A/N: Harry gets detention trying to stick up for Ron, and Lily serves her's after hexing Malfoy.

Chapter 25 Mudbloods and Murmurs

The rest of the first week passed by relatively smoothly for Harry, Lily and Severus. They didn't encounter any more trouble with Malfoy or his cronies, which lead Harry to believe that Snape had a chat with him about losing house points on the first day of school. In any case, no Malfoy to deal with was always a good thing, so he certainly couldn't complain. Lockhart continued to be a bother to Harry, but he managed to avoid him for the most part by keeping to the library and the common room. Hermione and Lily were both very supportive over his sudden uptick in library usage, though both remained unaware of the reason behind it. He also quickly grew tired of Colin Creevey's incessant greetings, his smiles growing more and more forced as the week went on. At the very least he'd kept his nose clean and avoided losing any points nor incurring any detentions during the first week back. Snape was surprisingly mellow as well, which struck Harry as somewhat odd, but he'd happily accept Snape's impassivity towards him for as long possible. With his other subjects, well…DADA wasn't getting any better, and History of Magic and Potions continued to be a bother, but everything else was going rather well and he had no complaints elsewhere.

On the Ravenclaw side of things, Severus and Lily were faring reasonably well their first week back. Predictably, Malfoy left Lily alone save for the occasional glare here and there in class or the halls, but he kept his remarks to himself for the time being. Severus suspected that his older self had something to do about that, perhaps he'd chastised Malfoy for being an idiot and losing points on the first day of classes or something along those lines. Either way, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle's open hostility had simmered out into aggressive glares and sneers, but nothing more than that. They also had their first brewing session of the year on Thursday afternoon with Tracey and Professor Snape, something all three second years enjoyed immensely. Classes-wise, Severus continued to surge ahead of his classmates in DADA and Potions, with only Harry and Lily for company respectively. Lily's Charms efforts continued to receive recognition, and despite Hermione's best efforts, Lily was still a full head and shoulders ahead of everyone else in their year. Lily met up with Ginny twice during the week as well, checking in with the youngest Weasley to see if she was settling in alright. To Lily's relief, Ginny was getting on just fine.

When the first weekend of the school-year came around, Lily spent much of it in the Dungeons scrubbing cauldrons with Malfoy and Harry had practically made the Quidditch pitch his second home. Severus, as a result, spent much of his time with Mandy and Anthony, though on occasion Tracey joined the three of them as well. On an early Saturday morning, Severus and Anthony woke bright and early thanks to Merlin's incessant meowing. The two boys got themselves ready for the day, fed Merlin and set off down to the common room where to their surprise, Lily and Mandy sat in wait for them. Lily was as frosty as ever with the prospect of her first detention of the year looming large, but she made some effort to not be over antagonistic to Severus, Anthony or Mandy. They then set off for the Great Hall together, the halls still devoid of other students. When they entered the Great Hall, Lily's mutterings about her unjust detention finally ceased and the four sat down for breakfast. The Hall was still mostly empty, a handful of students at each table and only Professors Sprout, Kettleburn and Lockhart—to their surprise, up at the high-table.

Lily only remained with them long enough to stuff some danishes and other pastries in her pocket. She chugged her glass of water, muttered a few more words, and strode out of the hall with her hands stuffed in her pockets. Coincidentally, just as Lily left the Hall, Tracey came in. The barren state of the Slytherin table didn't look all that appealing to the brunette, so she turned her gaze upon her neighbors at the Ravenclaw table and quickly found her friends. Severus waved her over, and Tracey approached not with a smile, but with a slight frown on her tanned face. Severus frowned too, but before he could ask what was up, Tracey already sat down across from him.

"What's up with Lily?" she asked confusedly. Clearly, she'd seen Lily in her foul mood as the redhead stomped out of the Hall to the dungeons for her detention.

"Did no one tell you?" Severus asked witheringly.

Her confused expression was answer enough.

"Lily got detention for hexing Malfoy in Charms class on—erm, on Monday," Mandy supplied.

Tracey frowned. "Oh, right. I'd forgotten that. Come to think of it…she did seem rather upset when we had our brewing session on Thursday."

"Yeah. she's been down in the dumps this whole week especially this morning since she's got two days of detention ahead of her," said Severus.

"I, for one, don't think she deserved a detention at all," said Anthony, wearing a small grin. "It was a well-deserved hex, no? Malfoy was mouthing off so he deserved it, and he needed to be taken down a peg or two."

