Chapter 4

Harry was surprised to see just how many students would be returning to their homes this Christmas, it felt like the entire school was boarding the Hogwarts express again. He couldn't blame them, as much as he had been enjoying school he wouldn't miss going home for anything.

He took a few seconds to help Tracey and Daphne with their trunks, he certainly didn't mind helping them out, Merlin knew they had helped him in with plenty of homework in the last few weeks. They along with the rest of their friends had tried to master a charm to make carrying their trunks easier, none had come close to managing to pull the spell off, and Harry was pretty sure he was doing it perfectly too.

Before long they had reached a compartment with a few familiar faces, Susan and Hannah shot up to give them a hug in greeting. So far only Daphne had seemed uneasy with the casual and intimate way of greeting, but she had gotten used to it after a while, even if she never initiated a hug.

Harry took a second to look over his friends, he had gotten so used to robes he had forgotten what normal muggle inspired clothes looked like, even on their off days at Hogwarts people lent more towards cloaks and robes, but that could be because of the creeping chill of winter. The only person who wasn't wearing full muggle clothing was Daphne, apparently being the eldest daughter of a pureblood family meant she didn't have or didn't like muggle clothes. Harry would bet she had never given the chance to like them, wizards were pretty set in their ways about most things.

Susan and Hannah were wearing the same outfits they had been when they came to Hogwarts the first time, Harry couldn't be sure but they to fit differently now, not that he was staring or anything. Tracey had chosen to go full muggle also, she had said her house was in the middle of a muggle village so it would look strange to wear robes or anything overly witchy. Harry did noticed she seemed comfortable in her jeans and button up shirt and green cardigan, she was clearly more in touch with muggles than a normal Slytherin.

Though Harry was in the same situation as his mum had made sure they knew enough about muggles so they didn't feel out of place if they went out to the muggle world, sure he would never know how to work their technology or anything but he wouldn't get muddled by their money.

Harry decided that the magical world could really use some inspiration from their muggle counterparts in the clothing department. He really wasn't staring, it was just hard to not notice how much better the girls looked wearing muggle clothes. He was only glancing anyway.

Harry was annoyed to not get the window seat, Susan had eagerly reclaimed her seat and Daphne had taken the other with a small smug smirk in his and Tracey's direction. That left the choice of sitting next to Hannah or Tracey, it didn't really mean anything but Harry was aware of the fact that they were girls. And he wasn't as grossed out by girls as some other first years.

He spent a lot more time with Tracey due to sharing the same house so he decided to sit next to Hannah, it didn't hurt that he had gotten along well with Hannah since the time the first met.

"What do you guys do for Christmas?" Susan asked the Slytherins. Harry settled back and let the others answer first, he had actually learned this from watching Daphne, he could subtly hear what the others did before deciding what to reveal. Not that he had any secrets about Christmas or how his family behaved, but it wouldn't hurt to learn some good habit's that would certainly make his dealings with other Slytherins easier.

"Oh the usual, we just hang out and have dinner." Tracey answered. "Though its pretty handy living in a muggle village, they do so much more for Christmas, they do this thing called caroling and put all these lights out in the village. It gets really pretty at night." Harry had learnt pretty early on that Tracey was a talker, usually it was handy to have someone who could talk for a living.

When Susan Bones was in the same room that virtue became a curse. "Oh i know what you mean, auntie takes me to London closer to Christmas to see all the lights and stuff.' Susan said eagerly, it would always go like this when the two were in the same room. He met Daphne's eyes and started to laugh, they liked to pretend to 'die of boredom' when the pair of girls got started. Daphne was taking her turn, her bright blue eyes were wide open looking blankly past Harry's shoulder, her long blonde hair was disarrayed over her head as she had slumped her head to her own shoulder.

Susan had started to laugh too, but Tracey just gave Daphne a slap on her leg. By now the four of them were laughing at each other's antics, it was pretty easy to be happy with his group of friends when they were being playful. So far they had only had one minor falling out, that was when Hufflepuff had lost the first quidditch game of the year to Gryffindor. Harry had cheered for his sister, and would do it again, but apparently laughing at the Hufflepuff keeper for flying into one of his own hoops and falling off his broom was a big 'no-no'.

