A. N. Hey everyone :) I am going camping with friends tomorrow and, since we'll have an early start, here is your Friday chapter twelve hours early. I warn you, it'll really get your blood pumping (there's not really a cliff-hanger though).

43-43-43

Harry spent the majority of the weekend in the Slytherin Common Room, only leaving for meals (which he ate at the Slytherin Table), to sleep (in Sirius' quarters), to practise Quidditch with Viktor (who was both astounded and condemning of the Hogwarts students' behaviour), and for his and his friends' animagus practise. It was weird, to spend so much time surrounded by Slytherins, but it was also a relief.

None of the Slytherins looked as though they were scared of him and none of them bristled in hostility when Harry entered the room. In fact, aside from the fact that he was a Ravenclaw in the Slytherin Dungeon, it would have been easy to forget the malevolence that awaited him in the corridors.

There was also something comforting about being surrounded by traditionalists. Draco had once told him that everyone in Slytherin was either a traditionalist, or pretended to be one out of self-preservation, but Harry hadn't really understood what that meant. Now that he understood, he found himself jealous of the traditionalist environment that his Slytherin friends enjoyed every day.

Every time Harry entered the Dungeon, every single Slytherin in the room would stand and bow respectfully and then they would remain standing until Harry gave them leave to sit. The chairs and couches in the middle of the room were apparently reserved for Draco, Daphne and their friends, and so Harry never had to worry about where he would sit.

When curfew approached on Sunday evening, Harry found himself reluctant to leave the safety of the Slytherin Dungeon – especially since he knew that the next morning he would have to attend classes with his hostile classmates.

Still, he packed up his things, bid his friends merry part, and made his way back to Sirius' quarters under his invisibility cloak. It felt strange, to be creeping around the corridors under his cloak, but it was a precaution that Sirius had suggested after a Gryffindor fifth year had attempted to curse Harry in the back on his trek from the Slytherin Dungeon to Sirius' quarters a few nights previously. Harry had managed to dodge the curse and hit his attacker with a stunning spell, before delivering the perpetrator to Professor McGonagall, but he was glad that the cloak allowed him to avoid similar encounters.

Despite being safely hidden under the invisibility cloak, it was a relief to reach the safety of Sirius' quarters – which, in itself, was upsetting. Hogwarts had been the first place that Harry had felt safe - the first place that had ever felt like home - and, while Grimmauld Place had since replaced Hogwarts as his 'home', the fact that he no longer felt safe in the corridors stung.

Harry removed the cloak and nodded to Sirius in greeting. "Merry meet."

"Merry meet." Sirius agreed from his place on the couch, his legs stretched out in front of him. "How was your evening?"

"Good." Harry folded the cloak up and put it back into his bag. "I wish it wasn't Sunday night."

"Me too." Sirius looked sympathetic. "Come and have a seat, would you?"

Harry glanced towards the spare seat on the couch, before putting his bag on the floor and moving obediently to sit down.

"I have two things to tell you." Sirius said seriously, turning in his seat so that he was facing Harry.

Harry eyed him in trepidation. "Alright."

"First, Dumbledore has broken out of Azkaban." Sirius grimaced. "We don't know how, but the best theory so far is that Fawkes got him out."

Harry wished that he felt more surprised. "What does that mean?"

"Well, the good news is that by doing so he's ruined any chance he might have had at being reinstated as Headmaster." Sirius told him. "The Hogwarts' Governors who were unconvinced of his guilt beforehand have all agreed to support Dumbledore's permanent dismissal."

Harry didn't even try and prevent his smile. "So McGonagall will be his permanent replacement?"

"Not necessarily." Sirius answered. "I don't even know if she wants the position, let alone whether she would be willing to work with the Board to action some change."

"Her speech on Friday morning was pretty great!" Harry pointed out, smiling at the memory. "And she's definitely lived up to her words. Ravenclaw is in negative points, and both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff have less than two hundred."