"Definitely," said Tracey, wearing a little smirk of her own. The Slytherin heaped some eggs, sausages and rye toast onto her plate and then poured herself a goblet of orange juice. "Malfoy got in trouble with Professor Snape because of it, he lost some points and got a detention as well, and boy did I wish I was there to see it."

"So, how'd you hear about it?" Severus asked eagerly, his dark eyes shining brightly with the prospect of gossip.

Tracey gave Severus a broad grin. "Oh, it was on Monday after classes," she explained. "I'd just got History of Magic and I was headin' down to the Dungeons, Professor Snape's office to ask about our brewing thing—" she gave Severus a look, who then nodded in understanding, "—as I approached the door to his office, I could hear Snape laying into Malfoy on the other side, it was…well, it was quite intense. Not even halfway through the first day of term and we'd already gone into negative point territory. So, needless to say, Professor Snape was pretty miffed about it, and Malfoy certainly heard as much."

"So, that's why he's been laying off of us," Mandy said quietly, earning a brisk nod from Tracey.

"Probably. Malfoy knows he's in the dog-house, and the fact that he called Lily a—a, you know…a mudblood made it that much worse. Snape was pissed about that the most. That was the last thing I heard through his door before I heard footsteps, had to get outta there very quickly so Malfoy wouldn't spot me."

"Did you hear anything else at all?" Severus asked eagerly.

Tracey frowned and gave a sad shake of her head. "Nah, nothing else," she said sadly. "Erm—the last thing I heard being Snape laying into Malfoy for calling 'Miss Bergman' a mudblood, and that was that."

"In any case, he's been on his best behavior the rest of the week hasn't he?" Anthony asked snidely. "I mean, honestly…he's like, well, its weird isn't it? At least now we know it was Snape that knocked some sense into him."

"Not before he got detention and Lily rightfully hexed him though," Mandy said crossly, to which Tracey and the boys nodded their agreement.

As Severus, Anthony, Mandy and Tracey ate their breakfast, Lily was busy down in the dungeons scrubbing cauldrons with Professor Snape supervising. She'd arrived a few minutes before her detention was set to begin, and quickly scarfed down her danishes. Professor Snape was kind enough to conjure a glass of water for her to wash down her fare, and after that, she readied herself for a couple hours use of elbow grease.

"Where's Malfoy?" she asked aloud, as she fetched her cleaning supplies.

"Mister Malfoy isn't able to attend at the present time," Snape said softly from his desk. "Now, if that's—"

"—What?" Lily blurted loudly. "That's so unfair? Why isn't—"

"—three points from Ravenclaw for interrupting a Professor, do so again and I'll make it five, Miss Evans," Snape sneered, glaring at Lily with familiar, but hauntingly empty black eyes.

"You…you called me my old name," Lily whispered.

"There is no one else here," Snape said with a shrug. "Or would you prefer to go by Miss Bergman instead?"

"Erm, Miss Evans is nice, Professor. I like my old name more," Lily said gratefully. She brought her pail of water and soap along with her sponge over to the first cauldron, and without further delay, began scrubbing.

Lily continued in silence for a long while, making sure the first cauldron was entirely clean before moving on to the second one, then daring to speak to the Professor again.

"Sir? May I please ask why Malfoy isn't here?"

Professor Snape had been at his desk perusing the latest copy of Potions Monthly, but then lifted his dark eyes from the magazine to Lily's expectant green ones. An old memory of many years past played before his eyes before he blinked himself from his reminiscing and refocused himself.

"Rest assured, Mister Malfoy will be having his detention later today," said Snape curtly. "As for his scheduling commitment…I'm afraid that it doesn't concern you."

"Right, sir," Lily said mutedly, before resuming her scrubbing of the second cauldron. "It's just that…he did call me a Mudblood, sir, so I wouldn't want him missing out on his detention. I didn't see him earlier…and I was just worried is all."

A haunted look passed over Professor Snape's face, but Lily was so intently focused on polishing the interior of the pewter cauldron before her that she'd missed it entirely. Snape shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, he was angry, to say the least, when he'd heard Malfoy carelessly toss out that word of all things. Not to mention, he hadn't called just any random Muggleborn a mudblood, but he'd gone and said it to Lily Bergman Evans, and that seriously ticked him off and led to the verbal lashing he gave Malfoy after the end of classes on the first day of term. Having finished polishing the inside, Lily peeked up from the Pewter cauldron for a three-second glance at Snape, who looked conflicted, and just a little bit tired. Professor Snape had scrunched his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose, before lowering his hand, opening his eyes and leveling Lily with a cold and unfeeling stare. Like earlier, Lily noticed his eyes were haunted, dark, and she couldn't discern even the littlest scrap of emotion from them.

