Hurray, more PotDS fun! Aren't you all excited! Yeah, me too... R&R please, The muse laps them up like candy!
Chapter Thirty Five
Baiting the Trap
Sirius lay uncomfortably on the four-poster bed in the bedroom of the Shrieking Shack, mulling away the time while the students of Hogwarts had their Hogsmeade weekend. Momentarily he wondered if Harry had been permitted to go to the village, and secretly he hoped that his godson had been given permission. Every child, even the worst of the Slytherins he had known, deserved that much at least, and he was not about to risk Harry losing that opportunity by being out and about while the students were enjoying the fun of being out of the castle grounds.
He could hear the silence around the Shack for a good distance, so if anyone had decided to approach the abandoned and 'haunted' building, he would hear them long before they arrived. It was the best place for him to hide out, the only person that would even think about him using this place was Remus, and admittedly Sirius wished that the werewolf did find him. He could really use the company, and the chance to explain everything.
The crunch of snow from outside drew him to the gaps between the boarded up windows. Two students were approaching the dilapidated shack. Third years, if Sirius was to guess by their height and Slytherins as well, by their robe color. They were speaking in low voices, and Sirius couldn't hear what they were saying, but he recognized them instantly. His heart tugged as he saw Harry in company with Narcissa's son Draco, chatting like close friends as they walked.
Only, something was curiously off. Harry was leading, Draco following slightly behind and to the left of Sirius' godson. To a normal person this would have meant little, but Sirius was a pureblood from a very old line, much like Draco, and noticed the subtleties that others would gloss over. The way they were walking, the positioning of Narcissa's son as opposed to Harry gave the impression that whatever relationship they had, be it friend or something closer, Harry was the one in complete control, a dominate person, while Draco was a humble follower, submissive to Harry's control.
It was somewhat odd to say the least, and if Sirius remembered anything about Lucius Malfoy, the sight of it would churn the blond ponce's overly pure blood. The pair drew closer, and soon Sirius was able to hear their words more clearly. He wasn't sure why they had come so near the shack, well beyond the warning signs and fences that deterred visitors.
"All is soon in readiness, then?" Malfoy Jr. was asking Harry, who was idly watching the building, his eyes darting over the surface as though he could see within. Sirius felt a shiver of something wash over him, but it was fleeting.
"Yes," Harry responded, drawing the hood of his cloak over his head, plunging his face into shadow. "Soon everything will draw together, and my plans will unfold themselves. Voldemort, Dumbledore and all the others will have no idea what is occurring until it is unequivocally too late for them to stop it. My Master is seeing to the dark lord's followers, and I, I will handle his special objects. I sense that there is one more out there… I feel it in the castle somewhere, but I cannot find it as of yet."
"What objects?" Malfoy asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"It is no matter," Harry said, brushing off the boy's concern, "I have a lead on where it may be hidden, and besides that I simply need time to scour the castle for a hint of its dark magic, then it will be mine…"
"As you wish, my Master," Draco responded. Sirius' eyes shot up at the response. He was so shocked at their smattering of conversation that he barely listened to anything else as the pair departed back toward the village. Harry was… was going after something dark in the castle? Did Dumbledore know? Questions flew through his mind, but he was in little position to march up to the castle and point fingers, now wasn't he?
There was only one solution. Sirius stealthily crept out of the shack, along the passageway and up from under the Whomping Willow. Bounding across the grounds as the great shaggy dog, Sirius ducked into the forest, hoping that eventually Remus would wander out and he could confront his old friend with his new fears about Harry.
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Veneficus smiled as he retraced his steps through the passageway that connected the castle of Hogwarts with the small sweet shop in the middle of the village. It was almost too convenient that such a passageway existed, allowing the Sith Lord to not only bypass the Professors screening the students as they exited, but also the Dementors guarding the gates to the grounds.
Spreading out his senses ahead, Veneficus was able to dodge around the loose stone and other obstacles that cluttered the path. Even farther ahead, back within the halls of the school, the corridor was empty, which allowed the Sith to slip out into the corridor with the one eyed witch statue that hid the secret passage.
