A/N: I will admit, I've set myself up for a challenge here to not recycle elements of the mayhem I put into the other 2 EM's. Hence the delay in finishing this chapter. Cruelty and angst ahead!
Chapter 15 - The Defense Against All Of It
Lucius and Harry read their coins. Lucius had gotten his message off, and now Dumbledore had promised to arrive shortly.
"And the others?" Harry asked, thinking there should be as many wizards present as possible to handle this thing. The ear ringing and the irritation in his scar made him nervous, although the lead box was doing a great job of creating a barrier. Now each reaction was a muffled thread that he had to pay attention to, to recognize that it was still there.
The coin activated with another message, this time from McGonagall: The Liaison is asking where… Potter is, demanding he… return to classes…. I am telling him what… to do with his demands…
"Can he do that?" Harry asked in alarm. "What am I saying? Of course he can. People can do whatever they want to me."
"Let's think this through, Harry," Lucius said calmly, but by the way his nostrils were flaring, Harry knew he was shocked. "We'll need a plan."
I will remove the box… to a more secure location… That was from Dumbledore. Leave that part to me. Harry presumed Dumbledore would pop in and out of the school with Fawkes' aid.
The next message came from Remus. I'm in the Gryffindor Common Room now… Harry, you should floo through… and be in your dorm… There may be a search for you.
Potter should not be in the corridors by himself at any point… That was from Snape.
"Come, Harry," Lucius said, putting his arm out like Snape had been doing. "Let's put our heads together with Remus."
"I'll be sending Hedwig with a letter for my solicitor as well," Harry declared. His stomach had tied into a massive knot. If it gets hairy, you're calling Dobby, he reminded himself as he went into a spin with Lucius via the floo network.
0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0
Remus greeted them with a grim expression when they stepped through. "I do not like this. They've jailed the aurors, derailed Albus' attempts to get in front of the Wizengamot, and now they've got a minion here, coming after Harry."
"Well, let's put this into perspective, shall we?" Lucius replied. He looked around at the interior of the Gryffindor Common Room, as if distracted for a moment, but he had a snide curve to his mouth as he continued, "Pius Thicknesse is an imbecile. He has already overstepped his bounds with Minerva, seemingly with impunity. However, until his improprieties can be addressed, we will have to put up with his shenanigans, unless he crosses a line that becomes a crime under the current laws." Lucius sniffed. "That being said, he currently has power, since he's being blindly backed by the Ministry. He will take full advantage of that."
"The High Inquisitor rulings from Umbridge are still in place, then?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Remus replied. "That's one of the things Albus will be trying to unravel with the Wizengamot. The Headmistress has been able to dismantle all things associated with the job description that Umbridge held here, but many of her decrees still stand. As a liaison, Thicknesse can act with authority on the Ministry's behalf, but he is not a law enforcement agent."
Harry excused himself and ran upstairs to his dorm to gather parchment and quill for his letter to Roarshirack. He stopped for a second to find his center and calm down. Then he opened his trunk, pulled out the rucksack and quickly paged through the documents. It's Wednesday, 8 January. Twenty-three more days. The thought was much less of a comfort at the moment, since even if he could legally make his own decisions, the Ministry of Magic would still try to hold him accountable for imaginary crimes. It's looking like I'm going to have to just leave altogether if things get much worse.
But the horcruxes aren't going to just go away…
He wrote his message for his solicitor, informing him of current anticipated threats from this "Ministry Liaison," and also asking him to confirm what kind of authority the Ministry currently held within the school boundaries. He closed his eyes and thought about Hedwig with fierce concentration. She showed up at the Tower window a few minutes later and hooted at him to let her in.
"Hey girl," he said with a lump in his throat. He didn't understand why seeing her made him feel emotional, but he took a few minutes to stroke her feathers and feed her owl treats. "This needs to get to Gringott's straight away," he told her. "I'll try to come to the Owlery soon, for a longer visit, alright?" He grinned at her HOOT! which sounded a lot like she was chastising him for neglecting her.
