Chapter 14:

A/N: Hello! It's been so long since I last uploaded, I hope you enjoy this chapter, please review and let me know what you think so far!

'Morning' he muttered gruffly as he sat down opposite Draco for breakfast.

Blaise raised a questioning eyebrow in response, passing the orange juice over to him and receiving no more than a grunt of thanks.

'You seem cheery' he said sarcastically 'Sleep well?'

He grinned as Harrison did no more than glare at him, piling some toast and eggs on his plate.

'Did you even sleep?' asked Daphne, worried.

'A little, found a good book on duelling, didn't want to stop reading.' Draco snorted

'Of course, are you sure you shouldn't have been in Ravenclaw'

Harrison ignored him, pulling the book back out of his bag to finish the chapter before classes began. This, however, only encouraged further laughter and teasing from his friends. He buried himself deeper in the book, fascinated by the duelling techniques shown and described. He needed to try this out at some point. It was only a beginner's book, and mostly consisted of footwork and how to hold your wand correctly, things like that.

He looked up when he heard the owl's flying in, Hedwig swooped down gracefully, dropping off the usual letter from his parent's along with a copy of the Prophet. She flew a lap of the Great Hall before landing in front of him, giving a rather demanding screech. He smiled at her affectionately, rubbing her head before grabbing the left-over bacon from Draco's plate and feeding it to her. She took it happily and flew off.

'You could have given her your own bacon you know' he muttered; Harrison merely grinned in response.

'But I might eat that'

He picked up the letter first, opening it quickly.

Dear Harry,

We're sorry to have rushed off so soon after the Quidditch match, we just needed to make sure Nick was okay. Your Father will be at the game this week and would like to spend time with the two of you afterwards.
I can't make it unfortunately dear, but I will make the next one and we can all go into Hogsmeade for the afternoon, it's been so long since we all spent time together.

I don't know if you've read the Prophet yet, but try not to pay any attention to it, your Father and I are trying to sort this out.

Love,
Mum and Dad
xxxx

He immediately put the letter down and picked up the Prophet. Great, he thought, another one.

BOY-WHO-LIVED ATTACKED AT HOGWARTS!

The Boy-who-lived, Nick Potter, was yet again put through a deadly attack at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Whilst playing Quidditch – of which he is the youngest Seeker in almost a Century, Potter's broom began malfunctioning in a potentially life-threatening manner. This being a brand-new Nimbus 2000, the current best-selling model on the market, it is unlikely that the broom malfunctioned on its own. Nick Potter's brother was in attendance of the match say key witnesses who wish to remain anonymous. As we remember, his brother was also in attendance when Nick was viciously attacked by a Mountain Troll at Halloween. Could this be mere coincidence, or could the boy-who-lived have an evil twin, jealous, and ready to take out his famous brother?

Read more, including witness statements and an interview with the safety manager of the Nimbus broom line, all on pages 4-7...

Harrison threw the paper down on the table, causing quite a few people to look in his direction.

'What's wrong?' Draco asked in concern, Harrison gestured to the paper.

'Take a look for yourself, apparently Nick has an evil twin' he muttered.

Daphne snorted 'You? Evil? Bet they don't know that you nearly had a panic attack last week when you thought you'd forgotten your Charms homework' she teased, causing Harrison to turn red in embarrassment

'I didn't have a panic attack!'

'Uh-huh. I definitely saw tears in your eyes because you didn't want to upset Professor Flitwick' she grinned

'That did not happen!' he insisted, making Blaise snort into his Pumpkin juice 'I was just... a bit stressed that day.'

'Yeah okay, don't worry, we won't tell anyone.' Draco grinned.

'I'd buy a Quidditch team if I had the stone' Weasley whispered to Nick, none too quietly seeing as Harrison heard him from across the room. Talk about subtle, he thought.

Their conversation had been growing increasingly ridiculous in ways they'd spend an unlimited source of money, most from Weasley, which was understandable considering his family didn't have much themselves.

They'd gone from solid gold houses, to Quidditch teams, and even to buying Hogwarts itself.

'I'd get rid of all the Slytherin's if I owned the castle' Nick said, glaring over when he noticed Harrison watching them.

He rolled his eyes in response and continued to take notes from the stuttering Professor, who was currently talking about how to heal bites from different creatures. It would be interesting, but Harrison found it increasingly difficult to focus on what the man was saying when he could hardly string a sentence together.

