The rest of February soon rolled into March, and Angelina resumed Quidditch practise for the Gryffindor team the first March weekend. Their captain had given them a three-week break from practise, simply because her, Alicia, Fred and George had been swamped on the NEWT front. Angelina and Alicia in particular had scored a mixture of O's, E's and A's in their mocks, and had been pretty stressed regarding the A's as they'd gotten them in Potions and Transfiguration - subjects they needed at least an E in to land them their jobs. They'd been studying non-stop since the mocks, and after some class tests, were happy to get back to practising once it was revealed they'd done loads better, receiving E's. Angelina had also halted their practises due to the fact that Gryffindor weren't playing another game of Quidditch until the end of March anyway.
Angelina worked them triply hard to make up for the time they'd missed, though. By the end of practise, Ginny had a strained neck, Fred a pulled bicep muscle, and Ron's fingers had taken a beating (even with his Keeper gloves on) with all the quaffles being aimed at him. Katie was back on the team as well, but even though Dorea had been demoted to a Reserve Chaser again, it didn't mean she was exempt from being worked either. The whole team either limped or hobbled back to the changing rooms once the practise was done, eager to get into the showers and then bed. They were going to be sore in the morning, that was for sure.
Amelia was feeling pretty worn out by the morning, even after eight hours of sleep. So much so that at breakfast, she asked her twin if he still had any Wiggenweld Potions in his satchel. Luckily, he had one vial left, so she downed it in earnest; it didn't even taste all that bad in the moment. She could already feel it nulling the pain.
They'd reached a point in their classes where the professors were giving them both written and practical tests constantly. Professor McGonagall in particular - she would give them the whole double period on Tuesday to work individually through written papers she'd compiled herself, and on the Wednesday period they would get their results back and talk through the paper. Amelia felt a bit crap that she'd only been five marks off an E, but Professor McGonagall told her not to worry - it turned out half the class had gotten A's as well. Hermione, being brilliant, had been seven marks off an O. Sprout had done the same thing in Herbology, and Neville had received his first O in anything.
The OWL study groups had also partially kickstarted - everyone had managed to be free on the first Sunday in March, so that time was dedicated to Charms, led by Padma and Seamus. Most of the fifth years (barring Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and Millicent obviously) came along to Classroom 11 to revise. Though Seamus was something of a class clown, he was pretty good at explaining things and never talked over Padma, who was very underrated in terms of the subject. By the end of the session, everyone had gone through the OWL Charms curriculum with ease; Padma said that next session she would try to ask Professor Flitiwck if there were any copies of previous years exam papers they could use to go through the theory stuff.
Slowly, other groups had started up too. Neville and Wayne started up Herbology on Friday evenings after dinner, which had good attendance. Harry had just decided to incorporate his Defence study group into the DA to make things easier, which was a wise decision. The Senior group would spend half the session working on their duels and spend the other half just doing their own thing; though the fifth year members were all soon gathering on one side of the Room to revise Defence both theoretically and practically. The NEWT students soon picked up on study sessions too - though their groups ran at different times for obvious reasons.
The teachers in particular were very surprised but delighted that study groups had started making an appearance. It certainly took a bit of work off their shoulders. For the most part, they felt nothing short of glad that students were mixing and mingling, helping to better both themselves and their friends in their subjects. You could even say they were proud of them for taking the initiative.
Amelia also spent the weekend evenings working on her wandless abilities, which normally involved either Theo, Harry or Dorea accompanying her. When Dorea came along with her, her godsister usually spent the time reading up on wandlore whilst she practised. As the weeks progressed, she kept getting better, - she had now mastered all of the first-year Charms wandlessly (except for Lumos, obviously) and moved on to Transfiguration spells, though she did mix it up some days and include some first-year Defence Against the Dark Arts spells too. The time delay clocks were a godsend, truly.
During the second week of March, a notice went up on the bulletin board in the common room. It stated that all fifth years were required to attend a one-on-one session with their Head of House before Easter to discuss careers. On the sheet of paper also detailed the pre-scheduled times the Gryffindor fifth years were expected to go and see Professor McGonagall. Amelia's was on the Friday exactly two weeks before they broke up for Easter, at three, whilst Harry's was the same week but on a Monday. Dorea's, Ron's and Hermione's were all the week before, as was Lavender's.
