Author's Notes: Well, no new computer problems to report this time around. So a big thanks to all my readers out there who pushed this story to over 8,500 hits in the past week. And a big thanks to all my reviewers.

Fugatad: Well, Harry will use the Avada Kedavra curse eventually, don't worry about that. The problem with duels is that while I can imagine them, I usually cannot put into words all that my mind sees. Therefore, I generally leave it up to the readers' imaginations to see the duels and fights as they occur, with me only butting in occasionally to say that something definitive has happened. But we'll see what happens. Thanks for the support.

ProfessorChris: Yeah, it sucks, but I'll make due. Thanks for the support.

Okay, last chapter's Monty Python reference was a bit obscure. It's Mohammad's line after scoring his first Quidditch goal, which I adapted from a line by John Cleese in the 11th episode of Month Python's Flying Circus, from a sketch titled "Literary Football Discussion," where an obviously dumb football/soccer player is trying to answer the questions of an interviewer who keeps referring to literature in his questions to the footballer.

This week's Monty Python reference is also a bit obscure, but actually has a direct relation to the Harry Potter series itself. I'll explain this next week.

And this story has been added to a second C2... thing. Check it out on "The Motley Collection." Wow, two C2's.. I'm flattered. Er, what is a C2?

Well, enough of that, time to get back to the action. Oh, and I will add a disclaimer to the end of this chapter, so don't stop reading in a rage if something upsets you.

Chapter 17: The New Army

It was now early October, and Megan was paying attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts to Professor Gryffindor's lecture about the history of the dark arts in the Middle Ages, which she found absolutely fascinating. She took down notes at a feverish pace as Geoffrey continued the lecture, which was nearing its end.

"Now, the 1400's saw a sharp drop in the use of the Killing Curse, but this is often called the darkest time in the Dark Ages," Geoff lectured as he walked about in front of his class of first year Slytherins, "These were dark times because the Cruciatus Curse and the Imperius Curse both came into common use in the wars that were raging in Europe and Britain at that time between rival wizards and witches and their followers. And since these spells weren't outlawed back then, there was no stigma against those who were known to use them. In fact, wizards and witches often used these spells in plain sight, except for the Imperius Curse, of course. This also led to the rise of Muggles knowing about the existence of witchcraft in the 1500's. And this corresponds, of course, with the supposed Muggle witch burnings at those times and further on, though no witch or wizard was ever killed as a result of Muggle actions. However, many thousands of Muggles were killed in these incidents, and the Wizarding world realized that we had to be more careful about letting Muggles see all this magic, or else they would destroy each other to the last man, woman, and child. And that is how the Dark Wizarding Wars ended, in reality. Of course, all of the really bad wizards and witches were vanquished, although Count Tromedlov continued to cause trouble for us until 1604. But most wizards and witches by this time realized how destructive our wars truly were. And that pretty much took away our will to fight to settle petty disputes. And thus ended the Dark Ages. Any questions?"

Will put his hand up in the air. "Yes, Mr. Frost," Geoff called, pointing to him.

"Professor, do you mean to tell us that the Imperius and Cruciatus Curses were only discovered about 600 years ago?" he inquired.

"Oh no, they are much older than that," Geoff clarified, "But when the Reman Empire fell in 477, most of its knowledge was lost for centuries in Europe, including those two curses, though the Killing Curse remained in use. However, much of the Wizarding knowledge that the Remans possessed lived on in the Far East and in Africa. But with the rise of the kingdoms of the Dark Ages, that knowledge returned to Europe with disastrous results for both wizards and Muggles. These events also marked the beginning of the Wizarding philosophy of hiding all magic from Muggles, a philosophy which stood uncontested from 1692 until the beginnings of this century. And that, students, is two lectures down the road. You'll finally get to read the so-called Forbidden Papers, and learn the real truth about Gellert Grindelwald. But here, of course, the truth is still controversial. The history of the First Great Wizarding War has not been set in stone yet."

"Why not?" Megan inquired, "Shouldn't what happened in the past be fact?"

"It should," Geoff replied with a nod, "But current events put the past events into question. There is a perfect Muggle analogy, but I doubt many of you would know of it, even if you attended Muggle school before you came to Hogwarts."

Finally, the bell rang, ending the class period. "No essay for next class, but I would like you to carefully review the history of the dark arts from 1500 to 1899, as that is what we will be covering next class. Pay close attention to the debates surrounding Muggle relations."

"When did this become History of Magic?" a girl in the room commented.

Geoff chuckled. "You will admit I am not as boring as Professor Binns, though, I hope?" he asked, drawing a laugh from everyone in the room, "But I shouldn't speak ill of my fellow professors."

All ten students in the room packed up their stuff, but only nine left. "Megan, aren't you coming?" Michael Piller asked her from outside the classroom, his head looking back into the room at her.

"In a moment, Michael," Megan replied, "I want to ask Professor Gryffindor some questions."

"Okay," Michael replied as he left. The door suddenly shut quietly behind him, even though it opened into the room.

Megan turned and saw Geoffrey standing with his wand pointed at the door. "I figure this conversation might be about more than today's lesson," he remarked as his arm dropped to his side, "What is it you want to ask me, Megan?"

"Are you sure you have the time?" Megan inquired.

"I don't have a class next period," Geoff assured as he sat down in his chair, which he didn't use at all during the class, "So we have about an hour to discuss things."

"Okay," Megan began, sorting her priorities, "First of all, my month is almost up."

"Ah yes, Miss Parkinson's threat," Geoff recalled, "I have been going over how to deal with that situation. She hasn't been trying to teach the Killing Curse to anyone in Slytherin, has she?"

"No, she hasn't," Megan answered, "But she has figured out how to do the spell. She demonstrated to us about a week ago that she could."

"Yes, she did finally get it last week, I can confirm that," Geoff commented, "I knew she would get it eventually."

"But now she can kill us," Megan pointed out, "If she finds out the truth, she will kill me, I'm sure of it."

"Yes, I know betrayal can be hard to cope with," Geoff assured, "But we'll come up with something. There's a way out of this problem. I've been in worse jams than this and came out okay."

Megan nodded as she thought about the situation. "I suppose telling her the truth is actually an option," she said.

"Under the right conditions, perhaps," Geoff affirmed, "But lets consider our other options first."

"I can't think of any," Megan replied, "And believe me, I've been thinking for a while about this. And nothing has come to my mind."

Geoff sat in thought for a good minute or two, pondering Megan's dilemma. Unfortunately, nothing was coming to his mind either. Nothing that he could consider using against a Hogwarts student, anyway. If this were outside of Hogwarts, I'd just find a way to blackmail Parkinson into standing down, he thought to himself, But I don't have anything to . . . Suddenly, he smiled.

