WARNING: There's a bonus scene at the end with -gasp- hanky panky. Skip it, skip to it, whatever you want to do is fine by me.

Author's note: Well, that was a longer than usual time between updates. Hopefully real life will settle down a bit, and I can go back to more frequent updates, but for now I can't say when that will happen.

Seventy nine reviews for that last chapter. You guys are fantastic. I wish that I could have gotten this chapter out there faster for you, but such is life. I love reading your thoughts, so let me know what you think of this one. :)

-o-o-

Chapter 17

Extracurricular activities

-o-o-

'Shit, shit shit shit shit shit!' Ron swore in his thoughts as he tore through the castle. Approaching a corner, he headed toward the seventh floor as fast as he could.

There were only two places Ron knew of that didn't show up on the Marauder's Map, and the room of requirement was one of them. He had tried for the Chamber of Secrets first, but that hadn't worked out. Not only was he unable to hiss the right password, but Moaning bloody Myrtle had gone completely mad. The barmy ghost was sobbing and wailing ear-piercingly loud, and she had stopped up all of the bloody toilets too. He'd left the flooded bathroom in a hurry, deciding that with Myrtle in such a mood, nobody could make it to the chamber in the first place.

Rounding the corner at top speed, he nearly bowled over someone coming from the other direction.

"Mister Weasley!" Professor McGonagall nearly shrieked in outrage. "Just what do you think you're doing running through the halls like a first year on a cheering charm? As a sixth year you should know better, and as a prefect doubly so."

Skidding to a halt, Ron cursed himself for not using the map to make sure his path was clear. "Professor, I... I think Hermione is in danger."

She fixed him with a flat stare. "In danger? Is this another one of your fool adventures? Can we not go one year without you three taking it upon yourselves to solve some mystery? You are not the hero of some children's book Mister Weasley."

Ron's cheeks tinged red out of embarrassment, but he choked back the angry reply that would no doubt delay him even more. "Something happened to Harry over the summer..."

"I am well aware of the changes in Mister Black's home life, and the resulting shift in his demeanor." McGonagall interrupted. "Believe it or not, as head of Gryffindor, I do try to keep track of my students. Professor Dumbledore has voiced some concern as well, so I cannot fault you for worrying; however, I have not seen anything but positive changes in the former Mister Potter. I am quite saddened that he's abandoned his family, but I fail to see how this has anything to do with Miss Granger being in peril."

"Trust me professor, Harry might be doing good in class, but he's definitely gone dark. We think it's that Addams girl's fault." Ron tried to quickly explain as he grew more worried about his friend. "Me an' Hermione are trying to get Harry back to how he's supposed to be, but I think something went wrong."

McGonagall closed her eyes, and rubbed her forehead in exasperation. "Remember what I said about this not being a children's book Mister Weasley. Next time any of you think something is wrong, come to me first. I am more that certain that she is just fine." ... Do you have anything you would like to add Miss Granger?"

Ron whipped his head around to see Hermione walking toward them with a tiny smirk on her face. She was carrying a large tome, pinning it against her chest with her crossed arms.

"Honestly Ronald, you and Harry have been jumping to conclusions since our first year." Taking care to keep her hands hiden from view, Hermione faced Professor McGonagall. "I'm sorry professor. We did think that Harry was under some kind of control spell. We should have come to you, but it doesn't matter anyway. We were wrong, and I've already apologized to Harry."

"See that you exercise more control over your friends' impetuous nature Miss Granger." The transfiguration professor then shook her head in disappointment. "Mister Weasley, ten points from Gryffindor for running in the halls, and generally acting in a manner inappropriate for a prefect. That badge you wear comes with responsibility, and I will not hesitate to take it from you if I feel you aren't taking your position seriously."

The two sixth years watched their head of house walk away, and Ron turned to Hermione. "That was bloody brilliant. You've gotten loads better at hiding the truth. If I didn't know better, I'd never know you were lying. How did it go, do we have Harry back?"

"I wasn't lying Ronald." She said coldly, but then smiled. "It couldn't have gone any better. Harry and I have made up, and we're going to meet in the common room tonight to catch up. He is a bit upset with me right now, and I need to be careful to never betray his trust again, but I'm sure we'll be best friends again soon enough. For now though, I need the room of requirement."

After recoiling slightly at Hermione's initially frigid response, Ron hurried to catch up with the bushy-haired witch who was already swiftly walking away.

-o-o-

Ron waited impatiently as Hermione paced along the blank stretch of wall on the seventh floor. As soon as the door appeared, she disappeared through it. Ron quickly followed, closing the door behind him.

The room was fairly small and spartan. In the center there was a stand that Hermione had set her book upon, and two padded wood chairs that faced each other were off to the side. Ron walked over to stand next to his friend as she flipped through the book searching for something.

