Constants and Variables

by Azmodai

While avoiding his cousin and the daily dose of Harry Hunting, the Boy-Who-Lived stumbles across an impossible woman in an impossible situation. How will she affect his future? how will she shape the things to come?

12. Chapter 12: A look at things to come

Chapter 12: A look at things to come.

Disclaimer: you know this routine, I know this routine, I do not own Harry Potter or Bioshock

'Another day another class and another confrontation with Blaize' Harry thought in frustration as he stood across the corridor from Blaize, the kid had no tact, no ability to think in Harry's opinion, he wasn't ahead of Harry and that instantly meant that Harry was cheating. "You think you're so great don't you Potter." Blaize sneered and Harry rolled his eyes.

"How do you come to that conclusion Blaize?" Harry asked, not using his surname just to spite him.

"You think you're so great doing all these spells,"

"Yes, I really think I'm great because I'm learning to do the magic that we're being shown in a school designed to make us do magic." Harry cut him off sarcastically, "come up with something decent man!" Harry protested as he turned to walk away.

"You wouldn't be anything if it wasn't for your friend." Blaize taunted and Harry froze mid step. "The only way you can get good grades, by taking advantage of your friend." He continued to mock and Harry turned back to look at him with a look of loathing and hatred.

"Tread carefully Zabini." Harry snapped in anger, there were few things that he wouldn't let people get away with and insulting his friends was one of them.

"Is that how she got her job here? With your name and popularity, just to make sure that the reputation of the Boy-Who-Lived never came into question." He continued, stepping forwards and getting in Harry's face, "You're not as good as you'd like everyone to think you are, does she teach you everything or are you actually capable of learning stuff yourself."

"You're either deluded or stupid, its common knowledge that she's learning the same things we are. If this is the best thing that you can come up with then you may as well walk away Zabini, you're embarrassing yourself." Harry said, calming down again. "It's pathetic, but I guess sometimes wit and cunning can skip a generation." Harry taunted in response, gasps escaping from some of the Purebloods at the reference.

"Think you're so clever with that comment Potter? Heard a rumour and decided you'd spout it as fact?" Blaize said in anger, the urge to lash out at Harry sitting right there under the surface as he tried to play what he had planned. "Perfect Potter with the skill given to him through other people dying around him." The silence was almost deafening, the students were shocked by what Blaize had said, Harry was stunned, caught flat footed for a moment as his mind registered what had been said. He opened his mouth to speak but Blaize cut him off. "Look at me, I'm Harry Potter, saviour of the world and burden of all sins, I am the Reincarnation of Atlas." He mocked grandly the Slytherin students laughing at his overacting.

The laughter stopped.

Every window in the corridor shattered.

The students screamed, covering their heads as the glass exploded outwards raining down onto the students and floor alike. After it stopped the students looked around, confused as to what had happened.

"I think..." A cold, voice spoke up behind the group of Slytherins that sent chills down the spines of everyone there, "that it's time for you to move on." Slowly the group turned around and they let out a sigh of relief as they saw Professor Snape standing there. "And Potter, detention for damage with your uncontrolled magic." He said and Harry glared before turning and walking away. The rest of the students were still standing watching the scene and Snape turned his look on to the rest of them. "I believe I said for you to move on." He pointed out and they quickly started moving on, hushed whispers among the groups about the display of magic that Harry had shown through his uncontrolled outburst. Snape waited until the corridor was clear and then turned his head, looking at the doorway. "I expected an adult to have better control of her magic Miss DeWitt." Snape taunted as the door opened and she stepped out of the classroom. "You should have stepped in earlier if it angered you so." He commented dismissively, but there was a slight mocking undertone to it. "You're bleeding." He commented and Elizabeth who hadn't said anything at this point, cursed as she withdrew a cloth from her pocket and dabbed it at her nose, wiping away the small trickle of blood that formed.

"I think the pressure of that magic caused it. I'm fine," she said trying to dismiss it with barely a thought as she walked out of the classroom, looking down the corridor. "Did I do that?" She asked in amazement, looking back at Snape to see his quirked eyebrow. "I guess I underestimated my own strength." She commented lightly, trying to play it off and Snape continued to look at her, "is there a problem Professor Snape?"

"You mean, besides the hallway of shattered glass and damaged portraits? some of which have been in the castle for hundreds of years? No, no problem at all." He commented, sarcasm dripping in his voice and Elizabeth looked guilty, wincing slightly at the statement. "No doubt Mr Filch will have a fun time cleaning this mess." He said and Elizabeth laughed nervously. "Though I am curious, why you didn't step in to help Potter."