"Megan, I think revealing the truth might be a viable option," Geoff said, breaking the silence, "I think I may be able to force Miss Parkinson into not doing anything to harm you."

Megan thought for a moment about that possibility. "That means telling her the whole story, basically, doesn't it?" she stated, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Well, what exactly are you afraid of?" Geoff inquired.

Megan opened her mouth to respond, but realized that she needed to ponder that one. And she realized that if Geoff was right, there wasn't a damn thing that Pansy could do to stop them without him knowing about it immediately. "I guess her initial reaction," she finally said.

"Then we'll tell her in this room, with me present," Geoff replied, "Seventh year Defense Against the Dark Arts class is on Monday morning. Is that past Parkinson's deadline?"

"I don't believe so," Megan answered, "But I do have to go to class in both morning sessions on Monday."

"Well, Miss Parkinson was in no hurry to leave this room on Monday morning, so I figure she doesn't have a class after my Monday class with the seventh years," Geoff stated, "You'd only have to come in for a short period, then you'd be free to go while I finish the conversation with her alone."

Megan nodded in reply. "Alright, lets do that," she said, "Now I have some questions about the things you mentioned in class."

Geoff stretched his arms out from his body in a gesture of openness. "Ask away," he encouraged as he crossed his arms, "I wouldn't be much of a teacher if I couldn't answer your questions."

Megan smiled. "You mentioned something involving Muggles and history not set in stone," she began, "What exactly were you referring to?"

"Megan, have you ever heard of something called the Armenian Genocide?" Geoff inquired.

Megan thought for a moment. "No, can't say that I have," she finally concluded, "Should I have?"

"It depends on what school you go to," Geoff answered, "Most British Muggle schools don't teach anything about it until you reach the teenage years, if at all. It was an event that occurred in 1915 in what was then known as the Ottoman Empire. The predominantly Muslim Ottomans were wary of the predominantly Christian Armenians. And so, in 1915, during the First Great War and just after a single Armenian division cost the Ottomans dearly in a battle, the Ottoman government began a campaign of rounding up, deporting, and wiping out Armenians within the empire's borders."

Megan had heard this story before, but with a different country involved. "I've heard of the Holocaust," she pointed out, "Why have I never heard about this?"

"Because the Turkish government denies that such a genocide ever took place," Geoff replied, "They say only 300,000 Armenians were killed from 1915 to 1918, and that they lost many soldiers to their forces, making it appear to be a civil war of sorts. However, the Armenian government claims that 1,500,000 Armenians were killed in that time and that it was a coordinated and well-planned effort. The Germans made no effort to hide what they had done, but it's actually a crime to talk about the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. Trust me, I tried once, and I nearly got arrested by Muggle authorities."

"Arrested for what?" Megan asked incredulously.

"Insulting Turkishness, whatever that is supposed to mean," Geoff answered, rolling his eyes.

"Insulting . . . that's just nonsense," Megan said dismissively, "Typical Muslim nonsense, that's what that is."

Geoff wanted to smile at that comment, but it wouldn't set a good example to her for the future. "In any case, the Turkish government has proven, so far, that historical facts can be hidden for a long time. Conceivably, the truth can be forever hidden and destroyed," he concluded, "And if Voldemort has his way, Grindelwald will forever be remembered as a hero to wizard supremacy, instead of a villain as he should be."

Megan decided not to ask any questions at this time about Grindelwald, since they would be learning about him in class soon enough. "Will we be learning about Voldemort in this class?" she inquired.

"No, we will not," Geoff answered, "His story hasn't been completed yet. Also, as you are probably aware of by now, Slytherin has been a traditional raising ground for his supporters, although they are not exclusive to that house by any means. In any case, Headmistress McGonagall was extremely hesitant to let me show you the Forbidden Papers, let alone teach about the ongoing Second Great Wizarding War."

"What are the Forbidden Papers?" Megan inquired, spurred on by the curiosity that such a title naturally caused in the heart of any human, "And why are they forbidden?"

Geoff chuckled. "The label is a bit misleading, similar to Nikita Khrushchev's 'Secret Speech,' which wasn't very secret at all," he explained, "You'll be learning about this in class soon, but I suppose I can give you a bit of a preview. After the fall of Grindelwald in 1945, the First Great Wizarding War was ended. However, after the toll taken on both wizards and Muggles, the public demanded to know why and how Gellert was able to unleash such horrors on the world. The Forbidden Papers, assembled over the course of three years by leading wizards and witches from dozens of countries, attempted to supply those answers. The conclusions the council found were not surprising, but some of the names tied to Grindelwald's ascendancy caused much controversy. The papers were classified for a short time after they were finished in 1948, with many council members assuring the public that another Gellert Grindelwald could never rise again. And the conclusions of the Forbidden Papers, when they were released to the public in 1951, supported that conclusion."

Megan shook her head. "And now we have Voldemort," she stated, "The Forbidden Papers were wrong."

"No, not quite," Geoff pointed out, "There are very subtle differences between Gellert Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort, but extremely important ones. I'll tell you what those differences are once we finish studying the First Great Wizarding War."

"Yes Professor," Megan answered, but she still wanted more information. She desired the power that came with it, the clarity it brought to a picture that was still obscured by a great deal of fog that only her imagination could fill at the moment. And that would almost certainly be an incorrect history.

Geoffrey sensed this desire for knowledge and decided to give the future leader of Slytherin House a history lesson in private. "I cannot teach you about the Second Great Wizarding War in class," he began, "But if you want, I can tell you what I know of it."

Megan smiled upon hearing this. "Please, tell me," she replied eagerly.

Geoff leaned back in his chair and began to recall the sad events that began in his childhood. "It all started in 1970, when I was only six years old," he began, "It started out slow, just a few incidents here and there. But by the time I got to Hogwarts in 1974, things were starting to get really bad. Death Eaters were regularly using the Imperius Curse to have fun with Muggles and other atrocities, even though the war hadn't begun in earnest yet. The Ministry probably figured that they were a bunch of hooligans who would start looking for another, less destructive way to have fun soon enough. But then Dark Marks started appearing over houses where they had murdered and the Ministry realized how badly they had miscalculated."

"Dark Mark?" Megan asked.

"It's the mark the Death Eaters use to distinguish their members," Geoff explained, "It's a skull with a snake coming out from its mouth. In response to the escalations in violence committed by the Death Eaters, the Ministry gave its aurors, who attempted to infiltrate the Death Eaters' ranks and bring them down, the authority to use whatever means they saw as necessary to get their jobs done. And even then, they kept getting cut down left and right. However, the aurors were able to kill many giants in Britain at that time and drove all the remaining ones out of Britain. However, by the time I left Hogwarts in 1981, it seemed like Voldemort was an unstoppable force, enforcing his insane will wherever he wanted to, for the most part. However, a certain group, called the Order of the Phoenix, was formed around the mid-to-late 1970's to oppose the Death Eaters. Outnumbered twenty-to-one, they managed to achieve some spectacular things, but also suffered terrible losses."

