Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to us. Ron and Hermione and Harry and Ginny belong to each other, respectively.
Author's Note: Winky would like to offer her sincerest apologies for the extreme tardiness of this final installment. She was abandoned by inspiration and Dobby both, as well as swamped by that heinous spectre of despair, Real Life. Consequently this part is very rushed and a bit short, but Winky couldn't deal with it anymore. However, she did manage to find inspiration for an H/G fic and accompanying artwork which will hopefully make up for her incompetence on this story.
Chapter 9: The Dominus Potion
"Here's one!" Harry held up his finger triumphantly as Ron, Hermione, and Ginny looked hopefully at him. "Oh, wait...Never mind-it only works on animals. Sorry," he shrugged. The others nodded dejectedly and bent over their books again. They had been in the library researching possible control spells for almost two hours without success. Harry had been through *The Magic of Getting Your Way,* *Potions of Persuasion,* and *In Control: How to Manipulate Your Friends and Family with Four Easy Spells,* and his head was beginning to spin with all the nice and not-so-nice ways of using magic to do your bidding. It was extremely frustrating and tiresome, Harry thought, and there were better things he could be doing. Especially since he was having trouble concentrating with Ginny sitting beside him. He was much more interested in the soft lock of hair falling across her cheek than in the book of *Perilous Potions* open before him.
Harry sighed and bent down to retrieve the quill that had slipped from his fingers during his wistful reverie. In spite of his low spirits, he grinned at the sight of Ron and Hermione's interlaced hands hidden below the table and decided that perhaps their research session wouldn't be a total loss after all. Ginny flashed him a brief smile as he straightened and moved his chair closer to hers, and Harry knew she wouldn't mind if he followed Ron's example. With a sly grin he turned back to his book, simultaneously inching his fingers towards Ginny's. She quickly cottoned on to his intentions and cocked an eyebrow towards the pile of books still waiting to be skimmed, but smiled and squeezed his hand nonetheless, and Harry returned to his task with renewed enthusiasm.
Suddenly the silence was broken by a loud cackle. "Ha ha!" Ron pointed to a page of the book he was reading. "Wouldn't that be fun to try on Malfoy?"
Harry grinned, imagining the sallow-faced Slytherin prancing around the dungeon in a tutu and tights like the unfortunate wizard in the picture. If only.
"Aha!" Hermione's victorious cry interrupted Harry's thoughts before they turned sinister. Everyone turned expectantly toward her, and she slid the large, dusty volume over in front of them with a satisfied smile. "There it is, at the top of page 261: the Dominus Potion."
Harry pushed his glasses further up his nose and peered at the faded parchment. "The Dominus Potion," he read aloud. "First employed in 1364 by Ergog the Evil to command an army of trebuchets, the potion grants the power to control objects that have been animated for the spellcaster's use." With an excited glance at his friends, he quickly skimmed the rest of the description and sat back in his chair. "That's definitely the one," he told them. "See, there, at the bottom," he indicated with his quill, "it even talks about the ability to block some of the more common defensive spells, as long as they're weak enough."
"Of course!" cried Hermione in the same exuberant voice she used when discussing house elf liberation. "That's to make sure the person using the spell won't lose control over the object too easily. Brilliant!"
"Hermione," Ron began, grimacing at her, "that brilliant spell nearly got us all killed!"
Hermione sighed. "I know," she admitted, "but it is an impressive bit of magic, don't you think?"
"Malfoy obviously thought so," said Harry with a scowl. "I bet he figured no one else would know about such an old spell and he'd be able to get away with it."
Ginny huffed loudly. "Well, he figured wrong." She stood up and looked round the table. "I think we should go find Dumbledore right now and tell him what we found out. Who's coming with me?"
"Uh, I am," Harry got to his feet hastily. He was still getting used to seeing Ginny show some of the famous Weasley temper, but he found he rather liked it.
Ron and Hermione stood up as well. "We'll all go," said Ron, and the four of them trooped over to Madame Pince's desk. A few minutes later they were standing with their newfound evidence in front of the statue that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"Um, Harry?" Ginny said uncertainly, "How do we get up to his office if we don't know the password?"
Harry looked sheepish. He hadn't quite gotten that far. Somehow Dumbledore had always seemed to know when Harry needed to see him. "Well-"
"Looking for me?"
The four students turned at the sound of the Headmaster's voice to see him smiling broadly at them all and holding a half-finished slice of toast in one hand.
"Oh, yes, Professor," Harry stepped forward. "We've just been in the library-"
"The library at this hour?" Dumbledore interrupted with a wink at Hermione. "I hope you didn't miss breakfast." He shook a stray crumb from his beard and brandished the toast with a flourish. "The apricot jam was positively delightful this morning."
