Harry Potter and the Cult of Shadows

by chadsgirl824

AFTER HOGWARTS Harry now works at Hogwarts and has his hands full as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor. But Voldemort's fate is still a mystery and dark forces are closer than anyone imagines. Written before OotP

4. Chapter 4

"Did…was he hexed by someone recently?" Harry asked skeptically, gesturing towards the door that Thurston had just exited through as he and Hermione crossed the office to where Dumbledore stood. "Because I can't recall ever being treated so…nicely…by him before."

"Yes it is a new experience for me as well," Dumbledore nodded with a wry grin as his two former students came to a stop before him.

"I wonder what he wants," Hermione mused softly, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she stood with her hands crossed over her chest, tapping one finger slowly against her elbow. "He must be after something…"

"Without a doubt," Harry added, nodding. "But he must know we'd recognize how differently he's acting…he can't honestly think we'd fall for…"

"He wasn't acting any differently towards me," the sandy-haired man spoke up suddenly, his gaze fixed firmly on the floor.

Harry and Hermione glanced at the man, and back to the head minister questioningly.

"Oh, I apologize," Dumbledore said immediately, stepping between the two friends and crossing to where the young man still stood beside the large desk. "Harry, Hermione, this is Travis Venable. Travis, this is Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger."

"Nice to meet you both," Travis nodded faintly, not looking up as he spoke.

"Travis is my temporary assistant," Dumbledore explained briefly as he glanced at the young man beside him. He noticed Travis was looking at the object he'd been examining when Thurston had interrupted him earlier. "Ah, I left this out before," the former headmaster said, gently retrieving the small item and tucking it away in his robes before continuing. "Did you finish going through those drawers, Travis?"

"Oh, no sir, but I'm almost done," Travis replied with a sudden sense of urgency as he turned abruptly and started for the back wall of the office. Beneath the window, there were three rows of four drawers, all built into the wall. How deep they ran was anyone's guess from what Harry could see. He watched for a moment as Travis knelt down in front of the far right row and opened the second drawer before starting to rummage through it.

"So then," Dumbledore spoke up again, directing his full attention to his former students. "What brings you two here today?"

"Well…we wanted to visit you," Hermione began, "since neither of us was able to attend the ceremony when you were sworn in…we just wanted to stop by…"

"To say congratulations," Harry added with a smile.

"And to see if there was anything you needed," Hermione finished, Harry nodding in agreement beside her.

"Well that was very thoughtful of you both, and I thank you," Dumbledore replied, smiling down at them. "And I'm quite alright at this time, I don't think I'll need either of you to do anything for me."

"Just be sure to let us know if you ever do," Harry said warmly.

"And how are you both doing?" the head minister asked with a grin. "How are the classes going?"

"Wonderful!" Hermione exclaimed at the exact same moment that Harry said "Great." The two friends looked at each other, laughing softly, before each telling their former headmaster a little about how things were going for them. Harry decided not to bring up Hadley Thurnes to Dumbledore just yet, feeling the newly appointed head minister must have many things on his mind right now, and he didn't want to burden him with another issue at this point in time.

"Well," Hermione said finally after a few more moments of friendly chatting, "we probably shouldn't bother you much longer…I'm sure we've taken up enough of your time as it is…"

"You are not a bother to me in the least," Dumbledore said warmly, his eyes twinkling, he glanced briefly towards the back of the office, to see Travis still sorting out the contents of the drawer he'd been working on, before turning back to Harry and Hermione.

"Have you known him long?" Harry asked quietly, nodding towards Travis. He realized that the head minister had been keeping a close eye on his assistant throughout their entire visit.

Dumbledore didn't fail to notice the slightly suspicious edge in Harry's tone, but smiled gently and nodded.

"Don't worry Mr. Potter," he said with a small laugh. "I've known Travis since he was very young."

"I'm sorry," Harry said quickly, "it just seemed like you were watching him so closely…"

"Yes, I was indeed," Dumbledore replied with a small laugh. "My nephew tends to be overly curious when he's in the wizarding world."

"Your nephew?" Harry and Hermione repeated in unison, their eyes wide as they glanced back towards the young man who was all but oblivious to their conversation about him.

"Well, my great-great-great-great nephew by marriage," Dumbledore said quickly, taking a breath before going on, "but that takes too long to say every time I want to introduce him."

"So…you asked him to come work for you then?" Harry asked, uncertainly, but barely finished speaking before Hermione piped up.

"How long has he been here? What did you mean by overcurious…Thurston yelled at him for touching…something. He didn't seem to care for Travis, much," she paused for a breath, before going on in an off-handed manner. "Not that that means anything…he doesn't like a lot of people. But why would he be acting nice to us and not Travis?"

"Let's move into the next room," Dumbledore said quietly, glancing briefly at the young man sorting through the drawers before gesturing for Harry and Hermione to follow him. They crossed through a large doorway on the right side of the office into an adjoining room, this one resembling more of a lounge. There was a long, plush, pristine white divan and several matching, comfortable looking chairs encircling a low glass table in the middle of the room. The hard wood floor was now covered with a deep, luxurious blue carpet. Several jet black book shelves, which were entirely empty, were scattered about against the pearly walls, with the exception of the far left wall, where there was an enormous window looking out onto the town below.

On the wall directly across from them, there was an elegant mantle of pure white marble, and on the right side of the room, there was another doorway cracked open slightly, where Harry could barely make out what looked to be a small kitchenette area.

"This is beautiful…" Hermione breathed, glancing around with wide eyes.

"Yes, Cornelius certainly loved this room," Dumbledore said with a grin, "he spent more of his time at work in here, I believe, than in his office."

"I would too," Hermione replied nodding earnestly.

"Yes but I think Albus meant Mr. Fudge wouldn't get as much work done," Harry said, smiling.

"Oh…well I wouldn't do that, I'd bring the work with me," Hermione replied matter-of-factly.

"I believe you would, Hermione," Dumbledore stated with a small chuckle. "However Cornelius had other forms of entertainment in here. The shelves were once filled with puzzles and riddles, books and models, things he used to love to work on, and keep himself occupied for hours."

"Good to know he was hard at work for the benefit of the wizarding world," Harry said sardonically, rolling his eyes.

"Well that time has passed now," Dumbledore said quickly. "His possessions were sent back to his family almost two years ago, and I have little use for this room at this time, except, of course, for entertaining guests. Please, have a seat," he said, gesturing towards the lavish couch.

"Now," Dumbledore began as he lowered himself into one of the large chairs, facing Harry and Hermione on the sofa. "I will tell you a little about my nephew, and you can be assured he is not a threat in any way. As I've said, I am only related to Travis through marriage, he is a muggle."

"You mean…a squib?" Harry asked quietly.

"No, a muggle," Dumbledore replied evenly. "His parents are both muggles, and they divorced just after he was born, he's never known his father. A few years later, his mother remarried, and Travis became my nephew. He and his mother were told about our world, of course, and were quite accepting of it, much to our relief."

"No wonder Thurston hates him," Hermione said quietly, shaking her head in disgust. "Are you sure it's alright that Travis is here?"

"Perfectly alright," Dumbledore nodded. "For the most part, the wizarding world is quite tolerant of muggles who are willing to accept us, with a few exceptions. A good example would be your own parents, Miss Granger. And as I said earlier, Travis is only here temporarily, so one can only hope he can't get himself into too much trouble in that time."

"Why is he only here temporarily?" Harry inquired.

"I only require his assistance until I have gone through all the papers and files in the office that were here before I came," Dumbledore explained, "I expect it should all be complete by the end of this year, January at the latest."

"Can I ask…why Travis?" Hermione spoke softly. "I'm not trying to imply that I don't think he could handle the task or anything…but wouldn't it be easier to just hire someone who's more accustomed to the wizarding world?"

"It most certainly would be," Dumbledore laughed, his eyes twinkling. "But Travis loves magic, he loves everything about our world. When he heard that I had accepted the position of head minister of magic, he asked if there were anything at all I might be able to find for him to do. I told him he could help me, if he wished, for a few months, and he immediately accepted…and proceeded to ask me when he'd be starting every day until September 1st," Dumbledore said, chuckling softly at the memory.

"Then…if you trust him so much…why were you keeping such a close eye on him out there?" Harry asked, curiously.

"Well, as I started to say earlier, my nephew is quite inquisitive when it comes to anything magical," Dumbledore replied gently. "He couldn't purposely cause harm if he were to come across a wand or an enchanted item…it would never respond to him as he is a muggle. However, some objects do not require a spell or charm to operate, and I do not wish for Travis to hurt himself. As there are many items hidden within this office that I am still in the process of finding…who knows what we'll stumble across…"

"Can't you just ask him not to fool around with anything?" Hermione asked.

"Yes I can, and I have," Dumbledore spoke lightly, "Though what you must understand, is that Travis has no intention whatsoever of causing any harm, but his curiosity and love for our world do get the better of him a great deal of the time. He doesn't even realize what he's doing until someone asks him to stop…" he trailed off, glancing towards the doorway and the silent office beyond.