"Mister Malfoy was appropriately reprimanded for his use of such foul language," said Snape, sounding tired and weary, this didn't escape Lily's notice. "As were you by Professor Flitwick for your inappropriate use of a hex in class."

Lily nodded sheepishly, the reminder of the reprimand she received from the tiny Charms Professor causing her to blush profusely. She quickly ducked her head so Snape wouldn't see and commenced scrubbing the outside of the second cauldron. "He deserved it," she mumbled under her breath, though not quiet enough for it to escape Snape's notice.

"Be that as it may," Snape began, to the backing of Lily's loud gasp. "Hexing in class is entirely unwarranted and most inappropriate regardless of any…influences at hand," he continued, sounding like a hypocrite because he could remember many times when he, the Marauders, even Lily, exchanged jinxes and hexes in class. Though as it stood, Lily didn't know that.

"So, the other Lily, the Lily of this time…" she paused, allowing herself a ghost of a smirk, and then saying; "She never hexed anyone in class?" Her eyes shone with amusement, though she did well to hide it from Professor Snape.

Professor Snape didn't smile, but he didn't sneer at her either. "Whether she did or didn't is irrelevant, and won't change the fact that you were in the wrong for retaliating in such a manner."

Lily wilted under Snape's words, and hung her head as she resumed her scrubbing of the cauldron. However, she couldn't help but notice that Snape had neither refuted or confirmed her question, leading Lily to believe that perhaps there was some semblance of accuracy to her claim.

"All that being said," Snape said after a lengthy silence, his voice a soft, conspiratory murmur. "If someone is truly deserving of a hex in class in the future, then do try to be discrete about it so you don't land yourself in detention, wasting away a weekend."

Lily glanced up from the cauldron and grinned, but Snape didn't grin back at her, he looked entirely serious as if he'd just imparted some sagely advice on her she'd never receive anywhere else. "As long as you never attempt such a thing in my class," he said threateningly, Lily quickly bobbed her head up and down.

"Never in potions," she affirmed, her words solemn and her mouth set in a grim line.

"And don't tell Potter and my younger self…anyone for that matter, that I said this."

"Right," Lily smiled. "You've got to maintain your reputation as the mean, scary, terrifying ruler of the dungeons, right Professor?"

She dared a glance up at the sallow-faced Professor, who to utter shock and disbelief, was working to suppress a grin. "You're exactly right, Miss Evans," Professor Snape said, his grin an exact replica of the one her best friend frequently wore. "Now back to work scrubbing cauldrons, I don't want to hear another word out of you from now until noon."

Lily couldn't help herself, she grinned as well. But she didn't let Snape see it as she lowered her head and said; "Yes Professor, not a peep from me."

Lily carried on in silence, heeding her Professor's word and finished scrubbing the cauldrons by a quarter to noon. As she worked her elbows to the point of exhaustion, she couldn't help but wonder what Malfoy was up to and what was causing him to miss their detention. It must've been something important, she assumed, since Snape rarely ever shifted detention timings at all, even for his own Slytherins. Perhaps Tracey might know something about it, Lily thought, before making the decision to ask her Slytherin friend later if she knew what Malfoy was doing that morning. She hoped Tracey might know something about it, and she regretted not asking her now as they briefly brushed shoulders as she exited, and Tracey entered the Great Hall earlier that morning. Silently cursing her luck, and the fact that she was in a foul mood, Lily redoubled her efforts to cleaning her share of cauldrons to earn an early release from the dungeons. When she left Professor Snape's classroom later that morning at just a quarter to noon, her arms hurt and her back ached from cleaning almost two-dozen cauldrons. She had no idea of the events that transpired over at the Quidditch pitch between Gryffindor and Slytherin's Quidditch teams.

Malfoy and the Slytherin Quidditch team showed up at the Quidditch pitch unannounced as the Gryffindor team held their first early-morning practice of the year. Supposedly, Snape had given the team permission to use the pitch owing to the need to train their new seeker, Draco Malfoy. What followed was a brief spat which drew in the spectating Ron, Hermione and Colin Creevey. The argument between the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, and Gryffindor's Oliver Wood quickly spilled over to the rest of both teams.

After Malfoy bragged about the seven brand-new broomsticks his father had bought for the Slytherin team, Hermione retorted with; "At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent."