"Were you in this Order?" Megan inquired.

Geoffrey's answer shocked her. "No, although I wanted to join," Geoff half-lied, "My parents would hear nothing of it. They just didn't understand the pure evil I had seen the one time I met Voldemort in person. He was a mere man, but he was a man inhabited by pure evil. And so I was not able to do anything as many of the people I grew up with in Hogwarts killed and were killed in those dark times from 1977 to 1981. It seemed like I would pick up the paper every morning and someone I knew had been murdered."

"And then Harry Potter stopped Voldemort," Megan stated, "What happened after that?"

"From 1981 to 1995, a period of relative calm reigned through Britain" Geoff continued, "Although initially after Voldemort's fall, some Death Eaters could not accept that their lord had been vanquished. However, by the end of 1982, the Ministry was coming down really hard on all the Death Eaters it could find. Some sold each other out and got off easy, others kept their mouths shut and were put away for life, and others were able to avoid capture entirely, but the Death Eaters were effectively finished. That is, until Lord Voldemort finally returned in June 1995. And that is when the second part of this war began, and it continues to this day. Once again, people are dying, and it is my job to do whatever I can to stop it."

"By cutting Voldemort off from his source of support here at Hogwarts," Megan surmised with a smile, "Which is where I come in."

"Oh, that would work in time, but there is a much faster solution," Geoff assured, "Kill Voldemort, and the Death Eaters will fall apart, just as they did in 1982. And I am working on achieving that goal, as I have told you before."

"So, what does Voldemort want to do with the world?" Megan inquired.

"That is where Grindelwald and Voldemort differ the most," Geoff began, "As much as Grindelwald's actions were evil, his intentions were noble. Voldemort may speak of those same intentions, but he has none. He seeks to enslave Muggles to the will of the Wizarding world. And he doesn't hide this intention from pure-bloods. The reason why another Grindelwald can't take power again is that his noble intentions for both wizards and Muggles alienated him from everyone but certain intellectuals. Voldemort has a base of power in the continuing Muggle hatred many pure-blood wizards and witches have for Muggles."

Megan nodded as she began to leave the classroom, her hunger for knowledge about her allies and foes alike sated for now.

"Megan, a word of warning," Geoff called before she left, "You may be unaware of this, and it may never come up, but never use the phrase 'For the greater good' in casual conversation. Grindelwald used it as his slogan. You'll understand soon enough, but the phrase is a chilling one to most wizards and witches."

"Thanks," Megan replied as she left the classroom. Her hunger had been sated, but not for long. Her longing for two Defense Against the Dark Arts classes to go by would cause time to slow to a crawl for her.

--

Monday morning's first class was nearly over and the seventh year Defense Against the Dark Arts. Only three students had yet to cast the Killing Curse before this class had begun, and two of them had accomplished it during this class. Geoffrey called the final one to the front of the class.

"Ronald Weasley, all the others have done it," he announced as Ron came to the front of the class slowly, "Let us be done with the Killing Curse once and for all."

Ron nodded his head as he brought his wand up and immediately said, "Avada Kedavra!" A green jet of light shot out from the end of the wand and struck the wooden dummy, causing it to fall over again.

"Well done, Mr. Weasley," Geoff congratulated as he went to pick up the dummy again, "You may sit down now."

Ron did so without saying another word. Geoff saw Pansy Parkinson smirk at his hesitance and reluctance.

Boy, are you in for a shock, Geoff thoughts as he addressed the class again. "One final note about the Killing Curse," he began, "It is a slow spell. It takes a noticeable amount of time to be cast and travels slower than most other spells. Unless you have more than one person casting it, this spell is usually useless at a range of 20 feet or more unless you combine it with other, faster moving spells. That is the drawback of using this spell. If you miss, and you will miss often, you are left wide open for a quick counterattack. The Killing Curse works best against an opponent who is off-balance. And it won't cause a good dueler to get knocked off-balance. When you use the Killing Curse, your opponent will know it is coming before you even start to say the words unless you distract them. The key is to mix up slow, powerful spells with fast, near-harmless ones so that your opponent doesn't know what's coming next. Do that, and you'll have a good shot at surviving a wizard's duel."

The bell then rang to signal the end of the period. "Homework is a reading assignment," Geoff informed the class, "Read the account in your textbook of what is often called the greatest wizard's duel of all time, Gellert Grindelwald vs. Albus Dumbledore, Nurmengard Prison, 1945. It is a rather long account of the battle, but once you read it, you will find that even your imagination isn't enough to do this duel justice. Note specifically the combinations both Grindelwald and Dumbledore used to gain the upper hand in the duel. That's all."

As the students filed out of the classroom, Geoff again noticed that Pansy was taking her sweet time to leave. "Miss Parkinson, I'd like to speak to you, please," he requested.

Pansy's stomach sunk when she heard this, but she had no choice. "Yes Professor," she answered as she stood up and walked up to Geoff's desk.

Geoff waited until everyone else had left the classroom before shutting the door with his wand. "Anything you want to ask me?" he inquired.

"Who's the rat in my house?" she asked bluntly, figuring that at this point she had nothing to lose.

To her surprise, Geoff laughed at this demand. "Well, skip the foreplay and lets get right down to business," he commented, "I like that. Well, I can tell you that the truth is coming through the door in about a minute."

Pansy was now extremely confused. A month ago, she swore that this man was about to bite her head off. Now he was acting as if he was her friend. "What's going on here, Gryffindor?" she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Opening your eyes to the truth," Geoff answered simply as a knock came from the door of the classroom, "Come in."

Pansy turned around and saw the door opening into the classroom. The one behind the door made her even more confused than before. "Megan? What are you doing here?" she asked as Megan closed the door behind her.

"Letting you in on our little alliance," Megan replied simply as she walked to Geoff's desk.

Suddenly, a wave of hatred flowed through Parkinson's entire body. She fixed her eyes with a deadly glare on the protégée who had betrayed her. "Megan Blaire, I should nail your head to the floor!" she shouted as she drew her wand and pointed it at Megan. All caution being thrown to the wind, she was about to begin to cast the Killing Curse when her wand simply flew out of her right hand and into Geoff's left hand.

He smiled. "Miss Parkinson, did my lesson not get through to you?" he inquired as he placed the wand on the desk in front of him, "Starting with the Killing Curse? You cannot be so brash in a duel."

"I don't understand," Pansy said in confusion after a moment, "Why are you acting so nice to me, Gryffindor? Something doesn't make sense here."