"I think I've let him alone long enough," the head minister said after a moment. "You may stay in here if you like, but I'm going to go back into the office for a little while."

"Oh no we'll go with you," Hermione said quickly, as she and Harry stood up. Dumbledore nodded and started for the office, while Harry and Hermione exchanged a brief glance before starting to walk. Harry could see his friend was thinking the same thing as he was. Travis seemed like he would be causing more stress than helping out, which was exactly what Dumbledore didn't need right now. But the former headmaster had a big heart, and wanted his nephew to be happy. Harry could only hope that Dumbledore was right, and that Travis wouldn't get into too much trouble…

"How is it coming along Travis?" Dumbledore asked when the three had stepped into the office.

"I'm nearly finished, uncle," Travis replied brightly.

"Very good," Dumbledore smiled, watching his nephew for a moment more before starting towards his desk. He reached into his robes, drawing out the flat object that Travis had been examining when Harry and Hermione had first arrived, and placing it into the top drawer on the right side. He slid his wand out as well; whispering something so softly that Harry couldn't catch it, but he heard a clicking sound from the desk, and was sure it meant the drawer was now locked.

As the head minister straightened up and faced his two guests once more, he opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly there was an urgent knocking on the door.

No sooner had he called for the person to enter, then the door swung open, and a tall, dark haired woman stepped in tentatively. She glanced towards Harry and Hermione, before meeting the headmaster's gaze nervously.

"I'm t-terribly sorry to bother you Mr. D-D-Dumbledore, I know you have visitors," she breathed, stumbling over the words in her haste to get them out.

"Calm down Simone," Dumbledore said with a small chuckle, though something in his eyes told Harry the former headmaster knew something was wrong, and he gathered this wasn't normal behavior for the woman. "You aren't a bother at all."

Simone nodded faintly, before speaking again, her tone considerably softer, but the urgency in it still clear.

"Mr. Thurston wishes to speak with you, sir. He says it's imperative that you come now."

"Does he?" Dumbledore replied, his right eyebrow arching skeptically. "Very well then, tell him I shall be there shortly."

"Yes sir," Simone nodded, before turning quickly and hurrying towards the door, off to deliver her message.

"Thurston calls you down to his office instead of coming to see you himself?" Hermione asked as the door to the office was once again shut firmly.

"Yes, he does," Dumbledore replied, "Though I don't complain as his office is not far from mine, and I would rather he not be around Travis unless absolutely necessary."

"After seeing the way he looked at Travis earlier, I can believe that," Harry said quietly.

"Well you two, it seems I will have to cut this short," Dumbledore said with a grin. "Thank you both for coming, it was a most welcome break."

The three said their good-byes, and Dumbledore informed Travis he would be out of the office for a while, and not to touch anything he didn't recognize during that time, before starting up the hall.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Travis," Hermione said pleasantly as she and Harry were preparing to leave. "Maybe we'll see you again sometime."

"Oh it was nice meeting both of you too!" Travis said happily as he stood and crossed the room. Harry grinned as Travis stopped in front of him and held out his hand. He took it firmly and they shook, before the older man turned and did the same to Hermione. "Good-bye!" he said warmly after he'd finished.

Harry had to stifle a laugh at the man's child-like behavior, and noticed the highly amused expression on Hermione's face as well. They said their good-byes to Travis, watching as he made his way across the office and threw himself once more into the task that had been appointed to him, before turning and quietly exiting the room.

"Well that was certainly an interesting visit," Hermione said softly as the two friends arrived back in the Hogsmeade Floo Station.

"To say the least," Harry added with a nod, starting towards the desk across the room to retrieve his Moontrimmer.

"Hey wait, want to grab lunch while we're here?" Hermione asked quickly.

"Sure," Harry replied with a grin, realizing it had been a while since he'd been at Hogsmeade long enough to relax. "The Three Broomsticks?" he asked, already tasting the butterbeer.

"Alright," Hermione laughed lightly. She more than likely would have preferred one of the fancier restaurants along the crowded strip, but as she'd been allowed to Hogsmeade many more times than Harry had been during their years in school, she let him choose.

The two made their way out of the busy floo station and up the street past a number of shops, before reaching their destination.

"We have to find out what Thurston's up to," Harry said after they'd found seats near the back of the dimly lit restaurant. "Because there's no chance he'd just suddenly start acting nicely around all of us…"

"Oh I agree, completely," Hermione nodded, "but Dumbledore isn't blind…he can see Thurston's up to something."

"Well I want to know what it is," Harry said quietly, "because he's planning something. First his visits to the school all through the summer, then trying to steal Hadley's file, and now this sudden change in attitude…"

"All we can do right now is just wait and hope we can stop whatever it is," Hermione said softly. "Neither of us have access to the ministry, we can't just go searching…and don't even think it Harry Potter!" she said quickly, seeing Harry open his mouth to speak, his eyes lighting up. "The ministry is well protected against any unwanted guests, your invisibility cloak won't help you when they can track you anywhere in the building…"

Harry let out a frustrated sigh, sitting back as the waitress brought over their drinks. She asked for their orders briefly, before starting back towards the door to the kitchen. No sooner had the door swung shut behind her, then the food appeared before them on the table. Harry looked down at his plate, not having much of an appetite any more and glanced over at Hermione.

"I just don't want to sit around and do nothing when we know something's wrong," he said stubbornly. Hermione fixed him with an admonishing stare, before speaking in an even tone.

"Harry, Dumbledore is very powerful, and much smarter than either of us. He could certainly defeat Thurston in a battle of wits, if it ever came to that. Now I don't like the idea of doing nothing either, but right now it's all we can do. If either of us hears anything, we let the other know…I'll tell Ron as well, and you let Mel know. Between the four of us who knows what we might overhear."

"I don't doubt Dumbledore is able to take care of himself, Hermione," Harry said quietly. "I just feel that Thurston knows that too. He knows he can't win against Dumbledore, so he's going to try and go around that."

"Well, if Dumbledore finds anymore of Fudge's old trinkets we might not have to worry about this at all," Hermione said lightly.

"Anymore of Fudge's what?" Harry asked, his brow furrowing.

"The object that Travis had when we first went in," Hermione explained, "the one Dumbledore locked in the drawer…I can only assume it was left in the office from when Fudge was there, because I can't imagine the headmaster feeling the need to own one of those."

"And?" Harry asked, trying not to sound impatient. "Are you going to tell me what it is?"

Hermione glanced up from her plate with a small grin.

"You know, I realize as a student you hated to read anything that wasn't required, but as a teacher I really thought…"

"Hermione!" Harry interrupted, trying not to show his amusement through the exasperated expression he was putting forth. Hermione just gave him a knowing grin before speaking in a quiet tone.

"It's a vrid."

"Oh, right…a vrid, and what would that be, exactly?" Harry asked.

"A voice instrument recording device…but it's commonly referred to as a vrid."

"So, it's like a tape recorder then?" Harry asked.

"Sort of…and also not at all," Hermione said slowly.

"You have a knack for explaining things Hermione, you really do…" Harry said, rolling his eyes playfully.

"Well the point is that it can record voices, and that's most likely why Fudge had it," Hermione said, trying to look sternly at Harry for his remark, but failing. "I'm sure Dumbledore will find dozens of items like that, for listening to and recording conversations…and anything else that Fudge would feel necessary to own. He was so paranoid, after all…this was probably the only way he felt safe after a while…"

"So why didn't we learn about these in school then?" Harry asked.

"Probably because they're very rare, and very tricky. There would have been no way any of the instructors could have justified letting a student attempt using a vrid. It takes too much power and concentration to operate it correctly. I don't doubt that Fudge most likely would have a hard time working it. If it was ever used, he probably had someone else do it."

"Is it dangerous to use a vrid?" Harry asked, curiously.

"If you don't know how it can be…" Hermione replied, trailing off for a moment, before speaking again. "Though like I said, I'm sure Dumbledore will find these things, but he won't use them."

"I wonder…" Harry began.

"Your food is going to be cold, you know," Hermione cut him off suddenly. Harry glanced down at his plate and up again at her, one eyebrow arched quizzically. Before he could say a word however, Hermione leant forward, busying herself with rearranging the food in front of her and speaking again.

"You know, I haven't heard much about Sirius or Marzia lately…and I barely got to see them on your birthday…how are they doing?"

Harry looked at Hermione for a moment, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. She was deliberately changing the subject because she could read Harry just as easily as he could read her, and she had seen it in his eyes. He had been wondering if he might be able to use the vrid, to use it against Thurston in some way. While Dumbledore was surely powerful enough to use it on his own, Hermione had been right, he'd never see the need.

Seeing that Hermione was unwilling to consider the conversation, he gave in for the time being, and started to tell about Sirius and Marzia, but he couldn't get his mind off the vrid. The more he thought about it, he realized Hermione had barely told him anything. There would have to be more to it than just recording a voice, if it was really that hard to use, wouldn't there?

