Chapter 13 - Winter Discontent
The morning of the game between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor dawned slowly, the clouds dark and gloomy, but Harry was in much better spirits than the weather would indicate, even after having to do his morning run in the pitch dark before the sun came up didn't dampen them any. The night before, Stephanie, Michelle, Meaghan, Elizabeth and Ashley had come over to his house in Cranleigh and they had played some games before they settled in watching a movie. Each girl had settled herself in a clone's lap, snuggling, and during a lull in the movie first Michelle then the others started kissing him. The movie was soon forgotten as they all enjoyed this new activity far more, Michelle not being the only one to moan that night. When they came up for air, Harry was glad his parents were more tolerant than just about any other parents he knew, or they'd surely have had something to say about their activities. Though Harry knew they were likely the ones encouraging things to go so smoothly, and right then, Harry wouldn't have raised a single protest.
At breakfast in Hogwarts, with everyone trickling in more slowly thanks to the winter and bad weather, Harry and his friends were talking about the coming game. Daphne teased Parvati and Lavender that she could cheer for Harry this time since a lot of the Snakes, whatever their politics, wanted to see Gryffindor go down and having it be at the hands of the Boy-Who-Lived made it all the sweeter for them. The two Lions shot back that they would be cheering for Harry anyway, as they didn't care as much about their House as about their Harry, making the boy in question blush and smile. Megan reminded them that the Quidditch points also affected the House standings for the House Cup, with each House getting one point for every ten scored on the field. The others nodded, but as Padma pointed out, a win for Hufflepuff and Harry would also be a win for the school.
"It will show the school that the Badgers aren't just a dumping ground, something that ponce Malfoy needs to learn. Both Gryffindor and Slytherin would cause problems if one of them won again." She added, "And it'll be good for Harry's House to beat Malfoy."
Harry grinned, "You really don't like the boy, do you?"
They laughed at the understatement and talked more about the game, how they thought they would go, and so on, until it was time for the players and reserves to head out and get ready. The rest of their group drifted out as well, grabbing their seats and setting up a banner, 'Badgers are Best!'. There had been some playful complaints about the wording from the ones not in that House, but it expressed their support for Harry, Hermione and Susan, so it stayed.
Out on the pitch, the players came flying in as Lee Jordan, the unashamedly biased caller for the games, named each one playing today, gushing over his favourite among the Gryffindor Chasers, Angelina Johnson, much to the audible displeasure of his Head of House, Professor McGonagall. Harry's entrance was accompanied by a huge cheer, the staff and students all eager to see how he performed in their favourite game.
Madam Hooch started them off, all fourteen players soaring into the air. Gryffindor started with possession and quickly moved to score, their line of Chasers moving with smooth teamwork. They hadn't counted on their smaller opponents intercepting and turning the tables on them. Neither had Oliver Wood, the Keeper for the Lions, who was shocked when sweet little Susan Bones charged right into his face before flipping the quaffle off seamlessly to Hermione as she left the scoring area, then Hermione passing to Harry who scored the first points of the game.
After that, the Gryffindor team took them more seriously, something that was always going to happen as soon as they scored so the 'Puffs had figured they might as well go hard from the start, attempting to get a lead established before their opponents had gotten over the surprise. Their tactic worked reasonably well, getting ahead 60 to 20 before the Lions' Chasers were back in their usual form.
The lack of the 'Human Bludgers' as the Weasley twins had been called on the pitch, also reduced the team's effectiveness, a lack that would become slightly less telling over the course of the game as the reserves settled in and got over their match nerves. They had had over a month to get ready for the game, and with the fanatical Wood as team captain that meant over a score of practice sessions, but they still weren't up to the standards of the devilish duo yet. This showed as they got fouled for hitting the Bludger into the spectator stands, narrowly missing one Professor Snape. His thunderous expression promised that he would remember the incident and the insult.
The next time Susan made a run on goal, she kept to the same path with Hermione and Harry using the same flanking positions but rather than tossing the ball to her teammate at the last second as Wood expected, already moving out of position to intercept, she darted in close and scored, embarrassing the experienced Keeper at how easily she misled him.
Harry and Hermione also got in on the action, using feints and misdirections with such skill that the watching Slytherins applauded them for that even more than for trouncing their rivals. The 'Puff students were happy about the score and being seen as competent, even brilliant, in front of the school, something they hadn't enjoyed for at least a decade thanks to various staff. The 'Claws, particularly their Quidditch players, eagerly studied their moves and their reactions, as well as enjoying a well-played game. For the Lions, well most of them, it was painful to watch. For Harry's friends in that House, it was a chance to see their friends in action, to cheer and add their support.
