Author's Note: Less than a year since the last update... progress! Thanks to all who read and review. Yadda yadda yadda, on with the story.

-o-o-

Chapter 28

return to school

-o-o-

Kingsley Shacklebolt cautiously entered the muggle pub. Supposedly, Mad-Eye had asked to meet him here. Keeping in mind the paranoid veteran's own credo, his hand hovered over his wand, ready to draw. Toward the back, he immediately noticed a nearly filled table. Mad-Eye and Tonks were facing the entrance, and two shocks of red hair identified Arthur and one of his sons.

"I had thought the order disbanded." Shacklebolt noted, as he sat next to the elder Weasley. "Regardless, I'm happy to see you have recovered, Arthur."

"Mostly, only mostly." Arthur patted his wheelchair meaningfully. "I still have a hard time coming to terms with everything I've missed, but this isn't an order meeting. My son and I have reconciled, and between the two of us, we may have a solid idea about who in the ministry is compromised."

"The problem is." Mad-Eye growled. "If Percy is right, then Thickneese is under Death Eater control. With the acting minister effectively an enemy, we have no good options."

Eyes widening with shock, Shacklebolt stared at the younger Weasley. "Pius? You believe him to be a Death Eater? I find that very hard to believe."

"I'm positive that he's under the imperius curse." Percy asserted firmly.

"What options do we even have?" Shacklebolt asked no one in particular. "If the minister is compromised, then chances are the rot is too deep to root out."

Mad-Eye glanced over at his protégé, who looked lost in thought. "You haven't said a word kid. Do you have any smart, or good ideas?"

"No, but I do have some stupid bad ones." Tonks laughed humorlessly, and swept a calculating gaze over the others. "These past few months have challenged nearly everything I thought I knew... about everything. I think the only way we stand a chance, is if we use every weapon we have. The high road simply isn't an option anymore, hasn't been for a while."

Mad-Eye narrowed his eye appraisingly. Shacklebolt frowned slightly, pondering the implications. Percy simply looked confused.

"There are reasons why certain lines aren't crossed." Arthur said with a soft but steely voice. "What exactly are you considering."

"Everything." Tonks stood up, and clasped Arthur's shoulder firmly. "Get Shack up to speed with everything you two know. I'm going to... call in a few favors. I'll fill you boys in once my plan graduates from stupid to just dangerous."

-o-o-

Riding the Hogwarts Express, the setting was a familiar one. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle across from him, and Pansy Parkinson at his side. At the very least, Parkinson wasn't trying to drape herself over him anymore. Narrowing his eyes, Draco wondered why he ever enjoyed being surrounded by sycophants, he certainly didn't now.

"Right then." Draco stood, interrupting whatever inane thing Pansy was prattling on about. Not bothering to offer an explanation, he stepped out of the compartment, and slammed shut the door in Pansy's face as she attempted to follow.

Before he could decide where he wanted to spend the rest of the train ride, Draco noticed Millicent sitting alone in one of the compartments. She was staring out the window, and her reflected eyes looked haunted. He had thought perhaps, of finding Black and his wife, but this seemed more appealing than searching the entire train.

"Good of you to disappear, and leave me to drag Pugsley's heavy arse out of everyone's way." Draco complained, only half serious. The Addams boy weighed more than Crabbe somehow. "He's alive by the way."

"Oh thank Merlin." Millicent had swung around with a look of fear when the door slid open, but upon hearing Draco's words, she slumped in her seat, feeling some relief. "How angry is Wednesday?"

"Angry? Why would she be angry?" Widening his eyes as he remembered the last he saw the pale Hufflepuff, he patted down his robes searching for something. "Hang on... Here. She did assume I'd see you before she would."

Millicent took the fat paper envelope that Draco handed her. Biting her lip nervously, she tore it open, and pulled out a letter.

-o-o-

Millicent,

Seeing as my brother can neither read, nor write, he asked me to write you on his behalf. I've already stopped listening to him drone on, but I do know what he wants to tell you.

