Ditto2001: Not change schools, eh? ::Takes out pen and pad:: That's one for
'A'. Whoo hoo! I have a vote!
Person Who Loves Your Story: I like your name. . .lol, I'm honored that I get your very first ever review! I was a little depressed last chapter 'cuz I didn't get very many reviews, but hey, they're rolling in this time! So glad that you joined in!
Hermione Freak: Did it really take that long to read it? Hmm. . .sheesh, I guess it's longer than I thought. . .but it was time well spent, huh? Lol, I guess you must have liked it to write such a nice review! Your wish is my command! Here's the next chapter!
Englishgirl: Glad you've enjoyed reading it! More to come. . .I'm thinking like five or six more chapters, not including this one, and an epilogue. . .somewhere around there. . .
Laterose: My sentiments exactly! Well. . .Harry doesn't exactly want to be a murderer any earlier than he has to. . .but hopefully you'll find this chapter somewhat fulfilling!
Leaf: So that's two down for 'A'. . .I have a feeling Malfoy's gonna stick around for a while. . .About the prank. . .yeah. . .it's kinda really stupid. . .but as I said before, I was listening to 'Kung Fu Fighting' and it just kinda hit me. . .oh well. . .gosh, I hope I didn't ruin the surprise. . .hmmm, nah! As for Home for the Holidays, I'll update you as soon as I update it. . .I have a lot of it written already. . .I'm just missing one small linker chapter. I guess I'll work on it, it's not like I don't have the time! Expect an e-mail by the end of this month!
ZeonReborn: Wow, finally a 'B'. . .I take it you don't like Malfoy? Yeah, well, I'm not too fond of him either. . .hitting Harry with a bludger like that. . .I'm getting mad just thinking about it. . .
Katy999: Another for 'A'. . .that makes it 3 to 1 that Malfoy stays. . .hehehehe, won't say anything here but. . .if he does end up staying it could make the sequel VERY interesting. . .
Lady FoxFire: 'B'! Now it's 3 to 2. . .it's getting closer! Thanks for your opinion!
Hedowl5: 4 to 2. . .A's winning. . .I guess Malfoy's most likely gonna end up sticking around. . .thanks for reviewing!
Adenara Yatman: Thank you! 5 to 2. . .A
Dominey: Everyone's so nice! Thanks for your review! Put me right back in the happy mood again! Okay everyone, it's now 6 to 2. . .hmmmm. . .I wonder
Wanted: Love
Ch27: NEVER Tick off a Potter
"Mr. Potter! This is the third time! What is it going to take to keep you in bed!?" Madame Pomfrey said, exasperated, as she carried Harry back to his bed.
"Aw, come on, Madame P! It's been four days already!" Harry exclaimed, attempting to free himself from the nurses' grasp, for an aged woman she was rather strong.
"With all this sneaking about you've been doing lately I might have to keep you for another week." Pomfrey said as she dropped him into his bed and pulled his blankets over him.
Harry struggled to sit up under her arms which were attempting to keep him lying down, "A week!? But I'm fine! Honest to Merlin, I feel great!"
Pomfrey finally gave into him sitting up and sat herself down on the neighboring bed, "You're going to be the end of me, Potter."
"Does that mean I can go?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Don't push your luck," she said as she stood up and poured the familiar muddy potion into a cup, "*If* you stay in that bed for the rest of tonight and tomorrow, *then* you can go. Is it a deal?"
Harry sighed and nodded, "Better than nothing, I suppose."
Pomfrey smiled and handed him the cup, "I don't know how you heal so fast--- and don't give me that look, young man. You'll drink every drop of that or I might just change my mind."
His face had automatically contorted as he was handed the glass and he blanched at the first sip, "As good as ever, I see."
The nurse laughed and shook her head, "Every drop, Mr. Potter, every drop."
"Harry! Harry, guess what!" Ron shouted, running into the room.
Grateful for the distraction, Harry smiled at his friend, "What?"
"Don't even think about it, Potter. You'll drink that this instant." Pomfrey said sternly.
Ron hid his smile as Harry groaned and downed the last of the mucky substance before grabbing the last of his pumpkin juice from dinner and drinking it.
"Did it help any?" Ron asked sarcastically.
"Don't even start with that again, Ron." Harry said, curling his lip as the taste continued to manifest itself in his mouth.
Luckily, Madame Pomfrey had taken the sleeping potion out of the mixture so he didn't feel the least bit tired, though, he was beginning to wonder if that was, in fact, a good thing. Pomfrey, satisfied that the potion was gone, left the two to talk in private.
"So what's so important?" Harry asked, now running his tongue under his teeth. Ron opened his mouth to answer when Lavender and Hermione came panting into the room.
"Ron Weasley! Where do you get off leaving us in the Great Hall like that?" Lavender asked, smacking him upside the head before turning to Harry and smile, "Hey, Harry."
