Harry wasn't sure how he felt after that dramatic scene.

On the one hand, he'd just provided undeniable evidence of how he had been treated and had given an ultimatum to be met. On the other hand, he had revealed how he had been treated, beaten and abused to hundreds of students, and it would certainly be all over the Prophet by tomorrow.

Still, that wasn't the point was it? The point was that everyone knew and no amount of twinkling eyes or hurried coverups would prevent those hundreds of people from knowing precisely what had happened.

He couldn't wait to tell Sirius about the look on Crouch's face! Maybe he could find a pensieve to share the moment?

"If it isn't-"

"-ickle Harrykins!"

Harry spun, wand in hand, startling the Weasley twins. "Whoa there mate,"

"We come in peace!"

"We just wanted to talk,"

"But you might be feeling a bit out of sorts,"

"So we'll sod off if you prefer."

Relaxing a little, and slipping his wand back up his sleeve Harry sighed. "How did you two find me?"

"We might not have the map-"

"But we have our ways, o brother in chaos."

Harry smirked at that. "Guess I left a bit of a mess, didn't I?"

"'A bit of a mess' he says, Gred."

"Hysterical he is, Forge."

"Poor Headmaster was getting it from just about everyone."

"Crouch, Bagman,"

"McGonnagal, Flitwick, Sprout,"

"The headmasters,"

"The students,"

"Quite the pickle, he's in."

Their faces turned somber. "It's all true, isn't it Harry?" one said, Harry was reasonably certain it was George.

"What do you think?" Harry replied, a little heatedly.

Fred responded without dropping a beat. "I think I remember the bars we pulled off your window a few summers ago."

"I think I remember how you saved our sister." George picked up.

"I think we remember that you never smiled when you saw the walrus-uncle there to pick you up at King's Cross."

"I think we always knew some of it Harry."

"Just not all."

"And for that,"

"And never asking,"

"We are deeply sorry." they finished together, bowing low and as serious as Harry had ever seen them.

A bit surprised, and a little sheepish at the apology. "Knock it off, you two, you have nothing to apologize for."

"But we do Harrykins."

"We could have pushed the issue with our dad about the bars."

"We could have gone with you to the chamber for our sister."

"We could have stood up for you when the school didn't."

"And we could have listened when you said you didn't want in this Tournament-"

"Think we dodged a proper curse there, eh?"

"Can you imagine what mum would do if we fought a dragon?" George said, shuddering.

"Before or after she beat it to death with her apron?" Fred answered, deadpan.

They all had a good laugh at the image before the twins finished.

"So the point is Harry,"

"If you need anything at all,"

"The Weasley twins will be happy to assist,"

"Especially against certain prats of brothers or walrus-like muggles."

Harry felt a proper smile break out on his face for the first time since the Task. "Thanks, you two."

"Now run along, Harry."

"We'll make sure you get some time alone."

"And we'll spread the word 'round Gryffindor so you don't get questioned at the door."

Harry nodded, and continued down the corridor. The twins watched him pass with fond smiles.

"There goes a fine young man, Forge."

"The brother we never had, Gred."

At that moment, McGonagall turned the corner. Spotting the twins she hustled over. "Gentlemen, have you seen Mister Potter around?"

"Depends who's asking."

Her eyes narrowed. "The Head of your house, Mr. Weasley."

She was surprised at the lack of terror in their gazes as they looked back, unimpressed. "In that case,"

"I think we can easily say,"

"That we have not seen hide nor hair,"

"Of the honorable Mister Potter."

McGonagall frowned severely. "Misters Weasley, the Headmaster wishes to speak with him on his words in the hall."

"Is it about his schoolwork?"

McGonagall blinked. "What? No, I just said-"

"Is it a disciplinary action involving possible suspension or expulsion?"

She frowned. "No, and-"

"Then why is he seeing,"

"The Headmaster and not his Head of House?"

McGonagall stared. "Whatever are you two talking about?"

"It's in the charter, Professor."

"We've read it all you know."

"Need to know the rules to break them,"

" And loopholes are such amazing things."

"But it does state,"

"That unless for academic purposes or discipline possibly requiring suspension or expulsion,"

"A student is always first directed to speak to their head of house about their behavior."

"Followed by the Deputy Head,"

"And then the Headmaster."

"So you're skipping a few steps."

McGonagall shook her head. "Dumbledore has my permission to-"

"But the point is," Fred interrupted. "That you're not even trying to talk to Harry, Professor."

"And after he called you out on this very issue."

McGonagall was thunderstruck. "I… I still must speak to him."

"We don't know where he is."

"But I think you should consider what he said,"

"And that neither you or the Headmaster are in his good books right now."

The twins split and walked around McGonagall, leaving her standing in the corridor, feeling astonished... and quite old.

Harry found himself wandering out towards the Black Lake, ignoring the stares of the Durmstrang students as he sat on the shore, watching the waves, remembering how it felt when he sailed across it and saw Hogwarts in all her glory for the first time, lighting the night… he had felt privileged to see it. Still did, really. But looking up at the castle not only brought sadness and contempt for those inside…

What did that say about him?