To be blunt, my brother is quite taken with you. He simply won't shut up, not even after I wired his jaw shut. On that note, I'm impressed. You managed to shatter his jaw, he'll be drinking his meals through a straw for months. Anyway, this letter is him announcing his intention to court you, and the necklace is a token of his affection.

Wednesday Black, writing on behalf of,

Pugsley Addams

-o-o-

"Is... Is this serious?" Millicent looked up at Draco, waiting for him to start laughing.

"I don't know what's in the letter Bulstrode. I'm just the letter carrier. Harry's owl was busy, and Wednesday wouldn't trust a normal post... owl..." Draco's words left him, as Millicent pulled an elaborate silver necklace from the envelope. "Bulstrode?"

"He wants to date me..." Millicent held the necklace in her lap, trying to process everything.

Draco grabbed the letter, and quickly scanned it. "No, he wants to court you. That's quite a bit more serious."

"Same thing right? Court is just fancier sounding."

"Dating is just fooling around." Draco explained, finally sitting down across from Millicent. "Sometimes it becomes serious, sometimes not. Courting is entirely different, marriage is the goal from the start. You should not take that necklace lightly, accepting it means you see him as an official suitor."

-o-o-

Draco made his way through the crowd, all heading toward the line of carriages. Seeing the one he needed, he hastened his step, and blocked the entrance with his arm. "Sorry Granger, Longbottom, but I need a private word with the happy couple." He smirked. "Nothing personal."

Hermione simply gave a shrug, and moved on to the next carriage.

"Why is it, that I actually think you mean it." Neville looked at the Slytherin appraisingly, recalling how Draco had practically been friendly at the wedding. "I don't know what's happened to you this year Malfoy, but it's a good change."

"Yeah, a good change. You have no idea." Draco agreed softly after Neville had moved out of earshot, his smirk faded after he turned to enter the carriage he'd claimed.

"It hasn't been that long since we've seen you." Harry rasped, breathing heavier than normal. "Voldemort decide to mark you or something?"

Draco couldn't help but notice that the famous lightning bolt scar was now a massive sunburst. With lines of scar tissue nearly reaching his eye, his eyebrow looked more like a dotted line. "Not exactly... He did ask, but I declined. I pointed out that Nott had been outed postmortem, and the school was on high alert. I said I'd be rather useless to him if someone saw his mark while I was washing my hands or something."

"Interesting, but what does that have to do with us?" Wednesday asked with a note of curiosity.

"He doesn't only want me to officially join his ranks, he wants both of you as well. Probably, no, definitely wants you two more." Draco looked at his left arm in consideration. "Honestly, I don't think I want to actually be a Death Eater. Not anymore. Besides, even if I change my mind, this seems like it should be a family decision. I need to be sure I'm not splitting my loyalty. Blood comes first."

Harry laughed, which turned into a hacking cough. Spitting a wad of bloody... something on the floor of the carriage, he looked up at Draco with a smile. "No..." He quickly looked at his wife, who confirmed his answer with an expression. "No, we won't be joining Voldemort's merry band."

"His goal is dull, and his methods are uninspired." Wednesday pointed out. "With all the power he clearly has... Well, he's just wasting his potential."

"I didn't think you'd be interested. I can't see either of you bending a knee to anyone." Leaning back, he sighed. Harry looked and sounded like death warmed over, and even Wednesday didn't look well. Her eyes were beyond bloodshot, the whites were almost entirely red. "So what did you two do to each other this time? Most people are exhausted after their honeymoon, not crippled."

Shrugging with a half-smile, Harry explained. "Dumbledore finally caught up to me. I broke a few ribs, and lost most of a lung. Wednesday burst a blood vessel or seven, and tore some muscles."

"He tried to take my husband, I made sure he took his last breath." Wednesday added darkly.

