Chapter 16: Challenge
Rose is mad at me. All I did was jump out at Lockhart as Fen while he was strolling along the lake. I think the reason she's mad is that I made him wet himself. We got into a proper row after that and she stormed away from me. When I was ranting (again) to Sirius about it, his thoughts felt... conflicted. Maybe it's because I'm his brother and she's his friend so he doesn't know which side to take? I suppose I could delve a little deeper, but I won't break my brother's trust like that.
Castor and Leo stood by the stile and talked for some time. The man instructed him on the proper way to challenge Harry to a duel – a duel they decided they should have over at the Den during Christmas Holidays. Leo listened intently, drinking in everything he said, making sure he memorized every word. He wasn't normally one for formalities, but he wanted to do this right and proper. If he was going to challenge Harry to a duel, it was going to be done in a way that made it quite clear this wouldn't be one of the friendly duels they had had in the past. This would be serious, and Leo would not hold back this time.
From there, they moved on to the topic Leo had been dreading: his training with Fiendfyre. A training that, so far, had been virtually nonexistent. Cas didn't say anything when Leo said he hadn't practised at all, but the teen could tell he was disappointed. He felt immensely guilty about this. Aside from the basilisk fangs in the Chamber of Secrets, Leo was the only safe way of disposing of Horcruxes.
"I - I'll work on it more. Promise," Leo vowed, hoping this would satisfy the man.
"Thank you, Leo," Cas inclined his head. "I know I'm putting a lot on you – but we have to get this done if we want a chance at beating old Voldy. We're close to finding the location of the next one, and I'd like to have a way to destroy it and the locket as quickly as possible."
He paused suddenly, looking upward in thought and humming slightly. After a minute, he looked back at Leo.
"Now that I think about it, we're not really in any sort of rush," Cas informed him. "We have to find all the other objects before we can destroy them as well, and that will take some time considering we don't even know what they are. The way I see it, if you can master Fiendfyre by the time we find the last one, we'll be in good shape. So, take your time and do it right."
"Right..." Leo replied, feeling a bit more relaxed about the whole thing. A thought suddenly occurred to him and he frowned at his father. "You're an Elementalist too, why don't you use Fiendfyre?"
"Because my element is ice and yours is fire?" Cas suggested, quirking up an amused eyebrow.
"Yeah, but Elementalists can master more than one element -" Leo cut off abruptly as Cas snorted.
"Who told you that?" the man inquired, receiving a mumbled reply of 'Dumbles'. "Yeah, no. Only one element per person, kiddo. If I could use fire and destroy Horcruxes, don't you think I would've done so instead of putting it all on my son? If I could do this on my own, I wouldn't have troubled any of you with it."
He paused once more, looking up in the direction of the castle with a furrowed brow. Leo couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. He was sorely tempted to ask but didn't want to break the man's train of thought as it was chugging along. The train appeared to have reached the station as Castor turned back to look at the blonde.
"I don't think Dumbles was lying to you, I think he may have just been horribly misinformed," he finally said. "Elementalists are exceedingly rare and the ability to be one is an inherited trait. There's been so much inbreeding in the Black family that it sort of... went dormant, I suppose, until I came along."
"What does inbreeding have to do with it?" Leo frowned, wrinkling his nose slightly in disgust.
"Well, you know how it's led to an increase in Squibs, right?" he confirmed, receiving a nod in response. "Centuries of wizarding relatives procreating with each other does, indeed, keep the blood pure. Unfortunately, it also significantly dampens the magic with each new generation. It's led to a loss of several abilities that used to be quite common – Elemental control, Metamorphmagi, Walkers -"
"'Walkers'?" Leo repeated with a small frown.
"Walkers are people with the ability to sort of... walk around in peoples' minds, I suppose would be the best way to phrase it. They can read whatever thoughts are on the surface of somebody's minds and even dive deeper and search for specific memories. The really talented ones can do so without being detected."
"Wow," Leo's eyes widened in awe. "That sounds wicked."
"S'not all it's cracked up to be," Cas grimaced. "You can't shut it off. Other people's thoughts constantly bombarding you makes it hard to concentrate – and even harder to think. Though there is the nice bonus of people being unable to read your mind, I suppose. But it's still a very dangerous ability. Most die during infancy and the ones that survive go insane by the time they reach the age of seven. Going to Hogwarts was an absolute nightmare, let me tell ya -"
"You're a Walker?!" Leo exclaimed, looking at his father with renewed reverence.
Cas merely grunted in response, seeming distinctly uncomfortable talking about it. Leo continued to stare at him, things beginning to click into place. The man never lingered in packed places for very long, his eyes constantly darting around and never seeming to focus. Dealing with many people for extended periods of time exhausted him more than the average person. He always seems to know what people are thinking... Including me. Leo didn't know whether or not to feel violated by this fact until he recalled that his father said he couldn't shut it off.
Sounds more like a curse now that I really think about it. He decided with a small frown. His thoughts evoked a memory from the previous year, of a conversation with Remus he had long since forgotten.
"...Cas had a sort of... I guess most would call it a curse?... I believe he may have passed it onto you and, in order to protect you, he took certain...preventative measures to ensure your safety."
