A/N- Oh my, has it really been that long since I last posted? I am sooo sorry! I've been like so busy, with teachers constantly demanding that homework be handed in on time. Like what's up with that? I also had a little trouble starting writing this one, so I hope it is still ok.

Also, I finally got around to changing the mistake in chapter 7, like the whole deal with the Marauder Map, since Harry doesn't have it. So that's fixed up. Hope you like the chapter!

Chapter 16

Yawning, Harry stretches and slowly opens his eyes. The pile of presents had been moved from the hospital back to the foot of his bed.

Ron wakes up too, and approaches his gifts. The two quickly, like two crazy three years old, start tearing away at their gifts.

Ron, once again, received a maroon sweater from his mother, a book "All About the Chudley Canons" from Harry, "Keep Your Chess Pieces Happy," from Hermione along with some chocolate frogs and every flavor beans. The twins gave him a small bundle of tricks.

Harry unwraps an emerald sweater from Mrs. Weasley. From Ron, quite unusually, he got a book, "Dead Dark Wizards." Next came Hermione's gift, which, quite normally, appeared to also be a book. He opens it and finds "Professional Quidditch- Tips, Hints, Training and All You Need to Know." There was an inscription on the inside cover, in Hermione's neat handwriting: Over the summer, Viktor kept saying how well you flew and insisted that this book is for you. Someday he said he'd be asking for your autograph instead of you asking him.

'So she did go see Krum, she never answered when we asked her, she just looked away and changed the subject. This Quidditch book will come in handy when we start- wait a minute- QUIDDITCH!'

Harry jumps off his bed and runs down the stairs to the Common Room with Ron following behind.

"Fred, George, come here," Harry says panting, slightly winded from the short sprint, making him realize how out of shape he has become from staying immobile for over a month. "What happened with Quidditch? Did we have to forfeit?"

"Harry, was that all you were truly thinking about when you were zonked out?"

"Yeah, Oliver would be proud, don't ya think George?"

"For sure."

"Nah, McGonagall said we'd play our games when our captain woke up-

"From his beauty sleep-

"Given the circumstances."

"Good, but we're going to be behind. Did you guys at least fly a little bit?"

"Yeah, we reckoned after the first week that we'd start so we had a few unofficial practices."

'Well, it'll be nothing compared to what I'll put them through.'

"Who's in the lead?"

"Ravenclaw."

"Yeah, Malfoy missed the snitch as it was dancing around his head the whole game."

"Shows money can't beat talent," Harry replies and heads back upstairs to change into some clothes. In five minutes they head off for breakfast.

Looking outside at the beautiful coat of snow, the six decide to have yet another snowball fight, but this one promises to be more appealing.

After some toast, bacon, and eggs, they head out of the Great Hall. "Harry, would you mind coming here for a minute," a voice whispers in his ear.

"Hey guys, I'll meet you outside."

"Ok," five voices echo back.

"Yes sir?" Harry says turning his attention back to Dumbledore.

"Good to have you back, Harry."

"It's good to be back. So what did happen when you found me? I suppose that is what you want to talk about?"

"Yes, but no. I first wanted to ask you if you were feeling alright, making sure there are no side effects from surviving the killing curse."

"How do you know that was what I was hit with?"

"We did check the last spell you conjured."

"So you think I tried to commit suicide?"

"Me? Harry, I thought you would have had more faith than that. I didn't, I knew you didn't, since the Dark Mark was in the sky, but I can't come to believe you used it against someone else either."

"Very true, I wouldn't stoop to his level. I was tricked, and no more is needed to know, although I do believe you had it figured it out before I woke up."

"Possible," was Dumbledore's only reply, but Harry could tell what he really meant by the twinkle in his eye.

"But Sir, how was I able to conjure a spell I don't even know?"

"Harry, you remember what I told you at the end of your first year about the night of your parents death?"

"Yes."

"When you stripped Voldemort of his powers, part of him and his powers went into you, the reason why you can speak parsletongue. Salazar Slytherin invented the death curse and his descendants always had the knowledge of being able to conjure the horrid spell. Since you have some of his powers, even if you don't know it, somewhere in your subconscious mind, the knowledge is there, faintly, but there."

"But how could I survive it again?"