But it wasn't to remain that way for long. One glance at his map told Veneficus that Snape was on his way up from below, for whatever reason, and the Weasley Twins to whom the map had once belonged were descending from the other end. The decision was an easy one, Veneficus could handle the Gryffindor boys much easier than the Head of Slytherin should something undesirable occur, which was bound to.
Taking off at once, Veneficus made his way upward, keeping the two parties in his senses at all times. There was another passage partway between him and the twins, and if he could reach it he may be able to avoid them and Snape altogether. After all, why bother with the weak fools when he had far more important things to accomplish with his precious time.
Urging his body faster with the Force, Veneficus flew through the corridors, whipped around corners, and dashed up stairs to the passageway. And still, he only slipped behind the tapestry that would allow him back down to the ground floor just as the twins came into view and spotted him.
"Oi!" one of the boys yelled, and Veneficus could hear their attempts to catch up to him. briefly the Sith debated just speeding away with Force and disappearing from the twin Gryffindors' sight, but decided that he'd have a bit of fun with these two instead. While not being nearly the magnitude of irritation as their younger brother, if you could call angry staring and the occasional mocking joke irritating, Veneficus knew that the pair fancied themselves to somehow reacquire their precious map from the Sith Lord, as if they had any chance to. However, Veneficus decided he would give them one measly and unfair, chance to seize it back, and slowed himself so that they could 'catch' him.
Leaning against the wall, as if he was winded from how far he had run, Veneficus faked panting as the two blundered up behind him. "Well lookie here Georgie," one twin said sarcastically, "if it isn't our favorite little Slytherin prince, out for a stroll…"
The boy's twin grinned wickedly, "Yes, it seemed he's all run out of steam from running up all those stairs, why'd you think he did that Freddie?"
"I dunno George, but it works out for us regardless…" Fred said, grinning back.
Two pairs of hand grabbed Veneficus roughly, and he resisted the immediate reaction to draw a weapon or strike with his hands to break their wrists. Forcing his body to go partially limp, he thudded hard into the wall of the corridor as the twins shoved him between them, so that they blocked his exit in either direction.
"You know what we want, Potter," George said, all pretense of joking completely gone.
"Hand it over, and we'll let you escape with only a few 'pranks' on you…" Fred continued, and Veneficus was distracted by noticing the traces of Wild Force energy that drifted between the two as they spoke. It was intriguing, he had noticed before that the pair of Gryffindors seemed to always know what their twin was going to say, and they alternated who was speaking mid conversation quite often, usually to annoy the person to whom they were speaking.
Like most of the school, Veneficus had simply assumed that they had trained to do so after living together for over a decade, but it now seemed more innate than even familiarity. The two boys seemed very loosely connected, almost a bonded link between them, which it seemed carried the thoughts and intents of one to the other, even mid sentence.
"If you don't," George continued, finishing Fred's sentence through their Wild Force ability, "then you'll be walking away with injures as well."
Regardless of what passive ability they seemed to possess, Veneficus wasn't planning on staying around long enough to study it. Grinning mischievously, the Sith spoke in a low voice, "Oh, I'm afraid I'm going to have to deny your request, and the thought of retribution in any form seems rather… out of the question…"
Both twins laughed, throwing their heads back even as they pinned Veneficus' torso to the wall. "Well Georgie," Fred said scathingly, "I guess out little snake prince wants to play the hard way then…"
"It does seem that way, brother mine." George cackled in return.
They paused when they saw that Veneficus had neither grunted when they shoved him, or ceased to smile. "What the…" was all either twin could say before Veneficus struck. Lashing out with a powerful wave of the Force, he slammed both boys into the far wall, far harder than either had physically pushed him.
As they lay in a crumpled heap, Veneficus stood over them, "I'm sorry to say that I told you so…" he said uncaringly, and turned to begin walking away, "the map, and its secrets, will remain mine it seems."
The jibe worked. The Gryffindors launched themselves to their feet, wands out and hexes flying. A shield snapped into place around Veneficus, sealing the tunnel and reflecting every spell sent his way back at the red haired twins. Meanwhile, the Lord of the Sith started weaving some sorcery that ancient Sith magicians used to warp the mind and senses of their foes. He had no desire to kill the two, merely cow them into submission, and he may have been venting some overbuilt aggression that his droids down in the Chamber hadn't fully cleared him of.
