Ch. 7

The next day started Sloane's first official day as a Slytherian. At breakfast, he received his new course schedule from Professor Snape.

"Welcome to Slytherian, Mr. Mars," Snape said.

"Glad to be here, Professor." Sloane said. If it weren't for the fact that there were other people around him, Sloane would have mentioned the note from his father. He knew that Snape would have known about it since Snape had acted as the go-between last year and would most likely have been the person to have snuck in the note this year.

Snape nodded, understanding the silent thanks that Sloane sent his way, and moved on, setting the schedules down at the end of the table. Sloane was only early since he could barely sleep. A very tired looking Draco sat next to him, for which Sloane was grateful.

"What classes do we have today?" Draco asked, not even bothering to look at his schedule as he helped himself to some eggs and bacon.

"We have Transfiguration and the Care of Magical Creatures with Gryffindor, Lunch and then Ancient Runes." Sloane said.

"That doesn't sound too bad." Draco muttered.

Sloane smiled, waiting until Draco had picked up his cup of pumpkin juice before saying, "Oh, and Harry's been transferred to Ancient Runes this year. He dropped Divination."

Draco nearly choked on his juice. He glared at Sloane, who grinned innocently. This was payback for when Draco had made Sloane choke on his drink when he was staying with the Malfoys. Revenge was best served cold and when the other party was no longer expecting it. It was some kind of rule that Tori had. She was fond of telling how she waited a whole month to get revenge on Sirius Black for something he had done in school. The look on his face, she had told them, was truly worth the wait.

"You're kidding, right?" Draco said.

"Nope. After Trelawney had predicted enough deaths for Harry to be declared a medical miracle, he asked McGonagall to change. He was given a test over the summer to catch him up to our level." Draco said. "Not that he needed the test. Mom had taught him the basics of Runes a long time ago."

Draco groaned. "How advanced is your schooling through Tori?"

Sloane thought for a moment. "Only in Defense and Potions. The rest we're basically learning for the first time," he said innocently. Draco gave him a look that convayed that he did not believe his friend.

After the owl post, in which Harry got a letter from home, everyone went to their first class. Harry caught Sloane's eye and that was all Sloane needed to know that there was something in that letter that Sloane needed to know. He could get the information in Care of Magical Creatures.

Sloane struggled through Transfiguration. He had always suspected that McGonagall didn't really like him, but now he knew that she didn't like Slytherians. The prim and proper teacher was as prejudice as everyone claimed that Snape was towards Gryffindors. The only thing was, McGonagall was able to disguise her hatred a little better so no one would ever suspect.

The next class was Care of Magical Creatures. The Slytherians were the last to arrive since the Gryffindors had Herbology earlier and were already outside.

As they neared Hagrid's hut for their lesson, they could hear Hagrid talking to the Gryffindors. The creatures were hidden in large creates, but the smell had greeted the Slytherians long before they could see the creates.

"On'y jus' hatched so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves!" Hagrid announced proudly. "Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!"

"Why would we want to raise them?" Draco asked as they walked up to the group. The Gryffindors and Hagrid turned to see the newly arrived Slytherians. "I mean, what is the point of them?"

Hagrid seemed stumped. He looked at the creatures and then back at Draco. "That's for the next lesson. Today we'll jus' be feeding them."

Sloane leaned over to look in one the creates. The creatures were small and looked like deformed shell-less lobsters with legs sticking out in odd places and no visible heads. Every now and again, one would give off sparks from one end and be propelled forward several inches with a small phut.

"What are they, Hagrid?" Sloane asked. The only thought going through his head was if these things tasted good when they were sautéed with butter.

"Blast-End Skrewts!" Hagrid proclaimed.

Only a deep respect for Hagrid for his help their first year could make Harry and Sloane take a huge handful of frog liver and try to feed the little monsters.

"What are you naming yours?" Sloane asked as he tried to get his Skrewt to eat.

Harry glanced over at Sloane. "Name it?"

Sloane nodded. "I think I'll call mine Bob. He looks like a Bob."

"How do you know it's a male?" Harry asked.