"Was I born a Walker?" Leo frowned at him.
"Technically, I suppose you still are one," Cas shrugged. "You have the ability, certainly, but you are unable to use it."
"Why not?"
"When I discovered I had passed on my curse... well, I was afraid. I was afraid that you'd suffer as I did... that you might be one of the ones that didn't live very long. So, I erected a sort of barrier in your mind, firmly locking the skill away," Cas paused, tilting his head to the side. "According to Remus, it's had unintended side effects. So far, they seem to be working in your favour, but I wouldn't stress it too much. Messing with that barrier could be disastrous."
Leo opened his mouth to ask what would happen, then decided he was better off not knowing. Being a Walker sounded brilliant and all, but once you really thought about it the benefits that came from being one did not outweigh the risks. Hearing people's thoughts all the time... it's a wonder he can even manage to string two words together. Bloody hell...
"You get... well, not exactly used to it but you do learn to manage," Cas shrugged before frowning. "Sorry, couldn't help but overhear... anyway, back to the topic at hand. Just focus on learning Fiendfyre so we'll be prepared for when we finally have all the objects."
"Right, got it," Leo nodded. "Any tips?"
"Well... to start out with, I recommend trying to summon up the feelings you had when you killed Nagini," Cas replied, seeming a bit unsure. "I think once you manage to conjure Fiendfyre enough times and get a real feel for it, you'll be able to create it without having to... tap into your inner darkness, for lack of a better term. Course, it goes without saying that you should probably practice all this over a body of water so you don't kill everything."
"... I can't tell if you're joking or not," Leo frowned.
Cas merely shrugged before flicking his left arm up and checking his watch. With a small sigh of irritation, he informed his son that he had to head back to help Remus prepare for the full moon tonight. He bid farewell to Leo, telling him to send his regards to Harry and Draco while Leo asked him to do the same for Remy and Sirius. The man then picked up a rock, tapped it with his wand, mumbled a word, and disappeared right after it stopped glowing blue.
Leo stared at the spot where his father had once stood before sighing and idly kicking a pebble. He'd forgotten to ask him about meeting Luna. Deciding that it couldn't be helped at this point, he gave a small shrug before turning around and going back down the winding road toward Hogsmeade. For a moment, he wished he was a registered Animagus just so he could run down to the village in his lion form. Make a brilliant prank that would. He snorted, imagining everybody screaming and running around in a panic.
He made it back to the village without incident, popping into Honeydukes for some chocolate for him and Ice Mice for Luna before heading off to Zonko's to buy some Nose-Biting Teacups and some Frogspawn Soap for a few pranks he was planning on pulling on Umbridge. Should also get with the Minirauders about some other ideas. See how those Skiving Snackboxes are coming along too. He mused as he exited the store.
He paused for a moment as he heard Hermione's voice not too far from him and turned to see her, Ron, Harry, and Draco all coming out of Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. Leo's heart hammered in his chest and he swallowed nervously. No better time than the present. He told himself, flicking his wand into his hand as he approached the group. Draco was the first to notice his approach and alerted the others at once. They all stopped and turned, eyeing Leo warily as he stopped a few feet away from Harry. Taking a deep breath, he raised his wand, holding his arm straight and pointed at Harry, who eyed it nervously.
"Harry James Potter," Leo began, feeling a bit foolish. "I, Leo Castor Black, do hereby challenge you to a duel at noon, on the twenty-first of December of this year. The location will be the Den. Will you accept this challenge?"
Harry looked dumbstruck and looked around at his friends, who mimicked his expression. Draco then frowned before leaning to the side and whispering in Harry's ear. Harry nodded absently before his expression cleared to be replaced by determination. He took out his own wand, placing its tip against Leo's. He tilted his head to the side as Draco continued to whisper in his ear.
"I, Harry James Potter," Harry said slowly, repeating the words Draco told him to say. "Do hereby accept the challenge of Leo Castor Black."
Gold light poured from the tip of Harry's wand as red light shone from Leo's. They moved outward toward each other like a stream, intertwining themselves before wrapping around each of the wands. Leo felt his wand grow warm in his hand and tightened his grip on it. Their wands vibrated for a moment before the lights sunk into their wands and vanished altogether. They both lowered their wands, Harry pocketing his and Leo retracting his wand. He eyed the group of four, receiving equal looks of apprehension in return.
"I don't think there's any reason for us to fight over whether or not you need to be protected," Leo informed him. "The duel will decide that. So... are we all right?"
"Depends, are you going to apologize for being a prat?" Draco questioned, narrowing his eyes.
Leo frowned, reeling back the irritation that rose up in him with some effort.
"I overreacted, I apologize," he eventually said, refraining from making any other stinging comments.
The four exchanged surprised looks, not actually expecting him to apologize. It didn't sound completely sincere, but they figured it was the best they would get for now. Harry held out his hand and Leo took it, smiling in relief as they shook. They all headed down the road toward the Three Broomsticks, Leo taking the lead for once. Dad said I need to be a leader, so I'll lead them to a pub. Baby steps, Leo. Baby steps. He told himself.
