I present you with another chapter of my story, with the help of HowInMadeHowie, who once again helped me with avoiding some crucial mistakes.

I will have another A/N on the end of this chapter, so have fun reading it.

Daphne was walking with Hermione through the muggle side of King's Cross, since Hermione had told her via her family owl, Bruce, a few days prior that her parents could not bring her this year because they had a meeting with the dentists in the city on the same day. With them was Daphne's younger sister, Astoria. Hermione was smiling towards the younger girl, as it was obvious that she was curious about many things that muggles could do without magic.

Walking just behind the girls was Daphne's father. Since the attack on the Quidditch World cup, he seemed to be more guarded than before as he observed everyone around them for a sign that they would attack his family. He knew that he was just paranoid right now, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Soon, they arrived at the entrance to platform 9 ¾ and walked through it. On the platform itself, Hermione noticed that their friends were already here and talking with each other, but Harry was nowhere to be seen. Daphne noticed the look Hermione had and guessed for who she was looking for. "He would stand out like a giant, with his height and all. I am sure he is already on the train and waiting for us. Come on, let's search for him inside the train. Astoria, why don't you go and look for your friends?"

Astoria smiled and did ran off, with David finally relaxing and grabbing Astoria's trunk to pull it towards the train. Hermione and Daphne watched Astoria and David go, with Astoria walking towards a carriage, but she was stopped as a tall boy came out the same door, surprising the younger Greengrass sister. Luckily she was not pushed back or fell down the stairs of the carriage, but the boy was so tall that she had to crane her neck to see his face. She blushed when she recognized Harry coming down the stairs of the carriage and grabbing the trunk from the trolley.

Hermione and Daphne could see Astoria apologizing for not looking where she was going and recognized Harry smiling down at Astoria. David who was also looking at Harry in surprise. "I must say Mr. Potter, whatever happened to you over the summer must have been something. My wife and Daphne already told me that you have grown very much, but this seems almost laughable. Do tell me, did you fall into a growing potion?"

Hermione and Daphne quickly walked over to them and heard Harry assuring David that everything was alright. Lifting up the trunk inside the train for Astoria,who promptly thanked him for his assistance. Harry turned back to see Hermione and Daphne were standing next to them, so he stayed outside to pick up their trunks from their trolleys and placed them inside too. Daphne was laughing when she tried to explain to her sister's blushing from seeing how different Harry was.

Astoria hugged her father goodbye before she left her sister to pick up her trunk and look for her friends. Daphne then hugged her father goodbye and joined Hermione and Harry on the train.

Harry then picked up his friends' trunks and led them to the compartment he had put his trunk in, so it would be reserved. He then lifted their trunks up to the rack, like he had done since their second year. He turned around and told them that he would look for the rest of their group, but before he walked back out he asked Hermione on what they would bet that the Weasleys would be coming at the last minute again. They laughed when Harry walked out the compartment and Hermione and Daphne sat down. They then discussed something peculiar on their school list for this year.

Hermione looked up to her trunk, having a curious look on her face. "I do wonder why we should bring dress robes with us. Do you have a guess, Daphne?"

Daphne shook her head, not knowing what this was about. "If you ask me, something special is happening this year that we should bring dress robes that would fit a formal dance. To be honest, I wonder more about if the boys in our year can dance at all. The only one I can think of who would be ready for it is Harry, but he is an exception for almost everything." Daphne chuckled at her own joke.

They soon were joined by Susan and Hannah, who was now calling Neville over to them. Hannah then was looking at Hermione and Daphne with a surprised expression and asked them if they knew that Harry had grown so tall over the summer. "I mean seriously, he is only fourteen for Merlin's sake. I mean, Neville also shot up a whole foot in height, but Harry 's growth is almost ridiculous."

Susan laughed in her seat at Hannah's reaction to Harry, that sparkle was something that Susan liked about her best friend. "Now you believe me? Honestly, I even showed you a picture where you could see Harry with us taken from a journalist during the World Cup, but you just said that he had to stand closer to the camera then the rest of us." Susan laughed when Hannah blushed.

