Title: Harry Potter and the Veneficus Quies (13/16)

Author: Atlantis Potter

E-mail: atlantispotter@yahoo.com

Category: Romance, Mystery

Keywords: Year 5, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Petunia

Rating: R

Spoilers: All Four Books.

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: Please R/R! If you like it, let me know. If you hate it, let me know! Thank yous are at the bottom of each chapter.

Harry Potter and the Veneficus Quies

Chapter Fourteen- Underground


"This is damn near impossible! I don't understand how they expect us to remember everything from the past five years!" Ron stood in the centre of Gryffindor common room, surrounded by various thick textbooks. He was holding a parchment in his hand, apparently from Professor McGonagall, that had a complete list of everything that would be on his Transfiguration exam.

Harry was sitting on one of the sofas in front of the fireplaces, watching his friend pacing back and forth, throwing a tempter tantrum. He had been in Gryffindor Tower for about two hours, attempting to help Ron with some last minute studying. Even though Hermione and Ron could now be in the same room, and occasionally hold a conversation, Hermione still wasn't willing to spend several hours helping him study information that he should have been studying all year. She had been reluctant to do it when they were on the best of terms, so Harry hadn't expected her to jump at the chance to help Ron now.

"Ron, I think it may be a checklist, you know, to make sure that you at least have a general idea about everything on that list. I don't think it means she's definitely going to be testing you on it. May I see it?"

Ron tossed him the parchment and Harry looked at the list. In fact, there were small stars next to the topics that were bold.

"I think these stars mean it's important. Just go over the starred items first, and when you're confident with those, go over the others. Just break it down and tackle it bit by bit, it'll go much quicker."

"You sound like Herm."

"Yeah, well, I've studied like mad this year, usually with her; she's bound to rub off."

Ron nodded and waved goodbye to Harry as he stood up to leave. It was nearing ten o'clock and Arabella had told them that they needed to be in by then. He said goodbye to his other friends and headed out the portrait door.

The IMS common room was strangely quiet and dark. A small fire glowed in the hearth, as it had become warmer and the need for it had declined. Harry walked quietly to his room and when he opened the door, he found Hermione sitting on the lounge, holding her head in her hands with her elbows rested on her knees. She was clearly crying.

"Mione? Are you all right?" He asked, crossing the room to her in two long strides.

"I'm-fine," she sniffed. He sat next to her and opened his arms. Crawling into them, she began crying a little more. "Oh, Harry, I was trying to finish up the project and I needed one more example and I-I found out about my parents."

He was shocked. They rarely talked about her parents having been in hiding and he had never known that anything about them was ever published. "What did you find?"

"Oh, just about how they disappeared. I guess everyone thought they had been killed by Voldemort and the Death Eaters had never denied it. I just-I think about all they lost when they left the wizarding world. There was a picture of all of them at some big party. Here," she handed him the book from the coffee table. When he looked at the picture, his breath caught in his throat.

In a black and white moving photo, he saw his parents, Sirius, Remus, Ami, Arabella and the Grangers, all dressed in Muggle formal wear. It was some sort of costume party and they all stood, arms looped around one another, smiling and waving. It looked like it had been taken shortly after his parents and friends had left Hogwarts. Ami looked to be about twenty and Hermione's parents looked to be about the same age.

"I didn't know they were all friends like that."

"Well, what did you think?" she said, laughing through her tears.

"I don't know, I know they all worked together, I guess you just don't picture your parents with their friends, do you know what I mean?"

"Yes."

"Wait, when was this picture taken?"

"1978. Why?"

Without a word, Harry walked to his room and went to his trunk. After rooting around for a bit, he found what he was looking for and walked back to where Hermione was sitting.

"Look," he handed her the album that Hagrid had given him at the end of first year. "They got married in 1979. Your parents were still in the wizarding world, so they must be in there. I can't believe I never noticed them before!"

Hermione was flipping through the pages, "Oh, Harry! You were such a cutie petutie!" She had paused to look at one of his baby pictures.

The look of horror on his face caused her to laugh even

harder. As she chuckled, he narrowed his eyes, giving her a bit of a glare.

"Right, we aren't looking for me. Here, let me see that," he winced, taking the book from her. He went to their wedding pictures and showed her the photos of the guests. Sure enough, her parents were there, dancing right along side everyone else. He showed her the pictures and leaned back as she took the book back. "Oh, Harry, this is so sweet. Look how happy they all are. I guess in those days, there really wasn't much to celebrate."

"I guess so."

Unconscious of her actions, Hermione leaned back against him, holding the book so that they could both look through it. Harry had looked through the book in great detail when Hagrid had given it to him, but it was a rare occasion now when he pulled out the book. They flipped through the pages together, Hermione pointing out people she recognized. "Look how handsome Professor Lupin is!"

Groaning, Harry flipped the page. He had never looked much at the picture on the next page. It hadn't seemed very interesting in a passing glance, but now he took a closer look. His mum was talking to Rachel Granger, who was giggling and grasping Lily's hand as she did so. His dad and Rick Granger were talking, most likely very loudly, and waving their arms about. Harry guessed by the motions that his dad was making, that they were talking about Quidditch. Occasionally, Lily would glance over at her husband lovingly. Rachel would follow her glance and laugh, shaking her head.

"It's so sweet to see them in love," Hermione said quietly.

He gazed down at her, looking fully into her eyes. She smiled up at him; a small smile that barely moved her lips, but lit up her eyes all the same. He returned her smile and felt himself drawing closer. For the first time in months, he was close enough to feel her breath flutter against his face, close enough to smell her.

He ached for the closeness they had once shared and for the friendship that had changed in the smallest ways since Christmas. He watched as she took in a deep breath and let it out in a half-sigh. He leaned closer, the need to kiss her overpowering all his other emotions.

Just as he was about to kiss her, he stopped, looking into her eyes once more, searching for some sort of confirmation, an affirmation to continue. In that split-second, the moment passed and she moved back from him.

"I think I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted," she said as she yawned.

"Right. I guess I'll turn in too. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Harry," she said, standing up and retreating slowly towards her room.

"Good night, Mione," he whispered, longing to follow her, but turning into his own room instead.

***

The loud rapping on Harry's bedroom door jolted him from his dreamless sleep. He bolted out of bed and to the door, where he found Arabella standing. "Get dressed, grab a few days worth of supplies and be in the common room in ten minutes," she said before turning and going out of the door. Harry could hear Hermione moving around, obviously getting ready to go, as he fumbled about trying to get dressed.

