Chapter 10: And it begins

Harry bypassed the portrait of the Fat Lady, who was already asleep, that lead to the Gryffindor common room. He didn't bother going to get his invisibility cloak figuring it would be too much of a hassle. Not to mention he had spent five years sneaking around Hogwarts underneath the cloak and he was now quite gifted at blending in with the shadows. He continued up the stairs to the 7th floor and made his way down the corridor to the tapestry of "Barnabus the Barmy" being clubbed by trolls. He walked passed it three times thinking of what he wanted to be in the room. On the third pass a door appeared. He placed his hand on the doorknob and pushed the door opened.

The room was smaller than it was when he used it for the DA meetings in 5th year. Now it was the size of a cozy sitting room. There were bookshelves crammed full with books that took up one whole wall. A marble fireplace took up half of the wall on the left side of the room. The floor was covered with a thick plushy carpet that was a deep burgundy color. There was only one piece of furniture in the room and that was a low table that sat in the middle of the room. The table was surround with a variety of different colored pillows that appeared to be quite comfortable.

He sat down Indian style on one of the pillows at the head of the table and waited for the others to show up. He felt Amethyst move in the hood of his robe and the next thing he knew she was crawling over his shoulder and purring in his ear. Then Amethyst lost her balance and tumbled over his shoulder and on to his lap. He held back a laugh, although just barely, at the Amethyst's dazed look.

"Graceful aren't you," Harry snickered as he petted the tiny fur ball, who meowed as though to say that she was damn graceful and highly insulted that he implied otherwise.

The door opened and Hermione and Ginny entered. Hermione sat on his left and Ginny on his right. They talked quietly about insignificant things as they waited for the others. Next to arrive was Luna, who was dressed in her pajamas. They were actually normal, consisting of a pair of lounge pants that were dark blue with moons and stars on them and a matching tank top. But her fuzzy lavender slippers that appeared to have some kind of puffballs sticking up from them like antennas proved that she was still a few French fries short of a Happy Meal. As she sat down next to Hermione the door opened again and Neville stumbled in. He mumbled apologizes as he sat down next to Luna. Seamus came in minutes later flopping down next to Ginny and telling them Dean was on his way. Evidently, some 7th year student, who had been raving about some kind of deal, had cornered Dean. It was all pretty sketchy. But five minutes later Dean scrambled through the door with an all too delighted grin. Nobody dared to ask.

"Now that everyone's here, I call this meeting of Payback in order," Hermione directed. A small grin flitted across her faces. "Sorry guys, I couldn't help myself."

"So, what's the plan?" Ginny asked.

"Well...'Mione and I have a few plans, but some of them are going to take awhile. Therefore we're going to start off small," Harry addressed to everyone before turning to Hermione. "'Mione, when do you think we'll have potions?"

"We always have potions on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So we should have it tomorrow, unless of course they changed it," Hermione answered. "But have you forgotten that you and I have Advanced Potions where Ron does not."

Harry grinned. "I didn't forget. Neville, Seamus, and Dean are in Intermediate Potions. Right?" The three in questioned nodded and Harry continued. "Now, this is what you guys are going to do. Neville try to be Ron's partner. If you're assigned to someone else or you don't work in partners then sit by him, either directly in front or directly behind. Then I want you to blow up your potion for a distraction. Make it a big explosion, okay?"

"You got it," Neville agreed readily. This would be a piece of cake for him, since he always ended up blowing up his potion.

"Now Dean, you're good at the wingardiam leviosa spell, so this is what you're going to do," Harry started. "I have a potion that I'll give you tomorrow at breakfast. When Neville blows up his potion and before the smoke clears you need to dump the potion on to Ron's head. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Seamus, if something goes wrong or Neville's potion blow up isn't enough of a distraction, you need to be."

"Alright. But what is the potion going to do?" asked the Irish boy.

Harry grinned wickedly. "Oh, you'll see. And trust me you'll know when it happens."

"Next. Ginny get in touch with the twins and see if they have any new items that need to be tested," Hermione ordered.

"Can I tell them why?" Ginny asked.

"If you think that it will help. I'll leave the decision up to you, after all they're your bothers," Harry answered.

"Can do. And I know they'll help. Probably more than you would want them to," Ginny laughed and the others joined in.

When the laughter died Harry moved on. "Dean, Seamus, sometime tomorrow I want you to go to the Owlery and gather as many feathers as you can."

"Feathers?" Dean and Seamus questioned simultaneously.

