Chapter 20

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After another night watching Sirius fall through the veil in his dreams, and then blame Harry for killing him Harry thought about the mirrors that Sirius and his Dad had used to communicate, the thought of them still haunted him. If he'd only opened the present Sirius had given him instead of being worried that it was something that would risk Sirius being caught then he might have been able to contact him before going to the ministry last year and Sirius would still be alive. He forced himself past that emotion though and tried to think seriously about whether having a set of mirrors like that would help him communicate better with Susan. Sure, they could hear each talk in their heads when they were both concentrating and could have a conversation that way while using silencing charms, but without an intense emotional response there was no way to let the other person know to open their side of the connection to listen to what was being said. He was also uncomfortably aware that with all his concentration focussed on their connection he was at risk of being attacked without warning or even just tripping and falling because he was so oblivious to his own surroundings and who was around to overhear him speaking out loud to someone who wasn't there without any visible means of communication. So speaking through their connection was something they could only do when they were both sure they were alone and secure. But the mirrors would also have to be kept secret, and anyone recognising the voice coming from the mirror or getting a look at the front of it while they were using them, or even seeing both of them with their mirror at different times, would know who they were talking to. so it wasn't like they could use them to talk to each other in the great hall to decide what they were going to eat, and they'd still have to sneak away and put up silencing charms to have a conversation safely. If they were caught using them people would still think that they were a couple even if it would hide their bond. Perhaps something like the coins Hermione had enchanted for the DA, that they could set to vibrate in the other's pocket and send one or two word messages might be just as useful, but he couldn't explain to Hermione why he wanted a pair of them or who the other one was for.

In the end, even though he didn't know how useful they were actually going to be, he decided to write to Remus and ask him about the possibility of making a set of mirrors for himself. They might be too risky to actually use but at least if they had them to explain how they were communicating in secret without being together in person, would hide the fact they had this emotional and physical connection which would have made Susan an irresistible target could be kept secret even if their relationship became known.

Dear Remus

I'm sorry I haven't written for a while, I got a bit caught up with school with everything going on. The school is starting to feel like a war zone since Malfoy and his mates went missing, presumed attacked by his own house he's been attacked twice and ended up in the hospital wing, and there's been quite a few other Slytherin's with a reputation for bullying attacked as well. I could care less about that but the Slytherins are retaliating against all the other houses since the attackers weren't caught. People are starting to move around in groups and to avoid going out on their own, and we're all trying to protect the younger years. The Auror's have questioned me twice but I suppose you know that since it was Auror Shacklebolt the second time. It's infuriating that attacks against Malfoy are being taken so seriously when he's never been punished for all the fights he's started over the years and the professors seem to be turning a blind eye to most of the fights breaking out about it.

Academically things are going well, I'm finding the practical part of classes really easy, but the professors seem determined to drown us all in theory and homework essays as well. Snape is just as much of a git teaching DADA as he was teaching potions, and it's worse because he can actively encourage Malfoy to curse me. I'm almost looking forward to the curse on the DADA position getting him. Seamus is making a fortune taking bets on what and when it will happen. I wish you could teach us next year.

Quidditch is going well too, I'm so glad that I'm allowed to play again though I don't really enjoy being captain, the team has come together well and we have a good chance of winning the cup unless something happens to me before the last game again.

I was wondering if you could tell me about the spells that were on the communication mirrors Dad and Sirius had. I would try to work them out myself but the mirror Sirius gave me is broken and the revealing spells don't work on it. Also any notes Dad or Sirius had about meditating for their animagus form would be helpful. I've been trying but I'm not getting anywhere.

Regards

Harry

-o0o-

Dear Harry

Sirius and I did help your father make the mirrors and I will look to see if either myself or Sirius kept the notes we took about the project but Prongs did most of the work so even if I find both sets of notes they are likely to be incomplete. Likewise any notes he had about meditating for his Animagus form. I think that they probably used the potion since they succeeded so young. Still it will give you a place to start looking for the spells you need. James' notes might be in your vault somewhere but I wouldn't like to guarantee it.

I understand that you're not wanting to ask Snape for the potion and it's probably beyond your current level of skill but if you send me the money I could try to purchase you a dose or three from a reputable potions master.

