March was here and it's arrival brought forth new problems for Harry, and new opportunities.

The first Saturday of March saw Harry alone practising his duelling dance, he had managed all of the steps and was able to string them together in sequence without his magic taking over. He moved with grace, but when he let his magic out he moved with an inhuman dexterity and could feel a separate power residing within him, one not the same as the magic he used every day. He had been looking for books emanating the same energy as this book and within him, he had found one on Zabrak warfare and one named "The Warlock's Guide to Runic Magic and its Application in Modern Wizardry." The former talked about using his anger as a power source, to allow it to flow through him. He tried it, casting his Patronus to look over him and prevent the anger from overwhelming him.

He began the movements from the warfare book, letting his anger fill him. Just as he was becoming comfortable with his anger level, three things happened. First, his Patronus fizzled out, then his anger overwhelmed and exhausted him, and finally he was hit with a stunning charm and hit the floor.

When he woke up, he was tied to a chair in the same room, wands pointed at him, and a bunch of older students staring at him.

"If we're wrong about this then we will free you, but if we're right then you're immobilised for the time being. We're going to give you Veritaserum to get to the bottom of your involvement in the attacks," one of the mystery students, clearly the ringleader, informed him. Harry laughed out loud at that and questioned.

"You think I am responsible for the petrifications? I suppose now is the best time to volunteer this information, but I am a descendant of Godric Gryffindor," he told them. Then with the characteristic bravery of a Gryff, stuck out his tongue for the three drops of Veritaserum. Within a moment his eyes became glassy as the effects of the potion came over him.

"Are you behind the attacks?" was the first question asked by the same student.

"No."

"Do you know who is?"

"No."

"Are you actually a Gryffindor descendant and are you really trying to stop the attacks," was the final question asked of Harry, this one was asked with less confidence.

"Yes and yes," came the final reply.

As soon as they were satisfied, they stunned Harry again and untied him, leaving him in his usual abandoned classroom.

Two weeks had passed since Harry was ambushed in his abandoned classroom and he hadn't been back there at all.

As he was lamenting the loss of his study room, moping around in the common room, Rigor slithered up to him to inform him of a hidden room right there in the common room. Seeing as it was one in the morning and Harry had the place to himself, he decided to follow Rigor to this secret place.

Rigor led him over to a section of the common room that currently wasn't in use. As they travelled Harry was rather underwhelmed, this disused section had people sneaking into it to be alone, until Rigor stopped moving and started rising up a wall towards a portrait of a snake identical to him.

"The password is 'Purification by conflagration'," Rigor hissed, proud to be able to help his master.

Harry recited the phrase and the portrait slid across, revealing a doorway to an inexplicably large room filled with targets and duelling arenas.

A sign reading "Slytherin's Vipers' Arena" was hanging in the centre of the ceiling. Harry took a moment to take it all in. It was perfect. As he walked around the room he opened the doors off to the side to see toilet facilities, private study rooms, and many other useful rooms.

"Dudley wanted a training group, I don't think he will complain about this when he's awake."

The end of March brought with it the arrival of the Minister for Magic, the head of the school board, as well as a handful of Aurors. They had come to arrest the groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid. Harry snuck over to the opened window. Annoyed, because he had wasted his chance to talk to the half-giant, he listened to the conversation.

"...the parents are demanding action, now that we have informed them, I can't be seen to be doing nothing," Minister Fudge explained to the large man, who began crying. Dumbledore tried to comfort him, but then Lucius Malfoy jumped in.

"If we are wrong then rest assured you will be let go and able to return to… this… shack. Now come, we're taking you to prison."

"NOT AZKABAN. I'm not an evil criminal," he protested, but when Dumbledore softly said there was nothing he could do, he left with them. Harry ducked around Hagrid's hut to watch the procession moving towards the Castle and so he cast his invisibility spells and a spell to increase his running speed. He made it to the castle in no time, ready to "bump into" Fudge and Lucius.

Harry made it look as if he was going on to the grounds to enjoy the fresh air when he saw the group approaching.

"Hello Professor Dumbledore, what is going on here?" he asked the old man with a look of innocence and youth plastered over his face.

To Harry's surprise Dumbledore didn't take his attention away from comforting Hagrid, however two members of the group did.

"I don't believe we have met yet, I'm Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, and if I'm correct you're Harry Potter. It is truly an honour to meet you."

Harry bowed out of respect to the Minister and to Draco's father, who was yet to introduce himself.

"Correct Minister, it is my honour to meet you."

Fudge's face opened into a smile at Harry's response and Lucius' eyes lowered in an examinatory manner.

"This here is Lucius Malfoy, the head of the School Governing Board, and a close friend."

Harry offered his hand for a handshake, an act that surprised Lucius, he took the offered hand and nodded at the strange raven-haired boy.