'What are they talking about?' Draco asked, gesturing towards the two Gryffindor's

'What they'd buy if they had an unlimited source of money' Draco scoffed

'Well, that's not likely to happen for Weasley is it? I heard they all sleep in one room! Imagine that!'

Harrison grinned at his friend's outrage of sharing anything.

'I don't think you should listen to rumours Draco.'

'Yeah, well, it's not far off is it? And what stone are they talking about?'

'The Philosopher's stone' he paused

'As in Nicholas Flamel?' Draco questioned, Harrison thought for a moment whether or not he should tell Draco what he'd overheard in the Library.

'Yes.' he hesitated before continuing 'They think that's what the dog is guarding on the third-floor'

Draco looked deep in thought for a moment before replying, nodding his head slowly.

'I suppose it makes sense. Flamel is supposedly great friends with Dumbledore, if he trusts anyone to watch the stone, it would be him. I wonder why he thinks it's in danger.'

Hmm, Harrison hadn't thought of that. Had someone already tried to take the stone from Flamel? Why else would it be here and not with the man himself.

'I don't know. Clearly someone is after it. Could be anyone though, I'm sure not many people would turn down the chance to live forever with an endless supply of gold.'

'Do you think they'll do something stupid' Draco asked, gesturing again to Nick and Weasley, whose notes seemed to be abandoned entirely.

'Probably. It is Nick and Weasley we're talking about. And they think Professor Snape is after it.' Draco frowned

'Should we tell him?'

'No. Not yet at least. Let's just keep an eye on them for now, they've been doing a lot of sneaking around lately.'

'Okay' Draco agreed 'The Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff match is this weekend, and rumour has it that Professor Snape is refereeing, I'll sit near Weasley and Granger, make sure they don't slip away.'

Harrison nodded

'Don't underestimate Granger, and take Crabbe and Goyle with you' Draco groaned

'Why those two? You get more conversation out of an actual brick wall' Harrison grinned

'Yeah, but they look tough, they have their uses.'

His breath hitched slightly as a sharp pain shot through his chest again. He looked up to notice Quirrell looking directly at him. This can't be a coincidence, he thought, there's something wrong with that man, and he wanted to know what it was.

'I'll meet you guys down there; I'm just going to drop my bag back in the dorm.' he said to his friends as they finished breakfast.

It was match day and they'd managed to convince Draco not to go to the stand four hours early this time.

'Want me to come with you?' Theo asked as they all stood to leave, Harrison shook his head.

'No, it's fine, I'll be right behind you'

He worked against the flow of traffic of pupils trying to leave the castle and managed to fight his way out to the corridor leading to the dungeons.

'Well, well, well. What do we have here?'

Harrison's blood ran cold, not again, he thought. He turned around sharply, only to come face-to-face with two Gryffindor's, Fifth or Sixth-Years judging by their height.

'Where do you think you're going Potter?' he sighed

'Common room, then the game. That allowed?' he asked mockingly, sounding a lot more confident than he felt.

'Nick's playing today' the taller one growled out 'We're not going to let you try to kill him again'

They both had their wands out by this point, Harrison had followed suit.

'Where'd you hear that?'

'From the Prophet.' the other one spat

'Funny, you don't seem like the kind of people who can read.' he shrugged

'Then again' he continued despite them moving closer to him 'The Prophet does seem to aim its content at those with a much lower IQ level than average'

'Keep talking Potter, you're only making things worse for yourself.' The shorter one had raised his wand now, pointing it directly at Harrison's face.

If he just kept them talking, and kept edging backwards, maybe he'd make it to the common room before they noticed what he was doing.

'Really?' he asked curiously 'And what exactly are you planning on doing?'

'No more talking, I've had enough' the taller one said suddenly

'Diffindo'

Harrison jumped to the left slightly to avoid the spell shooting towards him. It caught the edge of his arm and he felt a sharp pain as his skin ripped open.

'Expelliarmus!' Harrison shouted, ignoring the pain he felt.

'Protego' His spell was blocked easily.

'Expelliarmus' he heard suddenly from behind him.

The taller boy's wand flew out of his hand, quickly followed by the other boy's. Harrison turned to find Flint and one of the other Slytherin Chaser's, Pucey, he thought his name was.

'What's going on?' Flint asked, looking directly at the Gryffindor's

'Thought it would be funny to attack a First Year?'

