Since the storage closet was not far from the Gryffindor tower, it was only a few minutes before they had nearly reached it. Harry kept checking the map to see if anyone was headed their way, but just as they were about to turn the corner into the last hallway, he put up his arm signaling to stop moving. Ron glanced at the map and saw why, Malfoy had been in the storage room since they left their tower, but now he had just stepped out, and was headed towards the hall they were in.

Seconds later, they watched him poke his head out into the hall, looking in either direction to make sure no one was around, before moving into full view and heading in the direction that would take him back to the dungeon area. They could see he was carrying a large box, filled with bottles. It appeared, from what they could see, that the liquid in all of the bottles was the same pinkish-orange color.

As soon as he had moved far enough away, Harry and Ron turned the corner and went straight to the storage room. They saw the cauldron that Malfoy had been using to make the potion, and it was all but empty, leaving just a few drops in the very bottom.

"How can he be done already?" Ron asked as they pulled the cloak off.

"Not a clue," Harry answered, looking around the room quickly. He found some old bottles on one of the shelves and grabbed the smallest one. "I'm taking the end of this with us," he said, scooping up the tiny bit of potion still in the cauldron.

"Good idea," Ron said glancing around the room. Harry looked up when he heard Ron inhale sharply. "I can't believe it, he left it!"

"What?" Harry asked, capping the bottle. Ron had bent down to pick something up from the floor, when he turned around he was holding a book.

"My parents' book! But, why?" Ron asked looking elated and confused all at once.

"Because he's finished," Harry answered. "So he left that for whoever found this place. That way Ginny still gets blamed."

"Well that's not going to happen, I say we tell Dumbledore about this place now, so Malfoy gets blamed."

"But he won't. If we say anything now, he'll get away with it."

"How?"

"If I were a professor and I came across this room, I would immediately assume, having nothing else to go on, that a Gryffindor student was responsible. No one's going to think another student, especially one who's dorm is in the dungeon area, came all the way here to make this potion. The possibility that they could get caught going back and forth would be enough reason not to."

"But we know he did! We can tell them…"

"And they'd want to know why we didn't tell them sooner. We have to wait until we have something more solid to prove it was Malfoy. That's why I'm hoping we can use this," Harry said holding up the bottle in his hand, "to figure out what he made, and who he's going to use it on. With any luck we can stop him before then."

Ron sighed and nodded, realizing Harry was right. They slid the invisibility cloak on once more, and headed back for their tower.

Hermione rushed over to the portrait hole when she saw Harry and Ron come through. They had taken the cloak off just before entering so as not to attract attention.

"What happened? You're back a lot faster than I thought you'd be," she said.

"Malfoy finished whatever he was working on," Harry said.

"But he left this!" Ron put in holding the book up and smiling widely.

"He finished? Then he left this to make sure Ginny was blamed," Hermione said.

"That's what I thought too, but I got this," Harry said holding up the small bottle. "Now we just have to figure out what it is."

"How do we do that without drinking it?" Ron asked, looking warily at the potion.

"Well, we could go to the library and start doing research," Hermione said, looking a bit too happy about this, "find out what potions have this coloring and consistency."

"Why don't we just use the book?" Harry said looking back and forth between the two of them and grabbing the book from Ron. He laughed as they followed him over near the fire where they all sat down.

"Hey guys," Ginny said coming over to them.

"Guess what we've got?" Ron asked, smiling widely. Ginny looked at him questioningly for a minute.

"What?"

"Ta-da!" he said holding the book out in front of him. Ginny's face broke into a big smile when she saw it and she started laughing with relief.

"How?" she asked.

"Ron and I found it earlier tonight," Harry explained. "Malfoy left it in the room where he was working on the potion. It was supposed to point anyone that finds the cauldron and empty potion bottles to you, so he wouldn't take any blame."

Ginny scowled when she heard this.

"That rat! He said he would give it back when he was done!"

"And you believed him?" Ron asked in amazement.

"Well, not really…" Ginny said sheepishly.

"Ginny, we need you to show us what potion you were talking about when Malfoy overheard you. It's probably best to start looking with that one," Hermione said.

"Why?" she asked.

Harry told her about Malfoy having finished it, and showed her what he had taken from the bottom of the cauldron.

"So we have to figure out what he actually made," he finished.

Ginny nodded at him, then took the book and started flipping through the pages.

"Here," Ginny said finally, pointing to the book. Hermione looked over her shoulder and then began reading. After a few minutes she looked up.

"Can I see the potion, Harry?" she asked. He handed it to her and she pulled the cork out. She looked down into the bottle then back up at everyone.

"I need a piece of parchment or something to pour a bit of this on, so I can get a better look."

