Ascension: The Silver Spears

by Define Anachronistic

(AU) Harry Potter is different. No one is more aware of this than him. His relatives acknowledge his existence only when necessary and despite growing up surrounded by creature comforts, everything he has ever owned is either a hand me down, stolen, scavenged or lent to him out of pity. He has no one to rely on. He tells himself that he prefers it that way. But no man is an island.

20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER THRITEEN

Midnight Run

As it turned out, The Marauders did a lot.

The four Ravenclaw First Years were first introduced to the smuggling operation. The Marauder's Map didn't just reveal secret passageways around the school, but ones that led outside the school too. This gave The Marauders a monopoly on the import and trade on unsanctioned goods within the castle.

"That's just a fancy way of saying that you bring in potion ingredients and booze." Harry snorted, as he and his friends followed Cedric and the Third Years down the wide and well-built secret passageway.

Lee grunted. "Forgot I was dealing with Ravenclaws." Michael, having buried the hatchet with the Gryffindors, laughed along with the Weasley twins.

"Not all firsties are as easy to trick as Ron and his mates." Fred chuckled.

"Would make our lives easier if they were." George grinned.

"It's not just potions and booze, you know." Maria told Harry. She was walking closest to him, and when he glanced up at her, he couldn't help but notice how their wand light reflected off of her sleek, dark hair.

"It's mostly potions and booze." Eddie said, thoughtfully.

Maria ignored him. "We can get things, expensive things, quite cheaply through alumni."

Anthony, who had been walking up front with Cedric, slowed his pace in order to walk beside them. "Alumni? You mean former Marauders?"

Cedric threw a grin over his shoulder. "You didn't think Richard, Tonks and Charlie were just going to forget about us once they graduated, did you?" He chuckled. "Callum still keeps in touch."

Terry's voice came from the far back of the group. "Callum? My dinky little cousin, Callum? He's a part of this?"

Michael looked confused. "The guy that was at Anthony's party? He's like twice your size!" Terry ignored this.

Cedric nodded, as he finally slowed his pace as they neared their destination. Harry could not have been happier with this, as he had found it difficult to keep up with the older and more athletic boy. Michael and Anthony seemed fine, but at least Terry seemed to be struggling as much as he, if not more so. "Callum graduated just last year. In fact, it was him who suggested we keep an eye on you Terry."

"He knows I'm full of potential." Terry boasted, but Harry could hear how touched he was through his voice.

Maria leaned in so only Harry could hear. "He actually asked us to keep him out of trouble." Harry nodded. That sounded more likely.

It was almost one in the morning on the last Saturday of March. As agreed, all the Ravenclaws that were present agreed to meet in the common room at midnight before making their way to the giant mirrors on the fourth floor while using the Map to remain unseen. The others had met them there, having used the Disillusionment Charm to great effect.

Now, after walking for what must have been an hour, Cedric finally came to a stop. "This is it."

Harry glanced around but saw no indication of an exit. "How can you tell?" He felt justified in voicing his doubt as the passageway continued out of sight.

"The Map never lies." Cedric handed it to him for indication. "See?"

He was right. Somehow, the Map knew where it was being carried to, and it followed them down the secret passageway. The drawing definitely wasn't to scale as they had walked much further than was made clear on the parchment, but an incantation was written next to Harry's label, the same incantation they had used to get into the mirrors in the first place.

"Whenever the incantation appears, we know we've reached the entrance, or the exit depending on your perspective, of any given passageway." Cedric explained.

"It's the same as the one we used to get in." Harry was confused. "Aren't they supposed to have different passwords? For security I mean." He was momentarily distracted when the Third Years drew obnoxiously close to them, and they ushered the other First Years to do the same.

Cedric jabbed the wand at the ground beneath them. "Ascendio!" The previously solid stone beneath their feet immediately turned into a platform, rising quickly into the darkness above.

"Whoa!" Harry normally would have felt mortified letting out such a silly sound around a group of cool older kids, but his friend's reactions were far worse. Anthony made an odd yelping noise, Michael clutched onto Lee as though he were suddenly afraid of heights and Terry, who was still a little out of breath, let out a hoarse "AHH!"

It was only natural that the others would laughing openly at them.

"The incantation Dissendium only shows up on the Map. We've checked every Cursebreaking book the library has to offer." Cedric continued his explanation, the only one to politely ignore their silly reactions and not joining in on the laughter. "We think the Marauders crafted it as a password that supersedes all the other ones in the school. Common rooms, kitchens, even the Staff Room."

George let out a wistful sigh. "Those four. We owe them everything."

Fred agreed. "They've saved us from hours of guesswork. Imagine how long it would have taken us to figure out those passwords on our own."

Lee hummed. "Weeks at least." He said, dryly.

Harry shook his head in wonder. He had previously thought that his Invisibility Cloak was the most powerful Artifice he would come across, but the Map was quickly catching up. Not only could it fill itself it out for them if they discovered a room or passageway in the castle that the Marauders hadn't, but it was also capable of tracking Harry even if he were wearing his family's cloak. Its only limitation was the fact that it could only keep track of the school and not the world outside.

The rising platform finally came to a stop. Harry could not help but peer over the railing free side and into the darkness of the passageway below. They must have been at least a hundred feet up from where they had started, but it was impossible to tell in the gloom.

Maria must have sensed his nerves because she then flicked her wand at the edges. "Lumos Duo!" A ball of light floated from the end of her wand, furthering the illumination of the passageway. Eddie followed her lead without a word and cast the same spell, increasing the light even further. "I don't know how to transfigure railings, so this will have to do. Sorry."

Terry, who was the most afraid of heights, thanked her from the back, as Cedric pointed his wand at the stone wall in front of them. "Dissendium!" The wall was unaffected, but Cedric and the others walked towards it anyway. Harry was about to ask if there was something wrong, but the Hufflepuff Seeker, followed by the Third Years, walked right through the wall. It had been enchanted with the same Runic Complex as the entrance to Platform Nine and Three Quarters and the entrance to the Silver Spears.

"I really need to learn how to do that myself, one of these days." Harry muttered to himself, as he and his friends followed.

The other side held only held the bottom of a wide, but dark set of stairs, which the others had already begun to climb. Following them up the stairs, Harry saw an open entranceway with a familiar face on the other side.

"It's about time you got here." Said Pam the barmaid. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't come."

Cedric sounded apologetic as the last of them finally emerged into a basement. "Sorry, Pam. We would have got here sooner, but we had to take things slow for the new kids."

Pam had to glance around his wide build, but when she did, her eyes lit up in recognition. "Hello again." She said kindly, before glancing back at Cedric. "They're a bit little aren't they?" She asked him in a reproaching tone.

All the First Years were offended by this, but none more so than Michael. "Were only two years younger than these lot!" Eddie shushed him, glancing nervously up at the ceiling.

"Lee and the twins were the same age when we got to them." Cedric pointed out.

Pam shrugged. "There was no saving those three."

Fred smiled. "I choose to take that as a compliment."

"I choose to take it as a challenge." Terry muttered.

Shaking her head, Pam led them towards the stairs, which presumably led to the Howling Tavern's bar, but Harry noticed all the Third Years sans Eddie were hanging back. "Is there a problem?"

Lee shook his head. "You don't need our help with this part."

Before Harry could ask what that meant, Cedric called his name. With one last confused look over his shoulder, Harry followed the others up the stairs. Emerging into the kitchen, Cedric pressed a finger to his lips. "I'm going to disillusion and silence you. You guys are just here to observe. Okay?" Nodding along with the others, Harry watched carefully as Cedric cast a short series of spells on each of them, making sure to commit each of them to memory.

When he finally got to him, Cedric took hold of his wrist, to make sure he didn't lose track of him. "Talpa!" Cedric rapped Harry on the top of his head, and a cool sensation emanated from that spot, all the way down his body. It felt like someone had poured a cool drink into his hair and it was dripping all over him. Looking down, he saw that his body had become nearly invisible, the only tell-tale sign of his presence being a slight shimmer as he moved.

He opened his mouth to ask a question about its counter-spell, but Cedric was already waving his wand at his face. "Silencio!" Harry could feel his vocal cords vibrate, his tongue move and his mouth shaping the words of his question, but it all amounted to nothing. Even though everything was working as it should, no words passed his lips.

Having already experienced the Silencing Charm at the hands of Myrose and Fredrick, Harry could readily admit that he was not a fan.

Cedric finished his series while Eddie was waiting anxiously by the door. "Quietus!" He jabbed his wand at Harry's shoes, silencing his footsteps, before waving his wand again over his whole body, "Falta de Perfume!", and once more on the wrist he had never let go of. "Brachiabindo!" An invisible binding was created between Harry's left arm and Anthony's right.

While Harry was still deciding if he should feel either insulted or amused at the fact not that Cedric didn't trust them not to wander off or bump into each other, Eddie was already walking through the door into the bar, an easy, confident grin plastered on his face. Cedric quickly followed, indicating that they do the same.

The bar itself was dimly lit, not by wands, but by candlelight. There, sitting on a table in the centre of the room were three men, the two on either side looking comfortable, but the man in the middle looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. This didn't stop Eddie who walked right up to the table without a care in the world.

"Alright Mundungus? How's business treating you?" Eddie asked airily.

"Can't complain." The small, balding ginger man in the middle, Mundungus, replied. He looked a little constipated, as Eddie pulled a chair out for himself and took a seat at the table. Cedric stood behind him, like a bodyguard would and Harry made to move closer, before freezing. He was in the lead, so Anthony bumped into his back, but Harry made sure not to move another inch. The man on the right was closest to him, and he had turned in his direction, as though he had seen a shimmer of movement.

"Problem?" Asked the man on the left. He was a relatively short man with close cropped blonde hair and pale eyes that were fixed on his companion.

The man on the right hummed, before speaking English with a flawless, but noticeably accent-less, drawl. "No. I thought I saw something, but it was probably a rat." He had thick, black hair, rich brown skin and a few days' worth of stubble, just enough to let Harry know it was an aesthetic choice. He was a little older than his companion, and it was clear from their body language that he was in charge. He spoke English impeccably, but he had the same accent-less tell-tale that Magister Akingbade had; He had learned the language through a Translation Charm.

The man on the left snickered. "That's what we get for conducting business in this dump." His words carried an American twang to them.

Pam, who had come over from the bar to refill their drinks, stiffened, before continuing on as though she had heard nothing. Harry was offended on her behalf. Her tavern was spotless. When she was finished, Pam retreated to the kitchen and Harry envied her, as he didn't want to be in the same room as these two either.

Eddie seemed to share his dislike of the two strangers, as his smile drooped ever so slightly as he asked, "Who are your friends, 'Dung?" Cedric sent Eddie a warning glance but said nothing.

Mundungus smiled weakly, his sweaty forehead glistening under the candlelight. "This is Elijah Torrington," he gestured to the American, "and Kanishk Agarwal." In Harry's mind, he was right to be nervous. Despite how different their external appearances were, both men had the same shady vibe to them. Dangerous, almost.