"Do any of you mind telling me what's going on?" Harry asked.
"The professors were passing out flyers at dinner." Hermione said, handing him a yellow piece of paper.
"*Another* dueling club?" Harry asked incredibly.
"Calm yourself, Mr. Malfoy. It's not that bad." Pomfrey said, leading Malfoy into the room. Covered in red bumps and scratching insanely at his skin.
"What did you eat anyway?" she asked him as she looked through her cabinet for the proper potion.
"I don't know!" Malfoy said irritably, "It must have been pepperoni but I didn't see any!"
Harry looked to his friends and mouthed, "You?"
"Us?" Hermione whispered innocently, "Never."
He bit back his laugh and watched on entertained as Pomfrey forced Malfoy to stop itching for a minute and drink the potion she had poured for him. Almost immediately he stopped grating his skin, but his face and arms, where he had been scratching, was red and trickled with small amounts blood.
Pomfrey clicked her tongue and shook her head, "You *had* to scratch, didn't you? Even after I told you not to. . .hold on a minute and I'll get you some ointment."
After she said this she bustled out of the room and Ron turned his attention back to their group, "So, you going to go with us?"
Harry glanced back at the flyer, "I don't know. I get enough dueling in down in the Chamber, why would I want to go and fight some more?"
"You'll be able to whip everyone's sorry pa-toot, that's why." Lavender said smugly.
The three snorted and Lavender pursed her lips, "What? It's true."
"I doubt any of you would want me to 'whip your sorry pa-toot.' . . .What's a pa-toot anyway?" Harry asked, puzzled.
A blush crept upon her cheeks as Ron and Hermione snickered on either side of her, "Oh, leave me alone."
"That's freezing!" Malfoy cried, drawing their attention back to where Pomfrey had returned and started treatment.
"Hush your mouth, Mr. Malfoy. Honestly, you could learn a thing or two from Mr. Potter over there." she said, nodding her head in Harry's direction.
"Yeah, like how to tick you off by trying to sneak out of the hospital wing." Malfoy said sarcastically.
"Shove it Malfoy! It would be a lot easier to do if she didn't come to check up on me every five minutes." Harry said defensively.
Malfoy rolled his eyes as Pomfrey gave the Slytherin the okay to leave. On his way out he stopped, "See you at the club meeting, Potter. . .if you've got enough guts to face me again."
Once he was gone the four broke out laughing.
"I can't believe he bought it!" Ron exclaimed through the water developing in his eyes.
"This is WAY too easy." Hermione said with a look of superiority on her face.
Harry got out of bed and bent down next to his bed side table. Opening the drawer he pulled out a check list and a quill, "Phase One complete. Onto phase two."
"Come on, Harry! Ron, Hermione! If we hurry we can still catch him!" Lavender said, pulling on Ron's arm.
They and Hermione started to the door in a hurried manner and Harry chased after them, "Wait!"
Turning around they saw Harry staring wearily at the door before looking back to them, "If Madame P co---"
"Harry Potter! You get your butt back in that bed this instant before I have to put a body bind on you!"
**************
"---And where are the clothes?" Harry asked Peeves in the dead of night.
Ever since the first prank the Marauders had pulled, Peeves had become quite helpful in their endeavors. Fearing Harry's powers, and admiring his prank power, Peeves had willingly assisted them in any way he could.
"Sirius is keeping them in his room, and Remus is keeping the props in his room." Peeves said, cackling.
"Shh, if Madame P finds me up this late she's liable to keep me in this bed for another week or two." Harry said, casting a glance at the door.
Peeves scrunched his face, "I still don't see why you don't just blast *her* until she lets you go."
"For the last time, I'm sorry. Besides, I don't know exactly what I did to you. She's alive, who's to say it won't kill her?" Harry asked.
"And it's back to the stereotyping the dead! I could still feel that, you know!" Peeves screeched.
"Shh! I'm sorry, alright? Sheesh, you'd think I insulted your mother with the way you're carrying on about it."
"Don't talk about my mother!" Peeves shrieked.
"Shh! Fine, I'm sorry! Merlin! It's like you *want* to get me in trouble." Harry said, shaking his head.
"How'd you guess?" Peeves said smirking, "Well, as much as I enjoy our little conversations, I have to get going. There's a cat wandering around here somewhere who needs to be taught a lesson."
With that he flew out of the hospital wing, leaving Harry alone to wonder what misfortunes Mrs. Norris was soon going to encounter. Sighing, he leaned against the headboard. Sleep definitely wasn't coming anytime soon. One more day, one more day and he would finally be able to wander around the school again when he couldn't sleep.
"You think they'd learn by now, wouldn't you agree?"
Harry snapped back from his day dreaming to see Lucius Malfoy standing at the foot of his bed. Quicker than lightening, he had grabbed his wand from his bed side table and was standing on his mattress.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" he asked dangerously.