I want to ask though, why you want the mirrors. If it's for a girlfriend I must caution you against it. They will take a lot of work and you couldn't expect the girl to give her mirror back to you so you can give to someone else after the relationship ends. It it's to protect the rest of your house then I don't think they had the capability of adding more than four or five mirrors together, and it's too magically intensive to make that many groups.

Take Care Pup

Remus Lupin

PS: I know I shouldn't encourage you but put three sickles on Snape being eaten by a magical creature two weeks before OWL exams for me. What did you bet on?

Harry felt guilty that he'd never even thought about trying to give the younger Gryffindors a way to call for help. That would be easy enough to do with the DA coins and it would also protect his friends as well. He decided to bring it up with Hermione. He thought it would do her good to have a way to contribute to the safety of the school without putting herself at risk.

"I had an idea. You prefects are wearing yourselves out trying to keep the younger years safe between the library, classes, great hall and the common room and it has to be cutting into your study time. Not to mention that you're at risk out on your own on prefect patrols. What if we gave the kids a way to call for help?" Harry said during the next training session with Ron and Hermione.

"What are you thinking of?" Hermione asked.

"A set of coins or medallions like the DA coins that they could use to send messages," Harry suggested.

"I don't know that it would work, they wouldn't have time to send a message if they were under attack, and they wouldn't call for a babysitter to walk them back to the common room. Half of them resent that we're trying to escort them already," Hermione said.

"There has to be a way they can just set them to alert," Harry said.

"But how would we find the student who sent the message," Ron asked.

"I don't know, unless we could tie the coins to the map somehow," Hermione said thoughtfully. "But would you allow us to mess around with your map?"

"No, but I could write to Remus and see if he has the notes they used to make it. He suggested arming groups of students with two way mirrors but we'd have to make too many of them and the notes about them aren't complete. Apparently, Dad had a lot to do with them and the map and I don't know what he did with the notes about either," Harry replied.

"It was a good thought, Harry and I agree we need to try to do something. I'll have a chat with the seventh year prefects. They might have some ideas how we could use a charm to alert us to where we're needed more quickly, maybe a shrieking alarm that would draw attention," Hermione said smiling at him.

"An alarm that went off in the common room would be better so the Slytherin's couldn't just throw up a silencing charm, and we could send a group of older years out to patrol and find whoever set their alarm off," Harry said.

"It would have to be tamper proof so the Slimy Slytherins couldn't take one off one of the kids and use it to set up an ambush," Ron said.

"Good point, but that will make it a lot more difficult," Harry said sighing.

-o0o-

Curiosity got the better of Harry and he followed Malfoy into the second floor girls bathroom, surely he wasn't a parselmouth and hadn't managed to open the chamber of secrets again. Could it be possible that he was possessed like Ginny had been in her first year?

Malfoy was at the sinks, not the one where the entrance was and Harry could see tears running down his face. He would have ducked back out but Malfoy was talking to Moaning Myrtle and Harry desperately wanted to know what was going on. He didn't trust the git one bit and he knew if the situation was reversed then Malfoy would have come in made fun of him to his face and told the entire school so he didn't figure that the other boy really deserved too much of his consideration.

"Crucio," Malfoy cast. Harry managed to duck but his blood was boiling with anger and adrenaline as he tried to disarm the blond boy before he could cast again. Susan felt his instinctual fear of the curse almost instantly swallowed up by his fierce anger and already being alone immediately focused on him looking through his eyes to see what was going on.

"Expelliarmus," he shouted. Malfoy dodged the curse but not far enough to stop the overpowered curse from working, and Harry had to dodge to prevent Malfoy's wand from skewering through his ribs as the curse hit the mirror shattering it explosively and covering Draco's head back and arms in deep cuts from the flying glass shards.

"Shit," Harry said, quickly casting a stasis charm and levitating the boy towards the hospital wing. Of course, with his luck he ran into Snape almost as soon as he left the bathroom.

Surprisingly Snape didn't start yelling at Harry instead he looks at him horrified for a moment while becoming even more pale than normal before urgently pulling his wand and starting to point them at the cuts chanting.

"Shouldn't you summon out the glass shards first professor?" Harry asked hesitantly, as he saw the cuts starting to close over.

