Yeah!!!! This chapter has been recovered from my old hard- drive. My
Dad rocks!!!! Here it is.
"Woo hoo!!!! Chapter ten, I thought this day would never come! Thank you for the reviews I really appreciate them." Neo- kitty cheers happily. "I couldn't have gotten this far without them or my muses!"
"Glad to be of service." Merry grins.
"I think I'm starting to get this whole muse thing. Don't make her angry and she'll be nice. No spatula!" Pippin smiles.
"That's exactly how it works! Shouldn't have taken you so long to realize it Pip!" Merry chides.
"It's not like I was trying to make her mad before." Pippin defends himself.
"No," Merry agrees. "You didn't try, but you sure were good at it."
"Hey, let's just leave it in the past." Neo- kitty steps in between them. "Let's focus on the future."
"Yeah," Merry smiles. "A new start."
"Sounds good to me." Pippin nods in agreement.
"Glad to here it. Oh and are you guys hungry?" Neo- kitty asks.
"Sure.why?" Merry queries.
"I made pancakes." Neo-kitty shows off a huge plate of flap- jacks.
"Why in the world?" Pippin is thoroughly confused.
"You said yourself that spatulas are used for making pancakes. Now the Spatula Of Doom has a side job. It makes Flapjacks Of Doom." Neo- Kitty answers cheerfully.
"Are they safe?" Pippin asks nervously.
"They taste good enough to me!" Merry shrugs as he takes another bite. Suddenly he starts to choke and keels over.
"Ahhhhhhh! They are dangerous! Merry, Merry can you here me?" Pippin cries out. "I knew that spatula was no good!"
" Oh don't be silly. Get up Merry. You had your fun." Neo- Kitty sighs.
"You were just pretending?" Pippin states incredulously.
"Yeah, it was pretty funny though." Merry stands up and dusts himself off.
"Humph, well I didn't think so." Pippin mutters mutinously.
"If it will make you feel better you can read the disclaimer Pip." Neo- Kitty offers.
Pippin eyes her warily then nods. "Okay I'll give this disclaimer thing a go."
"Great!!! Here, just read these!" Neo- Kitty hands him note cards enthusiastically.
"Ahem," Pippin clears his throat. "Neo- Kitty does not own Harry Potter or us Shirelings. Please do not sue. Thank you."
"Great job Pip!" Merry congratulates him. "You didn't screw it up!"
"Thanks for your support." Pippin states wryly.
"Glad to be of help." Merry smiles.
"Well it's about time we get to the chapter so here it is! Enjoy!" Neo- Kitty smiles happily.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ There, I did it this time!
"Free at last!" Ron stretched as he walked away from the hospital wing with Hermione. " Madame Pomfrey was driving me crazy. All that, 'Stay in bed! You need rest!' was giving me a headache. Not to mention how stiff I am from having to lie down so long."
"Come on Ron, it could have been worse." Hermione chided. "We were only in there for two days. Harry is usually in there for twice as long."
Ron rubbed the bandage on his wrist in agitation, "True, Harry is in there more often than anyone else in school. It must really get on his nerves."
"I know Ron." Hermione sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "But I don't think Harry has much choice in the matter."
"That's true," Ron grimaced as he recalled some of the injuries Harry had suffered throughout the previous school years. The worst part was that Harry still had three more years to go, including the current term, and he was sure to suffer a lot more.
Ron scowled darkly and muttered, "It's not fair."
"No, it isn't," a familiar voice muttered from behind them.
Ron and Hermione turned to come face to face with Draco.
"Sorry, I couldn't help hearing your conversation." The blond boy stated as he walked up next to the pair.
"Why were you out roaming the halls?" Ron asked casually, though he looked a little tense around the other boy, as they continued to make their way to the hall. "I thought you and Harry were going to meet us at breakfast with our things."
"Well, Harry was wondering where you were." Draco shrugged. "So I offered to go and look for you guys."
"That was thoughtful." Hermione smiled.
Ron looked at him but said nothing.
"Have you guys had any luck finding a place to practice?" Hermione asked softly as they approached the entrance to the Hall.
Draco shook his head and was about to make a comment when Harry rushed out of the Great Hall looking a bit flustered.
"Harry, what's the matter?" Ron asked as the shorter boy came towards them. He had a couple of pieces of toast in his hand and at least three bags slung unceremoniously over his shoulder.
"We need to go." Harry stated firmly as he handed Ron and Hermione some toast and their bags.
"But Harry!" Hermione cried out as she adjusted her bag while trying not to squish her toast.
Harry gave her a look that clearly meant 'we need to go now.' He then continued to hurry away from the Hall.
Draco after settling his own bag over his shoulder followed Harry, looking a bit worried. Hermione gave Ron a questioning look, which he merely returned with a shrug. The pair then took off after their companions.
Harry did not slow down until they were well away from the school's main population. He then stopped abruptly and looked around warily. The hallway was clear since pretty much everyone was at breakfast.
"Come on," Harry whispered as he ducked inside a nearby classroom.
The three students filed in quickly and Harry shut the door behind them.
"Harry," Hermione watched her friend as he walked towards the far side of the classroom.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked bluntly.
Draco was silent as he watched Harry stalk towards the covered windows in the back of the class.
"An announcement was made in the Great Hall while I was there." Harry stated as he stared at the curtain- covered window.
"What type of announcement?" Hermione asked confused by her friend's strange behavior.
The tension in the room was thick. The air itself seemed to give off an ominous feeling as silence reigned supreme in the dark room.
"No one is allowed outside," Harry whispered.
"What?" Ron was incredulous, "You got us all worked up just to tell us that no one is aloud outside!"
"It must be more than that Weasley!" Draco snapped, "Let him speak."
"You're right Ron," Harry gave his friend a hollow smile, "Normally this wouldn't bother me. It's just we aren't allowed out there because of the storms."
"Storms?" Hermione furrowed her brow. "We've been out in storms before."
"Yeah, some bad ones too." Ron remarked, "Remember third year at the Quidditch match?"
"It's kind of hard to forget." Draco stated, remembering that terrible match when the demetors swarmed the field.
"Yes," Harry murmured as he fingered the curtain he was staring at. "That was a bad storm, but it didn't worry me half as much as the ones that are occurring now."
"Why?" Hermione asked cautiously.
"That is because that storm was natural." Harry whispered as he pulled back the curtain to show them the torrents of rain that were hitting the glass. "This storm has been caused by magic."
Ron stared at his friend stuttering, "Ar.are you for real?"
"How do they know?" Draco asked softly.
Harry sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "Dumbledore can sense the magic in the air outside. Also, Professor Sprout had a barometer, you know a muggle device used to tell you what pressure in the air, and the pressure outside is high."