Mists of energy started filling the tunnel, but the foolish children were too consumed with trying to breach the magical shield to notice until it was too late. As the last of their spells shimmered feebly off the shield, Veneficus allowed it to drop, as well as removing the glamours disguising his true nature. In the dark of the corridor the pair would have difficulty seeing the difference, but the eerie red glow of a lightsaber helped illuminate the passageway.
Veneficus knew he had their attention the moment the crimson blade shot into life, and the glanced through its glow to see his eyes, smoldering red and yellow like a setting sun. "You know not what you trifle with…" he said, allowing the Force to fuse with his words, chilling the two Gryffindors to the bone. "Your fear and hate betray you, even now. My power is absolute…"
From the mist, illusions of the fears of both twins arose, things only their eyes could see. They shook where they stood. "You will trouble me no more. The Map is lost to you, and you will have no need for it. You will both return to your beds and sleep. Upon awakening you will remember nothing, but the fear of Harry Potter will remain. Obey!"
Against his heightened powers, the two teens had no choice to object. Their eyes glazed, and they crumpled. Veneficus dispelled the mist, hid away his weapon and shrouded himself with magic and the Force once again. Smirking at the two Gryffindors, Veneficus admitted that he may have used a bit much to simply cow them, but a bit of theatrics now and again wasn't a terrible overuse of his power, especially if it removed a pair of troublesome insects that would go missing if he simply killed them.
No, he would save his murderous rampage for Black. He had sensed that the man was hiding in the vacated building a while ago, and now that the man was certain that his precious godson was going dark, and planning nefarious things, he would be more reckless. It was only a matter of time before he revealed himself, and Veneficus would strike.
It helped all the more that little Colin Creevey had done his job well. Spying on Ronald Weasley proved an excellent task in stealth for the boy, as the youngest Weasley was hyper paranoid of all the green clad students. From overhearing the loud and obnoxious boy's ranting, Veneficus learned the reason for the boy's continued animosity towards him.
The boy had lost his pet rat. Same said pet had vanished almost immediately after the start of the previous term, and the boy was keen to blame Veneficus despite little to no proof of his involvement. Doing some digging into old records that the school had, Veneficus had found a few interesting things, regarding Black and Pettigrew's confrontation. A sewer line had been ruptured when Black supposedly killed the other man, and nothing more than a finger of Pettigrew had been found.
Veneficus was willing to bet that Weasley's rat had some connecting to this madness. There just wasn't evidence that Black would mistake Veneficus to be in Gryffindor twice, and creep directly to Ronald's bed on the second attempt, just to flee.
The next step had to be locating the rat, and determining if it was indeed whom Veneficus suspected, and then why the man had fled if he was supposedly an innocent victim.
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Septin sat with Feyd in the common hall of Korriban's Sith Academy, speaking quietly about their day to day activities. The other boy had just returned from the forward excavation camp on orders from High Prophet Lotu'an.
The black haired Darksider had spoken briefly of the progress that the team had been making on the tomb of Marka Ragnos, opening up deep passageways that seemed that they might have been undisturbed since first built. Septin listened with half a mind, he was somewhat distracted by the ebbs and flows of the Force around them, and the percolating aura that it generated. Out there on the sands, something still beckoned for him, and he was starting to guess it may have been the tomb in question.
From there, the conversation had turned to their previous lives before joining the Sith. Septin didn't speak much at this point, not wanting to dredge up old wounds from the Jedi Temple. Feyd, on the other hand, couldn't seem to stop talking about his prior life.
From the handful of stories, Septin gathered that Feyd had been part of a group of explorers commissioned by the Republic to venture out and explore the regions of the Wild Space. The convoy of ship had come across pirates, who butchered the boy's entire family. The pirates became Feyd's first victims as the young man's Force ability were unleashed. The pirates were destroyed, and Feyd had drifted in space alone until found by the Prophets of the Dark Side, and taken to Dromund Kaas.