Over the course of the game, Cedric, their Seeker and Captain, told them to rack up the score as much as they could. While normally a nice boy, he took his Quidditch seriously, and if there was an element of wanting to show off his talent or even revenge upon the brash Gryffindors, and by extension Slytherin too, who managed only a narrow victory in their long game versus the Lions, well, who could blame him?
The game soon became more an exhibition of Hufflepuff's virtues than an actual contest. Their Seeker was disrupting the Gryffindor Seeker rather than attempting to find the Snitch. Harry had seen it a few times where it surely would have been obvious to the older boy, but Cedric had ignored or even placed himself between Ron and the elusive item. Harry saluted his Captain, grinning, and went back to the game. He set up Hermione and Susan for their shots until the Gryffindor Keeper Wood was ready for that, taking shots himself, and helping their Beaters keep back the Lions' Beaters or distracting the "Flying Foxes" as the Gryffindor Chasers were called; a nickname that still made him grin.
He added some flirting to his distraction efforts, never serious just looking to get the girls flustered or at least their minds not totally on their game. When the flirting failed, he just tried outrageous statements instead. To his surprise, classic schoolyard lines like "Look, Ma, no hands!" worked best on the wizard-raised. Hermione got in on the action with her own slant once he told her what he was doing, conveniently leaving out any mention of flirting of course. The Flying Foxes still managed to keep scoring despite the lack of Beater protection and the distraction efforts, showing their talents were around as good as their younger opponents.
Eventually, Ron Weasley managed to spot the Snitch, forcing Cedric to race him for the prize. Cedric's greater mass and drag meant he accelerated slower on any given model of broom. However, not all brooms were created equal. That was something that the Slytherins understood when they accepted Malfoy onto the team in exchange for top of the line Nimbus 2001's, and Cedric's broom, although not as showy or expensive as those, was still a very good one, while Ron was stuck on an older model left behind by the previous holder of the position. Coupled with Cedric's experience and talent, it was no contest, Cedric already taking and showing the Snitch while Ron had barely covered half the distance. The game was over, the score a mammoth 1170-470 in Hufflepuff's favour.
The Badgers roared out their approval loud enough for the whole school, their satisfaction at the proof of their prowess making itself heard. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signalling the official end of the match, the players coming down for the after-match traditions then heading straight to the changing rooms set aside for each House. While there, Cedric got the first massage as befit his status as Captain, with their Keeper next and then the Puff Beaters, all of whom had done their jobs well that day. Soon enough, they were gone and Harry got a big smile, posting a guard while he created a few clones to massage Hermione, Susan and himself. The groans of pleasure he wrung out of each girl made him proud, as well as very glad he was laying face down at the time.
A long, hot shower later, and they headed out as a team to the Hufflepuff Common Room where Professor Sprout herself got the party started by proposing a toast to the team. "To the best team I've seen in years, for their teamwork, their hard work, their loyalty and most of all, for their destruction of Gryffindor!"
By rights, the answering cheer should have brought the castle down.
The following days saw the Gryffindors, normally so brash and loud, subdued and almost meek around the Hufflepuffs, with the exceptions of Parvati and Lavender who were more loyal to Harry and his friends than to a House which didn't really care that much about them. Gryffindor seemed more about glory of self than about caring for each other, at least to these girls, and in return they didn't care that Hufflepuff had beaten them at Quidditch, not when their friends had been on the team. That Harry's group obviously included them meant that the rest of Hufflepuff House gave them a break from any teasing. Besides, it wasn't like the girls had teased the Puffs in any real way.
The next event of interest started well enough, the advertisement of a Duelling Club on Thursday the 17th with the first meeting at eight o'clock that same night. Harry, Hermione and Susan were the most excited for various reasons, Hermione hoping to learn more magic, Susan wanting to learn to defend herself and Harry wanting to learn how wizards fought and thought of fighting, with a view to incorporating or countering it if need be. The other students seemed to feel a combination of Hermione's and Susan's motivations, with a healthy dose of wanting entertainment. With the shorter days and worsening weather, staff and students alike were spending even more time indoors where they could, giving everyone a case of cabin fever. Even Harry felt it in the cold, drafty castle, it seemed like the walls were closing in sometimes with the poorer lighting making the shadows inkier than ever.
That night, they entered the Great Hall to see the interior changed for the Club. The dining tables had all been removed and a golden stage erected along one wall, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. The ceiling was velvety black, not even clouds visible, and most of the school streamed into the Hall, openly excited and carrying their wands.
Harry was chatting with his friends, just swapping ideas about what might happen and who might be running it. "I'm hoping for Flitwick, since he was supposed to be a duelling champion and he's got a good way about him to keep Charms classes engaging." Padma nodded firmly, pleased about the praise for her Head of House.
Most of them nodded along, though Daphne disagreed. "I have seen Professor Snape teaching some of the older Snakes in Defence spells, he really seems to know his stuff."