Eddie, the First Years had learned earlier, was the Marauder's charmer. He was able to get close to people who should, by all rights, never take him seriously ("How else does he get any girl to look at him twice with that ugly mug?" Maria pointed out, surprisingly, with Eddie's agreement.) Not only did he get shady characters to see him as a viable business partner, but he also managed to haggle decent prices out of them for the group. His reputation did not fail him now that they were faced with unexpected company.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." Eddie said politely. "If you'll excuse us, Mundungus and I have a little business to conduct."

Agarwal remained stone faced. "As do we. With you." Harry was surprised by this, and judging by Cedric's expression, he was too.

To his credit, Eddie didn't react at all. "Of course, you do. Why else would you be here?" Eddie nodded at Mundungus. "But I have a standing appointment with Mr. Fletcher here. Once I know he has what I've ordered, I'll be happy to start a new deal with you." For a brief moment, Agarwal stared hard at Eddie as though he was trying to sense any deception from the boy. Harry wanted to warn him not to look him directly in the eye, but he couldn't think of a way to do it without revealing himself. Eventually, Agarwal nodded at Mundungus, who jumped up and led Cedric towards a small tower of trunks that had been placed on the table next to theirs.

One by one, Cedric examined each trunk, while Mundungus kept glancing at the door as though planning his escape. All the while, the three who remained at the table remained in an awkward stasis after Eddie attempted to start a conversation with them a couple of times only to end in failure in the face of their disinterest. Finally, Cedric closed the lid of the final trunk, before nodding at Eddie.

"Excellent. Cedric, please pay our friend." Seemingly relaxed now that he had what he had come for, Eddie leaned back into his seat and opened his arms in a magnanimous gesture. "Well then, how can I help you gentlemen?"

Agarwal had leaned back in his seat, content to let his younger companion speak for them both. "We have some product that needs to make it into the hands of an inhabitant of the school. Can you manage it?"

Eddie raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Torrington frowned, glancing at Mundungus. "We were told you don't ask questions."

"Ah yes, the "no questions asked package". That'll cost you extra. A lot extra." Eddie grinned. "Do you have the product with you?"

"Not right now, no." Torrington said, and Harry could see Cedric's shoulders slump ever so slightly in relief. "We can get it to you in a month."

Eddie nodded. "We'll communicate through Mundungus. He's privy to our normal channels of communication, as well as our prices." Before Eddie had even finished speaking, Torrington had already thrown down a red sack full of Galleons.

"There's two hundred Galleons in there. The second half will be given to you by the recipient. Is that enough for you?"

Even the normally unflappable Eddie was stunned by this high price. "Err…yeah."

Now that business was done, Agarwal stood and walked right out of the bar and onto the street, leaving Torrington to follow. Once they were both gone, Eddie let out a great sigh of relief, but before he could say anything, Cedric raised his hand to silence him. "Homenum Revelio!" There was a golden shimmer emanating from both Eddie and Mundungus, and when Harry looked, he saw that he and his friends had an invisible outline around them too.

Mundungus jumped, but Cedric calmed him down. "It's alright. Those four are with us."

Mundungus glared at him. "Were you planning on ambushing me?"

"We could ask the same of you." Eddie looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him. Actually, Harry had never seen him angry, so this must be serious. "What was that, just now? Who were those guys?"

"I don't know. Honest!" He added desperately when Eddie scoffed. "They've been working out of Knockturn Alley for about a year now, but no one they do business with wants to talk, and the one's that do disappear."

Cedric looked concerned. "Do the Aurors know about this."

Mundungus looked sheepish. "Well, you know me and law enforcement never got along."

Cedric rolled his eyes. "The Aurors couldn't care less about you and your petty wares 'Dung."

While Harry was wondering how a grown man would let anyone, much less a couple of kids, call him 'Dung, the man seemed more offended by the insult to his products. "Petty? I'll have you know that my goods are of the highest quality! I only steal from the best, I do." Cedric made to say something, but Mundungus was already continuing. "Besides, I told Lord Dumbledore about it ages ago. He said to keep an eye on it and I did. At least until they caught me at it."

"Will you be telling Lord Dumbledore about tonight?" Cedric asked, in a manner that plainly stated that he would if Mundungus did not.

"Of course! He's my ticket out of Hollow Penitentiary." He winked at Eddie. "Albus is the best lawyer I've ever had. Remember that son." Eddie looked offended, either at the suggestion that he would one day need a lawyer or because a man named 'Dung had just called him "son", Harry wasn't sure.

Mundungus began to make his way to the door. "I'll give you a mirror call when they need to move the product."

"We haven't agreed to this!" Cedric protested.

"They already paid half, haven't they?" Mundungus shrugged. "Besides, these aren't the kind of blokes you want to get on the bad side of."

Later, when the ten of them were floating the trunks filled with illegal potion ingredients down the secret passageway back towards the school, Eddie was trying to convince the others to take the job, but no one else was on board.

"Four hundred galleons just to deliver something." Eddie said for the third time. "This is the easiest job in the world."

"If our dad found out we were delivering something for two blokes from Knockturn Alley, he'd blow his lid." George shuddered. "He doesn't get angry as often as mum, but holy Halcyon, when he does…" He trailed off leaving it to their imaginations. Harry couldn't summon the energy for even that, as he and the other First Years were struggling with levitating their heavy trunks back to the school.

"Remind me again. Why can't they be placed in a trunk that's been enchanted to be bigger on the inside?" Harry asked, huffing, as he felt a single bead of sweat roll down his spine.

"Long periods inside an expanded Artifice makes magical ingredients a bit wonky in their effects." Terry muttered, looking more tired than Harry had ever seen him, and rightfully so. It was half past two in the morning.

"It's why we use Muggle trunks in our potion lab." Lee explained. "When we empty them out, we just give them back to 'Dung so he can fill them up again."

Eddie continued as though he hadn't heard any of this. "I already took the money, and old 'Dung is gonna tell Dumbledore anyway, so if it's something dangerous then nothing will come of it."

Cedric had heard enough. "Give it a rest, alright?" He snapped, the normally patient boy losing his polite composure. "We'll take it to Marcus and the Seventh Years. Let them decide."

Eddie fell silent, but when Harry glanced back at him, he couldn't help but notice how mutinous he appeared.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The second of the Marauder's endeavours that he and his friends were introduced to was the betting operation. There was a lot more work put into this one, as the First Years were introduced to the regular punters, the ones who made sure to bet on every Quidditch match and duel, both within the school and the in the professional leagues. They were tasked with drumming up customers from among their year group, but Harry had little interest in doing that.

"You don't have to take part in any of this if you don't have to, you know." Tonks told him one afternoon as they worked together on the third of the Marauders revenue streams; Repairing broken items to sell for profit in the Muggle world. "You're a part of the group now, no matter what. But any business you do with the group and using the Map is taxable."

"Tax?" Harry asked, as he looked up from the chair he was repairing.

"We all agree that ten percent of whatever you make, through smuggling, betting or repairing," She gestured to the room at large, "has to go to the group's coffers."

Harry was amused. "What do we need coffers for?"

Tonks smiled. "This isn't just a group of hoodlums, you know. We're a business." She twirled her wand at the chair Harry had failed to fix. "Reparo!" The chair mended itself good as new, and Tonks smirked at Harry sigh of frustration, before continuing. "We need to keep some money on hand to keep buying more ingredients, either to sell or to keep making more potions. Also, we need to pay for the scholarship."

Harry smiled, still a little amused by their altruistic scheme. "The Marauder's Scholarship" was a little gesture to offset the financial inequality of the Wizarding School system. Which was just a smart way for Lee to explain that the Marauders paid for the school supplies of students who couldn't really afford it.

Textbooks, equipment, uniforms and, the most expensive of all, potion ingredients. Hogwarts had a fund for students who needed it, but that was really only for penniless orphans. Hogwarts was an expensive school, especially compared to Rosewood's or Wendell's, and the ones who had the worst of it were Muggle-borns.

Most Muggle parents weren't willing to send their kids to a school they will never see, and probably weren't even sure was real, if cheaper alternatives were available. There was a reason why there were only three Muggle-borns in Harry's year when they made up almost a fifteen percent of the population.

It now made sense to Harry, why Michael would so eagerly join Lee and the Weasley twins in their betting racket. Harry was not ignorant of the fact that his friend was in the most financial precarious position of all of them. His birth mother's wealth had been confiscated by the Confederacy, and his adoptive parents were spending a small fortune on tuition for both him and his brother. Harry and Anthony had both inherited fortunes and Terry's family all had high paying jobs even without their generational wealth. It was no wonder that Michael was the only one who was actually eager to make some money for himself.

"Where are we, anyway?" Harry asked.

"What do you mean?" Tonks asked, looking between an old jewellery box and an ugly marble bust, deciding which one will go for more.

"I mean, this room was the Marauder's headquarters a few days ago, but now it's gone back to how I first found it." Harry waved his hand, indicating the vast room that had to be to twice as large as the Quidditch pitch, and should in no way fit inside the castle, which was filled to the brim with broken and lost items.

"Didn't anyone tell you?" Harry shook his head, and she shook her head ruefully. "I've got to tell Cedric and Marcus to work on the initiation process for next year." She sighed, before explaining. "This is the Room of Requirement. It can turn into anything you want."

"Anything?" Harry asked, quickly. He, Anthony and Michael had been at a loss for what to do for Terry's birthday which was quickly approaching, but this could help. "No limits?"

"Of course, it has limits. All magic does." Tonks was clearly amused by his lack of knowledge. "I'll explain how to works it later, but for now, just help me with this would you?" Harry nodded, even though he knew that she didn't need his help at all. She was just trying to teach him to use the Mending Charm before her revision for her N.E. took precedence.

Harry genuinely appreciated that she was giving him any time at all. He had learned, when he asked Cedric to teach him the series of spells that he had used on the First Years, that older students had a lot more to deal with then he and his cohorts did. Denser course loads, Cadet training, Quidditch Practice and Sentinel work, all of it piled up, leaving them with extraordinarily little free time.

What time they didn't dedicate to the Marauders was spent trying to keep up their social lives with their friends and other companions. Harry had learned this hard way when he tracked down the Hufflepuff Seeker to the Library Tower only to walk in on him and Penelope in a compromising position. It wouldn't have been a big deal, if he hadn't asked Madame Pince if she'd seen Cedric. How was he supposed to know that she would follow him up there?

It hadn't been all that funny in the moment, but he and mates had a good laugh at Cedric and Penny's expense later.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

April was kicked off with a bang. Literally.

Not long after lessons began on April's fool day, fireworks began to be let off along the corridors outside of every classroom that had a lesson taking place. While the Professors tried to deal with the disturbance, Harry could tell that it was only a token effort. As Marcus had told him yesterday, no one tries to get anything done on April Fool's Day anymore. They hadn't for many years. Lessons were cancelled when the fireworks began to multiply every time someone tried to vanish them, but that's when the true chaos began.

The main staircase that led to the Entrance Hall had been turned into a giant waterslide, the Great Hall had become an ice-skating rink, and there was a storm brewing in every common room that poured out raindrops that were every colour of the rainbow and changed the colour of everything that it touched. A few daring individuals had opened their mouths to taste the falling concoction only to find themselves being turned into farm animals.