As Feyd was embellishing the details of his early meetings on the jungle world, Septin's communicator pinged with a message. Zhar had sent him a brief message that they would soon be heading to explore the deeper chambers of the unearthed tomb of Ragnos. Inwardly, Septin rejoiced, figuring that he at long last would be able to respond to the clarion call of darkness out there. However, it seemed almost too good to be true, and a terrible nagging seemed to weigh on him. Septin did not trust Zhar, and never had, with good reason. Even if there was anything in the tomb, was it likely that Septin would get any part of it? Not very, was his natural answer.
But even more so, something altogether different was troubling Septin. Even Feyd seemed to notice the alteration of attention in his face, because he stopped speaking and waited a moment for Septin to collect his thoughts. "Something on your mind?" he asked genuinely. It was one of the qualities that Septin actually liked about the otherwise off putting boy, he was rather trustworthy when he felt that mutual benefit outweighed his own reward.
However, even then there were limits to what Septin shared with the other Force user. "Nothing," he said dismissively. Naturally, Feyd narrowed his eyes, sensing the deception yet letting the moment pass, smiling darkly and excusing himself instead of pressing the question.
Thoughts brooded around Septin, aided and touched by the Dark Side. Others nearby shifted in response, but the young man was oblivious to his fellows' reactions. His attentions were all focused inward, contemplating the insidious designs he had been prompted toward.
Nodding to himself, Septin stood to depart and prepare for venturing into the tomb of Ragnos. Zhar and he may enter, but Septin was now determined that only one of them would leave it. If Zhar Quelmok continued to live and control Septin's life, the younger Force user would stagnate under the other man's lack of training.
There was no other option. Zhar must die for Septin to truly be free to embrace his potential.
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Anguis was unsure what had happened to Veneficus after they had parted to return to the castle, Draco by the path through the front gate and Veneficus through his secret passage, but he didn't question it when the Sith appeared in Great Hall for dinner that evening. The rest of that night went uneventfully, albeit Anguis was greatly concerned over the nearing of the end of term, and his return to Malfoy Manor.
He was distracted however, by an unusual set of events that played out the next morning. At Breakfast, he sensed among the usual chatter and childish bickering that someone at their table was watching him intently. Casually glancing around, Anguis spotted Blaise Zabini staring at him and Veneficus. His sling was long gone, and the boy had been chattering happily the previous night about how the Hippogriff had lost its case against the Ministry, and that it was as good as dead.
Now however, the boy was silent as he observed the two Force users with growing interest. Anguis still vividly remembered his Masters words regarding the other boy, and he wondered if it would be soon that Zabini would approach him.
Veneficus noticed as well, and chose to partner with Theodore Nott for their next lesson, Care of Magical Creatures, almost in attempt to prompt Zabini to join Anguis. Whatever the motive, the ruse worked, and Zabini made his way over to Anguis since his normal partner was taken.
"Malfoy," he said simply, knowing that his intention was obvious. Anguis nodded once, not deigning to promote conversation. If the boy was going to make this choice, it would be out of his own resolve, and without any influence on Anguis' part. One might have seen it as a mercy, but Anguis new the price for learning more than a fair share about the Sith Lord Veneficus, and wasn't quite willing to manipulate Zabini into a slave position, as had happened with Boot and Nott.
They worked mostly in silence, taking notes and drawing sketches of the litter of Crups that had been brought for the lesson, but Anguis could feel the growing desire to speak building in Zabini.
It wasn't until after the lesson ended, and they were stowing their things away in their bags that Zabini made for the attempt, "Draco, I…" he said swiftly, but paused in indecision.
Anguis looked at him, refraining of commenting on his very lame beginning, willing to be the open ear if the boy wanted him to be. However, Zabini seemed to have lost his nerve, because he shook his head and walked away, muttering, "Never mind."
Anguis was unfazed; slinging his bag over his should as he rejoined Veneficus on the way back to the castle. Veneficus was smirking as they lagged behind the other Slytherin Third Years. He in particular watched Zabini, who was soon joined by Nott as they trouped back up the grounds.
"It won't be long now, I take it." He said flatly, addressing the elephant in the room. "I give it by the end of summer before he contacts you fully."
Anguis could only nod in agreement as the pair of Force users joined the throng of students within the castle, making their way through the din to their Transfiguration class that they had next.
