AN(28 October):Errors fixed thanks to David305. This chapter took a long time to write and update, but I blame exams and Hineko's new story I'll be betareading for it. Hopefully, chapter 13 will be ready by Halloween. I don't fancy this chapter, but I definitly think it's decent, I'll wait for feedback and see.

About reviews... well, thanks to everyone that let one... a week ago I would have been pretty upset with the really low numbers and be whining right now but it seems that it isn't meant to. Just please take the time if you have it. Please.

Everyone confused about the magical classification I use is invited to check in my profile to see my companion fic especialy written for the purpose of helping you. Incidentaly, you can check my writing progress there too.

Harry Potter isn't mine. I don't even take credit for what isn't from the books as I can't possibly remember everything I went through on this site in the last three years.

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There is much to be said about arguing. Of course, there is much to be said about pretty much everything I care to think about, but right at this instant I feel like there is much more to be said about arguing than about the weird cake I just took a bite of. And that's saying a lot considering how the thing tastes… "What do they even put in this? Is it even a real cake? No, don't answer that. I'm not sure I want to know… In fact I'm pretty sure that I don't want to know… unless it's poison…" So yeah, after three days of arguing I am starting to get a little tired. Keeping in mind that the people I am arguing with are purebloods for the most part can you blame me? Well, if I am to take the odd looks I got for my last comment they sure do. I sigh. It's been three bloody days since the foreigners arrived and we still haven't sorted the shit that came up. That's why I am firmly against democracy until such a day when we don't have crazy or stupid people on Earth anymore. I don't even know why I still care.

Oh yeah. The possibility of either dying myself or being accused of murder.

"So... let's get this cleared." We aren't really clearing anything by discussing it again, but each minute I spend on condensing previous conversations is a minute they stop talking. I jab an accusing finger millimeters from B nose. "You went there, like we agreed you were going to, and obviously didn't find the girl, since she was with me and Pinky there." I wave my hand in T's general direction before I turn my head sharply to look at Assistant and H. "Then, the both of you joined him because you missed the feeling of imminent death that a two-tons Cerberus can bring." H looks ready to argue about that. Which I understand. After all, I did send B to the very same place with only one runic dagger to protect himself. Granted, any hit from a blade of cold blood will put pretty much anything out of commission for a good twelve hours, but what if he had missed?

But now isn't the time. We already argued about it maybe four or five times.

"After putting B through a good ten minutes of verbal torture while he casts the point-me spell from time to time, you see one of the new charms professors." I pause. "It wasn't the old flame's wife was it?" Can't believe I never thought to ask that particular question before. Thankfully, Assistant shakes her head no. "Her name was Charity Headstone, I think." I sigh in relief. While I don't particularly care for the female relic, I really don't want to get on the ancient one's bad side. So I like it better when a nobody dies when the death in question can be linked to me. So sue me. For some obscure reason, people seem to believe that Nick is a paragon of goodness, much like they think Dumbles is. As I say all the time, people are stupid. I seriously doubt that a guy born in the Middle Ages can be even close to good. Oh, he is pleasant to be around, that much I can't contest. And he really knows his stuff.

But even if we take the common folk's views of goodness he is gray at best.

The philosopher's stone is the biggest example there is. While nobody knows the specifics, it is known that it is a catalyst involved in the creation of alchemical products such as the Elixir of Life. I don't know if it's based on Body or on Soul magic; probably Soul magic since it's used to change common metals to gold too, which is clearly Essence magic of the highest caliber, and that would make the stone an Essence oriented artifact while Body magic tends to be closer to Form magic for humans. In any case, it's clearly partly Black magic with another part likely being White magic for restoration and simply to balance the thing.

But once again, I'm losing myself. I eat a couple of crackers (I'm still suspicious of the perhaps-cake).