Hagrid looked over their shoulders. "The females have a sucker on their stomachs and the males have little stings."

"Gee, great. I can certainly see why we want to keep them alive." Draco muttered as he glared at his Skrewt. "Who wouldn't want a pet that can burn, sting and bite all at once?" There was a phut by Draco and he yelped, shaking his burnt hand.

"I think they're kinda cute." Sloane said, petting 'Bob'. "When they're older, I bet they can feed a village!"

Harry tried to not laugh at the horrified look that Hagrid gave Sloane. Instead he turned back to his Skrewt. It was a female.

"Well, if you got Bob, then I guess mine is Mary Sue." Harry said.

An hour later, they left for lunch. Draco glared at the Skrewts and muttered something about having to wash his hands, vigorously, in hot water. Sloane made his way to Harry to get the letter, ignoring the looks from the Gryffindors.

"Mom put in a separate letter for you. Here you go." Harry said. "You've got mail."

Sloane snorted. "Thanks."

Over lunch, Sloane read the letter from his mom. He felt as if he suddenly got a glimpse of heaven, and his happy laugh caught the attention of Draco and Professor Snape.

"What is it, Sloane?" Draco asked.

"Mom talked to my father over the summer. He's agreed to help heal my heart at the end of this school year!" Sloane said, his gray eyes shining. "I'm going to be cured!"

"That is wonderful news, Mr. Mars," Snape's voice sounded from behind Sloane. He turned to see his Head of House and grinned.

"Thank you, sir." Sloane said. Snape gave him a short nod and left. Snape had known since Sloane's second year that the boy was dying. Now, he was given a chance to truly live.

Sloane jumped up and ran over to the Gryffindor table. Without caring what anyone thought, he sat next to Harry, pushing Ron away. The redhead protested as he was uncermoniously dumped on the floor.

"Dad's going to do it, Harry! I'll be cured!" Sloane announced. "That's what mom wanted to tell me. She talked to him over the summer!"

Harry smiled. "Great! You really deserve this, Sloane. I'm so happy for you!"

Sloane grinned and walked back to his table. His housemates were watching him, bemused. He missed the look that Dumbledore sent his way, seemingly pleased with the friendship between the houses.

Harry followed Sloane to his first Ancient Runes class. Professor Bomin had told Harry that he expects great things after viewing his test scores. Harry, true to his word, paid attention and didn't act up in class. Sloane sat between him and Draco, making sure that Harry wasn't tempted to misbehave. He was sure that Snape would check that parchment with Harry's blood oath every night.

When things went too smoothly, Sloane should have been worried. Thinking back, he knew that he should have expected, in a way, what happened later that night. Draco had received that day's addition of the Daily Prophet after Ancient Runes, and had been smirking ever since. Sloane found out why before dinner.

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!" Draco yelled as they waited for the doors to the Great Hall to open. They were early for dinner, as was half the school.

Draco waited until he had Ron's attention, as well as most of the students there. Triumphantly, he crowed, "Your dad is in the paper!"

Sloane closed his eyes and shook his head as Draco read all about Mr. Weasley and the maniac dustbins of Mad-Eye Moody. Draco thought it was funny that the paper didn't even get Mr. Weasley's name right, calling him Arnold instead of Arthur. The final straw was the picture of Mr. Weasley, standing in front of the Burrow with Mrs. Weasley.

"Tell me, Weasley, is your mom always that porky?" Draco asked.

Ron was shaking with fury. When he took a step towards Draco, Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his robes. Everyone was watching, waiting for the fight that they were sure would happen.

"Get stuffed, Malfoy!" Harry said, pulling Ron back.

Sloane let out a small moan. He didn't want his brother to get involved in this. He could tell that Draco's main target was Ron, but the blond boy would settle for Harry if he brought enough attention to himself.

"Oh, right, you were staying with them this summer," Draco said, his gray eyes glittering maliciously. "Tell me, is his mother really that obese, or is it just the picture?"

From where he was, Sloane could see Harry's eyes flash. This wasn't going to be pretty. Draco had insulted Ron, and Harry was obliged to stand up for his friend. As long as it didn't come to blows, things might be all right.