Ron stood and ran upstairs, returning a few moments later with a few sheets. Hermione grabbed them and tipped the bottle, letting just a drop out onto the parchment. The bead of liquid remained there, not seeping in, moving slightly each time Hermione tipped the parchment. She watched it for a minute, then picked up the bottle again, brought it up under her nose, sniffed quickly and put it down.

"Well, as far as I can tell, it's the right color, consistency and scent. It has to be a memory enhancer potion."

"That's it?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"It would seem so," Hermione said.

"So all of this just so he could cheat?" Ron asked.

"He and whoever else was in on it with him," Harry said. He started to think back to the conversation Lupin and Snape had been having when they didn't know he was there. And what Snape said could happen if he took the potion while he had the knowledge, but he shook the thought out of his head. There was no way Malfoy could know about the knowledge and if he did it would be because of his father. If Lucius was telling his son that much though, then Malfoy must know that Voldemort wanted him alive, so he was sure the potion couldn't be for him.

"I guess there's nothing we can do except be on the lookout then," Ron said.

"For now, anyway," Hermione said, obviously disappointed that they had nothing to pin Malfoy with right then.

"Let's not worry about it now, he said that they would be done by the beginning of May and that they'd still have time left. Now that he's done earlier than that, we have more time to find out what he's up to," Harry said.

"And why he finished early," Hermione added.

As time passed, Harry was forced to concentrate on his sessions above all else. Lupin had gone through both offensive and defensive points of dueling with him, and by the time May was halfway over, he felt much more comfortable about possibly being in a situation where he might have to duel. But it also meant he would now have to move on to his last set of sessions, with Snape.

Harry had been dreading one on one classes with Snape from the first time Dumbledore had told him who would be doing the sessions. At least he couldn't take points away from him in these. But points or no points, Harry always felt like a giant weight was lifted from his shoulders at the end of each session.

Then one day, as he was putting away the ingredients they had used for the class, Harry spotted something on a nearby table. It was the book that Snape kept all of his student's marks in. Normally he wouldn't have given it a second glance, but something caught his eye. For the past three weeks, several Slytherin students, including Draco Malfoy, had steadily rising marks. Harry had a sudden idea and looked over his shoulder at Snape.

"So, did you ever find who stole those ingredients from you a few months ago?"

Snape just looked at him icily.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, you seemed concerned about it the night I…overheard what you were saying to Professor Lupin, and I was just thinking about it again."

"That's none of your business I'm afraid," Snape said coldly. Harry fought the urge to say that it was his business, as Snape had been directly accusing him that night. But he knew that wouldn't help him with what he was trying to do, so instead tried a different approach.

"Professor Lupin told me about what was stolen from you, said it could make a sort of…memory enhancer."

"That's right, it could," Snape said, eyeing Harry suspiciously. "That wouldn't be anything you'd be interested in taking now, would it?"

"No. I don't like to cheat. Plus he told me what could happen if I drank that potion while I had the knowledge. I'm not in a rush to die, no matter what you might think."

"Yes, but you didn't know about what the potion could do to you when you…before it was stolen," Snape said, correcting himself.

"I didn't steal it," Harry said in a low voice. "But I should think if the person who did was using it for a memory enhancer, and they're a student, then it'd be easy to find them."

"Really?" Snape said rolling his eyes. "By all means Mr. Potter, enlighten me."

"Well whatever the reason they may be taking it for, it's going to reflect in their school work. Whether they're good at a subject already or not, they're going to do better because they're going to remember more than they normally would. It's going to happen in all of their classes, I'm sure, so I would check with the other instructors. See which students are doing better in all of your classes and…"

"That's enough Potter," Snape said cutting him off. "Our lesson is done you can leave now.

Harry looked at him for a moment longer. Snape was looking at him with just as much dislike as before, but he could see that he'd gotten through to him, on some level. He probably just didn't want Harry to know about it. He nodded at Snape, grabbed his things, and headed back to his tower as quickly as possible.

Harry got back to his common room and dragged Ron and Hermione to one corner. He told them what he had found and what he said to Snape at the end of his lesson.

"Do you think he'll figure it out?" Ron asked when he'd finished.

"He can be stubborn but he isn't dumb," Hermione said. "I'm sure he will, but I hope he doesn't wait too long to look into it. The fact that Harry told him might cause him to ignore the facts out of spite."

"Well as long as Malfoy and the other Slytherins only used it on themselves, and Ginny or anyone else can't be blamed, then I don't care. Let them do whatever they're doing and leave us out of it," Harry said.

"Maybe we could bring it up with Professor Lupin…or McGonagall," Ron started. "You know, get them to notice their marks…"

"No," Hermione said flatly. "If we point it out to everyone then they're all going to get suspicious of us too. We just have to hope Snape does something about it." They both looked at her and nodded, knowing she was right.

"Well, that's that then," Harry said. "Are you ready for final exams?" he asked changing the subject and grinning.

