Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

On the last day of term before the Easter holidays Snape announced that the sixth years would be testing their Veritaserum one week into the new term.

"That's something to look forward to in our holiday" Ron whispered to Harry and Hermione.

"I'm using one of Fred and George's Skiving Snackboxes and going off sick that day" Harry whispered back.

"Good idea" said Ron.

"What's a good idea, Weasley?" asked Snape icily.

Harry and Ron looked up to see Snape looking down his hooked nose at them.

"I think it's a good idea to put the two of you in detention" Snape continued. "Seven o'clock tonight. Now clear up and get out of here"

Harry and Ron were both angry about getting detention from Snape, but they cheered up when they entered Bill's classroom for double Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"I thought we might have a duelling competition. How about it?"

The class looked at each other and began to whisper excitedly.

"Why don't we use the room of requirement?" suggested Harry.

"Excellent idea, Harry" said Bill.

Five minutes later the class had assembled in the room of requirement.

"Bow to your partners" called Bill "Wands ready? On my whistle. Three, two one!"

Bill blew his whistle. Everyone waved their wands and shouted incantations. Seamus's wand flew out of his hand. Lavender was sent flying across the room when Neville reflected her impedient jinx back onto her. Ron was doubled up on the floor with laughter thanks to a Cheering Charm from Harry. Ron raised his wand to hit Harry with a jinx

"Ha ha Petrif...ha ha...exp...ha ha" Ron dropped his wand.

"Next round" called Bill "Change partners!"

Harry paired up with Parvati who used the reductor curse on a torch just above his head. Harry moved out of the way just in time and sent a Stunning spell at Parvati which she ducked.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Parvati

"Protego!" yelled Harry.

Parvati's wand went spinning out of her hand and landed on a nearby pile of books. Bill made them change partners every few minutes so that every member of the class got to duel with everyone else. Harry was the most successful winning all of his duels.

"Class dismissed!" said Bill as he gave Harry a box of chocolate frogs.

"We'll want them later" said Ron pointing to the box in Harry's hands "after we've done our detention"

Ron was quite right. After three hours of cleaning up chewing gum, ink and chalk left all over the castle by Peeves Harry and Ron were exhausted.

"What the hell was Rowling thinking when she put that bloody poltergeist got to be in the books?" demanded Ron as he helped himself to a frog.

"He uffel a' time" said Harry thickly. He had just bitten his own frog in half.

"I sposo" said Ron stuffing an entire frog into his mouth "Bu' wikett e be uffel wout bing blnwesen?"

"What?" asked Harry.

Ron swallowed his frog with some difficulty.

"I said Why can't he be useful without being a bloody nuisance?"

"Dunno" said Harry. "I bet Snape told him to make all that mess today"

"Wouldn't surprise me" said Ron darkly. "There's another one these books could do without. Oh hi Hermione"

Hermione had just come down the girl's staircase.

"I have good news" she said.

"What?" asked Harry and Ron suspiciously

"Malfoy's gone home for the holidays. I saw him getting into a carriage after dinner"

Harry and Ron cheered up at once.

Harry and Ron spent most of the Easter holidays on the Quidditch pitch or visiting Hagrid. Hermione kept nagging them to do their homework.

"We'd better get some of this work done" said Harry. "Hermione's not going to let us copy hers"

"She always says that" said Ron "then she lets us borrow her notes anyway"

"But she's not here" said Harry.

Hermione had finished all her work and was now spending most of her spare time in the library.

"Well I'm going to do this later" said Ron setting his essay on the Fidelius Charm for Professor Flitwick aside. "Think I'll take a walk"

Harry followed Ron out of the portrait hole. It seemed like half the school was taking advantage of the unusually warm weather. Several fifth and seventh years were sitting under trees revising for their upcoming O.W.Ls and N.E.W.Ts. Some younger students were enjoying a game of gobstones near the edge of the lake. Harry spotted Adam Prince coming over to say hello.

"Hi, Harry" said Adam "I can't wait for the next book to come out. What do you think is going to happen?"

"Er" said Harry.

"My brother Percy will take dancing lessons from the giant squid" said Ron sarcastically.

"You know what I think?" said Adam then without waiting for an answer "I reckon one of the Slytherins will end up being good"

"Mental" said Ron later that evening. "No Slytherin's ever turned out good" They were back in the common room tackling their huge pile of homework.

"They can't all have been evil" said Hermione "I mean in over a thousand years there must have been some decent Slytherins"

"Are there any decent Slytherins?" Harry wondered as he lay awake that night. The Sorting hat always described Slytherins as cunning and ambitious and most of the Slytherins that he knew fitted that description. Harry couldn't think of any Slytherin who he might begin to describe as good.

On the first day of the new term Snape was waiting in his classroom along with twenty bottles of Veritaserum. Harry had forgotten that they would be testing it.

"When I call your name, come to the front of the classroom" said Snape looking straight at Harry who tried to look unconcerned. He could think of several questions that Snape might ask him.

"Maybe I got it wrong and it won't work" Harry thought hopefully. Snape seemed to read his mind for the next words out of his mouth were "If anyone deliberately got their potion wrong, I should tell you that none of you is going to test your own potion. Snape's eyes were still on Harry who was hoping that Snape would test Crabbe or Goyle's potion on him. They were the most likely to have got it wrong. But Snape's right hand hovered and then came to rest above a bottle clearly marked with Hermione's name.

The door suddenly opened and Dumbledore strolled in.

"Headmaster" said Snape stumbling backwards. Dumbledore seemed not to notice.

"Professor Snape, due to the strict guidelines regarding the use of Veritaserum, I am required to watch over this lesson" said Dumbledore casually.

"Very well" said Snape.

"And you may only ask questions that appear on this list" said Dumbledore handing Snape a piece of parchment. "Would you care to begin?"

"Yes of course" said Snape failing to hold the note of disappointment in his voice "Potter, up here" Snape paused for a second before adding "please"

When Harry was seated at the front of the classroom, Snape handed him a spoon with three drops of Veritaserum on it. Harry tipped it down his throat as his classmates watched. A few seconds later he heard Snape's voice.

"What is your full name?"

Without thinking Harry opened his mouth and answered "Harry James Potter"

"What is your date of birth?"

"The thirty first of July"

"What are – what were your parent's names?"

"James and Lily Potter"

After a few more questions Snape gave Harry an antidote and sent him back to his seat. He didn't like the feeling of automatically answering questions without thinking about them. It reminded Harry of being possessed by Voldemort.

"Well at least the questions aren't too bad" whispered Hermione when Harry mentioned this to her and Ron.

"Yeah they are" Ron contradicted her "Snape's asking everyone their full name"

"So what?" said Harry "There's nothing wrong with that"

"There is if your middle name's Bilius" muttered Ron.