He pulled a black t-shirt over his head and looked at the clock. Grumbling, he snatched his glasses off of the side table and saw that in was nearly four in the morning. He threw a few changes of clothes into his backpack, along with a comb and his toothbrush. He opened one of the bureau drawers, searching for anything else he might need and his eyes fell upon the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map. Instinct had Harry tossing both items into his bag. He zipped it shut and slung it over his shoulder.

Walking out to the kitchen, he grabbed a couple of bottles of water from the fridge. He wondered to himself if he would need to take anything to eat and, just in case, grabbed a box of crackers from the cupboard.

Hermione strode into the room, her backpack over her shoulder and her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail. She looked wide awake and began rummaging through the cupboards, throwing various snack foods into her bag.

"Any idea what's going on?"

"No idea."

He turned to face her. "Do you think we've been called on a mission?"

"It's entirely possible. I guess we'll know in a few minutes."

She tossed another bottle of water into her bag and led the way out into the common room. The rest of the students were standing around, clutching backpacks. Their question was immediately answered.

"We have been ordered on a mission. Dumbledore has asked us to assist in an operation. I will be splitting you into two groups and then further explaining your jobs."

"Arabella, this was not part of the program requirements!" Susan objected.

"You knew very well that when you came into this program that you would be beginning auror training. Consider this training. If you don't want to go, you can walk out of this room immediately, because you will no longer be in my program," she pointed towards the door and gave everyone a stern look. "Anyone else?" She looked at them with her eyebrows raised, "Very well. The two groups. Akilah, Draco, Padma, Harry and Hermione, you're the first group. Ginny, Cadence, Cho, Katie and Susan, the second."

The members of the two groups rearranged themselves silently while Arabella looked over a parchment in her hands. After a few silent, tension filled moments, she snapped her head up to meet the anxious gazes of her students.

"We have received confirmation from our spies within the Death Eaters that there is some sort of mass mobilization occurring. We aren't positive as to what it means or what exactly is going on, which is why you have been split in to two groups. The first group," she turned to meet Harry's unwavering gaze, "is our infiltration group, which I will explain further in a moment. The second group is in charge of intelligence. You have been grouped based on your abilities and our reasoning behind using the ten of you is simple: it's easier and many of you are much stronger than we had ever imagined. Harry, Hermione, and Draco, the three of your are capable of wandless magic, which is necessary for this because we know for a fact that all Death Eater hideouts have magical detection wards. However, wandless magic is very hard to trace and detect. Akilah and Padma are grouped with your for their logic and reasoning skills. The rest of you are in charge of getting in there, finding out as much as you can and getting back here without using magic. Any wandless magic you can use is fine, but we'll give you the proper supplies so that you should be able to operate without it."

Harry felt his pulse quickening as she continued. They were being sent on an actual mission. He felt Hermione shift nervously next to him as she cleared her throat.

"Erm, Arabella, I don't mean to sound silly, but what about the other operatives?"

"They have things to do as well. Do not think you will be moving alone, you will be being watched and guarded and assisted as much as possible. Now, we need to get a move on. The second group needs to go directly to the teacher's lounge on the third floor, where someone is waiting to assist you. Go now and take these with you," she waved her hand and paper sacks appeared on the table next to her, along with small pouches. "Anything you may need, in addition to your clothes is in those pouches. Keep them in your bags and be careful."

The five girls moved to take the supplies she offered and without so much as a word were exiting to the main school building. As soon as they had left, Arabella turned back to them.

"Alright, you five have a different job. You are going to be one of the teams infiltrating the hideouts that we know of. There are two hideouts and we have three teams in each. You will follow a different route in locating the hideout and getting through it to find the Death Eaters. You will meet up with the other two teams and attempt to take down the stronghold. This is a rough mission, especially for ones as inexperienced as you, but Dumbledore believes you can do it. The most I can do for you now is give you the same supplies as the others and direct you to a predetermined spot. From there, you will be responsible for finding the entrance to the hideout. Oh, and these," she waved her wand again and three tiny buttons appeared. "These are thingies that you can use to contact the other teams. They will only work when you are within 15 yards of the other groups, in any direction, so don't plan on relying on them too much."

Hermione cautiously spoke up, "Why are they called thingies? I mean, did you forget the name?"

"No, it's really an adaptation from what muggles always call various gadgets," Arabella responded, completely serious. Hermione nodded her head, still giving Arabella a strange look.

They all turned at the approaching footsteps. Professor Dumbledore walked to the assembled group.

"Good morning. I just spoke with the other team on their way to meet with Ami. I was wondering if I could have a few moments with this group, Arabella?"

"Surely, Albus. Go right ahead. I was just giving them their thingies".

She quickly handed the three buttons to Hermione, Harry and Draco. Padma and Akilah both looked dubious at this, but Arabella quickly explained that they need magic to activate and their wands should only be used if they encounter Death Eaters.

"You are undertaking a very grave mission today. When we began this program, we never expected that we would have to expose you to such dangerous tasks, but alas, you can only be so prepared for the completely unexpected. I want you all to understand how very important this is. We have decided to use you because we feel that you are capable enough to handle this. The most support we can offer you is the thingies, a few supplies, the knowledge that you have learned this year and our hopes for you swift and safe return. Good luck," he nodded at each of them in turn and left the room just as quickly as he had entered.

Without a word, Arabella pointed them towards the supplies and handed Hermione an old, rusty tin can.

"It's your portkey. You have 45 seconds, so ready yourselves."

They all hastened to touch the can, and after what felt like an eternity to Harry, he felt the familiar tug as the room began to spin. He felt himself being pulled through time and space and suddenly his feet hit hard ground and he nearly stumbled, but caught himself quickly. Hermione was not so lucky and she tumbled into him. Catching her in his arms, he looked down at her and saw something that scared him in her bright chocolate eyes.

Among the bravery and security, there was a trace of fear in those eyes. A fear of the unknown and a fear of thought that they would really be using magic, not just practising it in a classroom. As he looked at her, he saw her swallow and take a deep breath, before pushing against his arms and righting herself.

Instinct took over as one of his favourite memories of his best friend flashed through his mind. He bent down to her ear. "You're a great witch, Hermione, you know that?"

Her eyes glazed over and she smiled nervously. She turned to the rest of the group, asking if they were all okay after their rough landing.

Harry took the opportunity to gather information about their surroundings. Wherever they were, it was bright and sunny, with the scent of wildflowers in the air. They were on a grassy hill and as Harry turned to look in the distance, he saw they were on some sort of rolling plain. The long grass waved in the soft, summery breeze and had the conditions been different, Harry would have found the place very peaceful and calming. As it was, his heart had started to slow a bit and he was becoming more comfortable with the idea of their mission.

