Before his detention with Snape, Harry sat down in the common room with his potions book. He needed to figure out what step he had missed when brewing today's potion. If he couldn't identify his mistake for Snape, he was likely to earn another detention.

Harry reviewed the potion over and over. He was certain that he had completed every step. It wasn't his best work, but it was a perfectly adequate potion. Certainly nothing that should be vanished, and certainly nothing that would earn a zero for the day's work.

"How are you doing, Harry?"

Harry glanced over. Pansy was sitting in the chair next to him. He had been so absorbed in his work that he hadn't noticed her arrival.

"Frustrated," Harry said. "I'm spending so much time on the tournament that I can't even manage to figure out what I'm doing wrong in Potions."

"You've seemed tense," Pansy said. "Do you need someone to study with?"

"I've got plenty of study partners," said Harry, thinking of his Tri-Wizard team.

"Sometimes you need a different perspective," Pansy said. "Why don't I grab my books and we can spend some time working together?"

"Because I have detention," Harry said, glancing at the clock. "How about tomorrow?"

"Sounds fine to me. We need somewhere more quiet than the common room, though. How about the back table at the library?"

Harry shook his head; he wasn't going to risk the wrath of Madam Pince by whispering in the library. "Snape is letting me use an empty potions classroom to practice for the tournament. Let's work there. Meet me in the common room at seven and we'll go down together."

Pansy smiled and stood. "Sounds great. Enjoy your detention!"

"Oh, I'll be sure to!" Harry said with false cheer.

When Harry arrived at Snape's office for detention, he was surprised to see neither Percy nor Mr. Crouch was waiting for him. Harry asked Snape about their absence.

"Mr. Crouch has fallen ill, and Mr. Weasley was called back to the ministry yesterday," Snape said. "Some minor bureaucratic matter. Only a person with his overinflated sense of self-importance could believe that broomstick-width regulations required immediate and personal attention."

Harry snickered. Percy Weasley had managed to get on everyone's bad side this year, and Snape was no exception.

"No laughter, Potter. This is detention."

Harry's laugh turned into a cough. "Sorry, sir."

"Do not let it happen again. Tonight, you will be organizing my personal cabinet of potions ingredients. Each ingredient has a labeled space in the cabinet. The ingredients are on the table. Take care, as some of them are dangerous, and all of them are rare."

Harry nodded. He walked over to the cabinet and began to shuffle jars around to make space. As Harry worked, Snape sat at his desk, grading papers.

The shelves were labeled alphabetically. As Harry reached the letter G, he noticed that he had several jars of the same ingredient, and only one space available on the shelf.

"Sir? You have too many jars of gillyweed. What would you like me to do with the extra?"

Snape did not look up from his papers. "Dispose of it as you see fit. Do take care to ensure that it is a non-reactive ingredient, if you choose to throw it in the bin."

Harry looked at the jar. The label was written in Professor Snape's familiar, spiky handwriting.

Gillyweed

Source: Marshes of northern Britain.

Reactants: None

Effect: When consumed, wizard temporarily develops gills and webbed digits. Minimizes effects of hypothermia.

Harry looked up, astonished. "Uh, sir? Do you mind if…"

"Dispose of it as you see fit, Potter." Snape's tone did not change.

"Of course, sir." Harry tucked the jar into his robes, and continued to organize the cabinet.

When Harry was finished, he noted that there were three spaces that had not been filled: lacewing flies, boomslang skin, and horn of bicorn. He looked around for more jars, but there were none left.

"I think I'm done, Professor," Harry said.

"All the ingredients have been replaced?" Snape asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Good," said Snape. "Have you been able to determine the error you committed in today's brewing?"

"Er… no, I haven't."

"Interesting." Snape looked up from his papers, and caught Harry's eye. Snape gestured to the cabinet. "Tell me, Mr. Potter: there are three ingredients missing from my cabinet. In what potion would they be combined?"

Harry looked back into the cabinet. Boomslang skin was the skin of a snake, taken after shedding, which meant that it would cause some sort of change. Lacewing flies were used in detailed potions, to make sure that the minutiae were not missed—the longer they were brewed, the more exact the detail. And horn of bicorn meant duality was involved…

"I'm not sure, sir. It would change something into something else?"

Snape sneered. "You feign ignorance well, Potter. These are the ingredients of Polyjuice Potion. I discovered them missing from my personal stores earlier this week. I asked of myself, which students in this school would have both the audacity to steal from my personal potions cabinet and also the skill to brew Polyjuice Potion? Of all the students in the school, there is only one answer, and she is a rather close friend of yours."

Shit. Hermione.

