Chapter 4: Perfect Prefect

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I making any money from writing this. It is merely for my own entertainment. Harry Potter is the sole property of Warner Brothers and J.K Rowling.

"I was going in to do some routine check ups on the new arrivals. Standard stuff. I saw him walking out the room, turning a corner towards the exit. This guy had third degree burns all over his body, including his head, but there he was, walking away, looking perfectly fine. We never got his name, he had no I.D on him, someone just found him in a ditch and called an ambulance. He should have died on the way here at the very least, but he's gone now, and I can't help but think that it's a good thing."

- Claire Temple, night nurse at Grady Memorial Hospital, Hell's Kitchen, New York reporting her eyewitness account to the NYPD.

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I knew it!" Ron yelled, punching the air. "You always get away with stuff!"

Johnny smiled at the looks of relief on the face of everyone in the dining room after Harry had come home to announce his verdict. Molly looked teary eyed. Hermione a little faint, the twins and Ginny were performing some sort of war chant. Chanting and stomping in a line around the room.

"He got off, he got off, he got off -"

"Settle down," Arthur said loudly, though he was smiling broadly. Ron pulled Harry into a headlock as Arthur turned to look at Sirius. "Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry, Sirius -"

"What?" Sirius said sharply.

Johnny knew who Lucius was, having been caught up on known Death Eater's for a little while now. And it was still extremely off putting to know some still operated freely under the Ministry without any suspicion against them from the higher ups.

"He got off, he got off, he got off -"

"Be quiet! Yes, we saw him talking to Fudge on level nine, then they went up to Fudge's office together. Dumbledore ought to know."

"Absolutely," Sirius said. "We'll tell him, don't worry."

"Well, I'd better get going, there's a vomiting toilet in Bethnal Green waiting for me. Molly, I'll be late, I'm covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping in for dinner -"

"He got off, he got off, he got off -"

"That's enough - Fred - George - Ginny!" Molly said, as Arthur left the kitchen. "Harry dear, come and sit down, have some lunch, you hardly ate breakfast..."

Sirius pulled Harry into a tight hug as everyone got seated. Johnny found himself in front of Ron, but beside Hermione, not wanting to intrude on the intimate moment.

"HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF, HE GOT OFF -"

"SHUT UP!" Molly roared.

Johnny sniggered a little, before catching Hermione's eye.

"What?" He snapped a little, elbowing her. "I don't always brood."

"I thought you didn't brood at all?"

He harrumphed at her remark, grumbling to himself as Ron dished out mashed potatoes onto his plate.

Everyone was openly grinning. Sirius and Harry had sat down to eat and were laughing with each other.

It'd been... too long, since he'd seen people like this. Happy. Johnny realized then that this was exactly what a family was supposed to look like.

August thirty-first arrived with alarming speed. Grimmauld Place felt more like a home than it ever did before, what with the cleaning efforts of Molly, and Johnny truly felt like he knew some of the people here. There were still multiple members of the Order that disproved of his addition: Snape, Moody, Elphias and Emmeline all came to mind. Others were more wary or unsure; like Molly, Arthur, Hagrid and Kingsley. Then there were some, that even though he'd barely been here for a over a month, treated him as if they'd known him their entire lives, and damn him if he thought he could escape that. All teasing and touching, something he was never really fine with, even before he became the Ghost Rider. But when Sirius patted him on the back with a laugh, or Tonks yanked at his arm to drag him around, Johnny found that he didn't mind it all that much.

Apparently, the school year started for them on the first of September, which Johnny thought was just weird. For him, it was always the second week of the month, not the very first day.

Molly's cleaning efforts were still going strong, and in one memorable afternoon, Johnny had helped remove a murderous old ghoul from one of the upstairs bathroom's by taking it on alone.

"Johnny," Molly called from her position over the sink, wand trained on and shooting water at the teen's robes, "would you be a dear and-"

But whatever she was about to say, Johnny did not get to hear, as just then, Hermione let out a loud squeal from where she sat on an armchair nearby.