"You know your mother, Malfoy?" Harry said, still pulling Ron back. "That expression she's got on her face, like she's got dung under her nose? Does she always look like that, or was it just cause you were with her?"

"Daniel! Maledetto!" Sloane swore as he saw Draco's face turn slightly pink.

"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter!" Draco yelled.

"Then keep your fat mouth shut!" Harry shot back.

Sloane started to move closer to Draco, but Crabbe and Goyle were blocking him. He could see Draco raise his wand and point it at Harry. Harry, however, had turned back on Draco to walk away with Ron and didn't see.

BANG!

Several people screamed and Harry turned, only to feel something hot pass by his cheek and then pain. He brought one hand up and stared at his red blood on his fingers. Draco had cut him. Surely self-defense was covered in the rules.

Harry was about to get his wand from his holster when there was another loud BANG. He turned to see Mad-Eye Moody limping down a staircase, coming towards him. His wand was out and pointed towards -

- A pure white ferret that was shivering in the exact spot that Draco had been standing on just moments before. The Slytherians had taken a step back, and Sloane ran forward to the ferret.

"Did he hurt you?" Moody asked, tilting Harry's face to look at the bleeding cut.

"Not really," Harry answered.

"LEAVE IT!" Moody roared.

"Leave - what?" Harry asked, bewildered.

"Not you - him!" Moody said, pointing behind him to Sloane, who had bent down to pick up the ferret. It seemed that Moody's magical eye could see out of the back of his head.

"I think you should change him back!" Sloane said, glaring at Moody as the weatherworn professor started limping towards him. The ferret gave a terrified squeak and tried to climb up Sloane's pant leg.

"I don't think so!" Moody sneered, pointing his wand and the ferret was ripped from Sloane and flew ten feet in the air. It hit the floor and bounced back upward once more. Sloane gave a horrified cry that was seconded by Harry.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's backs are turned!" Moody growled, bouncing the ferret. Sloane dove and tried to catch the ferret. There was a sickening crack as the ferret passed through Sloane's fingers.

"Cowardly, stinking, scummy thing to do!" Moody bounced the ferret harder with each word. Finally, Sloane got the ferret, hugging it to his body and curling up on the floor.

"Professor Moody!" McGonagall's voice sounded as she stopped at the foot of the stairs. She stared at the curled figure of Sloane, the painful squeaks from the ferret in his arms, and Harry's bleeding cheek.

"Hello Professor McGonagall." Moody said, cheerfully.

"What is going on here?" McGonagall asked.

"I'm just teaching, Professor." Moody said.

McGonagall took in the scene again and gave a horrified shriek. She pointed at the ferret. "Is that a student!"

"Yes,"

McGonagall quickly pulled out her wand and pointed it at the ferret. Draco appeared, still held by Sloane. Draco had tears running down his face and his legs were sticking out at odd angles.

"Moody, we never Transfigure students! Look at what happened!" McGonagall cried.

Harry walked over to Sloane and Draco. Sloane's fingers were broken from the ferret passing through, and Draco's legs were broken.

"They need to go to the hospital wing, Professor." Harry said. "I'll need some help with Draco. His legs are broken, pretty badly."

McGonagall looked like she was about to faint. Everyone watched as Harry instructed Crabbe and Goyle to help Draco up and how they should carry him to the hospital wing. Harry helped Sloane, whispering in Italian to his brother, hoping his words were a comfort.

The last thing they heard as they left was McGonagall talking to Moody. She told him to report the incident to Dumbledore and Snape after dinner. She would also have to hear what happened since Harry had been hurt.

"Crazy old coot!" Sloane snarled as he watched Madam Pomfrey heal Draco. "They should fire him for this!"

"I agree with you," Harry whispered. "He could have killed Draco."

"How much you want to bet that Moody becomes the new hero for Gryffindor?" Sloane said.

"No bet. I hate loosing." Harry smiled. Sloane laughed, giving his brother a hug.

Draco wasn't given detention for starting the fight since both Snape and McGonagall agreed that Moody's punishment was bad enough. Slytherian did loose twenty points, however.