Most amusing of all, as Harry only learned of it the next day, someone had turned the entirety of the dungeons into an invisible maze, leaving many Slytherins missing for the rest of the day when they went back to their common rooms after breakfast.

A week before, when he and his friends were hanging out in their new headquarters, going over the Marauder's Grimoire, Harry couldn't help but overhear what the older kids were planning for April Fool's Day, and he couldn't stop himself from asking the obvious. "Won't the teachers get pissed off at us? After the Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw match, they were threatening everyone with detention, and this sounds even worse."

"They're expecting us to do something." Marcus explained. "We've been doing this for decades. They'll be nervous if we don't do something."

With that justification, Harry had decided to go with the flow and just enjoy himself. Still, he was a little worried at the fallout, at least until he saw Dumbledore conjure skates for himself and glide flawlessly across the Great Hall. Grinning, Harry tried to do the same, only to fall flat on his face and his so-called friends all started laughing hysterically.

"I've never done this before." Harry mumbled, rubbing his nose where it struck the ice. Nothing seemed to be broken.

"We'll teach you." Anthony offered as he and Michael got Harry back on to his feet. And they did. By the end of the afternoon, Harry was skating as well as the rest of them, wondering why he had ever doubted the Marauders in the first place.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Unfortunately, he could not be so happy about his other secret society.

For several weeks now, Harry and Eliza had been duelling each other instead of the other members. This was not because she wanted to repeatedly humiliate an eleven-year-old (at least he hoped not) but because Harry was still too scared to fight any of the other students. While Eliza mocked him for his cowardice, Harry thought he was being quite reasonable. Not only did they have years more magical study under their belts, but they were all far more practiced in the Dark Arts than he was.

Unfortunately, his reluctance to fight had been noticed by the worst person. As he entered the underground hall, Harry was immediately set upon by Slughorn. "I'm not the only one who has noticed. Soon, there may be calls of favouritism." He winked, as if to say that Harry would always be a favourite of his. Sadly, due to his obvious exhaustion and poor health, Slughorn looked like he was having a stroke when he slowly closed and then opened one of his eyes.

That was how Harry found himself standing in the duelling arena at the centre of the hall. Ordinarily, this would have been bad enough, but his opponent turned out to be the worst possible person. Harry could almost feel Slughorn's amusement when he picked out Robert from the surrounding crowd. He must have thought it was funny, pitting two friends against each other, neither one having an idea of the other's identity as they both sought to hurt one another.

Harry was really going to enjoy it when Slughorn went to prison.

Robert stood across from him, impassive, relaxed almost. And why wouldn't he be? He was one of the best duellists in the club and he was going up against a clear W.O.M.B.A.T student. Harry on the other hand was an inexperienced duellist, going up against a Sixth Year, and he knew that even if one of his spells landed, he would just be hurting one of his friends.

Harry clenched and unclenched his fist. He was really going to enjoy it when Slughorn went to prison.

Slughorn's wand let out a flash of light, and the duel began.

Harry and Robert both raised their wands at the same time. "Expelliarmus!" Harry bellowed. Perhaps it was because of the clear desperation in his voice, or maybe it was his choice in opening spell, but he dimly registered laughter amongst the crowd. In that moment, Harry couldn't care less.

Robert cast his first spell silently, as all experienced duellists did. The jet of light that emerged from his wand was a white blue in colour, which could be either good or bad. It didn't matter either way, as both spells collided in the middle, and would cancel each other out.

Or at least, that's what Harry thought.

To his shock, Robert's spell was so powerful that it tore right through his Disarming Charm like it wasn't even there. With instincts borne from months of training with Quirrell, Harry dropped and rolled out of the way, coming up on one knee and casting his next spell as though it was his plan all along. "Stupefy!" This time he whispered the spell so no one but he could hear, and when the red jet of light shot out of his wand the crowd around them remained silent, as they could not identify it.

Robert didn't even move. He caught Harry's Stunning Spell with the tip of his wand and set it right back at him with twice the speed. Harry, who had been expecting him to block it with a Shield Charm, had tried to close the gap between them before the Stunning Spell could dissipate and leave his vision clear once more. Instead, before he was even halfway to his opponent, he had his own spell about to hit him in his face.

Harry panicked. "Protego!" The force of his own Stunning Spell sent him skidding back towards his starting position. Robert hadn't just sent his own spell back at him at a greater speed, but he had added Mana to it as well. This left the spell much to powerful to block with his Shield Charm, as Harry figured out in the nick of time.

He dropped to the ground as the Stunning Spell broke through his shield and whizzed over his head, having just missed Harry by inches.

That would be lucky if it weren't for what happened next.

Robert hadn't just decided to use his own spell against him but his own tactic as well. While Harry's vision had been impaired by the red Stunning Spell splashing on his Shield Charm, Robert had run up to him, closing the gap between them of his own volition, his speed far outstripping Harry's.

When Harry's vision was finally clear, he saw his opponent standing not three feet away from him. Harry was on the ground but he still tried to move, skitter backwards, cast a spell, anything, but it was already too late. "Defodio!" Later, Harry would remember the cold, lazy way Robert cast that spell, his first and only verbal one of their duel.

But it was more than enough to win.

Harry screamed as a chunk of his upper left arm was torn away, vanishing into thin air. The duelling uniform he had been given didn't protect him in the slightest. The last thing he saw before the pain and rapid blood loss made him pass out was the clean half spherical remains of his upper left arm.

It looks like someone used an ice-cream scoop on me, Harry thought stupidly, as he keeled over.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Crazy as it sounded, waking up in the Hospital Wing with a bandage wrapped tightly all along his left arm, with no memory of how he got there, was not his biggest worry in April.

Dealing with Dumbledore and Flitwick, who both thought that he had been attacked from behind as he was leaving the Small Hall, thanking Eliza for bringing him in and coming up with a cover story (even if he sure that his identity was more or less revealed to the rest of the Silver Spears) and convincing all his friends that he was fine was the easy part. Even ignoring the Daily Prophet who were crowing about a third assassination attempt was easy in comparison to what awaited him days after his duel with Robert.

No, his biggest problem came in the form of a letter.

One morning, at breakfast, Harry was preparing to leave for the Hospital Wing to finally get his bandages removed before class, all the while carefully avoiding Robert's eye as he had since the duel, when Argos landed in front of him.

"Got something for me?" Harry asked, feeding him a slice of bacon from the platter before removing his letter.

"Oi! Feed your owl off your own plate." Michael complained.

"The platter isn't your plate, Michael." Harry muttered, ignoring his grumbling as he read the two words written in familiar handwriting.

Come quickly.

"This doesn't even have a signature." Terry complained as he examined the short note as they hurried to Hagrid's.

"It's written in his handwriting." Harry called over his shoulder.

"What is it with you and handwriting?" Terry asked, gasping for breath as Anthony knocked on Hagrid's door. The Care of Magical Creatures Professor opened the door quickly, ushering them inside.

In recent weeks, Hagrid had appeared tired in classes, still teaching them the necessary topics for their coursework, but unusually unenthused in his favourite subject. Even when he had visited Harry in the hospital wing, making noises about wringing the neck of the person who had attacked him, Hagrid had looked exhausted. It didn't take much to figure out that the dragon rearing process was more difficult than he had initially thought it would be.

Right now, however, Hagrid looked happier than he had in weeks. "You're just in time." He told them, practically bouncing as he led them to the sitting room. "It's just about to hatch."

Harry felt his stomach drop. "Already? I thought you said we had weeks left?" He had been hoping for more time to come up with an idea to deal with the fallout of his plan.

"I don't know what kind of statis spell was put on it to keep it as an egg for so long, but it's been waiting to hatch since I was not much older than you." Hagrid led them closer to the inferno that was his fireplace, he and his friends removing layers of clothing as they went, it was that hot. "You can't blame it for wanting to be born a little early."

"Will be in any trouble?" Michael asked. "Health wise, I mean. It can't be healthy to be born so early."

"Who'd you think you're talking to?" Hagrid asked with faux indignance, before smiling reassuringly at him. "Don't forget, I'm a Beast Master. This isn't my first time working with a premature dragon." He said this with such confidence that they were all reassured that the dragon was in safe hands, at least until he added, "Though, I haven't done it since I left the Magisterium, and that was in the 50s, so…" He trailed off with a shrug.

Harry would have said something then, maybe about his idea to get rid of the dragon before it could be born and Hagrid could get attached, but then, quite suddenly, there was a great cracking sound that shot through the room. All five knelt in front of the fireplace in order to observe the birth of the dragon. Harry glanced around, noticing that his wizard raised friends seemed just as invested as he did.

"I get why I'm so interested. I've never seen a dragon being born before." Harry pointed out. "What's your excuse?"

Anthony glanced at him quizzically, before quickly turning back to the still cracking egg. "This is a once in a lifetime event. Nesting dragons are protective of their eggs, so even Beast Masters like Hagrid rarely get to see one born. Why'd you think he called us down here?"

Terry tutted, mockingly. "Honestly Harry, you're such a Muggle sometimes. OW!" Terry rubbed his arm where Michael had just punched him. "Hagrid, he hit me! Give him detention!" Hagrid just shushed him without even looking at him, and Terry looked like he was going to complain further until Anthony covered his mouth.

"Look." Anthony whispered.

The moment the egg finally split open, the huge fire was extinguished, as though the shattered pieces of the egg had doused the flames. A long spindly creature the size of Hagrid's palm spilled out of the remains.

Its skin was black and leathery, its wings were closed but Harry could see that they were huge in comparison to its tiny body. The pointy ridges running down its spine was pulsating with a glowing orange energy, as though it had somehow absorbed the flames into itself.

"A Norwegian Ridgeback." Hagrid breathed, as he approached the baby dragon slowly. "I thought it might have been a Hungarian Horntail, their eggs are so similar, but you can identify the two by the shape of the tails."

"And by the huge ridges on its back." Terry muttered.

"What are you going to do now that it's born?" Anthony asked casually. Harry gave him a thumbs up from behind Hagrid's back. He didn't think he could have sounded so casual about this.

"I'm gonna raise it of course." Hagrid said as though it were the simplest thing in the world. With his large hands covered by his oven mitts, Hagrid gently lifted the dragon from the cooling fireplace and placed it casually on the wooden coffee table. Harry was about to point out this critical error, but Michael beat him to it.

"Your house is made of wood." Michael said bluntly. Harry slapped his own forehead. That was not casual.

"I'll only keep it here for a few weeks, until it's old enough to fly." Hagrid said this in the that condescending way adults sometimes spoke to children. As though they were correct simply because they had existed longer. "After that, I'll build him a home in the forest."

"Oh, well that's okay then." Michael said dryly. "It's not as though a forest has anything flammable in it." Hagrid ignored him.

"You know, I'm going to be a bit busy from now on." Hagrid told them. "If I'm going to manage all of my classes I could use a hand."

Harry swallowed a groan, as this would only make things harder in the long run. "Of course, we'll help." He ignored the glares his friends were shooting him.

Later, as they were making their way to their first lesson of the day, the others made their displeasure known.