"Not that the reason is any of your business but he must deal with his own problems as much as anyone else, it would not be helpful for me to fight all of his battles." Elizabeth explained, taking another look at the damage that had been caused. "His actions will shape him, his choices will be his choices and will form him into the man he will become." She explained politely, she didn't like Snape but she wasn't going to try and antagonise him. "If you'll excuse me, I have places I need to be." She said, walking away from Snape quickly, glass crunching under her boots. Snape lingered for a moment, looking at the corridor and the damage that had been done before turning and walking back the way he had come, one single thought going through his head. 'Why would the name Atlas set her off like that?'

HPCVHPCVHPCV

Elizabeth walked through the corridor quickly, taking care to avoid grinding up the glass too much as she thought about everything that had happened at the moment. She couldn't believe how she had reacted... no that wasn't correct at all, she could easily believe it. The mere mention of the name Atlas made her blood boil. That man had in his own way done more damage to her than Comstock ever could. She subconsciously rubbed at her left eyebrow, the phantom pain from her time at his hands coming back to her mind.

Would the mad man have gone through with it?

she shivered, hugging herself as she did, rubbing her arms to dispel the chill that had settled in. The man would of, she had no doubt about that, especially if she had given him the information. But at the time... she would have welcomed it. She shook her head, dislodging the thought and banishing it to the back of her mind. It didn't benefit anyone now to think on that. She walked down the steps at the end of the hallway, grateful that they hadn't decided to move at this time and made her way down to the Entrance Hall. To Hogsmeade she had to go. The letter Draco had given her had been chilling to say the least. She should have thought about this possible outcome when she started what she did but it never occurred to her. A simple note, a simple meeting, but the underlying meaning behind it was there. the note was still in her pocket folded up but she didn't need to look at it to know just what was on it.

'Three Broomsticks, Monday, we need to talk.'

Such a simple note that had made her think on what it could be, there is only one thing that she could think of that would lead to this abruptness in the note and an immediate request to meet. Narcissa had found something regarding her family. Or that she had found a lack of something in regards to her family. She walked along the grounds, aware of the quietness as she did, the students were in class and the grounds were deserted.

Thwap

A noise broke the silence.

Thwap

She looked down the path, her gut telling her what was ahead, the Lutece Twins standing on opposite sides of the path, rackets in hand hitting a tennis ball between each other. "She worked it out brother."

"You say she worked it out but she was essentially told."

"It's strange how she didn't think of this before she acted."

"We did explain it at the beginning didn't we?"

"Did we?"

"We did," Robert hit the ball back to Rosalind, "But perhaps we should have waited a bit longer for her to regain herself after waking up." another hit and Elizabeth watched the two.

"You knew this was going to be the outcome when you spoke to me at the Quidditch Match didn't you." Elizabeth questioned, resisting the urge to shout at the two. Of course they knew, they always seemed to know everything going on around them.

"Of course, the evidence was all there from the moment you arrived. If there is no Lighthouse, no city and there is no man, then that leads to the conclusion that there would be no DeWitt and no Comstock. One needs the others, they're all connected." Robert explained.

"Then why didn't you tell me this before I sent that letter."

"But we did, when you first awoke we told you about the changes," Rosalind interrupted, barely paying attention to the tennis ball as she hit it back. "But you didn't think it through all the way. We cannot be blamed for the actions that you take. All you can do now is take the situation and use it, or leave." Rosalind added the end part as a dismissive statement, not really expecting her to take it.

"I can't leave yet, there's still things going on that I want to find the answers to." Elizabeth replied dismissing the notion just as quickly as the woman had. She had become involved in this, there was a threat to the kids and she couldn't turn her back on it again, she couldn't do what she did with Sally, let the children suffer for her own personal needs. What came from this meeting she would deal with when it happened.

"If you can't leave and want to stay we won't stop you, remember the door is always there for you."

"Unless you die again, we really can't guarantee the door to leave will be there like before."

"Though there would be someone else that can possibly open the doors."

"Harry."

"It was interesting how you chose to save him, did you mean for him to lose a finger like that?"

"That wasn't my plan, just to try and save him."

"Either way, the deed is done though part of me wonders whether or not he needed to have that happen to trigger the ability."

"How do you mean?" Elizabeth asked in confusion, as far as she was aware she was able to open the tears and enter the different worlds because she had lost her finger as a child in the tear that took her to Columbia.