"So, what did Cas want?" Ron asked curiously.
"Oh, not much. Just checking in, I suppose," Leo shrugged nonchalantly, wanting to keep most of what he said private. "Gave me some advice – told me to start working harder on a project." He exchanged a meaningful glance with Harry and Draco. "Other than that, we really didn't talk about much. How'd the meeting go?"
"Oh, it was amazing, Leo!" Hermione said happily, lowering her voice down to an excited whisper. "So many people showed up and were excited at being able to learn how to defend themselves." She paused, biting her lower lip. "Some were disappointed that you weren't there, though. I think they were looking forward to having both of you teach..."
She eyed him carefully. Leo knew what she wanted. She was gently prodding him to see if he would reconsider teaching with Harry.
"'Bout as subtle as Ron, Hermione," Leo remarked, ignoring as they both turned red for different reasons. He paused for a moment, looking up thoughtfully as his father's words battered around inside his head. He gave a reluctant sigh, already feeling a headache coming on as he continued, "But, I suppose I can look in on a few lessons. Can't promise I'll teach anything, though."
Hermione looked content with this answer. While he hadn't fully committed to anything, he had at least agreed to be there, which was more than any of them could have hoped for. They spent the remainder of the afternoon at the Three Broomsticks eating lunch (Leo's treat, as an apology for his behaviour) before heading back up to the castle. Sunday saw Harry and Ron muddling through the homework they had left unfinished while Leo went and changed out Umbridge's teacups with the ones he had bought, making sure he changed the colours as he did so.
That night, he was back at the inlet, trying to conjure up Fiendfyre but with no success. He just couldn't summon up the rage and anger he had felt in the graveyard. Even thinking of Umbridge wasn't enough, as each time he tried he envisioned her getting her face eaten by a teacup and it took some time before he was able to stop laughing. After two hours of no progress, he headed back to Gryffindor tower, hopeful that tomorrow's Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson would give him all the ammunition he needed to do what he needed to do.
The following morning, he walked ahead of Harry and Ron as they headed downstairs from their dormitory together and not until they were halfway across the sunlit common room did they notice the addition to the room that had already attracted the attention of a small group of people.
A large sign had been affixed to the Gryffindor notice board, so large that it covered everything else on there — the lists of secondhand spellbooks for sale, the regular reminders of school rules from Filch, the Quidditch team training schedule, the offers to barter certain Chocolate Frog cards for others, the Weasleys' new advertisement for testers, the dates of the Hogsmeade weekends, and the lost-and-found notices. The new sign was printed in large black letters and there was a highly official-looking seal at the bottom beside a neat and curly signature.
It was another Educational Decree – the twenty-fourth – that had been signed by Umbridge. It banned any student groups and only allowed them to exist if Umbridge gave permission. Huh. Guess she found out about the meeting. Wonder how she managed that? Leo frowned, debating whether or not Umbridge was secretly an Animagus. He imagined a fat, squat toad and snorted in amusement, unable to find much difference in how she looked normally.
"Does this mean they're going to shut down the Gobstones Club?" a second year asked his friend.
"I reckon you'll be okay with Gobstones," Ron said darkly, making the second year jump. "I don't think we're going to be as lucky, though, do you?" he asked Harry and Leo as the second years hurried away.
"Does it matter?" Leo raised his eyebrows. "Not exactly like we were seeking her permission or approval to begin with."
"This isn't a coincidence," Harry said, his hands forming fists. "She knows."
"She can't," said Ron at once.
"There were people listening in that pub. And let's face it, we don't know how many of the people who turned up we can trust... Any of them could have run off and told Umbridge..."
"Or Umbridge could've been there herself," Leo pointed out. "Could've been disguised or under an Invisibility Cloak or something."
The other two considered this for a moment before deciding that, regardless, Hermione needed to see the decree. Ron tried to run up the stairs to the girls' dormitory when there was a loud, wailing, klaxon-like sound and the steps melted together to make a long, smooth stone slide. There was a brief moment when Ron tried to keep running, arms working madly like windmills, then he toppled over backwards and shot down the newly created slide, coming to rest on his back at Leo and Harry's feet. Leo laughed uproariously at his dazed expression.
"Er — I don't think we're allowed in the girls' dormitories," said Harry, pulling Ron to his feet and looking as though he was trying not to laugh.
Two fourth-year girls came zooming gleefully down the stone slide.
"Oooh, who tried to get upstairs?" they giggled happily, leaping to their feet and ogling the three boys.
"Me," said Ron, who was still rather dishevelled. "I didn't realize that would happen. It's not fair!" he added to Harry and Leo, as the girls headed off for the portrait hole, still giggling madly. "Hermione's allowed in our dormitory, how come we're not allowed — ?"
"Well, it's an old-fashioned rule," said Hermione, who had just slid neatly onto a rug in front of them and was now getting to her feet, "but it says in Hogwarts, A History that the founders thought boys were less trustworthy than girls. Anyway, why were you trying to get in there?"
"To see you — look at this!" said Ron, dragging her over to the notice board.
Hermione's eyes slid rapidly down the notice. Her expression became stony.
"Someone must have blabbed to her!" Ron said angrily.
