Mischief and Murmurs

Even when the weekend arrived, the halls were still filled with whispers when he passed. The small second year with messy black hair and a lightning bolt scar. He seemed so very human now, so very real, but the eyes were still haunting. Green eyes for the young Slytherin.

Neville Longbottom glimpsed the Boy-Who-Lived a way's ahead down the hallway and ran to catch up.

"Hi Harry. What's up?"

"Not much. You can come along if you like, I'm meeting some people in the library."

"Oh, uh, thanks."

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

Arriving, they found Hermione was already there.

"Hello, 'Mione."

"Harry! There you are. I thought you'd better see this..."

She shoved a copy of the Daily Prophet across the table to him.

"Sirius Black has been sighted, and that's not far from here."

At the top of the page was an article entitled "Ministry to Assign Dementors to Guard Hogwarts?" which was illustrated by a wizarding photo of the infamous Sirius Black, laughing.

"I looked up dementors in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. They guard the wizarding prison. They- they suck the happiness out of people, Harry. Make them recall their worst memories."

"And they're considering bring them here? Do they effect everyone, or just criminals?"

"Everyone. The ministry wants them to deal with Black."

"What are they going to do, make him suicidal?"

"Suck his soul out through his mouth, actually."

Harry stared at her.

"You aren't kidding, are you. Bloody hell."

"What's Longbottom doing here?" asked a familiar voice. Tracey Davis had arrived.

"I invited him," Harry answered, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever for?"

"The real question is why he invited you," Hermione snapped.

"He didn't. He just said he'd be here. Nott will be along in a few minutes by the way, Potter."

"Yes, I expected he would be."

"Oh, and the twins have arrived." She added as Fred and George entered the library. "Hello, Weasleys. What mischief have you been up to today?"

"Non, so far." replied Fred as they took their seats. "Harry, would you mind hexing Malfoy for us? We'll provide the prank supplies, you just use them on Malfoy while he's sleeping."

"Oh please do," Tracey muttered.

"Wouldn't it be a bit obvious I'd done it?"

"So?"

"What brought this on, anyhow?"

"The Slytherins have taken over the quidditch pitch when we booked it!" announced George dramatically.

"We're Slytherins," Harry cut in, "and I didn't know Malfoy was even on the quidditch team."

"He is now. His daddy brought him a position. New brooms for the whole team."

"Isn't that horrendous. While you're add it, why don't you brainstorm all people who annoy you."

"Well, there's Malfoy, Lockhart, Percy, that kid with the camera-"

"I was kidding."

"Oh. Right."

"Can't we just hex them or what not anyway?" Tracey commented in a bored tone.

"Since when were you part of this plot?" asked Fred, frowning.

"Since now, or I'll hex you."

"That really wouldn't be wise, little first year."

"Well-"

"You don't ever shut up, do you?" asked Theodore Nott, who had just arrived.

"Why you little-"

"Are they always like this?" a rather overwhelmed Neville asked Harry.

"Yes." Then as the twins, Tracey, and Theodore all turned to glare at him he added, "Hey, I never said that was a bad thing..."

Hermione laughed, the twins nodded approvingly, and Tracey smirked, while Theodore rolled his eyes.

"Right then," Hermione began, "now that we're all here, we can begin. So far on today's agenda we have whether to prank people, our homework, and I think we should study this charm as well," she motioned to a library book in front of her, "to see if we can learn it, because the ministry is thinking about placing dementors to guard Hogwarts."

The weeks past smoothly as October neared, in Harry's opinion. The novelty of really being part of Hogwarts still hadn't quite worn off. Harry was the only one to have managed the Patronus charm so far, a silver hawk that would shoot forward from the tip of his wand. He'd yet to have a dementor to try it on, however, and he had a nasty feeling that he would fail to give it corporal form in one's presence. He wasn't entirely surprised by the look of it really. Freedom.

It was a simple memory, really, just of the seven of them seated around their table in the library, but given everything else that'd happened to him, he appreciated it. It was safety, comfort, and a time when he could just be, and laugh a little. When he was part of something.

Really, he was quite pleased about how the year was going, he thought as he headed towards detention with Snape. He didn't even regret having gotten this detention. Having heard, from way down in the common room, Malfoy's scream at having woken up covered in tentacles and with a head of red and gold hair was simply worth it.

"Potter! There you are. Tonight you'll be-"

"Leaving, in just a moment." Harry interrupted. "As fun as it's been, Snapey, playtime's over. You had best start treating me civilly."