"The container you were in shared your power, in theory it should have diminished over time, returning to its origin or just fading away into the natural energy of the world. But magic, just like you seems to break rules wherever it pleases." Rosalind explained, catching the ball in her free hand. "The bigger question that has arisen is your magic. You are from a world without magic and yet you're able to use it. Is it connected to the boy? the tears? the unique circumstances you're in?"

"You're saying I shouldn't be able to use magic?" Elizabeth repeated to make sure she was clear with what they were saying, so far she hadn't had any problems with the magic she had cast and it did seem to come easy enough to her. But, could there be something behind it that she was missing. It had crossed her mind when she first cast the spell that showed she had the ability but she had dismissed it, planning to look into it when she had more knowledge on the area. Now however, she realised that she had forgotten about that little project completely.

"We believe it's related to your awakening, your power was transferred to him but at the same time, nature abhors a vacuum. the loss of your power would have to be filled from something."

"And you believe it was at that time, I gained some of his magic?" She asked and Robert shrugged his shoulders.

"A theory, nothing more, nothing less. An educated guess from the evidence that we have seen."

"Though a plausible one, a woman from a world with no magic spontaneously gaining the ability, the only logical conclusion." Rosalind concluded, "Something for you to think about I'm sure but you must be off, you must arrive punctually to your meeting mustn't you." She finished as they disappeared again, the ball that she had been holding dropping to the floor, rolling across the path towards Elizabeth. For several moments she stood there, her mind processing what she was told. It was just another thing to be added to the pile of chaos that she was dealing with. Still, at least no one was shooting at her this time. That had to be a bonus, didn't it?

She continued on, her meeting at Hogsmeade awaited.

HPCVHPCV

Harry had to listen to the people whispering, it was always there, it was always happening, now it related to the burst of magic that had shattered the windows. He knew he hadn't been responsible for it. But no one would listen to him. He sat silently in the Great Hall having lunch, listening to the people talk, listening to the rumours spread about what happened, about his magic lashing out and breaking every window in the corridor. No doubt Snape would have him doing detention with Filch to clean up the mess. But around him he could hear them whispering commenting about it.

"Poor Potter, can't control his magic."

He closed his eyes, not looking behind him, knowing already who it was, Blaize Zabini still attempting to antagonize him. "Why are you still doing this Blaize?" Harry asked in resignation, not even willing himself to turn around and deal with him. "If this was in fact the truth and you wanted to start trouble with me, why are you risking it, I just allegedly blew out every window in a corridor of a heavily enchanted and protected castle." He paused for dramatic effect, the look of the other students gave the input on the situation that he wanted. "If I did that there, what does that mean that I'd do to you?" He asked pointedly. Blaize floundered for a second, unsure of what to say and Harry continued. "And if that is the result of you angering me, look around you Blaize." He said again, another gesture made to the wall of the Great Hall with its large glass windows. "Do you really want that to rain down on all of us?" He asked and Blaize glared and backed off. When he was gone, Harry turned back to the group of friends and started laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"I have no idea how the glass shattered, I know it wasn't me." He said, cackling again the looks of disbelief from the other students were just golden to him. "Seriously, I'm not some super powered spell caster." Harry protested and still there was disbelief in their eyes. "Oy vey." He muttered with a roll of his eyes. "It was not me." He stated with finality, returning his attention to his food.

Over at the Slytherin Table, Blaize was fuming at the way he had been shut down. He had hoped to goad Harry Potter into a duel, to spark enough anger in him that he would do something and either allow Blaize to challenge Harry or vice versa. But it hadn't happened the kid remained too calm for the situation. "This wouldn't have happened if he had been sorted into Gryffindor." He muttered quietly thinking about how he could move. He should have played it smarter, it was a Ravenclaw he was trying to anger, they weren't exactly known for their quick temper. More their detachment from reality.

"You're never going to get what you want like this." Draco said from where he was sitting opposite Blaize spoke. Blaize cursed his own inattentiveness, he had been trying to avoid speaking about this around Draco because of how he had acted at the end of the last term but here he was speaking without thinking.

"Why do you care? It's your cousin is it not?" Blaize asked and Draco shrugged.

"My reasons are my own Blaize, but if you want to get a rise out of Potter, you're going the wrong way about it. He knows that Elizabeth can defend herself, she did take down a Mountain Troll." Draco pointed out, gesturing with the fork that he was holding at the time. "So you don't try and strike at him through her." He paused waiting a second to see if Blaize was paying attention. The other Slytherin student was half looking and half pretending to be focusing on everything but Draco. "What does he lack that you can mock?" Draco spoke bluntly and Blaize looked at him.

