Weeks had passed since Voldemort had fallen. Weeks had passed since he became a hunted man. Weeks had passed since he had fled from the Ministry. Those weeks were hell on earth. Dozens of skirmishes with vigilante wizards, Inquisition squads, and Death Eaters. Dozens more added to his growing list of kills. One heart ripped, tortured, and flooded with guilt.

Rain splattered heavily on the old mountain trail. Another being moved beneath the shadowy foliage. Another kill to be added to his vendetta. Another life shed in vain.

The normal bustle of Hogwarts exploded with the announcement of the Dueling Club's approval. Students from every House clustered around the announcement poster, fighting amongst themselves to see the dates for tryouts. Harry sat back smugly and quietly reviewed the list of requirements for the Club. Third years and older, one wand in excellent condition, nothing scheduled on Wednesday evenings, and an iron will. A piece of cake for Harry, but some of his friends lacked those qualities. He winced as the Weasley twins stormed past, minds working feverishly on a plan to sneak in without getting caught for skipping History.

Ron slipped onto the bench beside Harry energetically. Harry stifled a smile as Ron dug heartily into a plate of ribs.

"So, I guess you heard the news."

Ron looked up from a potato and snorted. "Heard about the news? Everyone has heard about it! Imagine, Harry, what this could do for our school!" He settled back in his chair and let out a contented sigh. "Our very own Dueling Club. We are the last big wizard's school to get one. Dumbledore would not allow it for the longest time..."

"Because he had, and still has, no adequate teachers." Hermione frowned as she examined the seat beside Ron and chose to sit on Harry's other side. Secretly Harry felt pleased by her choice. She ignored them for a moment and selected an untouched salad near her place. "If it were not for the pressure from certain authorities and contributors, Dumbledore would have refused. I doubt that he really trusts Vandermine at all."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure. He distrusts him enough to place him in charge of Hogwart's security."

"But," she added with emphasis, " the dementors stay. Vandermine isn't the only layer of security here."

"Nor do I plan to be." The three students jumped as Vandermine strode over to them. "Honestly, Hermione, I expected a little bit more trust from you after saving your life twice."

Hermione snapped back an unintelligible remark about hounding young girls and ferociously attacked her salad. Vandermine shrugged apologetically and patted Ron's shoulder.

"If you try hard, I'm sure you could get into the Club. You two have the potential to become great wizards."

Ron cast Harry a sidelong glance. "Isn't Harry already a great wizard? I mean, after taking on Voldemort and all, isn't he great?"

Vandermine shook his head. "Harry has accomplished great things, but that is no qualification for greatness." He poked Harry in the chest. "Real greatness comes from inside, in the heart. Voldemort was powerful, but he was not great." Vandermine ignored the pained expression that crossed Ron's face as he said the name. "He never will be, because he lacks the qualities that make him a real man. All he knows is greed, lust and power. No, the heart decides greatness. Harry came off with miracles and luck so far, but he is not a great wizard yet. His power still lies dormant, but his heart is proceeding along the path."

Hermione rolled her eyes and rose with her salad. "You speak as if you knew what you are talking about."

Shock rode down Harry's face. Never in his life had he encountered such venom from Hermione. She sounded like she had aimed that harder than a plain jab. She really meant that one. He started to rise, but Vandermine held him down with an iron hand. He was even more surprised by Vandermine's reaction.

He spoke softly, almost too softly to hear. "I know what I'm talking about. I once had a heart, but I made the mistake of giving it away. That is the reason why I committed the crimes of my past. That is why I've made the mistakes of my past."

Hermione's reply was filled with sarcasm. "And I'm sure that your family's past had nothing to do with anything. After all, it's not like you have any psychotic murderers or the like in your family tree."

Vandermine stiffened ever so slightly at her remark. His eyes grew hard and for a moment Harry thought he was about to explode, his hand shook so hard. His gaze flicked across the room and held in place for a moment before returning his attention to Harry, much calmer and more in control. Harry and Ron stole a glance over and saw Kathryn Stringer looking his direction. She was looking at Vandermine with a worried expression. She almost looked afraid. Harry and Ron exchanged bewildered looks.