"Ah, there it is... Well no wonder it didn't work, It's a swirl not a twist." Hermione said to herself. "Go ahead and sit down Ronald, this shouldn't take long."

Confused, Ron sat in one of the chairs and watched as Hermione held out one of her hands. In the center of her palm was a twisted scar that was cracked and oozing. Before he could ask what had happened, she traced a circle around the scar with her wand while casting a surgical cutting charm. His eyes grew as wide as saucers, and his jaw dropped as she casually cut a large hole in her hand. Seeing the bones of her hand exposed was too much for Ron. He doubled over, and lost his lunch.

Wiping his mouth, Ron risked a glance upward to see Hermoine cast another spell at her bleeding hand. This time, the flesh around the wound spiraled inward, and closed the gaping hole in her palm. She was left with a healed hand, albeit one with a swirled pattern in its center.

Pleased with the result, Hermione switched her wand over to her newly healed hand, and repeated the procedure with her other hand. This resulted in Ron continuing to empty the contents of his stomach.

"There, that's much better." She said as if she had merely tied up her hair, or done something else suitably mundane. She then began skimming through the book again. "Now to do something about the scars."

Once he finished retching, Ron pulled himself together, and stood up. "W-what did they do to you? Merlin Hermione! It backfired didn't it? They've got you now too!"

Shaking her head as she sighed, Hermione stopped reading, and looked at the redheaded wizard. "Honestly Ronald, you make it sound like a cult. They haven't 'got me,' they just opened my eyes a bit. You could stand to be more open minded yourself."

"More open minded? Hermione, you just cut giant holes in your own hands like it was nothing!" Ron shouted, and stepped forward to grab her elbow. "There is something wrong with you. C'mon let's go see my mum. She knows how to contact Dumbledore, and he'll know what to do."

He paled as she pulled free of his grip. Her face was stony, and her eyes bored into him. "Ronald Bilius Weasley! There is nothing wrong with me, and there is nothing wrong with Harry either. It's no wonder he stopped being friends with us. Well, I've given my apologies, and Harry and I have made up. If you want Harry to be your friend again, you'd best do the same."

"Hermione please, I can't lose you too." He grabbed her again, and spun her so that she was facing him squarely. Putting a hand on both of her shoulders, he pleaded with her. "We don't have to see Dumbledore, let's just go see Pomfrey. If she can't find anything wrong with you, then I'll drop it okay?"

"Madam Pomfrey." Hermione corrected with a flat stare as she crossed her arms and narrowed her gaze. "And if you're so concerned about losing me as a friend, then maybe you should listen when I say that I'm perfectly fine. Take your hands off me Ronald, or I'll cut them off of you."

Realizing that she meant what she said, Ron pulled his hands back as if they had been burned. More than a little afraid, Ron stepped backward nervously. Slipping in the puddle of his own vomit, he fell back into the chair he had been sitting in, and cracked his head on the wooden chairback.

The pain blossoming in his skull took Ron's attention away from his fear, and his emotions settled into the familiar realm of bitterness and anger. Rubbing the back of his head, he stared up at Hermione accusingly. "So that's it? After all we've been through you're abandoning me now too. Merlin Hermione, I thought this year we were going to... well... you know."

"Know what?" Hermione asked, looking confused. "The only thing we've been talking about since halfway through the summer was Harry. We wanted him as out friend again, and I've done that. It's not my fault you won't do the same."

"Oh sure, we wanted Harry back, but we've been getting closer too. Are you trying to tell me that all those times you cuddled up to me meant nothing?" Ron asked, feeling betrayed.

Hermione looked shocked. "Cuddling? You thought... that you and I?" Peals of laughter filled the room as Hermione braced herself on the bookstand. Wiping away a tear, she looked at his expression and snorted. "You're serious..." She commented, then continued laughing.

Flushing red with anger, Ron pushed himself up and stormed over to the door. As he reached for the knob, it flattened itself against the door, preventing him from exiting.

"Come on Ronald." Hermione's laughter faded, but a smirk remained fixed on her face as she carefully took off her prefect badge. "Did you honestly think that I'm stupid enough to just let you walk away? I need assurance that you aren't going to do something stupid."

-o-o-

Mundungus Fletcher had come through for the Order by suggesting and procuring a muggle dwelling. The petty crook often dealt with muggles, as his magic gave him a rather severe advantage when it came to staying out of trouble in the muggle underworld.

The sounds of celebration filled the rundown flat that now served as the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore sat alone in the small bedroom that he used as his office, unable to truly enjoy the revelry.

After the raid on the Burrow, Dumbledore realized that he needed to better protect their headquarters even if the location wasn't meant to be permanent, so the muggle apartment was protected by the fidelus. Truth be told, after having that particular charm backlash once, he was reluctant to cast it again. Unfortunately, the cost of his cowardice was paid for by the Weasleys. Their suffering was unacceptable, and he swore that he would make it up to them somehow.

