Author's Note

Hey everyone! Yes I am still alive and, more importantly, so is this story! A big thanks to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed while I've been absent, as always it is very much appreciated!

I have decided to make a small change to how I do things, usually I reply to reviews via direct message, but I realised that the questions in them are probably shared by more than just the one reader, so moving forward I will be replying to reviews at the beginning of each chapter. If you aren't interested then feel free to skip forward but you never know, I might answer a question you also have.

Mikton2001 – Luna will be playing a role in the story, but I don't want to say toom uch more without spoiling it.

Guest – Harry is a twelve year old who was very nearly killed, he will react in ways that might not seem logical or sensible from the outside. I don't know about you all, but when I was twelve I didn't think much through, I reacted emotionally not logically.

Guest – Thank you! We will be diverging from Canon more and more the further in we get, in this instance Harry didn't mention anything because he was scared more than anything else. He doesn't want to be blamed for what happened and saying "I heard a voice saying Kill " isn't exactly a great excuse.

Griffin Blackwood – Thanks you, I like to think that McGonagall would have defended Harry in Canon, but she also shows more deference to Dumbledore. With Harry having a closer relationship with Flitwick it just makes sense he would step in, though he is keeping it professional and not doing it in front of students…for now.

Mwinter1 – Thank you for the review, I'm glad you liked it.

Abigail Guerrero - Sorry for the delay, but here you go!

Stella Imber – Apologies I didn't explain this fully, in my world the classes are more mixed. So instead of every class being the same two houses, they mix them up a bit. So for 2nd Year, Potions and Astronomy are Ravenclaw/Slytherin, Defence and Charms is Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff, Transfiguration and Herbology is Ravenclaw/Gryffindor and History of Magic is an auditorium/lecture style so that one has all four houses in one large room where Binns lectures. I may well have confused some of the characters in classes they shouldn't be in, if I have then please let me know and I'll go back and correct!

Fhl1234 – I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far! I have no plans to stop the story, I'm just struggling to stick to a schedule with work and other commitments so please bear with me!

Fhl1234 - I'm glad you're still enjoying the story. I don't want to spoil anything but you will get some answers soon!

Chapter 17

Hogwarts was an incredible school. Moving staircases, talking portraits and secret passages filled the old castle and only enhanced its mystique. But, for all of its mysteries and magic, it was still a school filled with children, so it should have come as no surprise that the Great Hall was filled with rumours by the following morning. Most of the stories Harry heard as he poked at his bowl of porridge were fairly close to the truth, but a few were so wildly inaccurate he had to stifle a chuckle whenever he caught snippets of them. His favourite was that he had caught Mrs Norris and Mr Filch in the middle of punishing an unnamed first year and, with some unknown spell, petrified the cat to help the innocent escape. It didn't explain the writing on the wall found above the cat, but it was still a good one.

The majority of the school had accepted that he was likely just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but there were a few whispers and mutterings that he overheard as he made his way towards the Charms corridor that caused his ears to burn. He was grateful that nobody had actually voiced their suspicions to him directly at least.

His musings on the behaviour of the school at large were interrupted when he opened the door to the room that had become a sanctuary for him and his friends over the past year, only to find it was not empty as he had expected. Professor Flitwick was sat on one of the old wooden chairs, slightly lopsided after it had been used in their spell practice a few weeks previous.

"Ah hello Harry, I hope you don't mind that I let myself in? I have had a few reports of loud noises from this room over the past month and thought I would, ah, kill two birds with one stone as it were." Professor Flitwick explained with a small grin.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin at the mention of the loud noises, Terry had found a rather interesting spell in the library that recreated the effects of a small thunderclap, they hadn't been able to think of many practical uses for it, but it was fun to test nonetheless.

"Sorry Professor, we might have gotten a bit carried away practicing a new spell, you're not going to kick us out are you?" Harry asked as the thought of losing the room, which had grown to be quite special to Harry, crossed his mind. His fears proved to be for naught as the Charms Master shook his head and quelled his worries.