"Any luck for Sirius in getting a job yet?" Hermione's voice broke through his thoughts once more.

"He's leery about going to work for the ministry…even with Dumbledore as head minister," Harry replied. "I understand why, though, I'd probably be the same way. Right now he's just waiting to see how things go…he said after the holidays he'd make a decision one way or the other."

"Well I hope that works out for him then," Hermione smiled, before continuing, her tone a bit more excited. "And what about a date…have they set one yet?"

"No, but I know they don't want to wait long," Harry said with a smile, thinking of how happy his godfather seemed around Marzia, and how much they loved each other.

"Who would?" Hermione said earnestly. "I mean…they've already been waiting over seventeen years…"

"I know," Harry said, feeling the familiar dull anger that always accompanied thoughts of what had been done to his godfather, how unjustly he'd been treated. Seeing his expression falter, Hermione quickly changed the subject yet again.

"What about Mel, how is she doing?"

"Better than I would expect, actually," Harry replied. "She misses Jack very much though. I wish so badly that I could help her find him…no matter what state he's in by now."

"You think he's…?"

"He must be," Harry said, shaking his head faintly and dropping his gaze to the table. Hermione didn't reply this time, at a loss for what to say. "I'm sorry," Harry spoke up, letting a small grin cross his face. "I sure know how to keep the mood bright, don't I?"

"Well, I asked…" Hermione said hastily.

"And I answered," Harry nodded. "But it is getting late, and I want to go thru the lesson plans for Monday…hopefully make a better start than I did last week."

"You will," Hermione said confidently, smiling reassuringly at him as the two stood to leave. "It'll go smoothly, I know it."

"Oh and you're psychic now, are you?" Harry asked jokingly as they stepped out onto the still crowded street. "I thought you didn't like divination?"

"No, I didn't like Professor Trelawny," Hermione laughed, "but I find the subject fascinating. I just don't think you can learn it…you're either born with that talent, or you're not."

"I agree," Harry nodded as they made their way back to the floo station. He went to the desk and got his Moontrimmer, before turning to Hermione once more.

"I can just head back from here," she said before he could begin to speak. "That way you can just head back and start on your work right away."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked. "I don't mind, you know."

"I'm sure," Hermione nodded. They started towards the nearest floo grate, and Harry insisted on paying the fee, before watching as she carefully stepped inside.

"Oh, I nearly forgot," Hermione said urgently, poking her head back out, "Don't make any plans for Halloween night, okay?"

"What's going on Halloween night?" Harry asked, a curious smile on his face.

"You and Mel are coming over to see our apartment," she replied with a broad grin, which Harry returned.

"Got it," he winked. "No plans for Halloween night."

"Good," she replied with a nod. She waved good-bye once more before being whisked away through the floo network. Harry waited until she was gone, before heading back outside into the late afternoon air, and mounting his broom, kicking off for the short journey back to Hogwarts.

The following morning, as he was finishing breakfast, Harry decided to head down to the library, and see if he could find anything that would explain how a vrid worked. He knew Hermione wouldn't approve, only he couldn't help it. They'd probably never need to know how to use it anyway, but his curiosity was getting the better of him.

Only seconds after he'd stepped into the corridor and began the walk, he heard the door to the great hall swing open heavily behind him, and light footsteps starting after him. Turning around, Harry smiled to find Ginny coming towards him.

"Hey, you busy?" Ginny asked warmly as she came up next to Harry.

"Just heading to the library," he replied, gesturing down the hall behind him. "Want to come…as fun and exciting as that must sound…" he joked.

"Sure," Ginny laughed as the two began walking.

"Alright so tell me," Harry began eagerly. "How did the meeting go?"

"Great! We're going to hold tryouts this weekend. Right now it's just Su, Natalie, Ray and I…so we need to find another beater, a keeper and a seeker."

"That's a lot of work," Harry said, knowingly. He remembered back to when he and Ron had been the only team members left, and had to find three chasers and two beaters. It seemed as though the tryouts would never end.

"Yes, we were realizing that during the meeting. We've got it all planned out so there are separate trials for each open position, and we'll hold them Friday night and all day Saturday, that way we have Sunday open to go through everything and make a decision."

"Good idea," Harry nodded, before continuing on quickly. "Now, have you and the other members discussed who's to be team captain?"

Ginny's gaze dropped to the floor and a deep blush rose in her cheeks. Harry could see, despite her attempts to hide her face, a tiny smile on her lips.

"So, how does it feel to be captain of the quidditch team?" he asked, beaming proudly at her.

"You tell me," she replied with a grin as she brought her eyes back up to meet his. "It feels wonderful…and terrifying. What if I mess up? What if I choose bad plays? What if I…?"

"Ginny stop," Harry laughed, cutting her off abruptly. "I know exactly what you're feeling, and believe me when I say that it will never end. You're going to question yourself; every time you make a decision, you'll wonder if it's the right one. Just know that the other members picked you for a reason…if I was one of them I'd have made the same choice. You've really learned a lot about this sport over the last two years. You're a fantastic chaser and you play fair. No matter what happens just remember that."

"Thanks," Ginny said, smiling softly as they reached the entrance to the library. Harry pushed the door open and held it, allowing Ginny to step in first, before following her through into the silent room. They made their way over to the desk where Madam Pince sat, a stern grimace on her face as she looked out over the few students seated at various tables. As it was the beginning of the year, not many people were here studying just yet.

As he stepped up to the desk, Harry had to remind himself he was no longer a student, Madam Pince didn't need a pass from him, yet still he had to clear his throat several times before he was sure his voice would come out.

"Ah, professor," Pince said briskly as she noticed Harry standing before her. "What can I do for you?"

"Well…er…I'm not exactly sure how to find this…" he began, uncertainly. "I need to look at a book that will explain the functions of a…a recording…um…a voice…" he stammered, not remembering the full name and finally giving up, "well I think for short it's called a vrid," he said quickly.

Madam Pince's amused expression faltered immediately, and her eyes flittered to Harry's left where Ginny stood silently, before meeting his gaze once more.

"And what exactly would you need that for, professor?" she asked, cagily.

Harry understood at once and shook his head with a small grin as he spoke.

"It's for me, Madam Pince," he said quickly. "Don't worry I'm not about to go teaching about vrids in class."

She gave him a piercing stare, but nodded stiffly.

"Wait here."

Harry nodded as Madam Pince pushed her chair away from her desk and stood, heading for the restricted section.

"What's a vrid?" Ginny whispered, throwing a glance towards the shelves the librarian had disappeared behind.

"That's exactly what I hope to find out," Harry replied quietly.

"Harry, you've been reading for over an hour…are you ever gonna tell me what this thing is?" Ginny's voice broke through Harry's thoughts. He looked up quickly, loosening his grip on the book in his hands. The two of them had gone outside after they'd left the library, and were sitting on the remains of an old stone wall a short distance from the school entrance. It was not as sunny out as it'd been the previous day, but it was still warm and there was a nice breeze flitting through their hair as they sat side by side, students mulling about the grounds around them.

"I'm not really supposed to, you know…" Harry said teasingly as he met Ginny's curious gaze. Her expression fell at his words though, and she gave him a look of mock rejection.

"Sure, I see how it is…now that you're a professor and I'm just a lowly student you don't want to…"

"Ginny, shut up," Harry laughed as she whined. "I'll tell you alright? You knew I was going to anyway…"

"Yeah, I did," Ginny replied, putting on an innocent grin.

Harry simply shook his head and sighed, before setting the book down and pushing himself further back on the rock, to face her.

"Okay, a vrid. To put it simply, it's a recording device that is controlled by whomever is holding it. You can record everything you hear, or just one sound. If you see someone talking but you can't hear them yourself, the vrid can, and is able to record them if you want it to."

"Alright," Ginny shrugged. "So why are you reading about it?"

"I'm not finished yet," Harry said quickly before continuing his explanation. "It has another power. You can steal someone's voice, entirely. They won't be able to make a sound until you give it back to them. The voice remains within the vrid and the person in possession of it can use it as their own."

"So…you could take my voice and walk around sounding like me?" Ginny asked.

"Exactly."

"Why would anyone want to do that?"

"Who knows," Harry shrugged. "Especially since it doesn't seem easy…" he trailed off, looking at the page he'd been reading again.

"And?" Ginny spoke up eagerly after another minute of silence. "How does it work? What's so hard about it?"

"It just takes a lot out of you," Harry said absently, still scanning the book. "You lose your strength…for a little while anyway."

"But how?" Ginny asked, "What do you have to do to make it record…or take someone's voice?"

"Here, look at this first," Harry said, spinning the book in his grasp so Ginny could see it right side up. "See that? That's a vrid."

Ginny leant closer to see the same small, dark, nearly paper thin object that Harry had seen in Dumbledore's office the previous day.

"It's so small…" she remarked, sitting back up and looking at Harry.

"It's supposed to be. It's flat so no one realizes you have it on you…you can't see it bulging through a pocket or anything, but in order to make it work, you have to hold it."