"Yes, her. You see her, walking calmly down the corridor. Of course, you all start stammering excuses for being where you are (save B who just twitched some), but she passes right by you without saying a word. She takes her wand and opens the door before going in. You three hear some shouted spells and a lot of barking and growls before the noise stops altogether. When B goes take a look he finds the mortal remains of the professor and a now only two-headed, but still very much alive, Cerberus. Does that sum it up?" I only get a few nods as an answer. Frankly, I think I like it better that way but I can't help but sigh again. "Okay. Did any of you manage to take a look at her eyes? This sounds like mind-control and the easiest way would be the Imperius…" B gets thoughtful. "I'm not sure… I think I saw a dazed look, which would fit with the Imperius if she wasn't ordered to act naturally but I wouldn't bet my life on it."

So basically nothing new.

I think it's time for the debate to go forward. "How about we just assume that she was controlled or that she was doing someone else's binding?" H interrupts me this time. "But if that were the case, wouldn't Dumbledore know about it from the body's remnants and warn the students and their guardians about it?" See what I have to put up with? The question that plagues my mind is: is it really worth it? B shows his skill by holding back his incredulous snort. Unfortunately, I'm not nearly as good as he is. Not that I would have tried to do the same if I could anyway. "I think I need a third category of purebloods. I'll call it Self Hating and Easily Enthralled Purebloods. S.H.E.E.P. for short. The late Charity Headstone will be on the top of the list along with you since I couldn't think of any E-word that meant gullible or naïve." So maybe I went a little far with this one, but if they aren't used to it by now, then maybe it would be for the best if they left.

I'm not the most pleasant person when under pressure.

H doesn't look happy, but she doesn't try to assault me. Always a good sign. Since she seems to be waiting for me to expand on the insult I keep going. "Old Dumbles didn't even tell the school that a teacher got offed. I'm sorry to announce that miss Headstone had to leave abruptly to take care of family matters." Seriously, even the guy who predicts the weather on the TV doesn't spurt that kind of bullshit "I'm sure he didn't lie; after all joining the family grave must count, no? Do you really think that he is stupid enough to give people a perfectly good reason to ignore his political power and kick him out of Britain's most prestigious position? A position that he can probably keep until the day he dies if he doesn't manage to screw up big time? I bet that even Assistant's aunt knows nothing about it." Nobody answers. Everybody here is bright enough to connect dots at this point. I think they all got some political training, so it isn't too surprising that they can all at least partly avoid the Dumbledore-is-god's-gift-to-wizardkind effect.

Only the stupid purebloods and the muggleborns fall for it completely.

Though I would have myself if he hadn't messed with me directly I think. Yeah, he is that good. "Look, I don't know about you all but I really don't feel like being at the wrong end of an obliviate… And I don't fancy the idea of being killed by whoever or whatever is trying to get past a fucking Cerberus either. So the next logical step is figuring out what is happening and trying to get away from it. I really hope that this was just a crazy woman trying to do whatever by herself, but there is just too much weird stuff going on for me to just assume it is." T speaks up. "Well, if she was controlled then the Cerberus must be guarding something. The only other reason for it to be here would be to keep the bloody thing itself safe but I don't see how a dead Cerberus can be any help and the woman took one of its heads away, so that can't be it."

I nod.

"Yes. Potions ingredients, while of high value wouldn't be worth the risk of trying to kill it by oneself… Okay, new rule. No-one tries to get past it to verify this theory. Whether T is right or wrong doesn't matter, as what we want to know is who is dangerous around here. Not what the dangerous people want." That isn't exactly true, but even H nods. "The next thing is looking for information on the people who could be behind it. But we don't want to become targets either. If I were to guess, whoever is behind this mess, if we assume there is sentience behind it, doesn't care about Dumbledore knowing about there being something off. But this person likely doesn't want to have half of the government after him or her. He or she must know that as long as normal people are killed, Dumbledore will get rid of the evidence. So having a very strong public image would be a good bet to avoid being picked next. Who is an heir to an hereditary seat on the Wizengamot here?" Only T doesn't raise her hand. That's good. I hoped it would be the way it is. "Good. Very good. You are all protected to an extent as I am. T, you need to fix that. Prefect is good, but not enough. You need to enter the Triwizard tournament and be selected."