"And why should I do that?" Snapped the furious Professor.

"Because you won't be working here much longer if you don't. Good evening, Professor."

With that, Harry walked back out the door.

Snape hurried after him, to say or do what, he wasn't sure, but on exiting the classroom he found that his troublesome student was nowhere in sight.

Harry had, of course, become invisible. He floated away, towards the tunnel where he still liked to sleep a large percentage of the time. It was then that he first hear the voice. Let me rip you, let me tear you, let me kill you… and although he wasn't entirely sure he hadn't imagined it, he knew. Trouble was on the way.

"Oh hello, Ronald."

"Don't talk to me, Potter."

"My memory may be off, but I believe we were on good terms last year."

"That was last year, you lying Slytherin scum."

"You really shouldn't judge people by their house, you know. You can't divide people into even little boxes like that. Peoples personalities do overlap houses, you know."

"They do not."

"So all Gryffindors are stupid, traitorous, lazy people with no ambition or cunning. The lack of cunning must make them all really horrible at chess..."

"They are not! You-"

"To be otherwise would require them to overlap personality traits, Ronald."

"Slytherins are still-"

"Hello Potter. Please say you didn't invite this one?" commented Tracey Davis, who'd just arrived.

"I didn't."

"Hey Weasleys! Your kid brother's invading our table!"

"Well, well, if it isn't little Ronniekins. Good to see you. We have these new prank items we want to test-" began Fred. Ron fled the library, much to Tracey's amusement.

"Er, hi guys, what was that all about?" asked Neville, who Ron had almost knocked over on his way out.

"What makes you think we had anything to do with it?" Tracey tried to look innocent. And failed.

Neville gave them a look.

"Oh alright, we did," admitted George, not looking the least bit guilty, "but it wasn't anything much."

"So, what's being planned at the moment?"

It was Harry that answered. "I'm looking forward to the Halloween feast, personally. These wizarding celebrations are quite entertaining." Not to mention the abundance of food.

"That's right, you grew up in the muggle world, didn't you?"

Harry nodded.

"What are they like? Muggles, I mean." Neville inquired, looking sheepish.

Harry thought on this for a moment, then answered: "They're each unique, just like everyone else."

The Halloween Feast was certainly something. The Great Hall was decorated with giant pumpkins and swooping bats, a band called the weird sisters was playing, and the tables were groaning with the weight of numerous dishes. Sitting here now, he couldn't help but think that he'd have enjoyed it much more if they weren't seated by house tables, so he could sit with the rest of his- allies, study partners, friends?

It would have been nice if the ghosts were here as well. He rather liked their company. They were all at Nick's death-day party, however. Nick had been rather dismayed about having to deal with "the Headless Hunt," but had cheered up a bit when Harry had assured him that head of Gryffindor house was a much more important job than anything the headless hunt did.

It wasn't until about an hour later that he realized anything had happened, and that was just from hearing Malfoy talking in the common room, surrounded by students. Apparently Filch's cat had been hung up by its tail, and words on the wall in blood next to it had read, "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemy's of the heir beware, you'll be next, Mudbloods." Malfoy didn't actually know that much. His father had told him a little ahead of time, and he was instructed to "let the heir do their work."

"How come he gets to walk around like he owns the school when he doesn't even know anything," Tracey complained.

"Who knows," sighed Theodore.

"What do you make of this, Albus?" Severus Snape asked, surveying the scene. "Personally, I doubt Black was involved."

"What do you suspect, Severus?"

"I doubt any of the staff were responsible."

"You don't really believe any student capable of this, do you?"

"Haven't you considered Potter, Albus? His little tricks are quite something."

"Is that truly what you think, Severus, or is that an old grudge speaking?"

It was a moment before the Potions Master replied, and when he did, he spoke quietly.

"I'm not sure.

"I'd like to briefly address your curiosity on whether Sirius Black was involved int the incident yesterday." Albus Dumbledore began, and the hall grew quiet.

"Although I cannot be sure, I do not think he was. He stands to gain nothing from doing so, for one thing, but mainly I do not believe Black could be the heir of Slytherin. He was, after all, in Gryffindor."

Shocked gasps and whispers filled the hall, especially at the Gryffindor table. Tracey laughed.

Ronald Weasley, from where Harry sat, looked shocked.

"The ministry has, however, decided to place dementors guard over Hogwarts. I warn you to be careful around them. They are both dangerous and unforgiving."