The day that the Weasleys suffered so, Dumbledore had received a package containing Snape's severed hands, his broken wand, and a taunting message. Foolishly, he had set off in an ill-advised attempt to find Severus. When he was following what he thought were unintentional clues to his spy's whereabouts, the Burrow was razed.

The ever present twinkle in his eyes was gone, and Dumbledore no longer smiled. Ever since Harry met up with that Addams family, nothing had gone right. Things were turning out darker than the first time Voldemort made a bid for power, and for once he wasn't sure that he could lead the light to victory.

The only shining ray of hope was that so far, with the exception of Sirius, no one in the Order had been killed yet. Although, they were far from unscathed. Hestia had lost her arm in a skirmish that put Emmeline in Saint Mungo's, but she was dealing with her loss well, and Emmeline was due to be released in a week. No one could say if Arthur would ever recover though, and that weighed heavily on Dumbledore's heart.

A loud knock preceded Moody calling out his intentions before the door opened. "It's me Albus, we need to talk."

The one time auror limped in on his new prosthetic that he hadn't quite gotten used to yet, and the eye patch he wore was yet another reminder of the dangerous times.

"Not enjoying the festivities Alastor?" Dumbledore asked, hoping that this talk was of a frivolous nature.

Moody scoffed. "We capture one Death Eater, and they act like we're winning the war. No Albus, I'm not 'enjoying the festivities.' It may be true that Lestrange is one of the worst, but I still think we should be putting them in the ground where they belong. Letting a death eater live is idiotic now that Azkaban isn't secure."

"That would make us no better than they are. If we win by giving into the dark, then we will still have lost." Dumbledore argued the point that was increasingly a matter of contention between him and his old friend.

Holding up his hand, Moody shook his head. "We've got more pressing concerns than this old argument. Albus, I'm sorry, but Snape is dead. The bastards sent his body to the ministry department heads."

Frowning as he closed his eyes tightly, Dumbledore sighed in frustration. "Which head, and are they certain it's Severus?"

"Heads, plural, and I mean all of them." Moody clarified in a steady voice. "Each one opened up a package this morning with a different body part inside. Scrimgeour got Snape's head, and he's damn sure it is him. After all, he was one of the aurors calling for Snape's arrest despite your vouching for him back then."

-o-o-

"I haven't seen Ron, what did he do when your little plan didn't work out." Harry asked Hermione as they settled in to a pair of worn chairs in the Gryffindor common room. It was getting fairly late, and with the exception of a group of fourth year girls giggling in the far corner, the room was empty.

Hermione disagreed as she stretched, settling into the chair. "Our plan worked just fine. Ronald might not have been too pleased, but I like how things turned out. He threw one of his little temper tantrums, but I did my best to get him to listen to reason."

Harry noticed that his friends hands were completely unblemished. Personally, he would have left the scars, but to each their own. "Did he? Listen to reason that is."

"No, you know how hard-headed he can be. I told him that all he had to do was apologize to you, and give up on the whole 'fix Harry' thing." She explained while shaking her head. "I left him with quite a bit to think about though, and I'm confident that he won't cause any more problems."

Taking her words at face value, he shifted the conversation. "McGonagall didn't look too happy earlier, what did you say to her anyway?"

"I turned in my prefect badge." She said with a shrug. "A prefect really can't be breaking the rules as much as I have."

Harry held up a finger as he opened his mouth to say something, closed it, opened it once more, then let out a confused sigh. "But isn't it easier to break the rules when you're a prefect? Some of those benefits really came in handy last year."

"A prefect has to be held to a higher standard than everyone else." She replied firmly. "I simply can't wear that badge when I know I won't be meeting those standards."

"Why do you care? I thought you were more... free spirited now." He pointed out.

"Exactly." Hermione nodded her agreement. "Which is why I can't be a prefect. Rules are important Harry. As a regular student, it's expected that I'll try to break more than a few."

"So... you'll..." Harry tried to figure out Hermione's thought process, but couldn't quite understand her reasoning. "Okay, run this by me one more time. You're no longer bothered at all that I've cheerfully murdered a man, but you can't bring yourself to break rules as a prefect. Only, you're fine breaking rules when you aren't a prefect. What am I missing here?"

"It comes down to morals Harry." She explained in a tone he knew all too well. "My parents always told me that rules were important and must be followed, but a person should be obligated to break the rules if their morals demand it. I'll admit, I haven't been very consistent over the years, but with this fresh start I plan to be."

Curious, Harry urged her to continue. "Okay then, your morals tell you to break rules. Why does being a prefect or not enter into it?"

Hermione stared off into the distance. "I don't think I really have morals anymore. I've thought about it, and there's not a single thing I can think of that I feel is wrong. If morals are supposed to trump rules, then I need something to follow."