Hannah was now laughing, scratching the back of her head. "Well, it was honestly the best thing I could think of. Because such a growth spurt seems just so unreal. But seeing Harry now in person, I wonder how tall he is compared to the adults and Mr. Wulf."

Hermione told Hannah that Chief Wulf is taller than Harry, adding a comment her father explained to her when she returned home. "As for Harry's growth spurt, it's not that unusual. According to my father some boys can get as tall as 7'. In fact, Dad showed me a picture of the world's tallest man who was 8 '2. Of course there's also Peter Mayhew, you might remember him as the actor who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars movies. Dad said in real life he's 7'3" That stated fact had everyone staring at her in shock.

Susan's eyes widen in shock. "He's really that tall, under that furry costume?"

Daphne was confused. "Why does your father have a picture of the world's tallest man?"

Hermione huffed in exasperation. "Honestly, haven't you ever heard of Guiness book of World records?" Seeing the blank and confused looks from her friends, Hermione sighed. "Right muggle book, I suppose that would explain why Hagrid isn't in the book."

Susan's dry response had the others chuckling. "Because it would be breaking the Statute of Secrecy? Still, I didn't know muggles were taking records down of such trivial information."

They then were interrupted when Lavender came into their compartment with Parvati and Padme. They also wanted to discuss Harry´s growth spurt, but soon the topic changed to what had happened during the Quidditch World Cup. Soon they asked themselves if the Chief was the Phantom mentioned in the Daily Prophet a day after the incident. While they discussed this article, they were interrupted by a huff from Malfroy who was standing in the sliding door to the compartment.

Malfoy was standing in the doorway with his two lackeys, looking at everyone in the compartment. "I see that Potter is not here with his group of losers, has he finally realized that he is no match for me?"

Just at that moment, Harry came through the corridor of the carriage, after he heard Malfoy talking like that to his friends. Harry told Ron and Ginny to wait a moment, as he walked over to Malfoy to place a hand on his shoulder. "You know Malfoy, I never thought that you were this small."

Draco scoffed and turned around, but as he was looking for someone the same height that he was, the only thing he saw was Harry's broad chest. Draco's first thought was that he was confronted with Wulf until he looked up with a scowl and ready to throw a tantrum, when he recognized the glasses Potter wore. The only thing Draco could do at this point was gape in surprise.

Harry chuckled at the surprised expressions from Malfoy and his goons. Harry's tone then became serious again when he addressed them. "I would suggest that you leave now, or I will pick you and your two bookends up and see how far I can throw you." Harry could not resist having another joke at Draco's expense as the blond boy began to move away. "And if you want to talk down to me again, I am sure that my boots will not answer you."

Harry then called Ron and Ginny over, both of them laughing as they entered the compartment. Ron sat down beside Hermione and held his stomach. "Really mate, how you dressed Malfoy down was just too hilarious." He then noticed Daphne and Tracey giggling and looked sternly at them. His mindset towards other houses was no longer so bad as it was, but he still did not trust Slytherins.

Ginny then changed the subject when she told Harry that they had to visit the ministry shortly after the attack. "Madam Bones called our father to her office while he was at work, showed him the report of her investigation into the wand she found in the forest. Thanks to priorum incantatem it was obvious that the Dark Mark was cast using the wand. When Dad asked what all this had to do with him she showed him the wand and he recognized it as Ron's. She explained that she asked Mr. Ollivander to identify the owner of the wand. In short, she had him go home and collect Ron and bring him her office to find out when and how Ron lost his wand." Ginny looked at her brother with an amused look and shook her head. She continued with her story, "Since Ron was on the other end of the forest when they had found the wand with the house elf, it was obvious that it was not Ron who used the wand at the time. Madam Bones then gave the wand to Ron, but not before giving him a lecture about keeping track of his wand at all times. The funny thing is, Ron had searched all the bags at the campsite for it. When Dad took Ron back home, Dad took us all to Ollivander's to buy holsters, so that would not happen again in the future. The only good thing out of all this is that Mr Ollivander saw how many holsters he was selling at once and offered a deal to us if we agreed to tell people that he sold quality wand holsters he could give us a big discount. Surprisingly, Fred and George offered to pay for it with the money they won from Lord Black."