Harry noticed Hannah watching him when he was done laughing, she had a small frown on her face, he gave her a smile and she shook her head and smiled back. But he noticed she still didn't join in on the laughter, something had bothered her but he didn't know what.

"So what do the Greengrass' family do for Christmas if the Bones traditions are so boring?" Susan asked Daphne with feigned anger.

Daphne rearranged her hair before replying with a grin. "We do presents and a meal, nothing special, oh and i get attacked by my little sister at an unholy hour on Christmas Day." Harry laughed at that, he knew how it was to have a younger sister who got excitable. Hannah was watching Daphne Harry noticed, maybe she had said something to upset Hannah recently.

They rounded on Harry after his outburst, to which he just raised his hands in surrender. Susan urged him to share his story. "Out with yours too Mr Potter." She said in a good imitation of their professors.

"Mine is pretty similar, its just I have a little sister too who is the same. She gets so excited that our whole family gets an extra helping of festive cheer." He said with a smile. He had missed Rosie dearly, she had been his best friend and partner in crime for the last two years, if not more since Jasmine started Hogwarts.

He had made an effort to talk to his family using the mirror at least once a week, but Rosie was usually in bed by the time he had settled down for the day so he had hardly gotten a chance to talk with her properly. He also regretted not making more of an effort to hang out with his sister more often, he could only remember one time when they had actually talked together since coming to Hogwarts.

That certainly wasn't how he had been imagining how things would go, but due to the nature of Slytherin and Gryffindor's famous rivalry it wouldn't be overly smart to be too obvious. Harry assumed the only reason Hermione and Neville hadn't been saved from their study group was the fact that so many Hufflepuff's were present.

There had been an incident one day when Hermione had been getting picked on by a few of her housemates in History of magic, before Harry could step in and probably make things worse Neville had punched one of the bullies. Neville had always been quiet and shy, and after he punched Weasley Neville had clearly been shocked at his own actions, he had gotten detention swiftly after of course.

When they met up to study the next week everyone knew about the incident, Neville much to his horror was met with a round of applause. Daphne joked that she had been wanting to hit Weasley for a long time, the Hufflepuff's were just proud of Neville for standing up for Hermione. To say Neville had received a small confidence boost would be an understatement.

Apparently Weasley had taken issue with; Hermione's choice of friends, attitude towards learning, the bushy-ness of her hair and her slightly too large front teeth. So all in all Harry thought Neville had done the right thing, even if he disapproved of his use of fists rather than magic.

It seemed absurd to him that for a school dedicated to magic they spent so much time learning basically worthless spells, sure he could understand these basic spells were a good way to learn control and delicacy. But who in their right mind though astronomy was worth learning over simple day to day charms, he had seen his mother use charm for all sorts of things around the house, from anything as mundane as washing clothes to cleaning bedrooms.

After three months in school he hadn't learned any form of self defense in classes, not that he really needed it, but when you were in a school with endless kids with the ability to hurt each other it seemed only prudent to him that self defense would be important. With how enmity between himself and Malfoy had been going he was surprised he hadn't had to defend himself yet, he knew a few spells of course but he hadn't ever really tried to cast them on anyone yet, and didn't plan to unless provoked.

The Hogwarts express had been slithering its way down Scotland for an hour or so when everyone in the compartment had started to get sleep, Harry was no exception, and before long one by one they started to doze off. Harry was amused to see Tracey resting her head in Daphne's lap, the girls were closer that sisters in some ways, despite how seemingly opposite they were there was never any clashing.

Their dynamic had made Harry feel pretty comfortable around them from the beginning, he still occasionally had moments where Daphne seemed to be testing him or whatever it was she did, but they had become fewer and he had been a bit paranoid those first few days. As nothing at all had happened he began to grow comfortable with the girls he called friends, and they did too, Tracey much more than Daphne but it seemed like Tracey was always looking to make friends.

Susan had decided to steal Hannah's shoulder for a head rest, her red hair in sharp contrast to Hannah's blonde. Much to Harry's annoyance Susan began to snore. Hannah merely shrugged sleepily at him, clearly they were used to this as they had been friends before Hogwarts, much like Tracey and Daphne. Harry got up and closed the blinds in the windows, both to the outside and the trains hallway, suddenly the room seemed a lot smaller and more intimate.