Malfoy's eye twitched and he turned his focus from Harry, to the girl stood by his side. "No one asked for your opinion, you ignorant, buck-toothed worm," he sneered.

"Oi!" Ron plunged his hand into his robes, but before he could bring it out to hex Malfoy, a loud, booming shout echoed out across the, mostly, empty pitch.

"Mister Potter, Mister Weasley! What are you doing?!" came Madam Hooch's angry shout.

"N-nothing Professor," Ron pleaded, pushing his wand back into his pocket. Evidently, Madam Hooch had been attracted by the noise the bickering Gryffindors and Slytherins had made.

"Were you, or were you not trying to draw your wand to hex Mister Malfoy?" Hooch asked coldly, her hawk-like eyes zeroed in on Harry and Ron's shirking forms.

"Yes ma'am," Ron said quietly, his head hung low in resignation.

Malfoy snickered quietly in the distance, but Hooch didn't seem to notice for her attention was solely fixed on Ron and Harry.

Harry's hand was also in his pocket, but he wasn't going for his wand to hex Malfoy, instead, he wanted to use the disarming charm on Ron to stop him from hexing Malfoy.

"And you as well, Mister Potter?"

"It wasn't like that madam," said Harry, trying to plead his case. "I…saw that Ron was going for his wand, I wanted to disarm him before he could hex Malf—"

"—Irregardless, fighting and hexing on the Quidditch Pitch is strictly forbidden," Madam Hooch said icily, silencing Harry and Ron.

Both boys stared dejectedly at the ground, but Hermione came towards them in an effort to calm then.

"Detention tonight, for both of you," Madam Hooch said coldly, to the tune of disbelieving gasps from the two Gryffindors.

Ron's jaw dropped in shock, and Harry opened his mouth to voice his protest to, in what his mind was, a rash and unfair verdict by Madam Hooch, but was stopped by Hermione when she gripped his wrist.

"You'll only make it worse, just…leave it," Hermione urged.

Loathe as he was to admit it, Hermione was right. He would get in even deeper trouble if he tried to protest Madam Hooch's unfair decision, even if had only intended to disarm Ron to stop him from hexing Malfoy.

"Alright, Madam Hooch," Harry said coldly, his defiance flowing freely through his words.

Madam Hooch leveled Harry and Ron with her hawk-like, yellow eyes for a moment longer before turning her gaze on the Slytherin and Gryffindor teams. "For your incessant quarreling and fighting, both teams will leave the Pitch at once. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," said Wood icily, though he certainly looked mutinous upon hearing Hooch's verdict. "Come on guys, let's get out of—"

"—but Madam Hooch, Professor Snape gave us special permission to be here," said Adrian Pucey, one of the three Slytherin chasers. "He even signed this form," he added, pointing to the piece of parchment held by Marcus Flint.

"Well then, I'm sure Professor Snape will understand why his house team aren't allowed to practice today, especially when I speak to him about the behavior some members of said team—" her eyes narrowed on Flint and Malfoy in particular, "—exhibited. Now away with you!"

"Yes Madam Hooch," said Flint with narrowed eyes. The rest of the Slytherins followed their Captain's lead and shot angry glares at Hooch's back once she'd turned away from them.

"C'mon team, let's get going," said Wood. The Gryffindors and Slytherins spared each other one last series of glares, but no words were exchanged as the two teams departed the pitch in opposite directions.

"Nimbus 2001s," Wood muttered under his breath as they reached the edge of the pitch. The Gryffindor captain shook his head in disappointment as the other Gryffindors shot him a series of worried looks. "We're really screwed this year if Malfoy's old man was able to buy one for each of them."

"Are they really that capable, Oliver?" Alicia Spinnet asked.

"They're bloody quick, can turn on a dime, and even outstrip Harry's 2000-series Nimbus in outright top speed," Wood grumbled.

Harry shuddered at that. Wood had waxed poetic many-a-time over the previous year when discussing the capabilities of Harry's broomstick and how it was the best in the field. The fact that Malfoy and the rest of his team all had brooms that were better than the best broomstick in their arsenal certainly was a worrying sign to say the least, and didn't bode well for the upcoming season.

"Be that as it may, we've still got Harry, and we can never count him out," said George proudly, his twin and the rest of the Gryffindors nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, we've still got our not-so-secret weapon," Fred said with a grin, hugging Harry to his side who laughed.

"A proper prodigy you are, Harry," Katie said proudly, the blonde girl ruffling Harry's hair in a sisterly-manner.

