Harry Potter and the Kingdom of Shadows

by QuicksilveRy-Lullaby

Sixth year begins at Hogwarts for Harry & his friends, all still trying to come to grips with the events of only a few months before. It brings all the usual things, but with a slight twist... PG13 for now, will rise later. (I know, bad summary :p )

7. Chapter 6: Mouthful of Poison

Chapter 6: Mouthful of Poison

Blood spilled

Heart-felt

Head filled

Play dead...

The portrait hiding the entrance to Gryffindor Tower swings open to let Glory into the common room, having just finished the last of her detentions with Filch. The large, usually busy room is empty and silent, the other students having already gone to seek their beds for the night.

'Malicious old bugger,' Glory thinks as she flops down into the large chair closest to the fire. She tilts her head back to stare up at the ceiling as she stretches her aching muscles. After so many long hours of mopping dirty stone floors and polishing suits of armour under the watchful eyes of the Hogwarts caretaker she feels thoroughly exhausted.

"I'm so glad that's over now!" she yawns, muttering to herself and checking her watch. It is after one in the morning already. She groans. "At least I wasn't caught out after curfew," Glory sighs and lowers her eyes to watch the flickering flames in silence, taking the chance to final get a moment to relax.

Her mind strays briefly over thoughts of her first week at the school and slowly, as the warmth of the fire begins to affect her, her eyes begin to drift shut. She fights a losing battle to keep her eyes open and finally gives in to fatigue and she sleeps.

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The leaves rustle overhead as the light wind snakes through the branches. A young woman sprints quickly through the shadowed terrain, her face a pale mask of determination.

The sound of a twig snapping nearby causes her to spin around suddenly to face the dark presence that radiates waves of malice that forces the tiny hairs on the back of her neck to rise. Her grey eyes widen as she sees just what has wandered up behind her. White masks, gleaming faintly with reflected moonlight, floating eerily above bodies hidden in the darkness.

She turns and runs with a speed bred of pure panic, knowing she can't possibly handle them all. She moves quickly, more quickly than she can ever remember having moved before, almost floating over the uneven ground as she flees, dodging spells shot at her exposed back.

She cries out, startled when she is knocked to the ground. One of the masked figures laughs, a cold, harsh sound, as he steps out from behind a tree. Behind the dark slits of the shining white mask, cold grey eyes sparkle, watching her in wicked amusement. Amusement that is mirrored in his voice as he practically purrs his curse.

"Crucio."

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A soft cry breaks the stillness of the night as the student wakes with a start, panting heavily in remembered terror, surrounded by darkness.

Recalling with alarming clarity every horrific detail of the dream, dismayed green eyes flash with worry as the troubled teen listens carefully for any sign at being overheard. The soft snores of the other adolescents continue undisturbed as they carry on dreaming, unaware of the movement of one of their own.

With a quick sigh of relief, the emerald eyes peer out through the closed curtains to make one final check that the others are really asleep. Finally certain, muscles begin to relax. Sitting in bed, staring blankly down at the sheets that have become tangled at the foot of the bed during the nights thrashing, the preoccupied youth gives another quiet sigh and lightly rubs at the faintly prickling scar on his forehead. Seeking a modicum of comfort from the peaceful snoring of his dorm mates, Harry Potter slips carefully out of bed and silently sneaks past the other beds and out of the dorm, heading for the Common Room to sit by the fire.

Harry pauses at the top of the stairs when he notices that someone already occupies the chair closest to the fire. He takes a few more steps before he realises just who it is. With a trace of a smile, Harry quietly makes his way down the rest of the stone stairs, waiting expectantly for Glory to turn around and catch him sneaking up on her. Not until he reaches the ring of chairs surrounding the fireplace does he realise she is asleep. He takes this rare opportunity of catching her unawares to study his friend.

Even at rest her face gives away little of what is going on in her mind. Only the slightly erratic rise and fall of her chest as she breathes and the faint downturn at the corners of her lips hint that whatever she is dreaming about may be less than pleasant. Her right arm rests folded across her waist, the hand relaxed, yet curled lightly around the handle of the wand stowed in the holster, as if not wanting to be caught unprepared. Her left arm rests folded up behind her head in a deceptively innocent way that makes Harry smile. That hand, like the other, is within range of the hilt of a wand.

It had already become a common sight around Hogwarts to see Glory with a wand securing her hair in place, a style that created quite the buzz around the school of people wondering where the second wand came from, whether it was real or not. Harry quickly bites back a laugh as he remembers the shocked looks on the other students' faces when she revealed why a few nights before in the common room.

It wasn't the fact that she admitted to feeling safer having two wands with her in case something were to happen to one of them, that made sense to most people. Nor was it the demonstration she gave in a mock duel with Seamus of how much quicker she could draw the wand from her hair and cast a spell than to use the one in her holster, an event that was enough to inspire a few of the more clueless girls to try and copy the style, only to have their plans fail when they had to actually use their wands during lessons.

The big shock to the students who were there to witness it, mostly older students still up after curfew to finish some last minute homework, was that Glory admitted she was indeed ambidextrous and that both of the wands she carried with her at any given time were not only her own, both very real and capable of casting spells, but that with enough effort she could use both at the same time with different spells.

Harry breaks out of his memories of that night as Glory moans almost inaudibly. Her head rolls to the side, baring her neck and showing the mere hint of a thin gold chain hidden beneath the unbuttoned collar of her uniform shirt.

The fire continues to burn brightly in the hearth, crackling peacefully in the silent room and throwing a faint orange glow over the area, lighting Glory's pale skin with a warm apricot hue. Her slight frown deepens and her brows furrow. Harry watches her with a slightly worried expression and steps closer, settling himself on the nearest couch. As if sensing his nearness, Glory's tension fades away and her frown is replaced by a faint smile. She breaks the lingering silence.

"How long have you been watching me, Harry?" she asks sleepily, turning her head towards him and opening her eyes. He smiles at her as she stretches her muscles, stiff from sleeping in such an awkward position.

"Only a few minutes," he tells her, checking his watch to make sure. "I'm sorry if it bothers you, but I couldn't help myself. It's just, in this light you remind me so much of…" Glory nods understandingly as he trails off, climbing out of her chair and joining Harry on the couch.

"Remus has told me practically the same thing, so no worries Harry, it doesn't bother me at all," she curls up against him, making herself comfortable leaning against his shoulder, and giggles. "And you can watch me sleep any time you like." He snorts quietly, knowing she is just teasing him. After a few moments of silence, Glory lifts her head away from his shoulder. "What are you doing up Harry?"

"Couldn't sleep," he mumbles, shrugging his shoulders weakly as Glory looks up at him worriedly.

"Bad dream?" Harry gives her a significant look and she shakes her head. "Ok, stupid question," she rolls her eyes slightly. "Do you want to talk about it?" Harry shakes his head and turns to watch the fire, missing the fleeting troubled look that crosses Glory's face.

"Not at the moment." Glory sighs, wrapping her arms around him for a quick hug. She smiles when she notices his blush and starts to tease him, but Harry cuts her off, trying to distract her. "How was detention?"

Glory grimaces, her breath hissing between her teeth. Harry turns back to face her with a questioning look.

"I don't think Mr. Filch likes me very much." Harry rolls his eyes, telling her that he's not surprised. She shoots him a small, shaky grin and continues. "I don't suppose accidentally stepping on his cat helped that any."

"Ry!" Harry laughs, looking just the slightest bit scandalized.

"What?" she tries her best to pull off an innocent look, but fails miserably and bursts out laughing at Harry's doubting look. He joins in a moment later, collapsing against Glory as she fills him in on the events between gasping breaths.

"Do you have any idea how many people here will wish they could have been there to see that?" Harry grins as he imagines the looks on his other friends' faces when they find out. Glory shakes her head as Harry tells her a few of the more interesting stories involving run-ins with Filch and his cat.

Finally, after having laughed themselves out, the two teens fall into a comfortable silence, leaning against each other and watching the fire. Just as Glory's eyes begin to drift shut once more, Harry brings himself to voice a question that has been bothering him for a few days.

"So why have you been avoiding me all week?" It takes a moment for Glory to register what he says, but once she does her head comes up like a shot, and she looks at him for a moment wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"I am in every one of your classes, I sit with you most meals and in the common room when we have spare moments," she snorts loudly, looking somewhat amused. "Now taking into account my other classes and these blasted detentions, with all the homework, and time needed for sleep, how can you possibly say I'm avoiding you? There's just… I don't have the time to avoid you!" Glory giggles at the slightly crossed-eyed look on Harry's face.

"Fine, you've been avoiding being alone with me, is that better?" he rolls his eyes at her slightly as he specifies. Glory nods, telling him that clarity is the key to getting the answers you want. Harry studies her suspiciously for a moment before making another comment. "You still haven't told me about the meeting with Dumbledore."

"I suppose I have been avoiding you bit because of that," Glory sighs, hunching forward and resting her head in her hands. She rubs tiredly at her eyes. "I just didn't quite know how to tell you about it. I did something pretty foolish Harry," she confesses, knowing that it's past time for him to find out about what happened in the headmaster's office.

"Tell me." Worried by her tone, Harry gets strait to the point, watching her reactions carefully for any hints of what she's going to tell him.

"I as good as told Professor Dumbledore, and consequently, Professors McGonagall and Snape as well, since they stayed around for the meeting," Glory's voice is muffled slightly by the way she is sitting, her face mostly hidden from view as if she is ashamed of what she is saying. "That Jess doesn't trust him. Not with me, not with you or Neville, or any of the others."