"Common Sense?" Blaize said with a smirk and Draco chuckled.

"well... besides that," Draco said with a roll of his eyes.

"Understanding of anything that isn't in a book?"

"Okay besides that as well."

"Any skill in potions what so ever?"

"Besides tha... you know what, I'm just going to flat out tell you because we would be here for a long time pointing out every flaw that he has." Draco said, chuckling at Blaize. "His parents, if you want to anger him just use his parents. I have no doubt that mocking them will give you the reaction you want. Or there's always his other friends, you saw how he reacted at Halloween when Weasley stepped too far." Draco said, stopping to take a drink from his glass. "But do keep it away from glass this time, I don't think we want another repeat of the corridor now do we?" He asked slightly jokingly but Blaize was already back in his own thoughts.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

Elizabeth entered the Three Broomsticks, she saw Rosie standing behind the bar talking to a patron. The woman smiled and made a small gesture to her to head to one of the back rooms, reserved for private guests before returning to her conversation.

Elizabeth walked through, careful not to bump into one of the patrons as she did, the feeling of trepidation was building up and she found herself hesitating at the door. She stopped, took a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming herself down before she opened the door. She entered the room, looking around, it was a simple private room, a table, chairs, a side counter with a tray of different drinks sitting on them and at the main table, sat Narcissa. She was watching Elizabeth carefully as she entered the room. "I'm glad you could make it." She spoke calmly and Elizabeth didn't say anything, letting the door close behind her.

"I wasn't really given much of an option was I?" Elizabeth asked slightly bitterly as she looked at the pale haired woman. "Your note didn't so much as ask as it did demand I turn up." She walked over to the table, pulling the chair out to sit down.

"It did come off that way didn't it." Narcissa said with a slight dismissive tone, "but I'm sure you can understand my urging considering what I no doubt know that you know what I found when I started looking into your past."

"I can guess, but I'm curious as to what you found." Elizabeth said calmly, sitting down in the seat.

"I did some digging, through some... associates in the American Ministry and they knew nothing about you." Narcissa paused, taking a drink, letting the information sink in. "Every time a magical child is born, their records automatically update, their records track where they were born, when they were born and it allows them to stay ahead of everything and keep an eye on magical children born to non-magical families." She stopped again, gesturing to the pot of tea that sat in the centre of the table. "Help yourself, I have a feeling we're going to be here a while." She said and slowly Elizabeth poured herself a cup of tea. "You were an interesting person when I first spoke to you. Your ideas were fresh even from an outsider's perspective. It made me curious as to where you came from and who had taught you."

"Self-taught, I was reading a book about Hogwarts the night before." Elizabeth admitted calmly as she took a sip of tea. It didn't seem that big of a problem to admit that she was completely clueless to the wizarding world before she had gone to Diagon Alley. It was essentially the same thing she had said before, unknowing of her magic and discovered by Bathsheda. In a roundabout way it was the truth.

"You are perceptive then." Narcissa complimented. "And open minded enough to look at things through a different perspective." She added thoughtfully and Elizabeth nodded her head.

"Everything is open to interpretation; a single change can alter events to come in ways that we can never know until it happens. If it ever happens." She replied, it was something that had sat in the back of her mind, point A didn't necessarily lead to Point B, it could jump several Points and end up coming out at Point Q depending on the action that was taken at the start of the chain.

"No doubt you've heard tales about my family." She said almost nonchalantly and Elizabeth's brow furrowed in confusion wondering where this was going to go.

"I have heard rumours and talks about your husband. But not about you. Where your name is mentioned it's only through connection to your siblings and parentage." Elizabeth admitted again, "I know your family is believed to be 'dark' and that your husband allegedly served Voldemort." She stopped at the flinch, it was interesting to how much fear his name generated even among alleged followers. "But charges were dropped under claims of mind control." She paused again, taking another sip of tea. "Which to be blunt makes me wonder why you were married to him. Word about the Black Family is that they were some of the strongest around, to marry someone so weak willed..." She trailed off, surprised that she had spoken so much on that and thrown in that thought.

Narcissa smiled but didn't say anything in response. "It is true that my husband was involved with the situation but what I want to know is with how you have looked into it, with everything you've heard, what do you believe about his cause?" She asked and Elizabeth shrugged.

