You would think that since it's summer I would have more time to write…growls…

ShadeDancer

Disclaimer: I must again remind you, and myself, that I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 9: Identity Attack

"You're not Albus Dumbledore" Harry spoke up, ignoring the fact that he had just interrupted the man in the middle of whatever he was saying.

A buzz went up in the classroom as Dumbledore stopped and looked at Harry.

"Whatever do you mean child" he asked Harry.

"You are not Albus Dumbledore" Harry repeated with conviction though he said no more.

"I assure you young Harry that I am Dumbledore and am not under any charms, potions, or spells that would alter my appearance in any way" the blue eyes twinkled and Harry could see that the man was enjoying this repartee.

"I didn't say you aren't a Dumbledore" Harry retorted smugly "I just said that you aren't Albus Dumbledore as your carefully chosen words would have us believe. Everything you have told us is the truth, but vague enough that the lies behind them aren't noticed for the truth that is present. You are not Albus Dumbledore but his brother, Aberforth Dumbledore."

The Dumbledore standing in front of them grew serious and gave a few slow claps.

"Congratulations Mr. Potter" he said "I am indeed Aberforth Dumbledore and I will be your Defense teacher this year. No one in the other class I had today was able to pick up on my half-truths even as I made them more blatantly obvious towards the end of the lesson. Your lesson today and for the next few classes will concentrate on being aware of your surroundings and detecting falsifications as well as examining magical disguises, casting them, and how to detect them."

By the time class ended Harry wasn't sure what to make of Aberforth Dumbledore. He had expected the professor to be much like his brother, but Aberforth didn't seem to possess the manipulative nature of Albus; though that of course could be an act. Harry wanted to study Aberforth a bit longer but he couldn't keep McGonagall waiting for however long it took him to get a good impression of the professor. An irritated cat animagus was not a pretty sight and he had already left the classroom while his thoughts had wandered.

"Concentrate Mr. Potter" professor McGonagall snapped half an hour later and Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes; he was concentrating, just not as hard as she wished.

He was trying to fight the complete change that wished to overcome him and so his attention was divided, leaving him open to McGonagall's displeasure. He was tempted to ask who had stepped on her tail and felt his own twitch at the thought. He was sitting comfortably in a nest of pillows in case his balance was thrown off during his changes. Currently dark-ash and golden fur rippled all over his body, his hands and feet were paws with claws he could extend and retract at will, his newly grown tail flicked lazily, and his whiskers and ears twitched as his enhanced senses examined the room. Most disconcerting though was the pale green his eyes had become. As a human his eyes had already seemed to pierce the soul, but with the feline cast they had assumed it seemed as if he was looking right through a person.

"Begin to change back" McGonagall instructed and Harry complied, changing bit-by-bit until he was once again his normal self.

"Good Mr. Potter" she complimented stiffly, even in a one-on-one lesson like this she would not relax into a more familiar manner "you seem to have practiced over the summer as you were told and are closer to the final transformation than expected. Next lesson you will complete the change and the next week will be spent fine tuning your ability. Please be prepared Mr. Potter."

… … … … …

Harry sighed as he watched the members of the Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch teams arrive for the meeting. It was early November and school had been in session for two months now, but Harry was still having trouble getting the Slytherins and Gryffindors to cooperate. The chairs he and Draco had arranged in a circle before transfiguring them from hardwood into something more comfortable had been pulled away to form two separate groups. The house rivalries were really getting ridiculous. Harry turned his attention to the Slytherin team sitting proudly in their chairs, trading the occasional quiet remark or glance.

No one could accuse the Slytherin team of going for brute strength this year. Millie and Blaise had made Chaser with Draco, who was the Captain, joining them so that Harry could be Seeker. Theo would be the backup Chaser for when Draco had to play Seeker and Crabbe and Goyle were playing as Beaters while Miles Bletchley was Keeper. The group also flew very well together and employed cunning instead of merely disabling their opposing team with foul moves.

The Gryffindor team had suffered though and needed new players. Harry was of course Captain and Seeker, placing a happy Ginny in the position of Chaser for the time being. Jack and Andrew were there, but they were unsure if they were going to continue to play that year; Harry was going to work with them a bit and convince them that they were good enough for the team. Then of course Ron was still keeper, though with the way their friendship was currently going Harry wasn't too sure how playing on the same team would work out. Harry made a mental note to post tryout posters for all positions so that they had the best players for each position as well as backup players in the event of injury. Harry turned to Draco and nodded to his brother, time to get this meeting over with.

Nearly an hour later Harry slumped into his chair with Draco perching on the arm next to him, lending support. It hadn't taken long to inform the teams of the arrangements that had been made for Harry and the players had accepted things pretty well, except for Ron. Ron had gone on and on about how they wouldn't be able to trust Harry not to throw a game in favor of Slytherin and how they would soon see Gryffindor tactics being used by the Slytherins. Ron didn't even seem to realize that it could work both ways, that Harry could use Slytherin tactics for Gryffindor's gain. Thankfully the rest of the players on both teams realized that Harry respected the game of Quidditch too much to do such a thing and believed him when he said he would give each team his all. Against his better judgment Harry had finally used his rank as Captain to shut Ron up, mentioning to the redhead that if he didn't trust him to play fairly on both teams then perhaps it wouldn't be good for team morale to have such friction between them. It was a veiled reference of his ability to kick Ron off the team and thankfully it had been understood without him speaking plainly. Of course it seemed that everyone else had understood before the youngest Weasley male, but in the end Ron had quieted his protests in order to remain on the team.

