Many thanks to the new beta-reader for being so wonderful and having such an amazing turn around time. Let's all give alix33 a big round of applause!
The plan that Su presented to the others was many things, it was simple, vicious, and left no doubt that the girls would know exactly what they had done to deserve it. A couple of spell suggestions from Lady Rowena and they had a very solid delivery method.
Most of the group expected to leave after that, however Harry asked them to stay behind for a moment. And this was how the meeting had turned from a casual plot to humiliate and punish a group of students that needed to be taught a lesson to a rather uncomfortable atmosphere in the mere matter of seconds.
"Most of you know that something happened recently," Harry started as he looked down at his hands, trying to search for the courage that the sorting hat had assured him that he had. "Su, about a week ago I was in the infirmary after getting sick because of what my relatives did to me, but what I'm going to say is unrelated."
"Harry?" Hermione asked quietly as she put a supportive hand on his shoulder, her eyes searching for his.
Harry took a deep breath, letting his eyes close as he pressed on. "That night, there was someone in the infirmary with me. No, there were two voices that I heard," Harry corrected as he fought against his nerves. "They wanted to use a shrinking potion on me until I... well until I was too small to exist."
"But how is that possible?" Hermione asked after the stunned silence had settled in. "I suppose that you wouldn't be able to process food, but after time you would be too small to consume the potion from the bottle. How is it possible that a potion like that could..."
"I think that a potion that is absorbed through the skin could possibly be used in that way... Slip it into water that Harry uses often..." Su offered, for everyone to look at her, "Not all potions need to be drank!"
"But even still, after a point, he'd be too small to absorb it," Hermione pointed out before blinking slowly. "But at that point he could literally pass through the cracks of the floor..."
"He'd be small enough that even if they can't give him another application, he'd be eaten by bugs or similar... He'd be dead within minutes." Su finished, "Too small to 'exist' is a very loose term."
Fred and George put down their quills and papers with a pair of sheepish looks on their faces, and a moment later, the group looked towards the strangely silent Harry. The boy looked between his shoes and the floor underneath them. "So it wasn't just a wild theory? They could have really done it?"
"We'd have to look into the actual application of the potion in question, mate, but we're going to make sure that no one will touch you," Fred told the small boy, rubbing his upper arm gently. "Come on, mate, tell us more about what happened."
"I don't know how else to explain it, so please bear with me," Harry explained as he pulled his knees up to his chest. "I was asleep and woke up hearing this hissing voice, similar to the snake at the zoo. It was talking to a voice that sounded a lot like Professor Quirrell, but..."
As Harry paused to search for a way to describe what he'd heard from the two voices, all four of his friends were already working out ways to keep Harry safe, beyond what they were already doing. One thing was clear, there was something seriously wrong with Hogwarts if there could be an attack on a student in the infirmary. It was Su that pushed through the confusion by asking, "What did you do after that, Harry?"
"Well I don't think I was thinking clearly with my forehead feeling like I was having a shard of glass ground into it, but I remember grabbing the chamber pot and..." Harry blushed slightly and looked down nervously. "I was going to make them work to kill me, but I... what good would a chamber pot have done?"
"Against one of them, possibly knocked them out, against two, given you time for help to arrive. And with them being charmed to vanish any liquids or... other matter... that enters it, if you could have smashed the potion bottle inside..." Lady Rowena began reasoning while fighting tears stinging her eyes at the thought of someone hurting such a sweet young boy. No one needed to ask how he knew what it felt to have a shard of glass ground into something, but it did make them wonder if the pain hadn't been involved. "Harry, could you show me where the pain was?"
Blinking slowly, Harry lifted his fringe to reveal the lightning bolt scar on his forehead before using a finger of his other hand to tap it. The grave nod on Rowena's face alerted him to her knowing something about what happened, but he wasn't ready to push for more information. He'd definitely have to ask sometime when it was just the two of them.