He opened the window and set her off, then grabbed the Map and headed back down the stairs, feeling the heat and vibration of the coin again en route.
Potter will need to… resume his class schedule immediately… McGonagall messaged. Harry,… do NOT be caught alone with Thicknesse.
"Wonderful."
0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0
Harry had waited with Remus and Lucius in the Common Room. They'd watched the ongoing messaging on the coin as Dumbledore announced that the horcrux had been stowed someplace inaccessible to all but a select few. Snape had ranted about a surprise classroom visit by Thicknesse, who had thought that period was a fifth year class.
"He's looking for me, isn't he?" Harry had asked in disgust.
When it was finally lunchtime, they'd consulted Harry's Map, left Gryffindor together, and had successfully steered clear of Pius Thicknesse. The adult wizards had left Harry off at the Gryffindor table and headed to sit with the other professors. Harry had squeezed in between Ron and Hermione, who were having an early lunch before having to patrol during the second half of the break.
"Alright, Harry?" Hermione asked with intense concern. "We've been so worried!"
"I'm alright, just sort of wrung out from all that's gone on," Harry said bitterly. Then he realized he was failing to keep up with the goings-on outside of his own bubble of chaos. "Did the Daily Prophet have anything about Voldemort, or last night's Night Bus attack? Does it say anything about all the aurors who are in jail right now?"
"Nothing," Ron scowled. "I got an owl from my parents telling me that you were alright, but no news on Tonks, Mad-Eye or Shacklebolt. They did warn to be extra careful around anyone from the Ministry that comes into the school."
"Yeah," Harry said, "I've got to watch it with that Thicknesse bloke."
"He's called a meeting with the Prefects this evening, before dinner," Hermione told Harry in a low voice.
"What?" Harry asked incredulously. He huffed an angry sigh. "This is not good. Does McGonagall know?"
"We're not sure," Ron told Harry. "We haven't seen her yet today."
Harry took out his coin and wand. The Liaison has called… the Prefects to a meeting today,… just before dinner, he messaged.
There was a flurry of irritated responses about the idiot Liaison that actually made Harry feel a tad better, but his instincts told him the meeting was going to be about him. Just like the Inquisitor Squad. But then he remembered Draco's tearful promise the other day. He might actually be able to count on the ferret to keep his word. Who knows what's next, then? He looked around the room for this Pius Thicknesse character, but didn't see anyone that might be him within the Hall. He pulled out the Marauder's Map and studied it under the table in between hearty bites of roasted chicken and potatoes.
A small marking, bearing the name of Pius Thicknesse, was pacing back and forth in the section of fifth floor corridor that housed the entry to the Room of Requirement. This can't be good. He messaged again to the group:
The Liaison has just… accessed the ROR.
"What do you reckon, Harry?" Ron asked.
"No idea," Harry told him. He sighed. "I have to go to Charms without my holiday homework."
Hermione tsk-tsk'd and passed him a rolled parchment under the table. "Get to work, Harry," she advised with a smile. But she was already getting up, along with Ron. "See you in class. Walk up there with a group, will you?"
"Yeah," Harry said in exasperation. "Thanks for this, Hermione."
He wasted no time pulling out parchment and quill to recopy what Hermione had prepared for him. The one positive thing he could say about the fact that he was literally cheating on his holiday assignments, was that in the course of recopying them, he actually learned good information about the subject that was "sticking" with him. For example, this paper was literally about sticking charms, and the variations of strength and endurance, depending on which surfaces they were cast upon. Harry found it particularly interesting that the strongest bond occurred between fabric and hard surfaces. He immediately thought of the seat of someone's trousers being stuck to a chair, but guessed there could be numerous variations to that theme. Good to know!
0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0
"Have you completed your holiday assignment, Potter?" Snape asked sarcastically from over Harry's shoulder as Harry rolled the parchment and closed his ink bottle with the cork stopper.
"Yes, sir, for Charms," Harry said. "And you know what?" he added as he turned to look up at his sneering potions professor, "It's a really good essay, if I do say so myself."