"Were you involved in this, Potter?" Snape asked.

"Yes, sir." If Harry claimed to have been involved, then perhaps Harry could take some of the heat off of Hermione. And Harry had been involved—Hermione had brewed the potion two years ago in order to sneak into the Slytherin common room and determine whether or not Harry was the Heir of Slytherin.

"For what purpose was it brewed?"

"To sneak into another house's common room."

"And were you successful?"

"It worked perfectly," Harry said. A delicate evasion—the type that Mr. Malfoy had perfected, and Harry had been practicing since last spring.

Snape nodded. "A difficult potion, for even advanced students of this subtle art. You will receive full marks for today's class."

Harry's jaw dropped. Seriously? Snape was giving him full marks because of Hermione's ability to brew Polyjuice Potion?

"Do you have a problem with this, Potter?" Snape asked sharply.

"No, professor."

"Good. Return to your common room. Your detention has ended."

Harry spun on his heel and moved toward the door. His hand was on the knob when Snape's voice called out again.

"Potter. If I ever catch you stealing from my potions cabinet again, I will have you expelled."

Harry shuddered. "I understand."

"Get out of my sight."

*!*!*!*!*!*

The next night, Harry met Pansy in the common room, and led her to the empty potions classroom that Snape was allowing Harry to use. Pansy suggested that they study Herbology, so they each opened their books to do the day's reading.

Harry hadn't realized until Pansy had pointed it out, but Harry's performance in his classes was slipping. He had always been in the tier of students whose marks were slightly below Hermione's, along with Draco, Padma Patil, and Lisa Turpin. This year, however, Harry found himself in the company of Susan Bones and Ernie Macmillan; competent wizards, but only that.

Apparently, the tournament was more distracting than Harry realized. Distracting enough to cause Harry's grades to fall, and distracting enough that he hadn't noticed. It was understandable—the constant struggle to avoid dying took up a lot of Harry's time—but it wasn't acceptable. And even Harry had to admit to himself that he was spending quite a lot of time exercising the social advantages of being a champion… time that might be better spent studying.

The second task would be different, though. Now that Harry knew about the gillyweed, he could turn his attention away from the bubblehead charm and toward the threats that might be lurking in Black Lake. The giant squid, for instance, seemed particularly intimidating. Harry had seen the squid's shadow pass by the windows of the Slytherin common room on more than one occasion, and it had certainly earned the right to be described as "giant." Harry would need some sort of plan to deal with the squid, for sure.

"You're distracted," Pansy said firmly, looking up from her Herbology book.

"What? No I'm not," Harry said defensively. Pansy was right, but Harry wasn't going to admit that he had been daydreaming about the tournament during the time that Pansy had specifically set aside for schoolwork.

"What color is a venomous tentacula?"

"Er… white?"

"Red," Pansy said. "This is exactly what I mean, Harry! We spent a half hour studying Herbology, and you can't even identify the most dangerous plant from our homework!"

"We haven't been here half an hour," Harry protested.

"Are you saying that I'm too stupid to tell time?"

Harry turned and looked at the clock. Pansy was right—Harry had been daydreaming about the tournament for over thirty minutes.

Harry sighed. "I'm sorry, Pansy. It's hard to stop thinking about the tournament."

"Well, I'm going to make you stop thinking about it," Pansy said, closing her book. "Clearly you aren't going to get any work tonight. We'll try again at the end of the week."

"No, we can stay and study," Harry said.

"No, we can't," Pansy said. "Pack your things. Neither of us is going to get anything done tonight if you're focused on that stupid tournament."

Pansy would not be dissuaded, despite Harry's protests. The next morning, when Harry suggested that they study again, Pansy was firm: not until Friday night. They would study at the end of the week.

In the meantime, Harry convened a few meetings with his tournament team. Armed with a jar of gillyweed, Harry directed their research sessions toward the dangers of the deep. The giant squid was at the top of everybody's list, not just Harry's. Hermione told Harry that the squid was peaceful, and even playful, based on what she had heard from the Weasley twins. Harry confirmed this with Hagrid. Tracey and Draco, however, insisted that Harry develop a strategy in case something antagonized the giant squid and caused it to go on an aquatic rampage.

Harry reluctantly agreed, as finding himself at the mercy of a seventy-foot long enraged squid was not at the top of Harry's to-do list. Hermione suggested a simulated whalesong to distract the cephalopod—sperm whales were the only known predator of the giant squid, and the distraction would give Harry an opportunity to escape. The idea sounded fine enough, so Harry gave Hermione the task of finding or creating the appropriate charm.

