The next morning dawned bright and frigid. Still tired and sore, Ron and Harry dragged themselves out of bed and got ready silently. After Quidditch practice the night before, Ron had asked Harry if he wouldn't mind coming down to the pitch with him while Ron practiced a bit more. Harry stood there in the freezing cold, cheering on his friend and offering occasional tips. They'd been up late though, Harry hadn't slept well. They met Hermione, who had been reviewing her transfiguration notes in the common room, and headed down for breakfast.

"Good morning," she greeted them brightly. Her friends grunted their replies at her, not really listening. Only once they had eggs and sausage in front of them did the boys start to feel truly awake.

"Oh, honestly, you two, can you think of nothing but food and quidditch?" But her rueful smile told them not to take her too seriously.

"Sorry, 'Mione," Harry replied between bites.

"I'm not," Ron added, "Angelina wore us out last night. I need to refuel."

"Are you awake enough now to talk about this evening?" Hermione asked them. Harry was ready for this question and leaned his head in. His friends followed suit, so he could speak more softly.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it, and you were right, we do need to practice integrating the spells we've covered. I was thinking we could start by teaching impedimenta, have them practice on the dummies and then on each other. It's similar to other jinxes we've covered, so that shouldn't take more than twenty or thirty minutes. Then we can practice integrating it with other spells in a duel scenario. I'm just not sure how I want to set that up"

"I'd say just pair them up and let them go, but with Neville and Collin there..." Ron voiced what Harry had left unsaid.

"It could be dangerous. We don't want anyone getting hurt." Harry finished. "But one duel at a time won't get everyone practice."

"I wonder if the room could set up some sort of protective barrier between sections of the room. Then people could just focus on their own duel without having to worry about stray spells."

"Now we've just got to hope the room is as brilliant as Hermione," said Ron. "We can have that as our first plan. But if the room can't pull it off, d'you think we could do three at once? Each of us could supervise one duel in different corners of the room, and we could shield any stray spells from reaching the other groups."

Hermione and Harry agreed. They shifted their focus to which members should duel each other. If the room allowed, Hermione would face Fred, and Ron would face Seamus. If not, Fred and Seamus would face each other while Ron and Hermione supervised groups.

Before they could finish, they were interrupted by the mail.

"Let us know if there's anything interesting buried in there." Harry gestured to Hermione's copy of the Daily Prophet as she paid the delivery owl.

"Who's that from?" Ron asked Harry. A tawny owl had just landed in front of him with a small scroll.

"Dunno." Harry untied the scroll and had a look.

Report to the hospital wing directly after breakfast.

The note wasn't signed, but Harry recognized the handwriting from the margins of his transfigurations essays. Harry handed it to Ron, who read it quickly and passed it to Hermione.

"Reckon it's about this," Harry surmised, tapping the back of his hand. He finished his eggs and took a last sip of orange juice. He glanced at the head table and found half the professors had already left, including McGonagall. "I might as well head there now. I'll catch up with you later."

"See you, Harry!"

"Good luck, mate."

Behind the great wooden doors of the hospital wing, Harry found a group assembled, clearly waiting for him. Professor McGonagall, Madame Pomphrey, and a witch and a wizard he didn't recognize. They all watched him as he closed the door behind him. It was McGonagall who spoke.

"Good, Mr. Potter, there you are. This is Healer Murphy," she gestured to the wizard, "And Ms. Shafiq." She gestured to the witch, who smiled and took over.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter. It's a pleasure to meet you. Healer Murphy and I are from the Ministry of Magic. You aren't in any trouble. We've called you in to investigate some concerning allegations. Would you mind stepping inside this office with us?"

"Sure," Harry replied, and the five of them entered a little conference room connected to the hospital wing. There was a small circular table surrounded by five chairs. Professor McGonagall took a seat facing the door and gestured for Harry to sit beside her. On his other side, Healer Murphy sat, followed by Madame Pomphrey.