Hermione and Draco were debating their next course of action.

"Obviously, Granger, you think the entrance is going to be easy to find? I can tell you now; there won't be any signs that say 'Big Bad Guy Hideout' with a giant red arrow pointing towards a door. It's not going to be easy to find."

"I realize that Malfoy, and as experienced as I'm sure you are with finding Death Eater hideouts, try to keep the condescending tones to a nearly nonexistent level, all right?"

"I don't know what you're implying, but you better stop implying it. Now, how are we going to find this entrance?" he sneered at Hermione, who was staring him in the face, holding her arms crossed against her chest.

"I hate to break up this little argument, but if I remember correctly, we do have two animagi with us, both of whom are animals with strong senses of hearing and smell. Perhaps they could comb the area for clues while the rest of us visually search?" Padma suggested as she stepped between Draco and Hermione, while keeping her vision trained on Hermione.

"Padma, that's an excellent idea. Harry, Hermione, get to it," Akilah said, slapping Harry hard on the back with a mischievous grin on her face.

He smiled back at her, though it was more of an annoyed, somewhat rude smile. He narrowed his eyes at her briefly before turning to face Hermione. She nodded, as if reading his mind, and Harry closed his eyes, deep in concentration. They hadn't had an Animagi lesson since before the Easter holiday and he hoped that he could still transform. He pictured each individual animal in his mind, before selecting the best one for this situation. He focused on that particular animal, clearing his mind and centring on his physical form. He felt his limbs begin to stretch and reshape themselves. He felt every part of his body morph until his paws hit the ground.

When he opened his eyes, he could smell the scents of the surrounding area even stronger than before. He looked at the field they were standing in, now completely black and white with an occasional shade of grey thrown in to mix things up a bit. He looked to his right at the long, lean panther standing next to him. The brown eyes of the creature bore into his and he turned back to their group, who were now staring at him and Hermione. Akilah opened her mouth and mumbled something that Harry did not understand. He cocked his head to the side and looked up at her. After hearing something that sounding distinctly like, "Awww!", Akilah and Padma had closed in on him, scratching behind his black ears. When Padma moved to scratch his brown belly, he stepped back with a small growl and the two girls looked at him disdainfully.

Taking another deep sniff of the air, he moved towards the side of the hill. Hermione went in the opposite direction, both sniffing deeply at the ground as they went. Akilah, Padma, and Draco (who was mumbling something about stupid animals) also went off in different directions, eyes glued to the ground, searching for clues.

As he sniffed at the ground, Harry experienced scents all together knew to him. His mind raced as he took in grass and earth and insects and the wind and every other thing colliding with his nose. He peered back at the group and saw that Hermione had employed the same method as him, which involved keeping her nose to the ground. Sniffing at a tiny white flower poking up from the ground, he caught a whiff of something very foreign in the thousands of smells he was experiencing. It was distinct because it was the smell of human.

He trailed it down the hill until it turned sharply and Harry stopped, once again investigating the area. In the grass, he could barely make out a lightly treaded path. It looked as if several people had tromped through here, not too long ago, either. He bent his head to gather the scent again and followed its sharp odour until he realised that it was beginning to concentrate and become more potent.

Walking a bit further, he realised that the scent did not continue. He turned back, retracing his steps until he picked it up again. He buried his nose into the grass and realised that it was practically imbued in the ground. He let out a loud bark before realising his actions and quickly transformed himself. He saw that Hermione had been tracing the smell as well and was about twenty yards from him. Akilah, Draco and Padma were all rushing towards where the two animals were.

Hermione looked up briefly and loped towards him. She transformed as she and the others met him.

"Harry! You're so cute! What kind of dog are you?" said Padma, giggling.

"Just a mutt, I suppose, our teacher never really said. Did you really have to pet me?"

"Shut it, Harry, you loved it," said Draco.

"Shh. Quit arguing. What did you smell?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry.

"People."

"So did I. It stopped right where you're standing. That's where we'll start."

They all nodded and dropped to their hands and knees.

Harry was feeling along the ground searching for some sort of clue when he happened to look up and see Draco fall forward and disappear. After recovering from his initial shock, he jumped up and ran to the spot where he had seen Draco. Calling for Hermione, he dropped to his knees and began feeling along the earth.

Without warning he felt himself being dragged downward and suddenly he found himself standing next to Draco.

"Where are we? How did we get down here?"

"I have no idea where we are and I pulled you down here. Look," he pointed towards the ceiling of the cavern they were in. Harry looked up and saw Hermione, Akilah and Padma standing where he had just been, looking as if they were falling into a state of panic. Hermione bent down to the ground and he heard her call his name. He couldn't't bear the look of fear on her face and reached a hand up into the ceiling.

Much to his surprise, he felt the material of the front of her shirt in his fingers and he pulled her through, catching her as she fell.

"Harry! Oh thank Merlin!" she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck. He hugged her briefly before moving to help Draco pull the other girls through.

When they had all been pulled through the strange portal, the five students stood huddled close together and peered around their newly found surroundings. They were obviously in some sort of cave, that much Harry judged. He watched as Hermione gathered herself and tentatively stepped forward.

They were plunged into darkness as soon as Hermione moved her foot. Harry felt for his wand and grasping it, was just about to whisper the incantation for light when Hermione stopped him.

"We can't use wands, Harry," she whispered, barely audible.

"Well, then how do you suggest we see anything?" In response to his question, Harry heard Hermione fumble around. In a few moments, a bright blue light flooded the immediate area and he saw Hermione standing next to him, wide-eyed. She held in her cupped hands, bright blue flames and looked slightly surprised with herself.

"I-I didn't think it would work," she blushed slightly. "Does anyone have anything we can put these in?"

"Erm, here…."Akilah was digging around in her backpack and she pulled out a jar of what were unmistakably pickles.

"Pickles? Honestly…" Draco muttered.

Akilah gave him a dirty look as she opened the jar and emptied it. After handing it to Hermione, she walked over to Draco and gave him a playful swat on the arm.

Hermione dumped the flames into the jar, still somewhat amazed at her feat.

"Erm, does anyone know where we are?" Harry asked, taking in his surroundings.

They were in some sort of strange cave. The walls were a strange blue colour and the ground was more earthen than rocky. Harry stepped forward a bit, taking the jar from Hermione and attempting to reach the light into the darkness.

As he looked around, he realised that brightness didn't necessarily come from the flames. Something was reflecting the light. He walked towards the closest wall, he pulse beginning to slow, and his breath deepening as he became more curious than scared.