"Oh. My. God. You're going to...to..." Hermione couldn't finish, as she was laughing to hard at the mental image that had popped into her head.

"Yes. Don't worry you'll find out tomorrow night," Harry snickered to the others.

"Luna," Hermione said after she got herself calmed down. "You'll be working with me. We have some research to do."

"I'll help," Ginny volunteered.

"Everyone understand what they're to do tomorrow?" Harry asked looking around at everyone.

"Aye!" everyone chorused.

"Alright then. When it's time to move up our attack will make another meeting, until then this meeting is adjourned," Hermione said slamming her hand on the table as though she were dismissing a courtroom.

To keep the chances of being caught to a minimum they left the Room of Requirement one at a time with ten minutes between each person. Soon the only ones left were Harry and Hermione.

"Harry, Ginny told me you went to talk to Professor Lupin about Amethyst," Hermione probed.

Harry smiled he knew that was coming. He stretched out on the plush carpet and made himself comfortable. Then he told her everything that Remus had said. When he finished Hermione had a small frown on her face as she thought.

"I'm going to do some research of my own. I'll let you know if I find out anything else," Hermione finally said. "Just be careful, okay Harry?"

"I don't think I have anything to worry about. I mean Amethyst is such a sweetheart. Just look at her," Harry said pointing to the tiny kitten. Amethyst was rolling around and stumbling over the pillows.

Hermione's lips twitched as she tried to suppress a grin, but it was a wasted effort. "You might be right," she agreed.

"Hey look at it this way, as long as she doesn't bred with any cat- like creatures and produce some hybrid, we're okay," he joked.

"Yeah, let's just hope this doesn't turn out like the Gremlins," she muttered.

"Well, light doesn't bother her. But I don't know about water or the eating after midnight thing."

"Let's not find out. Just in case."

Harry shrugged. "If you say so." He picked up Amethyst and climbed to his feet. "Come on 'Mione, we have to go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow...err...today."
The two left the room and snuck back to the Gryffindor Tower. They said their goodnights at the bottom of the dorm stairs before heading up to their rooms. Harry tiptoed into the 6th years dorm room as quiet as a mouse. One of the boys, probably Neville, left a candle burning and Harry made a mental note to thank him. With the candle he didn't have to worry about tripping over something and breaking his own neck. Merlin, he could see the headlines; The-Boy-Who-Lived died after tripping over a shoe.


Shaking his head at his morbid thoughts he got ready for bed. Dressed only in his boxers he crawled into his bed and pulled the red curtains closed. Slightly paranoid that Ron might try something while he was sleeping he caste a powerful protection charm around then bed. The spell made it so that if a person had bad intentions they'd get shocked if they touch the curtains. Then he laid down and fell asleep with Amethyst purring contently on the pillow next to his head.


"'Ello green-eyes," said a soft dreamy voice from the darkness.

Harry smiled. "Hello, Angel. I didn't see you...err...hear from you last night. Everything okay? Did you go see the 'other'?"

"Yes, and everything is good. What about you?" she asked.

Harry gave small chuckle. "Surprisingly wonderful. Granted I'm about to start a feud with my ex-best friend, but I'm actually looking forward to it. Must be my Slytherin side coming out."

Soft laughter echoed through the darkness. "Nothing wrong with that. After all, you should find some joy in everything you do. And I guess I won't need to be telling you that you should look deep within."

"Deep within what?" Harry asked.

"That's for you to find out," giggled the guardian. Harry didn't know what to feel about his guardian giggling. He was actually kind of disturbed by it. "I got a pet. Her name's Amethyst," Harry said after some time had passed in silence.

"I know. She's a Night Creatures, yes?"

Harry nodded. "That's what the witch at the shop said. Do you know anything about Night Creatures?"

"Just what your friend Lupin has already told you. He was very accurate in his knowledge of the subject. Though I can tell you, that Night Creatures are not all evil. I know that was bothering you. But Night Creatures are just like any other animal and like humans in the fact that, there are good ones, bad ones, and the ones that exist in the shadows, between good and evil," Miss Guardian Angel said.

"I understand."

"Do you?" she asked mysteriously.

Harry frowned but didn't know how to answer so he let it go. "Do...Do you have any news on Sirius' condition?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"I told you that if his condition changed you would be the first to know."

"I know, it's just..."