"He reminds me of someone," she started evasively, "his plan was to purge those he felt were unclean or unworthy of using magic, to create his own Utopia, but the result would end the same way. Someone stood in the way and stopped him."

"Potter."

"You're going to have to be more specific than that, there were three of them in the house that night." Elizabeth couldn't help but make the jab. "From what I've been told, his father died first, long enough for his mother and Harry to get to a different part of the house."

"And he killed her as well."

"Yes, but then the mystery comes up. How did he survive?" She asked and Narcissa looked just as confused by the question as Elizabeth felt. "We have no evidence as to what happened in there on that dark night, we have no proof other than what some people have guessed at. To claim that Harry was responsible for it when he was a year old would be negligent and dismissive of Lily Potter to which many people, including... I want to say evil families have admitted that she was one of the best witches in that generation. You yourself have said as much in the letters we've exchanged."

"I have never been afraid to give credit where it was due." She responded with a nod thinking over the idea.

"But I don't think you've just come here to ask me about my thoughts on Voldemort." Another flinch, "what did you want?"

"You don't exist, there is no record of you in the Magical or Muggle world, my associates kept looking after I started the initial investigation and they found nothing. That makes me curious, who are you really and where are you from?"

"I am Elizabeth DeWitt and I am from America." Elizabeth replied confidently. She knew who she was, she knew where she was from, she knew who her parents were and just because Narcissa had been unable to find them doesn't mean they didn't exist.

"Who are your parents?"

"My father is Booker DeWitt. My mother, I never knew my mother, she died during Childbirth." Elizabeth answered with the only truth that she knew. She hadn't gone digging into the past, she didn't want to tempt herself with changing what happened. At least not at this time. She studied Narcissa as she absorbed the information and saw the slight pained look at the thought of her mother dying like that.

"What year were you born?"

"1893" Elizabeth responded clearly and now knew that something was horribly wrong with her. She wasn't going to tell THAT bit of information. Narcissa looked at her in shock, barely managing to keep hold of her cup. "What have you done to me?" Elizabeth asked in shock as Narcissa slowly placed the cup back down on the table.

"Veriatserum" Narcissa said simply, "several drops mixed with the tea before you arrived." She explained, her hand gently resting on her wand to defend herself if Elizabeth lashed out. She was a bit out of touch with combat magic but she didn't doubt that she could take a girl who was barely trained in ways of magic. "It's truth serum. I needed to find the truth about you." Narcissa admitted and in the back of her mind, supressed a shiver of fear at the look of loathing that came from Elizabeth, it was one that promised revenge.

"You couldn't just ask like a normal person?" Elizabeth responded harshly. "How long until this wears off?"

"long enough to find the information that I want to make sure you're not a threat to my son." Narcissa explained and Elizabeth laughed a bitter laugh.

"The only threat to your son is your own master if he ever returns."

"You think he's coming back?"

"I KNOW he's coming back." Elizabeth responded bitterly and Narcissa paled. "These little games that you're playing with your politics, creating separation between the different blood groups of the wizarding world are going to cause so many problems for you in the future." Elizabeth promised and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"You can see it? can't you."

"See it? I got curious and visited it." Elizabeth snapped out and then cursed herself revealing more into her power than she had wanted to. "This isn't just truth serum is it. It lower inhibition when a person gives an answer. They can't just give the barest detail or the vaguest reference to the answer that would be the truth... they actually want to answer with detail." She said in realisation and Narcissa nodded her head.

"That's correct, but what do you mean you visited it? How? A Time Turner can only travel backwards in time!" Narcissa questioned in disbelief.

"I can do better than tell you, I can show you." Elizabeth said condescendingly as the room started to shift and change around them. Narcissa looked in shock, glancing around as the room quickly became a ghost of its former self. the room now missing its roof, the walls burnt down and damaged. she looked in shock at the area around that would have been Hogsmeade and saw much of the same result. Destruction everywhere. "Welcome to the future. To where Voldemort wins. Death is all that you will find here." She explained, standing up out of the chair and moving through the remnants of the room back into where the main area of the bar used to be.

Now there was only ruins.

Narcissa hesitated for a moment, part of her thinking that Elizabeth had been lying, that this was some kind of complex spell that tricked her senses. But still her choice was to sit here or follow the Elizabeth that had just walked out of the bar and into the street. A chill wind brushed over her and she shuddered, quickly following after. "Where have you taken us?"