Trying to keep his mind out of the gutter and his breathing calm, he managed to settled down in the corner of the compartment and not make a complete fool of himself, though sleep was hard to come by. Somehow just being in the same room as four sleeping girls was enough to make his heart race, despite how awkward it made him feel it certainly made him feel special. When he had been sorted into Slytherin he had felt like his idea of what his school life would be like was shattered, and here he was in a room with four of his best friends all at peace and comfortable with each other.

The small smile that graced his lips lingered as he fell asleep.

"Oi, Princess Potter, wake up." He heard as someone poked him in the face. To say he was disoriented was a slight misnomer, as he stood up from his newly acquired seat on the floor of the train compartment. Hannah Abbot was laughing at him from where she had clearly woken him up, the other girls were also laughing at him though, the flush that burned on his cheeks didn't help their mirth.

"Never thought he would wake up with all that snoring." Susan chimed in. Harry gaped at her, he didn't snore. unlike Susan.

"He was drooling too." Hannah added with a disgusted tone as she made a show of wiping her finger off on her jeans. Harry reached up to dry his mouth with his sleeve and frowned when he found it was dry. These girls would be the death of him.

Before he could make any kind of reply Tracey and Daphne's roars of laughter hit him like a truck. Sure he was used to some light hearted teasing, they all did it to each other but usually someone took the victims side. Harry sat back in his seat and tucked his arms around himself.

"Awwww ickle Potter is sulking." Daphne said in a mock baby voice as the laughter in the compartment redoubled.

"I'm not sulking." Harry said trying very hard not to sulk. Stupid girls.

"Good, cos we are pulling into London." Tracey said. "We wouldn't want your parents to think us mean girlies were bullying you Potty." She stuck her tongue out at him but her smile was still its usual genuine self.

That took Harry by surprise he had managed to sleep nearly the entire train ride, not that he was exactly complaining, but he would miss his friends and he wouldn't see them for a couple of weeks so missing the last few hours was a bit annoying. "Why didn't you wake me sooner?" He asked.

Hannah giggled. "You looked too cute, with you hair all a mess and your glasses askew. Also we figured it'd be a lot more peaceful if you stayed asleep." Her grin gave him a slight chill, he had thought it before and no doubt would many more times, but girls were scary.

"Well fine but I'm not giving any of you your Christmas presents now." Harry was amused to see that they seemed to decide teasing him was getting a bit old now. He had bought them all a small gift each, nothing too crazy just a few sweets and other oddments, and there was no way he would follow through on his bluff.

As they got off the train Harry could see his mum standing by herself off by a pillar, he nearly took off straight away without thinking. He turned to his friends and saw they all looked a bit awkward and sad, he tried to give them a confident grin. "I've already seen my mum, ill miss you girls a lot, have a brilliant Christmas." And soon they had finished hugging each other and saying their goodbyes.

As he pulled his trunk up to his mum she wrapped him up in a hug, feeling his breath get taken out of him by the sheer force of the hug he felt a few tears in his eyes. He wrapped his arms around his mum and whispered into her hair. "I missed you mum."

"I missed you too Harry, so so much." She said warmly and let him go. Harry took a quick look around, he wasn't ashamed of loving his mum but still he had to be sure no one saw. Feeling confident that no one was laughing at him he looked up at his mum, she was smiling at him.

"You've gotten taller Harry, and your hair is getting long." She was inspecting him the way only a mother could, it was a small thing to put up with in the big picture but it was a bit embarrassing.

"Stop it mum." He said with a grin for her antics. "Where's dad and Rosie, no sign of Jasmine yet?" He asked.

His mum shook her head and nodded towards the train. "All i saw was you getting a lot of hugs from a bunch of girls." Ughhh, Harry tried really hard to suppress the groan that was threatening to escape. "I'm sure your dad would be very proud to hear all about that. Shame he's at work, lots of raids recently he's been worked really hard this week." She said sounding sad.

Jasmine eventually made her way over to them and Harry had the pleasure of seeing his mum do the same worried during to her. He had restrained from making helpful comments, well mostly, after all his mum really needed to know that Jasmine had been fending off boys most of the year so far.

Rosie was waiting for them at home with uncle Remus, Harry was nearly tackled off his feet by her hug, she was getting strong. After a few minutes trying to make her let him go and stop crying he finally managed to escape her grasps, he gave his uncle a hug and noticed the deep bags under his eyes. Apparently the full moon had recently passed, it always took so much out of him when he transformed into a werewolf, even with ample wolfsbane potion.