Snape's expression was unreadable as he jerked his head to indicate that Harry should follow him. Harry did so warily, wondering why Snape was being so hostile. He was led out of the Great Hall and off to a quiet space down the professor's access corridor that allowed the adults to get to the teacher's table without threading through the rows of tables and students. Snape stopped and spun on his heel to face Harry. Harry was finally registering that he'd misunderstood the zippy spin all this time. He also registered that the potions master was unshaven again.
Harry smirked. So did Snape.
"Your vision is now perfect, I imagine?" Snape asked Harry in a normal tone.
"Yes, sir. Your shaving spell was not put to use today, I gather?" Harry responded, feeling a lot more at ease when Snape raised an eyebrow and tsk-tsk'd at his cheek. But then Harry asked in annoyance, "Was that attitude all for show then, in front of the others?"
"My House is full of sons and daughters of Death Eaters, Mr. Potter," Snape reminded him. "I must pick my battles with them. Openly interacting with you, sans sneer, will provoke backlash. I wish to postpone those consequential confrontations until the Ministry presence is either eliminated, or replaced with genuine law enforcement."
"Oh," Harry said.
"It will not do any of us any good to tangle with Thicknesse until Headmaster Dumbledore can get the Ministry out of the school altogether," Snape added. "In the meantime, I regret that we cannot have the private instruction time during the next period, as you will be in Charms class. Are you able to make time this evening instead?"
Harry smiled crookedly at this. "Yes, sir, I can definitely do that. We'll meet in the ROR, then?"
"Yes. At half seven. Do not be late."
Harry rolled his eyes, but a thought occurred to him, and he caught Snape off guard when he asked, "What do you suppose would happen if we entered the ROR while Thicknesse was in there?"
"That's a good question…" Snape pondered. "I'd always assumed that it would create a separate chamber for each wizard who sought a private space, but I've no idea, actually."
0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0
Harry managed to avoid Thicknesse en route to and from Charms, and to and from Divination after that. He'd watched his Map for as long as he dared, but never saw the Liaison leave the ROR. He went to dinner flanked by his dorm mates, and returned flanked by his former quidditch team mates. When he left for the ROR, he snuck out under his invisibility cloak and saw on the Map that Thickness was down on the second floor. His quarters must be down that way.
0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0
Somewhere early into their private lesson, Snape had given Harry permission to call him Severus. Harry's eyebrows had remained elevated for quite some time, so deep seated was his shock. He felt a new sense of belonging to a sort of team with his three new mentors, all of whom allowed the casual familiarity now. Even still, this time around with Snape-er-Severus, he was not going to end up with a mop of long hair messing with his performance.
"And now, which will you use to deflect a blasting hex? Protego or Deflecto?" Severus challenged Harry after a solid twenty minutes of him rapidly casting minor hexes and jinxes at high speed while Harry practiced alternating his shielding between the one spell he knew well, and the new one that Snape had just taught him.
"Well, now that you've shown me Deflecto, I prefer it, but I don't really know which is the better to use," Harry admitted.
Severus nodded. "Strategically, in the instance of defending a blasting hex, Deflecto is more precise, and you can actually use your attacker's magic against him, or her. Understand?"
"Yes, sir," Harry said. He was focusing all of his attention on this. He did not want to mess up around Professor Snape, if for no other reason than his longstanding memory of Snape's cruelty and fierce criticisms. But it was difficult to stay guarded when he also was struggling to contain his excitement to be learning such a fantastic technique. "I remember when Remus taught us Protego in third year. He said it was the best, most universally effective shield. That makes sense, especially if you're caught by surprise. But I like Deflecto. Is it the shield Remus used against Crabbe Sr.?"
"I believe so, but you'll have to confirm with him," Severus told him. He raised his wand. "I'll cast a pushing hex called Pulsas, but silently. If it gets past your shield, you'll get knocked down, but should not suffer an injury."