"Oh no, no quite the opposite Harry. It's something of a tradition for students to claim spare rooms for practicing spellwork, after all the school rules explicitly state that no spells are to be cast in the corridors. No you are more than welcome to continue to use this room, but I would advise that perhaps your next extra-curricular study should be of some basic charms of protection? Muffling noise and light perhaps?" Flitwick gestured with his wand and a faint gauze of blue magic coated the door, sinking into the top of the wood for a moment before it all but disappeared, even from Harry's sight. "That should last a week, a little challenge for you to see if you can find something and learn to cast it in that time."

"Thanks Professor, I will go to the library and get started after lunch." Harry promised, there was no chance he would turn down a challenge like that.

"Good, now I am afraid I must turn onto the less pleasant topic which has brought me to you today." Flitwick's brow furrowed as he frowned at Harry. "Why did you lie yesterday, Harry?"

For a handful of heartbeats, Harry considered denying it. A small voice in the back of his head whispered to him to deny it, to lie and bluff, that if he told the truth he would be blamed or thought mad. But the voice was all but drowned out by the rest of his mind when he considered the Charms professor, the man who had introduced Harry to the magical world, who had helped him whenever he asked for it.

"I'm sorry Professor, I just…I was scared you would…" Harry struggled to put his fears into words but was interrupted by Flitwick shaking his head and raising a hand to him.

"You do not need to apologise Harry, but I would ask that you explain what happened last night, without leaving anything out." Professor Flitwick's frown relaxed slightly. "The stress of last night likely caused you to mis-remember a few things, it is perfectly normal after a night's rest to remember things you might have forgotten previously."

Harry couldn't help but smile at Flitwick's offered olive branch, even now the man was trying to help. It took several minutes and there were a few questions from Flitwick, but Harry recounted everything he remembered from the previous evening, leaving nothing out.

"Thank you, Harry, I can understand why you might have been worried about certain aspects of that evening being revealed to the school at large. Now, while I doubt it will be anything so simple, I would like to have Madam Pomfrey examine you, just as a precaution. I doubt she will find anything, but best to be sure about these things. Come, if we are quick we might be able to catch her before she has to deal with the aftermath of the Care of Magical Creature's class." Professor Flitwick ushered Harry out into the corridor and towards the Hospital Wing.

Madam Pomfrey's examination was uncomfortably thorough, she spent more time on Harry's still scarred hand than anywhere else, but eventually declared that there was nothing she could find that would cause hallucinations of any kind much to his relief. She had even commented that his hand, which she had previously claimed would never fully recover, had actually improved slightly. The tight waxen scars that pulled tight across his palm and fingers were ever so slightly softening. She still doubted it would ever fully recover, but it was a good sign. Harry barely noticed the difference anymore, the pain that had lingered after his encounter with Quirrell all but gone, occasionally echoes of the burning pain would cause his hand to spasm but these moments of weakness were few and far between. Madam Pomfrey could do little for these, according to her and Professor Dumbledore there were very few things that could completely cure injuries caused by dark magic, especially the kind of magic Quirrell had been possessed by.

It took a month for the rumours and theories around Mrs Norris' petrification to settle down. A month of odd looks and whispers. But as Harry settled in behind a large cauldron next to Terry, he felt the worst was over. That morning at breakfast the majority of the conversation had been held by the controversial match between the Appleby Arrows and the Chudley Cannons that occurred the day before.

"You should all know what stage you left your Fever Relief Potions at, you have one hour to finish your brews." Professor Snape instructed from the front of the room, inciting a minor stampede of students to charge the large ingredient cupboard.

Harry and Terry had settled into a comfortable partnership in these lessons, Terry would retrieve the various ingredients and prepare them while Harry stirred the cauldron, adjusted the heat and added the ingredients when needed. Their system worked well and had netted them several 'Exceeds Expectations' on their brews, a difficult task with Professor Snape as the grader.