"So, what does that mean?" Ron was confused. Obviously, his Dad's book had told him nothing about barometers.
"Rain normally comes to low pressure areas." Hermione stated in her characteristic manner, like she was reading straight from a book. "Obviously, that means the rain is unnatural."
"This is bad," Draco looked grave. "It takes a significant amount of power to control any weather, let alone a full blown storm."
"You don't think you could be doing this on accident do you Harry?" Ron asked anxiously. "You know, since we're new to this whole powers thing?"
"No," Harry murmured as he put his hand on the windowpane. "I have to talk to a storm to control it, and even then it's not really control. I just ask for something and the weather will oblige."
"Then who could be doing this?" Hermione asked completely bewildered.
"I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count." Draco stated wryly.
"Why would he do this though?" Ron asked, "It seems to me, that something like this would be a waste of his time. I mean, the storm can't hurt anyone unless they go outside."
"Ron," Harry looked as his friend, his eyes fathomless pools of jade. "He does everything for a reason and I believe that this might be a test."
"What do you mean a test?" Hermione asked gingerly.
"Well, if it does take so much magic to control a storm he wants to make sure it will work when he needs it right?" Draco offered.
"That was exactly what I was thinking." Harry nodded in agreement with Draco's statement.
"This is bad." Ron muttered, as he understood the full extent of the threat they were facing.
"I wish we knew what kind of spell "he" is using." Hermione sighed as she looked at the storm thoughtfully.
They were all silent, Harry appeared to be brooding by the window while Draco sat like a statue on one of the desks, also deep in thought. Hermione was peering out the window hoping in vain that she could recognize the characteristics of a spell.
Ron had moved to lean against the door of the classroom with a worried look on his face. He analyzed the classroom absently trying to get his mind of their current problem. The room was covered in a layer of dust showing that it had not been used in a long time.
'Maybe we can use this room for practice.' Ron thought absently.
He was about to tell his companions about his idea when he heard a mewing noise that caught his attention. Mrs. Norris was looking up at him through the window in the door.
"Bloody." Ron cursed as he leapt away from the door breaking the silence. "Mrs. Norris!" He hissed as he moved closer to his friends.
"We're cornered," Draco growled as he looked for any other way out.
"Filch will catch us for sure!" Hermione cried out.
Harry pulled the curtains shut and moved to join his companions.
Ron looked at his friend hoping he would come up with something. Suddenly, it hit him.
"Get as close to the door as you can," Ron whispered softly.
Draco gave him a look that clearly meant 'are you crazy?'
Hermione, however, was less reserved, "Are you crazy? If we get to close to that window Filch will see us for sure we need to hide."
"Just trust me!" Ron snapped impatiently.
Harry looked at him and smiled. He moved next to the door and leaned against the wall.
Hermione scurried up beside him flattening herself against the wall. She was obviously terrified that they would be seen.
Draco followed, not as hesitantly as Hermione but definitely not as quickly as Harry, and slid up next to the others.
Ron moved next to them and with his back to the wall looked over the dusty room. Now all he had to do was wait, listen, and pray that this would work.
For a few moments there was silence except for the occasional meow from Mrs. Norris. Then the sound Ron was looking for came.
Heavy boots hit the floor as a figure came into the hallway. The footsteps slowed as they reached the door and a raspy voice could be heard. "So our little rule-breakers are in here." Filch wheezed softly to his cat. "Let's apprehend them shall we?"
Hermione looked as if she wanted to bolt or scream after she heard this (or maybe both!). She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and held her breath as she heard the doorknob begin to turn.
Draco looked nervous but tried desperately not to show it. He looked over at Ron hoping that he would do something.
Harry, however, was the essence of calm. He was leaning against the wall as if nothing was wrong.
Ron had heard it this was the moment he had been waiting for.
'Well, I guess it is now or never.' He thought nervously. 'I just hope this works.'
The door opened and Filch and his cat stepped in the room as Filch stated triumphantly, "Caught you!"...
The dust rose up in a humongous cloud making it impossible to see. Filch coughed and wheezed while Mrs. Norris hissed in agitation.
Draco and Hermione were in shock as Ron shoved them through the door. Harry had already left the room and they followed his retreating form.
They continued to run until they reached the stairs that lead to the dungeons.
Hermione caught her breath as she dropped her bag on the floor.
Draco looked at Ron, and then asked in a bit of shocked respect. "What did you do?"
Ron was at a loss for a moment then stuttered in a flustered manner, "The dust. I mean.uh well."
"You stirred up a bit of earth I believe." Harry stated as he dusted himself off.
Ron looked over at this friend and saw that his eyes had that strange look in them again. Suddenly he found himself asking, "Who are you?"
Harry smiled impishly at him then seemed to zone out for a moment. He shut his eyes and when he opened them they were normal once more. After blinking a couple times Harry looked at his friends then looked at his watch.
"Potions!" He exclaimed, "We're going to be late if we don't get going now!"
Then he was sprinting off, just like that, leaving a gaping trio behind him.
Hermione seemed to come to first and went bolting after him muttering, "Oh he's right! We are going to be in so much trouble!"
Ron and Draco watched her than followed after they came to their senses.
The four of them made it in the classroom in the nick of time. They slid into their seats just as Snape came out of his office.
The Polyjuice lesson had been abandoned due to the fact that no one had gotten past the first step. Though Harry had a feeling that the headmaster might have something to do with it as well. *Call it seers' intuition!
"Today you shall attempt to brew the." Snape had started to drone in his icy voice.
Harry, however, just could not keep his mind on task. The storm outside was bothering him. Just the little bit of power he could sense through the glass had reeked of evil. There was no doubt about it. Voldemort was at the root of this storm.
"Potter!" Snape shouted glaring at him fiercely, "Tell me what the fifth step in making a invisibility potion is!"
Bewildered, Harry looked up at his furious professor and was about to say 'I don't know sir' when his mouth started to work on its own. "You add three pinches powdered lace wing then let the potion simmer until it turns sky blue Professor."
(Author notice: I completely made that up if you didn't notice. Not like it matters! Sorry, please continue.)
Snape glared at him but Harry held firm. The awful look on the professor's face was enough to tell Harry he was right, but the next comment left no room for doubt.
"Five points from Gryffindor for cheating," Snape sneered at him. "Next time pay attention so you don't have to ask someone for the answer Potter." With that Snape turned around and stalked up to the front of the class to write on the board.
Draco gave Harry a weird look and whispered, "You were completely zoned out but you still answered correctly. How did you do it Harry? You didn't ask anyone and I don't think you would spend your free time studying potions."
"I don't know what happened." Harry muttered back, "I just knew."
"Well," Draco smirked a little. "Hermione could have been thinking about the answer so hard that you."