"They can't have done," said Hermione in a low voice.
"You're so naïve," said Ron, "you think just because you're all honourable and trustworthy —"
"No, they can't have done because I put a jinx on that piece of parchment we all signed," said Hermione grimly. "Believe me, if anyone's run off and told Umbridge, we'll know exactly who they are and they will really regret it."
"Nice," Leo grinned before frowning. "But that only really works if the person who told her signed the parchment, right? Doesn't do us much good if she was there in disguise or if she had a spy there herself."
"Part of me hopes you're wrong and part of me hopes you're right," Hermione said with a small sigh. "I don't want to think anyone in our group did this but... it'd make it a lot easier if it was since we'd know who leaked the information... I wonder whether this has been put up in all the Houses?"
It was immediately apparent on entering the Great Hall that Umbridge's sign had not only appeared in Gryffindor Tower. There was a peculiar intensity about the chatter and an extra measure of movement in the Hall as people scurried up and down their tables conferring on what they had read. Leo, Harry, Ron, and Hermione had barely taken their seats next to Draco when Neville, Dean, Fred, George, and Ginny descended upon them.
"Did you see it?"
"D'you reckon she knows?"
"What are we going to do?"
They were all looking at Harry. He glanced around to make sure there were no teachers near them.
"We're going to do it anyway, of course," he said quietly.
"Knew you'd say that," said George, beaming and thumping Harry on the arm.
"The prefects as well?" said Fred, looking quizzically at Ron and Hermione.
"Of course," said Hermione coolly.
"And what about our favourite little lion?" Fred grinned at Leo.
"Care to join our rebellion?" George inquired.
"Well, I figured I'd pop in and at least make sure no one's blown themselves up. Wouldn't want to miss that," the blonde replied in a nonchalant tone.
The twins beamed before laughing.
"Here comes Ernie and Hannah Abbott," said Ron, looking over his shoulder. "And those Ravenclaw blokes and Smith..."
"Are they thick?" Draco hissed, turning around in his seat to glare at them and pointing at their tables for them to sit back down. "If they're trying to get us caught, they're going about it the right way."
"I'll tell Michael," said Ginny impatiently, swinging herself off her bench. "The fool, honestly..."
"Ooh, tell Luna for me too, all right?" Leo requested.
She nodded before hurrying off to the Ravenclaw table. Leo's eyes followed her for a moment before he glanced up at the staff table, feeling quite irritated at the pleased expression on Umbridge's face. A grin then unfurled on his face as he noticed that there were red marks on her nose. Almost like something bit her... what on earth could it be? He snickered to himself as he dug into a bowl of oatmeal that was now eighty-five percent sugar.
The group finished breakfast quickly, Draco leaving ahead of them to head to Herbology. But, it was as the rest of the Gryffindors were leaving that Angelina ran up to them, looking quite frantic. Leo raised an eyebrow, wondering what had her upset. He didn't have to wonder long as she immediately told them that the new decree also banned Quidditch teams. He, Harry, and Ron looked at her, shocked and appalled at the woman's audacity.
She begged Harry and Leo not to start anything with Umbridge today, not wanting to ruin their chances to reform the team. Privately, Leo felt that Umbridge would stop them from re-forming regardless – how else would she be able to make him and Harry miserable? Harry agreed not to do anything, nudging Leo harshly in the ribs when he didn't say anything. He gave a small grumble, kicking the ground and saying that he'd try not to do anything until the team was back together.
"Bet Umbridge is in History of Magic," said Ron grimly, as they set off for Binns' lesson. "She hasn't inspected Binns yet... Bet you anything she's there..."
"Yes, I'm sure she'll be there, just waiting to see if he's giving us private lessons on how to rebel against the Ministry," Leo rolled his eyes. "He's a ghost who's barely aware other people exist. Dumbridge and the Ministry have no reason to inspect him."
Leo's statement proved to be correct. Binns's class proved boring as ever with no sign of Umbridge. He took the time that Binns spent droning on about giant wars to work on homework for other classes. He paused suddenly when he heard an odd noise, twitching his nose as he looked around and spotted Hedwig standing in front of a window, a letter attached to her leg. He gave a small frown before prodding the back of Harry's head, which sat in front of him. The teen turned to look at him and he gestured at the window.
Harry's eyes widened slightly as he crept over to the window and opened it, retrieving Hedwig and bringing her back to his seat. Leo leaned forward, eyes narrowing as he realized that Hedwig's feathers were oddly ruffled; some were bent the wrong way, and she was holding one of her wings at an odd angle. Umbridge. He snarled.
"She's hurt!" Harry whispered, bending his head low over her. Hermione and Ron leaned in closer; Hermione even put down her quill. "Look — there's something wrong with her wing —"
Leo ducked out of his seat, crawling over to get a better look at Hedwig's wing. His anger grew as he saw her quivering, whether from shock or pain, he wasn't sure. When Harry made to touch the wing she gave a little jump, all her feathers on end as though she was inflating herself, and gazed at him reproachfully. Leo whispered soothing words to her, stroking the top of her feathered head before looking up at Harry.