"Harry, if you're ready, let's get the potion finished," Fred offered softly, his voice heavy with concern, but knowing the boy had already gone through hell just telling them what had happened. He needed the diversion, if for no other reason than to prevent him from brooding on it. "George, would you and the girls like to get an appropriate box from our stores? I think you three can make it to the fifth hold if you hurry, otherwise the seventh will be opening in a half-hour."
"Right, I've got the map Fred," George answered before patting Harry on the back lightly. "We'll be back in no time. You two enjoy your little brewing session."
Before Harry or Fred could respond the younger of the two was getting sandwiched between two emotionally distraught girls hugging him. In a surprise to even himself, he didn't feel anything but gratitude for the contact, even if it was entrapping him. One arm eased itself around each of the girls and he returned their hugs gently before letting them go. "You two have fun getting candy with George, alright?"
"We will, Harry," Hermione answered with a smile as she pulled back, "Be careful while doing the potion. Don't get expelled, or worse, hurt..."
The soft chuckle from the guys caused her to blush as she remembered how she had said something almost to the exact opposite of those words not all that long ago. Turning away, she dragged George and Su away. After a moment Fred dispelled the silencing spell and started wandering over towards one of the bookcases, while looking around the practically abandoned common room. "Harry me lad, let me show you a little trick of our success..." Fred explained once the last person was out of the room, leaving the pair alone. It struck Harry as odd how often the common room was practically the last place to ever see anyone from their own house, but he figured that the library being still open and the private studies in their own rooms were far more appealing.
Joining Fred by the shelves he watched as the older boy looked around once again before pressing in a piece of the ornamental carving, a second after a faint click let him know that there was a catch a narrow second layer of wall descended into the flooring to reveal a set of stairs going up. Blinking at this new revelation, he tried to place it against the mental map of Hogwarts he'd been developing and could only line it up with one of the interior walls of the castle's hallways. As Fred pulled him along, Harry opened his mouth to ask, only for the wall behind them to seal up again, leaving them alone in the stairwell, lit by strange glowing stones. "Welcome to the real Raven's loft Harry. From what Lady Rowena told us, we've gathered this is one of the secret passages that she took her students to learn in."
Well that made sense, if the houses originally had apprentices to their heads, then they'd have to have somewhere that they could study privately. But still, the very fact that they were walking inside a wall was a little unnerving, especially as it continued going upward for several meters. Finally, they reached a small room at the top, which steadily grew brighter at a sedated pace, which didn't instantly blind them. After a moment, Harry began looking around.
He could tell there was a small area for practicing spells, another for studying, and a third which seemed to double the space of the other two set aside for potions. It hardly surprised Harry that there were what looked like several potions going at once. One he recognized instantly as the slurry they dipped the comm-wands into, if by nothing else than the stench that rolled off it. A moment later he was standing before a smaller cauldron, with a clear, oily substance inside. "Meet the Potions of Tongues, an early attempt at creating a translation potion by Lady Rowena, she kept track of her failures, just in case they had other uses. Harry... I need you to focus on speaking in Parseltongue while pouring in the last ingredient... can you do that?"
Thinking about the language he swallowed against the sudden lump that had formed in his throat. Could he do it at will? Was it possible. "I... I don't know if I can do it like that..."
"Think about talking to a snake... recite the Hogwarts school anthem to it," Fred offered helpfully with a little shrug of his shoulders. This only brought a smile to the nervous boy's face as he remembered just how horrible the school song was.
Finally he closed his eyes and focused on talking to a snake, it didn't feel any different to him, since he heard it in heavily accented English and could only assume that the same could be said of the snake for him. So instead he focused on the mental image of a snake before him. "Tesssting."
"Good work Harry!" Fred exclaimed as he passed over a vial. "Now, I'll stir, while I'm doing that, recite the school song in the same voice."