"Excellent, Ms. Shafiq closed the door and tapped a carving on the wall with her wand, "This room is warded against eavesdroppers. Anything you say will be kept in strict confidence. It will be recorded as part of an official Ministry investigation but will not be held against you or attached to any public records." She took the last remaining seat, between Pomphrey and McGonagall. "Do you have any questions?"

"Er, no, ma'am."

"Alright. First, would you please place your hands on the table, face down? Madame Pomphrey and Healer Murphy would like to have a look at them."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry complied. The healers examined his hands, and Healer Murphy took a few quick notes. Madame Pomphrey wore a slight frown.

"May I?" Healer Murphy asked, gesturing to Harry's hand. Harry nodded, and the man gently lifted his hand, examining both sides. He ran a fingertip over the scars, then the tip of his wand. With a hum, he released Harry's hand and jotted something else down on his parchment.

He repeated the process a few times, casting different spells and taking notes. Harry felt a bit uncomfortable with so many people watching him, but to get rid of Umbridge it was definitely worth it.

"Alright, Ms. Shafiq, I believe I have everything I need."

"Wonderful." She pointed her wand at his parchment, duplicated it, and banished a copy. Harry thought perhaps she'd sent it to the Ministry. Then, she pulled out her own quill and parchment. She tapped the quill with her wand, and it lifted itself up, wrote a few words Harry couldn't make out from this distance, then stood still, poised to continue.

"Interview with Mr. Harold James Potter, conducted by myself, Shula Shafiq, in conjunction with Healer Owen Murphy. Healer Murphy, please describe visually what you observed on Mr. Potter's hand." The quill dutifully copied down what Harry now assumed was a transcript of the interview.

"On the back of Mr. Potter's right hand, I observed thin silver scar tissue which takes the form of the words 'I must not tell lies' in a handwritten print style."

"Mr. Potter, what caused this scar?" Ms. Shafiq asked.

"It was a, er, a quill," he managed. How much did she want him to say? But she gave him a friendly smile.

"Could you please describe the quill?" After countless hours writing with it, Harry could picture the horrid thing perfectly.

"Sure. It was black, the feather was rather long and thin, I suppose, and it had a sharp metal tip."

"I see. When and where did you first come across this quill?"

"In September, Monday of the second week of the term, in Umb- Professor Umbridge's office."

Ms. Shafiq continued questioning Harry, drawing every detail of the detentions. He hated the look on McGonagall's face when he'd been forced to describe how the quill had carved into his hand as he wrote. He hated Ms. Shafiq for asking him whether it had hurt. Of course it bloody well hurt! But she dragged out every detail. How the detentions began at 5pm and continued until after dark, sometimes until after midnight. How Umbridge had examined his hand at the end of each detention, commenting on the 'progress'. At least she offered no sympathy, only professionalism.

"Who else was aware that these detentions consisted of writing with a quill that cut into your hand?"

"Nobody at first. My friend, Ron Weasley, he noticed the cut on my hand after a few days. Then he told our friend Hermione Granger. They both wanted me to talk to Professor McGonagall or Dumbledore, but I decided not to." After a moment, he added, "And I told Professor Snape a few days ago after he saw the fresh cuts and asked about them. He put some sort of potion on the cuts and told me he would talk to the headmaster."

"Why did you decide not to speak with Professor McGonagall or Headmaster Dumbledore?"

He looked at the table, unwilling to meet anyone's eyes.

"I, er... I didn't imagine there was much either of them could do about it. Umbridge reports to the Ministry, not to Dumbledore. And anyway, I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she'd gotten to me. I could handle it on my own."

That statement hung in the air for a moment.

"One last question, Mr. Potter. Are you aware of anyone else who has been made to use this quill, in detention or any other setting?"

"No, ma'am."

"Thank you, I believe that concludes my questions. Healer Murphy, do you have anything to ask Mr. Potter that is relevant to the investigation?"

"I do not."

"Very well. This concludes the interview with Mr. Harold James Potter. Finite," she tapped the quill. It finished writing her words, then dropped and lay still.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Potter, this has been most helpful. I'm afraid I can't tell you anything about the ongoing investigation, but I assure you that the Ministry takes allegations of the use of dark artifacts against children very seriously. If and when our investigation confirms any such allegations, I will be sure to inform you of the verdict and sentence via your Head of House."

