Chapter 20: Guilt Begone

That bastard. Rosier officially crossed the line. That Hufflepuff girl - what he did to her... I found him at the lake and decided not to hold back anymore. I set my powers free as I dove for him, pushing him through the frozen lake as I tried to - It doesn't matter. I didn't succeed, yet. Rosier's at St. Mungo's - they don't know when or if he'll ever recover. Even if he does, he's been expelled. They came close to doing the same for me, but Dumbles stood up for me and had my back. Damn it, now I owe the bastard.

"Sorry, I'm what?"

"Don't make me repeat myself, Black, I know you heard me," Angelina Johnson snapped.

It was the following morning after Gryffindor's match against Slytherin. Slytherin had won by a landslide, owing to Draco catching the Snitch before Harry. Privately, Leo felt that was a bit unfair given that, with his Animagus abilities, Draco's eyesight was now – at the very least – twice as good as a normal person's. The two Seekers had been relatively good sports about the whole ordeal and it seemed as though there would be no hostility between the two teams. Until Zabini came by to rub in their victory and insult the Weasleys' parentage and Harry and Leo's mums. Harry and Fred had both attacked him – Leo didn't blame them, considering he would've done the same – and, because of that, Umbridge had given both them and George (who was being held back from attacking the git by his teammates) a lifelong ban on Quidditch.

Angelina had cornered Leo the following morning when he had walked into the common room and given him the news. She then told him that he was now their primary Seeker for the foreseeable future, foiling his plans to quit. She was going to berate him for not being at the game, then paused and considered it a blessing that he hadn't been, given the level of violence he usually resorted to where Zabini and Umbridge were concerned.

"Yeah, but it's taking me a minute to wrap my head around," Leo replied with a frown. "Came down here to quit, and now you've just told me I'm being promoted. Bit hard to -"

"You were going to quit?!" Angelina shrieked, garnering looks from everyone in the common room and prompting Leo to cover his ears.

"Ow. No need to yell, I'm right here," he groused, removing his hands from his ears. "And yes, I was. Only ever played one game, so it seemed like a waste of time to stick around if I never play. Guess I'll have to now, though. Can't exactly leave you lot in the lurch."

He winked, but Angelina appeared too disgruntled to care.

"Well, at least you're staying," she grumbled. "I want you there for Beater tryouts, Black."

Without waiting for his response, she stormed away toward Alicia and Katie and the three of them exited out through the portrait hole. Leo stared after her for a moment before shaking his head and preparing to follow after them when he heard his name being called. He turned his head to see Harry and Ron, finally awake and headed down the boys' staircase toward him.

"Did you hear about the match?" Harry asked once they reached him.

"You mean what complete and utter dog's breakfast it was?" Leo snorted. "Yeah, Angelina just told me. Sorry about the banning, wish there was something I could do... Maybe it's time to start pranking that bitch again -"

"Don't!" Harry said quickly and loudly, prompting Leo to jump in surprise. Harry significantly lowered his voice before he continued, "Fudge signed a new decree saying Umbridge has control over all punishments. McGonagall can't protect you – us - anymore, Leo. Who knows what she'll do to you, considering you burned her arm off -"

"Oh, pish," Leo waved a dismissive hand, wrinkling his nose. "I'm done not feeling guilty about that. After the way she treated Hagrid last night, she deserves everything she's going to get -"

"You were there?" Ron blurted out.

"Yeah," Leo nodded. "Got there around the same time as that toad did. Stayed outside under the window and listened in. I take it Hagrid's vacation didn't go well? Didn't make any new friends, did he?"

"No, he didn't," spoke a female voice behind him.

He turned, seeing Hermione walk toward them with an expression that was a cross between nervous and irritable. He raised an eyebrow at her attire, taking in the thick jacket, gloves, hat, and scarf. Must be going out to see him. He surmised.

"I was just on my way to fill in Draco and then go see Hagrid," she confirmed his thought. "If you come with, I'll fill you both in."

Leo nodded and turned to the other two, who said they had a mountain of homework they needed to get done. He shrugged before following Hermione out of the portrait hole, down the stairs, and into the entrance hall, where they met up with Draco. The three headed for an unused classroom, locking the door and casting Silencing Charms. Leo used Homenum Revelio just to make sure they were alone before Hermione delved into the story.

