A/N: Hello, people! I'm really shocked at the response to this fic because Varix is an OC and the response to those is usually not good. But this has been added to 8 Communities already and the stats are great! Thanks!

I don't own Harry Potter.

I have no beta.

ENJOY!

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Harry and Varix returned to the castle long before dinner. This left Harry, Ron, and Hermione some time to strategize on who they were going to pretend to be. About twenty Slytherins were at the school for the hols. Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Millicent Bulstrode being those for their own year.

Varix, who was in her 'watch' form, proposed, "So you give me the sleeping draught. I'll give them to the correct people and get their hairs for you. I'll then report back to the bathroom in a timely manner, yes?"

Hermione nodded. "If you could, Crabbe, Goyle, and Bulstrode would be best, please?"

"Sure. Bulstrode is the one that looks like a female Crabbe, right?"

The three Gryffindors sat back for a moment, before Ron's loud snort broke the silence. "She does!" Harry and Hermione joined in on the laughter, though much more modestly. It was true! How had they not noticed before?

A few minutes later, the trio was joined by Percy, who was reading a book. Then came Fred and George. Ginny stuttered her way into their cluster of a group and looked at the floor the entire time they made their way to the Great Hall.

Harry noticed that she was wearing a necklace. It was made from a white string and a small, black feather. He inquired on where she got it.

"Uh… my friend L-Luna is superstitious. She believes in all these c-creatures that haven't been proven to exist. She sometimes knows things and she can surprise you. She s-sent me this for Christmas to 'keep bad spirits away', according to her note. Apparently, this is unicorn tail hair and the primary feather of a Tengu, some kind of Japanese demon. Unicorns are Light and are known to favor children and innocence. The Tengu are Dark and are territorial and being under the protection of one is considered an honor. Among other things. She wanted me protected from both Light and Dark Magic apparently."

Harry's brow quirked in interest. No one else noticed how her voice changed inflection halfway through her speech and how her stutter disappeared. She had gone from a flushed mess, to looking him in the eyes intently.

Something wasn't right. She'd been acting odd lately. And the rose. She gave him a rose for Christmas. She had flushed a bit but unlike the other times where she never looked him in the eye, she met his gaze head on, despite her embarrassment.

Hm…

Dinner was a quiet affair with most of the school gone. There was only the Head Table that had been moved further into the hall and lengthened in order to fit the number of students and professors who remained for the hols.

Harry found himself seated next to Snape on one side and Hermione on the other. The dour professor hadn't even deigned to give Harry a sneer. He simply ate and drank and left it all at that.

Dumbledore, who was on the other end of the table, was dressed in bright red robes and a santa hat. He looked to be enjoying himself, passing crackers along the table for people to open. These were magical ones though, so the prizes that popped out of them when opened, were actually things people could use, or things they liked. Harry got a chess set out of his.

At seeing the old wizard, Harry felt a stab of resentment. He'd been furthering his studies of those files he'd been given. There was so much to read. So much to understand. He had to read pages multiple times before understanding just what he'd read. He'd then have to read them more to memorize them!

Harry learned of the truth in Varix's words. The Headmaster placed him with the Dursleys. Left him there for years and never bothered to check on him at least one time. Now that he thought about it, keeping a child in a small cupboard on a small cot with a tattered blanket and a thinned out pillow from Dudley squishing it, didn't seem the right thing to do to a child. And while he wouldn't say abuse, he'd admit to light neglect, if only a little. It truly wasn't so bad, but bloody hell it could have been much better! He was shocked that he hadn't turned out to be a vengeful prat who was hell bent on ruining everyone's lives for never helping him. That could have happened. All because Dumbledore couldn't keep up with responsibilities, no matter if he gained them illegally or legally.

Harry's perception of the wizened wizard had changed. Dumbledore no longer was the second Merlin. He no longer was the one person Harry thought could do no wrong. Because leaving a fifteen month old baby on a doorstep in the cold was not a good nor right thing to do. Harry knew all about it, having to hear Petunia whine over the years about freaks and their indecency to not knock on doors and ask politely for perfectly normal and upstanding citizens like the Dursleys to take in a child they most certainly did not want under their roof. She never let him forget it. She also never let him forget that he was ill when she found him. Having been out for so long, he had caught a cold.

