DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$

SPECIAL DISCLAIMER: I do not own nor have I read Quidditch Through The Ages. Any resemblance as to any details Quidditch related herein are purely coincidental. Any contradictions or deviations are … well, it's intended as written.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. Actually, the last chapter was a major reason why I started writing this and I really did wonder if it would work. (No, this is not the end.) I actually wrote a draft of it BEFORE I even began 30 Minutes.

CH8: "Johnny Cash called. He wants his wardrobe back."

I admit, I did wonder whether 11 year old Harry of London would say that in 1991. Then again, he was in Japan in the English Language section and there were Americans there (even if they were not mentioned) so he could have thought of it. Besides, it was just too good not to use.

CHAPTER NINE: PRANKS

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th, 1991 – HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY, SCOTLAND, U.K.

It was nine o'clock in the evening when several people finally gathered in the "conference room" in the Club Corridor. It was almost a repeat of the previous Sunday, except for a handful of additions. The Club Member Prefects now include Lisa Morris, a Fifth Year Gryffindor with a "V 8990" on one of her collars and chevron, diamond and two bars on the other. Last week she was making sure the First and Second Years were all settled in while Percy attended the meeting. The Faculty group now included Madam Pomphrey who had been finally brought over by the thirty-six vials of expensive Blood Replenishing Potion and a lengthy discussion with fellow Healer Clarice. Susan Bones was also in attendance as she was a three summer student as well.

"First off," McGonagall said, "I want to say that I did witness much of Harry's most invigorating lesson yesterday. All I can say, Harry, is well done."

"Thank you," Harry replied.

"Needless to say, the aftermath has been keeping me both on my toes and very busy," McGonagall went on. "Dumbledore was here earlier. That was not a surprise as he did say he would stop by on Sunday's to make sure the school had not burned down in his absence. Honestly, I think he really meant that. Nothing was said about what happened yesterday. I think Professor Snape could not bring himself to admit his little plan to humiliate Mr. Potter was such a resounding failure. As no one else brought it up, Dumbledore has no idea that it even happened."

"Thank Merlin for small favors," Neville said.

"What was discussed?" Percy asked.

"He was here for over an hour and I can sum up the school business we discussed with one word: nothing. There was but one topic he went on about, for it was not so much a discussion as a rant. It was the ongoing selection for Minister. Despite fourteen hour days, they are no further along now than they were a week ago. Dumbledore figures that it might be Christmas before anything really happened. He said the only thing that makes it remotely interesting were a couple of wand duels on the floor of the Wizengamot, which led to a no wand rule, which led to fist fights the next day. He said he cannot yet afford to continue as Headmaster in any capacity unless – how did he put it?"

"Either the school burns down," Flitwick said, "the students run off, grievous bodily harm or death shall occur, or…"

"The Vogons arrive to clear it away for a hyperspace bypass," Sprout said.

"What?" several voices asked.

"Apparently, when he is not needed to break up a fight, our esteemed Headmaster has decided to spend his time reading the works of Douglas Addams," McGonagall said. "Basically, it means that for the foreseeable future I am Headmistress. He apparently posted a letter both to the Board of Governors and Ministry Board of Education to such effect requesting any inquiries normally addressed to him as Headmaster be sent to my attention, at least until we have a new Minister"

"Congratulations, Acting Headmistress," Hermione beamed.

"Just because I've known you your whole life, do not expect me to treat you any different than any other student – well, than any other Club Member student, Hermione."

"You never have," Hermione said, "and I mean that in a good way."

"That gives us three," Harry said nodding.

"Excuse me?" McGonagall asked.

"With you as Acting Headmistress, three of the six schools are now headed by Club Faculty Representatives: Sir Ian McGregor at St. Andrews, Professor Malloy at St. Patrick's and now you."

"Four and maybe five," McGonagall said.

"Excuse me?"

"We had a Faculty Rep meeting Friday night when you were here preparing for that wonderful lesson, Harry. Professor Elaine Walsh was promoted to Head Mistress of St. Alban's over the summer. Professor Mason from Preston Academy said that the Headmaster, a Mr. Swift, has had 'one final encounter' with the Ministry Board and is now clearly of the opinion that education is broken."

"Recruitment?" Hermione asked.

"That's our thinking," McGonagall said. "Our MI-5 friends think it is advisable."

"And with St. George's Deputy Head as Club Rep, faculty cover will be from the top at all schools for the foreseeable future," Harry finished. "Might want to consider changing the scheduling for Senior W.I.S.E. League play."

"How so?" McGonagall asked.

"After the first season, I saw the League as a feature of this Club we could make public without risking the rest. It's already funded and fielding teams at the Senior Level. Sooner or later, I was hoping to change the game venue."

"To where?"