"Draco." Harry growled, "I didn't get the answer from Hermione."
Draco shrugged as if saying 'just a thought' just as Professor Snape turned around and continued to give instructions.
Harry did his best to look like he was paying attention but he was dwelling on what had happened earlier.
'How did I know?' Harry asked himself.
'You didn't,' a very familiar voice piped up in the back of Harry's mind. 'I just happened to know. Aren't you lucky?'
'You again.' Harry thought angrily. 'I thought you were just a figment of my imagination!'
'Oh, come now!' The voice exclaimed in a mock hurt voice, 'How can you sell me so short?'
'Who are you?' Harry thought, as he was thoroughly agitated with this voice now.
He received no answer he was about to yell at it again when he received a sharp jab in his side.
Draco had elbowed him to get his attention, "Come on." He hissed softly, "We have to work on the potion."
Snape looked over at them icily as the rest of the class worked diligently on the appointed task.
"Now!" Draco growled as he began to measure out ingredients.
The rest of the class passed Harry by in a blur. Soon it time to leave and everyone rushed out happy to be away from the cranky professor.
"I can't believe he accused you of cheating Harry!" Ron exclaimed after they were out of the dungeon area. "No one said anything to you."
"It must have looked pretty suspicious Ron." Hermione brought up thoughtfully. She then turned to Harry giving him one of her 'special' looks that are normally reserved for Ron. "You didn't cheat did you Harry?"
"How could he have?" Ron asked exasperated. "We already established that no one said anything to him and he hadn't written anything down all class."
Draco rolled his eyes sighing, "Ron, are you forgetting his new found talent already?"
"No," Ron skulked defensively. "Of course I didn't forget it."
Draco smirked, "Of course you didn't."
Ron glared at the blonde then turned to Hermione, "It doesn't really matter you know. Even if he did get the answer using his talent it wouldn't have been cheating. That wasn't a test you know."
"No, it wasn't but Harry should have been paying attention so he didn't have to get the answer from someone else." Hermione pointed out.
"I didn't get the answer using my "talent"." Harry stated reassuringly to Hermione.
She nodded and the group continued to make their way to class in silence. Soon they came to the spot where they had to split up. Hermione had to go to Arithamacy, Draco had to go to healing magic, and Harry and Ron were heading for Divination.
"See you guys at lunch." Harry waved as they went their separate ways.
Ron grumbled about having to deal with two batty teachers in the morning being cruel. *One being batty in appearance while the other was in the head!
Harry, however, was actually looking forward to this opportunity. The North Tower was the one of the highest places in the school, and height was exactly what he needed.
Ron had already begun to climb the silver ladder and Harry followed up after him. Harry steered his friend to the table near the window. The same table where he had had his first seeing experience in this class.
After settling himself in his chair Ron's eyes began to have a glazed look due to the atmosphere of the room. Harry watched him with amused interest as his friend slipped into a stupor.
Professor Trelawney glided into the room at that moment jingling as she moved.
"Welcome back my dears." She greeted them in her misty tone as she made her way to the front of the room.
Pavarti and Lavender were paying rapt attention, as usual, while everyone else was dozing off.
Harry glanced at Ron and saw the redhead staring at nothing. Harry looked closer and realized suddenly that his friend had fallen asleep with his eyes open. He had to suppress a chuckle as the teacher began to talk.
"I'm afraid that our palm reading studies will have to be postponed for today due to a need for meditation." Professor Trelawney told her class with remorse.
Harry sighed thinking, 'That's a relief, now she won't have a chance to gasp over my 'unusually' short lifeline.'
"Oh Professor are you looking deep into the future?" Lavender asked breathlessly.
"Or are you looking into the past?" Pavarti asked in the same manner.
The Professor smiled at her star pupils, "Actually I am doing a favor for the headmaster my dears. I am going to see what I can divine about this storm."
Harry rolled his eyes and thought; 'Sure this is a favor for the headmaster.'
"You may all quietly meditate as well and there will be no homework." Trelawney continued as she settled herself in front of the fire.
Harry could hardly believe his luck. This was the perfect opportunity to put his plan into action.
In less than five minutes the class had settled and everything was silent Harry scooted away from his table and leaned against the window behind him. He closed his eyes as he felt the cold glass on his scalp.
'Well I guess she is good for something.' Harry thought as he smiled a little. 'The silence will make this considerably easier.'
Harry knew he would not be able to open the window so he had to do the next best thing and hope it would work. Being this high up put him right in the midst of the storm so he had a better chance of contacting the storm here than almost anywhere else.
When he was settled he began; first he released the block he had put up to keep out the thoughts of others in the castle. He had managed to learn how to make a semi block over the last few days. After he let it go the thoughts of the class rushed to him and he winced. Luckily quite a few people were sleeping so their thoughts were toned down but the others who were actually meditating were so loud it was giving him a headache.
Harry gritted his teeth then began concentrating on the storm outside. It was no simple task, he still had a long way to go to control his powers completely and what he was trying to accomplish was a little advanced for him.
So far he had never had to focus all his powers to one spot, they would simply fan out and cover a large area around him. To funnel all of this power into one spot was proving to be quite difficult.
A bead of sweat trickled down his face as he struggled with his power. Then like a puzzle everything just clicked into place.
It was the strangest thing that had ever happened to him and that was saying a lot. Walking through Tom Riddle's diary and Dumbledore's pensieve had nothing on this.
He was in the storm but not, he felt the wind in his hair and the rain on his face but that was all. Somehow, he knew he was still dry and in Trelawney's classroom and for some reason he could not explain he didn't think it was odd.
Harry immediately knew how Dumbledore could tell this storm was not natural. Long threads of magic held the clouds together and gave off directional spells to other parts of the storm making the air positively reek with the smell of magic.
Harry knelt down and examined one of the strands thinking, 'How did he do this?'
'Very good question I mean whatever he tried to do he obviously didn't do it right. What a mess!' the voice that Harry had come to know said in disgust. 'You would think one of the most "powerful" wizards of all time could do a better job.'
'I don't think he cares how it looks,' Harry sighed knowing he had sunk to a certain level of insanity and thought in exasperation. 'As long as it works I think he will be pleased.'
'Yes, I suppose you're right. Though you would think someone wouldn't waste magic on messy work.' The voice added thoughtfully.
Harry could almost growl in frustration as he thought, 'If you know it is messy then you should have some type of idea on what spell this is. That would be really helpful when we're looking for a counter curse for when he uses this.'
'There's no need for a counter curse.' The voice stated smugly.
'What do you mean there's no need!' Harry thought angrily. 'Could you imagine what he could do with this type of power if we can't undo it and the last time I checked you do need a counter curse to undo a curse!'