"Oh shut up you," Ron said rolling his eyes. Harry would still be taking exams, but only to try and prevent any rumors that might start if he didn't. "We can't all have the entire library of magical knowledge in our heads now can we? But I wouldn't mind it for the next couple weeks, anyway…"

"So is that a no?" Harry asked, pushing Ron further.

"I've been studying. Hermione and I have been working together while you and Cho are off doing…whatever…" Ron said defiantly, but smiling anyway.

"Good, they you have time for a game of exploding snap, since you're all prepared already," Harry said.

"Oh yeah…I always have time for that," Ron said standing up. Hermione rolled her eyes and watched them walk away to begin their game, before picking up the book she had been reading, and burying herself in it.

Another week passed without incident and Harry was beginning to wonder if Hermione was right, and Snape was going to ignore the information because he had given it to him. During their after class sessions, Snape would only speak to Harry if it was regarding what they were working on and nothing else. Then on Saturday, when Harry went down to breakfast, he was surprised to see that Draco wasn't at the Slytherin table along with a few other 6th years from that house.

"Hey!" Ron said looking at the Slytherin table.

"I saw," Harry said knowing he had realized the same thing.

"It doesn't mean anything yet," Hermione spoke up. "They could just be sleeping late."

"True, but it is a little weird that so many of them would, plus it's already late. We didn't exactly get up early today," Harry said.

"Well maybe they did, and they've already finished breakfast," she said.

"Oh will you stop!" Ron exclaimed. "You're being such a kill-joy."

"Sor-ry!" she said huffily, "just trying to stop you from getting all excited about something that might not even be happening."

"Well don't," Ron said quietly, but he looked at her apologetically a moment later. "I just want to keep my happy thought, even for just a little while, okay?" he said grinning at her. She tried to continue glaring at him, but couldn't and started giggling.

"Your happy thought?" she said, laughing louder now. Ron turned a little red but didn't say anything; he just looked down and started eating.

"Maybe we could ask?" Ginny asked.

"We could, but anyone that we ask would want to know why we cared where Malfoy was," Harry said.

When they were almost finished eating, Lupin walked over to the Gryffindor table.

"Mind if I sit down?" he asked.

"No, please do," Harry said gesturing to an empty seat.

"I thought you'd want to know, since we have talked about this before," he started in a low voice, "we found who stole the potion ingredients from Snape's office."

"That's great!" Harry said, trying to sound truly surprised, "who?"

"Several 6th year Slytherins. Draco Malfoy being one of them."

"How did you figure it out?" Ron asked, smiling.

"Professor Snape had an idea, actually. We weren't sure what the ingredients had been taken for, and if it was done by a student, or someone else. So to narrow it down, Snape had all the instructors check their mark books, looking for any students that might all of a sudden be doing steadily better. In each case there were five Slytherins that were."

"How smart of Professor Snape," Ron said rolling his eyes. Harry and Hermione glared at him while Ginny stifled a laugh. Lupin looked at them questioningly, but continued.

"Once we had that information, Snape gave the OK to check their dorm. We found several empty bottles of the potion, and a few that were still full."

"I bet Malfoy wasn't happy about that," Harry said.

"Not at all," Lupin said.

"So what's going to happen to them?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah…will they be expelled?" Ron asked, smiling. Lupin gave him a harsh look.

"Mr. Weasley, you wouldn't want a fellow student expelled, would you?" he asked, but then he grinned. "Though I can understand why when it comes to these students in particular. Don't tell anyone I said that," he added quickly.

"To answer your question, no, they won't be expelled. But because they won't be able to take any tests fairly, they will have to take their exams over the summer, if they want to be 7th years next year."

"Summer school! Oh that's too perfect!" Ron laughed, then quickly quieted down with a look from Lupin.

"Please don't spread this around, though I'm sure it will happen anyway. I only told you because of our previous discussion. Okay?"

They all promised. Lupin nodded, and stood up, heading back to the teacher's table.

Cho came over to their table just as Lupin left and they of course told her everything that had just happened.

"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed. "Now at least he can't blame anyone else."

"And they all have to take summer exams!" Ron said, still thrilled about the idea.

"I hope I'm not here again then. The only thing worse than another summer alone would be a summer with a bunch of Slytherins," Harry said, suddenly realizing he had no idea where he'd be staying that summer.

"Oh my gosh, I hadn't even thought of that!" Hermione said. "You can't go back to your uncle's house. Where will Dumbledore have you stay?"

"You could stay with us!" Ron piped up excitedly.

"I'd love to, but I don't think he's going to let me decide," Harry said with a sigh. But now this was gnawing at him and he had to know, he stood up and stepped away from the table. "I'm going up to Dumbledore's office to ask. It's already the end of May so he must have some idea of where I'm going to be staying."

