a/n: Hey guys, my apologies for this chapter coming so late…again. School is bad. Lots of work. Anywho, NOTES!

Scorchy-11: Hey there!! Sorry this took me so long!! I hope it's long enough to keep ya happy! ::hugs:: Enjoy!

NoOdLeZ: I oopdated! lmao! (sorry, you normal people, we're a little…well—abnormal lol!)

Bond: Yes, muggle contraptions are poo. lol hope this is long enough for ya!

Judge: You change your penname like every other day…lol! I hope this gives you something to do during English class while our lovely teacher talks to herself…::hits self over the head with a toaster:: I do not care for odd English teachers lol…Anyway, enjoy da chappie!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I NOW own…drum roll as author brandishes her left wrist…A HARRY POTTER WATCH!! gets very excited and begins bouncing in her chair See, looky!! points It has Harry playing Quidditch and it has the 'lil thing that ticks around that says "Something wicked this way comes!!!" Everyone needs one!! runs off to buy watches for her readers singing "Double Trouble" really loudly as she skips down the street

Chapter 12: Havoc in the Dungeons

Aquinas has a very loud snore for such a small little fellow, Claire thought in an irritated manner, watching the bird dosing on her nightstand next to her four-poster. The hands on the clock were pushing ever closer to morning, and Claire hadn't caught a wink of sleep. This wasn't caused entirely by the small feathery distraction to her right, but mainly because the excitement of her quest was finally starting to catch up to her. As she stared at the ceiling, she thought of all the millions of ways that she could easily get herself sent to the infamous headmaster. If she was going to get into trouble, she was at the very least going to have the time of her life doing so…

At that moment, Aquinas gave a particularly loud grunt, making Claire start. She huffed, remembering their earlier conversation before they had blown out the candles and gone to bed.

"You really can't get sent to Dumbledore's office until you come up with a decent game plan, you know," Aquinas had said. "I mean, sure you can get sent to the headmaster's easily enough—but what will you say to the man when you get there? Hmm? I mean, you don't particularly strike me as someone who excels in extemporaneous speeches…"

She glared at him through the darkness. She could tell Dumbledore everything without memorizing a script first. Why not? Besides, she had checked the book and JK Rowling didn't mention anything of great importance happening until Christmas—which gave her free reign to do whatever she pleased without screwing up the book until then…or so she assumed anyway. Plus she had Potions first thing in the morning…and she was NOT about to miss her grand opportunity to start getting into some trouble.

Grinning to herself, she rolled over and fell asleep just as the sun began to glow faintly over the distant mountains.

"You look like a gnome who's been thrown across a dung heap," Aquinas muttered as they descended the girl's staircase.

"Good morning to you too, darling," Claire commented to the bird on her shoulder, her words dripping with sarcasm and her eyes threatening to close with fatigue. "I suggest you be careful what you say to me. After all, we have Potions first and one never does know—I might slip some poison in your breakfast…"

"Tuh! As if you'd risk losing your only link to the outside world!" he commented, once again beginning to clean his feathers. "Even you aren't that dull."

But as they entered the Great Hall and seated themselves at the Gryffindor table, Claire couldn't help but notice that Aquinas wouldn't touch the cornflakes in front of him.

"I'm not hungry," he muttered, turning his beak in the air with a sense of stubbornness when Claire commented about not really intending to kill him.

"Oh, did you get another letter from your grandmother?" Bethany asked as she took the seat next to Claire, pointing to Aquinas.

"Eh—no," Claire replied between munches on toast. "The owl just keeps following me everywhere. He's quite a pathetic little thing…" He scowled. Claire smirked. "His name is Aquinas, though."

"Hey, little guy," Bethany said, stroking his feathers. Claire, noticing the owl's displeasure, brought her index finger across her throat in a swift motion. He took the hint and remained silent.