She told them that Hagrid and Maxime had reached the giant tribe and were negotiating with their Gurg – chief – Karkus. Things were going well until Death Eaters showed up and helped engineer an uprising. Many giants had been killed, including Karkus. Golgomath – another giant – had killed him and then allied with the Death Eaters. Hagrid and Maxime left once the giants attacked them. By the time she finished her story, Leo was pacing.

"So, Voldy's got the giants on his side and will probably have the dementors soon if he doesn't already have them," he frowned, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he moved. "Wouldn't be too difficult to get the goblins on their side... though I reckon they'd probably stay out of it since they don't like people... All those pure-blood families... might have an army of house-elves who have to obey them... I'd wager it wouldn't be too difficult to get hags and vampires on their side too..."

"So, basically what you're saying is that they have an army of darkness that we have no chance of defeating," Draco said, a trace of worry in his voice.

"Not necessarily," Leo replied, stopping for a moment before resuming his pacing. "There's still the werewolves to consider. Paddy told me that Moony and Fen are working on convincing them to join our cause."

"But Fenrir Greyback is leading them," Hermione argued, gaining surprised looks from the other two. "I read about the First War – and Cas told us what the books wouldn't." Their expressions cleared as she continued, "He sided with V-Voldemort in the last war, and he'll side with them in this war. As long as Greyback is leading them, Voldemort will have werewolves in his army as well."

"So, all Cas and Lupin have to do is kill Greyback," Draco shrugged. "Sounds simple enough."

Hermione opened her mouth to respond but was beaten to the punch by Leo, who had stopped pacing.

"They can't kill Greyback – or, at least, Dad can't," Leo shook his head. "Werewolf packs are sort of like wolf packs – Alphas and Betas and that sort of thing. Greyback is the Alpha, and his position can only be taken if he's challenged and killed by someone else – Moony. If Dad does it or helps, it'll just be seen as a wizard – or wizards – killing another 'half-breed'."

"Which would only turn the werewolves to the Dark Lord's side," Draco nodded slowly in understanding. "And Lupin doesn't have it in him to kill Greyback and take over the pack."

"He hates what he is and the other werewolves will pick up on that," Hermione sighed, rubbing her forehead tiredly as she sat on the edge of a desk. "The only hope is that someone else will topple Greyback and Cas and Lupin can convince them to join our cause."

The three of them all fell silent, none of them seeing much hope in that outcome. Still... Dad and Remy are both persuasive, maybe they can manage it? Leo considered without any real conviction. Centaurs and Merpeople'll stay out of it and Veelas won't get involved until Voldy takes over England and moves to the rest of Europe. By then, it'll be too late. Plus, there're also other species like Trolls to consider... He rubbed his head before looking around at his friends who were wearing disheartening expressions. He resolved to remedy that quickly.

"Look, it's out of our hands for the moment," he told them. "Thinking and worrying about it won't do us much good, so let's focus on what we can do. We can prepare people for what's out there and protect who we can while we're in here." He turned to Hermione. "You said you were going to see Hagrid. Go, warn him about Umbridge, get him ready for her."

Hermione nodded before sliding off the desk and turning and running out the door to do just that. That left Leo and Draco alone. The former turned toward the latter, who raised an expectant eyebrow.

"And what orders do you have for me, 'O great leader?" Draco rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"The two of us'll meet up with Fred and George and figure out a way to run that toad out of school," he informed the pale blonde with a broad grin. "Gonna need a little Slytherin subtlety so we don't get caught, of course."

"Glad to see you're finally catching on, Black," Draco smirked.

Leo rolled his eyes before walking out the door with his friend, congratulating him on his Quidditch win loudly as he did so. Draco did his best to look unfazed, but the pleased smile he wore while saying that it was nothing gave him away. The two went into the Great Hall, sitting across the table from Fred and George, who looked quite morose. Leo cast Muffliato around them before quietly telling them of his - basically nonexistent at this point - plan to get Umbridge out of the school. The twins brightened considerably after that and they all ate their breakfast rather more cheerfully before running outside to enjoy the snow.