'He deserves it' spat the taller one

'Really?' Pucey replied, amused 'Well, how about you try your luck with someone your own size?' he raised his wand, a look of fear shooting through the eyes of the Gryffindor's

'Flipendo genu' he said, pointing his wand at the boy

A flash of orange light burst past Harrison and he heard a loud crack as the Gryffindor was hit with the spell. His knees were now on the back of his legs rather than the front and he fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

Harrison watched on in fascination as the Slytherin's began to fire spell after spell. The Gryffindor's unable to do anything to defend themselves. Once they'd finished, the boys were a bloody mess on the floor, their bodies fairly disfigured.

'Don't worry' Flint grinned at Harrison's concerned look 'None of it is permanent.'

'Come on' Pucey said, stepping over the groaning boys to reach him

'Let's go to the common room. Fix your arm up' Harrison had forgotten about his arm, he glanced down to notice blood slowly trickling to the floor.

He nodded and followed him, leaving Flint behind with the Gryffindor's

'He'll just move them. Maybe fix their memories up a bit so they don't remember who hurt them'

'How did you know where I was?' he asked curiously

'Zabini came over to us during the match, told us you hadn't turned up, so we came to look for you.'

'Is it still going on?' Pucey shook his head

'No, your brother managed to catch the Snitch in 15 minutes unfortunately. Everyone will be back soon.'

He started muttering healing spells, knitting the wound back together.

'Lucky you came when you did. I couldn't even avoid one spell apparently.' he said dejectedly

'Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. They're both Fifth-Years. You didn't stand a chance really.'

'Can you teach me some of those spells you used?' he asked hopefully

Pucey looked a little uncomfortable for a moment.

'Maybe, I'll talk to Marcus about it. Possibly not those spells exactly, not the sort an 11-year-old should be using really, but I'm sure we'll come up with something.'

Harrison nodded 'Thank-you'

'Don't mention it' he grinned 'I'm glad I got an excuse to put them in their place, those two have been attacking some of the second-years as well.'

'Harrison!' Daphne ran over, tackling him in a hug, Pucey grinned mischievously

'I'll leave you to it then Potter, see you around'

'You know I can't actually breathe' Daphne pulled away from him, looking embarrassed as the others joined them

'Sorry. I'm just relieved you're okay. I was so worried when you didn't turn up for the match! We thought maybe you were just reading, but then I overheard one of the third-years saying she'd seen two Gryffindor boys headed towards our common room.'

'Did they do much damage?' Blaise asked, noticing his torn shirt

'Not really. And nowhere near as much damage as Flint and Pucey did to them'

'Well, good' Daphne insisted.

Harrison smiled at her before looking over to Draco. He was sporting a bleeding nose. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

'What happened to you?'

'Weasley.' he muttered

'Well, it was your own fault for going over and antagonising them' Blaise said

'Yeah, but I wasn't expecting him to jump over his seat and tackle me. Even Longbottom got involved, although I'm pretty sure the two of them came out of it worse than we did.' gesturing to Crabbe and Goyle, who didn't even look as though they'd been in a fight.

Harrison suddenly remembered his parents' letter and that his Father would be at the game today.

'I'll be back later guys; I have to go and meet my Father and brother I suppose. Apparently, he wants to spend some time with the both of us whilst he's here.'

'Have fun with that one' Blaise muttered sarcastically as he stood to leave.

He walked quickly towards the doors of the common room, hoping his family would still be on the Quidditch pitch so that he could find them easily.

'Woah, watch it!' He'd all but run directly into a taller boy who was coming through the entrance at the same time he was leaving.

'Potter! Haven't you had enough trouble for one day without wandering off on your own again?'

It had been Flint he'd bumped into, who was now frowning down at him.

'It's fine, I just need to go and meet my family, I assume they're still on the pitch so I'm not going far. And besides, everyone should be back in their common rooms by now.'

'I'll walk you to the pitch' Flint replied, not taking any notice of the rest of his sentence

'Really Flint, it's fine'

'Potter' he started exasperatedly 'there are students out to get you if you haven't already noticed, and I for one, am not about to let a first-year student wander about the castle alone having been attacked not even half an hour ago.' he said firmly

'So, I'll either escort you to the pitch where you will meet your family, or you can stay here. It's your choice'

'Fine' Harrison muttered, still not happy about needing a babysitter.

The pair walked in silence down to the Quidditch pitch, meeting only a few straggling Hufflepuff second-years on the way, who Flint promptly ushered into the castle with a slight glare. Harrison grinned, Hufflepuff's were so easy to scare sometimes.

