Chapter 26

The rest of the week passed, with Harry and his friends agreeing that Lockhart was useless as a teacher. That pompous meat bag was only teaching them things about himself; Harry of course was spared of the idiots contagious disease because he was taking the curriculum overseas. But even, so he still had to go to class much to his annoyance. When it was Saturday him and the others went to Severus and told him how pathetic Lockhart was in actual DADA; needless to say, the potions master was not happy and looked ready to break the idiot. Severus had agreed to teach them actual Defense and began by teaching them what should have been taught, not the curriculum they were given.

When it soon came Sunday Harry was in the locker room with his fellow quidditch teammates, where Wood was going over their latest plans for the year. Having finished his monologuing he told them to head for the pitch; Harry was currently holding a Nimbus 2001 the newest model. Due to him owning the company that manufactures quidditch brooms he could get his brooms way before they hit the market. All of his teammates were happy that he got such a fast broom, Oliver even said that the cup was as good as theirs this year.

As they neared the pitch Wood groaned out "I don't believe it" when he saw the slytherins quidditch team. Their captain Marcus Flint had a bright smile on his face, not only that the entire team was holding brand new brooms similar to the one Harry had.

"What are you doing here Flint" he gritted his teeth, staring at the troll like boy. "I booked the pitch for gryffindor today."

Flint still held his smile "afternoon Wood, a lovely day isn't it" he said pretending to look around enjoying the outdoors.

Oliver was not amused and glared at him "what are you doing here? We have permission to use the pitch today."

"Take a breath" he mocked "I got a note" he then handed the note to Wood, who grabbed it out of his hands. At that moment Ron and Weasley came in to see what was going on.

Oliver read the note so the others could hear "I, Professor Severus Snape, hereby give the slytherins permission to use the quidditch pitch for the day. Owing to the reason to train their new seeker" Wood folded the paper and looked back at him "you got a new seeker who?"

Two of the boys stepped aside and introduced Draco Malfoy who was sporting a superior look.

Some of the members of gryffindor shook their heads in disgust. "Malfoy you're the new seeker for slytherins" Weasley said in said disbelieving.

"That right…and that's not all that's new this year" he was grinning smugly as he was holding the black broom.

Weasley took one look at the new broom and exclaimed "those are Nimbus 2001; how did you get those."

"A donation from Draco's father" Flint said with a smug grin of his own and many of the slytherin were grinning in amusement.

Harry looked at Adrian and Aaron, both boys mouthed 'don't ask' as they briefly shook their heads. Harry just shrugged his shoulders and they looked back at the were ones that were arguing.

"And in case your blind Weasley" Draco mocked "Potter got the same broom as us." That brought the redheads attention to Potter's broom and it was the same model.

"How did you get that?" he exclaimed.

Harry just casually replied "I know people" he said before turning to Draco "you ready for this year?"

"Better believe it" Draco said with pride in his voice. "Looks like we will be taking the cup this year as we have the superior brooms" he commented.

Hermione was annoyed Malfoy father got him on the team "at least none of the gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got on pure talent" she said unimpressed by his arrogance.

Draco sneered at her "no one ask for your opinion, you filthy little mudblood" he glared at her.

Everyone except for Harry who was glaring at the boy, while the other gryffindors looked like they want to beat the boy to a pulp.

Weasley took out his wand and was about to fire a spell until Harry intervened "I put that wand of yours away Weasley before you get hurt."

"You are siding with him" Ron yelled "he just called Hermione the M-word." The other gryffindors looked at Harry questioningly.

Harry ignored it and replied "I heard him but you're in the wrong here" he pointed a finger at the irritating boy wand "in case you haven't noticed you are interfering in quidditch team matters. Last I checked neither you nor Granger are on the team."

He then turned to Draco "leave the two kittens alone, their hardly worth the time" he gave Draco a glare that made him pale and indicated for him not to say a word. "Now seeing that we have reached an impasse. I believe I have a solution! We share the pitch gryffindors get one side, slytherins get the other. Is that fair?"

He looked around to see that many of them were debating about what he just proposed. "Look at it this way the longer you debate, the less time we have to practice!" he pointed out.

"Hadrian is right" Aaron stepped in "the more we stand around doing nothing, the less time we have on the pitch." Everyone muttered in agreement and went to the pitch to go train.

Harry put up some interference wards dividing the field in two. This way no one from the opposite teams would cross into another's practice or sabotage each other. They spent the next few hours training on the pitch going over plays that they thought would be effective. When it was nearly sunset both houses were tired and ready to head back to the locker rooms to go change. Harry of course stayed had dueling lessons today, so he put on some shorts and a shirt and waited by the entrance with his bag.

Harry just waited by the entrance for his instructor for the evening. Today was battle charms meaning that he would have Master Robinson, he didn't have to wait long as his instructor came wearing a look of pride in his eyes.

"Mr. Potter I must say that you exceeded my expectations at the championship truly your performance was incredible" he praised. "Onto business now do you have the essay I assigned you?"

Harry reached into his bag and pulled out a file folder with multiple pockets, finding the section for his dueling class he pulled out his two paged essay and handed it to the professor. He nodded and directed the boy inside.

"Today we are going to review what you have learned last week and see if you have been practicing the new spells, I assigned you" He then conjured a desk and put it off to the side with Harry's reports in one of the drawers. Harry gave a nod and put his things near the desk, then went over to the teacher with wand in hand.

Master Robinson saw the determined look in his eyes and was ready to put that boy through his paces. He started the boy off with some of the advanced techniques both for offensive and defensive, even mentioned that transitioning skills had improved significantly. Caleb was happy that the boy was able to do the spells he assigned him and his level of nonverbal spell work. When he first saw the boy using nonverbal spells, he was awestruck by what he had seen, as it was almost unheard of for someone so young to be able to perform that level of skill.

Then they proceeded to duel each other, true to his thought he began putting the boy through his paces with using advanced spells. If he had to wager anything the boy will sure be a powerful duelist when he was old enough. They spent the rest of the time dueling with Harry hanging on as he refused to give up; the training he would go through with his aunt and uncle were much more difficult and more painful. The duel between him and master Robinson made him think back to the dueling tournament and the placement exams he did at Mahoutokoro.

Eventually, the professor called time and they stopped dueling. Giving a respectful bow to each other they walked toward the entrance to leave the field.

Harry was thinking of new techniques he could use against his opponents and wanted to hear what his teacher had to say. "Master Robinson, before you leave can I talk to you about a few things?"

"Of course, Mr. Potter go ahead" he gestured as he was partially intrigued with what the boy wanted to know.

Hadrian cleared his throat "I wanted to ask if there was a way to employ offensive and defensive techniques together?"

The master was surprised with what he asked. "I must confess that I only know one, but it is very dangerous" he admitted. "Though do not ask me what it is as that is not something that you need to learn yet as it is very dark and dangerous."