"To each school's home pitch," Harry said. "The Championship game, well if we went public we'd need a neutral site and I don't think Camp W is an option. But the League games would be at the schools. I envisioned six games, three at your home pitch and three at the other school's pitch with each team playing what has become its arch rival twice. For Hogwarts, that seems to be St. George's in London. Preston and St. Alban's is another as they are regional neighbors and get students from the west of England. St. Patrick's and St. Andrews is the third as they both have students from Northern Ireland…"

"This wouldn't have anything to do with the Troubles there the Muggles are having?" McGonagall asked.

"Forgot about that," Harry said. "It seemed logical. We could always change the two game schools every year. That would just the pairings for the first season, whenever that is."

"And game attendance?" Dora asked.

"The schools would have to allow students from the other school as well as parents and families from both to attend, just like we have at Camp W the last couple of years."

"Dumbledore would never allow that," Sprout observed.

"But he's not here, is he?" Harry remarked. "Once the games are going, he would look stupid to try and stop them, wouldn't he?"

"Hogwarts Headmaster Afraid to Play," Luna said. "Not a nice headline.

"After the enlightened vision of Acting Headmistress McGonagall saw Britain's flagship magical school field a Quidditch team in the new National School League, Professor Dumbledore has withdrawn the school from the W.I.S.E. League citing security concerns. As most readers know, the security at Hogwarts School is supposed to be second to none, yet apparently is not up to the challenge of Quidditch. The Quibbler has heard from anonymous sources who know the situation at Hogwarts that the real reason for the withdrawal is Dumbledore's concern that his school might actually lose which would undermine its reputation as the bastion of education in these isles…" Luna continued. "It would not go well for him."

"Anything that knocks his ego down to size must be considered a good thing," Hermione added, "within reason, of course. This is within reason. Are we going to stop with Quidditch?"

"What do you mean?" Flitwick asked.

"Well, we didn't have Quidditch in Japan. We had Muggle sports. We had boys and girls teams in Football (Soccer), Basketball, Ice Hockey, Swimming, Track and Field and Martial Arts. Girls had Field Hockey and boys had Cricket. There were other sports, but those are the ones our British students played."

"And we could compete against Muggle teams," Neville said.

"Wouldn't that reveal our world?" Sprout asked.

"If we joined their leagues it might," Neville replied. "But if we only 'appeared' in national playoff or competitions, maybe not. Harry has an idea about that."

"Each school could have a 'double' athletic facility in the Muggle World," Harry said. "We'd have one here for practice and W.I.S.E League competition and another one say at Inverness for Muggle games."

"Sounds expensive," McGonagall said.

"Actually, we could build facilities at all six schools using magic for less than the cost of sending twenty students to Japan for the summer. The Foundation could easily afford it," Harry said. "The Muggle facilities would be more expensive and take longer to build, but again it's not cost prohibitive. I checked last spring. We could have the school facilities built within a year from the word 'go.' The Muggle facilities would take longer."

"How much longer?" McGonagall asked.

"Land is the first problem," Harry said. "We'd need to buy a fair bit. Once we have the land, say about two years to construct."

"Would there be interest in such things?" Sprout asked.

"Yes," Olivia Adair said, "at least from those of us in the Club. We all did sports in Japan. And think about it; maybe one day Hogwarts will be known as one of the best schools in all of Britain, not just the magical parts, at least in sports."

"Long term stuff," Harry said. "We got other problems now. But years from now? We can begin with Quidditch and begin working towards that day. Quidditch is something we can do now."

"Any other grand plans?" Sprout asked earnestly.

"Education," Harry said. "We should not have to go to Japan to get a decent education. We should be able to do that here. Now, I am not proposing a time compressed summer school like we have done. The Japanese and several other countries are able to provide that to many of their kids without time manipulation. Then again, they also start a lot earlier than we do and keep going long after we are expected to finish and get jobs. Again, there's a lot that has to happen here before we reach that goal. For now, we're stuck with Japan."

"Speaking about education," Olivia Adair said, "Harry's little display yesterday has resulted in some surprising inquiries."

"Really?" Harry asked.

Olivia nodded. "Right now I have seventeen Slytherins in the Club excluding myself. Now, it depends upon whether we include upper years or not, but I've been asked by several people whether they could join up."

"Do they know…?" Harry began.

"Nothing specific," Olivia said. "They don't know about Japan. They do know we know more than they do and it's clear we're not the only ones. They also know if they have any issue at all with Muggle Borns and such, they need not ask. These are fence sitters for lack of a better term. They are clearly not part of the Future Death Eaters of Britain lot, but did not join earlier. Typical Slytherins, they want what is best for them but won't stick their necks out."

"What are our current numbers?" Madam Pomphrey asked.

"Right now Year 88 had three," Hermione began looking at some notes. "Year 89 had four, Year 90 had fifty and year 91 had thirty-four. That's a total of ninety-one who have between one and four years in Japan."