Harry couldn't help but smile at them. "Thanks for your endorsement guys, means a lot to me," he joked, earning some much-needed levity in the form of laughter from his teammates.

"Oh, erm—and one more thing, Wood, if I can ask you something?"

Wood stopped and turned to face Harry, the rest of the team also pausing their step and turning to face their youngest member and star seeker. "What is it, Potter?"

Ron correctly guess what Harry was going to say. His ears turned scarlet and he quickly turned away from Harry and the Quidditch captain.

"Can we talk in private?"

Wood contemplated Harry's request, then nodded. "I'll be a minute guys, carry on without me, all right?"

The other team members along with Hermione, Ron and Colin all nodded and gave Harry and Wood their space by the edge of the pitch.

Wood sighed and raked a hand through his messy hair. "So, what is it you want to talk about Harry?" he asked exasperatedly.

His frustration over the training session being cancelled before it'd even begun was showing. "Would it be at all possible to consider my friend Ron for a role on the—"

"—What position does he play?" Wood asked quickly, speaking in a businesslike tone.

"Er…he can play chaser, but he really shines as a Keeper," Harry replied.

"So, you want him to replace me, your captain, is that it?" Wood asked sarcastically.

Harry quickly shook his head, his skin paling slightly as Wood's sarcasm washed over him.

"You're already in hot water for getting my training session cancelled, Potter, so don't push your luck with me," Wood muttered, his jaw tensing slightly.

"N-no, of course not Wood," Harry said hastily. He hoped his words were taken as a conciliatory gesture. "It was…I only meant it as something to consider…like a back-up, y'know? In case you were ever unable to play…and we needed a replacement on short notice. Also, it'd help train Ron up a bit so when you graduate he'd be able to fill in for you, right?"

Wood actually seemed to be considering Harry's suggestion, an expression of deep introspection crossing the sixth-year's face. "I'll consider it, but only if you get us the first win of the season, all right? If you can manage that, then I'll give young Ron Weasley a talent evaluation and see if he's got what it takes to be a reserve keeper."

Harry's green eyes lit up brilliantly. "Really?"

Wood gave a solemn nod of concurrence. "Really. As long as you get us that win, you have my word that Ron will get a fair shot. So, focus up on our first game, y'hear?"

Harry grinned broadly and stuck his hand out. His captain accepted the gesture and the two boys shook hands firmly. Wood then pulled his hand back from their clasp and picked up his broom again to prop up against shoulder.

"Right, well if that's all, I'll be off now. Practice'll be same time next week, all right Potter?"

"Yes Wood. Thank you," Harry said gratefully.

"Don't mention it."

Wood then left Harry and walked on over to Ron and Hermione who were waiting for him by the edge of the pitch. Fred, George and the girls had already left the Quidditch pitch long before, leaving just the gaggle of second years alone.

With their training cancelled, the Gryffindors all split up to go their separate ways. Fred and George headed off towards the Black lake whilst Wood and the girls decided to return to the castle. Harry, Ron and Hermione meanwhile decided to pay a visit to Hagrid, though they were still tailed by their trigger-happy photographer, Colin Creevey.

"Where are you off to, Harry?" Colin asked aloud, clutching his camera tightly as he followed Harry, Ron and Hermione down the winding path towards Hagrid's hut.

"To Hagrid's," said Ron, not making an effort to hide his frustration. "Now bugger off and leave us alone."

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded, shooting an angry glare at her friend. She looked over her shoulder at the put-out Colin and gave him a small smile. "You can come with us if you'd like, Colin, just—erm, you'll have to ask Hagrid if you can come in."

Now it was Harry and Ron's turn to shoot Hermione a series of angry glares, but she brushed off their animosity with a shrug of her shoulder. "What? You both thought I was annoying at first but gave me a chance, now look where we are," she said.

"I still think you're annoying," said Ron, though not without a small grin.

If it wasn't for that grin, Hermione would've taken offense to it, but instead she smiled back.

With that, they set off for Hagrid's hut.

As it would turn out, Hagrid didn't like getting his picture taken all that much so upon arriving, he asked Colin to put away his camera. The first year did so reluctantly, but caved to the half-giant's request. They'd arrived only to see Professor Lockhart just leaving, and quickly ducked out of the Professor's way as he sauntered up the path back to the castle. When Harry and his friends showed up, Hagrid was still rather miffed at having his morning interrupted by the Defense Professor's unwanted advice. Though his mood quickly improved at the sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione and their tag-along Colin. The friendly half-giant ushered them into the hut and offered them an array of rock cakes and tea. They passed on the rock cakes, minus Colin who wanted to try them, but helped themselves to Hagrid's excellently-brewed tea. Harry couldn't help but wonder how someone so good at brewing tea could be so terrible at making pastries, but he didn't let his thoughts linger on it for long, since Hagrid soon asked how their first week of classes had been.