As a result, loads of different pamphlets and leaflets containing career information were available in multiple copies for them to read at their leisure before then. "I don't fancy Healing that much," Seamus said fervently, "They want at least E's at NEWT level in Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms and Defence. Gosh, they really want a lot, don't they?"
"Well, it's a very hands-on and responsible job." Parvati commented, sifting through a leaflet that had "HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO HARVEST HIGHLY SOUGHT-AFTER WAND WOOD?" emboldened on the front of it.
"Blimey, my dad's job isn't really asking for much, listen to this: 'All we want from you is an E or above in OWL Muggle Studies, but much more important is your enthusiasm, acceptance and good sense of humour!" Ron said, reading the Muggle Relations leaflet.
Amelia herself was skimming through a leaflet produced by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. All they were looking for were passing grade OWLs in Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration and Defence. Though she loved studying Creatures, she hadn't really considered it as a career; in fact, thinking about her future job hadn't really crossed her mind at all. She came to a conclusion that there wasn't really any rush - she could just take loads of different subjects so she had qualifications that were sought after in a lot of fields and make a decision from there: sort of a foot in every camp, all bases covered scenario. Harry and Dorea were thinking the same - in fact, only a few people in their year had an official idea of what they wanted to do.
"What does Curse-Breaking entail?" Dean voiced.
"Ooh, my brother Bill does that!" Ron was all too pleased to explain. "It's mostly breaking, countering or removing curses placed on either objects or places. You've got to be good at Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, though. He gets to travel the world, it sounds amazing! We went to see him when he was deployed to Egypt one time-"
She hadn't heard the rest, electing to just read. Amelia took a copy of each information leaflet and stored them neatly away in her bag for future reference. She knew that either Sirius or Remus were probably going to ask them during the Easter holidays what career they were hoping to pursue, but she knew they really wouldn't mind if they told them they didn't really know yet. There were still two more years of school to go. Aye, and a war to win.
As they were getting towards the end of the Healing short-course, Madam Pomfrey really got them doing the nitty-gritty stuff. Even though the Matron said before that in order for them to practise healing breaks and fractures they would be practising on consenting seventh year students, that had gone out the window - for instead they were going to be practising on an all-new simulator, approved by St Mungo's at the start of the year. It mimicked a human, but with one wave of a wand it could go from having a sprained wrist to a broken thigh bone. As predicted, a lot of people had gotten grossed out at it, but they would have to stomach it. After all, they knew before signing up that the course would entail this sort of thing, they'd had ages to prepare.
Harry did feel squeamish looking at the broken bone which was almost poking through the skin of the simulation-human, but he was better at stomaching it than others. One of Pansy Parkinson's friends had gagged at the sight of it when it was her turn to practise on it, and chickened out. Even Hannah, Daphne and Mandy - three people who were determined to become Healers, - pulled a face at the sight of seeing a broken bone likely for the first time. Madam Pomfrey was getting a bit exasperated, you could tell.
"Mr Potter, why don't you try?" the woman said, although she said it more as a demand than a question. He gulped, and went over.
Up close, he did quickly look away from it a few times, as if that would make it any less gross to look at. However, he was going to do it. This is everyday stuff for Healers, he thought, if I do decide to pursue it as a career, I need to get my act together.
"Now, hold your wand near the break… that's it, good. Stop shaking, that could make the spell go wrong. Now, on three, cast Brackium Emendo." The Matron instructed.
He remembered when Professor Lockhart had used this spell on him in second year, when he'd been injured in Quidditch. It was a rather distasteful memory - the man hadn't healed his broken bones, he'd miscast it and vanished them instead. He swore he could still taste the Skele-Gro to this day… or maybe that was just bile.
Harry wanted to get it right though, so pushed that memory aside. "Brackium Emendo!"
Just like that, the bone was no longer dislodged: a slightly horrible clicking sound could be heard as he watched the bone fix itself back into place. It was only a momentary sound, though. Madam Pomfrey looked very pleased. "Excellent work! I'd say that was near perfect!"