"Oh, Ry…" Harry groans heavily, collapsing back against the couch. His head drops back and his eyes turn to stare at the ceiling in growing frustration. "Why? Why would you do something like that?"

"I walked myself into it a bit," Glory lifts her head slightly to allow her to peek at her god brother out of the corner of her eye, trying to judge his reaction to her story so far. "They wanted to know about the Howler, which led to discussing the reasons." Glory pauses and quickly rewords the statement. "Some of the reasons, why I didn't come to Hogwarts before now, and then there was a bit of an incident with a brief mention of the Order and how I knew about it." Glory bites her lip as Harry's head snaps forward, his mouth hanging open slightly in his shock and his eyes very wide. She continues with her explanation quickly, not giving him the chance to get a word in. "I lost control and pretty much told him Jess blames him for everything and now doesn't really trust him."

"That must not have gone over well," Harry mutters quietly after he is sure Glory has finished telling him what she needed to, looking unsure of what to think about everything he's heard for the moment. Obviously she is still welcome at the school if she is still around and going to classes. And, so far, there has been no additional punishments heaped on her either.

Glory puts a hand lightly on his shoulder and asks what he's thinking. He studies her in silence for a moment before telling her exactly what is running through his mind.

"So you haven't noticed it then," Glory comments quietly with a wry smile. Harry frowns and shakes his head, telling her to explain what she means. She gives a soft, humourless laugh. "The staff has been watching me extra close this week. Well, maybe not all of them, but the ones at the meeting certainly," she clarifies. "I keep just happening to run into Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore in the hallways, or the library, or anywhere else I may be walking by myself and Professor Snape actually came to check on me in detention a couple of times."

Harry swears softly under his breath as he thinks back over the past week, the classes and mealtimes and the watchful eyes of the staff and it suddenly makes more sense to him. He had been thinking that somehow they had found out about the plot the sixth year boys were working on, that they were keeping an eye on him, but it had been about Glory all along.

"So I guess we could say that some of my comments didn't go over well, but really, what can they do about it?" Glory adds, breaking Harry's thoughtful silence and getting them back on track with the original issue. "Jess is not the only parent who feels that way, certainly."

"No," Harry voice sounds a little reluctant as he answers, and there is a sudden tension in his movements. "But the others are purebloods that are against him for his feelings towards muggles and muggleborns and stuff like that."

Glory frowns at what he seems to be implying.

"I hope you're not suggesting what I think you're suggesting."

"You have to admit she does sort of fit the pattern," Harry adds reluctantly. He doesn't want to upset Glory, but feels the need to come clean about his doubts with her.

"I will not!" Glory stands up and steps away from Harry and the couch, moving closer to the fire. She paces back and forth as she speaks. "Jess may be a pureblood, but come on, some of her best friends growing up, and even now, are muggles and muggleborns. You know she's not like that!" Glory pauses in her movements, leaning back against the fireplace, taking a moment to calm down. When she speaks again, her voice is moderated, quieter and less edgy. "She doesn't believe that pureblood propaganda that Voldemort and his supporters spread around. She wasn't raised that way."

She looks up at Harry, to see if he is even listening at all to what she is saying and notes that he still looks doubtful. She sighs, knowing she'll have to pull out the big guns and tug at his heartstrings a bit if she hopes to change his mind even a little and see where she's coming from.

"Harry, she's been friends with Remus for longer than we've been alive knowing full well his condition." Harry looks a little surprised to see where Glory is going with this train of thought and waits silently for her to continue. "And she's never had anything but good to say about Hagrid, even wrote a letter in his defence after that disgusting Skeeter woman's article." Both Gryffindors frown as they recall the incident from a few years earlier where Hagrid's big secret was revealed in a way that would have made any muggle tabloid newspaper proud. Glory shakes her head to clear her thoughts and gives another example, seeing that Harry seems to be opening up to the idea that maybe Jess isn't someone to worry about.

"And as for the whole muggle issue thing, come on Harry, Lily, Eric…" Glory trails off, her eyes closing as a single thought from the back of her mind pushes forward with force. "You're having trouble trusting her because she was a Slytherin, aren't you?"

"The thought had crossed my mind," Harry confirms a little sheepishly after a few moments. He looks up at Glory from his place on the couch, looking like he wants to believe her, but there is still something about her explanation that he's wondering about. "But even you have to admit the thing with my mum was… special circumstances." There is a slight hesitation to his voice as he says it, unsure how Glory will take the comment. He smiles slightly as she laughs quietly.

"All right, I'll give you that one," Glory nods, admitting that the friendship between the two women was something distinctive. "But would you care to explain Eric then?" Harry looks at a momentary loss for what to say, but then he gets a mischievous glimmer in his eyes.

"Love does funny things to people?" he suggests innocently, and Glory giggles, knowing that even if he isn't completely sure, at least some of his misgivings have been laid to rest.

"Brat," she teases lightly and he grins at her. Glory pushes away from the fireplace and steps back towards the couch. Once she has settled back down next to Harry she makes a last comment on the subject. "To be completely honestly, I'm not sure how much I like you not trusting my mum Harry. I mean, come on, you had no trouble trusting Sirius when it came right down to it."

"Yeah, and you see where that got me," Harry sighs heavily, looking suddenly tired.

"Oh Har," Glory wraps her arms around him and hugs him close. They sit together in silence again, watching the fire crackling away and taking comfort in each others company.

"Are you sure you kept those secrets you wanted to?" Harry finally speaks up, pulling his mind off of his dark thoughts and back to those of the meeting with Dumbledore.

"I did," Glory nods as she shoots Harry a grateful smile. "But only because of your warning the first time. If I hadn't been expecting it, who knows what he would have learned…" Both teens shudder as they think over the possibilities.

"What about Sna…" Glory elbows Harry lightly and he corrects himself. "Professor Snape? Did he try too?"

"Oh, I think he might have liked to, but no, he was behind me most of the time." Glory grins wickedly as she recalls how irritated the potions master was throughout that meeting. When Harry asks about the look, she tells him it's nothing, just an idea forming that she'll tell him about later.

"But who's to say how long that might be," Harry prompts, trying to get her to spill the information. "It took you this long to tell me about the meeting! It's like I hardly ever really get to see you."

"But see, that proves my point that I wasn't avoiding you," Glory smiles as she reiterates her point. "It's just with all my classes and homework, plus detentions, meals, sleep, there just isn't as much time as I'd like."

"You manage to make time for Neville easily enough," Harry mutters, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't tell me you're jealous?" Glory giggles as the expression on Harry's face at the comment has him looking even more like a petulant child.

"No," he replies quickly, but at the knowing look Glory sends him, and with a little harassment, he revises his answer slightly. "Not really."

"Oh, Harry, I haven't seen Neville in years either and he's family too," her voice is soft, but the seriousness is evident, even covered as it is by her amused tone. Harry uncrosses his arms and sighs. "Plus, he needs my help as much as you do. You know what he's like around Snape. He needs all the potions help he can get."

"And I don't?" Harry grins at her wryly, reminding her of his own troubles in that particular class, mostly having to do with their professor.

"Then join in on the tutorials with us some time," Glory rolls her eyes slightly at him, as if she thought the answer was obvious. "It'll help in more ways than one."

"Like what you were telling me about this summer?" Harry asks after a moment of thought. Glory nods and winces slightly as her neck gives a loud crack. She stands up and begins to move around, stretching her muscles with a few odd contortions that makes her joints creak.

"Have you been practising like we talked about?" she asks, looking at Harry out of the corner of her eye over her left shoulder as she stretches her arm.

"Trying to" he answers slowly, watching Glory's twisting and turning with raised eyebrows. She asks what he meant by that, ignoring the look and sitting back down next to him. "I got a good start at the Dursleys, because they were too afraid of my 'freaky friends' showing up to say anything against it. But after, when I was staying with Ron, and it was a bit hard to find some alone time to work on it. Everyone was keeping a pretty close eye on me. They were worried how I was taking everything and tried not to leave me by myself at all."

"Sounds a little annoying," Glory rolls her eyes and Harry shrugs, saying he knew they meant well. Glory shakes her head and doesn't say anything more about it. Instead she goes back to the subject of practise. "Well, at least you got a start on it. For most people that's the hardest part, but once you reach a certain point it becomes almost instinctual and much easier to handle."

"Well, I hope so," Harry comments with a quiet laugh. He shifts himself so he can rest his head in Glory's lap and grins as he looks up at her slightly startled expression. "I said I'd try it, so I guess I'll sit in on some tutorials with you guys."

Glory laughs softly, telling Harry that he's always welcome and she begins to run her hand lightly through his hair. He joins in the laughter as she teases him about how messy it is.

"So tell me more about your summer Harry," Glory asks quietly. And he does, talking about his holiday until they both fall asleep in front of the fire.

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It is still early on Saturday morning and the Great Hall is nearly empty as Harry pokes his head through the doorway and takes a quick look around. There are only maybe 10 students scattered around the tables, having an early breakfast. The staff table is likewise sparsely populated, the librarian Madam Pince chatting easily with Professor Sprout at one end and Professor Snape by himself farther along the table.

Spotting Glory sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table, hastily scribbling away on a piece of parchment with her Fwooper feather quill, Harry walks farther into the large room. She doesn't look up as he gets closer, just waves quickly and continues to write.