He was a usually tidy man, but whenever the full moon poked its head out it shattered any illusion the man gave off of being normal, Harry felt deep pity for his uncle, it couldn't be easy to live with what he had to. His family and Sirius had clearly made things a lot better than they could have been, not only did he have a profitable job and people who loved him, he had self respect and a sense of accomplishment. It was beyond difficult to make it in the wizarding world as a werewolf, but with the joke shop he ran along side Sirius he had managed it.

Harry felt pretty bad as he had forgotten to write to Remus much over the last few months, and swore to himself he would make it up to him. But when Remus and his mother started asking a few too many questions about the girls he was friendly with, Harry decided that maybe he had been a bit too hasty. If his dad and Sirius got wind of the small matter of girls he was friends with he would be lucky to make it back to Hogwarts without being expelled for underage magic.

Returning to his bedroom felt strange Harry decided, he didn't have it as decorated as he could have, but after a few months it felt a little bit wrong. His poster of the quidditch team he supported made him frown, he had forgotten to keep track of Puddlemere for the whole time he was in school.

He could deck his room out in Slytherin colors and with endless pictures of snakes, it would be fun to see if his dad would even entertain the idea. He had noticed changes in Jasmine when she had come home from Hogwarts, but his mum had just said she was growing up and it was natural.

The thought gave him a chill, it felt strange to him as if he didn't know who he even was anymore, he still loved his family and cared about learning magic but what about all the other things. How could he have forgotten about quidditch, forgotten to write for his uncle Remus, it was far to easy to get wrapped up in school, he thought.

As much as he loved his family he had to admit it was pretty boring being home, it wasnt anyone's fault it was just boring. His dad was still being made to raid ministry workers homes without pause, he claimed the official line was to cut down on hypocrites and charlatans in the ministry, he could tell his dad believed in it as much as he believed pigs could fly, naturally of course.

Rosie was clinging to him at any opportunity she had, he had been expecting this as they had done the very same when Jasmine had returned from Hogwarts. Harry was shocked at how much it bothered him though, his little sister was only trying to make up for lost time and have a bit of much needed fun, but he couldn't help feeling like it was a chore.

One day he had asked his mum about the way he was feeling, she always knew how to make him see things clearer. "Harry, trust me what you're feeling is perfectly normal, you've been away from home for four months and you've been learning all sorts of new things. Magic is only a small part of it, you're learning what you like in people and what you don't."

Her warm smile and gentle hands on his own made him feel a bit better. "If you feel anything like i did when I returned from Hogwarts I wouldn't be surprised. I felt trapped, stuck in a world I couldn't use magic in, I couldn't be who i wanted to be. I began to resent my family the first few years Harry, but after a few more i understood. You're learning discipline from this, maybe not yet but in a few years you'll appreciate the times you couldn't use magic."

He was looking at her funny he could tell from the way she laughed, was him mum crazy, he thought. "You're nuts mum, absolutely bonkers." He said warmly.

"And maybe that's where you get it from." She said as she wrapped him in a hug. "Don't worry Harry, just try to focus on being happy. As for Rosie, you said it yourself she just missed you a whole lot, in summer she will be as eager to go to Hogwarts as you were and we wont see her from all the reading she will be doing."

Christmas came faster than he was expecting, it didnt take long to settle back into the routine of life at home and when it did he felt a lot better. Jasmine had made things a lot easier by suggesting all sorts on new games to play, invisibility cloak tag was the best, a 'Sonorus' charm on the feet of whoever had the cloak made it extra intense.

When Harry woke up on Christmas Day he was greeted by a small pile of gifts from his friends, he wasted no time in opening them up, after all Rosie would be dragging him out of his room soon for family presents. Susan and Hannah had gotten him a whole bunch of sweets, a good bit more than he had gotten them he noticed. Hermione had even gotten him some dental floss, he couldn't remember why she said it was important but it was the thought that counted.

Tracey had gotten him a small book called 'Albus Dumbledore: Hogwarts and more warts' by Elphias Doge. Apparently his complaints about the mans seemingly endless trophies at school was reason to torture him some more, he couldn't help grinning at the book though, on the front cover Dumbledore stood tall and young and occasionally sticking a finger in his nose.