Lavender scoffed at this. "Sure, he may know it, but have any of us heard of him bothering to teach someone who isn't in silver and green?"
Daphne sighed, conceding the point. "Ok, there's that, but I still think he's got the skill. Maybe he could be good as an assistant."
At that point, their discussions were cut off by the arrival of the one Professor they didn't mention, despite his position. Lockhart walked onto the stage, resplendent in his plum robes and accompanied by none other than Snape, his usual black robes billowing behind him. Lockhart waved his arms for attention, calling out. "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me?" Harry for one wished he couldn't. Why were the wizards so colourful? Even Snape in his own way dressed to be noticed, so unlike the people they called Muggles, and so unlike what you would expect from a society trying to hide. He noticed the fop was still talking, flashing wide smiles.
"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about duelling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don't want you youngsters to worry - you'll still have your Potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"
"Five Galleons on Professor Snape!" Harry called out, to the surprise of many, but his friends knew very well that he had no respect for the person supposed to be teaching them Defence Against the Dark Arts. Lockhart had given up on creature demonstrations after the first class, instead making people act out scenes from his novels.
Snape looked startled for a moment, then pleased, before he wiped it away with a sneer for Lockhart. To Harry, this was just proof that Lockhart was an idiot. If the man had a lick of sense he would have fled there and then from the Potions Master's expression.
Lockhart and Snape faced each other and bowed, at least technically what Snape did counted, he supposed, Snape's head jerking irritably and minimally. They then raised their wands like swords.
"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of will be aiming to kill, of course."
"Only because Snape doesn't want to bother cleaning up the mess," Harry snarked, quietly this time.
"One - two - three -"
Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent and Snape cried "Expelliarmus!" There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light as the spell raced at Lockhart, blasting him off his feet. He flew backward off the stage, smashed into the wall and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.
Harry was tempted to cheer at this concrete evidence of Lockhart's fraud, but restrained himself easily enough though Malfoy and some of the Slytherins did not. Instead, Harry concentrated on how the combatants had fought. While this was a duel, thus limiting options, Harry saw no sign from either side of defence or mobility being considered. Then again, that too may be misleading, he conceded to himself. Clearly Lockhart believed he would be the winner though Harry had seen nothing to substantiate his confidence, and Snape looked more intent on harming the 'good' Professor than anything else. A temptation Harry had shared, in all honesty, something he found unappealing given what Snape was like. Sure, the man was starting to be encouraging to Harry and his friends, but he was still as caustic as ever about the slightest mistakes and as callous as ever with anyone who wasn't already near perfect with their potions, not caring if they died before his eyes.
Some of the girls in the audience were upset at seeing their hero Lockhart taken down and helped him to his feet. He beamed at them as they returned his hat and he quickly restored his wavy hair to its usual immaculate state before donning the hat and striding confidently back onto the stage, having taken the opportunity the girls provided with their fussing to get his wind back.
"Well, there you have it! That was the Disarming Charm - as you saw I lost my wand, thank you, Miss - an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy - however, I felt it would be instructive to let them see..." Lockhart finally trailed off as he noticed Snape's murderous expression. "Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me -"
The two professors moved through the crowd, matching up partners. Lockhart teamed Neville with Justin, but Snape reached Harry first. "Time to split you up, give you a better test." Malfoy tried to catch Snape's eye, believing himself the perfect candidate to put the half-blood in his place. Whether he failed to get his teacher's attention or Snape simply ignored his desire, Harry couldn't say, but he was matched up with Theodore Nott, another pureblood and son of a Death Eater. Hermione got matched with another Slytherin, Millicent Bulstrode, who was taller and bulkier, wearing an ugly expression as she looked at Hermione, while Daphne was put up against Dean Thomas, a Gryffindor, as was her friend Tracey. Snape seemed to enjoy encouraging the rivalry between Slytherin and the rest of the school.
Harry and Theodore got into position, and quickly it became obvious that Theodore was outclassed. Harry cast a variety of spells within the standard curriculum, each of them the product of long training thanks to his unusual metabolism and each timed so that Theodore was caught off-balance. Within a minute, Theodore tripped and fell over his own feet while Harry hadn't been touched. Snape's eyes had been watching all of this, naturally, and ignoring all the dirty tricks his own students were trying out on others. If he'd been watching, he'd have noticed Millicent breaking her nose as she hit the stone floor when Hermione dodged her attempt to grapple. He'd have blamed Hermione for that, of course, as part of his cover, even if he was starting to respect her as a Potions student. He still didn't like the know-it-all, she reminded him of Lily but no one compared to Lily, no girl ever could measure up to the girl who was his until Potter stole her from him.