"Shouldn't you two see a healer then?" Draco asked, not caring in the slightest about Dumbledore's fate.

Harry and Wednesday looked at each other, then back to Draco. "Why?" They asked in tandem.

-o-o-

"Neville?" Harry asked quietly, as the pair sat down for defense class next to Hermione. "What are your parents doing here?"

Looking only slightly embarrassed, Neville shrugged. "They never said exactly what happened... Um, but one of Wednesday's uncles did something to sort of heal them, I hadn't made it back to the hospital yet. They did say, that Gran sort of left with the Addams guy... dancing? I don't know, it didn't make much sense."

Hermione looked up, annoyance clear on her face. "That doesn't explain anything. I can see your parents are better, but why would your grandmother bring them here?"

"They were aurors." Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, um... Gran didn't bring them here. I don't know where Gran is." Neville admitted. "When we realized that Gran never came back... and they found out she was teaching... Um, they decided they'd take over for her."

"Well... It's a bit early, really early, but I suppose we all knew that something would cause your grandmother to lose her job." Harry chuckled under his breath. "Running off with Uncle Loopy sounds like best case scenario to me."

"You think she..." Neville looked shocked.

Harry smiled and winked at Neville. "Mother said he was almost constantly flirting with your grandmother before the ceremony. With her son out of the hospital, and her grandson having his parents back, why wouldn't she celebrate?"

-o-o-

Notorious Spanish serial killer Armand Addams has been apprehended in London. The madman dubbed the Black Widower by Toledo authorities, was identified by a Spanish woman visiting family for the new year. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, was out to dinner with her relatives, when she happened to notice an elderly woman acting odd.

"The poor old woman was laughing and carrying on as if she were a drunken teenager in a bar, not a senior citizen in a fancy restaurant. My brother-in-law wanted to go over, and demand she act her age, but I noticed... him. I remembered seeing his face in the paper before, when I was younger, so I made my sister hold her husband back, and call the police."

Addams had been positively linked to the disappearance of half a dozen women before his initial capture in 1987. According to Toledo detectives, Addams would befriend, kidnap, and drive insane women that caught his eye. Once his victims were in his thrall, he would force them to marry him, and proceed to go on an extended honeymoon. He would always return alone, his newest bride missing, presumed dead.

When pressed on the issue, the prison that held Addams for the past nine years admitted that he had recently escaped. Further questions were unanswered, as the prison's warden stated their investigation on the matter was still ongoing.

-o-o-

"Well, this is just ridiculous. It's insulting... It's disgusting... It's, it's, it's libelous! " Gomez huffed in outrage. "Loopy's been married dozens of times. Driven scores of women to madness. I have half a mind to head over and give these reporters a stern talking to."

Morticia looked at her husband as he balled up the local mundane newspaper. "Does it say anything about the latest woman to catch his eye?"

Gomez tossed the paper over his shoulder, where it was caught by Thing, and promptly dunked into a nearby trash can. He muttered as he lit up a fresh cigar. "Something about not being able to identify her. They've tossed her into a local asylum. She's stark raving mad, yadda yadda yadda."

"I see. Since you're finished with the paper, I have a question for you." Morticia lifted up an ebony cube, beautifully decorated with a complex gold inlay. "I thought I told you to let Harry take this as a gift to his other family?"

"Hmm?" Gomez handed his cigar to Pubert, who promptly stuck the burning end in his mouth. Then he took the box in his hands and turned it over. "Isn't this the box that LeMarchand fellow made?"

Morticia crossed her arms, and glared at her husband. "No... That one is now missing." She reached over, placed fingers on specific points of the cube, and twisted. Opening, the box spilled its contents. "This collection of cursed gemstones would have made an appropriate gift. You gave away Fester and Dementia's anniversary gift."

"Ah... oops?" Gomez looked remorseful.

-o-o-

The library, it was the one place Dudley was sure his mum would never look for him. Why would a cruise ship even have a room full of stupid books? Still, it was the perfect place for him to figure out how to get into this weird box.

