Harry and Leto silently walked down the corridors of Hogwarts Castle to the
Gryffindor Common Room. They didn't know what to say. Forced to be
allies, and they didn't really know anything about the other. Harry hated
the terrible silence. He decided to start a conversation.
"So.it's good to have somebody to talk about the prophecy with." Harry said.
"You haven't told your friends?" Leto asked.
Harry paused. "No."
"Why?" Leto asked simply.
"I don't know. I guess the right time just never came up." Harry shrugged.
"There's never a right time, Harry. There's only now. It's the only thing guaranteed to you." Leto didn't even look at Harry as he spoke.
*Great* Harry thought *He's a philosopher*
Harry and Leto finally reached the Fat Lady. Harry was about to say the password, when Harry realized something; he didn't know the password.
"Um.you wouldn't happen to know the password, would you?" Harry asked sheepishly. Leto raised a hand; the portrait was forced open. The Fat Lady made comments like "Dear me! Good Lord! You must know the Password to get in here!"
Harry's eyes went wide as the Fat Lady continued to struggle inside her painting. Leto looked at Harry and smiled.no not smiled.smirked. "After you." He said.
Harry nodded slightly and walked in. Leto walked after him and the portrait slammed shut. Harry was amazed at what he had just seen. Leto had just forced the door open! Nobody he knew could do that. He remembered during his third year, Sirius had tried.a well-known lump returned to his throat. He pushed Sirius out of his mind as he met Ron and Hermione in the common room.
"Harry! The O.W.L.'s are in! Oh, and Leto.so, um, what's up?" Ron asked.
"Not much. I'm going to bed. Harry has some things I think he wants to tell you." Leto mentioned. He calmly walked upstairs to his bed.
"So Harry, you got something you wanted to tell us?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, but what about the O.W.L's ?" Harry asked. He knew he was simply avoiding the inevitable, but he was in no hurry to explain his now possible future.
"The O.W.L. scores are in. Hagrid forgot to turn his in, so it took until now to even get them." Ron said, smiling broadly.
"Really? How'd you do?" Harry asked.
"Well, I'll be taking N.E.W.T. classes in Defense, Creatures, and Herbology." Ron stated proudly. "Hermione, of course, got perfect scores on all of them. Right Hermione?" Hermione didn't answer. She was still staring at the door Leto exited. "Hermione? Are you home?"
She turned suddenly to Harry and Ron. "Oh yeah, sure."
"Right.Anyway, here's your scores Harry! Let's see how you did." Ron said excited. He held out a green envelope
"You know I probably didn't do much better than you Ron." Harry said, gently sliding his finger under the opening and slowly sliding the folded piece of white paper out of the envelope. Harry opened the paper, expecting to see a few O.W.L.'s. What he saw crushed him.
Ron saw the look on Harry's face. "It's okay, mate. I mean, they don't judge the wizard." Ron said.
"No," Harry muttered "Snape passed me in Potions, with an excellent." Hermione's eyes flew to the paper as she snatched it out of his hand.
"Harry, you got Excellents in everything but Divination!" Hermione was genuinely impressed. Ron, on the other hand, looked hurt.
"Figures you'd do so well." Ron sighed and sat down on the couch.
"McGonnagal must have had a hand in it. I mean, how else would Snape have judged me fairly? Maybe Dumbledore intervened." Harry said, trying to find an excuse.
"What about the other classes?" Ron said.
"Probably impressed with my Patronus. Really, I'm sure it was luck. I couldn't have normally gotten these right." Ron squirmed in the seat, and Harry began to sweat. Ron already had an inferiority complex, no need to make it worse. "So, Hermione, what's your schedule look like tomorrow?" Harry asked.
"Same as yours. Potions, first thing in the morning." She replied weakly.
"Great." Harry replied, plopping down on the couch beside Ron.
"What did you want to tell us Harry?" asked Ron.
"I forgot." Harry lied. "It must not have been that important after all."
The Gryffindors were extremely outnumbered in the N.E.W.T. Potion class. In fact, the only non-Slythernins were Lavender Brown, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Leto Stormrage. Lavender and Hermione had the luck to be sitting together at their desks, and Harry was fortunately right in front of them. Leto was on the other side of the room completely. Even thought he didn't looked bothered at all, Harry knew he should've been. Leto was paired up with Draco Malfoy. Harry had the bad fortune to be paired up with Salin McGruner, a rather large tub of goo who seemed to eat through out the entire class and still gain points for Slytherin.
As Harry waited for Snape's dreaded return to class, he heard whispers coming from Hermione and Lavender. Without turning his head, Harry decided to listen to what they were saying.