"To another time, to where he returned and won." She said sadly, walking towards Hogwarts. "This is the result of your Pureblood agenda taken to the extremes that Voldemort wants." She said with a grand gesture, turning to face Narcissa. "Just what you wanted wasn't it?"

"We never wanted this." Narcissa said softly looking around at the devastation.

"What did you think was going to happen with an agenda that was built on Hatred and Bigotry!?" Elizabeth asked, her voice being carried in the otherwise deathly silent location. "What did you think was going to happen after he won and those that fought with him were now kings and queens of a dead land?" She pointed in one direction, Narcissa followed the gaze and cringed as she realised what it was.

Rows of Tombstones, the Shrieking Shack had once been there but it was gone and now there was just a field with rows upon rows of Tombstones. "Say hello to the last of the light, those that died were buried here by the neutrals. Then the Dark turned on the Neutrals and murdered them for not bowing. They didn't get graves." Elizabeth said sadly. "Just a hole where the bodies were dumped to get them out of the way."

"This isn't how it was supposed to be."

"You let a Megalomaniac take control and cleanse the world in what many religious fanatics would call righteous fire." Elizabeth retorted angrily. "What did you think was going to happen. That the people you oppressed were going to roll over and take it, you backed them into a corner and they fought, they fought for their freedoms and they fought for their lives and died for a chance to stop him."

"Why are you showing me this?"

"Because you wanted to know, you wanted to see. Because this is a world that I almost created in a different time, a different place." She explained wishing the potion would wear off quicker. "The Seed of the Prophet shall sit the throne and drown in flame the Mountains of Man." Elizabeth recited the sentence that had been a beacon for the people of Columbia. The possible future that Elizabeth would have had to endure if she hadn't broken her own cycle. "This is the result of the path that gets Harry killed. This is the result of people trying to sabotage and MURDER him. This is the result of just one of those plans succeeding. But this is not the only possible result. But this is one of the better ones if Voldemort wins. The man would quite happily become king of a dead land just to claim that he was ruler. And this is where that dream became reality. And now I ask you a question." Elizabeth concluded, turning her back to Narcissa, looking up in the distance to where Hogwarts would be, behind the darkness that lingered and surrounded them. "Draco mentioned that you're Harry's family, and that you stand with family, can you stand against him? can you fight that oath you have to family, knowing that the result is right here in front of you?" The area around the two started to melt away and they were back in the room of the bar. Narcissa stood there, pale and shaken, Elizabeth stood grim and determined. "You have a choice; it will affect how you progress from this point forwards. Make your choice, you get to help change the future away from the result I've shown you." Elizabeth explained and turned walking towards the door. "I'll see you at Easter." She said simply, opening the door and walking out, letting it close quietly behind her.

Narcissa stood, shocked at how it had all played out. This wasn't how it was meant to go, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen at all. She was supposed to speak to Elizabeth, find out the truth in regards to who she was and then progress from there, taking advantage of her ability to see. But she could do so much more than that.

More plans needed to be made... her mind pulled her back to the dead town and she closed her eyes, taking a shuddering breath. More plans, drastically different to what she had originally wanted would have to be implemented. She knew of two people that could help change these plans for the better. She apparated out of the room, wanting to put as much distance from her and Hogsmeade as possible.

She needed to speak to family and only one of them was in any position to talk right now.

Once again Harry found himself alone, alone with his thoughts as he walked through the castle. Blaize had been a problem recently and Harry didn't know what his game was. He had been more annoying than normal and had been purposely trying to antagonise him.

What was the reason for it? What did he hope to gain by trying to anger him like he was? he sighed, running a hand through his hair as he thought about the situation. He had separated from his friends, claiming he needed time to think and he was honest about it. He did need time to think on things but it was nothing to do with school but how Blaize had been acting. He had gone from the subtle attempts in to blatant, confrontational ones.

It didn't make sense.

A person's style does not change that dramatically in this short amount of time. So there had to be a reason for it. His mind drifted back to what he had been told before, that there were many a dark family that would be willing to try and take him out. Would that include using a child to do it?

"Potter." The very familiar voice of Blaize spoke up and Harry let out an angry sigh as he slowly turned around to face the Slytherin.

"Are you taking up stalking now? Seriously go away!" Harry said in resignation, knowing that it wasn't going to be that simple in the slightest. "I don't have time to deal with you so either get to the point as to why you're here or get away from me." Harry said in frustration turning and walking away.

"That's it Potter. Run away like a coward, just like your parents did." Blaize taunted already going straight for the step up on the insults. Harry stopped, not turning around to face him.