Next on the list of potential threats were grindylows. Last year, Lupin had taught Harry and his classmates how to escape a grindylow, so Harry wasn't overly worried. Their fingers were strong but brittle, and a wizard could easily free himself if he snapped the fingers like a twig instead of simply trying to pull free. More importantly, grindylows could be completely avoided if one stayed out of the weeds.

Tracey had managed to discover some other possible adversaries, when she wasn't spouting off about how amazing Theo was. ("If only he played quidditch, he'd be perfect! Athletes are just so attractive.") Harry, however, thought that it would be unlikely that he would encounter any of Tracey's discoveries in the lake. The dobhar-chu, for example, was an enormous water hound from Irish folklore, but Harry wasn't sure that the lake's ecosystem would support it. (Frankly, it was a bit of a mystery how the lake provided enough food for the giant squid. Harry suspected that Hagrid was supplementing its diet, somehow. Perhaps the squid helped the house elves dispose of leftovers.) The beisht kione was another possibility suggested by Tracey, but it mostly liked to tip over boats, which didn't apply to Harry's plan. Rusalkas were underwater succubi—Draco suggested that Harry should just submit, which earned him a punch in the arm from Hermione. Harry, however, understood Draco's true point: if there were succubi in the lake, they would be legendary in the boys' dormitories. The fact that the possibility was never discussed among the male students of Hogwarts meant that rusalkas weren't native to Black Lake.

The common thread among most magical water beings was their use of water as a weapon. They tended not to breathe fire (obviously) or use harmful magic, or attack with teeth and claws. Instead, almost everything tried to drown you. The discovery of this pattern was a source of great relief for Harry. Because the gillyweed would give Harry gills, he would be un-drownable, and he had no reason to fear any major harm from the creatures of the lake. At most their attacks would be an inconvenience, which meant that Harry could focus on winning the tournament instead of fending off his imminent death.

Hermione suggested that Harry's highest priority should be mastering the releasing charm, and Harry agreed. The releasing charm, the incantation for which was relashio, was an interesting spell. Unlike most other charms, the releasing charmwas inconsistent in its effect—it simply did whatever was most necessary to cause something to be released. If something were chained, the chains might break. If something were held tightly in someone's grasp, the hand might be forced to unclasp. Or, more dramatically, the spell might burn the grasping hand with red sparks, causing the hand to open in surprise and pain. Harry began practicing the charm immediately, casting a releasing charm upon various books that Hermione and Tracey tied shut with rope. Sometimes, the knot would untie. Other times, the rope would break. Once, dramatically, the entire rope went up in flames.

After that, Hermione declared Harry to be an expert, and refused to risk any more of her books.

Tracey also wanted Harry to prepare for the possibility of a kelpie encounter. The kelpie was a shapeshifter that most frequently took the form of a horse or a pony. Like other magical water beings, kelpies tried to lure humans to their doom in the water, but unlike other water beings, however, the kelpie was not content to simply drown its victims. Instead, once it had dragged its victim to the bottom, the kelpie would use its shapeshifting powers to give itself claws and sharp teeth, and it would rip its victim to shreds. Kelpies were also native to the British Isles—the most famous of them taking residence in Loch Ness—which made them a likely adversary for Harry.

Tracey's research revealed that kelpies could be easily controlled. Their fondness for the form of a horse was also their greatest weakness, as the placement of a bridle upon a kelpie would render it helpless. Harry learned the placement charm even more quickly than he learned the releasing charm, as the placement charm was closely related to the summoning charm and banishing charm that Harry already knew.

The last obstacle would be the merpeople themselves. The merpeople were sentient, but Harry could not speak mermish. They also had a propensity to use tridents when threatened, which made them more dangerous than other creatures. Harry felt that he was unlikely to be attacked by the merpeople; the clue had made it sound like Harry was attempting to find something hidden, rather than battle a phalanx of fish-men. Nevertheless, Harry resolved to practice his disarming charm in case of merperson attack. This would be Draco's chief task: to make sure that Harry could disarm a moving target.

Throughout their practice sessions, Hermione continued to pressure Harry about Ginny, saying that the younger girl deserved some sort of answer about the dance. Harry did his best to ignore the prodding. He had other things to think about, like the tournament, and classes. And whatever Pansy had planned for Friday. He couldn't waste his time contemplating his feelings for Ginny, or lack thereof.

On Friday, Harry was waiting in the potions classroom when Pansy arrived. Pansy was still wearing her uniform—a jumper and skirt and her green and silver tie—but she had left her robes behind. She sat down across from Harry and dropped an enormous bag of Honeydukes chocolates onto the table.

"What's that for?" Harry asked.