"C'mon Hermione, look at him. He's a dream boat." Lavender whispered. Harry sighed. They were obviously talking about Leto again.
"Lavender, there's more to a person than being really.really.really good looking." Hermione responded. Harry felt relieved at this. He didn't know why, but he did. He didn't want Hermione to have another crush. He already had enough with Viktor Krum. Wait a minute, why should he care who Hermione liked? It was none of his buisness!
"Hermione, the boys not only really, really, really good looking. He's strong, he's gorgeous, he's got this aura, he's beautiful-" Lavender was cut off by Hermione.
"And he's probably as dumb as a sack of bricks. I don't even know what he's doing in this class. Just because you're a mage doesn't make you a genius." Harry smiled.
"Admit it Hermione. He's perfect." Lavender sighed.
"I seriously doubt that." Answered Hermione. Harry's smirk changed to a wide grin.
"What are you smiling at?" McGruner snarled through a snack cake?
"Your 20th cake." Retorted Harry. At that moment, a man in dark black robes walked through the room. His hair was long, black, and greasy. His goatee was the same. Serverus Snape.
"Welcome to Advanced Potions. I expect most of you in this class to do well on account of you getting here through pure skill." Snape eyed Malfoy. "However.some of you will fail out in a matter of weeks due to the fact that you have parked you carcass in a seat in this classroom due to influences beyond my control." He looked directly at Harry, and Harry glared back. "I recognize all of the faces here. Some more pleasant than others." Snape surveyed the rooms, but stopped when he came to Leto.
"Professor Snape." Leto greeted.
"You.must be Leto Stormrage. You are the mage, are you not?" Snape snarled. It was a tone Harry was all too familiar with. It was disgust. Probably due to the fact Leto was an instant hit with Gryffindor. Snape hated Gryffindors.
"Well, are you?" Snape roared.
"You know the answer to your own question, Professor." Leto responded calmly.
The room burst into murmurs. Nobody had ever questioned Snape before. Nobody. Snape's entire face contorted in anger. His eyes burnt, his nostrils flared, and an all to familiar snarl crept across his lips. But as he started at Leto, his anger faded, replaced by a smirk.
"So think your smart, Stormrage? I can assure you you're not." Snape hissed.
"Then that makes two of us." Leto replied, un-phased by the entire occurrence.
The class broke out into more murmur. Snape surveyed the Slytherins. He could not be played in front of them. He stood up straight and flattened his robes. "Okay, Stormrage. You want to play? Let's play." The Slytherins squirmed in anticipation. Harry, Lavender and Hermione were on the edge of their seats. It was a no win situation. Points would be deducted no matter what!
"Tell me, Stormrage, how long must a Polyjuice Potion incubate?"
"One month exactly." Leto answered immediately.
"What is Searinox Blood used for." Snape asked?
"To prevent paralysis. In many cases, a heavy dosage of Searinox blood can even prevent a Basilisk's stare form killing you." Leto answered.
"And what, pray tell, is a Bumblygook?" Snape asked.
"A weed used in making the Slydal potion."
"What is a Slydak potion?"
"A Slydak potion removes unsightly scars and blemishes. It's not advised on the skin of older peoples, as it could shrink their skin. I would recommend some for your nose, Professor." Even the Slytherin's had to hide smirks and giggles. Snape was fuming. Not only had he failed to stump Leto, but he had been repeatedly insulted.
"20 points from Gryffindor!" Screamed Snape. Leto smiled and raised his hand.
Snape stared at the hand before snarling "Yes, Mr. Stormrage?"
"I was just wondering if you knew how to prepare a Notsob Potion." Leto said.
The class stared at Snape. Snape stood perfectly still, but his eyes seemed to wonder around the room. Harry even noticed Snape sweating. It was almost if.no, there was no way.
"That is not important to today's lesson. 5 Points further for disrupting class." Leto smirked and shrugged as if it meant nothing. But Harry knew just what it meant. He didn't know if he could believe it, but it had to have happened. He was right there! Lavender's whispering solidified the occurrences.
"Dumb as a sack of bricks?" asked Lavender.
"I was wrong.he just.wow." Hermione struggled for words.
"Wow? Hermione, he just stumped Snape! In Potions, none the less! He not only is smarter than the Professor, but he's not afraid him!" Lavender whispered almost urgently.
"Okay, I'll admit it." Hermione whispered. "He's perfect."
Oooh, Hermione's got a little crush I think! How's Harry gonna feel? What's Ron been up to? Leto may be quick witted, but how powerful is he? Has Snape found a new victim? Maybe Harry's off the hook. What does that Snake tattoo mean? Will Harry tell Ron and Hermione about the Prophecy?