"So this is where you disappeared to!" Harry sits down across the table from her. He voice, although kept low in volume, carries slightly in the nearly empty hall. "I was a little worried when I woke up and found you gone. You didn't even say goodbye or leave a note or anything."

The loud clatter of utensils being dropped onto plates echoes through the hall from the High table and Glory drops her quill and covers her mouth with her hand as she tries to fight off her laughter at the looks on the faces of the staff and other students. Harry sends her a confused look, seemingly unaware of the reaction his words would evoke.

"You might want to be careful who overhears you saying things like that Harry," Glory leans across the table slight and speaks in a very low voice, making sure none of the other students can hear her. "They might get the wrong impression."

It takes a moment for Harry to grasp what Glory is telling him, and she laughs as she watches the blush rise in his face as he realises just what his words may have implied. Seeing just how uncomfortable he looks, Glory decides to do what she can to step in and smooth over the situation a little.

"I guess this proves a point then Harry," Glory grins at him mischievously as he asks what that point is. "That you're not allowed to wait up for me when I have detentions anymore. I mean, if you slept through me sneaking past you in the common room, twice, you obviously can't handle staying up that late!"

"But—" Harry starts, but Glory cuts him off.

"I didn't say goodbye because that would have involved waking you up and I thought you could use the sleep," Glory picks up her quill from the table top again and starts scanning through the parchment in front of her to see where she left off. "And I wasn't aware I had to leave you a note telling you where I was going," she adds blithely. "Since logically I would have to be on the grounds somewhere and you'd have found me eventually."

Harry shakes his head at her, his blush finally disappearing as he notes that the rest of the people in the room seem to have returned to their regular activities and are no longer focusing on the two Gryffindors. Glory returns to her writing.

"So what are you doing down here so early anyway?" Harry asks with a hint of concern in his tone. He knows that she barely got any sleep the night before and that she hasn't fared much better most other nights. She's been pushing herself very hard all week to keep up with everything and the strain is starting to show in the dark circles beginning to appear under her eyes.

"Couldn't sleep," Glory looks up from her parchment and shrugs. "Thought I should probably give Jess a heads up on the latest and I was kind of hungry, so I thought here would be ideal for both problems." She raises an eyebrow as Harry's jaw drops slightly.

"You're going to tell her what happened?"

Harry sounds more than a little shocked at what Glory is proposing. Writing home to tell the family about the trouble you've gotten into is an event unheard of in all his years of school experience. Most students try to cover up their misdeeds. Glory laughs at his reaction.

"Of course I am, Harry! Most of the time, in general, our family doesn't keep secrets from each other." Harry looks at her as if he can't believe what she's saying. He looks around the hall calculatingly before shooting her a doubting look. Glory winks at him and grins. "Hey, that's why I said mostly. I mean, she was a Slytherin for a reason, after all." Harry fakes a coughing fit to cover his laughter as out of the corner of his eye he notices the glare being directed at them by the Potions Master.

Glory watches the faint flicker of his eyes and turns slightly, reaching for the pitcher of pumpkin juice to give her an excuse to peek towards the staff table. Seeing the look on Snape's face is enough to tell her that he can hear every word they are saying. Glory hides her grin quickly behind her cup as she turns back to face Harry again.

"You want to say hi?" she asks, sliding the letter across the table to him. Harry stares at her blankly for a moment, not taking the parchment.

"What should I say?" he looks at her helplessly and she rolls her eyes.

"How about something along the lines of Hello, how are you? I'm fine… you know, the usual letter kind of stuff?" Harry grins mischievously and pulls the parchment to him. He reaches out for the quill and ink Glory hands him and begins to write quickly.

Once he's finished, Harry hands the parchment back to Glory and she reads aloud to herself what he wrote.

'Hi, it's Harry. Just wanted to say hello and let you know that things here are going all right so far and I'll do my best to keep Ry from getting into too much trouble!'

"Oh, ha ha Harry!" Glory mocks sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "That's very cute. I'm sure Jess will appreciate that." Harry grins at her innocently and she sticks her tongue out at him. "Is Neville awake yet?"

"Don't think so," Harry shakes his head and shrugs. "It's still way too early for any of them to be up really."

Glory snatches up the parchment, quill and ink and begins scribbling frantically, adding to the note. Harry watches in silence for her to finish. The moment she stops writing, Harry reaches across the table and steals the parchment back. He begins to read the addition.

'I'm sure Neville would have loved to add his own hello message too, but apparently the lazy boy is still asleep and not expected to rise for hours. Maybe I'll wait a bit and then go poke him.

Harry looks up from the letter with raised eyebrows and Glory mimics his innocent grin from earlier and tells him to keep reading.

And there's no need to worry, it won't involve breaking into any of the other house common rooms. And in case that was too subtle of a hint for you the gods would be proud that all of us sibs are together again and not having to compete for house points against each other.

"Ah, you're finally telling her you're a Gryffindor," Harry grins and looks up again. "How do you think she'll take it?" Glory giggles quietly after a moment of thought.

"She'll probably grumble a bit about my father's bad influence and tell me I'd better be more of a Lily or at least a Remus than, well…" she trails off and shrugs.

"Then my dad or Sirius," Harry finishes the thought quietly. Glory nods and watches silently as Harry reads through the letter from the beginning.

"So you're really going to send this to your mum with everything that happened, even what he said to you?" Harry still sounds unsure about this chosen course of events. He is worried that maybe Glory is misjudging the situation and will only get herself in trouble by the things she wishes to reveal.

"Harry, I've been called much worse things than 'insolent little wench', by people much…" she pauses as she tries to think of the right word to describe her point. She peeks towards the staff table and allows the smallest of smirks to show as she settles on a word to use. "Scarier than Professor Snape. My guess is that Jess will be rather amused by the whole incident. I mean, she, of all people, knows what he's like."

"You're sure she won't be upset?" Realising that he doesn't know Jess as well as Glory does, he's willing to concede the issue, but Harry asks again, wanting to be very sure that Glory knows what she's doing.

"Look Har," Glory sighs and sets to work reassuring her companion that she knows what she is doing. "If I'd done something to warrant a letter home from someone, anyone, the headmaster, Professor McGonagall or even –Merlin forbid- Professor Snape, then I might begin to consider worrying about it a little." Harry risks a glance towards the Potions Master at Glory's comments, but he seems not to have heard anything. More students have entered the hall, so the quiet voices of the two Gryffindors do not seem to carry as much. Glory continues. "It's only when something I do sparks her to write to me first that I think about that. Anything less is nothing to worry about." She gives Harry a slightly crooked grin as she finishes her train of thought. "But it's always better for her to hear about this stuff from me anyways."

"But how would she hear about it if nobody writes to her?" Harry frowns, feeling suddenly like he's lost track of the conversation somewhere. Seeing his confusion, Glory tries to clear thing up for him if she can.

"You must have realised by now that Hogwarts is a gossips dream come true" she waits for Harry's confirmation before she continues. "Everything that happens here, it's passed along from the students back home to the parents. I mean, come on Harry, you don't think half the student body sent letters home after that first day saying 'guess what happened!'" Harry nods his agreement, beginning to understand what Glory meant. "And of course the parents will talk and eventually word gets back to the family thru those roundabout routes and Jess hears the 'purple monkey dishwasher' version and freaks out over the things that didn't even happen."

"The what version?" Harry laughs, feeling sure that he misheard.

"Purple monkey dishwasher," Glory repeats slowly, fighting to keep her face straight. "Have you ever… no you probably haven't… well there's this game kids play called telephone, and someone starts by thinking of a phrase and whispering it to the person next to them. Each person passes along what they hear, or think they hear, to the next one and the last person has to say it out loud. Usually, the original phrase is lost in translation and garbled by the end with words added or dropped and it may be nothing like the original phrase." Harry nods, telling her that he knows the game. "It works the same way as a travelling rumour and the person at the end gets a wildly distorted story of the events, hence the 'purple monkey dishwasher' thing. But in this case it may have already passed that point and already gotten back to the family through the shorter channels." Harry stops laughing immediately.

"Why? Who else knows…" he trails off, glancing around the hall to see if anyone noticed his raised voice. Nobody seems to be paying attention to them. Harry looks to Glory for an answer.

"Harry, you had to have realised that there were others than just you and Neville and well, you know…" Glory shrugs half-heartedly and shakes her head at Harry's surprise. "Just because Jess took us out of the loop, as it were, doesn't mean that there aren't numerous other members of the clan who might know people here to find out from. Look where we are!" She gestures to the hall around them. Realising that her voice has gotten gradually louder, Glory makes the conscious effort to tone it down. "I'm sure you've heard the saying that all purebloods are related, right?" Harry nods. "And I've said it before, just because someone doesn't bear the name Roman, doesn't mean they're not part of the family, so there's bound to be at least one here." Glory takes another peek at the staff table, noting that Professor McGonagall has arrived and that Professor Snape is still sitting there. "And I'm talking aside from the ones I've already told you about."

Seeing Glory's covert study of the staff, Harry shakes his head and sighs. Glory tilts her head to the side as she looks at him, trying to guess where the slight frustration has come from.

"You know, I don't get you sometimes," he pauses and studies her with narrowed eyes. He continues speaking when Glory asks what he means. "You're so adamant about my not… messing around with… you know… but you seem to do it without a second thought, like you're having fun!"

"I am having fun," Glory laughs heartily, flicking a piece of toast across the table at him. "That's the difference. I'm not going at it from anger or bitterness or revenge, I'm just playing around."