"You're correct, something doesn't make sense right now," Geoff affirmed, "And that something is you, Miss Parkinson. This isn't you. You aren't the hateful type, or at least I hope you aren't."

At this moment, Megan leaned over and whispered something into Geoff's right ear which caught his attention. "Well, in that case, you may go to your next class, Miss Blaire."

Megan left the room and closed the door behind her. Geoff signaled to Pansy to keep quiet and waited about fifteen seconds before he said unnecessarily loudly, "I got word from Mr. Filch that he's switching up his corridor patrol routine today and that he'll be walking down this hallway right about now."

Another fifteen seconds passed before Geoff saw a shadow pass by the bottom of the door at a rather brisk pace. "Good, we're alone now," he stated as he threw Pansy's wand back to her.

"Who was eavesdropping on us?" Pansy asked as she caught her wand.

"It was Miss Granger, don't worry about it, I'll deal with her later," Geoff assured, "Now, we have some things to discuss. Such as my alliance with Miss Blaire."

"You've been using her to spy on Slytherin," Pansy concluded with an air of criticism sinking into her voice, "Using a little girl in your schemes, Gryffindor? You should have been put in Slytherin."

"I didn't want to use her, but she came to me first," Geoff admitted, "And she is extremely mature for her age. But tell me Miss Parkinson, since when have you hated those who aren't pure-bloods?"

This question forced Pansy into a good minute of self-reflection as she sat down and thought about the turn her life had taken since meeting Draco Malfoy six years ago. "Since I knew I liked Draco," she admitted.

"I see," Geoff answered, "You care about him, don't you?"

"Yes, I do," Pansy replied quietly.

"I can tell you that he was alive and well last time I saw him," Geoff informed her, "At least physically. Mentally, he may be a bit worse for wear, but I'm sure he'll recover from all that he went through last year, although I'm afraid that Dark Mark is quite permanent."

"You've been helping Potter, haven't you?" Pansy inquired as she leaned forward in her seat toward Geoffrey, "Lets be completely honest with each other now."

"I think I've put you through enough, so I'll give you the truth, and nothing but the truth," Geoff began, "Yes, I am working with Harry Potter to destroy Voldemort once and for all. Draco and Severus Snape are working with me to achieve the same ends."

"Draco is working with you?" she inquired, "So he isn't hateful of Muggles anymore?"

"It's still there," Geoff admitted, "That's to be expected; it has, quite literally, been bred into him. But I think the events of last year made him realize that he was not meant to walk the path that his father has. His hatred will always be a part of him, but it need not define him. If it did, I would think your parents would be rather upset by your taste."

"And what do you know of my parents?" Pansy asked a bit defensively.

"Oh, the Parkinsons and Gryffindors go back a long way," Geoff explained, "Back to the end of the Dark Wizarding Wars, in fact. While a Gryffindor often gets the credit for the death of Count Tromedlov, a Parkinson was also heavily involved in that final battle, and the two families have been close ever since. I know both of your parents, Pansy, and I know they didn't teach you to hate Muggles."

Pansy nodded, a slight amount of shame entering her mind. Geoff sensed this was happening and interfered. "Now, now Pansy, don't feel too bad about yourself," he assured her, "We all make mistakes in life. But your mistakes, Pansy, have been minor ones. They are the mistakes whose shame will disappear with time or, perhaps, you'll look back on and laugh at your youthful ignorance and naivete. But I have made mistakes that will haunt me to the grave. Mistakes that time cannot erase. Please Pansy, don't let those small mistakes grow into ones that will never let you have peace."

"Just get to the point already," Pansy demanded as she stood up, "What do you want me to do?"

"Unity," Geoff replied simply, "You remember what I said at the Sorting Feast. We have to form a united front at this school. But time and time again, it is Slytherin who divides us. I need a promise of unity from Slytherin when the time comes. That's all I ask of you, Miss Parkinson."

Pansy thought about this for a moment. On the surface, it seemed such a small thing, one that she herself would be willing to give to Hogwarts. However, under the surface, it would be practically impossible to guarantee the loyalty of Crabbe and Goyle. "Well, I can't give you complete assurances, but I'll do my best," she answered at last.

Geoffrey smiled upon her answer. "You are a natural leader, Miss Parkinson," he assured her, "Where you walk, the other Slytherins will follow, as long as you give them a good enough reason."

"So am I free to go, Professor?" Pansy asked as she stood up.

"One more parting piece of advice, Pansy," Geoff said, "The First Great Wizarding War is the reason why there are only 5,000 wizards and witches in Britain and Ireland instead of 500,000. The first half of this war is why there are only 5,000 wizards and witches now in Britain and Ireland instead of 10,000. We cannot have another drawn-out war between wizarding factions, or else that number of wizards and witches in Europe, and maybe even the world, will fall to nothing. We must end this war quickly. And I need your help for that."

"You got it," Pansy replied. She had heard such figures before and knew that Geoffrey was only exaggerating slightly in his analysis. The First Great Wizarding War almost annihilated the wizard population of Europe from 1914 to 1945. In fact, the wizarding population of Luxembourg was wiped out in 1942. Wizarding wars tended to become extremely bloody and life-costing affairs, and Britain simply could not take another prolonged exposure to the war machine at this time. As Pansy left the classroom and made her way back to the Slytherin common room, for the first time in years, she was free to be herself again. And she found it to be a liberating feeling.

--

A few days later, Geoff was in his office on the second floor of the castle, helping students with their problems. Except that no one was in his office at this time.

"Don't tell me I'm actually doing that good a job," Geoff muttered to himself with a smile, "I've only been doing this for a month and a half."

Almost as if in reply to his joking inquiry, he heard a knock from the open door of his office. "Come in," he called as he looked to the door.

Hermione Granger walked into the room, a bundle of books in her arms as always. "Professor, I hope I'm not interrupting anything," she said as she walked toward Geoff's desk.

"Not at all, Miss Granger," Geoff replied, "Please, take a seat."

Hermione nodded as she sat down in a padded chair next to the professor's desk and pulled out her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook and notes, which Geoff saw were completely filled despite Hermione's small handwriting. Geoff was glad to see that she was working hard at getting through school with the highest marks, but he was also concerned that she was just trying too hard.

"Hermione, there's something I have to ask you," Geoff began carefully, not wanting to upset the student who had earned the title that he once bore, "Don't you think you might be trying too hard at Hogwarts?"

Hermione paused for a moment before asking, "Why do you ask that?"

"Well, it's just that I know what it feels like to be you," he replied, "I also carried the title of 'brightest wizard of his generation' while I was here as a student. And quite frankly, while I was an excellent student, I hated all the pressure that came with it. Pretty soon, I found myself going to class just to make sure I was the best in the class and not for the love of learning itself. I was studying every free moment I had instead of stopping to enjoy my youth. Do you understand what I mean?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, but I do have a social life," she assured her professor, "I'm just good at this sort of thing, I guess."