There was a cream colored envelope in her hands, and a tawny brown owl sitting on the windowsill that tilted its head at him curiously.

She held a golden badge in her hand, eyes wide and unbelieving.

"Oh Hermione, that's wonderful!" Molly said with a smile. But Hermione was hardly listening. With the letter and badge clutched tightly in her hands, she ran towards the stairs.

"I suspect she's off to tell the others," Molly said jovially, "now, Johnny, if you could please-"

"Filth! Mud-bloods and muggles defiling my home! Oh the horror! The utter disgrace!"

"Never mind."

He stood up from his seat at the dining table and followed her to the second floor, holding onto the washed robes as Molly shut the portrait up with her wand. They entered the boys room to a loud shriek from Hermione.

"I knew it!" He heard Hermione say excitedly, only for Harry to morosely tell her that it was in fact Ron who had been made the male prefect, not him. Fred and George looked quite disgusted with their brother.

Molly, however, looked exactly the opposite. "Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"

"What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors?" George said indignantly, as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around her youngest son.

"Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh Ronnie -"

Fred and George then made loud retching noises behind her back, though she did not seem to notice. Molly then spoke with Ron about getting him a reward for becoming a prefect. After Ron had expressed his desire for a new broom, she agreed only after a moment's hesitation, before kissing him on the cheek and bustling out of the room, muttering as she went. "Little Ronnie, a prefect! And don't forget to pack your trunks... A prefect... Oh, I'm all of a dither!"

That left him to deliver all of the freshly cleaned robes, and Johnny deposited them onto the closest bed without a further thought.

Fred and George exchanged looks.

"You don't mind if we don't kiss you, do you, Ron?" Fred said in a falsely anxious voice.

"We could curtsy, if you like," George simpered.

"Oh, shut up," Ron said, scowling at them.

"Or what?" Fred snickered, an evil grin spreading across his face. "Going to put us in detention?"

"He could if you don't watch out!" Hermione said angrily, at which Fred and George burst out laughing and Ron muttered, "Drop it,
Hermione."

"We're going to have to watch our step, George," Fred said, pretending to tremble, "with these two on our case..."

"Yeah, it looks like our law-breaking days are finally over," George said, shaking his head, "we had a good run, but alas, it seems we've finally met our match. What ever shall we do, dear brother?"

And with another look at each other, the twins disapparated with a loud crack.

"Those two!" Hermione said furiously, staring up at the ceiling, through which they could now hear Fred and George roaring with laughter in the room upstairs. "Don't pay any attention to them, Ron, they're only jealous!"

Ron did not seem to agree, but after talking more so to himself than to anyone in the room about getting a cleansweep, whatever that was, he rushed out after his mother. Leaving only Johnny, Hermione and Harry left.

"So," Johnny began cautiously, eyeing Harry's tense posture and Hermione's anxious one. "What's a prefect?"

The small party Molly threw that night in celebration of the new prefect's was an interesting one. There was a banner set up in the basement, and a general color scheme of red and gold. Gryffindor themed according to Sirius. Kingsley, Moody and Bill all showed up as well. Moody did not greet him when he arrived, and remained very cold towards Johnny the entire night. Plans to escort the teens to the Hogwarts express were made last week, and the ex-auror had protested against him accompanying them. He was outvoted: only Emmeline Vance, Elphias Doge and Hestia Jones agreeing with him. Not that they were even coming in the first place anyway.

Other than Mad-Eye's stink eye watching him as he walked around the room, the atmosphere was light. Ron was telling anyone who would listen about his new broom, going into great detail about things that Johnny found rather mundane like built-in vibration control. Kingsley and Remus were talking about something in the corner. Molly fussed over Bill's hair. Hermione, Ginny and Tonks were talking about her trouble making days at Hogwarts. A conversation that Johnny was reluctantly dragged into.

