All rights to the Harry Potter universe belong to JK Rowling. I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: Thanks for all of the comments and for reading my story.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

Chapter 20 – Raise the bar

From time to time, extra-curricular events may distract the project team and pull their attention away from core elements of the project onto other matters. This is not necessarily a bad thing, although there is the chance of subsequent interruption to the planned programme.

Harry found that the next week raced by, and much of it he enjoyed thoroughly. He had Study club, Potions club, several quidditch practices plus his Patronus Charm lesson, and all of those were interesting. A number of students had decided to stop learning the Patronus Charm now that the Dementors had gone back to Azkaban. As a result of this, a couple of the training groups had been merged together – although to his disgust, Ron still had the same auror teaching him as before. None of Harry and Hermione's group had given up their training though, and Harry still thought it was important to learn the charm; being completely vulnerable to the effects of the Dementors was a feeling which he hated, and never wanted to experience again. He'd half expected to be told off for failing to be constantly vigilant by Mr. Moody and getting captured by Black as a result. However, when he was asked to stay after the week's lesson finished, Moody was quite complimentary about Harry's actions in the cave and praised his resilience under pressure.

As the Headmaster had mentioned, Harry was questioned by a couple of aurors that week as well. They came to the Headmaster's office for this and Dumbledore carefully supervised proceedings. The aurors were calm, business-like and highly effective interrogators. Helped by their adroit questioning, Harry found it quite easy to relate the events of his kidnapping as they'd happened. The only thing he hadn't expected was to also be asked about his interactions with Professor Lupin. The aurors went into this in some detail, and he even had to tell them about the argument he'd had with Lupin when he requested Patronus Charm lessons. Harry had been worried that he might have been saying the wrong thing in some unknowable way, but the Headmaster had reassured him afterwards on this point and told him that he'd made a very credible witness. The trial would probably be held later that month, since Professor Snape was now well out of danger and recuperating nicely.

On the other hand, there was one annoying element of the week - not only for Harry but for the rest of the school as well - and that was learning Potions from Professor Linton. The Headmaster had described the man as irascible, but as far as Harry could see that didn't even scratch the surface of his failings. Linton had a volatile temper, which the students soon discovered could be set off by even quite innocuous happenings. He insulted everyone's work and shouted at students of all Houses, even when their potions were almost perfect. Harry couldn't even find it funny when he saw an affronted Malfoy being told that he was a "sneaky, in-bred and stupid piece of filth!", and he really didn't like it when the Potions master spoke harshly to anyone else. To make it worse, Linton was taking points off students from every House in large quantities and awarding none at all, which meant that the House Cup was now more a race to the bottom than a contest for victory. In fact, after only a week of his lessons, the Houses each had fewer than 50 points left. Not that he was holding back in terms of other punishments, though; Linton was also putting record numbers of students in detention on a daily basis, sometimes for quite small infractions. And since he'd made it a condition of his temporary employment that he would only remain in school for actual Potions lessons plus lunch, the task of supervising all of his evening and weekend detentions was given to a rather resentful Filch. Harry couldn't really blame Filch for being sore about it; apparently there were twenty or more students showing up for detention some nights, and they all had to be given something to do.

Harry noticed that Ron became steadily more nervous as the week went on. Buckbeak's hearing was scheduled for 10am that Friday morning, and according to Hagrid it was likely to take a couple of hours. Ron was so tense and jittery on the actual day of the hearing that Hermione threatened to Stupefy him, just to stop him from fidgeting. (Harry was only half sure that she was joking). Still, there was nothing to worry about; a jubilant Hagrid came storming into the Great Hall on Friday lunchtime, accompanied by Mr. Mancini and Professor Sinistra, with loudly proclaimed news of their Malfoy-routing victory. Harry glanced across at Draco's face at this point and took some pleasure in watching the anger and embarrassment to be seen there. The Danger Club members all came rushing over, after which there were many mutual congratulations, giving of compliments and (in Hagrid's case) large, gulpy tears of happiness.

"I can't believe you managed to save 'im, Professor!" Hagrid said emotionally. "You really gave that Committee a hard time for wanting to put him down. And you Danger Clubbers, your research and the work you did was awful useful. Not to mention Mr. Mancini - yer' were a great help as well. If you hadn't said that Buckbeak could move to that island of yours then I don' think the Committee would've let Buckbeak off."

"Ah, it was my pleasure," Mr. Mancini assured him. He was a tall, bulky man with heavily tanned skin, golden hair and a wide, cheerful smile. His English was extremely fluent, with only a slight Italian accent. "Your hippogriff will soon settle in with the others and be very happy, I am sure."

"I know he will, but I'm still going ter' miss 'im," Hagrid said sadly. "He's been a good friend."

"Then you must come and visit him during the school holidays!" Mancini said, clapping him on the back. "We often have witches and wizards come to observe our work. Anyone like yourself with a love of magical creatures is always welcome on our island."

Hagrid looked delighted. "Well thank yer' kindly, I'd love to!"

"I shall send you a photograph of him in his new habitat once he is settled in," Mr. Mancini promised. "And then you must write back to me when you have a date in mind for your visit. You know, I think we have so many interesting creatures on Zuquerri island that you won't ever want to leave!"

"Ah, I couldn't stay away from Hogwarts too long," Hagrid said sentimentally. "I'd be pleased to visit, though. How will you be takin' Buckbeak there? I expect it's too far 'im to fly."

"Yes, that will be no trouble; a comfortable carriage for Buckbeak and I will arrive tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. Perhaps you could all come to the gates and say goodbye to him? I am sure he would appreciate that."

Ron and the Danger Club members promised eagerly that they'd be there, and the next morning they stopped off on their way to Hogsmeade to bid Mr. Mancini and Buckbeak a cheerful farewell. Hagrid patted the hippogriff on the head and promised him in an unsteady voice that he'd be happy in his new home and make lots of new friends. They all waved and shouted their good wishes as the large carriage containing Buckbeak and Mr. Mancini whooshed away into the sky.

"I'll never 'ave another hippogriff like 'im!" Hagrid sobbed. "I just 'ope he isn't homesick, poor lad!"

"I don't think he will be," Ron said. "I mean, Zuquerri's got loads of other hippogriffs and it's warm and safe for animals. Mr. Mancini said the temperature's usually in the mid-twenties and it's sunny almost all day, with loads of lovely coves and beaches. I wish I could go and live there myself!"

Hagrid chuckled. "Ah, maybe you're right, Ron. He'll be okay, I know. Well now, hadn't you lot best he headin' off to Hogsmeade?"

"Good idea," Ron said. "Come on, let's go before everything gets sold out!"