"You like to play dangerously then," Harry frowns and pours himself a glass of pumpkin juice. Glory shoots him a cheeky grin.

"Must be another one of those pesky genetic things," she mutters conspiratorially. Harry chokes on his pumpkin juice, covering his mouth to keep from spraying it across the table. Glory laughs again and waits for him to start breathing normally once more. "So what are we up to today?"

Harry shakes his head and shrugs, taking a moment to think it over. His eyes glint with humour as his expression turns to one of over-exaggerated shock.

"Wait, you mean you're actually going to spend time with me?" he teases, and Glory sticks her tongue out at him.

"Seriously Harry, if you don't stop it with that, I'm going to spend some time with you making you stop," the look she gives him has the merest hint of a threat.

"Ok, ok, I'll stop!" Harry laughs, holding his hands up in surrender. He picks at his breakfast a bit, thinking over the possibilities. Finally he has an idea. "Do you want me to show you around the school a bit?"

Glory takes a moment to think about the suggestion and sighs heavily.

"Not right now. Don't know how much of it I'd really take in." She shakes her head, giving Harry a half-smile. "How about you tell me what you know about the Thestrals?"

"You can see them?" Harry asks quietly after a moments pause. Glory nods. "Well, Hagrid bred them to pull the carriages and they live in the forest. That's about all I know about them. Hagrid tried to teach us more about them but Umbrage showed up and interrupted the lesson."

Harry shrugs, studying Glory as if he'd like to ask her who she saw die, but decides better of it.

"I see," Glory drawls thoughtfully. She notices the look Harry is sending her, but decides to ignore it, not ready to share those memories with him. "I wasn't worried or anything, it's just I wasn't really paying attention that first night and didn't notice them until Seth had a bit of a scare."

"The Hufflepuff kid?" Harry asks, and Glory nods. "Well, I know that feeling, but at least he had someone with him who knew what they were."

"Unlike you," Glory sympathises and Harry shoots her a wry smile.

"Right." The two Gryffindors sit in silence for a few minutes, each picking at their food as a few more students enter the hall. "Did you answer the Howler yet?

"Of course!" Glory laughs, reaching across the table to take back her letter. She adds a few more lines to the bottom and signs her name. "You don't think I would have gotten another letter by now if I hadn't?"

"True," Harry answers, watching as Glory reads through the letter a final time before folding it up and sticking it in her pocket for safekeeping. Suddenly he sits up straighter, looking as if he just remembered something important. "I just realised, Quidditch tryouts are this afternoon! As seeker I have to be there for the team."

"I'll have to come down and watch then. I haven't seen you fly yet," Glory smiles at Harry's obvious excitement. She can't resist teasing him. "I hear you're supposed to be pretty good."

"So people keep telling me," he answers back with an innocent grin that makes Glory laugh. "Do you have a broom?"

"Yeah, I upgraded to a Mercury 3000 last year," Glory watches Harry suspiciously, judging by the look on his face that he is up to something.

"A what?" Harry frowns at the unfamiliar name.

"Mercury 3000. It's from the Quicksilver Line." Glory explains further at Harry's blank look. "It's like the North American equivalent to the Firebolt Line."

"Are you saying your broom is better than mine?" Harry teases after a moment of silent thought. Glory rolls her eyes.

"Not really. They're about the same, but mine's a newer model, so there have been some updates, hence the 3000. As with any broom, it really depends on the one flying how well it does." Glory shrugs, but can't keep from feeling extremely happy that Harry is showing more energy than he has been all week.

"Let me try it?" Glory nods at Harry's eager question, agreeing that he can try hers if she can try his Firebolt. They shake hands to seal the deal. "So are you going to try out for the team?

"Uh, no," Glory shakes her head adamantly, chuckling quietly. Harry frowns at her reaction.

"But I thought you played?" Glory raises an eyebrow as she asks him where he heard that, already having a pretty good idea what his answer will be. He confirms her suspicions that Remus was the one to tell him.

"Yeah, but I'm just not feeling into the whole team thing this year Harry. I've got other, more important things to worry about.

"What could be more important than Quidditch?" there is a hint of disbelief in Harry's tone that he isn't faking, even as he teases her.

"Well, beyond classes and homework, and the making sure I keep my grades up enough to pass everything," Glory rolls her eyes as she reaches down and drags her backpack up onto table. She tips it upside down and drops a large, heavy book out onto the table for him to see. "There's this."

"Work," Harry grumbles. Glory nods and Harry reaches for the book, pulling it over to him so he can read the cover.

"And besides all of that, it's just not the same without…" she hesitates and Harry looks up from the book to see her staring at the ceiling, watching the clouds roll by. She sighs, shaking her head and lowering her eyes to meet Harry's, so full of compassion. "No, I'm just not up for it. Maybe next year I'll rethink, but it's too soon for me to even be worrying about it."

"I understand," Harry says quietly, using Glory's silence to flip through the pages of the book curiously. He uses the opportunity to change the subject. "So what exactly are you doing the research for?"

"Well, it changes," Glory answers with a slight smile. She knows exactly what he is doing and appreciates it. "Sometimes it's to improve a potion that already exists, others it's to create a new one. Whatever Galen decided he wants me to do while I'm away. Plus I have my own projects that I work on at any given time."

"So which is this one?" he looks up from the pages, motioning to the book in front of him.

"Galen has me looking up some things for him right now," Glory shrugs. "But I'm also checking it out for one of my own projects, something that I've been working on for about a year and a half now. Any time Galen comes across something that might be useful, he sends it to me." Glory's attention shifts momentarily towards the door as the first group of Gryffindor students has made its way down from the tower.

"Can you tell me about your project, or is it as secretive as you're making it sound and if you tell me you'll have to kill me?" Glory pauses mid wave and turns back to stare at Harry, who just shoots her an innocent grin. After a moment, her eyes narrow.

"Sorry love, but that line's already got too many people waiting in it for me to bother joining now," she grins wickedly as Harry's jaw drops. The clatter of utensils dropping is once again heard from the staff table and the two Gryffindors fight to keep from laughing out loud as they take a quick peek to see it was their head of house. Lips twitching, Glory draws Harry's attention back to the question. "It's not confidential or anything, but it's not really something I should probably talk about just anywhere."

"It's not illegal, is it?" Harry asks lightly, only half joking. Glory looks around the hall pointedly, reminding him exactly where they are. He grins at her sheepishly.

"Not so far, but it's a very delicate issue," Glory hedges, not wanting to say too much where curious ears might overhear. She leans forward and lowers her voice to a mere whisper. "Involving the lingering effects of a certain curse we talked about."

"I see," Harry says slowly as his eyes get slightly wider. "Is this something I should worry about?"

"At this point, I'd say no," Glory reassures quickly, glad to see the flicker of relief in Harry's eyes. "Do you think that Galen would let me work on it if it was? He'd stop me before it came to that point."

"Not that I don't trust you or anything, but I have my doubts that you would listen to him if you didn't agree with his advice." Harry tells her simply, wanting to be honest yet still trying to keep the comment light. Glory laughs.

"You're probably right," she tells him with a smirk and turns to wave as she spots Ginny making her way toward them, already dressed in her Quidditch robes.

"Morning," Ginny says, taking a seat next to Harry. She begins filling a plate for herself. "So what are we talking about?"

"Quidditch tryouts," Glory answers calmly, ignoring the slight frown Harry shoots in her direction. She corrects her comment fluidly to appease him. "Among other things. Harry was trying to get me to go out for the team."

"You play?" Ginny asks curiously, not looking up as she pours herself a glass of pumpkin juice. Glory nods, telling Ginny that she has, but won't be trying for the Gryffindor team this year. "Pity, you'd probably be good, what with that talent you showed us the other night. And it would sure get under the skins of the Slytherins after—" Harry coughs discreetly and nudges Ginny, motioning for her to keep her voice down and glances toward the staff. She notices Professors Snape and McGonagall looking in their direction and blushes. "Sorry," she apologises quietly to her friends.

Glory giggles a little evilly as she thinks over Ginny's comments, smirking wickedly at the questioning looks of the others.

"As much fun as I'm sure that would be I think I'll just have to find other ways to get under their skin this year."

Harry mutters under his breath about being sure she won't find that at all difficult and Ginny laughs as Glory sticks her tongue out at him.

"What's with the book?" Ginny comments, waiting until they have all calmed down a bit, nodding her head to the open potions book still sitting on the table in front of Harry.

"Would you believe that Harry has developed a sudden interest in potions?" Glory asks innocently. Ginny raises an eyebrow as she looks at her.

"Do I look that gullible?" Both girls laugh and Harry rolls his eyes at being made the subject of their joke.

"Ry was just telling me about her research, actually," Harry tells Ginny as she leans over to look at the pages. She gasps, pulling back quickly, her shoulder colliding with Harry's.

"Merlin!" Ginny grimaces. "That book is even worse than that copy of Moste Potente Potions Hermione had that time." Beside her Harry chokes on a mouthful of pumpkin juice. "This is what you're working on?"

"You alright Harry," Glory asks, trying hard to fight off her laughter. Harry nods as his coughing fit subsides and Glory turns back to Ginny. "No, that's not what I'm working on, that was just a random page Harry flipped to." Glory reaches across the table and takes back her book, telling them that perhaps it's best if the others don't see it just yet. She slips it quietly into her bag as Ginny frowns at her slightly, not realising that Hermione and Ron have just entered the hall with a rather large group of Gryffindors.