"Why would you tell him that?" Anthony asked. "Now he's gonna suspect us when Norbert," he stressed the name Hagrid had given the Norwegian Ridgeback, "goes missing."

"Yeah." Terry agreed, his brow furrowed in confusion. "I thought we were gonna ask Callum to get rid of it for us."

Harry sighed, rubbing his forehead. Hagrid's dragon situation was a brand-new stressor in his life that he didn't need and his friends complaining wasn't helping. "I'll figure it out." Harry muttered. "I've got a few weeks until it learns to fly."

A small part of him, the part that remained from the time before his Hogwarts letter, wanted to leave Hagrid to it. He was a grown man, more than capable of making his own decisions, and if he wanted to risk going to the Hollow Pen for unregistered dragon rearing, that was his own prerogative.

But Harry wasn't that boy anymore. He hadn't been for quite some time. By watching Anthony and Terry defend and worry for each other, by stopping Michael from slapping the disrespect out of anyone who so much as looked at Harry the wrong way, he had learned to look out for his friend's best interests, even if they didn't want him to. From the day that he had met him, Hagrid had been nothing but a kind and supportive presence in his life, and Harry wasn't about to let him throw his life away for a flying lizard.

"I'm not helping with that bloody dragon." Michael muttered, defiantly. "If I get injured, I won't be able to go to the Falcon's Quidditch camp this summer."

Harry groaned, feeling as he felt a headache begin to form. Maybe friends weren't so great after all.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Now that April had arrived, so too did the Easter Holidays.

For two glorious weeks, the castle was to be a lesson free zone. Plenty of students planned to take the Hogwarts Express on their way home, in order to spend the holiday with their families, but many more had decided to spend the break in the castle.

Harry wondered how different it was going to be compared to Christmas, now that he didn't have the castle to himself. He definitely wasn't going to be lonely this time around, as Michael, Anthony and Terry had all decided to stay.

"Aren't you going to celebrate Easter with your family?" Harry asked curiously. It was the first day of the year where it felt warm enough to go outside without a cloak, so he and his friends were taking a well-earned break from their week of end-of-term exams, lying flat on their backs on the soft grass by the lake, lounging under the warm sun.

"Our family isn't religious." Anthony yawned. "A lot of wizards aren't." He looked exhausted, and with good reason. He had been studying just as hard as Harry was, not wanting to suffer another bout of his boasting when the results are posted.

Harry glanced at Terry, half-expecting him to make some kind of joke at his expense, but he had fallen asleep on the soft bed of grass. With his eyes closed and his usual crooked grin gone, he looked deceptively innocent.

Harry turned to Michael instead, noting with some amusement, that his eagerness to experience the warm weather had now come back to bite him. When they had left the castle, Michael had removed his jumper, before rolling up his sleeves as though he were sunbathing. But while it was a pleasant enough day, that was only in comparison to the long winter they had just escaped. There was a brisk breeze that made goosebumps appear on his bare arms, and Harry could clearly see him shivering, but he was too proud to admit that he was cold.

"Your family is as non-magical as my own." Harry pointed out. "Don't your parents celebrate?"

Michael looked uncomfortable, and not just because of the temperature. "We used to. The four of us. But Robert stopped when he came back from his First Year at Hogwarts and when I started going to Pendle's, he told me to do the same. I didn't listen of course," he shrugged, "but Dad seemed to understand where he was coming from. He was raised like a wizard before his parents got rid of him, and Mum wasn't even all that upset at first, at least until he told her he wasn't celebrating Christmas either."

Harry frowned. That sounded really dodgy on Robert's part. As usual, he and Anthony were on the same wavelength. "That's ridiculous." Anthony sat up. Now that he was invested in the conversation, his fatigue seemed to have temporarily disappeared. "Plenty of wizards hold religious beliefs."

Michael closed his eyes, as though trying to escape the conversation. "Look, I don't know what his problem is." He admitted. "I just don't like going home without him. Mum gets upset when her darling boy refuses to come home."

Harry grimaced, remembering the bad mood Robert had been in at Christmas, and how quickly Michael had brushed the whole thing off. Glancing at Anthony, who's own worry seemed to match his own, Harry quickly tried to change the subject.

"I'm going to Hogsmeade on Saturday. I need to buy my own formal wear for the end-of-term dance." Harry said, feeling a little nervous when he said it out loud. A few of the Second Years had asked each other out for the occasion and he didn't like how some of the First Year girls had giggled whenever he and his friends interacted with them. There was a reason why they hadn't invited Padma, Lisa and the rest to enjoy the good weather with them as they normally would have done.

"Do you need any help?" Anthony asked slyly.

Harry tried to be mad, but he was only amused. Anthony had a certain effortless style that he did not, and Harry could use his expertise. "Yeah. I don't want to buy the wrong thing." This would be the first time he purchased clothes for himself with the intention of looking good, and he was quite nervous about it.

Anthony seemed to sense this. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to hold your hand the whole time."

Harry had rolled his eyes when he had said that, but Anthony had really come through for him. The cut of the suit fit him much better than his borrowed one had, and it seemed to flatter his thin frame rather than emphasise it. The materials were lighter on account of it being spring, leaving him with a sleek appearance. The high collared, long jacket was emerald this time, with onyx designs running along the trim like Runes. The seamstress had told him it brought out his eyes.

"You are much too easy to flatter." Anthony chuckled. He was already dressed, and he had come to Harry's dorm in order to show him how to use his grandfather's own invention: Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. "All she had to do was smile at you and you would have bought anything she suggested. It was a good thing you brought me along, otherwise you'd have spent half your inheritance on underwear and socks like she suggested."

Harry tried to maintain his dignity on two fronts, as he worked the cosmetic potion into his thick hair. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure, you don't." Anthony snickered. "She was very pretty. Her smile must have knocked you for a loop." He had been in a mood with Harry since exam results had been posted in the morning. Harry had taken first place once more, but Anthony had fallen to third (some Gryffindor girl out did him) and he had been making his displeasure known. Harry had been eating up his academic rival's disappointment all day, but now that he needed his help, it was becoming a nuisance.

"I can't focus while you're distracting me." Harry lied, as he worked the comb through his curls. When he was finished, he looked at himself in the mirror, aghast at his own reflection. "My head is tiny!"

"No, you plum. Your hair is just really big." Anthony stood from Harry's desk and approached with the air of an expert. "Sit down. I'll fix it for you." As he began to teach Harry a Hair-Styling Charm, he asked, "When was the last time you asked an Automaton to cut your hair?"

Harry blinked. "We can ask the Automatons for that? I've just been using a Severing Charm!" Something about that seemed to set Anthony off as he burst out laughing. He was still hiccoughing five minutes later, as they met up with the others in the common room.

"What's so funny?" Terry asked, as the four departed for the Small Hall. Anthony told them about Harry's lacklustre grooming technique, and they all had a laugh at his expense. Harry didn't mind, as he was too busy admiring his own image in every reflective surface they passed.

Not only did the suit make him feel more comfortable than he ever had, but Anthony had styled his hair in a way that left him feeling confident in his appearance for the first time since…well he wasn't sure when. All he knew was that he looked good.

Harry swaggered into the Small Hall, where the party had already begun. The dance was less about Easter then it was about the coming of spring and the room reflected that. At the request of the Slytherin Party Committee, Dumbledore had enchanted the ceiling to shine warmly with the evening sun. The stone floor had been transfigured into soft grass and flowers of every colour were blooming from vines on the walls, which in turn let out tiny specks of golden light from their anthers, illuminating the room with thousands of tiny stars. It all gave the feeling of a magical, garden party.

Once again, Harry had to hand it to the Slytherins. They really outdid themselves.

Michael tutted at Harry's newfound confidence. "If you keep strutting around like that, someone will think you got a stick shoved up your-" Anthony quickly cut him off.

"Hello Professor!" Anthony said loudly, warning them of Slughorn's approach. Slughorn, who had clearly been looking for someone, stopped and smiled at them weakly.

"Hello boys." Harry repressed the urge to draw his wand. After the duel a few weeks ago, Harry had taken care to avoid both he and Robert, while scheduling more lessons with Quirrell and asking Cedric to teach him some moves over the holidays. Maybe that would stop him waking up in the middle of the night, clutching at the phantom pain in his left arm.

It was only now, when he bothered to even look at him directly for the first time in weeks, did Harry realise how bad he looked. He somehow looked even worse than the last time Harry had seen him. His skin was shining with sweat and it had an unhealthy grey pallor to it, but Harry only grew concerned when Slughorn wandered off without another word.

"That was weird." Terry muttered.

"I know, right?" Harry was relieved that someone else finally seemed to see it. "He looks like he might drop dead at any minute."

Terry looked baffled. "I was talking about him ignoring me. He always says hello to his favourite student." Harry rolled his eyes, before following Anthony and Michael in finding a table.

As they had arrived late, the only available seats they could find were with the other Ravenclaw First Years. At first, they had all been wary of sharing a table with them, afraid that they might become all giggly again, but they had finally returned to their normal selves.

While the sun was setting, they all enjoyed a meal in each other's company, talking about school (Anthony wasn't the only one upset that Harry had taken the top spot as Isobel quickly let him know), the latest gossip (Cedric and Penny library rendezvous was public knowledge by now), and the last night's opening ceremony to the Duelling World Cup (Harry made plans with his yearmates to watch every duel the Odeon aired.)

It was only when the sun had set behind the mountains and the deep blue sky above them was lit by the glow of the tiny golden embers did the girls make their move. Lisa, the boldest of them, was the first to stand. "Dance with me?" She asked, tugging on Harry's hand.

Harry, who after a good meal and an hour of engaging conversation, had been lulled into a false sense of security, now felt a little betrayed. Glancing at his friends, he could see the amusement written all over their faces. Looking up at Lisa, Harry was about to deny her, when he felt her hand shake a bit.

She's nervous, he realised.

The ridiculous sense of betrayal he had felt left his body like an exhaled breath. While Terry and Lisa had an antagonistic relationship, she had been nothing but nice to Harry since he had met her. He had no reason to embarrass her in front of her friends, and more importantly, Terry, who could not let go of ammunition once he found it.

"Alright." Harry nodded, hoping his discomfort didn't show on his face. He almost felt better when Lisa beamed at him, but Terry's sudden burst of laughter made him want to die of embarrassment. Thankfully, Isobel quickly shut him up.

"I don't know what you're laughing about." She said, tugging Terry to his feet. "You're with me."

"Hey! I didn't agree-" Was the last thing Harry heard from him, as Isobel whisked him out on to the dance floor, joining the few Second Year couples who were awkwardly slow dancing under the close supervision of Professor Babbling. It was an amusing sight; Tiny Terry being led in a chaotic dance by Isobel, the tallest person in their year. Glancing at Lisa, Harry could see her committing the sight to her memory.

"Come on." Harry said, grinning. He felt much more confident now that Terry was in the spotlight. "You wanted to dance, didn't you?" Lisa smiled and Harry noticed for the first time how blue her eyes were. Her pretty dress really brought out the colour in them.

She led him onto the floor, which was really just a patch of grass clear of tables and chairs. Wondering why Michael and Anthony were so silent, Harry glanced back, only to find that they had partners of their own. An unenthused Michael was being dragged along by Padma and Anthony had somehow found himself dancing with two partners: Su and her shy best friend Amanda.