"Your Slytherin friends must be feeling pretty smug about it all." Sirius looked amused.

Harry nodded. "What's the bad news about Dumbledore having escaped?"

"Well, its put Amelia and Fudge in a difficult spot – between this escape, and the Death Eaters break out a year ago, we're expecting a bit of a public outcry." Sirius grimaced. "Otherwise, I don't think there really is any bad news."

"Except for the fact that the man who attacked my mind is somewhere out there." Harry pointed out, though wasn't all that bothered. He very much doubted that Dumbledore would even consider attacking Harry for revenge.

"Yeah, except for that." Sirius agreed, his expression serious. "My second piece of information is the really serious one."

Harry's stomach twisted, what could be more serious that Dumbledore breaking out of Azkaban? Unless Voldemort had attacked somewhere?

"You-Know-Who has moved up the timeline." Sirius said, his eyes fixed on Harry's. "He's given Lucius twenty four hours to present you to him."

Harry's mouth dropped open. "What?"

"Lucius doesn't know why." Sirius continued gently. "Though he wonders whether your being a parselmouth has something to do with it."

"Or McGonagall's speech announcing that I'm no more a Death Eater than she is." Harry pointed out, his mouth dry. "Voldemort's spies didn't look very happy about that."

Sirius winced. "I didn't consider that."

Harry waved a hand dismissively. "Not that it matters. What happens now?"

"Lucius and Narcissa are preparing to leave for France." Sirius explained grimly. "It's a bit earlier than expected, but they've been planning for it. We've put one of the Malfoy properties there under Fidelius and they'll stay there."

Harry winced, this was all his fault. "What about Draco?"

"That's up to him." Sirius answered. "Lucius and Narcissa are going to be flooing here on their way to France and they'll discuss it with him. He can either go with them, or stay here until the end of term."

"Won't he be in danger?" Harry asked worriedly. "What about the students who are working for Voldemort?"

"Actually, that's the one piece of good news." Sirius looked excited. "Great news even!"

Harry waited expectantly. "Well?"

"Since Lucius no longer has to hold onto his cover, he's spent a few hours with Amelia giving her the name of every person that he knows is connected to You-Know-Who." Sirius' eyes sparkled. "Amelia has declared that, because of his long service, his testimony is all the evidence the aurors need to arrest them. They'll be given trials of course, but, after the catastrophe that was the last set of Death Eater trials, use of Veritaserum will be mandatory."

Harry felt his eyes widen. "Can she do that?"

"She can with sufficient evidence of their guilt." Sirius looked smug. "Evidence that Lucius has been only too happy to give."

"So any Death Eaters at Hogwarts will be arrested?" Harry asked, with a huge sense of relief.

"They will of Lucius has heard of them." Sirius nodded. "Though even he admits that he doesn't know the identity of all the Death Eaters."

"Still," Harry grinned widely. "That's amazing!

"It is." Sirius agreed. "Of course there is one small problem."

"Azkaban."

Sirius nodded. "You-Know Who has already broken out his followers once."

Harry groaned. "I hate Voldemort!"

"Yeah," Sirius sighed. "There's a lot of that going around."

"Maybe I should just challenge him to duel or something." Harry exclaimed in frustration. "Maybe I'd get lucky and this whole thing could be over."

Sirius reached out and gripped one of Harry's fists. "Or maybe you wouldn't get lucky and would end up dead. How would that help anything?"

Harry clenched his jaw. "My classmates would be delighted."

"And what about me?" Sirius asked fiercely. "Or Remus? Or Draco?"

Harry slumped back against the couch. "But I have to do something! The prophecy says that I…"

"We have no idea what the prophecy says." Sirius interrupted. "Or at least, what it means! Remus has been researching it for months and he says that so far he's found fifteen possible interpretations, all of which are just as likely as each other."

Harry moaned in frustration. "Then what's the point of the bloody thing?"

"Who knows?" Sirius slid across the couch and wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders. "You should ask McGonagall about prophecies sometime, she's got a fantastic rant about how useless they are. Maybe all the prophecy is supposed to do is give us hope."