Turning the gilded box over in his hands, Dudley became confused. He had absolutely no idea how to even begin the puzzle, but he felt almost like he needed to solve it. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to just smash it open like he wanted to at first.

"Whatcha got there?" A girl about Dudley's age sat down across from him, eyeing the puzzle with interest.

"Uh... it's a present from my cousin." Dudley warred with himself over shooing the girl away, or asking for help. "Well, whatever is inside it is anyway."

She smiled at him. "I love puzzles, want a few pointers?"

"Sure, I guess. I don't know where to start." He slid the cube over to her, and watched her run her fingers along every surface.

"Wow. This is really well made..." She held the box up close to her face, trying to find the faintest little hint to a first step. "I'm Jessica by the way."

"Dudley." He grunted, as he found his attention drifting to her loose fitting blouse, which frustratingly, didn't quite reveal anything.

-o-o-

"Okay!" Harry clapped his hands together, and looked around the locker room as his team worked to put away their quidditch gear. "I think we stand a good chance of beating Hufflepuff. Practice went well, and as long as McLaggen stays in the air this time, we should be in good shape."

Harry looked over to speak directly to his beaters. "Peakes, Coote, the Hufflepuffs are probably too nice to follow Slytherin's example. That said, my wife might suggest they do just that. I want you two controlling the bludgers, prioritizing defense. If we lose a chaser, we can recover. We can't have another game with an open goal."

The two beaters nodded their understanding, and Harry grinned as he heard not so mild grumbling coming from his chasers. "Alright, it's late. Get some rest, and we'll flatten Hufflepuff this weekend."

Peakes and Coote left together, talking animatedly about their strategies. Ginny led a sullen Demelza out, the two of them speaking too softly to overhear. Harry considered seeing what was going on there, but was taken aside by Katie.

"Oh captain my captain, Oliver Wood you are not." Katie said with a role of her eyes. "Not to say his speeches were awe inspiring, but yours definitely need work."

Harry shrugged. "I guess quidditch just isn't a major focus of my life anymore. Don't worry, I still want to win, and I do think we will."

"No, I get it." She said nodding in agreement as they left the locker room together. "With all the scary stuff going on out there, everyone's priorities are shifting. No, what I want to know, is what on earth did you do to McLaggen?"

They both glanced up at the slowly shuffling form of their keeper making his way back up to the castle. Harry gave a short laugh, which turned into a deep cough. "An improvement right? I cut off his bollocks, among other things."

Katie snorted, and held back a peal of laughter. "Right, well whatever you did, the witches of Hogwarts thank you. He hasn't bothered any of us since we all got back. You must have done something pretty scary, because he just keeps to himself now."

Harry opened his mouth to elaborate, but was cut off by Ginny suddenly appearing in his path. "Look, I've been avoiding you this year because I got it. You changed, you're different, you aren't the Harry we used to know. I... Katie can I talk to Harry in private?"

"Sure, I think whatever's on your mind is more pressing than my mild curiosity." Katie chuckled as she picked up her pace. "Just remember, he's a married man now!"

Ginny closed her eyes, and gritted her teeth at the parting statement. "Right... I... You know how when I was a kid I had a crush on you?" Not giving Harry a chance to respond, she continued. "That crush didn't go away, not really. I was going to try and do something about it this year, but well you changed."

"You did hear what Katie said right?" Harry said, raising his scarred eyebrow, and pointing to his wedding band.

"Shut up! This isn't about that, I'm just explaining stuff." Ginny looked off to the side as she went on. "R... Ron and Hermione were convinced that you were under some dark enchantment. But Luna and Neville were even more adamant that you weren't. Luna even said you were more you than you'd ever been... whatever that means."

"Anyway, I just kind of stood back and waited to see what the truth was." She frowned. "And I'm still not sure. I was trying to not let my feelings for you affect my point of view, but I desperately wanted you to not be... well... dark."

