A/N: I do not own Harry Potter (although I wish that I did (money!! $_$)) all rights go to J.K Rowling, though I'm just borrowing her ideas and adding some of mine.
The broom, the duel and the training
The next day was specially reserved for flying practise. As Harry, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Rowan walked towards the hall, Harry discussed what he had seen and heard on the nights in question.
'Must be something powerful' Draco whispered, desire shining in his eyes.
'Or dangerous' Nott piped up.
'Maube uts nosing' Crabbe grunted, or at least Harry thought that he said that, it was hard to understand. Goyle nodded his agreement making him look like an ogre even more.
Draco opened his mouth, ready to call Crabbe a fool, for a worthless object would not be stored in a high security vault in Gringotts, but closed it again as they entered the great hall.
After dinner, the Slytherins walked to the courtyard, where they met a bunch of Gryffindors and a few fellow Slytherins.
Their flying instructor, professor Hooch, came walking shortly after that.
Firstly Hooch taught them how to sit properly, before they actually went flying. Harry and Draco, who already knew everything, having practised in the courtyard of Malfoy manor since childhood, thought that this part was especially boring. Surprisingly, Weasley also knew how to sit properly on a broomstick. When Hooch asked how he knew, he proudly said that he and his brothers had practised almost every week.
Draco turned to Harry and Nott.
'You know, I am actually surprised that the Weasleys know how to handle a broom except for cleaning.' Draco said just loud enough for the Weasley to hear.
'I mean, if you have ever seen their house, you would wonder where they get the money to buy brooms anyway.' Draco continued just a little louder.
Harry looked over Draco's shoulder and noticed that the Weasley was turning red.
'Of course, begging is always an option,' Draco continued 'Normally the process is slow of course, but with such a large family, you should indeed have at least one broom after ten years.'
Weasley was now seriously walking towards them, but luckily for Draco, Hooch just turned their way and said that they all had to try to lift off.
After a few minutes, the clumsy Gryffindor whom Harry had gotten to know was called Longbottom had been thrown off his broom. His arm in an unnatural angle.
'Nobody moves while I bring this boy to the hospital wing!'. She yelled across the courtyard, and left with the Gryffindor in her arms.
Hanging suspended in midair, Harry and Draco once again slumping over their brooms in pure boredom, when suddenly Weasley crashed into them with one of the school brooms. His face contorted in anger.
With a start, Harry realised that je was far higher than he had imagined, and even worse, he wouldn't be in time to catch his broomstick. With a desperate cry, Harry fell off his broom, plummeting to the earth.
Suddenly everything moved in slow motion.
Pulling out his wand, he pointed it at the now falling broomstick.
'Accio' Harry cried.
Turning from falling speed, to top speed, the broom sped to Harry's falling body.
Anger filled him. If we was to die by falling to death, then Weasley would share his fate!
He pointed his wand at Weasley, who looked at him with what looked to be a mixture of pity and regret. This did not stop Harry however.
'Verdimillious'
A yet of green sparks burst from his wand and shot towards where Weasley was still hanging in midair. Exploding near his face into more sparks.
Weasley lost his balance, and also tumbled from his broom.
Harry's broom was now almost within his reach, and so was the ground.
Harry's hand closed around the broom, and with a turn launched himself into sitting position of the broom and threw all his weight into the rear, in an attempt to grow level again.
Just before the ground, his broom made a swift dive, making Harry's toes touch the blades of the grass below him. He was safe.
Draco, who had also not really fallen from his broom, had just managed to climb on again, having watched the incident holding his broom with one hand.
Harry made the broom halt, stepped off, and looked around for what happened to Weasley.
Granger had saved him with a hover charm..
Anger...no ….murderous intent engulfed Harry.
He pointed his wand at Granger.
'Impedimenta'
Granger was thrown backwards, with Harry swiftly taking control of the hover charm.
He made his victim crash into the ground with a wave of his wand, and made him fly over their heads in the direction professor Hooch had just left to make him crash into the ground once more.
Raising his helpless victim once more into the air, Harry muttered.
'Incendio'
Flames engulfed Weasley, but after a few seconds, they vanished again.
Professor McGonagall, accompanied by professor Snape were running towards them, both had their wands drawn.
Harry realised that resistance was useless, and pocketed his wand.
'What in the name of Merlin do you think you are doing Potter?!' McGonagall shrieked.
'Weas-' Harry began, but Snape intervened.
'Potter, Malfoy' he said coldly 'come with me'.
'Weasley, you will accompany me to the hospital wing, and after that we too shall discuss your punishment. We saw everything from the window, and we know that you are not innocent either.' McGonagall said coldly
Draco landed next to Harry, and both followed Snape to his office.
'You already know that McGonagall and myself personally saw what happened in that courtyard, so I don't need to hear your stories,' Snape began. 'Draco, you, being the one that taunted Weasley, will do lines for me this week, Potter, you being the one that might have seriously injured Weasley, will come to do detention with me every day until the end of the school year.' Harry gasped, but Snape continued. 'Every evening Potter, eight o'clock.' He finished with a small smile.
Outrage turned into pure shock! Snape hadn't giving him any punishment at all. All that he had given Harry was a reminder that he had to train with him every evening. It only looked like a truly severe punishment to everyone who did not know that Harry and Snape practised everyday, which was everyone except Harry, Draco, Nott, Rowan and Snape himself.
'I understand sir,' Harry and Draco said.
'Good' Snape said. 'Potter I will see you in the evening, Draco you will get a message about when your lines are scheduled.