Snape called for a halt throughout the Hall when Theodore fell for the third time, demanding that Harry come up and provide a demonstration against a real challenger. He considered and dismissed duelling the boy himself. One flaw about himself Snape admitted, to himself at least, was that he found it difficult to hold back his skills, and his spell selection was far too lethal for the test he had in mind for Lily's boy. While he was thinking this, young Malfoy pushed himself to the front of the crowd, obviously posturing and presenting himself to be chosen instead. The pureblood scion was still pretty pathetic in Snape's eyes, he had no true Slytherin cunning and his desires hadn't transformed themselves into ambitions. Still, the boy did get extra training over the summer. Either this would prove Draco to be the incompetent Snape expected, or it would give Lily's boy a good challenge.
"Come up, Malfoy. Show Mr Potter how a pureblood fights." Snape thought he was doing well not to show his disgust at calling Lily's boy by that accursed name.
Draco strutted like a proud peacock onto the stage, or thought he did, though his efforts were poor compared to Lockhart, the master. "Yes, Professor Snape. I'll show the world the worth of a pureblood."
Harry called on his meditation training as he ascended the platform, nearly smiling when Daphne in the crowd muttered "No, we're worth more than you'll ever be." The students around her nodded.
Seeing how serenely Lily's boy was watching young Malfoy, Snape decided to cheat, sensing that there was no way Malfoy as he was would be able to win. A more challenging test would allow him to understand more of the boy's abilities. He whispered into his charge's ear and was gratified that the boy seemed to understand, though everyone would soon see if that were true.
Harry, for his part, heard Snape rapidly explaining the Snake Summoning spell to his student. He should have expected Snape would cheat, though he suspected that making Malfoy win wasn't the only reason Snape might have. Testing Harry was another option, one that made sense out of how close an eye he kept on Harry and the extra assignments assigned. For now, though, it didn't matter. After all, Harry was taught to cheat too.
Lockhart was attempting to demonstrate a basic shield charm, supposedly, but waved his wand in a ludicrously complicated manner which culminated in dropping his wand instead of casting any spell at all. Snape smirked at that, as did Malfoy who figured that meant Harry had no chance now.
"Three - two - one - go!" Lockhart shouted, starting the duel.
Malfoy raised his wand quickly and bellowed "Serpensortia!" The end of his wand exploded and a long black snake shot out of it. Harry raised an eyebrow as the snake fell heavily to the floor between them and started to raise itself, readying a strike. The screaming started up but Harry ignored it, taking the few steps needed to approach the snake, hand darting out and taking it just behind the head. Just after he did so, Lockhart 'burst into action' and 'heroically' tried to get rid of the snake while Harry was holding it. All his spell did was to create a loud bang and throw the snake backwards. Caught off-guard, Harry himself was pushed back a foot by the spell though he kept his grip.
"Professors, I believe this means Malfoy forfeits the duel, correct? The terms were to disarm, not to maim, your opponent I believe. In any event, the duel was interrupted by Professor Lockhart's spell."
"Potter, Malfoy hasn't done any such thing. The duel continues."
Malfoy took that confirmation and cast another spell at Harry, conjuring another snake to attack Harry since he now had no free hand. Harry called out "Wingardium Leviosa" and levitated the snake into Malfoy's face. "Do you yield, Malfoy?" he asked, his control keeping the snake's lunges just short of connecting but doing a great job at scaring the paler than normal ponce, especially if the wet trickle at his feet was any sign. He had to suppress his laughter when the snake muttered "Ugh, I just tasted his hair gel, disgusting! Doesn't he know how to wash himself? And that perfume, it's enough to make you lose your breakfast. Killing him will be a pleasure, at least I'll never have to worry about that idiot's idea of hygiene."
His reaction was noticed by the snake which turned to look at him speculatively, but thankfully it didn't manage to do anything which would force him to reveal himself as a Parselmouth. In his research on the Heir of Slytherin, he'd quickly found out that the Founder in question was able to speak to snakes, an ability a few other wizards had inherited over the centuries and every mention of it was in connection with some Dark Lord or other. Harry discounted as unlikely the idea from the books that Parselmouths were all bad, since it was all too easy to picture good people hiding the ability once it got associated with being evil. He knew from his mother Haku that people could inherit abilities and be persecuted for it even if they never used it, Haku's own mother was killed over a bloodline she never wanted. It seemed just more of the same bigotry at work.
After the third lunge and narrow escape, Snape intervened, Vanishing both snakes. "The victor is Potter," he hissed. Harry, however, caught the brief flash of satisfaction from Snape as he made the declaration. 'Interesting. Snape is acting the bastard in front of the school, but he wanted me to win.'