He thanked her, and went back over to his friends. "It's really not that bad, guys," he said as a bit of an encouragement, "just cast the spell and you no longer have to look at it."
Eventually the rest of them got through it, though they went ten minutes overtime due to the more over dramatic ones being that bit more reluctant - Millicent Bulstrode claimed she was going to faint. Madam Pomfrey was a no-nonsense person, and told them to suck it up and just do the spell as they were holding everyone back. Once that was finally over and done with, she assigned them an essay to do - regarding the Brackium Emendo spell, its uses and limitations, advantages and disadvantages, and its possible side effects due for their next session. Then she let them go.
"That wasn't so bad," Hermione said as they neared the common room. "After all, if any of us are to be Healers, it's good to get that type of experience in beforehand."
"Wasn't so bad?" Lavender said in disbelief, "it was awful! I wouldn't have minded it if the bone wasn't almost protruding out of the skin, but that made me feel light-headed."
"I bet we'll have to prove we can fix a bone in the practical test," Parvati realised, "oh no… We'll be under pressure as well!"
Harry had almost forgotten there was also going to be tests of some sort for the Healing lessons. He wondered if they were going to be held before the OWLs or towards the end of the exam period. He made a mental note to ask Madam Pomfrey before the next lesson in two weeks time. If they were to be held before June - he would really need to start revision for it. Even though it wasn't an official course, just an extracurricular one, he wanted to do really well in it.
As the days rattled by and got closer and closer to Easter holidays, Harry was beginning to feel worn out. He was sure that he was spending a bit too much time using the time-delay feature in the Room of Requirement - for he'd go to classes yawning. He'd almost cocked up in Potions one day brewing an Everlasting Elixir, but managed to check himself before any damage could be done. One Saturday, he'd accepted an invitation from Blaise and Theo (though Barnaby Lee and Neville came along too) to brew in Dungeon Five. It felt like he'd been yawning every few minutes; he decided to cut down the time he spent in the Room, for the sake of his body clock. It was either that or shorten the time he extended.
He was getting started on the Draught of Peace; which they hadn't brewed since the start of term. Barnaby, being a fourth year, was getting started on Weedosoros whilst Neville decided to brew an Invigoration Draught. Theodore and Blaise were working through potions that they thought most likely to come up in the OWL exam, and were brewing them without the instructions in front of them. Harry was powdering his moonstone when he noticed Blaise and Theo were looking like they wanted to say something. "What's up?" He asked nonchalantly.
"Oh, well…" Theo started.
"Nah, I'll tell him mate," Blaise cut in. Harry wondered where on earth this was going. "There's something I need to ask."
"Go on," he urged.
Blaise Zabini took a deep breath. "Well, y'know how Theo was forbidden to return to his house before Christmas? I'm kind of going through the same."
Harry was startled. He certainly didn't feel tired anymore - that piece of information woke him right up. So much so he paused his cauldron, as he had a feeling there was a story about to be told. "You've also been kicked out of your house?"
Blaise nodded. "To make a long story short - my mum is currently dating a marked Death Eater, called Richard. Very tall bloke. Anyway, he moved in last April, and since then I've practically been barricaded within my bedroom. I went down the day before we went back in January to make myself a drink, and they both sat at the counter. My mum turns to me and says that she and Richard want me to take the Dark Mark when I turn sixteen. Obviously not gonna happen, just clarifying. I say no, and they go mental, mate. Ballistic. I had enough - I barged past them to go up to my room, and without even thinking I just packed my stuff. Everything that I could fit in my trunk. I literally slammed the door in their face, walked out, got the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron and got an overnight room. Then the next day is obviously back to school, so I just Floo to the station. Not been back, and don't plan on it. They've been hurling abuse at me every week since, in letters. I suspect one day they'll send a Howler."
Listening to Blaise explain all of that very quickly had proper woken Harry up. Even Neville and Barnaby were looking shocked. It was a good thing they were the only ones in the room.
"That's awful!" Neville exclaimed, taking the words out of Harry's mouth.