'Harry!' The voice cut him off. 'Listen to me; you don't need a counter curse because you can fix it. A normal wizard cannot see those threads but you can. That is because you are the seer of lightning. To release the storm you simply must pull those threads loose.'
Harry listened in stunned silence as the voice explained this to him. Then he finally thought, 'So all I have to do is get the threads off the storm.'
'Precisely,' the voice sounded very pleased that he understood.
Harry stood up from his kneeling position and regarded the rest of the storm. Obviously this spell was not only controlling the storm but hurting it as well. The voices of the storm sounded more upset and troubled than when they had thought he was mad.
'Don't release this storm.' The voice stated sharply out of the blue.
'But,' Harry was at a loss, it was so awful to hear them moaning and he didn't want them to suffer anymore. He reached down for the thread of magic before him.
'Don't do that.' The voice told him sharply.
'You want me to just leave them.' Harry thought furiously. 'They're in pain.'
'Harry you must trust me,' the voice soothed him reassuringly. 'This is one of the few chances we can get one up on Voldemort but if you do this now he will know something is up. Don't let this advantage go until you have to.'
Harry hesitated than nodded slowly.
'Good, I'm glad that is settled,' the voice sighed in evident relief. 'Now you better concentrate yourself back to class Ron wants you.'
'What?' Harry asked it but was greeted with silence. Furrowing his brow in frustration and agitation Harry focused back on the class.
With that Harry felt himself being drawn in from the storm. He was back in the tower and Ron was shaking his shoulder roughly.
He opened his eyes a crack to look up at his best friend and stated. "I didn't know you could sleep with your eyes open."
Ron gaped at him for a second than asked, "Where did that come from?"
Harry shrugged as he pushed himself away from the window. "I just thought it was strange."
"Like you can talk," Ron hissed at him. "What was wrong with you? I have been shaking you for the last ten minutes to tell you class would be over in 30 minutes well make that 20 minutes now."
Harry glanced over at the Professor to make sure she was still "meditating." After he was sure he whispered back to Ron, "I was investigating the storm."
Ron stared at him and asked, "How?"
"Well I." Harry began but was cut off.
Trelawney had stood up suddenly and cried out, "Children! I just had a vision of revelation!"
Practically everyone in the room had jumped. Neville had singed his hair when he had fallen back into a candle from shock. Harry and Ron just looked at one another and rolled their eyes.
Harry did not pay attention to what she was really saying instead he listened to her thoughts, which were much more entertaining. By the time she was done ranting class was over and he and Ron were going down the silver ladder and heading for lunch.
"Can you believe her?" Ron laughed after they were well away from her tower. "I saw that this storm was caused by the evil one and that it will continue until sunset." He then mocked her misty voice, "Honestly, she calls that a revelation."
Harry smiled chuckling, "Yeah, it doesn't take a genius to know this storm was Voldemort's doing. I mean who else would do this to Hogwarts? Or, quite frankly, be able to do this to Hogwarts?"
"True, we know it requires a lot of power." Ron agreed. "I guess the only people who could do this would be you know who, Dumbledore, or you."
"Yeah, but no one knows I can and I hope to keep it that way." Harry stated meaningfully.
Ron nodded and saluted, "You can count on me."
"Good to hear." Harry laughed until he remembered something, "Hey Ron, you know what was even funnier about Trelawney's "prediction"?"
Ron smiled and asked, "What?"
"The whole time, she was trying to think of a way she could tell the teachers without McGonagall knowing she was faking it." Harry laughed as they passed the dungeon corridor.
"How would you know that Potter?" an icy voice questioned from behind Harry making him stop laughing in shock.
He whirled around to be greeted by the face of Professor Severus Snape.
***
Sorry I know that was kind of a mean place to end but this is getting to be a bit long. (It's fifteen pages for those of you who care!)
Again I'm sorry for taking such a long time to update and now I would like to thank those of you that reviewed my last two chapters!
Darkangel- Yeah I know it took a long time and you waited forever but it is here! You can stop tapping your foot now too. (Impatient!) Anyway I will see you soon but tell me what you think in a review.
Lord Master Omega- Thanks for taking the time to read my story and I'm glad you found it intriguing!
Lions Blood- You know you are not the first person to bring up Draco's quick transformation from good to bad. I must agree that J.K. does make him pretty bad in her books. My feelings are that Draco is an interesting character that she is making pretty flat. He could be so many things instead of just bad. Oh well that's just my feeling but I think I will make him a bit more Slytherin like soon so not to worry. He's just meek from shock right now. You must admit if your father tried to kill you it would change you a bit. Or at least that is how I felt.
Lady Cinnibar- Thank you so much for sharing your story of misfortune with me. You have no idea how much better I felt to know that bad things like this don't just happen to me. (I already they did but it's nice to be reminded.) I am sorry you had so much trouble with your computers. (stupid machines.) Also, I must say that you are the first person that I don't know personally that has given me lots of constructive criticism about my writing style. It means a lot. I hope to continue to improve my writing and appreciate your encouragement and suggestions. Thanks!
Bunny- (Sigh.) I'll talk to you later.
Dinkum- I'm glad you enjoy my story. I also love Harry Draco friendships. That is partially why I wrote it in this fic. I hope you enjoy this new chapter.
Iniysa- Now you can look forward to the next chapter! That is if you like this one. I hoped you did. I'd hate to be a let down and ruin a story you like!
Serapotter- Sorry that updating didn't happen quickly. I hope you can forgive me and that you liked this chapter if you read it.
MRP- Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for the review.
JerseyGirl03- Thank you for forgiving me for my slowness. I'll try to be better about updating from now on.
Arizosa- Thank you for forgiving me for being slow. I hope you liked this new chapter and thanks for calling me brilliant! Oh and my beta also has bothered me about updating too. Also, I'm glad you like my jokes.
Tereth Dragonstar- Okay, I guess my innocent little joke can be blown way out of proportion. Though I must admit I did laugh for about ten minutes when I read your review. Give your evil twin my regards.
Smilez- Thanks for saying my story is awesome. I appreciate all complements.
Amythest- I'm glad you have enjoyed all the chapters thus far and I hoped you enjoyed this one. Your reviews have always been encouraging and I appreciate them a lot. Thank you for saying that I am great at writing though that may be exaggerating a little. I may be good but I still have a long way to go.
Isis Rose Potter- It's here noooooooooooooooooooooow!
Crabbe Apple Fairy- I'm sorry I haven't read your stories in a while. (Shame on me!) Though I try to look and see if you have updated "Rising from the Ashes." Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.
Katani Petitedra- I hope you like this new chapter. Thanks for the complement on my story.
Okay now that is done. We are up to a grand total of seventeen pages folks!
Please review and tell me what you think! Also always remember that constructive criticism is okay and appreciated.