He did think that - despite liking him and viewing him as a friend - having Hagrid be the one to tell him about magic was not a good idea. Although Hagrid had come to him assuming Harry knew all about magic, so maybe Dumbledore was foolish enough to think that Petunia would actually tell Harry all about magic. Either way, Hagrid left things out and it wasn't fun to find out specific things because he was made a fool of for not knowing.

In Harry's eyes, Dumbledore had sunk in status. Harry didn't trust him with his welfare. Varix seemed worried that Dumbledore would be able to contest her guardianship of him if he found out about her before summer. She'd gotten Snape to keep quiet and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had also promised to keep it quiet. And the people in the Improper Use of Magic Office were bound by Varix's Fairy Magick to not tell a soul about her. She was allowed to bind people because it wasn't against the laws fairy godparents were given.

Varix was concerned and damn it all if Harry wasn't going to listen to her worries. So no, Harry wasn't a fan of Dumbledore's at the moment, even if he didn't hate the man. He was just, not happy and justifiably annoyed.

Dinner was quick in his opinion and he, Ron, and Hermione left the Great Hall and waited in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. A few minutes passed, with Hermione ladeling the potion into three separate vials and then storing the rest of the potion in a preservation beaker, they waited.

Varix popped in and floating in front of her was a long lock of brown hair, obviously Millicent's. In her right hand was a tuft of brown hair. In her left was a tuft of black hair. "I'm going to enlarge your clothes and put an illusion over them so you fit right in in the Slytherin Common Room. I know how to get you there, but I don't know the password. But considering how those students act half the time, I have a list that we'll go through and I'm sure one of them will work."

The three sent her relieved smiles and added the hairs to their potions.

Harry's nose wrinkled as his potion bubbled. A glance over showed both Hermione and Ron doing the same to their potions. They all shared a look and gave a simultaneous nod. With great reluctance, they chugged back the vials.

Hermione dropped hers, the vials breaking as it hit the ground. She rushed off toward the nearest cubicle with a, "I'm going to be sick!"

Ron coughed, dropping his own and running after her. "Me too!"

Harry's stomach was roiling at the taste, but he forced himself to consume a bit more of the potion before placing the vial on the sink and bending over in an attempt to stall the nausea.

Varix watched on, not saying anything until a loud, 'yeuh!' burst from her mouth.

Harry looked into the mirror over the sink, seeing his face bubble and become thicker. Varix snapped her fingers and he could feel his clothes growing with him. His body was getting larger and filling out too much.

He turned around, seeing Hermione and Ron coming out of their cubicles and looking down at themselves. Before him stood perfect replicas of Millicent Bulstrode and Vincent Crabbe. Which meant that Harry had Goyle's hair.

"It worked!" Hermione breathed, Millicent's face lighting up in a way that Harry had never seen before. It was creepy.

Varix clapped her hands together, getting their attention. "You have an hour. I used the Sleeping Draught I brewed yesterday and fed it to our targets. They will be unconscious for a while. Crabbe and Goyle are residing in a small alcove surrounded by food on the second floor. Bulstrode is asleep in a classroom near the dungeons with her homework spread around her.

You all get going and I'll clean this mess up. Here's the list of possible passwords," she said, handing a small piece of paper over.

They nodded and left the bathroom quickly.

"The Slytherins are always coming up to this landing and then going down here," Harry commented as they followed the stairs downward.

The three Gryffindors in disguise descended into the lower parts of the castle. They noted the chill in the air and how quickly it got colder the lower they went. There was a lack of portraits and paintings in this part of the castle. It was eerie, dark, and quiet. How did the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs get around?

They came to a fork. More like a three way intersection. Either go left or go right.

"Left," a voice said behind them, making them all jump.