Harry once more opened his mouth to confirm, but the younger girl continued without pause. "There were rumors that you killed Ron, but I know that was stupid. Then the word was that you and Addams killed a couple Slytherins, but supposedly they were death eaters... Now though, there's a fourth year girl, Vane, supposedly she killed herself over the break. Everyone knows she tried to use love potions on you and Addams."

Ginny looked up into Harry's eyes. "I need to know. Did you do anything to her?"

"The love potion thing was both her and McLaggen." Harry pointed out. "I was too busy dealing with McLaggen to pay any attention to her. I didn't do anything to Ron either. I really, really wish he was our keeper, and McLaggen had disappeared."

Harry shrugged. "The rumors about the Slytherins sound about right though."

-o-o-

Listening carefully for any teachers, prefects, or (Merlin forbid) Mrs. Weasley, Katie and Leanne slowly made their way to the seventh floor. With a very special blank section of wall in view, they grabbed each other's hand, and sped up eagerly.

"Bell, Triggs, you're a little far from your common rooms this close to curfew." Draco drawled from the shadows beside the dancing troll tapestry.

Blushing furiously, Leanne gave a little squeak and pulled her hand out of Katie's

"I don't care what you're doing, or why." Draco said with a bored look on his face, as he deliberately closed his eyes. "Slughorn's been reviewing the points we take, and the detentions we hand out. It's annoying really, so I'd just as soon not have seen anything tonight."

Opening his eyes, Draco was pleased to see the two girl's robes trailing behind them as they turned a corner. Smirking, he began to pace in front of the blank wall. He was glad he waited a few minutes to ensure the area was clear.

A large door appeared, and after stepping through it, Draco's jaw dropped. "Bollocks. This might take longer than I thought."

The room was cavernous, so large that he could not see the far walls. To make matters worse, there were mounds of junk piled high in every direction. Trying desperately to remember the vague directions he'd been given, Draco began to make his way through the chaotic mess. He stopped after walking only a few feet, turned, and pointed his wand at the wall above the door. With a few quick swipes of his wand, he emblazoned a bright red glowing EXIT upon the wall. "Last thing I need is to get lost in here."

After winding his way past various landmarks, Draco breathed a sigh of relief. There, on a small table covered in random junk like the rest of the room, was a jeweled tiara: the lost diadem of Ravenclaw. He walked right up to it, made certain not to touch it, but examined it closely. The Dark Lord was sure to use legilimency to confirm that he had found the treasure.

Draco had no idea why the Dark Lord didn't want him to retrieve the relic, but valuing his life he wasn't going to ask questions. Job done, he made his way toward his bright exit beacon.

"Finally! A door!"

Draco looked sharply over to where the voice had come from, and saw a silvery shape gliding toward him. "Weasley? You're a ghost?"

"Malfoy." Ron Weasley's ghost spat the name. "What are you doing here... Actually, do you know where here is?" The ghost hovered with torn trousers, that were drenched with silvery blood. One sleeve was rolled back, revealing a transparent arm with an odd spiral in what was once his flesh.

Taking in the sight of his dead classmate, Draco spoke calmly. "How did you die then? The whole school is wondering what happened to you. My theory was you were so embarrassed to have your mum around, that you scarpered off in shame. Clearly I was wrong."

"Like I'm going to trust you..." Ron began.

"You're dead Weasley." Draco interrupted. "What can I do to you now? Give you detention for skipping class for months? I didn't kill you... Who did?"

Ron started to form a retort, but he noted that Draco didn't look hostile, he wasn't even laughing or anything, he just looked serious. "The Addams girl did something to Harry, who did something to Hermione, or maybe Addams did that too... Either way, she wasn't in her right mind, it wasn't her fault."

Draco looked thoughtful. "Granger murdered you." He stated evenly.

"I told you, she wasn't in her right mind!" Ron's face darkened with anger. "Don't you go getting her arrested. It was Addams who's to blame."