Harry nodded in understanding. Robinson followed up by saying "however giving you an overview can't hurt. In total there are six known shields, that are exclusive for dueling purposes, the last one I will not discuss with you without your guardians permission. Keep in mind that there are other shields but not as exclusive or refined."

That piqued the boys interest and responded, "if I may ask why anyone hasn't bothered to make more versions of the shielding charm?"

The grown man just chuckled "that is the big question. It mainly has to do with the fact of people having a thorough background in arithmancy and ancient runes" he replied. "Is there anything else?"

Hadrian was deep in thought "no sir and thank you for today" he gave a respectful bow, one that the teacher returned. "It was my pleasure now I believe its close to dinner time, you might want to shower."

Harry left toward the castle and went to his special room to grab a shower and a change of clothes. All the while he was walking, he was in deep thought, silently thinking of ways he could create new spells that were meant for combat. Entering he saw Byakko lying next to the fire having a nap, making sure not to wake him he went to his room, shed his clothes and showered to clean himself off. When he was done, he went to his closet and pulled out a change of clothes and put them on along with his robes. Going back downstairs he saw that his partner was waking up.

"Hello, Byakko" he greeted "you enjoy your nap?"

"It was nice" the god replied. "How was your day, learn anything knew?"

Harry told him what he did today, in dueling class. He asked his instructor if he knew of ways to both attack and defend himself. Byakko was intrigued and asked further as Harry got the look he usually got when he was thinking something. His partner said that he would have to think more about it later "… you want to eat in the great hall or in the kitchen for the day?"

"Kitchen today" Byakko replied. Harry agreed and the two left the room, using his watch he contacted his friends and told them that he would be eating in the kitchen for the night. When they got to the entrance, they sensed the presence of their companions inside, tickling the pear the portrait opened and they went in. Looking around the elves all gave a respectful bow to them; at the table, his friends were eating dinner. Harry took a seat next to Blaise where he grabbed some food and piled his plate. Byakko was given some well-done porterhouse steaks; him being a carnivore dug into his meal.

The four engaged in a conversation about what happened earlier today. Apparently, they heard about the interaction this morning between the slytherin and gryffindor teams. They agreed that Lucius Malfoy bought the whole team new brooms to ensure that his son would get on the team. Daphne scoffed as the Malfoy heir had everything handed to him on a silver platter and had no idea what hard work was.

"So, what about the warning Dobby gave you" Tracey asked. "Can't we take it to the wizengamot?"

Daphne shook her head "not likely Trace," she responded "if we accuse Malfoy of doing anything without proof, then we will be cooked. That's would be political suicide, not to mention that Lucius has the minister in his pocket." People like the Malfoy's had no respect or dignities whatsoever, they just through their money around and bribed people. Talk about a lack spines.

"Daphne is right" Harry commented. "While I don't like it, we're going to have to be on our guards this year! At the moment there are two problems: one the possibility Dobby's warning as something bad is to happen. The second we have to suffer that idiot Lockfart," his friends snickered at what he called their defense teacher "what was Dumbledore thinking. Hiring that idiot to teach in a school is one of the many mistakes he's made."

"No, argument here" Blaise chimed in. "That pellock is to full of himself and can't teach squat. Those books he gave us have nothing about protecting ourselves, from dark creatures and magics. At least we were able to get him to teach us" he emphasized the word to indicate Professor Snape.

"That's a silver lining" Harry stepped in. "However, there is something that concerns me" he voiced.

Tracey was the one to respond, "what would that be?" Harry glanced at her 'think about it Dumbledore is a master legilimens, he could easily go into that fools mind. I bet twenty galleons that Lockfart has no occlumency shields and that Dumbledore could read his mind easily."

"You think the old goat knows something" she enquired. "Hard to say Tracey" he replied.

"That's not the only thing that concerns you," Daphne commented.

Hadrian brought a hand to his chin "what concern me is why did he not ask Amelia to have one of her auror teach the subject or at the very least go to Examination department and request one of them to do it."

The others quickly caught on to what he was saying. They all thought the same thing Dumbledore was cheating them. Again! This time with their education.

"Is their anyway to get Lockhart removed" Tracey asked. "Maybe petition for him to be removed" she suggested, remembering what they did at the end of last year.

Blaise shook his head "can't do that, he has a contract with the board of governors" he explained. "The only way he could be removed is if he did something unethical or if he violates the contract."

Tracey groaned. "So, we're stuck with him great! Things can't get any worse" she commented.

Harry cringed when she finished "never say that Tracey."

She looked at him confused "why not?"

Daphne was the one to answer "because in the magical world if you utter that phrase. Then things go straight to hell!"

Tracey just grumbled under her breath. When they were done the kids got up, thanked the elves for the food and left with Byakko in tow. As they were walking Professor McGonagall came around the corner and appeared to be looking for someone, turning her head she saw the four coming her way.

"Mr. Potter, I've been looking for you" she began, "I know you don't want to hear this, but the headmaster wants to talk to you."

Hadrian narrowed his eyes "what does he want this time?"

"I am unsure" Minerva replied. "However, he said he wanted to speak with you immediately" she said with a hint of finality. One thing was running through her mind at the moment as she knew what the boy thought of Albus.

"Then I must decline" he responded "seeing as how you he never gave you a valid reason for me to go. If you need me, I'll be in the library. I need to do some research!"

The usually stern professor sucked in a breath "Mr. Potter if the headmaster wishes to speak with you, then you have to go" she said narrowing her own eyes at him.

Byakko let out a low growl, making Minerva back up a bit. Harry placed a hand on the tiger's head and looked at him "easy Takashi" he then turned back to her. "Professor as you and I have danced this dance before you should know that until you give me a valid reason. I will not go! Tell the headmaster if he wants to talk to me then he better send you with a good enough reason. Or better tell him to get off his arse and do it himself."

"That will be 10 points from gryffindor for your language young man," she said.

He just casually shrugged his shoulder, "whatever, now if you're done. I'm leaving" he walked past her with the others, and they went to the library.

(0^0)

Minerva went to the headmaster office to go relay the news "Licorice wands" she said the password and the staircase started revolving, making her way to the door she walked in.

"Oh, Minerva I'm glad that you" Albus didn't get to finish as he didn't see Harry Potter with her. "Minerva where is young Harry at?" He instructed her to bring the boy to his office as he wanted to talk with the boy about the interview, he gave the international press. Merlin, he wished he had a contact with them, at the time he only had connections within the Daily Prophet.

"My apologies Albus" Minerva replied, "but Mr. Potter said he would not be coming as he didn't have a valid reason to be here."

Albus sighed pinching the bridges between his nose. "Mr. Potter is certainly a stubborn and rebellious young man" he commented. Minerva agreed with him. "Do you know where he is now" he asked.