They pelted each other with snowballs before deciding it would be considerably more fun to pelt them at Gryffindor tower. They took turns levitating the snowballs up to splat at the windows, laughing loudly as they discussed various ideas for Umbridge. Fred had just said they should transfigure her into an actual toad when Ron stuck his head out of the Gryffindor common room window just after George had hit it with a snowball.

"Oi!" bellowed Ron, "I am a prefect and if one more snowball hits this window —"

Leo didn't wait for him to finish his sentence, instead sending a snowball up to splat in the ginger's face. He gave a yell before withdrawing his head, peals of laughter from Leo and his friends following him. The four stayed outside for some time, only returning indoors for lunch where Leo left them to eat in the kitchens with Luna. Afterwards, he and Draco ran – or in the latter's case, flew – around the Forbidden Forest in their Animagus forms.

A giant black dog joined them some time into their adventure, racing the lion and the hawk to various places. It was no surprise to anyone that Jetwing won every time. After about the fifth time this happened, Aslan led the way to the inlet, where he returned to his human form and blasted a hole in the ice so the three of them could drink the ice-cold water within. Once they had all quenched their thirst, Padfoot and Jetwing changed back into themselves.

Seeing them shivering, Leo – slightly reluctant, given what had happened last time – used his abilities to create a small fire to keep them warm. Once that was done, the two Hogwarts students told Sirius what had occurred yesterday. They also asked what sort of pranks would be good to use on Umbridge and were regaled with many stories of pranks the Marauders had pulled – half of them Leo didn't believe and the other half he was sure were probably illegal.

"- Took ages to get the grease stains out in time for Christmas holidays," the man was saying, much to their laughter. "Which reminds me, Cas wants to know what you lot want for Christmas." He paused to look at Draco. "We've already got you sorted – trust me, you'll love it. Just need the rest of you."

"I'm worried what a group of incurable pranksters got me now," Draco grumbled, receiving a broad smile from the dog Animagus.

"I already know what I want – was planning on telling Dad when we went home for the holidays," Leo informed him. "Not sure about Harry, but just get Hermione some books, Ron some food, and the twins and Ginny some pranking stuff."

"And what about Luna?" Sirius asked with a mischievous grin.

"Try anything, and I'll hex your bits," Leo glowered at him, receiving a laugh in response.

"Heard your dad met her – officially – a while back," Sirius said when he had sobered up. "He sounded quite fond of her, said she was just the sort of person you need."

Leo grinned in response. While he didn't really care if anyone approved of Luna – he liked her quite fine, after all – it was nice hearing that his father, at the very least, liked her. Sirius asked Draco if he was seeing anyone, to which the pale blonde answered that Sirius was too old for him, not to mention the fact they were related and Draco didn't swing that way. Sirius and Leo both laughed at the response before the latter asked the man if he was dating. Sirius told him to hush before quickly turning the topic back to pranks.

The following morning was marginally eventful. Hagrid returned to his seat at the staff table, where Fred, George, and Lee Jordan sprinted up the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables to wring his hand. Leo caught Umbridge looking at the man with disdain and mild disgust and focused on heating her oatmeal so that she scalded her tongue when she took a bite. He returned to his cereal with a feeling of mild satisfaction after this.

On Tuesday, he and his friends struggled through the snow toward Hagrid, who stood waiting for them on the edge of the forest. He wasn't a very pretty sight. He had green and yellow-tinged bruises and a myriad of cuts covering his face. Some of the cuts still appeared to be bleeding. Leo eyed them with mild intrigue, wondering if what they were covering today did that to him. The dead cow slung over his shoulder only added to his interest.

"We're workin' in here today!" Hagrid called happily to the approaching students, jerking his head back at the dark trees behind him. "Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark..."

"What prefers the dark?" Leo heard Zabini say sharply to Crabbe and Goyle, a trace of panic in his voice. "What did he say prefers the dark — did you hear?"

"Yeah, Umbridge and his mum," Leo whispered to his friends, eliciting quiet snickers.