"Must you always assume that I come to harm you?" Malfoy asked in mock hurt.
Harry raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that what you always do?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment before drawing his wand out from within his robes, "Yes, I suppose you're right. . .odd. This looks familiar."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked cautiously.
Malfoy let out a soft, cruel laugh, "Oh yes, that's right. You look exactly like your father did back then. . .It's a pity he figured it out, if only I had been a bit quicker, perhaps I would have saved myself the trouble of having to hunt you down."
Harry had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, "What do you mean?"
"And your mother would have been put out of her misery far sooner than----"
"What about my mum!?" Harry interrupted him.
Malfoy laughed again, "No, I suppose I wasted too much time having my fun with her. . .her screams were most entertaining. . .too bad you couldn't hear them---"
Still not completely sure of what he was talking about; Harry felt an intense surge of hatred and anger at the man. Almost automatically, he lowered his wand to meet its victim and shouted, "Inpendium Broxus!"
It was almost as if an atomic bomb had been let off in the school. The walls shook violently and threatened to crumble at any minute. An invisible force of windy power blew throughout every corner of the school. Dust made it nearly impossible to see anything, and the screams of terrified students who had been rudely awakened echoed off every wall, though they were practically drowned out by the loud, ominous boom that ripped at every ear drum of every person within a fifty mile radius.
For close to five minutes this went on. When it finally died down, Malfoy was gone, though a puddle of blood had formed where he had once been standing. Harry, completely drained by the spell, fell. His body hit the cold stone floor, as his legs remained on his bed, twisted in the blankets. One of his arms was trapped under his body and the other was outstretched, wand a few feet away. He felt himself begin to drift off into a deep sleep as footsteps rushed into the room.
"Oh my God!" Pomfrey yelled, seeing the blood on the floor, "Harry! Harry are you still here!?"
Harry wanted to answer her but was too tired to; it was taking all he had to keep himself awake as it was. Suddenly, he heard someone running over to him. He felt himself being held up into a sitting position and he relaxed against the warm body.
"Harry, can you hear me?" Pomfrey asked, feeling his cheeks which were a little chilled.
"Poppy?"
Pomfrey turned around and saw Dumbledore standing in the doorway with Tali, Remus, and Sirius, "Albus, I don't know what happened. One minute I'm sleeping, the next I wake up and it's like the castle was going to fall down!"
"Harry, is he okay?" Tali asked a little frantically as the four of them reached the two.
The nurse looked back to the boy in her arms, "Yes, I think he's just fainted."
". . .No. . .'wake. . ."
The adults felt an enormous amount of relief as Harry said those two simple words and wearily cracked open his eyes.
"You feel okay, Harry?" Sirius asked.
Harry nodded slightly, "Just tired."
"Here, take him, Black. I'll go get some of that energy booster." Pomfrey said.
Sirius knelt on the ground and gently took his godson, "What happened, Harry?"
Despite his tiredness, Harry felt his eyes narrow and lip curl, ". . .Malfoy. . ."
"Draco?" asked Dumbledore.
Harry shook his head and the adults looked at each other, "Lucius?"
He nodded this and closed his eyes. He was so tired. None of the other spells he knew wore him down like this any more, so why should this one? And beyond that question was one of more dire importance: what had Malfoy meant.
"Come on, Harry. Stay awake. We need to talk." Sirius said, urging him to keep his eyes open.
"Here we go." Pomfrey said, walking back in the room with a steaming cup in her hands.
The cup was put to his lips and after a few minutes all of the liquid was downed. A huge yawn erupted from his lips and Harry blinked a couple times before sitting up on his own.
"And it still tastes like troll boogies." he said with a slight cringe.
"Now, Harry, what happened?" Dumbledore asked.
"Harry! Are you okay!?" Hermione asked, hyperventilating as she, Lavender, and Ron ran into the hospital wing in their pajamas.
"Yeah, fine. Sorry to wake you." Harry said with a small smirk.
"What the hell did you do this time?" Ron asked incredibly.
He shrugged, "It was just a spell."
"Harry. . ." Tali said, drawing him back to their conversation.
He looked down and chewed on the inside corner of his mouth, ". . .What did he do to my mum?"
The Marauders looked at him questioningly, but the adults looked nervously at each other and remained silent. Harry began to get a bit nervous himself at their reluctance to answer and began again, "What---"
"Harry, I'm not sure you want to know. . ." Remus led off.
He shook his head, "Tell me."
Sirius, Tali, and Remus' eyes all held looks of deep pain which confused Harry even more. It had to be something bad to cause this type of reaction.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Dumbledore smiling sadly at him, "Are you sure?"
Hesitating only a moment, Harry slowly nodded.
"I'll do it, Dumbledore." Remus said quietly.