"By House," Dora followed, "that's thirty-one Gryffindors, twenty Puffs, twenty-two Ravenclaws and, well Olivia already said eighteen Slytherins. By year its: twenty-two First Years, eighteen in Second, nineteen Thirds, fifteen Fourth Years, twelve in their O.W.L. Year and one Seventh, that being me."

"So some Slytherins have asked about joining?" McGonagall asked.

"At least one from every year excluding Seventh Years," Olivia nodded. "Fourteen in all. All of them are the types who, while ambitious, are from families that did not support You-Know-Who or his idiotic ideas. That would give us thirty-two out of a hundred. Considering we held our own with far less, Slytherin might become a decent place to stay."

"The First Years?" Hermione asked.

"The Zabini boy," Olivia said. "Family emigrated from Italy about seven years ago I think. It was certainly after the War."

"Any other houses express an interest?" McGonagall asked?

"I'll say," Percy replied. "In Gryffindor, including Miss Perks who we 'picked up' on the train here thus giving us all the Firsties, there are twenty-eight others through Sixth Year who expressed an interest. That would give us fifty-nine out of a hundred and two. To be honest, I was surprised it's not more."

"Why didn't they do it last year?"

"My guess is they preferred to sleep in on weekends or something," Percy shrugged.

"And now?"

"While I'd love to say it is my unmatchable charm," Percy said, "overall brilliance and dashing good looks – least that's what Penelope is always saying – truth is having Harry in the House and the Club and what he did to Professor Snape are probably the real reasons."

"Huffelpuff?" McGonagall asked.

"Including our two Muggle Borns from the train, thirty-nine First through sixth years which would give us fifty-nine out of ninety-nine. We almost tripled!" Edgar Jacoby said. "As for why? I can say that last year the House opinion was that getting educated outside of Hogwarts was disloyal. And no, they do not know about Japan. All they know is we go somewhere else on weekends for additional lessons of some sort. I guess people now associate that sort of loyalty with loyalty to Professor Snape, who treats us almost as bad as the Gryffindors."

"And Ravenclaw?"

"Four Muggle Born firsts and twenty-nine Second through Sixth Years," Penelope Clearwater said. "Would give us fifty-five out of one hundred and two. If you want a why, it's probably Professor Snape, O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s."

"From less than a quarter to a little over half of the entire school in the Club," McGonagall sighed. "It would seem that our colleague brings out at least some kind of passion in his students. Can we handle that from a security standpoint?"

Dora nodded. "I think so. Two years ago I was the only member of the Hogwarts crew who had been to Japan. I had to watch over fifty others. Now, the Japan crowd would only be outnumbered by fourteen students instead of a ratio of fifty to one. We have more room in this wing than the single classroom we used back then. I think we can manage."

"If we're about to double in size," Harry said, "I think we should let the other schools know. I'd be curious if there's increased interest there as well. We might even want to encourage it."

"Why?" a couple of voices asked.

"First of all, we have four hundred students; they each have about six hundred. I prefer rather equal representation if possible which means if we're about to jump to two hundred, they should have about three hundred each in the Club in an ideal world. Every child who goes to Japan is one less witch or wizard the government can cower later. Every family that has a child in the Club is one less family that is willing to accept things as they are. The larger the Club, the less the Ministry can do to interfere should they find out what really is going on."

"How soon do we want to know?" Neville asked.

"Final Club rosters will be set the weekend of the twenty-eighth," Harry replied. "Those on our rolls at that time will be the ones going to Japan next summer."

"I note you did take our new First Year members when you lot came over yesterday evening," Dora said.

Harry nodded. "After 'Fun With Snape' yesterday, we thought it was best to get them out of the Castle for a spell."

"Speaking about our new Muggle Borns," Hermione said, "are we going to find out if any of them have a connection to the Time Chamber?"

"You think any of them are adopted?" McGonagall asked.

"I don't know. Even if they were, they may not have been told. Remember, had it not been for an unexpected series of events a few years ago, my Mum and Dad were going to wait until I was eighteen to tell me. It's possible."

"I'll post a letter to Remus in the morning," McGonagall said.

"Remus?" Harry asked. "I thought you usually did that."

"I did. But as I am now acting Headmistress, I won't have the time. Besides, Remus has the eye of the young witch in the Records Office."

"Really?" Clarice said. "Oh do tell!"

"That will have to wait," McGonagall said with a smile. "For now, I think we should call it a night."

Sally-Anne stared up at the ceiling as she lay in bed contemplating the last week. It was hard to imagine it had only been a week since she set foot on that train in London which had brought her here to a very different place and what was becoming a very different life. She was already beginning to think of her life as "before Hogwarts" and "after Hogwarts;" although perhaps the word "Club" would be more appropriate.

She had boarded that train a week ago, leaving a life that had been far from perfect. Her parents pretty much had left her alone for ages and she really had not known why until recently. She ate meals with them, but that was about it. At her old school, she never really had any good friends and was never invited over for a party or anything really. If anyone in her class was going to be left out of something, it was always Sally-Anne.