"Or maybe it's just there so some bloody seer can say 'I told you so' when it's all over." Harry grumbled.

Sirius chuckled grimly. "Maybe."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Harry asked helplessly. "Just keep pretending that there isn't a prophecy about me killing Voldemort? Keep ignoring the fact that most of the school bloody hates me? And that Lord Malfoy and Cousin Narcissa have had to flee the country because of me?"

"Hey!" Sirius rebuked sharply. "Lucius and Cissy aren't leaving because of you. They're leaving because of Voldemort, and because they were brave enough to stand up to him."

Harry chuckled despite himself. "Don't let Draco hear you say that. I described Lord Malfoy as brave once – he was horrified by the idea that his father was anything like a Gryffindor."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "There's nothing wrong with a dash of bravery."

"Says the Gryffindor." Harry pointed out dryly.

"Says the Gryffindor." Sirius agreed. "Though, and you probably shouldn't tell Draco this, but some days I think that Lucius is more of a Gryffindor than I am. I don't think I could do what he's done."

"I don't think you could either." Harry admitted, with a smile. "But only because you're not cunning enough. Voldemort would have seen through you on the first day."

Sirius laughed in agreement. "True, subtlety isn't one of my strengths."

"What's the point of arresting the Death Eaters if Voldemort's just going to break them out again?" Harry asked suddenly.

Sirius looked startled. "That's one hell of a non sequitur, Harry. But to answer your question, one, it means that they won't get a say in Wizengamot votes, two, we'll be able to prevent them from entering places like Hogwarts, the Ministry, and St. Mungo's and, three, it will hopefully mess with You-Know-Who's plans."

Harry nodded in satisfaction. "Good."

43-43-43

"Don't worry, Potter." Weasley hissed as he shoved past Harry into the Charms classroom. "Your time will come and then you'll be locked up along with your little friends."

Harry ignored him and moved to sit at his usual seat where Neville was watching his approach with obvious concern. It had been four days since a team of aurors had arrived during breakfast and arrested four Slytherin students, two Ravenclaws and a Gryffindor for conspiring with Voldemort, and Weasley still hadn't managed to get over his disappointment that Harry hadn't been arrested with them.

Unfortunately, Weasley didn't seem willing to let it go. "Didn't you hear me, Potter? Just you wait! The aurors will be back for you!"

"Twenty points from Gryffindor, Weasley." Flitwick snapped, suddenly appeared from behind the desk (which was about the same height as him). "And detention tonight with Mr. Filch."

"What?" Weasley protested, whipping his head around to face their professor. "But I didn't do anything. I didn't even call him a Death Eater, even though everyone knows that is one."

"Another twenty points from Gryffindor." Flitwick looked fierce. "Sit down and be quiet, Mr. Weasley, before I send you to the Headmistress' office."

Weasley sneered at the professor as he angrily threw himself into his chair. "Bloody Death Eater supporter." He snarled in, what Harry could only assume, was supposed to be a quiet whisper.

Unfortunately for Weasley, the words clearly reached Flitwick who seemed to swell in fury.

"Class dismissed." He snapped. "Weasley, come with me."

"But, Professor!" Granger's hand snapped into the air. "We haven't even started yet, and we were supposed to be learning about Pulley Charms today."

Flitwick ignored her. "On your feet, Weasley."

Weasley climbed to his feet and crossed his arms over his chest belligerently. The height difference between Weasley, who was one of the tallest students in their year, and Flitwick was almost comical, but Flitwick didn't even seem to notice as he ignored Weasley's posturing and led him out of the classroom.

"You know what I love about Ron." Neville commented, as he packed his textbook back into his bag.

"What?"

"He never learns." Neville explained. "Most of the school has abandoned their heckling, but not Ron. He doesn't seem to care that he's lost Gryffindor hundreds of points, or that he's got detentions from now until the end of the year, he's just keeping at it. That's commitment."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Forgive me if I don't appreciate that quality in him as much as you do."