"Won't someone see it then?" Ginny asked, glancing briefly at the image and back. "It doesn't look like you could wrap your hand around it completely, and it would look somewhat odd to anyone else if you just kept your hands pressed together or something."

"That's what I thought too, but no one will see it," Harry explained. "When you want it to record, or to steal a voice…you press it up against your hand, and it phases right through…under your skin."

"Wouldn't that hurt?" Ginny cringed, clutching her hands against her chest.

"Apparently not…according to this, anyway," Harry replied. "You'll be aware that it's there the whole time until you take it out…it responds to your thoughts. That's how it records, whoever you want it to."

"And…to steal a voice?" Ginny asked. "How does it do that?"

"When the person is talking you have to be in front of them…and then just swipe your hand through the air."

"That's it? Then they can't talk anymore?"

"So it says here," Harry replied, flicking a finger against the book. "Again it won't do it if you don't want it to…so you can't accidentally take someone's voice away if you happen to be waving or something, but if that is your intention, that's all you have to do. It sucks their voice out as they're speaking and gives it to you."

Ginny simply looked from Harry to the book and back, before taking a deep breath and speaking quietly.

"And I ask again…why would anyone want to do this?"

"I don't know, Ginny," Harry replied, shaking his head slowly.

"Well why are you so interested in this thing?" she asked, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

Harry hesitated for only a moment, before starting to answer.

"Just promise you won't tell any of the other instructors I've told you about this, alright?"

"I won't," Ginny said, nodding faintly for him to go on.

"Hermione and I saw one in Dumbledore's office yesterday. She recognized it immediately and told me a little about what it did…and we both agreed Albus would never need one of those. It wasn't his though, it was left in his office from when Fudge was head minister, and Dumbledore locked it away."

"So, you wanted to know more about one…because…?" she prodded, knowingly.

"Because," Harry said with a smirk, "Thurston was behaving strangely yesterday. Hermione and I both believe he's up to something…Dumbledore thinks it as well, but we don't know what. I only wanted to know more about a vrid to see if it was something we might be able to use against Thurston, if necessary. Though now, I don't really see what use it would be."

"Well…at least you know what it does now," Ginny said with a shrug. Harry could see by the expression on her face as she glanced again at the book, she didn't much care for the vrid.

"In any case," Harry said with a sigh, "I better get this back to the library, and I still have more to do before class tomorrow."

"Yeah, I should probably get some homework done," Ginny said as she took Harry's extended hand, allowing him to help her up. "Seeing as how I've been procrastinating the entire weekend."

"Sounds familiar," Harry laughed, remembering how many Sundays he and Ron had spent racing to finish assignments while Hermione sat nearby, a smug grin on her face. "C'mon then," he said, starting up towards the school, "I'll walk you back."

Monday morning arrived at last. Harry woke early, dressing in a gray sweater and black slacks under hunter green robes. He skimmed through the Daily Prophet, which he found lying on his desk every morning, before heading down to breakfast.

As he ate, Harry listened while Hagrid went on about his garden, and how he needed to make sure all the animals were protected during the winter. He'd apparently spent the weekend making a new chicken coop, and now would have to transfer them all over to it.

When at last it was nearly time for classes to begin, Harry set off towards the dark arts classroom, moving along slowly. By the time he'd arrived, the room was half filled, and he headed straight for the desk to set down his papers.

He noticed Ginny enter the room, and she smiled up at him as she took her seat near the front; a girl named Sloane, who Harry recognized as one of her friends, took the seat just beside her.

When Colin made his entrance, he tripped over his own feet in his excitement to get through the door, his books sprawling across the hard stone surface and his arms splayed out in front of him. The Slytherins in the room immediately burst out laughing, pointing and jeering at Colin as he pushed himself up, his face beet red. A few Gryffindors shook their heads in exasperation, knowing the reason behind Colin's behavior, and the two nearest him bent down to help him gather his books.

"Quiet down," Harry said firmly, as the Slytherins refused to relent in their taunting. They did as they were told, a few snickering and whispering to one another, but Harry ignored it. When the students had at last all arrived, Harry checked the clock to see it was time to begin.

"Alright," he said aloud, "everyone please open your books to page 12. Today is going to be a lecture, but please don't be afraid to ask questions if you have them…"

"Why are you giving us a lecture when you gave the first-years a practical lesson?" a Slytherin boy cut in loudly. Harry glanced towards a desk in the back of the room near the left, seeing an olive skinned boy with dark hair smirking at him.

"Let me rephrase that," Harry went on, rolling his eyes. This was just what he didn't need. "Don't be afraid to ask questions that pertain to the lesson…"

"Well my question is about a lesson," the boy cut in again. Harry glanced down at the sheet he'd used for role call, remembering the boy's name to be Bryan, before looking back up.

"Questions, pertaining to this lesson, Bryan," Harry said slowly. He stared back at the boy, as if daring him to say something else, but Bryan remained silent, a smug grin on his face as he stared right back.

"As I was saying," Harry continued. If you have something to ask about what we're going over, ask it."

He paused a moment waiting for the few stragglers to get to the correct page, before beginning. He talked for a while about Kelpies, otherwise known as water demons, and answering any questions that were asked. The Slytherins remained utterly silent, but Harry didn't care at this moment. If they understood everything he was saying, that was great, if they simply weren't going to speak up because he was their instructor…well he'd find out when it came time for the first test exactly what the situation was.

In the corner of the room, however, near where Bryan was sitting, Harry had started to notice over the last few minutes that a mini scuffle was building. A Gryffindor named Zane, a muscular blonde boy who was seated very near to Bryan had begun to tear off small pieces of his parchment, and proceeded to levitate them over behind the Slytherin, before lodging one into his ear or down his collar.

Bryan was getting angrier by the second, and had been sending the ripped parchment back towards Zane, only putting an extra jolt of power in them so they were pelting the Gryffindor.

Harry shook his head in exasperation, wondering why they continued when surely they knew he could see them. He was about to open his mouth to tell them to stop, when one of the papers speeding towards Zane jammed up his nose, and his hands immediately flew to his face as he grunted in pain.

Bryan and his friends, who'd been watching the tiny fight with amusement, started snickering to one another, but all of them reached for their wands as Zane shot up out of his seat, blood trickling from his nose.

Harry saw what was happening as if in slow motion, but knew it had been building up to this, and was ready. As the Slytherin boys started to stand, Harry already had his wand out, sending a red splash of light down the row, splitting off the Slytherin boys from Zane, and effectively knocking all of them back down to their seats.

"That's enough," Harry said darkly, glaring at the corner where all the boys were seated, just starting to realize they couldn't stand. A few were trying counter curses and not paying the slightest bit of attention to Harry, but to no avail. "You can't break it, so you may as well give up," he spoke again.

"You can't do this, you know…you're a professor, you can get in trouble," Bryan called out threateningly.

"Well you are in trouble," Harry replied crisply, feeling his heart racing in his chest but giving the students no sign of this whatsoever, "so I suggest you stop talking right now, before you get yourself in more." He wasn't used to this…yelling at students…he didn't want to do it ever again, and now he would be forced, for the first time, to take points away.

"Now, I'm going to lay down a few rules before we go any further," Harry spoke again, his voice filled with more authority than even he thought he could muster. "Rule one, you do not use magic in this class unless I say it is allowed. Rule two, you never, ever, use magic against fellow classmates. Rule three, if you disobey either of the first two rules from this point on, you will be prohibited from bringing a wand into this class."

"If we can't bring a wand then how will we…?" one of the Slytherins began in a snide tone.

"You'll have to make the class up on the weekend," Harry replied evenly.

"You can't…"

"I can, and I will," Harry stated sharply, his eyes flashing. He knew this was going to happen, he felt it from the start. The students that knew him and didn't like him were not going to respect his authority as a professor in the least. "If you don't want this to happen, follow the rules. You're here for an hour and a half a week, it won't kill you," he said flatly.

He waited a brief moment until all the boys had quieted down fully, before releasing his hold over them.

"Fifteen points from Slytherin," he spoke sharply, and didn't fail to notice the look of pure hatred Bryan gave him before turning his head slightly and continuing, "Twenty from Gryffindor."

"Twenty?" Zane asked in shock, speaking for the first time during the argument.

"You started it," Harry said curtly, seeing a different expression cross Zane's face…betrayal. He hadn't expected Harry to punish him, no doubt, and certainly hadn't expected a larger punishment than he'd given to a Slytherin.

An awkward quiet settled over the room and Harry had to take a deep breath before continuing. He felt wrong for what had just happened, and hated that it had come to points being taken away. Why had they been acting so childish? He couldn't remember a fight like that ever occurring in one of his classes…but again, the answer that came to him, was that he, himself, was the reason.

Half the class had no respect for him while the other half was sure he'd never take points from them. Not only was he the head of Gryffindor but only a few months ago he'd been one of them. Harry was glad in a small way, however. Now it was out, he wasn't going to favor Gryffindor when it came to house points, and he had been wondering up until now if it was something he truly would need to worry about.