Harry tried to ignore the rumbling of his stomach and concentrate on the issue at hand. "Actually, Professor, we need to talk to you about what happened last night," he said, holding out the book from the library. Dumbledore's smile vanished, and he looked at the four of them seriously as Harry continued. "We think we found out something about the attack."
"In that case," said Dumbledore, "come with me. We can talk in my office."
* * * * * * *
"Well, that was...odd," remarked Hermione as she settled into a chair by the common room fire later that morning.
"I know." Ron shook his head in confusion. "I thought for sure he'd suggest we feed Malfoy to the skrewts or something, but he didn't even seem very angry. I don't understand."
Harry squinted thoughtfully. "I think I do," he ventured after a moment. "It's no secret Malfoy and I hate each other, but I think Dumbledore's been hoping we'd be able to work out our differences."
"Ha!" Ron snorted. "And Snape will join the Royal Ballet!"
Ginny chuckled at that mental image but quickly turned serious again. "I think Harry's right," she said. "Dumbledore seemed more disappointed than anything else. If he thought he could be a good influence on Malfoy while he was here away from his nasty father, this just shows how wrong he was."
"Dumbledore did look sort of sad when he saw the photo," Hermione recalled. "Not surprised, though."
Harry sighed. "Of course not-he's not stupid. Just...optimistic. I don't think he likes having to punish students."
"Maybe not," Ron agreed, "but I reckon he could stand to make an exception for an evil prat like Malfoy."
"Let's hope so," Hermione frowned. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."
Harry nodded and stood up. "You're right. I think we've wasted enough of the morning on Malfoy." He pointed to the window, where snow was falling softly outside. "Who wants to go sledding?"
After a much more enjoyable few hours outside in the fresh snow, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione had almost forgotten about their talk with Dumbledore that morning. As they took their seats in the dining hall that evening, however, Ron pointed out that Malfoy was conspicuously absent. They were just beginning to speculate about his possible whereabouts when Dumbledore stood up from the head table and raised his hands for silence. Harry's eyes met Ginny's briefly before they both turned towards the front of the room.
"Good evening, everyone," Dumbledore began. "Sorry as I am to put a damper on our festivities, I'm afraid I have an unfortunate announcement to make." He paused and let his glance sweep the four tables, nodding slightly at Harry. "As I'm sure all of you are aware by now, four students were attacked during the Yule Ball last night by an enchanted suit of armor. While no one was injured too badly, the person responsible for this attack must be held accountable for endangering the lives of fellow students. Consequently, the staff and I have decided that this student be suspended from Hogwarts for the remainder of the year."
At this remark a low murmur ran through the hall, and many heads turned curiously toward the empty seat at the Slytherin table. Harry exchanged a hopeful glance with Ron and held his breath as Dumbledore continued, "After this suspension, the student may choose to return to Hogwarts next year, provided he has learned that true wizards never practice magic for the purpose of harming others."
Ron's mouth fell open in astonishment, but Harry was not overly surprised. His gaze flickered towards Professor Snape, who sat staring moodily at his plate while Dumbledore spoke.
"I know this may seem to some of you an insufficient punishment," he conceded with an understanding nod, "but I have always believed that most people can, and do, benefit from second chances if allowed to do so." Harry glanced at Snape again and saw that he was holding his left forearm, his expression unreadable. "That being the case," Dumbledore continued, "it is my fervent hope that this individual will return to Hogwarts next year with a new perspective, and that we can all benefit from this valuable lesson. That is all."
"Wow," breathed Ginny as Dumbledore sat down and the Great Hall erupted with conversation. "He really *does* believe in second chances."
"I told you," said Harry. "I just hope he's right about Malfoy learning from his mistakes."
Ron smirked. "I doubt it. But at least we're rid of him for a while." He beamed round at them all with an uplifted expression. "Just think of it: five whole months without Malfoy!"
"That will definitely be an improvement to this year," said Hermione emphatically. She grinned up at Ron and reached over to tweak his ear. "And we won't have to worry about you getting expelled for fighting anymore."
"Hey!" he protested. "It only happened once! Or twice, if you count the Quidditch match first year..."
Harry turned to Ginny with a smile as Ron proceeded to argue with Hermione about the number of fistfights he'd had with Malfoy. "Well," he said happily, "that's the second good thing to come out of all this."
Ginny frowned. "What's the first?"
"This," Harry answered, taking her hand and leaning over to give her a quick kiss before anyone noticed.
Ginny smiled. "Thank you, Malfoy," she whispered with a giggle.
Author's Note: Again, Winky offers apologies for the lameness of that sappy ending. She promises to do better in the future.