Flint stopped just at the edge of the pitch, where they could easily see James and Nick playing catch with a practice snitch, not seeming to be missing Harrison at all.

'I'll leave you here' Flint said, quickly turning and heading back to the castle.

Harrison sighed, and almost wishing he'd just stayed in the common room, he made his way over to them.

'There you are Harry!' his Father said happily when he reached them

'I was starting to think you'd forgotten' he pulled Harrison into a hug and pocketed the snitch he'd been playing with.

Nick scowled at him, clearly, he'd been hoping he wasn't going to show up at all.

'Right, I think we'll head over to Hogsmeade, we can get a spot of lunch or something.'

They began the walk to the small, wizarding village that sat just outside of the Hogwarts grounds. Nick and Harrison walking either side of their Father and Nick began to talk excitedly about the game.

'I bet that was the fastest anyone at Hogwarts has ever caught the snitch!'

James chuckled slightly, messing up Nick's hair.

'It was quite a game son, the Hufflepuff's didn't stand a chance.' he turned to Harrison 'did you see the game Harry? I couldn't spot you in the crowd.'

'I didn't quite make it in time' he said, sounding far more disappointed at the fact than he felt.

Harrison fell silent after that, falling to walk slightly behind the two as they discussed Quidditch tactics for the future games, with James reminiscing about matches he won back in his day. He watched the back of their heads, wrapping his robes tighter around him as the wind picked up. They really did look alike, his Father and brother, their hair stuck up in the same way and their faces both lit up with the same excitement.

He sighed, choosing instead to look around at the village as they walked towards the familiar pub. It was rather quiet, with only a few witches and wizards popping in and out of shops and strolling around the street, steaming cups of butterbeer in their hands to ward off the cold.

He wondered if either of them would notice if he didn't join them and went back to the castle instead. They seemed very wrapped up in their conversation, seeming to have forgotten about Harrison entirely.

He grabbed the door of the Three Broomsticks just before it closed behind his family and Harrison rushed inside.

'James Potter' a voice called fondly from behind the bar as the three approached

'Rosmerta' James smiled back to the attractive barmaid

'No Mr. Black with you today?' she asked, seeming disappointed

James laughed lightly 'Not today, no. I've just got these two with me for a bit of a catch up' he gestured to Nick and Harrison.

Rosmerta scanned both boys, smiling warmly at Nick, her eyes narrowing almost un-noticeably at Harrison however.

He smiled politely at her anyway, trying to push away the anger.

'I think we'll just have three lots of fish and chips and three butterbeers, what do you say boys?' James announced quickly, also noticing the interaction.

'We'll have the table in the corner, go ahead boys, I'll grab the drinks'

Nick and Harrison walked over to the empty table; it was hidden slightly from the view of the rest of the pub. Their family often chose seats like this one to avoid people rushing towards Nick. But apparently today, it was also about hiding Harrison from view.

'They think you're evil' Nick announced as they sat down

'Yeah, well, they're idiots' he muttered in response, Nick grinned slightly

'Not so stupid, though are they? You did cast that dark curse at the troll after all. Maybe they are right. Maybe it was you and not Snape who cursed my broom.'

'Honestly Nick, if you think either me or Professor Snape cursed your broom, you're even more stupid than they are. I've lived with you for years, if I'd wanted to kill you, don't you think I'd have done it by now?'

'But then Mum and Dad would have found out, so you couldn't do it at home.'

Harrison looked up at the seriousness in Nick's voice

'Do you actually think I'd want to hurt you that much? Kill you no less?' he asked curiously

Nick shrugged

'Maybe, you are a Slytherin after all, and you hate me.'

'What's being a Slytherin got to do with it?' he asked angrily, Nick didn't respond.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Harrison thinking about what Nick had just said.

'I don't you know' he said quietly

'What?' Nick asked

'Hate you. You frustrate me, and we clearly don't get along.' he paused 'but I don't hate you.'

Nick was saved from responding by James walking over balancing three steaming mugs of butterbeer, setting one in front of each of them.

'Right, you two. The food should be ready soon, in the meantime, enough talk about Quidditch, I know you don't like it Harry. How are classes going anyway?'

'They're good, still fairly boring though' James chuckled

'Yes, they probably will be for you this year, things will start to pick up soon though, your first year is mostly about laying a good foundation, so make sure you both still pay attention.' Looking particularly at Nick.