"If you need to go to the hospital wing, you may go," Harry said, looking back at Zane who shook his head stiffly, wiping at the tiny streak of blood on his upper lip and sniffing indignantly.

Turning back to the rest of the class, Harry picked up from exactly where he'd left off. He saw the confusion and anger on many faces in the room, but he didn't dwell on it now. Ginny, he was grateful to see, didn't look angry at him in the least, but rather sorry. She could tell he hadn't wanted to do what he'd just done, and he gave her a small grin in thanks.

The questions had all but stopped at this point, even Colin who'd been asking anything that popped into his brain to simply talk with Harry had gone silent, and the class continued this way until it was over. The students filed out of the room, looking both sullen and heated over what had happened, but no one made any remarks while in the room.

The next class of seventh-years, which came directly after the first went considerably better, and by the time it had ended Harry didn't feel quite as horrible as he had before.

With his classes for Monday done, Harry went up to his quarters and changed into jeans and a t-shirt, before starting towards the door, when his eyes fell upon the trunk of crystals for a brief moment.

Snape hadn't spoken one word to him since that first day in regards to the stones, not bothering to give Harry the slightest explanation as to why he wouldn't allow him to simply call on them by himself. It was nothing he hadn't done before, but Snape had been very adamant about it, and so Harry had grudgingly obeyed.

Turning the latch slowly, Harry opened the door and left the room, heading for the great hall, hoping to get a chance to speak with the potions master at lunch.

"Harry!" a familiar voice called out the moment his office door was closed. Harry glanced up to see Ginny and Sloane walking quickly up the corridor towards him.

"Hey you two," he replied with a nod as they came to a stop in front of him. "Did you need me for something?"

"We…well…we just wanted…" Sloane began.

"To apologize," Ginny stated glumly.

"To apologize?" Harry repeated, confused. "What for?"

"For what happened in class," Ginny replied.

"Yeah, Zane and Bryan have been doing that since first year…" Sloane added, "the two of them never stop with their stupid fighting."

"Really?" Harry asked, before continuing in a sardonic tone. "That's just fantastic." He paused for a brief moment before looking back at the two girls. "Well I don't see why either of you need to be apologizing for them, it's not as if you put them up to it," he grinned.

"Well, we still feel bad," Ginny said with a small shrug, Sloane nodding beside her.

"C'mon," Harry laughed starting to walk and gesturing for the two girls to follow. "I don't want either of you feeling bad over something you had nothing to do with. The class is over, hopefully that doesn't happen again."

"Yeah, hopefully," Sloane said, unconvincingly.

"Alright enough," Harry said lightly, "let's head down and get some lunch, as I'm sure you both have a class afterwards."

As the three set off down the hall, Harry tried not to think about what the two girls had said. He didn't want to go through the entire school year breaking up fights and taking points away, but if it came to that, he would have to.

When they'd reached the great hall, Harry said good-bye to the girls as they went to find seats at the Gryffindor table, while he made his way to the front. He looked towards Snape immediately, only to find him engaged in conversation with several other professors on his side of the head table. Deciding the potions master would more than likely be inclined to give him no answers if Harry were to interrupt him, he took his seat beside Hagrid and began to eat, hoping for another chance soon.

As the room began emptying out, and students began making their way towards their next class, Harry started to stand as well, deciding to head back to his office, when he felt a soft hand touch his arm. Glancing to his right, he found McGonagall looking at him, apparently having something to say.

"I saw there was a point deduction from you for both Slytherin and Gryffindor today," she began gently.

"Oh," Harry cut in, suddenly nervous, "am I supposed to report to you each time…"

"No dear, I'm not reprimanding you," Minerva interrupted with a rare smile. "I told you before classes started that if you deduct points that is your decision, and if a student's head of house wants to dispute it, they come directly to you. I will most likely never be called in for a judgment."

Harry wondered if that was actually going to be the case, now that he was thinking about it. Snape would most likely have a problem with him every time Harry deducted Slytherin points, though as of yet he hadn't mentioned anything.

"The reason I bring this up," McGonagall continued, "Is only because I know it is the first time any points were taken from a student by you, I wanted to make sure everything was alright."

"Everything's fine," Harry replied, allowing a small smile to touch his lips. He hadn't expected this from the headmistress, but it was nice to know she was looking out for him just the same. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who knew there would be problems when it came to the seventh-years. "Thank you for asking," he added, politely.

"Very well then," she nodded, standing up quickly, "please do let me know if you need anything."

Harry replied with a nod and watched as she turned and left through the back entrance, before standing up himself. The room was all but empty now, as most everyone had left to get to their classes. He crossed down the center aisle slowly, and exited the great hall into the corridor beyond, starting for his office.

As he walked, Harry glanced into various classrooms, noticing the different lessons that were taking place, and remembering his experiences with many of them. It was only when he came near to the transfiguration classroom that he slowed his pace, tensing up slightly. He could hear Troy's voice coming from behind the closed door, and he sounded furious.

No sooner had Harry recognized the transfiguration professor's voice than the door to the classroom swung open, and Hadley came stumbling out into the hall. Harry glanced at the girl, who'd obviously been pushed, before looking up to see Troy right behind her. Neither of them spotted Harry just a few paces up the hall, they were caught up in whatever argument was taking place between them.

"What did you think you were doing, girl?" Troy spat fiercely at Hadley as she turned her defiant gaze on him. She kept her mouth shut, refusing to reply. When the transfiguration professor lunged forward, blue eyes flashing dangerously, and grabbed Hadley's arm, Harry wasn't going to stay silent any longer.

"Is everything alright here?" he asked loudly, stepping out of the shadows towards Troy. The quickest glimpse of relief passed over Hadley's expression as she spotted Harry, but winced as Troy held her arm tighter, turning both of them to face the dark arts professor.

"Mind your own business, Potter," Troy hissed angrily.

"How about you let go of her," Harry replied instantly, nodding towards Troy's grasp on Hadley's arm. Releasing his hold immediately, Troy stepped back away from the young girl but kept his glare on Harry.

"She's disruptive and doesn't pay attention in class," Troy spoke heatedly.

"Well I don't know what you were told, but most of us take away points from the student's house when they get out of line," Harry said flatly.

"I know that," Troy spat, hatefully. "I was going to bring her down to see Professor Snape now."

"Why?" Harry asked before he could stop himself. "You can't take points away without his permission?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you, Potter," Troy replied, his voice having gone from animated to deadly quiet.

"Fine," Harry stated curtly. "Why don't I take her then? You have a classroom of first years that you probably shouldn't leave alone."

"No, you'll only lie to…"

"What do I have to lie about?" Harry interrupted, willing Troy to just agree to his offer and go back to the class. He didn't care for the way it seemed the transfiguration professor was going to hurt Hadley, who was glancing anxiously back and forth between the two now.

"True," Troy said quietly, after a long pause. "She is a Slytherin, after all."

Harry fought the urge to argue that Hadley's house made no difference in the matter, while it obviously did to Troy, who most likely wasn't taking points from the girl for that very reason. The transfiguration professor was on good terms with Snape, and didn't want to change that, presumably. All Harry cared about at this moment, however, was getting Hadley away from Troy, and hopefully finding out what happened.
"Fine, take her," Troy said at last, dismissing the matter with an arrogant wave of his hand. "Just make sure you bring her directly back after Severus decides what to do."

"Are you going to at least tell me what you're punishing Hadley for?" Harry asked, moving up beside the girl.

"I told you before…she's disruptive."

"Right," Harry replied flatly, rolling his eyes as Troy turned away and re-entered the classroom. It was more than obvious he truly didn't want to do anything that would upset Snape, whose reputation for not taking points from his own house was well known.

"Well," Harry spoke again, looking down at Hadley who wore an expression that almost seemed grateful. "I don't know if Sna- er…Professor Snape has a class right now or not, so we'll try his office first."

"Alright," Hadley replied with a stiff nod as the two began walking down the corridor.

"So," Harry spoke gently as they made it to the stairs and started down towards the dungeons. "What exactly happened in class today?"

"Why, so you can get me in more trouble?" Hadley replied, stubbornly.

"How would that get you in more trouble?" Harry asked, confused.

"Because you'd tell Professor Snape then," she replied simply.

"I'm only going to say what Professor Ryan asked me to," Harry explained. "But I want to know what caused him to get so angry with you."

"Promise?" Hadley asked, guardedly, raising her gaze to meet his.

"Promise," Harry stated with a slight smile.

"I turned…I accidentally turned…one of the other girls' fingers into rat tails."

"That's an impressive accident," Harry said, raising an eyebrow. "And exactly how did this accident come about? Were you supposed to be transfiguring something into a rat?" he asked, remembering in his first class they'd been changing matches to needles.

"No," Hadley said quietly, then shrugged. "It was just an accident."

"Was this other girl sitting near you?"

"Sort of…" she trailed off, becoming very interested in the banister beside her.