Daphne had also gotten him a book, a bit bigger than the Dumbledore book this one was a bit more austere, the title on the book in silver ink read, 'Slytherin house, Greatest of all.' According to a note she had left with it, the book was widely regarded as a definitive collection of some of the best students and their accomplishments from Slytherin house, also she added that it was bout time he had a real book and not some Gryffindor propaganda. Half of the book alone was dedicated to Slytherin and his descendants, it wouldn't make for an easy read he would bet.

The book had many authors as it was compiled from at least one person from each generation of famous Slytherin student, Harry thought it might be a good read, Salazar Slytherin was still revered in his house and Harry knew berry little about the man. Except for his incorrect views on blood purity, he could forgive Slytherin though he had clearly not had thousands of years of muggle born students to prove his theories incorrect, unlike some of his classmates now.

Harry had barely finished reading the first page before Rosie and Jasmine burst into his room, both looking flushed with excitement. Without any complaints Harry shot out of bed and rushed to join them in waking their parents up for Christmas presents. Every year it was the same, his mum and dad would pretend to be surprised at the presents under the tree, as if they still believed in Santa Claus.

After many squeals and hugs, giggles and groans they finally finished opening their presents. Harry would agree they had a good haul this year, Harry had gotten a full set of keepers armor and a broomstick servicing kit, and a few smaller things. Jasmine had gotten a pair or dragon hide boots that she had been pestering her mum about for a while, Rosie had gotten an enchanted doll house that seemed to be alive with movement and activity.

His uncles stopped by pretty early, they always tried to make it on time for the big gift opening, but somehow Rosie was always one step ahead. Sirius had gotten him another book, HArry would have been annoyed at the theme that was starting with his gifts if this one wasn't so exciting. 'The standard book of no so standard spells' was a promising book, considering the first spell it listed was 'the curse of the bogies' Harry met his uncles grin with one of his own, Sirius winked at him and tapped it with his wand, suddenly it read 'How to baffle and confound your enemies, a guide to pranking'

Remus on the other hand had went for a more sensible gift, it looked like a muggle briefcase but it was enchanted to be bigger on the inside, he remembered Jasmine getting a gift like this from him before. The briefcase had many slots and draws each perfectly designed to make for a perfect way to store and organize his school work. He gave both of his uncles an enthusiastic thanks and hugs, Sirius would always get the more fun gifts but Remus had a way of looking out for them that Harry would always appreciate.

The Slytherin common room was the fullest he had ever seen it, the students were excitedly buzzing around their quidditch team as Marcus Flint was boasting loudly about how easily they would beat Ravenclaw in the morning. Harry would have found himself sucked into the excited mood if it weren't for Malfoy standing smugly on the side of Flint.

Term was due to start in a couple of days so it was a welcome way to return to Hogwarts, it seemed that most of the school turned up for the quidditch match regardless of who was playing. Harry was a bit excited to see Slytherin play, he was also curious to see if Malfoy was actually a good seeker or just lucky, and they needed the points from the win to catch up in the house cup.

Harry was surprised to see the older students were also gathered around the quidditch team, they usually kept more to themselves and were too busy with their OWL's or NEWT's. Most of the older students gave off an air of being better than most other people at the school, even with regards to their fellow Slytherins, it wasn't uncommon to see a sixth or seventh year student force younger students out of seats.

Harry had shared the book he had been given with Tracey and Daphne on the train ride back to Hogwarts, he had been eager to learn a few, the jelly leg curse sounded pretty fun. Both girls were excited to learn some of the spells but they also knew a few of them anyway. Harry was shocked to know how many curses both girls knew, he was aware that they knew how to look after themselves, apparently their families taught them more dramatic ways of defending themselves.

They managed to get a few hours to practice the spells away from prying eyes before the quidditch match started, Daphne had suggested they keep out of the way when learning the spells. Her father had told her that it wasn't a good idea to show off how many offensive spells you knew if you had a choice, it sounded like good advice to Harry.

They had been diligent in their learning, first learning the counter curse to the jelly legs curse before trying the curse itself, so when they had all managed to cast it successfully and counter it they were pretty proud of their efforts. It had taken a lot longer than learning a basic charm, Harry didn't know why it had been that way but he knew he wouldn't struggle as much with the others in the book.