She looked back at Harry. "After thinking about it a little, it was obvious. I'll just borrow the morals of everyone else. If I'm a prefect, then I should act like a prefect, which means enforcing the rules, and setting a good example. If I do that, then I'll have to try and punish you and Wednesday. We both know how that would end, and I really don't want to die just yet. There's still so much to learn."

"I'll take your word for it, the morals thing that is. You're absolutely right about the getting yourself killed thing." Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "Without your badge, you don't have a problem with the rules I break?"

"Of course not." She agreed at once. "You're a dark wizard. You're supposed to break the rules."

-o-o-

Tryouts for the Gryffindor Quidditch team started out more frustrating than Harry had anticipated. Not only were there a ridiculous number of hopefuls, but there were many who had no interest in making the team.

After sending away people from other houses, and those who couldn't even mount their broom properly, Harry had all of the chaser hopefuls circle the pitch at top speed. Soon, half a dozen fliers set themselves apart from the others by neatly avoiding collisions, and speeding ahead of the pack. Harry then had the remaining six possible chasers pass a few quaffles amongst themselves while a pair of bludgers were let loose.

Katie Bell easily made the team again, having the best skills all around. Harry wasn't the least bit surprised, and had her join him in picking out the rest of the team. While not official, Harry had managed to convince her to essentially be his co-captain.

Ginny Weasley had little difficulty as well, being nearly as talented as the seventh year veteran. Harry was pleased to note that the redheaded girl was able to set aside her fear/dislike of him for her love of the game. As much as he felt that she could be a problem, Ginny really was talented on a broom.

The third chaser chosen was a fourth year by the name of Demelza Robins. While about even with the other three hopefuls in terms of flying and handling a quaffle, she managed to impress Harry by dodging a bludger that he was sure that she couldn't have seen coming.

Harry was willing to defend his position, but there wasn't anyone willing to take him on for the seeker position. Deciding that it just meant tryouts would be finished that much sooner, Harry moved right on to the beaters.

Wanting to have a little fun, Harry had a bludger released for every beater trying out. After a couple hopefuls were knocked off their brooms, Harry flew right into the mess of bats and bludgers. With a wide grin, Harry called out that the first two who managed to hit him were going to make the team. After a few moments hesitation, the beater hopefuls started knocking bludger after bludger at Harry who was laughing as he easily dodged the iron balls.

Ritchie Coote was the first to score a hit, cementing his place on the team. The boy lacked the traditional beater build, but had incredible aim. Coote had taken the time to line up and time his shot perfectly, so that when Harry dodged a pair of other bludgers, he was forced to take a hit.

Jimmy Peakes not only took the second beater position, but nearly managed to knock Harry off of his broom. With his ears ringing, and a trail of blood running down his face, Harry smiled brightly as he announced the new beaters.

"Okay seriously, I knew you were crazy, but you do realize you just got creamed by a bludger right?" Katie looked at her longtime teammate, slightly worried at how happy he looked.

"That means we have a pair of decent beaters this year." Harry pointed out as he wiped the blood off of his face. "Neither one of those were lucky shots."

"Anyway, now all we need is to find our keeper." He smiled as he tossed a quaffle into her hands. "Your turn to play."

Katie led Ginny and Demelza into the air where they waited for the first keeper to get into position. Harry had Coote and Peakes ready to retrieve quaffles, and bring them back to the girls as quickly as they could.

Cormac McLaggen was the clear victor. He managed to save all six shots, while the best anyone else had managed was three.

"I see that your friend realized he didn't stand a chance." Cormac boasted as he hopped off his broom. "A shame really, I was hoping to show him up in person. Not much of a Gryffindor if he's too afraid to even try."

"Hmm, where is Ron anyway?" Harry wondered aloud. "Eh well, doesn't matter too much I suppose."

"So I have a few ideas for the team." Cormac said as he winked at Katie who was just touching down next to Harry. "What we need..."

"Is for you to make saves like those against other teams, and nothing else. Harry's the captain, not you." Katie snapped at McLaggen, and then turned to Harry. "Please tell me we don't have to rely on I'm-better-than-everyone-McLaggen. Ron's just late right?"

"I have no idea, but I do know he has a problem with me this year. Maybe he wants to stay away from me more than he wants to be keeper." Harry shrugged, and pointed his thumb at the other seventh year. "It almost sounds like you have a history with our new keeper."

Staring into McLaggen's eye's, Katie spoke to Harry. "He's got a reputation." With that, she spun on her heel and headed toward the locker room, her windblown ponytail barely missed Cormac's face as it whipped around.

Cormac scoffed as he put an arm around Harry's shoulders. "She's just jealous because I've never asked her out. Now about..."