After that, Harry and Sloane noticed a slight change in Snape. He avoided Moody if he could, and became downright vindictive in class. They had thought that there was no way that Snape could be more hateful then what he had been in their first three years, but they were wrong. The only saving grace was that since Harry had leapt to Draco's defense, Snape had toned down his hate for Harry by one percent. He didn't give Gryffindor points, but he didn't take away half as many as he would have.

True to Sloane's prediction, all of Gryffindor loved Moody. The older students raved about his classes, causing Ron to gush about how he couldn't wait for Moody's class. Harry was silent, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that he thought the man was dangerous. He wished that Lupin were teaching again, and even wrote to his past professor to tell him that.

Over the summer, Harry had been in contact with Professor Lupin and his godfather, Sirius Black. He was pleased to note that the two men, both of whom had been best friends with his father, were eager to keep in touch with him. Tori knew that Harry was writing to Lupin, but not Sirius. Tori Mars and Sirius Black hadn't gotten along since their days in Hogwarts, though that hadn't stopped them from dating after they had graduated. After a misunderstanding, they left with less then warm feelings for each other and neither seemed ready to forgive and forget.

Two days later, it was time for the first Defense class. Ron dragged Harry to wait at the door long before the bell would ring. He was practically vibrating with eagerness. Harry thought that if Ron got any more excited he'd explode.

Moody, it turned out, actually knew a thing or two about teaching. His job, as he saw it, was to prepare his class to fight off the Forces of Darkness. And not just any old Forces of Darkness. Moody was worried about The Forces of Darkness™ (coming to a reality near you). He gave Harry the impression that he believed that the Forces of Darkness were going to jump out of the shadows at any moment like ninjas from some kind of B-rated movie.

"Now, today we will learn about the three Unforgivable Curses. Does anyone know what they are?" Moody started.

Ron, Harry and Hermione raised their hands. Moody's magical eye swept over them and then settled on Ron. When he pointed, Ron cleared his throat.

"Er, my dad told me about one. It's called the Imperius Curse."

Moody nodded. "Yes, your father would know about that one. It gave the Ministry a lot of trouble in its day."

He then demonstrated the curse on a spider. Everyone but Moody and Harry laughed as the spider tap-danced across the desk.

"Think that was funny, don't you?" Moody growled. "How would you like it if it was done to you?" That quieted the class.

"Any other curses?" Moody asked. This time, he called on Neville, whom Harry was surprised to see had risen his hand.

"The Cruciatus Curse," Neville squeaked. Harry could see the fear in Neville's eyes. It sounded like that curse was the boy's own personal nightmare.

"Longbottom, right?" Moody said. When Neville nodded, Moody continued. This time, the spider he picked was tortured. Pain was evident in the voiceless cries of the creature. He finally stopped after Harry and Hermione had noticed the effect it was having on Neville.

"What is the last curse? Anyone know it?" Moody asked. Again, Harry and Hermione had their hands in the air. Moody glanced at Harry, slightly surprised, but called on Hermione.

"Avada Kedavra." Hermione whispered. Several people around her shuffled nervously.

"Yes. The worst of the Unforgivable Curses. The Killing Curse." Moody said and grabbed a third spider. The spider tried to flee, but Moody got it in a flash of green light. The dead spider skidded to a halt in front of Harry.

"There is no way to block this spell. It is one hundred percent fatal. No one has ever survived it, except one and he is sitting right in front of me." Moody said, staring down at Harry with both his eyes.

Now Harry knew how his parents had died. A flash of green light and then it was all over. A part of him was slightly relieved that his parents hadn't been tortured, that their death was quick. However, another part of him wished that he never knew any of this. He could have lived the rest of his life in perfect ignorance and bliss and never looked back.

A few weeks later, Moody actually put them under the Imperius Curse. He seemed pleased to note that Harry could throw the curse off easily. Of all of his Gryffindor students, only Harry wasn't effected. Harry didn't bother telling him that shielding the mind against such spells was actually a part of his training. It didn't surprise him, either, when he heard the gossip at dinner that night that Sloane had been able to throw off the curse as well.

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