Varix was floating there with a wide grin on her face. "This is the basement. Hufflepuff and the Kitchens are to the right. Slytherin is further into the dungeons, to the left."

They nodded to her, watching as she melted from view. Disillusion then.

Harry, who was Goyle, lead them down more steps, further into the darkness. None of the torches on the wall lit at their passing. There were no ghosts around. It was like a haunted house ride.

There were snakes on the wall. Little black snakes carved into the walls. Each block has a small snake with red eyes in center. But Harry's eye caught onto the one snake that had green eyes. It was different from the rest.

"You found it," came Varix's disembodied voice from behind them. "Check the list."

He looked down at the paper. "Salazar."

Nothing happened.

"Slytherin."

Nada.

"Salazar Slytherin."

Nope.

"Voldemort."

Na-uh.

"Pureblood."

The eyes of the snake shined a bit and the wall began moving backward. Harry stuffed the paper into his robes and straightened himself out a bit. This was it.

"How terribly unoriginal," Hermione muttered as they entered the newly revealed room.

The Slytherin Common Room was spacious and was by far much more fancy than the Gryffindor Common Room. Leather chairs and sofas compared to the boring fluffy seats in their own Common Room. A large chandelier with small green lights dangling around it.

The walls were dark and shined so well that Harry could see his reflection in them. There were bookcases all over the room, with tables and chairs near each for studying to be done. The carpeting was green with silver linings. The fireplace was covered by a grate and looked so much better than the one in Gryffindor's Common Room.

Tapestries lined the walls. There were some large landscape paintings. Overall, it was nicer than they assumed it would be.

Harry made his way in first, with Ron budging up beside him like they'd seen Crabbe and Goyle do countless times. Hermione moved over to a bookcase and grabbed the closest book she could find, She sat herself near the table beside it.

Sitting on the sofa with his back to the door, was Draco Malfoy, whose feet were resting on the coffee table in front of him. He was tossing something small and brown in the air.

They lumbered around the sides of the sofa, catching his eyes.

"Have you been pigging out in the Great Hall all this time?"

They sat on the sofa opposite him and nodded quietly.

"Hmph!"

Malfoy was frowning. "You know what irks me?" he said, sitting forward suddenly, placing the brown thing on the table. It was a ball. "We Slytherins are treated terribly by the other Houses and yet they wonder why we don't like them. They seem to forget that not everyone that has ever been in their Houses was good. I mean, Sirius Black was a Gryffindor and he was the Dark Lord's right hand man and betrayed Potter and his family to the Dark Lord. He's obviously not good. And then there's Sisi Whitby who was a Hufflepuff that gained a mass of followers in the 18th century and became a Dark Lady. She was killed by a dragon though. Ravenclaw's own daughter stole her mother's diadem and ran off with it. She never came back.

Just saying! We aren't the only House to have evil or bad people graduate from Hogwarts, so why is our House the only one being hated? The only professor on our side is Uncle Sev. And yes, it's unfair the treatment he gives us compared to the rest of the school but the rest of the school is being unfair with how they treat us too!"

His extremely pale, pointed face had turned red during his tirade. His hands were clenched in his lap and he was glaring at the table.

"Purebloods are dying away. Fact. I don't like it. Slytherin is currently made up of mostly, Halfbloods and Mudbloods. Only one third of our prestigious House is Pure any longer. The rest of the school feels that Mudbloods and Halfbloods are the cream of the crop, and yet they even treat the ones in our House like rubbish!

I don't care for them in the least, but the hypocrisy from the other Houses is annoying. I don't like Mudbloods, and Halfbloods, if taught correctly, can be tolerated. I may not like them, but even in my own House I have to watch out for them.

I found a fifth year Gryffindor bullying the Mudblood Marcette girl. She's only a first year. He was levitating her books above her head where she couldn't reach them and she was crying. And what did he and his friends, do? They laughed!

People go on and on about Gryffindor being such a nice House and yet Marcette hates them all now. Because of that Gryffindor and his friends. I had to get Flint after them. I don't like her, but as Uncle Sev has stated, we Slytherins protect our own and any issues with each other will be resolved in the Common Room."