"So.it's good to have somebody to talk about the prophecy with." Harry said.
"You haven't told your friends?" Leto asked.
Harry paused. "No."
"Why?" Leto asked simply.
"I don't know. I guess the right time just never came up." Harry shrugged.
"There's never a right time, Harry. There's only now. It's the only thing guaranteed to you." Leto didn't even look at Harry as he spoke.
*Great* Harry thought *He's a philosopher*
Harry and Leto finally reached the Fat Lady. Harry was about to say the password, when Harry realized something; he didn't know the password.
"Um.you wouldn't happen to know the password, would you?" Harry asked sheepishly. Leto raised a hand; the portrait was forced open. The Fat Lady made comments like "Dear me! Good Lord! You must know the Password to get in here!"
Harry's eyes went wide as the Fat Lady continued to struggle inside her painting. Leto looked at Harry and smiled.no not smiled.smirked. "After you." He said.
Harry nodded slightly and walked in. Leto walked after him and the portrait slammed shut. Harry was amazed at what he had just seen. Leto had just forced the door open! Nobody he knew could do that. He remembered during his third year, Sirius had tried.a well-known lump returned to his throat. He pushed Sirius out of his mind as he met Ron and Hermione in the common room.
"Harry! The O.W.L.'s are in! Oh, and Leto.so, um, what's up?" Ron asked.
"Not much. I'm going to bed. Harry has some things I think he wants to tell you." Leto mentioned. He calmly walked upstairs to his bed.
"So Harry, you got something you wanted to tell us?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, but what about the O.W.L's ?" Harry asked. He knew he was simply avoiding the inevitable, but he was in no hurry to explain his now possible future.
"The O.W.L. scores are in. Hagrid forgot to turn his in, so it took until now to even get them." Ron said, smiling broadly.
"Really? How'd you do?" Harry asked.
"Well, I'll be taking N.E.W.T. classes in Defense, Creatures, and Herbology." Ron stated proudly. "Hermione, of course, got perfect scores on all of them. Right Hermione?" Hermione didn't answer. She was still staring at the door Leto exited. "Hermione? Are you home?"
She turned suddenly to Harry and Ron. "Oh yeah, sure."
"Right.Anyway, here's your scores Harry! Let's see how you did." Ron said excited. He held out a green envelope
"You know I probably didn't do much better than you Ron." Harry said, gently sliding his finger under the opening and slowly sliding the folded piece of white paper out of the envelope. Harry opened the paper, expecting to see a few O.W.L.'s. What he saw crushed him.
Ron saw the look on Harry's face. "It's okay, mate. I mean, they don't judge the wizard." Ron said.
"No," Harry muttered "Snape passed me in Potions, with an excellent." Hermione's eyes flew to the paper as she snatched it out of his hand.
"Harry, you got Excellents in everything but Divination!" Hermione was genuinely impressed. Ron, on the other hand, looked hurt.
"Figures you'd do so well." Ron sighed and sat down on the couch.
"McGonnagal must have had a hand in it. I mean, how else would Snape have judged me fairly? Maybe Dumbledore intervened." Harry said, trying to find an excuse.
"What about the other classes?" Ron said.
"Probably impressed with my Patronus. Really, I'm sure it was luck. I couldn't have normally gotten these right." Ron squirmed in the seat, and Harry began to sweat. Ron already had an inferiority complex, no need to make it worse. "So, Hermione, what's your schedule look like tomorrow?" Harry asked.
"Same as yours. Potions, first thing in the morning." She replied weakly.
"Great." Harry replied, plopping down on the couch beside Ron.
"What did you want to tell us Harry?" asked Ron.
"I forgot." Harry lied. "It must not have been that important after all."
The Gryffindors were extremely outnumbered in the N.E.W.T. Potion class. In fact, the only non-Slythernins were Lavender Brown, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Leto Stormrage. Lavender and Hermione had the luck to be sitting together at their desks, and Harry was fortunately right in front of them. Leto was on the other side of the room completely. Even thought he didn't looked bothered at all, Harry knew he should've been. Leto was paired up with Draco Malfoy. Harry had the bad fortune to be paired up with Salin McGruner, a rather large tub of goo who seemed to eat through out the entire class and still gain points for Slytherin.
As Harry waited for Snape's dreaded return to class, he heard whispers coming from Hermione and Lavender. Without turning his head, Harry decided to listen to what they were saying.
"C'mon Hermione, look at him. He's a dream boat." Lavender whispered. Harry sighed. They were obviously talking about Leto again.
