Chapter Six

The fork in the road.

"Hello Sherlock."

Sherlock just stared at John for one long moment, his surprise clear on his face. After that one long moment he mentally berated himself, you weren't looking! Yes, he was staring at John, but he'd seen this spell a few times quite recently. And there was something so obviously not John in his stance. He berated himself for even thinking for a tiny moment that it had been John. The idea was laughable, who cared more for people than John? Who did it pain so much to seem them hurt?

His eyes narrowed at John- no Brooke. "Leave him Brooke," he hissed, eyes flickering around John's body. The others had been about to harm themselves when Sherlock came across them, why wasn't John doing the same. Why was this different.

John smirked at him. "But why?" he crooned. "It's so much fun Sherly."

"Leave him," he barked, and John/Brooke grinned triumphantly. Sherlock's mind was getting confused whether to refer to the person in front of him as John or Richard Brooke. Because he saw John, but he also saw Brooke, he heard Brooke, saw the way he stood, and drawled, but in John's body, John's voice.

He tutted. "You care, so much, it's really quite funny," and his demeanour changed. John was back again, he could just tell. "Sherlock-" John gasped, but he didn't get much further, because suddenly the Gryffindor fell to the ground screaming.

Sherlock's eyes widened, and he pulled out his wand, surveying the area. Trying to push the screams of his friend out of his mind. "Brooke," he said coldly. "Step out." Because he was hiding in the darkness, he had to be.

And out stepped Anderson.

Sherlock blinked. "You're Richard Brooke?" he asked incredulously.

Anderson snorted. "Of course not, I'm not an idiot Holmes. I'm not about to step out properly, that would ruin the fun hmmm?" John had stopped screaming, but he lay on the floor panting.

"Sherlock-" he started again.

And Anderson turned his wand on him, Sherlock didn't even hear the spell but there was a guttural yell from John, and his hand went straight to his leg, before he stopped moving.

Sherlock darted down next to him.

"He's fine," Brooke said flippantly, watching with disdain. "Passed out from the pain probably, broken legs do that to you," he shrugged and turned back to Sherlock as if John was insignificant, no importance at all.

Sherlock hissed at him, and raised his wand. He had no qualms at hurting Anderson if it hurt Richard Brooke too, he didn't even know if it would. But he had no qualms at hurting Anderson, that boy had been nothing but unpleasant to him, especially in the year Sherlock no longer had his older brother to keep an eye out for him.

"Now now Sherlock, you wouldn't hurt one of your classmates would you?" And with a flick of his wand, a purple stream of light flew at him. Sherlock ducked it, not sure whether it would stop when it hit a shield charm or just fly right through. And not prepared to test it.

He had not seen that spell before.

Sherlock's eyes narrowed, and he sent a stunner at Brooke, who deflected it with. "Boring," he drawled. "Stunning? Really? I didn't know you cared," he grinned, a quick flash of white teeth. "You could join me you know," he said as he sent another spell at him, which Sherlock flung up a shield, sending it ricocheting off the walls.

"Don't really fancy it," he replied, ducking another spell, and sending a stinging hex back, which skimmed across his arm, and made the other wince. Sherlock's eyes flickered to John, who was starting to stir, his expression pained.

"You could be great you know. Use your powers for evil, wouldn't it suit you so much more?" he tilted his head to the side, and the two just stared at each other for a few moments. John groggily waking up. "I'd appreciate you more then they ever will Holmes, what are you doing anyway? Helping the good side? They don't care about you."

John pushed himself into a sitting position, letting out a hiss of pain as he put pressure onto his leg. "Sherlock," he said quietly, staring at his friend. "Don't listen to him."

Sherlock's eyes flickered between the two. A plan forming in his mind. I'm sorry John, he thought silently and turned away from him back to Brooke. "Why would I help you?" he drawled.

"What use are they to you?"

"What use are either of you to me?"

John blinked. "Sherlock-"

"Shut up," Sherlock snarled at him, and John flinched. Sherlock had to stop himself from wincing at the expression on the Gryffindor's face.

"You're not an idiot Holmes, you can't just chose neither side."

Sherlock tilted his head to the side. "Can't I?"

And the duel resumed. John pulled his wand out of his pocket, and aimed it at Brooke, also sending a spell at him. "Keep out of it Watson," Brooke answered lazily shielding his spell. "You can't dodge anything I send at you."