They had a wonderfully high-spirited visit to Hogsmeade. Ron was in a euphoric mood after the Danger Club's success, plus he had his earnings from the Snape Sweepstakes to spend and could buy all sorts of things that were normally out of his reach. He insisted on taking all of the Danger Club members to the Three Broomsticks to buy them a butterbeer, in thanks for their hard work. Harry, Neville and Hermione were also included; Ron said cheerfully that they counted as honorary Danger Club members. Harry split up from the others for an hour or two in the afternoon and joined Blaise and Theo while they went shopping for some Christmas presents, which was fun. It also felt good to be able to socialise openly with his Slytherin friends for the first time. Both of them were extremely cheerful too, and Blaise enchanted Harry with tales of his family's Italian country house and all of the things that they'd do when he visited. He proposed the idea moving the trip forward so that Harry and Theo travelled to Italy with him in the Easter holidays. Harry said that would be fun, but he pointed out more than once that the Dursleys might not give their consent. This seemed not to worry Blaise at all; he merely smiled and assured Harry that his mother would make it all work out. That is, if he wanted to go… which Harry quickly said that he did.

But all too soon, the happy weekend was over and it was Monday morning, which brought another Potions lesson with 'Livid Linton', as the Weasley twins had started calling him. Harry was half-seriously thinking about starting a third quest of the term to get the man sacked, except that with Dumbledore's dodgy hiring policies, his replacement might be even worse. There was only one benefit to the situation; Linton's hateful presence reminded everyone what a good thing the Teaching Charter was, because someone like him couldn't be employed when it was formally implemented next term. That did seem a rather long way off in some ways though.

"Get in, you little monsters!" Professor Linton snarled as he opened the door. Appropriately cowed by his never-ending lack of cordiality, the Slytherins and Gryffindors marched silently into the classroom. Though the two groups were always rivals, all of them at that moment were united in wishing for the quick the return of Professor Snape.

Harry hated to see how changed everyone was in Potions lessons since Linton's arrival. After Snape had adopted the principles of the Teaching Charter, his students had quickly improved in both confidence and ability, but now there was a horrible regression. Neville, for example, who'd been steadily gaining in self-assurance during Potions classes as his aptitude improved and Snape treated him better, became clumsy and nervous once more. This made Harry's work a lot harder, as it fell to him to prevent all manner of potion-related disasters. Hermione was too worried to even raise her hand and ask a question, and Ron and Seamus were visibly panicky. Of course, the Slytherins were well aware that they were Linton's targets too. Blaise and Theo tried to stay quiet and keep their heads down, Crabbe and Goyle were so slow and careful in an effort to avoid mistakes that they barely seemed to move, while Draco was just a picture of frustrated outrage – and it was this attitude which seemed to draw Linton's attention more than anything.

They got through the first half hour of the lesson without too many incidents, although Linton was unpleasant and quick to criticise. Tracy Davies, who usually worked with Malfoy on Potions, had gone to the Hospital Wing earlier with a fractured wrist. Linton had therefore ordered Malfoy to work alone, which meant he had to prepare the potion at high speed in order to have a chance of finishing it on time. It was perhaps inevitable that some form of error would be made. Malfoy's first stirring of his potion was too rapid, which caused it to bubble and hiss instead of purring gently as the instructions specified. Linton descended on him with a look of malicious glee.

"Idiot! That potion's ruined thanks to your incompetence. You couldn't brew a potion to save your miserable life, Malfoy! You're completely useless!"

"My potions marks are usually good, Professor," Malfoy replied, in an attempt at defending himself. The unspoken words 'When Professor Snape teaches this class' hung in the air.

Linton scowled at him. "Due to sheer favouritism and coddling, no doubt! You've no skill at potions and it's about time you realised it for yourself. Well, if you won't believe me then how about if some of the other students tell you?" Linton turned and gestured at Crabbe. "You, boy! Point at Malfoy and say 'Malfoy, you are useless!', so that he gets the message."

The whole class stared in trepidation. Crabbe froze, his eyes flicking between Malfoy and Linton. "I, err…"

"Say it now, or I'll give you multiple detentions and take so many points from Slytherin that you'll lose all chance at the House Cup!" he roared.

Crabbe pointed a shaky finder at his friend. "Malfoy, you are useless," he whispered, not looking up. Malfoy's face twisted with anger and humiliation.

"Good," Linton said with satisfaction. "Now you do the same, Bulstrode."

Millicent Bulstrode looked uncomfortable, but she conformed after a look at Linton's angry face. "Malfoy, you are useless."

"That's right," Linton said, looking pleased. "Starting to sink in, is it?" Malfoy looked straight ahead and did not reply. "Well, apparently not. Let's see if a few more will do the trick."

One by one, Linton made the other Slytherins point at Malfoy and call him useless. All work in the classroom had come to a halt as the other students watched. It was clear that none of the Slytherins wanted to condemn their housemate, but they were too frightened of the possible consequences to disobey. None of the Gryffindors approved of what was being done to Malfoy, even though he was someone that they disliked – there was a cruelty about Linton's actions that repelled them all. As for Harry, he could feel the anger swelling up inside him. How dare Linton try to pull apart everything that they'd built this term?

"Well then, I don't think you're fully convinced of your own uselessness, Malfoy, so let's get some of the Gryffindors to ram the lesson home! Let's start with you, Longbottom."

Neville went red. "Erm… but..."

Linton glared at him. "I gave you an order, Longbottom. Put Malfoy in his place now, or Gryffindor loses more points than you can imagine, and you can spend a week of detentions collecting potions ingredients alone at night in the Forbidden Forest as well. Now do it!"

Neville gulped and shivered with fear. Looking horribly embarrassed, he pointed and said "Malfoy, you are useless."

"That's better," Linton said with satisfaction. "You're next, Brown."

Lavender, Parvati, Seamus and Dean were called upon in turn and each of them reluctantly followed Linton's orders. Ron came next. He stared at Harry desperately, and Harry shook his head – but Ron obeyed as well, shamefaced and looking as if he'd rather be anywhere else than there.

"Your turn, Potter."

Harry glanced at Linton with revulsion, and then tilted his head to look at Malfoy. He pointed towards him. "Malfoy, there are load of things that I dislike about you, but you do get good marks in Potions and other classes too, and that's not through favouritism, so I think you're not useless – and if anyone says you are, then don't pay any attention to them because they don't know what they're talking about."

Malfoy gaped at him in confusion, while Hermione's mouth slowly opened in a silent expression of horror. Everyone else just watched fearfully; they knew all too well that retribution was about to descend on Harry. He knew it himself, and braced himself for the impact. Linton stormed over to Harry and slammed a hand on his workbench.

"Do as you're told, Potter, or I'll make you regret it!"

"I'm sorry Professor, but I can't," Harry replied, as politely as he could manage. "You see, I'm a strong supporter of the Teaching Charter. And the Charter says that Professors should treat students with dignity and never attempt to humiliate or bully them. So even if I honestly did think that Malfoy was useless, which I don't, then it would be wrong of me to say so."

"That damn Charter isn't in force until next term, Potter!"

"I understand that Sir, but I don't think it matters. Professor Snape started using it almost right away and some of the other Professors have done as well. I think they would agree with me that insulting Malfoy isn't the right thing to do. I won't say it, Professor."