"Green-eyes, you are going to have to be patient. When your Sirius fell through that veil he lost a lot of energy, and not just magical energy but Chi, the life energy that every living thing has. If he wasn't such a strong wizard, or as stubborn as I'm sure he is, or if he had been beyond the veil any longer then he was, he would have died. As it is, he is in a deep coma. His energy levels aren't even near being stable. It's going to take a while."

"How do you know all that?" Harry asked in a strained whisper.

"Because I'm the one who saved him and I'm the one watching over him," whispered the guardian.

"You? But...why? Not that I'm complaining or anything," he said in a rush.

"I know. And I saved him, because he mattered to you. Now enjoy your day, because it's time for you to wake-up green-eyes."


Harry woke bright and early. Since it was only six o'clock no one else was up. He climbed from the bed and quickly got ready for the day. After showing and dressing into his school robes he grabbed a book, A Guide to Medieval Sorcery, and headed down to the common room. He sat in a plush red armchair next to one of the windows that overlooked the Quidditch pitch. The storm from last night had calmed down to a gentle shower. Rain drops trickled down the window panes like a lover's tears. He watched them for a few minutes before turning to his book. He read until Hermione came down at 7:30. Knowing the others wouldn't be up for another half an hour; the two left the tower and went to the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was pretty much deserted, still being way too early in the morning. There was only a handful of sleepy looking Hufflepuffs, no other Gryffindors but them, and at least ten Ravenclaws. To Harry's surprise there was also three Slytherins and one them was none other than Draco Malfoy. Gods, it should be illegal to look that good in the morning.

Harry sat in the same place he had the night before and Hermione took her place next to him. He almost wished she had sat across from him. That way he could stare at Draco and have everyone think that he was simply looking at Hermione. Ginny showed up and solved that dilemma by sitting across from him. He was free to stare to his heart's content.

Soon the others showed up and sat down around them. Professor McGonagall came by handing out their class schedules not long after that. Glancing over the schedules quickly they were pleased to note that potions was today. And Intermediate Potions was right after breakfast. The group laughed and joked around as though they had no care in the world, but there was more to it then that. For underneath the table, hidden from view, Harry slipped Dean the potion. Communicating with eyes and the tilt of the head the message was passed. The mission was a go.

"Hey 'Mione, my schedule says M.A. What's that?" Harry said showing her the piece of parchment.

"I don't know. Mine says it too," Hermione frowned.

"M.A? I have that also," Ginny said. "What about you guys?"

Dean, Seamus and Neville all shook their head 'no'.

"Students," Dumbledore called over the ruckus. The noise slowly died as the students turned their attention to the Headmaster. "As some of you have noticed, there is an extra class labeled M.A. Not everyone has this class. It is reserved for 5th years and above who have the potential. Thank you and enjoy your breakfast."

Harry frowned at the Headmaster. Did the old man explain anything or was he just making noise 'cause he liked the sound of his own voice? Harry looked around the hall and realized he wasn't the only one annoyed by the old man's vagueness. The Hufflepuffs looked massively confused. The majority of the Gryffindors just shrugged it off. The Ravenclaws acted like it didn't apply to them and who knows maybe it didn't. And the Slytherins were glaring, big surprise there. But one glare caught his attention; Draco Malfoy's. Draco's glare should have set Dumbledore on fire. To bad it didn't.

"So Hermione, what do you have first?" Harry asked as the two finished breakfast and headed out of the Great Hall.

"Transfigurations," she answered without looking at her schedule.

"Same here," Harry smiled.

"I know. Our Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule is exactly the same. And our Tuesday/Thursday schedule is only off by three classes," she stated as they climbed the stairs to the tower to get their books.

"That's cool," Harry grinned. "I wonder what Ron's schedule is?"

"Well, we know he can't be in our Transfiguration class, because he's taking Intermediate Potions at that time. And he can't be in our second period class because we have Advanced Potions. I'm sure I can figure out the rest in about 30 minutes."

"Okay, knock yourself out."

After getting their books they headed for the Transfiguration classroom. They were 25 minutes early so Hermione pulled out some parchment, a quill and an ink bottle. Quickly she began writing. Harry pulled out a book about becoming an Animagi and started reading. Students slowly began trickling in but neither Harry nor Hermione noticed.

Twenty minutes later Harry was jolted from his book when Hermione announced that she had got it.

"Got what, Hermione?" Harry asked puzzled.

"Ron's schedule," she whispered. "It's only the Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule and this is just an educated guess, of course. There are a couple classes that I couldn't guess on, so I wrote both down. Here," she said sliding the parchment in front of Harry.

