Disclaimer: I own nothing.

(A/N: Here it is, finally! I"m extremely sorry, but as I'm sure you want the chapter more than my babbling, I'll save everything for my AN at the end of the chapter! Happy reading!)

Chapter 15: OWLs and owls

"Harry, there are four owls requesting permission to deliver letters." Harry looked up at Hedwig from the notes he was taking. Study Hall had just begun, and Harry was researching to make sure his plan worked.

"Ask them if any of the letters had any spells cast upon them, or the owls themselves, please." Harry replied, absently rubbing the quill he was holding against his cheek. It was a week after all of them had transformed, and almost six days until his sixteenth birthday.

Hedwig transmitted the message, and told Harry the reply. "The owls assure me that there were no spells placed on the letters or themselves."

Harry grinned at her, and nodded his head. After a few minutes, four owls came flying into the chamber from who knows where (Harry had yet to figure out how they were getting in), drawing the attention of the other four individuals in the Common Room.

The owls dropped their letters right in front of each teen, and flew to join Hedwig for a short visit. "Thank you all. We appreciate it." Harry sent to the owls, while looking at his letter thoughtfully. He received various acknowledgments from the owls, who after replying, started to talk to Hedwig.

"Ah, I believe that you've gotten your OWL results," Moony commented, looking with interest over the top of his book. The reactions that followed amused the werewolf: Hermione started hyperventilating, Ron looked at the letter as if it were a spider, and Harry stared mournfully at his. Ginny, a year younger than the other three, smirked at the fear on Ron's face.

"You guys knew it was coming. C'mon, hurry and open them up! I want to see who's going to tutor me in what!" Ginny grinned at them.

Harry was the first to open his OWL scores; Hermione was still hyperventilating, and Ron was poking at the letter with his quill. His eyes quickly scanned over the introduction, and feasted on his OWL scores. Reading them, he grinned. "In your face, Snape!" He said, tossing the letter at Moony, and jumping up and down.

The werewolf broke out in a smile as he read the scores.

Astronomy: Acceptable (see first note below)

Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding

Charms: Exceeds Expectations

Divinations: Dreadful

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding + (see second note below)

History of Magic: Acceptable (see third note below)

Herbology: Exceeds Expectations

Potions: Outstanding

Transfigurations: Outstanding

1. Due to disturbance during test, OWL grade has been curved

2. Subject has received record high score, nominated for special award, counts for two OWLs

3. Due to disturbance with student, OWL grade has been curved

Total OWLs: 9

Remus smiled broadly. "Good job, Harry."

He raised an eyebrow as he realized that Harry was, in fact, ignoring him, and looking over a hyperventilating Hermione's shoulder. "C'mon, Hermione, we all know that you've probably got the highest scores of our whole class! Just open the letter, and stop worrying!"

When Hermione was still looking at her letter, utterly horrified, Harry snorted, plucked the letter out of his hands, and ripped it open. She looked at Harry fearfully.

Harry's mouth dropped open. "You were worried about these scores? Dots, are you insane?"

Hermione grabbed at the paper, and Harry winked at Remus. "Thirteen OWLs, all of them O's," He mouthed at the werewolf.

Hermione shrieked, and started jumping up and down hugging everyone. "Thirteen O's!" She exclaimed, bouncing around. She didn't notice that after her hug, Ron looked a bit dazed.

Harry took this opportunity to steal Ron's scores from his hand, and read them. When Ron noticed, he looked at Harry as if Aragog had come into the room. He seemed to shrink when Harry shook his head solemnly.

"I'm sorry, Ron," Harry said dolefully. "Hermione beat you. You only have seven OWLs," he continued.

Ron blinked, as Harry laughed and shook his hand, and Hermione hugged him excitedly. "You prat!" The redhead exploded in mock anger, and playfully swatted at Harry. "You had me worried!"

Harry grinned at them all. "Study Hall is officially cancelled! Let's party!"

Cheers from all of teenagers greeted this announcement, and Remus grinned. "As long as Harry has plenty of Hangover Potion ready, that's fine with me!"

At that, the teens looked at him with jaws open wide in surprise. "Are you serious?" Ron looked as if Christmas had come early. "Harry, please say that you have some Hangover Potion in this place," Ron begged.

Harry fought a smirk. "What, you thought that I wouldn't?" He replied. Ron whooped, Ginny giggled, Hermione frowned, and Remus had to smile.

The next morning, Ron was the only one who had to use the Hangover Potion. All of the others didn't drink nearly as much as a happy Ron did. Hermione had flatly refused to participate in the consumption of any alcoholic beverage, and went to her room, so as to ignore those who were. Ginny wanted to, but decided that she'd just wait a year before celebrating OWL results. Harry had tried a shot, decided it wasn't to his taste, and drank Butterbeer instead. Remus, as chaperone, couldn't drink any.