"Glass shards?" Snape barked, "What are you talking about Potter?"

"Malfoy dodged and the Expelliarmus hit the mirror and exploded it, he was cut by flying glass, there will be shards in the wounds," Harry said.

"It wasn't Sectumsempra?" Snape demanded.

"No, I wouldn't cast that on a student. He'd be dead if I had. I certainly wouldn't have hexed him in the back with it, I just disarmed him because he was trying to curse me but I was angry and used too much magic, he was using dark curses so my adrenaline was pumping and I didn't manage to hold back enough and the expelliarmus glanced off him and hit the mirror behind him," Harry tried to explain, too astonished that Snape even knew of the spell to ask why he did or why he thought Harry might know and have used it.

Snape scowled though he had to admit that it would be highly uncharacteristic of this Potter to curse someone in the back and pointed his wand at the cut he'd just healed and realised that it had healed too easily to have been made by a dark curse, he cast a weak summoning spell thinking of glass shards and one forced its way out of the wound reopening it.

"Get him to the hospital wing then detention with me tonight seven o'clock sharp," Snape growled, stalking off.

Harry's heart sank as he hurried to the infirmary, Snape was going to be unbearable and there was no way that he would believe that Malfoy had not only started the fight but had been trying to cast the Cruciatus when Harry had disarmed him. He wondered aloud whether testing a wand would reveal a half cast spell.

"It should Harry, ask Madam Pomfrey to call the Aurors or take the wand to McGonagall or Dumbledore," Susan said in his mind, hoping he would get the thought.

Harry sighed, he doubted that it would do any good, Dumbledore never wanted to involve the Aurors, and Pomfrey and McGonagall never went against him. They would not call the Aurors without Dumbledore's agreement. You only had to look back over Harry's last five years to count how many times his life had been illegally put in danger and they hadn't been called in to realise that. He would want to give Malfoy another chance as if the blond git hadn't had enough chances with what he'd done to Katie Bell and poisoning Ron.

Susan could obviously feel from his emotions that Harry didn't believe it would do any good. "How do we get out of the school? Where should I meet you?" she asked.

"Get out of the school. Do you want me to run away?" Harry asked incredulously.

"No, but if the professors won't call in the Aurors then we need to, he cast an Unforgivable on you, what if it had been someone without your reflexes?" Susan said.

"Meet me in the hallway near the DADA classroom," Harry said aloud, deciding to take the tunnel to Honeydukes would be best since he'd already told Susan about that one.

"We'll go to 'The Three Broomsticks' and I will floo my aunt. Bring Malfoy's wand with you so they can't cleanse it before it's tested," Susan said.

"Okay, thanks," Harry said, careful not to say Susan's name out loud. A young Ravenclaw gave him a strange look for apparently talking to himself but Harry was happy to ignore her. He delivered Malfoy to Madam Pomfrey, put up with her scolding him for ten minutes, insisting that Malfoy had attacked him first and he had reacted without thought and tried to disarm the git. It wasn't his fault that the Slytherin had been hit by pieces of a mirror that had been blown up with an overpowered Expelliarmus, and that Snape knew about it, had already given him a detention and was on his way with the potions she would need before managing to escape. He slipped his invisibility cloak back on and went to meet Susan in the DADA corridor.

Susan laughed as he showed her how to open the secret passage and they hurried along it. Cuddling up close to fit under the invisibility cloak they managed to get up the stairs and into Honeydukes without being noticed and they didn't have to wait too long before they could follow another customer out of the shop. Stopping in an alley near 'The Three Broomsticks' to let Susan out of the cloak they hurried into the pub and Susan paid to use the Floo, then asked for a private room to wait for her Aunt.

"What is it Susie," Amelia asked anxiously as Rosemerta showed her into the room. "Why did you feel that you had to leave the school to contact me instead of asking your head of house?"

"Actually Madam Bones, it's me that needed to talk to you. I got in a fight with another student and he tried to cast the cruciatus on me. Susan said you could check his wand as proof. If I went to the professors they'd say it was just my word against his and since he's now in the hospital wing because I disarmed him too hard then I'm the one who has a detention with his head of house. I think he has a Dark Mark and that he was behind what happened to Katie Bell and with Ron being poisoned with mead that Slughorn had originally bought to give to Dumbledore and I'm worried about the safety of the other students" Harry said.