Till next time. Neo - Kitty (
"Woo hoo!!!! Chapter ten, I thought this day would never come! Thank you for the reviews I really appreciate them." Neo- kitty cheers happily. "I couldn't have gotten this far without them or my muses!"
"Glad to be of service." Merry grins.
"I think I'm starting to get this whole muse thing. Don't make her angry and she'll be nice. No spatula!" Pippin smiles.
"That's exactly how it works! Shouldn't have taken you so long to realize it Pip!" Merry chides.
"It's not like I was trying to make her mad before." Pippin defends himself.
"No," Merry agrees. "You didn't try, but you sure were good at it."
"Hey, let's just leave it in the past." Neo- kitty steps in between them. "Let's focus on the future."
"Yeah," Merry smiles. "A new start."
"Sounds good to me." Pippin nods in agreement.
"Glad to here it. Oh and are you guys hungry?" Neo- kitty asks.
"Sure.why?" Merry queries.
"I made pancakes." Neo-kitty shows off a huge plate of flap- jacks.
"Why in the world?" Pippin is thoroughly confused.
"You said yourself that spatulas are used for making pancakes. Now the Spatula Of Doom has a side job. It makes Flapjacks Of Doom." Neo- Kitty answers cheerfully.
"Are they safe?" Pippin asks nervously.
"They taste good enough to me!" Merry shrugs as he takes another bite. Suddenly he starts to choke and keels over.
"Ahhhhhhh! They are dangerous! Merry, Merry can you here me?" Pippin cries out. "I knew that spatula was no good!"
" Oh don't be silly. Get up Merry. You had your fun." Neo- Kitty sighs.
"You were just pretending?" Pippin states incredulously.
"Yeah, it was pretty funny though." Merry stands up and dusts himself off.
"Humph, well I didn't think so." Pippin mutters mutinously.
"If it will make you feel better you can read the disclaimer Pip." Neo- Kitty offers.
Pippin eyes her warily then nods. "Okay I'll give this disclaimer thing a go."
"Great!!! Here, just read these!" Neo- Kitty hands him note cards enthusiastically.
"Ahem," Pippin clears his throat. "Neo- Kitty does not own Harry Potter or us Shirelings. Please do not sue. Thank you."
"Great job Pip!" Merry congratulates him. "You didn't screw it up!"
"Thanks for your support." Pippin states wryly.
"Glad to be of help." Merry smiles.
"Well it's about time we get to the chapter so here it is! Enjoy!" Neo- Kitty smiles happily.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ There, I did it this time!
"Free at last!" Ron stretched as he walked away from the hospital wing with Hermione. " Madame Pomfrey was driving me crazy. All that, 'Stay in bed! You need rest!' was giving me a headache. Not to mention how stiff I am from having to lie down so long."
"Come on Ron, it could have been worse." Hermione chided. "We were only in there for two days. Harry is usually in there for twice as long."
Ron rubbed the bandage on his wrist in agitation, "True, Harry is in there more often than anyone else in school. It must really get on his nerves."
"I know Ron." Hermione sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "But I don't think Harry has much choice in the matter."
"That's true," Ron grimaced as he recalled some of the injuries Harry had suffered throughout the previous school years. The worst part was that Harry still had three more years to go, including the current term, and he was sure to suffer a lot more.
Ron scowled darkly and muttered, "It's not fair."
"No, it isn't," a familiar voice muttered from behind them.
Ron and Hermione turned to come face to face with Draco.
"Sorry, I couldn't help hearing your conversation." The blond boy stated as he walked up next to the pair.
"Why were you out roaming the halls?" Ron asked casually, though he looked a little tense around the other boy, as they continued to make their way to the hall. "I thought you and Harry were going to meet us at breakfast with our things."
"Well, Harry was wondering where you were." Draco shrugged. "So I offered to go and look for you guys."
"That was thoughtful." Hermione smiled.
Ron looked at him but said nothing.
"Have you guys had any luck finding a place to practice?" Hermione asked softly as they approached the entrance to the Hall.
Draco shook his head and was about to make a comment when Harry rushed out of the Great Hall looking a bit flustered.
"Harry, what's the matter?" Ron asked as the shorter boy came towards them. He had a couple of pieces of toast in his hand and at least three bags slung unceremoniously over his shoulder.
"We need to go." Harry stated firmly as he handed Ron and Hermione some toast and their bags.
"But Harry!" Hermione cried out as she adjusted her bag while trying not to squish her toast.
Harry gave her a look that clearly meant 'we need to go now.' He then continued to hurry away from the Hall.
Draco after settling his own bag over his shoulder followed Harry, looking a bit worried. Hermione gave Ron a questioning look, which he merely returned with a shrug. The pair then took off after their companions.
Harry did not slow down until they were well away from the school's main population. He then stopped abruptly and looked around warily. The hallway was clear since pretty much everyone was at breakfast.
"Come on," Harry whispered as he ducked inside a nearby classroom.
The three students filed in quickly and Harry shut the door behind them.
"Harry," Hermione watched her friend as he walked towards the far side of the classroom.
"What's wrong?" Ron asked bluntly.
Draco was silent as he watched Harry stalk towards the covered windows in the back of the class.
"An announcement was made in the Great Hall while I was there." Harry stated as he stared at the curtain- covered window.
"What type of announcement?" Hermione asked confused by her friend's strange behavior.
The tension in the room was thick. The air itself seemed to give off an ominous feeling as silence reigned supreme in the dark room.
"No one is allowed outside," Harry whispered.
"What?" Ron was incredulous, "You got us all worked up just to tell us that no one is aloud outside!"
"It must be more than that Weasley!" Draco snapped, "Let him speak."
"You're right Ron," Harry gave his friend a hollow smile, "Normally this wouldn't bother me. It's just we aren't allowed out there because of the storms."
"Storms?" Hermione furrowed her brow. "We've been out in storms before."
"Yeah, some bad ones too." Ron remarked, "Remember third year at the Quidditch match?"
"It's kind of hard to forget." Draco stated, remembering that terrible match when the demetors swarmed the field.
"Yes," Harry murmured as he fingered the curtain he was staring at. "That was a bad storm, but it didn't worry me half as much as the ones that are occurring now."
"Why?" Hermione asked cautiously.
"That is because that storm was natural." Harry whispered as he pulled back the curtain to show them the torrents of rain that were hitting the glass. "This storm has been caused by magic."
Ron stared at his friend stuttering, "Ar.are you for real?"
"How do they know?" Draco asked softly.
Harry sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "Dumbledore can sense the magic in the air outside. Also, Professor Sprout had a barometer, you know a muggle device used to tell you what pressure in the air, and the pressure outside is high."
"So, what does that mean?" Ron was confused. Obviously, his Dad's book had told him nothing about barometers.