He realised that Hermione had walked ahead of him and was now brushing her fingers against the cave wall.

"It's limestone. These are crystal formations. This reminds me of a cave my parents and I once visited," she murmured.

The group had moved closer to Harry and Hermione. He brushed away the feeling of uneasiness that washed over him suddenly and turned back to Hermione who was still looking at the walls.

"We're still in Britain. I think. Well, where do we go from here? Shall we explore?" she asked, turning to the group.

"That sounds like a horrible idea. We don't have any equipment," Draco argued.

Hermione gave him a long look before waving her hand at him. "I've got what I need right here. Between the three of us, we should be fine," she said as she shifted her backpack.

"Whatever we do, we need to keep moving. It's dangerous to stay in one spot for too long, we may be being watched," Harry said slowly, looking at each of his classmates in turn.

"I suggest we go that way. It seems logical that the hideout would be deeper underground," Hermione said, pointing towards the tunnel that led downwards.

The group was silent. Slowly, everyone shouldered their backpacks. Draco took the lead, having grabbed the jar from Harry. Akilah and Padma followed him, both with tight grips on his bag. Hermione grasped Harry's hand again and they trudged through the tunnel.

Their route narrowed and Harry found himself bringing up the rear, still holding tightly to Hermione's hand, despite the hurt and protest in his arm. It was becoming darker. The crystal formations that had been in the walls in the area they entered were gone and they were now surrounded by dark, dense rock. Harry saw a bit of light ahead and quickened his pace with the rest of the group. Nearing it, he saw an opening in the tunnel, and soon, they had stepped out into a wide cavern.

"Look!" cried Akilah pointing straight ahead of them. There was no opening across the great room. In every direction, they saw only bare walls.

Hermione stepped away from Harry, walking further into the centre of the room. "When you can't go forward or backward, you go up," she pointed at the wall directly above the archway that they had just stepped through.

Harry moved forward and turned his gaze to where Hermione was pointing. Sure enough, there was a large opening about fifty feet above the entryway.

"Shall we start climbing?" asked Hermione, who looked prepared to conjure ropes and transfigure the rocks from the ground into spelunking gear.

"Granger, at times, you can be disgustingly muggle. Climbing?" Draco said, shaking his head. With a wave of his hand and a few moments of deep concentration, Hermione was floating about ten feet above them.

"Malfoy, put her down," Harry suggested, having noted the furious look on Hermione's face. He held his hand out, hoping against all odds that he'd be able to catch her, either magically or physically if Malfoy should drop her.

Draco did quite the opposite, however, choosing instead to levitate her up to the ledge where the other opening was. However, his aim wasn't on spot and Harry nearly had a heart attack as he saw Hermione sway dangerously on the edge of the ledge. Harry rushed forward, pushing Draco aside and aimed his hand at Hermione. With a heavily concentrated effort, he pushed her forward. She fell onto the rocky landing and Harry grimaced as he heard Hermione swearing. She appeared at the edge, her face red with fury. She held up her hand and a small blast of white light shot out and hit Draco in the arm.

"Dammit Granger! What in the bloody hell was that for?"

"You could have killed me!" she shot back. Wasting no time, Hermione levitated Draco up. She then brought up Harry, Akilah and Padma, all the while scolding Draco.

"Do you know how dangerous that was? You have so little control of the levitation spell, don't you read books? You could have killed me!"

"Did I? No. So stuff it," he responded, turning towards the entry and hustling through it.

"Only because Harry saved me! You're so irresponsible!" she called after him.

"Granger, get off it. You're fine. Hurry up, the lot of you, we need to keep moving."

Hermione groaned loudly and followed after him, still lecturing him on the theories of levitation. Harry walked with Akilah and Padma, keeping up with their idle chit chat.

They walked for what felt like hours, going deeper and deeper in the earth. At times, they crawled, the ceiling going so low that the five students were shimmying along on their bellies. At other times, the ceiling stretched high above them and Harry had to strain his eyes to see the top of the tunnel. They weaved their way around great rock formations and cracks in the earth.

Most of their journey was quiet and after awhile, Harry noticed that Akilah and Padma were beginning to slow their pace. They had fallen behind and both seemed to be dragging their feet, looking weary and tired.

"Malfoy, Hermione! We've been down here for a pretty long time, maybe we could rest a little?" he suggested to the two classmates walking some distance ahead.

"What's the matter, Potter, is all the walking hurting your feet?"

"No, Malfoy. Padma and Akilah look pretty knackered though," he gestured to the two girls who had since collapsed against the wall of the cave.

Malfoy looked at them, shaking his head as he dropped his back to the earthen floor. "It must be a girl thing."

"Sod off Malfoy," Hermione said without looking up from her bag. She was kneeling on the dirt floor, looking for something in her pack. She pulled out a bottle of water and an apple. Sighing, she sat back and opened her water, drinking down half the bottle in one go.

Harry watched the line of her throat as she drank, eyeing her profile as she devoured the sustenance of life. He realised he was staring and shook his gaze away from her, turning back to his own bag and digging out a bottle of water.

He settled himself against the rough rock, gulping down his water and leaning his head back against the cool stone. Closing his eyes, he let his mind relax. His senses remained alert, taking in every noise that met his ears. He heard a light beeping noise and his hand instantly went to the small button that Arabella had given them back at the school.

Pulling it from his pocket, he saw it was glowing an eerie green colour. Hermione and Draco had also pulled out their buttons and were staring at them in amazement.

"What do you suppose we should do?" Harry asked, looking at the other two.

"Wait for them to contact us; surely they are getting the same effect." Hermione turned her button over in her hand as if inspecting it for something. With a shrug, she tucked it back in her pocket and stood up, brushing herself off.

"We need to continue on. There's something amiss. We've been left alone far too long for my liking. We're probably pretty close to the Death Eaters," Draco said quietly.

Harry whipped around suddenly. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick us as a cool breeze seemed to blow through the tunnel. With a shiver, he looked at the rest of the group, who all looked as if they had experienced the same feeling.

"I agree with Draco," Harry said, a little too loudly. The girls looked at him and all nodded in unison.

Everyone regrouped and gathered their things. Akilah and Padma moved to stand by Draco again and Hermione stood waiting for Harry to catch up. When he had reached her, she grabbed for his hand. Together, they all began the descent down the tunnel.

They walked for some time without encountering any obstacles. Harry was beginning to get a bit nervous at the lack of problems that had faced. It seemed, for lack of a better term, too quiet. After about thirty minutes the path began sloping dramatically and the ceiling lowered with each descending stride.