The students who had backed away from the snakes were flooding back in to their previous positions, cheering Harry's win all the louder after Snape of all people announced it, something that also pleased the Potions Master from what he saw. The rest of the meeting was more relaxed, and Harry was very happy to see that his friends had mostly won their duels, except for those who were paired against each other, of course. Malfoy was whining about a pureblood losing to a know-it-all. He may have been tempted to add something about Hermione's blood status but a quick Wind technique took his breath away, literally.
That night, a blizzard blanketed the school grounds in white and didn't show any sign of letting up anytime soon. This brought everyone inside, except for the poor cold students stuck with their Astronomy lessons and one cold Astronomy Professor.
In the morning, Harry frowned. His clones had brought the memory of that blonde girl being picked on by some older girls, including one in Cho Chang's year. When he mentioned the girl to Padma, she frowned. "Oh her, she doesn't talk much or even spend time around other 'Claws outside class from what I've heard. You say that some girls were picking on her?"
"Yeah, they were crowding her against a wall and taking turns insulting and mocking her. I 'just happened' to be in the area." Daphne, unnoticed by him, grinned. She knew that Harry's rescue of her last year was planned! "And before I could step in, they left. They'd finally heard one of the teachers coming and departed before they could be caught."
"Oh, Harry, that's awful." was a common response, especially from his Hufflegirls.
He nodded firmly. "I won't tolerate bullying. The only question is how we respond to this. I don't want to wait for a teacher to act. Who knows how many years that would take, or if it would even work? After all, that yellow ponce Malfoy still picks on anyone he can."
"Don't you mean blond ponce?" Tracey put in with a smirk.
"No, I mean yellow, he left a puddle on the floor last night!" Harry laughed with the boys, and the girls joined in after getting over their disgust at what he'd done. He looked around. "So, we're agreed we want to help her?"
"Yes, Harry, picking on little girls is wrong. Would befriending her work to end the bullying?" Justin asked the group, mostly Padma.
"It should help. If nothing else it will cut down on the opportunities they'll have. Whether it will encourage them to stop entirely? Maybe. Ravenclaws tend to be convinced we're right more easily. Then again, we are right more often than other people." The Ravenclaw Patil's grin showed she was mostly kidding around.
"Well, it's a good place to start, and if they do continue it gives us a reason to respond to them more forcefully." Justin's expression showed that he was almost eager to respond 'more forcefully'. Harry knew how he felt, and understood why he wanted support before he displayed a more aggressive side while in the company of the girls. It wasn't the smartest idea to scare girls with violence, after all, certainly not in the upper classes.
With that said, Harry got up from his breakfast, his glance alerting Padma, who got up to follow him since it was her House table. They walked over to the Ravenclaws, spotting Luna off by herself, no one approaching her, and headed over anyway. "Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Harry, and you may know Padma here."
"Hello, Harry, I'm Luna Lovegood." Her reply had the same disinterested air he had spotted last night when the girls were bullying her. He remembered also that she had been very honest the few times he overheard her saying anything he understood.
"It's nice to meet you Luna, would you like to be friends?"
The gasp at the table was most pronounced around the same girls who had picked on her last night. A quick look in their eyes told him they really hadn't expected anything like this! 'Well, tough. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy, after all, and I am the enemy of bullies everywhere. They were just lucky he had more restraint that a couple of years ago. If he'd continued on as he had been, well, Ravenclaw might have been short a few students this morning,' he mused.
Luna, however, lost her appearance of disinterest, studying him sharply with those piercing eyes of hers. The way she looked at both of them, like she was sure that their approach was related to the bullying, suspecting that this might be more of the same. Harry looked back calmly, keeping a friendly, welcoming expression and posture, part of his training from his family naturally, but here it matched what he wanted to be, not just to act. They seemed to pass the test, even though Padma was definitely getting nervous by the end, and Luna suddenly smiled. "Yes, please. Let's head over to your table, now."
Harry was surprised by how quickly she switched gears, but he didn't let that slow him down, going for a response a little over the top, offering his elbow for her to take as he escorted their new friend back to the group. Harry and Padma introduced the rest, who got a far briefer though no less intense inspection, and they settled in to eat their breakfast. Luna was mostly quiet, observing the group dynamic, Harry thought, but she never went back to that uninvolved look she wore so often, and Harry was grateful.
That evening, Harry had planned to add to the Hogwarts experience with another major 'prank'. In addition to an Illusion technique overlaying the enchanted ceiling, he would be attempting simultaneously to cast a second one on the Staff Table to make them see and hear only a normal evening's events. He was confident he would be able to cast the larger one, turning the ceiling into an enormous cinema screen, it was the one on the staff that would be the real test. If they moved around during the meal, he would have to be ready instantly to adapt. If that worked, then Harry could get away with a number of further activities.