"Rain normally comes to low pressure areas." Hermione stated in her characteristic manner, like she was reading straight from a book. "Obviously, that means the rain is unnatural."
"This is bad," Draco looked grave. "It takes a significant amount of power to control any weather, let alone a full blown storm."
"You don't think you could be doing this on accident do you Harry?" Ron asked anxiously. "You know, since we're new to this whole powers thing?"
"No," Harry murmured as he put his hand on the windowpane. "I have to talk to a storm to control it, and even then it's not really control. I just ask for something and the weather will oblige."
"Then who could be doing this?" Hermione asked completely bewildered.
"I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count." Draco stated wryly.
"Why would he do this though?" Ron asked, "It seems to me, that something like this would be a waste of his time. I mean, the storm can't hurt anyone unless they go outside."
"Ron," Harry looked as his friend, his eyes fathomless pools of jade. "He does everything for a reason and I believe that this might be a test."
"What do you mean a test?" Hermione asked gingerly.
"Well, if it does take so much magic to control a storm he wants to make sure it will work when he needs it right?" Draco offered.
"That was exactly what I was thinking." Harry nodded in agreement with Draco's statement.
"This is bad." Ron muttered, as he understood the full extent of the threat they were facing.
"I wish we knew what kind of spell "he" is using." Hermione sighed as she looked at the storm thoughtfully.
They were all silent, Harry appeared to be brooding by the window while Draco sat like a statue on one of the desks, also deep in thought. Hermione was peering out the window hoping in vain that she could recognize the characteristics of a spell.
Ron had moved to lean against the door of the classroom with a worried look on his face. He analyzed the classroom absently trying to get his mind of their current problem. The room was covered in a layer of dust showing that it had not been used in a long time.
'Maybe we can use this room for practice.' Ron thought absently.
He was about to tell his companions about his idea when he heard a mewing noise that caught his attention. Mrs. Norris was looking up at him through the window in the door.
"Bloody." Ron cursed as he leapt away from the door breaking the silence. "Mrs. Norris!" He hissed as he moved closer to his friends.
"We're cornered," Draco growled as he looked for any other way out.
"Filch will catch us for sure!" Hermione cried out.
Harry pulled the curtains shut and moved to join his companions.
Ron looked at his friend hoping he would come up with something. Suddenly, it hit him.
"Get as close to the door as you can," Ron whispered softly.
Draco gave him a look that clearly meant 'are you crazy?'
Hermione, however, was less reserved, "Are you crazy? If we get to close to that window Filch will see us for sure we need to hide."
"Just trust me!" Ron snapped impatiently.
Harry looked at him and smiled. He moved next to the door and leaned against the wall.
Hermione scurried up beside him flattening herself against the wall. She was obviously terrified that they would be seen.
Draco followed, not as hesitantly as Hermione but definitely not as quickly as Harry, and slid up next to the others.
Ron moved next to them and with his back to the wall looked over the dusty room. Now all he had to do was wait, listen, and pray that this would work.
For a few moments there was silence except for the occasional meow from Mrs. Norris. Then the sound Ron was looking for came.
Heavy boots hit the floor as a figure came into the hallway. The footsteps slowed as they reached the door and a raspy voice could be heard. "So our little rule-breakers are in here." Filch wheezed softly to his cat. "Let's apprehend them shall we?"
Hermione looked as if she wanted to bolt or scream after she heard this (or maybe both!). She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and held her breath as she heard the doorknob begin to turn.
Draco looked nervous but tried desperately not to show it. He looked over at Ron hoping that he would do something.
Harry, however, was the essence of calm. He was leaning against the wall as if nothing was wrong.
Ron had heard it this was the moment he had been waiting for.
'Well, I guess it is now or never.' He thought nervously. 'I just hope this works.'
The door opened and Filch and his cat stepped in the room as Filch stated triumphantly, "Caught you!"...
The dust rose up in a humongous cloud making it impossible to see. Filch coughed and wheezed while Mrs. Norris hissed in agitation.
Draco and Hermione were in shock as Ron shoved them through the door. Harry had already left the room and they followed his retreating form.
They continued to run until they reached the stairs that lead to the dungeons.
Hermione caught her breath as she dropped her bag on the floor.
Draco looked at Ron, and then asked in a bit of shocked respect. "What did you do?"
Ron was at a loss for a moment then stuttered in a flustered manner, "The dust. I mean.uh well."
"You stirred up a bit of earth I believe." Harry stated as he dusted himself off.
Ron looked over at this friend and saw that his eyes had that strange look in them again. Suddenly he found himself asking, "Who are you?"
Harry smiled impishly at him then seemed to zone out for a moment. He shut his eyes and when he opened them they were normal once more. After blinking a couple times Harry looked at his friends then looked at his watch.
"Potions!" He exclaimed, "We're going to be late if we don't get going now!"
Then he was sprinting off, just like that, leaving a gaping trio behind him.
Hermione seemed to come to first and went bolting after him muttering, "Oh he's right! We are going to be in so much trouble!"
Ron and Draco watched her than followed after they came to their senses.
The four of them made it in the classroom in the nick of time. They slid into their seats just as Snape came out of his office.
The Polyjuice lesson had been abandoned due to the fact that no one had gotten past the first step. Though Harry had a feeling that the headmaster might have something to do with it as well. *Call it seers' intuition!
"Today you shall attempt to brew the." Snape had started to drone in his icy voice.
Harry, however, just could not keep his mind on task. The storm outside was bothering him. Just the little bit of power he could sense through the glass had reeked of evil. There was no doubt about it. Voldemort was at the root of this storm.
"Potter!" Snape shouted glaring at him fiercely, "Tell me what the fifth step in making a invisibility potion is!"
Bewildered, Harry looked up at his furious professor and was about to say 'I don't know sir' when his mouth started to work on its own. "You add three pinches powdered lace wing then let the potion simmer until it turns sky blue Professor."
(Author notice: I completely made that up if you didn't notice. Not like it matters! Sorry, please continue.)
Snape glared at him but Harry held firm. The awful look on the professor's face was enough to tell Harry he was right, but the next comment left no room for doubt.
"Five points from Gryffindor for cheating," Snape sneered at him. "Next time pay attention so you don't have to ask someone for the answer Potter." With that Snape turned around and stalked up to the front of the class to write on the board.
Draco gave Harry a weird look and whispered, "You were completely zoned out but you still answered correctly. How did you do it Harry? You didn't ask anyone and I don't think you would spend your free time studying potions."
"I don't know what happened." Harry muttered back, "I just knew."
"Well," Draco smirked a little. "Hermione could have been thinking about the answer so hard that you."
"Draco." Harry growled, "I didn't get the answer from Hermione."