Everyone gives a small start. Apparently, even with the Goblet of Fire being on the mind of everyone else, they all forgot about it.

"Let me get this straight. Your plan for keeping me safe from a possible threat is to enter my name in a competition where I know for a fact that I'll be in danger?" It looks bad when she puts it that way, doesn't it? I nod anyway. She is grinning now. "I knew it was only a matter of time before we corrupted you!" What can I say to that? She is right and we all know it. Best to try to divert the subject. "While it is a dangerous competition, you will at least have an idea about what you will be facing and you will most likely have time to prepare for the challenges. That and if you die it's bad publicity for the school." The damn pink-head is still grinning, but she takes a more serious look eventually. "Fine. But that still doesn't answer how we are going to make sure that I am the one it chooses."

I snort. Like that will be a problem.

"Trust me. If your name is inside you'll be picked. As I said yesterday, I fancy myself an Enchanter, and the Goblet of fire is one very famous artifact. One that isn't lost I must add. If I had enough time I could probably gather enough data to make it choose you. But it won't be necessary. The thing works on potential. It doesn't read your actual skill, as the creators thought that it would invade on the privacy of the contestants, but it knows just how good you could be. That's why so many died before. Because of the disparity between the potential and the actual skill of the participants. Well… that and the stupidity of the examiners of course. The thing is that you are almost guaranteed to be an excellent Black mage since you are a metamorphomagus. If you add to that your talents in both Gray and Red magic you could turn into an archmage if you wanted to. I am pretty much counting on it, in fact."

Weird how it's funnier to watch a metamorphomagus blush than normal people.

I take a moment to think. While everything I said was the absolute truth, she needs a lot of work in the areas that Hogwarts doesn't teach. Thank God, occlumency is something she worked on because it's required (at novice level at least) of all the high-level ministry officials. And aurors count. It's kind of appalling that it means that the Minister and his toady have some magic skill. It's bad enough to live in a society where crazy people can be skilled enough to kill you, but when stupid people start to be able to as well… not good. Anyway, everyone here knows at least the basics and I don't think that Dumbles can get away with trying anything of the sort to them when they can detect it.

At least not often enough for him to do it on a whim.

I start talking again when I notice Assistant beginning to doze, efficiently startling her. "You should start training as soon as you can. Keep honing your Red magic like you usually do, but start looking into other fields too. At the very least try White magic for healing and such. I'll give you a couple of books for Black magic and we'll see what you need in Gray magic before each task." While T is most likely pondering just how much time this is going to rob from her I make a mental list of the arrays easy enough to make that could give her an edge if things go south. In fact, now that I think about it, minions are a precious commodity in these days. Maybe I should equip them all soon, as they all pretty much accepted me as the leader of the group.

But that can wait a bit.

"Back to the murder issue now if you all will." Nothing like sentences of this kind to get people's immediate attention. Wonder why? "The first thing that we should do is write down a list of the biggest suspects around. Meaning, anyone with the skills, the motivation, or the plain creepiness necessary to do the deed. We'll start with everyone who could fit and then begin eliminating people." I take some parchment and a self-inking quill from my pack and wait for them to start. B is the first one to react. "Well, Dumbledore himself fits the skill and maybe the creepy requirements… Then we have Snape since he was a Death Eater… Mad-eye is one other I know that can cast the Unforgivables. Of course, it's pretty hard to evaluate motivation without knowing what the thing is there for."

I nod. I already knew about the first two, but the last one is somewhat of an unknown.

"I never said that we couldn't try to know what the Cerberus is guarding. I just said that nobody is trying to get past it so that we can know. Someone in the staff placed it there for a reason, at the very least the Headmaster should know what is behind it." Not that he is likely to part with the information, but it's always good to point those things out because it helps to follow the logical conclusions that arise from it. Assistant continues. "Since he announced it at the feast the heads of house are probably in the know. If half the things that auntie said about McGonagall are true there is no way she wouldn't get an answer from him." I give the statement some thought. She is definitely right about that, the question is if anyone else knows. All those are too close to the old man for them to let something slip… which is incidentally why I am sure that they know.