He heard soft footsteps on the grass beside him. He didn't bother to turn, though he did tense.

"Harry?"

Harry sighed mentally and looked over his shoulder at a round-faced and mildly pudgy boy. "Hey Neville. Take a seat if you like."

The budding herbologist nodded and sat down. They spent a good five minutes looking out over the lake. "...I'm sorry Harry."

Harry inwardly rolled his eyes. The only people to apologize so far were the people that hadn't actually done anything… the ones that had actually helped. "Accepted, mate. Honestly, I feel I should apologize to you."

"What? What for?"

Harry shrugged. "You've always been a good friend, and I never returned the favor much at 're more Gryffindor than most of the tower."

Nevilel turned pink. "But I'm not-"

"Neville, in your first year you stood up to three friends, without a wand, and pulled a Gandalf."

"A what?"

"'You cannot pass!' No? Forget it. My point is you're braver than you know. And forget Snape and Potions, I bet he could make grown men cry."

Neville snorted at that. "...Thanks, Harry. So what will you do now?"

"Well I plan to-"

"POTTER!"

Harry groaned, head on his knees. "Well, apparently I need to deal with a ferret problem." He grumbled, looking up to see a somewhat unnerving number of fourth-year and higher Slytherins approaching, Malfoy in the lead.

"Take it back, Potter!"

Harry knew what he meant, but played dumb regardless. "Take what back, Draco?"

"What you said about the Dark Lord! He's no half-blood, he can't be! He's the Heir of Slytherin!"

"So? I'm the heir of the Potter family and I'm a half-blood. Seamus is the heir of the Finnegan family. You can be the heir and still be half-blood."

Draco was rapidly reddening. "Take. It. Back. Potter!"

"Draco, it was a magical oath." Harry said tiredly, slowly rising to his feet, Neville doing so as well though he was glancing at the Slytherin horde in fear. "I can't take it back. Not won't, can't. And I still have my does that tell you?"

"You're lying. It was a trick! You made the whole thing up!" Malfoy screeched, his face darkening to a Dursley Purple.

"Did you even go look at the trophy room?" He saw Malfoy's twitch. "You did. Then you know the truth. The Dark Lord that led a genocidal war that killed off dozens of pureblood houses was a half-blood. I'd say he got one over on his Death Eaters, don't you?"

Malfoy's wand, along with half a dozen others rose. Harry, however, had been practicing for the tournament and so was significantly faster on the draw. "Protego!"

Half a dozen hexes and jinxes slammed into the dome of force, making Harry gasp. Draco sneered. "We'll show you how Slytherin deals with liars, Potter! Diffendo!"

Harry's shield held against the second volley, but cracked with the third. Glancing around he saw no teachers… typical. He sighed as the Slytherins started a fourth volley. This was going to hurt-

"PROTEGO!"

A second dome reinforced Harry's, actually passing through it to slam against the curses and jinxes, rebounding them back into the Slytherin mob and causing many member to shriek as their legs gave out, their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths or got inflicted with shallow, painful cuts.

Harry looked to the side to see Neville, sweating as he focused on holding up the shield. Harry was about to grab him and run when yet another voice called out.

"POTTER! Fifty points from Gryffindor for attacking a student!"

Harry hissed in rage. Of all the times. "Professor, I think you'll find that they cast the first curses."

"A likely story! Your arrogance knows no bound to accuse them of such-"

"I, Harry James Potter, swear upon my magic that neither I nor Neville Longbottom fired the first curse, and that we did not intentionally antagonize any of these Slytherins to instigate the fight. Lumos." His wand lit up, clearly illuminating the hateful scowl on the man's face. "Gods, I wish I knew about magical oaths back in second year. You were saying, Professor?"

"Detention for your cheek, Potter. Now come, the Headmaster wants to speak to you." he snarled, reaching out to grab Harry.

"No." Harry said, stepping out of the greasy man's reach.

Snape paused. "Another detention for disobedience, Mister Potter!"

"No."

Snape's face turned a bright red. "You will listen to your betters you-

"Shut up, you greasy-haired, dim-witted, wax-faced coward!"

Silence spread rapidly, with the Slytherins pale and Neville looking like he was going to faint. Even Snape looked astonished.

Harry didn't give him time to ramp up his vitriol though. "I will not see Dumbledore at the moment, because I need to calm down before I speak to him and I don't want to do so without several others present. And I will not serve detention with you because I don't see you as a professor."

"You stupid brat!" Snape growled, looming over Harry. "I'll have you-"

"Expelled? Please do. It would make me quite happy to get the hell out of this clusterfuck. I will never sit a detention with you willingly again, Snape. You're a bully and a coward, picking on children and crushing their confidence for reasons so petty that I can't believe you were hired in the first place. You know I was actually excited for my first Potions class, back in first year? I'd ignored all the Gryffindors who said it was a waste of time, that you were unfair. I thought they might just be complaining about the work. I wrote down all the highlights of your speech, fame, glory, stopper in death… and then you turned and spoke to me, asked me those questions."