Draco shrugged as if saying 'just a thought' just as Professor Snape turned around and continued to give instructions.
Harry did his best to look like he was paying attention but he was dwelling on what had happened earlier.
'How did I know?' Harry asked himself.
'You didn't,' a very familiar voice piped up in the back of Harry's mind. 'I just happened to know. Aren't you lucky?'
'You again.' Harry thought angrily. 'I thought you were just a figment of my imagination!'
'Oh, come now!' The voice exclaimed in a mock hurt voice, 'How can you sell me so short?'
'Who are you?' Harry thought, as he was thoroughly agitated with this voice now.
He received no answer he was about to yell at it again when he received a sharp jab in his side.
Draco had elbowed him to get his attention, "Come on." He hissed softly, "We have to work on the potion."
Snape looked over at them icily as the rest of the class worked diligently on the appointed task.
"Now!" Draco growled as he began to measure out ingredients.
The rest of the class passed Harry by in a blur. Soon it time to leave and everyone rushed out happy to be away from the cranky professor.
"I can't believe he accused you of cheating Harry!" Ron exclaimed after they were out of the dungeon area. "No one said anything to you."
"It must have looked pretty suspicious Ron." Hermione brought up thoughtfully. She then turned to Harry giving him one of her 'special' looks that are normally reserved for Ron. "You didn't cheat did you Harry?"
"How could he have?" Ron asked exasperated. "We already established that no one said anything to him and he hadn't written anything down all class."
Draco rolled his eyes sighing, "Ron, are you forgetting his new found talent already?"
"No," Ron skulked defensively. "Of course I didn't forget it."
Draco smirked, "Of course you didn't."
Ron glared at the blonde then turned to Hermione, "It doesn't really matter you know. Even if he did get the answer using his talent it wouldn't have been cheating. That wasn't a test you know."
"No, it wasn't but Harry should have been paying attention so he didn't have to get the answer from someone else." Hermione pointed out.
"I didn't get the answer using my "talent"." Harry stated reassuringly to Hermione.
She nodded and the group continued to make their way to class in silence. Soon they came to the spot where they had to split up. Hermione had to go to Arithamacy, Draco had to go to healing magic, and Harry and Ron were heading for Divination.
"See you guys at lunch." Harry waved as they went their separate ways.
Ron grumbled about having to deal with two batty teachers in the morning being cruel. *One being batty in appearance while the other was in the head!
Harry, however, was actually looking forward to this opportunity. The North Tower was the one of the highest places in the school, and height was exactly what he needed.
Ron had already begun to climb the silver ladder and Harry followed up after him. Harry steered his friend to the table near the window. The same table where he had had his first seeing experience in this class.
After settling himself in his chair Ron's eyes began to have a glazed look due to the atmosphere of the room. Harry watched him with amused interest as his friend slipped into a stupor.
Professor Trelawney glided into the room at that moment jingling as she moved.
"Welcome back my dears." She greeted them in her misty tone as she made her way to the front of the room.
Pavarti and Lavender were paying rapt attention, as usual, while everyone else was dozing off.
Harry glanced at Ron and saw the redhead staring at nothing. Harry looked closer and realized suddenly that his friend had fallen asleep with his eyes open. He had to suppress a chuckle as the teacher began to talk.
"I'm afraid that our palm reading studies will have to be postponed for today due to a need for meditation." Professor Trelawney told her class with remorse.
Harry sighed thinking, 'That's a relief, now she won't have a chance to gasp over my 'unusually' short lifeline.'
"Oh Professor are you looking deep into the future?" Lavender asked breathlessly.
"Or are you looking into the past?" Pavarti asked in the same manner.
The Professor smiled at her star pupils, "Actually I am doing a favor for the headmaster my dears. I am going to see what I can divine about this storm."
Harry rolled his eyes and thought; 'Sure this is a favor for the headmaster.'
"You may all quietly meditate as well and there will be no homework." Trelawney continued as she settled herself in front of the fire.
Harry could hardly believe his luck. This was the perfect opportunity to put his plan into action.
In less than five minutes the class had settled and everything was silent Harry scooted away from his table and leaned against the window behind him. He closed his eyes as he felt the cold glass on his scalp.
'Well I guess she is good for something.' Harry thought as he smiled a little. 'The silence will make this considerably easier.'
Harry knew he would not be able to open the window so he had to do the next best thing and hope it would work. Being this high up put him right in the midst of the storm so he had a better chance of contacting the storm here than almost anywhere else.
When he was settled he began; first he released the block he had put up to keep out the thoughts of others in the castle. He had managed to learn how to make a semi block over the last few days. After he let it go the thoughts of the class rushed to him and he winced. Luckily quite a few people were sleeping so their thoughts were toned down but the others who were actually meditating were so loud it was giving him a headache.
Harry gritted his teeth then began concentrating on the storm outside. It was no simple task, he still had a long way to go to control his powers completely and what he was trying to accomplish was a little advanced for him.
So far he had never had to focus all his powers to one spot, they would simply fan out and cover a large area around him. To funnel all of this power into one spot was proving to be quite difficult.
A bead of sweat trickled down his face as he struggled with his power. Then like a puzzle everything just clicked into place.
It was the strangest thing that had ever happened to him and that was saying a lot. Walking through Tom Riddle's diary and Dumbledore's pensieve had nothing on this.
He was in the storm but not, he felt the wind in his hair and the rain on his face but that was all. Somehow, he knew he was still dry and in Trelawney's classroom and for some reason he could not explain he didn't think it was odd.
Harry immediately knew how Dumbledore could tell this storm was not natural. Long threads of magic held the clouds together and gave off directional spells to other parts of the storm making the air positively reek with the smell of magic.
Harry knelt down and examined one of the strands thinking, 'How did he do this?'
'Very good question I mean whatever he tried to do he obviously didn't do it right. What a mess!' the voice that Harry had come to know said in disgust. 'You would think one of the most "powerful" wizards of all time could do a better job.'
'I don't think he cares how it looks,' Harry sighed knowing he had sunk to a certain level of insanity and thought in exasperation. 'As long as it works I think he will be pleased.'
'Yes, I suppose you're right. Though you would think someone wouldn't waste magic on messy work.' The voice added thoughtfully.
Harry could almost growl in frustration as he thought, 'If you know it is messy then you should have some type of idea on what spell this is. That would be really helpful when we're looking for a counter curse for when he uses this.'
'There's no need for a counter curse.' The voice stated smugly.
'What do you mean there's no need!' Harry thought angrily. 'Could you imagine what he could do with this type of power if we can't undo it and the last time I checked you do need a counter curse to undo a curse!'