"I once had a months worth of detention with Flitwick in my sixth year," she stated proudly to them, hair a lilac purple today, "lost a bet to some friends. So I went streaking through the castle late at night. Figured with a little luck, I wouldn't run into any prefects or teachers but well, that didn't really happen. Nearly gave him a heart attack, standing there in my birthday suit. Only time I've ever seen him get angry."

Hermione looked incredibly disapproving, while Ginny roared with laughter. Admittedly, it was a little funny, and Johnny wasn't that surprised to learn she'd done that.

"What about you, Johnny? Get into any mischief at school?" She asked, winking at him.

He flushed a little. "I don't know about mischief," he said, rubbing his neck, "I got into my fair share of fights, suspensions." Hermione's frown deepened. "Had a little brother that needed protecting n' all that." He regretted saying that instantly, not meaning for it to slip out.

"You have a brother?"

"When were you gonna tell us that?"

"Did he come here with you?"

"Yes, ideally never, and no." He answered, looking at Hermione, Tonks and Ginny in turn, feeling rather annoyed with himself. "He lives back in New York."

And before they could ask anymore questions, he let Ron drag him into a detailed description of his new broom. Johnny had other things to worry about, like making sure Moody didn't murder him in his sleep. Talking about his family, or lack thereof was absolutely not one of his priorities. Sirius came shuffling forward with a bottle that contained an amber colored liquid, which he declined. He didn't like drinking all that much, especially not hard liquor. The butterbeer was a one time thing only.

The party continued on for a little while longer, and Johnny got to see the original members of the Order, courtesy of Mad-Eye, who glared at him as Sirius ticked off the names of all the people. His eyes becoming dark when they landed on Peter Pettigrew. Johnny knew who he was now, as the man who framed Sirius and had him sent to prison for twelve years. The Order had caught him up on every person of interest possible, and any time he did not spend tinkering on the bike, was used for catching up on intelligence, both recently gathered and long held onto.

Images of that grinning face choking him to death flashed through his mind abruptly, and he grimaced. Mercifully, the party was over soon after, and Johnny trudged to his room for what would no doubt be a sleepless night.

"Bleedin' Podmore, he was supposed to be here!"

"Oh don't worry too much Alastor, we've got more than enough people to escort us to King's Cross."

Moody grunted at Molly's words, but restrained himself from complaining in anything more than mumbles.

A black dog walked up beside Johnny, who had just slid his jacket on.

"Sirius! Dumbledore said no!"

When Johnny learned about Animagus forms from Sirius, he thought it was very interesting. Though the side-effects of certain animals looked not be worth it for him. Not that he could do it anyway but, fleas? No thank you.

It barked cheerily, and nudged Harry's hand, who had just come down the stairs. The raven haired teen proceeded to pet the dog as Molly threw her hands up in surrender.

And so they went, Harry and Sirius in the middle as Johnny followed behind and Molly in front. They met up with Tonks at the outskirts of the nearby town, who took on the appearance of an old woman with silver hair and an oddly shaped purple hat.

"Wotcher, you lot. Let's hurry it along, yeah?"

They apparently weren't very far from the station anyway, but by the way Molly kept ringing her hands and Tonks checking her watch every few moments, it was safe to assume they were running a bit late.

Moody had taken all of the school trunks with him, while Arthur went along with Ron and Hermione. The twins and Ginny went with Remus.

Once they arrived, they waited for the coast to be clear in the bustling train station before suddenly Tonks walked up to an inconspicuous stone pillar, and stepped through. Johnny didn't know whether to be amazed or scoff in bemusement. When he went through he felt nothing. Johnny expected some uncomfortable feeling to overtake him, but was thankful that wasn't the case.

"Nice dog, Harry!" A tall boy with locs called.

Harry said thanks, and Sirius wagged his tail a little.

The station was alive with activity, dozens and dozens of witches and wizards of all ages walked around him. There was this, hum, of something so unmistakably magic in the atmosphere.