While Bethany chatted away about an upcoming Charms test and poured herself some pumpkin juice, Claire had a look around the Hall. She spotted Robin in her usual spot at the end of the Gryffindor table, once again unaccompanied. Deciding it would be wise to let things settle a bit before she attempted a conversation with her again, Claire resumed her scanning of the table. She immediately spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting together at the opposite end, laughing as Fred and George reenacted something that had happened in one of their classes (it was obviously a very violent "something", seeing as George kept hitting Fred over the head with a muffin). She smiled in their direction. These were the days she was going to enjoy the most, she suspected—the unwritten part of the story in which everyone was happy, and not worrying about death or dangerous sorcerer's jumping out from behind suits of armor to attack them.

That reminded her of something.

"I left my potion's kit in my trunk, Bethie," Claire said, jumping up from her seat and cutting Bethany off in mid-sentence. "I'll meet you in the dungeons!"

And with that she threw her bag over her shoulder, plucked Aquinas off the table as if he was the last spec of food left and she hadn't eaten in three days ("Ooof!!"), and made herself scarce.

"What the bloody hell was that for?!" Aquinas said through a clamped beak, like a human gritting their teeth in attempt not release their irritation. He immediately carried on in the ongoing battle to keep his feathers clean. "There are nicer ways to say, 'Excuse me, would you mind? I'd like to leave very quickly and rudely while my friend talks to herself—' "

"Never mind that, and keep your voice down!!" Claire hissed. She didn't want everyone knowing about Aquinas's unusual talent—she was getting enough unwanted attention as it was. "I want you to do something for me today to help me out."

"I will not be sent on frivolous tasks by an amateur marauder," Aquinas said sharply. "Besides, you don't know your left any better than your right, and I've been strictly instructed—"

"—to help me out when I ask you for something," Claire finished for him, drowning out his words. "And today you are going to do that by scanning the grounds for Sirius Black."

The bird was not pleased.

"I'm a BIRD," he explained. "He is a STARVING DOG. He's going to EAT ME!!!"

Claire rolled her eyes.

"You imbecile…" she muttered. "He won't eat you, he's a wizard. Wizards wouldn't eat owls because they cherish you're service, for reasons unknown." She watched Aquinas's eye twitch as he plucked a cornflake out of his ear with a cocked eyebrow. "Look, you're the one who told me I needed to start looking at the big picture here, and the big picture is saving Sirius. Therefore, I think it would be prudent to know where he is at present."

Aquinas grinned and said, "You think you can use bigger vocabulary and make me do as you wish? Well fine, you'll see how it is. I'll go on this little 'quest' as you call it, and we'll see how well you do without me."

"Well, considering I've been just fine the past couple weeks without you, I'd bet a considerable amount that I would do just peachy on my own," Claire retorted. "Anyway, you get looking for Sirius, and give me any updates on his whereabouts when you return. Maybe we can figure out some way to keep track of him…anyway, just look for the man—er—dog, ok Aquinas? Please?"

She pouted. He sighed.

"Alright alright," he muttered. And away he flew out the open oak doors and onto the grounds.

She grinned triumphantly.

"…Sucker…"

And off she ran to Potions class.

She chose a seat at the very back table next to Bethany and Ginny. The dungeons were getting colder as the season of winter drew closer and the pupils were nearly shivering with cold. The shivering only worsened when a particularly greasy teacher entered the room.

"Parchment out, quills poised," Snape snapped at the class, walking up and down the aisles as he spoke. "Follow my dictating as I guide you through the brewing a proper sleepy draft. The most prudent item to have would be a bezoar, as this is what will actually loll the drinker into a deep slumber…"

Snape's lecture continued on endlessly while the class struggled to write down all the needed information that seemed to be positively flying off their professor's tongue. Halfway through Snape explaining why the temperature must be changed from medium to cool when the potion was nearly ready, he paused in front of Claire's table.

"Woods, what are you doing?" he asked, his tone icy. The class turned to stare.

"Nothing, sir," Claire insisted, an innocent grin spreading across her guilty face.

"Nothing, eh?" Snape said, walking around the table, apparently trying to instill fear in the pupil in question. But Claire remained perfectly calm, smiling away while Bethany trembled in fear beside her, for she knew that Claire had been drawing rude, but also hysterical, cartoons of Professor Snape half the period instead of taking notes.