The Fever Relief Potion was a surprisingly complex brew, they had to combine Willow bark and Juniper berries with powdered Ashwinder eggs, but they needed to watch the flame as the eggs were known to react violently if exposed to too much heat. As Terry carefully spooned in small amounts of the grey powder, Harry felt his hand tense up, burning heat suddenly scalding it as it spasmed into a closed fist. Luckily he was able to let go of the stirring rod before his hand clenched and became unusable, earning him an odd look from Terry as he grit his teeth and clutched the offending limb to his chest. Whether Draco chose this moment for that reason, or it was just luck, he didn't know, but as Harry stepped back to avoid getting in Terry's way, he registered a quickly moving object flying through the air.

It landed with a horribly ominous plop in the middle of their cauldron and Harry barely had time to grab Terry with his good hand and yank him backwards before the bubbling liquid erupted from the lip of the pewter cauldron, spraying across the desk and spattering Harry's arm and chest along with Terry's leg. The unfinished potion bubbled and burned, and Harry had a moment of déjà vu as he felt his chest and the still spasming arm he had held against it begin to react to the boiling liquid soaking into his sleeve and shirt. It was nowhere near as bad as the burns he had experienced from Quirrell, but that didn't stop the strangled yelp from escaping his lips as he desperately tore at his clothes to tear away the potion soaked patches.

"Evanesco!" A wash of dull grey magic reached out to cover the potion and with a faint popping sound, it vanished leaving only scorched wood and blistered skin behind. "Were the warnings not clear enough for you? You need to take the potion off the heat before you add Ashwinder eggs and … " The Potions professor paused his lecture to peer into the still smouldering cauldron before, with a flick of his wand, a burned fragment of bleached stone floated up out of the cauldron and hovered in front of the pale wizard's eyes causing him to grit his teeth and grimace in the direction of the Slytherin half of the room for a brief moment. "Boot, Potter, get to the Hospital Wing and tell Madam Pomfrey you have caustic and heat burns and to check for any blood poisoning as well."

It was a limping and deeply unhappy pair who arrived at the doors to the Hospital Wing twenty minutes later, for once it had been Harry helping Terry not fall over as they made their way up from the dungeons which had made a refreshing change and had even helped keep Harry's mind off of the slow heat crawling up his arm to his shoulder. The tall doors swung open as they reached them, and a deeply unimpressed looking Madam Pomfrey hurried across to them. Harry was barely able to recite what Professor Snape had told them before he was forced into one of the beds that lined the Hospital Wing, six awful tasting potions poured down his throat as Terry groaned at his own treatment.

"Well Professor Snape was correct, you both have trace elements of the brew in your systems, the purging potions should take care of those, but it will be an uncomfortable night's sleep for the two of you I'm afraid. Now, Mr Boot your leg should heal fine, a night's rest and some burn salve and you will be as good as new." Harry didn't need to be able to see the matron's face to know his own burns were worse, the boiling potion had spattered across his already scarred arm and even after it had been vanished, he almost thought he could feel the heat of it across his hand and fingers. "Mr Potter, your chest should be fine, your arm took the brunt of the potion and after a few weeks there won't even be a scar. Your arm is another story, if it hadn't already been so damaged, I could use some of the salves I have to treat the worst of it, but I already tried them all after the incident last year. I'm sorry Mr Potter, I can numb the pain and you should retain your mobility but unless I can find something new to try, the scarring will be similar to how it looked in July." The matron sounded honestly upset at her inability to help, Harry felt a brief pang of anger at the unfairness of it, but it quickly faded to a lingering bitterness.

He and Terry played a short game of Exploding Snap but by the end they could both feel the effects of the purging potion coming on, sweat built up all across their bodies as the potion pushed anything foreign to the surface of their skin. It was a truly unpleasant experience and by eleven, Harry felt jealous of his friend who had somehow managed to fall asleep despite the shivering and sweating. It was only happenstance that he noticed the small figure approaching the side of his bed, short with long pointed ears it reminded him of Arka, Castamir's House Elf. Though that is where the similarities ended, this elf was hunched, and bandages of some kind covered its hands and fingers and instead of a clean toga it looked to be wearing dirty rags of some kind.