Harry couldn't help but compare it to his own home life when he and Amelia were still living at the Dursleys - walking on eggshells sort of thing. He felt glad that Blaise didn't conform to his mother's wishes, yet all the same wished it didn't have to come to him getting kicked out of his own house, like Theo.
He noticed Barnaby looked quite dazed. He remembered that the boy's parents were dark magic users - could he be going through something similar? It was plausible - though he had no clue what the boy's parents were really like. He would privately ask him.
"I'm assuming you were planning on staying here for Easter holidays?" Harry asked Blaise.
The boy nodded. "Yeah. But there's something else - me and Theo talked about this the other day… I was wondering… if I could come stay with you, Harry."
Blaise must've known from Theo that Black Manor was a highly-secret location, as he didn't call it by its name around Neville and Barnaby. He was grateful for that. "I'd have no qualms with it, and neither would the girls. I'll put the question to Professor Black some point before the holidays." He replied. Another housemate, he thought. He knew that Blaise was going to love the Potions Lab.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Zabini pulled him into a side hug. Harry was thankful that his close friend now had a place to crash, rather than be homeless. He did wonder if Sirius was going to be a bit exasperated though - after all, Black Manor had only meant to be inhabited by him, Harry, Amelia and Dorea - since Christmas, it had become the home of Theo, Mrs Nott, Regulus, and now Blaise was to be added. Not only that, but Theo's uncle Proteus had access to it, and sooner or later Ophelia Nott's sister and mother probably would be coming over too. He was sure that Sirius would draw the line somewhere.
They resumed their potion-making. By the end, Harry's Draught of Peace looked perfect. He was sure it would receive an O if he had been brewing it in an exam right now. Blaise had done good too, as had Theo - though his Befuddlement Draught was a few shades lighter than it was supposed to be. Harry was delighted to see that Neville had improved in Potions almost as much as Harry had; he no longer fumbled, and he always kept on top of what he was doing and totally immersing himself in his work, barely taking notice of anything else around him. The only thing that truly held Neville back in the subject was Snape after all.
Once they had tidied everything away and left Dungeon Five, they realised that the weather outside was glorious - though the ground was slightly wet, it was very warm weather for March. Students were taking advantage of the nice weather - more people were walking about the grounds, sitting by the lake or on the hill revising. Others were just milling about.
They saw quite a lot of the Senior DA group sitting under the beech tree that overlooked the Black Lake. Upon closer inspection, it looked like Hermione and Sue Li were holding a Transfiguration study session.
"Shall we go join them?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, I need to get to grips with Switching Spells." Neville nodded, as did Blaise and Theo.
"I'm gonna go and find my other friends, I said I'd meet them." Barnaby Lee said, and they said farewell to him.
They wandered over, and slung their bags on the ground before sitting down themselves. Hermione soon came over. "You guys haven't missed much - we only started ten minutes ago."
"We're going over Vanishing Spells just now, but everyone's requested to also cover the Inanimatus Conjuring Spell, so we'll do that towards the end." Sue explained. Harry, Blaise, Theo and Neville all nodded and got their wands out.
After almost an hour and a half, they had covered everything to do with fifth year Transfiguration. Hermione and Sue were very good at both the theory side of things and the practical stuff. Neville had mastered the Switching Spells as well, which really improved his confidence.
Just before they concluded the session, Hannah and Mandy wanted their attention. "For those that do Healing: We went to Madam Pomfrey earlier, and she said that our theory and practical tests will be held exactly two weeks before the OWLs start - on the Monday." Mandy Brocklehurst explained.
Everyone nodded, noting that down. "A fortnight before OWLs?" Parvati seemed confused by it. "You would have thought they'd be held straight after them, or even during them."
"We thought that too; but the seventh years still have to do their week long placement at St Mungo's, and obviously they can't be doing that during the exam period, or after it since they're graduating, so it's being held before." Hannah replied.
"Oh, well I suppose that makes sense." Parvati said.
They got up to leave, since it was probably nearly lunch time. "Feel sorry for you lot, doing Healing." Blaise said. Clearly the subject wasn't for him.