"C'mon, let's go find Grubbly-Plank," Leo said in a low tone. "Binns won't notice if we sneak out."
Harry nodded, quietly collecting his things and following Leo out of the classroom after he had grabbed his own belongings. They stopped at a window, peering out onto the grounds to see if she was there. When they saw no sign of her, they decided she might be in the staffroom. They set off downstairs, Hedwig wobbling on Harry's shoulder as they went.
Two stone gargoyles flanked the staffroom door. As they approached, one of them croaked, "You should be in class, sunny Jim."
"And you shouldn't be talking," Leo replied curtly. "Now, sod off, we've got things to do."
He ignored the gargoyles' indignant responses and knocked on the door. Footsteps approached before the door swung open to reveal McGonagall. She didn't look very happy to see either of them. Leo didn't blame her, the only time they really saw her outside of class was when they were in trouble.
"You haven't been given another detention!" she said at once, her square spectacles flashing alarmingly.
"No, Professor!" said Harry hastily.
"Um - someone attacked Harry's owl," Leo explained, wanting to throw Umbridge under the proverbial bus but knowing they had no concrete evidence against her. "She's injured pretty badly... We were hoping to find Professor Grubbly-Plank. Thought maybe she could help."
"Injured owl, did you say?" Grubbly-Plank appeared at McGonagall's shoulder, smoking a pipe and holding a copy of the Daily Prophet.
"Yes," said Harry, lifting Hedwig carefully off his shoulder, "she turned up after the other post owls and her wing's all funny, look —"
Grubbly-Plank stuck her pipe firmly between her teeth and took Hedwig from Harry while McGonagall and Leo watched.
"Hmm," said Grubbly-Plank, her pipe waggling slightly as she talked. "Looks like something's attacked her. Can't think what would have done it, though... Thestrals will sometimes go for birds, of course, but Hagrid's got the Hogwarts thestrals well trained not to touch owls..."
"There's nothing else that flies around here," Leo added. "Even if there was, there wouldn't be anything left of her. No offence." He quickly added to the snowy owl, receiving a tired hoot in response.
"Do either of you know how far this owl's travelled?" McGonagall inquired.
"Not sure," Leo shrugged, glancing at Harry who also shrugged. "Didn't even know Hedwig was out. Could've come from London, I suppose."
Grubbly-Plank pulled a monocle out of the inside of her robes and screwed it into her eye to examine Hedwig's wing closely. "I should be able to sort this out if you leave her with me, Potter," she said. "She shouldn't be flying long distances for a few days, in any case."
"Er — right — thanks," said Harry, just as the bell rang for break.
"No problem," said Grubbly-Plank gruffly, turning back into the staffroom.
"Just a moment, Wilhelmina!" said McGonagall. "Potter's letter!"
"Oh yeah!" said Harry, who had momentarily forgotten the scroll tied to Hedwig's leg. Grubbly-Plank handed it over and then disappeared into the staffroom carrying Hedwig, who was staring at Harry as though unable to believe he would give her away like this. Leo informed her that it would only be until she was completely healed, and the owl looked slightly more at ease as she disappeared around the corner with the teacher.
"Black, Potter," McGonagall said in a low voice, garnering the teens' attention. "Bear in mind that channels of communication in and out of Hogwarts may be being watched, won't you?"
Leo, who couldn't help but think of Apollo returning all bloodied and saying Umbridge attacked him, nodded in response. He then grabbed Harry by the arm and led him through the ever-growing crowd of students into the courtyard. They spotted Ron and Hermione already standing in a sheltered corner, their cloak collars turned up against the wind. As they walked, Harry opened the scroll, holding it out a bit for Leo to read:
The answer to everything. Same time as the last. Last day of Marauding.
That's Siri's handwriting but... Leo frowned. That's the same type of code Dad uses.
"Is Hedwig okay?" asked Hermione anxiously, the moment they were within earshot.
"Yeah, she'll be fine," Leo shrugged before scowling. "To hell with what Angelina said, Umbridge is going to pay for this."
"You think she did this?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Well, she did attack Apollo..." Leo trailed off, a wicked grin unfurling onto his face as an idea sprang to mind. "He's going to tear her apart when he finds out what she did to Hedwig."
The others didn't seem to know whether to look perturbed or laugh.
"Er, right... who's the letter from anyway?" Ron finally asked, taking the note from Harry.
"Snuffles," said Harry quietly.
"You sure?" Ron frowned. "This seems more like something Cas would say. Can't make heads or tails of what he's saying. I mean, what's the answer to everything -?"
"Fire," Leo said at once before blinking and lowering his voice. "Must mean Paddy'll be in the fireplace the same time as he was in our fourth year. It was one, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," Harry nodded slowly, catching on. "But what's the 'last day of Marauding'?"
"Last night of the full moon. Tonight," Leo informed him, glancing upward.
"Well, now that we've got that figured out," said Hermione, also reading the note. She looked uneasy. "I just hope nobody else has read this..."
"But it was still sealed and everything," said Harry, sounding as though he was trying to convince himself as much as her. "And nobody would understand what it meant if they didn't know Leo, the Marauders, or about us speaking to him last year, would they?"