Harry waves the group over and everyone settles in around them, talking excitedly about the tryouts and Gryffindors chances at winning the Cup again this year.

--------

"So explain this to me," Neville says as he walks beside Glory, leading her towards the Quidditch pitch. Hermione walks a few feet ahead of them, a heavy looking bag slung over her shoulder. "You're dressed for flying and you're bringing your broom, but you say you're not trying out for the team?"

"That about covers it," Glory shrugs, looking around with a smile as she takes the opportunity to study the grounds as they walk. In the distance, the Whomping Willow swings its branches threateningly against the clear blue backdrop of the cloudless sky. It's a beautiful day and perfect weather for flying. "Harry wanted to try my broom, so we made a deal this morning."

The sound of excited laughter and shouting coming up behind them makes all three Gryffindors turn to see what is going on.

Ginny runs towards them, her hair a curtain of flame trailing in the wind behind her, with Ron and Harry close on her heels. She jumps behind Neville and Glory, peeking over their shoulders to keep track of her brother and friend as they run towards her.

"Hide me!" she laughs, as Neville and Glory glance at each other before looking at her. Harry reaches the group first and tries to step around Glory but Ginny shifts easily on her feet, keeping the other girl between them. Ron catches up quickly and with a glance at Harry, dives for Ginny around Neville.

Ginny pushes her way between her two bodyguards, just dodging out of the reach of her brother. Harry once again tries to grab her, but she is too quick for him as well. Weaving in and out of the other students in a dizzying blur of motion, Ginny leads Harry and Ron in a merry chase before taking off to the pitch laughing, leaving her pursuers lagging behind and out of breath.

"Don't think this is over Gin," Harry yells after her, leaning over with his hands on his knees as he tries to catch his breath. "We know where you live!" Ron shakes his head and mutters threats under his breath that make Hermione frown. Neville and Glory laugh quietly to themselves, even as they still appear a bit flustered from being stuck in the middle of the previous strange activities.

"What was that all about," Hermione demands sternly, watching Ron with narrowed eyes as he continues to mutter to himself. Harry stands up straight, finally catching his breath, and giving an answer, albeit not an entirely satisfactory one.

"Ginny has been spending too much time with the twins," is all he will tell them. Neville groans sympathetically. Glory asks who the twins are, sounding more than a little intrigued and Neville says he'll tell her later.

"Awww, but I want to know now!" she teases as the group begins making their way to the pitch. Ron interrupts as he finally notices the broom in Glory's hand.

"What're you doing with that?" Glory raises her eyebrows.

"I'm carrying it," she answers simply, her tone dry. Ron just stares at her silently, looking confused over her sarcasm. Glory sighs and begins to explain slowly. "Harry wanted to try my broom, so I'm taking it down to the pitch so he can test it after tryouts."

Ron nods in understanding and takes the opportunity to study the broom in question. Glory holds it up to give him a better view. His eyes get wider as he reads the name.

"There was an article in 'Which Broomstick' about that broom," his tone is slightly amazed at actually seeing one up close. He starts to quote random facts he remembers about the article. Glory grins and begins to add her own thoughts on the subject and the two quickly get into debating the pros and cons of the Quicksilver line of brooms. Harry exchanges a quick smile with Neville at the activity, both of them glad that their friends have finally found a common ground.

The group reaches the pitch in next to no time and have to split up, Hermione, Neville and Glory making their way into the stands as Harry and Ron head to the fair sized group that has already gathered, after Ron has secured a promise from Glory that he will also be allowed to try her broom.

Choosing a place to sit where they can best view the action Neville and Glory settle down to watch. Hermione climbs a few rows behind them and promptly begins digging through her bag for a book to read.

Around the three Gryffindors are other small groups of students from their own house and others, all coming out to cheer on their friends or house team, or just to enjoy the game of Quidditch.

A group of players take to the air in their yellow and black robes. It seems the Hufflepuffs will be the first team to choose their new players. The rest of the teams and potential players move to the side of the area of play and chatter quietly amongst themselves as they scout their rival houses.

Back up in the stands, Glory laughs as Neville finally gives in and starts to tell her about the twins. He tells her of the time they turned him into a canary, and about using the younger students as testers for the Skiving Snack Boxes, a comment that makes Hermione look up from her book with a frown and mutter comments about irresponsibility and inappropriateness that would have made Professor McGonagall proud. Glory grins appreciatively as she hears of the exit they made from Hogwarts the previous year to start their own business.

Above them, the yellow and black robed figures are leaving to make room for the Ravenclaw team. Madam Hooch blows her whistle and a long-haired girl takes position to try out for the Keeper position.

"So are you going to tell me what happened this summer?" Neville asks quietly as they watch the girl make a spectacular save by flipping her broom out from under her and above her head, using it to knock the quaffle, which would have been out of her reach otherwise, away from the hoops. An appreciative cheer rings through the gathered crowd.

"Do you think this is the best time for this discussion Neville?" Glory asks guardedly, aware that Hermione is behind them and listening to their every word. "I mean, Gryffindor is bound to be heading up there any minute and I came out here to see them play."

"You won't miss them play by talking to me," Neville frowns as he watches her eyes flicker slightly towards Hermione, who still has her head buried in her book and doesn't notice. Neville realises instantly that Glory is reluctant to talk about whatever happened in front of Hermione, as they still have only a tenuous truce. "Something happen with work?"

Glory smiles faintly as she realises Neville is trying to find out more covertly by asking vague questions. It is the beginning of a game they used to play when they were little around their parents and other adults to tell secrets without having someone else figure out what they were talking about. She decides to play along for a bit, not getting too deep into the issues, even though their code had yet to be figured out. With Hermione sitting so close by, it isn't a risk Glory is willing to take.

"Sort of," she replies just as vaguely, giving Neville a look to let him know that she is willing to play along, to a point. He nods to show he understands and prompts her to continue. "There was a bit of trouble with some of the regular customers. They came looking for something that I couldn't give them and they weren't very happy about it and caused a bit of a stink." Glory gives a half-shrug as she notices Hermione peek over the edge of her book with a slight frown. Neville looks as if most of what she told him has made sense, but something is giving him a bit of trouble.

"Regular customers?" he asks quietly, knowing that he has forgotten the significance of this particular phrase. It has something to do with the people who usually buy from Galen, he knows, but what about them? He can't remember and he knows it's an important bit. Glory, seeing his frustration, throws him a line and watches carefully as he pales.

"Mimes. They come to Galen for things other places don't supply."

Neville's jaw moves as if he's talking, but he doesn't make a sound. After a few moments of Glory's silently scrutiny, his mouth snaps shut and he shakes his head.

"Mimes," Neville comments feebly, his face showing that he now clearly remembers what it was that was so important about Galen's regular customers. "Wha—"

Glory holds up her hand and gives him a warning look as above them the Gryffindors take to the air.

""I'll tell you later, ok?" Neville nods reluctantly and turns his eyes skyward to watch his friends. Glory watches him for a silent moment before doing the same. Behind them, a thoroughly confused Hermione puts down her book and stares blankly at the people flying on brooms above her as her mind tries to wrap itself around the information she has just overheard, trying to figure out what could possibly be so worrying about mimes.

Ginny hovers in the air silently, facing the goal hoops and her older brother, her face a mask of calm determination as she waits. On either side of her are the other students trying out for the position of a chaser, a dark haired second year boy and a petite forth year girl. Harry flies above them to keep an eye on the action as Ron drifts back and forth in front of hoops, already on guard. The two beaters settle into their position to run interference for the tryout and Katie Bell waits at the ready to test out the potential chasers teamwork.

Below them the whistle blows and Ginny snaps into action, grabbing the quaffle out of the air and heading straight for the hoops.

In the stands, Neville and Glory jump to their feet and cheer as Ginny weaves between the other players and out-manoeuvres her brother to score the first goal of the game. Harry fetches the quaffle and tosses it back into the fray. The second year boy reaches out to catch it and slips, nearly falling off his broom. The quaffle continues to fall and both Ginny and the fourth year dive down to catch it. The other girl reaches it first and heads for the hoops, dodging around the boy as he struggles to resettle himself on his broom. The beaters quickly reposition themselves to block her and she tosses the quaffle to Katie.

Below them, Glory gasps as she sees the younger boy's broom slip out of his grasp and drop a few metres before he regains control. He tries to dodge around the beaters and catch up to the quaffle, but seems unable to control the direction of his broom and crashes into Jack Sloper, sending them both plummeting to the ground. Only quick reactions on the parts of Ginny and Harry, who each have their wands out within seconds casting spells to stop the boys, prevent them from hitting the ground.

Glory, Neville and Hermione run down from the stands to the sidelines of the pitch as Madam Hooch rushes over to make sure the students are ok. Seeing that everyone is fine, if a little shaken, she decides to end the Gryffindor tryout. The youngest boy apologises profusely, looking very embarrassed as the team makes its way off the field to make room for the Slytherins. Draco sneers at Harry as they pass each other but freezes and pales as he catches a glimpse of Glory giving him a sweet smile and little wave. He quickly moves on and Neville shakes his head in amazement.

"I don't believe you," he comments quietly to Glory as they wait for the Gryffindor quidditch players to finish up their little team huddle.