"Are you okay?" He asked without thinking, and internally cursed himself as the elf jumped almost a foot into the air in shock. "Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you." He raised his hands in what he hoped was a calming way for the now trembling elf.

"Not mean to scare Dobby? Ohhh." The elf, Dobby Harry assumed, was gripping and twisting its ragged coverings as it swayed on the spot. "Dobby had heard of Harry Potter's Greatness, but not his kindness, oh Dobby must keep him safe, must must must."

"Keep me safe? From what?" Harry frowned as he recalled the events that had led to him sitting in the Hospital Wing overnight. "From what happened in Potions? Do you know who sabotaged our potion?" He already had a strong suspicion but if he had proof he could go to Professor Flitwick with it.

"Oh no, not from Potions explosion, no no. Things much worse than Dragon tooth in potion be happening at school." Dobby leaned in close, lifting himself onto the bed with a light grunt. "Harry Potter must leave Hogwarts. Harry Potter must flee, must live. Bad things be coming, Dobby not wanting to see Great Harry Potter be killed. Injured, burned be better than death, yes."

"Killed? What's happening at Hogwarts that's going to get me killed?!" He stopped as Terry rolled over in his sleep but when the other boy didn't seem to awaken, he continued in a whisper. "And how do you know it was a Dragon tooth in the potion that caused it to explode? Do you know who threw it in?"

"Dragon tooth not being important, it not be making it into cauldron without little nudge anyway. Dobby can't say what is happening but Great Harry Potter be's figuring it out, and he's being in danger."

Harry was about to reply when the elf's words sunk in, and he realised what had happened in the Potions class. "You nudged the tooth into our cauldron? It could have killed us!"

"No no no, not kill. Just injure enough to have yous being sent away from the school. Dobby had hoped not receiving any letters would be enough to keep Harry Potter away but he is having good friends, very persistent." Dobby looked like he had more to say when noise began to echo from the direction of the doors, muffled but getting louder. "Dobby be going now, Great Harry Potter must be staying safe. Dobby be back when he can."

Without a sound the elf disappeared, leaving only a faintly swirling eddy in the currents of magic in the air where he had once been which swiftly smoothed out. No sooner had they done so than the doors opened, torchlight spilling in from the hallway beyond as a small group of teachers bustled in with something hovering between them.

One of the benefits of Harry's particular form of sight was that he didn't need to be facing the direction he wanted to perceive, he just needed to move his attention to it, so he was able to lie in bed feigning sleep as he observed the commotion. He recognised the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall immediately, but it took him a moment to realise what the hovering object was between them. Frozen in place was a young girl with an oddly complex looking pair of spectacles on her face, her features twisted into an expression of pure fear. It was Luna, the first year who had taken to sitting near him and Terry in the Great Hall at mealtimes. She was an odd girl but friendly and always had something to add to their conversations, even if it was something he didn't understand.

"Albus, Minerva, what's going on?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she hurried across from her office. When she saw Luna's frozen form she let out a short gasp before immediately waving her wand across the girl's form as she cast various spells that Harry didn't recognise.

"Miss Lovegood was found by the Friar not far from here, we think she may have been coming to visit Mr Potter and Mr Boot but evidently someone else found her first. She is petrified, in the same manner as Mrs Norris unless I am mistaken." Professor Dumbledore explained as he moved Luna across to one of the beds and gently lowered her to rest on the bed, still locked in a pose of terror. At the Headmaster's words, Harry's heart nearly stopped, guilt swelling up inside as he realised he was the reason Luna was attacked.

"I'm sorry Albus, if she is the same as Mrs Norris then nothing I can do will break the petrification. She will need the Mandrake restorative as well, how long until Severus can finish brewing it?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she slumped against the bed in defeat.