"My comment hinting at your mother was out of line earlier, I freely admit this. You don't want to start going the route that you're going." Harry warned quietly.

"What are you going to do if I don't?" Blaize asked and Harry glanced back over his shoulder at him. "Cry to your mothe... oh wait you can't." He continued and Harry really wanted to walk away. It was sounding way too much like Dudley and it wasn't even funny. This was not how Blaize normally acted. Again it struck him as too weird for what was happening. "It would be right for a Potter to run away like a coward. Look what happened to them when the Dark Lord came, they ran and hid and were hunted like little rats."

"And what did your mother do? Bow and beg to have the potential to meet husband number 5? or was it 6?" Harry asked just as bitterly.

"At least she's still alive and free to do as she chooses and not in a shallow grave somewhere... do you even know where they're buried?" Blaize asked and Harry felt like he had been struck. No he didn't know where they were buried, he knew there was a memorial where the house used to be but he didn't know where they were buried. "If anyone even bothered burying her. A filth mudblood all too eager to spread her..." Whatever he was about to say was cut off as Harry spun around, punching Blaize in the jaw.

"If you want a fight so badly, you've got one." Harry snapped angrily, Blaize hesitated for a moment, rubbing his jaw where Harry had hit him.

"Touch a nerve there did I Potter? Fine a Wizards duel tonight at Midnight, the Trophy Room. I won't bring a second because I won't need one. Feel free to bring one if you don't think you can handle it." Blaize said and turned, walking away. Harry watched the Slytherin walk away, the urge to strike out at him was still there but he stopped himself. He wouldn't hit someone in the back like that. No matter how much he felt they deserved it.

Tonight he'd turn up and have that Wizards duel. He'd vent some anger at him when he got there.

Harry turned, beginning the journey back to the Common Room when he stopped. This all seemed too obvious now. Antagonising him, goading him and challenging him as he did. All a set up to get him to the Trophy Room long past curfew. He slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand as he realised that he had just been played like a fiddle. "No doubt Filch or someone like Snape will be there." He muttered to himself before smiling. "That's fine with me, I have something that they don't know about." He laughed walking down the corridor, the Portraits giving him strange looks as he continued to chuckle at the situation.

Reaching the Common Room, he solved the riddle and entered, Terry and Su were already back, sat at a table in the corner of the room and he walked over to them.

"Got whatever was in your head squared away?" Terry asked.

"Kind of, I think I know what Blaize was trying to do now, still not a hundred percent sure about it but I'm pretty confident about it." Harry replied, pulling up a chair and sitting down.

"And what does he have planned that requires him to be so blunt?" Su asked, looking up from her book.

"He wants to set me up to get me punished." Harry guessed and explained the situation.

"It's kind of sad that it's the route he's going with to get you there. Doesn't really scream Slytherin." Su commented, turning the page in her book. "There are so many different ways that he could have lured you there." She said with a smirk and Harry agreed with that sentiment. "Give him time, I'm sure he'll step up his game in the future. But the bigger question is, knowing it's more than likely a trap, are you going to go?"

"I don't see why not. I have a way to get around undetected if need be." Harry replied and they looked up at him curiously.

"You have a way?" Terry repeated questioningly.

"A couple actually. Can't tell I'm afraid, trade secret." He said jokingly, "but all you need to know is that I won't get caught."

With that the conversation switched to idle chatter, largely the two trying to work out what his plan was. He hadn't told either of them about the cloak. He wasn't sure why he hadn't they were his friends but it just felt personal to him. Maybe in the future he would but for now, he just wanted to keep something of his family secret and secure for now. the walls in this castle has ears... not just the ones painted on either.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

Draco smiled as he returned to the Common Room, giving the password and entering into the room, he was confident on the situation, no one had seen him do it, no one had seen the spell he had cast when they first woke up on Blaize. He was a bit surprised no one called him out on how he had been acting but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

It was a simple plan that was probably not going to work but he had to try something. Elizabeth and Harry were good friends, he was doing good at avoiding getting in to trouble and the last time the two had shown a fracture in their friendship was when he got in trouble, so he was trying to create another fracture, see how it would play out. A confundus charm on Blaize left him suggestible to what Draco wanted. Antagonism towards Harry, a level that was blatantly obvious that it was trying to goad him. He wanted to see how much Harry could take before he reacted, it would allow him to plan things for the future. He dropped into one of the leather chairs and stared at the fireplace thoughtfully. There were plans in action, he knew that his mother wanted him to gain Elizabeth's friendship and he wasn't a hundred percent sure why, she had powerful magic he could see that but her actions, her attitudes, they didn't match up to the philosophy that his mother or his father had raised him with, but its what they asked him to do and it's what he would do.

