Potions class was much too eventful for Harry's taste. Ron Weasley messed up his potion and decided to ruin Harry's potion by attempting to throw a porcupine quill into the potion... which at Harry's present stage would have blown up the classroom. It was only his poor aim that saved the classroom from destruction. However, it did not save him Severus' wrath.

"Sabotage, Mr Weasley; does that help you feel less inferior about your own performance? Are you aware that had you succeeded, you would have blown us all up?" Severus said in a low but dangerous tone. Severus smirked a little bit as Ronald registered just how dangerous his move could have been. "Mr Snape has already added jellyfish venom which would have reacted catastrophically with those quills... But you will know all about that after you finish writing thirty inches on the topic by next class; won't you Mr Weasley?"

"Thirty! That's not fair!" Ron shouted, his face flushing angrily. Harry watched as Ronald's fists clenched and he glared angrily at the Potions Master. Harry once again found him shaking his head at how easy it was to set Ronald off. The boy had serious temper issues and it was going to get him in serious trouble one day.

"You know, Mr Weasley; I agree, that's not fair!" Severus said smirking in a way that filled Ronald with relief but Harry could tell by Severus' expression that Ronald was going to wish he'd kept his mouth shut. Harry felt himself smirking when Ronald's shoulders sagged in relief; the poor fool believed his punishment was going to be dropped just like that.

"Yes, Mr Weasley; it is quite unfair! Let's make it fifty!"

When Ron opened his mouth to protest, Severus cut him off with an expression that made it clear he was willing to play this game all day. Ronald eventually grumbled and slumped angrily in his seat. Harry could hear Ronald muttering under his breath and Harry was still mad at him for nearly killing him so...

"Did you just call my father a bloody git?" Harry said smoothly, watching as several Slytherins and a few Gryffindors smirk. Harry watched as Neville slapped his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud and Hermione Granger chuckled a little bit in her seat. A couple of Ronald's friends sent Harry a nasty look but mostly they just stared at their feet.

"Bloody git, Mr Weasley? You just bought yourself ten extra inches and detention tonight. And since I'm such a git, let's take away thirty points from Gryffindor," Severus said, not missing a beat. When the bell rang, Ronald angrily stamped out of the room. Harry couldn't wait to go to the Great Hall for supper. As they made their way to the Great Hall, Harry could hear Ronald cursing as swearing; several of the painting reacted by informing Ronald that they'd be having words with the Headmaster about his language. That only added fire to the fuel... "I'm sure your housemates will thank you later."

"Listen to him; not smart enough to stop. It's like he wants to rid Gryffindor of all of their points in one day!" Harry said to Draco who could barely contain his shock at some of the words he was saying. Harry frowned and rolled his eyes; Ronald was impulsive, even for a Gryffindor.

"Yes; it doesn't make sense. The Weasleys are kind, caring people and the words Ron is saying are... Barbaric!" Draco said.

Later that evening, Harry and Draco were in the library reading about animagus when Harry realised they were running late. They packed their books and dashed towards the stairwell. When Harry expressed an interest in becoming an animagus to Draco, Draco decided he wanted to do it as well... Fourth-year was much too far away!

When the stairwell suddenly shifted, Harry and Draco found themselves clutching the railing for support until it stopped moving. Once the stairwell was securely in place, they looked around, not bothering to hide their confusion; being visibly lost might spare them trouble if they were caught.

When Professor Quirrell came down a stairwell with an odd expression, Harry suddenly worried that he was going to be in trouble but the man didn't seem mad; he seemed to be squirming a little more than usual. The man was probably nervous from walking around so late at night; the man was practically scared of his own shadow... How he got his current job was completely beyond Harry. It wouldn't surprise him is the textbook alone was enough to send the man to bed with nightmares.

"Mr P-potter, Mr Malfoy; lost I s-see. D-don't worry. Go d-down that corridor and you'll f-find your w-way;" the stuttering professor said. "B-but don't g-get c-caught."

Harry and Draco went down the corridor as instructed but halfway down, a sinking feeling hit Harry. They were on the third-floor corridor and they were not supposed to be here. Why would Quirrell send them down here...

Harry was about to tell Draco this but the way the blonde boy's face had paled; Harry knew Draco already knew. But when they turned around to go back, they found Mrs Norris sitting in the middle of the hall looking almost too smug for a cat.

"Mrs Norris, please..."

"MEOW!" Mrs Norris' demonic yowl was the only reply to Harry's attempt to pacify her from telling Flitch. She took a step towards the boys, causing them to flinch slightly... There were rumours of Mrs Norris biting and scratching students and they had no intention of having that confirmed by Mrs Norris herself.

When Fitch's voice filled the hall, Harry and Draco began looking around for a place to hide. They found a door and once Harry charmed the door open, they flung themselves into the room. The two boys had barely caught their breath when they heard Fitch talking to Mrs Norris and the angry man followed the ugly cat down the hall.

"H-harry!"

Harry felt his stomach drop when Draco spoke. Draco was stuttering which was highly unusual for him, so that told Harry there was something really wrong and sure enough when Harry turned around, he could see what.

In front of them was a monstrosity that made Harry see what Dumbledore was saying about a 'painful death'. The creature looked like a dog; an angry dog with three heads and it was staring at Draco and Harry the way Dudley stared at a meal. When the beast started growling, long strings of saliva dripped from all of their mouths. When the creature lunged forward, Harry and Draco lunged for the door.

When the door flung open and the boys were out of the room they turned to close the door. It was a struggle to close the door but somehow, the two boys managed to do it. When they finally made their way back to the common room and into their dorm; it took hours for them to calm down and go to sleep. The next morning, Draco and Harry were still shaken and nervous.

"Are you alright?" Blaise said, bringing Harry and Draco out of their thoughts. "You two haven't said a word all day."

"We're fine; just didn't sleep well last night," Harry said, getting an... odd smirk from Blaise.

"Up all night talking. You usually don't stay up late enough to affect you like this," Blaise said in almost a teasing tone. Harry opened his mouth to ask about the tone but when Professor Quirrell walked into the room; Harry got a sinking feeling in his gut once again. Harry nudged Draco and pointed to the stuttering professor who was staring at Harry and Draco as though he was surprised to find them sitting in the Great Hall at all. And he looked disappointed as well; disappointed that the boys were still alive?

"It wasn't an accident, was it?" Harry whispered to Draco receiving only a nod in return from the blonde boy.

"I don't think so, Harry."

Suddenly, Harry felt terrified and unsure of what to do. Clearly, they couldn't go to a teacher; not without solid evidence. For right now, they just had to wait and see what was going to happen.

Ooh, why does Quirrel want to hurt Harry...