After ten minutes or so, they were crawling through the narrow tunnel on their hands and knees. Harry struggled with his bag, which kept scraping against the ceiling and getting caught on jagged rocks. Draco seemed to be suffering the same problems as he did, even though the girls were moving along without struggle.

Twenty minutes of crawling around in the dirt was beginning to take its toll on Harry's limbs. The elbows of his long sleeved t-shirt had holes and the skin on his arms was rough from being dragged on the ground. He sighed gratefully when he realised that the ceiling was beginning to heighten a bit and after awhile, they were able to stand, though they still had to duck their heads for a good distance.

The tunnel opened suddenly into another great cavern. This was one very different from the first one they had encountered. It looked a lot more like the caves that Harry had seen in pictures and read descriptions about in various books. Great stalactites hung from the ceiling, some nearly touching the stalagmites. He heard dripping water as his eyes roamed over the different layers of rocks. He looked further down to his left and noticed a great underground lake.

"We have to cross the lake. Look," Draco pointed towards the shore. A small boat was perched there, along with two paddles.

"Do you think the boat is safe for the five of us?"

"There's only one way to find out."

Harry walked towards the front of the boat and tossed his bag in. The girls followed him, throwing their packs into the boat and waiting to board. He turned back to see if Draco was doing the same thing. He was a bit perturbed to see that Draco was in fact standing off to the side with his arms crossed, looking rather put out.

"What do you think you're doing?" Draco asked.

"Erm, putting my bag in the boat. You know, so that we could row across the lake."

"We? We will not be rowing, you will be rowing."

"We're going to both have to row. The girls can just sit in the middle of the boat."

Draco scowled at him before stalking over and climbing into the boat. Glaring at him, Harry moved to push the boat. The girls helped until it was mostly in the water. Harry stepped to the side and helped each of them in before pushing the boat out until it was completely off of the shore.

He stepped into the water and was surprised to find that it was pleasantly warm. He climbed into the boat, being careful not to tip it, and sat next to Draco. The other boy handed him a paddle, accompanied by a pointed glare and they set off.

After manoeuvring themselves around so that they could properly row, they quickly made their way to the other side of the lake without incident.

As everyone was climbing out the boat, Harry heard a shrill scream and immediately turned to look at the three girls. He saw that they were okay and began looking around, trying to discern the origin of the scream.

He heard several more screams, each louder and more shrill than the previous. After a moment, he had to cover his ears. He looked at Hermione, who was covering her ears as well. Akilah and Padma were staring straight ahead into what looked like a very dark tunnel.

Harry peered in the same direction and nearly screamed himself with he saw thousands of red, glowing eyes. Gaining some self control, he walked over to Hermione.

"What are those?!" he screamed loud enough for her to hear.

"Banshee Bats!" she replied, screaming as loud as he had.

"How do we get them to stop?" Draco yelled, coming over to conference with them.

"We can't! They scream if they're alarmed!" Hermione replied, her voice cracking ever so slightly. She shook her head, clearly agitated.

Akilah and Padma had joined them as well and stood with their hands clasped over their ears. Hermione looked at them and suddenly her face lit up. She turned to face Harry and without explanation, waved her hand at him.

Much to his relief, the ear piercing screams stopped. He pulled his hands away from his ears. Much to his dismay, he realised that he could hear nothing. It felt as if cotton had been stuck into his ears. The gentle sound of the lake was gone. Akilah, Padma and Draco were all wearing the same confused faces. He turned to Hermione for guidance.

She looked at him pointedly, as if waiting for him to cast the same spell. He looked at her, trying to figure out what exactly she had done.

By some creative movements of her hands and using the temporary blindness spell on him, Harry was able to figure out what she had done. Soon enough, they were all temporarily deaf and in great relief from the bats.

Shrugging, Draco moved forward, ducking his head as he walked through the bats. Harry watched as they started to swoop and dive at the blond haired boy. Draco took off at a run and the others had no choice but to follow him.

The group of bats was much larger than Harry had suspected and after five or so terrifying moments of battling them through the cave, the group emerged relatively unharmed except for a few scratches.

They were further down in the tunnel around a bend from the swarms of bats. Hermione removed the spells quickly.

The sounds of the cave rushed back into Harry's ears. He heard dripping water, the crunching of stones and the slight breeze of air that seemed to move throughout the deep, underground shafts.

He shook his head, clearing away the slight cottony feeling that remained. As he did so, he heard another new sound: scratching.

The scratching noise continued and Harry looked down at his feet. Hermione did the same. Suddenly, a small brown rat dashed out of a narrow hollow in the wall. It skidded around their feet and took off at a dead run in the direction they had just came from.

"Gross," said Akilah, who had noticed the rat as well.

Harry merely shrugged his shoulders. He looked up at Hermione and was immediately alarmed by the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"I--that--it had a silver paw."

Harry's face immediately paled. It couldn't have had a silver paw. He didn't have time to comprehend what exactly that meant, because another sound was coming down the corridor.

Akilah heard it too. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Draco replied.

"The voices, they're coming closer."

Both Padma and Hermione got slightly panicked looks on their faces and moved closer together. Draco looked quickly around them.

"Over there, in the wall, there's a small hollow. Let's try and squeeze in there."

"I've got the cloak with me," Harry said as he dropped his bag to the ground.

"What cloak?" Akilah and Draco asked at the same time.

"My Invisibility Cloak."

"Your-well, of course, you have everything. That would explain the little incident in Hogsmeade third year," Draco said, once again glaring at Harry.

Harry had quickly grown sick of all the glaring and groaned audibly, motioning towards the hollow in the wall. "We need to hide. We can discuss later."

They all squished into the space, Harry pulling the cloak over them as best he could. He silently hoped they were completely covered, as a foot with no body attached might cause some commotion with whoever was coming their way.

He held his breath as a group of six or so figures dressed completely in black strolled past. A small gap issued from Hermione's mouth, audible only because she was standing right next to him. One of the figures had stopped suddenly and was staring straight at where the five students were standing.

"Avery, what is it?" came a gruff voice from under one of the hoods.

"I could have sworn that I heard something," came another voice, as a long, cloaked arm pointed in the general direction of the students' hiding spot.

"There's nothing there. Come on, we'll be late."

The group walked a little further passed them and stopped in front of a smooth stretch of wall. One of the figures whispered a password and a panel glided open. The group walked through and the wall slid shut behind them.

Akilah was the first to let out her breath and the others soon followed. Harry listened intently, making sure there were no more people coming, before tearing off the Invisibility Cloak. Everyone immediately turned to glare at Hermione, who sniffed and studiously ignored them.