"What do you think McGonagall's going to do to him?" Neville asked, as they followed the other students out of the classroom. "I heard him telling Dean that McGonagall has threatened to suspend him if he doesn't pull his head out of his arse."

"Unlikely." Harry shook his head. "Nobody has been suspended from Hogwarts in decades."

"I know Dumbledore wouldn't have suspended him." Neville agreed. "But McGonagall has always been tougher than he has."

"Am I a terrible person if I hope that he does get suspended?" Harry asked with a grin.

"You're a terrible person because you're a bloody 'you-know-what'!" Anthony Goldstein snapped from where he was walking behind Harry.

"Twenty points from Ravenclaw." A nearby prefect said tiredly.

"I didn't say anything!" Anthony protested.

"Yeah, sorry, that excuse didn't work for Ron either." Neville told him mockingly.

Anthony snarled and stopped past them.

"I think the points system is really losing its effectiveness." Harry commented. "Both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor are in the negatives…"

"Gryffindor is mostly only in the negatives because of Ron." Neville defended.

"…and Hufflepuff has less than a hundred points." Harry went on. "Slytherin is so far in the lead that people have just stopped caring."

"All the more reason for McGonagall to start suspending people." Neville pointed out. "Maybe that will get through their thick skulls."

Harry sighed, as they walked into the Magical Theory classroom. "Do you think Dumbledore's proud of his legacy?"

"I think Dumbledore's probably feeling a bit smug that everything has fallen apart without him." Neville answered, dropping his bag on the floor near his desk.

Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Is that negative sentiment towards Dumbledore, I hear?"

"I think Draco's getting to me." Neville sighed. "Besides, he broke out of Azkaban! Who does that?"

"Death Eaters." Harry pointed out, remember the headline of the Daily Prophet that morning. Apparently all the Death Eaters who had been arrested in the last few days had escaped. Well, all except the ten who had been killed by the five aurors stationed at the prison. Unfortunately, all the aurors had been killed as well.

"Exactly." Neville nodded firmly. "It's as though Dumbledore thinks he's above the law."

"Now you're getting it!" Draco exclaimed triumphantly, as he sat in the seat on Harry's other side. "After all, he's Dumbledore, Saviour of the Wizarding World!"

"No, that would be Harry." Neville pointed out.

"Only because Harry outdid him." Draco retorted. "Dumbledore was the hero of the Wizarding World, until Harry was selfish enough to steal that title for himself."

43-43-43

"She did it!" Neville crowed loudly, as he burst into the Slytherin Dungeon after classes that day.

Harry, who was sitting on one of the couches going of their Herbology homework with, looked up in surprise. "Who did what?"

"You guys can sit." Neville casually told the Slytherins who had darted to their feet and bowed as he entered, and he strode towards where Harry and Daphne were sitting. "McGonagall has suspended Ron!"

"Yes!" Harry whooped excitedly and his cheer was quickly joined by the Slytherins. "Go McGonagall!"

"How long for?" Daphne asked curiously.

"A week." Neville answered. "Which isn't nearly long enough if you ask me."

"Still, it sets a precedent." Harry pointed out. "Where are the others? I thought you had DADA?"

"Daphne and Blaise are a few minutes behind me." Neville explained, with a self-deprecating shrug. "They're too sophisticated to run through the corridors."

"What about Draco and Theo?" Harry asked.

"Moody wanted a word with Draco, Theo opted to stay with him."

Harry stiffened. "Mad-Eye Moody?"

"Yeah," Neville shrugged. "What other Moody would it be?"

"I'll be back." Harry jumped to his feet and walked as quickly as he could out of the Common Room, before breaking into a run.

He was being stupid, he knew that. There was no way that Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks' mentor, would ever hurt Draco. No matter that the professor hated Lord Malfoy and had been watching Draco with narrowed eyes since the news of Lord Malfoy's real allegiances had been announced.