Colin went first, sharing that he'd been enjoying his time at Hogwarts immensely. He'd been documenting everything in either writing or photo, and he'd already sent three letters home in five days to his younger brother Dennis. Colin readily admitted that he loved the wizarding world, and all it's aspects, and that he couldn't wait to learn more as the year progressed. Harry, Ron and Hermione then had their turn to talk about how their weeks had gone, with Harry and Ron being careful to avoid discussing their recently incurred detention over at the Quidditch Pitch. Hermione disapproved of them leaving that part of their week out, but didn't betray her friends' confidence. After they finished chatting about their week, Hagrid invited the four of them out behind the hut where he showed them his rapidly-growing pumpkin patch. The pumpkins were huge, quite frankly, and Hermione couldn't help but suspect that some magic had been involved in their growth. Her hypothesis was proven correct when Hagrid sheepishly admitted to using an engorgement charm on them. After Hagrid showed them around the pumpkin patch, they all decided to head back to the castle to meet up with their Ravenclaw friends and Tracey as well if the latter had the time.

They arrived back in the Entrance Hall and Colin bade them farewell with another photo and a wave.

After Colin left, Hermione turned to Ron and Harry and asked; "So, what now?"

Before Harry could reply, a familiar flash of red hair appeared over Hermione's shoulder—several shades darker than what was typical of a Weasley. The owner of said hair came closer, and though Harry could only see the top of her head and nothing else, he knew it could only be Lily.

"Hi guys," Lily said, her right hand rubbing her left forearm. "Had a pleasant morning?"

"Not really," Hermione muttered with a scowl. Her scowl quickly dissipated when she turned to face a tired-looking Lily. "I—we had a rather unpleasant morning, to be honest," she muttered.

"But next to you, I think you had it even worse than we did, Lily. Detention with Snape? That sounds terrible to me," said Ron, wrinkling his nose in distaste. The mere thought of having a detention supervised by the blatantly unfair and strict Head of Slytherin seemed terrible to Ron.

"It wasn't terrible," Lily said crossly, then folding her arms across her chest. "As far as detentions go…it was surprisingly normal." She wasn't willing to divulge that she had a somewhat friendly chat with the grouchy potions Professor about how she could avoid getting into detention, but she could easily admit that her time there had been far from miserable.

"Ah, there you are Mister Potter, Mister Weasley, I've been looking all over for you," came the crisp brogue of the Gryffindor Head of House.

Professor McGonagall was approaching the group, and if her thinned lips and clipped voice were of any indication to her current state-of-mind, she wasn't all that pleased.

"Potter, you will serve detention with Professor Lockhart tonight in his office at eight o'clock sharp," said McGonagall, to the dismay of Harry and Ron. Harry opened his mouth to protest Professor McGonagall's unfair verdict—in his opinion, but she'd already started speaking again. "And as for you Weasley," McGonagall said to an indignant-postured Ron. "You'll be serving your detention with Filch cleaning the silver in the trophy room at eight o'clock as well. Plenty of elbow grease shall be needed."

Ron cried out in protest, but a silent, icy look from McGonagall quickly silenced him.

"Professor," Harry pleaded. "Can I please have detention with Ron? Anything other than—"

"—Professor Lockhart specifically sought out your services for this evening, Potter," said McGonagall, cutting across Harry's protest and silencing him. "From my understanding, you'll be assisting the Professor at answering some of his fan-mail," she went on, her expression softening from hardened disappointment to softened sympathy.

McGonagall leaned closer and put her hand on a dejected Harry's shoulder. Harry looked up from the ground and saw the expression of sympathy on McGonagall's face. "I'm sorry Potter. From my understanding of the events that unfolded…you weren't in the wrong in that situation."

"What about me?" Ron couldn't help but ask, sounding hopeful.

McGonagall's look of sympathy vanished as quickly as it'd come, her features harshening as she turned from Harry to Ron. "Mister Weasley. You, on the other hand, were quite deserving of your detention. Be thankful it isn't more for attempting to hex a fellow student."

Ron tensed in indignation, but a quick 'shushing' noise from Lily shut down any verbal protest he may or may not have wanted to give.