"I really wasn't sure you'd say yes." Lisa was saying. Harry turned back to face her and realised that her hands, placed awkwardly on his shoulders as the rocked from one foot to the other out of time with the music, were still shaking a bit.

"Then why ask?"

Lisa smiled, sheepish. "Because Padma bet me 10 Sickles I couldn't."

Harry smiled back. "I'll be expecting my cut."

"How much?"

"Fifty percent."

Lisa gasped. "That's daylight robbery! You didn't even do anything."

Harry shrugged. "It would have been cheaper if you clued me in earlier. We could have gotten a whole Galleon out of her." This was the first conversation the two had ever had alone together, despite being in the same house, but it was as easy as talking with Sara had been. Girls weren't scary at all.

Lisa looked like she was planning something. "Maybe we can pull it off at the end-of-year party."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You want to dance with me again? Am I that good?"

Lisa snorted. "No, you're actually quite bad. Here." She started to lead him for the first time, swaying in time to the music.

"Have you had training?" He asked. Sara had, and so did the heroines in the novels Lupin favoured, so he was surprised when Lisa laughed at the idea.

"What? No. My dad taught me this when I was little."

"Well, your better than me, at least."

"Terry is better than you."

Harry glanced at his smallest friend and saw him spinning elegantly with Isobel. The Gryffindor boys who had been laughing at him before had now fallen silent. "That's not fair. Terry's good at everything except flying."

"Don't let him hear you say that." Lisa warned. "His ego will develop its own gravitational pull."

Harry agreed. "I know. Do you think this is my first day with him?" The song changed to another, but they both kept dancing. "So, what are you going to spend the Galleon on? Once we scam Padma, I mean."

"Drumsticks."

Harry was confused. "The Automatons will give you some for free. You don't need to buy them."

Lisa slapped his shoulder. "No, stupid. Drumsticks for a drum kit."

"Oh! That's cool! Are you in a band?" Harry asked, eagerly. He had never known anyone in a band before and, after Anthony had introduced him to real wizard music (the first albums Harry had picked up were the equivalent of "golden oldies") he was quickly becoming a fan.

"Almost. I've got Padma on keys, Isobel playing her cello and Su's learning guitar. All we need is Amanda to sing."

Harry was surprised. "Wow. What are the odds you would all end up in the same house?"

Lisa shook her head. "Padma and I have been planning to play together for years. We just convinced Isobel and Su to join in when he heard Amanda singing her Muggle Christmas carols. She has the voice of a siren."

"Let me guess. You needed Su because Amanda always follows her around and you didn't want to leave Isobel out?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Lisa admitted.

"You're diabolical." Harry said. "And I mean that as a compliment."

"You better." Lisa smirked and was about to say something else when they were interrupted.

A hand came down on Harry's shoulder. "I need to talk to you." Harry turned to see Eddie, in casual wear.

"Third Years aren't supposed to be here, Carmichael." Lisa sounded annoyed. Eddie gave her a cursory glance, before deciding she wasn't even worth a response.

"Outside. Bring your friends." Eddie left for the doors without another word.

"What a git." Lisa watched him go through narrowed eyes.

"I'm sorry." Harry apologised, as he stepped out of her hold. He had already begun to walk towards Anthony when Lisa called out to him, disbelieving.

"You're not actually going, are you?" Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that without revealing the Marauders or telling an obvious lie, so he pretended to not hear her as he continued walking away.

Harry gathered Michael and Anthony from the table they had retreated to after the first dance, and he had to pull Terry away from Isobel because he was having so much fun whirling her around the dance floor. When he told him in a whisper who was waiting for them outside, Terry face grew as serious as the rest of theirs.

Outside in the cool and dimly lit corridor, they found Eddie lurking near an alcove. Catching sight of them, he quickly waved them over, as though he was afraid of eavesdroppers. Exchanging wary looks, the First Years hurried over and ducked into the alcove after him, the five boys having to squeeze uncomfortably close together in order to fit.

Harry made to speak but Eddie silenced him, melodramatically. "Shush!" Harry reared back, first unbelieving, then annoyed that he had just been hushed by Eddie Carmichael of all people. Before he could say anything, he was jostled by the others.

"Ow! That's my foot!" Anthony hissed.

"I wouldn't have stepped on it if you kept it to yourself!" Michael snapped, his voice muffled from where he was squished against the wall.

"My feet are right under me where they belong. Unlike your great Kappa flippers."

Before an offended Michael could retort, Eddie shushed them again, louder this time. Harry was at least a little mollified that he wasn't the only one who was being treated so rudely. "Muffliato!" Eddie waved his wand towards the entrance of the alcove.

Recognising the Muffling Charm from the Marauder's Grimoire, Harry knew that it was now safe to talk. "What's all this about?" He asked, annoyed with Eddie's abnormal behaviour.

"I need your help." Eddie said, trying for his usual easy grin, but his stress was clear to see.

"With?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"Mundungus' job. I need help with the delivery."

"You're still going through with that?" Terry sounded impressed at his nerve. "Didn't the other Marauders tell you to let it go?"

Eddie made to speak, but Anthony cut him off. "He's doing this by himself. They haven't got a clue that you haven't given back the deposit, do they?" His voice was cold. "That's why you didn't just come and ask us in the common room. Too afraid of what Marcus and Maria might say."

Eddie's shoulders slumped slightly. "I would have given the deposit back, but I spent a chunk of it on the tickets for the Quidditch finals for me and my dad." He looked at them pleadingly. "I just need someone to help me move the goods to the rendezvous."

Anthony had left the alcove before he could finish speaking, not giving Eddie a second look. Michael followed, but only after giving him a long considering look, but Terry looked the most disappointed. "Trying to trick younger kids to do your dirty work for you? That's a bastard move, Eddie."

Harry made to follow them but paused before he left the alcove. "What's so important that someone would pay four hundred Galleons to smuggle into a school, of all places?"

Sensing interest, Eddie was quick to try to sell Harry on it. "Nothing dangerous. I guarantee."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because of the recipient." Eddie smirked. "Slughorn probably ordered some illegal ingredients he doesn't want anyone to know about."

Harry froze. "How do you know that?"

"'Dung contacted me, didn't he? Let me know to pick up a trunk from the usual time and place." Eddie sounded confident know, explaining the simplicity of the operation, thinking he was luring in Harry. "If it's just the two of us, we can split the profits evenly if-Hey!" He called out as Harry left the alcove without a glance in his direction.

Harry headed back to the party, not wanting to attract suspicion from his friends. There was someone he needed to speak to, but before then he had to confirm her trustworthiness.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Harry met with Cedric at Headquarters on the first day of the holidays. This meeting had been weeks in the making, as Cedric had promised to go over Obscuring Spells with him when he had time to spare, but Harry now had another reason to anticipate their meeting.

The two boys stood in the duelling area of the Room of Requirement, both dressed quite differently. While Harry had changed into the light, sleeveless duelling gear that the room had provided him with, Cedric had arrived, levitating a large sheet covered cage in front of him, dressed in casual Muggle clothes and looking ready for a Saturday afternoon with his friends. Before his duel with Robert, Harry would have felt offended, as though Cedric's lack of protective gear signalled his scepticism in Harry's abilities.

But that was before he had experienced the wide gap between himself and a N.E.W.T student. Robert wasn't even a Sentinel, but he had wiped the floor with Harry with minimal effort. It would be the height of arrogance to assume he was a worthy opponent for the 22nd Sentinel.

"The Scent-Removal-Charm is fairly simple to learn, and its normally taught to Auror Initiates during their first few months of service." Cedric paused his lecture, looking at Harry, considering. "Are you sure you want to learn this now? You could just wait for when you join the Auror Corps."

Harry shook his head, wondering how Cedric had guessed at his career goal. "I don't want to wait that long. These are useful spells and I want to learn them as soon as possible."

Cedric shrugged, before continuing. "If you can manage all these spells in your Defence Against the Dark Arts W.O.M.B.A.T, you're guaranteed an Outstanding. They're the first spells taught to Auror Initiates by their Squad Captain, but that's just to be sure they know it. No one is permitted to join a squad without Outstandings across the board."

"See? I'm doing the smart thing by learning it now."

Rolling his eyes, Cedric proceeded to demonstrate the spell and asked Harry to try it himself. "How will I be able to tell if it even works?"

Cedric smiled in such a way that Harry was left without doubt as to why a pleasant boy like him was a part of a delinquent group. "That's why I brought this along." He removed the sheet from the cage, unveiling a regrettably familiar creature.

"A Gnome?" Harry was aghast. "I hate those things." When they had worked with the creatures back in February, they had proven themselves to be energetic, quick, mischievous little buggers who hated being captured. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but Gnomes had very pointy teeth and they definitely weren't shy about using them.

"I heard." Cedric cracked up. "Hagrid mentioned something about you running away from one?"

"I didn't run! I backed away, there's a difference." Harry could feel the humiliation washing over him all over again. "Besides there were three of them and one had already bitten me." He waited impatiently for Cedric to stop laughing, and when he finally did, he finally explained himself.

"As annoying as these things are, they do have one surprising purpose." Cedric picked up the stubby, potato shaped creature by the scruff of its neck and lifted it out of the cage. "Obscuro! Muffliato!" A thick, black blindfold was conjured from the tip of his wand and wrapped around the tiny Beast's eyes. It had been struggling in Cedric's grip from the moment he had lifted it out of the cage, but it began thrashing when it was deprived of two of its senses. "Gnomes have an excellent sense of smell."

That was all he said before he threw the hard-headed creature right at Harry.

Caught off guard, Harry barely managed to duck out of the way before the rabid little demon could land on his face, but this didn't buy him enough time to escape. Even without sight or hearing it managed to find Harry no matter where he fled in the room.

Hearing Cedric laugh at him only made Harry lose his temper. "Stupefy!" The red jet of light hit the Gnome right in its open maw and it fell forward onto its giant head.

"Careful!" Cedric snapped, hurrying forward to check on it. "A Stunning Spell on something so small might damage it's heart."

"We wouldn't that." Harry muttered darkly, ignoring Cedric's reproachful look. "You're just trying to get back at me for the whole Penny thing, aren't you?"

Cedric tried to look serious, but he couldn't stop the smile the stretched across his face. "Maybe." He admitted, and when Harry huffed, he added, "Look, maybe just give me a mirror call when you're looking for me next time, yeah?" When Harry agreed to that stipulation (verbally as being a Marauder seemed to give Cedric a complex about silent promises and crossed fingers) he placed a charm on Harry. "Impervius! There, now it can't bite or scratch you. Happy?"

He said this in a mocking tone of voice, but Harry didn't let it get to him. "Yes, extremely." Rolling his eyes, Cedric woke the little Beast so they could try again.

That was how the next hour went. Harry cast the Scent-Removal Charm on himself and did his level best to avoid the Gnome while Cedric tried to keep his amusement to a minimum while he shouted out pointers from his seat.