'Harry!' The voice cut him off. 'Listen to me; you don't need a counter curse because you can fix it. A normal wizard cannot see those threads but you can. That is because you are the seer of lightning. To release the storm you simply must pull those threads loose.'
Harry listened in stunned silence as the voice explained this to him. Then he finally thought, 'So all I have to do is get the threads off the storm.'
'Precisely,' the voice sounded very pleased that he understood.
Harry stood up from his kneeling position and regarded the rest of the storm. Obviously this spell was not only controlling the storm but hurting it as well. The voices of the storm sounded more upset and troubled than when they had thought he was mad.
'Don't release this storm.' The voice stated sharply out of the blue.
'But,' Harry was at a loss, it was so awful to hear them moaning and he didn't want them to suffer anymore. He reached down for the thread of magic before him.
'Don't do that.' The voice told him sharply.
'You want me to just leave them.' Harry thought furiously. 'They're in pain.'
'Harry you must trust me,' the voice soothed him reassuringly. 'This is one of the few chances we can get one up on Voldemort but if you do this now he will know something is up. Don't let this advantage go until you have to.'
Harry hesitated than nodded slowly.
'Good, I'm glad that is settled,' the voice sighed in evident relief. 'Now you better concentrate yourself back to class Ron wants you.'
'What?' Harry asked it but was greeted with silence. Furrowing his brow in frustration and agitation Harry focused back on the class.
With that Harry felt himself being drawn in from the storm. He was back in the tower and Ron was shaking his shoulder roughly.
He opened his eyes a crack to look up at his best friend and stated. "I didn't know you could sleep with your eyes open."
Ron gaped at him for a second than asked, "Where did that come from?"
Harry shrugged as he pushed himself away from the window. "I just thought it was strange."
"Like you can talk," Ron hissed at him. "What was wrong with you? I have been shaking you for the last ten minutes to tell you class would be over in 30 minutes well make that 20 minutes now."
Harry glanced over at the Professor to make sure she was still "meditating." After he was sure he whispered back to Ron, "I was investigating the storm."
Ron stared at him and asked, "How?"
"Well I." Harry began but was cut off.
Trelawney had stood up suddenly and cried out, "Children! I just had a vision of revelation!"
Practically everyone in the room had jumped. Neville had singed his hair when he had fallen back into a candle from shock. Harry and Ron just looked at one another and rolled their eyes.
Harry did not pay attention to what she was really saying instead he listened to her thoughts, which were much more entertaining. By the time she was done ranting class was over and he and Ron were going down the silver ladder and heading for lunch.
"Can you believe her?" Ron laughed after they were well away from her tower. "I saw that this storm was caused by the evil one and that it will continue until sunset." He then mocked her misty voice, "Honestly, she calls that a revelation."
Harry smiled chuckling, "Yeah, it doesn't take a genius to know this storm was Voldemort's doing. I mean who else would do this to Hogwarts? Or, quite frankly, be able to do this to Hogwarts?"
"True, we know it requires a lot of power." Ron agreed. "I guess the only people who could do this would be you know who, Dumbledore, or you."
"Yeah, but no one knows I can and I hope to keep it that way." Harry stated meaningfully.
Ron nodded and saluted, "You can count on me."
"Good to hear." Harry laughed until he remembered something, "Hey Ron, you know what was even funnier about Trelawney's "prediction"?"
Ron smiled and asked, "What?"
"The whole time, she was trying to think of a way she could tell the teachers without McGonagall knowing she was faking it." Harry laughed as they passed the dungeon corridor.
"How would you know that Potter?" an icy voice questioned from behind Harry making him stop laughing in shock.
He whirled around to be greeted by the face of Professor Severus Snape.
***
Sorry I know that was kind of a mean place to end but this is getting to be a bit long. (It's fifteen pages for those of you who care!)
Again I'm sorry for taking such a long time to update and now I would like to thank those of you that reviewed my last two chapters!
Darkangel- Yeah I know it took a long time and you waited forever but it is here! You can stop tapping your foot now too. (Impatient!) Anyway I will see you soon but tell me what you think in a review.
Lord Master Omega- Thanks for taking the time to read my story and I'm glad you found it intriguing!
Lions Blood- You know you are not the first person to bring up Draco's quick transformation from good to bad. I must agree that J.K. does make him pretty bad in her books. My feelings are that Draco is an interesting character that she is making pretty flat. He could be so many things instead of just bad. Oh well that's just my feeling but I think I will make him a bit more Slytherin like soon so not to worry. He's just meek from shock right now. You must admit if your father tried to kill you it would change you a bit. Or at least that is how I felt.
Lady Cinnibar- Thank you so much for sharing your story of misfortune with me. You have no idea how much better I felt to know that bad things like this don't just happen to me. (I already they did but it's nice to be reminded.) I am sorry you had so much trouble with your computers. (stupid machines.) Also, I must say that you are the first person that I don't know personally that has given me lots of constructive criticism about my writing style. It means a lot. I hope to continue to improve my writing and appreciate your encouragement and suggestions. Thanks!
Bunny- (Sigh.) I'll talk to you later.
Dinkum- I'm glad you enjoy my story. I also love Harry Draco friendships. That is partially why I wrote it in this fic. I hope you enjoy this new chapter.
Iniysa- Now you can look forward to the next chapter! That is if you like this one. I hoped you did. I'd hate to be a let down and ruin a story you like!
Serapotter- Sorry that updating didn't happen quickly. I hope you can forgive me and that you liked this chapter if you read it.
MRP- Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for the review.
JerseyGirl03- Thank you for forgiving me for my slowness. I'll try to be better about updating from now on.
Arizosa- Thank you for forgiving me for being slow. I hope you liked this new chapter and thanks for calling me brilliant! Oh and my beta also has bothered me about updating too. Also, I'm glad you like my jokes.
Tereth Dragonstar- Okay, I guess my innocent little joke can be blown way out of proportion. Though I must admit I did laugh for about ten minutes when I read your review. Give your evil twin my regards.
Smilez- Thanks for saying my story is awesome. I appreciate all complements.
Amythest- I'm glad you have enjoyed all the chapters thus far and I hoped you enjoyed this one. Your reviews have always been encouraging and I appreciate them a lot. Thank you for saying that I am great at writing though that may be exaggerating a little. I may be good but I still have a long way to go.
Isis Rose Potter- It's here noooooooooooooooooooooow!
Crabbe Apple Fairy- I'm sorry I haven't read your stories in a while. (Shame on me!) Though I try to look and see if you have updated "Rising from the Ashes." Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.
Katani Petitedra- I hope you like this new chapter. Thanks for the complement on my story.
Okay now that is done. We are up to a grand total of seventeen pages folks!
Please review and tell me what you think! Also always remember that constructive criticism is okay and appreciated.
Till next time. Neo - Kitty (