Harry's breath had caught. Malfoy was ranting about inequality and from the way he sounded, things at Hogwarts were worse than Harry believed.

Gryffindor was painted as a House that could do no wrong. Everyone told Harry it was the best House to be in. But his father was a bully to Slytherins, one of the petrified students was a Gryffindor bully, Sirius Black was a Gryffindor and was accused of wrongdoings, and now this.

The world wasn't so black and white.

And not only did he learn a harsh truth, but Snape was Malfoy's uncle? And the favoritism of Slytherins was because no other professor would take their side? No one ever mentioned that.

Harry knew that Slytherins weren't well liked but as he thought about it, a Hufflepuff Dark Lady! An army of extremely loyal followers ready to do her bidding. Rowena Ravenclaw's own daughter being a thief. Not all bad people come from Slytherin. And Varix had said that 'evil' was a subjective word to everyone. So what if someone claimed someone else was 'evil' but they were in fact a decent being?

There is no good or evil, there is only power and those too weak to seek it.

Professor Quirrell - most likely Voldemort though - had said those words.

Harry would have to think on it more later, because Malfoy was still talking.

"Then we have this whole Heir of Slytherin business and people automatically assumed that it was Slytherin behind it. And yet I was attacked twice, for some reason! I can't remember what I saw. My parents were furious. According to my father, the chamber was opened fifty years ago and a Mudblood died. And then they caught the person responsible right before the school was closed. The last time this happened, only Mudbloods were attacked, but now with wizards of every breeding being attacked, I can't say what is going on here."

He sighed and shifted back against the pillows of the sofa.

Malfoy didn't know who was behind the attacks. If Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin who seemed to be most in charge of everyone, didn't even know who it was, then was the person even in Slytherin?

How would they even get into the other Houses? Since Slytherin had the most staying for the hols, it was easier to accomplish. But the other Houses weren't so easy.

Hermione got up suddenly, placing her book back on the shelf and sweeping from the room. A glance to the clock on the mantle showed it was close to nine. Curfew and close to the time their potion would be wearing off.

Malfoy stood up suddenly, dragging Harry's attention back to him.

"I'm going to go and talk to Uncle Sev. He'll probably have some tea ready and he'll let me stay past curfew if I need to talk. Don't come find me or you'll get us into trouble. Weasley patrols the corridors down here on Wednesdays."

And he was gone, leaving the imitation Crabbe and Goyle to stare at the closed entrance.

They turned to each other, mouths dropping as they reviewed all of what they heard. Both jumped up, running from the room just as the clock on the mantle turned to nine.

They had to get all the way up to Gryffindor Tower or else! At least Hermione was ahead of them!

They made it up to the first floor within ten minutes of running. Crabbe and Goyle weren't physically in shape and they both huffed and puffed as they tried to move fast.

The transformations finally dropped by the second floor, but by the time they reached the third floor, Ron, who was finally back to looking like himself, grabbed Harry by the back of the robes and pulled him into the Trophy Room, shutting the door behind them.

"What was that for?" Harry asked, adjusting his collar that had choked him in the sudden movement.

"Filch was at the end of the corridor! I think he saw us!" Ron hissed.

"You can't hide!" came the voice of the old caretaker.

"He did! Oh no!"

Varix revealed herself then. She was pointing at a large painting of a man in ruffled clothing. "That is a secret passage to the fourth floor corridor. Go through there."

"Now see here!" the portrait insisted. "You need a password!"

"Harry, pretend it's a snake and say, 'open'."

Harry focused on the portrait, envisioning Varix in her serpent form and hissed out, §Open.§

They didn't question her and the painting swung open. The two scrambled inside and up a small stairwell. The portrait closed behind them.

They came out in the middle of the fourth floor corridor, looking around wildly for anyone.

Varix cleared her throat. "See that tapestry over there?"

Across the corridor was a tapestry of an eagle in flight, against a light blue backdrop.

"Shift it to the side."