"Want me to come?" Cho asked.

"No, you haven't eaten yet. I'm sure this won't take too long, I'll be right back." He waved at his friends and left the great hall. He'd gotten halfway there when he happened to look down and see the charm around his neck was glowing, bright green. Before he had a chance to act, he felt a hand on his shoulder; he spun around quickly.

"Tytros!" he exclaimed with relief. "You scared me."

"I apologize, it was not my intention," he said.

"No, no. It's okay. I'm just glad it was you and not some other Zlam. Lot of good this thing does me, doesn't tell me you're around until you're right next to me," Harry said holding up the charm Wormtail had given him.

"That's only because I knew you had it, I was able to block its effect until I was too near it."

"Oh…" Harry said, then continued, "How did you know I had it?"

"I saw you wearing it the night I came, when you drank the potion."

"Right, of course…sorry."

"Perfectly alright. You of all people have every right to be suspicious."

"But not of you," Harry said quickly, "You've done nothing except help me."

"I'm only doing what I think is right. I was looking for you actually, to ask you how you're feeling."

"Um…fine, I guess," Harry said, looking at him.

"What I mean is, do you feel any closer to having control of the knowledge?"

"I don't think so…but how would I know?"

"Trust me, you would know."

"I do!" Harry said quickly. He felt horrible and sounding accusatory towards Tytros earlier. "I actually, have a couple questions, now that you're here. If you don't mind?"

Tytros nodded, and waited for Harry to continue.

"When I finally have control over the knowledge, will I be able to transfer it right away?" Harry asked.

"Being able to transfer the knowledge is actually the first thing that will come to you. You will begin to know things about our magic, things that we don't tell any human, but you won't be able to use all of it. This is what Forden was trying to explain to you, the reason the knowledge will kill you is because your mind will be unable to adapt. You as a human cannot force your mind to be something it isn't, even with the knowledge. It will be somewhat of an overload, and your mind will, essentially, stop working."

"And, does that happen…quickly?" Harry asked nervously.

"Two days. From the time you first gain control of the knowledge until the end, it takes 48 hours."

"Well, that's good that is isn't too quickly…" Harry trailed off, then another thought occurred to him. "Will I still be giving the knowledge to you?"

"Yes, I will take it back to my people, then I will sleep, until our new keeper is ready."

"They aren't really going to kill you, right?"

"That is the way it has to be."

"But…"

"Do not argue. You can do nothing to change this and I'm prepared for what I must do."

Harry looked at Tytros and felt so much respect for him. He was so brave to be doing all of this, for what he believed in.

"The same as you are," Tytros said.

"What?…"Harry said, confused, then he realized, "oh…" Tytros had read his thoughts. "Sorry, not used to that yet…" then he ducked his head as his face was turning red. He wanted to change the subject quickly. "This can't happen again, can it?"

"What do you mean?" Tytros asked.

"I mean, once I give this to you, even though I really would like to find another way, can I ever get it back…the knowledge I mean…"

"No. Once you transfer the knowledge away from yourself, it can never be given back to you."

"That's a relief," Harry said honestly. "How will I find you? I mean, I've been looking for you for weeks now. If I only have two days to get the knowledge to you when the time comes, and I don't know where you are, then…"

"I will find you," Tytros interrupted. "Don't worry if you don't see me, because I can always find you."

Harry found this strangely comforting and nodded at him. He stayed silent for a moment, then thought of another question.

"Do you know anything about the spell Voldemort wants from the knowledge?"

"It's something you should never have to witness, much less have to perform," Tytros said quietly.

"But if it's magic that I'd be able to perform, why doesn't he already know it? I mean you said I couldn't adapt to your magic. So if human's can do this, why is it only in your knowledge and not in records that older wizards must've kept?"

"Not everything that the knowledge gives you access to will be incomprehensible to you. The only things you won't understand are the things involving mind control, and thought catching. Spells and curses that can be done without that you can do. However using any of this magic will only serve to end your life faster."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Let's say, just hypothetically, that Voldemort is able to get to you when you have control of the knowledge. Now you have two days to get rid of it before it kills you, but if he has you perform the spell he is looking for, it would be too much of a strain on you. You'd never last the two days, I'd be surprised if you lasted much past performing the spell."

"That's comforting," Harry said weakly.

"Don't think about it then, worry about your lessons and gaining control. As soon as it happens, I will find you."

Harry just stared ahead of him, going over all of this information in his head. He hoped there wasn't too much time left before he was able to make the transfer, but at the same time he dreaded thinking about what would happen to Tytros when he did. He shook his thoughts away, though, as they had arrived at the statue to get into Dumbledore's office. Harry had almost forgot he had originally set out to find out where he'd be staying over the summer.

"I'm going to leave you now, but don't worry, I'll be around if you need me."