Remembering his lessons with Wednesday, back at the Leaky cauldron, Harry ducked under and grabbed the older boy's arm. Pulling the arm back as he snagged Cormac's hair with his free hand, Harry shoved the keeper into the grass face first.

"Frankly, I don't really care who you are, or what you do for the most part." Harry said calmly, then leaned in to whisper into his ear. "But don't touch me, and if I find out you tried to touch Wednesday again, I'll rip your arms off."

Harry twisted the arm further to punctuate his threat, which evoked a grunt of pain from McLaggen. "That is of course if she hasn't already killed you herself."

Harry let go of his hold on the larger boy, and as McLaggen started to rise, he slapped him on the back forcefully, which drove him back into the ground. "Welcome to the team Cormac."

Spitting out a mouthful of grass, Cormac looked up to see Harry grinning down at him cheerfully.

-o-o-

Lunchtime on Monday, Luna chose to sit at the Gryffindor table again. Hermione had begun to join Harry and Wednesday in their mealtime ritual of eating at whichever table the serene Ravenclaw's fancy took her.

"Miss Granger, Professor Longbottom has informed me that Mister Weasley was absent from her class this morning." McGonagall stated as she interrupted her former prefect's lunch. "Do you have any idea where he might be?"

Hermione set her fork down, and shook her head. "No professor, I haven't seen him since Friday. I was helping him learn a few healing spells that he showed interest in, and when I left, he was still working on his pronunciation."

Frowning, McGonagall looked around the table. "Does anyone know where Mister Weasley is hiding?"

Everyone within earshot shook their head, or gave a short reply in the negative.

Harry caught the professor's attention. "I'd like to know where he is myself. He never showed up to tryouts, and despite our... differences, I was expecting him to make keeper again this year. If you find him, let him know that I'm willing to give him a shot anyway. I'm not sure the keeper we have is going to work, but all of the other people who tried out could be replaced by a dummy charmed to hover between the rings."

The grim statement about the team's poor keeper situation had McGonagall pursing her lips in disappointment before she could stop herself. "I'll keep that in mind Mister P-Black."

As soon as the professor had walked far enough away, Harry looked across the table at Hermione, his eyebrow cocked questioningly. "I never knew that Ron had any interest in healing."

"When I made it perfectly clear that I wasn't going to be doing the spells for him, he seemed very interested." Hermione explained as she picked up her fork and continued eating.

Wednesday lifted her own brow. "What spell was he hoping you would do for him?"

"The flesh mending charm." Hermione said casually. "He wasn't getting the inflection right at all when I left him. It was like the levitation charm all over again."

"Then you do know where Ron is." Luna pointed out as she began to comb and braid Hermione's hair with Thing's help.

"Not really." Hermione replied as her head twitched noticeably with each snag that Luna's comb tore through. "We were in the room of requirement, and I have no idea what happens if someone dies in there. For that matter, for all I know he is alive, and has run away. I doubt it, but it is possible. I do know that the room is empty now, I checked on Saturday."

"Oh! I almost forgot." Hermione exclaimed with a start that shook Thing loose, sending the hand tumbling to the floor. She reached into her robes, and handed Harry a folded sheet of parchment. "I've been meaning to get this back to you for days. You left it at the Dursleys, Dumbledore collected your belongings, and Ron nicked it from Dumbledore."

Harry gratefully took the blank parchment. "Thanks, I forgot about this thing completely, other things on my mind and all. I haven't needed it this year, but it's good to have it back."

Wednesday looked at the parchment curiously. "And that is?"

"I'll show you later, when we're alone. It's brilliant really, and dead useful while we're at Hogwarts." Harry promised his girlfriend as he pocketed the parchment.

-o-o-

The week passed with little excitement, except for the disappearance of Ron Weasley. With the exceptions of Mrs. Weasley and Ginny Weasley, no one was as upset as Headmaster Tofty.

"How could this have happened Minerva?" Tofty asked as he read the report that the DMLE had sent him. "The patrolmen found no sign of Mister Weasley."

"At least they were discrete." McGonagall pointed out. "The last thing we need is for there to be a panic about missing children. Knowing Mister Weasley, I wouldn't be surprised to find that he has gone off on some ill advised adventure."

"I hope you're right. The entire DMLE has been sent a notice regarding his absence. They'll all be on the lookout for Mister Weasley, and they even have the trainee aurors actively searching for him as part of their tracking course." Tofty sighed as he set down the report. "With he-who-must-not-be-named running around, Mister Weasley's disappearance is downright frightening."

"Poor Molly." McGonagall shook her head sadly. "With Arthur in the hospital, and now this, she's thrown herself into her new job with abandon. She seems to be everywhere at once, catching students out of bounds left and right. I think she's hoping to find her son in one of the broom closets."

"I think we're all hoping he's doing something foolish, but safe." The headmaster noted, nodding his head in agreement.