She never truly understood why. She was not stupid. She was neither too rich nor too poor or in any way stood out too much from the other kids, which was almost always a way to get noticed and left out of things. She thought she was normal enough, but she was always on the outside looking in.

She had learned about magic almost two months ago and learned she was a real, live witch and immediately began to wonder if that was the reason why she was alone so much. Maybe she didn't fit in because she couldn't. She had come to hope that going to a magical school with other kids would mean she would be normal, whatever that had meant.

At first, she was convinced the day she got on the train would be the worst day of her life. She had left her parents with a letter they told her not to open until the train was on its way. She was expecting … well, not what she got. It told her they never wanted to see her again and that she was evil as was all magic. She had not even recovered from the shock when that Draco Malfoy and his friends found her and started teasing her and putting her down for just about everything including breathing. It looked like being magical might well be worse than anything before as bad as that was.

Then a couple of older students showed up and did something to Malfoy and his lot using magic. They sent the boy and his friends away with their (most likely forked) tails between their legs and told her not to worry about that lot. They took her to the back of the train, along with some other kids her own age who, she found out, were a lot like her in many ways. They too had only recently learned about magic and such and they too had not had many, if any friends before. She was, however, the only one that she knew of whose parents had abandoned at the train station.

But ever since she had been led to the back of that train, things had gotten better. She now found herself in a room with five other girls, two of whom had lived as Muggles and had similar stories of not having friends before they met magical children such as themselves. All five she now considered her friends and they went out of their way at times to help her. From them she had learned all about this Club they were all in and her new friends made sure she did well in her classes "for now." It was understood that she would be going to this other school in Japan over the summer somehow. She did not know how as she doubted her parents would pay for it or even give her permission. But she was told not to worry about such details; details which included where she would be staying if her parents were serious about never seeing her again when she was not here at Hogwarts. It would all be worked out in plenty of time.

Classes were interesting and it helped that she was racking up points, even if her new friends helped a bit. She was also learning other things not taught in those classes such as wandless magic and something called mind magic. It was all so new that she barely understood any of it, but it was also so cool. She really liked Transfiguration and Charms as you actually got to do real magic in them. Herbology and Astronomy were pretty good because she liked the teachers. She was bored out of her mind with History and that (real) ghost who taught it, but her friends said not to worry about it because it was a rubbish course. She did not like Defense or Potions. The material seemed interesting enough, but her Defense teacher was terrible and no one could understand him and her Potions teacher was just scary.

But even that seemed to be working out. That Harry Potter had really taught a good Potions class and she learned that the Club would be offering its own classes in Potions soon so its members would not have to worry about things. She had also learned that Defense might well be one of the most important things they studied and, fortunately, it was a big thing in the Club so the fact that her teacher was terrible would not be a problem later on.

After that Potions Lesson, she and all the other First Years in the Club were taken to another place for the remainder of the Weekend. It was like a huge school although they called it a Camp. There she met kids who were going to magical school all over Britain and Ireland. Well, maybe not all over as there were only five other schools, but it sure seemed like that to her. She met three kids who were attending Preston Academy which they said was near York who were from Nottingham where she had lived. At first, she thought that was so cool that there were other kids like her from her city. Then she remembered that she might not be going back. Still, it was fun to talk about the places they all knew growing up there.

They had an orientation of sorts, been assigned rooms for when they spent the night and issued clothes. The Camp had several buildings which included class rooms, large lounges, a huge dining hall, a theater (she wondered if they showed pictures), and an athletic facility, among other things. Hogwarts had its own lounge off the main one as did all the other schools. It was not just for Hogwarts, of course, but it was where all the Hogwarts stuff was displayed. There were pictures on the wall of the Hogwarts sports teams, a trophy the "Juniors" had won the year before, awards the Hogwarts students had earned at the school in Japan; it was a lot to take in. But it was fun too.

Thinking about it as she drifted off to sleep, she was beginning to think this magical stuff would actually lead to a "normal" life for her. After all, next weekend her entire room (including her!) would be spending there evenings at the house in London where Hermione and Clarice lived. It was going to be the first time she had been invited to anyone's house before on her own!

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10th, 1991 – HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY, SCOTLAND, U.K.

The morning air in the Great Hall filled with scores if not hundreds of owls, as it did almost every morning, for it was mail call. It was the one thing that Sally-Anne Perks could not truly participate in since she rather expected her parents would not be sending her any letters. But she always got a chance to look at the papers or magazines her friends were getting and besides, right now the only people she really would like letters from were in the room.

To her surprise, two owls landed in front of her. Sally-Anne was unsure of what to make of this turn of events. She knew what the other kids would do. They would remove the envelope affixed to the bird's leg and give it a small piece of bacon and then read their letters. But who would be writing to her? She was fairly certain it could not be her parents. They had made their feelings and position abundantly clear and were not the sort of people who were likely to change their minds once they had made them up.