Linton snarled at him. "In that case, I'm taking a hundred points from Gryffindor and you can have detention every night with Mr. Filch until the end of the school year for your extreme insolence and gross disobedience. And you, Malfoy – fifty points from Slytherin and a month's detention, because you are useless, even if Potter fails to see it. Now, I'm clearly wasting my time trying to teach you morons, so clear away your workbenches the lot of you, and then get out!"

In silence, the students nervously put away their equipment and disposed of their failed potions as soon as they could. None of them said anything as they made their way out of the dungeons. Malfoy walked quickly ahead, for once leaving his trusty attendants Crabbe and Goyle behind. They both looked a little lost on their own. Harry noticed this and thought about saying something which might be generally reassuring to them, except he couldn't think of anything. Besides, they probably wouldn't have listened to him. He glanced back at Blaise and made a subtle gesture towards Crabbe and Goyle; Blaise nodded his understanding, and went over to chat to them.

The Gryffindors returned to the ground floor in a depressed sort of silence. Their next lesson was Care of Magical Creatures, which they had plenty of time to get to because of their early dismissal from Potions. By some unspoken agreement they didn't raise the subject of Potions during their walk to meet Hagrid. Harry felt low-spirited at the thought of detention every night for the rest of the entire school year. He wouldn't be able to go to Potions Club or Study Club any more, plus there would be barely any time for homework – and what would happen about quidditch practice? Harry gloomily contemplated what would undoubtedly be a difficult conversation when he broke the news to Oliver Wood that he could only practice at weekends from now on.

Later that day, Harry did mention the Potions lesson to his friends but he found that they were reluctant to talk about it, so he let the matter drop. He was a bit worried that maybe they were angry at him because of the deducted points. A hundred points all in one go was quite a lot to lose, so he wouldn't be surprised if they didn't like it. Perhaps he should have done what Linton wanted, he mused at dinner. Would it really have mattered if one more person called Malfoy useless? It wasn't as if Malfoy would care what a load of Gryffindors thought of him anyway.

Harry was stopped by Filch as he left the Great Hall after dinner and told to report for detention at 7pm "and daily after that until next summer, haha!" He decided to go back to the Gryffindor common room until then. His friends were subdued and said little on the walk back. For his part, Harry was trying to gear himself up to speak to Oliver Wood and wondering if he could get away with putting it off until tomorrow. However, Oliver had already heard the news and was waiting anxiously for him.

"Harry! What's this I hear about you getting detention for the entire school year? How can we possibly win the quidditch cup with you unavailable for most of our practices?"

"Erm, yeah, I was going to tell you about that…"

Oliver grabbed his arm. "You've got to get out of those detentions somehow, Harry! I need you at practice every time! Can't you speak to Professor Linton and apologise? If you tell him you're sorry then maybe he'll reconsider."

"But I'm not sorry, so there'd be no point in that."

"Well, couldn't you pretend you were?"

Harry sighed. "Oliver, I feel bad about what happened, really I do – but if I apologised then it would be like saying Linton was within his rights to try and humiliate Malfoy. I fought too hard for the Teaching Charter to do that."

Oliver looked desperate. "But Harry, didn't everyone else in the room do what Professor Linton told them to? That's what I heard, anyway."

"You heard right," Ron interrupted, his face red. "Harry was the only one who did the right thing. The rest of us rolled over and did what Linton told us to – and even though it was Malfoy, I feel a bit bad about that now."

"So do I," Neville said in a low voice. "Really bad. I mean, we're Gryffindors so we should have done the brave thing, right?"

"Professor Linton never got round to asking me, but if he had then I think I might have obeyed him as well to be honest," Hermione admitted. "He really was quite frightening."

"I've already been to see Professor McGonagall and asked her to rescind the detentions," Oliver said in frustration, "but she told me that the Professors aren't usually allowed to remove each other's punishments so there's nothing she could do. Harry, you have to apologise!"

"That's not going to happen," Harry told him decidedly. "Maybe I am the world's biggest idiot for making a thing of this but I feel really strongly about it. Oliver, I'll practice at weekends all I can, and when the weather gets better then we can have early morning practices too. I'll understand if you want to replace me with another seeker, though."

"Replace you?" Oliver said, aghast. "That's the last thing we need!"

"Then I suggest focusing on seeker practice at weekends and more goal work with the rest of the team in the weekday practices, and we'll see how that goes."

Oliver sighed "I'll try it, but it won't be the same." He walked off, looking a picture of misery.

Harry glanced at his friends. "I don't blame anyone for doing what Linton told them to," he said. "I mean, I was probably the stupid one for standing up to him. We lost a hundred points because of that. And Neville, he threatened you with detention on your own in the Forbidden Forest at night! On your own! I don't know about you, but I certainly haven't forgotten our last detention there."

Neville nodded, looking a little brighter. "That's what I was thinking about too, when he said it. It was bad enough when I was there with you and Hagrid, but all alone..."

"Exactly! So none of you need to feel bad," Harry said reassuringly. "It's Linton who was in the wrong, not any of us."

"Thanks, mate," Ron said, looking relieved. "And look, I'll help you a bit with homework if you need it. I know it might be a struggle for you to get everything done when there's detention every night."

"Thanks," Harry smiled. Hermione looked disapproving but chose to say nothing, which Harry knew meant that she would turn a blind eye to anything of the kind. He really did have the best friends.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

As well as Harry and Malfoy, there were fifteen other students who reported to Filch for detention that evening. All of them had been sent there by Professor Linton and were thoroughly fed up about it. Filch was the only person who seemed even slightly cheerful; it became clear that he'd sorted out a system for the mass detentions now, and was therefore able to run them with comparatively little effort.

"Right you lot, pay attention," Filch said, smiling unpleasantly. He gestured to a row of mops and buckets which were standing against the wall nearby. "Detention is two hours of mopping the floors. These are magic mops. Put one in a bucket and say 'soap', then the bucket will have clean soapy water in. You use that to clean the floor with – and do it thoroughly! Then back to the bucket, put the mop in again and say 'water', and it'll give you clean water to wipe the soap off the floor. Then finally you go back to the bucket and say 'dry'. It'll clean and dry your mop so you can wipe up the water off the floor. Then you move on to another bit of floor and do the same thing. Keep going like that until I arrive in a couple of hours and check your work. You're not allowed to use any cleaning spells either, got it?"

The students nodded glumly, all except for Malfoy who looked incensed. "I'm not doing all that! What do you think I am, a house elf?"

"For the next month, that's exactly what you are," Filch said with delight. "At least you're not Potter – he's got this to look forward to every night until next June, heehee…"

Harry pulled a face at Filch, which fortunately the caretaker didn't see. He was depressed at the thought of spending the next six or seven months cleaning, though he couldn't help thinking that the magic mop and bucket would be really useful when he was back at the Dursleys. It might be worth finding out if using them would break the rule about no underage magic outside of school; if not, then maybe one of them might end up being accidentally shrunk and packed in his school trunk at the end of the year.