Harry would have given up much earlier, thinking this was some kind of prank on Cedric's part, if it weren't for his minute improvement. By the time he had used all the Mana he felt comfortable expending, Harry was able to, not lose the Gnome completely, but at least confuse it. Instead of chasing Harry around the room from the moment it was released, it paused sniffing the air carefully, before giving chase, clearly not as confident in its olfactory senses as it had been.

"That was pretty good." Cedric said, as he handed Harry a bottle of cool pineapple juice. "I didn't expect you to get a reaction on the same day I taught it to you." Harry paused. Aside from Quirrell, he had avoided asking anyone for help with the practical side of magic, not wanting his peers and teachers, especially Flitwick and McGonagall who had both taught his parents, to see him as anything as a flawless spell caster. Even the other older Marauders had first offered to teach him with any input from him.

He hadn't considered it until now, but Cedric was the first person aside from Quirrell that he had sought out and asked to teach him. Perhaps it was because he thought he was just as trustworthy as the Defence Professor.

"Hey, Cedric? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"You and Eliza are close, aren't you?" By her standards anyway, Harry thought. "Why isn't she a Marauder?"

Cedric grimaced. "Because she's a Slytherin, obviously."

"Obviously?"

He raised his eyebrows at Harry. "You don't know about the one rule?"

"No, but it sounds very official." Harry said, mockingly.

Cedric ignored his tone. "The original Marauders must have had a grudge against the whole house because a Slytherin has never been permitted to join."

Harry frowned. "There are spells in the Grimoire that goes back to the 60s. The original Marauders must be a thousand years old by now, so who cares what they think."

Cedric shrugged. "The Marauder's Map cares."

"What?"

"It was way before my time, but someone once tried to recruit a Slytherin pal of theirs, but the Map refused to work for them. When the Marauders of the day insisted on their initiation, it stopped working for the rest of the group too." Cedric explained. "Things got bad when the Slytherin threatened to expose the group if they couldn't join. Duels, Memory Charms, the whole thing was a giant mess."

Harry whistled. "Got it. No Slytherins allowed." He moved on to what he really wanted to know. "It's a shame though, you doing all of this without your best friend."

Cedric smiled. "She's not my best friend. She's my sister."

Harry was caught off guard. "I'm guessing there's a story behind that?"

"Yeah, but it's not mine to tell."

Harry had to take him at his word, as he couldn't continue this line of questioning without arousing his suspicion.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The next day was going to be a long one, so Harry and his friends all went to bed early that evening.

The scheme was an elaborate, and it all began with plausible deniability. In order to get rid of Norbert without Hagrid suspecting their involvement, they had to have concrete alibis from a source that could not be denied. Unfortunately, this meant that Harry had to ruin his perfect record.

"You're being a bit dramatic." Michael had little patience with Harry's reluctance. "It's just detention. It won't ruin your life."

"I know. I used to get detention every other week at my old school." Harry sighed. "I just would have liked to have kept the streak going on for longer."

Anthony's worries overshadowed his own. "Does this mean I won't get to be Head Boy?" Anthony asked nervously.

"You're both ridiculous." Terry muttered. "How can you worry about something so far in the future?"

Anthony smirked. "I'm used to it. I wonder every day how I'm going to support my loser brother."

Terry growled and levelled his wand at Anthony. Normally, Harry or Michael would have intervened, stopping the two from actually coming to blows, but the whole point of this exercise was to attract the attention of a teacher, and according to the Map, one was just coming around the corner.

"Locomotor Wibbly!" Terry bellowed. His Jelly-Legs Jinx hit Anthony from point blank range just as Professor Archibald rounded the corner. Anthony, despite wobbling all over the place, quickly countered. "Locomotor Mortis!" Terry's legs snapped together, and he immediately fell over.

Archibald looked aghast, but before he could say anything, Harry and Michael began exchanging their own spells. "Furunculus!" Even though the plan called for each of them to be hit with a spell, Harry ducked the Pus-Filled-Boil Curse on instinct, not wanting to experience that again. Michael looked irritated but that turned to full blown anger as Harry retaliated. "Levicorpus!" Michael yelped as he was lifted six feet off the ground by his left ankle.

"BOYS!" Archibald roared. Furious, he stormed down the corridor towards them. Harry had no idea their ancient, frail professor could look so intimidating, and as he neared them, breathing deeply through his nose, he had to wonder if this plan was as smart as he had initially thought.

"You were supposed to let me hit you with a spell!" Michael hissed an hour later as they sat in Archibald's classroom. The Professor had taken them back to his office to write lines in silence. As it was the holidays, he technically couldn't give them Saturday detention or remove points, which Harry and Anthony had been relieved to learn.

"It was an instinct! What do you want me to say?" He sighed as the other boy continued to sulk. It was their first chance to speak as Archibald left the room to go deal with the distraction Lee and Maria were creating outside of his office, just on time. As the two spoke, Terry was spiking the old man's tea with combination of Dreamless Sleep Draught and Forgetfulness Potion of his own creation, while Anthony kept an eye on the door.

When he returned, it wasn't long before Archibald nodded off at his own desk, cup of tea completely finished. The boys immediately gathered their things and made for the door. "Shouldn't we take the cup with us?" Michael asked as he set his watch. "What if he suspects somethings up and tests the dregs?"

"There's no point." Terry shrugged as they hurried down the corridor. "All he'll need to do is cast a diagnostic charm on himself and he'll see what we poisoned him with."

"Poisoned is such a strong word." Anthony grimaced.

Terry scoffed. "Oh, don't get a weak stomach now."

Harry spotted a group of Fifth Years making their way towards them on the Map. "This way." He led them up the stairs, taking the scenic route to their destination, none of the others complaining about the inconvenience. Eventually, they managed to make it outside without anyone catching sight of them, but they had to pause to examine the Map, not only to make sure that there was no one on the grounds they could bump into, but that no one was standing by a window that faced Hagrid's house.

It took almost fifteen minutes for such a window of opportunity to appear, all of them waiting with increasing nerves and but when it did, they all sprinted right for their target. Once they reached the backdoor, Harry pointed his wand at the doorknob. "Alohomora!" The door's lock clicked open, and they let themselves into their friend's home.

Now that it was the school holidays, this was the only time of day when they could get to Norbert without Hagrid's supervision. Normally, Hagrid took Fang with him to check on the magical creatures in his enclosures at this time of day, and he asked them to check in on Norbert for him. Later, they would tell him that they tried to do so but had gotten detention instead. This left them in the clear for what happened next.

"Please tell me you brought the bait." Harry pleaded.

"You're really getting on my nerves today." Michael huffed, as he brought out a single paper wrapped steak. "Of course, I brought it! You only asked me to do one thing, so it's not like I can forget."

Rather than point out that he had only brought a single steak instead of several cuts of lamb like he had asked, Harry kept quiet in order to maintain the peace. Removing the tiny box from his pocket, Harry placed it on the ground. Despite over a month of practice, he still struggled with this particular Charm, but it was now or never. "Engorgio!"

The tiny box grew rapidly and only stopped once it returned to its original size, a crate that was large enough for a baby dragon. Harry let out a deep breath, partly because that single spell took a lot out of him, but mostly because he was relived that he did it right when it counted. "All right, go get Not-So-Little-Norbert and let's get out of here."

The others did as he asked, making their way to the sitting room (Harry still couldn't believe that Hagrid had left an animal that breathed fire in a house that was basically kindling waiting to happen) and returned after a few minutes, leading the half flying, but really jumping and gliding, dragon into the kitchen by baiting it with the steak. Harry immediately noticed Michael's error, but kept silent as he didn't want to spook Norbert and Anthony threw the potion tainted steak in front of the makeshift crate and the little Beast was quick to devour it.

The moment Terry's blend of Dreamless Sleep Draught and Forgetfulness Potion had taken affect Harry turned to Michael. "Why aren't you wearing gloves?" He asked, trying to bury his annoyance as the other two hefted the snoring baby dragon into the crate.

Michael scowled at him. "I forgot. Besides, it's not like I actually needed it." Terry scoffed.

"I reckon it would have come in handy when the little monster bit you."

"It didn't bite me." Michael quickly denied. "It hardly touched me."

Anthony corrected him while locking the crate. "Yes, it did, and you're lucky it wasn't worse. Why would you put your hand so close to its mouth anyway?"

"Show me." Harry's voice was firm, leaving Michael with no room for argument. He reluctantly showed Harry his hand and right there, clear as day, he could see a bite mark on the back of his hand. Ordinarily, Harry would not think this worrisome, as the bite was a shallow one, hardly breaking skin, but the edges had already begun to turn green. "I haven't got a clue how to deal with this." Harry admitted. "Terry? Anthony?" Both boys shook their heads as they came over for a closer look. "Right then, you're going to have to see Madam Pomfrey about this."

"What?" Michael yelped, looking more nervous than Harry had ever seen him. "But what if she tells the teachers?"

"She won't." Harry made his way over to the crate. "Healer- Patient confidentiality is a real thing. Talpa!" The crate shimmered as it became invisible to the world around it.

Before Michael could complain further, Anthony moved the topic of conversation back to the on-going plan. "Hagrid has already made his way through the Unicorns." He said as he checked the Map. "We don't have all that long left before he gets back. Are you sure about this, Harry?"

"No." Harry admitted. "But it's the best idea I've got. Get over here while I still have some Mana left." One by one, Harry cast the Disillusionment Charm on each of his friends and once the other three had levitated the crate into the garden together, Harry warned them one last time. "Get ready to run." He summoned his Cloak and levelled his wand at the kitchen wall. Sorry Hagrid, Harry thought. "Confringo!"

Despite almost three weeks of practice with the Blasting Curse, it was still quite shaky compared to what he had witnessed during school duels, and after a large Engorgement Charm and four Disillusionments, the orange jet of light was feeble and hit the wall, not with the massive bang that he had intended, but with more of a weak thud.

"Get ready to run he says." Terry repeated for the umpteenth time that day, snorting. He, Harry and Anthony were walking down the passageway towards the Howling Tavern and taking the still sleeping dragon with them. After the Blasting Curse had created a scorched around the edges hole in Hagrid's wall that was large enough for Norbert to squeeze into, the four boys had legged it back to the castle, storing the baby dragon in the secret passageway for later.

After their mostly skipped detention was over, and they had escorted Michael to the Hospital Wing, Harry had to endure his friends whispered teasing about his failed Blasting Curse. They only stopped when they bumped into Hagrid in the Entrance Hall. He informed them of the now missing Norbert and they had all found it difficult to look at his teary eyes.

Now around sunset, Harry felt the need to defend himself. "I'd like to see you use so many O.W.L and N.E.W.T level spells in a row." He tried to sound calm and collected, but his abilities being questioned always frustrated him.

Anthony seemed to recognise this quality in him as well. "You're always so touchy about this sort of thing." He teased, before clapping Harry on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. We all know you're still Mr. Outstanding."

"I refuse to recognise him as such." Terry denied. "I seek the title for myself!"

As always, Anthony was quick to pounce on his brother when given the opportunity. "Sure. As soon as you get manage to pull your dismal grades up." He snorted. "If it doesn't require a wand or cauldron, you're lucky to scrap an Acceptable." Terry was about to retort when a voice up ahead cut him off.