Ron huffed and crossed his arms as leaned back in his seat. "Yeah, Fred and George teased me for the rest of the week after the Quidditch world cup about it. Believe me, I learned my lesson, I will never leave my wand anywhere else than in its holster on my wrist when I am not using it. But something was strange, Bill and Charlie told us that something special is happening this year in Hogwarts, and Percy tried to make us ask what it was. And Mum even said that she was glad that this time it had an age requirement to enter. Do any of you have a clue?"

Susan nodded, as the niece of the head of the DMLE she was informed that something big was coming to Hogwarts. "But I swore to Auntie that I would not tell anyone, as it should be a surprise for everyone." Susan smiled apologetically to her friends.

Daphne and Hermione looked subtly towards Harry, who noticed it and shook his head just as subtly, looking towards Ron. The two girls understood what he meant, namely Harry also knew what was going on, but he wanted to keep it for himself until it was revealed. Ron could react violently if he found out too soon or did something stupid for attention, so Hermione and Daphne talked with the others.

When the door opened again, Harry turned around to see Luna with her trunk standing in the doorway, looking at him in recognition and wonder. "Hello Harry, it seems you have gone to Infinity. How tall are you now?" Luna's innocent statement about Infinity was ignored, most assumed it was her quirky way of seeing the world, well, most did ignore her innocent statement.

Harry, thinking quickly to distract the others from Luna's statement, quipped in turn. "To Infinity and beyond." Harry looked at her in surprise, telling Callie to make a report that Luna had Seen the name of the flagship in space. Callie told him that they already had anticipated this, and her orders are that Callie should keep an eye on Luna.

Luna giggled at Harry's response. No one paid the strange girl any mind but some did wonder why she found Harry's riposte amusing.

The rest of the train ride would remain filled with laughter about jokes, especially when Fred and George came by for a short visit. It seemed that Sirius had fulfilled his promise from the Quidditch Cup and now they were building a business for joke articles and were looking for some volunteers to test their products.

—-

In Malfoy Manor, Lucius was pacing behind his desk, with Mr. Smith sitting on one of the chairs. Lucius had just received the report from Mr. Smith that he was tasked to compile for Lucius. "And you sure about that? You did not find anything worth its salt?"

Smith corrected his glasses, looking sternly towards Lucius. "All I found out was his name, John Frederick Wulf. Everything else about his person is redacted, even his date of birth." At the confused look of Lucius' face, Smith explained further. "Redacted´ means that the documents are blacked out or destroyed beyond repair. But to my knowledge, that only happens if the person was in the special forces of a country and they cover up everything in his wake. He must be highly trained." Mr. Smith was smiling inversely, knowing full well that what he said was true, from a certain point of view. Only Doctor Halsey, Cortana and Lord Hood knew exactly what the Master Chief had done during the Human -Covenant war.

Lucius stopped and looked down at the sitting man. "Then, what about him being this ´Phantom´ that appeared after the match during the attack? If what you said is true, he would have the skill to fight against all of us."

Mr. Smith still looked sternly towards Lucius, not giving Lucius the satisfaction of feeling superior to him. "I highly doubt that. If Wulf really is that highly trained, he would also be conditioned to kill during combat. So if Wulf would have been in that smoke cloud, you and your ´friends´ would most likely be dead by now."

Mr. Smith of course knew that Blue Team was ordered to not kill, but to enlarge the status of the Phantom, ONI had decided to go with this cover. It seemed to work, as Lucius was even paler then he usually was.