"Thank you, ma'am," Harry replied. He stood and shook hands with Ms. Shafiq and Healer Murphy, and they showed themselves out.

"I've a student to attend to," Madame Pomphrey said as she stood. "Potter, you've done very well. Do remember that I'm here to heal any injury or maladie you may have. You need not suffer alone, dear."

"Thank you, Madame. I understand." She nodded at him and returned to the main portion of the wing, leaving Harry with his Head of House. For a moment, they sat in silence.

"Your mother would hex me to hell and back for failing to protect you, were she here," McGonagall told him with a ghost of a smile, "and she would be right to. You handled that interview quite perfectly. I know it can't have been easy to talk about, but you gave them everything they needed to know without revealing anything they shouldn't. I'm proud of you."

Harry somehow felt numb after recounting it all. He filed McGonagall's words away to reflect on later and said, "Thank you, professor."

"I've excused you from all your morning classes. You're still welcome to attend them if you wish, but you're free to wander the castle or grounds until lunch if you prefer. Here's a note in cast anyone questions you about it." She slipped him a bit of parchment.

"Thank you," he repeated.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and waited until he looked at her.

"I know I have not always done so in the past, but I promise you now, Potter, if ever you tell me that someone or something has hurt you, or presents a danger to you or a classmate, I will believe you. I will do everything in my power to protect you."

"Thank you, professor." He was beginning to feel like a robot.

McGonagall snorted. "Don't thank me, Potter. I'm merely doing my job. The one I should have been doing all along. Off you go, then. I shall be in my office grading papers until next hour, should you need me." She patted him on the shoulder and led him out of the Hospital Wing.

oOoOo

Harry checked his watch in the hallway and saw that it was nearing the end of his History class. Given the opportunity to skive off DADA next hour, Harry would happily accept. He suspected that's why McGonagall had given him the whole morning off, rather than just the class period.

He wandered about for a bit, then headed up to Gryffindor tower. He'd have gone for a walk outside if it weren't so cold. As it was, he got to the Common Room and found Fred and George, who had a free period as well. He talked for awhile with the twins, who were still disappointed he hadn't used their letter prank against Dudley. He promised them he'd still put it to good use. They talked about the joke shop, Mr. Weasley's recovery, and the twins' suspicion that Sirius and Remus were dating. After awhile, Harry grabbed his book for afternoon classes and left them for the Great Hall, to study before lunch.

"Hey mate, you alright?" Ron asked as he and Hermione joined Harry at Gryffindor table. Lunch had appeared moments ago as the bell tolled the end of morning classes.

"Yeah, just had to answer some questions, and then McGonagall gave me the rest of the morning off." Harry smirked as he grabbed a breadroll, knowing that even Hermione was jealous of him for getting out of class. Apparently Umbridge had been quite put out at his absence, excused though it was.

oOoOo

A half hour before the DA meeting was set to start, Harry and his friends went to open the room. Ron tried opening it first, pacing and thinking carefully about the setup they needed.

"Blimey," he muttered as they walked in. "Reckon there's anything this room can't do?"

The room looked the same as usual, but the back half had large white circles painted on the floor in two rows. A faint forcefield seemed to extend from the circles up to the ceiling, creating closed dueling rings.

"Probably not," Harry grinned. "Let's test it out, shall we?"

He and Hermione entered a ring. Once they were both inside, the circle and its forcefield shifted from white to green.

"Ron, I'm going to try to jinx you," Harry warned, "let's see if it makes it out of the ring.

"Have at it," Ron taunted, arms spread, "this room can do it all."

Harry sent a leg-locker jinc at Ron. The forcefield lit up where it hit, and nothing extended beyond it.

"Ron, can you-" Hermione started, but Ron was already sending a leg-locker back at them. It lit the forcefield in the same way, but let nothing through.

"Bloody brilliant, this room is, I told you," he grinned.