"He thinks he should have the first dose ready by February, we checked all the local Apothecaries and even St Mungo's but none have any on hand." Professor McGonagall answered with a deep sigh as she patted Luna's stiff hand.

"It is a difficult and lengthy process to brew Mandrake restorative and the potion is only useable for a week once it has been finished, after that it becomes highly poisonous. We are lucky to have a Potion Master on staff who can brew it with any degree of certainty, there are only a handful in the country who could." Professor Dumbledore added as he peered down at the frozen first year's body. "I have informed Xenophilius and the Ministry of the attack, both are willing to wait for the restorative to finish and Miss Lovegood to awaken before they take further action. For now, at least."

The progress of a quiet month after Mrs Norris' attack was lost in a single night. The next day as Harry and Terry were released from the Hospital Wing, it was to a school filled with frightened and paranoid students. Somehow, word had gotten around that Luna had been attacked on her way to the Hospital Wing to see Harry and Terry, and now a new rumour had sprung up that either Harry was the Heir, or he was the 'Enemy' the message referenced. Either way, he was given a wide berth in the corridors now.

"Make way, make way!"

"Dark Lord on the prowl!"

"Stay out of his way or he might hit you with his walking stick!"

"Ooh I'm terrified! Please don't hit me Dark Lord…no no I'm further on your left, up a bit…"

Well, a wide berth by some. Others, like the Weasley Twins, had shown their support for Harry by talking to him in public and walking alongside him to classes. It turned out, the Weasley's lived in the same area as the Lovegood's and Luna had been something of a second sister to the Twins when she was younger. They had sought Harry out and told him they didn't believe he was the Heir, apparently Luna still spoke with the Twins occasionally and had told them he was very kind to her. They had graciously pretended to be distracted by something on the walls when he had struggled not to cry at the words, well not to turn red and splotchy, he was still unable to cry real tears.

Ever since then, the Twins had made it a point of greeting him like friends and turning the whole thing into a joke, and it did seem to work to an extent. Nobody outright ran away from him in the corridors after a week of the Twin's japes, and soon the gossips were given a new topic to discuss. The Duelling Club.

Flyers appeared on the notice boards in each common room overnight announcing the re-opening of the Hogwarts Duelling Club, the only details on the poster were the location, the Great Hall, and the time. The rumour mill worked overtime in the two days between the poster's arrival and the first meeting of the club, some said there would be Aurors coming in to teach them, others that Dumbledore himself would be instructing them. A small group of Ravenclaw's, Harry being one of them, were hoping that Professor Flitwick would be running the club, he was known to be a Duelling Champion in his youth so who better to teach them. The club was split into two groups, the fourth years and older would be meeting after lunch on the Saturday while the third years and younger would meet before lunch.

Harry and Terry were the last of their group to arrive for the club, they had been finishing their latest essays for Potions and almost lost track of time, and they struggled to wade through the crowd in the Hall to reach their friends. Just as Harry was greeting Neville and about to ask if there was any word on who would be running the club, the doors to the Hall slammed closed and from the top of the room, near where the Head table usually resided, a portrait swung open and out from behind it stepped Professor Lockhart and, several paces behind him, Professor Snape.

Half of the Hall cheered, gleeful whispers filling the space as various students expressed their pleasure at learning from the great Gilderoy Lockhart. The other half audibly groaned at the sight of not only the foppish Lockhart, but the dour Potions Master, any thought of this being an enjoyable and light-hearted club were dashed as the Slytherin Head docked five points from a Gryffindor for having his shirt untucked.

"Do you think it's too late to leave?" Neville muttered in a hopeful tone, Harry thought better of replying when Lockhart and Snape stepped up onto the duelling platform and looked out over the crowd, settling for a comforting pat on the Gryffindor's shoulder.