"Those are very serious accusations, Mr Potter," Amelia said severely.

"Yes Ma'am but his wand should prove he was trying to curse me, and I'm prepared to offer a couple of memories, of the attack, a memory of him to getting what he wanted from the owner of Borgin and Bourkes by pushing his sleeve up and one of him showing him his left arm and of him telling his friends he'd been given a special task for the Dark Lord," Harry said holding out the wand.

"How can I tell whose wand this is?" Amelia asked.

"This is mine," Harry said holding his up. "I'm prepared to swear an oath that this is the wand I just disarmed from Draco Malfoy. I would imagine Ollivander could tell you who he sold this wand to if my memory doesn't identify it well enough."

Amelia touched the tip of her wand to the wand Harry held and then to the evidence parchment, and the last 20 spells were recorded onto the parchment. The Cruciatus, preceded by thirty or forty various diagnostic and repair spells. She then did the same to Harry's wand and luckily he'd been in both Charms and Transfiguration since his last training session because the spells that came out were all benign.

"Any idea what he's trying so hard to repair?" Susan asked curiously.

"No, but whatever it is it's in the room of requirement, I followed him from there," Harry said.

Amelia produced a solicitor's pensive and asked for the memory. Watching the fight, she agreed that there was more than enough evidence of the attempt to cast an unforgiveable to bring Malfoy in for questioning in spite of the fact he was still sixteen.

"You should show her the memory of Lucius Malfoy cursing you too," Susan said glaring at her aunt for not having already investigated their earlier allegation.

Harry went to withdraw the memory but Amelia stopped him. "There's really nothing I can do about that. The spell wasn't finished and it's too long ago. Lucius Malfoy has too many powerful friends to be successfully convicted."

"Doesn't that also apply to his only son and heir?" Harry asked bluntly.

"Draco completed the curse and if you hadn't have ducked so quickly it would have hit you. Trying to prosecute Lucius Malfoy would also see the house elf that attacked him sentenced to death, whether Lucius was found guilty or not. He saved your life, is that how you're willing to repay him?" Amelia tried to explain the difference in the two situations.

"No, Dobby is my friend, I wouldn't want him harmed for saving me," Harry agreed.

Amelia wanted to accompany them back to Hogwarts, but Harry explained that they hadn't left through the gates and nobody knew they'd left the castle and he'd rather not get in more trouble for that, or get Susan in trouble for helping him. Amelia shook her head and insisted they accompany her anyway since she needed their testimony to have a reason to enter the castle to begin her investigation and she couldn't enter through secret tunnels without the headmaster's knowledge if it was to be an official investigation.

"One of the goals of meeting you was to get me out of detention with Malfoy's godfather, not to get Susan into trouble too," Harry said pointedly.

"Very well, how long do I have to give you to get back into the school?" Amelia asked frowning.

"We'll be there by the time you are if you're going to walk from here," Harry replied.

I will see you then. It's just about dinner time so be in the great hall," Amelia ordered, knowing it would take a similar amount of time to apparate back to London and collect backup and portkey to the school gates and wait to be let in.

-o0o-

Harry and Susan raced back through Honeydukes and the tunnel to be in the great hall before Amelia arrived.

They'd just taken their seats and Harry's friends asked him where he'd been when Amelia arrived with an Auror escort.

"Amelia and Theseus, what can I do for you this afternoon?" Albus asked, eyes twinkling amiably.

"We have reports of a student being attacked," Amelia replied.

"It was a schoolboy fight and it has been handled," Albus replied mildly.

"I hardly think that casting an unforgiveable at a fellow student could be considered a schoolboy fight, nor do I consider handing out a detention to the intended recipient for disarming his attacker an appropriate way of handling the situation," Amelia said sternly.

"I'm sure it was all a misunderstanding," Albus hastened to soothe the irate head of the DMLE and reassure the students still listening. "Perhaps we should take this to my office."

"So you can continue to try to sweep this under the rug?" Amelia questioned frowning. "You should have called the Auror department immediately. This is not something that the school can handle internally."

"The student in question was not harmed," Albus said gently.