Then I'd better shield properly, hadn't I? Harry centered his focus on his professor, allowing a familiar sense of peril to surge upward, pretending the danger was higher than it truly was. They'd determined it was best to work with wands tonight. Harry wanted to master all new spells with his wand first, thinking he'd keep his wandless skills secret as long as possible. Besides, he could avoid the magical exhaustion factor altogether if he stuck to using his wand.
Severus cast the hex.
"Deflecto!" Harry yelled, and he successfully deflected the spell off to the side where it slapped into the fake trees the Room had set around this theatre they'd created. No sooner had Harry registered his success, and struggled not to be distracted by the way the tree nearly toppled over, than Snape had fired off another, and then another of the Pulsas hex. On the fourth deflection, Harry tried to control where the magic went as he deflected. He sort of succeeded, in that he forced the hex onto the dueling dummy and knocked it completely over.
"That's it!" Severus called out approvingly to Harry as he cast again. "Work with the magic, Harry."
Something akin to happiness bubbled up in Harry's chest while he waved his wand over and over, deflecting and directing the magic with more and more precision each time.
"Excellent," Severus praised matter-of-factly. "Now direct it at me, and be prepared for me to return it to you." He instructed.
That spell exchange continued in a loop until Severus finally caught Harry's returned spell in a shield that absorbed the magic altogether.
"Brilliant!" Harry crowed with gusto. "Show me that one?"
0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0
"What am I missing?" Remus called as he entered the ROR in time to see Harry cast his first absorption shield, called Sorbere. "Well, done, Harry! Shall we have a competition?" He pulled out his coin. "Let's get Lucius in here as well."
"I've only just taught him the spell, Wolf," Severus drawled. He narrowed his eyes at Harry, who was grinning. "Ten more tries, while we wait for Lucius." He sent ten different spells to Harry in rapid succession. Each one had a slightly different appearance as it zipped through the air, sometimes wide, sometimes as narrow as a bullet. Harry caught all but the last one, which turned out to be a bat bogey.
"Gruhlff!" Harry struggled with the nasty magical "bat" for a couple of seconds before he remembered to simply cast a Finite. "Blech!" He glared a Severus, who looked way too smug, and amused.
Harry would bide his time, but he'd wait for his moment, and get some payback.
0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo0
When Lucius joined them, their activity came to a temporary halt as the blond Slytherin vented his disquiet over what Draco had told him about that evening's "meeting" with Pius Thicknesse. "He's instructed all of the Prefects to bring Harry directly to him, the instant he does anything that can be construed as an infraction." He pressed his lips together and breathed in deeply through his nose, causing the nostril flare Harry was coming to see as a familiar mannerism. "I do not like this. I worry for Harry's safety the most, but also for the Prefects. According to Draco, the Slytherin sixth and seventh years seem inclined to target Harry unfairly." Lucius shook his head. "I will try to be a shadow on Pius as much as possible, but he's a slippery one."
"I'll just use the Map to avoid him at all times," Harry told the adults. "That's my best bet."
"In the meantime," Lucius said, "let's see what Severus has been teaching you."
"We've worked on shields," Harry said. "But I need to practice offense too."
"Then that's what we'll do," Remus said.
The next hour flew by as Remus coached Harry on several variations of the Pulsas hex that Severus had used, and also how to broaden the scope of impact that a simple Bombarda could have. Harry would alternate between casting at Severus and Lucius, who at first used Sorbere to absorb the magic, but seemed to get bored with that. Things quickly turned into them deflecting Harry's spells at each other, and sometimes even over to Remus.
"Follow my lead, Harry!" Remus called out, as he raised his outstretched wand arm while casting a loud, "Bombarda!" that spread into a massive blast of magical energy that went to both of the Slytherin wizards. Lucius shielded with a Sorbere, but Severus used Deflecto and sent the blast back at Harry. Harry quickly decided to use Deflecto as well, and whipped his arm across his torso as he casted, sending it right back to Severus with a lot of force. Severus quickly caught it in an absorption shield.
All of the adults were stunned.