As they made their way down to the quidditch pitch they met up with their friends, Harry was suddenly glad they were playing Ravenclaw and not Hufflepuff, that game would be rough. Begging rights were not to be underestimated at Hogwarts.

When Jordan Rivers snatched the golden snitch out from nowhere, giving his team the win the Ravenclaw students gave a roar that threatened to deafen Harry. He watch with some grim enjoyment as Malfoy walked off the pitch with his head bowed in defeat, he had probably cost his team the whole game when he had missed the snitch three whole times in the game.

Harry was annoyed to see he could even follow the snitch in the first place, as he had been wanting Malfoy to be shown to be a fraud, and no one who knew quidditch would say Malfoy was hopeless.

Harry sat with his friends in the corner of the common room where he, Daphne and Tracey usually sat, he was reading about the stinging hex. It wasn't exactly a nice spell, but it was only a sting it wasn't exactly dark magic, the spell seemed simple enough to cast it didn't even need a specific wand movement.

The common room wasn't overly full, as after the disappointing defeat to Ravenclaw house unity was at an all time low, Harry cast a glance over at Malfoy who was sitting with Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy had been sulking there all evening, Harry was amused to see the other first year Slytherins had decided to distance themselves from the blond, Malfoy was probably the least popular person in Slytherin right now.

Apparently something in his thoughts had made its way on his face as when Malfoy made eye contact with Harry he flushed an angry red. Realizing he was smirking Harry made no effort to hide it, Malfoy had been annoying him for a while now so Harry took his opportunity to rub it in.

"Quickly laugh, Malfoy's looking this way." He hissed to Daphne and Tracey.

They both glanced at Malfoy quickly and gave a loud laugh that was sure to carry across the room, Harry turned to smirk at Malfoy who was trying to shrink into his chair. Some other students turned to see what was going on and began to point at Malfoy and join in the laughter.

Malfoy shot up angrily and stalked over to Harry, the smirk was now frozen on his face as he watched Malfoy make his way over to him. He hadn't wanted to start anything, just make fun of Malfoy while he was licking his wounds. Malfoy stopped a little short of Harry and looked down at him. "Got something you want to say Potter?" He asked in a quiet but angry voice.

"Nope, I don't talk to losers Malfoy." Harry replied tartly.

"How dare you, you filthy son of a mudblood." Malfoy spat venomously, Harry didnt know how or when it happened but he was suddenly on his feet walking towards Malfoy.

"You're a cowardly little worm Malfoy." Harry shouted, he felt his blood boiling under his skin. "Just like your precious father." Harry regretted it the second it came out, whatever he and his family thought of Lucius Malfoy most of Slytherin house would disagree. Harry heard a few people gasp and he knew Daphne was one of them, she never told him what her father did for a living but he had guessed that he at least knew Malfoy senior.

Draco Malfoy seemed to regain some composure at that, as though he could tell the room was shifting their attitude towards the two boys. "Uncivilized just like a mudblood, i knew you didn't belong in Slytherin Potter."

Before Harry knew what he was doing he reached into his robe and pulled out his wand, he pointed it at Malfoy and then felt a hand grab his wrist in a vice tight grip. He looked up to see a tall pale face prefect, Yaxley was glaring at him.

"Well Malfoy, it looks like Potter here wants to duel." Yaxley said with a cruel sneer. "What do you say to that?"

Malfoy looked at the prefect and gave a similar sneer, then looked at Harry and grinned. "Why should i waste my time on a mudblood like him? I am a M

alfoy after all." He said with all the pompous airs he could manage.

Yaxley looked disappointed, but he smoothed his face instantly. "Maybe Potter was right, maybe you are too much of a coward to duel him." Harry gaped, why was Yaxley baiting Malfoy, surely they were on the same side. He tried to tug his hand out of Yaxley's grip but only felt the older students hand grip him harder.

"Fine I'll duel him." Malfoy snapped. "Where and when Potter?"

"Right here, right now." Yaxley replied without delay. Harry felt his heart pounding in his chest. He had never been in a duel before, and never in front of so many people. He turned to see Daphne glaring at him angrily and Tracey looking worried at him, he gulped before looking back at Malfoy who looked as nervous as he felt.

