A/N: And yes, here is the next chap. Hope you all find it to be entertaining.

Disclaimer: It's all mine! Mwa ha ha haaaaaa! Or not. If you recognize it, it's J.K.'s. Details were referenced in the books and in the Harry Potter Lexicon.

Chapter Twelve

The Baron was chuckling darkly.

"I doubt it matters much whether I'm well or not. One day isn't all the different from the next, being dead, it's the world around that changes."

Harry snorted.

"I believe I told some Gryffindor first years something similar when they asked what my life was like."

"How Slytherin of you. Alright then, wait until the students begin to clear the hall," the Baron muttered softly, "then follow me."

It didn't take long for the students to begin drifting towards the doors. Harry followed the Bloody Baron out and down a set of stairs towards the far side of the Entrance Hall, down into the dungeons. A small group of Slytherin students who had been walking in front of them stopped in front of a blank wall.

Harry glanced at the Baron, but didn't ask. The Baron was rather intimidating in appearance, covered with silver bloodstains. Not to mention that, first and foremost, it would be fairly numbskulled on Harry's part to ask a question he would undoubtedly know the answer to in a minute, just by observing. The Baron obvious was influential, and he didn't need to start out a bargaining session with making a lousy impression by asking dumb questions.

One of the students towards the front stepped forward and uttered a what was apparently a password of some sort:

"Noctem Walpurgis."

The wall opened, revealing what was apparently the Slytherin common room. It was mostly stone, with a darker stone for the floor, and a variety of elegant rugs and tapestries. It had a fairly low ceiling, and was illuminated by greenish torchlight.

Harry followed the Baron down a corridor, and into an empty side room.

The Baron gave him a calculating glance.

"I take it you need my assistance in maintaining your cover?"

"So I've been told."

"It is, most likely, the truth. Why do you wish to remain hidden, and why should I help you?"

"Tell me first who this 'Peeves' is, and why I need you to keep him in line."

The Slytherin ghost gave him a piercing look, before nodding.

"Peeves is a poltergeist, an indestructible spirit of chaos, as they are defined. He has a passion for wrecking havoc, and could easily cause you difficulties. I am known to be the only one who can control him."

Harry thought this over for a moment. Peeves, not being a ghost, might not detect him quite so easily. There was even a chance he could manage to get the troublemaker to think favorably on him on his own. However, it wasn't particularly worth the risk, either. The last thing he needed at the moment was to have his disguise uncovered. He needed to keep his eyes on Quirrel, with as few eyes as possible on himself. No one expected to see the ghosts at Hogwarts all the time, after all. Unlike it's living inhabitants, the ghosts, for the most part, wandered the castle as they pleased, and were paid much less heed.

"I suspect a plot by people who mentioned my name in a way that made me believe they might prove a threat to me. I need to watch a person currently situated a Hogwarts, and being disguised as a ghost works to my advantage."

There was silence for a moment.

"Well?" he asked the Baron expectantly.

The aforementioned ghost raised an eyebrow, a faint smirk upon his lips.

"You've only answered my first question."

"Oh?"

"You've yet to answer why I should help you."

"How 'bout out of the goodness of your heart," Harry retorted sarcastically.

"Do you really think that's likely?"

"Not particularly. What do you want? Anyone you want a prank pulled on? Information on events..."

"Perhaps I'd like to reserve a favor."

"It's never a wise move to agree to something before you know what you're promising."

"True. However, as I could have your cover blown within the day, what position are you in to bargain?"

"As I can leave whenever I please, thus not needing to maintain a disguise any longer, it's hardly in your favor to push a deal with too high a price, since that would leave you right back where you started."

"But you don't want to leave. You need to keep an eye out on certain people."

"How about this: I'll keep you informed on events a per your curiosity, and I'll owe you a favor within reason, I being the judge on what fulfills the requirement. "

Harry watched the Baron with mild apprehension. 'His Bloodiness' gave him an appraising look before answering.

"I accept."

The Slytherin first years were seated in a corner of the common room. Harry chose to approach them, invisible, as to not garnerthey did, they just gazed at him for a moment, unsure of what to say, or whether to address him at all. It was a silver-blond haired aristocrat that addressed him first with a slight, startled sneer.

"Potter."

"That would be my name, correct."

"Perhaps you shouldn't be wandering into this section of the castle then."

Harry raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly.