"Well, it's just a matter of getting in there," she said, pointing towards the section of wall where the Death Eaters had gone in.

Draco stared at her. "Right, because it wouldn't be protected by about a thousand alarms and wards. As if we could just stroll in, undetected and scare the beejeezus out of them? Earth to Hermione! They're Death Eaters."

Hermione's eyes flashed with anger as she looked at him. "And I'm sure you know all about that! Frankly, I wouldn't trust you as far as I could throw you Draco Malfoy! You may a half-magus and one of the top students in the school, but as far as I'm concerned, for all we know, you could very well be a spy!" she sputtered.

Harry, Akilah, Draco and Padma stared at the now red-faced Hermione. Harry, for one, was completely shocked by her outburst. Out of the Gryffindor students in IMS, Hermione had been the one who was most accepting of Draco, other than Akilah of course. She'd rarely said anything about him that was negative, even though Harry knew she couldn't stand him for very long periods of time.

"If that's how you feel, then fine! So be it! But we're all in this together, and whether you like it or not, the success of this entire thing depends on us, all of us, working together!" Draco replied, looking daggers at Hermione, who was standing with her hands on her hips.

A small beep issued from Harry's pocket. He pulled the button out of his pocket without taking his eyes off Draco and Hermione, who were still staring at each other. Much to his surprise, it was now red in colour. He placed a fingertip on the top of it and concentrated on communicating with the other teams.

"Potter?" came a tinny voice.

"This is Potter."

"This is Snape. Are you within bounds of the entryway?"

Harry turned to look at Draco and Hermione, who were now listening intently. They both nodded. "Yes, we are."

"You are to find a place to hide within range of the door. We will be entering the hideout by another entrance. You are our eyes and ears. Keep this active and listen for our signal. When it comes, break down the door and come in, wands ready."

"Alright."

There was a tiny click and the button stopped glowing as brightly. Harry gripped it tightly and turned to the group. "I guess we wait."

Hermione immediately sat down and opened her backpack. Rustling around a bit, she pulled out a few scraps of parchment and a heavy textbook.

"Granger! You brought homework?"

"This is due tomorrow," she said without looking up from the book.

Draco bent down and pulled the book away from her. "Hermione, we're in a life or death situation and you're worried about the homework due tomorrow. What does that say about your priorities?"

"That they are exactly as they should be. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'd rather die than fail or be expelled," she said coolly, taking her book back from Draco.

Everyone except Harry gaped at her. He was busy listening intently to the small button, which was giving him a scene by scene broadcast of the events inside of the room where the Death Eaters had disappeared. It was pretty boring, he heard the Death Eaters discussing various cunning plans (Hermione had noticed and began scribbling notes, to which Draco rolled his eyes) and an occasional rustle or shifting from whoever was holding onto the other button.

"Expelliarmus!" came a loud voice from inside the room. It was audible both out in the corridor and over their communication device. Everyone in the tunnel jumped to their feet and backed up against the wall as Hermione and Draco pulled out their devices and activated them.

Loud screams and cries were punctuated by the casting of various spells. Harry waited and listened, anxious for the signal.

It never came as the entire fight was interrupted by someone shouting.

"There are more outside! There are more!"

Akilah and Hermione both gasped and Padma looked ready to cry out. Draco looked stonily at Harry.

"We need to do something, now."

"Thank you, you've once again pointed out the oh so very obvious. Any plans, oh wise one?"

"Potter, where on earth did you pick up the sarcasm?"

"I've been spending far too much time with you."

"Both of you! Shut up! We don't have time to even come up with a plan, let alone listen to you bicker. Harry, take the cloak and get in there. Surprise them, whatever. We'll follow and just fight them. It's our only option," Hermione said, sounding furious, scared and exasperated all at one time.

Harry and Draco looked at her, then at each other before nodding.

"I don't need the cloak," Harry said quietly.

"What do you mean? You can't surprise them unless you're invisible!" Draco pointed out.

"Not everyone needs a cloak to be invisible. You'll need it more than I do." He looked at Hermione one last time before closing his eyes. Gathering all of his concentration and power into one thought, he focused as intently as possible on invisibility. He pictured himself fading away into nothing and suddenly, he heard Hermione gasp.

Opening his eyes, he saw four shocked faces staring at the exact place he was standing.

"Hermione?"

"Harry! It worked!"

"Cover yourselves, hide! They're coming!"

The others backed up into the narrow alcove and covered themselves. Harry moved against the wall where the door was. In a split second the panel had slid open and crowds of Death Eaters streamed into the narrow tunnel. Harry stood stalk-still as he watched faces that looked vaguely familiar run past him, some look right through him. As soon as the group had moved farther down the hall, Harry slunk into the room where they had come from.

A battle was raging in the dimly lit room. In the few seconds he had to look around, Harry noticed that the room was sparsely decorated. The only furnishings appeared to be an ancient wooden table surrounded by ornately carved chairs.

Many of the chairs were now tipped over or smashed to pieces on the ground. He watched in horror as one of the figures clothed in the black cloak of the Death Eaters smash a chair over another figure cloaked in green. The person in green had his back turned to Harry and had his wand trained at a Death Eater.

Pulling his wand from his pocket, he trained it on the chair wielding Death Eater and sent the first curse that popped into his mind at the figure.

"Argh!" screamed the man, clasping his hands over his eyes. "I'm blind!"

The man who Harry now recognized as Professor Vector turned on his attacker and sent the stunning spell at him. The man fell to the ground and Vector stepped over him, running towards yet another group of Death Eaters.

Harry heard a slight commotion behind him and turned around.

Akilah, Padma, Draco and Hermione came tearing into the room, ripping off the Invisibility Cloak as they ran. Harry felt himself becoming visible again and nearly laughed at the shock that went over the room. The four students began shooting spells every which way, hitting Death Eaters as they moved.

Harry rushed to join them. He didn't even have to say the spells as he waved his wand at their attackers. In the midst of the attack, he noticed that several of what he knew to be Dumbledore's operatives were lying on the ground, obviously injured in some way.

The Death Eaters that had rushed out into the hallway earlier came running back in, wands out. Their advance crippled Harry's group, the sheer numbers and force aiding in their fight.

It was obvious that Voldemort had done heavy recruiting since his rebirth. However, many of the wizards and witches were not fully prepared and as long as Harry's group remained persistent, they managed to overtake many of them.

"Stupefy!" screamed one of the man trying to fight Harry.

He ducked the spell and shot a random charm at his attacker, hoping to at least temporarily disable him. It worked and Harry dodged another curse. He began to notice that the Death Eaters were no longer taking it easy and the use of the Unforgivable curses was becoming rampant.