Everyone looked at him as he stood up and put a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Let's go for a walk, Harry."
Harry did nothing as he allowed himself to be steered out of the hospital wing. A few students were braving the halls, probably in hopes of finding out what had happened, but one look from Remus sent them right back to their common rooms.
They had been walking around for at least a half hour and yet not a single word had been exchanged between the two. Harry's feet were beginning to go numb as he didn't even have any socks on, yet he refused to say anything for fear of being forced back to the infirmary and not getting an explanation. Finally, when Harry was beginning to think that he couldn't take it any more, Remus spoke.
"You're parents, Tali, Sirius, and myself had quite a seventh year here." he said with an unreadable smile.
Harry nodded, not really sure of what else to do. From what he was able to piece together, he made an educated guess that he didn't mean a fun-filled year. Other than that, he didn't want to interrupt what was probably a carefully crafted story that the elder wanted to get out as quickly as possible without any interruptions.
"I know you're not going to want to believe this. . .but at one point in her life, your mother was. . .engaged to Lucius Malfoy."
Harry felt his face contort itself in disgust, and despite what he had promised himself about not interrupting, he couldn't help it, "She was what!?"
Remus turned to face him and smiled grimly, "That's about what we said when we found out."
"But why!?" Harry asked horror.
". . .That's where it gets complicated, Harry. You see. . .you know about Merlin's prophecy, as did Voldemort. At the time, he, Dumbledore, and James were about the only ones who did know. Not even Sirius and I knew of it, that's how tight of a secret it was.
Anyway, Voldemort had many spies at Hogwarts to make certain that any Muggle borns who showed any possibility of developing a relationship with James were kept out of the picture---no Harry, they didn't kill them. It was just a matter of keeping their love life full." Remus explained.
Harry slowly started to sink this in, "So. . .Malfoy was dating my mum to keep her away from my dad?"
Remus nodded, "You got it."
"But why would she get herself engaged to a Malfoy?" Harry asked, still disgusted at the fact. To think that if things had gone a little differently, he might be Draco's brother. He shuddered at the thought.
Remus seemed a little uneased by this question, though he supposed he should have known it was coming, "Well, Harry. . .the story is much too long and complicated to lay out in one night. . .but to make it short and simple, there was something that none of us knew. . ."
He really looked to be struggling to hold down his emotions and Harry began to get unnerved though he remained silent, "You see. . .Malfoy. . .he. . .he hurt her, Harry."
Harry's eyes bugged at this as his fists clenched at his sides and he was positive that his blood had begun to boil. However, no matter his aching to let out something in anger, he couldn't find his voice.
'He *hurt* her?' his mind asked, unable to register it, 'Malfoy *hurt* my mum!?'
Remus waited for Harry to say something, but when nothing came, he continued, pain emanating from his eyes at the memory, ". . .It was his job to keep her away from James. . .it didn't work too well, though. She and James, they still fell in love, though. . .Lily was too afraid of Lucius to take it anywhere."
". . .He. . .hurt. . .?" Harry was still having difficulty finding the words.
". . .It gets worse. . ."
Harry flinched at this but nodded for him to continue which he did, "A couple of days before the wedding James and Sirius found out something. . .they heard Lucius talking to someone. . .It turned out that he was planning to. . .to. . .*kill* her on their wedding night."
Harry got a raspy growl at the back of his throat that erupted with every breath and he glowered into the darkness.
"They told Tali and I, Peter was in the infirmary at the time, and we went to confront him about it. . .he had us locked up, almost killed us too. . .We're not too sure what happened, while we were locked up. . .but we got to Malfoy Manor just in time. Lily was screaming and bleeding with Malfoy hovering over her. . .I swear to Merlin we would have killed him that night if Dumbledore hadn't showed up and stopped us. . .Harry?---Hey, Harry, where are you going!?"
Harry was storming off down the hall and didn't even bother to answer him. His mind reeled with unsuppressed hatred. He had never experienced anything like this before. He knew it was possible to hate the Malfoys more. . .but not this much.
How DARE that bastard Lucius hurt his mother! And his father! And his friends! He might not know the whole story, but he was willing to bet everything he owned that Wormtail was in the infirmary that night on purpose!
He didn't know where he was going, but he trusted his feet and allowed them to carry him to where ever it was they wanted to go. For, Harry had no doubt, it would lead him to a certain blond haired Slytherin who was about to get a little taste of hell. . .
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So? I know I said this was going to be a prank on Malfoy chapter, but I had to let you guys in on this little bit of the past sooner or later and I figured, 'Hey, why not give Harry a little more of a push?' No worries, though, Malfoy will live. . .after all, the results of the poll are in and it looks like Malfoy's gonna turn out to still hate the Dream Team, but not be that bad. . .And I promise, next chapter: Malfoy's getting it! And the chapter after that. . .it begins. . .oh, you know what. . .