"Don't worry about it, Neville; I know exactly what I'm doing." The Slytherins take to flight above them and Glory grins as Ginny, Harry and Ron finally make their way towards them. Ginny's smile gives all the answer they need to know the outcome of the tryout. Ginny is one of the new Gryffindor chasers.

The group heads back into the stands to wait for the last team to finish so the guys can have a go with the new broom in their midst. Ginny begs off on the excuse that she has homework she wants to get started on and Hermione quickly offers to head back up to the school with her, and Neville opts to stay with the others at the pitch.

It doesn't take long for the Slytherin team tryout to end. Ron comments on how they did it just so the rest of the teams wouldn't get a good look at their new team. The stands clear out quickly as Madam Hooch gathers up all of the stray equipment and packs it back up to the school.

Ron stands and grabs up Glory's broom, it having been decided as the pitch cleared that he would try it first, and doesn't even bother to leave the stands before jumping on the broom and taking off into the air with a cheer.

Glory giggles quietly to herself at Ron's antics but calms herself and asks about the whispering the other night between the sixth year boys. Harry and Neville exchange glances and refuse to tell her anything.

"And why not?" Glory demands, looks up as Ron zooms by overhead, flying very low, then taking off at top speed toward the other end of the pitch.

"We can't just tell you without discussing it with the others first," Neville tells her, and Harry nods in agreement, smiling faintly as Glory frowns. After a few moments, she shrugs and says it's not a big deal.

"I was just wondering is all," she once again turns her attention to the sky, watching Ron make his way back towards them. To all of their surprise, Ron lands on the pitch in front of them and offers the broom to Harry. "You're sick of it already?"

Ron shakes his head, telling them that his stomach is telling him it's time to eat in a way that not even flying can make him ignore. He tells the others that he is going in, ignoring their laughter and grabs his broom and disappears quickly up the path to the school.

Harry offers the broom to Neville to have a ride, but he turns it down quickly, telling them that he's better off keeping both feet on the ground and is content to watch them fly.

"You're sure?" Glory asks him, and he nods, passing her Harry's Firebolt and telling her to have fun. She shakes her head and climbs onto the broom, waiting for Harry to do the same. They take off together.

Harry zips off as quick as he can, taking his broom as high and as fast as it can go, pushing the Mercury 3000 to its furthest limits. With a grin, Harry turns to look for Glory, sure that she is right behind him. He stops in an instant, turns quickly to see where she dropped off and fell behind. He scans the sky above him, thinking maybe she went higher, but doesn't see her anywhere against the clear blue above. His eyes flicker towards the stands where Neville waits and he moves his broom in that direction. As he gets closer he can see Neville point down towards the ground. Harry turns quickly, thinking maybe Glory had crashed. He relaxes when he sees her for himself.

Glory flies low to the ground, making her way relatively slowly around the perimeter of the playing field, easing herself into her flight. Harry smiles and flies down to meet her.

"Everything alright?" he asks as he pulls up beside her. She smiles back, assuring him that everything is fine and she's just getting a feel for the Firebolt. Her smile turns wicked for just a moment before she disappears in a blur of movement, kicking the Firebolt into high gear and hanging on tightly as the broom flies almost vertically and disappears into the expansive blue above.

Harry stares after her for a moment, his mouth hanging open, before he grins and takes off into the air and follows her.

Higher and higher she flies, the pitch dropping off below. The air around her begins to feel cold as she continues higher, looking around at the surrounding landscape, the castle and pitch below her becoming little more than grey blobs. Glory evens out her broom and hovers in the air for a moment, straining her eyes to locate Harry below. Finally she spots him, seeing that he is still quite far below. She smiles and lets her hands drop from the broom. The handle tilts downwards dangerously and she closes her eyes as the broom begins to plummet towards the ground.

Harry halts the Mercury 3000 as his eyes scan the sky above him for any sign of his god-sister. She took off so quickly that he just couldn't catch up on the unfamiliar broom. His green eyes narrow as he sees a small black dot above him. As he continues to watch, it grows. Whatever it is, it's getting closer. Harry begins to cautiously fly upwards, towards the dot that has grown to three times the size it was when he first noticed it only seconds before. It only takes a few moments for Harry to realise what it is he's seeing.

The wind rushes in her ears as she falls, her robes flapping out behind and above her as gravity takes hold and pulls her straight down. Keeping a hold on the broom handle with her legs, Glory leans back, laying her spine along the handle of the broom and resting her head against the smooth mass of twigs at the base. She extends her arms out to the sides, enjoying the feeling of the freefall. The exhilaration of giving up control and just letting things happen as they will.

Harry twists around quickly as she falls past him, unsure of what he should do. He knows she can handle herself, but he can't help but worry. He tilts his broom handle down and follows, determined to catch up with her.

"What are you doing Ry?" he yells down at her as he draws steadily closer to her. She doesn't answer right away and, thinking that she didn't hear him over the wind, he gets ready to shout again as he pulls up beside her. "Ry!"

"Trust me, Harry?" She doesn't turn to him or open her eyes, her smile still present and her tone calm. For a moment, Harry doesn't know how to respond to the question and just gawks at her. Below them, the ground grows steadily closer. She asks the question again. "Do you trust me?"

"You know I do," Harry finally answers. Glory's smile grows.

"Then believe I know what I'm doing." Harry continues to keep pace with her, staying within arms reach and prepared to grab her if something goes wrong. As if sensing his tension, Glory calls over. "Relax Harry, and enjoy the ride."

He smiles suddenly, as he finally understands what she is doing. He loosens his grip on the broom handle and gives in to the freefall as well, albeit not to the same extent as his god-sister. Beside him, Glory begins to laugh quietly and after a moment, Harry joins in.

The ground continues to rise towards them.

Seventy feet.

Sixty feet.

In the stands below them, Neville is on his feet, looking completely unworried by what he is watching.

Fifty feet.

Forty feet.

Neville hears yelling and turns in shock just in time to see three figures run up, each casting spells towards the falling pair. His eyes snap up to watch in horror as the lines of colour move towards his friends.

Harry stops smiling as he hears the shouting. His eyes focus on the jets of light shooting in his direction and he yells to Glory to watch out as he dodges out of the way, narrowly missing being hit. He turns quickly back to see and notices that his warning was unnecessary.

With a quickness and agility that could only have come with much practise, Glory's eyes snap open as in one move she hurtles herself forward against the wind to press herself against the handle of the Firebolt and turn out of the path of the oncoming spells. She turns stormy eyes towards Harry to make sure he is ok before glaring down towards the spellcasters.

Floating in the air next to Harry, she debates whether to fly down to meet them, or to turn around and fly straight back up again, just to spite them. Harry gives her a look that says he knows what she is thinking and she'd better not. Glory rolls her eyes, but goes along with Harry as he suggests maybe it's time to stop flying for today. They slowly lower their brooms towards Neville in the stands and Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore and Snape start on an intercept path towards them.

As the groups are about to meet up, Harry climbs off his broom immediately, stepping up next to Neville. Glory hovers nearby for a moment, not looking at all willing to relinquish her flight. Harry turns slightly and tugs on her ankle, pulling her down to their level quickly as he shoots her a look telling her to behave. She smiles back innocently and climbs off the broom, making sure to step on Harry's foot as she dismounts.

"Just what did you think you were doing?" Professor McGonagall is the first of the professors to reach them, her anger showing clearly in the expression on her face as well as in her tone. Behind McGonagall stand a particularly grave looking Dumbledore and a paler than normal Snape, keeping out of the warpath of their colleague, allowing her to vent her worry and anger at the students unimpeded.

Glory fights the urge to roll her eyes as their head of house berates them for being so reckless and foolhardy. Without waiting to hear any explanation from either of the young men in front of her, McGonagall turns her attention fully onto Glory, making it clear that she knows that Glory was the one who was behind the little stunt.

"Never in all my years here have I seen a student attempt something so dangerous!"

Glory bites her lip and looks down at her feet, and to the observer she appears contrite for her actions. Only someone who knows her very well would see that she is really hiding her face so that slight twitching at the corners of her lips won't give away the fact that she is more amused by this confrontation than anything else. She allows her mind to wander slightly as the tirade continues and she peeks at her friends out of the corner of her eyes.

Seeing that the attention is being focused solely on Glory, Neville nudges Harry and mutters something to him under his breath. Harry is forced to fake a coughing fit to cover his laughter at the comment and turns red as all eyes turn in his direction. He continues to cough until he feels light-headed, just to make it believable.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Professor Dumbledore asks as Neville stares at Harry in shock. Harry nods. Glory pats him on the back until he regains his breath, fighting hard to keep from laughing herself at this turn of events. Professor McGonagall looks almost worried, and Professor Snape stares between the three students suspiciously, his eyes narrowed as he tries to figure out what just happened.

"Swallowed a bug," Harry gasps out after a few moments, his face beginning to return to its normal colour. Glory can't hold back anymore and bursts out laughing. Neville joins in only moments later as much from the looks on the faces of the professors as from Harry's comment.

"Perhaps we should all return to the school now and away from the risk of further incidences with the insect population," the headmaster suggests, the twinkle in his blue eyes suggesting that he knows what was really going on. Professor McGonagall frowns as Dumbledore sends the three Gryffindors down from the stands and back towards the school.

"Do you think that was wise, Albus?" she asks quietly as they walk a fair distance behind the still laughing teens. He smiles benignly at her as he answers.

"Harmless teenage fun, Minerva," she looks unsure, but he is usually right about these things, so she is willing to go along with his judgement. The Potions Master doesn't seem so sure though and continues to watch the students suspiciously as he adds his thoughts on the subject.