Thinking for a moment about his options, Draco weighed the pros and cons of trying to keep Weasley trapped in the room of lost things. Shaking his head, he decided it would be more trouble than it was worth. Besides, while they were more cordial nowadays, he held no loyalty to the mudblood.

"No. Granger killed you, and no matter how you try to twist the facts, three drops of veritaserum, and she goes straight to Azkaban." Draco shook his head. "No, blaming Black's wife wouldn't work."

"Wife, what?"

"Instead, blame Nott." Draco interrupted again, not wanting to catch Ron up on the entirety of what he'd missed while dead. "Nott is the perfect scapegoat. Not only is he already dead too, but he was confirmed to be a marked Death Eater. No one will question that he killed you, and no one can question him now either."

Ron looked skeptical. "What's your angle Malfoy? Why are you helping us?"

"Helping you?" Draco shook his head. "I don't care either way. If you want justice, say your little mu... friend Granger killed you. If you want to protect her, say it was Nott. It doesn't really affect me much either way."

-o-o-

"Poor Molly." Slughorn shook his head sadly, while Sprout and McGonagall did their best to console the grieving mother. "It's a pain no mother should bear."

Flitwick glanced over to where Hogwart's newest ghost was answering Tofty's questions regarding his long absence. "At least the fact that Mr. Weasley has not entirely passed on, can offer some measure of comfort."

Startled, Slughorn looked down at the head of Ravenclaw. "Gracious Filius. Just look at the boy. He was viciously murdered. There's no comfort to be found there."

"Well, no." Flitwick agreed. "Not now surely, but in time... He isn't the only ghost with gruesome wounds, and his aren't nearly the worst."

"Sometimes I wonder about you Ravenclaws." Slughorn commented with a small shake of his head. "Sir Nicholas and the Baron for example have far worse wounds to be certain, but they died hundreds of years ago, as did anyone who may have known or loved them."

"And this is why I'm over here with you, and not chewing on my shoe leather talking to Mrs. Weasley." Flitwick sighed.

-o-o-

Millicent picked at her dinner distractedly. She gazed across the great hall to the Gryffindor table, where Wednesday was eating with her husband. After a few moments of watching the two Blacks interact, she pulled out the silver necklace she'd been gifted, and set it down on the table.

"A bit ostentatious for you, don't you think Bulstrode? You trying to trick some poor wizard into thinking you have money? Where did you even get this thing?" Pansy Parkinson reached across the table to grab the jewelry in question.

Startled, Millicent snatched the necklace back up, clutching it tightly. She had been so distracted, she had forgotten about other people. "Not that it's any of your business Parkinson, but it's a gift... from an admirer."

Pansy chuckled, with a look of disbelief. "An admirer, you?"

"Yes, me." Millicent cut Pansy off before she could start targeting her insecurities. "Not just that, but he wants to marry me. Unlike you, I have someone actually interested in me. You're the only one who can't seem to understand that Draco would rather kiss a flobberworm than you."

Shaking with outrage, Pansy opened her mouth to tear apart the uppity half-blood daring to insult her.

"Careful Parkinson." Daphne Greengrass' icy calm voice cut through the building tension. "We're in the middle of the great hall. Trading whispered insults is one thing, don't let yourself be goaded into something more, like an idiotic Gryffindor."

Forming a tight frown, Pansy reigned in her temper, and leaned over the table to whisper. "There's only one way a troll like you could get a boyfriend. When he gets tired of you, all you'll have to remember him by, is that cheap costume jewelry and knee pain."

With a sniff of disdain, Pansy turned and left, determined to find Draco and demand he stop fooling around, and start courting her properly.

"Marriage?" Daphne glanced between Millicent's face and the silver clutched tightly in her hand. "Were you serious, or just trying to rub her nose in her own failure to have a love life."