He watched in horror as Padma was hit with the Cruciatus Curse and fell to the ground. Akilah noticed her friend and dropped her guard, running to Padma's side. She too was hit with a curse that knocked her out.

Draco, Harry and Hermione were the only ones left standing and their victory seemed to be short lived as the Death Eaters became more vicious in their attacks. Thankfully, only about five were left standing, but Harry noticed that the operatives were either knocked down or nowhere to be found. The uneasiness once again invaded his consciousness, but he shook it away, concentrating on the task at hand.

Draco was engaged in a rather fierce battle with someone who was throwing curses like they were pebbles. Draco was practically doing back flips to avoid the hexes and spells, but he did get in a few good shots.

Hermione was also fighting and the last three seemed to be concentrating their efforts on Harry. He quickly disarmed two of them and managed to stun the third. After stunning the last two, he turned to help Draco was now on the offensive.

Shooting hex after hex at his opponent, he managed to push the man back until he was crouched on the floor. Draco held his wand pointed at the man's throat. "Stupefy!" he cried out. With a thud, his attacker hit the ground, landing on his face with a rather sickening crunch.

Harry moved to help Hermione who was slowly being backed into a wall. She blocked the curses and threw a few, but the Death Eater was faster than her. He was quickly overtaking her advances and Hermione looked on the verge of giving in to the inevitable.

Stepping in, he fired a Phantomus curse at her attacker. It was well placed and the man quickly fell.

Hermione and Harry stood facing each other. Tears were beginning to stream down Hermione's face and he moved to take her in his arms.

"Mione, what's wrong?"

"I couldn't do it, Harry. I couldn't take him. If you hadn't stepped in-"

"Don't say that. Hermione, you are the brightest witch I know. Look at all the others you hit. That guy was a foot taller than you and sounded like he was making up curses to throw at you."

She buried her head in his chest for a minute before leaning back to look him in the face.

Her eyes were shining with unshed tears and a thousand fears. He looked at her, certain that his every emotion was showing in his face. She tilted her head back. He leaned down…

"Phantomus Avada Kedavra!"

The spell hit her in the back. With a cry, she slipped from Harry's arms and fell to the ground. He watched in slow motion as her body hit the ground and a dark figure stepped over her. Backing up and looking into the face of her attacker, Harry felt his stomach flop.

"Hello Harry."

The voice of his attacker served as a slap in the face. Harry immediately snapped out of his surprise and sunk immediately into an anger so violent that he was positive that things would start to fly. Peter Pettigrew stood over Hermione, grinning widely at Harry, a malicious glint in his eye.

"Wormtail."

"Fancy seeing you here. I don't suppose Dumbledore would actually send students to fight, would he?"

Harry didn't answer. He stared Wormtail in the face, not even trusting the man long enough to allow himself to blink. Wormtail raised his wand to Harry's throat, as he was standing a mere four feet away.

Again, Harry felt himself acting in slow motion. He watched as Pettigrew flicked his wand. The spell hit him directly in the chest, and Harry shook with the violent pain coursing through his body. It nearly seized his mind, but amazingly, Harry deflected much of the pain.

He reeled backwards, stumbling as the effects of the curse ran through him. IT passed and he stood himself straight up, staring at Pettigrew again.

Pettigrew, for his part was shocked and his face showed it. Harry used the pause to his advantage and quickly shot a stunning spell at Wormtail. Not surprisingly, it was deflected. However, it gave Harry the advantage of having the first strike.

Pettigrew sent more jinxes at him, some of which seemed rather pointless (Harry had vaguely remembered the Tickling Charm from second year) and others which Harry was very glad to have escaped.

With speed that he didn't know he had, Harry blocked the curses and fired off many of his own. A well aimed Phantomus spell caused Pettigrew to lose use of his right arm and this aided Harry greatly.

However, Pettigrew was a surprisingly skilled duellist and he hit Harry with some pretty painful spells. Harry was favouring his left leg heavily and a temporary blindness spell had left his vision pretty foggy.

A Jelly Legs Jinx sent Wormtail too his knees. Harry moved to him, holding his wand pointed directly at Wormtail's forehead. Pettigrew looked at him with a serene expression that disturbed Harry a little bit.

"Your father would never have killed me." The words fell as heavy as lead in the dead silent room. Harry lost all concern for his friends and his teachers. The mission and school and Hermione flew out of his mind. The sole thought was Wormtail and the betrayal of his parents.

"My father never had the chance. He died knowing that you had betrayed him." The line of his wand did not waver as the serene look on Wormtail's face fell. A look of terror washed over his face as he heard Harry mouth the words, "Phantomus Avada Kedavra!"

The light green light hit Wormtail with a force that could have easily killed a man. However, he was still alive, this much Harry knew as he dashed to Hermione's side. She was still lying on the ground, unconscious. He gathered her limp form to his chest.

"Mione. Please. Wake up," he whispered into her hair, tears beginning to form in his eyes. He heard a shuffle behind him and turned. Draco stood next to him.

"We need to get them home," he said quietly as he offered Harry a hand up. Harry nodded and took the proffered hand. Standing up, he brushed himself off, before leaning down to gather up Hermione. Draco walked back to Akilah and Padma. He conjured three sketchers and lifted Akilah and Padma onto them. He turned to take Hermione and Harry shook his head.

"I'd rather take her."

"Alright. Well, I have no idea where the bloody portkey went, so I guess we'll just have to apparate to the gates."

"Are you sure it's safe to apparate with them?"

"Normally, no. But I'm sure we can handle it."

Harry nodded. Draco grasped onto the two stretchers and with a pop had disappeared. Harry followed immediately thereafter.

He looked up at Hogwarts. The imposing castle loomed ahead as they walked and Harry was eerily reminded of the night in third year when he had finally met Sirius. It was night time and the bright lights from the castle looked cold and distant, instead of welcoming as they usually appeared.

The trek to the castle was slow going, as Draco was managing the two stretchers carefully and Harry's arms were too full to help. He occasionally glanced down at the still form in his arms. She looked as if she was sleeping and Harry allowed his mind to trail back to the nights that she had slept in his bed. Her small form, close against his, flooding him with warmth and comfort. He sighed and leaned his head down to kiss her awkwardly on the head.

They reached the castle doors and struggled to get through them, finally getting inside and making their way up to the Hospital Wing.

The castle was eerily silent as they walked upstairs, but Harry paid no attention. His only concern was making sure Hermione was safe.