"I don't know," said Hermione anxiously, hitching her bag back over her shoulder as the bell rang again. "It wouldn't be exactly difficult to reseal the scroll by magic... And if anyone's watching the Floo Network... but I don't really see how we can warn him not to come without that being intercepted too!"
"Could try sending a Patronus," Leo suggested. "Used to send them to Fen in the forest last year when I wanted to talk to him. Dunno if you can intercept them or not though."
They trudged down the stone steps to the dungeons for Potions, all four of them lost in thought, but as they reached the bottom of the stairs they were recalled to themselves by the voice of Blaise Zabini, who was standing just outside Snape's classroom door, waving around an official-looking piece of parchment and talking much louder than was necessary. Draco approached them as soon as he saw them.
"Umbridge approved our team being reformed. You?" he questioned.
"Dunno. Haven't seen Angelina yet," Leo shrugged.
"... It'll be interesting to see whether Gryffindor are allowed to keep playing, won't it?" Zabini was saying, talking even more loudly.
"What do you care, Panini?" Leo snapped. "S'not like you've ever actually played a game of Quidditch."
To his great surprise, Zabini didn't grow angry and threaten him. He smirked. Leo found that outright disturbing.
"Oh, Black," Zabini shook his head, his tone reminding Leo of someone who was trying to explain something to a toddler. "Is your brain really so addled that you still can't say my name right? Perhaps you should go to St. Mungo's, maybe they'll set you up in a bed between Lockhart and Crouch? I imagine you'll fit in with all the other lunatics they've got locked up in there."
He went cross-eyed, his mouth sagging open as he emitted a long, drawn-out 'duh' sound. Crabbe and Goyle gave their usual grunts of laughter, Pansy Parkinson shrieked with glee.
Leo gave a low growl, stepping forward a pace before Neville collided with his shoulder. The teen lunged for Zabini, only stopped when Leo grabbed him by the back of his robes. Neville struggled frantically, his fists flailing, trying desperately to get at Zabini who looked, for a moment, extremely shocked. Draco jumped in to help, grabbing one of his arms while Harry grabbed the other as they slowly pulled him away, odd words spluttering from his mouth.
"Not... funny... don't... Mungo's... show... him..."
Leo released him, standing in front of him to ensure he didn't go after Zabini. Much as he wanted that Slytherin prick to get his arse beat, doing it in front of Snape's classroom was just plain stupid. The dungeon door opened. Snape appeared there.
"Inside, all of you," he sneered.
Neville was the first to head inside, looking quite angry as he stomped into the classroom. Leo watched him curiously, having never seen the boy quite that upset. He grew upset himself when Ron echoed these thoughts mere seconds later.
"What in the name of Merlin," said Ron slowly, as they followed Neville, "was that about?"
Leo shrugged, not knowing or really caring. Whatever it was wasn't any of his business. He did, however, notice Draco pale a bit as he led the way over to their table in the back of the classroom. The class around them was whispering about what Neville had just done, but when Snape closed the dungeon door with an echoing bang everybody fell silent immediately.
"You will notice," said Snape in his low, sneering voice, "that we have a guest with us today."
He gestured toward the dim corner of the dungeon, and Leo saw Umbridge sitting there, clipboard on her knee. The blonde's eyes glittered maliciously. It would be fun to see Snape insult her. Granted, it'd most likely be very subtle and go over her – admittedly short – head. But it would be entertaining to witness nonetheless.
"We are continuing with our Strengthening Solutions today, you will find your mixtures as you left them last lesson, if correctly made they should have matured well over the weekend — instructions" — he waved his wand again — "on the board. Carry on."
Umbridge spent the first half-hour of the lesson making notes in her corner. Leo grew bored watching her and irritated when Draco kept prodding him to work on his potion. With a sigh, he turned away from her, copied down the instructions, and set to work completing his potion.
Umbridge had just gotten to her feet when he finished adding the salamander blood. He paused what he was doing, watching as she strode between two lines of desks toward Snape, who was bending over Dean Thomas's cauldron.
"Well, the class seems fairly advanced for their level," she said briskly to Snape's back. "Though I would question whether it is advisable to teach them a potion like the Strengthening Solution. I think the Ministry would prefer it if that was removed from the syllabus."
Leo gave a low whistle, marvelling at her audacity to tell Snape what he should teach. Snape straightened up slowly and turned to look at her.
"Now... how long have you been teaching at Hogwarts?" she asked, her quill poised over her clipboard.
"Fourteen years," Snape replied. His expression was unfathomable.
"You applied first for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, I believe?" Umbridge asked Snape.
"Yes," said Snape quietly.
"But you were unsuccessful?"
Leo stared at her like she was a moron while Snape's lip curled.
"Obviously."
Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard.
"And you have applied regularly for the Defense Against the Dark Arts post since you first joined the school, I believe?"
"Yes," said Snape quietly, barely moving his lips. He looked very angry.
"Do you have any idea why Dumbledore has consistently refused to appoint you?" asked Umbridge.
"I suggest you ask him," said Snape jerkily.
"Oh I shall," said Umbridge with a sweet smile.