"Although you know how to, your spell couldn't have been able to do it to its full force without practicing it a little bit. Also, I don't believe you were trying very hard, since you did let the Imperious curse take control of you."

Harry pauses, understanding this and letting everything soak in. "Sir, what will happen when Voldemort finds out I am still alive?"

"Oh, he'll be enraged, horribly humiliated for being tricked. Who knows what he'll do? Best to be prepared, the possibilities are quite endless."

"They are."

"You may go now, but Harry, I understand how you feel, and you, know it couldn't have possibly have been your fault."

Without a word, Harry turns and leaves.

"Severus, he's taking it too hard."

Out of the midst of nowhere, Severus Snape appears and mutters, "Potter has always been a stubborn git, he'll learn the hard way." With a quick swift of his cloak, Snape hurries down the corridor.

"Oh Severus, and how stubborn you can be over such little things of the past," the headmaster silently whispers under his breath.

****

"Harry, where are you going?"

"Hey Sirius, Remus. I'm going outside for a long awaited snowball fight. Care to join?"

"Er…not right now. We have a few things to attend to, maybe we'll join you later."

"Alright, until then."

They head off in their separate directions.

****

"Are you sure this is a good thing to do, I mean-"

"Of course, it is rightfully ours isn't it?"

"Very true."

Silently, one of the two mutters the password and enters through the portrait.

"I can't believe we got the password to get in."

"We weren't considered marauders for nothing."

Silently the pair go up a spiral staircase. They enter a room, dim from the winter's shady afternoon sun. While on places a piece of parchment on one of the beds, the other opens one of the trunks and carefully places something inside it. Snickering, the two leave and head for the Entrance Hall.

As they leave a barn owl swoops in and drops a parcel on the bed.

****

'Now where could Fred and George be?' Harry muses as he makes his way towards Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, the twins nowhere in sight. "Hey…" Harry calls out but is interrupted as two figures spring up behind him rub two beautiful snowballs on his head and down his back.

"This means war!"

After that simple statement, before anyone actually knows it, a full fledge snowball war erupts, snow flying everywhere. After every inch of their bodies were soaked to the bone, they fall to the ground laughing maniacally. 'God, it's good to be alive,' Harry thinks.

Soon enough, Sirius, Lupin, Arabella Figg, Moody, and a few unrecognized faces emerge from the castle and bombard the students.

The first ever World Snowball War begins.

As all the snow flies, Harry motions for Fred and George to follow. They leave the battlefield to make a few 'special' snowballs, courtesy of the next generation marauders. They carefully sneak back.

"They'll never know-

"What hit them!" The twins whisper, finishing each other's sentence.

CRACK!

Everyone stops and all eyes turn towards a now immobile Sirius. The twins and Harry use the pause to their advantage.

POUF!

POUF!

POP!

The two unknown wizards turn, skin and all, beautiful shades of neon yellow and pink. Where Remus was standing, a cute bullfrog sits in its place.

POP!

POW!

Moody turns into the famous ferret, once appeared as Malfoy the previous year and another standing beside him starts to do ballet. Harry quickly mutters something under his breath and they all freeze in place. He quickly, using his only chance, says 'fotografius' and takes off toward the castle, with the others trailing not that far behind. They only stop once, at the great oak doors, to see their professors begin to de-freeze.

They run at full speed to their Common Room. Harry quickly snatches a piece of parchment. Lightly tapping his wand against it, mutters 'fotografius montra'

Instantly, a picture of their dear morphed professors appears.

"Hey Harry, how'd you do that?" Fred anxiously asks.

"It's a spell to take a picture without an actual camera. I learnt that plus all the other great spells I performed today from a certain book I have," Harry replies, referring to his birthday gift from Hermione.

"Why aren't the pictures moving though?" George inquires.

"It's only a Muggle photograph. You can't take a regular wizard photo without an actual camera and film."

"Oh."

****

Arabella Figg, the only fortunate one outside to not have been transformed one way or another, was frantically trying to undo the spells. Nothing was working. What she didn't know was that the spells couldn't be taken off by magic, an added touch by Harry. They head off for lunch

****

As the 'slightly modified' teachers enter the Great Hall, the students burst out laughing anew. As they sit down at the staff table, Dumbledore quietly whispers in Sirius ear, who was only starting to be able to move freely, "Ahh, I see you've been fooled by one of your own. You've got some new competition I see." His eyes quickly flick towards Harry.