"He said that he would be in the library doing some research" she replied, although hesitant to reveal what else he said.

"Minerva is there anything else" he pressed on. Minerva relented and explained what the boy said "he said that if you want to talk to him then you better have a good reason. Or to get off your arse and do it yourself."

Dumbledore groaned. The boy was being exceedingly difficult. Rising from his chair "then I say a trip to the library is an order."

The two left the office and went to go to the library. Opening the doors, they were met by Madam Pince, the school's resident librarian. "Oh Irma" Dumbledore started of in his grandfatherly voice "I was wondering if you see Mr. Potter around the library."

The ill-tempered librarian pointed to a section that was about arithmancy. Giving her a nod, the two professors went over to the section where they found the boy sitting with his friends reading a book about the art of spell crafting.

The boys friends looked up, but he didn't he just turned a page. "Mr. Potter why did you not come to my office when Minerva summoned you?" Albus asked. The boy just ignored him and continued reading.

"Mr. Potter I asked you a question" Albus said, but the boy didn't look up from his book. He just turned a page and continued. Albus did not like the way he was being ignored and took the book out of the boy hands.

"Mr. Potter I was trying to talk to you" Dumbledore narrowed his eyes at the boy.

Harry got up from his seat and glared at the old fool, Byakko to get up from where he was seated and looked ready to tear the old man apart. "I was reading that" he said in a low voice.

"There is a matter, that I wish to discuss with you" Albus said ignoring what the boy just said. "Please come with me to my office."

Hadrian gave him a weird look "you must be senile if you think I'm going anywhere with you alone."

"Mr. Potter I will not harm you, in anyway" Dumbledore replied. "Harry commented "that's rich coming from you. First you put me with those filthy muggles where I was neglected abused. Second you tried to put me in damn contract. Third you sentenced my godfather to Azkaban knowing full well that he was innocent. What's next you going to read my mind like you tried before?"

Minerva gasped at what he said. "Albus you did not try to read his mind, did you?" she glared at him.

Albus turned to her "that was my error in judgment Minerva" he said trying to placate his transfiguration professor.

"You seem to be making those a lot lately" Harry said.

Dumbledore groaned. "Mr. Potter I give you my word, that I will not harm you in anyway." He tried to assure the boy. "Minerva will be in the office with us."

"Fine" he said in disgust. "Having your little sidekick ignore her job and defend your sorry arse. So much for the great Albus Dumbledore!" he mockingly clapped his hands.

He then looked at his friends "I'll see you guys tomorrow! I have to deal with this goat fucking arsehole" he pushed past the two professor and left the section. They recovered the next moment and left with him. Exiting the library, they went back to Albus office, giving the password they walked up the stairs and entered the office.

Albus gestured for Harry to take a seat in the chair but he declined. "Now, that we are what do you want" Harry asked. "The less time I have to spend in your presence the better!" he commented.

Albus let out a tired breath "Mr. Potter, you were brought here to discuss what happened last year. The information you and the others leaked has damaged the reputation of the school severely."

Harry just kept an expressionless face. "I fail to see why my presence was requested!" he said simply.

"Hogwarts has always had a reputation for being one of the best institutes in the magical world and what you did made people start to question. Whether or not to send their kids here" Dumbledore explained.

"That may have been true at one point" Harry began "but things have taken a turn for the worse. If you want to blame anyone then blame yourself and your inability to make sure that the students are safe and have a proper education."

"I fail to see how I can be held responsible for the schools reputation falling from what it used to be. If the students are unhappy then they should go to their head of houses" Dumbledore argued.

"That one of the many problems, that you have neglected to fix" Harry replied. "Let's start with the stupid house rivalry, you've had decades to fix it but the only thing you did was sit on your butt eating sweets. Thanks to negligence of duty many of the students in gryffindor and slytherin hate each other just for being in different houses. They don't have to be friends, but it wouldn't hurt to ignore them; not only that why did you never put a stop to it. That is your job! Your next problem is the fact that History of magic is taught by a ghost who is notorious for only teaching goblin wars and has a voice that is known for putting the students to sleep."

"After that we get to our DADA teacher, Professor Lockhart. The fool is a disgrace to his profession, he only teaches us things about himself. Many of the students taking their OWL's and NEWT's are at risk of failing the subject because you couldn't get a proper teacher. Are you seeing a pattern here? This is your mess and your problem."

Minerva wanted to say something but couldn't help but agree with him on a few things. The school certainly had areas that needed to be improved, that was certain, but there was a limit to what they could do. "Mr. Potter if the students do not come to us, about their problems then there is nothing we can do to fix it" she said.

"Another problem that you and the headmaster created" he jabbed at her that made her go quiet. "The reason why students don't tell the teachers is because they can't trust you to do your jobs properly. And you're a good example of that."

"I have always done my job in regards to the students" she said her own ager spiking.

Harry scoffed at her. "Yeah, right keep telling yourself that" he stated. "We begin with the Weasley twins, members from your house. Those two are some of the biggest bullies in the entire school, with their constant pranks. Just because they don't fire curses at people doesn't mean they can't find other ways of harassing kids who are weaker than them. Then there is that idiot brother of theirs Ron Weasley, the moron is a horrible student with the table manners of a five year old child; the boy can't go one day without calling someone in green and silver evil or labeling them as dark wizards. All honesty I blame his parents for not raising him right."

"Next, you have Hermione Granger, that girl has a superiority problem. The little miss teacher's pet acts like she is the only one who possess all the right answers, making her unapproachable. Not only that she can't get it in her one track mind that others might be better than her in subjects. Also, have you seen the way she talks to people? That narcissistic girl is a nightmare as she bullies others into doing their homework and demands to look at it to see if they made any mistakes. She claims that she is helping them, but that is not how they see it. The only thing they see is an arrogant spoiled girl who has to look down on others just to feel good about herself."

"Oh, I can go on about other students from the other houses and I'm confident that you won't lift a finger to fix the problems. The real question here is why you are not doing the job you swore to do?"

Minerva eyes opened wide at what he said. Were things in her house really that bad, she would have to look into it more.

The portraits of the past headmasters, mistresses and even the sorting hat were listening to what the boy said when he described how bad the school had gotten. As much as they wanted to disagree, they couldn't because he was absolutely right. Things have only gotten worse and change was needed but the current headmaster was so dead set on letting the school be the way it is. That he failed to see what others would think. Phineas Nigellus Black couldn't help but smile at his descendant.

A gryffindor and Potter the boy maybe but he had the same spirit as any member of the House of Black. He felt that he could rest easy knowing the fact that his house will one day be in hands of an actually worthy person. Deciding to go to the ancestral home of the Black's later when no one was looking, to inform them of what happened. The only thing he did dread was having to see the boy's godfather, the boy might have been a disappointment, but he was still a Black. He is a Black. Not the one that he would have liked but still, he was family. Looking back down he watched it continue to play out as this was the best entertainment that he had in a long time.