"First of all, it is unwise to leave nearby territory unknown, and secondly, I wasn't technically wandering, seeing as I was with the Baron, whom I can assure you, knows his way around perfectly well. Tell me, why shouldn't I be wandering around these parts?"

"We're not all light supporters here abouts, incase you didn't know."

"I don't recall ever supporting or being supported by anyone but myself, so I think I'll manage just fine, thanks. Not that it matters anyway; you living folk are more than welcome to sort out your squabbles on your own. You are?"

"Draco Malfoy," he answered with obvious pride, "and those are Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle."

After a moments hesitation, the others began to introduce themselves.

"Pansy Parkinson."

"Tracey Davis."

"Blaise Zambini."

"Millicent Bulstrode."

"Daphne Greengrass."

"Pleasure to meet you all. Who's the last one over there?"

He gestured towards a stringy looking first year sitting slightly distanced from the group.

"That's Theodore Nott."

There was no further exclamation, and Harry didn't ask for one. The group had questions of their own, which became apparent a moment later.

"So, how did you do it?"

Draco Malfoy, was, unsurprisingly, the first to speak up.

"Do what?"

It was the Parkinson girl who answered.

"Defeat the Dark Lord, of course."

"Voldemort?"

"Don't say his name!" Daphne hissed nervously. Her sentiment was obviously shared by many others, the Malfoy child in particular.

"What's he going to do, kill me?"

No one had an answer to that. Theodore Nott, Harry noticed, seemed to have taken interest in the conversation, and was watching subtly from where he sat, apparently waiting to seeing what Harry would say next.

"Do any of you remember anything from when you were one?" Harry asked.

"Well, no..."

"Nor do I remember how I defeated Voldemort-" Harry looked around to see flinches at the name, "nor am I even sure I would understand it were I able to remember."

"You don't remember anything?" Pansy's expression showed obvious disappointment.

"I recall screaming, a flash of green light, and high pitched laughter, but that's it."

"Avada Kedevera, the killing curse, produces green light..." Draco muttered, then blinked as he processed the rest of the statement. "High pitched laughter?"

"Quite clearly."

Tracey snorted in amusement. Harry could see Theodore smirking at the Malfoy heir's expression from the corner where he sat.

"What about the fire?" Malfoy shot back, obviously trying to get attention off himself, and into an area less comfortable for the obviously amused boy-who-lived-and supposedly-died. "Didn't get away quite as easily from that, did you? But I bet you can remember..."

Silence had settled over the immediate vicinity upon this statement. Harry shrugged.

"There was an attack. I stayed hidden in my cupboard-"

"Your cupboard?"

"I lived in a cupboard under the stairs. The intruders didn't find me- but the fire did."

Harry watched their faces closely, making sure no one doubted this line of events. Noticing one of the older students heading for the door, he decided that it was probably best to leave while he had the chance, as he needed to have someone else open the door in order to exit inconspicuously.

"I guess I'll leave you lot to your studies then. See you around."

With that, he turned invisible. It was then that he realized with a start that the effects of the fizzing whizbees had worn off. If he walked across the room, they would hear his footsteps. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on how it felt to be under the effects of the odd candies, and how important it was that his presence not be given away. Moments later, he was hovering above the chair where he'd been sitting. Relieved, be floated quickly toward the exit, following the older student out into the corridor.

When he entered the Gryffindor common room, hoping to discuss plans for attending classes with the twins, he found Hermione Granger sitting near the fire, a pile of books spread out in front of her. Making himself visible right next to the wall, he floated over.

"So, how was your first day of classes."

She looked up, and beamed. She obviously wasn't paid much heed by her classmates, and welcomed the greeting.

"Wonderful. We saw all sorts of magic, and learned a lot of new things. I'm top of all my classes so far."

She looked at him for a moment, as if wondering what to say, then asked cautiously:

"What's it like to be a ghost?"

"Different, I guess. You're not really part of events, more of a spectator, floating around instead of walking... It's hard to describe. I guess I'm used to it, and in some ways I never really had much of a chance to see what it was like to live."

She gave him a sympathetic look.

"I suppose there are probably other differences too."

"Like temperature," she grumbled ruefully, "one of the other ghosts walked right through me today. It's so cold! You all just radiate cold."

"Really? I wonder why," he remarked, watching her expression carefully. "Are there any spells with similar effects we could compare it to? Maybe that could help us figure it out."

Seeing her interested expression, he knew he'd played his cards right.

"Brilliant! I'll check the library, and tell you if I find anything."

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, giving me the motivation to make sure this got posted despite my busy scedule.