"It could have gone worse" Draco spoke suddenly while idly playing with a few strands of Harry's hair, something everyone seemed to want to do lately "the whole team could have revolted on you."

Playfully Harry reached up and tugged on a lock of Draco's silky hair that was thankfully free of hair gel "might have been better if they had, then I would only have Slytherin to play for and could force someone else to worry about player tryouts."

"Come on" Harry cheered up a bit "let's set this room to rights and fence for a bit. A trouncing would do you good."

Draco scowled good-naturedly "I don't intend to be the one trounced, a Malfoy never loses."

"Then we have a quandary brother mine" Harry grinned "for I too am a Malfoy and one of us must lose."

'Clash Clang Schhht'.

Their swords join in a flurry of sound as blade scraped along blade. For a moment they pressed their weight against the other's blade, deadlocked, before snapping back quickly to break apart. The moves were well practiced; a series they often engaged in to see if either could break the stalemate. So far neither had been able to, or perhaps they were unwilling to. The stalemate gave them a reason to keep opposing each other. They had just flown at each other again when a shrill ringing echoed through the castle, startling them, only to be followed by a magically amplified voice.

"Hogsmeade is under attack. Fifth year and below will remain in the dorms, Sixth and Seventh year report to the Great Hall."

Flitwick's voice echoed on strong magical waves and no hint of a squeak could be heard. Harry and Draco exchanged glances.

"Hogsmeade" Harry said decisively and they made their way to the passage leading to Honeyduke's.

Let their classmates defend the castle; it was best to try and head the attack off before it reached Hogwart's gates, if it was even headed in that direction. They shot out of Honeyduke's and directly into the middle of the fray, hoods up and spells falling from their lips. A few Death Eaters fell to their spells but Harry and Draco knew they were sorely outnumbered and fell back to the shadows, using guerilla tactics along with their swords to take out their opponents. Nearly an hour later their skin practically buzzed with the magic that filled the air around them and blood as well as chunks of flesh marred the once bright edges of their swords. Two more masked figures approached, but this time Harry and Draco held back.

"Dad and Mr. Parkinson" Draco hissed quietly in recognition and Harry nodded.

Though it didn't seem so, they were being careful on whom they took out, not wanting to accidentally get the wrong Death Eaters. About a dozen or more Death Eaters were disloyal to Voldemort, feigning submission in order to protect their families and spy on the Dark Lord's plans.

"Take out Mr. Parkinson" Harry instructed Draco "he'll never be allowed to hurt Pansy or her mother again. I'll pretend to engage dad incase something goes wrong."

Harry sent heat through his ring to warn his father he was there before attacking. They dueled back and forth for a bit, testing each others skills' without throwing spells that would seriously maim while Draco fought Mr. Parkinson. Both Harry and Lucius were ready to leap to Draco's aide should he need it, but Draco's righteous fury protected him and kept him fighting. It was to Draco's sword that Mr. Parkinson finally fell, and they left his corpse lying in the street as they ducked back into the refuge of the shadowed alley Harry and Draco had been fighting from.

"What are you two thinking" Lucius demanded as he hugged his sons tightly to him "you need to get back up to the school before you get hurt or are missed. Go now, I'll watch your backs. You don't want Dumbledore or his Order to catch you out here."

"What about you and the others" both boys demanded only to be pushed roughly in the direction of Honeyduke's.

"I'll be fine" Lucius assured them "Parkinson was in charge this time so I'll grab his body and call a retreat, I've kept most of our loyals to the rear. Everything will be fine, now go."

Both boys doubted Lucius, knowing how free Voldemort was with the Cruciatus curse, but there was nothing they could do about it as sections of Hogsmeade were currently going up in flames. Wood burnt and stone melted as they stumbled toward the secret passage way, hoping their escape would not be blocked, the smell of frying flesh mingling with the aroma of Honeyduke's finest chocolate. Harry and Draco made it back into Hogwart's without any trouble and hunted down Millie for a report on what had happened while they were gone in case any questions arose. Thankfully Millie, who was a brilliant tactician, had the insight to loiter near the humpbacked witch, waiting for them along with Goyle. Quickly they filled each other in. Millie telling them how the Sixth and Seventh years had been instructed to patrol the halls in pairs while Harry and Draco informed the gleeful girl of Mr. Parkinson's demise.

"Pansy will be ecstatic" Millie grinned "especially since you were the one to defend her honor Draco."

Draco blushed slightly which prompted a slightly ribald round of teasing at his and Pansy's expense.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. You all are awesome. I was also surprised by how many people guessed Aberforth as the Defense teacher.

Posted: June 10, 2005