Just then, Moody had arrived through the archway with everyone's luggage. A porter's cap pulled over his electric blue eye. He grunted something to Molly and Tonks that Johnny did not catch, but neither women looked alarmed at his words, which he took as a good sign. Arthur entered onto the platform not too long after with Ron and Hermione, Remus followed shortly with the twins and Ginny.

Goodbye's were said, and Sirius stood on his hind legs to put his front paws on Harry's shoulders.

Johnny caught Hermione's eye, just as she was about to board, and nodded. She returned it tentatively, and that was that.

They left Harry in the compartment alone.

It didn't sit well with Hermione, the look on his face was filled with disappointment. Ron carried on in front of her, not seeming to notice her apprehension.

"What d'you reckon they'll talk to us about?" He asked, not looking back at her.

"Oh, expectations and our powers I suspect. Password to the prefects bathroom, things like that." She answered noncommittedly.

"Wicked," Ron said, "I forgot there's one for us." His face turned a little red. "Er, prefects, that is."

Hermione nodded mechanically. Another minute or so, and they reached the compartment. Hermione and Ron were the first ones there. They were pleasantly greeted by the head boy and girl of this year.

"Ouuuu!" The girl squealed happily. She had shiny blonde hair and rosy cheeks. "You're the first ones to arrive! This is so exciting!"

Ron eyed the Slytherin head boy wearily as they sat down in the magically enlarged train compartment, he had brown skin and jet black smooth hair.

"I'm Lynette Sawley, and this is Vikram Thakur. We'll be going over your duties once everyone else gets here, but it's really good to meet you two!"

Vikram nodded in agreement with Lynette, an easygoing smile on his face, but did not say anything.

Hermione had a million questions, the excitement of being a prefect back in full force, she had to restrain herself from firing away. Thankfully, it seemed she didn't need to, as just then, the other prefects arrived. Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson for Slytherin, both of whom looked incredibly smug. Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil from Ravenclaw. And finally, Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff.

"Alright!" Lynette said brightly, "Let's begin shall we?"

The rest of the day was spent in planning. Dumbledore popped in for a bit to keep them up to date, bringing Snape along as well.

Hagrid was out in eastern Europe, parlaying with giants. There were talks to send some other Order members to do the same with the vampires and werewolves, but nothing was concrete yet. Sirius looked increasingly like he wanted to leave the house, glaring moodily at everyone as they left. One of the few things that did get guaranteed, was the necessity for Johnny to go out on patrol most nights.

"Interrupting any of the demon's activities could help us get a better idea as to what Voldemort is planning," Dumbledore had told him.

That was fine by him, he too, was getting pretty tired of being cooped up here.

Some objections were made, mainly from Moody, though Snape didn't look all that happy either. And it was decided that if he found anything big, that he had to alert the Order and bring someone along. So that night, he rode into town. Looked for the seediest parts of London. He saw a bar situated on a street corner after a few minutes of riding. Men were outside shoving each other and laughing. He parked Sirius' bike on the side of the road, the noise of the engine causing a couple of them to look at him as he walked in.

Johnny didn't drink, but a place like this was a hub of information for the less than savory activities occurring in the city.

On the inside, music was playing loudly, sounded like Pearl Jam. Tables were packed, people were yelling over the music and having a good time. Everyone seemed comfortable. They all wore similar biker-esque attire, not too unlike him. Though some had leather vests, flannel shirts. He noticed, belatedly, that they all had a patch of some sort on their clothing that he couldn't make out. Some glanced at him with odd looks as he walked towards the bar. Johnny got the impression that he wasn't welcome here. Conversations quieted down, and the music was lowered a little.

The bartender, who had a long gray beard, and bandana on, glared daggers at him.

"Can I get a glass of water?"

"Who the fuck are you?"

He was an American, which surprised him, but then, reading the patch on his vest, it really shouldn't have.