Person Who Loves Your Story: I like your name. . .lol, I'm honored that I get your very first ever review! I was a little depressed last chapter 'cuz I didn't get very many reviews, but hey, they're rolling in this time! So glad that you joined in!
Hermione Freak: Did it really take that long to read it? Hmm. . .sheesh, I guess it's longer than I thought. . .but it was time well spent, huh? Lol, I guess you must have liked it to write such a nice review! Your wish is my command! Here's the next chapter!
Englishgirl: Glad you've enjoyed reading it! More to come. . .I'm thinking like five or six more chapters, not including this one, and an epilogue. . .somewhere around there. . .
Laterose: My sentiments exactly! Well. . .Harry doesn't exactly want to be a murderer any earlier than he has to. . .but hopefully you'll find this chapter somewhat fulfilling!
Leaf: So that's two down for 'A'. . .I have a feeling Malfoy's gonna stick around for a while. . .About the prank. . .yeah. . .it's kinda really stupid. . .but as I said before, I was listening to 'Kung Fu Fighting' and it just kinda hit me. . .oh well. . .gosh, I hope I didn't ruin the surprise. . .hmmm, nah! As for Home for the Holidays, I'll update you as soon as I update it. . .I have a lot of it written already. . .I'm just missing one small linker chapter. I guess I'll work on it, it's not like I don't have the time! Expect an e-mail by the end of this month!
ZeonReborn: Wow, finally a 'B'. . .I take it you don't like Malfoy? Yeah, well, I'm not too fond of him either. . .hitting Harry with a bludger like that. . .I'm getting mad just thinking about it. . .
Katy999: Another for 'A'. . .that makes it 3 to 1 that Malfoy stays. . .hehehehe, won't say anything here but. . .if he does end up staying it could make the sequel VERY interesting. . .
Lady FoxFire: 'B'! Now it's 3 to 2. . .it's getting closer! Thanks for your opinion!
Hedowl5: 4 to 2. . .A's winning. . .I guess Malfoy's most likely gonna end up sticking around. . .thanks for reviewing!
Adenara Yatman: Thank you! 5 to 2. . .A
Dominey: Everyone's so nice! Thanks for your review! Put me right back in the happy mood again! Okay everyone, it's now 6 to 2. . .hmmmm. . .I wonder
Wanted: Love
Ch27: NEVER Tick off a Potter
"Mr. Potter! This is the third time! What is it going to take to keep you in bed!?" Madame Pomfrey said, exasperated, as she carried Harry back to his bed.
"Aw, come on, Madame P! It's been four days already!" Harry exclaimed, attempting to free himself from the nurses' grasp, for an aged woman she was rather strong.
"With all this sneaking about you've been doing lately I might have to keep you for another week." Pomfrey said as she dropped him into his bed and pulled his blankets over him.
Harry struggled to sit up under her arms which were attempting to keep him lying down, "A week!? But I'm fine! Honest to Merlin, I feel great!"
Pomfrey finally gave into him sitting up and sat herself down on the neighboring bed, "You're going to be the end of me, Potter."
"Does that mean I can go?" Harry asked hopefully.
"Don't push your luck," she said as she stood up and poured the familiar muddy potion into a cup, "*If* you stay in that bed for the rest of tonight and tomorrow, *then* you can go. Is it a deal?"
Harry sighed and nodded, "Better than nothing, I suppose."
Pomfrey smiled and handed him the cup, "I don't know how you heal so fast--- and don't give me that look, young man. You'll drink every drop of that or I might just change my mind."
His face had automatically contorted as he was handed the glass and he blanched at the first sip, "As good as ever, I see."
The nurse laughed and shook her head, "Every drop, Mr. Potter, every drop."
"Harry! Harry, guess what!" Ron shouted, running into the room.
Grateful for the distraction, Harry smiled at his friend, "What?"
"Don't even think about it, Potter. You'll drink that this instant." Pomfrey said sternly.
Ron hid his smile as Harry groaned and downed the last of the mucky substance before grabbing the last of his pumpkin juice from dinner and drinking it.
"Did it help any?" Ron asked sarcastically.
"Don't even start with that again, Ron." Harry said, curling his lip as the taste continued to manifest itself in his mouth.
Luckily, Madame Pomfrey had taken the sleeping potion out of the mixture so he didn't feel the least bit tired, though, he was beginning to wonder if that was, in fact, a good thing. Pomfrey, satisfied that the potion was gone, left the two to talk in private.
"So what's so important?" Harry asked, now running his tongue under his teeth. Ron opened his mouth to answer when Lavender and Hermione came panting into the room.
"Ron Weasley! Where do you get off leaving us in the Great Hall like that?" Lavender asked, smacking him upside the head before turning to Harry and smile, "Hey, Harry."
"Do any of you mind telling me what's going on?" Harry asked.