The problem was that, after having been harassed, bullied, and full-out attacked by students for the last two weeks – not to mention Dumbledore – Harry wasn't really feeling all that trusting.

He sprinted down the corridor, waving when he passed Daphne and Blaise, and then up three staircases, and then down another corridor. Why did the DADA classroom have to be so far away from the Slytherin Common Room?

When he reached the final corner before the DADA corridor, Harry didn't even bother to slow down and allowed himself to bounce of the stone wall as he rushed around it.

"Harry?" Theo exclaimed in confusion, straightening quickly from his position against the wall. "What are you doing here?"

"Where's Draco?" Harry asked hurriedly, stopping in front of the door to the DADA classroom.

"In there?" Theo pointed to the door with a puzzled frown. "Why?"

Harry drew his wand quickly and reached out his other hand to open the door. If he was wrong, when he was wrong, he could just tell Moody that he'd been practising 'constant vigilance'. The ex-auror would like that.

"What's going on?" Theo asked, his tone worried.

"Nothing." Harry denied, twisting the doorknob and frowning when it wouldn't open. That wasn't good. Why would Moody lock the door if he was just going to talk to Draco about homework or something?

"Harry?"

Harry stepped back and pointed his wand at the door. "Go get a professor."

"And tell them what?" Theo asked sceptically.

"Just go." Harry snapped. "Confringo!"

He didn't put as much power behind the spell as he had for the First Task, but the spell still blew through the wall destructively.

"What in Merlin's name?!" Moody's voice exclaimed.

Harry winced, he was going to get in so much trouble for this! Maybe he shouldn't have picked the day that McGonagall started suspending people to decide to destroy school property. He began to approach the torn door frame cautiously, his wand in his hand.

"Help!" Draco's voice suddenly called desperately.

"Shut up!" Moody snapped. "Silencio!"

Harry's heart dropped as he stopped in place. No, no, no, no, no, no! He wasn't supposed to be right! He was supposed to have been paranoid and crazy!

"I know you're there, Potter!" Moody's voice called cajoling. "Show yourself!"

Harry gripped his wand tightly. How did Moody know it was him? There was a stone wall between them. Oh, who was he kidding, this was Mad-Eye Moody! Who knew what tricks he had up his sleeve? Harry didn't stand a chance! And yet, he knew that he had to try. Who knew how long it would take Theo to find a professor and he couldn't just let Moody hurt Draco.

Still, he wasn't going to announce himself – he needed every advantage he could get.

He could hear Moody stomping across the floor, his wooden leg thumping against the floor. "Show yourself!"

Harry swallowed heavily and clenched at his wand. His best bet would be to use the same strategy as he had with Dumbledore. A basic parselmagic spell, aimed straight at him, so that he would try and shield and fail. Which would only work if Moody chose to shield against the spell instead of dodging it.

By the sound of Moody's wooden leg thumping against the floor he was going to be able to see Harry any second. Which meant that Harry had to be ready to cast the spell, and dodge.

Harry raised his wand. He could do this. He could do this. He could…

Moody stomped into sight, his wand at the ready, and snarled when he saw Harry.

:Sleep!: Harry hissed under his breath.

"Avada Kedavra!" Moody snapped, a split second later.

Harry dove away from the green spell, his heart in his stomach. He'd never even considered that Moody might try to kill him. The idea was completely illogical!

The spell flew past him and splashed harmlessly on the wall behind him and Harry scrambled to his feet, his wand at the ready.

There was a loud crash from inside the classroom and Harry took a hopeful step forward. It sounded as though his spell had hit Moody and sent him to sleep, except what if it was a trick? What if Moody was just pretending to be hit to lure Harry into a sense of security?

Harry froze and kept his wand pointed at the door frame, a spell on his lips.

For a tense for seconds, Harry remained still, desperately listening for any sign of Moody being awake, and then suddenly her heard someone running up behind him.

"What's going on?" Theo asked, skidding to halt beside Harry.