Author's Note: Winky would like to offer her sincerest apologies for the extreme tardiness of this final installment. She was abandoned by inspiration and Dobby both, as well as swamped by that heinous spectre of despair, Real Life. Consequently this part is very rushed and a bit short, but Winky couldn't deal with it anymore. However, she did manage to find inspiration for an H/G fic and accompanying artwork which will hopefully make up for her incompetence on this story.
Chapter 9: The Dominus Potion
"Here's one!" Harry held up his finger triumphantly as Ron, Hermione, and Ginny looked hopefully at him. "Oh, wait...Never mind-it only works on animals. Sorry," he shrugged. The others nodded dejectedly and bent over their books again. They had been in the library researching possible control spells for almost two hours without success. Harry had been through *The Magic of Getting Your Way,* *Potions of Persuasion,* and *In Control: How to Manipulate Your Friends and Family with Four Easy Spells,* and his head was beginning to spin with all the nice and not-so-nice ways of using magic to do your bidding. It was extremely frustrating and tiresome, Harry thought, and there were better things he could be doing. Especially since he was having trouble concentrating with Ginny sitting beside him. He was much more interested in the soft lock of hair falling across her cheek than in the book of *Perilous Potions* open before him.
Harry sighed and bent down to retrieve the quill that had slipped from his fingers during his wistful reverie. In spite of his low spirits, he grinned at the sight of Ron and Hermione's interlaced hands hidden below the table and decided that perhaps their research session wouldn't be a total loss after all. Ginny flashed him a brief smile as he straightened and moved his chair closer to hers, and Harry knew she wouldn't mind if he followed Ron's example. With a sly grin he turned back to his book, simultaneously inching his fingers towards Ginny's. She quickly cottoned on to his intentions and cocked an eyebrow towards the pile of books still waiting to be skimmed, but smiled and squeezed his hand nonetheless, and Harry returned to his task with renewed enthusiasm.
Suddenly the silence was broken by a loud cackle. "Ha ha!" Ron pointed to a page of the book he was reading. "Wouldn't that be fun to try on Malfoy?"
Harry grinned, imagining the sallow-faced Slytherin prancing around the dungeon in a tutu and tights like the unfortunate wizard in the picture. If only.
"Aha!" Hermione's victorious cry interrupted Harry's thoughts before they turned sinister. Everyone turned expectantly toward her, and she slid the large, dusty volume over in front of them with a satisfied smile. "There it is, at the top of page 261: the Dominus Potion."
Harry pushed his glasses further up his nose and peered at the faded parchment. "The Dominus Potion," he read aloud. "First employed in 1364 by Ergog the Evil to command an army of trebuchets, the potion grants the power to control objects that have been animated for the spellcaster's use." With an excited glance at his friends, he quickly skimmed the rest of the description and sat back in his chair. "That's definitely the one," he told them. "See, there, at the bottom," he indicated with his quill, "it even talks about the ability to block some of the more common defensive spells, as long as they're weak enough."
"Of course!" cried Hermione in the same exuberant voice she used when discussing house elf liberation. "That's to make sure the person using the spell won't lose control over the object too easily. Brilliant!"
"Hermione," Ron began, grimacing at her, "that brilliant spell nearly got us all killed!"
Hermione sighed. "I know," she admitted, "but it is an impressive bit of magic, don't you think?"
"Malfoy obviously thought so," said Harry with a scowl. "I bet he figured no one else would know about such an old spell and he'd be able to get away with it."
Ginny huffed loudly. "Well, he figured wrong." She stood up and looked round the table. "I think we should go find Dumbledore right now and tell him what we found out. Who's coming with me?"
"Uh, I am," Harry got to his feet hastily. He was still getting used to seeing Ginny show some of the famous Weasley temper, but he found he rather liked it.
Ron and Hermione stood up as well. "We'll all go," said Ron, and the four of them trooped over to Madame Pince's desk. A few minutes later they were standing with their newfound evidence in front of the statue that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"Um, Harry?" Ginny said uncertainly, "How do we get up to his office if we don't know the password?"
Harry looked sheepish. He hadn't quite gotten that far. Somehow Dumbledore had always seemed to know when Harry needed to see him. "Well-"
"Looking for me?"
The four students turned at the sound of the Headmaster's voice to see him smiling broadly at them all and holding a half-finished slice of toast in one hand.
"Oh, yes, Professor," Harry stepped forward. "We've just been in the library-"
"The library at this hour?" Dumbledore interrupted with a wink at Hermione. "I hope you didn't miss breakfast." He shook a stray crumb from his beard and brandished the toast with a flourish. "The apricot jam was positively delightful this morning."