Whatever was about to have happened, they were glad she had been there to cool him down, even if she had done it from across the room.

"Hey, Boy-wonder, what are you doing here?"

Ron cast a swift peek over Harry's shoulder and groaned. "It's Malfoy."

Harry grunted. "No kidding." He deliberately swung his legs over the bench one at a time and rose to face Malfoy. "What do you think that I would be doing here? You see, there is this amazing invention called a table. People sit at it, eat at it, and talk with others at it. You should try it some time, if you aren't afraid of dirtying your royal butt."

Draco scowled and glanced at Vandermine. "You always did hang out with the trash. Just wait until my dad gets rid of your precious little guardian. He was furious when he heard about that," he sneered at Vandermine, "that thing being here."

Vandermine huffed and faced Draco. "Your dear father would not even think of removing my team. If you want to know why, ask him why you are an only child next time you see him."

Ron ducked his head and concentrated on a piece of loose string in his robe, his ears rapidly turning red. Harry however, bit his lip and strode past the stunned Draco before he lost control. Unrestrained laughter broke out from the Gryffindor table as Draco stormed out of the Hall with Crabbe and Goyle.

Professor Snape was in a foul mood during the following Potions class. Points were taken off of the Gryffindors left and right as he brushed through the lesson. With half an hour left, he finally ended his lecture and wrote a list of material on the board.

"You have this last half hour to create this potion. Slytherins, get your supplies now. All other Houses may gather their supplies after the Slytherins are done."

Ron looked at the board and groaned. The potion took at least twenty-five minutes to create, and the Slytherins did not seem in any great hurry. It took them six whole minutes to gather their supplies and retake their places. Draco snickered as Harry trudged past with his tray of materials. The whole class heard the barely stifled incantation.

"Mani levitae."

The tray rose two centimeters above Harry's hands and crashed on the ground. Snape spun around from his book that he was reading and took in the situation in a glance. Harry stood in the middle of a pile of smoking rot, glaring hatefully at Draco's triumphant face.

"Mr. Potter," Snape's face darkened beyond its usual shade as he advanced on Harry. "Did I ask you to spread those ingredients on the floor? Did I? Thirty points off from Gryffindor for dropping the supplies, and a further five points off for breaking my tray."

Gryffindors across the room groaned in unison. Snape had never taken this many points off of them before this class. Snape cocked his head and opened his mouth to address the crowd when a shadowy figure stepped out from behind the door.

"Excellent observation, Gryffindors. That does seem a bit of an exaggeration, especially when you can replace the supplies from anyone's compost heap. As to the trays, they cost practically nothing, and you have a couple dozen spares, Snape. Forty points back in compensation for poor management and team sabotage." Snape's face turned bright purple as he rounded on the speaker. "Another ten points added on for the mental trauma suffered from that demoralizing attack. Any objections? No. Good."

The room's atmosphere thickened uncomfortably. Snape's eyes spat pure hatred at Vandermine's face. His hands strayed dangerously close to his wand as he struggled to contain his anger. "What are you doing in this room?"

Vandermine seemed unperturbed by Snape's irritation. He walked past Snape and cleaned up the mess with a flick of his wand. "Well, Dumbledore sent me with a message for you. However, I think that an apology is in order before I give it to you."

The students shrank back in their seats and looked anxiously at the door. Snape shook violently and gripped his wand so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"An apology? For what? To you, an immoral, Muggle-marrying, blood-sucking, murdering…"

Snape never had time to finish his ranting. Vandermine's hand shot forward and knocked his wand away with superhuman speed. In a flash he had trapped Snape against his desk and pinned him down in a submission hold.

Pity was the last thing on Vandermine's face as he twisted Snape's arm into an irregular position. "I resent the immoral part, Snape."

He casually tossed Snape backwards into his office door and stalked out of the room, remarking as he did, "Don't even try it, Snape. You would lose."

For the last twenty minutes of class everyone bent low over their desks, praying that Snape would not lash out at them for anything. Even Malfoy huddled in his seat.