"Moody's gone crazy!" Harry explained shortly, his eyes fixed at the door. "Where's the professor?"

"Professor Vector's coming." Theo said, staring at Harry in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Vector?!" Harry asked in disbelief. What good was an Arithmancy professor in a duel? "Yes, I'm bloody sure. Get your wand out."

Theo scrambled for his wand, before pointing it at the door. "What should I do?"

"Avada Kedavra!" Moody's voice suddenly snapped, his wand barely visible around the doorframe.

Harry flung himself to the ground and watched, in horror, as the spell only missed Theo's shoulder by an inch. His friend hadn't even tried to duck.

"Run!" Harry instructed his friend quickly. "Find another professor."

Theo was staring at the doorway, his mouth wide open.

"Run!" Harry shouted, whacking him in the leg.

"Avada Kedavra!" Moody cast again, his wand still the only thing visible.

Harry watched the green spell fly towards his friend in horror, before bringing up his wand. "Serpensortia!" The conjured snake flew out of his wand and right into the path of the spell. Harry tried not to feel too guilty as the snake's corpse fell limply to the ground.

Theo, apparently jolted out of his shock by the sight of a second killing curse racing towards him, turned to Harry. "Come with me!"

"No." Harry shook his head. "Draco's in there. Run and get help!"

Theo nodded quickly, spun around, and sprinted back the way he had come. Harry scrambled to his feet and narrowed his eyes at Moody's wand. He raised his own wand, only to quickly roll out of the way when Moody cast the killing curse at him again.

Though, at least Moody wasn't silently casting the spell. In fact, he wasn't even casting it quietly – which didn't make much sense really, given the ex-auror's training, but Harry was wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Harry rolled to his back and then scrambled back onto his feet, before dodging yet another killing curse. Then, taking a second to perfect his aim, Harry cast another Confringo Curse – this one aimed straight at Moody's wand.

Moody jerked his wand away at the last minute, but at least it gave Harry a reprieve from dodging Killing Curses.

"Potter?" Professor Vector's voice sounded from behind him. "What in Merlin's name is…"

"Avada Kedavra!" Moody cursed again.

"Confringo!" Harry returned, this time aiming not for his professor's wand but for the piece of doorframe just to the side of it. The curse blew out a chunk of the wall and Harry grinned in satisfaction when he heard Moody exclaim in pain.

"Is that Professor Moody?" Vector asked in disbelief.

Harry ignored her. "Confringo!" The spell had barely left his wand before he shifted to parselmagic :Sleep!:

This time the Confringo curse blew out an even bigger section of the wall, but through the dust Harry could faintly see the glitter of Moody's shield reacting to the pieces of stone. The sight gave him hope, maybe, if Moody was using a shield charm, he wouldn't bother ducking from Harry's parselmagic spell this time.

The spell disappeared into the dust and Harry waited, wand at the ready, for Moody's next move.

There was another crashing sound from inside the classroom, but Harry didn't so much as flinch. He wasn't going to fall for that again.

"Potter!" Vector grabbed his by the shoulder and spun him around. "What's going on?"

Harry shook his shoulder free and turned back to the doorframe. "Moody's gone crazy. He's got Draco Malfoy in there with him?"

Vector stepped passed him, her wand at the ready, and began to make her way towards the door. Harry grabbed her arm to stop her. "What are you doing?"

"Going to check on him." Vector frowned disapprovingly at Harry's hand that was gripping her arm. "Didn't you hear him collapse?"

"I heard a noise that could either be him collapsing, or him pretending to collapse so that we'd go in and check on him." Harry released her arm. "He's already pretended to collapse once."

"Oh," Vector looked towards the door worryingly. "What happened?"

"He held Draco back after class." Harry explained shortly, returning his attention to the dust that was beginning to settle. He couldn't see any sign of Moody, but that didn't mean anything. "I got worried, because Moody's been staring at him strangely all week, so I came to check on him. Moody attacked me."