As everyone tucked into the roast and vegetables, he started up both illusions, several clones working to monitor them. The 'screen' played the introduction to Monty Python's Flying Circus, a classic piece of British comedy, complete with soundtrack. Conversations died quickly as the students looked up, the annoyed Slytherins at first dismissing it as just another prank before getting sucked in by the absurd and surreal comedy. The rest of the school was already watching avidly. Prank or not, this was the first good diversion they had had in months, and the Muggle raised recognised the show quickly, grinning and sharing with their friends just how famous this was. Naturally, Harry, Hermione and Justin were involved, explaining about not only the people involved, but a lot of the culture too after the episode ended.
The staff had seen a perfectly normal Hogwarts dinner, the Friday before last's, in fact, and thought nothing of the repeated night. For most of them, they had been to decades of dinners in the Hall. After so long, one dinner very much resembled another anyway. True, the start of the recording was noticed, something Harry would need to work on if he could, but when they saw nothing untoward going on, they settled back to enjoy another dinner. Harry had chosen that particular night because the conversations would be normal enough for tonight, another Friday, and because no one had approached the Staff Table, a circumstance that Harry hoped would repeat itself.
Looking closer, it was Professors Snape and McGonagall who noticed first and stayed alert longest. If Dumbledore noticed, he suppressed his reaction well enough that Harry was unsure either way. The teachers of Arithmancy and Astronomy noticed, but both women relaxed soon enough after a quick spell satisfied them, presumably a detection spell of some sort. Hagrid looked around but didn't bother doing anything more. Professors Sprout and Flitwick were interesting. Sprout kept an eye on her House table more that night, while Flitwick just cast some spell silently and cocked an ear at a sound only he could hear every few minutes, otherwise ignoring the event. Lockhart, of course, looked a little scared at the strangeness, but when none of the other staff treated it as an obvious threat he returned to doing what he loved best, talking about himself.
Despite their frequent blindness to the unusual events around them, this was something not even the most self-absorbed student could ignore for long and naturally they were all abuzz about the whole thing. Someone had bewitched the enchanted ceiling right during dinner and got away with it! The students tended to react according to their House colours, the Ravenclaws were more curious than anything else, with the wizard-raised now more interested in Muggle culture since their Muggle Studies course had mentioned almost none of what they had seen. The Gryffindors just loved the whole thing, it was free entertainment that cost them and their House nothing, with the Muggle-raised again explaining some of what was seen. The Hufflepuffs had fun, too, with Hermione in particular very curious how the thing was performed since nothing she had read or heard of indicated it was possible, one reason Harry did it, in fact, for the challenge.
As for the Slytherins, well, there were the usual complaints from the usual sources within the House that it was just Muggle rubbish but the more open-minded noted a few key items. First, the prank was completely successful, indicating that whoever did it was powerful, great at planning or lucky, and cunning enough to get away with it. Second, none of the Professors, not even their own Head of House, had bothered to look up at the entertainment, indicating either they were in on the plan, which seemed impossible, surely Snape wouldn't keep quiet and as for Flitwick not saying anything about the spellwork? No, it was ridiculous. The other possibility was even more impressive than managing to get all the staff supportive, and that was that whoever it was had managed to do it, right there in front of adult wizards with up to a century of experience without a single one of them even knowing it was happening!
Questioning the next day revealed that, as unlikely as it seemed, that was indeed what had happened. The Snakes considered and dismissed the idea that the Heir of Slytherin was involved. While the Heir was indeed in command of powerful magic, powerful enough even to silence those damned Weasleys, well, two out of four was definitely a great start there, the Heir was also anti-Muggle or so they all believed. Hadn't Slytherin himself left the school because he wanted to get rid of the Muggleborns? No, they believed there was another player in the field. And this one had demonstrated their power, their cunning their ambition and their fitness as a True Slytherin, with a harmless form of entertainment. This bore watching, especially as it was unlikely in the extreme that the True Slytherin, whoever they were, had been Sorted right. The True Slytherin and the Heir of Slytherin, now here was a contest!
Harry himself was considering the problem of the Heir. Unfortunately, he didn't notice when Nearly-Headless Nick (more properly known as Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington) and Third Year Gryffindor Cormac McLaggen were attacked in one of the legion of corridors in the castle, one where the torches had been extinguished by a cold draft coming in through a loose windowpane. He only found out when Peeves the poltergeist started running through the castle screaming "ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!"
At that point, Harry's group, on their way from the Library after more research into the previous opening of the Chamber of Secrets, went down to find out what was going on. On seeing it, Harry cursed to himself about missing it. Slytherin's monster was obviously not showing up on the Marauder's Map, and the looks on the faces of the latest victims told Harry that whatever was doing this did it fast. Cormac's face was frozen in shock and horror. The crowd was snowballing and the noise rising constantly, a distraction and impediment as Harry tried to study the scene.