Lucius coughed a bit before continuing the talk."So you are saying that this Phantom did not fight at his full power against us? If he was alone, that would mean that one man incapacitated 12 wizards in a very short time. Well, be it as it may, we still need more information. Maybe you can find out who cast the Dark Mark. But I want you still look into Wulf, as he will be a hindrance in case the Dark Lord really is returning. Narcissa, please show Mr. Smith out." Lucius sat back down at his desk as Mr. Smith and Narcissa left his study.

As they walked towards the front door, Narcissa pulled a small vial full of poison and gave it to Mr. Smith. He took it and looked at it, waiting for her explanation. "This is some of the poison Lucius has stored inside his study. In small doses, it only makes the victim receptive to his way of thinking, similar to the loyalty potion, but the higher the dose the deadlier it is. Perhaps your people can make an antidote that would work like those shots the muggles use against illnesses."

Mr. Smith nodded and put the vial in his pocket. Thanking her for this sample, she opened the door for him to let him out of the manor.

—-

As the students sat in the Great Hall for the opening feast, Harry saw that some students were looking at him with a curious look. He knew that some found it strange how much he had grown over the summer, but he did not mind the attention he gathered this way. While they ate after the new first years were sorted into their respective houses, Harry heard some older students discussing why they had to bring dress robes this year.

After dinner was eaten, Dumbledore stood back on the podium, and the students became silent when the headmaster lifted his hands. "And now that we are fed and hydrated, some announcements for this school year. For the first years, please note that the Forbidden Forest is just that, forbidden to enter. Some older students should remember that too." He looked at the Weasley twins with a twinkle in his eyes. "The second point, I regret to inform you that this year, the Hogwarts Quidditch Cup will be canceled.."

Harry heard the rest of the students body, most especially the quidditch teams themselves, roar in anger as they demanded an explanation on why this was.

Dumbledore lifted his hands again to signal them to quiet down again, so he could continue. "This is because the teachers will be too occupied with what is happening this year. I can announce that Hogwarts will host foreign students this year, as the Triwizard Tournament will be held here. After more than a century; it has been dormant due to the death toll. I will explain the rules for the Tournament on the night before Halloween, on the same day when the foreign students will arrive on the grounds. But what I can tell you now is that only students that are 17 years or older by that time are allowed to enter the Tournament."

Harry looked around the Great Hall and saw many determined looks from the students. He also heard the murmurs on how they could be chosen to enter in the tournament. Harry somehow felt nervous, even if he knew that it was almost certain that someone arranged for him to be chosen too. He heard Fred and George complaining to each other that they would be 17 just a few months after Halloween, and that they would find a way to enter the tournament.

At that moment, the magical ceiling of the Great Hall seemed to explode with lightning shot across the sky. Harry was surprised too, even if it was storming outside, the center of the storm itself should have been out for a few more hours. Next to the thunder, he heard someone walking through the door with a heavy step, with a dull clunk with every second step. Turning towards the sound, Harry saw a weathered man walking through the door, looking at the students in the Great Hall and leaning on a long staff that he held in his hand, before the man moved forward to the staff table. On his way, he pulled out his wand and held it in his hand, seemingly ready to defend himself as if he would be attacked.

Harry noticed that the man's face seemed to be carved out of stone, with scars scattered all over his face. He must have seen many battles in his life. But what surprised Harry the most were the eyes of this battle hardened man. One was just a normal brown eye, while the other was a steely electric blue and it moving ceaselessly in every direction, independently of the brown eye. One moment the blue eye even turned into his head, showing only white to the ones who watched him.