"Welcome, welcome. Now, can you all see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent." Lockhart whipped off his strange half-cloak and tossed it out over the crowd where a small but vicious group of fourth year girls fought for it. "After the terrible attack on one of our students, I implored with the Headmaster to allow me to restart the Hogwarts Duelling Club, to teach you all a little well needed self-defence. Professor Snape has graciously offered to assist me today with a little demonstration, don't worry, you'll still have your Potions Master when I'm done with him." Lockhart paused, perhaps expecting a few laughs, but even his most devout fans were silent at the look of barely stifled rage on Professor Snape's face. "Ahem, yes well, today we will be covering the basics, disarming your opponent and defending against them. Now Professor Snape and I will demonstrate."

The two looked a perfect contrast as they stepped up to meet each other in the middle of the long duelling platform, Lockhart stood smiling and waving at the crowd while Snape stood tall and cold, focussed entirely on his opponent. They each gave a bow, though it was generous to call Snape's twitch of the head a bow, before turning and pacing until they reached the ends of the platform and then they faced each other. Lockhart stood with his wand held loosely in one hand while the other he rested on his hip, he seemed supremely unconcerned by Snape who had taken up a pose that reminded Harry of the scorpions he had seen at the Zoo with his aunt. His wand was held behind and above his head like the scorpion's tail, while his free hand was pointed out in front of him, the Potions Master's entire demeanour screamed violent intent as his grey magic coiled tightly about his body.

On some unseen signal, both wizards moved. They both took a single step forward, almost in sync with one another, but the spells they cast were very different.

"Expelliarmus." Professor Snape launched a bolt of crackling red magic surging down the length of the platform, it looked similar to what Quirrell had cast at Harry down in the mirror room and he struggled to catch his breath as the lingering darkness at the edge of his awareness seemed to press inwards, faint heat prickled at his hand as he leaned against his cane for a moment. In his distraction, he almost missed the spell Lockhart cast, a circle of bright blue that appeared just in time to stop Professor Snape's spell. Or at least, to slow it down for a brief moment before the circle flickered and vanished leaving the hungry red spell an unimpeded path to Lockhart who had enough time to express his confusion and dismay before he was catapulted backwards, his wand flying from his grasp and into the crowd behind him.

The shock of seeing Lockhart being blasted off of his feet was enough to shake Harry from his dark memories as he fought to hold in a laugh at the Defence Professor whose robes had ended up covering his own head as he sat up with a painful groan.

"That…was…brilliant!" Terry gasped out between chuckles, even Hannah was struggling not to grin at the sight of Lockhart fighting his way out of his tangled robes, his usually perfectly coiffed hair was wild and stuck to his sweaty face in patches now.

"Yes well, thank you Professor Snape for that…enthusiastic demonstration, though I must say if I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy." Something in Professor Snape's expression must have warned Lockhart off antagonising the Potions Master, and instead he turned to the crowd and clapped his hands excitedly. "Now, who wants to have a go? We'll pair you up by year to keep things fair, so find a partner and practice, and remember disarming only."

Quickly the hall was filled with a flurry of movement as everyone found a partner to practice with, Neville was pulled slightly to the side as Hermione latched onto him. She still hadn't really warmed up to the rest of the group, though she had begun to spend time with Padma and Su Li in the library which was a good sign.

Harry and Terry squared off opposite each other, Terry even seemed to be trying to copy Professor Snape's pose from earlier, Harry had no clue whether such a pose would help but didn't have time to emulate his friend before Terry stabbed forward and cast the disarming charm towards him.

"Expelliarmus." The spell seemed to move slower than Professor Snape's example, but that didn't stop it from hitting Harry in the shoulder and causing his arm to spasm. His wand nearly tumbled from his grip before he was able to clench his hand and catch it. It was a good first try and Harry told Terry as much. "Yeah but you didn't drop it though, come on it's your turn anyway."

"Expelliarmus." He flicked his wand forward and watched as the magic leapt from his wand to connect with Terry's arm, Terry only managed to keep hold of his wand by wrapping his left hand around it and his spasming right hand.