With her message delivered, McGonagall stepped away from Harry, Ron, Hermione and Lily and left the Entrance Hall. Harry and Ron groaned in frustration, and though Hermione was confused as to the source of Harry's distress—detention with Lockhart could hardly be considered a bad thing in her mind, Lily shifted to Harry's side and squeezed his hand in solidarity.

"Can't be that bad, right? It's only one detention, not four," Lily said in reference to the fact that she had detention both this weekend and the next.

"At least you're not having detention with Lockhart," said Harry, sounding bitter.

"Would you rather have detention with Professor Snape instead?" Lily countered, staring at him intently.

Harry's identical eyes narrowed at Lily. "I thought you said you liked him," he said coldly.

"Oh, he's not as bad as you make him out to be," Lily said blithely. "But from your point of view, you think Snape and Lockhart are just as bad as each other. Now come on, Sev said he'd meet up with us in the Great Hall for lunch, they should be there soon."

"You've already seen Severus, Lily?" Hermione asked curiously.

Lily nodded in confirmation. "Yep. I swung by the library after I finished my detention, mentioned I was gonna head to the Entrance Hall to wait for you guys to return, and then we'd eat together in the Great Hall. Sev agreed, and if he's keeping time accurately, he should be just about finished with his studying."

"Speaking of the devil, look who it is," said Ron, nodding over Lily's shoulder at a nearby staircase.

Sure enough, Severus, Mandy and Anthony all descended the stairs in step with one another. Tracey wasn't anywhere to be seen, but she usually only stuck with their group when they were inside the library and went on her own way after leaving. As a result of being a Slytherin, being seen with students in rival houses was seen as a big no-no for Tracey. Meaning, outside of the sanctuary of the library, she'd face immense social pressure if she was seen to be keeping the company of Ravenclaws, or even worse, Gryffindors. Severus' group and Harry's converged on one another at the doorway to the Great Hall, all entering as one and heading for the Ravenclaw table for lunch.

The rest of the afternoon melted away under the late-summer sun, and before Harry and Ron knew it, it was time for their detentions. Lily, Severus, Anthony and Mandy volunteered to accompany Harry to the DADA Professor's office, since they'd be passing by on their way back to Ravenclaw tower. Harry graciously accepted and the five set off for Lockhart's office. Hermione, to everyone's surprise, chose to walk with Ron towards the trophy room.

"It'll be terrible, he'll have my writing 'thank you's' to his rabid fans all night," Harry bemoaned.

"Hey, if it's any consolation, you're probably more famous than he is," Lily chuckled weakly, trying to inject some humor into Harry's dire situation.

"Yeah, well, I don't care about all that," Harry muttered, still sounding as despondent as ever.

"We know, but it is something you can use to annoy Lockhart, isn't it?" Severus pointed out smirkingly.

Harry couldn't help but grin at his friend in response, for it was something he could say to annoy their Professor.

"Well, it looks like we're here," said Mandy, as they turned a corner and arrived on the second floor corridor which was home to Lockhart's and a number of other Professors' offices. They passed by Flitwick's office, then Vector's and Sinistra's before finally arriving at the fourth door on the corridor, leading to Lockhart's office.

"All right guys, see you all tomorrow then," Harry said with a resigned sigh.

"See you tomorrow Harry," Lily said softly, hugging Harry goodnight before turning away.

Severus, Anthony and Mandy all bade Harry goodnight as well and then left down the corridor they'd come from. Harry watched his four companions leave with longing eyes, wishing so desperately that he could join them, but then with a resigned sigh, he turned around to face the ajar door to Lockhart's class. Harry scrunched his tired eyes shut and took a deep breath, placed his hand on the handle, and pushed the door open. Lockhart was at his desk stacking mountains of letters when he heard the door creak open. The Defense Professor lifted his cheery gaze from the stacks of letters and gave Harry a broad smile.

"Ah, here's the scalawag!" he said. "Come in, Harry, come in."

Harry had never been in the Defense Professor's Office before, not once with Quirrell the previous year. Lockhart decorated the office in various shades of bright colors, a large number of self-portraits of the man himself adorning the walls. Harry couldn't help but gawk at the sheer amount of paintings the man had put up, all of which were of Lockhart himself, Lockhart though, mistakenly understood Harry's gawking to be awe.

"Impressed, Harry?" Lockhart said with a knowing grin. "I know, I would be too. I got all of these wonderful works of art commissioned by a number of friends of mine, they are rather brilliant, aren't they? Fine pieces of art, and I'm proud to own them."