"Sorry!" Harry said quickly, suddenly feeling like a vacuum had opened up and sucked all of the air out of the room. "I just-"
"That was fantastic, Harry!" Lucius declared, laughing in amazement. He grinned at Severus, who was still giving Harry a look of shock.
"Sir?" Harry couldn't tell if he'd made the potions master angry.
But finally Severus blinked and turned a somewhat blank look to Remus. "We were supposed to be a tad more measured with him, Wolf."
Remus barked a laugh. "Don't teach that one to the DA Harry. Keep that for your own special arsenal."
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Severus and Lucius exited to Severus' quarters through the floo, and Remus escorted Harry back to Gryffindor after making sure the Liaison was still in his second floor quarters.
"I'll finally get to have DADA with you tomorrow," Harry said as they walked. "And I think I'm ready to schedule a DA session."
"If you'd like to coordinate your practice with your students, with something I can introduce in class, just let me know, Harry," Remus said. "Hermione described your Patronus lesson last term, and the races with the corporeals. I'm so very impressed with that. You clearly have a talent for teaching."
"Thanks," Harry said. He was feeling really good right now, and wanted to savor the moment. "I've been thinking about corporeal Patroni, actually," he added. "Is there anything else they can be used for? Can they cause interference at all, for example? Like, maybe if there's a skirmish, can a Patronus come into the mix and create a barrier between wizards? or deflect magic in some way?"
"That's a brilliant idea, Harry," Remus said. He actually stopped walking for a moment.
Harry stopped after a couple of paces and backtracked, looking up at Remus with a small smile of confusion.
"That's a brilliant idea," Remus said again. "Let's explore that as soon as possible."
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Harry found a collection of packages of new clothing awaiting him on his bed when he got upstairs. Mrs. Weasley had gotten him his new sets of school uniforms, including one of each style of school jumper. He hadn't had new jumpers since third year, when she'd bought them a couple of sizes too big for him. She'd included a note saying that robes were coming by Friday, and that she'd send his casual wear over tomorrow. He took the time to send her a heartfelt "thank you" note, and then even managed to do the Potions homework from Monday. It was a simple recap summary of the hair growth control potion they'd worked on in class, so Harry finished in less than an hour, and got showered and into bed in time for a decent night's sleep.
He awoke the following morning feeling better than he had in a long time. He got up with his dorm mates and chatted about the day ahead. Double Potions was first, and for once, Harry didn't dread the class.
Neville, Seamus and Dean had stayed close to Harry as they'd headed down to breakfast, after Ron had reiterated to them the night before that the Prefects had been ordered to keep a close watch on Harry. "I don't trust any of the Slytherins, Harry," Ron had said, but he'd conceded, "Well, except the ferret," because Harry had told Ron and Hermione about Draco's pledge to him.
"Right," Harry had acknowledged. He heaved a sigh. It's just another typical day for the Boy Who Lived, isn't it?
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"That must be the Liason," Neville jutted his chin out toward someone behind Harry. "Don't look right now. He's watching you like a hawk." Now Neville glared at the wizard that Harry couldn't see.
"What's he look like?" Harry asked.
"Odd," Neville said with more scorn than Harry had ever seen on him. "He looks like bad news, Harry. He's wearing an animal skin robe, for one thing."
Harry's expression changed. Oh, bugger. "He was one of the ones who interrogated me when I got arrested the other night," Harry said in dismay. There went his good mood.
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There was a weird tension in the Great Hall. Seamus and Dean were both still scrambling to finish up their homework, but promised to follow in a mo'. Parvati and Lavender were making their way as well, so Harry and Neville decided to leave then, knowing the two Gryffindor girls would be behind them, and then Seamus and Dean. Harry and Neville also caught up to Draco and Pansy, and stayed on their tracks, unbeknownst to either Slytherin Prefect.
Harry kept the Map handy and watched for Thicknesse, who had left the Great Hall a moment after them, but had stayed on the first level along with a cluster of older students, whose names Harry didn't recognize.