Harry nodded, figuring that Fred wouldn't be able to understand him should he give him a verbal answer. As the older boy began stirring, Harry sighed and began reciting the horrible bit of verse. "Hogwartsss, Hogwartsss, Hoggy Warty Hogwartsss," he started getting a nod from Fred before he began pouring the contents of the vial into the potion between them. "Teach usss sssomething pleassse. Whether we be old and bald, or young and ssscabby kneesss. Our headsss could do with filling."
Even in his head, he could see the snake hissing in laughter at the ridiculous song, especially since no one had ever considered to actually set the damn thing to music, instead letting everyone sing it in their own manner. "With sssome interesssting ssstuff, for now they're bare and full of air, dead fliesss, and bitsss of fluff."
Well that was a lovely visual to have flit through his head, fortunately he had already finished dumping in the potion, and hopefully wouldn't lose its effect should his focus on the snake falter. "Ssso teach usss thingsss worth knowing, bring back what we've forgot. Jussst do your bessst, we'll do the ressst, and learn until our brainsss all rot."
Oh yeah, his brains certainly were rotting from the stupid song. But at least Fred was signalling for him to stop, so he released the mental image of the snake still hissing with laughter at the stupid song. "Can you understand me?"
Never before had a nod made him feel so relieved. The simple act of seeing Fred's head dip in understanding nearly made him let a laugh escape, instead he watched as the blue color of what he had poured in spread throughout the mix, turning it a light icy color before fading into the clear potion once again. Just as Fred and Harry lifted the small cauldron off the fire and onto a cooling stand, the others arrived carrying a fairly large box with 'Chocoballs' emblazoned across the top.
"It was one of the few without utterly disgusting names," Hermione explained even as Su shuddered in agreement. George just seemed to shrug at the suggestion that the names were revolting in any type of way. To be honest they did look rather good, simple balls of what seemed to be milk chocolate with some type of icing over the top.
Within moments of their arrival, the box was opened and Fred was liberally painting on the gel-like potion over the candies, while George was talking to a quill that wrote by itself. Harry had never seen a bird with that hue of plumage, but if he ever saw one with such a vibrant pink color, he would probably end up trying to scrub the image out after it was burned permanently to his retinas.
The younger three watched their seniors working away, having already done what they could to help. After a minute, George walked over with the note in hand to show the trio.
"Dearest and Most Lovely Ladies of Ravenclaw,
Your feminine wiles and charm are second only to the way you treat others, and so we have given you chocolates as sweet and delightful as you are yourself. However, like you, they hold a secret side that is only revealed in private. Enjoy a week of not understanding a thing, girls.
Sincerely,
The Ravenclaw Rebels"
"It's perfect, George," Harry admitted as he finished reading the note to the girls. The two of them looked it over with sad smiles on their faces. Knowing that they were torn about pranking someone from their own house, Harry could empathize, but the course of action was laid out and they couldn't back out now. "Best of all, since it's legible no-one can possibly link it to you."
As the others chuckled, George put on a playfully hurt look while looking over the letter. "How could you not know it was me, Harry? I always write perfectly!"
"Ah brother of mine, let's not lie to our dear firsties," Fred cut in while plucking the message from his twin's hand. "We all know that the true penmanship master is myself, of course."
When George let out a hearty laugh at that, the others joined in, lightening the mood of everyone immensely. A swish and flick of his wand later, the layers of chocolate balls were hovering over the box, allowing Fred to lay the note down nice and neatly at the bottom of the container. The confection was then lowered back in the same way they had been removed, and the entire outer wrapping was replaced as perfectly as if it had never been opened. "The trap is primed... but we need a way to get it to them without them noticing..."
"I... I have a way... but I need to learn a spell..." Harry admitted quietly as he looked around. "It's a simple spell, I've seen it used on others in the halls, but I won't be able to tell you when I can perform it until I see the opening."
"We'll see what we can do, and what spell are you thinking about, Harry?" Fred answered with a shrug, having had triggers like this before, he knew how to set up quick spells.
"I was thinking of this tripping jinx that I saw in the hallway, I was going to ask about it another time, but this seems like the perfect opportunity. Besides, this way we can make it seem like a bashful admirer until they get to the bottom note," Harry explained, getting devilish smiles from the twins.