"So you accidentally used a curse on a student who was sort of near you instead of on the match that you were supposed to be working on?" Harry asked, knowingly.

"Hey how did you know we were working with matches?"

"No changing the subject," Harry grinned, before catching himself and attempting to look sternly down at the girl. He couldn't help it, he liked Hadley, even though she'd only caused trouble the few times he'd been around her. "C'mon now," he began again, managing to keep his tone firm, "I know you're not telling me everything. Who is this girl you cursed and why?"

"Just some girl…I don't remember her name," Hadley replied with an indifferent shrug.

"Who do you have transfiguration with? Ravenclaw?"

"Yeah."

Harry gave an inaudible sigh of exasperation. It was obvious she didn't want to and wasn't going to say anything more. But he wanted to know if what Hadley had done was merely a stroke of luck on her part, doing something that most first-years might have a good deal of trouble with, or if she'd known exactly what she was doing.

There was no time left to talk about it anymore, however. They'd reached the entrance to the dungeon area a short while back, and the door to Snape's office was now in sight.

Harry and Hadley came to a stop before the large, thick, wooden door. Raising his hand slowly, Harry rapped his knuckles against the splintery surface, and stepped back, listening for a reply. For a long moment, the two stood in silence, waiting, and Harry finally decided Snape must be in class. Shaking his head faintly, knowing Snape would not be happy about being disturbed while in the middle of a lesson, he gestured for Hadley to follow him down towards the potions classroom.

They'd barely made it two full paces away, however, when the heavy door behind them was pulled open roughly, and Snape poked his head out into the dimly lit corridor.

"Potter," he grumbled, his eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the dark arts professor. But as his gaze fell to Hadley his expression became questioning, and he glanced back up. "What's this about?" he asked curtly.

"Troy asked me to bring Hadley down to see you," Harry said evenly, stepping back towards the open doorway. "He was going to come down himself, but as he had a classroom full of students and I happened to be passing by, I offered to help him."

"How good of you to do so," Snape said flatly, without the slightest hint of thanks audible in his tone. "I still fail to see why, exactly, either of you would be bringing Miss Thurnes down to my office. She doesn't seem to be hurt…"

"According to Troy, she was being disruptive in class," Harry interrupted softly.

"And what was she doing?" Snape asked, fixing a pointed stare upon the petite girl, which she met evenly.

"He didn't say," Harry replied. "Just that Hadley was disrupting the class, and he wanted to talk to you about punishment."

"Did he?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow. Harry simply nodded. The potions master's eyes fell upon Hadley once more, and remained locked with hers for only seconds before he looked up quickly.

"Detention," he snapped, already starting to turn back into his office.

"Wait…that's it?" Harry asked abruptly, thinking surely Snape would at least ask Hadley what had happened. She was from his house, after all.

"You'd prefer I take points away, that it Potter?" Snape asked with a sneer.

"No, that's not what I meant…" Harry began.

"Sorry to disappoint you," Snape spoke over him. "But with the little information Troy has chosen to give me, I can't punish Miss Thurnes any more than that…it would be unfair, don't you agree?" he asked, grinning smugly.

"That isn't what I meant," Harry said again, straining to keep his voice even. He was not going to get into a fight with Snape here, in front of a student.

"Well what exactly did you mean then, professor?" Snape asked, snidely.

"Never mind," Harry said quietly, shaking his head and deciding to drop the subject. No matter what he said, Snape would find some way to turn it against him. "I'll take Hadley back to class now."

"And please, tell Professor Ryan I appreciate his consideration in handling this matter," Snape added, as Harry stepped past the office door.

"Yes, I'll be sure to do that," Harry called out over his shoulder through clenched teeth. He glanced down at Hadley, who didn't seem all that upset for someone who'd just been given detention, but didn't say anything, and for a few moments, they walked through the corridors in silence. As they once again reached the stairs, however, Hadley looked up at Harry, a curious expression on her face, and spoke in a soft voice.

"You said you wouldn't try to get me in more trouble…you promised."

"I didn't try to get you in…" Harry began, lowering his eyes to meet hers.

"You tried to get points taken from Slytherin," Hadley cut in. "I heard you, when Professor Snape gave me detention…you asked if that was it."

"No, I wasn't asking him for that," Harry started to explain. "I only wanted him to ask you himself what happened."

"So that I'd lose points for Slytherin," Hadley said, no questioning tone to her voice at all.

"No," Harry repeated firmly. "So that whatever punishment he decided on would be fair."

"Oh," Hadley said, sounding entirely unconvinced. Harry looked away, knowing there was no sense in arguing the matter right now, he was angry with Snape and didn't want to take it out on a student. How dare the potions master accuse Harry of being unfair, when that's all Snape had ever been to him when it came to house points? But he bit back his anger, and the two of them walked the rest of the way in silence. He left her at the door to the classroom, and briefly let Troy know Snape had given Hadley detention, before turning away and heading for his office.

"So I think it's safe to say she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you."

"Oh? What would you call it then?" Harry asked with a wry grin on his face, meeting his godfather's smiling eyes. The weekend had come and both Sirius and Marzia were sitting in Harry's office on a cool Saturday evening. Harry had been to the quidditch trials that morning, as promised, but didn't stay for all of them. It was better in a way, however, so that he wasn't tempted to interfere when it came to choosing which students made the team. He had seen one that would have made an excellent beater, but the few seeker tryouts he'd witnessed weren't impressive, and he hoped the ones that came later were better. The keeper trials had been held the night before, and he'd been unable to attend those altogether, but looked forward to seeing the full team during any practices he could make it to, no matter who was chosen.

"She's confused," Marzia spoke up suddenly, "wait until you've had a few more classes with her, it'll work out."

"She thinks I lied to her, thanks to Snape," Harry said, rolling his eyes in disgust.

"Maybe she'll realize what you meant," Marzia replied.

"You should have seen her in class on Thursday…" Harry persisted, "she did all she could to interrupt the lesson."

"You said she does that in all her classes though," Sirius said. "Even Snape's."

"Well, she does…but still…"

"Alright, why are you so concerned with this Hadley girl?" Sirius interrupted suddenly, arching one quizzical eyebrow. "She's not in your house…she's in Slytherin…so, why…?"

"Sirius Black!" Marzia cut him off, sounding appalled.

"Sorry, sorry," he said quickly, holding his hands up, feigning defense and trying to hold back a grin at her reaction. "I know…her house shouldn't matter…"

"I don't know why," Harry said quietly as Marzia gave his godfather an admonishing look. "She looks so familiar to me sometimes…and other times…nothing. But it's not that…I guess it's just…" he trailed off, searching, "I don't know," he shrugged, "I don't understand her behavior…and I want to. Why would anyone go out of their way to get into trouble? It's not as if it's ever anything worthy of being expelled…just little things, but enough so that it causes a bit of a commotion each time…"

"A Slytherin giving Snape grief," Sirius grinned. "You just have to like this girl, don't you?"

"Causing me grief as well," Harry added quickly as Marzia swatted at Sirius playfully, but missing, as he was ready for this reaction, slipping his arm around her and pulling her close.

"I don't hold any great love for Slytherins either, you know," Marzia spoke up softly, looking up at Sirius with a mixture of exasperation and amusement in her eyes. "But do you think you could try not to insult them at every mention of the name, at least while we're here?"

"I'd love to, but I'm afraid it's just impossible," Sirius smiled down at her, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I was born with just that unique ability, it would be a shame to waste it, right?"

"Oh I wouldn't say it's a unique ability," Harry laughed.

"No, I'm telling the truth," Sirius said quickly, an insistent expression on his face. "Didn't I ever tell you the first full sentence I ever spoke?"

"No, but we're just dying to hear it," Marzia spoke sardonically, leaning her head against his shoulder, and looking up expectantly.

"It was…Slytherin is full of slimy, stupid, greasy gits."

"Your mother must have been so proud…" Marzia rolled her eyes.

"Oh she was," Sirius nodded knowingly, a smug grin on his face.

"Slimy, stupid, greasy gits, ey?" Harry repeated, laughing. "I thought you only called Snape that last one."

"What a git?" Sirius asked. "No there are a great many people who I call…"

"No greasy," Harry cut in, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh, well, yes…he certainly earned that name, wouldn't you say?" Sirius asked with a broad grin.

"Yes but I think what Harry is getting at," Marzia began with a tiny smirk, "Is that you wouldn't have used the term greasy to describe them…when you couldn't possibly have known Snape yet. Unless of course you didn't say your first full sentence until you were eleven…" she trailed off, smiling sweetly.

"Oh, that," Sirius said quickly. "Well…maybe I didn't say greasy…"

"Or maybe you were just lying?" Marzia suggested.

"Would I lie to you, love?" Sirius asked, flashing Marzia his softest smile, complete with puppy dog eyes.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Marzia replied coyly, a helpless smile appearing on her face despite her efforts to hide it.

"Should I leave the both of you alone?" Harry asked quietly, watching the bantering between the two with amusement.

"No, no, no…" Marzia said quickly, looking away from Sirius.