Harrison let them talk about their favourite and least favourite classes for a while, occasionally pitching in with his own opinions before his thoughts flicked back to the duelling book he'd been reading and his encounter with the Gryffindor's.

'Dad, can I take duelling lessons this summer?' he asked suddenly, interrupting James' story about the time he and Sirius had snuck into the staff room and swapped all of the class notes for the week.

He looked at Harrison in surprise

'Competitive duelling?' Harrison nodded

'Hmm, it might not be a bad idea. Most duelling instructors won't take on a student as young as you, but I might be able to pull a few strings. It might be an idea for you as well Nick.'

They both pulled a face; Harrison didn't want to take lessons with Nick. And Nick didn't want to take lessons at all.

'But it'll be the summer holidays, Dad' he whined 'I don't want more learning'

'Well, think about it at least Nick. It might be good for you in particular to learn how to defend yourself. If you really don't want to then we'll talk about it again next year, but think about it until the summer.' he turned back to Harrison 'And I'll talk to your Mum about it, but I can't see an issue myself.'

'Now I actually wanted to talk to you both' James said, growing more serious 'about the articles the Prophet are publishing recently'

Nick tried to hide a grin, their Father saw however and frowned at him

'Nick, this isn't funny. The rumours I've heard going round about your brother are starting to get ridiculous, dangerous no less. I want you to promise me that if you hear anything being said in Gryffindor or around the castle, you'll tell a professor, or write to me or your Mum.'

Nick looked a bit uneasy

'I'm not going to snitch on people' he muttered

'It's not snitching Nick; this is your brother's life we're talking about. People are still terrified after the last war; any mention of the dark arts puts them on edge. I don't want them to try anything.'

'They wouldn't do anything' Nick protested 'they're Gryffindor's!'

Harrison snorted, causing them both to look over at him

'Just because they're Gryffindor's doesn't mean they can do only good you know.' James frowned

'Has anyone said anything to you about it?' Harrison shrugged

'A few people might have mentioned it, nothing I can't handle' he said casually.

James was staring at him, his eyes searching Harrison's face, seeming to try to judge if he was telling the truth. He sighed.

'Just be on your guard okay. Don't be alone if you can help it.' Harrison nodded and his Father seemed to relax at that. Nick still looked confused.

'I'll see you both soon boys, keep an eye out for each other.'

They both waved to their Father as he took off from the castle entrance until he was out of sight. Nick looked at Harrison with an unreadable expression before taking off towards his common room without saying a word.

He stood for a moment alone, thinking over the afternoon's conversation. Did Nick really not know about the Gryffindor's? Or had he heard rumours and decided not to act upon them. He needed to learn how to defend himself, and soon.

He began to walk towards the charm's classroom. Professor Flitwick had once been a champion in the duelling circle, so Harrison hoped he'd be able to teach him a few things. Reaching the door, he knocked twice before waiting for a response.

'Come in' he heard the high-pitched voice of the professor call from inside.

'Ah, Mr. Potter. What can I do for you?' the small man smiled warmly from behind a large stack of papers.

'I don't mean to disturb you Professor, but I wondered if I might ask you something?'

'Not at all, come in, take a seat' he flicked his wand and a chair flew from across the classroom, landing perfectly in front of the desk.

'Well, you see' Harrison began, deciding to get straight to the point 'I was wondering if you could teach me a few duelling techniques? With all this trouble with the Prophet at the moment, I thought it might be best to learn to defend myself. You know, just in case.'

The Professor looked thoughtful for a moment

'Have you had any trouble with any students? Or spoken to your parents about this?'

'No trouble yet' he said hastily 'but I just thought in case I do; I should learn a few things.'

He paused for a moment, thinking.

'It's just, I heard that you used to be very good at duelling, and I want to learn from the best, of course.'

He blushed at the comment

'Yes, well I did compete a little when I was younger. Didn't lose a single point in my last year you know.' he sighed happily at the memory.

'I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore about it and you owl your parents, they would need to give their consent of course. Until then, I can only suggest reading about defensive spells and try not to wander about the castle too much. If you have any trouble with students, let a teacher or prefect know straight away.'

Harrison sighed; he clearly wasn't getting anywhere fast.

'Okay Professor, thank you' he smiled before adding 'I'd like to hear about that competition you won some time.' making the Professor beam once again, bidding him farewell and making his way back to the common room.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to give it a quick review to let me know your thoughts so far!