"Lavender, there's more to a person than being really.really.really good looking." Hermione responded. Harry felt relieved at this. He didn't know why, but he did. He didn't want Hermione to have another crush. He already had enough with Viktor Krum. Wait a minute, why should he care who Hermione liked? It was none of his buisness!
"Hermione, the boys not only really, really, really good looking. He's strong, he's gorgeous, he's got this aura, he's beautiful-" Lavender was cut off by Hermione.
"And he's probably as dumb as a sack of bricks. I don't even know what he's doing in this class. Just because you're a mage doesn't make you a genius." Harry smiled.
"Admit it Hermione. He's perfect." Lavender sighed.
"I seriously doubt that." Answered Hermione. Harry's smirk changed to a wide grin.
"What are you smiling at?" McGruner snarled through a snack cake?
"Your 20th cake." Retorted Harry. At that moment, a man in dark black robes walked through the room. His hair was long, black, and greasy. His goatee was the same. Serverus Snape.
"Welcome to Advanced Potions. I expect most of you in this class to do well on account of you getting here through pure skill." Snape eyed Malfoy. "However.some of you will fail out in a matter of weeks due to the fact that you have parked you carcass in a seat in this classroom due to influences beyond my control." He looked directly at Harry, and Harry glared back. "I recognize all of the faces here. Some more pleasant than others." Snape surveyed the rooms, but stopped when he came to Leto.
"Professor Snape." Leto greeted.
"You.must be Leto Stormrage. You are the mage, are you not?" Snape snarled. It was a tone Harry was all too familiar with. It was disgust. Probably due to the fact Leto was an instant hit with Gryffindor. Snape hated Gryffindors.
"Well, are you?" Snape roared.
"You know the answer to your own question, Professor." Leto responded calmly.
The room burst into murmurs. Nobody had ever questioned Snape before. Nobody. Snape's entire face contorted in anger. His eyes burnt, his nostrils flared, and an all to familiar snarl crept across his lips. But as he started at Leto, his anger faded, replaced by a smirk.
"So think your smart, Stormrage? I can assure you you're not." Snape hissed.
"Then that makes two of us." Leto replied, un-phased by the entire occurrence.
The class broke out into more murmur. Snape surveyed the Slytherins. He could not be played in front of them. He stood up straight and flattened his robes. "Okay, Stormrage. You want to play? Let's play." The Slytherins squirmed in anticipation. Harry, Lavender and Hermione were on the edge of their seats. It was a no win situation. Points would be deducted no matter what!
"Tell me, Stormrage, how long must a Polyjuice Potion incubate?"
"One month exactly." Leto answered immediately.
"What is Searinox Blood used for." Snape asked?
"To prevent paralysis. In many cases, a heavy dosage of Searinox blood can even prevent a Basilisk's stare form killing you." Leto answered.
"And what, pray tell, is a Bumblygook?" Snape asked.
"A weed used in making the Slydal potion."
"What is a Slydak potion?"
"A Slydak potion removes unsightly scars and blemishes. It's not advised on the skin of older peoples, as it could shrink their skin. I would recommend some for your nose, Professor." Even the Slytherin's had to hide smirks and giggles. Snape was fuming. Not only had he failed to stump Leto, but he had been repeatedly insulted.
"20 points from Gryffindor!" Screamed Snape. Leto smiled and raised his hand.
Snape stared at the hand before snarling "Yes, Mr. Stormrage?"
"I was just wondering if you knew how to prepare a Notsob Potion." Leto said.
The class stared at Snape. Snape stood perfectly still, but his eyes seemed to wonder around the room. Harry even noticed Snape sweating. It was almost if.no, there was no way.
"That is not important to today's lesson. 5 Points further for disrupting class." Leto smirked and shrugged as if it meant nothing. But Harry knew just what it meant. He didn't know if he could believe it, but it had to have happened. He was right there! Lavender's whispering solidified the occurrences.
"Dumb as a sack of bricks?" asked Lavender.
"I was wrong.he just.wow." Hermione struggled for words.
"Wow? Hermione, he just stumped Snape! In Potions, none the less! He not only is smarter than the Professor, but he's not afraid him!" Lavender whispered almost urgently.
"Okay, I'll admit it." Hermione whispered. "He's perfect."
Oooh, Hermione's got a little crush I think! How's Harry gonna feel? What's Ron been up to? Leto may be quick witted, but how powerful is he? Has Snape found a new victim? Maybe Harry's off the hook. What does that Snake tattoo mean? Will Harry tell Ron and Hermione about the Prophecy?