The man then moved further towards the staff table, and Callie found out who he was. "That's Alastor Moody, a 'forcibly' retired Auror. He still works at the ministry sometimes as an adviser when Madam Bones calls him in, but everything about his personality profile says that he would still be fighting if he would still be in the DMLE. His left eye was irreparably damaged during a fight, and he replaced it with a magical one that seemingly can see through everything. He also is one of the people who shoot first and ask questions later, all the while he expects an ambush around every corner. "

Moody soon arrived at the staff table, greeting Dumbledore like an old friend. Dumbledore returned the greetings, pointing to an empty chair at the table. After Moody had sat down, he looked at the fork and inspected the food. Being obviously satisfied that the small sausage was not poisoned, he took out his flask to take a sip from it.

According to Callie, it was normal for Moody to drink from his flask, as he expected that everything he did not prepare for himself was tampered with. "Also, his blue eye has magical properties and it's said to be able to see through almost everything. We have to test that one day, but until then we just assume that he can see through the invisibility cloaks

Dumbledore then turned back towards the students. "Let me introduce to you the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Alastor Moody. He is an old friend of mine and kindly agreed to take over the position as Professor Merigold has taken an extended leave due to family matters. He will also help Chief Wulf to keep you all safe during the tournament, so please follow his instructions."

Harry looked at Moody again, watching him closely hoping to find out what that blue eye really could do. Harry made a mental note to Callie to ask Cortana if Moody has ever met John in his armor. It could be very useful to know if that eye can penetrate UNSC armor. Internally, Callie wondered if the eye can even see through Harry's contact lens.

—-

After the feast was finished and Dumbledore dismissed them to their dorms, the students all walked out the Great Hall, still talking about the news they were just told. As Harry walked up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, he felt a small tug on his robe and turned around. He looked down to Hermione who looked at him with pleading eyes. She pointed towards an empty classroom, telling him to follow her. He just nodded and followed her, watching out that they were not seen.

After Harry had closed the door, he noticed that he and Hermione were not the only ones in this classroom. Daphne and Susan were sitting close to the teacher's desk. They looked worried towards him, and Harry could already guess what was on their mind. But for the sake of his cover, he had to play dumb for a while longer, even as he put a privacy charm on the door as he closed it. "Is there a reason why you wanted to talk with me just after we heard that a potentially deadly tournament is being held this year?" Harry's sarcasm may have been in poor taste but he couldn't think of a better way to defuse their worries with humor.

Daphne sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "It is obvious, isn't it? We are worried about you Harry. After the World Cup, Death Eaters attack and the Dark Mark is cast into the sky for the first time since Voldemort's fall. And now, with the Triwizard Tournament being held, we all are afraid that something bad could happen to you. What if all of this is a plot by a Death Eater that had escaped back then and now wants to see you dead? I mean if you die during the tournament, it would just be called an accident."

Harry understood their point of view. If he had been a normal student, he would have been frightened after arriving at the same conclusion. But he tried to ease the girls' minds. "I am certain that Professor Dumbledore and the other Headmasters have a plan to ensure that only those who are of age can enter. And even if I am now as tall as one of them; I am sure that this could not fool Professor Dumbledore or the other Headmasters in any way. But how about we stop worrying about this and go to sleep? Tomorrow's classes could be hard enough on our minds that we would wish that we had slept more." Harry paused and thought about their concerns for a moment before he let them go for the night. "Even if I am forced to participate I don't see a problem anyway. You girls are overlooking a simple fact that many people don't realize: I am a Witcher. I have already been tested in battle against a monster and you saw the evidence of that kill. If I'm honest with myself, if I do get put into this tournament I'll run it as a Witcher not a Wizard."

The three girls looked between themselves and Harry and begrudgingly agreed to head off to their respective common rooms.

—-

The next morning, the Great Hall was filled with the noises of the students talking about the Triwizard Tournament. Many were approaching the Ravenclaws, asking them what they knew of the history of the Tournament. Padma and Cho especially were asked about it the most, and Harry noticed that many of those asking were boys.