"The professors were passing out flyers at dinner." Hermione said, handing him a yellow piece of paper.
"*Another* dueling club?" Harry asked incredibly.
"Calm yourself, Mr. Malfoy. It's not that bad." Pomfrey said, leading Malfoy into the room. Covered in red bumps and scratching insanely at his skin.
"What did you eat anyway?" she asked him as she looked through her cabinet for the proper potion.
"I don't know!" Malfoy said irritably, "It must have been pepperoni but I didn't see any!"
Harry looked to his friends and mouthed, "You?"
"Us?" Hermione whispered innocently, "Never."
He bit back his laugh and watched on entertained as Pomfrey forced Malfoy to stop itching for a minute and drink the potion she had poured for him. Almost immediately he stopped grating his skin, but his face and arms, where he had been scratching, was red and trickled with small amounts blood.
Pomfrey clicked her tongue and shook her head, "You *had* to scratch, didn't you? Even after I told you not to. . .hold on a minute and I'll get you some ointment."
After she said this she bustled out of the room and Ron turned his attention back to their group, "So, you going to go with us?"
Harry glanced back at the flyer, "I don't know. I get enough dueling in down in the Chamber, why would I want to go and fight some more?"
"You'll be able to whip everyone's sorry pa-toot, that's why." Lavender said smugly.
The three snorted and Lavender pursed her lips, "What? It's true."
"I doubt any of you would want me to 'whip your sorry pa-toot.' . . .What's a pa-toot anyway?" Harry asked, puzzled.
A blush crept upon her cheeks as Ron and Hermione snickered on either side of her, "Oh, leave me alone."
"That's freezing!" Malfoy cried, drawing their attention back to where Pomfrey had returned and started treatment.
"Hush your mouth, Mr. Malfoy. Honestly, you could learn a thing or two from Mr. Potter over there." she said, nodding her head in Harry's direction.
"Yeah, like how to tick you off by trying to sneak out of the hospital wing." Malfoy said sarcastically.
"Shove it Malfoy! It would be a lot easier to do if she didn't come to check up on me every five minutes." Harry said defensively.
Malfoy rolled his eyes as Pomfrey gave the Slytherin the okay to leave. On his way out he stopped, "See you at the club meeting, Potter. . .if you've got enough guts to face me again."
Once he was gone the four broke out laughing.
"I can't believe he bought it!" Ron exclaimed through the water developing in his eyes.
"This is WAY too easy." Hermione said with a look of superiority on her face.
Harry got out of bed and bent down next to his bed side table. Opening the drawer he pulled out a check list and a quill, "Phase One complete. Onto phase two."
"Come on, Harry! Ron, Hermione! If we hurry we can still catch him!" Lavender said, pulling on Ron's arm.
They and Hermione started to the door in a hurried manner and Harry chased after them, "Wait!"
Turning around they saw Harry staring wearily at the door before looking back to them, "If Madame P co---"
"Harry Potter! You get your butt back in that bed this instant before I have to put a body bind on you!"
**************
"---And where are the clothes?" Harry asked Peeves in the dead of night.
Ever since the first prank the Marauders had pulled, Peeves had become quite helpful in their endeavors. Fearing Harry's powers, and admiring his prank power, Peeves had willingly assisted them in any way he could.
"Sirius is keeping them in his room, and Remus is keeping the props in his room." Peeves said, cackling.
"Shh, if Madame P finds me up this late she's liable to keep me in this bed for another week or two." Harry said, casting a glance at the door.
Peeves scrunched his face, "I still don't see why you don't just blast *her* until she lets you go."
"For the last time, I'm sorry. Besides, I don't know exactly what I did to you. She's alive, who's to say it won't kill her?" Harry asked.
"And it's back to the stereotyping the dead! I could still feel that, you know!" Peeves screeched.
"Shh! I'm sorry, alright? Sheesh, you'd think I insulted your mother with the way you're carrying on about it."
"Don't talk about my mother!" Peeves shrieked.
"Shh! Fine, I'm sorry! Merlin! It's like you *want* to get me in trouble." Harry said, shaking his head.
"How'd you guess?" Peeves said smirking, "Well, as much as I enjoy our little conversations, I have to get going. There's a cat wandering around here somewhere who needs to be taught a lesson."
With that he flew out of the hospital wing, leaving Harry alone to wonder what misfortunes Mrs. Norris was soon going to encounter. Sighing, he leaned against the headboard. Sleep definitely wasn't coming anytime soon. One more day, one more day and he would finally be able to wander around the school again when he couldn't sleep.
"You think they'd learn by now, wouldn't you agree?"
Harry snapped back from his day dreaming to see Lucius Malfoy standing at the foot of his bed. Quicker than lightening, he had grabbed his wand from his bed side table and was standing on his mattress.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" he asked dangerously.