Madam Pomfrey merely nodded at the boys as they walked in and immediately set about checking on the girls. As soon as he had set Hermione down on one of the beds, Harry sank into a chair. The exhaustion finally got the better of him. It was nearly midnight and his mind struggled to stay awake.

His head snapped up as the door to the infirmary burst open. A figure with black robes strode purposefully into the room and walked right up to Harry, who was now standing, wide awake.

"Potter," said a strange voice. A hand reached up and pulled the hood back.

Fury consumed him. Nothing could have prevented him from performing what would perhaps be the most uncharacteristic action in his life. Without so much as a scruple, Harry Potter pulled his arm back and swung his fist into the face of one Peter Pettigrew.

Pettigrew reeled and fell back, tripping and falling across one of the hospital beds.

Draco stared at Harry, who was now pointing his wand at the still man.

Madam Pomfrey looked panic stricken at the scene in her hospital wing.

"God dammit Harry!"

With a look of fierce anger, Arabella pulled herself off of the bed. "I come up here to tell you that you'll be receiving full marks on the OWLs and what do I get? Throttled. Bloody fantastic. What are you going to do? Put the full body bind on me?" she said, turning to face Draco.

"Erm, Arabella, you have a little something right there," he motioned towards the side of his chin.

Arabella reached a hand up and wiped away the blood at the corner of her mouth. "What in the bloody hell was that for, Harry?"

"What do you mean? I got full marks on the OWLs? What OWLs? And why are you disguised as Pettigrew?" he spat back at her, still seething.

"It was a test! I'm dressed as Pettigrew so that I could test your duelling skills."

Harry looked at her as if she'd just said that Snape would be performing karaoke in the Great Hall dressed as a ballerina. His face quickly dissolved into anger again as he clenched his fists at his side. "A test?! That was a bloody test?! Are you mad? We could have been killed! Look at Hermione and the rest! They've been hurt! Badly. This is a sick sort of test."

"Well, what did you expect? That we'd do give you written essays on the benefits of the tickling charm? Or that we'd play Duelling Charades? Where two people act out a duel and you try and figure out what ruddy spells they're using? Honestly, Harry, use your brain, Merlin knows you've got one."

Harry shook with anger, but he kept his mouth clamped shut. Arabella left them with instructions to rest up and be prepared for the presentations the next day. She fixed Harry with another dirty look before walking back out of the hospital wing.

***

Harry collapsed on his bed, the events of the previous day echoing in his mind. He was exhausted in every way imaginable. He had spent the entire night sitting by Hermione in the hospital wing. When she had awoken, Madam Pomfrey allowed him to take her back to the door and once she was safely tucked in his bed, he went to take a shower.

He walked from the bathroom, running a hand haphazardly through his damp hair. He sighed and pulled back the duvet cover on his bed. Hermione was curled up on the other side, fast asleep. He leaned over and kissed her softly on the forehead before going back to his side of the bed. As his head hit the soft, downy pillows, he closed his tired eyes, welcoming reprieve from the exhaustion that was racking his body. He sighed audibly as the tense muscles in his back began to stretch themselves out, the tingling sensations of the relaxing muscles echoed throughout his body as he felt his consciousness slipping away into the recesses of his mind.

***

"Harry! Wake up! You have to get dressed!" Hermione was leaning over him, shaking him gently.

He opened his eyes reluctantly, peering at the Muggle clock next to his bed. It was already nine o'clock. He'd missed breakfast. Struggling to pull himself up, Harry looked around the room. His eyesight hadn't fully recovered yet and everything looked a bit hazy. He stretched lazily and fell back on the bed.

"Harry, no. You have to give your presentation with Draco today. Wake up," she shook him again softly and he groaned at the mention of the presentation. Of course, he'd completely forgotten. Grudgingly, Harry got out of his bed and walked to the bathroom. He showered and changed into a set of school robes. After attempting, and failing to do something with his hair, he walked out to the lounge, where Hermione was reclined on one of the sofas.

"Morning. I made you toast."

"Thanks. Are you giving your presentation today?"

"Sometimes I wonder if you pay any attention. Only you and Draco are presenting today. And besides that, you're presenting in the Great Hall."

"I knew that."

"Are you nervous?"

"Not really. Draco has the thing scripted, what could go wrong?"

Hermione shrugged. She brightened suddenly. "Harry, could I borrow the Marauder's Map today? I want to see if Ami and my parents come to the presentation."

"Sure, but I didn't know it showed them."

"Of course it does. It shows everyone at Hogwarts."

***

"Potter, the most important thing to remember is this: Don't screw up."

"Shut up, Malfoy."

The two boys sat in the front row of the Great Hall, which had been divided in half and turned into a lecture hall for the week's worth of presentations by IMS students. Most of the students were in attendance, as the teachers had offered extra credit. Dumbledore stood on the small stage and looked out over the audience.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to get started quickly, so, without further ado, Mr. Harry Potter and Mr. Draco Malfoy."

Both boys stood and made their way to the stage. Draco walked directly to the podium while Harry moved to stand slightly off to the side.

The presentation had definitely been designed by Draco. The sole purpose of it seemed to be putting Harry through his paces. Draco spent nearly forty five minutes placing Harry under various spells.

At one point, near the end, Harry was standing and waiting for the final demonstration. Draco had constructed an elaborate scheme that allowed for their audience to actually view a dream. The main idea was that Draco would be put Harry under a sleeping charm, and then cast an incantation that would allow him to enter Harry's dream. They had found that Draco would be able to somewhat control the dream just by being there. However, for it to work properly, Draco had to be placed into a sleep charm as well.

"We had originally planned for Headmaster Dumbledore to cast the sleep charm, but as a special treat, Minister Connolly, who is here today to view the presentation, has agreed to do it," Draco said, putting on a fake smile as he talked into the microphone.

Harry was truly surprised. He hadn't even noticed the Minister of Magic. He watched as Connolly ascended the stairs onto the stage, giving Harry a brief nod and smile. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry caught Hermione's gaze. She was holding the Marauder's Map open in her lap and had a panicked looked on her face. She was gesturing wildly, while attempting not to attract too much attention. She saw him and leaned her head towards the direction of the podium. Harry looked and saw Minister Connolly looking right at him, with a very peculiar look on his face.

Suddenly, the Minister had raised his wand at Harry. He quickly said an incantation, but it was barely audible.

"Harry! Watch out!" Hermione screamed, making a dash for the stage.

The spell hit him and Harry fell to the ground.

***


Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter thirteen! Also, special thanks to Elliott, my Fairy God Beta and to Mae, for all her help with this chatper! Please review! For updates, art, and ficlets visit The Power of Three! at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/powerthree .