Ron, however, had no problems or inhibitions drinking down all firewhiskey placed in front of him. Which was why he was currently groaning and holding his head. "Do you have to talk so loud?" He whined at Harry, who was telling Hermione about the different spells he knew.

Ginny, sitting across from Harry and next to Ron, had no pity on him. "YOU'D FEEL A LOT BETTER IF YOU HADN'T DRANK SO MUCH LAST NIGHT!" She yelled, right into his ear.

Ron yelped, and clutched his head as pure agony ran through him. Harry and Hermione laughed, and Ginny grinned at them. Remus just shook his head, amused.

"Harry, what are you doing?"

The teen looked at his Snowy Owl. "As much as I like my friends, they're not exactly the best people you want watching your training sessions." He replied somewhat vaguely.

Hedwig blinked. "You might be right about that, except for maybe the wolf-man and the fire-female."

Harry stopped, and looked at the owl curiously. "Moony and Firefur? Moony, I can understand why you say, but Ginny? What about her?"

"She is the one that understands you the best. If all of your nest-mates were to see you training, the book-cat would head for the books, and try to get you to teach her about your skills. She would want that for herself. The lazy-fox would be jealous, and wouldn't understand you. Wolf-man would help you and point out your mistakes. And the fire-female would simply accept, and praise you for your accomplishments."

Harry tried to understand what his owl was saying. "Why do you think so?"

Hedwig hooted. "Fawkes and I have watched them for days. While you might trust them, we do not, and will not let you get harmed. I know from your talking to me when you could not understand, what the book-cat and lazy-fox are like. We have kept an eye on you for longer than this sun-time, Harry."

Harry sat down heavily. "We'll talk about this later. First of all, I need to tell you something." He looked seriously into Hedwig's brown, bird eyes.

"Yes? What is it?" Hedwig slightly wondered what had made Harry turn so serious.

"There are such things as proper names." Harry grinned at her.

The resulting chase led all throughout the Chamber and surrounding rooms and tunnels.

Professor Severus Snape looked at the list in front of him and sighed. He shouldn't have had to make this decision. Potter was supposed to get below an O on his Potions OWL, and not send him a perfectly made Animagus Potion either. Nor was he supposed to even want to get back into Potions.

The list in front of him was sent out to every teacher, although a bit different for each. It contained the names of the students who had met their requirement for the NEWT level classes. Professor Snape held the record for the shortest list sent to him, as very few of any house wanted to go on further with the Professor. Normally, the majority of the list was made up of Slytherin students, with a few Ravenclaws added in. No Hufflepuff since he'd been teaching even dared to try, and Gryffindors hated Snape with a passion, so they wouldn't try.

This year, two Gryffindors had dared to get O's in Potions, and were asking to be placed in NEWT level Potions. One, Snape could understand, as Hermione Granger was the resident know-it-all. But why in the world did Harry Potter want to continue in the classroom with a subject taught by a Professor who hated him?

Snape had heard a rumor about Potter wanting to be an Auror, so that would explain it, but why did the brat send him that potion? It made no sense…

The Potions Professor continued to stare at the list in front of him, trying to figure out the mystery that was Harry Potter.

Two days after the OWL results came; Ron asked the question that all of them were thinking more or less, at breakfast.

Harry sipped at his orange juice thoughtfully. He was actually wondering when they'd ask. "Tomorrow, if we spend most all day today practicing." He replied.

Ginny swallowed what was in her mouth. "Practicing? For what? And what would we be practicing?"

Harry turned his head, meeting each one of them with his emerald gaze. "Do you really think I'd let you loose in Diagon Alley without teaching you how to protect yourselves? Don't get me wrong, each of you did extraordinary at the Department of Mysteries, but I'd rather not end up with any injuries of any kind. Besides, we'll probably have another party to defend ourselves against."

Hermione figured it out first. "Professor Dumbledore is probably going to try and take us, isn't he?" Harry slowly nodded.

Ron and Ginny looked confused. "Why?" Ron asked for the both of them.

Harry sighed. "Let's just say that Dumbledore has a mental block where I'm concerned. He's convinced himself that I am not safe unless he has his eyes on me all the time. Since all of you are with me, I believe that mental block has been expanded."

Moony, who had been a silent spectator, decided to speak up. "No offense, but all of you are still in school. You'll have to forgive the Headmaster, but he believes that children don't often make good decisions, or are capable of defending themselves properly."