"I suppose this is relevant?" Snape asked, his black eyes narrowed.
"Oh yes," said Umbridge. "Yes, the Ministry wants a thorough understanding of teachers' — er — backgrounds..."
Leo frowned at this. There was only one reason why Umbridge was going in-depth like this: loyalty. She wanted to see who was deeply loyal to Dumbles and who could be swayed to the Ministry's side. Snape seemed like the type to be swayed – the constant denial of the position he wanted could mean that he harboured resentment for Dumbledore. Whether or not that's true remains to be seen. Leo sighed, adding a bit of powdered griffin claw to his potion and watching it turn turquoise. Snape strode over at that moment and looked over Harry's potion.
"No marks again, then, Potter," said Snape maliciously, emptying Harry's cauldron with a wave of his wand. "You will write me an essay on the correct composition of this potion, indicating how and why you went wrong, to be handed in next lesson, do you understand?"
"Yes," said Harry furiously.
Leo gave him a sympathetic look before bottling up a sample of his potion and taking it up to Snape's desk. When he returned, he stared down at his cauldronful of Strengthening Solution. Seems a bit of a waste to just Vanish it... He mused. Glancing around furtively, he poured the remaining contents of his potion into several flasks before shrinking them and placing them in the pocket of his robes.
They packed up quickly once the bell rang, heading up to the Great Hall for lunch. Once they sat down, Leo filled Draco in about the letter in History of Magic class. Draco's eyebrows shot up before he scowled, his expression clearing up seconds later to be replaced by anxiety. He asked whether it was a good idea to meet Sirius that night since the letter had been intercepted. Leo shrugged and said they didn't have much choice, Sirius would show up regardless. The pale blonde grudgingly agreed and told them to be careful.
They all climbed the stairs after lunch, Harry and Ron heading to Divination while the other three went to Ancient Runes. As Leo muddled through their assignment, he wondered if he'd wind up failing this class on his O.W.L. as well. The idea didn't actually bother him all that much considering he never used anything he learned in the class in his day-to-day life.
The bell rang and they trudged down the stairs, Draco departing for Charms while Leo and Hermione sat down in Umbridge's classroom. Harry and Ron appeared not long after, the former bearing ill tidings.
"You and Umbridge have got something in common," Harry told them quietly. "She obviously reckons Trelawney's an old fraud too... Looks like she's put her on probation."
Umbridge entered the room as he spoke, wearing her black velvet bow and an expression of great smugness. Leo was looking forward to replacing her soap with Frog Spawn later that evening while everyone was at dinner.
"Good afternoon, class."
"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," they chanted drearily.
"Wands away, please..."
Leo felt this was a stupid command given no one had taken out their wands.
"Please turn to page thirty-four of Defensive Magical Theory and read the third chapter, entitled 'The Case for Non-Offensive Responses to Magical Attack.' There will be —"
"— no need to talk," Harry, Ron, and Hermione said together under their breaths while Leo rolled his eyes and refrained from making any scathing comments.
"No Quidditch practice," said Angelina in hollow tones when Leo, Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the common room that night after dinner.
Leo sighed, fully expecting this but feeling quite disappointed nonetheless. He flopped into a seat at a table near the fire and set to work on his runes translations and wondering if Umbridge had used the soap yet. Harry joined him moments later, looking quite disgruntled as he set about working on his Potions essay. Leo was distracted momentarily as the Weasley twins appeared, showing off one of their perfect Skiving Snackboxes: Puking Pastilles.
First, Fred would take a bite out of the orange end of a chew, at which he would vomit spectacularly into a bucket they had placed in front of them. Then he would force down the purple end of the chew, at which the vomiting would immediately cease. Lee Jordan, who was assisting the demonstration, was lazily vanishing the vomit at regular intervals with the same Vanishing Spell Leo had used on Fievel's cousin.
Leo ran up to them at once, shoving money into their hands and begging them for their Puking Pastilles. They were delighted to oblige, but only if Leo agreed to tell them how to make those un-vanishable exploding mud toads. From there, it evolved into a sort of negotiation between them. Leo would get free products from them and, in return, would supply them with inventions of his own free of charge – though he would collect ten percent of whatever profit they made off of it as well as hold a twenty percent stake in their company. The Weasley twins seemed reluctant about this at first until Leo also added that he'd also help front whatever money they needed for their store and cover the cost of any ingredients they needed. They were quickly sold after that.
Leo returned to the table with the other three, distinctly happier and his pockets much heavier as he turned from his runes essay to stare at the assignment he needed to do for Binns. With a groan, he began working on his giants essay, occasionally glancing over to watch Fred and George show off. It was a long while before the crowd around the Weasleys dispersed, and then Fred, Lee, and George sat up counting their takings even longer so that it was well past midnight when Leo, Harry, Ron, and Hermione finally had the common room to themselves again. At long last, Fred closed the doorway to the boys' dormitories behind him, rattling his box of Galleons ostentatiously so that Hermione scowled and Leo snickered.
As Leo and Harry put their books away, Ron, who was dozing lightly in an armchair, gave a muffled grunt, awoke, looked blearily into the fire and said, "Sirius!"