In an office, high above most of the other levels of the school, an old man suddenly got a flash of inspiration to take a nice long vacation somewhere on the far side of the planet. Fortunately for the life of his future ulcer, he ignored that thought out of habit as much as knowing that he couldn't leave the castle, not with the defenses of the stone being so incomplete.
In a rather pleasant, if a bit small, room in an undisclosed location, Petunia sat on her bed looking at an old photo album which held the only good memories of her sister she had left. If she had looked at this more often while raising Harry, she might have just noticed the little details that were becoming so obvious now about their obvious connection. While the boy had James' looks and ruddy eyesight, he had those same vibrant green eyes of his mother, and if she thought about it her smile.
All those years wasted when the sister that she wanted returned to her was lingering as a ghost in the child she had borne into this world. Oh how she would love to have had just a chance to take back all that she had done to the boy growing up. Just a single blessed chance to look into those sparkling emerald eyes of his and beg for forgiveness. Not that she would deserve it, not after all she had failed to provide him with.
The goblins would see the truth of the matter, see her jealousy and folly since childhood when her sister's powers became evident. Setting down the book filled with memories that would torment her eternally, she leaned heavily against the headboard of her bed and wondered if Harry was alright. She had found out that Dudley was back at Smeltings and would be staying with one of Vernon's relatives if she wasn't released by the holidays. And while this news lightened her heart, she found the news that Vernon had insulted the king of the goblins to cause her heart to settle somewhere about her knees.
Pulling her knees up to her chest, she sighed and looked down at the smiling face of her baby sister staring back at her. Though it was a cheerful picture, she couldn't help but feel the shame and disappointment rolling towards her like a tidal wave of bleakness. If there was any force out there that was listening to her thoughts right now, please let them grant her one more chance to redeem herself. To make things right with her sister in the only way she could imagine possible, be the maternal figure the bo- no, Harry had longed for since he first came to live with her on Privet Drive. When her trial came, she would plead her case with her head up, though every fibre of her being would cringe in shame. She would not ask for leniency, nor would she beg forgiveness from them. There was only one person that could grant her that second part, only one person she could possibly hope to ask it from. However, she knew that she wouldn't.
She had ignored the problem too long to be granted such kindness from him anyhow.
Closing her eyes she settled in for another nap, having little else to do in this windowless room. Though the rest would only bring about a short respite from the guilt she was berating herself with, it was enough to allow her some margin of peace.
Three days of waiting was starting to fray the nerves of the Rebels, knowing that the opening would come, but having to be on watch for it was aggravating to say the least. A couple of targets presented themselves, but they wouldn't be enough to give them the chance to slip the girls the candies unnoticed.
However, during lunch on that third day a particularly beautiful chance occurred that caused a perfect distraction. Draco Malfoy was attempting to verbally bully Ron while the other was busy stuffing his face with everything on his plate, and more than once the plate of his neighbors. Just as the blond poofter was turning away to mince his way towards the Slytherin table, Harry slipped out his wand and cast the tripping jinx under the table.
In the split second it took for the magic to reach the Slytherin and send him sprawling, two things happened that would alter the very nature of the distraction, and what the rumor mill talked about for ages to come. The first part was that Ron had finally turned away from his food, possibly to taunt him in return, or maybe to ask some question.
Directly in relation to the first was that Draco turned to continue belittling his favorite target since Harry was always flanked by the twins and two girls. Rumors were that not only was the British mudblood the top of the year after only two weeks, but that other one from the Orient was supposed to be the child of some sort of master of a long-forgotten art of the hidden throat ripper or something like that. Which never really sat with the young Malfoy as being right if the other students constantly belittled her, however he wasn't about to risk the future of the Malfoy line without validation that the rumors were just smoke.
However, none of that mattered at this moment as the blond found himself with his ankles clicking together and momentum carrying him around and forward towards the youngest son of the Weasley family.