Before either first year could do anything about their predicament Yaxley spoke out to the room. "These first years are going to duel, if anyone intervenes they will have to answer to me." He slowly looked around the room as if to see if anyone was stupid enough to challenge him, when he felt satisfied he looked back at Harry and Draco. "Well what are you waiting for, you know the proper positions." He snapped.

Harry quickly moved to stand in front of Malfoy, he had been trying to avoid this kind of situation all year so far and now he had put himself in this one by being stupid, well he wouldn't let people think he was a coward.

Malfoy looked him in the eyes and let out a mutter barely loud enough for Harry to hear. "Mudblood." Harry felt the anger rise in him again, but he tried very hard to ignore it, knowing that was what Malfoy wanted.

On hide third step away from Malfoy he heard the boy cast a cutting curse at him. Harry jumped to the side and saw a shield pop up in front of the onlookers, Yaxley would keep the others from being hurt but forced them to fight.

Harry quickly turned around and fired a spell of his own at Malfoy. The jelly legs curse missed his target narrowly. Malfoy took that as his chance to fire off another cutting curse, Harry had never learned about the spell but he knew what it would do if it hit. He threw himself to the floor, his anger rising. Malfoy was much crueler than he gave him credit for.

He cast a stinging hex at Malfoy and was happy to see it hit his shin, which made Malfoy miss his next spell, a murky brown spell Harry had never heard of before. Harry fired off another stinging hex hoping to keep Malfoy off balance for as long as possible. He had no idea how he could win this duel, he didn't know any spells strong enough to knock Malfoy out.

The onlookers were laughing at the two, he saw the second Malfoy noticed. The blond's face went a purple shade and he glared death at Harry.

Malfoy started throwing out any spell he could think of and Harry not knowing what could happen if any of them landed was dodging for his life. Malfoy took a second to pause and think, Harry took that as a chance to catch his breath.

"Serpensortia" Malfoy cried out with a flourish. Harry watched in shock as a thin black snake seemed to creep out of Malfoy's wand, the snake started to slither its way towards Harry. Harry couldn't take his eyes off the snake and he found himself backing up into an invisible wall.

"What's wrong Potter, snake got your tongue." Malfoy mocked.

"Piss off Malfoy." Harry hissed. The words felt odd leaving his mouth and the gasps around the room made Harry aware of what he said. He had actually hissed. The snake stopped its advance and turned around to go after Malfoy.

There wasn't a single sound in the room that Harry could hear, he took his eyes of the snake to chance a glance at Daphne and Tracey. Both girls were looking at him as if he had grown a second head, Harry suppressed the urge to check if he had. Yaxley was eyeing Harry up in a way that made Harry's skin crawl.

"Diffinido" Malfoy shouted as he pointed his wand at Harry. The spell made contact with Harry's face and exploded in pain. It had hit just underneath his eye and made a deep gash in his cheek, feeling the blood that splattered on his face upon the initial cut Harry took a step forward.

Harry didn't know why he hadn't expected Malfoy to do something so cowardly but it fit him to a perfectly. Harry fired off a stinging curse at Malfoy, who didn't even try to dodge. Malfoy was too busy staring at Harry.

"Wingardium Leviosa" Harry called out with the signature swish and flick of the levitation charm, he was livid at Malfoy and didn't care if he hurt him now. The charm hit Malfoy right where Harry had aimed. Suddenly Malfoy was ripped into the air by his ankle, Harry didn't know if he could hold on to the levitation charm and cast another spell, he still tried none the less.

Malfoy collapsed to the floor head first and a stinging curse hit his stomach as he fell. Harry panted as the adrenaline rush trickled to a halt, he felt blood freely pouring down the side of his face, idly he wondered if Malfoy was okay.

Blackness enveloped him in a cold embrace as he fell to the floor.

AN: Thanks for reading as per usual, much appreciated.

So yeah there you have it, some actual magic coming from Harry. Yes yes he's a parselmouth in this story and no that doesn't mean he's the one who stopped Voldemort just a bit of creative license I've given myself.

Its been a while since my last read through of the series so i cant remember if there's any negative side effect to casting magic, (as in tiredness or risk of backfiring or something potentially bad) so if there is I'd love to hear about it.

Please review, i really want to know what you guys and gals think about it all so far.