"Right, each of you take a mop and bucket and I'll tell you where to go. I've made sure that you're all going to corridors with portraits; they'll keep an eye on you and tell me if you haven't done the work. Anyone who doesn't clean properly gets another two hours detention," he added, looking positively excited at the thought. "And make sure you layabouts keep working until I arrive and give you permission to stop!"

Filch gave each of the unlucky students an area of the school to work in. Harry was posted to the seventh floor and made his way there gloomily. He didn't mind cleaning, of course – there was always plenty of that to be done at Privet Drive. He also found the magic mop and bucket easy to use, and soon got into a rhythm with it. It was the number of detentions he'd have to do which really troubled him. A more minor annoyance was that he didn't have a watch with him and was worried about it getting too late; after all, it could take Filch ages to make the rounds and check every student's cleaning. Harry was on his own mostly, though the odd student wandered by every now and again; some of them cracked jokes at his expense, but others commiserated with him about being in detention, and were quite willing to criticise Professor Linton in robust terms which Harry found very pleasant to hear.

After some time, there were fewer students passing by and Harry thought the two hours must be close to being over. He kept glancing hopefully along the corridor, but there was no sign of Filch. He got on with his cleaning with a deep sigh, but when the sound of approaching footsteps could finally be heard, it was Malfoy who appeared. Harry groaned inwardly; this was the last thing he needed.

Malfoy stopped in front of him, looking annoyed. "We need to talk, Potter."

Harry sighed. "Why aren't you cleaning?"

"I've finished. Filch let me go a few minutes ago. I was on the ground floor so he got to me sooner. I expect it'll take him ages to get all the way up here."

Harry kept cleaning; he didn't intend to give Malfoy any excuse to tell Filch he'd not done the job properly. "You should go back to the Slytherin common room then."

"Don't tell me what I should do!" Malfoy snapped. "I told you, we need to talk."

"What about?" he said wearily.

"Potions class. I want to know why you didn't do what Linton told you. You must have had a reason."

"Yes I did, and I explained that in class."

"You must have been lying," he said accusingly. "There's no way you'd ever stick up for me without some ulterior motive."

Harry was tired, and not in the mood for Malfoy's verbal taunts. "It wasn't about you, Malfoy. Linton could have picked on anyone in the room and I'd have done the same thing on principle. I want every class to be taught just like the Teaching Charter says. It's there to protect all of us."

"And because of your 'principle', Gryffindor lost a lot of points and you and that mop are going to be best friends for life. How does that feel?"

"I don't think either of us came out of today's Potions lesson as winners, Malfoy."

"Oh, I can see what you'd think that," he replied, looking smug. "However, I've written to my father and asked him to intervene. My punishment today was entirely undeserved so I'm sure he will have no trouble at all in getting it cancelled."

"Well, good for you," Harry said sarcastically.

"Jealous, Potter? You should be. Maybe next time you'll make the right decision. If you'd have let it go, then you wouldn't have ended up with a year's detention." Harry ignored him, and Malfoy's face grew red with anger "This doesn't change anything Potter, so don't think it does!"

"I don't know what you mean and I care even less," Harry said. "If this is all you want to talk about then I'd rather pass, thanks."

Malfoy glared at him. "You're up to something, Potter. You've got some plan in mind, and I'll find out what it is, I promise you!"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Honestly Malfoy, all I've been up to recently is doing my best to avoid being killed and trying to find some quiet time to finish off my Astronomy homework."

"You must think I'm not paying attention, Potter. I've seen all of the changes you've made this term. Don't think I haven't realised how suspicious your sudden so-called friendship with Zabini and Nott is, either!"

Harry laughed. "I'd hate to be you, Malfoy – you do nothing but think the worst of people. I like Blaise and Theo, they've become good friends; there's nothing suspicious about it."

"So you're not worried that they're using you, then?" Malfoy asked with a sly look. "Because they are, you know. They've talked about it lots of times in the Slytherin common room and laughed about how gullible you are."

"Oh really?" Harry said disbelievingly. "Well, don't I look a fool then. I suppose I'd better cancel those plans I had to launch a Slytherin House Appreciation Society."

"You can mock all you like but Gryffindors and Slytherins can't be friends," Malfoy said decisively.

"I used to think that, but now I've learned better. Any chance that you could go away now?"

"Of course," Malfoy said, giving him an evil look. He kicked the bucket over, making dirty water pour over the newly-washed floor. "Enjoy your cleaning, Potter!"

Harry swore under his breath as Malfoy sauntered off. He rapidly mopped up the water and cleaned the nearby area of floor again quickly. It was just about finished by the time that Filch arrived. The caretaker conferred with the portraits, who praised Harry's diligence and confirmed that he'd worked hard, much to Filch's apparent dismay. He grumpily told Harry that he could take the mop and bucket back and then he was free to go. Exhausted, Harry made his way back to the Gryffindor common room and headed straight up to his dorm for some much-needed sleep.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

At lunch the next day, Ron was monopolising the conversation with an in-depth analysis of the Chudley Cannons' most recent game. Harry, who had never seen the Cannons in action and had no interest in doing so any time soon, felt his attention wandering as he stared across the hall idly. Even so, it was pure chance that he was looking in the right direction when it happened. There was a loud pop in the vicinity of the staff table, a flash of light and then Professor Linton was transformed into a big, yellow-feathered chicken. It was a rather outsized bird, being about the height of a medium-sized dog. The chicken started clucking frantically. Harry snorted with laughter and pointed at it; Hermione looked across and then started to giggle, even though she looked rather shocked too.

Ron stopped what he was saying and glanced across at the staff table. "Who brought that chicken in?"

"It's Linton," Harry said, laughing. "Somebody's turned him into one!"

The laughter was steadily building as students across the hall saw what was happening and told their friends. Harry saw the Headmaster give the Weasley twins a long-suffering look, and then he moved over to Professor Linton and cast a spell. Its only effect was to make the Linton-chicken grow twice as big, as did its clucks of panic.

"Did you do that?" Ron asked his brothers. "Honestly, it's genius!"

"It's not our work, but I have to agree – brilliant effects!" Fred said, laughing heartily.

Several of the Professors were attempting to assist the Headmaster to change Linton back to his human form, but everything they tried was simply increasing him in size. After a few tries, his chicken body was about as tall as Hagrid, though he seemed to be too heavy to actually get up and eventually he fell off the chair entirely. The chicken's yelping clucks sounded constantly until Professor McGonagall impatiently cast a Silencing Charm on him. Most people could barely hear him anyway over the sounds of the students roaring with laughter.

The Headmaster came over and stood by the Weasley twins. "Am I to assume, gentlemen, that this is your doing?"

They grinned back at him engagingly. "I'm afraid not," Fred told him. "We're very impressed by the workmanship – I mean, those feathers look so custardy. But we didn't do this, so you'll have to look elsewhere for the clever covert chicken creator, because we're not them."