-o-o-

The Great Hall was cleared except for a raised stage area where Harry stood front and center preparing to address the growing crowd. Professor Longbottom sat at the edge of the stage, watching with interest, and keeping a small portion of her attention on her grandson. Neville was talking with Susan Bones at the front of the mass of students, looking confident, and without a trace of nervousness.

Roughly half of the school had shown up in response to the notices Harry had written up. All seven years and all four houses were represented, though not equally. Most of Gryffindor was present, whereas there were only a few Slytherins. Both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had a solid presence, and there were even a few faculty members in the back, having shown up out of curiosity.

"Welcome to the first meeting of the Defense Club." Harry called out across the great hall. "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting so many to show up, but I'm sure we'll manage."

"Last year, my friends and I started something similar to this, because our Defense professor wasn't teaching us anything useful." Harry gestured toward Professor Longbottom with a grin. "This year that isn't a problem, so we aren't going to be going over the standard spellwork as much. Since we have a competent professor, I figured we should learn some things that aren't going to be on our tests."

Noting that he still had everyone's attention, Harry laughed inwardly, certain that this next bit would thin the crowd. He raised his hand. "Show of hands, how many of you are confident that you can defend yourself from a muggle, or a wizard without a wand?"

Nearly everyone raised their hand. Mostly only the younger students kept their hands down, but there were a few older students who smelled a trap and didn't raise theirs.

With a wide toothy grin, Harry asked for a volunteer. "For a demonstration, I want someone who feels they can best anyone who doesn't have a wand, and I'm just talking about humans, not a dark creature like a vampire or a werewolf."

Despite Draco whispering fervently at him to drop his hand and not walk into an obvious trap, Theodore Nott called out, drawing Harry's attention. "A wizard that's lost their wand is worthless, and a muggle doesn't even register as a threat."

Harry drew his wand, and tossed it casually to Neville for safe keeping. "Come on up Theo. Use whatever spells you'd like, to subdue me."

"Non-lethal of course!" Professor Longbottom called out.

Harry shrugged. "Okay, use whatever non-lethal spells you'd like. Except for that, no holds barred." He cracked his knuckles, and let his hands hang at his sides. "Whenever you're ready."

While climbing onto the stage, Nott scoffed. As soon as he stood, he drew his wand and cast in one fluid motion that showed years of dueling practice. "Incarcerous!"

Conjured ropes streaked toward Harry's chest, but he calmly stepped to the side, allowing them to pass by harmlessly. Harry motioned for Nott to continue. "Come on then, show me what you can do."

Narrowing his eyes, Nott smirked. If Potter wanted humiliation so badly, who was he to deny him just that? In a practiced motion, Nott sent four spells toward Harry, surprising many by doing so silently.

Harry noted that only one would hit him, so he ducked that one as two passed on either side, and the third splashed against the stage floor. Immediately, he leaped toward Nott, ignoring the thorny vines that scraped his legs as they sprang up from where he was standing.

Though surprised that Harry was running right at him, Nott continued his attack without pause. Jet after jet of different colored light left his wand, and headed directly for and around his opponent.

Dodging and ducking to avoid them all, Harry threw himself into Nott's legs, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

The hall was silent. Nott was face down on the stage, with Harry kneeling on him. The Slytherin's wand arm was twisted around, held tightly under Harry's knee, and the wand itself was casually pocketed by the Gryffindor.

With the same grin he'd been sporting the entire time, Harry pulled back Nott's head by his hair, exposing the trapped boy's throat. Harry's other hand reached around, and a line of crimson was drawn across Theodore's neck. "And now you're dead."

Harry put the cap back on the marker that he'd pulled from his robes, and helped Nott to his feet. "Good try though." He said to the humiliated Slytherin, before sending him back down into the crowd with his wand.

"That's the sort of thing I'd like to work on." Harry announced to the students. "Just imagine what I could have done if I had my wand."

"You're Harry Potter though." A Ravenclaw called out. "Who else is going to be able to do something like that?"

His grin vanished as he focused on the Ravenclaw. "My name is Black." He corrected coldly, then turned to face Wednesday who was standing near Neville and Susan, looking bored. "Wednesday, what do you think?"

"That was pathetic." She answered, her flat voice carried over the crowd despite its lack of volume. "My baby brother could have done better than you did Harry."

"I actually believe that." Harry agreed after a moment's thought, then he addressed the crowd again. "I just started learning how to fight without a wand myself. My girlfriend has been teaching me over the past few months, so you aren't as far behind as you might think."

"To start, I figured we could all work on dodging. Find a partner, and take turns throwing," Harry glanced at Professor Longbottom out of the corner of his eye, "minor jinxes at each other."

A few dozen students simply left, not wanting to stay if they weren't going to be learning magic, or simply because they didn't want to bother with physical activity. Harry was pleased at the dwindling number, and planned on running them ragged for the rest of their allotted time in the hope that even fewer would return.