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Hermione wasn't sure what she was going to do. She had tried to shorten her assignments to allow time to be more spread out, but it wasn't helping much. She had just fallen asleep at her workplace during a break and completely forgot about Herbology. She had had to run down to the greenhouses and apologize to Professor Sprout for missing the lesson, which had material that she was sure would be on their exams, only to now have to sprint all the way up to North Tower for Divination.
She only barely arrived before the class started, and she dumped her bag next to Harry, who once again was sitting alone at a back table. Breathing hard, Hermione tried to calm her racing heart so she could pay attention to Trelawney, but it was difficult. Not only was she not in the mood for more of the old fraud's fake fortunetelling-styled prophecy, but she was straining her mind to figure out how she could have forgotten, as well as organizing in her mind three to four other essays and classes that she had in the next two days.
"I have decided to introduce the Crystal ball a little earlier than I had planned," Trelawney said, sitting in her normal armchair in front of the fireplace. "The fates have informed me that your examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you sufficient practice."
Hermione snorted in derision. Most of the students ignored her, but Harry glanced over. "Honestly… 'the fates have informed her'… she sets the exams, what an amazing prediction!" she said hotly. Harry smirked, but the Slytherin said nothing.
But it was true. Hermione was quickly finding this class to be a complete waste of time, and only just short of a joke. Even as they looked into the cloudy orbs set on their table, Hermione couldn't see anything of extreme importance. She knew that there were true prophecies and seers out in the magical world, but it didn't seem as important of a field of study for her anymore. She could easily be spending her time catching up on the Herbology notes that she had missed.
"Seen anything yet?" she asked Harry across from her, as she brought her attention back to the orb in front of her.
But Harry wasn't moving, his eyes unfocused as he stared into the Crystal Ball. Slowly, a smirk crossed his face, turning almost feral in appearance as the boy's eyes glinted dangerously. It slightly frightened Hermione, reminding her of… something… but she couldn't place what or where she had seen a look like that before.
Harry blinked, and as if only just recognizing that Hermione had spoke, he responded, "Oh, there's probably going to be a great deal of fog tonight…"
It was too much. Hermione burst out laughing at the perfect timing of the comment.
"Now, really!" Trelawney said as the entire class was distracted by Hermione's giggles. "You are disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!" she walked up to their table, and glancing at Harry, whom Hermione noticed immediately stiffened, Trelawney lowered her face to gaze into the glass sphere.
"There is something here!" she whispered. "Something moving… but what is it?" Hermione rolled her eyes, and looking across Trelawney's head at Harry, she could have sworn that he winked in appreciative amusement.
"My dear…" the Divination Professor breathed dramatically, gazing up at Harry. "It is here, plainer than ever before… my dear boy, stalking toward you, growing ever closer… the Gr…"
Hermione had had enough, "Oh for goodness' sake!" she said hotly. "Not that ridiculous Grim again!" Professor Trelawney looked affronted, and rose to her full height quickly.
"I am sorry to say my dear," she said imperiously to Hermione, "that from the moment you have arrived in this class, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination required. Indeed, I do not remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly mundane."
Hermione's anger spiked. How dare this cantankerous old hag think she was anything close to mundane. She was Hermione Jean Granger, top of her classes and achieving things that no witch or wizard had ever hoped, or dreamed of. "Fine!" she said suddenly, standing and snatching her bag and books. "If that is you assessment, Professor, then I doubt your visions would have seen what things I hope to accomplish. And they most certainly no longer include attending this class…"
And with that, she stormed over to the trapdoor, kicked it open, and left down the ladder completely. As she stalked back down to the Ravenclaw common room, Hermione felt much better at venting her feelings, even if it was quite rude of her to insult a Professor's subject. But at the same time, it was liberating. She was free of an entire period of lessons and useless homework, which would make so much more time for her practical and rewarding pursuits. She recognized that this was the exact thing that Harry had told her would happen at the library a week ago. Had she given this class up sooner, and perhaps muggle studies as well, she wasn't really learning anything but the stupidity of wizards when it came to muggle society, she would even be able to mesh her timetable around to ditch the time turner completely.
And that would be the best thing to happen for her, Hermione mused happily.