There was a large, stone stairwell behind it as well. The two rushed up, finding themselves coming out into a hidden corridor of no windows, made of old, uneven stone. Following it, they found a large circular stairwell and followed it all the way up until they came to a dead end.

"There is a place on this wall that if pushed, will move aside. If you can't remember where it is, your Verdimillious Charm can be used to reveal crevices in walls for hidden rooms."

She reached out and pushed on a portion of the wall, making it move away from them and then to the right. She disappeared once more. They stepped out, finding themselves in the Gryffindor Common Room, coming out from behind the only bookcase in the room.

The few students who stayed back for the holidays, all looked up and gaped at their entrance. Fred and George were on them in seconds.

Hermione was by the portrait hole, looking curious as well. Percy was nowhere to be found.

"This will be a secret. Percy cannot know," Harry puffed out.

They all were in agreement.

Once Harry and Ron went to their dorm, with Hermione following them easily enough, they sat on Harry's bed, talking about everything.

"Harry, you spoke Parseltongue to the portrait," Ron said with realization.

"Um… yeah." Harry looked to Varix, "Why was that necessary?"

Varix, who was floating beside the bed, grinned. "Salazar Slytherin added some features for those who speak the serpent's tongue. I didn't tell you before but any password that doesn't hold for a Common Room entrance, can be opened with Parseltongue."

"How come you didn't tell us you were a Parselmouth?" Ron asked, looking a bit pale.

"I didn't think it was important?" Harry hedged.

Hermione huffed, "It's good you didn't do it in front of the school. Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth and the whole school would think you're his Heir if they knew."

He didn't know that. The more you know.

"On to other things. We learned this happened fifty years ago. We learned that a Muggleborn died. We learned that only Muggleborns were targeted that time and now things have changed for some reason. Malfoy doesn't know who it is. On a side note, we've learned that all is not as it seems and the prestigious Houses that can never do any wrong, or so I was told before being sorted, each have had some bad eggs in their number.

I was told only Slytherin was bad and Gryffindor was the best and yet I have seen the bullying from other Houses and I just assumed like everyone else that Slytherin started or deserved it. But it's truth. Not even an hour into the Magical World and I'm told all Slytherins are bad and all dark witches and wizards come from there."

Varix scoffed, gaining their attention. "Being Dark doesn't mean you are bad. That's the problem with your Ministry. For years people have been imprisoned unjustly. Any other country in this realm, they'd be free, but in the archaic Britain, they are slaves to the foolishness of your government. It's a sad thing.

Like how the Gryffindor students suddenly turned on the thought of Lily Potter's death and her sacrifice at learning that she used what is considered Dark Arts. Never mind that she saved Harry's life. She was suddenly an evil person for doing it. It's corrupt thinking."

Hermione and Ron looked uncomfortable, but neither said anything against her, because they knew she was right.

"I wish we could find out who died. We'd be able to see if their ghost is still here," Harry murmured.

Varix was grinning again. "I did some research while you were at dinner.

Turns out Myrtle Warren was killed in the first floor girl's bathroom in 1943. Fifty years ago. Subsequently, Rubeus Hagrid was expelled on the same night as her death, with his wand snapped. According to the records, he housed a dangerous creature within the school and it harmed a student. Also, a student by the name of Tom Marvolo Riddle, received a large award for 'services to the school' on the same night. His plaque is in the Trophy Room, which is why I knew of that passageway. This all happened exactly fifty years ago."

Harry and Hermione shared a look. Ron was frowning.

"You don't suppose the creature Hagrid had, killed Myrtle?" Ron asked.

"Myrtle."

"Moaning Myrtle!" Hermione breathed in shock. "Maybe she can tell us what happened!"

"I am not going back down there tonight. It's late, I'm tired, and I just ran a good length of the school while still in Crabbe's body!" protested Ron with a shake of his head.

"We can do it tomorrow then."

"What about Hagrid?" Harry asked. "Do you think he'd want to tell us what happened?"

"We'll just have to ask him."