"This time."

He is the only one who notices as Glory peeks back at them over her shoulder with a wicked smirk on her face.

-------

"Is it just me, or did the last few days go by really fast to get us right back to potions class again?" Harry mutters as they make their way down the corridor to the dungeons. Hermione frowns at his tone and looks ready to lecture, but Glory cuts her off before she can get started.

"Aww, Harry, you sound like you're not looking forward to it," he gives her a look that clearly states that he thinks she's lost her mind and laughs when Neville adds a quiet 'who is?' to the conversation. Glory rolls her eyes at them both and continues walking. Once they reach the classroom door, she tugs on Neville's sleeve, and pulls him to the side, letting the other two go first.

Peeking around the doorframe, Glory sees that Professor Snape is already in the classroom. She frowns for a moment before turning to Neville.

"You remember what we discussed?"

"Yeah, but—" Neville looks a little uncomfortable and keeps his voice low as he speaks, cutting his sentence short as a small group of Ravenclaws arrive and enter the classroom with a quick hello to the two Gryffindors.

"Neville, I need to know, if it comes right down to it, can I rely on you?" Her eyes bore into his, confirming her seriousness and tension beyond that which her face and body clearly show. Neville takes a moment to think before he answers.

"Yes." Glory sighs and visibly relaxes, her calm mask slipping easily back into place.

"Whatever happens, no worries, ok?" she asks, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek that makes him blush faintly. "You'll do fine." Neville nods slowly, still looking a little unsure and Glory grabs his arm and pulls him into the classroom. They settle into their seats quickly and begin to set up their equipment as they wait for class to begin.

Glory watches carefully as Professor Snape rises from his desk, steeling herself for what she knows is coming. The classroom door slams shut with a loud bang that makes a few of the more nervous students jump.

"Essays on my desk, now," the sounds of students digging through bags and taking out their homework assignments is all that can be heard for the next few moments.

Harry grabs Hermione's parchment roll off of the desk as he passes, pausing to pick up Neville's and Glory's essays as well to save them the trip. Snape glares at Harry as he walks up to the desk, but Harry ignores it and adds the four rolls of parchment to the pile that has formed on the potion masters desk already before turning around and walking back to his desk. Harry makes a face at his friends as he moves towards them. The Gryffindors aren't the only ones who look amused at his actions. Hannah and Ernie are both fighting off laughter and Terry quickly ducks his head to hide his smile.

"Today we will be making the Sanguolinguis potion that you all studied for homework," Professor Snape narrows his eyes as he looks around the classroom at his students, his mouth twisting into a sinister smirk as his eyes land on the Gryffindors. "And we will be testing someone's potion at the end of class."

He orders them to start and there is a rush of sounds as the class begins preparing their supplies. This time there is no recipe on the board for them to follow. They are all working from memory. This is as much to prevent a repeat of the incident the previous week as to test how well the students have done their homework.

Neville glances at Glory nervously out of the corner of his eye as she lights the fire beneath her cauldron and begins to prepare her ingredients. He is still worried, despite her reassurances to the contrary, but also begins his potion.

Snape begins to walk about the classroom, checking on the progress of the potions as he goes, stopping to praise a Slytherin here and pausing to berate a Hufflepuff there, every so often asking a student a question about the potion they are brewing.

"How long must you wait to stir after the mixture begins to boil, Mr. Malfoy?" Draco drawls his answer in a self-assured voice. His mouth twists into a smirk as Snape praises him for his correct answer. Snape turns quickly, his robes fluttering around his ankles as he directs his attention to Padma. "What amount of powdered dragon claw must be added, Patil?"

"Eighteen grams, Sir," she answers quickly and gives a nearly silent sigh of relief as he nods tersely to let her know she is right and moves on to another student.

"Longbottom," Neville trembles slightly as Snape pauses next to him, sneering as he looks into the cauldron. "Here's a question even you should be able to answer. What is the Sanguolinguis potion used for?" It takes a moment for Neville to get his voice to work so he can answer, his voice wavering as Snape glares down at him.

"Aurors us the potion on prisoners as a way of deciphering spoken-word codes by forcing the taker to speak in the code language while giving off the effect of implanting all knowledge of the language being spoken to whomever is in the room with them. Ministry officials also use the Sanguolinguis potion in their dealings with other governments so they can communicate easier with each other." Neville continues to add ingredients to his cauldron, building up his potion under the watchful eyes of the potions master. Snape makes a few snide remarks about Neville's potion brewing abilities and begins making his way across the room again.

Seeing that Snape has his attention elsewhere, Glory turns to Neville and shoots him a quick thumbs up. He smiles back at her as she mouths the words 'I knew you could do it' across to him. Behind them, Harry smirks down at his desk.

Professor Snape continues to patrol the dungeon, checking on the students potions, making sure things are progressing the way they should, but he does not return to where the Gryffindors sit. While he is checking on the cauldron of one of his Slytherins, Blaise Zabini, Glory quickly jots down a few notes on a handy bit of spare parchment and tossing it back to Harry and Hermione. Neville glances at Glory out of the corner of his eye as she does it, but keeps his attention focused on his potion, determined to prove that he can do well in this class.

Harry picks up the note and hides it quickly as Professor Snape glances in their direction before walking to his desk and sitting down without a word. He picks up his quill and settles in to begin marking their homework essays while he waits for the potions to finish brewing.

Finally reaching a stage where the potions don't need constant attention, Harry peeks around quickly to make sure no one is looking and takes out Glory's note. His eyes scan her neat writing quickly and he ducks his head behind his cauldron as he muffles his laughter. Hermione glances around the classroom to check that nobody heard anything before frowning slightly at Harry. He hands her the note with a grin and returns to working on his potion, peripherally keeping watch on Hermione as she once more scans the classroom before peeking at the note herself.

'Professor Snape seems to be avoiding us! Do you think it was something we did?'

Instead of a signature, Glory has ended the note with a little doodle of a face with an innocent smile and a halo. Hermione ducks her head and sniffs quietly to keep herself from giggling. So she wasn't the only one to notice that Snape had remained curiously absent from their section of the classroom, all but ignoring Harry and herself and even going surprisingly easy on Neville, compared to the usual.

Hermione scribbles a quick reply, after once more checking that the rest of the class is occupied with other pursuits, and lobs it carefully onto the desk in front. Glory reads the message quickly and carefully hides the parchment in her bag without being noticed. She turns back and winks at Hermione before returning to work on her potion.

Harry shoots Hermione a questioning look, but she just shakes her head and mouths that she'll tell him later. The class remains very quiet, the only sounds the soft crackle of the fires, the bubbling of potions, and the harsh scratching of Professor Snape's quill marking up someone's essay. Soon enough it is time to remove the potions from the flame and Snape finishes scrawling a final comment before dropping his quill and standing. He walks amongst the tables, peering into the cauldron, ordering the students to begin clearing away their supplies as the potions cool and prepare for the testing.

At this final comment, his eyes land on the Gryffindors and he sends a sinister smirk in their direction. Glory shrugs the look off and continues to clean up, but smiles reassuringly at Neville at the first opportunity. He smiles back faintly but still looks nervous, especially as Snape steps closer to them.

"Potter," Snape turns to face Harry with a sneer. Most of the students exchange worried looks that Harry will be the test subject and forced to speak parseltongue for them, but a few students look intrigued by the possibility. "The headmaster has ordered that you be exempt from this particular potion trial because of a certain 'talent' of yours."

Students around the classroom look shocked as Snape orders Harry to bottle up his potion and put his equipment away. Most of them were sure that he would disobey Dumbledore's orders and test the potion on Harry anyway. Now that they have been proved wrong, many sympathetic looks are sent in Neville's direction, sure that he will be the next victim (or volunteer, depending on your outlook). There are more shocked murmurs as Neville is passed over for someone else.

"You, on the other hand, Miss Roman-Saul, seem to have a talent for languages that you enjoy showing off, so today, you will be our test subject." His tone is one of dark amusement. Glory closes her eyes and shakes her head slightly, looking unsurprised. She was expecting this turn of events from the beginning and came prepared.

"I'm sorry Professor, but I can't do that." Her tone is calm and steady as she proceeds to bottle up a sample of her potion. She is doubtful that she will be able to talk her way out of it, but it's worth the shot if it has even the slightest possibility of success.

"You what?" the potions master hisses menacingly, watching as she calmly writes out a label for her bottle. The rest of the class watches the scene in horrified interest, waiting to see what will happen to Glory for once again defying the professor. Unnoticed by everyone, Neville silently bottles and labels a sample of his own potion and sets it aside and begins preparing for what he hoped would be unnecessary.

"I cannot take this potion, Sir!" Glory tells him again, her voice polite but firm. The veins at Snape's temples being to throb at her continued resistance and he leans forward, slamming his hands down on the top of her desk.

"Roman-Saul, you will take that potion or you will fail this assignment and I will kick you out of my classroom, permanently." The class falls deathly silent at the threat and watches as Glory and the potions master stare at each other with narrowed eyes. After a few moments, Glory looks away first, her breath hissing between tightly clenched teeth.

"All right, you win," she speaks very quietly, her tone surprisingly soft, almost sad. "I'll take the potion." Snape looks smug as he steps back away from the desk and turns toward the front of the room, going over the effects of the potion once more as Glory fills a cup to drink from.