"I have heard much about you… Mr Potter. As I understand it you're in the same year and house as my son, he told me once that the two of you didn't get on. However when asked about school at the end of last year he said the two of you had become friends. I hope it didn't take much to explain to him the duties of the Heir of the family to him."

"Of course not sir, all it took was a single conversation in a secret passageway we both happened to be using in the opposite direction. Saving his life at the end of the year may have also helped," Harry finished, his voice remaining strong and respectful.

"In that case, I look forward to hearing more about you and your rise."

With that the two men went to catch up with their Aurors, leaving Harry to his thoughts.

"Did Lucius know?" He thought to himself as he walked away.

As he walked with Lucius to the apparition point, Cornelius Fudge was pleasantly surprised with just how polite Harry Potter was. He knew the boy could be a useful ally in the future.

Later that same day Harry was reading his charms book to get ahead in lessons, when out of nowhere he had an arm around his shoulders belonging to Draco.

"I hear you really impressed my father and the Minister. Not an easy task to do, not Fudge, he is easily impressed, but my father… He's not one to express approval very often." Draco seemed the happiest Harry had seen him in ages, they had been spending a lot of time together. Partially due to most of their friend group being statues in the Hospital wing, and partially due to the fact that, once you got to know him, Draco was actually pretty smart and enjoyable to talk to. He also wouldn't let Harry sneak off when he was upset, the only one besides Dudley who did it, he would rather Harry talk about what's on his mind as opposed to allowing it to fester.

"I have something to tell you." Harry paused, before casting silencing charms around the two of them, and continuing. "I'm sorry for threatening you last year, especially considering how loyal and helpful you have been this year. Would I do it again? Definitely, if I had to do so to protect my friends. But do I wish things had happened differently? Of course I do." Harry stopped there and stared at Draco, trying to extract his feelings based on his facial expressions, something that was very difficult to do with Purebloods, as they were taught to conceal emotions behind an expressionless mask. After a minute of silence Draco finally replied.

"I thought you were going to kill me that night, I was so terrified in that passageway that I'd have agreed to anything to get out alive. I'd have promised to take out half the planet if you asked it of me. Then when Dudley offered his acceptance of my apology I felt like I was agreeing to allow a disease to enter my body." At Harry's expression of confused anger he continued, a bit more to the point this time.

"I was fully prepared to betray you if I knew I could get away with it, to be honest I don't know how I would have survived Quirrell if it wasn't for you, you literally put your body between us and danger. I mean we were stunned with you there, but still, you immediately rushed in without care about your own life to protect me, Dudley, and Theo. How could I let a threat made against me in defence of your friends bother me when I've benefited from the same protection." He stopped for a moment and made sure to hold eye contact as he delivered his final section of the speech. "I promised you a Life Debt for your actions, surely that shows you how much I respect and appreciate you."

Harry was speechless, a fact that amused Draco greatly, and their friendship's foundation went a little deeper after tonight.

March was ending and, for the first time since the attack on his cousin, Harry didn't feel alone. He had shown Draco the Vipers' Arena, he was as much in awe as Harry was upon his first entry to the room. They had trained everyday in the training arena, Harry several times a day, while Draco only trained once a day, and they were both improving, sometimes practicing combination moves together, enough to duel each other and last some time. Harry always won the duels, but Draco always gave him a run for his money. Speaking of money, Harry had spent a lot of Galleons to update the Vipers' Arena. These additions, combined with the copious amounts of food he had purchased, made it so they could essentially live in there for the foreseeable future.

Today, for the first time, Harry was practicing his Echani Duelling Dance against another person. He wanted to know if it could handle a full duel or if it was best used in combination with regular duelling, so to try it he was halfway into the duel with Draco and was doing amazingly.

"Stupify," Draco shouted as the red light flew out of his wand towards Harry, who rose out of the way and returned fire with his own stunner.

As the spell flew at Draco, Harry landed and readied his wand, he managed to roll out of the way, ending up on his knees ready to fire the next spell.

"Petrificus Totalus."

"Rictusempra."

The spells exploded as they collided together and, through the colour and smoke, a second spell was shot by both, resulting in a second explosion that pushed them both back.

Both boys were sweating after the exertion of the duel, this was their longest so far, and both wanted to end this quickly.

"Tarantallegra, Stupify, Rictusempra."

"Stupify." Followed by a roll, "Impedimenta."

The duel was over, as was clear based on Harry rolling on the floor in a fit of giggles. Draco had predicted the roll and cast where he would be, not where he was. The sight of Harry laughing uncontrollably on the floor made Draco laugh so much he couldn't pronounce the counter-curse, Harry's desperate pleads mixed with death threats just made Draco laugh harder. Once Draco stopped finding the situation as amusing he ended the curse and simply said to Harry

"You won't kill me now, Harry. You'd miss me too much." They both laughed at this and left to eat.