Harry nodded and turned towards the statue, when a thought occurred to him.

"There's one more thing I wanted to ask you…" he started as he turned back around, but no one was there. Tytros had gone already. He sighed and turned back to the statue. He still hadn't found out how Tytros had escaped from Mensok and the other Zlam, but he would obviously have to wait.

Harry started up the stairs to Dumbledore's office, hearing his voice before he saw him. When he came fully into the office he saw that Dumbledore was near the fireplace, and Mr. Weasley's head was in the fire. He cleared his throat, not wanting then to think he was eavesdropping. They both looked at him.

"Hello Harry," Mr. Weasley said pleasantly. Harry still felt awkward talking to anyone when it was just their head, but smiled nonetheless.

"Hello."

"Thank you for everything Arthur," Dumbledore said turning back to the fire. "I'll be in touch."

Harry watched as Mr. Weasley nodded and his head disappeared, then Dumbledore turned to him.

"Yes Harry," he said smiling.

"Sorry to disturb you," Harry said quickly. "I didn't realize…"

"Think nothing of it, we were finished when you arrived. Is there something bothering you?" he asked.

"Well, I don't know if this should be bothering me or not, but I was wondering, since it's close to the end of the school year and all, where am I going to stay this summer?"

Dumbledore looked at him for a moment before answering.

"At this time, the only safe place is here. I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's the only answer I have for you."

Harry sighed inwardly; it wasn't that he didn't like Hogwart's. It was certainly better than the Dursley's, but it could get so boring with no one around. And if Malfoy and several of his friends would be there part of the summer, it would be even worse.

"What about, Sirius'? He seems to be safe in the house he's in."

"I already explained why you couldn't stay with him when we were there last summer. If we set it up so that the protections that you had while with your relatives are moved to Sirius' house, the ministry will know about it. They will find him easier. If we do not, then Voldemort may be led straight to you. We can't take the risk, as it is unnecessary while you can stay here. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded.

"I do…it's just, I was just hoping, since I heard that some Slytherins were going to have to take exams here over the summer, that I wouldn't have to…you know…be around them."

"Heard about that, did you?" Dumbledore asked with a smile. "Well don't worry too much about it, they won't be here for the entire summer and they won't have the freedom to do things that they can during the school year either. It is after all, a punishment for them."

Harry smiled again at the thought of Draco having to spend part of his summer taking exams, then realized Dumbledore was looking at him, as if he were waiting for him.

"Well," Harry said quickly, "That was it, that's the reason I came, so I'll just let you get back to what you were doing," he said stepping backwards. He gave a small wave at Dumbledore who nodded in return, before heading downstairs and back towards the great hall.

By the end of May, Harry had completed all of his sessions with Snape, but still didn't feel the change he assumed would happen when he gained control of the knowledge. There was a week left until final exams, so he spent much of his after class time helping his friends study. He had only seen Malfoy at mealtimes lately, as he and the other Slytherins weren't allowed to attend classes until the effects of the potion wore off.

"Think he knows you told on him?" Ron asked Harry at lunch one day, after seeing how Malfoy was glaring at him in hatred. Harry glanced up at Malfoy, then turned to Ron.

"I don't care if he knows, he deserved it. What I do care about is that they have detention every night for the rest of the year and they've lost their house so many points that they can't possibly get the cup."

Ron smiled to himself. Hearing about Malfoy in trouble, no matter how many times, never failed to make him happy.

"I think you're enjoying this a little too much," Hermione said looking at Ron from across the table.

"I can't help it…and it's nothing compared to how much you enjoy studying. That's too much."

Hermione rolled her eyes and shook her head, then turned to Harry.

"He does have a point though, Harry. Malfoy looks very angry with you."

"Well does he ever not?" Harry asked.

"But look at him," Hermione persisted. "I think he does know."

Harry sighed.

"Let's say he does. What can he do about it? He's not in class during the day and he has detention at night."

"Yeah," Ron put in, laughing. "Quality time with Filch every night, no way he's getting out of that."

Hermione just looked back and forth between the two of them then sighed and went back to eating.

Later on that night, they were all in the library, studying for what Harry felt must've been the millionth time that week.

"Either of you feel like taking a break?" he asked hopefully.

"Harry," Hermione began. "We only have two days left before exams start, we can't take breaks now! Besides, we've only been here an hour."

Ron remained silent and looked miserably at Harry showing he truly would love to take a break, but when Hermione looked at him, he just grinned and nodded at her. Harry laughed to himself when he saw this, he could remember a time when Ron never would have done something just because Hermione wanted him to. Especially if that something was studying.

"Well," he said standing up, "I'm going to take a break."

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"Not sure. Maybe back upstairs, anywhere that's not a library, really," he said smiling. Ron just glared at him and gave a small wave as Harry turned and left them to study.