They had one long stairwell and three long corridors to walk through to get to Snape's classroom. Harry had taken his eyes off the map for as long as it took to go down the stairs. Harry could hear annoyed commentary that sounded like his Gryffindor classmates being detained at the top of the stairs, just as he and Neville reached the bottom of the stairs. From straight ahead, a group of five upper year Slytherins charged into this first corridor, coming from the opposite end. They were yelling and jeering at Harry as they pushed past Draco and Pansy, and right up to him and Neville, forming a circle around the two Gryffindors. Every one of them had his or her wand in hand.
"There you are! There's ickle Harry Potter!"
"Not so capable when it's just you, then, are you?"
Harry noticed that Neville had pulled his wand out of his leg holster, and stood with it pointed outward. He'd also moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Harry. Harry centered himself, trying to bring the tingle into his palms so that he could defend himself without a wand. He was not going to be tricked into using traceable magic in the corridors so that Thicknesse could come after him. He still had the Map in his hands, but quickly slid it up under his shirt.
The older students closed in on Harry and Neville.
"Back off, each of you!" Draco yelled. "Barton! Leave! Go to class, Sawyer!" Draco tried to push into the circle, but he got shoved aside by a burly, older boy. "Bloody hell, Strickland! You're a bloody Prefect!" But Draco's efforts were in vain, and Pansy simply stayed out of the way, not even attempting to interfere.
Three things happened simultaneously after that.
As Draco struggled to do his school duty, one of the older Slytherins cast a Silencio on him, and a second cast a spell that pinned Draco's hands behind his back. The two older student wizards each grabbed an arm and dragged Draco back down to the other end of the corridor and out of sight. As they were doing this, two others seized Neville and one seized Pansy, dragging each of them as Harry felt a binding hex pin his arms to his sides.
"Harry!" Neville shouted in alarm, but he was unable to break away. "Get off me!" he raged and managed to get a couple of good kicks in, but then someone casted a loud Petrificus totalis, and Neville froze and tipped over. The older students laughed and used their feet to roll Neville away, further down the hall.
Harry watched this happening in shock as he was simultaneously sustaining an attack from behind. He was magically slammed forward into the cold stone wall of the corridor. He turned his head just in time to avoid his face smashing into the rock.
"You are caught, Mr. Potter," a voice he recognized from the Ministry narrated, "and you are in quite a lot of trouble."
Harry's magical bindings shifted and reconfigured, with some sort of magic removing his new jumper by tearing it off with a slicing hex, while he continued to be pinned to the wall. He was shocked into speechlessness.
"You did not have permission to miss morning classes yesterday, Mr. Potter," Thicknesse declared in his oily tone of one who imagines himself to be of a superior ilk. "And spare me your excuse of having been given permission by the Headmistress, as her authority does not supersede mine." the Liaison continued. Harry could hear that he was moving with vigorous motions while he spoke. "Suspenderet!" Thicknesse encanted quickly from behind Harry. Harry's arms were magically yanked by the wrists over his head, and he was still being pinned to the wall. "The Ministry does not agree that you deserve time off from school, after leaving the grounds to commit criminal mischief-"
"I got a bloody summons!" Harry yelled.
"Punire!"
There was a lashing sound, and Harry felt the strike on his back. Angry tears sprang to his eyes as he gritted his teeth against the searing pain. He could not let himself go into defensive rage, and waste precious time over the fact that he was literally being publicly whipped. He had to get himself out of this. Think, Harry! His hands were above his head. What could he do magically to free himself? He desperately tried to go into his calm center.
"Punire!" Thicknesse yelled again.
The lashing spell struck just below where the previous one had hit. Harry stayed silent, but it was a struggle.
"This is the Ministry-authorized consequence for your infraction, Potter, so don't even try to declare you are being mistreated. Punire!"
Another lash sounded, and this one left a stripe across his bum, low enough that it would hurt to sit for ages. "Fuck you!" Harry yelled, his voice cracking in rage. He could hear sounds of feet running, and alarmed voices. And somehow, he just couldn't bear to be rescued from this mess. He had to get himself out of it. Another lash struck his bum. He stifled a sob of enraged pain as he focused on his palm and felt a slight tingle, then flexed his wrist and said a quiet, "Finite." And voilà, the binding spell was released. Harry spun in his best Severus Snape impersonation and fired off the harshest Bombarda he could muster from his right palm, but did so in total silence.