"Oh damn that stings." Terry swore as he shook his arm out, indeed Harry could still feel faint pins and needles in his hand from Terry's first attempt, it was an odd feeling to have something try to force your body to act a certain way.

"Yeah, you okay if we try blocking it now as well? I don't fancy letting that hit me again to be honest." Harry asked as he waited for Terry to take his turn.

"Yeah alright, but no turtle shell." Terry agreed, smirking at Harry's annoyance.

"It's not a turtle shell, it's a shield spell and you know -"

"Expelliarmus."

"Tutamentum."

It took some effort, Harry hadn't practiced the basic shield spell in a long time, but he was able to block the spell from Terry before it struck him again. They alternated, trading spells for several minutes with neither able to get past the other's shields before Lockhart called a stop to the club. It was only as he turned his attention back to the hall at large that Harry realised, the rest of the students were probably not as used to practicing spells in this way. Several students were nursing bruised arms and hands and a few even looked to be sparking and smoking.

"Hmm maybe we should have another demonstration, Harry I saw you and Mr Boot doing a decent enough job, why don't you both come up here." Lockhart gestured to the pair of them and Harry did his best to swallow a groan, he really didn't want any more attention on him.

"Do you not think we should have a participant from another house take part, Gilderoy? I'm sure you didn't mean to show favouritism towards your old house." Professor Snape interjected and despite the how laughable it was for the man to mention favouritism, Harry felt a brief hope that he wouldn't have to stand up there in front of half the school. "I suggest we have Mr Potter … demonstrate with one of my students, Mr Malfoy perhaps?" And the hope was gone, replaced by a cold feeling as he did his best not to stumble up the steps onto the platform. Terry gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before Lockhart gripped his arm and manoeuvred him into position, leaning in close as he held out his own wand arm.

"Now Harry, I want you to repeat after me." The famed Defence professor proceeded to move his wand in ever greater and random movements until it actually slipped from his grip and he had to stoop to pick it back up. "Whoops, got a bit overexcited then, well I'm sure you'll do fine Harry."

Harry did his best to ignore the questions that bubbled up into his mind as Lockhart stepped away and instead focussed on his opponent who had just finished being told something by Snape and was now stepping forward to meet him in the middle of the platform. Harry did the same, the sound of his cane tapping the wooden boards echoed around the hall and Harry cringed inwardly each time he placed it down, he knew without it he was risking falling over but the temptation to put it down for the duel was growing in his mind.

"Scared Potter?" Malfoy asked out of the corner of his mouth as they bowed to each other. "I'm going to prove why they shouldn't let cripples in once I'm done with you." Any thought of handing his cane over disappeared at Malfoy's words, he would beat the cocky Slytherin.

"I'm going to show the whole school that a cripple beat you Malfoy." He smirked as the boy stumbled in his turn and as he paced back to his spot he fell into his breathing; it was instinctive and calming. Inhale. Exhale. In. Out. With each breath his magic tightened and pulsed beneath his skin, it was eager to be let out on the world as always.

"I will count down from three, you are to attempt to disarm your opponent or defend yourself. Three. Two. O-"

"Flippendo!" It should have come as no surprise that Malfoy cheated. And it didn't. There was a key difference between the practice he and Terry had been doing and the duel up on the platform. About twenty feet. Where he and Terry had been only six or seven feet apart in the crowded hall, up on the platform he was at least three times that far from Malfoy and that extra distance meant he had more than enough time to shuffle a step to the side.

Inhale.

The yellow spell shot past him, ruffling his robes as it did but otherwise leaving him untouched as he stepped back to his left and let loose his own counter.

Exhale.

"Expelliarmus."

He didn't know if it was luck or skill on Malfoy's part, but the boy managed to throw himself to the floor and out of the path of the spell just in time, though the sound of the Slytherin smacking into the floor brought a brief smile to Harry's face.

Inhale.

Malfoy climbed to his feet with a scowl and slashed his wand at Harry angrily.