Johnny had walked straight into a bar that belonged to the Dogs of Hell.

"James Howlett," Johnny lied reflexively, and something evil burned within him as another voice, this time Irish, spoke up.

"Nobody here believes that, mate." He said. "Now why don't you tell us exactly why you're in here? So far from home..."

"I didn't know you boys branched out this far, thought your gig was in New York?" He answered instead.

Several men seated nearby stood up, hands to their hips where Johnny now saw several firearms holstered, he doubted they'd stay that way for long. The wrong thing to say then, apparently.

Good

No, decidedly not good, he didn't come here to start a bar fight. It was only his stupidity that got him here. And by the burning sensation in his chest, it wouldn't be much of a fight if things got going, more like a slaughter. It would bring unwanted attention, too, something he and the Order did not need.

His face twitched. "I don't want any trouble," he said, hands up a little in a surrendering gesture, "I've met a couple of your boys back in New York, helped them out a few times.

The men stilled, the Irish one spoke up again. "Like who?"

Johnny turned to the bartender, figuring the American would know them best. "Did a run with a guy name Smitty once. Got Leon out of a jam more times than I can count, too."

The bartender's eyebrows shot up into his bandana. "You helped Leon?"

He took the opportunity, "Yeah, knew him from high school. His dad and mine were friends."

A lie, a pretty blatant one if the bartender knew Leon personally, which Johnny most certainly did not. He'd only known the two names because he had heard them shouted when the Rider had killed them.

"They died a few months back."

Johnny tried to look mournful.

"Shit, I didn't know. Haven't been stateside in a long while."

The bartender nodded at the other men, who sat down again. "You need to be more careful about which bars you just waltz right into, son."

A twinge of anger shot through him at the words. "Sorry, wasn't paying attention. Y'see, I'm actually looking for some information."

He looked at Johnny warily, "What kind?"

"Just if you've seen anyone odd around lately, talking weird, shifty looking. That sort of stuff."

The man's face looked deep in thought as he cleaned a glass behind the counter. Regular conversation had started up again, though the music still stayed lowered.

"There was one guy," he said, "came in here claimin' he knew about some big score in Leeds. Said he'd give us the location for nothin'. Course, we didn't really believe him, so two guys got dispatched to go give it a look. If it was legit, we'd send a proper squad over, if not, it wouldn't be a big deal. That was a month ago. They never came back."

Now that was certainly interesting. "He give a name?" Johnny asked.

"Nah," the bartender shook his head, "skinny guy, looked like a tweaker, y'know? Had some stubble and heavy bags under his eyes. Blonde hair too. Definitely Scottish though, could hardly understand him myself. What d'you want with him anyway?"

"Owes me money," Johnny replied easily.

The man nodded, as if it made sense. "Looks like the kind of guy to owe a lot of people money, good luck with that. Tell you what though, you better find him before we do."

He thanked the man, finished his water, and left.

Johnny returned to Grimmauld Place at a very late hour. He found Tonks in the dining room, cup of tea in hand.

"Burning the midnight oil are we?" She quipped as he entered. Her hair and eyes a platinum looking color.

He shrugged in feigned listlessness. "In a way. Is Mundungus around?"

She looked at him as if he had just grown a tail. "No, the only other person here that's awake is Sirius, and he's too busy feeling sorry for himself in Buckbeak's room. Why?"

"Might have a lead, if he can help me anyway."

Tonks perked up a little at this. "Well, I know 'Dung likes to hang around the Hog's Head a lot. It's a rundown bar in Hogsmeade."

Johnny knew that he had to tell someone eventually, if the lead actually panned out, might as well start now.

"Sure, guess I can't really go on my own anyway. You might want to change though."

He'd noticed her attire, and was currently looking away out of embarrassment. Silky looking violet shorts that took the name way too seriously, and a tank top was all she wore.

Tonks winked, before taking out her wand and transforming her clothes into something similar to when they went into town. "Feels a little like I'm wearing sandpaper, but oh well, transfiguration was never my best subject."