"Ready?" said Hagrid happily, looking around at the class. "Right, well, I've bin savin' a trip inter the forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the on'y person in Britain who's managed ter train 'em —"

"And you're sure they're trained?" said Draco with a small frown. "I'd rather not have to deal with something like the skrewts again."

The Slytherins murmured agreement and a few Gryffindors looked as though they thought Draco had a fair point too. Leo couldn't blame them. Not even he got on well with the skrewts – and he got on well with practically every animal.

"'Course they're trained," said Hagrid with a small laugh, hoisting the dead cow a little higher on his shoulder.

"So what happened to your face, then?" demanded Zabini.

"Mind yer own business!" said Hagrid, angrily. "Now if yeh've finished askin' stupid questions, follow me!"

He turned and strode straight into the forest. Nobody seemed much disposed to follow. Leo gave a small shrug before following after him, his friends behind him and their classmates slightly further behind.

They walked for about ten minutes until they reached a place where the trees stood so closely together that it was as dark as twilight and there was no snow on the ground at all. Hagrid deposited his half a cow with a grunt on the ground, stepped back, and turned to face his class again, most of whom were creeping toward him from tree to tree, peering around nervously as though expecting to be set upon at any moment. Leo rolled his eyes. The Slytherins I get. But where's your courage, Gryffindors?

"Gather roun', gather roun'," said Hagrid encouragingly. "Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o' the meat but I'm goin' ter give 'em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me..."

He turned, shook his shaggy head to get the hair out of his face, and gave an odd, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird. Leo laughed, stopping abruptly when he realized he was the only one to do so.

Hagrid gave the shrieking cry again. A minute passed in which the class continued to peer nervously over their shoulders and around trees for a first glimpse of whatever it was that was coming. And then, as Hagrid shook his hair back for a third time and expanded his enormous chest, Leo saw them.

A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck, and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It looked around at the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs. Thestrals. Leo grinned brightly.

There were only two others besides him and Harry who could see them as well: Theodore Nott – who was watching the thestral eating with an expression of great distaste on his face - and Neville - whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the long black tail.

"Oh, an' here comes another one!" said Hagrid proudly, as a second thestral appeared out of the dark trees, folded its leathery wings closer to its body, and dipped its head to gorge on the meat. "Now... put yer hands up, who can see 'em?"

Leo and Harry both put their hands up, receiving nods from the half-giant.

"Yeah... yeah, I knew you two'd be able ter," he said seriously. "An' you too, Neville, eh? An' —"

"Excuse me," said Draco in a mildly apprehensive voice, "but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?"

For an answer, Hagrid pointed at the cow carcass on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, then several people gasped and Parvati squealed. Leo understood why: Bits of flesh stripping themselves away from the bones and vanishing into thin air had to look very odd indeed.

"What's doing it?" Parvati demanded in a terrified voice, retreating behind the nearest tree. "What's eating it?"

"Thestrals!" Leo said at once, beaming proudly as Hagrid nodded at him and gave a small chuckle.

"Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows — ?"

"But they're really, really unlucky!" interrupted Parvati, looking alarmed. "They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once —"

"No, no, no," said Hagrid, chuckling, "tha's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful! 'Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate — an' here's another couple, look —"

Two more horses came quietly out of the trees, one of them passing very close to Parvati, who shivered and pressed herself closer to the tree, saying, "I think I felt something, I think it's near me!"

"Don' worry, it won' hurt yeh," said Hagrid patiently. "Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' you can see them an' some can't?"

Leo raised his hand, garnering surprised looks from everyone, including Hermione, whose hand stopped halfway. Leo was never one to volunteer information or raise his hand in class. Hagrid nodded at him.

"You have to see someone die. Otherwise, they're invisible to you," the blonde stated promptly.

"Tha's exactly right," said Hagrid solemnly, "ten points ter Gryffindor – an' another five fer identifyin' 'em earlier. Now, thestrals —"

"Hem, hem."

Leo scowled and released a low growl. Umbridge had arrived. She was standing a few feet away from Harry, wearing her green hat and cloak again, her clipboard at the ready. Hagrid, who had never heard Umbridge's fake cough before, was gazing in some concern at the closest thestral, evidently under the impression that it had made the sound.

"Hem, hem."