Still somewhat rattled, Millicent tried to calm herself, and laid down Pugsley's gift once more. "Both. Well, I mostly wanted to lord something over her for once... but I wasn't lying."

"Who? Don't tell me you and Draco?" Daphne guessed, considering how much time the two had been spending together.

"Merlin no." Millicent burst, a touch too loudly. Hunching in embarrassment, she continued barely above a whisper. "If you must know, it's Wednesday's brother. I met him at her wedding."

Daphne looked over the the newly bonded couple. "You only just met him, and he proposed? Tell me you didn't say yes. That's crazy, especially when you take all the rumors into account."

"No, he hasn't actually said a word to me... Wednesday says he wants to court me, and Draco says if I accept this necklace, then I'm agreeing to give his a serious shot."

"Look, I know we aren't exactly friends, but this sounds insane. Please tell me you're going to give that thing back." Daphne's face shown with genuine concern. "Even if you don't take into account all the rumors about Addams, or rather Black, this guy is a complete stranger."

"I know." Millicent let out an exhausted sigh. "But no. I am seriously thinking about going along with this. My mum says there have been some offers... pretty much money for the Bulstrode name. I know how I look, and if I didn't want to die alone, that's the kind of marriage I had in my future."

Millicent nodded meaningfully toward the Black couple. "Her family doesn't do things halfway. I think this really might be my best shot at something good, and even if love doesn't work out... I'm no worse off. You know, at least Wednesday's brother is our age."

-o-o-

Pansy found Draco heading toward the Slytherin common room. She stormed up to him, grabbed his arm, and pulled him into what used to be Professor Snape's office.

Draco's wand was out in an instant, and before he even registered who had grabbed him, he cast the disarming charm.

The force of Draco's charm surprised both slytherins. Pansy was sent spinning farther into the room, where she tumbled to the ground in a graceless sprawl. Her wand, rocketed into the ceiling, where it embedded itself into a support beam.

Recovering quickly, Draco adjusted to point his wand directly at the annoyance. "What the hell is your problem Parkinson."

"Parkinson?" Pansy pulled herself up, and glared. "Parkinson? I'm supposed to be your girlfriend Draco, we're supposed to be together. What the hell is your problem!? I get this image you're trying to make for yourself, but why can't you just drop it and be normal when we're alone?"

Draco massaged his temples. "There is no normal... I mean, look, there's no act to drop. Damn it Parkinson, in deference to your bloodline I've tried for ages to let you down lightly, but I just don't care about that anymore. Since you can't seem to take even the most blatant of hints, I'll be blunt. I don't like you. I'm not interested in anyone right now, but I'd sooner marry Moaning Myrtle than date you."

Putting his wand away, he gave her a final look of disgust, before leaving her to process his words.

-o-o-

"Any inside knowledge on how we can beat your husband's team?" Zacharias Smith asked Wednesday as he and the rest of the Hufflepuff team were making their way out of the common room.

Summerby smacked Zacharias upside the head. "Don't be such a prat Smith. Even if she knows something, she's not going to tell you."

"Why not?" Wednesday closed the book she had been reading. "I don't know much about quidditch, but if you want an advantage, try to hit Harry with one of those iron balls. Aim for his chest, left side. That should take him out of the game long enough to be useful."

Susan put her face in her hands, before shooing the quidditch team out. "Go, get ready. We'll all be down to cheer you on later." She then turned to her recently married friend. "I get that you wanted to make sure they don't hit the side he injured, but why would you tell them to attack him at all?"

"No, if they hit his injured side, it would just hurt." Wednesday pointed out. "if they hit his good side, that should make breathing difficult, possibly taking him out of the game for a bit, and giving our team the advantage."

"Right..." Susan stared hard at Wednesday. "Do me a favor. Try to remember that most people don't like pain like you two."

Standing up, Wednesday met Susan's stare, and patted her cheek. "I know. I don't understand, but I do know."