"Can you try walking into the ring? I don't want anyone falling out of their own duel and into someone else's."

"Good thinking, 'Mione, let's see." Ron walked forward, until he ran into the forcefield. It lit up where he made contact, and he bounced off it.

"Bloody hell, that stung," he rubbed his arm, which had taken the brunt of it. Harry quickly walked out of the barrier, wanting to test it before Hermione got hurt by it. Fortunately, it let him out without contest.

"Brilliant, so it lets up to two people in. Anyone can exit at any time, but once a ring's full, no one comes in and no spells cross the barrier," Harry summarized.

Hermione stepped out of the ring to join them.

"What if we need to stop a duel for some reason?" she asked.

Suddenly, a red button appeared on the floor outside every ring.

"Reckon that'll do it?" Ron asked.

"You and Harry get in and we'll see," she instructed. Harry and Ron entered a ring together.

"Start casting stinging hexes around or something, and then I'll press the button."

The boys started casting at each other, first sending easy-to-dodge hexes, then starting to get into it once one of Harry's hit Ron. Hermione let them go until they'd completely forgotten about her, so busy they were with hexing, taunting, dodging, laughing, and shielding. She hit the button, and three things happened at once. The circle turned from green to red, the boys' wands flew into her hand, and they both yelped. Now, it was Hermione's turn to laugh as her friends looked up at her, shocked.

"Bloody thing shocked us when you shut it down," Ron complained.

Harry chuckled. "That'll stop a duel alright. Room's really outdone itself."

oOoOo

A few minutes later, Ernie and Zachariah arrived. They asked about the rings, but Harry grinned and told them to wait and see. They chatted for a few minutes, then welcomed Parvati and Lavender. Once by one, the other members trickled in, conversing in groups in the front of the room, away from the rings.

Once everyone had arrived, Harry called the meeting to order. He welcomed everyone back and introduced their spell of the day - impedimenta. He demonstrated the wand motion and pronunciation, then cast the jinx on Ron, as payback for a particularly nasty stinging hex his mate had landed in their mock duel. Ron was frozen for twelve seconds, able to breathe and blink but nothing else.

"This jinx doesn't do any harm, and it only lasts about ten seconds, depending how strong you cast it. But that can be enough to more permanently immobilise and opponent. It's one more spell in your arsenal, and it works against a variety of magical creatures as well as wizards."

"Why not just use something that does permanently stop the fight in the first place?" Zachariah challenged.

"Say your friend's been cursed and starts attacking you. Say he's been confunded and is about to jump off the Astronomy Tower. You don't want to hurt him, but you have to stop him. Use incarcerous or stupefy and he falls off the tower. Sure, if you're fighting a true enemy, it's not the most efficient option, but you spend way more time around your friends than your enemies."

"Point taken," Zachariah conceded.

"Any other questions?" Harry asked.

"Right, then. Since it doesn't do any harm, we can start by practicing it on each other. Pair off and try it out. Take turns and try for three successful casts each. I'll walk around and help whoever needs it. And if anything goes wrong, just shout and I'll be there to help you or your partner."

oOoOo

After about twenty minutes, everyone seemed to have the hang of the jinx. Harry called everyone back together and explained the rings behind them. The twins shared evil grins, and most people seemed excited. A few, like Neville and Zachariah seemed nervous until Harry explained the buttons at each ring.

"If I see anyone casting anything dangerous, or casting at an disarmed or disabled opponent, I'll stop your duel and you're out, for the rest of the night at least. Understood?"

Everyone gave him a serious nod, even the sixth- and seventh-years.

"Alright. Then here are your pairings." He assigned each pair to a ring, with those he would need to watch the closest grouped together.

It was great fun watching the duels. He could hear, slightly muted, what each pair was saying and casting. Great flashes of light lit up the room as spells missed their targets and sailed into the forcefields. Luckily, Harry didn't have to break up any duels. Asking around afterward, Hermione, Ron and he all found that members loved the rings and the chance to incorporate different spells in a duel setting. It was maybe their most successful lesson yet.

Harry couldn't wait to go tell Padfoot all about it.