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It was well after dark when Sirius felt safe enough to venture out of the forest onto the Hogwarts grounds. The moon was large overhead, not quite full, but very close. Sirius remembered vividly that Remus would be edgy and off tonight, more than likely wandering the grounds alone as he tried to suppress his violent alternate self.
It didn't take long for Sirius to locate his old friend. Remus was wandering aimlessly around the greenhouses, but stopped when the large grim stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight. To his credit, Remus only hesitated for a few moments, gaping at Sirius' nerve at approaching him so directly.
The man's wand was out in a flash as Sirius transformed however, and he had to raise his hands quickly to dissuade the werewolf from firing a curse. "Remus, please, I need your help…"
"What, you need help getting back in the castle to find Harry?" Remus snarled, eyes flashing dangerously. Sirius knew that this was the worst time for him to approach Remus, with the moon so close to being full, but he had had no choice.
"No Remus." He admitted, "I swear on my life that I would never harm Harry."
"Give me one reason to not call the Dementors right here and now Black." Remus half shouted, his wand shaking in suppressed rage.
"Remus," Sirius said calmly, forcing himself to speak slow, "I will make any oath, and do any task that would prove to you that I am not here to harm James and Lily's son."
"And yet you killed them, you murdered our friends Sirius, how could I trust you after that?!" Remus barked back, stepping closer.
Sirius bowed his head, "I might as well have killed Lily and James, I admit that, but I did not send Voldemort after them. I never served that bastard, nor would I ever have done so."
"Explain yourself then," Remus said harshly, "you were secret keeper, Sirius, even Dumbledore knew that that was the truth. How could you not have been the one to give up the secret?"
"Lily and James wanted me to be the secret keeper," Sirius replied, his heart aching with every word, "but I convinced them to make Peter the secret keeper instead. I was going to hide Peter away, and be the decoy for the Death Eaters when they came for the information. I was willing to die to keep them safe Remus, I swear it is the truth. Peter betrayed them. I found his safe house abandoned the same night they died." Tears flowed down Sirius' face as he spoke. He hoped desperately that Remus would believe him, even a part of his story.
"I knew something was wrong the minute I got there. No struggle, no body, nothing. He had just up and left, probably straight to Voldemort. Who knows how long the rat was working for them. I flew to Godric's Hollow, I found their home… I… I…" Sirius sank to his knees, weeping bitterly at the memory, "I found James' body, broken and cast aside like a ragdoll… Lily, in the nursery… and Harry… little Harry wailing… it was my fault for trusting him… it was my fault…"
There was no sound coming from Remus, but Sirius couldn't see past the veil of tears pouring down his face. "Why didn't any of you tell me?" the werewolf asked, his voice coupled with pain. "Why was I left out of all these plans?"
"We… we didn't know who to trust or not, Remus… you've got to believe me… we were scared…"
"…and you thought I might have been the traitor…" Remus finished for him, regaining his composure far faster than Sirius. He nodded, trying to rein in his fragile emotions.
"So that day, when you went after Peter, we all have had everything backwards from the beginning…" Remus continued, more to himself than Sirius. "But why, why escape now Sirius? Why come here, where everyone expects you to be? Why didn't you just flee out of Britain altogether?"
Sirius said nothing; he couldn't open his mouth without sobbing at the horrid memory of Lily and James. 'The Dementors must be getting nearer,' he thought, suddenly frightened. Remus stopped, seeming to riddle out the answer on his own. Turning slowly to face Sirius, face ashen, he whispered, "He's here, isn't he Sirius… Peter is here, alive and well."
Then he stopped, sniffing the air, "You need to go," he said quickly, and Sirius knew the Dementors were drifting nearer. "Meet me later on, after the full moon, you know the place. I'll hunt around and see what I can find. If I find out you've lied to me Sirius…"
The threat was left hanging, as Sirius nodded, transformed, and bolted for the trees. He didn't look back at Remus, but inwardly he held onto a flicker of hope that his old friend at least had trust enough to give him a chance to explain himself in full.
Now he had to figure out how to breach the subject of Harry and his disconcerting behavior. And that without it seeming that he was lying to Remus about his true motives. Without the rat, it would be near impossible for him to fully gain the werewolf's trust, which only fueled Sirius on all the more to get Peter as soon as possible.