"Mr. Potter please leave Professor McGonagall alone" Dumbledore started. "As for the way you described some of the members of your house, I'm sure they are not that bad. If you take the time to get to know them then you could make some great friends. For instance, Miss. Granger is very smart and can help you along the way. The Weasley are a very nice family and they deserve a chance."

"No thanks I'm good" he replied.

"Dear boy I must insist that you give them a chance."

"Are you deaf old man" Harry asked the old fool. "When I say no, I mean no. As for those two I have no interest in being their friends and I don't care if Weasley comes from a nice family. I will make this perfectly clear to you so, pay attention. Who I decide to spend time with is my decision and you're going to have to live with it. And there's nothing you can say or do to make me" he spun around on his heels and walked away with his familiar.

"Mr. Potter, I am not done talking to you" Dumbledore said getting to his feet.

"Well, I finished listening to you" he said as he slammed the door behind Byakko.

Dumbledore groaned. "Minerva please" he signaled for her to follow the boy. The professor walked out of the room while Albus pulled out some Firewhiskey and poured a glass, downing the contents.

Some of the old professors were enjoying the show, the sorting hat muttered "that boy has got a lot of spirit. He will truly be the one to inherit the lordships of this castle."

(0^0)

Minerva rounded a corner and caught up with the boy. "Mr. Potter please stop!" she reached out.

Hadrian stopped in his tracks and turned around "what do you want this time woman" he asked in a cold voice that made her do a double take. "In case, you haven't noticed it's late and the last thing I want to deal with is one of the old man's lackey's."

McGonagall flared her nostrils at what he said. "That will be 10 points from gryffindor for insulting me and another 15 points for leaving the office without permission."

Harry sneered at her. "You really think I care about points or that useless house cup!"

Minerva responded "your attitude needs some work young man; you may not like it here. But you will adhere to the rules in this school and show respect to the other professors."

Harry let out a chuckle "I don't have a problem being here! My issue is you and him, you constantly ignore the bullying in this school and allow him free reign. Headmaster or not he has to follow the rules of this school like everyone else. As for showing respect, that is earned not given on a silver platter. Tell him to stay the hell away from my family and my personal life."

She sent a frosty glare at him and deducted another 15 points. "I will not have you behaving this way young man. You will come back to the office with me, this moment."

"I am not going until you give me back the five years you two stole from me and my parents back" he said defiantly not moving a muscles.

"I cannot bring them back" she said. "And as to the years you lost that was not my fault, I told him not to, but he didn't listen."

The temperature around them went cold. Minerva saw the fire in the boy eyes "not your fault" he said in a cold menacing voice. "Who were the ones that put me in an abusive house? Who did nothing about those worthless? Who put the fidelius charm around my parents' house? Who denied me my family" he shouted the last part.

He was radiating magic now and Byakko was trying to calm him down.

"Those were never my decisions to make" she said defensively sensing the magic around him trying to diffuse it with her own.

"You had a hand in most of them. Not that you ever cared about them in the first place" he accused. "I will make this clear until you get your head out of the old man arse and see what is going on. You and me" he pointed from her to him "will have no further communication beyond teacher and student."

In a moment of anger, she said the one thing she would never say "how dare you I cared deeply for your parents, they were some of my closest friends even when they died. I cherished the memories, I had of them. This is not how I expected their son to behave, they would be most disappointed in the way been acting" when she finished, she realized what she had said and regretted it.

Byakko stepped in between them, sensing that his partner was about to do something.

"I will say this only once" he now looked ready to level the castle. "If you ever use the memory my parents like that again. I will make sure that you regret it for the rest of your life. Got me bitch!" he put more bite into a few words and left her their while a few tears started streaming down her eyes.

Wiping her eyes, she went back to the headmaster office. Arriving in the office she saw that Albus was nursing a glass of Firewhiskey.

Minerva told him what the boy said to her when she caught up to him. She mentioned how he said that it was her and his fault for what he had to go through as a child. Last she told that in her anger she mentioned the boy parents and what occurred after. When she finished, she started leaking tears from her eyes again. Albus did get the chance to say anything as she left the room to go back to her quarters.

None of them noticed Phineas leave to go to his portrait in the ancestral home of the Black family. With that in mind he was starting to wonder more about the current transfiguration teacher. Her behavior and attitude was felt off to him.

(0^0)

Arriving in the family library he found the boy's godfather sleeping on the couch with a book on his chest.

"Wake your arse up," he shouted at the boy. That didn't get him up, so he went with plan B.

Clearing his throat, he imitated his voice to sound like the boy mother "Sirius Orion Black get your worthless arse off that couch."

Sirius immediately woke up and shot to his feet "yes mother" looking around he was still in the library that was until he laid eyes on his laughing great-great grandfather. "That is not funny you old shit stain" he glared at the man.

The elder man composed himself and looked down at the younger man "after all these years your still scared of that banshee bitch" he referred to Walburga. Sirius cringed at the old man.

"After years of being a disappointment to the family," he began while looking at his descendant. "That said it appears you finally found a reason to grow the hell up. About damn time."

Sirius was not in the mood. There was a time where he would entertain his ancestor backhanded compliments, but now that was years ago. "What do you want your old, decrypted bastard? Here to tell me how I failed the family" he looked at his ancestor with narrowed eyes. "Well like it or not I am still a member of this family! So, suck it up and live with it."

Phineas sneered at him. "Believe me boy if I came here to lecture you then I would have done so. Also, I was already aware that you were never casted. That filthy cunt of a mother of yours never had a say in the matter. Now shut your gob and get Arcturus in here, I have some information for you two."

Sirius kept narrowing his eyes at him. Grumbling under his breath as even in death the man never stopped being a pain. Summoning one of the house elves he sent him to go get his grandfather, who will no doubt be cranky. He only had to wait a few minutes as the old man burst through the door looking very unhappy.

"What is so important that you had to wake me up" he demanded. Rather than answering Sirius pointed to at the portrait that housed Phineas. "Talk" was all he said.

Phineas explained what went down in the headmaster's office. Dumbledore was trying to make harry see that his words damaged the school's reputation. He mentioned how the boy pointed out how weak and pathetic some of the classes were and how awful Lockhart was as a teacher. The way Dumbledore excused some of the behaviors of others and looked the other way. Potter even poked at Minerva and questioned whether not she was competent enough to do her job.

Dumbledore even tried to get the boy to give Granger and Weasley a chance, but the boy denied saying that he was not interested. Then walked out of the room and Minerva stopped in the hallways. He explained about the conversation they had and how Minerva came back and told the headmaster everything while leaving in tears.

Both of the current living Blacks were struck speechless as they did not know what to think. At the moment they were feeling a mixture of emotions: anger, disbelief, concern, and pride. The younger Black was angry as he never would have expected that kind of behavior from Minerva.