"Oh hello!" Hagrid said, smiling, having located the source of the noise.

"You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?" said Umbridge, in the same loud, slow voice she had used with him earlier, as though she was addressing somebody both foreign and very slow. "Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?"

Leo resisted the urge to reach over and strangle her.

"Oh yeah," said Hagrid brightly. "Glad yeh found the place all righ'! Well, as you can see — or, I dunno — can you? We're doin' thestrals today —"

"I'm sorry?" said Umbridge loudly, cupping her hand around her ear and frowning. "What did you say?"

Hagrid looked a little confused. "Er — thestrals!" he said loudly. "Big — er — winged horses, yeh know!"

He flapped his gigantic arms hopefully. Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows at him and muttered as she made a note on her clipboard, "'has... to... resort... to... crude... sign... language...'"

Forget strangle. I'll turn into Aslan and just maul the hell out of her. She'll wish all she lost was an arm. Leo seethed, his hands clenching tightly and shaking slightly. He felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced up to see Draco, subtly shaking his head. Leo scowled and did his best to rein in his growing anger.

"Well... anyway..." said Hagrid, turning back to the class and looking slightly flustered. "Erm... what was I sayin'?"

"'Appears... to... have... poor... short... term... memory...' " muttered Umbridge, loudly enough for everyone to hear her.

"You were going to tell us more interesting facts about thestrals," Leo said loudly, throwing a quick glare over his shoulder at Umbridge before looking back at Hagrid. "You said you have the only tame herd in Britain, can you tell us more?"

Hagrid looked relieved at the question.

"Right, so, we started off with a male an' five females. This one," he patted the first horse to have appeared, "name o' Tenebrus, he's my special favourite, firs' one born here in the forest —"

"Are you aware," Umbridge said loudly, interrupting him, "that the Ministry of Magic has classified thestrals as 'dangerous'?"

"So are phoenixes," Leo informed her coldly. "But they're clever and dead useful, just like thestrals. Thestrals are about as likely to harm you as a unicorn or a dog."

"You seem to be an expert on the subject, Mr. Black," Umbridge said in her sickly sweet voice, though Leo could smell the irritation lying just below the surface. "How are you so well-informed?"

"I've hung out with them near the edge of the woods before, they've never hurt me or anyone else -"

"Just because they haven't yet -"

"Tell me, when was the last time you heard of a thestral attacking someone?" Leo questioned in the politest tone he could muster.

Umbridge remained silent, a scowl briefly appearing on her face before she turned back to Hagrid and said, again very loudly and slowly, "Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk" — she mimed walking — Zabini and Pansy Parkinson were having silent fits of laughter — "among the students" — she pointed around at individual members of the class — "and ask them questions." She pointed at her mouth to indicate talking.

Hagrid stared at her, clearly at a complete loss to understand why she was acting as though he did not understand normal English. Hermione had tears of fury in her eyes now. Leo was seconds away from lighting the toad on fire – consequences be damned.

"You hag, you evil hag!" Hermione whispered as Umbridge walked toward Pansy Parkinson. "I know what you're doing, you awful, twisted, vicious —"

Draco threw her a look and she quieted down. Now wasn't the time to be disparaging Umbridge, especially since she was right there.

"Erm... anyway," said Hagrid, clearly struggling to regain the flow of his lesson, "so — thestrals. Yeah. Well, there's loads o' good stuff abou' them..."

"Do you find," said Umbridge in a ringing voice to Pansy Parkinson, "that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?"

Just like Hermione, Pansy had tears in her eyes, but these were tears of laughter; indeed, her answer was almost incoherent because she was trying to suppress her giggles. "No... because... well... it sounds... like grunting a lot of the time..."

Leo's eyes narrowed and his hands shook furiously at his sides. He felt warmth begin to flood through them and the rest of his body as a surge of power rushed through him. He glanced down at his hands, eyes widening as he noticed they were faintly glowing. He quickly stuffed his hands in the pockets of his robes, desperately trying to ignore Umbridge and get himself under control. He shook himself, focusing his attention on Hagrid who began to speak again.