Now it is said that three things happened that day. The first was Ron and Draco's lips met in a rather forceful manner, making their first kiss rather painful for both parties. Second, a lot of girls squealed in delight at the sight of two cute, young boys kissing in front of the entire school. Third, it was decided amongst the Rebels that Harry provides superior distractions as they could have attached fireworks and a howler to the package and no one would have seen them do it.
As the two parted, their eyes met and in that brief instance millions of things raced through their young, supple minds. That is until Draco sprang away with a heavy blush, screamed something about his father and ran from the room to hunt down disinfectant mouthwash. Ron, for his part, sat at the table, stunned into silence as he stared after the boy that had taken his first kiss. What had that been about? Did Draco fancy him? Why did he feel like going to find another bathroom and purging his last few meals?
Did Draco really want him to meet his father after only one kiss?
Elsewhere, a pair of twinkling eyes watched the romantic development of two of his charges with a happy little sigh. It was so delightful to see young love blooming, and as their educator, it was up to him to ensure that they were able to continue to express their love. As the redhead left the Great Hall to check on his flaxen-haired lover, Dumbledore stood in front of them all and cleared his throat. "I do hope that the display here has not offended anyone gathered under these halls of learning. Not only are you to explore the depths of your mind, but also the various paths your heart might taken as it grows and matures. I ask that you all support their new found friendship as openly as I do."
As he settled into his heaping pot of shepherd's pie, he couldn't help but reflect on the wonderful symmetry of the relationship. The scion of the Malfoy family, a known supporter of dark arts, was reaching out for the warmth of his light-sided rival and lover from the Weasley family. Oh the wonderful romance of it all, now he just had to encourage them to continue exploring their feelings, and to assure them of his full and unconditional support in their relationship.
Why it almost made him want to owl ol' Grindelwald and see if he wanted to play a rousing game of helpless hero and seductive villainous mastermind. But he had to wait for his private pleasures for the Greater Good of all the Wizarding World.
Leaving Dumbledore to his 'extracurricular' plans, Harry and the other Rebels settled in to watch as their housemates and targets du jour took notice of the box of chocolates sitting on the table between them. One look at the tag singed 'A Secret Admirer' was all they needed before they opened up the box and began eating the chocolates inside. Even though it didn't matter if they watched openly or not, the five members of the Rebels made sure to act as naturally as possible.
The twins joked between themselves about needing to plan out a wedding for ickle-Ronnikins and Draco, while Harry and Hermione discussed that morning's Transfiguration assignment, while Su continued trying to read English. However each one of them were watching when the Cho pulled out the message and began reading it with a growing sense of horror spreading over her face.
Out of her trembling fingers the note fell to the table, where it vanished into a plume of smoke. Coiling about Cho's neck like a serpent before slipping off into the air with a hiss. It was at this moment that one of Cho's friends blinked owlishly at the students around her. "Why are they all hissing?"
"What?" one of the other cronies asked, confusion on her face. "Why are you hissing while moving your mouth like that?"
After a couple minutes of the girls trying to figure out why they only heard hissing, Cho finally broke down in tears as she shouted. "WE'VE BEEN CURSED!" This seemed to have gotten the attention of the staff as they all rushed over in an instant.
For the next ten minute the staff attempted to get the girls to calm down and explain what happened, the constant yelling about hissing was just about to get boring when one of the teachers got the brilliant idea to try and write down the questions. This seemed to work for all of a few seconds before the girls being helped asked, "Why are you showing us squiggles?"
As the rest of the school was laughing, the guilty parties felt secure in the opportunity to join in the laughter. After all, it wouldn't do for their great prank to go enjoyed by all but themselves. Before long, the girls were herded towards the infirmary, where presumably they were going to be probed and prodded until Madam Pomfrey could determine what was wrong with the students. Cho knew, and hopefully the head will tell the rest of the body once their week was over.
Otherwise it might be time to prune the feathers of the mighty ravens.