"But since we're on the subject of Snape," Sirius began, the mischief in his eyes gone for the moment. "What's going on with the crystals?"

"Nothing," Harry replied flatly. "He won't tell me why he doesn't want me to use them, just that I'm not allowed to until we start lessons again."

"And when are the lessons starting?" Sirius asked.

"Good question," Harry shrugged. "I have no idea."

"That man…" Sirius spoke quietly, anger suddenly evident in his tone.

"Look, I'm not planning on complaining right now," Harry said quickly. "I don't have a lot of time, the training sessions were not going well at all, and there doesn't seem to be a need at the moment to really use the crystals…"

"None of us thought there would be a need for you to use them when you and Mel were out in muggle territory over the summer and look what happened," Sirius stated evenly. "You were attacked by the Cult of Shadows. I'm sure the fact that we haven't heard from them in a while doesn't mean they've given up."

"I don't believe it means that at all," Harry said in a placating tone. "But Dumbledore was obviously right in that it would be hard for them to find me when I'm around lots of other wizards. You're right nearby…the school is filled with all the other professors…I'll be fine Sirius, don't worry."

A soft silence settled over the room for a long moment, in which Harry wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want his godfather running to the potions master and fighting his battles for him, or for Sirius to feel the need to show up at the school for regular check-ins. He wasn't a child anymore, and as much as he wanted and needed the love that Sirius and Marzia showered him with, he had to live his life, and deal with what came, on his own, if necessary.

"I know you're not a child," Sirius spoke up softly, as if reading Harry's mind. "I'm not planning on interfering in your life and your new job…I would never do that to you…but please understand, it's impossible not to worry. I love you Harry. I love you as I would if you were my own son. And if someone tries to hurt you, they are going to have to kill me before I'll let them touch you."

"Sirius, no…don't say that," Harry spoke softly, feeling both a rush of warmth and a stab of fear over his godfather's words, not wanting to even consider the possibility of someone else dying for him; especially not Sirius…never Sirius.

Hearing the emotion caught in his godson's throat, Sirius leant forward, embracing Harry as only a father could hold a son, and pulling him close.

"Don't worry," Sirius said gently after a long moment, a hint of a smile on his face, pulling back as he spoke and looking directly into Harry's eyes. "I have no intention of leaving you and Marzia anytime soon."

"You better not," Harry said fiercely, only half laughing as he spoke, while Sirius reached back around Marzia, pulling her nearer once again.

"I second that," Marzia spoke up then, "after all I do need you to be here at least until the end of December…" she trailed off with a smile.

"What's at the end of December?" Harry asked, curiously, looking back and forth between the two.

"December 31st, to be specific," Sirius said, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"Wait…you mean…?" Harry began, now smiling as well.

"We didn't want to make a big thing of it…but we thought you'd want to hear it from us first rather than get an invitation…" Sirius said quickly.

"Of course I want to hear it from you first!" Harry exclaimed happily. "I've only been waiting a year for you to pick a date!"

"Well like Sirius said," Marzia began hastily, but unable to keep from smiling, "It's not going to be anything big, but we'll be deciding on a location and sending invitations…there's just so much to do…" she trailed off, obviously excited.

"Then I'll be keeping my eyes open for that owl," Harry laughed, "and let me know if I can help with anything!"

"Thank you," Marzia nodded gratefully, "though I'm sure we'll do just fine, and you have so much to do lately that we wouldn't want to burden you with anything more."

Harry just smiled in reply; he knew she was probably right; he wouldn't have much time to spare. Though it was nice to know the wedding would take place during the winter holidays, that way he wouldn't have to go rushing back to the school directly after.

"Speaking of that," Sirius said with a sigh," I think we've taken up enough of your time today, Harry."

"Which I don't mind at all," Harry cut in immediately, but started to stand as they did.

"We'll visit again if you aren't too busy, Professor Potter," Sirius joked.

"Anytime Padfoot," Harry replied, hugging his godfather quickly, before turning to Marzia and doing the same.

"Good bye Harry," Marzia said warmly, "Let us know how things work out with Hadley…and just be careful, okay?"

"I promise," Harry nodded. He crossed the office with them and watched at the door as the two walked slowly down the corridor, before turning away and shutting it quietly behind him.

The week went on quickly enough, and classes started to settle into a normal pace. Hadley's behavior didn't change, but Harry didn't expect it to, and it only made him more curious as to why she acted this way.

On Wednesday, when finally Harry had a chance to speak with Ginny about quidditch, she wouldn't tell him who'd made the team.

"Come to our practice this weekend…there's something we want to make sure is…alright, for us to do…" she'd said, uncertainly.

So when the weekend arrived, Harry made his way out to the pitch after breakfast on Saturday morning, anxious to see the new team. He noticed Ginny talking with Ray, Natalie and Su, along with three other students who were standing nearby.

"Oh, here he is," Su said, nodding towards Harry as he neared their huddle.

"Talking about me?" he joked as Ginny and Su stepped towards him.

"No," Ginny replied with a grin, before taking a side glance at Su and looking back. "But there is something we need to ask you…"

"Okay," Harry replied, hesitantly, seeing the unsure expressions on the girls' faces. "Should I be worried?"

"No, no…it's nothing bad," Su said quickly.

"We just wanted to check with you…on something…"

"Sure, what is it?" Harry asked.

"Are we allowed to let a team member switch positions?" she asked quickly.

"Switch positions?" Harry repeated. "Why? Who wants to switch?"

"It's not because this person wants to switch," Ginny said quickly. "It's because they're better than anyone else we've seen at…"

"Ginny…stop," Harry said with a grin. "Just tell me what's going on."

"Um…well…we didn't see anyone who we liked…for the seeker position…" Ginny began slowly.

"And?" Harry asked, eagerly, hoping that whoever had been picked could be trained easily enough. He hoped so badly that Gryffindor would win the cup this year, as they hadn't been given the opportunity to in the last two years.

"Well, when we'd finished the trials for seeker, I decided…just, you know…just to see, how well any of us would do in that position…"

"And?" Harry asked again, hoping this would be the last time.

"And…basically…Su caught it," Ginny said at last, before continuing on quickly, "not just once either! I let the snitch out seven times…she got it every time Harry!"

"Did you?" Harry asked, a large grin spreading across his face as he turned his gaze on the small girl.

"Yes, seven times," Su nodded shyly.

"That's great!" Harry said with a laugh. "How long did it take you to catch it?"

"I didn't time her yet, like I said it was a last minute thing…and we didn't practice with bludgers or anything yet," Ginny said quickly. "I was going to start that today…if it's alright she gets the position…?" she trailed off, hopefully.

"Is that really what you were worried about?" Harry asked with a large grin. "You looked like you thought I would scream at you or something…"

"I just didn't want to break any rules," Ginny said, looking relieved. "I wasn't sure if we were allowed to let our current members switch positions."

"Well don't worry, you're not breaking any rules," Harry assured her, before rushing on, "alright let me see the whole team…I haven't got much time today, but if I can see any of the practice I want to…"

Three students who Harry recognized to be a fourth year and two fifth years now completed the Gryffindor quidditch team. Kayleigh Mohr was the newest chaser, Christopher Raines made beater, and Jeenie Dawes was keeper.

"Okay, I'm not going to be able to stay for practice today," Harry told Ginny after he'd spoken with the whole team for a few moments. "I promised a student I'd help her go over part of yesterday's lesson, and I do have to get going. But next chance I get I'll be out here watching," he grinned, feeling a bit let down that he hadn't gotten to see what he wanted to, but at the same time greatly relieved that there was a full team.

When Harry reached the school after the quick walk back across the grounds, he set off right away towards his office, moving swiftly through the corridors. He knew he still had a few minutes but he wanted to make sure he was ready for when the student arrived.

As he turned the corner that led to the entrance for the Gryffindor common room, however, he saw something that made him slow down.

A small boy was sitting just outside the portrait of the fat lady, his knees bent up to his chest, and his chin resting upon them. His black hair was hanging in his half closed eyes, which were focused upon a small toad that was sitting nearly motionless by his feet. Harry was strongly reminded of Neville for a brief moment, sitting alone outside the portrait hole, anxiously waiting for someone to let him in, afraid that Filch might find him first.

But this boy didn't look upset, or scared. And as Harry came to a stop just in front of him, he raised his head, questioningly.

"What's going on Devon?" Harry asked gently. "Did you forget the password?"

"No, I remember it," Devon said quietly, returning his gaze to the toad at his feet. "Am I not allowed to sit here?" he asked.

"Well…no…I mean yes, you're allowed," Harry stammered, feeling slightly confused. He glanced up the hall towards his office, which was just around the corner, before crouching down and turning back to Devon.

"Can I ask why you're sitting out here…?" Harry ventured cautiously. He didn't want to seem as if he were prying, but if there was something wrong, he wanted to know…to help.

"I just didn't want to be in the common room right now," Devon replied with a shrug.

"Is someone bothering you in there?" Harry asked quickly, unable to stop himself.