"Are you sure, did any of the staff actually ask him, or cast a diagnostic charm on him. Or were they too busy lecturing and punishing him for overpowering his disarming spell?" Amelia demanded.

"How did you hear of this?" Albus asked, trying to sound calm.

"You're more concerned that one of your students or staff might have done the right thing and contacted the Aurors about an Unforgivable being cast than the fact that a student attempted to cast the torture curse on a classmate or the fact that one of your heads of house is so biased that the perpetrator was not even questioned and the intended victim was punished for defending himself?" Theseus Scamander asked incredulously.

"He was cursed into a mirror and seriously injured," Severus snapped.

"Draco Malfoy dodged an overpowered Expelliarmus used in the castor's defence, and it hit the mirror behind him exploding it and Mr Malfoy was then hit by the glass shards moving at speed," Amelia corrected firmly. "Many of my junior Aurors would overpower a spell if an attacker was casting Cruciatus curses against them, it's a natural reaction and there is no blame to be placed in this circumstance. And the student in question didn't try to hide what he did his first act after disarming his attacker was to get him to the hospital wing for help. To punish a student for defending himself against an unforgivable is totally ridiculous."

"Your so called innocent victim wasn't injured in any way and his alleged attacker will need to spend the rest of the weekend in the hospital wing. I would say justice has been served," Albus replied. "We will withdraw the detention and reinstate any points lost, but I cannot allow you to punish a child for a spell that wasn't successfully cast. You know as well as I do that there was no actual crime here."

"You know as well as I do that the punishment for casting an unforgivable is a lifetime in Azkaban not a single weekend in a cushy hospital bed. Are you prepared to protect a student who would willingly torture another? This didn't occur during a duel or a fight, Mr Potter was attacked without provocation and there is no evidence that the Cruciatus was not correctly cast. Mr Potter is one of the best quidditch players to come out of Hogwarts in a decade because he has phenomenal reflexes. Any other student would likely have been hit by the curse and be in a world of pain. Do you really feel comfortable with his attacker wandering freely in a school full of children? What guarantees can you give that he won't do it again?" Amelia demanded.

Albus looked away and refused to answer but the message was clear, she would not be leaving with Mr Malfoy.

"Potter may not have cast the first spell but the two boys have a long history of provoking each other," Severus stated.

"But Mr Potter did not do so in this instance, he followed Draco into the bathroom, said nothing other than the other boy's name and the accused responded with an unforgivable curse," Amelia replied. "I understand that Mr Draco Malfoy was embarrassed to be caught crying in a girls' bathroom by his school rival but that is no excuse for casting an Unforgivable. There will be a black mark placed in his file with the DMLE for this," Amelia knew it was petty to announce to the whole school that Draco had been crying but it seemed that was the only punishment within her power to administer, and the students deserved to be warned what the blond Slytherin was capable of without provocation to protect themselves. It was sheer luck that Potter had been able to defend himself so adequately.

Harry was disappointed but not surprised that Draco wasn't arrested, he was pleased that his detention had been cancelled not least because he didn't want to spend the evening with a furious Snape after his authority had been questioned and his favourite student had been humiliated, hopefully Snape would have time to calm down a little before he found another excuse to give Harry a detention. He wasn't upset with Amelia Bones, she'd done what she could which like most adult actions wasn't enough to do him any good but at least she'd tried. He was furious with Dumbledore though. The headmaster had once again proven that he didn't care about him at all, and all the other teachers had just sat there and let him let Malfoy get away with cursing him. He no longer could trust any of them at all. Not even Hagrid who he'd thought of as a friend had protested that Harry deserved justice or at least to be safe from his attacker while at school.

Susan on the other hand was disgusted and furious that her aunt had backed down and let this travesty of justice occur to Harry again, her Auntie hadn't even agreed to watch Harry's memory of being attacked by Lucius Malfoy or asked him about his version of what had happened in second year. She glared at her Aunt as the head of the DMLE prepared to leave.

Amelia looked at Harry apologetically only to see him determinedly not looking in her direction then sighed when she turned to find Susan glaring at her. She would have some explaining and making up to do when school let out that year. Her niece's passionate defence of Mr Potter surprised her, she'd never really been a fan of 'The-Boy-Who-Lived.'

A/N: Thank you to all those who reviewed and those who followed or favourited this story for your support.