"You should give them an award for special services to the school when you find them though," George commented. "I mean, look how much they've cheered everyone up!"

The Headmaster shook his head, sighed and returned to the staff table. The chicken was now rolling on the floor, trying in vain to get up. Harry thought that some of the other Professors didn't look quite as concerned about this as they should have done.

The Headmaster called for silence, which he was eventually able to achieve. "Well, this has certainly proved to be a lunchtime to remember. Could whoever has turned Professor Linton into a chicken please make themselves known now?" He waited for about a minute but nobody owned up; the students were mostly trying not to laugh again. "Very well, go on with your meal." Assisted by several of the other Professors, Dumbledore levitated the Linton-chicken and moved it out of the Great Hall.

"Now that was completely brilliant!" Harry said, giggling with joy. "I especially loved the part where he fell off the chair!"

"We shouldn't laugh really," Hermione said, unable to keep her face straight, "after all, that chicken did seem to be quite frightened!"

"Well, it serves him right," Neville commented. "I'm glad. I'd have done it to him myself if I could!"

Due to Professor Linton's transformation, all Potions classes that day were cancelled. Back in the Great Hall that evening, a serious-looking Headmaster Dumbledore called for quiet after most of the students were assembled.

"My apologies for delaying your evening meal, but I'm afraid we must return to the subject of Professor Linton. It has not yet been possible to change him back to human form. Madam Pomfrey has summoned healers from St. Mungo's to help but they are also at a loss. Every attempt to remove the spell simply makes his chicken body larger. He is now, in fact, roughly the size of a small cottage." There were several explosions of laughter at this. "Yes, I suppose some of you may think there is a funny side to it, but I must insist that the culprit own up immediately." He paused for a minute or so but nobody came forward. Dumbledore looked grim. "I am sorry, but this cannot be allowed to pass. We will remain here in silence until whoever is responsible admits to this fact."

The students stared at each other in surprise while Dumbledore waited, calm and unruffled.

"How long will this go on for?" Ron whispered. "He won't keep us here for hours, will he?"

"No idea," Harry murmured. "He must be really annoyed."

"It's probably just a short wait," Hermione said in a low voice. "At least, I hope so because I've got a lot of homework to do tonight and I really don't want to be delayed!"

Neville leaned over towards them. There was a look of determination on his face. "I'm going to do something about this," he said. "I was too scared to do the right thing in Potions class, but I'm not going to be scared now. Only – you'll back me up, won't you?"

"What are you planning?" Harry asked curiously, but Neville had already sprung to his feet. He started to loudly chant a repeated phrase, over and over.

"We won't tell! We won't tell! We won't tell! We won't TELL!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at each other in dismay. They knew now what backing Neville up would mean, and were cringing at the thought of it – but they couldn't leave their friend alone. The three of them got to their feet and joined in the chant with Neville. Ginny, Colin and the Weasley twins enthusiastically did the same. Harry thought worriedly that if nobody else followed their example then they'd look like absolute idiots, but fortunately (and to his complete amazement) Malfoy of all people stood up and joined in their cry of defiance. The rest of the Slytherins followed immediately, then all of the other Danger Club members, and soon students all over the hall copied them. In a couple of minutes, virtually the entire student body was chanting the same slogan of rebellion, accompanied by the stomping of feet and hands slapped on the table.

"WE WON'T TELL! WE WON'T TELL! WE WON'T TELL! WE WON'T TELL!"

As Dumbledore surveyed them all, the expression on his face was a mixture of annoyance, frustration and a rather reluctant admiration and pride. He called for silence. "Mr. Longbottom, please remain standing. Everyone else, you may sit down."

They all complied, with much giggling and whispering. Neville looked petrified at being the focus of everyone's attention but he lifted his head and looked at the Headmaster proudly.

"Sometimes house unity takes the strangest forms," the Headmaster said ruefully. "Mr. Longbottom, as you instigated that little display of defiance, I would be interested to hear your reasons for encouraging the other students not to cooperate with me."

"I did it because Professor Linton is an awful teacher who treats people really badly," Neville said firmly, though his hands were shaking. "He should never have been employed here because he's totally against the Teaching Charter. I think that whoever turned him into a chicken did us all a favour! In fact, I'd give them the Order of Merlin if I could – first class, too!" Everyone laughed, and even the Headmaster smiled slightly.

"Thank you for the explanation. However, the student who performed this magic must step forward so that they can explain how the spell can be removed. We cannot leave Professor Linton in chicken form permanently, much as some of you might like to."

"If that's so then why can't they let you know how to change him back anonymously?" Neville asked. There were murmurs of agreement to this idea across the hall and several people clapped.

"Very well," Dumbledore replied, not looking too pleased about it. "I require the person who performed this spell on Professor Linton to inform myself or one of the other Professors of how to remove it by 9pm tonight at the latest. They can do so anonymously if they wish. You may be seated, Mr. Longbottom. I will however take twenty points from Gryffindor for… inciting civil unrest, shall we say? Now, let us eat."

An elated Neville was patted on the back and congratulated by all of the Gryffindors around him. "That makes up for Potions class!" he said joyfully. "Thanks for your help, everyone."

"And what do twenty points matter, when Linton's already taken about ten thousand?" Ron said with a grin. "Nice work mate, though I was a bit worried for a minute that we'd be all on our own while everyone sat there and laughed at us."

"I wonder who really cast that spell?" Hermione said curiously. "It must have been quite advanced Transfiguration work if the Professors and the staff at St. Mungo's couldn't reverse it. I can't imagine how it was done, especially as nobody even witnessed the spell being cast in the first place!"

"That's just as well, or you'd be suspect number one," Harry said in a teasing tone. "Well, whoever they are, I think they should be proud of themselves!"

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

Later that evening, a student left the Gryffindor common room after casually mentioning that they were just popping upstairs to fetch some homework. In fact, they stopped off in the dorm only long enough to grab their broomstick and put on a cloak before making their way to one of the few Gryffindor Tower windows which they knew from past experience was wide enough to comfortably fly through. Checking that nobody saw them, the student flew out of the window and made their way around the castle until they reached the Headmaster's office. The curtains had not been drawn so as they hovered outside in the darkness, there was a clear view of the Headmaster and several members of staff in mid-argument. Taking advantage of their distraction, the student cast a spell to open the window and levitated a piece of parchment into the room, after which they flew away rapidly. The parchment said:

Headmaster, the spell on Professor Linton can be removed by making a circular motion slowly twice clockwise with your wand and then pointing it at him while saying 'Beende diesen Zauber'. (it means 'end this spell' in German). Professor Linton will have suffered no damage of any kind and will probably not remember what happened. PS: Longbottom was right – you should never have employed him.

Back in the Gryffindor Tower, the student dropped off their cloak and broomstick in the empty dorm and picked up their homework before strolling back to the common room. The whole thing had taken just over five minutes.

Percy Weasley glanced up briefly as the culprit sat down next to him. "Did you have trouble finding your homework?"