-o-o-

Neville watched Harry rocket past, laughing and coughing as he flew. "What do you think our chances of getting him to see Madam Pomfrey are? Slim, or none?

"Same as always." Hermione yawned deeply. "He's never liked the infirmary, and usually only wound up there after falling unconscious."

"Huh." Neville considered her words. "He does get hurt an awful lot doesn't he?"

Hermione looked over to Neville. "Well, yes, but I think he was only actually hurt badly a couple times. What's more likely, is Dumbledore kept having to update whatever he was doing to Harry."

Neville looked uncomfortable. "It still feels weird that Dumbledore turned out to be so horrible. What's next? Voldemort isn't actually that bad of a guy?"

"I think it depends on your perspective." Hermione gave a half-yawn and tried to sit up straighter. "I'm sure there are plenty of pure-bloods who think he's got the right idea."

"Well, this pure-blood sure doesn't." Neville turned his attention back to the game, wincing as Harry barely avoided a bludger. "Nothing wrong with being muggleborn, and I'm sure most muggles are fine people too."

-o-o-

"I think we're close. I'm not sure there's actually anything in here, but thanks so much for letting me solve it with you." Jessica smiled as she watched Dudley figure out the next step, shifting yet another piece of the cube aside.

"This is a lot more fun than I thought it'd be." Dudley admitted, handing the box over to Jessica. "Here, you work on it a bit, I'll grab us some snacks or something."

Dudley got up, and stretched. After taking only a few steps, he heard the puzzle box shift, and a sound of triumph from Jessica. He turned to see what she had uncovered.

As Jessica slid the final piece into place, time seemed to slow for an instant. Then chains flew out from the solved puzzle, ripping through Jessica, and tearing her apart.

Frozen with fear, Dudley stared as four monstrous figures appeared from nowhere. They were dressed in glistening black leathers, seemingly sewn into their skin. Their ghostly pale flesh was marred with grotesque bloody wounds, covering exposed portions of their bodies.

The tallest of the monsters, who had long nails embedded in his face and skull, picked up the solved puzzle box, and studied it carefully. He then turned to stare directly at Dudley. "You have summoned us here. Now, you will come and join us."

Unable to even scream, Dudley somehow managed to get his legs working again, turned, and ran as fast as he could, not daring to look behind him.

Without any sense of urgency, the four disfigured horrors walked out of the library, ignoring other patrons. Men and women who had turned to watch the teenage boy running for his life, turned back to what they were doing. It was as if they had not witnessed a girl's grisly death, nor had they seen what had caused the boy to run in fear.

-o-o-

The cabin door opened, then slammed shut. Dudley ran across the room, into the bathroom, and slammed that door as well.

Vernon blustered incoherently for a moment, as Petunia rushed to the bathroom door. "What's wrong diddums? You didn't eat something dodgy did you. I warned you not to touch that foreign food, I swear the fish wasn't even cooked."

Finding that Dudley hadn't locked the door, Petunia and Vernon stepped into the small bathroom to see their son shivering in fear, curled up in the bathtub. "Dudley, my boy, what's wrong?" Vernon asked, concern thick in his voice.

Dudley looked up, and was horrified to see not only his parents, but one of the monsters from earlier.

"They don't need to share your fate." The monstrous woman, with her skin peeled back from her throat, ran her hand along Petunia's long neck, stopping to grip it threateningly. "Just tell them to leave, and then come with us."

Dudley shook his head violently. "I don't want to go! Mummy, Daddy, help me!"

Petunia began to struggle to breath, though she couldn't understand why.

"Pet?" Vernon looked between his choking wife and his panicked son, trying to work out what to do.

"I offer you this one last chance." The monster with nails in his head appeared standing over Dudley in the bathtub. "Tell them to leave, and they will be spared."

Continuing to shake his head, Dudley screamed. "Help me!"

-o-o-

Author's note:

-whistles nonchalantly, as I reset the puzzle box-

Anyone interested in a slightly used evil artifact?