"Well," a voice said. She looked up from the birds at the source and saw Lavender sitting across from her. "Go on. It appears they are for you, Sally-Anne."

Sally-Anne nodded and removed the envelopes one by one, giving the messenger their bacon and watching in stunned silence as the birds flew off to wherever they went after making a delivery. Both the letters clearly had "Sally-Anne Perks, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gryffindor House," written upon the envelopes.

"No return address?" She asked.

"It's not exactly like Muggle Post," Clarice said. "Since the birds know who sent it, if it can't be delivered they just fly back."

"Oh," she said as she opened the first letter.

"So? Who's it from?" Lavender asked.

"Jill," Sally-Anne said. "Jill Ambrose. Odd. I mean she and I went to school together back in Nottingham but were in different classes and … oh my! She's at Preston's! Says she heard I was here from one of the kids I met on Sunday and…"

"Well, you were encouraged to make friends from outside Hogwarts as well, weren't you?" Lavender said.

Sally-Anne nodded and wiped a tear from her eye. The words "friends" and "as well" in the same sentence were what she had hoped for all her life but more than she had thought possible. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud howl from a couple of tables over.

"Someone's got a Howler!" a voice observed from further down her table.

The voice was berating whoever it was in no uncertain terms and threatening all sorts of terrible things. "And if you think I would take the word of an eleven year old over that of a respected friend and member of the faculty who is also your Head of House, then you do indeed have a lot to learn! Rest assured, Draco, you will learn! Your mother is still young enough to bear a replacement!"

"Ouch!" someone said, "that had to hurt."

"What?" Sally-Anne asked.

"Whoever that kid is, he's someone's heir and has just been told he can be replaced," an older student said.

"Guess we now know what happens when Draco tells his father," Ron Weasley chuckled. "Been threatening to do that all last week as I recall."

"On a scale of one to ten…" one of the Weasley twins began.

"I'd give that one a five," the other finished.

"No one can compare to our Mum for the artistic quality of her Howlers," the first finished.

"Not to mention deafening volume and ear piercing screech," the other added.

"Which reminds me," the first one said, "it would seem we've had a Howler free year thus far, Fred."

"We have been remiss indeed, George."

"A whole week has gone by and it seems we have not been mentioned in dispatches."

"Mum will think we're asleep on the job."

"Merlin forbid she is left to believe that we've turned over a new leaf…"

"Reformed…"

"Seen the error of our ways…"

"Feel remorse for our youthful indiscretions…"

"Or worse, come to believe we are competing to get Percy's job."

"We have been most derelict in our duties, George."

"Indeed we have, and here comes the little Pureblood git now, Fred."

"Boxers or briefs, do you suppose?"

"Boxers."

Sally-Anne looked and saw the three boys who were tormenting her on the train walking up the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, which were on either side of the center of the hall. The boys stopped and the blonde turned to the Ravenclaw table where some First Years were laughing.

"Shut your mouth, you filthy little Mudbood whore!" he yelled. Sally-Anne could not tell if it was Su Li or Morag McDougal the boy was addressing so rudely. He began to continue up the aisle and again stopped as the way was blocked by the Weasley twins. "Out of our way, Blood Traitors," the boy said as if expecting obedience.

"My, my, Fred," George said, "seems this midget Firstie has a mouth on him."

"A potty mouth at that," Fred nodded.

"Pity we never bothered to learn Mum's household cleaning spells."

"Clear off, you beggars!" the boy said. "And don't you look at me, Mudblood!" It was clear he directed this comment at Hermione and Sally-Anne saw Harry attempt to get up, but it was clear Hermione was holding him back.

"I will have you know," Hermione said, "that I can trace my magic back a thousand years or more."

"Halfbood, then," Malfoy sneered, "Like there's any difference!"

"At least she wasn't disowned," Harry added.

"Who asked you? When I want an opinion from low life scum like you, I'll tell you it!"

"And here it is," George said, "not a minute after this ickle Firstie gets a howler reminding him to mind his elders…"

"Which would be us."

"Superiors…"

"Us again."

"And betters…"

"Three for three."

"And he already seems to have forgotten his lesson."

"Perhaps some reinforcement is indicated?"

"Indeed I do believe it is, Fred."

"This being an institution for learning," Fred added.

Two wands seem to come from nowhere and there was a flash of smoke and light that momentarily enveloped Malfoy and his goons. As it cleared, the twins looked at each other in mild surprise and then began inspecting their wands as if looking for a flaw.

"That was unexpected," Fred said.

"And disconcerting," George added looking at his wand.

Sally-Anne soon saw why as Lavender started wailing covering her eyes as if in pain: "Scarred! I'm scarred for life!" and scores of others were howling with laughter. Draco and his goons were naked.

"That was not supposed to happen," Fred said looking at his wand.