"Averte Statum!"

Exhale.

"Arx Murum." The familiar hexagonal dome formed around him for a moment as he traced a quick shape in the air, just long enough for Malfoy's spell to collide with the front panel and disperse against it with a crackle before it faded away as he released his hold on the magic.

Inhale.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart cried out from the side-lines somewhat feebly as Harry stood, one hand leaning on his cane and the other holding his wand out in front of him ready to defend against any other spells Malfoy might throw at him.

Exhale.

Professor Snape stepped forward and grabbed Malfoy's shoulder, pulling him close and whispering harshly in his ear. Harry assumed he was telling the boy off for using spells meant to toss him from the platform and waited patiently for the outcome, he was hoping Lockhart would call an end to the duel, but a quick check showed the Defence professor was chatting with a few of the fourth-year girls who obsessed over him.

Inhale.

Malfoy shrugged out of Snape's grip and stepped forward again, he might have imagined it but it looked like Professor Snape was angry at the Slytherin boy for a moment before his expression cleared and he returned to his default state of scowling at everyone around him.

"Serpensortia!" Malfoy shouted as he twisted his wand into a complicated shape. The boy's spell wasn't visibly obvious for a moment, except to Harry who watched in mild surprise as one of the wooden boards in front of the Slytherin was gripped by red magic and twisted into the shape of a snake that slithered forward, hissing and snapping at the closest spectators on either side of the platform.

What surprised Harry more than the rather difficult inanimate-to-animate transfiguration, was that he suddenly knew what he had heard on Halloween night. It was deeper that night, older and more understandable, but he recognised it nonetheless.

'Bite. Hunt. Bite. Kill. Cripple three-leg. Bite'

Exhale.

Susan and Hannah staggered back from the edge of the stage where they had been watching as the snake lashed out, snapping at the air around it as it inched further forward. Several students let out shrieks as the snake hissed louder before Lockhart stepped in front of Harry and brandished his wand.

Inhale.

"Not to worry, I'll deal with it Harry. Alarte Ascendarare!" The snake rocketed into the air, coming to a halt twenty feet up and twisting in the air for a moment before it plummeted back down, this time landing just to the side of the platform and even more furiously lashing out at those around it. Susan and Hannah let out screams as they tried to push away from the angry serpent, it shot closer to them and reared back to strike.

Exhale.

'Stop!' Harry shouted as he traced another shape in the air, this time adding a twist to the end as he envisioned the change he wanted, needed to make to the familiar spell. For the briefest of moments, it paused in its actions as more gasps echoed around the hall, but then it's head inched backwards further before shooting forward at the girls.

"Arx Murum." It took a heartbeat longer to form, but luckily it was a much smaller dome he wanted to make this time as the hexagonal shield formed over the snake just in time for it to collide with the walls of the small hemisphere and bounce off with a dull thud.

It took almost twenty seconds before the snake gave a shudder and stiffened, twisting back into a lifeless, if slightly warped, piece of wood as Malfoy's spell failed. Once it did, Harry let his hold on the modified shield spell drop along with his wand arm as he took several deep breaths, now that the adrenaline was fading, he could feel the strain of casting the spell in a way that was very much not how it was intended to be used. Despite the tremors in his arm, he was rather proud of himself, he had manipulated a spell on the fly for a second time. He couldn't wait to tell Professor Flitwick about it.

He stepped slowly off the stage and down to the still cleared space beside the platform, he knew Susan and Hannah would still be shaken by their encounter with the vicious snake so he wasn't surprised when they didn't immediately thank him for saving them. He was surprised when Hannah stepped away from him and Susan flinched as he stepped closer.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he stopped a few feet away from them, Terry took a half step towards him and patted his arm and Neville moved to do the same before Hermione pulled him back forcefully with a harsh whisper. He didn't catch what she said but he did hear the other whispers and murmurings that began to buzz around him.

"Parseltongue…"

"Snake whisperer..."

"Heir of Slytherin…"

END