The animal skin robes that Thicknesse wore flared outward into a spiral, as the Liaison went flying back toward the stairwell, where he landed in a heap on the bottom three stairs, just as the rest of the fifth year Gryffindors and Slytherins came clomping down them to see what was going on. The group stopped in a cluster above Thicknesse and stared, slack-jawed, at Harry.
Thicknesse struggled to stand. Harry watched him intently, and palmed his wand. Just give me a reason to hurt you, he groused in his mind. The burning pain from the lashes fueled his determination to show this predator what happens when your intended victim gets the upper hand.
Harry saw Thicknesse' wand flick and saw the crack of malicious energy come flying toward him. He stood his ground, slashed his wand and incanted coldly, "Deflecto." The bone crunching spell zipped right back at Thicknesse and caught him in the shoulder.
CRUNCH.
"AHHHH!"
"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled, and caught Thicknesse's wand as it flew toward him. He waited to see what the Liaison was going to do now. Footsteps rushed toward him from behind, and he spun just in time
"Sectum sempra!" The older Slytherin Prefect named Strickland casted viciously at Harry.
"Sorbere," Harry yelled angrily, his shield absorbing the violent rip of magic that he didn't recognize. "Back off, or I'll really hurt you," he warned, seething. He could see Neville still petrified, on the floor thirty paces down and pointed his wand that way. "Finite!" he casted angrily. Neville jumped to his feet and ran back to stand with Harry. Harry watched the corridor for the other four upper year Slytherins, but they'd fled the scene.
It was right about then that he realized there was a sizable crowd who had just witnessed this last exchange. His classmates had all filed down the stairs to gather in a group near Harry.
Every one of the fifth year Gryffindors had their wands out and pointed at Strickland, or down the corridor, in case another attacker returned. Ron and Hermione were guarding Thicknesse, who seemed stunned into silence and had not moved. Harry turned away from all of their startled eyes, and quickly sent off a simple message to the other coin holders:
Thicknesse just attacked me… and I put him down… If I'm going to be… arrested for this… I will not stay here
Someone carefully put a set of green robes over Harry's shoulders, saying from behind him, "Harry, your clothes are sliced clean through and you're bleeding." It was Draco.
More running footsteps grew louder and louder until Severus, Lucius, and McGonagall appeared, in that order. Every one of them was was clearly in a struggle to keep his or her temper in check. McGonagall casted an enraged, "Incarcerous!" that ensnared Thicknesse in heavy ropes. She quickly levitated him high into the air, then she looked around at the students and spotted Strickland. "Mr. Strickland, you will get yourself up to my office, this instant."
Strickland suddenly burst into loud, frightened sobs, defensively bawling "But Headmistress, he said he had the authority to punish Potter!"
And that was probably the most unnerving moment of this whole debacle.
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Remus had arrived as Minerva was escorting the wayward Prefect and levitating the still silent Thicknesse up and away. The DADA Professor and Lucius set out to round up the other four offenders, with McGonagall's agreement. "I'll send Melinda Bankhead to cover your class, Professor Lupin," she said, referring to the Head Girl, who was a Ravenclaw.
That left the fifth years, who all stood in nervous silence while their reviled Potions professor carefully approached Harry Potter. He gently tipped Harry's chin upward so that he could see for himself what state of mind The Boy Who Lived was currently in. His own hands were shaking with restrained temper and unanswered questions.
"He's injured, Professor," Draco said quietly.
"Do you want to go to the Hospital Wing, Potter?" Severus waited while Harry struggled with himself. He knew the boy should be healed, but also knew that his pride had to be badly wounded by what he'd just publicly suffered. When Harry finally shook his head, Severus made a decision. He looked at the rest of the students and said quietly, "We will adjourn to the classroom," and gestured for the students to precede him along the corridor.