But we are drifting from the original subject here.

"Ok, back to the suspects. We'll explore this lead later. I think that Lockhart's sudden change of attitude is suspicious enough to give him a temporary place on the suspects' list. Then there is that Joanson healer-woman…" I ignore the mutters of Hestia Jones coming from the Hufflepuff side of the room. "…with her weird evil aura that can be seen with a basic suboculus charm. And the ever-suspicious old flame that woke up sometime during the summer vacations and decided that he wanted to stop hiding from the world and teach at Hogwarts… his wife too of course. Oh, and probably the ministry too if they have someone skilled enough. And most likely little's D father since he came visit just the other day."

Damn, but that's a lot of suspects. And I don't think the list is going to shrink any time soon.

I give a dramatic pause. Of course, I leave the best for the end. "Then, we have our number one suspect… a man with no conscience, a traitor… someone who had access to the best Black magic library of Britain for more than twenty years… elite auror during the last war… master of Red magic and reputed transfiguration master… supposed right hand of the last British Dark Lord and reportedly first man to escape the wizarding prison of Azkaban since the ministry allied itself with the foul Dementors. I'm talking, of course, of Sirius Black, the last acknowledged British scion of the house of Black." As a somewhat muggle-raised I half expect the guy to enter the room under the public's delirious applauses, cheers and catcalls after such a presentation.

Though I'm kind of glad it didn't happen… I didn't have time to trap the place so I don't think I'd do well in a fight, right here and now.

I shrug the stumped looks I'm getting from my minions with practiced ease. B gathers his wits first. "Are you ever going to use my teachings in a conventional way?" I give him a frown. "Hey! I'm trying ok?" Seriously, how often do people need to make this kind of speech? If I had to wait for what he defined as the normal situation I'd be rusty by the time it happened, and that is if it ever did! "Anyway, that is clearly not the point here. Please don't change the subject." I wait for Pinky's snickering to die down before I go on. "The point, in fact, is that I have in my possession a very useful (and very secret!) way of accessing the monitoring wards of the school. I can't be sure of it since the monitoring can only be done in an active manner, but I think I caught a glimpse of Black on the grounds just the other day." It's very disappointing when you are expecting exclamations of surprise and terror and all you get is pensieve faces and nods.

Still, I do my best at hiding my chagrin.

Assistant speaks first. "It makes sense that he would be around. If we are to believe the papers he is after you. But I don't think that he is the most likely suspect for the Cerberus case. Why blow his cover by doing that if he just wants to kill you? Especially if the wards can spot him." She is right of course. That's why I keep her around, I guess. While hiring ninja house elves or mind-controlling random people in the hope of offing me makes perfect sense if he doesn't want the Headmaster to know he is here, making the people he controls roam the castle and fight magical creatures of great power doesn't add up with it. The question is: Is the guy sane enough to still make rational choices? Or at least what pass for rational choices amongst wizards? If you consider the fact he is a pureblood that isn't stupid plus the ten years of torture thingy… well, let's say that there is a reasonable doubt.

Urg! Herlock Sholmes had it easy. I don't think he ever had to deal with anyone that wasn't sane…

"Ok, let's not assume anything yet. I agree that doing so wouldn't make a lot of sense; but even if Black is still in his right mind, which is doubtful, it is still possible that whatever is on the third floor is just as valuable, if not more so, than my final demise." I sigh again. At least we covered a good deal of issues today. But it's getting late. "Well, we really should all get going… unless someone fancies waiting for Filthy the caretaker to come visit?" Didn't think so. I heard that some pureblood families only use cleaning spells instead of bathing… now whatever would happen if they ever had a squib in the family? Yeah, that would explain a lot… maybe I can get the guy a pamphlet on hygiene from muggle primary school? Now that I think of it, did I ever see the foaming guy cast a spell? You don't technically need to be a wizard to brew potions (though it does help a lot)… Maybe the reason he didn't cast a finite on his hair when I used it against him was that he actually couldn't.