"Er... yeah... good stuff abou' thestrals. Well, once they're tamed, like this lot, yeh'll never be lost again. 'Mazin' senses o' direction, jus' tell 'em where yeh want ter go an' they'll take yeh there. They can carry lots o' weight, so a few people can ride'em."

"Can we – er, I – pet one, Professor?" Leo asked curiously, eager to show Umbridge that the thestrals weren't dangerous at all and striving to take his mind off everything.

Hagrid opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Umbridge, who had moved on to questioning Neville.

"You can see the thestrals, Longbottom, can you?" she said.

Neville nodded.

"Whom did you see die?" she asked, her tone indifferent.

"My... my grandad," said Neville.

"And what do you think of them?" she said, waving her stubby hand at the horses, who by now had stripped a great deal of the carcass down to the bone.

"Erm," said Neville nervously, with a glance at Hagrid. "Well, they're... er... okay..."

"'Students... are... too... intimidated... to... admit... they... are... frightened...' " muttered Umbridge, making another note on her clipboard.

The only person they're intimidated by is you, you evil hag. Leo seethed, his body practically vibrating with suppressed rage and energy. He felt sweat pouring down his body as he struggled to keep himself under control and not light the toad on fire like he so dearly wanted to. The urge was getting harder and harder to control as the seconds ticked by and he knew that one of them would have to leave soon before someone got hurt.

"No!" said Neville, looking upset, "no, I'm not scared of them — !"

"It's quite all right," said Umbridge, patting Neville on the shoulder with what she evidently intended to be an understanding smile, though it looked more like a leer to Leo. "Well, Hagrid," she turned to look up at him again, speaking once more in that loud, slow voice, "I think I've got enough to be getting along with... You will receive" — she mimed taking something from the air in front of her — "the results of your inspection" — she pointed at the clipboard — "in ten days' time." She held up ten stubby little fingers, then, her smile wider and more toadlike than ever before beneath her green hat, she bustled from their midst, leaving Zabini and Pansy Parkinson in fits of laughter, Leo and Hermione actually shaking with fury, and Neville looking confused and upset.

"That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!" stormed Hermione half an hour later, as they made their way back up to the castle through the channels they had made earlier in the snow. "You see what she's up to? It's her thing about half-breeds all over again — she's trying to make out Hagrid's some kind of dim-witted troll, just because he had a giantess for a mother — and oh, it's not fair, that really wasn't a bad lesson at all — I mean, all right, if it had been Blast-Ended Skrewts again, but thestrals are fine — in fact, for Hagrid, they're really good!"

"Umbridge said they're dangerous," said Ron.

"They say the same thing about phoenixes, unicorns, and werewolves," Leo said dismissively, feeling tired and distinctly drained after having to hold everything in. "But dementors are perfectly fine – not a problem at all. Personally, I think anything the Ministry says these days is a load of bollocks."

December arrived, bringing with it more snow and a positive avalanche of homework for the fifth years. Now, with the extra Quidditch practices he had to endure, even Leo was feeling the strain. At first, anyway. Seeing as how he had no wish to – or interest in – continue History of Magic or Astronomy next year, he decided to discontinue homework in those two classes. He applied the same principle to Herbology following a class where the Venemous Tentacula continuously tried to eat him while he wasn't looking. Yet another subject to not take. At this rate I'll only have five – four if that bitch is still here – classes to take. That thought cheered him immensely and kept him going in the weeks leading up to the Christmas holidays.

He, Harry, Draco, and the Weasleys would be returning to Grimmauld before Harry and Leo headed to the Den for their much-awaited duel. Leo absently wondered if Harry had done any prep work for their duel or if he had just forgotten about it. He asked his cousin about it the day before their last D.A. meeting, calling a halt to their discussion over which spells they should review before the holidays.

"You done any work for our duel, Harry?" Leo asked in a nonchalant tone.

Harry was quiet for a moment as he crossed out a spell on the parchment they were making a list on. He then slowly turned his head up to look at the blonde.

"Suppose you'll have to see for yourself, won't you?" Harry questioned coolly.

Leo gave a broad grin in response before they returned to the topic at hand.