"Must you always assume that I come to harm you?" Malfoy asked in mock hurt.
Harry raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that what you always do?"
He looked thoughtful for a moment before drawing his wand out from within his robes, "Yes, I suppose you're right. . .odd. This looks familiar."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked cautiously.
Malfoy let out a soft, cruel laugh, "Oh yes, that's right. You look exactly like your father did back then. . .It's a pity he figured it out, if only I had been a bit quicker, perhaps I would have saved myself the trouble of having to hunt you down."
Harry had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, "What do you mean?"
"And your mother would have been put out of her misery far sooner than----"
"What about my mum!?" Harry interrupted him.
Malfoy laughed again, "No, I suppose I wasted too much time having my fun with her. . .her screams were most entertaining. . .too bad you couldn't hear them---"
Still not completely sure of what he was talking about; Harry felt an intense surge of hatred and anger at the man. Almost automatically, he lowered his wand to meet its victim and shouted, "Inpendium Broxus!"
It was almost as if an atomic bomb had been let off in the school. The walls shook violently and threatened to crumble at any minute. An invisible force of windy power blew throughout every corner of the school. Dust made it nearly impossible to see anything, and the screams of terrified students who had been rudely awakened echoed off every wall, though they were practically drowned out by the loud, ominous boom that ripped at every ear drum of every person within a fifty mile radius.
For close to five minutes this went on. When it finally died down, Malfoy was gone, though a puddle of blood had formed where he had once been standing. Harry, completely drained by the spell, fell. His body hit the cold stone floor, as his legs remained on his bed, twisted in the blankets. One of his arms was trapped under his body and the other was outstretched, wand a few feet away. He felt himself begin to drift off into a deep sleep as footsteps rushed into the room.
"Oh my God!" Pomfrey yelled, seeing the blood on the floor, "Harry! Harry are you still here!?"
Harry wanted to answer her but was too tired to; it was taking all he had to keep himself awake as it was. Suddenly, he heard someone running over to him. He felt himself being held up into a sitting position and he relaxed against the warm body.
"Harry, can you hear me?" Pomfrey asked, feeling his cheeks which were a little chilled.
"Poppy?"
Pomfrey turned around and saw Dumbledore standing in the doorway with Tali, Remus, and Sirius, "Albus, I don't know what happened. One minute I'm sleeping, the next I wake up and it's like the castle was going to fall down!"
"Harry, is he okay?" Tali asked a little frantically as the four of them reached the two.
The nurse looked back to the boy in her arms, "Yes, I think he's just fainted."
". . .No. . .'wake. . ."
The adults felt an enormous amount of relief as Harry said those two simple words and wearily cracked open his eyes.
"You feel okay, Harry?" Sirius asked.
Harry nodded slightly, "Just tired."
"Here, take him, Black. I'll go get some of that energy booster." Pomfrey said.
Sirius knelt on the ground and gently took his godson, "What happened, Harry?"
Despite his tiredness, Harry felt his eyes narrow and lip curl, ". . .Malfoy. . ."
"Draco?" asked Dumbledore.
Harry shook his head and the adults looked at each other, "Lucius?"
He nodded this and closed his eyes. He was so tired. None of the other spells he knew wore him down like this any more, so why should this one? And beyond that question was one of more dire importance: what had Malfoy meant.
"Come on, Harry. Stay awake. We need to talk." Sirius said, urging him to keep his eyes open.
"Here we go." Pomfrey said, walking back in the room with a steaming cup in her hands.
The cup was put to his lips and after a few minutes all of the liquid was downed. A huge yawn erupted from his lips and Harry blinked a couple times before sitting up on his own.
"And it still tastes like troll boogies." he said with a slight cringe.
"Now, Harry, what happened?" Dumbledore asked.
"Harry! Are you okay!?" Hermione asked, hyperventilating as she, Lavender, and Ron ran into the hospital wing in their pajamas.
"Yeah, fine. Sorry to wake you." Harry said with a small smirk.
"What the hell did you do this time?" Ron asked incredibly.
He shrugged, "It was just a spell."
"Harry. . ." Tali said, drawing him back to their conversation.
He looked down and chewed on the inside corner of his mouth, ". . .What did he do to my mum?"
The Marauders looked at him questioningly, but the adults looked nervously at each other and remained silent. Harry began to get a bit nervous himself at their reluctance to answer and began again, "What---"
"Harry, I'm not sure you want to know. . ." Remus led off.
He shook his head, "Tell me."
Sirius, Tali, and Remus' eyes all held looks of deep pain which confused Harry even more. It had to be something bad to cause this type of reaction.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Dumbledore smiling sadly at him, "Are you sure?"
Hesitating only a moment, Harry slowly nodded.
"I'll do it, Dumbledore." Remus said quietly.
Everyone looked at him as he stood up and put a hand on Harry's shoulder, "Let's go for a walk, Harry."