Draco seemed to realize something was really off and looked down. He turned red and began sprinting for the exit with naked versions of Crabbe and Goyle hard on his heels. Almost immediately, Percy was standing behind his brothers and McGonagall had seemed to appear at their front.

"Explain yourselves!" McGonagall said to the twins who seemed genuinely surprised; not at McGonagall, but about the effect of their spells.

"If I may, Professor," Percy said.

She nodded.

"Malfoy was hurling invective and bigoted epithets quite literally left and right as he came up the aisle. I can only assume that my brothers merely sought to correct such clearly antisocial and disruptive behavior using a spell I created my First Year."

Sally-Anne could swear she saw an amused smirk on McGonagall's face.

"As you are aware, Professor," Percy continued, "that spell is designed to remove outer clothing only?"

"That's what we thought as well," George said at least somewhat contritely.

"Obviously, that's not what happened," McGonagall said in as stern a voice as she could muster.

"It would seem my brother forgot the moral of that tale, Professor."

"Not to hex people in the Great Hall," McGonagall nodded in agreement.

"No Professor," Percy said with a smirk. "They forgot that it seems Slytherin seems to be an underwear optional House."

"Eeeew!" several girls seemed to squeal while much of the student body was again howling in laughter.

Again, McGonagall seemed to smirk just a bit. "Be that as it may – and one would hope like minded students now know the need for proper undergarments – that will be ten points from Gryffindor each, two night's detention and I will be writing to your mother."

"Malfoy deserved it," Harry observed.

"He may have indeed," McGonagall said, "but there were no accusations as to the other two. It was for what happened to them when all they were guilty of is a poor choice of a friend that warranted the punishment."

"And Malfoy?" Percy asked.

"Thirty points for his language," McGonagall said, "and as docking points seems to have little effect, I think a month's detention should do as well."

"Some places would expel him," Harry noted.

"Unlike some places, where participation is purely voluntary, attendance here is compulsory. Mr. Malfoy's behavior is not sufficiently egregious to warrant such penalty."

Oddly, Sally-Anne thought, the twins actually smiled at that.

"Looks like you got your work cut out for you today," Lavender said to Sally-Anne.

"Me?" she asked in surprise, "but what did I do?"

"Nothing. But we need to make up twenty points now, don't we?"

The event in the Great Hall at breakfast had interrupted the normal morning ritual amongst the students of reading their post. Harry left the table for Herbology with two unopened letters in his robes and was not able to get to them until he finally flopped down on a couch in the Club Corridor following a nap in History of Magic that afternoon. Astronomy had been rescheduled for late that evening as the skies were supposed to be clear. Looking into his pocket, he withdrew a letter from Lord Black first.

Dear Harry:

My grandson has provided the necessary protections to our place… Harry knew this meant there was more to this letter than met the eye at first. …but such things aside, I was pleased to hear you and Clarice were sorted into Gryffindor. It was a pity all my relations were not so honored. Looking forward to exchanging Hogwarts tales over the Holidays.

AB.

Harry drew one of his wands and pointed it at the parchment. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he intoned and watched as the writing changed.

Quite useful this is. I am keenly aware of how public things can be at your school and there are times when such communication should not be known to all.

I wanted to thank you for what happened at the Station. You correctly assessed a situation which may well have ended badly for me and House Black. Mr. Malfoy was quite put out that I had disowned his family and most notably his son. He was even more upset to learn I would not "be reasoned with" to use his phrase. He assumed quite incorrectly that I and my House were supporters of his agenda and when I would not listen to reason, deemed it necessary to "change my mind." I can only guess at what he was attempting when he was struck from behind by your spell.

You should know that his actions have been reported to the proper authorities who are keeping an uncomfortably close eye on him as he has learned to his chagrin. DMLE has placed him on a suspect list meaning whenever anything happens and the perpetrator is not apprehended at the scene, Mr. Malfoy is among those who shall be hauled in for questioning. The official word of the incident on the platform is that Mr. Malfoy was in his cups and passed out from a night of overindulgence. But we know what happened, and again I thank you for your keen observation and quick thinking.

Good luck and dare I say good hunting!

Grandfather.

"Mischief managed," Hermione said after reading the letter once Harry was finished. "That was nice of him."

Harry nodded in agreement as he opened his second letter from Sirius.

Hiya Kiddo!

Great on you and Clarice getting into Gryffindor! Hope you're not getting into too much mischief!

Sirius.

Again with the hints, Harry thought as he pointed his wand at Sirius's letter.

Okay, so let me get this straight. And I'm sorry if the writing is sloppy, but I haven't had a laugh like that in a long time!

So, Snivellus tried to trip YOU up in Potions and you wiped the floor with his greasy mop twice in the first lesson? (Once when he couldn't ask a question you couldn't answer and again when he made you and the class make a potion in less time than necessary and MOST of you lot made it anyway?) I would have LOVED to see his face turn several colors as it surely did!!