"You have the knack for learning magic, yes," Geoff agreed, "I had it as well, but nowhere close to how you have it. Of course, in my seventh year, I decided not to take my studies as seriously, and I still passed all my N.E.W.T.s with flying colors. You see, I was studying so hard that I didn't realize that all the extra studying wasn't helping me at all. Hermione, remember that this is the greatest time of your life. You'll never be eighteen again in your life. Embrace this time in your life, because it will never come around again. And besides, Percy Weasley already took down my record for O.W.L.s passed. Don't you think I should be allowed to hang on to the record of 10 N.E.W.T.s?"

Hermione and Geoff shared a laugh at this, as he wasn't completely serious about this last request. "Does it mean that much to you, Professor?" she inquired.

"I couldn't care less about it, to be honest," he replied, "The awards are merely secondary. It is the love of learning that should drive you, not the desire for accolades. Trust me Hermione, with your mind, there is no door that is closed to you."

"Unless Voldemort has his way," she pointed out, "He'd probably have me sent to some kind of slave camp or something." She shuddered at the thought of this.

"Oh no, Voldemort would kill you immediately," Geoff corrected her, "You are far too powerful for him to keep alive under any circumstances. You would always be a threat to him."

"Well, that's comforting," Hermione responded with sarcasm, "How are you doing on that account, by the way?"

"We're doing well, and that's all I can tell you about that," Geoff answered, "We will win this war soon. Now, you have questions about the subject I'm teaching you, I hope."

"Oh, yes, I do," Hermione replied as she looked through her textbook and referred to the reading assignment and the notes she wrote about it, "I was just wondering which combinations of spells you want us to remember from this duel, because there are just too many to remember."

Geoff frowned at this assertion and his own vagueness in the homework assignment. "Miss Granger, there is no need to remember all the different combinations of spells themselves," he clarified, "At least not now. The important thing is to recognize the spell types and how they are used in combination with each other. At our next class, I am going to explain the four types of spells and how they affect each other when cast in sequence. There are only a few important exceptions, and those will also be covered in class. Don't try to memorize all the different spells and their combinations, Hermione. As I learned during my sixth year, don't study hard; study right."

"Yes Professor," Hermione replied as she scribbled some more notes down and decided to push her luck, "So what were you talking to Pansy about?"

Geoff's immediate reaction was to block this line of inquiry from proceeding any further. However, after taking a moment to think it through, he decided that Hermione had proven her loyalty to Hogwarts many, many times over in the past, from what he understood. "I turned her to my cause, Miss Granger," he answered, "Now Slytherin will fall in line with us when the war comes to Hogwarts. You can be assured of that."

"How can you be so sure?" Hermione inquired, "She was part of Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad, you know."

"Umbridge was a Slytherin when she went to Hogwarts, though that was a bit before my time," Geoff explained, "She left Hogwarts a few years before I entered, so we never met in school. However, we have had some communication outside of Hogwarts and, to be honest, I didn't like her before she taught here. She was one of three people on the Wizengamot who voted to convict me in 1990 and I could tell that she was voting to convict from the start. And after what she did here two years ago, I have absolutely no desire to speak to or of her."

"That still doesn't excuse Pansy's past actions," Hermione claimed.

"No, but let me tell you something about her family," Geoff retorted, "The Parkinsons are not pure-blood supremacists. While most of them are quite proud of their family, Pansy did not get her notions of racism from her parents. Those she got from Mr. Malfoy, and thus were easier to remove."

Hermione thought about this for a moment and realized that, while she and Pansy had never gotten along with each other, it wasn't until her fourth year that she heard her say anything about hating Muggle-borns. In addition, Pansy had always been on a first name basis with some Gryffindors. "I guess she isn't so bad after all," she mused, "Even though she has put me in a headlock once or twice."

Geoff laughed. "Don't worry, I'll take none of that behavior from her now," he assured Hermione, "Now, lets focus on your questions concerning my class."

"Yes Professor," Hermione replied as she went back to her notes, "I thought there were three types of spells, not four."

Geoff picked up a Galleon that was on his desk that he hadn't noticed before. "Well, most experts have three divisions, yes," he confirmed as he examined the object, "But I put the Killing Curse in a class by itself. Most place it with what are called the 'slow spells,' those spells that require more magical power and concentration to cast. However, the Killing Curse can cause some interesting things to happen in a sequence of spells that are quite unlike what the other slow spells do. That's why most people put the Killing Curse at the end of a chain of spells. In fact, that's a tip to keep in mind if you ever find yourself in a duel with another witch or wizard, Miss Granger. Almost all wizards and witches will only use a Killing Curse at the end of a chain of spells and nowhere else in the chain."

"That's good to know," Hermione commented as she scribbled that down in her notes, "Is there some way of blocking the spell or must it be dodged?"

"Oh, there are ways of deflecting it, but they require a great deal of focus, as well as good reflexes," Geoff answered, "Because the Killing Curse spell moves more slowly than any other dueling spell, it is the easiest to dodge or block, which is why it is only used while your opponent is off-balance. However, you must be careful, because one mistake and all your magical potential will be meaningless. That's where the Killing Curse gets its real power from. People find it so terrifying that they could die in an instant that they end up being nervous, which leads you into making mistakes. As hard as it is, you have to relax under the pressure of a duel in order to avoid mental mistakes that can cost you dearly."

"But how can you relax when you are having spells flying right at you?" Hermione inquired.

"Training will help you," Geoff assured as he extended the Galleon to Hermione, "Is this yours?"

Hermione looked up from her notes and saw the coin in Geoff's hand and immediately realized what it really was. "Um, yes, it's mine," she replied hesitantly as she took the coin and pocketed it.

Geoffrey noticed the hesitation in Hermione's answer. "It's more than just a Galleon, isn't it?" he inquired.

"It has to do with what happened here two years ago," Hermione explained, "Because Umbridge wasn't allowing us to actually perform spells in Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, we decided to form a group that would do just that. Unfortunately, someone told Umbridge about what was going on and we got raided."

"Ah yes, Dumbledore's Army," Geoff suddenly recalled, "That was the last straw for Fudge; he forced Dumbledore to flee after that. Hermione, you weren't actually training an army under Albus's orders, were you?"

"Absolutely not," Hermione answered, "It was just to keep us up to date in our spell-casting. We weren't training an army, and Dumbledore couldn't have known anything about it until we were caught."