"There is something else you two need to be aware of" he said getting their attention. "Regarding Minerva anger and behavior, something doesn't feel right as it feel off" he summarized.

Sirius narrowed his eyes "you think she is under some sort of potion or charm" he guessed.

"I want to say 'yes', but I am unsure" Phineas admitted.

Arcturus sucked in a breath. "I'll have Cassie look into it when she gets back" he replied. "If anyone can detect if someone is acting under charms or potions it would be her" he commented. The woman had a knack for seeing past peoples visages; he would know as she and Dorea were often able to tell if he or Charlus were hiding something.

"Before I leave, I need to say something about the boy" he said. "For years I have watched members of the Black family come and go and most of them have been disappointment" he briefly glanced at Sirius. "Don't worry boy you're not the worst" he grudgingly admitted which shocked the younger male. If this family is to survive then it is going to need a strong leader."

"From what you have told me Arcturus" he looked at the older of the two before him "the only candidates are Hadrian and Malfoy" saying the last name with disgust. "The last one is pathetic and is a weak little brat, who is unworthy. Potter on the other hand is far more worthier and I have a feeling that he would become the next Head of this family." Finished with what he had to say he left to go back to his portrait at Hogwarts.

"He is not wrong" Arcturus commented "if this family is to survive then Hadrian would have to become the Lord of this family."

Sirius nodded in agreement. Changing the subject "what about Minerva if what he said is true then she could possibly under something that is making her act the way she is."

Arcturus looked at him "perhaps and I would not put it past Dumbledore to do it either. Whatever that meddling goat is doing cannot be good" he said thoughtfully.

"You have something in mind" Sirius questioned the man wearily.

"I will think more about this matter later" he replied as he couldn't help but wonder what was going on in that school. "Goodnight!" he left the room to go back to bed with Sirius following behind.

(0^0)

The rest of the month passed with hardly any incidents. The gryffindor and slytherin rivalry was still going on but to everyone's surprise it wasn't as tense as the members from the two houses were actually being more civil with each other. That had been a major surprise to for everyone, especially the staff as they never would have guessed that this was possible. They began thinking that what happened last year could have been the start of something greater.

True to his word Severus had begun teaching Harry and the others proper Defense Against the Dark Arts along with teaching them occlumency. Severus was well in depth in the Dark arts and began teaching them the best way to defend themselves from dark magic was to use them against training dummies first so they could see how they worked. Only then would he begin teaching them how to protect themselves from the curses. Daphne was the first of the three to start performing silent casting and soon began taking a more active role in her studies.

At the time she was nearing the end of the second year syllabus as it seemed straight forward to her. Pretty soon she would be starting on the third year syllabus. Harry occasionally helped her out on some of the things she was struggling with. Speaking of Harry, he asked his dad if he could compete in the next upcoming dueling tournament. Severus agreed and sent out his application for both divisions along with the entrance fee. What surprised him was that Daphne also got permission from her parents and said that she would be competing in both as well. Blaise of course signed the application and sent it in via his mother Cariana. So, it was now him, Daphne, Blaise, and Miwa; this year's tournament was going to be interesting he thought.

It was now the 29th and Harry and Daphne were in the room of requirement. The former was teaching her more about her newfound elemental ability, Daphne understood that she controlled the power it did not control her. Like her magical core it could tell when she was stressed or feeling a great deal of emotions. If she wanted the magic to work correctly, then she was going to have to understand it as the key to being an elemental was discipline and control.

Harry started by letting her get a feel for ice based spells. From what he could tell she had a good handle on them. At the moment he had the room was a blizzard and extremely cold. While she was working on harnessing her abilities in adapting to the cold weather, he wrapped himself in fire to keep warm.

He watched as she just sent a blast of ice to one of the dummies, freezing it before sending a bludgeoning curse destroying it. Daphne was still in the beginners level of controlling her abilities, but Harry could tell that she was making progress. She finished the other two off before crumpling to the ground gasping for air; deciding that that was all for the day he transformed the room back into the comfortable place he occupied. Walking over, he held out his hand to help her up. She took it and he slowly pulled her up, noticing that she was still shivering, he sent some of the flames around him to her.

Daphne began to settle as the flames were returning her to normal temperature. Sensing that she was back to appropriate temperature he ended the flames surrounding them both. "Explain to me again why you had me in a blizzard!" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're an ice elemental" he replied "the best way to get a handle on your elemental abilities is to familiarize yourself in areas where the abilities are associated to" he explained.

She sighed and relented "what kind of training did you go through when you first started controlling your powers?"

"I will say this it was more intense than what I'm putting you through" he replied "as you know I control five elements. Training in one is a pain but training in five was a nightmare" he answered. "You can even ask Byakko!"

After the mention of his name the white tiger came down the stairs. "Someone mention my name? he looked at the two.

"Yes, Byakko" Daphne confirmed "what kind of training did Harry go through when he started elemental training?" she asked.

Byakko just laughed. "I can tell you stories about this one" he inclined his head toward his partner who was now sitting on the couch writing something in a journal. Daphne was interested and nodded her head. Byakko went on to explain the kind of things he put his partner through; Daphne had a hard time believing it at first as it sounded like he went through hell in back. When the god finished, she was struck speechless as she had no idea of what Harry had gone through, maybe he was right in saying his was more intense than hers.

Daphne recovered and went to go take a seat next to him "okay maybe you did go through more training then I did" she conceded. All he did was chuckle at her. "So, what are you working on?" she asked.

"Just some new spells, that might prove effective for battle" he said writing some information down.

Her eyes shot open "your attempting to do spell crafting" she said incredulously. "Isn't that difficult?" she put her legs across his lap.

"It is" he replied with a grin "but I was able to create two different spells" he said with a proud smile on his face.

Daphne giggled as she remembered the spells, he showed her. They were quite effective when dealing with opponents. "Now, that you mention it. You do tend to fight like a ninja" she pointed out.

When she finished saying that he stopped writing and turned his head to her. "It comes in very handy, when I'm in combat" he added a smirk.

"Can I get a hint as to the spells you're creating?"

"It's nothing concrete at the moment, just ideas" he said shrugging his shoulders. He then checked his watch to see what time it was. "Hey, it's almost dinnertime you want to eat in the kitchen or in the great hall?"

"Great hall" she said removing her feet from his lap and getting up from where she was sitting. Harry placed the journal on the table and got up.

"Want to come" he looked at Byakko. The god shook his head and said that he would have one of the elves bring him something. With that the two kids were out of the room.

They made it down to the 1st floor while also discussing the different variations of certain spells and silent casting that was until they were almost at the entrance of the great hall and ran into the youngest Weasley. The moment the girl saw him she squeaked, turned red, and ran the opposite direction. Harry shook his head as he now had another fangirl vying for his attention. If it wasn't bad enough that he had to deal with the many girls who were after him because of his fame, some of the males had tried to get his attention. That first year Colin Creevey and taken to following him as if he were a hero and worshipped the ground he walked.