"It's actually really interesting - though we do have to look at gross things such as broken bones, it gives you a good insight." Harry replied. That reminded him. "When are your career appointments?"
"On the Wednesday before Easter break," Theo said.
"Mine's is next week." Blaise said. Harry noticed Neville had gone over to Hannah.
"Do you have any idea what you want to do after graduating?" He asked the two of them, curious.
"I haven't narrowed it down yet, but with my proficiency in Potions I could probably do a few things with it. I'm sure there's a Department at the Ministry dedicated to that sort of thing. There's also the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers… I might ask Snape about what they do." Blaise answered.
"I remember mentioning to my dad when I was younger that being an Auror sounded cool - but he gave me a right thump. I had no clue at the time that an Auror's purpose was to catch Death Eaters and those who practice dark magic - alas, my father's side of the family, - so that would be a bit controversial." Theo explained as they walked back up.
Lunch was a relaxed affair, and was spent in the company of the Ravenclaw's. Harry started a conversation topic regarding exams and their future careers, and was really intrigued by the responses he got. Anthony, being one of the top students, was undecided about his career but would obviously like anything in the Ancient Runes, Arithmancy or Transfiguration fields. Mandy was determined to become a Healer, he knew that already, but Lisa's response surprised him: she was really interested in becoming a Historian. "Bathilda Bagshot's books have always interested me, and my mum's a researcher, so it's a given really that I'm good at it." She had said. "Who knows, maybe one day Professor Binns will join the Headless Hunt or something and I'll become the History teacher."
Harry made a mental note to always remember to go to Lisa if he ever needed help with History of Magic revision. Terry was another person who could probably go into anything - since he was also somebody smart. The boy said his top two career choices were currently between Historian or Wizard Lawyer.
Soon enough, time rolled on seemingly quicker, and it was the final two weeks of term before Easter holidays. Revision was really cranked up - both in classes and with everybody in general. The OWL study groups were really progressing, and as a result the DA did too (the Senior group, particularly, since the Junior's didn't have important exams to worry about). The meetings became time slots to practise whatever people wanted, which was a chance nobody passed up; since Easter holidays weren't really 'holidays' as such since exams were getting ever closer.
On Monday, Harry had to excuse himself from Ancient Runes halfway through the fifth period as he had to go to his career's meeting with McGonagall. He remembered the last time he had been in her office - when Umbridge had banned him, Fred and George from Quidditch. It was a horrid memory; his Head of House had slammed her fist on the table she had been that angry at them. He was glad he was going to the office to discuss happier topics this time round.
He knocked twice before entering. Professor McGonagall ushered him in. "Take a seat, Potter."
He gladly sat down opposite her. "I'm sure you're aware, you're here to discuss the subjects you hope to take at NEWT level next year in order to progress into the world of work. Have you given your future job prospects a thought?" His teacher asked.
"I have been thinking," he said honestly, "I did think becoming an Auror sounded good, but now I'm not so sure. I enjoy a lot of things, and right now, I think I'll keep every option open."
His Transfiguration teacher nodded. "A wise decision. Do you plan on taking the subjects you're doing now at NEWT level?"
He had a think. "Right now, yes. It would be very beneficial to have all of them as my qualifications. However, a lot of them depend on how well I do in my OWL's, as you know."
"Indeed. I can tell you right now what you're averaging at in your classes." McGonagall said, and eyed him with a knowing smile when he looked surprised.
"Let's hear it." He said, knowing that he was nothing below a D.
"Your Defence Against the Dark Arts marks are, as always, superb. Professor Lupin is really impressed not just with your marks, but your fellow yearmates grades as well. I do not have your History of Magic grades from Binns yet, but you're probably doing okay in that. In Charms, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Astronomy, you're pretty much averaging E's. I have notes from Professor's Vector and Babbling that you're getting solid A's at the moment, but both of them, and I, are confident that you'll bring both those subjects up to E standard."
Harry balked slightly at that, in surprise. "Me getting an E in Runes is far more likely to happen than me getting an E in Arithmancy - I'd be content with an A in it, Professor."