"I'm surprised he's managed to last this long." A familiar voice said, sounding amused. "I thought they would have kicked him out by now." As they neared the secret entrance to the Hollowing Tavern, Harry glanced worriedly down at the Map, but relaxed when he saw that it was only Callum waiting for them.

"Wasn't the plan to wait in the basement? Or can you just not read simple instructions?" Terry asked.

"When it's written in your chicken scratch? No." Callum glanced at Harry and Anthony before checking the crate. "I thought it would be better if I take this off your hands as soon as possible."

"Why? Are you in a hurry?" Anthony smirked. "What's her name?"

"Her name is none of your business."

Harry cut their banter short. "Remember. Next time you see Hagrid, just casually mention the new Norwegian Ridgeback you found near Hogwarts. All right?"

"All right." He shrugged. "Though I'm not sure how I'm supposed to slip that into a conversation next time we go for drinks." He gave them a rude hand gesture before taking the rising platform back up to the Tavern above their heads.

Harry sighed in relief. "Well, I'm glad that's over with." The last few weeks had been much too stressful for his taste. "Anyone up for a game of Exploding Snap?" He asked as they made their way back to school.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

He should have known that things weren't really that easy. When were they ever that easy?

Things began to go wrong when he decided to check in on Michael before heading back to Ravenclaw tower. Splitting up from the other two, Harry made his way to the Hospital Wing in a good mood and entered the infirmary doors with an improper level of happiness for a place of healing.

His good mood died a swift death when he saw that the bed that he had last seen Michael in was empty. He quickly made his way over to the school matron's office. "Madam Pomfrey? Was Michael released already?" Harry didn't like the idea of all his mates giggling back in the common room because he wasted his time on being nice.

Madam Pomfrey looked surprised at his question. "Michael Corner? He was released hours ago." She went back to her paperwork. "I thought you would have seen him by now."

Harry left the Hospital Wing, annoyed, and checking the Map for proof of where Michael was. To his surprise, he could not find him in Ravenclaw tower, nor was he anywhere near the Quidditch pitch. Frowning now, Harry lay the Map flat on the nearest windowsill and tapped it with his wand. "Find me Michael Corner."

The Map began to turn rapidly, searching for the correct name, only stopping when it turned to the flap that detailed the grounds and the outskirts of the forest. There, headed towards the Forbidden Forest, were two names: Michael Corner and Edward Carmichael.

Michael, you are one tricky son of a bitch.

Removing the grey, compact mirror from his pocket, Harry flipped it open and began calling Michael's full name. Still nothing. Either he was ignoring him, or he had left the mirror in his dorm for the hundredth time. What was the point of having access to instantaneous communication if you never keep it with you?

I've always got one of you lot with me, don't I? Michael had responded when Harry had posed the question to him weeks ago. Now he didn't have one of them with him, and he was walking right into a situation that he had no awareness for.

Harry began to search quickly for another name and when he found them leaving the library now that it was closing, he started running straight for them at top speed.

It was all so obvious to him now. Why Michael didn't bother wearing gloves, why he put his hand near the dragon's mouth and why he didn't protest when they took him to the Hospital Wing. Eddie had offered them a cut of the profits and Michael was hurting for money. He was a fool for not seeing it before. What surprised him more than anything was the fact that Michael had proved to be so cunning. He had never seemed the type.

Harry turned the corner and jumped down the next flight of stairs, landing in a crouch at the feet of Eliza Hawthorn. Harry was secretly pleased to see the normally unflappable girl jump in fright. As he straightened up, she turned to shout at him, clutching her heart.

"Potter! What do you think-" She began to admonish him, but Harry cut her off.

"Do you know any tracking spells?" Harry quickly asked her. He wasn't afraid of being overheard as he had checked the Map before storing it away.

"What? Why do you-?"

"Slughorn's headed to the forest. I saw it from my window." He lied. "He's roped in a couple of my housemates into something."

Later, Harry would be impressed by how quickly her mood changed. Eliza's back straightened and she dumped her bag full of books in the nearest broom cupboard before drawing her wand from its holster. "Come on then." She told him, as she led the way down the stairs, towards the Entrance Hall.

Despite being hardly a few inches taller than him, Harry found it difficult to keep up with her. It wasn't just her speed, but the stable, mechanic method of her movements that kept her breathing steady, while Harry was left huffing and puffing after her as she led the way through the quiet castle, across the darkening grounds and the dense forest. She was kind enough to wait for him just behind the tree line.

"Appare Vestigium!" A golden swirl of dust emerged from the end of her wand, coating the environment around them. Tress, bushes and grass were all covered in it, but the gold dust almost immediately disappeared, as though she had never conjured it in the first place. All except for two pairs of footprints.

"Don't worry." In the gloom of the forest, Eliza had mistaken his awe of seeing a tracking spell in action for the first time for fear for his friend's safety. "The spell only shows magical activity. Slughorn properly made them cast Lumos for him."

Because there are only two pairs of footsteps, and she thinks Slughorn is with them. Instead of correcting her, Harry instead asked. "Can't you tell? With the spell I mean."

Eliza flushed. "It's a lot more difficult than it looks, alright?"

Harry winced at her sharp tone. "Sorry." She stared at him expectantly, not moving a muscle. "What?"

"Do you want to come?"

Harry was aghast. "Of course! I'm the one that told you about this."

"Then where's your wand?" She demanded. It was only now he realised that she wasn't just angry with his questioning of her spell work. "Don't trust me to protect you. Don't trust anyone to protect you. Your wand is your lifeline!" Her eyes were dancing under the glow of her own Lumos, making her seem almost mad. But only for a moment, as she quickly looked away.

Harry quietly drew his wand.

The two continued their run through the forest under wand light, following the trail that Michael and Eddie had unknowingly left behind. Harry wished the Marauder's Map showed the forest, but like the secret passageways, it just seemed to give up, as though the creators had little interest in the details of the place.

Eventually, when Harry's only way to keep track of time was through his level of exhaustion, they came to a stop. Or rather Eliza came to a stop. Glancing around, Harry could not see any indication that they had arrived at either an obstacle or their destination. "Problem?" He asked through a wheeze.

Eliza nodded. "We're at the Boundary." She pointed at the ground not five feet from where they were standing. "This is where the school's property ends, and so too does its protections."

Harry felt his stomach drop. While he was curious as to how she knew that (as there was no indication like a fence) he was more focused on the problem at hand. "Doesn't that mean anyone could be waiting for us on the other side? Not just Slughorn."

Jaw clenched, she nodded. "During peacetime, any wizard can apparate right into Hogsmeade." She looked at Harry. "Do you still want to come?"

No, Harry thought. "Yes." He said out loud.

As much as he would prefer to wash his hands of the entire situation, he felt responsible for Michael. If he had been honest with his friends about Slughorn, then they would have known not to meet him in a dark forest, outside of the school's protection.

As Eliza ran across the invisible boundary, Harry couldn't help but complain to himself. Why did it have to be at night? This place is creepy enough during the day!

They ran together, following the golden footsteps that were visible only to them, jumping over giant roots and weaving their way around enormous trees. Eventually, Eliza began to slow down up ahead, and Harry took the opportunity to double over, chest heaving. Looking up when he felt his heart begin to slow, he saw her crouched behind a thicket of bushes thirty feet away. Stumbling over, Harry fell to his knees beside her, grateful for the break. He leaned forward to see what made her stop in the first place.

Through a small gap in the leaves, Harry could see most of the clearing, and a familiar head of curly blonde hair. Michael. Normally, Harry would have stomped over and punched him on the arm for doing something so pointlessly reckless, but this was far from a normal situation.

"What the hell is going on?" Eliza asked the question that was running through Harry's mind.

Michael and Eddie were not alone, far from it in fact. There were four other men in the clearing, Slughorn and three masked and hooded wizards. The one standing to Slughorn's right was familiar to Harry due to his build and drawn Aspen wand. Robert.

The other two were standing on the other side of the clearing, both obscuring their faces under the hoods of their burnt orange cloaks. Standing in the middle, and looking completely out of their depth, were Michael and Eddie.

"The Fallen Sun." Eliza breathed, and for the first time since Harry had met her, she looked genuinely scared.

"Who are they?"

"They're the biggest guild of Rogues in the world."

Harry frowned. "Isn't the whole point of being a Rogue is living free? Why would they join a guild?"

Eliza shrugged. "A lot of Rogues do it for organised mercenary work. My squad Captain says it's because they get lonely living away from other wizards." Eliza shook her head. "Fallen Sun are different from other Rogue Guilds. They're not just thieves and thugs. They're as anti-Auror as it gets." Harry nodded slowly. The name made a weird amount of sense then as Aurors were named after the sun. "We should leave-"

Eliza cut herself off when the trunk Eddie had brought was levitated forward. When Slughorn opened it with a wave of his wand, he, Eliza, Michael and Eddie were all surprised to find it completely empty. Eddie raised his hands. "I swear Sluggy, I didn't open it. No one did. They must have given it to me like this!"

Slughorn began to laugh as did the two wizards from across the clearing. "You didn't tell him? Normally families are compensated for things like this." The taller of the Fallen Sun Rogues asked.

Slughorn shook his head, still chuckling. "Something that every schoolteacher knows, but no parent will ever acknowledge. Children are very replaceable." He said this coldly, the white light emitted from Robert's wand putting his wrinkled face in harsh shadows. "These two more than most." For a second, Harry thought he saw Robert twitch, before he returned to complete stillness.

Michael seemed to understand first, as he made a run for the trees, but the shorter of the Fallen Sun wizards raised his wand. "I love it when they run." He chuckled. "Always makes things a bit more exciting."

Harry had seen enough. Ignoring Eliza's hiss to wait, he stood and pointed his wand over the bush. "Fumos!" A thick blanket of black smoke descended upon the clearing, catching its habitants off guard. Before any of the adults could react, Harry had already started running at full speed to the spot he had last seen Michael. Unfortunately, Michael was just as scared of the rapidly descending smoke cover as he was by the implications of the empty trunk, and he began to flee even faster than before.

It was just bad luck that he ran right into Harry.

"ARGH!" Harry wasn't sure which one of them made that sound, as all he was aware of was pain and embarrassment after the two had banged their heads together and fell to the ground. At least the smokescreen ensured that no one else saw that. Harry thought, checking himself for any injury. Of course, silver linings didn't exist for him.

"That was hilarious!" The shorter of the Fallen Sun pair had vanished the smoke, just in time to see the two boys bang their heads together. "I normally like a chase, but this is so much better!" He was doubled over in laughter, and Harry was mortified enough to wish that he would just get it over with and kill them. Eliza disagreed.

"Lumos Solem!" Harry was the only person who saw her emerge from behind the bushes, and therefore the only who had enough time to close his eyes when he heard the incantation. Even through his eyelids, Harry could see the blinding light that flash through the clearing, like the midday sun and he could hear the other occupants of the clearing cry out in pain.

Opening his eyes when the light disappeared, Harry saw the four men rubbing their watery eyes and Eliza running right towards them at an incredible speed. She pointed her wand at a Slughorn and Robert, who were stumbling half-blind for cover, as he ran towards Eddie. "Stupefy!" The jet of red light caught Slughorn in the small of his back throwing face first onto the ground where he lay unmoving.