The next morning, they headed off to see Hagrid, stomping through the large mounds of snow as they did so. Hagrid's hut was puffing out bits of smoke from the chimney and there was light flickering in the windows.

Hermione knocked for them and Hagrid opened the door slowly, looking slightly worried and curious all at once. When he saw them, he cheered up completely and waved them inside. "Would you like a cuppa tea?"

Hagrid looked a little worn and weary as he poured them some enormous cups of tea.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, feeling for his giant friend.

Hagrid sighed and took a seat in his large armchair.

"Somethin's been gettin' into the pens and killin' the roosters. No matter how many more we get, somethin' comes and kills 'em. But on'y the roosters. None o' the other animals are gettin' killed off. An' they aren't eaten. Jus' killed."

Hermione had on her thinking face.

"This happened last time too," Hagrid sighed.

"'Last time'?" the three Gryffindors repeated in interest.

Hagrid's giant frame froze for a second, before he sighed once more. "Migh' as well," he mumbled, before fixing them all with a hard stare. "The las' time the chamber was opened, all o' the roosters were killed. All the petrifying happened. And… well, I was blamed for it. Though I can't blame Tom for thinking that Aragog was a danger 'cause technically Aragog is a XXXXX creature, but Aragog never hur' anyone, ever! I kep' 'im in a locked trunk always!

The girl tha' was killed wasn't even bitten or scratched though! Acromantulas always bite their prey to immobilize it. Their venom turns the insides to mush. She was jus'... dead."

The three second years shared a look. Hermione was the first to jump on the questioning.

"Are you saying you managed to get an Acromantula and raise it?"

"'Course I did. He was just an egg when I go' 'im."

"And Tom Riddle thought you and your… Aragog were behind the attacks?" Hermione hedged carefully.

"Yes. But Aragog is too large to fit through the fron' doors of the school. He's the size of an elephan' with an eighteen foo' leg span. An' he's blind."

Ron had gone pale during Hagrid's description, his legs coming up to his large seat so he could wrap his arms around them. He looked horrified.

"The Ministry never investigated to make sure that Riddle's claims were true?" Harry asked, wondering at the justice system.

"No."

That was ridiculous!

Where was the justice?

"So then, they just snapped your wand without actual proof?" Ron asked, seeming to get over his funk.

Hagrid nodded, eyes downcast.

Meanwhile, the three Gryffindor's had new information to add to their list.

On their way back up to the school, the trio was shocked to see a crowd of students blocking the way to the Entrance Hall. Since there weren't many students left for the hols, they had to wonder what got all of their attention.

Pushing their way through, they found out what was wrong. Draco Malfoy along with a Ravenclaw girl that Harry had never seen before, were frozen on the floor. Petrified. The students were jabbering. Crabbe and Goyle were looking worried. None of the Ravenclaws seemed to be too interested. Even though one of their own was attacked.

Terry Boot, a Ravenclaw in the same year as Harry who had stayed back for the hols, leaned in a whispered, "Cho Chang. She has a group that goes around the dormitory, picking on first and second years. She insulted Padma's hair and claimed that she was a 'dothead' whatever that meant. She also targets a first year named Luna Lovegood and calls her 'Looney'. Luna is a bit odd yes, but there is no need to pick on her. She only has one friend and could use all the help she could get."

Another bully being taken out. It seemed that Slytherin's Heir felt different than the former heir did.

But that meant… it was one of the people who stayed back for the hols! That was only fifty suspects!

He grabbed Hermione and Ron and pulled them aside. "An attack happened, meaning one of the fifty students who are here, did it! That lowers our search!"

Hermione's eyes went wide. "We need the list from the teacher's lounge!" she whispered excitedly.

"I can get it!" Varix called out from her place on Harry's wrist.

"I wish we had the list of students who stayed for the Christmas hols this year."

Varix disappeared for a few seconds, before reappearing, a roll of parchment landing in Hermione's outstretched hand. Her eyes lit up. "Thank you!"

To business.