Oliver Wood nodded casually. "A bit - it had slipped out of my bag and rolled under the bed. It took me a few minutes to spot it. The essay shouldn't take too long to finish though; I'm almost two thirds done already."

Percy nodded unsuspiciously and returned to his own studies while Oliver opened his Charms textbook. He pretended to carefully read it, but mentally he was too busy gloating over his triumph to concentrate on his work. Having a German cousin with a penchant for silly magical jokes had sometimes annoyed him in the past, but he'd learned a few useful spells from Johann over the years. One of them was the Avian Ambush spell, which Johann had invented himself. Oliver didn't think he had ever mentioned his German relatives to any of the Professors.

That would teach Linton how stupid it was to put his star seeker in detention for a year!

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

The following morning at breakfast, the Headmaster called for quiet and addressed the students once more.

"Before we eat, I am happy to announce that following the receipt of an anonymous note explaining how to remove the spell on Professor Linton, he has been returned to his normal self and is quite well. However, Professor Linton is quite naturally incensed by what happened and he has therefore refused to continue teaching at the school." There was a massive round of applause at this, which the Headmaster allowed to finish and then continued speaking as if it hadn't happened. "We have decided that as there is only a week left of this term, it is not worth us looking for another temporary Potions master. All Potions classes are cancelled until next term therefore, but Professor Snape will be asked to schedule extra lessons during the rest of the school year, to enable you all to catch up."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, glanced around the hall and then continued. "I would also like to say that having considered the matter carefully, I do acknowledge that Professor Linton was not a suitable teacher for this school. I assure you that more careful checks will be carried out on new members of staff from now on, and we will ensure that all of our Professors follow the Teaching Charter to the letter. Now, since Professor Linton appears not to have understood how our points system works, I am hereby adding back all points which he deducted during his short but eventful teaching career." The students cheered this and clapped heartily. "Additionally, as Professor Linton seems to have been a little confused about the typical uses of our detention system, I am cancelling all ongoing detentions which he has previously assigned."

"YES!" Oliver Wood yelled, beaming at the Headmaster.

"Oh, did he interfere with quidditch practice, Mr. Wood?" Dumbledore said in amusement. "Well, I am sure you will be able to make up any lost time. Now, there is something important that I want all of you to understand; using magic to attack any Professor is unacceptable, regardless of the circumstances. Any issues you have with members of staff should be referred to your Head of House in the first instance, or to another Professor or myself. Because I recognise that Professor Linton was not an ideal teacher, I am allowing this one incident to pass - but please understand that should anything similar occur in future then I will take the most rigorous disciplinary action against the culprits. That is all, and thank you for your attention."

"Well, that made Oliver happy," Harry said, glancing over at his ecstatic team captain. Oliver looked back and gave him a big thumbs up. "I'm so glad that I don't have to do all of those detentions!"

"And we're back on top in points for the House Cup!" Ron said as he started eating breakfast. "Slytherin are close but we've got every chance of winning it."

"You know, I think we've had more surprising events packed into this one term than there were in the whole of our first two school years!" Hermione commented. "Well, at least the end of term should be quite peaceful - apart from the trial, of course."

Harry nodded solemnly. "I'm just thinking, get through that and then I can relax for Christmas."

"Did somebody say Christmas?" Percy exclaimed chirpily from behind them. He slipped into a seat next to Ron, who pulled a face at him. "I wanted to talk to the three of you about that very thing. Hermione, Ron – I was wondering, were either of you planning to stay on at Christmas, since Harry will be here?"

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. "Well, I did think it might be helpful to get some extra studying time in…" Hermione said faintly.

"Yeah, me too," Ron added hastily.

Harry grinned at both of them. "I didn't know you were thinking about staying on."

Ron shrugged. "Could be a good idea, for my, erm, grades and all."

Percy gave him a disbelieving look. "Well, you might want to change your mind when you hear what I've arranged," he said importantly. "Harry, you told me that you had to stay here over Christmas, but it occurred to me that if I could get permission, you could still visit the Burrow in the daytime by floo'ing over!"

"I didn't know that was allowed," Harry said in surprise.

"Oh, it's not," Percy replied smugly. "However, I have spoken to Professor McGonagall and requested it specially. I explained that you've had a very tough term, as has Ron really, and with the trial coming up as well, I thought it would help you to spend time with us rather than being left on your own here. She eventually agreed, but she said please don't tell anyone else. You can use the floo in her office to get to the Burrow each morning, and you just have to return by 8pm each evening. How does that sound?"

"Brilliant!" Harry said. "That's a great idea. Thanks very much, Percy."

"It's no trouble," he replied, looking enormously pleased with himself. "So, you two can go home for the holidays if you want to. You could come and visit as well, Hermione; it would be easy to floo to us from the Leaky Cauldron."

"Could I really? Well, that would let me spend the holidays with my parents, which I'd like."

"Why not bring them over one day as well?" Ron suggested. "Dad would love to meet some actual muggles. Mind you, he'd never stop asking them to explain stuff."

"Yes, but at least they'd be able to learn a bit more about the wizarding world in the process!" Hermione said with interest. "I think that's a really good idea. Ron and I can go home for the holidays then, and I can floo over when Harry's there. We'll still be able to spend time together that way."

"Thanks again, Percy," Harry said. "This is definitely going to be a Christmas to remember!"

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

The Headmaster sent Harry a message saying that he could go to see Professor Snape in St. Mungo's after the last lesson on Friday afternoon. The note also requested him not to mention this to anyone else, since none of the other students were allowed to visit. Harry felt a bit bad about this - he knew that Blaise would have welcomed the chance to go as well. However, he'd learned enough about the house of snakes this term to guess that Snape would probably not wish to appear less than completely strong and healthy when he was in the presence of the other Slytherins.

Harry was escorted to St. Mungo's by Professor Vector, who assured him that she was quite happy to pass the time in the waiting room with a book until he returned, and a healer led him through. Professor Snape had been given a room of his own and he was sat waiting for Harry on a chair next to the bed. He wore a white nightshirt with a grey dressing gown and slippers. Snape was a little pale, but he was looking very much better than the last time Harry had seen him.

"You can have twenty minutes," the healer told him as she left the room.

"Take a seat, Mr. Potter," Snape said, gesturing to the empty chair beside him.

"Thanks. How are you feeling, Professor?"

"Quite frankly, I am extremely bored," Snape said with a grimace.

"I know what you mean, it's boring when I'm in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts."

"Indeed. I have a busy job and I am used to being occupied from dawn to dusk each day, so being a hospital patient with little to do is hardly congenial to me. The healers here have shown me absolutely no sympathy in that respect..."

"Why, are they former students of yours?" Harry asked flippantly. Snape gave him one of those looks and he quickly tried to backtrack. "Sorry, that was just a joke, honestly."

"If you say so, Mr. Potter," Snape replied, relaxing his gaze. "But as to the healers, they are not former students and they have provided me with excellent treatment. It's simply that they see my boredom as a good sign, as up to a few days ago I was apparently too busy being seriously ill to feel anything of the kind."