Harry stepped forward, not caring that he was practically nose-to-nose with Snape. "I was ashamed, I thought I had read ahead and prepared but you had shot me down. I looked for the answers but I couldn't find them in the textbook. I found out later that you had asked me about second, third and sixth year parts of the curriculum." Harry snarled. "But I wasn't deterred. I knew I could prove myself in the lab, so I studied and worked and the next lab I made a perfect potion, right color, right smell, right thickness… I was proud, I knew I'd beaten your expectations! Do you know what happened next?"

Harry jabbed a finger into Snape's chest. "You. Dropped. It. You purposefully knocked it off your desk, shattered it on the floor, looked at me, and said, "'What a pity. A zero for the day, Mister Potter.' What kind of teacher holds a grudge over ten years for a child they haven't even MET?!" Harry roared, hair rising up as static electricity built in the air.

Snape, as usual, appeared unmoved. "Arrogant and entitled, just-"

"Like my father? Well guess what Snape, I NEVER KNEW MY FATHER!" Harry's eyes began to softly glow an intimidating, fearsome green. "I never knew my mother either! The only memory I have of my parents is my mother SCREAMING FOR VOLDEMORT TO SPARE ME!"

Snape actually did pale at that, as did the rest of the crowd (now rapidly expanding as students investigated the ruckus) but Harry didn't let him go. "I intend to bring you up when I negotiate with Dumbledore. Either you will take a magical oath to improve your teaching and be at least neutral to the students, or I will attempt to have you thrown out of the castle. If I can't get either of those I will not return to Hogwarts. So tell me, you lard-soaked rodent, which of us does Dumbledore value most? Because whether you or I go, I win."

Ignoring the gaping, incandescently furious professor, Harry turned to Neville. "Thanks mate, I owe you one." Neville pinked in mild embarrassment but also seemed to stand taller at the words. Harry turned to the pale-faced Slytherins. "Next person to try and hex me for telling the truth about Tom Riddle, I'll put them in the Hospital Wing for as I long as I can get away with." He stared at Malfoy until he began to squirm, then turned on his heel and walked away, wand in hand. After a moment, Neville followed, looking warily at the Slytherins and a pale, gaping Snape.

They walked for a short while before Neville muttered softly; "Are you really going to try and get Snape out?"

"I'm going to give it my best shot. That man is poison to the school." Harry said venomously.

"...If you manage it, I'm putting you in for an Order of Merlin." Neville replied with a smile.

The laughed at that until Neville frowned and said '"Dumbledore, on your right."

Harry hissed in irritation and cut left, towards the Quidditch pitch. He was surprised when Neville broke off and intercepted Dumbledore, engaging him in a barrage of meaningless alchemy questions and giving him time to slip his shrunken Firebolt out of his pocket and fly to the pitch, ignoring what he assumed to be a conversation that liberally used the phrase 'Harry my boy, you must learn forgiveness.'

Dumbledore watched Harry fly off despondently. He had to talk to the boy, show that he was safe here, that he must remain!

"Professor?"

He turned to look at Neville, disappointment in his eyes. "Mister Longbottom, I need to speak with Harry."

"He doesn't want to talk sir."

"Nevertheless-"

"Sir," Neville said forcefully. "Did you see what occurred just before you came towards us?"

Dumbledore raised two fluffy eyebrows. "No, Mister Longbottom."

"You missed Harry having to defend himself from seventeen Slytherins of all years because they weren't happy about him exposing V-Voldemort's past."

"Oh, come now, I'm sure it was all a misunderstanding-"

Dumbledore trailed off in shock at the sudden, immense anger on the Longbottom boy's face. "Misunderstanding? Leaving your notes in your dorm in a misunderstanding. Getting hexed because you accidentally tripped someone in the hall is a misunderstanding. Seventeen Slytherins all tried to hex a student, headmaster, and worse yet, Snape tried to punish Harry for it!"

Dumbledore sighed. "I will speak with Professor Snape-"

"And what good will that do? You'll let him off again, even though he's been bullying the Gryffindors since my first year at least and probably longer. And he always tries to sabotage Harry's potions, or get the Slytherins to do it. And of course you'll let the Slytherins off, nevermind that Harry had to block over thirty curses before I stepped in. He could have been in the infirmary for days, and you're not even going to investigate, I'd bet."

Dumbledore gaped at the sudden appearance of a lion in the normal mouse-like countenance of Neville Longbottom.

Neville wasn't finished. "And you know what, Harry's done everything he can to help when you or the teachers don't. McGonagall never steps in when we're bullied by Malfoy. You never stop to help when one of your own professors calls a student a dunderhead, or a lout, o-or a useless lump…"

Dumbledore shock only deepened when he saw the boy actually had pain and hurt and even tears in his eyes for a moment before snapping his focus back to the aged headmaster.

"Harry does though! He tries, even when it loses him points or gets him detentions! He's a better protector of the students than you are, and with everything that's happened at Hogwarts I'm surprised he hasn't hexed the staff table!"

Dumbledore drew himself together, but Neville was already stomping down the path to the greenhouses. The aged wizard sighed, then continued to the Quidditch pitch. Regardless of what happened, he needed to talk to Harry.