The two walked over to the Slytherin table where they sat next to Tracey, Blaise, the Vaisey siblings and Adrian. As they were eating, they made light conversations over anything they could think of, when it came to the topic of Nicole O.W.L's she let out a groan as the teachers immediately assigned her so much paperwork. However, Harry suspected that there was something else going on with her. Her body language and micro expressions when the topic came to her Defense class.

"I'm going to take a guess, seeing as you're not happy at the moment. Something or somethings have been going on in Lockfart class" he commented.

Nicole turned to her head to him "that guy is so incompetent that it's not even funny. All we go over is stuff about him. If this keeps up, then I have no chance of passing my Defense exams" she plainly said with a frown marring her face.

"There's something else is their" Hadrian enquired

Nicole got up from her seat and motioned for him to follow her out of the hall. Harry got up from his seat and followed the older girl. When they got made it out of the great hall and rounded a corner; she put up some wards so, they wouldn't be overheard or disturbed.

Harry added a detection ward and a anti eavesdropping ward. "alright what's up?" he asked.

He saw her hesitating a bit "I know this is going to sound odd but whenever I sit in his classroom or run into him in the hallways, I can feel him leering at me."

Harry narrowed his eyes as that got his attention. "Go on."

"It's like this whenever he smiles or looks at me, I can get a cold shiver running down my spine" she explained. "It might be nothing or my imagination, but the look in his eye makes me tense up and he seems to think that I'm a trophy. Add to the fact he is a horrible teacher."

Harry could tell that she was being serious as he to felt that Lockhart was a terrible teacher and from the way she described the way he looked at her made him feel sick.

"Have you spoken with anyone else?"

She nodded. "I spoke to Adrian, Aaron, and Ulrich." Harry sucked in a breath "alright go head to the abandoned classroom on the fifth floor. I'll get the others."

She gave another nod and lowered the wards and headed to the classroom. Harry turned his watch a few clicks to call one of his friends.

"Daphne you there?"

"I'm here she replied

"Listen" he began "I need you to grab the people we were sitting with along with Ulrich and his sister, meet me and Nicole in the abandoned classroom on the fifth floor."

Daphne instantly became alert as his voice indicated danger. "We'll be on our way" she said before turning her watch off.

Harry went to the fifth floor, while also calling his dad "I take it you heard all that as well!"

"I did and that is a cause to be concerned. Head to the classroom if you need me. Keep the link up so I can hear."

Harry agreed and walked up the stairs to head to the fifth floor.

Finding the abandoned classroom was not a problem, sensing that Nicole was inside he waited outside for the others. Luckily, he didn't have to wait too long as the others came. Tapping on the door she opened it to see that it was him and was about to let him, but he jabbed his thumb to the others. Giving a nod she opened the door all the way to allow everyone inside.

All of the people Harry told Daphne to bring was here, when the last of them came in Harry put up some privacy and strong silencing wards.

"What's the problem Hadrian" Ulrich asked wondering why they were meeting in the first place.

"We have a pathetic excuse for a DADA teacher who might possibly a pedophile" he bluntly said making them aware of the situation.

Ulrich attitude quickly morphed into a serious one. "Start talking!"

Nicole was the one to speak up as she informed them about her concern about the way Lockhart looks at her and the way he teaches them nothing about the contents for their classes. Daphne and Lilith chimed in a few times to voice their concerns as well. They to felt that something was up about him and the way he behaved around them. Ulrich gripped his sister hand as he remembered what happened last year about that incident with the other three sixth years. Enlightening to the fact that he was a seventh year and taking his N.E.W.T's at the end of the year.

"What was the board thinking allowing that guy to teach in the school" came Aaron who did not look happy.

"Obviously, they were blown away by the fools supposed fame and accomplishment" Daphne replied.

Lilith looked at her fellow dormmate "what do you mean by supposed?" though she had a feeling she knew what the girl was talking about.

"Those books that he wrote are all fake" Daphne replied. "They don't align with the time lapses the way he said. Not to mention have you ever heard of a spell that could turn a werewolf back into a human. If that was possible then why are there still so many still out their" she pointed out.

"Alright, we established that the man is not only a horrible teacher but a fraud with a weird obsession with kids" Adrian began "but what are we going to do unless he does something bad, we have to suffer him the rest of the school year" he said detestably.

"Still, this presents a problem" Tracey picked up, "we have a major problem not with only in our separate years but also the female population it could mean a great deal of trouble for us."

"What are you suggesting" Blaise asked.

"We're going to need to be on our guards around the fool" she stated "and we are going to need a teacher. Someone who knows how to defend against the dark arts. We need Professor Snape to help us."

Ulrich was the first to speak "do you think he will" he asked cautiously. "I know he has a mastery in the subject, but there is little chance that he would agree to it."

"Not to mention he has his own classes to teach" Adrian added.

Nicole perked up "look I know we are in a bind here and the chances that Professor Snape will agree to teach us are slim. But we hardly have any other options in this case, and we need a person who is familiar with the subject!"

Tracey and her friends pretended to discuss the matter as Severus was already teaching them, but they couldn't tell the others that. After a few minutes of debating, they reached an agreement to ask him if he could teach them.

"Seeing as how we are all agreed we will ask Professor Snape to teach us" Nicole declared. Looking at her watch she saw that they still had time before curfew "if we leave right now, we might be able to catch him in his office."

Harry got rid of the wards and they all went to the dungeons. All the while discussing what Snape would say and what he might teach them. Getting to the door Ulrich knocked on it and waited for a reply. "Come in" they heard, opening the door Severus was sitting at his desk grading papers.

When Severus asked them, what brought them here tonight. They asked if he could teach them DADA, since Lockhart wasn't teaching them squat. Severus pretended not to know anything and motioned for them to continue, which they did. After, explaining what was going on in the lessons Severus was livid and it only got worse when Nicole voiced her opinion to the way Lockhart's been looking at her. When she finished Severus was seething as his black eyes were seen radiating fire.

Severus reached for one of the many drawers in his desk and pulled out a calming draught, downing the contents and allowing the potion to take effect. He agreed to begin teaching them as he too was not happy with how Lockhart strutted around the castle as he was something great.

They would begin next week after dinner. Everyone thanked him and left the room to go back to their respective dorms.

(0^0)

The month of October came, and it was put to good use as the gang was now being taught actual Defense Against the Dark Arts by Severus. The man may have been tough on them, but they were still learning a lot; from having to utilize counter curses and defending themselves on how to deal with dark creatures. As it is Severus gave them their homework assignments to review the syllabus from the previous fifth and seventh years that he kept in the office.