'Now on a side note' Snape said before they could turn away. 'Potter, even McGonagall had admitted that that dive was spectacular, therefore I will arrange something with the headmaster, to see if we can put you in the Slytherin quidditch team as a chaser. Malfoy, I already know that your skills in quidditch are maybe as good as Harry's, maybe even better, but I'm afraid that your chance will be in the next year. The team is full now.'
Harry had expected his friend to be angry about Snapes quidditch decision, but instead his friend smashed him on the back, and congratulated him, saying that he preferred to have some free time anyway. Together, they went to the great hall, to meet up with their friends and to eat.
News of their flying practise spread through the school, and so did Harry's punishment.
Even other Slytherins laughed at him, for getting probably the worst punishment except for being kicked out of school, but Harry couldn't care. They didn't know the truth of it, and he wasn't going to tell them.
It turned out that Snape had discussed with McGonagall about how he considered this to be a very serious case, and insisted that Weasley shared Harry's punishment. Weasley too, now had detention for the rest of the year, but Harry doubted that his would also contain private practise. Draco wasn't so satisfied though.
When Draco returned to the common room, he had apparently challenged Weasley to a midnight wizarding duel, at the trophy hall.
'I think I'm just going to give Filch an anonymous tip that some students are going to wander around the trophy room tonight.' Draco said with an evil grin.
'After all, Gryffindors are way too brave to let such a challenge pass by'.
Five minutes before midnight, Harry, Draco, Nott and Rowan sat in the first years dormitory. Crabbe and Goyle, not having mastered the scrying spell, had finally reached the point of intellect that made them realise that they would not be of any use here tonight and had gone to bed already.
As one, the four Slytherins aimed their wands at their foreheads and in unison whispered the scrying spell.
'Demonstro'
Four incorporeal beings left their bodies and sped to the Gryffindor tower. After a few minutes, Weasley and the Granger girl left the tower. Had Draco planned that she would come along? Or had Weasley made her come along?
'I cant believe it' The spiritual form of the just recognisable Draco Malfoy said. 'They are actually going to do it.'
'Wasn't that your plan all along?' Harry asked frowning.
'To be really honest even I had not expected that they would really leave their common room' Rowan said.
'Common hurry, we are losing them if we keep talking! Nott furiously whispered from a corner.'
The four incorporeal Slytherins followed the Gryffindors to where they met Longbottom, who had been lying on the floor for some weird reason to the trophy room, where the Gryffindors waited for the Slytherins, and the Slytherins waited for Filch.
Filch didn't take long. After ten minutes of waiting, and a few complaints from the Weasley, Filch's shadow appeared at the door.
Granger had seen it too, for she was now furiously ushering Longbottom and Weasley to the other exit.
Invisible to all except the Slytherins, the four and the visible Filch went in pursuit.
Harry had to give it to them, they were running fast.
They outran Filch, and even outran Nott in his incorporeal form, but Harry, Draco, and Rowan kept up.
The three saw how the Gryffindors fled to the forbidden third floor, and what they saw there.
A giant three headed dog waited for them.
Out of pure instinct, Harry and Rowan reached into their incorporeal robes, pulled out their wands and cast a shield charm, breaking the scrying spell.
Harry and Rowan returned to the dormitory, where Nott was anxiously waiting for them.
'Couldn't keep up…' He muttered 'not used to running….So what happened'
'Accidentally broke the spell' Rowan muttered. 'I think Draco is still in there'.
After a few more moments, Draco too appeared.
'They left unscathed, and where not seen as they returned to Gryffindor tower' Nott moaned disappointedly. 'However' Draco continued 'That dog was standing on something. A trapdoor to be exact.. It is guarding something.' He finished.
'Guarding something?' Harry frowned?
'Obviously the stone you mentioned.' Rowan said indifferently. 'Personally I thought that they'd keep it in Dumbledore's office, but this makes a huge difference in protection.'
Harry and Draco nodded their agreement, Nott having fallen asleep with his clothes still on.
The weeks and days passed to the night before Halloween. Harry sat kneeling in Snape's office. Two months of intensive every night training had produced a shield charm that not even Snape could break through, but he was still slow. They had only just begun with the improvement of his wand speed. Time after time, he did and redid the wand movement for the protective spell, with Snape as a silent observer. His arm felt tired from stretching, moving and dropping. It felt as if his arm could fall off any moment.
'Repeat the wand movement Potter' Snape said softly.
When Harry did not respond, he shot a stinging hex at his shoulder. The pain stung Harry, but was not unfamiliar. It had been one of Lucius's favourite training methods.
Five more times did Harry repeat his exercise before his arm failed him again. Snape raised his wand again, but this time Harry was rescued by a knock on the door.
'To your seat Potter' Snape said softly.
The room was crowded with boxes and loose sheets. This was to be Harry's detention. Sorting.
Every time a teacher or student entered, Harry had to act like he was having detentions to make it all more realistic.
It was Hagrid.
'Snape' Hagrid said as if in a hurry. 'I need an ehm restorative potion, medication…for a unicorn' Hagrid added when Snape raised his eyebrows.
'It is wounded' Hagrid added as if that would be of any more importance.
'Ill see what I can do' Snape said coolly.
Snape walked to his private storage room, and a few moments later emerged with a vial filled with a red liquid.
'This should do the trick' Snape said, handing over the vial.
'Thanks' Hagrid muttered, taking great care not the squash the little vial, and with that he abruptly left.
'Right Potter, back to work, still ten minutes left.' Snape said drawing his wand again.