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Colin bounced in believable excitement as he sat among the crowds of older students awaiting the beginning of the Quidditch Cup Finals. Harry and the Slytherin team were to face off for the last time against Gryffindor to decide the fate of the House Cup. Not that there was much to decide, as Gryffindor had to win by well over two hundred points to even come close to taking second place, let alone besting the wide margin of points that Slytherin was leading by.
However, that wasn't the full purpose behind Colin's attendance. He had a special job to do, a request by Harry himself. He was on lookout for anything out of the ordinary, especially the appearance of any odd characters watching the game. Colin was unsure exactly what he was suppose to be looking for, but dutifully kept an eye on the stands all around, even as he found himself more than once drifting back to the match.
The balls were released, and the players churned in a mass frenzy, ducking and diving among each other after their respective objectives. Even among the many pelting players, Colin could easily pick out Harry, speeding like a bullet as the black haired boy made quick work of the Gryffindor Chasers, thoroughly disrupting their attempt at an early goal.
Slytherin quickly took possession, setting them up in an early lead. It was difficult for Gryffindor to recover, as Harry flew circles around any other player, outpacing not only the red clad Seeker, but also interfering with the chasers and even the Weasley Twins, who had been regarded as the most level headed of their entire team.
The game quickly devolved into a rout, and Colin soon remembered his important assignment here. Scanning around quickly, he did a double take when, in the very back row of the stands, he spotted a great black dog just sitting there, watching the players in the air. It was strange to say the least.
The crowd roared, and Colin whipped his head back around. Harry had ended the game with a spectacular catch of the Snitch, sealing the Quidditch Cup for Slytherin, and a very highly likely outcome for the House Cup as well. When he turned back to check on the dog, it was long gone.
It took a long time for Colin to wend and weave through the crowds until he reached Harry, who was already en route to the castle, surrounded by the rest of the team. Malfoy was present also, and made space enough in the protective phalanx that the larger upper year Quidditch players were making around Harry to permit Colin within.
"Harry, Harry you won't believe what I saw during the game!" Colin said excitedly, energized from the buzz around them, but Harry shushed him.
"Not here, wait till were back inside," he said quickly, before turning to wave at the cheering crowd of fellow Slytherins.
The procession seemed to take an agonizing long time, and Colin was ready to burst when they finally reached the entrance hall. From there, it seemed that the rest of the school felt that Harry could safely walk down to the dungeons from there, as they parted, many heading into the Great Hall for food, still talking animatedly about the match.
Harry quickly led Colin and Malfoy down to the Slytherin common room, and further into the third year dormitory. Colin hesitated at the threshold of the door to the other boy's room. Normally, younger years weren't allowed to enter an older year's dorm without special invitation, or if they were a sibling of a member of that year.
Within he could see that Harry was quickly changing back into ordinary school robes. Malfoy motioned for him to enter, and shut the door behind him. Harry had his back to them as he pulled a fresh shirt over his head, "So Colin, what did you find?" he asked.
Colin blushed slightly at the awkwardness of the situation. He was still rather uncomfortable with how open the older boys were with revealing themselves in front of people. "There was a huge black dog in the back row of the stands," he said simply, suddenly realizing how silly he sounded, it was a really odd thing, but Harry didn't reply with any sort of scathing remark or mocking tone. "As I expected," he said flatly. "You have done well Colin," he added, turning about as he finished pulling the long black robes on.
Colin smiled, grateful for the boy's approval. "I have another task for you, one that needs to be completed as soon as you find something," Harry continued, "I need you to watch for the pet rat that Ronald Weasley had with him for so long. It has gone missing, and I have some suspicions about it that I need to confirm. Find it, if you can. You know the spells I taught you to locate people and things, it will apply here as well. I need to know where the rat is before the end of exams. Can you do this?"
"Of course I can!" Colin said smugly, "I would do anything to help you Harry."
Harry smiled in return, even Malfoy placed a hand on Colin's shoulder in a friendly manner, and Colin felt a wash of pride at having the other boys' approval. "I know you will. You've yet to fail me, and I doubt you will start now," Harry said, dismissing him to go about his day.