Naturally, they hadn't been there more than a minute before the staff turned up, Dumbledore slightly out of breath but also significantly ahead of Snape, McGonagall and the rest. Dumbledore raised his wand and let out a 'cannon blast' sound, stilling all conversation. "All students head to the Great Hall!" When no one moved immediately, he cursed to himself, something only Harry heard. "All students are to head to the Great Hall now! Any students who fail to do so will be given detention and risk further punishments." This had the desired effect as students started streaming away from the site of the attack, letting the staff get their first view. Harry discreetly left a clone to listen in as his group headed off as ordered. 'And technically, I'm obeying his order. I will be in the Great Hall, and in the corridor listening in on them. Maybe the old man will let slip some vital information.'
He also decided that with this proof that the Map was ineffective for finding the attacker that he would need to set clones to patrol more of the school, just about anywhere students went, in fact. It was a pain, especially as this meant he couldn't copy the Library as effectively which also meant he had a lower chance to find out what the monster was any time soon.
In the corridor, Snape was even more angry than usual. "This is the third attack, the third! And this was someone from a proper wizarding family."
"Severus!" Minerva was glaring at the man.
"You know that's how it will be seen. This time, we'll have to let the brat's parents know rather than keeping it within the school. That's one good thing about not telling the Weasleys. We'd have had that harpy down here ten seconds later, delivering a Molly Weasley Howler personally."
Minerva nodded guiltily, keeping quiet about that did have that advantage, and anything that kept the interfering woman away was something she liked, though she did admit the mother would have cause to be upset in this case.
"Oh, I had the wards reset so that she couldn't contact us or enter the grounds. Any time she tries, she gets the impression that her concerns were addressed straight away. Such a useful little spell that was." Albus mentioned off-hand as he studied the petrified student and the ghost. It was a sight he'd never encountered before. The ghost was no longer pearly-white and translucent but black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal six inches from the floor. His head was half-off and he wore the same shocked expression as their petrified Gryffindor.
"Ye coulda seen fit to mention that, Albus." Minerva had a hard time controlling her brogue as her temper rose. She'd been wondering for weeks now when her good fortune would end with the Weasleys and here Albus had known the whole time, honestly, that man loved keeping his secrets far too much to be healthy. Add in the stress of yet another of her Lions getting attacked and she could be forgiven the lapse.
"It never came up, Minerva. Now, this is fascinating, isn't it?" Albus was concentrating even more on the ghost.
"Perhaps," Snape drawled, "we should continue this in the Hospital Wing. One of the little miscreants could come along at any time and it wouldn't do your image any good to be seen happy at the attack. Besides, maybe the Matron could prove useful in your research."
"Quite right, Severus. Come along."
Harry's clone naturally went too. He'd noticed Minerva's temper rising at the attacks on her students. He could almost feel her desire to come to grips with whatever it was doing this. Snape, by contrast, seemed more concerned that this attack would cause trouble for him in some way. As for Dumbledore, apart from revealing his ability to mess with someone's mind without even being there, a truly disturbing thought, and confirming that he kept secrets by default, there wasn't much new. The Matron looked at Cormac, clucked about another student getting attacked, waved her wand over him once, nodding at whatever results she got, and levitated him to one of the beds, leaving him there without a further glance as she moved to examine the ghost instead. Harry hoped that meant that Cormac was the same as the others rather than that the Matron didn't even care about an injured student. If it were the latter and he got delivered to her care, he'd escape her 'tender ministrations' first chance he got!
The discussion over the all but dead students yielded nothing of interest to Harry, only a lot of words exchanged about how this was not as expected, the attacks were against a cat, two Purebloods and now a Half-blood, "Rather than the string of 'Mudbloods' as my so delightful Snakes would call them." Snape was, once again, scolded by Minerva for that word, while Albus just ignored it as usual. Harry already knew from his research that Snape was right about the attacks fifty years ago, though he was no closer to discovering what the monster was. He could tell that there had been a coverup but not yet what they covered.
After reaching the Great Hall with his friends, the real Harry was asked if he could give his girls a little privacy after Padma whispered something to Hermione. Harry smiled and headed off to chat with Justin and the guys, chatting about the Quidditch match and how it was good to see the other Houses treating them better than before. "We are not the House of duffers, and it's great that they finally recognise that."