Well, the boys were coming to an age where they would notice the girls. He himself tried to stay as indifferent to it as he could, but even he had to agree that Hermione, Daphne and Susan were looking good in their school uniform, although Harry is of the rare few Hogwarts boys who has seen them in casual attire as well. Even Luna was very likable in his eyes. He thought about asking Geralt if it was normal for a boy his age to find multiple girls attractive in their own way, but for now he would concentrate on his classes.

Professor McGonagall was bringing them the timetables, just like every year. When she walked past Hermione, who grabbed it and memorized it quickly, McGonagall stopped to do a double take at Harry. He was much taller than his classmates around him, as she first mistook him for an older student.

McGonagall shook her head apologetically to Harry and smiled wryly. "Even after I had seen you yesterday, it still surprises me how much you have grown, Mr. Potter. Here is your timetable. Also, even if Quidditch is canceled, the new captain, Ms. Johnson would like to train regardless. She surely will come to you soon, just a heads up. She seem to be even more focused than Mr. Wood was."

Harry chuckled, already hearing Angelina walking over to him after McGonagall had left him to give the timetable to the next student. He had just enough time to glance at today's classes when she tapped him on his shoulder. "Hey, Harry, I do wonder if you still can be a seeker with that growth spurt. I wanted to have some trials to fill the positions of the team again, but as the Quidditch cup is canceled this year, we just fly around and keep in shape. I will invite some promising students to come with us, so they can tryouts next year. Do you have time this weekend after the training with the Chief?"

Harry did not want to say this out loud but recently he's given some thought to stepping down from his position as Seeker for the Gryffindor team. 'Perhaps its time to pass the "torch" as it were. I should approach Ginny sometime this week to see if she would like to give the Seeker position a try.'

Harry nodded, as he finished his breakfast and stood up to get his bookbag from the dorm. His first class today would be Arithmancy, followed by Transfiguration and then in the afternoon Potions. Harry wondered if Snape would show them some useful potions today.

In the background, Harry noticed the Weasley twins exchanging a galleon between themselves. Harry remembered that in their last game with Oliver, they had made a bet who would become the next captain. Laughing while walking past them, he saw how much Angelina was blushing when George grinned at her.

—-

In the afternoon, Harry and his friends were walking down the stairs towards the dungeons towards thePotions classroom. He was not surprised to see the Slytherins already waiting there, with Malfoy boasting on how he had watched the Quidditch World cup together with the minister himself. That reminded Harry of something and he turned towards Ron with a grin. "Hey Ron, you were up at the top box too, am I right? Do tell me, did you see Veela dancing?"

Ron found the clue Harry was giving him and scratched the back of his head. "Yea mate, i sat in the same box as Malfoy, can you believe that? But, I want to be honest, the Veela dancing got me all flustered, and my sister had to hold me back from jumping down. But just like Malfoy was held back by his mum, who even had to hold his father back for some reason. It was really embarrassing to be honest. Hey say Malfoy, is your father so weak willed that he cannot fight off Veela allure?"

Harry was surprised that Ron accepted the fact that he was also one of the people that reacted like that to the allure, maybe Ron was finally maturing a bit and trying to be a better man. But he could not hide his grin at the jab towards Malfoy, who was getting red with anger.

Before Malfoy could do something stupid, the door to the classroom opened and Snape told them to enter the room.

After Snape had looked if someone was left in the corridor, he closed the door and walked past the students towards his desk, waving his wand so a recipe would appear on the blackboard. "Today, we will be brewing two potions. As one of these potions will require a week to mature until it's finished, we will start with that and then make a simple pepper up potion as a repeat from last year. I hope you did not forget how to brew that, as I will not write the recipe of the pepper up potion for you to check. You all should have burnt this into your memory years ago. Now, to the first potion." Snape then walked over to the cabinet to bring out the ingredients and a sample of the finished potion.

Snape then lifted the sample for everyone to see. "This is Skelegro. Some of you will already have an inkling of what it does." His eyes landed on Hermione, who already was lifting her hand up. "Ah, and I already see a volunteer to help me here in the front showing how to prepare the ingredients while I explain their properties. Ms. Granger if you would please step up here."