As all of the teens took that in, Moony sighed. Between Dumbledore and Harry, the werewolf had to side with Harry. Moony had heard the tales, and saw for himself that every school year, Harry had managed to get himself into a spot of trouble, usually because of Voldemort, and worm his way out spectacularly. And from what he had seen in these past few weeks, the black-haired teen would give anyone, Ministry, Dumbledore, or Voldemort, hell if they tried to mess with him.

The werewolf paused his musings at the sight of Harry's smirk. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny also looked up.

"Well then, we'll just have to prove them wrong, won't we?" Harry asked.

Harry was pleased to see the light in their eyes, and the grins on their faces. Dumbledore would certainly be given a hard time if he tried anything.

"Since that's that, we'll start training now. You have five minutes to get changed into something that you can battle in. Those who aren't here in five minutes will have to duel with me." Harry announced. It sent the teens scrambling. Harry watched them go with a grin on his face, but frowned when he looked at Remus, who was still sitting at the breakfast table. "You too, Moony."

"Me?" The werewolf blinked.

"Yes, you. If you're going to Diagon Alley with us, you'll be going as our guard, and our extra firepower. I won't have a rusty guard who doesn't really know his charges moves well enough to decide if he needs to intervene or not. So get going!"

Moony shot Harry an exasperated look before jogging off to his room.

Harry took one last sip of orange juice, before tapping his wand to his pajamas. The spell cancelled the illusion charms on the clothes, so that Harry was now wearing some robes that he had specifically made with battle in mind. He already had four other battle robes in another room off of the Chamber, waiting until Harry gave them away to the other inhabitants of the Chamber.

Speaking of, here they were. Harry checked his watch, and had to sigh over the fact that they were on time. A duel would have been so much fun… oh well.

"All right, here's how it's going to go. Moony, come here. He will be my demonstration partner. I will shoot a spell at him, and he will block. You will get five minutes to go over both spell and block, and then I will test you about it."

The werewolf sighed, and decided to go along with Harry for now. Besides, Harry was sure to know quite a few healing spells, should a curse get by.

Harry shot a stunning spell at Moony suddenly, who was too surprised to do anything about it. As Moony fell backwards, Harry grinned at his friends. "First lesson, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" He shouted. They jumped, and Harry revived Moony. "Always be ready at any time to block."He told them cheerfully.

Harry sat up in his bed with sweat beading on his forehead. With a glance at his sleeping friends, he went quietly to the restroom, and rinsed his face off. Water dripping off his face, he looked in the mirror above the sink. He still looked almost asleep, except for the scar on his forehead. That was bright red, and Harry winced as the water dripped into the recently reopened scar.

Harry gently wiped away the blood, while thinking furiously. All these weeks since the transfer, and he'd had only normal dreams. Well, Harry amended with a grin, normal compared to the usual nightmares he'd been having. One dream a few days ago consisted of him being chased by a purple people eater. If that was normal, Harry decided he didn't want to know what abnormal was.

For some reason, tonight he'd had one of his usual dreams; dreams about the Third Task, and the battle in the Department of Mysteries. Then, it had changed. He watched as Voldemort started planning an attack. And Harry somehow knew that this was no false vision.

So, Harry wondered, what was he to do? He could tell the Order, but then Voldemort would be alerted. And the Order would be… conspicuous when they prepared for the attack.

Then, a plan hit him. Harry froze his thoughts, and slipped silently to the Common Room, to think it over. When he flopped down into his favorite seat, he let his thoughts wash over him.

As more and more ideas came to him, he had to summon some parchment and a quill, to write down the more brilliant ones. When he finished brainstorming, he briefly looked over what he had written, and started to organize it on fresh parchment.

Satisfied, Harry rolled up the parchment, and vanished the other with a tap of his wand. His plan would work, although it depended heavily on his friends. And Voldemort wouldn't know what hit him.

Harry stretched, and then slapped his forehead as another thought occurred to him. In the dream, although it was from a spectator point of view, Harry had caught a few of Voldemort's stray thoughts. The Dark Lord was watching Professor Snape very closely, suspicious. The attack served a second purpose; to draw out the traitor that Voldemort was sure laid within the Death Eater ranks. Professor Snape had been at the public planning session, but after he left, the Dark Lord told the remaining Death Eaters something different. If the Potions Professor alerted the Order, he was as good as dead.

Harry quickly scribbled out a letter to the Professor. "Hedwig? Are you awake?" He sent, as he sealed the letter in an envelope with red wax.

In a few seconds, Harry saw his Snowy Owl appear in the Chamber. "Yes, I was out hunting. Why are you awake? Shouldn't you be sleeping, like your pack mates?"

Harry sighed. "Hedwig, I'll explain later. This is very important. Could you take this letter to Professor Snape? It's important that you catch him before he gets to Dumbledore." He held out the letter.