The next few weeks, the trio watched every person on that list. Malfoy had been revived… again. This left forty-nine students to suspect. Varix told the trio about swearing oaths and had the three swear that they didn't even know where the chamber was. If they lied, their wands would glow red. If they told the truth, their wands would glow green. Their wands were green. That lowered the number to forty-six students.

Percy was a smarmy prig and the trio learned from Fred and George that apparently, he was dating Penelope Clearwater, Muggleborn and fellow Prefect, and he was spending all his time in the summer and over the holidays, writing to her. And the two often disappeared together when on patrols. The twins couldn't wait to rub it in his face.

Percy's rule loving was enough to even annoy Hermione, who valued rules and regulations.

So they crossed his name out.

Down to forty-five.

Fred and George had ten detentions each since the beginning of term. And they hid away in some secret room that only they and Lee Jordan knew about, in order to create. The two wanted to be inventors and open a joke shop and they were working on developing objects to get kids out of class early. Also, Varix vowed both were set, so their names left the list.

Forty-three to go.

And then Harry proposed, "What if it's a professor?"

They had to think of who was behind during the holidays. Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Hagrid, Lockhart, Sprout, Flitwick, Burbage, and Sinistra.

Just make the search harder, huh?

"Snape is under watch," Varix volunteered. "And Lockhart has no skill. He spends his time writing fan mail and admiring himself in mirrors. Flitwick wasn't here the last time the chamber was opened. McGonagall wasn't either and she's too Gryffindor to do anything else. Burbage is a Halfblood born of two Muggleborns. Sinistra doesn't seem the type, but keep an eye on her I guess. Hagrid didn't do it. Dumbledore, while I don't like him, I'm sure he wouldn't attack students. I don't know what to say. Sorry."

They just went back to their list.

Harry ended up walking down to lunch with Ginny in early February. Ginny wasn't flushed. She barely looked at him, but didn't stumble as she walked. In fact, she was acting a little odd.

They came out toward the second floor corridor and both stopped at what they saw.

There was a tall Gryffindor - one of the upper years - holding a book above a little girl's head. Harry could see the green on her robes and he felt his anger surface. Bullying right in front of him. Not for long.

Harry whipped his wand out and sent a very powerful stunner toward the Gryffindor. It was so strong, it knocked him several feet and he landed with a loud thump.

Ignoring Ginny, Harry marched on over, aware that the girl was grabbing her book and giving him a look. He'd seen it before. Like a wild animal trying to find a way out of a dangerous situation.

"Are you okay?" he asked, once near enough.

She just stared at his wand, which hadn't lowered yet.

Harry then looked to the unconscious Gryffindor and then back to the Slytherin girl. "Wanna help me prank him?"

Her eyes sparkled suddenly and she gave a small nod.

"Okay then, let's see what's in his pockets."

They found eleven Galleons, which Harry gave to the girl. Found a wand, which Harry took. The last thing was a small ring, much too small for the teen's finger. Harry took that as well. He'd hide the ring and the wand in the Gryffindor Common Room later.

Moving the teen's robes aside, he murmured a spell to create mud, covering the back of his trousers in the brown stuff. He then very carefully lowered his wand to the teen's head and used his skill with the Diffindo Charm to cut uneven strips of his blonde hair off. Finally, Harry pulled a piece of parchment from his pack and wrote a simple message on it.

I AM A BULLY. HEX ME.

He used a Sticking Charm and placed it on the teen's back.

"Okay, all done!" Harry smiled to himself.

He turned to the girl and grinned, "Pleasure working with you!"

Ginny joined him. She was smiling a little, though it wasn't a cute smile. It was enough to make Harry shiver a bit. No first year should smile like that. Ever.

Come to think of it. Ginny had been really out of sorts lately.

Wonder why.

A/N: Another one done.

-You may wonder why Harry didn't wish that he and Ron could go from the Slytherin Common Room to the Gryffindor Common Room. Simple. Harry still isn't used to the well of wishes that travels with him everywhere. Like, so far in 6 months, he's made maybe, 20 wishes.

-Varix has stalked the castle. Secret passageways are fun!

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