McGonagall chuckled. "You beat yourself up too much in regards to the latter subject, Potter. Vector herself is very impressed at how well you're coping in OWL Arithmancy considering you started studying it mere months ago. Like I said before, revision and hard work will both boost your marks. I'm sure you know the requirements to become an Auror?"
"Yes," he said, "five NEWTs, and nothing below Exceeds Expectations."
"And not to mention the constant tests in the Auror Training Programme. They only take the very best, Potter, but if you do choose to become one - I will make sure you qualify as one if it's the last thing I do." Professor McGonagall replied.
He nodded, understanding. "I'll have another read through the leaflets over the holidays."
That supposedly concluded the career's advice meeting. Just before he was about to say farewell, McGonagall spoke. "I hope you haven't forgotten that Gryffindor are playing Hufflepuff a few days before Easter, Potter."
"Would never forget, Professor, not with how hard Angelina is working us."
His teacher almost smirked. "See that it continues. I'd rather like the Quidditch Cup back in my office this year."
March 23rd was the Quidditch game between Slytherin and Ravenclaw. It was fair to say that Slytherin dominated the majority of the game - it was a bit distasteful to admit how good the Slytherin Chaser's actually were. Adrian Pucey, their recent new acquaintance, was pretty nimble and sly. Skye Parkin virtually carried the entire Ravenclaw team on her back; she was probably the reason the team didn't totally lose heart. It was truly a miracle when Cho managed to catch the Snitch from right under Malfoy's nose and end the match, meaning that Ravenclaw only lost by thirty points. Because of the result, it meant that Slytherin had pushed Gryffindor out of first place; which meant Angelina's practises only got tougher, much to their chagrin. It was fair to say that Harry was dishing out Wiggenweld Potions to almost all of the team; their practises were taking quite a lot out of them, though try telling Angelina Johnson that.
After their Quidditch practise on the Wednesday evening, just days before their match, Harry was one of the last people in the changing rooms. He'd pulled a muscle in his arm slightly during the last ten minutes, though it wasn't hurting him too much, he took his time to get changed. "Go on ahead, Alicia, I'll lock up." He told his fellow teammate.
"Are you sure, Harry?" Spinnet asked.
"Yeah, it's fine." He responded. With that, the Chaser left him.
Amelia, Dorea and Ron had already gone back up to the castle, meaning he'd be walking back himself. But that wasn't a worry at all - it was barely a two minute walk. Just as he went to freshen himself up, he was sure he heard a noise.
Turning slowly, he realised that nobody else was in the changing rooms with him. It was probably nothing, he thought, probably just something in one of the cabinets.
He heard it again though. This time, he was sure it was something moving around. "Hello?" Harry called out, uncertainly. He had one of his hands ready around his wand, up his sleeve, and was prepared to whip it out and use it at any moment. He was probably going to be really embarrassed if it was a tiny little mouse just scurrying around, but it was better to be safe rather than sorry.
"Ginny? Katie?" He called out, moving forward a step. "Ron?"
He was met with silence. Half of him wanted to just shrug it off as being a simple noise, while the other half of him was being very paranoid about it. Could someone really be in here with him? Surely not - how and when would they have gotten in? Up until five minutes ago, the changing rooms had been full with the Gryffindor team and its Reserves; if somebody had sneaked in then, you would have thought someone would have noticed.
Something clicked then: the out of order cubicle at the end.
Just as he thought of that as being a possibility, a creaking sound was heard again. He got the fright of his life when the cubicle door swung open suddenly. Without a second thought, he shouted, "Homenum Revelio!"
Two figures were revealed to him - who promptly swore profusely when they realised their cover was blown. Harry praised his own quick thinking - he could have been blindly sending out spells and not knowing where they were going to come from. He couldn't believe he was involved in yet another attack..
The two people sent out an assortment of spells, yet they didn't even touch Harry due to his very strong Protego. "Come on, you can do better than that!" He even taunted them. He only got a single moment in the frenzy to look at just who was attacking him.
One of the attackers was Miles Bletchley, the Slytherin Keeper. That surprised him a bit; he had never interacted with the fourth year boy before, but didn't think the lad was someone who was a dark magic user. Obviously he was.