Harry and his friends were currently in the abandoned classroom working on the essays they were given or work on the spells they had to learn for class. Harry finished the seventh year syllabus and moved to the eighth year syllabus as he wanted to do the best, he could on his O.W.L. He was going to prove who he was and not let the reputation of his family dwindle to nothing. He was going to prove who he was and rise to the top.

Harry also began to intensify his training, especially when it came to his elemental abilities. On a happier note, he was able to create one of the three spells. After a few trial and errors, he was finally able to perfect a new attack spell that could prove quite effective in duels.

Deciding that they did enough for the day they left the classroom. While most of them were in high, except for Harry as today marked the day his parents died, and it was not a good memory to have.

As they were walking the hallway's Harry started to hear something ". . . rip . . . tear . . . kill . . ." The voice was cold, murderess and appeared to be out of breath. He stopped and leaned against the wall as he was immediately assaulted by some memories. From what his dad said Voldemort transferred some of his memories to him when he attacked that night 11 years ago. As such, he locked them in the subconscious part of his mind to keep them from becoming a threat. Evidently, the binds were weakening, and he was getting flashes of what the man did.

Blaise noticed his friend uneasiness and hung back "hey guys why don't you all go on we'll catch up" he said to them.

The others turned around and were about to say something but decided against it, they just went on except for Daphne and Tracey who hung back saying that they will catch up.

Daphne slowly approached him and put a hand on his shoulder "Harry what's the matter" she was concerned for him.

"I'll be fine" he replied, "did you guys hear a voice as we were walking?"

They all shook no.

"We didn't hear anything…" Daphne was about to say more but Harry stopped her.

". . . soo hungry . . . for so long . . ." There it was again but it sounded more faint.

Before any of them could say anything, Harry broke into a sprint and headed for the first floor, the others chased after him. The next moment they were going down the stairs to the first floor.

". . . kill . . . time to kill . . ." the voice was there again. When he stopped, he felt that something was going on, on the second floor. Taking another set of stairs, the ascended to the second floor and entered a deserted passageway.

"Harry what's going on" Daphne asked catching up to him.

Before he could speak Tracey gasped "look" she pointed down the hall.

Something was shining on the wall ahead. They approached slowly, squinting through the darkness. Foot-high words had been daubed on the wall between two windows, shimmering in the light cast by the flaming torches.

"THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE." She read it out loud. Her voice indicated that she was scared, they looked to where she was pointing to see Filch's cat hanging by the tail from the torch bracket.

Before they could even move the entire student, body came out of the great hall. The first one to speak was Draco as he said "Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" he said it while looking at a few of them. Unknowingly to him many of the half-bloods heard him and looked ready to curse him for his insolence.

"What's going on? What's going on here" Filch came pushing everyone aside. Then he saw the state of Mrs. Norris. He angrily looked around for someone to blame and when his eyes landed on Harry, he found the person who he thought was responsible. Argus never liked the boy father James as he remembered cleaning up the fools mess.

With fury in his eyes, he said "you murdered Mrs. Norris" he grabbed him by the shoulder unaware of the fact that harry was not in the mood. "I kill you. I kill" he didn't get to finish as Harry acted on instinct ripping the caretakers arm off his shoulder and kneed him the stomach followed by three punches in the face. The first two broke his nose and made him lose two teeth.

Harry didn't let up as he grabbed him by the neck and rammed his head against the wall twice and quickly followed by delivering a powerful punch to his elbow breaking his arm. When he let go Filch not only had a broken nose and short two teeth but was crying over the fact that his arm was now broken. Everyone around backed away slowly except for Daphne as they were scared of the power that he was radiating.

Daphne placed a comfortable arm on him "it's ok Harry, he not going to hurt you" she said soothingly. "Stay in control" she whispered.

Harry took a breath and relaxed "I'm okay, Daphne. I'm ok!"

At that moment Minerva came in and shouted "move aside! What is going on here?" she asked coming into the scene with the other professors only to find a sobbing Filch holding his arm.

"Would someone tell me what is wrong with Mr. Filch" she said demanded.

"That would be because of me" Harry stepped forward "your caretaker put his hand on me and shouted that I murdered his cat and threatened to kill me. I acted on instinct ripped his arm off, kneed him in the stomach, gave him three punches breaking his nose and some teeth, rammed his head against the wall twice and delivered a punch in between his elbow breaking his arm."

Minerva was completely shocked at what he said. Dumbledore stepped in "Mr. Potter, you did not have to hurt Argus that badly."

"That badly," Harry repeated. In case, your hard of hearing Dumbledore he put his hands on me first and threatened to kill me. He's luck I was holding back" he declared. "Now, how about you make yourself useful, check to see what is really wrong with his cat and have madam Pomfrey heal this poor sod. Or is that not something you are capable of doing" he looked at the headmaster with fire in his eyes making sure that his occlumency shields were in place.

Everyone was struck still at the way Potter talked to Albus Dumbledore. Madam Pomfrey went to go repair the damage done to Filch. It only took a few minutes as she was able to repair his broken bones.

"Everyone exit the corridors and head to your dormitories" Dumbledore said, and everyone started to leave. "Everyone except you four" he pointed at Harry and his friends. Severus pulled his wand out and levitated Mrs. Norris off the bracket and onto the floor next to the mostly fixed Argus Filch.

Dumbledore was in authoritative mode at the moment "Argus with us" he said to his caretaker while picking up his cat "you four as well" he indicated to the remaining students.

"Why do we have to go" Hadrian asked in a calm but dangerous voice. He was already aware of what was going on Filch needed someone to blame and unfortunately picked the wrong person and learned a painful lesson. Dumbledore would be hoping to capitalize on this as he probably thought he could use this to make Harry submit to him. Not only that the rumor mill will start it's infamous rumors by tomorrow at the latest.

"Follow along Mr. Potter" he replied in a commanding voice. Harry and the others followed along the teachers; he briefly casted a look at Severus who gave a curt nod. While Severus believed that neither his son nor any of his friends had anything to do with what happened to Filch's cat. Their was nothing he could do without exposing the fact that he was his father. That would only cause problems and a lot of questions that he didn't want to answer.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster — just upstairs — please feel free —" Gilderoy Lockhart piped up with a bright smile on his face.

"Thank you, Gilderoy," said Dumbledore. They all went to the DADA room where Minerva brandished her wand and added some fire to the torches to brighten up the darkened room. Dumbledore laid Mrs. Norris on the polished surface and began to examine her.

Dumbledore leaned in very closely his crooked nose was inches from her as he was examining her. Filch was glaring daggers as he believed the boy not only harmed his cat but beat the shit out of him.

Lockhart started monologuing "Iit was definitely a curse that killed her — probably the Trans-mogrifian Torture — I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very countercurse that would have saved her. . . ."

"Oh, shut up you imbecile" Daphne said not wanting to hear his made up story. "If there was a brain in that skull of yours you would know that she is still alive."