Geoff chuckled softly at this last claim. "Hermione, you still have much to learn about the late headmaster," he pointed out, "Dumbledore didn't know exactly what you were up to until you were caught, but he knew you were doing something in the Room of Requirement." The mentioning of that room caused Geoff to stop for a moment as he leaned back into his chair and smiled. "That room has always been of great use to its users," he went on, "I have one especially fond memory about it."

Hermione had a funny feeling about where Geoff was going with that; unlike most of the other professors, he was still a young man by the Wizarding world's standards at only 34 years of age (the average lifespan for a wizard who died of natural causes was around 175 years and 182 years for witches). In fact, currently, he was the second-youngest teacher at Hogwarts, beaten out by Muggle Studies teacher Charity Burbage by eight days. "Well, it was of great use to us as well," she interrupted quickly, "I used that coin to tell other members of the army when meetings were being held by altering the serial number on my coin, which would change the number on the coins that we gave out to all the members."

Geoff nodded. "A very covert method of communication," he mused, pondering his options at this point, "Tell me Hermione, would you have any objections to reforming Dumbledore's Army now?"

"I don't really think there's any point now, is there?" Hermione replied, "You aren't keeping us from using spells. In fact, except for Professor Lupin, you may be the best Defense Against the Dark Arts professor I've ever had."

"While I appreciate the flattery, Miss Granger, I'd like to have the younger students getting more safe, practical experience with spell casting than I could ever give them," Geoff responded, "I understand that you may be too busy with your schedule of classes and being Head Girl to do this, but I think that training the younger students would be a great way to help protect Hogwarts when the time comes."

"You're intending on putting first years in the line of fire?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Absolutely not," Geoff replied adamantly, "But we need to be prepared for the worst case scenario at this school."

Hermione nodded her head in agreement. She couldn't argue with that. The school had always been high Voldemort's list and it had been invaded only a few months ago by Death Eaters. Had it not been for Harry's generous offer of the remainder of his Felix Felicis potion, Dumbledore would have almost certainly not been the only fatality on their side in that incident. And she knew that if Harry failed, that was only a taste of what was to come. Quite frankly, this was a war that her side simply couldn't afford to lose.

"What if we get caught again?" Hermione inquired, "I can't be caught doing anything like this."

"Lets just say that, were you to reorganize Dumbledore's Army," Geoff began, "I would ensure that you and your members would be free from harm by being the sponsor of a completely legitimate school organization. Officially, you'll be the student leader of a group dedicated to helping students with spell casting that will meet every Saturday afternoon, except on Quidditch weekends."

Hermione thought about this for a moment. "What's the catch?" she asked.

"The Saturday meetings will be advertised to the school at large," Geoff answered, "And that includes any member of Slytherin who wants to attend them. However, Dumbledore's Army will meet in secret and will consist of only those whom you deem worthy of your trust. And that is where the real training will occur."

Hermione nodded in agreement with the plan. "I say we call it SCAM," she offered.

Geoff was confused by this. "Are you saying this whole thing is a scam?" he asked.

"Oh, no, it's an acronym," Hermione corrected, "Spell Casting Assistance Meetings. SCAM."

Geoff laughed at this. "Right then, SCAM it is!" he responded enthusiastically, "I'll ask Minerva to approve of this immediately and distribute notices to the student body. If all goes well, you'll have the Great Hall as your playground after dinner next Saturday. And from there, you can set up meetings of Dumbledore's Army as you see fit."

Hermione nodded, but there was something that was still bothering her about this. "Wouldn't SCAM need an official Slytherin leader, though?" she inquired, referring to the rules concerning all school-sanctioned, student-run activities.

"Well, yes," Geoff answered, "But I think Miss Parkinson won't give you any more trouble from now on. I'm sure finding the leaders for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw will be much easier for you, though."

Hermione didn't delay at all in voicing her choices. "I actually have two choices now," she began, "Ernie Macmillan from Hufflepuff and Luna Lovegood from Ravenclaw."

"Macmillan is a good choice," Geoff replied immediately, "His parents are good friends of mine. I do have some reservations about Miss Lovegood, however. Don't get me wrong, she's a good person, I have no doubt about that. However, she isn't exactly the most rational person in Ravenclaw. Can't you think of anyone else?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "Well, the only other Ravenclaw I can think of that I trust is Michael Corner," she said, "But that might put Ron and Ginny in an awkward situation. Ginny dated him a few years ago and Ron never approved of it."

Geoff laughed at that. "Older brothers never do approve of their little sister's boyfriends, I can tell you that from experience," he joked, "I gave both of my sisters' boyfriends unending grief over the smallest things. Call it being overprotective."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "Ron always said that he'd prefer that Harry date Ginny," she remarked, "And then when that became a reality, he still didn't like it." She shook her head at how stupid Ron could be at times.

Geoff chuckled. "There's an added dimension of awkwardness when your best friend gets involved with your younger sister," he explained, "There's always that voice in your head that's asking, 'Were we really friends, or was he just using me to get to her all this time?' It can be very trying on your friendship."

"Yes, that is true," Hermione assented as she looked back at her notes, "Now, about how Grindelwald used the Exploding Curse here . . . "

--

It was Sunday night at Hogwarts and Geoff knew that he had screwed up. In fact, the entire weekend before Halloween was filled with bad news for him. When he got to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place on Saturday morning, he learned that another good friend of his had been murdered by Death Eaters. He also learned from Gary that Severus had been missing for over a week and that Draco and Harry were still at each others' throats to some extent. Just this morning, he received a letter from Remus. Thinking that he had made some breakthrough on protecting the Ministry from further Death Eater encroachment, he found the letter was actually a plea for help concerning his relationship with Nymphadora Tonks; apparently, she had turned quite cold on him recently and he was concerned he was doing something to push her away from him. While Geoff truly cared for Remus' happiness, he was frustrated that he would send him such a letter at a time like this and replied that he should just go with what his gut told him to do. He knew that Nymphadora was still mourning the death of Sirius to some extent, but she probably had some reservations about being romantically involved with a werewolf. He was barely able to restrain from adding words about not to bother him again with such petty problems at a time when the fall of the Ministry to the Death Eaters was all but inevitable.

To top it all off, Geoff had a feeling that Minerva wanted to have a serious heart-to-heart with him. He had assumed that the proposal for SCAM would clear her scrutiny almost immediately, as Minerva and Hermione had always gotten along with each other. He assumed that the notices for the first SCAM meeting would have gone out on Friday night to the students. However, they still had not gone out by now on Sunday night. As he sat behind his desk writing a letter to his wife, Geoffrey was waiting for Minerva to come through his office door.

Sure enough, in walked Headmistress Minerva McGonagall with an orange sheet of paper in her hand. "Geoffrey, I'm glad you made it back in one piece," she greeted tersely.