"No, nothing like that," Devon replied casually. Harry waited another moment, but the boy didn't bother to explain any further.

"Well, what about the great hall? Or the library?" Harry asked gently. "There are other places you can go besides your common room…"

"I know," Devon replied with a faint nod. Again, no further explanation. Harry didn't want to press, as the young boy didn't seem upset or angry…but felt there had to be more to the situation then what he was seeing. Glancing at Devon's face, he saw the large blue eyes still fixed on the toad at his feet, and decided to change the subject.

"So, what's his name?" Harry asked, before adding quickly. "Is it a he?"

"Yes it's a he, his name is Les," Devon replied, with the smallest trace of a grin.

"Have you had him long?" he asked, glad to see something that made Devon happy.

"Since July," Devon said, now meeting Harry's gaze, "My mum took me to Diagon Alley so I could pick out my pet early. I thought about an owl, and I definitely didn't want a cat…but when I was in the shop, Les got free from his tank…and hopped over to me…" he trailed off, grinning at the memory.

"Fate, huh?" Harry asked, chuckling lightly.

"Yes," Devon smiled, "I scooped him up before someone stepped on him, and bought him straight away."

"And I'm sure he's much happier now," Harry nodded, glancing briefly at the small toad, before starting to stand. "Well, I have to get going for now…but if you ever want to talk, I'm right around the corner there, alright?" he asked.

"I know," Devon nodded, pausing for a brief moment before speaking quietly. "Thanks professor."

"See you later, Devon," Harry replied with a wink. He watched the boy for a second more, and then turned, continuing on up the hall, towards his office. It was obvious Devon didn't have many friends, though Harry couldn't see why. He was quiet, sure, but he didn't seem like a bad kid. He barely spoke in class, and usually ended sitting next to whoever arrived last. Hopefully as the year went on, he'd open up a bit.

As he turned the corner, Harry took one more quick glance down the hall at Devon, before stepping out of sight, and finishing the short walk to his office.

"Alright class, leave your books at your desks, take your wands, and follow me," Harry called out to the first-years. Several more weeks had passed since Harry's conversation with Devon. During that time, classes had been running as smoothly as could be expected, and quidditch practices were in full swing. The weather had been getting progressively chillier, resulting in an empty courtyard, and a very full great hall, during weekends.

The only low point, for Harry, had been during his first full moon while at Hogwarts. Snape had made sure the wolfsbane potion was prepared and waiting for him on the first night he would need to take it, and as always, the hours passed by agonizingly slow. But they passed, nonetheless, followed each time by a full day of feeling weak and ill. The students, thankfully, hadn't given him any trouble this time around; though as it was going to happen repeatedly, Harry could only hope none of them would notice the pattern.

Now it was nearly the middle of October, and Harry was getting ready to give the Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years a practical lesson. He led them out of the dark arts classroom and down the corridor. The small group ascended two flights of stairs, and went through a large wooden door on the seventh floor. When every last student was in, Harry shut the door, and beckoned them to follow him again.

They were in the very center of the school, where there were not many rooms, but rather large, unused chambers, that were dusty and damp. As there were no windows, and very few candles, the halls were dim, and Harry had his wand out in front of him, lighting the way.

When at last they came to another wooden door, Harry brought the students to a halt, before turning the latch and slowly pulling it open. The room beyond was lit from the far left by a warm fire, splaying the long walls and cathedral ceilings with eerie fast-moving shadows. As the class started towards the hearth under Harry's direction, he quickly aimed his wand down to the floor, searching for a brief moment, before finding what he was looking for, and turning away, joining the students by the fire.

"Now, before we begin, we're going to review," Harry called out so all of them could hear him. "We've been reading about Ashwinders for two weeks now, so first question…who can tell me what one looks like?"

As always, Ariele Clements' hand shot up into the air, followed immediately by several other students, including Hadley's. Harry glanced over the students, but decided to call on Devon. While his hand was not raised, he had a now familiar expression of eagerness on his face. Harry knew Devon had the answer, and wanted to get him talking more in class.

"Devon, any idea?" he asked hopefully.

"An Ashwinder is a very light grey, thin serpent with red eyes," the dark-haired boy spoke quietly. "It's not very long, at most two feet, but usually closer to eighteen inches."

"Five points to Gryffindor," Harry smiled. "Now, next question. How is an Ashwinder born?"

"It's not born," Hadley spoke up quickly, deciding not to wait for her name to be called.

"Hadley, this isn't a race," Harry said firmly. "Please wait until I call on you to answer a question."

Sighing lightly and rolling her eyes, the small girl slowly lifted her hand into the air, a sardonic expression on her face. Several Slytherins were laughing silently, which only encouraged Hadley's behavior, while the Gryffindors were glaring at her in annoyance.

"Since you've already begun," Harry said, feeling a mixture of amusement and exasperation, "please, continue."

"An Ashwinder isn't born," Hadley stated confidently. "It rises out of the flames of a magical fire that's burned for too long."

"Five points for Slytherin," Harry nodded. "Now, someone explain a magical fire."

Again, hands flew up into the air.

"Ethan," Harry nodded at a light-haired Slytherin boy.

"Anytime you add a magical ingredient to the flames, like floo powder, for example, it becomes a magical fire."

"Five points to Slytherin," Harry smiled. "Alright, so once an Ashwinder rises from the fire, what happens then? Ariele?" he asked, calling on the very eager young girl in the front.

"It finds a place to hide, to lay its eggs," she stated knowingly. "Usually it's someplace dark, covered in shadows, and it leaves a trail of ashes behind. It only has one hour though, because after that time the Ashwinder collapses into dust."

"Exactly, five points to Gryffindor," Harry nodded. "Last question…who can tell me about Ashwinder eggs? What has to be done to them?"

Another Gryffindor girl named Lea was called on, and she began explaining quickly.

"The eggs are a bright shade of red, and they're scalding hot. If you don't find them right away and freeze them, they will set their surroundings on fire."

"Correct, five points to Gryffindor," Harry grinned. "So now, here's what you're going to do today. There's an Ashwinder somewhere in these halls, and your job is to trace it. You all remember the freezing charm we learned in class?" he asked.

"Yes professor," the group replied unevenly.

"Good. There's only one trail; you have to follow it, and freeze the eggs. Now I don't want any fighting or shoving. The reason we're doing this here is because of the dimness, it will make it a bit harder to find the ashes left behind for you to trace. I'm not going to be awarding any points for finding the eggs first, I just want you each to do your best, and work with each other to get through this task. The Ashwinder itself has been loose for fifteen minutes. Remember they won't attack you. Use the freezing charm on the creature itself if you get there while it's still alive. Does everyone understand?"

"Yes professor."

"Good. Now, I'll be watching your progress and checking through the rooms up here as you go. As soon as one of you spots the Ashwinder, you are to shoot sparks up into the air, is that clear?"

The students all indicated that they understood, and at last, Harry let them begin. He stood near the fire, watching as some split off into groups, and other worked on their own, searching for any signs of the ash trail that Harry spotted when he'd first entered the room.

He saw a few start off in the entirely wrong direction, lost on some false trail of dust, and others that looked at a loss, unable to distinguish anything on the dark, dirt encrusted floor. Harry had thought for a long while about this lesson, not wanting to make it too difficult for the students, but not too easy either. He had no worries about any of them finding the Ashwinder if they followed the trail quickly, the creatures had never shown any interest in attacking humans, even those wizards that had ventured so close as to touch their rough, grey scales. It was only if you tried to touch the red eggs while the mother was still alive that they made any sudden movements, and even then it was only to take their eggs back, never to bite or attack.

As the minutes ticked by, many of the students had wandered off into adjacent rooms, and Harry started towards the one that he knew to be correct. He stepped through the large doorway and saw three students searching the floor. Ariele, Hadley and Devon. Harry grinned at them from his place by the entryway, watching them carefully inspect the floor. Suddenly, Ariele looked up towards the back of the room, where another door stood, slightly ajar. She hesitated half a second, before moving swiftly towards it and slipping through. Hadley looked up after her, a scowl crossing her face, before racing to the back of the room and following. Harry sighed; everything was a competition for that girl.

Devon, on the other hand, looked up as he heard his classmates running about, and watched them both go through the door, but didn't follow. Instead, he glanced at the floor again, before turning in the opposite direction, and leaving the room the way he'd come in, passing Harry on his way out.

Harry stared after him for a moment, confused. Devon and the girls were on the correct trail, and it had just been made very obvious that Hadley and Ariele knew they were close…so why did Devon suddenly abandon the trail and head back? He watched as the small boy took a right out of the room, passed by one door and entered the next, disappearing from Harry's view.

Shaking his head, Harry decided not to dwell on it much right now. Devon must have simply thought he was on the wrong trail, despite the confidence Ariele and Hadley had displayed, and decided to try another route. Turning towards the back of the room, he set off himself after the two girls, to see how close they were to their destination.

No sooner had he stepped through the door, however, than a fearful scream pierced the stale air.