Harry agreed completely, pleased he had been able to help fix that issue. As far as Harry was concerned, Hufflepuff was the best House, though he did wonder if he might have felt the same about the others if he'd ended up there. He had no regrets though. He had great friends, acceptance and more in common with them since there were more Muggle-raised in that House than any other. He still felt that being put into Slytherin would have been a terrible idea. Now, knowing Draco and the others in the House, he knew he wouldn't have lasted a week before the killing began. Draco or one of the other blood bigots would have pushed, and pushed, and pushed until it escalated into violence, or worse ambushed him, triggering deadly reflexes. With his ability to kill demonstrated, he'd have to treat the other magicals as a threat any time he saw them since they ought to be a threat to him from that moment on, they ought to be trying to harm him and his family, and that meant he'd be killing more, to protect the only people who loved him. He felt sick at the thought of what he'd do then, attacking people who had now become friends or even more, as he thought of Daphne and her friends. He shook himself out of those gloomy thoughts, reminding himself that things weren't that bad, and that if he had been sorted into Slytherin, he could always have left instead. Besides, he needed to talk to the Hat again if he got the chance. It had kept its word, so far as he could tell with the aid of his spying, and hadn't spilled his secrets.
Daphne came over, smiling, "Harry, thank you for that, you can come back now, please."
He took her arm, smiling back. "Ok, Daphne, I hope I'll find out what that was about eventually."
She grinned, his curiosity was well known in their group, as was his tendency to know more than he should, something the girls correctly assumed had something to do with the clones. "Oh, sooner than that, my Harry. As soon as we can get out of here, we'd like to grab a room to talk about it with you."
He chuckled, "I see you know me well, my Daphne."
She smiled, thoughts going into Harry knowing her even better in one way, glad she kept the blush from showing. She'd have blushed even more if she knew Harry's thoughts had also gone there but with a lot more detail thanks to his family's full and frank education.
The group chatted more, Daphne mentioning the rumour in her House about the True Slytherin. There was a sparkle in her eyes as she enjoyed the idea that it was Harry, her Harry, who had the admiration of much of her House. Some of her audience rolled their eyes. They still found the idea of a good and great Slytherin hard to picture given how so many Snakes were so atrocious people in recent decades, starting with all those Death Eaters like Malfoy's and Nott's fathers.
Ten minutes later, Professor McGonagall made the announcement they'd been waiting for, releasing the students to go about their day. Harry smiling at her somehow mattered more than the smiles on her Lions' faces to the woman. He was reminding her strongly of James' charm without the arrogance that boy had possessed when he started. Snape for all his faults was at least right about James Potter thinking himself the most important person around as a First Year. Minerva later discovered that James had literally been the most important person to his family, his parents couldn't have any more children as his mother had been near menopause already. With his extended family also having problems of one sort or another, that left James as the heir and hope for the continuation of the Potter line. As such, they treated him as the most important person in their world.
Harry gave the Professor a small nod as he was gathered up by his girls for another discussion. He narrowed his eyes as they led him to 'their' room, the one where they'd first kissed, one he thought they would leave as theirs. They sat him down, each taking a seat in his or his clones' laps, with three girls standing before him. Padma Patil of Ravenclaw and her twin sister Parvati and Parvati's close friend, Lavender Brown both of Gryffindor stood somewhat nervously before the group. Parvati stepped forward. "Harry, we've asked you here because we like you, a lot, in fact. We're hoping that you feel the same way about us, and that you want to include us in your growing life."
Susan turned to look at each of the Harry's, "Harry, we had discussed this among ourselves after they approached us, and we're agreed that we have no problem with this if you want to accept them as a part of this too. The final decision is yours, but the girls didn't want to cause any problems for you, so they talked to us first to see if it was even worth approaching you."
"That's right, Harry," Lavender smiled at him. "We would have kept quiet rather than trying to make you choose between us. We remembered the problems last year with the building rivalries, and none of us wanted to repeat that. What do you say, Harry? Please?" She and the other new girls turned on the pouting and puppy dog eye stares at him.
He wanted to laugh, he'd become just about immune to those thanks to the efforts of his mothers over the years. They'd openly told him what they were doing to him, and why, wanting to build up his resistance to feminine wiles. Harry pointed out that in the interim, they'd also be getting to make him do things. Tsunade-mum just laughed. "Of course we will, but we're your mothers, we'll do that anyway, son."
Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Harry created enough clones and each walked over to one of his new girls, wrapping them in a big hug and smiling. "Yes, Parvati, Padma, Lavender, it is an honour and a pleasure to accept. I hope the other girls already explained the conditions?"
Padma relaxed, almost melting in his arms. "Yes, Harry, they told us that there's a check with the Cranleigh girls over the holidays to make sure they approve of us since they made the leap into the unknown first, and that they only gave conditional approval since they trust you, otherwise it would have been a flat out 'No'."
"That's right, so have you got that lined up with your families?" Harry asked, hands rubbing Padma's shoulders.
She bit back a moan, concentrating on his question, "oh yes, Harry, yesssss, we do."
"Mmmm good, in that case," he trailed off, leaning in and giving all three new girls a loving, tender kiss, before the rest of the girls got their own. "Welcome to the party."
Thank you for reading. As always, a big thanks to my betas for their help and to you, the readers, for your interest and feedback.