From her tone, Geoff knew that his headache was about to get worse. "Minerva, please, have a seat," he offered as he gestured to the chair next to his desk.

"No thank you," she replied. Now Geoff knew he was in for it. He looked up at her for the first time.

"Is that the organization request form that I sent you on Thursday?" he inquired. Of course, he already knew the answer.

"Indeed, it is," she answered, "And I have signed it."

At this, waves of relief and confusion ran through Geoff. On the one hand, McGonagall saw the merits of this new organization and approved of it. On the other hand, she obviously came to talk with Geoff about something to do with SCAM, and he was sure he wasn't going to enjoy this at all. It wasn't that Minerva was very hard to deal with. It was just that he really didn't feel like arguing with anyone right now; not after the weekend he just had.

"So, why are you here with it?" Geoff inquired, "And why haven't the notices gone out yet?"

"Geoffrey, I want you to stop undercutting my authority," Minerva ordered, "I know what this is really about. You're putting Dumbledore's Army back together again."

"Now what makes you think that?" Geoff asked innocently.

"Because you would never have approved of an organization that implies you're incompetent at teaching your class," Minerva answered, "You have an ulterior motive for establishing SCAM, and I think that's to reestablish Dumbledore's Army."

Geoff wasn't in the mood for playing games, so he decided not to run one of his little word charades. "And what if that is what I'm doing?" he asked as he leaned back in his chair, "Why should you be concerned that I have the protection of Hogwarts in mind?"

"Because you are undercutting my authority," Minerva answered, "And think about it from my point of view. I'm looking out for the safety of this school and its students. And then I hear that a professor here, who has a shady past including accusations that he is a serial killer, is secretly forming an army. Geoff, what am I supposed to do?"

Geoff's jaw dropped in shock. "Minerva, you actually think I'm planning a coup?" he asked incredulously, "That had never even crossed my mind. Not even once, I assure you." He had now all but admitted to the reformation of Dumbledore's Army.

"Perhaps not now, but what if you disagree with some of my decisions?" she asked, "You have a history of taking matters into your own hands, Geoff. Would you do so again, supposedly in the name of defending Hogwarts?"

Geoff stood up and walked over to Minerva. "No, I would not," he answered firmly, "Because we are in this together. You heard my words when this term started, that if we are divided we will fall. Then who am I to divide this school by overthrowing you? Minerva, I may be many things, but I am no hypocrite. So long as I know you're on our side, I will follow your orders as far as I believe they will help secure Hogwarts. And Dumbledore's Army will help secure Hogwarts."

Minerva was moved by this display of loyalty from her former pupil and realized that he was telling her the truth. In some ways, he was still the boy she had taught almost two decades ago. She had almost been moved to tears by what she had just seen and heard.

"Geoffrey Gryffindor, you get Dumbledore's Army back together and I'll distribute those notices," she said as she left the room.

"Thank you Minerva," he replied as he sat back down behind his desk. He needed a few minutes to get his thoughts together again before he went back to writing his letter.

--

It was Tuesday afternoon once again, and Geoff was finishing up his lecture to the first year Slytherin students on the First Great Wizarding War. It was a lot of work to fit 31 years of bloodshed into an hour-long lecture, but he was now about to go over that conflict's aftermath.

"On July 31, 1945, Albus Dumbledore defeated Gellert Grindelwald at Nurmengard Prison, finally bringing an end to the First Great Wizarding War," he told the students, "But the toll the war had taken was extreme on both our world and the Muggle World. Partially because of our war, the Muggles fought two extremely destructive wars, most commonly called World War I and World War II. These two conflicts combined to kill at least 80 million Muggles, which was about three or four percent of the world Muggle population at that time. But compared to the wizarding population of Europe, the Muggles had it easy. Wizards in Europe were fighting, without any letting up, for more than 30 years. Britain and Ireland took an especially heavy toll, though not the heaviest. During this war, 95 of Britain and Ireland's wizard population was wiped out. The only country who lost more was Luxembourg, which saw its entire small wizard population completely destroyed by 1942. Most countries lost upwards of half their wizard populations or more. And Europe has never truly recovered from this disastrous loss of life. The world's Muggle population recovered fairly easily from their losses; their population has more than doubled since 1945. Europe's magical community continues to struggle. There were about 150 million wizards and witches living in Europe in 1914, when the war broke out. By the time it all ended, only about 50 million were left.

"And yet, if you examine Grindelwald's own statements, you'll find that he fought this war for a supposedly noble purpose. The view that Muggles could never learn to control their own violent tendencies and needed to be controlled for their own good was a point of view that gained quite a bit of popularity by the time the First Great Wizarding War began. Grindelwald often justified that his actions were 'for the greater good,' that both wizards and Muggles would be better off under his rule. The Muggles would be enslaved to serve wizards in order to prevent them from destroying each other and to deliver a better world to both sides. But with his defeat came the end of the legitimacy of this point of view, at least for now. Any questions?"

Megan immediately raised her hand. "Yes Miss Blaire?" Geoff asked as he pointed to her.

"Why would the Muggles ever accept being enslaved by wizards and witches?" she inquired.

This caused a quiet snicker among some of the students. Geoff ignored these for now. "They wouldn't just accept it," he answered, "And Grindelwald knew that. And I must apologize for my poor choice of words. It was never Gellert's intention to enslave Muggles. His intention was for wizards and witches to rule over them to prevent them from destroying each other. Grindelwald never had any intentions of forcing the Muggles to serve as slaves, though many of his supporters demanded as much. Gellert's plan was to simultaneously educate and brainwash the Muggles into realizing how destructive they were and how it was for their own good that the wizards and witches ruled over them, controlling those tendencies. Any other questions?"

Michael raised his hand this time. "Yes Mr. Piller?" Geoff said as he pointed to him.

"What did Dumbledore do to Grindelwald?" he asked, "Was he killed?"

"Unfortunately, recorded history is silent on Gellert Grindelwald's ultimate fate," Geoff replied, "Most historians believe that either Dumbledore killed Grindelwald after he won their duel or that Grindelwald succumbed to the wounds he suffered during that duel and died. Others believe that he survived the battle and is still alive and free today, while others say he was imprisoned by Dumbledore somewhere. No one knows for sure what happened to him. But I knew Albus Dumbledore very well, and though I never asked him about what happened to Grindelwald, I get the feeling that he would not have killed him. But those are just my thoughts; again, no one knows for sure what happened to Gellert Grindelwald after that duel ended."

At that point, the bell ending the class period rang. "On Thursday, we'll begin working on actual spell casting," he announced to the departing Slytherins, "And if you haven't heard already, there is a new group meeting this Saturday after dinner called SCAM. I would strongly recommend going to work on your spell casting with the other students of Hogwarts. Read the first chapter in your textbook on spell casting for Thursday's class and make sure not to forget your wands." Geoff glanced back up and saw Megan leaving the classroom. "Oh, Miss Blaire, a quick word, please," he added quickly.