"You know," he said as they made their way out of the house. "You've said that about a lot of subjects. I'm beginning to sense a pattern here."

"Hold on, pinch me really quick, I'm having a hard time believing you just made a joke."

"Har har."

Hogsmeade was mostly empty when they arrived. Apparition was definitely something he'd rather not experience ever again if possible, and it took a few moments to collect himself. The strong feeling like he was about to vomit nearly became a reality.

Very few buildings had their lights on still, the most prominent one being a grey shack sandwiched in between other, more colorful ones. When they stepped inside, it was even more barren than the streets. There were only three occupants. The barman, who looked rather grumpy and glared at them as they entered. The other two were seated at the bar itself, one was passed out on the counter, and the other was talking to him as if he was still awake.

"Wotcher, 'Dung." Tonks greeted cheerily, and the shifty man looked at them with no small amount of wariness.

" 'Lo Tonks, Johnny. What brings you two 'ere?"

They towered over the crook a little now, standing right next to him. "Need some information," Johnny said, "you wanna come somewhere more private?"

Mundungus looked at the barkeep with an expression that clearly begged for help, but the man busied himself with checking the register, offering no such assistance. He shrugged his shoulders, trying to appear nonchalant. It failed miserably.

"What's this all about then?" He asked as they stepped outside and walked towards a nearby alleyway. Johnny stood in front of him, while Tonks casually leant against a wall, blocking a way out short of apparition.

"You're not in trouble Mundungus," Johnny assured him. "You know a Scottish guy with blonde hair, bags under his eyes? Bit of a stubble too?"

"I-I dunno, nuthin' really comes to mind, why?" He stuttered out.

"This is Order business, you know. Dumbledore won't be happy if he finds out you're purposefully holding information back."

Mundungus looked around, as if he was afraid something in the dark alley would jump out at him. "I-I really can't say, Johnny. 'E made it pretty clear-"

"Who?" Johnny asked, stepping a little closer.

"W-what?" Mundungus said.

Someone walked passed the alley, but they were not seen.

"You said 'he', 'Dung."

"Did I?"

"Yeah," Johnny all but growled, grabbing the man by his patched together tweed jacket. "You did." The tips of his fingers singed the clothing, there was a burning sensation in his chest, and Mundungus' eyes widened in fear.

"Don't try and apparate, either," Tonks called from behind him, "Dumbledore'll find you eventually. Or maybe it'll be one of the less forgiving members, like Mad-Eye."

"Okay!" Mundungus cried, hands raised in surrender. "Yer looking for Spitfire, alright?! I dunno what 'e is, but I met 'im a few weeks back, working a job together." He blubbered. " 'E became a regular contact after tha', and why wouldn't 'e be after what I saw 'e could do... oh no, no, no, no..."

"Where would we be able to find him?" Johnny asked, shaking the man a little.

"You already did, 'e was in the bar when you came in... oh, Merlin.."

He let him go, and did not look back even when there was a loud crack from behind. Tonks was hot on his heels. They burst into the Hog's Head, the man who was passed out on the counter was still there. Johnny had never even looked at his face, but his hair was blonde. He was shaking so intensely that it looked like he was having a seizure. The barkeep looked wary, and as Johnny stepped closer, the man on the counter leapt up and away from him. His eyes were glowing a bright red, and he was foaming at the mouth. His appearance was slowly changing, pale skin turning to the color of blood. A tail sprouted out, his ears became pointed.

"You should never have come looking for me, Johnathan Blaze! Soon, Blackheart will kill you, and move onto the Lord of Lies himself!"

He wanted to ask 'Who is Blackheart?' Or possibly give some witty response, but in the next moment, the demon leapt at him, delivering an incredibly hard punch. Johnny felt his feet leave the ground and his back smack a wall.

He saw white, but seconds later, his vision cleared.

And he was not in control.