When Harry started walking he really didn't know where he was headed. He just needed to be away from all the studying, it was giving him a headache. He thought about going to the hospital wing to ask Madam Pomfrey if there was anything she could give him, but decided it wasn't too bad, and set off for the Gryffindor tower instead. He'd gotten only a short distance however, when he noticed a light reflecting off the walls as he walked. He glanced down to see the charm around his neck was glowing again.

Harry looked all around him, hoping to see Tytros, but instead saw that he was alone. He knew a Zlam had to be close by, but he didn't know how close, or in which direction they'd be coming from. He didn't want to take the chance of turning a corner somewhere and running right into one, so he ducked into the nearest classroom and waited.

This is ridiculous, he thought to himself. I'm trying to hide from creatures that can find me without looking. I need to do something.

But the only thing his mind kept coming back to when he tried to think of a way out was using one of the unforgivable curses.

Harry glanced out into the hall, looking in both directions, he thought he heard footsteps coming from his right, but he couldn't be sure. Whatever it was it was still very faint. He came back into the room and leaned against the wall near the door.

That's it, he thought, I'm not going to stand any more of a chance against them in here then I will out there. I might as well try to find them first. He looked down at the charm and saw the light was much brighter than before. If it was working the way Wormtail said it would, that meant the Zlam must be very close now. He took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway.

He started to turn right, where he thought he'd heard the footsteps before, but something made him go left instead. Standing less than twenty feet away, were two Zlam, they spotted him instantly.

Harry barely had time to wonder why they kept sending just a few of them, as they could easily overpower anyone here if they were in greater numbers, when an idea came to him suddenly. He drew his wand out as the Zlam started towards him.

"Serpensortia!" he yelled. A large black snake exploded from the tip of his wand. Both Zlam froze, instantly, staring intently at the snake that was raising itself up. Harry did the spell again and when the two snakes were in front of him, he spoke to them.

"Get these two out of the school, in any way necessary. Don't go near anyone else."

The Zlam stared at him in horror, as they heard nothing but hissing coming from Harry. The two snakes lunged at the Zlam causing them to back up a few paces, before turning and taking off down the hall. Harry looked after them, wondering for a moment if they could control the snakes some other way, and yet at the same time, somehow he knew they wouldn't.

He put his hand up as he felt his headache coming back a bit stronger. He knew he should tell Dumbledore right away about what just happened, but he had to do something about the pains in his head.

He began to turn back around and head for the hospital wing, when someone grabbed him roughly from behind. His wand, which he was still holding, was ripped from his hand. He was spun around quickly by whoever had his arms and saw a very familiar face.

"Malfoy!" he exclaimed as Draco stepped closer to him, tapping Harry's wand against his hand. Harry looked to either side of him and saw that Crabbe and Goyle were the ones holding him.

"Potter," Malfoy sneered. "Just the person we were looking for. I'm glad we found you…alone." He smiled wickedly at Harry.

"Won't Filch be looking for you?" he asked.

"He's…taking a nap right now. I'm sure he'll never miss us."

"What did you do to him?" Harry asked quietly. Draco just looked at him as if he were insulted.

"Do you really think I'd do anything harmful?" he asked in hurt tone, before smiling widely, then he looked at Crabbe and Goyle. "Let's go."

He started to walk away and Harry fought to free himself but he wasn't a match for both Crabbe and Goyle. He didn't even think he could take one of them without a wand. Finally, he resigned himself to going with them, for the time being.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Outside."

"What for?"

"Unfinished business."

Harry gave a frustrated sigh.

"Do I have to ask you a million questions? What unfinished business and where outside?" he asked loudly.

"Shut up!" Malfoy hissed, spinning around quickly. He was holding Harry's wand up in front of him, threateningly. He started walking again and everyone was silent for a few moments.

They made it all the way to the school entrance, to Harry's amazement and despair, without running into anyone. What's going on? He thought. If he'd tried to do this without the invisibility cloak he was positive he'd run into Snape or Filch before he made it halfway there. He tried again to free his arms, hoping that they wouldn't be suspecting it, but they were ready for him and he was forced to continue walking. He looked ahead and saw they were heading towards Hagrid's hut.

Sure enough when they were just past the house, Draco stopped and turned to Harry.

"Now," he began, "on to business."

Harry looked at Malfoy, waiting for him to explain. He glanced around and realized they would be blocked from view of the school where they were standing. Malfoy just stood there in silence, so finally Harry spoke.

"What are we doing here? What do you want?"

"We're here for our duel," Malfoy said smiling.

"Our what?" Harry asked.

"I challenged you, and you accepted, don't you remember? I decided we should have it now, before you find some other way to get me and my friends in trouble," he said fiercely.