Harry did nothing as he allowed himself to be steered out of the hospital wing. A few students were braving the halls, probably in hopes of finding out what had happened, but one look from Remus sent them right back to their common rooms.
They had been walking around for at least a half hour and yet not a single word had been exchanged between the two. Harry's feet were beginning to go numb as he didn't even have any socks on, yet he refused to say anything for fear of being forced back to the infirmary and not getting an explanation. Finally, when Harry was beginning to think that he couldn't take it any more, Remus spoke.
"You're parents, Tali, Sirius, and myself had quite a seventh year here." he said with an unreadable smile.
Harry nodded, not really sure of what else to do. From what he was able to piece together, he made an educated guess that he didn't mean a fun-filled year. Other than that, he didn't want to interrupt what was probably a carefully crafted story that the elder wanted to get out as quickly as possible without any interruptions.
"I know you're not going to want to believe this. . .but at one point in her life, your mother was. . .engaged to Lucius Malfoy."
Harry felt his face contort itself in disgust, and despite what he had promised himself about not interrupting, he couldn't help it, "She was what!?"
Remus turned to face him and smiled grimly, "That's about what we said when we found out."
"But why!?" Harry asked horror.
". . .That's where it gets complicated, Harry. You see. . .you know about Merlin's prophecy, as did Voldemort. At the time, he, Dumbledore, and James were about the only ones who did know. Not even Sirius and I knew of it, that's how tight of a secret it was.
Anyway, Voldemort had many spies at Hogwarts to make certain that any Muggle borns who showed any possibility of developing a relationship with James were kept out of the picture---no Harry, they didn't kill them. It was just a matter of keeping their love life full." Remus explained.
Harry slowly started to sink this in, "So. . .Malfoy was dating my mum to keep her away from my dad?"
Remus nodded, "You got it."
"But why would she get herself engaged to a Malfoy?" Harry asked, still disgusted at the fact. To think that if things had gone a little differently, he might be Draco's brother. He shuddered at the thought.
Remus seemed a little uneased by this question, though he supposed he should have known it was coming, "Well, Harry. . .the story is much too long and complicated to lay out in one night. . .but to make it short and simple, there was something that none of us knew. . ."
He really looked to be struggling to hold down his emotions and Harry began to get unnerved though he remained silent, "You see. . .Malfoy. . .he. . .he hurt her, Harry."
Harry's eyes bugged at this as his fists clenched at his sides and he was positive that his blood had begun to boil. However, no matter his aching to let out something in anger, he couldn't find his voice.
'He *hurt* her?' his mind asked, unable to register it, 'Malfoy *hurt* my mum!?'
Remus waited for Harry to say something, but when nothing came, he continued, pain emanating from his eyes at the memory, ". . .It was his job to keep her away from James. . .it didn't work too well, though. She and James, they still fell in love, though. . .Lily was too afraid of Lucius to take it anywhere."
". . .He. . .hurt. . .?" Harry was still having difficulty finding the words.
". . .It gets worse. . ."
Harry flinched at this but nodded for him to continue which he did, "A couple of days before the wedding James and Sirius found out something. . .they heard Lucius talking to someone. . .It turned out that he was planning to. . .to. . .*kill* her on their wedding night."
Harry got a raspy growl at the back of his throat that erupted with every breath and he glowered into the darkness.
"They told Tali and I, Peter was in the infirmary at the time, and we went to confront him about it. . .he had us locked up, almost killed us too. . .We're not too sure what happened, while we were locked up. . .but we got to Malfoy Manor just in time. Lily was screaming and bleeding with Malfoy hovering over her. . .I swear to Merlin we would have killed him that night if Dumbledore hadn't showed up and stopped us. . .Harry?---Hey, Harry, where are you going!?"
Harry was storming off down the hall and didn't even bother to answer him. His mind reeled with unsuppressed hatred. He had never experienced anything like this before. He knew it was possible to hate the Malfoys more. . .but not this much.
How DARE that bastard Lucius hurt his mother! And his father! And his friends! He might not know the whole story, but he was willing to bet everything he owned that Wormtail was in the infirmary that night on purpose!
He didn't know where he was going, but he trusted his feet and allowed them to carry him to where ever it was they wanted to go. For, Harry had no doubt, it would lead him to a certain blond haired Slytherin who was about to get a little taste of hell. . .
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So? I know I said this was going to be a prank on Malfoy chapter, but I had to let you guys in on this little bit of the past sooner or later and I figured, 'Hey, why not give Harry a little more of a push?' No worries, though, Malfoy will live. . .after all, the results of the poll are in and it looks like Malfoy's gonna turn out to still hate the Dream Team, but not be that bad. . .And I promise, next chapter: Malfoy's getting it! And the chapter after that. . .it begins. . .oh, you know what. . .