Grumbling, the professors sit down and eat.

****

Harry, reluctantly, but on Hermione's insistence, spent the afternoon reading and studying. Oh joy.

"Harry, you need to catch up, you're behind because of-

"I know Hermione now let me read in peace."

Hermione slowly rises and returns to her Arithmancy homework.

****

Retiring to their four posters that night, Harry lies down with a 'thump'.

"Oww!"

"What is it Harry?"

"There's something on my bed."

Eagerly Ron goes over by Harry to see a large parcel lying in the middle of his bed. Harry slowly and carefully takes off the paper wrapping. A book lays in his hands, and not just any book. Engraves onto the thick volume, in fancy old style handwriting was:

DEFEATING THE DARK ARTS

In smaller writing beneath these words were:

AUTHOR: UNKNOWN

"How could a book be published and the author not be known?"

"No idea Ron."

"And bloody baron 'Defeating the Dark Arts'? You think someone gave it to you because they think-

"I'll defeat Voldemort?" Harry finished his friend's sentence for him, ignoring, as usual, the way he flinches at the mention of the Dark Lord's name.

"Well come on, what are you waiting for? Open it and see."

Harry casually tries to flip open the cover, but is unsuccessful. He tries again, pulling a little harder. Nothing happens. Using all of his strength, he tries to pry it open. It doesn't budge.

"Well?"

"It won't open."

"What do you mean, it won't open?"

"It won't open. Here, you try."

Ron tries but has the result as Harry: Nothing.

"It must stay closed by magic."

"But why would someone give me a book I cannot open?"

"Don't ask me, must be some old nut head who forgot to take the spell off before sending it."

"Must be," Harry replies, not at all convinced by Ron's explanation.

"G'night Harry."

"Goodnight Ron."

Harry puts the mysterious book in his trunk and is about to pull back his covers and hop into bed when he notices a piece of parchment lying on his pillow. 'Could this be a note from the sender of the book?'

He opens the letter to find that there were only a few words written on the paper:

'The secrets of Hogwarts has been returned to you'

A/N- Oooooh, now what could that be? I bet you guys can guess or already know, but that's ok. I've decided to start replying to my reviewers, but I can't do it all from the start because I have no idea if everyone that did is still reading. I'll do all the recent ones for last chapter or two, and keep on from there!

Eleanor - No, this is definitely not the end, there's still more to come! I know my typing isn't very good, so bear with me.

Stella02 – A 10? Thank you, I'm glad you like it!

Slytherin Head Boy – My neopet is good, hope yours is too. American? Impossible! C'est cent our cent du bon Canadien. Rien de plus rien de moins. Tout ce qu'il a besoin de c'est une bonne match de hockey. Hockey? Hmmmmm…….. ;)

blanc_kevin – Thanks for the praise! I feel so special now! J Glad you like it!

Sweetness – Thanks, and sorry for not posting faster! I reviewed your story, I think it is starting off good and that others should go check it out…..*hint *hint

Pamela-Potter-24 – I finally got around to posting…hope it is approved! Also, to answer your review, Harry inherited more than just looks from his father! Post on your story soon, you guys are doing good!

Kat – You think so? Oh well, everyone has their opinions, I respect that. Thanks for your point of view!

Valerie – you'll have to wait to find out! Hope you enjoyed the chapter

Tasch – Don't worry about it, I can use all the criticize I get, it helps me improve things. I agree Dumbledore doesn't shout…I even forget where I made him, I'll have to check that. But I think he would if he is mad enough. Thanks for reading!

Madison – Glad you liked

_moondust_13 – Yeah, I don't really like writing Moody, I guess I didn't capture his character that well. I agree that only JKR can write Harry Potter, but I can try to fake it. I have to do something while waiting for book 5 J

scarsky – Thank you. Keep up the good work with the guild, I think you're doing a good job. And keep your stories coming, I like 'em!

Wink at J00 – Oh my wonderful beta! Keep up the good work, and keep writing!

Ok, I think that's everyone, if I missed someone I am so sorry! Just tell me by e-mail or review – dianahoule@hotmail.com

laterz~didihoulio