Harry just looked at him; his headache was pounding now. He did remember Malfoy challenging him the day he drank the potion for the Pyromus.

"So naturally," Malfoy continued, "I have to repay you for that."

"I'm not the one who got you in trouble," Harry said, "You did that yourself by making that potion. I didn't think you were doing so badly, you'd need to cheat."

"I didn't make it to cheat…" Malfoy started angrily, then stopped himself. "It's none of your business anyway, it wasn't from the start so you should've just kept your nose out of it. But you can't ever do that can you? Always have to interfere. You've just been lucky that up to this point everyone confuses your nosiness with bravery. Only this time it won't work out in your favor."

Harry barely heard what he had said; he was just wishing the pressure in his head would go away. Then Malfoy stepped right in front of him and they looked at each other, icily.

"So, what's it gonna be? Are you going to keep your word, and duel? Or are you a chicken?" Malfoy asked, grinning evilly. Harry glared back at him for a moment. He knew he should refuse. Maybe even lie just to get his wand back and then try to get away, but he couldn't. He wouldn't let Malfoy have the chance to call him a coward, and part of him didn't want to leave anyway. He looked to his sides at Crabbe and Goyle before speaking again.

"I don't have a second," Harry said evenly.

"You don't get one," Malfoy answered. "I would think the great Harry Potter wouldn't need one," he added sarcastically.

"Fine," Harry answered quickly.

Malfoy nodded at Crabbe and Goyle who immediately released Harry. He handed over his wand before turning and walking several feet away. Harry watched as Goyle stepped forward and counted.

"One, two, three…Go!"

Malfoy didn't waste any time, he pointed his wand at Harry and yelled.

"Incendia!"

A giant fireball erupted from his wand heading towards Harry, who quickly raised his wand.

"Reflectus Incendia!"

The fireball almost seemed to implode as it flattened into itself, then reformed and headed back at Malfoy, who hit the ground to avoid being hit. The fireball slammed into the ground a few feet behind him and extinguished quickly. He sprang to his feet and glared at Harry, but pointed his wand again.

"Mortis Rigorus Granita!" he shouted.

Harry tried to dodge as a silver flash of light flew from Malfoy's wand, but it clipped his left arm. He looked down to see the flesh on his arm turning to stone, and slowly spreading up towards his shoulder.

"Absorbicus!" he said pointing his wand at his arm, then watched as the stone moved as if in reverse until his arm was normal again. He pointed his wand down to release the energy he'd just absorbed into the ground and saw a small patch of grass turn to stone. Malfoy was using pretty dangerous spells. He knew that he could easily use the same ones, and worse, but he didn't want to cause serious injury to his opponent, who obviously didn't share this point of view. He looked up to see Malfoy raising his wand again, and reacted quickly.

"Osteo Dysplagia!"

A red light shot from the end of his wand slamming into Malfoy's right shoulder. Draco dropped his wand and brought his left hand up, trying to massage the spot he had just been hit, but he was only causing himself more pain, as his shoulder was now dislocated. His right arm hung limply at his side. After a moment he bent down and picked up his wand in his left hand, raising it in front of him.

"Hemocrit Hyponis!"

Icy blue smoke began emitting from Malfoy's wand and moved quickly in Harry's direction. Before he could do anything he was engulfed in the cloud, and he felt his insides go cold. His blood was freezing and he couldn't think through the pain to stop it. He doubled over and tried hard not to concentrate on the icy feeling, but instead on taking steady breaths, as he was starting to hyperventilate.

Then, slowly he began to feel warmth again. He couldn't explain how and he didn't care at the moment, all he knew was it felt like the ice melted and he was able to breathe again. He stood up straight and raised his wand, noticing the shocked look on Malfoy's face before he spoke.

"Morpho Lacertus Wing!"

Harry watched as the light that came from his wand hit exactly on target into Malfoy's left arm, which quickly became a large wing with brilliant green feathers.

"Do you give up?" Harry asked, smiling now. "You can't even hold your wand anymore," he added nodding to where Malfoy's wand was laying on the ground. Malfoy just glared at him, helpless to attack any further, then looked furiously at Crabbe and Goyle.

Goyle raised his wand first, but Harry was ready for this.

"Accio Vox Goyle!" he yelled.

Goyle pointed his wand and tried to shout a curse, but his voice was gone, he stared at Harry in horror, and then turned to Malfoy, who was looking at him in disgust. Crabbe stepped forward next, and pointed his wand.

"Trichophagia!" he called. But Harry reflected it easily; it reversed in mid-air and slammed into Crabbe's face. His tongue immediately began sprouting hair and he started pulling at it fiercely. Harry stood there laughing to himself at the site in front of him. He wished Ron could've seen it because he knew he would've enjoyed it. He shook his head and started to walk towards the three of them, intending to get their wands before restoring them back to normal. The pounding in his head was now at the point of being immensely painful and he knew he would need to go to the hospital wing when he returned.