Harry was too stunned to even utter a response, so Lockhart continued to ramble on about his paintings, explaining the intricacy of all of them and what differentiated one from the rest.

"I could've painted the lot of these myself, of course, but with such little time on my hands to paint and to enchant them…I preferred to let someone else do the work for me," Lockhart said with a pearly-white grin. "After all, I'm not short on Galleons at all, and I wouldn't want to put the chaps who painted my private collection out of business, now would I?"

Lockhart laughed at his own quip, but quickly sobered when he realized that Harry was still standing there frozen, and hadn't actually done any of his assignment so far. He cleared his throat and that finally seemed to snap Harry from his gawking stupor.

"Uhm—right, well, have a seat here Harry—" the young man indicated a chair next to his desk, "—and you can get started on these." Lockhart waved his hand over a stack of letters and Harry numbly sat in the chair.

The minutes inched by, and Harry sat there idly in his chair as Lockhart's words washed over him. His hand begun to ache from writing the same repetitive phrases over and over, though he made sure to mutter the occasional "Mmm" "Sure" or "Yeah" every few minutes so Lockhart wouldn't think he was disinterested. Harry continued to write diligently, but as his hand began to ache more and more, he found it harder to focus on maintaining his handwriting form. He started writing his response to his latest letter addressed to Veronica Smethley, hoping and praying that his night would be over soon.

And then he heard something—something quite apart from the spitting of the dying candles and Lockhart's incessant prattle about his fans. It was a cold, dark voice, chilling Harry to the bone and making him tremble in his seat. A shade of fear passed over his face as the cold voice rattled his very bones and froze him in terror, ringing out over and over within his mind.

"Come…Come to me…Let me rip you…Let me tear you…Let me kill you…"

The voice faded but Harry jumped in his seat, the wetted quill tip spreading a large blot of ink over Veronica Smethley's street address.

"What?!" Harry said loudly.

"I know!" said Lockhart. "Six, complete months at the top of the best-seller list! Broke all records!"

"No," Harry said frantically. "The voice…that voice!"

"Sorry?" asked Lockhart, sounding puzzled. "What voice?"

Harry darted Professor a fearful look. "That—that voice that said—didn't you hear it?"

Lockhart looked back at Harry in high astonishment.

"What are you talking about, Harry? Perhaps you're getting a little drowsy? Great Scott—look at the time! We've been here nearly four hours! I'd never have believed it—the time's flown, hasn't it?"

Harry nodded dumbly, doing whatever it would take to leave Lockhart's office quickly. He strained his ears to listen out for that bone-rattling voice again. The blood in his veins only started to thaw now, but still the fear remained inside him, he couldn't help but feel captivated by that voice just as much as he was terrified of it. He didn't hear it again though, and quickly packed up his things as Lockhart continued to prattle on about his latest book deal. Harry quickly wandered back through the halls to Gryffindor tower, listening out intently for that cold voice, but not once hearing it on his way back.

When he arrived back at the Fat Lady's portrait, he quickly uttered the password 'Gallant Knight' and entered the common room. Ron wasn't there, so Harry wandered up to the boys' dorm only to find that Ron wasn't there either. Harry got ready for bed and as he stepped out of the bathroom, Ron made his return from the trophy room. His lanky arms shook and a fatigued look was etched permanently onto his long features. He hardly seemed to notice Harry, such was his tiredness as he grabbed his pyjamas and trundled into the bathroom. Only then did he notice Harry sitting in the dark on his bed. Ron flashed his friend a tired look and flopped down onto his bed in his pyjamas.

"Fourteen times he made me buff up that Quidditch cup before he was satisfied. And then I knocked another trophy to the ground and scratched it, a 'Special Award for Services to the School,' I think it was called. Took ages to buff that out. How was it with Lockhart?"

"Tiring," Harry said quickly, but then, dropping his voice to a low murmur, he explained what he heard to Ron.

Ron was just as bewildered by it all as Harry was, unable to come up with any explanation behind why he heard that voice. With Ron unable to help, and having no explanation for it himself, Harry laid down on his mattress and shut the blinds of his four-poster. The sounds of his roommates' snores certainly didn't help matters, but it was that haunting, chilling voice that kept Harry awake for much of the night. When Harry finally drifted off and let his fatigue claim him, that terrifying voice still continued to haunt him even in his dreams.

A/N: I hope Lockhart was as enjoyable to read about as he was to write. Up next, a brief interlude involving some supporting characters and the main cast. Thanks for reading!