-o-o-

Author's note: The following bonus is a combination of a few different requests, and the predictions some made for chapter 16. Everyone is slightly out of character, and the scene is not part of my story's canon.

-o-o-

BONUS SCENE

Hermione's desperation, take two.

or

A different kind of lucky.

-o-o-

Hermione rested her hand on the door to Myrtle's bathroom. She had a feeling that waiting just a touch longer was the thing to do. After standing there for nearly two minutes, she pushed the door open and walked in. Hermione felt the icy chill of a ghost as Myrtle zoomed past. The dead witch was giggling as she looped around and disappeared through the ceiling.

Wearing Wednesday's face, Hermione raised her eyebrow questioningly as she looked at Harry who had watched the ghost leave with amusement.

"I told her that I'd overheard that Draco planned on taking advantage of the prefect's bathroom right about now. Apparently he's been feeling stressed lately. Myrtle's hoping to add him to her collection of men she'd 'bathed' with." Harry explained while shrugging. "I somehow doubt she'll help him relax."

While the image of Draco bathing was one she could have done without, Hermione had to bite the inside of her lip to keep herself from laughing at the idea of Myrtle flirting with the Slytherin git. She wasn't prepared for just how sharp Wednesday's teeth were, and a trickle of blood escaped her mouth when she opened it slightly in shock. On reflex, she brought her hand finger up to wipe the blood away.

Worried that she'd blown it, Hermione's heart started racing when Harry stared at her with an expression she didn't recognize, and he grabbed her hand. She gasped when he leaned forward and licked the blood off of her finger.

"Mmm. Playtime can wait a bit longer." Harry said before capturing Hermione's lips with a searing kiss.

Hermione's mind drew a blank for a moment as Harry suckled on her bleeding lip, and drew her into his arms, this was not what she had in mind, and she knew she had to stop it. She had no idea how to end this without blowing her cover though. As the kissing became more passionate, she began to lose herself in his embrace.

"Well, this is unexpected." A flat monotone voice pointed out. "I've never understood the appeal of twins, but I suppose it's worth trying out."

Both Harry's and Hermione's eyes shot open, the former in confusion, and the later in fear.

As Harry backed up to try and figure out what was going one, he saw Wednesday's arms snake around Wednesday from behind. While doing nothing to resolve his confusion, it was a sight that stoked his arousal.

"It's almost like masturbating in a way." Wednesday commented as she cupped Hermione's breast, and ran her other hand along the other witches hip.

Hermoine moaned as she felt Wednesday's hands roam across her body. Merlin help her, she didn't know why, but she did not want what ever was happening to stop.

Harry had several thoughts pass through his mind in an instant. The Wednesday he had been kissing must be someone using polyjuice, and he was almost certainly going to be having a threesome with whoever it was and the real Wednesday. He wondered who the other witch was. He also wondered if this was such a good idea.

The real Wednesday started to disrobe the imposter, and Harry stopped caring. Whatever happened, they would deal with it later. He moved behind both girls, and started to take the real Wednesday's clothes off as well, nibbling his way down her neck as he worked. Soon both Wednesday and Hermione were nude except for their panties. The periwinkle blue of the fake Wednesday's knickers made it simple to tell them apart.

Hermione had no idea if it was the felix felices, a side effect of the polyjuice, or just a natural aspect of being a teenager, but she found herself caring less and less about repercussions. She threw herself into the moment, and helped Wednesday strip Harry down to nothing.

Harry found himself pushed roughly to the floor where his head struck the tile, causing a pleasantly sharp pain. The throbbing ache complimented his increasing ardor. As Wednesday lowered herself, obscuring his view, he enthusiastically took advantage of his parselmouth talents. He then moaned in pleasure and surprise as the fake Wednesday used her own mouth to please him.

Hermione had never done anything like this before, but she was caught in the moment and there was no turning back. She decided she may as well take full advantage of the situation, and positioned herself as she shifted her knickers out of the way. Her cry of pain as she cast away her virginity drew Wednesday's attention, and through her pleasure, the original pale girl grabbed Hermione's hair tightly and pulled her in for a kiss.

The two girls' tongues danced as Wednesday rode out her orgasm, using Hermione to muffle her own screams of ecstasy. In turn, Hermione used Wednesday's pleasure to motivate her. She began to move her hips, trying to work through the pain in search of her own release.

Shakily, Wednesday lifted Hermione up, and shoved her off of Harry. Hermione cried out in pain as she struck the cold tile, but her cries turned to pleasure as she felt Wednesday's tongue where she was most sensitive.

Wednesday might be willing to experiment, but as far as she was concerned, Harry's climax belonged to her, and her alone. As she played fast and loose with the concept of self pleasure, she lifted her backside, offering herself to Harry. She then moaned in appreciation as she felt Harry's nails dig into her rear end.