He was just beginning to wonder if this might be related to the knowledge when a blinding pain shot from his head down his back, causing him to fall to his knees. Now he knew what Tytros meant when he said he'd know it when he felt it. Harry dropped his wand and put his head in his hands, he stayed motionless for a few moments and little by little, the pain began to subside. He slowly opened his eyes, and saw nothing but white for a few seconds, he rubbed at his eyes, trying to force them to readjust. The first thing that began to come into focus was a pair of feet; someone was standing directly in front of him. He began to look up to see who it was when he heard a voice.

"Crucio!"

Harry was utterly consumed by the pain running through him, he already felt weak from what had just happened a few moments ago. He writhed on the ground in agony, screaming, his eyes watering from the pain. When it finally stopped he stayed where he was with his eyes shut firmly, breathing quickly. He rolled onto his side as he began coughing violently and when it finally subsided, he forced himself into a sitting position, and looked around.

A cold shiver ran down his spine as he stared around in shock. Several death eaters and shapeshifters were standing around him, and closest to him, was Lucius Malfoy. He grinned evilly down at Harry, who quickly looked at the ground near him.

"You won't find it down there," Lucius said.

Harry looked up quickly and saw Lucius was holding his wand. He noticed then that Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were standing nearby, all restored back to normal and looking a bit pale. Harry was glad to see that they were at least shocked to see what the Cruciatus Curse could do, then he looked back at Lucius.

"Stand up," he said harshly. Harry moved slowly as his entire body was aching all over, but he didn't want to show them that. He stood up and looked at Lucius defiantly.

"Draco," he said turning to his son, "you did very well tonight, and you would have won if Potter here wasn't such a cheater."

Harry opened his mouth to ask how, exactly had he cheated, when Draco had been the one using all the dangerous spells, but thought better of it and just listened.

"I'm glad to see you've been paying attention," Lucius finished. Draco just nodded at his father, he glanced at Harry once, but turned away quickly unable to keep eye contact. Harry wondered briefly what Lucius had meant by that, when he saw one of the shapeshifters step up next to him. Lucius just looked at him and nodded. Harry felt a burning sensation go through him as the shapeshifter put a hand on his shoulder that lasted until he took his hand away. He swayed on his feet and it felt like all the strength was leaving him once again.

The shapeshifter stepped back a few paces and Harry was horrified to see it looked like he was melting. Only the flesh wasn't dripping down, it was rearranging itself, and in less than a minute he found he was staring at himself. The fake Harry walked over to where Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were standing and Lucius handed it Harry's wand.

"Now all of you get inside the school quickly," Lucius said, then turned to the shapeshifter, "and you find some of Potter's friends, it's the only way to get inside their tower. Remember you only need to be here a day, maybe a day and a half. It shouldn't be too hard to keep them fooled that long." The four of them nodded at him and then set off back up the hill. Harry stared after them in horror as he realized what was happening, but he was too weak to even move, his vision was fading in and out.

"What's the matter Potter, not feeling well?" Lucius asked gleefully. But Harry didn't hear him; he could no longer remain conscious, and slumped, onto the ground.

When Harry woke up some time later, he was completely disoriented. He sat up slowly, still a little achy from all that had happened and looked around. He was in a room that had one very old looking chair and a small table with a candle on it. There was no other furniture, and no windows. The door on the far side of the room was closed and, he assumed locked.

He didn't know how long he had been there, so he pulled his watch out of his pocket. It was just past 5:30 in the morning. No one had come for him this time, so the shapeshifter must have been able to fool everyone. He just hoped that it wouldn't hurt anyone, but he knew that wasn't why it was there. It was so no one would know Harry was in trouble, until it was too late.

After a minute he stood up and started pacing, he was very cold and needed to get the blood in his legs moving again. He went over and checked the door, and as he suspected it was locked. The floor was covered with dust and cobwebs, it looked like this had been shelves up on the wall at some point, but no longer. There were a few splintered pieces of wood in one corner, and pieces of parchment that were crumpled up strewn around here and there. But nothing there would help him against death eaters…or Voldemort.

Why couldn't I just stay in the library and study, he thought, then I wouldn't be here now. He wondered if anyone even figured out that the shapeshifter wasn't him, would anyone even be able to find him. He didn't have the slightest clue where he was. Then another thought came to him. Tytros would surely recognize that the shapeshifter wasn't him, because he was able to sense the knowledge. He'd recognize right away that the shapeshifter was fake and if he did it soon enough, there might be enough time for someone to find him.

His thoughts were interrupted suddenly when he heard noise outside the door. Someone was talking, but he couldn't make out what they were saying and it was too faint to even recognize the voice. Then, the handle jiggled, and the door slowly swung open.