"Incentive," Pansy replied. She reached into the bag and removed a pepper imp. She unwrapped it slowly. "So, tell me. What's the incantation for a growth charm?"

Harry grinned. This seemed like it would be fun.

"So, if I answer correctly, I get a candy?" Harry asked.

"Why don't you answer and see?"

Easy enough. A growth charm was… was… something that began with 'e'. And ended with an '-io'.

Maybe this wasn't going to be so easy, after all.

"Embigio?" Harry guessed.

Pansy shook her head. She ate the pepper imp, smiling as she chewed. After she swallowed, she pursed her lips and blew a small tongue of flame toward Harry. Harry always marveled at the brief ability to breathe foxfire after eating a pepper imp, but tonight he found himself distracted by Pansy's lips. Had they always been that red?

"Try again," Pansy said. She was opening another candy—a small package of fudge flies.

"Grande Bollisima?" Harry was still guessing. Charms was Harry's best class, so he had taken his grades for granted. Clearly, he needed to spend more time studying.

Pansy shook her head and began to eat the fudge flies. She popped them into her mouth, one by one, with a delicate motion of her fingers.

"Engorgio, Harry. Engorgio is the incantation." Pansy glanced down—she had fudge on her fingers. "Now, what's the wand motion for a growth charm?" She began to lick the fudge off her fingers.

"Jab and hold steady," Harry said immediately. He knew that one.

Pansy winked, and tossed a chocolate frog to Harry. "Congratulations. I was sure that you'd know how to use your wand."

And so they proceeded. Pansy would ask a question, and Harry would answer. When Harry was correct, he was rewarded with a chocolate. When he was wrong, though, he had to watch as Pansy ate the sweets with excruciating slowness. Over the course of the evening, Pansy had many more opportunities to eat sweets than Harry did, and there was no question that Pansy was enjoying every tasty moment of the lesson. She would roll the sweets around on her tongue, allowing the sugars and chocolates to melt, not rushing, not biting or chewing, simply enjoying the taste and sensation. And Harry was forced to watch every moment.

After an hour of agonizing review, Pansy called a halt to the proceedings. Harry slouched into his seat as a result of complete mental exhaustion as Pansy began to pack her things.

"Do I get the rest of the bag?" Harry asked hopefully. Pansy's sweets were only partially eaten, and Harry could see a few chocolate frogs were still left.

"Those are for tomorrow," Pansy said. She smiled slowly. Harry pulled at the neck of his shirt. It seemed like the room had become uncomfortably hot.

"Er… I have to prepare for the tournament tomorrow," Harry said. "How about the night after?"

"If that's what you want," Pansy said with mock indifference. "Who knows what will happen to all these candies in the meantime…"

"How about one last cockroach cluster," Harry suggested. "As incentive?"

Pansy reached into the bag. "You mean one of these?"

Harry nodded enthusiastically and reached out. Pansy pulled the cockroach cluster away and lightly slapped Harry's hand. Her skin was soft.

"Ah, ah, ah," she said gently. "If you want incentive, this is it." Pansy leaned forward and held out the cockroach cluster. "This could have been yours, with a few more correct answers. Try harder, next time."

Harry made a grab for the chocolate, but Pansy pulled back and popped it into her mouth.

"I really hate you," Harry said.

"No you don't," Pansy replied confidently. "You love it. Now, let's go back to the common room."

Pansy grabbed her book and bag of sweets. Harry, whose papers were still strewn across the desk, began packing frantically. Pansy sashayed out of the room, skirt swishing as she walked.

Harry spent a lot of time thinking about that swish, in the time leading up to his next study session with Pansy.

A/N: Next week is time for the second task! Already! Yikes!

I've been reading "Hogwarts Battle School" by Kwan Li lately. It's a Slytherin Harry story with a HEAVY dose of Ender's Game thrown in. I'd say it's worth a glance-if it's your cup of tea, it will REALLY be your cup of tea. If it isn't, you'll figure it out really quick. And don't be afraid to tell Kwan Li that I sent you over.

Before I had read "Hogwarts Battle School," I hadn't really considered the similarities between Harry Potter and Ender's Game. Now, however, they seem inextricably intertwined. Both involve an old war and an old enemy that was defeated, but the enemy might be returning. Both involve a "chosen one." But in HP canon, Dumbledore encourages Harry to be a child, almost the the point of being completely unprepared for Voldemort's return. Meanwhile, in Ender's Game, Graff turns Ender into a weapon at the expense of his childhood. Forcing Harry into an Ender-style battle school seems like an obvious idea for a fic, now that I've thought about it for more than thirty seconds.