As her left hand raises the cup toward her lips, her right hand picks up a single black beetle eye and drops it into her cup. Harry and Hermione both cry out and Snape turns, reaching for his wand as he realises immediately that something has just gone seriously wrong. Before he can even open his mouth, Glory has drained the cup of every last drop of the altered potion.

She wobbles slightly on her feet as the cup slips from her grasp and shatters on the cold stone floor. Snape begins making his way over towards her, cursing violently as she braces herself on the table. Glory turns quickly to face Harry.

"I'm sorry," she says quickly and he can only stare at her in shock as she turns to face Neville, who gives her a sadly resigned look. "17 minutes." Neville nods at the comment and Glory takes a wobbly step back and, unbalanced as she is, begins to collapse to the floor of the dungeon.

Hermione screams quietly but Harry, reacting with surprising quickness, jumps forward and catches Glory before she hits, the momentum pulling him down to the floor with her. The whole incident has taken only seconds.

Snape finally makes it to the side of the fallen Gryffindors, dropping to the floor next to the pale and shaking body of the young woman being cradled carefully in Harry's arms.

"Don't you dare do this to me, Ry," Harry demands quietly. She doesn't respond, only shakes harder, her eyes closed tightly and her teeth clenched. "What were you thinking? How could you?"

"What did she take?" Snape snarls, having visually confirmed that the fallen girl is still breathing at least. He points his wand down at her, checking her vital signs for any clues. He frowns at the wild fluctuations and asks the question again.

Harry shakes his head, saying that he doesn't know. The other students also claim no knowledge.

"Stop gawking and get the mediwitch, Boot," Snape orders and without a glance back, Terry runs from the room. The rest of the students stay nearby, moving closer to the action to get a better look. All except for Neville.

Neville remains surprisingly calm and quiet throughout the entire situation, not having any noticeable reaction to Snape being so close to him. He continues to work around his cauldron carefully.

"Longbottom!" Snape snaps, finally noticing Neville's preoccupation with his other activities. "What are you doing?" Neville remains silent as he carefully adds three drops of armadillo bile into his bubbling cauldron. A thin plume of orange smoke rises from the mixture as everyone peers over at him, trying to figure out what he's doing.

"Neville?" Harry looks up toward Neville, who keeps working, but speaks to Harry, his voice stronger and steadier, more confident than usual.

"I'm making the antidote."

"You know what she took?" Hermione gasps quietly, stepping up to Neville's side and peering into his cauldron as he nods.

"How do you know what to do, Neville?" Harry asks quietly. Neville looks at him sadly, very quickly before focusing on the potion again.

"She taught me," his voice is barely above a whisper but everyone hears him. The murmurs begin to travel through the gathered students as the potions master rises to his feet with a snarl.

"You knew she was going to do this?" Snape demands furiously. Neville ignores his tone for the most part and directs his answer to Harry instead, continuing to work as he does. On the floor, Glory groans loudly and thrashes harder against Harry's hold, as if being touched hurts her.

"She figured something like this would happen eventually, that she would be forced into taking a potion that she couldn't." Neville frowns as he speaks, his face showing a hint of guilt for having doubted her on it even the slightest bit. "She said some things were too dangerous to be revealed, so she made me a deal, gave me fair warning of what the next potion would be and what poison she could make from it, how long, the effects, everything, all the details. Then she would teach me how to make the antidote for whatever she took." He glances down at Harry as he carefully stirs the potion. "She said you'd understand the need to keep her secrets."

Even Snape looks shocked at the amount of planning that went into this bizarre plan that Glory cooked up and just how far she was willing to take it, especially relying on Neville, of all people, to work the antidote for her.

Harry sighs heavily and looks down at the now unnervingly still body in his arms as Snape turns and vents his anger at Neville, who for once, ignores it completely and continues to work, merely commenting quietly that he only has a limited time to make the potion right before it becomes irreversible and it would be easier if there were no distractions. Hermione steps to Neville's side and asks what she can do to help him, seeing how determined he is to make this potion work. Neville smiles faintly and tells Hermione what the next step is so she can begin preparing.

"Why didn't you just take the bloody fail and walk away?" Harry whispers down at her. "What could be so dangerous that you'd risk this?" Glory moans softly and opens hazy green eyes and looks vaguely up to where she heard Harry's voice.

"Protect… family… you…" Her mouth continues to move, forming words but not a lot of sound comes out clearly beyond a few random syllables. "Ungrateful sna…" she breaks off suddenly, making a loud choking noise and sits straight up, gasping for air without taking any in.

Harry panics at her sudden movement and holds her carefully, muttering softly that she'll be ok, to relax. He has no idea what else he could possibly do to help her. Glory begins to look a little blue around the lips as she continues to struggle to draw in air without success. The slight haziness of her eyes has grown to an alarming milky layer with the slightest red tint around the edges.

Professor Snape crouches down quickly at the sudden unexpected reaction, cursing under his breath that Madam Pomfrey hasn't arrived yet. His knowledge of medical magics isn't nearly up to her standard and barely beyond the basics necessary in an emergency. He uses his wand to check for any tangible reason why she isn't breathing, but nothing comes up. There is nothing physically blocking her lungs from drawing in air, and he can think of nothing he can do to help her.

Glory begins to wobble back and forth as the vertigo becomes too much for her, and she starts to tip backwards, ready to pass out from lack of oxygen when suddenly the block in her throat lets up and she begins to cough.

Her body rocks back and forth with the bone-jarring strength of the coughing that pulls her right out of Harry's hold. Glory leans forward, curling into the pain and grasping for the nearest table leg as she tries to keep herself from falling over. Her vision isn't clear enough for her to see that what she was reaching for wasn't the table at all. She realises the instant her hand closes around the fabric that she has actually grabbed for Professor Snape's arm instead, but she does not remove her hand. She uses him to keep herself steady until she can stabilize herself.

After a few tense moments, the coughing ceases and Glory releases her grip on the potions master, leaning back and looking in Harry's direction with pain-filled eyes obscured beneath the disturbing layer of red haze that has spread from the edges to engulf both her eyes completely.

"I had to do it," she whispers very quietly, her voice raspy and weak. Snape listens in closely, hoping to overhear something important, some clue as to what would drive her to something so drastic and dangerous. "To save us all."

"From what?" Harry asks just as quietly, brushing a loose strand of Glory's hair back from her face. "What was so dangerous?"

"Zane," Glory is the only one in the classroom who misses the blood draining from Harry's face at the comment as she collapses against him once more. Blood has begun to leak from the corners of her eyes, leaving unsettling red streaks pouring down her pale cheeks. It looks disturbingly as if she is crying tears of blood.

Neville spares a brief glance over as he finishes the potion and extinguishes the flame. He doesn't look surprised at what is happening, having been forewarned of the effects of the potion beforehand, but finally appears to be a little unnerved by actually seeing it firsthand. He quickly pours a single cup full of the antidote and kneels down next to his friends.

Hermione steps around the table and closer to the group on the floor, watching worriedly as Neville, with shaking hands, passes the cup to Harry very carefully.

"Ry," Harry calls softly, shaking her shoulder slightly, trying to wake her up. She doesn't respond and Harry tries again. "Wake up, Ry." Harry looks at Neville worriedly. Neville checks his watch and shakes his head.

"There's still time," he reassures quickly, and tries himself to get her to wake. Time passes and nothing seems to be working. Finally fed up and too worried about the time growing short, Neville resorts to desperate threats. "Glory, if you don't wake up right now and take this potion, I'm making sure that everyone knows your middle name!"

"You wouldn't dare," Glory groans feebly and both of her god-brothers give weak laughs as they help sit her up. Trust something like that to bring her back from the brink.

Harry raises the cup to Glory's lips and she slowly drinks down the entire mixture as the rest of the class watches in nervous anticipation to see whether the antidote is a success or not. She makes a face and mutters a comment about it tasting awful, but within moments her colour begins to return and muscles visibly clenched in pain begin to ease. Finally, Glory opens her eyes and looks in Neville's direction, unable to see the slight shudder he gives at seeing the state of her eyes up close. As if sensing his discomfort, Glory closes her eyes again and reaches out for Neville's hand. She gives it a comforting squeeze.

"I knew you could do it," she whispers hoarsely, her hand releasing its grip and sliding to her lap as the darkness closes in completely and she gives in to unconsciousness.

The students stand around in shock, just staring down at the group on the floor as Professor Snape once again checks Glory's vital signs. Everything seems to be calming down and returning to normal on that front. The potions master's face has returned to its usual unreadable mask, but his anger is clearly evident to everyone in the room.

Terry races into the classroom with a fretful looking Madam Pomfrey on his heels. They both stop short at the scene before them, but the mediwitch recovers quickly and gets straight to work checking on the patient.

After a few silent minutes, Pomfrey stands and speaks to the now pacing Professor Snape.

"The antidote you gave her seems to be working and I believe she'll be ok, but she's suffered a lot of trauma. She'll need to come up to the hospital wing for more tests to make sure there will be no lingering effects." Snape nods curtly and orders the rest of the students to hand in their potion sample for the day as Madam Pomfrey conjures a stretcher to transport the unconscious student to the hospital wing.

"Class dismissed," he snaps and follows the mediwitch out the door, leaving the students in stunned silence behind him.

End of Chapter 6

Author's Note: Sorry for the long time between updates, but school and real life likes to intrude and keep me pretty busy at times. I'll try not to take so long in the future. Thanks to anyone who is reading this.