"That's right, sir," Claire went on. "Nothing but listening to your fascinating lecture, sir."

"Oh really?" Snape replied, unconvinced. "Well, are you aware you are supposed to be taking notes on this lecture, Woods?"

"Oh, yes sir!" Claire piped up. "I have them right here, sir!" She pulled a bunch of papers out from under the table where they had been sitting on her lap, patiently awaiting their time to serve their purpose.

Professor Snape snatched them from her grasp and began thumbing through them. He glowered. Claire smirked.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor," Snape muttered menacingly, "and I'll see you after class, Miss Woods…"

And with that he shoved the parchment in his pocket and continued the lecture. Claire's classmates continued to shoot her curious glances, wondering what was written on the parchment that now resided in the pockets of their Potions teacher.

"Claire, you're gonna get us all in trouble!" Bethany hissed. "Why did you draw all that??"

"It's all part of the grand scheme, m'dear," Claire said slickly.

"Well, if it's a scheme to loose us the House Cup, you're doing a fine job," Ginny said out of the side of her mouth, scribbling down a note about the Ignatius the Insomniatic, who fell into a cauldron of a strong sleeping drought and didn't wake up for thirty years, inspiring a popular author to write a best selling novel about how confused Ignatius was when he woke up.

"Don't worry, you'll thank me later," Claire insisted.

After the lecture was complete, Snape had them get into pairs and attempt to start making very weak sleeping drafts themselves. Claire ended up paired with Ginny, as Bethany rushed off mumbling something about promising Colin Creevey she'd help him out. Claire knew Bethany just didn't want to be involved when she caused a ruckus…which she was very well about to do.

Claire tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the opportune moment. Finally, the time came when they were supposed to move the cauldron off the fire to let it cool. Ginny took care of this, and as she bent over to dig a quill out of the bottom of her bag Claire scooted the cauldron back onto the flames with the edge of a foot.

"Damn it," Ginny muttered, not finding the quill she had been searching for. "Claire, did you see where I—why is that back on the fire?" Her eyes were wide with panic. Claire transfigured her stool into an umbrella and smiled a single word before chaos relinquished on the poor, unsuspecting students:

"Duck."

SPLASH.

"AHHHHHH!!!"

Potion was spewing out of the cauldron as if it were a volcano that had been impatiently waiting to erupt. Claire managed to block the majority of what was shot at her with her umbrella, but the rest of the students were left scrambling to get under desks, chairs, and a few even attempted an escape behind a bookshelf. But alas, before any of them had even made it halfway to their targets, they found themselves peacefully dozing on the hard, cold stone floor.

One of these poor, unsuspecting souls was none other then Severus Snape.

"Brilliant."

Claire closed her umbrella with a snap, the last one left standing in the room. Without a moment's haste, she bustled off into Snape's supply closet.

"Poison antidote…wart remover…nose hair clipper—ew!" Claire commented to herself, running an index finger along the labels of the jars. After noticing the last one, she decided to keep her hands safely in her pockets. "Hmm…where is it…AHA!" She recovered a bright blue bottle with some red liquid inside. "The counter-part to sleeping draft!"

She was about to head back into the classroom when she took one more glance behind her. Everyone in the room would be asleep for the next few minutes at least…and it would be a shame to let all these helpful supplies go to waste, she thought. With a quick check to make sure no one had stirred, she rushed back along the shelves and found the thing she was looking for.

"Bingo."

She slipped the vile into her pocket, and rushed back into the room without a moment to spare. From her opposite pocket, she took out a quill and some ink, and wrote a single word across Snape's forehead.

"That was for Lily, you slime ball," she muttered with satisfaction.

Once again making sure no one was coming, she dipped her hand into the nearest cauldron, and licked the potion off her finger tips. Before sleep claimed her, she dropped a single dollop of the waking solution on the corner of Snape's mouth, broke the bottle on the floor, and collapsed on the way back to her desk in slumber.