Leo immediately flung himself in front of the fire, waving emphatically at the dark head sitting in the fire. The man laughed.
"Hi," he said, grinning.
"Hi," chorused Harry, Ron, and Hermione, all three kneeling down upon the hearthrug beside Leo, who continued to beam at his uncle. Crookshanks purred loudly and approached the fire, trying, despite the heat, to put his face close to Sirius's.
"How're things?" said Sirius.
"Not that good," said Harry, as Hermione pulled Crookshanks back to stop him singeing his whiskers. "The Ministry's forced through another decree, which means we're not allowed to have Quidditch teams —"
"— or secret Defense Against the Dark Arts groups?" said Sirius.
There was a short pause.
"How did you know about that?" Harry demanded.
"Leo told Cas who told me," said Sirius, grinning still more broadly. "Aside from that, the Hog's Head probably wasn't the best place for your meeting..."
"Well, it was better than the Three Broomsticks!" said Hermione defensively. "That's always packed with people —"
"— which means you'd have been harder to overhear," said Sirius. "You've got a lot to learn, Hermione."
"Yeah, Hermione, get with it," Leo snickered, covering his head when she whacked him with a nearby pillow. When she stopped, he turned back to Sirius, eyebrows raised slightly. "Who else knows about the meeting?"
"Everyone in the Order," Sirius snorted before turning to Ron. "Which reminds me, Ron — I've sworn to pass on a message from your mother."
"Oh yeah?" said Ron, sounding apprehensive.
"She says on no account whatsoever are you to take part in an illegal secret Defense Against the Dark Arts group. She says you'll be expelled for sure and your future will be ruined. She says there will be plenty of time to learn how to defend yourself later and that you are too young to be worrying about that right now. She also" — Sirius's eyes turned to the other three — "advises Leo, Harry, Draco and Hermione not to proceed with the group, though she accepts that she has no authority over any of them and simply begs them to remember that she has their best interests at heart. She would have written all this to you, but if the owl had been intercepted you'd all have been in real trouble, and she can't say it for herself because she's on duty tonight."
"On duty doing what -?" Ron began.
"What do the Marauders think?" Leo inquired.
"I think it's an excellent idea!" Sirius exclaimed, eliciting a broad grin from the blonde. "Remus is on board with it too and you know Cas is all for rebelling against the Ministry. Although, they did tell me to tell you lot to tread carefully. Cas also said to listen Draco since he – and I'm quoting him directly here - 'has the subtlety and finesse that everyone else seems to be lacking'."
Leo snorted, figuring Draco would appreciate that.
"And if we get expelled?" Hermione asked, a quizzical look on her face.
"Well, it was bound to happen eventually," Leo shrugged.
"Hermione, this whole thing was your idea!" said Harry, staring at her.
"I know it was... I just wondered what Sirius thought," she said, shrugging.
"Well, better expelled and able to defend yourselves than sitting safely in school without a clue," said Sirius.
"Hear, hear," said Harry and Ron enthusiastically.
"Yeah, but defending ourselves only really works if we have a wand to use," Leo frowned. "Don't they usually get snapped if you're expelled?"
"Well, they're also supposed to be snapped if you get chucked in Azkaban," Sirius, replied, winking at the blonde who smiled broadly in response. "Anyway, how are you organizing this group? Where are you meeting?"
"Can't figure that out quite yet," Leo frowned, scratching his cheek. "Can't do the Shack since that's where we meet with you lot – occasionally. And getting loads of people down would be a nightmare -"
"Fair point," said Sirius, looking slightly crestfallen. "Well, I'm sure you'll come up with somewhere... There used to be a pretty roomy secret passageway behind that big mirror on the fourth floor, you might have enough space to practice jinxes in there —"
"Nah, caved in a while back," Leo shook his head. "You can squeeze in maybe four people and a cauldron, but not much else."
"Oh..." said Sirius, frowning. "Well, I'll have a think and get back to —"
He broke off. His face was suddenly tense, alarmed. He turned sideways, apparently looking into the solid brick wall of the fireplace.
"Sirius?" said Harry anxiously.
But he had vanished. Harry gaped at the flames for a moment, then turned to look at Ron and Hermione. Leo frowned, staring at the fire for a moment before looking at the other three quizzically.
"What the bloody -?"
Hermione gave a horrified gasp and leapt to her feet, still staring at the fire.
A hand had appeared amongst the flames, groping as though to catch hold of something; a stubby, short-fingered hand covered in ugly old-fashioned rings...
Leo immediately recognized it as Umbridge's hand, and couldn't help but feel quite upset that she had cut his time with his favourite uncle short. First, she tries to take our souls. Then our freedom. Then she tortures us and attacks Apollo and Hedwig. Now she's going after my family... He snarled, reaching his left hand into the flames without thinking and grabbing her wrist. He heard shouts from the others and ignored them, squeezing tightly and watching as Umbridge's hand tried to wrench itself from his grasp unsuccessfully.
Only when her hand began to darken in the flames did he release it, watching as it quickly shot out of the fireplace and presumably back to Umbridge. He stared at the fire for a moment before looking at the others, a determined expression on his face.
"I'll help."