Harry and the others were surprised that Snape had chosen Hermione, but she was the one of the best students in this class. Harry was a close second, but only because he made the potions his way. Daphne, who was sitting with them on the opposite side of the table, urged Hermione to hurry up. Soon, Hermione was standing nervously in front of the class, binding her bushy hair to a ponytail so there would be nothing of her hair in the potion.

Snape then turned back to the class and continued his lecture. "Now, try to pay attention to what Ms. Granger is doing with the ingredients, while I walk between you and help where needed. Ms. Granger, begin with the preparation necessary. Oh, and Mr. Potter, do try to follow the guidelines this time."

Harry felt like that was a joke aimed at him and snorted, answering with a 'Yes, Professor Snape, sir.' before he took his cauldron and watched Hermione making the cuts to different ingredients so it would fit her cauldron.

—-

Once class ended Snape told Harry to stay behind because he wanted to discuss his summer homework with him. Once the room was empty of all the students save for Harry Snape took out his wand and flicked it at the door, closing it and locking it. Flicking his wand again he erected a privacy charm Harry was not familiar with. Snape turned back to face Harry, sitting at the edge of his desk. Snape was actually torn on how to approach this subject but decided to start with a simple question. "Do you, perhaps, think that because you are a Witcher you can follow your own way of doing things in my class?" Seeing Harry's confused look, Snape clarified. "I speak of your summer homework, Mr. Potter. Did I say anything about making a potion as part of your summer homework?"

Harry scratched the back of his neck as he thought of this question. "No, Professor. I just thought you would like to see a practical example." Harry shrugged.

Snape nodded slowly. "Given the difficulty of gathering the ingredients; ingredients, I might add, that can only be gathered near your home?" Harry nodded to this fact. Snape shook his head and sighed. "Potions, at best, are made with things we can get from an apothecary. The rarer ingredients that used; ingredents from magical creatures are not so easy to find and quite often very expensive. But you, Mr Potter, did not spend any gold to acquire your ingredients."

Snape picked up a blue potion vial and examined it critically. "But let's talk about your essay and potion itself. A potion, designed for Witchers, to allow them to hold their breath for longer period of time underwater." Snape turned to look at Harry with a raised brow. "But you seem to have forgotten that we, as wizards, already have a means to breathe underwater."

Seeing Harry's flushed look Snape continued. "Ah, yes, what I speak of is not strictly speaking a potion. Had you consulted Mr Longbottom he would have told you about gillyweed. And gillyweed is far more practical to use than your potion, I should think." Snape placed the vial back on his desk and folded his arms across his chest and regarded Harry further.

Snape spoke slowly hoping his lecture would sink into the young Witcher's mind. "The problem you overlooked is that this potion, would not act in the same fashion for wizards and witches. Granting someone the means to hold more air in their lungs means greatly expanding their lungs rapidly. As a Witcher you already have a unique physiology than a wizard,, do you not?"

Seeing Harry's frown as the young man regarded Snape. Snape waved his hand dismissively. "I do not need to have done any in-depth research into Witchers to know this. It's common sense Mr Potter; you have enhanced senses, reflexes, speed and strength. All known facts about Witchers. What is not well known is what your upper limits are or your weaknesses. That is neither here nor there. What I'm saying is a potion designed for a Witcher is fascinating to read about but has no practical use for wizards."

Harry sighed in resignation, realizing his mistake. "I understand, professor. I guess I thought if I presented something that was unique it would amount to something for wizards to use. I did not account for the fact that this would only be usable for Witchers."

Snape nodded, satisfied that the boy had grasped what he was saying and accepted his mistake. "I will give you some credit for the idea but I cannot give you full credit for your homework because, as I said, this is not a class for Witchers but for wizards and you did take it upon yourself to produce this." Snape gestured at the potion vial in question. "In the future please try to stick to the curriculum that is part of this class." With those final words Snape dismissed the boy. Pulling his wand, Snpe waved it at the door again canceling the locking and privacy charm.