Harry smiled tentatively. "I don't expect that's much of a consolation."

Snape rolled his eyes. "Absolutely none at all. However, I will be discharged in a few days, and at least the Headmaster was considerate enough to pull some strings and arrange for me to have a room to myself, which I do appreciate. I don't think I would have enjoyed being on an open ward."

Harry nodded. The room was small and plain, but he could imagine that a man like Professor Snape would prefer his privacy. Glancing around, he noticed a couple of large 'Get well soon!' cards on the bedside table and went bright red; it had not even occurred to him that he should bring a card with him.

"One is from the other Professors and one from the Slytherins," Snape said, reading his expression with ease. "I wasn't expecting any other cards, which is perfectly acceptable; being fussed over is not something that I enjoy."

"Why aren't there any cards from your family?" Harry asked without thinking.

"Hogwarts is my family," Snape replied impassively.

Harry blushed again, feeling like an idiot for bringing it up. "Oh, right. Well, thanks for letting me visit. I wanted to say that I appreciate you coming to rescue me that night. I know it was my fault that you got hurt."

Snape looked at him quizzically. "You didn't shoot me, Mr. Potter."

"I know, but I let Sasha loose, and I was the one who got kidnapped in the first place!"

"And I was the one who decided to tackle a highly emotional man with a gun in his hand," Snape replied dryly. "I assure you that it was not your fault that I was injured."

"Oh, well it's nice of you to say so."

"I'm not being nice, simply accurate. Given the circumstances, you acted wisely. We had signalled the Headmaster before we came into the cave and notified him of our location, but you didn't know that. Releasing the owl was a very sensible action; if he had flown away then the trackers would have activated as soon as he was outside the magical repression field. When the owl returned, I realised that he was trying to distract Black so that we could overpower him. I took that opportunity because I thought it might be the only chance that I would get. We had asked the Headmaster to wait for thirty minutes before coming after us, although I understand that he only managed to stick it out for half that time before setting off on our trail – and in the circumstances, that's probably just as well."

"I was really relieved to see him arrive too. It's just, I did promise Percy Weasley that I'd try not to blame myself, but I would understand if you saw it differently."

"Well I do not, so put that out of your mind."

"Okay, Professor. By the way, have any aurors been to see you yet?"

"This morning, yes. The healers wouldn't let them in before. It wasn't too unpleasant. I trust you had a similar experience?"

"Yes, Sir. The Headmaster was there and he made sure they didn't ask me anything too bad. I'm not sure what to expect from the trial, though. I want to watch the whole thing, not just come in to give evidence."

"As do I. Are you not concerned that it might be traumatic for you to hear the other testimony?"

Harry was concerned about that, yes. "That's what the Headmaster asked me. I know it might be, but I want to see this for myself. We could, erm, go together?"

Snape nodded. "That would be acceptable. May I give you some advice as to how to conduct yourself when speaking as a witness at the trial?"

"Yes, sure."

"Remember that the members of the Wizengamot have seen hundreds of people give evidence before them. Most of them can easily tell the difference between truths, evasions and lies, so don't be anything other than absolutely honest with them; lying about anything is most unadvisable. You may feel that a question is unnecessary, or perhaps too intrusive, but it's important to provide any requested information so that they don't see you as a hostile witness. Don't become angry or rude or insolent; just try to remain calm and tell them what they want to know. Request clarification if any question seems confusing to you. If they ask your opinion about something, think it through carefully before replying – and it's fine to tell them if you don't know something, or if you can't quite remember for certain."

"Okay, got it. Thanks for that."

"It's also important to keep in mind that the Wizengamot includes witches and wizards with widely differing political views. Some may raise certain issues in order to further their own cause. There will be political agendas in play which you will almost certainly not be aware of."

"What sort of agendas?"

"Well for example, the Headmaster does have enemies on the Wizengamot, and some of them may take the opportunity to ask leading questions which give them the chance to be critical of him for employing a werewolf as a Professor."

Harry was shocked. "They can't do that, it isn't fair! And anyway, he's not the one that's on trial."

"The Wizengamot members are the ones who decide what is fair and what isn't," Snape told him. "But the Headmaster understands all of this and is quite able to defend himself. He is well aware that I may be put on the spot in that sense myself. For example, If I'm asked, I'll have to admit that I strongly opposed Lupin's appointment on security grounds before the start of term."

"But they might not ask, right?" Harry said hopefully

"Perhaps not, but the aurors raised that point with me so… we'll see. They also told me that they've used veritaserum to question Black, Pettigrew and Lupin. That is a powerful truth potion," he added, noticing Harry's confused expression. "When administered, it compels a witch or wizard to answer any questions put to them truthfully. From what I could gather, the use of veritaserum brought all sorts of murky facts to the surface which may or may not be referred to during the trial. For example, they asked Black if this was the first time he'd attacked me, or if he had ever hurt me before…"

"So they know about him and my Dad picking on you at school?" Harry said anxiously. He really didn't like the thought of his father's reputation being trashed in a public court.

"Indeed. There was one particular incident which they quizzed me about extensively. Tell me, in your discussions with the Headmaster, has he ever referred to what happened in the Shrieking Shack when we were in our fifth year at school?"

"The Shrieking Shack? No, he hasn't mentioned it."

"Then I suppose I'd best explain now," Snape said. "I can't predict what might come up or not at the trial, but this I think you should hear from me."

Harry listened intently as Snape explained how when he was sixteen, Black had told him how to gain access to the Shrieking Shack, with the aim of sending him there while Lupin was in his werewolf form. Snape admitted frankly that he'd taken the risk and gone to the shack in the hope of finding evidence to get some or all of the Gryffindors expelled. He spoke calmly as he related the events of that evening, but Harry could sense the emotions that were rippling under the surface.

"So my Dad saved your life?" Harry asked at the end. "He pulled you out of the shack so that you weren't hurt by Lupin when he was a werewolf?"

"Yes, and I truly hated him for it," Snape admitted with a wry smile. "Owing a life debt to one of my worst enemies, who would ever want to be in that position…"

"I'm glad he helped you anyway," Harry said. "That's a really good thing to do."

"He knew that if I was killed or injured then both of his best friends would be punished severely. I don't expect my life had much worth to him otherwise – but I do admit that it was brave of him to come after me that night."

Harry nodded, feeling proud of his father's accomplishment. "But Professor, why isn't any of this public knowledge already?"

"Because the Headmaster hushed it all up," Snape said, with a slight edge of annoyance in his voice. "He was worried about blame falling on Lupin, which he felt would be unfair since Lupin knew nothing of Black's plans. And while I can understand that point of view, it also meant that Black's punishment for deliberately putting me in the path of a werewolf was detention, and nothing more. Again, if this comes up in court and they want to know whether I think the Headmaster handled everything correctly then I'm going to say no, I don't."