Severus looked at the girl with a smile that almost appeared on his lips. Minerva glared at her "that was disrespectful Miss. Greengrass, ten points from slytherin."

Severus intervened "ten points to slytherin for sparing us a long winded bluff" he said looking at Minerva. The woman stared at her colleague with her usual frosty glare. Severus smirked at her "we can do this all night Minerva; but unlike you I have better things to do than listen to mere stories."

"How dare you" she crossly said to him.

Severus met her narrow eyes with his own. "We can do this all night, Minerva. Need I remind you that Miss Greengrass is a member of my house. Do not overstep your boundaries." There were many things that Severus would put up from her, but he be damned if he let her have any say in how he treats his snakes. He remembered the conversation he had with Harry about his encounter with her and was not pleased with what she said to him.

Albus looed up from Mrs. Norris at the bickering professors "that will be enough you two" he said loud enough before they could get into an argument. The two just stared at each other. He then turned to his caretaker "Argus she is not dead" he confirmed.

"Not dead?" choked Filch, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. "But why's she all — all stiff and frozen?"

"She has merely been petrified. Although, I do not know how?" Dumbledore said

"Ask him" he pointed to Harry "he did it! I know it was him. He not only beat me up! He wrote that on the wall."

"Oh, shut up you bald idiot." Harry was no longer in the mood to deal with the fool and started radiating his magic. Filch saw the expression on the boy face and it was of intense anger. Perhaps he should have picked someone else as he was feeling an immense amount of power from him.

In a swift motion Hadrian grabbed his neck collar and pulled him close enough to look him in the eyes. "I will only say this once, so listen good" the fire in his eyes made Filch entire body freeze. "I did not touch your cat. Me and the others happened to find her in that state when we ran across her. If you want to point fingers at anybody then make sure you have solid evidence. And if you ever grab me that way again you will experience a world of hurt" he pushed the caretaker to his butt.

"Mr. Potter you will not harm Mr. Filch" Dumbledore said in a stern voice.

"Maybe I wouldn't have to if he would bother keeping his hands to himself" he retorted. "Evidently, he forgot that he is not allowed to place hands on the students or is that something you forgot to go over with him."

"Rest assure he will never touch another student again" Dumbledore assured. "In fact, he and I will be having a talk about it after we are done here."

"Just see to it that he keeps his hands to himself or he won't be able to use them much longer" he warned.

Minerva came in "Mr. Potter you will not talk to the headmaster that way. I will be sending a letter home to your guardians to inform."

"Put a sock in it you Bitch arse cunt" he turned his attention to her. The other occupants stared with shocked expression on their faces. "I have about had it with your constant disregard of the rules to protect the students. So, shut your fucking mouth and pay attention. Me and the others were studying actual Defense Against the Dark Arts not the bullshit Lockhart assigned us. Who I might add is a failure at the subject."

"Now grow some brain cells and actually do your job." He said glaring at her. "Mr. Potter you will not talk to Professor McGonagall that way, 15 points from gryffindor house" Dumbledore said. But Harry ignored him "and if you ever use my parents in your statements against me again, you will know what it truly means to suffer" he said in a cold menacing voice that made the others gasps. Either from the fact that he threatened her or that she used the memory of his parents against him. Daphne, Filius, and Severus were glaring daggers at her.

But Harry was far from done with her. "I seem to recall that you lost your husband in the last war" that struck a nerve at Minerva. "I heard he was killed in a death eater raid in Diagon Alley and he died like a chump at the hands of Fenrir Greyback and his pack." Minerva now had tears leaking from her eyes. "Maybe it was a good thing that he ended up dead as having you for a wife must have been of constant misery for him. What do you think of that bitch. The next time you ever use my parents like that you will see how just how dangerous I am!" he then left the room with the others following behind, leaving a sobbing Minerva who bawling her eyes out.

The other teachers did not even know what to make of what just happened. That was until Dumbledore got up and put a comfortable arm around Minerva trying to calm her down. "What have I done" she said in between sobs.

Filius shook his head at her. "Minerva you have gone too far this time" he stated. "Were if James and Lily heard about what you did, they would turn in their graves. "I'm quite tempted to curse you myself."

Dumbledore glared at the diminutive professor "that is enough Filius" he said in a voice that indicated that the conversation was over.

"Not likely, Albus" Severus came in much to everyone surprise, looking ready to set the woman on fire.

"Severus now not the time" Dumbledore said in a tired voice.

Severus gave his trademark sneer. "It's an agony to say this but I agree with the Potter brat" he said as it as if he tasted a sour lemon. " While I despised the brats father, Lily was a dear friend of mine and words could only describe what she would do if she were here at the moment" he then swept out of the room with robes billowing. One by one the professors left.

All that remained was Albus and a sobbing Minerva. The former was comforting her, but it was only halfheartedly as his mind was on the green eyed raven haired boy. This latest incident would be beneficial to him as he could use the bad publicity the boy would get to his advantage and make him his weapon. He would just have to bide his time and wait until the infernal brat was at his weakest and come to him for guidance."

A/N: Yes, I know that Harry had a Nimbus 2000 in the book, but I wanted to throw in my own spin on things; as you all can see Lucius bought the entire team new brooms to get his son on the team. As for Lockhart it was pretty obvious from the start that he was a useless teacher who knew nothing. Harry now has some new projects to work on and I can tell you all this they will be impressive. Another meeting with the headmaster as he was hoping to fix his damaged reputation.

Part of me feels like I may have pushed the already strained relationship between Harry and Minerva. What do you all think? As for how she is in regards to him I think she is being forced to do it. Have any of you ever once one heard her stand up for Harry against Albus? Because as far as I have seen she barely does anything good for him. Yes, she let him get away with a few things, but did she do it out of guilt or for the part she played or just to clear her conscious?

As you all can see Severus is proving to be an excellent teacher as he is rectifying Lockhart's dismal abilities. As for Filch I can positively say that I have no feelings for that decrypted waste of space. He should be given so much free reign to touch the students. The last straw was in Book 5, if I had it my way, I would have fired that bastard right the end of term. The fool should know better than to accuse people as for the beatdown Harry gave him. It was justified and deserved in my opinion.

FYI: I hate bullies, while I don't think that Fred and George are cruel jerks, the pranks they do and jokes they make are capable of sending the wrong message. None of you can deny that pranking can be a form of bullying look at what happened to the marauder they were pranksters and bullies. And they paid the ultimate prices for what they did.

Next chapter: The dueling club begins and unlike the one in the book and movie I'm going to put my own spin on it. Lockhart is going to be in a world of pain. Oh, he will survive but will be in pain and there will be blood. I ask you all again please don't be mad at me for what I am about to make Lockhart do. Warning the beatdown Harry is going to give him will look mild compared to the other one he will get.