And McGonagall is convinced that Snivey's convinced that you only knew what you knew because I taught you just to stick it to him? THAT'S BLOODY BRILLIANT!! Too bad I didn't think of it to begin with!

And then he sets you up with a detention where Mr. So Called Know It All had to teach a class? Good thing the hydrophobic fool didn't know you had to teach Potions as part of your Mastery program. And according to McGonagall, rather than live down to his low expectations, you actually taught a proper class, perhaps too well as half the school is flocking to the Club?

Mooney and I are so proud!

A prank that would have done the old Marauders proud.

What am I saying? It exceeds anything we ever pulled on anyone, including Snivellus … and no, Mooney, I'm not going to tell him that one!

This is just too good! I'll be sending you loads of Potions books (and Mooney is working on some "instructional material.") Don't be shy about letting Snivelly see it!

A prank that can keep on pranking! Love it!

Padfoot.

Harry rolled his eyes as he handed the letter to Hermione. When she had finished, she looked at him.

"To be honest," Harry said, "I would much rather have been ignored."

"We have heard there was some kind of history between Snape and the Marauders," Hermione said.

"That was ages ago, Hermione. And what does that have to do with me? I wasn't even born then!"

Hermione shrugged. "It does seem quite juvenile."

"And it seems Padfoot is intent on keeping it that way for now," Harry sighed. "Then again, if it keeps Snape away from what we really are and are really doing, maybe we should not look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Just don't run it in too much," Hermione began.

"Not intending to," Harry said. "I'll let him see me with some odd potion book or another and if Padfoot sends me 'instructions,' perhaps get some of them confiscated or something. Enough to keep in his blind spot. Not enough to provoke. Then again, maybe I'll just lie low a bit."

"Oh?"

"We have no idea how little or much it will take to set the man off. I'd rather not find out an answer to that question until the answer no longer matters. I mean, even though we know they haven't looked, we also know all our exam results and certifications are on file with the I.C.W."

"And Dumbledore is the Chief Mugwump…"

"Who until now has no reason to use his position to check into the scores of some students. He could do so as Headmaster as well, 'cept he isn't right now. Snape, on the other hand cannot check those records without the permission of the Headmaster or our parents."

"Or in our case ourselves," Hermione nodded. One of the concerns about the club was those records. Fortunately, as 'minors,' those records were extremely hard to get access to for the vast majority of people. The rules limited it to Headmasters for children attending their schools, official I.C.W., a request by a student or the student's parent or guardian, or use or situations where the records were needed to verify the person's credentials. Basically, their records could not become available to anyone just because they were curious. In most cases, they had learned, the I.C.W. was only required to release those records when the person whose records were at issue was applying for a job that required proof of accreditation. Even the Headmaster's curiosity, alone, was not enough. Most Headmaster inquiries occurred only on school transfers or if the "local" records were lost or appeared to have been falsified. In all cases, a person requesting those records had to provide a lengthy justification for the request; in most cases with supporting documentation of anything they claimed justified release.

There were only a handful of people who could peruse such records with little cause. This included the people who recorded and filed the records in the I.C.W. offices, the examination board (but with the students' names redacted), and the Supreme Mugwump himself and certain designated assistants. The more Harry had learned about Dumbledore, the more this exception concerned him. However, he was almost certain that Dumbledore would not track such details on a whim. The Prime Minister could, in theory, inquire into the amount of public funds a government office in Bristol spent on a weekly basis on bog rolls. It was within his authority. But one did not dwell in such minutiae when one was paid to look at the big picture. There just were not enough hours in a lifetime for such detail mongering. Thus, unless given a reason, Harry was fairly certain Dumbledore had not and would not check those records. Even then, it was likely his search would be focused on a handful of individuals – such as Harry – and not pick up on the hundreds of other records out there on hundreds of other British students.

To be honest, Harry was not the least bit concerned for himself. He had his four Masteries and those Masteries were unassailable. He was not even concerned for the nine hundred and twenty-six others who were in Japan last summer. Their I.C.W. scores could not be challenged and one of the skills they all knew, shifting, meant they could travel to and from Japan with impunity. If all of them wanted four summers of education, they could get it and there was little or nothing that could be done without raising a hue and cry from the public. (Basically, the only way to stop them was to lock them in a prison with an anti-shifting ward. This was not likely as shifting was not known in Britain or Europe and thus the local warders would not know how to ward against it.) His concerns were for people like Sally-Anne and others who had yet to get their chance to go to Japan. It was for them that the security was in place and that the Club was secret from those who might oppose it and its goals within the halls of power.

"The day may be fast approaching when we needn't worry about such things," Harry said.

"And your Quidditch idea," Hermione said. "Aren't you afraid that's close to tickling the sleeping dragon?"

"If it were not for the fact that this country's mad about the sport and I suspect the press will go gaga for the idea of a national youth league, I might agree with you. But my guess is that if we make the W.I.S.E. League public, the press and public will think it the most brilliant idea since socks."