A few minutes later, the rest of the class was being aroused by one particularly ferocious Professor Snape.

"WHO DID THIS?!" he roared to his drowsy pupils. "WHEN I FIND OUT WHO'S BEHIND THIS, THEY WILL BE EXPELL—why are you laughing?!"

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Claire grinned evilly at what her classmates were now pointing and laughing at openly. For printed on Snape's head was a single word: Snivillus.

Because everyone was askew about the room in hysteria, Professor Snape could not make a correct assumption at who precisely was behind the dastardly act. Combine that with the fact that he could not seem to get the ink off his forehead and the humiliation from this and it could only equal one thing: triple the usual amount of homework and a detention for Claire for what had been written on the parchment.

Bethany and Ginny would not speak to her on the way to lunch, but she hardly noticed. News of what had happened in the dungeons quickly spread through the Great Hall, and somehow the Gryffindors knew who was behind it.

And then everything immediately fell into place.

"Hey!" Someone was tapping her shoulder as she drank her pumpkin juice.

She spun around to face Ron Weasley, accompanied by his twin brothers and none other than Harry Potter.

She swallowed.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Are you the second year that just reeked utter mayhem on Snape's class?" George asked, his eyes as wide as his twin's.

"Well…" She took a bite out of her sandwich. "I really don't want to get expelled, so let's keep this under raps, shall we?"

The twins beamed with pride.

"You are my hero!" Ron said, shaking her hand with both his own. Claire was glowing. "Hermione would never let us pull a stunt like that! Not that we haven't tried several times, mind you…"

"Tuh! Don't let the woman stop ya, mate!" Fred said with an air of disgust. Ron glared.

"Yeah, it's never stopped us from making Filch's life a living hell!" George said in agreement. "Hey, maybe this one can help us out, Fred…" He nodded at Claire.

"An excellent idea, George!" Fred commented, winking at her. Claire's face was hurting from smiling so much.

As the Weasleys continued to talk excitedly, Claire couldn't help but notice how quiet Harry was, surveying her with more curiosity than admiration.

"Never thought you were one to favor Snape, Harry," Claire commented, taking another sip of pumpkin juice. "I thought you'd at least be smiling at the fact that he's scrubbing his dungeon clean at the moment."

Harry was quiet for a second before he said, "I don't like Snape. At all. I'm just having trouble understanding why you did that. What have you got against him?"

"Loads," Claire replied simply.

"I see…"

Claire received a few more pats on the back from the Weasleys before they dispersed. She was happily turning back to her lunch when she felt a sharp bite on her ear.

"OW!" she exclaimed.

"There's plenty where that came from!" a rather ruffled looking Aquinas said. "I found the wanted man. And I'm supposed to bring you this." He held out a piece of parchment on his leg. "I already read it—you have detention tomorrow. What the bloody hell have you been up to?!"

Claire suppressed a grin. "Nothing!"

a/n: DUN DUN DAAAAAAAAAaaaa! The possibilities for what could happen are ENDLESS! Is this attempt to get in closer with Harry's group of friends going to backfire?! (Most likely.) Is he even more suspicious of her now than he was before?! (Eh—probably.) How long will Claire's ears be ringing from the lecture she's going to get from Aquinas?! (Many, many years.) And….what was the second vile that Claire took from the Potion's closet? ::eerie music plays:: MWHAHA, I'm not gonna tell you! Thanks for sticking with me guys, I'll try and be back sooner this time. Say a prayer for my sister if you have a moment, she's still recuperating. I love you all! ::hugs::

OH and I'm taking a poll this chapter! ::gets out clipboard:: Even though the end of this fic is far, FAR away, I still want your input! How many of you would be opposed to me making the last chapter of this story a song fic? What about if I made some of the other chapters song fics? Please let me know what you think! I've found some good songs that might work if'n you guys are interested! And I'm sure I made loads of people mad with this chapter for "tearing apart the books" so please, for the love of Harry, GIMME SOME CONSTRUTIVE CRITISM! Or just yell at me, flames will be used to fuel my mind! Thanks guys!