B tugs on my right sleeve. Everyone left already. Hmm… time for another cracker then.

We start walking while I eat. Something is bothering B. I can tell. That says a lot when you take into consideration my utter lack of skills in empathy. "What is on your mind?" When in doubt be blunt, that's what my motto would be if I had one. "I think we should tell Daphne." Well, I'll give him points for being so… Harry. But D is kind of a friend. I won't do that if I don't have a good reason… and world domination doesn't count. "Why?" If it's to protect her then she is in. If it's because he thinks we could use her right now then we'll need to make a small side trip to the medical wing. Being annoying is one thing, offing enemies is fine, not caring too much about what happens to innocent bystanders I can deal with, but I draw the line at putting friends at risk.

All the more when they are cute girls.

"She is only second in line. And her family doesn't hold all that much power anymore. I don't think she should wander alone with people like Headstone vanishing. She was quickly making a name for herself in the charms' community, you know? I was surprised to hear she accepted such a low salary position… must be the tournament." I smile a little. Good. "You do realize that she'll probably want to warn that girl whose shade of red is the same as Assistant, right? She's a half-blood isn't she? She doesn't look like she has got occlumency training…" I pause. "That's fine. I'll train her quickly. If Dumbledore makes a scan it wont be that odd considering how much her family business is growing these days." Hehe. I think he accepted a little too quickly… I wouldn't be surprised if he had occult motives. Well, if I'm right then I just got my hands on some majorly embarrassing material… I don't think that B will enjoy the next time he beats me to the ground while pretending to teach me fencing… hehehe!

"Riiight!"

No answer. How surprising. Well, at least we are walking a lot faster now… B normally slows us down by going all nonchalant about it… it's ver-Ompf! I seriously need to start increasing my weight if every fucking time I run into some bloke or another I end up thrown on the ground after a three meters flight. "Harrikins! – My good friend! – We were looking – for you!" Seriously? Them? Their speech patterns alone give me headaches, let alone the guys themselves! Couldn't they have gone after me at a better time? I'm dead tired right now. Well, not that talking with them in the morning would be any better… and I really don't think I would enjoy it while eating either… which leaves… well, the only time of the day it would be welcome is during some of the classes.

Transfiguration would be extra-good.

I sigh. "Hey guys. What do you want?" Of course I said it a little rudely, but what else did you expect? It's not like they seem to mind. Maybe they are used to it? My fan in their family certainly seemed rude enough and that was with me. How much worse would it be with someone he doesn't worship? "Ah, little one – you wound us! – Your cruelty – really knows – no bounds! – But this is not – the right time to – discuss your lack – of humanity. – We just came – to tell you that – we acquired everything – that you said you- would need for – the next one." They did, did they? How on Earth they found a hundred thousand liters of green paint I'll most certainly never know. Something illegal I'd wager, but the specifics will be lost to the future generations.

I give them a thin smile before I start walking again.

I look at B. "Don't think that I forgot about our earlier conversation. While I forget important things all the time, I very seldom do so with embarrassing things." Hehe. Got him to blush. Which reminds me that I didn't extract my revenge on T yet. Maybe I should give her some special attention when I fulfill my monthly quota for the twins? Soon enough we are in our dormitory again. For the hundredth time of the day I sigh. Somehow, I can feel that things will start going to hell very soon. A lot of people in Hogwarts don't believe in Divination, but I know better. Instinct and Form magic can bring you far even if things aren't set in stone, and I'm not sure they aren't. Determinism always made a great deal of sense to me, though it's mostly useless since the observation of the data affects the data itself.

Anyway, I can feel that it's going to be bad very soon. Bad but possibly funny. Soon.