Megan waited until all the other first year Slytherins had left the room before she approached Geoffrey's desk. "Yes Professor?" she inquired.

"Megan, I want to thank you for everything you have done for me over the past month-and-a-half," Geoff began, "Without your help, I don't know how I would have gotten Pansy to realize the error of her ways. However, now that Miss Parkinson is on the same page as us, I don't want to use you as a pawn anymore. Megan, you're free to do as you wish now. I won't give you anymore orders except to go to this Saturday's SCAM meeting."

Megan nodded, understanding where Geoff was coming from. "I will," she answered, "By the way, I have something to tell you about the Slytherin common room."

"Yes, what is it?" Geoff inquired, though he thought he'd have very little interest in what Megan was about to say as he sat down behind his desk.

"I don't know what it is about the room, but every time I go into the common room, I get this bad feeling," Megan tried to explain with difficulty, "Like there's a cloud of depression hanging over the room or something. And I know that others get the same feeling in that room as I do."

Geoff was wrong about this not being of interest. What Megan had just described to him were feelings consistent with being in close proximity to a Horcrux. He and Harry were both certain that Voldemort had hidden another one of his Horcruxes in Hogwarts. Megan may have just found it. "And you only get this feeling from the common room?" Geoff asked, his undivided attention on Megan now.

"Absolutely," she answered, "I even asked Pansy about it and she told me she had felt the same things about that room for years."

Geoff took all this in and pondered his next move. A Horcrux was almost certainly in the Slytherin common room somewhere. But it had to be well-hidden. Geoff would need some help on this one, but he didn't trust Pansy with this plan. "Megan, I may have to take back what I said about not needing you anymore," he said after a moment, "I'll keep you informed about this matter. You can run along now."

Megan nodded as she gathered up her items and left the classroom. Geoff now had a few minutes to think about his options. I need to get Harry into that common room without him being disturbed for at least an hour. Halloween night should be easy enough; everyone will be stuffed and call it a night early. I can sneak him into the school with his Invisibility Cloak easily enough and stow him away in my office. I'll just need someone to let him into the Slytherin common room. Overall, this didn't seem like too hard a plan to Geoff. It just needed a little bit of coordination.

--

From the pages of the Daily Prophet:

FLYING AGAINST THE WIND AND CLOCK

U.S. AND BULGARIA SCHEDULE FIRST TIMED QUIDDITCH FRIENDLY

The Bulgarian National Quidditch Team will be back in England for the first time since losing the Quidditch World Cup to Ireland 170-160, in spite of the Golden Snitch being captured by Bulgaria, to play the reigning champions from the United States of America in the first international friendly of a game that will be new to British witches and wizards. The friendly was officially confirmed to be scheduled for January 2, 1998 and will take place at Puddlemere Stadium in Ipswich. A friendly being played in Britain on a Quidditch pitch isn't all that noteworthy, except that the game is not Quidditch, or at least the Quidditch we know of.

No, this game is called Timed Quidditch, and is unknown in most of the world outside of North America, where the game rivals even Quodpot in popularity, even though the game was not recognized by the International Association of Quidditch until recently. The game is played on a regulation Quidditch pitch and uses the same equipment and players. In fact, at first glance, the game is no different from regular Quidditch. It's in the flow of the game that the games are different.

"First of all, a captured Snitch does not end the game immediately," Maximus Brankovitch III, captain and Seeker of the U.S. National Team explained at a press conference at the Ministry for Magic's Department of Magical Games and Sports yesterday, "The game lasts 120 minutes, no matter what happens during the game, so all the teams get the same chances to score points."

Speaking of scoring, that is also changed for this game. In Timed Quidditch, a Quaffle going through a hoop is worth one point instead of ten and the capture of the Golden Snitch by a Seeker is worth three points instead of 150. However, the Snitch in Timed Quidditch is always visible in the field of play, so the Seekers can start going after it from the opening whistle. Play and the clock are stopped for any foul, injury, or timeout (each team is given two per sixty-minute half), with an unlimited number of substitutions allowed to be made during stoppage of play. The clock is also stopped for any score, with the Quaffle being given to the team that was scored against on a restart of play and the chase for the Snitch being reset as well. When the Snitch is captured, the team that didn't capture it gets the Quaffle when play starts again.

"I am very excited to be playing against Mr. Brankovitch again," Bulgarian Seeker and newly-named Captain Viktor Krum stated at the press conference, his accent improved noticeably from three years ago, "But I will make sure that my team wins this time around. We have been practicing this game recently and we are getting comfortable with the style of play. It is a much faster game than regular Quidditch, I can tell you that right now. This game will mark my first game as Captain of my squad and I will lead my team to victory this time."

"I am very excited to see how this game turns out," Hassan Mostafa, chairwizard of the IAQ, declared, "This may very well be the future of the sport of Quidditch. On paper, it is a fairer game, with equal emphasis on good Seeker play and good Chaser play. There may be some timing issues that need to be worked out, but a lot of games need to have rules made up as they go along, and this will be no exception."

"I don't anticipate any terrible problems," Brankovitch said, "And I'm sure the crowd will love this game. No chance that this one will be over in two minutes, folks!"

Tickets for the friendly go on sale today.

--

Author's Notes: You may notice from earlier in the chapter that Tromedlov is actually Voldemort spelled backwards. This was intentional; it was another plot point that I decided would not fit in with the rest of the story later on (I originally wanted to include as a secondary plot line the fact that Voldemort had lived a past life as the last of the evil Middle Age wizard warlords, Count Tromedlov, but I decided that this just wasn't going to work with the rest of the story).

The Reman Empire was the Wizarding version of the Roman Empire. Both fell in the same year and for the same reasons, more or less.

Okay, to all my Turkish readers out there, let me just point out that the views of Geoffrey Gryffindor, Megan Blaire, and every other character in my stories are not necessarily my own. What they say and think is not necessarily what I say and think. That said, I do not wish to offend anyone with this chapter's reference to the Armenian Genocide and/or Megan's criticism of Turkish law. Thank you for hearing me out.

The "For the greater good" thing is from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I admit that. And the other references to the real seventh book are also admitted here.

Okay, I don't look at Pansy Parkinson as being a female and/or lite version of Draco Malfoy. She's just someone who has fallen in with the wrong crowd and tried to fit in instead of being herself. It's something we all tend to do. She's not really evil or even someone who would join the Death Eaters if she could choose not to.

Once again, Hermione's impeccable ability to create terrible acronyms strikes! Although this one is pretty clever, I think.

Well, until next week, read, review and enjoy!