where she sat. She seemed to have recovered her breathing, so was the girl's bad temper. "Didn't any of you see what it was standing on?"

"No, I was too busy looking at its fangs, thank you very much." Harry snapped back at the girl. "At least I didn't scream my head off and almost get us all eaten—"

"Of course, I do," Leo quickly cut Harry off. She glared at him for it. He ignored her. "It's a trapdoor. It's clearly guarding something."

"Well, whatever it is, you better leave it alone!" Hermione stood up, sniffed with her nose high, she glared at the both of them. "Now, if you don't mind, I am going to bed before either of you come up with another idea that could have gotten us all killed—or worse, expelled!"

Hermione sniffed one last time before stormed away toward the girls' dorm.

"That girl needs to sort out her priorities," Harry jibed once the girl was out of their earshot. She turned and glanced down at Tetsuya's stilled form. Harry poked him with her finger. The boy just grunted something unintelligent back at her. "Is he okay?"

Leo looked at the shorter boy. "He will be fine after a few minutes. He probably has a delicate constitution." And then he sat down at the armchair nearby. To Tetsuya, Leo said, "Maybe you need some exercises to strengthen your body,"

The boy grunted again but this time it was not unintelligent. "Black-san, please leave me alone. My body is fine."

"You may be fine, but I'm not." Harry stretched the arms over her head. "It's only two weeks and I am already feeling it. I think we'll need to split sometimes on our schedule for exercises. There's no way I'm letting my body's condition deteriorate more than this."

"I agree, at least we can jog in the morning. But let's see how your Quidditch practice looking," Leo suggested as he wiped the sweats off his forehead. "When did you say the practice started again?"

"Wood said, next week," Harry told him and crossed her legs. Tetsuya was still unmoving. She looked at her longtime friend, "Hey, do you think what that dog is guarding had something to do with that news clipping Hagrid kept?"

Leo paused mid-motion and turned to look at her, "Well…. it's a possibility. Short of asking him outright, I don't think Hagrid will tell you anything."

Harry frowned, "You know, I just recalled something Hagrid said when he took me to Gringotts the first time. He said that Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide—except perhaps Hogwarts. I thought he sounded a little exaggerated then but now that I thought about it—Do you think they are hiding something here inside the castle?"

Leo had a thoughtful look on his face. "If that's true then, the thing they're hiding might belong to Dumbledore,"

"And the professors are helping him protecting it?" Harry added her opinion.

"I think—" Tetsuya, finally sat up. The color seemed to be back on his face, or Harry thought it did, it was still pretty dark in the common room since none of them had bothered lighting any lamp.

"Whoa, welcome back to the land of the living," Harry told the boy cheekily.

"I think," Tetsuya repeated, giving her a side-eyed look, "Whatever the beast is guarding, we should leave it alone. They're keeping it inside a school, it cannot be something dangerous."

Harry snorted, "Tell that to the Cerberus."

"Exactly. It is under the beast's protection, anyone with sense would not go looking for it." Tetsuya stressed the last part, seemingly at her. "It is too bad that the duel ended the way it was. After a few weeks I've sent in Malfoy-san's company, I should have expected him to try and cheated an honorable duel that he instigated." He lamented, before trying to stand up on his wobbly legs.

Leo sighed and shook his head. "You and me both."

"Nevertheless, have a good night, Potter-san, Black-san." Tetsuya had only walked for a few steps before his legs gave out; the boy almost went down sideways again. Leo caught him just in time to save his dignity.

"Here, let me help you. It's the least I can do since you've almost got caught with us," Leo turned and looked at Harry who still sprawling on the carpeted floor. "You should go to bed, too. Before someone else came down and find you. Good night."

Leo said goodbye and helped the shorter boy walked toward the boys' dorm, leaving Harry alone inside the dark common room.

Harry's thoughts were still running wide inside her head. The dog might have been really guarding the package Hagrid had moved that day. That meant Harry had just found the location that grubby little package had been moved to. It was none other than Hogwarts.

"It's not like I can solve it all tonight," She mumbled to herself and got up. And as quietly as possible tip-toeing back up the spiral staircase to the girls' dorm. There was no movement at all when Harry crept toward her bed. Perhaps, Hermione had already fallen asleep?

Taking off her jacket and undid her hair, Harry quickly slid back into her bed. And as usual, the bed was warm and welcome. She pulled the sheet up to her chin, her toes curled for a few minutes. In less than ten minutes she fell into a deep sleep, the excitement of the night forgotten, at least until the next day.

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Ps :: Once again, sorry about the late update. This chapter was done for a while but I didn't even have time to get on the laptop just to post it, that how busy I was.

The story is going a bit slow for now. I'm trying to keep the pacing the same as the canon in the book. But the plot will pick up soon.

Until the next chapter, stay safe everyone!