"Come on!" She hissed at him, dragging Eddie by the arm towards the way they had just come from. "Are you just going to sit there all day, or are going to make yourself useful?" She hurried past the two First Years, trading spells with the two Rogues, who were still blinking spots out of their eyes.

Stirred by her actions as much as he was her words, Harry scrambled to his feet and pulled Michael to his. Keeping their heads low, the boys ran after Eliza, desperate for cover and with Harry keeping his friend from bumping into tress once they made it out of the clearing.

As they hurried, Michael turned to him, blinking at him in the near pitch darkness. "Harry, is that you? How'd you find us out here?"

Harry was about to answer, ready to berate him for his trickery, when an ominous jet of purple light came screeching through the air towards them. Even with the visual and auditory warning, it came at them with such speed that it took all of Harry's reflexes to push both himself and Michael out of the way.

The spell flew past them and struck a thick tree trunk not twenty feet from where they stood, and even under the cover of night, Harry could see the bubbling acid dissolve the base of the tree in a second.

"Up! Move!" Harry knew what was about to happen, and he didn't want them to be anywhere near when it did. Still, even on his best day, he couldn't outrun a falling tree of this size. With an enormous crack, and the rustle of a thousand leaves and branches moving towards them, the tree fell on the ground with an enormous crash, blocking of their nearest escape route.

Quick as he could, Harry turned them left, hoping to find another route or maybe they could even circle back and return to the castle through one of the secret passageways in Hogsmeade.

A bellowing voice came from behind. "Careful! If you kill them too soon, then we don't get paid!" The shorter and more enthusiastic of the Rogues was close enough for Harry to hear him grumble in reply to his partner's warning. This was enough for Harry to stop moving, forcing Michael to do the same.

"What do we do?" Michael breathed. His face was pale enough for Harry to see it clearly in the gloom. Indicating for him to be silent, Harry carefully aimed at the Rogue's back, whispering. "Carpe Noctem!"

The jet of black light shot out the end of his wand, faster than any spell he had ever cast before, as though his wand knew how desperate he was. As though sensing its trajectory, the Rogue whirled around, casting a silent Shield Charm in front of himself. But that wasn't enough.

The Nightmare Hex flew through his protection as though it wasn't even there, hitting the wizard dead on. Harry knew it was a risk to use an Illusion Spell against a fully grown wizard, but he was counting on the fact that his desire to escape was stronger than the Rogue's desire to kill them. Harry felt triumphant as the Rogue began screaming, falling to the ground as his imaginary victims came back for revenge. Harry began running, leaving a silent Michael to follow.

They made their way around the fallen tree and did their best to follow the path that they had taken to get there. Harry thought that they were on the correct route, but he could not be sure without their wand light. Finally, the boys managed to catch up to Eliza and Eddie, who were both waiting for them in a familiar clearing.

"Thanks," Harry gasped as they came to a stop, "for waiting."

Eliza frowned. "I wasn't waiting for you." She denied. "I just don't know how we're going to get back into school in one piece."

Michael turned to Eddie. "What is she talking about? You said getting back into school would be easy." Eddie was ashen faced, and he did not answer, so Michael began to shake him. "There isn't even a fence!"

"That's so Centaurs can come and go without a physical barrier blocking their lands, but it works for every other species." Harry explained, before turning to Eliza. "You're a Sentinel. Surely you have a way in and out of the castle."

"Yeah, though the gate." She was thinking hard as she answered his question with uncharacteristic softness. "I don't think we can get past them without-" She cut herself off when an enormous torrent of flames came flying towards them from the darkness.

Eliza shoved Harry out of the way and shouted, "Aqua Erecto!" A heavy, condensed bullet of water the size of a desk erupted from the end of her wand, inserting itself in the middle of the firestorm before exploding outwards, extinguishing the flames immediately and blanketing the area with hot steam.

Without hesitation, Eliza shot forward to cross wands with the tall Fallen Sun Rogue and Harry would have happily stood there in awe of her if it weren't for the Body-Bind-Curse that hit Eddie. Turning in shock at his falling friend, Harry was able to see a second Curse headed right at Michael. Harry threw himself in front of him shouting, "Protego!" His Shield Charm held, but it sent him falling backwards into Michael, knocking them both to the ground.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry bellowed, as he scrambled back to his feet. With Slughorn stunned and the shorter Rogue suffering his worst nightmares, there was only one person left, and if he was willing to send a curse at his younger brother, then none of them were safe.

"Robert, what the hell are you playing at?" Harry made sure to deliberately use his name so that Michael could get caught up.

The approaching hooded figure had lazily side-stepped Harry's Disarming Charm, but froze at the sound of his name, just as Michael finally climbed to his feet. "What did you just say? Robert?" He sounded confused, but Harry didn't take his eyes off his opponent to check. He had lost horribly last time, but now he had no choice but to fight for their survival.

"Don't you recognise his wand?" Harry asked. It was the only clue he had that left him in the clear. Under the multi-coloured, flashing illumination of Eliza's fierce duel, Michael's eyes flickered to Robert's wand and then his familiar figure, which he would know far better than Harry did. Harry could see, in his peripheral, the moment Michael finally recognised his brother, as his whole body stiffened. Robert was still frozen, his hidden face turned towards his little brother, seemingly unnerved that he had been identified.

That was when Harry struck.

Maybe he had been inspired by Eliza again, or maybe he was just sick of feeling scared every time he caught a glimpse of either Robert or Slughorn, but he felt a sudden rage surge through his body, a burning need to fight back against the ones who made him feel so weak.

"Confringo!" He bellowed. Robert reacted immediately, snapping a Shield Charm into place in front of himself. But Harry hadn't been aiming for him.

The jet of blazing orange light struck the ground right at Robert's feet. The ensuing fiery explosion wasn't large enough, or powerful enough to force the Sixth Year backward like his simple Body-Bind-Curse had done to Harry, but it was enough to unsettle the ground in front of him, sending bits of dirt, twigs and grass into the air and obscuring his vision.

"Acusignis! Depulso!" In times of panic, Harry fell back on the spells and techniques he had practiced the most. This move was well known to Quirrell, but it was brand new to Robert, at least when it came from a First Year. The twigs and blades of grass that were falling to the earth now turned into sharp needles, dozens of them, and they all shot themselves at Robert, ready to pierce him a hundredfold.

Of course, Robert wasn't about to be caught by that. He froze the needles in mid-air and transfigured them into a bull, but Harry hadn't expected his first gambit to work. Moving, so as to not get Michael and Eddie hurt and to give himself more space to work, Harry moved so that his back was to the school Boundary.

When Robert sent the bull rampaging after him, Harry ducked behind the nearest tree. Waiting until the bull ran past him, Harry pointed his wand at its flank. "Confundo!" He said lowly. The bull shuddered as it fell under his control.

When Harry came running back around the other side of the tree, the bull was chasing after him, and Robert seemed more than happy to let his creation work undeterred as Harry was about to be run down by a half tonne bovine. He changed his tune hen Harry dived out of the way, letting the bull slam its horns right into a startled Robert's chest.

"No!" Michael screamed, somewhere in the distance, as his brother went flying. Harry wasn't so upset, as he climbed to his feet, slightly wary of his all too easy victory. He was right to be doubtful. The duelling uniform Slughorn provided the Silver Spears with was an Artifice, enchanted to protect its wearer from minor spells and most physical damage. That left Harry at a disadvantage, as he was only wearing a pair of cords and an old sweatshirt.

With a groan, Robert climbed to his feet, and Harry wasted no time as he cried, "Oppugno!" setting the bull to attack Robert once more. Robert roared in anger as he sliced the bull into bloody ribbons with a Severing Charm, before countering with an unknown blue spell which sent Harry diving for cover.

Harry was aware that he was terrified, as he had never faced someone stronger than himself in a real-world duel before, but he was also aware that he had never fought like this before. Although he was barely hanging on by a thread, Harry had never felt more powerful than he did in that moment.

In fact, he felt so confident, that he decided to use a spell he had never cast before against his opponent.

Harry firmly closed his eyes as he pointed his wand around the tree. "Lumos Solem!" The white flash of light felt even more powerful now that it emerged by his own wand, right in front of him. Harry opened his eyes and didn't waste any time before making a run at Robert.

There he was, leaning against a tree, reaching a hand underneath his hood in order to rub at his eyes. Harry levelled his wand at him as he made his approach. "Stupefy!" Harry had kept his voice low, but the red jet of light was bright, and it was clear to see even by a half-blind Robert.

"Protego!" Robert shouted, calling out an incantation for the first time, and his voice sounded infuriated. "Attklyva!" He roared the second incantation, and the jet of blinding white light tore its way across the clearing, right towards Harry's shoulder.

Recognising the very literal Disarming Curse from the Compendium of Common Curses and their Counter-Curses, Harry had absolutely no desire to be hit with it. Raising his wand in front of himself, Harry bellowed, "PROTEEGO HORRIBILIS!"

A shield just as powerful as any he had created in a calm, controlled environment shimmered into existence in front of him, just in time to block the curse from severing his wand arm. However, the force of the curse was extreme, as it destroyed the Anti-Martial Shield Charm, hit Harry in the right shoulder, opening a deep cut, and sent him flying high into the air, only coming to a stop when he collided with the invisible Boundary.

Harry felt his face burn, as his skin was rubbed raw as he skidded ten feet down the invisible Boundary back towards the ground, feeling like an insect on a car windshield. His shoulder left a smear of dark red blood on the school's invisible protection, marking his descent back to earth. His remaining breath left his body as finally hit the ground in an undignified heap.

He must have had a concussion, or maybe he was simply out of Mana after that last spell, but his vision was blurry and coupled with the darkness it took him far too long to realise that Robert was approaching his still form. Harry willed his body to move, but only managed an exhausted twitch while his adversary pointed his wand at him.

Harry knew he would have died that night if Michael hadn't jumped in.

Instead of using his wand, Michael jumped on to his brother's back and began to tug on his low hood. The two struggled and as he watched, Harry couldn't help but remember all the times when the two had wrestled just like this on the Quidditch pitch.

The only difference was Michael's frightened face and Robert's desperate movements, trying to shake his brother off. But Michael was determined and had the element of surprise on his side. Tugging the hood up, Michael fell to the ground, landing roughly on his back, and rolled in order to get a good look before the hood can go back on.

Robert had tried to pull it back up, but it was too late. Harry had gotten a clear view of Robert's face and so had Michael.

"Robert?" Michael's voice was horrified. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"That's precisely what I was about to ask." Came a voice from behind them.

It took all his remaining energy to turn his head, but he was glad that he did. It wasn't every day you saw a former Magister and an Auror Commander arrive on a scene.

Lord Dumbledore and Commander Boot had entered the fray.

Author's Notes

A lot of screwing up for Harry this chapter. I wanted it to be clear that as bright as he is, he doesn't have all the answers, he doesn't come up with the right plans and he definitely isn't a force to be reckoned with.

In later chapters it will be made clear just how badly he screwed up here, and not just the major stuff, but the minor stuff too.