The second boy was a bit of a mystery. Harry recognised him from places such as the corridors and social areas, but couldn't put a name to his face. He was a Slytherin, though. He looked to be older than both Harry and Bletchley.
"You disgrace!" The second boy was calling out as he sent out spells. Their rampage of spells carried on for god knows how long - Harry didn't even know what he was sending out anymore. A thought came to him then - he could knock out the older student and then he would only have to face Bletchley, who was a year younger than him so therefore not as experienced spell-wise. As soon as he thought of that idea, he sent out a Stunning Spell before quietly whispering a second one to go out straight after it; which almost worked, but the older Slytherin dodged it and instead hit the cubicle door - which clattered to the ground very noisily. He tried to use the moment of distraction to send out an Expelliarmus, which worked.
"You'll pay for that, Potte-"
The older student didn't get a chance to finish his sentence - Harry sent him flying through the air and backwards a good few feet. The boy was now stunned, and Harry could deal with Bletchley now.
"Why?" Was all Harry asked the boy. Miles Bletchley now looked a bit bewildered; he was on his own, no longer at an advantage.
"Y-you need to be dealt with." Miles answered, trying to sound intimidating.
"Killed by your master, you mean?" Harry bit back, taunting, and sounding a bit like Malfoy.
"Precisely." Bletchley said. They stared at one another for a moment before the younger Slytherin made a sudden dash to send out more spells. Harry's reactions were uber quick, though, and he fluently disarmed him. The boy grimaced.
"I'm giving you a chance to not disgrace yourself," Harry said, two wands now in his hand, "and come with me to hand yourself in to the Headmaster. There's honour in that - you'll be less likely to get expelled. The Slytherin team will need you."
For a split second, Bletchely looked like he was considering: he had a look on his face, now that he was unarmed, that screamed how uncomfortable he was. Had he lost heart? Had he been roped into this? The boy's blue eyes even looked pleading, and guilty. But that all changed. "No, I think not."
There was a short interim pause, but what happened next Harry was not expecting. Bletchley suddenly screeched. "Now!"
Harry had no clue how he'd managed to react so quickly - for sailing towards him was what looked like a rusted coat hanger. It had been flung over the top of the cubicle that was out of order - which could only mean there had been a third person with Bletchley and the other boy the whole time.
His mega-fast reflexes knew that this wasn't good. Why, out of every inanimate object, would someone throw a coat hanger of all things?
The coat hanger could only be a Portkey.
Before dodging it, Harry very quickly cast the Slowing Spell. He was never more grateful when its rattling speed was suddenly exceptionally slower. Wherever that Portkey was programmed to go… He shuddered to think that there was likely someone on the other end waiting for him; namely Voldemort, and the Death Eaters. They were hoping to ambush me, to lob it at me that quickly that I wouldn't know what was happening, and offer me to Voldemort on a silver platter. He deduced.
Now a safe distance from the Portkey, a wave of anger arrived. Harry ended up breaking another cubicle door off its hinges when he sent Bletchley flying backwards in a fury. He quickly cast Incarcerous to make sure that the boy was trapped, and knocked him out to be sure. He sent another Stunning spell at the other boy who'd been knocked out earlier.
"Show yourself!" He barked, wand out and ready, and referring to the third person who had thrown the Portkey.
"What in the world is going on here?!" He heard a voice from outside. Within seconds, the changing room door burst open, and Madam Hooch was standing windswept in the doorway. "Potter, what…. Goodness gracious, why are there doors off their hinges?! Who are these people you've knocked out and bound?!" the Flying instructor and Quidditch referee demanded frantically.
"Bletchley and this other boy came from the out of order cubicle and tried to ambush me when they knew I was alone. There is a third person in that cubicle, Madam, they tried to throw that Portkey at me to take me to god knows where. They planned this." He explained as best as he could. His heart was racing. The third person had nowhere to run now, unlike last time - Francis Selwyn had managed to run away in a flash, but there was no way to leave the Quidditch changing rooms except via the way you came into them.
Madam Hooch looked very uncertain. "You're certain?"