Hermione nodded. The truth was that by way of comparison, Muggle Britons were practically apathetic about football if they were compared on the rabid fan meter against Magical Britons and Quidditch. She had seen just how absorbed the magicals were with that sport. If anyone really wanted a comparison, more ink was spent in the Daily Prophet on all things Quidditch than everything else combined. A newsstand in Diagon Alley had five times as many Quidditch related materials than any other topic and only Teen Witch Weekly ever outsold a Quidditch magazine (and then only with their annual "Who's Hot" young wizard special.)

Take, for example, the Weasleys. If you ever wanted a heated discussion, get them started on Quidditch. The Twins didn't really care about any teams. They were all on about beaters and records involving concussions and broken limbs. Percy was not into any one team, but probably knew more obscure statistics than anyone ought to know. Ginny was a huge fan of the Holyhead Harpies (as it was the only all girl team), and Puddlemere United (because they were actually pretty good.) Ron, on the other hand, practically worshiped the Chuddley Cannons, arguably the worst organized professional sports franchise in human history. They had not won a League title in anyone's lifetime. They had not made the playoffs since before the Muggle Second World War. They had not finished higher than dead last in thirty years and had not won a match in five years. They held loads of records of the most dubious nature such as most consecutive losses, greatest margins of defeat, most players struck by lightning during a match, having the only player eaten by a dragon during regulation. They played in the longest match in history, which should have been a forfeit in their favor because only two of the opposing players showed up (it was during an outbreak of Dragon Pox), and they still lost. In 1953, the entire team took a wrong turn flying to their match in Ireland and disappeared (it was assumed they flew out over the Atlantic and given how well they were led, could not decide what to do when they lost sight of land.) Yet to hear Ron, they were but a minor tweak away from the League title every year.

"Have you guys seen this," Clarice called out breaking Hermione from her musings. She was holding a copy of The Daily Prophet and was handing it to Hermione. Hermione began to read and could sense Harry reading over her shoulder. Anyone else would have received a rebuke, but she had never minded when it was Harry.

"An attempted robbery at Gringotts?" Harry asked.

"Well, more like a burglary," Hermione said. "A robbery is when you threaten them and take their money. A burglary is when you sneak in to steal it without anyone knowing, which is what looks like what happened here."

"Then why say Robbery?"

"Daily Prophet," Hermione said. "Robbery sounds more interesting."

"That happened ages ago," Harry commented. "Back on my birthday, it says."

"It says the Goblins claim nothing was stolen because the vault had been empties earlier that day," Hermione nodded. "They have no idea who tried to get in, except the Goblins claim it was a wizard."

"Says 'dark' wizard," Harry corrected.

"You think the Goblins care one way or another?"

"No," Harry agreed. "Probably more Prophet spin. Story obviously needs some given how long it's been since it happened."

"Goblins probably kept it quiet hoping to catch the would-be thief," Hermione nodded. "They let the story out when they came up empty, hoping someone would say something to get the investigation back on track."

"Sounds plausible," Harry nodded. "Wait, who owned the vault?"

"Says there it was a Hogwarts vault," Hermione said. "Oh my!"

"That's what I thought too," Clarice said. "Just like in Sensei's timeline."

"Which means…?"

"Voldemort is here," Harry said.

"We don't know that for certain," Hermione began.

"I know. It's circumstantial," Harry nodded. "I'm not going to grab my sword and look for a turban wearing wizard to test my swordsmanship skills. But we cannot assume it's not what we think it is either."

"The spell isn't ready yet, Harry."

"And we don't need it yet," Harry replied.

After a moment Hermione continued. "I do feel sorry for him."

"Who? Voldemort?" Harry asked.

"No, Quirrell," Hermione said. "To stop Voldemort he must die. So I feel sorry for him."

"The spirit cannot take active possession if resisted," Harry said. "The person must accept something about it and allow it to happen. Voldemort had something he wanted. Knowledge? Ambition? A thirst for power? The ability to speak two words coherently? Who knows? But he had to allow what happened. He may have not understood just what it would mean or just who it was who seeking control was, but he did accept it. That's why it's not as simple as excising the parasite. That's why you can no longer destroy one without destroying the other."

"And that's why we have to do what we have to do," Clarice added.

"I know," Hermione said. "It's just sad."

Harry thought there was no arguing against that. It was sad in a way. But the man who had once taught here was now long gone and the one who was here was a danger to all.

"Did you read all of this?" Clarice asked holding the letter from Sirius.

Harry nodded. "Why?"

Clarice handed the letter back which she had been reading and pointed to a fold at the bottom of the page.

P.S.: Have you and the others had a chance to meet Hagrid yet?

"I totally forgot about that," Harry said. Hermione nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow afternoon?"

"It'll have to be," Clarice said. "There's a notice on the board that First Year Gryffindors have flying lessons Friday afternoon after Charms."