Harry saw what he meant and didn't like it at all. "So you're going to speak against the Headmaster? That doesn't seem like a very loyal thing to do."

Snape stiffened, and for a moment his face twisted with anger. "What I am going to do is tell the truth, exactly as I advised you to. It won't be my fault if I end up in a position where I'm forced to be critical of the Headmaster's actions. As I said before, lying to the Wizengamot is not a good idea. Tell me, what would you say in court if you were asked whether or not it was a sensible decision of the Headmaster's to hire Gilderoy Lockhart as last year's Defence teacher?"

Harry stared at him. "Erm, well…" He stopped talking, unable to come up with a way to say that it had actually been a stupendously awful decision without inevitably criticising the man who made that decision in the first place. "Okay, I see what you mean. I apologise for what I just said; I shouldn't have questioned your loyalty."

"No, you should not," Snape replied stiffly. However, he spoke in a more measured tone and seemed to have calmed down, much to Harry's relief. "Still, it is as I told you – the Headmaster will be prepared for such criticism, and he will be entirely capable of defending himself if the need arises."

"I understand. But Professor, no wonder you hate Black so much, if he's tried to kill you twice!"

"I don't know if the Shrieking Shack incident was really attempted murder," Snape said, turning his head to gaze thoughtfully out of the window for a moment. "I used to think it was for sure, but now I wonder… if it was so, would Black really have used his own friend as the murder weapon?"

"Well, he certainly tried to use him as some kind of weapon," Harry pointed out.

"I know. In a way I'm hoping that it is brought up in court; I'd like to know what Black said about it under veritaserum, when he was forced to be truthful."

"I do feel a bit nervous about the trial, Professor," Harry admitted. "It might be a bit tough to listen to."

"Then you might want to consider only remaining to give your own evidence after all. You should also bear in mind that there could be references to people or events which may offend you during other people's testimony. Pettigrew, for example, may try to smear your parents' characters in some way, in order to assist with his own defence. If you're attending the trial then you won't be allowed to protest or speak out against that sort of thing."

"Oh, erm… I guess I won't find that easy. I still want to stick around for the whole thing though, I think."

Snape nodded. "I could provide you with a Calming Potion to take beforehand if you wish?"

"That's probably a good idea," Harry agreed. Then, conscious of the fact that he had limited time and he hadn't actually got to the point of his visit yet, Harry changed the subject. "Professor, you know that time when you, er, apologised to me after Potions class and I, well… got a bit worked up about it?"

"I remember," Snape replied evenly. "What of it?"

"I just wanted to say sorry about getting so angry and insulting you like that. You never mentioned it afterwards, which kind of surprised me. I mean…"

"You're wondering why I didn't give you a term of detentions and points losses by the hundred?" Snape said with a slight smile. "Certainly your way of addressing me was disrespectful, but in the circumstances I decided to overlook it that one time. Your anger was, I would say, quite understandable."

"What is it about me that you hate so much?" Harry asked impulsively.

"Hated," Snape corrected him, making Harry smile in surprise. "And to answer your question – well, there are a number of reasons, but it's true that I couldn't seem to split you and your father apart. Too much… emotional interference. It's different now. I think that I am finally starting to see you properly. As the Headmaster will doubtless say when I tell him, it's more than time that I did…"

"When I was in the cave, just before you arrived, Black told me that I look like my Dad but I don't act like him. He seemed to think I was a bit of a disappointment."

"Sirius Black is not someone whose opinion you should take any notice of when assessing your own conduct or character," Snape told him forcefully. "The man may be technically sane but he's become obsessed by his desire for revenge to the point of idiocy. He is completely unbalanced."

Harry was strongly tempted to point out jokingly that it takes one to know one, but he stopped himself just in time. After all, he'd already walked on quite a bit of conversational thin ice today - and even though Snape was being okay right now, it was still best not to take any chances with this still relatively unknown version of his Potions master. "Yes Sir, I see what you mean," he said politely.

Snape gave him a suspicious look. "All I wish you to understand is that I am truly sorry for my mistreatment of you, and I give you my assurance that such a thing will not happen again."

Harry smiled. "Does that mean that the two of us are, well, okay now?"

"As okay as we will ever be," Snape replied, looking suddenly amused.

"So if I ever wanted any advice about stuff, I could come and see you, maybe?"

"You know where to find me, Mr. Potter."

"Okay," Harry said, feeling an embarrassing warmth run through him. "I'll remember."

Snape nodded, and seemed to sense that it was time to switch to less emotional topics. "Tell me how things are back at Hogwarts," he said. "I would be interested to hear the latest gossip. The Headmaster stubbornly refuses to talk of school affairs when he visits so that I don't start worrying about them. Has anything interesting happened lately?"

All too willing to change the subject, Harry firstly spoke about their victory at Buckbeak's hearing and then the last Hogsmeade weekend. After that he explained all about the sudden arrival - and even more sudden departure - of the already infamous Professor Linton.

"So is it still the case that Linton's attacker has not been caught?" Snape asked, his lips twitching with barely suppressed pleasure.

"That's right," Harry said cheerfully. "Nobody knows who did it. The Weasley twins keep trying to find out their identity, so that they can run a sweepstakes like they did when—" Harry stopped hurriedly as he remembered that the man sitting in front of him had in fact been the subject of the last Weasley sweepstakes.

"No need to incriminate yourself, Mr. Potter," Snape said. He seemed to find this more funny than anything. "The perpetrator is unknown; we can leave it at that."

"Okay, right. Anyway, things calmed down after Professor Linton left and now we're all looking forward to Christmas. At least, most people are - I will be more after the trial's over."

"You may find that it offers a form of closure," Snape offered. "Perhaps not right away, but later on, after things have sunk in."

Harry nodded. "I'm hoping so." The door opened at that point and the healer told Harry that his time was up. "Okay. Thanks again for letting me visit, Professor. See you back at Hogwarts." Snape merely nodded at him in a not unfriendly way as he left the room.

It had been a bit of an awkward visit, Harry reflected as he took the floo back to Hogwarts. Of course, that was mostly because of the number of unfortunate remarks that he'd managed to come out with. Even so, Harry was relieved that he and Professor Snape had spoken; it felt good to clear the air, and in some strange way they almost seemed to have gone from enemies to, well, not enemies. It was a kind of progress, anyway. Overall though, he decided that visiting a sick Snape in hospital was one of those things that you were glad you'd done the once - for the experience of the thing, and to say that you'd tried it - but never under any circumstances wanted to do again.

- IIII - IIII - IIII - IIII -

A/N: I don't speak German, so cross fingers that the online translation sites I used for Oliver's spell worked correctly!

In our next and final chapter – the trial, the den, the holidays, the surprise plan and the end of the quests.

For those who have asked me whether there will be a sequel, I am thinking about one and have a basic idea in mind, so maybe. Harry will be needing something to keep him busy for the rest of the school year, after all! However, it won't be for some time, since I would probably do as I did for this story and write about 8-10 chapters to get the story going properly before posting any.