Hermione had of course experimented with masturbation, but what she was experiencing was better by an order of magnitude. When she felt Wednesday moan, it sent her over the edge, and she had to bite her knuckle to avoid screaming out her pleasure.

The sight of his Wednesday bringing the other Wednesday to climax, fueled Harry's desire, and his nails drew blood as he drove himself into Wednesday forcefully.

Before long, Harry and Wednesday collapsed to the floor. The doppelganger had already passed out from Wednesday's earlier ministrations. Utterly exhausted, Harry propped himself up with his hands to admire the two spent witches in front of him. Suddenly, the fake Wednesday's breathing became more pronounced, and with each breath she expanded. Sleek black hair frizzed as it faded to a chestnut brown, and her eyes slowly opened to reveal chocolate brown irises. As her pale skin colored, Harry was shocked to see Hermione laying on the tiles. She was naked as the day she was born, save for her askew knickers, and she was staring toward the door with a look of horror on her face.

Harry turned to see what was wrong, and saw Ron standing just inside the bathroom door. His wand loosely gripped in one hand, and the Marauder's Map in the other, Ron was as still as a statue with his mouth agape. Expressions of disbelief, confusion, and betrayal cycled across the redhead's freckled face.

"How did you get a hold of my map?" Harry asked, which caused both Ron and Hermione to look at him as if he had lost it. "What? It's a fair question."

-o-o-

Author's note: To head off any reviews complaining about McGonagall not blindly following Dumbledore's lead, remember that Marchbanks and Tofty went through the entire faculty and gave the school a proper shakedown. Everyone had been complacent in years past, but after those two read everyone the riot act, the professors are thinking for themselves again.

To stoopid dawg reviewing chapter 16: I'm glad that what happened with Hermione wasn't too predictable.

As you have read, Ron certainly didn't expect the outcome of their little plan.

I hadn't even considered changing Luna's patronus... you have a point.

To firestarter1188 reviewing chapter 16: Harry and Wednesday are dedicated to each other. Nobody will be joining them in their relationship. The odd bonus scene being the only exception.

To Gravin X reviewing chapter 16: Ron wasn't exactly alone. He still had his family and the Order on his side, and as for friends there's always Dean and Seamus. Of course, all that does him no good now.

Bloodthirsty much? I think perhaps Ron is fortunate that Hermione was the one to deal with him.

As for cannibalism, there was some of that hinted at in the earlier chapters.

To Jiggly Joe reviewing chapter 16: One of my favorite authors, David Eddings, wrote that he would litter the first hundred pages with literary fishhooks in order to catch new readers. I doubt that I'm anywhere near as good as he was, but I think I managed okay with this story. I'm glad that you gave my story enough of a chance to sink its hooks into you. :)

I'm happy with all of the responses I've gotten saying that I surprised them with what happened to Hermoine. I was really trying to fake people out with Hermione's apparent game over.

I'm not sure I ever considered having Hermione survive and not join Harry's team. I might have, I'm not sure. I definitely considered killing her off for real, but I'm happy with the way things turned out.

To Spuffylover19 reviewing chapter 16: Thank you. I'm glad you like everything so far.

To Dontblink reviewing chapter 16: You know, I hadn't even considered Hermione's parents. I'm not sure yet what would happen there. Clearly they would realize that their daughter has changed, but depending on how much they've drifted apart thanks to living in different worlds, they might attribute new oddities to her being a witch.

Hermione's moral compass has been shattered, and her inhibitions no longer exist. I'm trying to have her personality remain the same except for those two 'minor' details. Her status as a prefect had to go, otherwise things would have gotten out of control.

The question is, which rules will Hermione decide are worth following and/or enforcing now? More importantly, who has to follow which rules? As a dark wizard though, Voldemort gets a free pass on rule breaking.

To Guest reviewing chapter 3: I completely understand where you're coming from. It's always frustrating when you go to click the next chapter button, and it's not there yet.

To Guest reviewing chapter 16: Glad you liked what happened with Hermione and what happened at the bank.

Updates will be a bit slower for now, but hopefully I'll manage to wrangle more writing time before too long.

To erneymatt reviewing chapter 16: Harry and Wednesday do truly love each other. They are more restrained that Gomez and Morticia, but no less devoted to one another. Wednesday would have never had sex with Harry if her ultimate goal was to kill him.

To Guest reviewing chapter 12: You're probably right about Croaker's status as an Unspeakable, being something that shouldn't be announced so openly. Even though it is something that should really be more confidential, I think its poorly kept secret at best. In canon, Arther Weasley point out both Bode and Croaker as Unspeakables. As a department head, Arthur should have known not to say anything if it was top secret information. Heck, Arthur shouldn't have even known who they were if they were that concerned about anonymity.