He wasn't even doing this to try and make Harry hate him, he was doing it just because he wanted to see how things fell. He had been told to make friends with Harry as well as Elizabeth as the potential political power by making friends with Harry was undeniable. He knew his Father would love to gain that sort of control over the Winzengamot. This was why he was using a proxy such as Blaize, it couldn't be tied back to him and the two had a bit of a conflict and it worked to make that take a step up.

Draco smiled again, leaning back into the chair. Entertainment for everyone.

HPCVHPCVHPCV

Night fell and Harry exited the Common Room, wrapped up in the invisibility cloak as he made his way to the Trophy Room. He would make it there with about five minutes to spare, enough time to make sure an escape route was sorted if it did turn into the trap that he thought it was. He kept to the walls, listening carefully as teachers moved along the corridors, their footsteps echoing in the otherwise deserted hallways. He climbed the stairs down to the second floor the Trophy Room at the end of the main corridor awaited.

There, right in front of the door was Filch, looking around almost eagerly before he disappeared into the darkness. the Torch he was carrying extinguished a thin trail of smoke the only sign that the man had been there moment before. "Too obvious." Harry muttered quietly to himself as he walked down the corridor, taking care with every step to try and make sure that he was unheard, acutely realising that the more he tried to be quiet the more aware he was to every little noise that he was making. Breathing felt so much noisier, each footstep to him felt like he was slamming his foot down even though he knew there was barely any noise being made by it.

He stopped by the door, glancing around and couldn't see Filch, wherever he was standing he was out of sight. Meaning Harry could get into the room and would no doubt be trapped there if Filch decided to come in after him. Still where there was a will there was a way. He pushed the door open, cringing as he heard it groan in protest. "You'd think they'd oil the hinges every now and again." Harry muttered quietly under his breath as he entered the room, walking down the centre aisle looking at the cabinets with the various trophies that were in there. Names that meant nothing to him shined out in the pale moonlight and Harry made a mental note to look into some of these in the future. Perhaps one had his parents or another descendant on them? Something to investigate in any case.

The door behind him clicked shut and Harry spun turning to see Filch standing there, locking the door shut. "He's in here my pretty." He said to his cat that was walking around his feet, she meowed in response and started to walk forwards and Harry ran towards the back of the room. "Show yourself! there is no other exit from the room."

Harry made it to the back of the room, well aware that the cat would have his scent, he cursed his over confidence, he knew it had been a trap but he had wanted to prove that he could go there and get back without hassle. That no little trick from Blaize would catch him.

And here he was walking straight into it and practically getting caught by it.

He looked around, there was no way out except through the window and with the window route he was in trouble because he didn't have a broom. "There's got to be another way out." Harry muttered, looking around as he tried to find a secret passage. There had to be one, there was always one in these kind of situations. He looked back down the room, the cat was taking its time, sniffing carefully, knowing its prey was trapped and Harry resisted the urge to jinx it and give away his position.

a shimmer to the side, he blinked, he had almost missed it.

It grew as he focused on it. where there had been a wall now stood a door.

The Power!

He had one chance to escape and this was it. The door led somewhere and hopefully it was just to the corridor so he could make a run for it. He thought back to what Elizabeth had told him, his thoughts locking onto the door, he closed his eyes as he reached out, picturing the tear and pulling on it, he opened his eyes. The door was there. "What was that!?" Filch said in surprise and Harry cursed, realising he'd been detected through this, though at the same time he could cope with why. A door appearing out of nowhere was definitely something to catch his attention even in Hogwarts. Harry flung the door open diving through.

And crashed straight into Elizabeth.

The two hit the floor, the cloak falling over her as Harry groaned in pain, rolling onto his back and looking at the door trying to will it away. It vanished, just before Filch could reach it and he let out a sigh of relief. He looked back at Elizabeth and laughed nervously. "Fancy running into you out here." He said sheepishly as she stared at him.

"I think you have some explaining to do."

TBC

Originally I left the reason behind Blaize acting out like he did, I was going to build up to it in the future but I didn't feel I needed to do that and put the reasoning in the chapter.

Hope you enjoyed it. Like I said, I'm taking a little bit busy over the Christmas period so I won't be updating for Christmas weekend or new years weekend. After that I'll be back to normal.