Weasel's Schedule (Educated guess)
Monday/Wednesday/Friday
Intermediate Potions
Charms or Herbology (?)
Care of Magical Creatures (only time it's offered to 6th years)
Lunch
DADA or Divination or History of Magic (?)
Transfiguration (only other Trans. opened to 6th years)
S.D (?)

"You never cease to amaze me, 'Mione," Harry laughed.

"Hey, Harry is it true?" gushed Parvati Patil as she came to stand in front of his and Hermione's desk. Lavender Brown, Parvati's best friend, came to stand next to her. The two girls were known for their love of gossip. So whatever she had heard probably wasn't good.

"Is what true, Patil?" Harry asked his emerald eyes narrowed slightly.

Parvati leaned closer to him and whispered, "That you're gay!"

Her staged whisper had caught everyone's attention. Heads whipped around so fast that Harry was surprised that nobody suffered whiplash. Bummer that. Instead, the entire class that consisted of half the 6th year Gryffindors and Slytherins stared intently at him. After catching sight of Draco's cool gray eyes and cocky smirk from across the room, he looked straight at Parvati and refused to look anywhere else. This definitely wasn't good. It took all his self-control not to start slamming his head against the desk. Hard. So that he could knock himself out. But he was a Gryffindor and they were brave and daring and had nerves of steel and all that other bullshit. He gave a quiet sigh. He should have known this was coming. Ron had been way too quiet at dinner last night and at breakfast that morning. Ron probably thought that he would be embarrassed and horrified by this. And in truth it was a little embarrassing, but he wasn't about to let Ron succeed, not even a little. "Parvati," Harry started, his voice was calm and slightly cold. "I don't see how my sexual orientation is any of your concern. So why don't you go sit down and stop harassing me."

"What is going on here?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly. "Miss. Patil and Miss. Brown, find your seats, now," commanded the stern witch.

The two girls were quick to rush over to two empty chairs. Everyone else in the class turned to face forward as Professor McGonagall began to teach. Well, almost. As the lesson went on everyone kept sneaking peeks at him. He could feel their eyes drilling into him. He couldn't wait for class to end. That was until he realized that his next class was Advanced Potions, with the Slytherins. Gryffindor always had potions with the Slytherins. But this time, he knew that it would be worse because the only ones from Gryffindor taking Advanced Potion were Hermione and him. And he could already hear Draco's taunts and Snape's smart-ass remarks. He wasn't looking forward to that. He gave another sigh. The day had started off with such promise. Hopefully, everything had gone according to plan in the Intermediate Potions class. It was the only thing that guaranteed to brighten his day.

Lil' Sphinx: Hi. Glad everyone's liking the story so far. Thanks again for all the reviews. I love them. Even if you ramble or go off on some tangent that's fine. Because I'm a freak and enjoy reading them. Also, I'm sad to say I won't be able to update for a couple of days. I have a test in my Soc. class, a paper to write for my history class, and I have to move out of my dorm. But I'll make sure the next chapter is nice and long to make up for it.

ra1n0ng32- I've already answered the question that Amethyst helps get Harry and Draco together. And no, Ron's family won't seek revenge against Harry, because I like the rest of Weasley family with the exception of Percy.

Autumn Sun- Thanks for deciding to read my story even though it wasn't your usual type. And I'm glad you like it. The Night Creature idea came from the darkest depth of my mind. I have a lot of weird ideas and they usually only make sense to me. As for other couples, I will tell you that Neville and Luna will get together, Hermione will get someone but I'm not tellin' who, at least not yet. Let everyone try to guess. And Snape will actually get a love life too. I figured he seriously needs one, maybe if he got laid he wouldn't be such a evil bastard. Well, he'd most likely still be an evil bastard but that what makes him so likable.

Kingess and Kai Minomo- Thanks for telling me where the RoR was, I kept thinking it was on the 8th floor. Both of you were a big help.

Serpentine Iris- Yes, this will be a very long story. I never write short stories. I don't think I can.

Velchan- I'm glad you liked the way I portrayed the Slytherin. I think everyone always gets too stuck on them being wholly evil. As for Shadow being evil...maybe...maybe not.

Natasha- Thanks for all the nice comments. I really don't think I'm all that good of a writer. In fact I almost didn't even post my story because I'm paranoid about others (besides me, myself, and I) reading them. And you really want to know about me?

Okay, I've had a lot of people ask if Amethyst is the Guardian. All I'm going to say is that Amethyst and the Guardian are connect.