The two arrived early in the Room of Requirement for the last D.A. meeting before the holidays and were very glad they had, because when the lamps burst into light they saw that Dobby had taken it upon himself to decorate the place for Christmas. They could tell the elf had done it because nobody else would have strung a hundred golden baubles from the ceiling, each showing a picture of Harry's face and bearing the legend HAVE A VERY HARRY CHRISTMAS!

Leo stood there for some time, clutching his stomach and laughing uproariously as Harry took down the decorations. Occasionally, he would throw one in Leo's general direction and only stopped when the boy started hanging them back up. Now exasperated and more than a little peeved, Harry had to start all over again and had gotten halfway through taking them down again when Luna walked in. Warmth blossomed in Leo's chest as he stood at attention at once and skipped over to her, the smile never leaving his face.

"Hiya, Luna."

"Hello," she said vaguely, looking around at what remained of the decorations. "These are nice, did you put them up?"

"No," said Harry, "it was Dobby the house-elf."

"Mistletoe," said Luna dreamily, pointing at a large clump of white berries placed above her and Leo's heads.

The blonde turned red for a moment before leaning down and kissing her lightly on the lips, well-aware of his cousin watching them. The Gryffindor Chasers appeared a moment later, all breathless and cold. Leo belatedly realized that the Beater tryouts had been that day and shrugged, hoping Angelina wouldn't be too mad. His hopes were dashed a moment later when the Chaser marched up to him, looking quite irate.

"You were supposed to be at the tryouts."

"I'm also supposed to do homework for Binns and not prank Umbridge," Leo informed her. "I do a lot of things I'm not supposed to."

"Listen, Black, you can't just -" Angelina began, poking him in the chest and stopping when her finger met firm muscle.

"Can't what?" Leo asked when she was quiet for some time, his curiosity now piqued.

"Never mind," Angelina replied, shaking herself out of her stupor. "Just make sure you're at the rest of the practices from now on."

"All right," Leo responded, staring at her in confusion as she walked back to the other Chasers and handed Alicia a few Galleons.

The rest of the D.A. filtered in shortly after that, prompting Harry and Leo to take their spots at the front. Leo exchanged a glance with Harry, knowing that not too many people were going to like the fact that this was a review session. Harry gestured for him to go first and Leo rolled his eyes before stepping forward slightly.

"All right, listen up," he called, feeling a rush of satisfaction as everyone quieted down. "Since it's the last meeting before the holidays – and most of you can't use magic outside school – learning anything now would pointless. To that end, we've decided to have a review day instead -"

"We're not doing anything new?" said Zacharias Smith, in a disgruntled whisper loud enough to carry through the room. "If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come..."

"We're all really sorry they didn't tell you, then," said Fred loudly.

Leo, among a few others, laughed at this statement.

"We can practice in pairs," said Harry. "We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, just for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again."

Everyone divided up into their usual pairs, Leo and Harry watching them carefully. People froze for a minute or so, during which their partners would stare aimlessly around the room watching other pairs at work, then would unfreeze and take their turn at the jinx.

Neville had improved beyond all recognition. He managed to successfully freeze Draco three times, receiving applause from Leo each time. Draco retaliated by sending an Impediment Jinx of his own in Leo's direction, prompting the blonde to quickly duck and then make a rude gesture at the hawk Animagus.

After ten minutes on the Impediment Jinx, they laid out cushions all over the floor and started practising Stunning again. Space was really too confined to allow them all to work this spell at once; half the group observed the others for a while, then swapped over. Neville made some steady progress, hitting Padma Patil instead of Dean. Least he actually Stunned someone. Leo sighed, walking over to Neville and helping him with his aim.

At the end of an hour, Leo called for an end.

"You're getting really good," Harry said, beaming around at them. "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff — maybe even Patronuses."

"Until then – think happy thoughts!" Leo laughed.

There were a few chuckles before people began to leave. Luna stayed behind to help Leo, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco pack the cushions back up. They all left at the same time, Draco heading down to the dungeon whilst Hermione and Ron went back to Gryffindor tower and Leo escorted Luna back to Ravenclaw Tower. He kissed her goodnight before taking out the Map and grinning broadly when he saw Umbridge was down in the dungeons with Snape. One last prank before the holidays then.