"Are you sure?" Vector asked.

Harry rolled his eyes. Of all the professors that Theo could have gotten. "You just saw him try and hit me with a Killing Curse."

"Right, sorry." Vector shook her head as thought to clear it and then raised her wand. "Ventulus!"

At first it looked as though nothing had happened, but then a sudden breeze blew away the remaining dust that had been obscuring their view into the classroom revealing the sight of Moody lying unconscious on the floor.

"Stupefy!"

Harry watched as his professor's spell hit Moody's body with relief. "Does that mean its safe?"

"You said he'd pretended to collapse before?" Vector asked him.

"Yes."

"It could be a body double." Vector admitted. "Though, if it was one he would have probably attacked us before now. We need to wait."

"Draco's in there!" Harry reminded her.

Vector grimaced. "Merlin!"

"Harry!" Sirius' voice called suddenly from behind him.

Harry twisted around, his relief growing when he realised that his godfather wasn't alone. McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape were all with him.

"What happened?" McGonagall snapped out quickly.

"Moody's got Draco in there." Harry told her quickly. "He's been casting the Killing Curses."

"Yeah, that's what Theo said." Sirius nodded. "But Moody?!"

"He seems to be unconscious." Vector commented, her wand still pointed at the door. "But Potter says that he'd pretended to be hit before, so it could be a body double."

McGonagall drew herself up. "We should go in together. Severus, you can cover us with a shield, I'll be ready to conjure physical shields against unforgivables, Filius, Sirius, you're on the offensive. Septima, Harry, get back."

Harry lowered his wand in relief and looked over at Vector to see how she felt about being left out, but the professor looked just as relieved as Harry felt. They backed away, allowing the others to pass them, and then watched as Sirius, and the three professors, slowly moved towards the demolished doorframe.

They inched forward pausing when the reached the doorframe which, after Harry's Confringo Curses, was now large enough for two people to walk through side by side. Then they moved forward, wands at the ready.

It was actually pretty anticlimactic. They inched forward, McGonagall and Snape looking forward, Sirius looking left, and Flitwick looking right, until they reached Moody's body. There was a long pause and then…

"It is him." Snape confirmed, before splitting off from the group and disappearing out of sight.

"Draco!" Harry called worriedly, running past Vector and into the classroom.

Draco was sitting against one of the walls, his lip was bleeding and he looked paler and more disheveled than Harry had ever seen him, but he was alive and talking to Snape who was crouched down beside him.

Harry let out an explosive breath of relief. "You're alright."

"Mr. Potter!" Professor Vector rebuked sternly, following Harry into the classroom. "You were told to wait in the corridor."

"Thanks to you." Draco admitted quietly, turning away from Snape and trying to climb to his feet. "I owe you a life debt."

Harry rushed forward to help him to stand, ignoring Snape who was frowning disapprovingly. "What did he do to you?"

"He mostly just talked." Draco admitted, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a weak smile. "Well, that, and the Cruciatus Curse."

Harry reached out a hand and grabbed Draco's. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

"I do hope that I am not hearing any kind of Gryffindor-like guilt, Mr. Potter." Snape told him severely. "Nothing that happened to Draco this afternoon was in any way your fault."

"He's right, Harry." Sirius said, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder. "You did brilliantly!"

Harry smiled gratefully at Snape, and then Sirius, before turning back to Draco. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Me too." Draco admitted. "I thought he was going to kill you."

"Me too." Harry laughed weakly. "He almost killed Theo. I only just managed to stop him by conjuring a snake in front of the curse."

"That is very impressive, Mr. Potter." McGonagall said approvingly, from where she was standing over Moody's unconscious body. "Should I presume that you used the same strategy today as you did last time?"

"Yes, Professor." Harry nodded. "But then Professor Vector hit him with a Stunning Charm too."

McGonagall's smile was almost feral. "Let us hope that those two spells don't react poorly when combined. We would hate for anything untoward to happen to him."

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