Harry and Sirius talked for nearly an hour. Harry, who was very happy to finally be able to speak to his godfather alone, told him all about his summer with the Dursleys, Percy's wedding, and classes. As he spoke, he noticed that Sirius looked very well--much better than he had last year. He wasn't as gaunt, and he seemed happier. But then, Harry thought, this year Sirius wasn't living in a cave and eating rats.

Sirius, in turn, told Harry that Dumbledore was working with Mrs. Figg and Professor Lupin to try to find out where Voldemort was and what he was doing.

"Dumbledore's got me taking messages to Remus for him. Owl post is usually reliable, but ... there are some communications he'd rather not send by owl. So I deliver them personally."

"Have you found out anything?" Harry asked.

Sirius shook his head. "Not a word. And Remus has contacts--being a werewolf does make it easy to infiltrate certain circles. But he's found out nothing."

Sirius stood up and began to pace back and forth in front of Professor Green's desk. "You know, this might be even worse than knowing something terrible is going to happen--this not knowing what to expect."

Harry agreed. The silence was unnerving.

Finally, Harry left Sirius, went down to the Great Hall for a quick breakfast, and then back up to Gryffindor Tower to change for Divination class.

The week passed quickly. Harry filled Ron and Hermione in on his discussion with Sirius, but they were all so busy with classes and, in Harry and Ron's case, Quidditch practice, that they barely had time to discuss Voldemort.

On Friday, Harry noticed that the Slytherins arrived to Potions class on time. Unfortunately, however, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle slipped into class just before the bell rang and were forced to take the only available seats -right behind Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Snape explained the proper way to brew a Mind-Blocking Potion--"an effective defense against mind reading Dark wizards". (Harry noted that almost all of his classes this year focused on defending oneself against Dark magic.) As soon as Snape finished speaking and began prowling about from desk to desk, Malfoy started to grumble.

"--didn't even listen!"

"And you told him about the note and all?" Goyle grunted.

"Yes, of course I did, you moron! He didn't care! 'Professor Green has been trained to identify deception, Malfoy.'" Malfoy paused and began chopping his ginger root fiercely. "I had to do my detention last night, feeding that stupid Streeler of Hagrid's. Disgusting thing. Stepped in its slime trail and accidentally ruined my new shoes!"

Ron snickered. Harry and Hermione tried to stifle their laughter, but Malfoy could see them tittering.

"Of course you think it's funny, Weasley," Malfoy fumed quietly. They didn't look back at him. He paused for a moment, and when he spoke next, his voice had regained its usual infuriating smugness. "You like that idiot witch and her smelly dog, don't you? I bet it's a huge step up for the Weasleys--to be related to a family as well-respected as the Clearwaters." So Malfoy had heard about Percy's wedding, and knew that Penelope was Professor Green's sister. He continued, "but if it were me, I'd be mortified. She was married to an Envoy, imagine! I'd rather die than be related to a Mudblood-loving fool like tha--"

"MALFOY!" a voice roared behind them. Malfoy had been so carried away insulting Ron and Professor Green that he hadn't heard Snape walk up behind him, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Sir?"

Harry noted with satisfaction that Malfoy's voice now had a distinctive tremble to it. He listened intently, though he didn't dare turn around.

"I will not have you speaking that way about your teachers in this class! Ten points from Slytherin!" hissed Snape, infuriated.

Everyone in the class immediately stopped what they were doing. Whispers ceased in mid-syllable; knives were suddenly rendered immobile in mid-chop. Everyone, even Harry, Ron, and Hermione, turned and looked at Snape. Never in the duration of their academic careers at Hogwarts had any of them witnessed Snape taking points from his own house.

Malfoy was speechless, and even paler than usual. "S-sir?" he sputtered feebly.

"You heard me, Malfoy!" Snape's voice was lowered almost to a whisper, but the classroom was now so quiet that everyone heard him clearly. He leaned closer to Malfoy. "I will not tolerate that kind of disrespect towards faculty members at this school. Not even from you. If I ever hear you speaking that way about a teacher again, I will ensure that you receive detention. Is that clear?"

Malfoy just nodded, speechless.

Snape looked up at the classroom full of gaping students. At once, they made concerted efforts to look as busy as possible, so as to avoid Snape's wrath themselves.

But Snape punished no one else for the remainder of the class period. Granted, the class was unusually well-behaved after his outburst at Malfoy. But, as Ron noted while they made their way up the dungeon stairs, good behavior had never prevented Snape taking points away before.

"And what was all that about disrespecting teachers?" Ron added. "Doesn't he remember Lupin? When he substituted for him, all Snape talked about was how bad a teacher he was."

"Maybe it's Malfoy," Harry answered. "You remember at the end of last term, when I mentioned Lucius Malfoy's name as one of the Death Eaters? Snape was surprised. Maybe he doesn't like Malfoy anymore now that he knows his dad's a Death Eater."

"Hmmm." Hermione didn't look convinced. "Malfoy was saying something about Professor Green, wasn't he?"

"So?" Ron shrugged.

"Haven't you ever noticed," she said quietly, looking around, "that Snape acts kind of--differently--around her?"

Harry and Ron exchanged puzzled looks. Harry remembered the night of the feast, and how Snape had looked away when Professor Green had looked at him.

"Well, she's an Auror, isn't she? I reckon he's afraid of her, just like he was of Mad-Eye Moody."

Hermione shook her head. "Don't you ever notice them talking in the corridors? He doesn't usually talk to anyone, does he?"

Ron appeared to take her meaning, then become incredibly nauseous. "What--are you saying--you think he--likes her, or something?"

Hermione just shrugged, smiling. "How should I know? But it is suspicious, isn't it?"

"Hermione!" Ron cried so loudly that Hermione had to shush him. "Please! I don't want to lose my lunch, after all."

All three of them laughed.

They had reached the top of the stairs and were about to cross the entrance hall, when they noticed a crowd gathered in front of the doors to the Great Hall. Because Harry was rather shorter than average, he had a difficult time seeing, but it sounded like--

"A fight!" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione frowned, and instantly cut a path to the center of the crowd. The students parted to let her through, and Harry could see a girl, who he recognized from the night of the Sorting as a Slytherin first-year, standing next to two Gryffindor second-years. Three wands lay on the floor, along with books, strands of hair, and pieces torn from the left arm of the first-year girl's dress robes.

"She started it!" one of the Gryffindor girls shouted at Hermione as she approached. The first-year was bleeding from a cut just below her left eye.

"I did not!" The first-year scowled, though she was on the verge of tears. "They attacked me!"

"Don't try to play innocent, you slimy Slytherin," snarled the other Gryffindor girl.

Harry was taken aback; he had never seen a fight in the corridors at school, not even in his second year, when tensions against Slytherin House ran at an all-time high because nearly the entire school had blamed Slytherin House for the basilisk attacks.

"Come on, let's go, all of you," Hermione ordered the three girls. They followed her up the stairs and, Harry supposed, to the hospital wing.

"Probably deserved it," muttered a Ravenclaw third-year on Harry's left.

Harry and Ron walked past the crowd and up to the Gryffindor common room.