Harry tried to ignore the rumbling of his stomach and concentrate on the issue at hand. "Actually, Professor, we need to talk to you about what happened last night," he said, holding out the book from the library. Dumbledore's smile vanished, and he looked at the four of them seriously as Harry continued. "We think we found out something about the attack."
"In that case," said Dumbledore, "come with me. We can talk in my office."
* * * * * * *
"Well, that was...odd," remarked Hermione as she settled into a chair by the common room fire later that morning.
"I know." Ron shook his head in confusion. "I thought for sure he'd suggest we feed Malfoy to the skrewts or something, but he didn't even seem very angry. I don't understand."
Harry squinted thoughtfully. "I think I do," he ventured after a moment. "It's no secret Malfoy and I hate each other, but I think Dumbledore's been hoping we'd be able to work out our differences."
"Ha!" Ron snorted. "And Snape will join the Royal Ballet!"
Ginny chuckled at that mental image but quickly turned serious again. "I think Harry's right," she said. "Dumbledore seemed more disappointed than anything else. If he thought he could be a good influence on Malfoy while he was here away from his nasty father, this just shows how wrong he was."
"Dumbledore did look sort of sad when he saw the photo," Hermione recalled. "Not surprised, though."
Harry sighed. "Of course not-he's not stupid. Just...optimistic. I don't think he likes having to punish students."
"Maybe not," Ron agreed, "but I reckon he could stand to make an exception for an evil prat like Malfoy."
"Let's hope so," Hermione frowned. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and see."
Harry nodded and stood up. "You're right. I think we've wasted enough of the morning on Malfoy." He pointed to the window, where snow was falling softly outside. "Who wants to go sledding?"
After a much more enjoyable few hours outside in the fresh snow, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione had almost forgotten about their talk with Dumbledore that morning. As they took their seats in the dining hall that evening, however, Ron pointed out that Malfoy was conspicuously absent. They were just beginning to speculate about his possible whereabouts when Dumbledore stood up from the head table and raised his hands for silence. Harry's eyes met Ginny's briefly before they both turned towards the front of the room.
"Good evening, everyone," Dumbledore began. "Sorry as I am to put a damper on our festivities, I'm afraid I have an unfortunate announcement to make." He paused and let his glance sweep the four tables, nodding slightly at Harry. "As I'm sure all of you are aware by now, four students were attacked during the Yule Ball last night by an enchanted suit of armor. While no one was injured too badly, the person responsible for this attack must be held accountable for endangering the lives of fellow students. Consequently, the staff and I have decided that this student be suspended from Hogwarts for the remainder of the year."
At this remark a low murmur ran through the hall, and many heads turned curiously toward the empty seat at the Slytherin table. Harry exchanged a hopeful glance with Ron and held his breath as Dumbledore continued, "After this suspension, the student may choose to return to Hogwarts next year, provided he has learned that true wizards never practice magic for the purpose of harming others."
Ron's mouth fell open in astonishment, but Harry was not overly surprised. His gaze flickered towards Professor Snape, who sat staring moodily at his plate while Dumbledore spoke.
"I know this may seem to some of you an insufficient punishment," he conceded with an understanding nod, "but I have always believed that most people can, and do, benefit from second chances if allowed to do so." Harry glanced at Snape again and saw that he was holding his left forearm, his expression unreadable. "That being the case," Dumbledore continued, "it is my fervent hope that this individual will return to Hogwarts next year with a new perspective, and that we can all benefit from this valuable lesson. That is all."
"Wow," breathed Ginny as Dumbledore sat down and the Great Hall erupted with conversation. "He really *does* believe in second chances."
"I told you," said Harry. "I just hope he's right about Malfoy learning from his mistakes."
Ron smirked. "I doubt it. But at least we're rid of him for a while." He beamed round at them all with an uplifted expression. "Just think of it: five whole months without Malfoy!"
"That will definitely be an improvement to this year," said Hermione emphatically. She grinned up at Ron and reached over to tweak his ear. "And we won't have to worry about you getting expelled for fighting anymore."
"Hey!" he protested. "It only happened once! Or twice, if you count the Quidditch match first year..."
Harry turned to Ginny with a smile as Ron proceeded to argue with Hermione about the number of fistfights he'd had with Malfoy. "Well," he said happily, "that's the second good thing to come out of all this."
Ginny frowned. "What's the first?"
"This," Harry answered, taking her hand and leaning over to give her a quick kiss before anyone noticed.
Ginny smiled. "Thank you, Malfoy," she whispered with a giggle.
Author's Note: Again, Winky offers apologies for the lameness of that sappy ending. She promises to do better in the future.