Hedwig took it in her beak. "Of course, Harry." She flew off, beating her wings rapidly. She was out of sight in the dark chamber in a blink.

Harry smiled in relief, and decided to do some more planning. He didn't think he would be able to go back to sleep anytime soon.

Professor Snape dropped his Death Eater robes and mask on his bedroom floor in disgust. He knew that the house elf assigned to him would clean them before the next meeting. Clean or not, he hated the robes, and not for the first time wished that he had said no to Voldemort a long time ago.

He sighed, and changed into his regular robes, wishing that he could just go to sleep immediately. But Dumbledore would be expecting him, as would Madam Pomfrey. Dumbledore for his report, and Pomfrey to check him over for any remnants of the more painful parts of the meeting.

He turned to exit, and stared at the white owl that had perched on the table between his position and the door. The letter at its feet told him the general purpose of its presence, but the Potions Professor wondered why anyone would send him an owl in the middle of the night.

Severus pointed his wand at the torch in the wall, which started to burn, giving him some light. He walked over, and picked up the letter carefully. Some owls were bad-tempered, and pecked at whoever went near their feet. To the owls' credit, it held still as he picked up the letter, and turned it over, examining it.

"Ah, you're Potter's owl. It figures that only Potter would be so inconsiderate as to owl me this late." The Potions Professor sneered at the owl, which ruffled its feathers and snapped its beak at him reproachfully. He ignored it, and opened the letter.

Dear Professor Snape,

I know you're probably wondering why I'm writing to you, and so late too, but it's essential that you read this before your meeting with Dumbledore.

I saw the Death Eater meeting in my dreams. Both meetings, I should say. Voldemort is not happy with how his attacks aren't succeeding, due to the Order's interference. He suspects you as being a spy, and gave you false information, passing it off as true. Voldemort is going to send some Death Eaters where he told you the attack was going to take place, and see if any Order members show up. You'll be kept behind, so that when the Death Eaters come back and report, you'll be in his grasp should the Order members show up.

I guess it's rather obvious, but you mustn't say anything about an attack to Dumbledore, much less where he told you. Instead, tell Dumbledore that Voldemort spend the whole meeting trying to figure out where I'm living, or wanting something. I'll trust you to make up something convincing.

Oh, and after you left, Voldemort had another meeting, telling everyone else that what he told you was a trap. Basically, you're in hot water. So, once again, don't tell Dumbledore! Your life is at stake.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

The Potions Professor looked at the letter. Could he trust Potter? More importantly, could he trust his life to the teen? Based on this information, it would be a short life if he didn't.

Severus let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. Although he wasn't much of a gambler, he decided to place his bet with Potter. And if Potter were incorrect… he would be in for an unpleasant school year, to say the least.

Professor Snape smirked, set the letter from Potter on fire with a tap of his wand, and went to go report to Dumbledore.

Okay, there it is! First of all, I apologize for this chapter. I've had over a month to work on it, and I don't think it's that good. That would probably be caused by the fact that I haven't really worked on it. After my last update, I got busy, and when I wasn't, I had fallen out of the habit of writing and posting. So, once again, I'm sorry.

Second, I've come to a decision about the reviews. I really enjoy all the reviews, but it's too much of a hassle to try and respond to all of them, or even hand out lollipops. So, from now on, I'll only acknowledge those reviews who have questions that I need to answer, or answer a question I see popping up a lot. I'm sorry, but the lollipops aren't going to be used anymore, unless there is an overwhelming demand to have them back.

As to reviewing, please do. I read every one, and greatly appreciate your comments. They help me make decisions as to what is going to happen in the story. I love to read what you think of me and the story, although some people coughambiance15cough should just learn to shut up and leave me alone if you don't like me or the story.

One review by reimanr06 caught my attention regarding the Animagus form sizes. I'll clarify; they aren't all the same sizes. Dots is slightly smaller than Swiftpaw, although not by much. From a distance, they could pass for the same size. Firefur, for all intent and purposes is sized in the general area of alab, definitely larger than Swiftpaw. Thanks for agood analogy. And Shadowfang is the biggest of the lot. The top of Firefur's head (not including ears) comes up to Shadowfang's jaw line. Is that better?

Anyway, as to the rest of all, I really love you! You'll see the results of last chapter's questions in the next few chapters. But, onto the new format. I'm going to ask a question, which I may be undecided on, or I just want to see all of you speculate on. You never know which one it is, so review. It might affect the outcome of the story.

Question: How will Snape use the Animagus Potion that Harry gave him?

One last thing before I go.. HBP is going to be released in two days! Fwee! I can't wait! Then this story will be officially AU!

Gotta go! Please review!