"He's always been an idiot," Sherlock said with a shrug, scowling suddenly when a slicing hex hit his shoulder and tore open his robes and skin. Blue light flew at him, and again he threw up a shield charm. Instead of bouncing harmlessly off of the walls, the spell hit the wall once and then hit John, who fell to the ground like a stone.

Sherlock spared him a bored glance, it had to be a bored glance, otherwise his plan wasn't going to work. Brooke glanced at him too, and shrugged. "He'll be fine when he comes to… after a while."

Sherlock wanted to enquire what the spell did, but he held his tongue, watching the other man thoughtfully. "Come now Brooke, " he said, voice quiet. "How about a truce? Stop attacking people, and I'll stop thwarting you."

"I thought you weren't choosing a side."

"It's a puzzle isn't it? What does it matter if it's theirs, it's solving puzzles. Creating them isn't quite as entertaining. Nor as legal," he gave a small smile, but there was no cheerfulness in it. "Surely you have some sort of survival instinct, to protect yourself."

He laughed. "Of course I do Holmes, of course I do. Or I'd be standing in front of you as who I am. But," he gave a shrug with his hands. "A truce then, for now at least, I tire of fighting, I have an essay to write. You'll understand of course that I have to stun you."

And even with that warning, Sherlock didn't manage to pull a shield up in time to stop the spell hitting him and him falling to the floor.

John blearily opened his eyes sometime later, wishing that he hadn't woken. There was a steady throb in both his head and his leg, but having been drifting on the edge of consciousness it had been Sherlock's sharp voice that had woken him up.

Pushing himself onto his elbows he saw Sherlock in the middle of the room, fighting with the matron who was trying to push him back onto the bed. "For Merlin's sake!" Sherlock shouted at her, pushing past her. "I was only stunned, I've perfectly fine," he scowled and she tutted. John frowned, why had he only been stunned? That didn't make any sense.

"Mr Holmes-" the matron protested.

"I'm fine," Sherlock snarled at her, now get out of my way. She eyed him for a few moments, before standing to the side. Sherlock inclined his head and strolled past her. His eyes locked on John's for a moment, and looked as if he was about to say something, but pressing his mouth into a firm line he continued onwards, flinging the doors open and stalking out.

"Bad tempered boy," the matron muttered. "Oh Mr Watson, you're awake," she smiled at him, and came over fussing over him.

"What happened?" John asked her blearily.

"Professor Slughorn came across the trio of you in the hallway."

"The trio?" John asked in a confused voice. Surely Brooke wouldn't have injured himself, or the body he was in too.

"Mr Anderson was found unconscious also," she said with a glance across the room to where he lay unconscious. "Presumably with another stunner," she pursed her lips. Displeased at students coming into her care because of fights.

"My leg and head hurts," John admitted.

"I'll get you something for your head, and fix up your leg for you," she bustled off to go and find a potion and john frowned after her. Why hadn't she already fixed up his leg? Hadn't she known that he had injured it. Sherlock had been here, surely Sherlock would have told her.

But then he thought of the contempt in his eyes when he left the room, and the conversation of the night before. With a sigh he flopped back down on the bed, wondering what had gotten into him, and how long it would take to get over it. Sherlock got into weird moods sometimes, they usually blew over after a few days.

Sherlock went down to the potions room to brew and think, it was the weekend so he didn't have any classes to get to, and more importantly he wouldn't be disturbing any classes by being in there. Pulling out his book, he unspelled the preservation spell on the cauldron, and went to gather the needed ingredients.

Trying to ignore John's hurt expression in his mind as he did. He thought about it while he had been standing there, eyeing the both of them. John was being hurt because of him, originally it had been his friends, Carl and the Hooper girl. –Who was back in classes, but couldn't remember how she had been spelled, nor who it was, just what she had done. Which Sherlock thought was very convenient for the attacker- . And then Brooke went after John.

Because Sherlock did not care if John's friends got hurt, but he did is John did. And Brooke was willing to use that against him, he knew their agreement of a truce was not likely to last long. He'd be surprised if it lasted the few weeks left of term that there was.

So Sherlock had made a decision, if he appeared not to care for John anymore, than Brooke could not use John to get to him. He just had to make it believable, and he had the beginnings of a plan of how to do just that. With a heavy heart he turned his attention back to his bubbling cauldron that was certainly not meant to be bubbling, and put the last pieces together in his mind.

So sorry for the delay in the update, life has been well, life.

But this chapter was fun to write, I'm up to the part of the fic that gave me the idea for this one, and for the prequel. So that is exciting (for me anyway.)

Leave a review and tell me what you think!