Harry heard the door unlock, picked up his bookbag and left the classroom. As he left he made a mental note to crosscheck potions Witchers use and make sure they can or cannot be used by non-Witchers..

—-

Later in the week, Harry and his friends walked over the grounds towards Hagrid's hut. They had now Care of Magical Creatures, and Callie had told him that her sensors had picked up some unusual heat signatures near Hagrid's hut in the beginning of the week. Harry had seen the details of the signatures, but never found out what kind of creature Hagrid had prepared for them.

Harry didnt have to wait long before he would find out, as Hagrid was standing next to multiple crates and waved for them to come over. "Ah, good for you all to show up. Now, I planned a little project this year. In these crates is something I had to work hard to get my hands on. I had some help from Mr. Scamander during the summer, he filled out the paperwork for me, since I essentially created a new species of magical creature. Now we will try to see how to handle them, of course I will watch out if it becomes too dangerous. So if I tell you to back off, BACK OFF Not that I think something like that could happen of course." Hagrid chuckled good naturedly.

Hagrid then pulled a small creature out of one of the crates and held it so the students could see it. "I call 'em Blast Ended Skrewt. As you can see, it is rather aggressive, but young, so maybe we can tame them so they become docile. Now, take out your dragon-hide gloves and then take one of the skrewts, and bring them over to the small pit over there, where I have placed some food items they may eat. If you are becoming uncomfortable while handling 'em, please call me and we will see what we can do."

Harry was the first student who walked up to the crates while pulling his gloves on his hands. Grabbing one of the skrewts out of the crate, looking at it curiously. Callie identified the skrewt as a cross between a manticore and a fire crab. While a fire crab could be tamed and kept as a pet, a manticore was something completely different. Callie had found only one instance where a manticore was kept as a pet and was not dangerous, and there were every other instance where a manticore hurt people.

Looking at the creature in his hand, it had the stinger of a manticore, and spouted some sparks out of its backside. Just after Harry stepped aside, Hermione took a skrewt out with something similar to a suction cup on its bottom.

Soon, every student was sitting somewhere on the ground, trying to calm the creatures down. But as the explosions and small hisses from the skrewts persisted, some brought the skrewts back to their crates and walked towards a safe distance. Even Harry had a hard time and in the end he brought his skrewt back to Hagrid with an apologetic smile. "Sorry Hagrid, but these creatures are too much for us it seems. I see you understand that."

Hagrid nodded and put the crates behind his hut. "Sorry class, I thought that it would be fun to try something new out. But on the bright side, you now know how to handle a new species for the future. I will stop this project and see what to do with these creatures. As the plans have changed, I will adjust my plans and see what creature we can study next."

—-

John was sitting in his office, looking over the footage from the security cameras when he noticed that Moody was walking towards Snape's office. Wondering what this was about, he left his office and walked towards the same target.

When John arrived in front of Snape's office, Moody just left it with Snape behind him, looking furious. "What gives you the right to search my office, Moody? Are you not satisfied with the security we already have in this school?"

Moody leaned on his staff, looking sternly towards Snape, while his magical eye turned around to look at John, who came around the corner. "Lets just say that I like to make sure for myself that everything is on the up and up, Snape. Do not forget, I know where you came from and what you did before being a teacher here. Now if you excuse me, I need to talk with Mr Tall and Silent over there."

Hey, hope you all had fun reading this chapter.

For those who are now asking why Moody is not found out sooner with the help of the map, you must understand that even Dumbledore was fooled in Canon until Moody did something that was not normal towards the end of the school year. Me and HowInMadeHowie have plans for the revelation, so you have to wait until we reveal how it will be handeld in this story.

Also, this story has almost a thousand followers by the time of posting this chapter, so i would be glad if some more reviews would be posted for this story.

Until next time