"I heard them moving around - they were initially under a Cave Inimicum. I cast the Human Revealing Spell which caught them off guard, and then they started attacking. The third person waited for a signal from Bletchley before throwing the Portkey over the cubicle, hoping it would hit me and take me away." He said.
Madam Hooch kind of understood. "We will investigate this. Now, whoever is in there, REVEAL YOURSELF!"
They heard a shuffling around inside the cubicle, and even a groan or two. Student and teacher looked at one another. Rolanda Hooch yanked the door back, and the third person was revealed.
It was a very disoriented and confused looking Zacharias Smith.
"Smith?" Harry bit out in venom. He couldn't believe it - Zach Smith, DA member and Hufflepuff, had tried to hand Harry over to Voldemort? Was the boy a Death Eater, or did he have sympathies with them at least? He felt himself go cold - could the boy's family think along the same lines too, even little Sally, second year?
Zacharias was half-leaning up against the wall, slouched and rubbing his eyes. You would have thought he'd been sleeping there. Harry just gawked at the boy's audacity.
When Smith moved his hands away from his face, Harry was a bit mortified to see the word TRAITOR spelled out on the boy's forehead. It looked like a breakout of boils.
"What do you have to say for yourself, young man?" Hooch roared at Zacharias. "Attacking someone when they're alone?! An utter disgrace! You can consider yourself expelled from this establishment, boy!"
Smith seemed to be on high alert then. They boy looked up at them seemingly half-dazed. "W-what? Expelled? For what?"
"You have the gall to say that," Harry snarled.
"What are you on about, Potter? How did I get here?" Smith's eyebrows were furrowed.
"Nice try," Hooch said irately, "that won't fly past Dumbledore. Now get up."
"Wait!" Zacharias said, "I literally have no clue what I'm in trouble for, alright? Can someone clarify? I do not remember what I did."
Harry was fuming at this point. Why couldn't Smith just admit he'd been caught red handed? The lad was just delaying the inevitable - the inevitable being his expulsion.
"You do not remember anything?" Madam Hooch repeated slowly, as if she didn't believe him.
"Not a thing." Smith replied.
"He's lying!" Harry bellowed.
"Yes, I know that Potter!" Hooch rounded on him.
"Are either of you listening to me? I do not remember anything! Nada! I don't even know how I got here, alright?!" Smith was frantic. "I can't be expelled if I don't know what I did!"
Harry sighed, stressed out and beyond pissed that Smith was so blatantly lying. He tried so hard to tame his angry emotions. "Look, let's just go to Dumbledore before these two wake up again." Harry compromised.
To make things easier, Madam Hooch levitated the knocked-out forms of Bletchley and the other boy, who Hooch said was known as Harper. In case Zach decided to run, Harry hit him with an Incarcerous just in case (to Smith's loud protest) but didn't stun him.
When they entered Dumbledore's office, the man was speaking to Remus and Snape. The three men turned to look at them. As soon as Snape saw the green-lined robes of his Slytherin students, he was on high alert. "Why are Bletchley and Harper knocked out? Potter! What did you do to them?"
Remus was more calm. "Harry, are you alright?"
He nodded. The three of them were awaiting an explanation.
He told them everything, right from the moment he was left alone in the changing rooms. Snape kept scoffing, but Dumbledore kept silencing him before he could butt in and remark. Smith kept ardently protesting that he had no idea what was going on.
"I swear! I have no clue what I've done! I haven't remembered anything since dinner time!"
Harry blinked. The room was a bit silent. "Pardon, Mr Smith?" Dumbledore leaned forward, "You said you haven't remembered anything since six?"
"That's what I said." Zacharias confirmed, and Harry had to bite his tongue. If he weasels his way out of this…
The Headmaster was deep in thought. Remus kept eying Harry. Bletchely and Harper were starting to stir and regain consciousness, albeit slowly.
After a minute, Dumbledore spoke again. "Severus, call Rufus Scrimgeour here."
"Why?" the Potions master asked. Harry thought he'd heard that name before…
"Because Mr Smith here has possibly been placed under the Imperius Curse against his knowledge or will."