Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
...
Susan sat amongst her peers in detention, thirty two students in total that had been caught after curfew. They were awaiting Professor McGonagall whom Professor Lipler had informed them would be their judge, jury and executioner. Susan truly wished that the woman had used other words but as she had proven time and time again, interacting with children just wasn't her thing.
With that being said, Susan had taken this time to scout out just which members of the Potter Fan Club had been foolish enough to go during these times of stress. She herself had gone because she needed to get her mind off of things and that had seemed like a welcome distraction. By the looks of it, there were perhaps just over fifteen of their peers missing from action.
She supposed that they were the lucky ones. Surrounding her were students from each house which was interesting in its own right. Turned out that even a couple of the Slytherin students were capable of harbouring some feelings towards Harry. The oldest of the students happened to be the only one amongst them that was in their sixth year while there were a number of students who were still in their first year.
Ginny Weasley was particularly vocal at the meetings. Susan assumed that it was because she didn't like the idea of their being so much competition for Harry's love.
That word found itself lodged in Susan's throat. She didn't really know if the emotion she felt towards him was love but she knew very much so that she truly cared for Harry. She would never mention in the presence of these club members that she had spent the prior holidays with him. Undoubtedly she would never hear the end of it, both in regards to those saying she got an unfair headstart and those that would call for her to be removed from the club.
It was best to keep that little secret to herself.
Loud footsteps alerted everybody in the area to the presence of their overseer swiftly approaching. It didn't take long for Professor McGonagall to find herself at the front of all those who had been caught in the act.
"Ladies," she said slowly, weary eyes gazing over the number of students in front of her. "I'd like to say that I'm disappointed in the lot of you, I truly would. We are in a state of panic at the moment with Prefects and Professors routinely searching the halls for anything that feels out of place. Yet, despite that, the lot of you decided to blatantly disregard the rules for your own benefit."
"But Professor McGonagall..."
"Not a word Miss Lionheat," said Minerva sternly. "All of you should be ashamed of your actions. When you plan to hold your next meeting I highly recommend doing so at a time where it wouldn't be highly suspicious."
"You mean you're not disbanding the club?" asked Susan.
"That is correct Miss Bones. In years gone by it could very well have occurred but in recent times I, along with other members of the faculty, have come to enjoy seeing members of different houses come together under common goals. For too long students have been isolated from one another due to the house that they are in. Gatherings like the one I see before me, where students from every house are united with common ideas and goals were practically non existent three years ago. Now we have students forming music groups and hosting fashion shows, allowing new members to participate with no prejudices. Even if the reasoning behind your gatherings is seen by some as juvenile, the fact that all of you are able to see past the colour of your robes shows me that there's even things that I can learn."
Susan couldn't help but turn her head from side to side with a broad smile plastered across her lips. It was heartwarming to hear the Professor speak in such a way. Potter club really had altered the way that Hogwarts students saw themselves, even in unexpected ways.
"Now, all of you, go and enjoy the rest of your day and for goodness sake, be a little smarter with your meeting times," said McGonagall with a light shake of her head.
"Yes Professor," chorused the girls in attendance before they started to swiftly gossip amongst one another. Not only had they gotten away from this ordeal with nothing more than a stern warning, but they'd effectively been encouraged to continue to meet up with one another.
This was the best day ever.
...
For Harry, he felt as if he was experiencing the worst day ever. Four nights straight he had watched the map for anything that felt out of place. Yet no matter how hard he looked, everything seemed to be well in order.
He theorized that the culprits were laying low, allowing a large amount of time to pass before they struck again. The only thing he was certain of regarding that singular theory was that they would strike again. If they could get away with it once, there was only a slim chance that they would call it a day and leave it at that.
His time limit was drawing close and he hadn't so much made a single bit of headway. Tapping on the parchment with his wand and stating, Mischief Managed, Harry tucked the map into his pocket mere moments before the door to the common room swung open. "Another late night of patrols Percy," said Harry as the Gryffindor Prefect entered the area.
"Shouldn't you be asleep," said Percy, completely ignoring Harry's comment.
"Seamus tends to snore for the first hour of his sleep, so I choose to simply wait it out," explained Harry.
"If I hear that you've fallen asleep in class I assure you that there will be consequences," said Percy, glaring at Harry.
"Consequences, right," said Harry with a light chuckle.
"Do you think that I'm joking?"
"By all means you're probably serious but given how much time you spend with Penelope since she got back from France you'll probably have to ask her opinion on the matter," said Harry.
"What are you insinuating Potter?" asked Percy, all confidence drained from his voice. Harry also noticed a mild widening of the eyes for the barest of moments.
"Nothing, nothing," said Harry waving it off. "Although, now that I think about it, does Penelope talk much about her trip overseas."
"She...doesn't talk much about it," said Percy breaking eye contact. "If you'll excuse me."
Harry watched as the eldest Weasley in the school made his way towards his room. Biting on the inside of his lip, a theory started to form in Harry's mind. While any form of evidence would be greatly appreciated, he knew that he didn't have the time or the means in which to directly speak to his suspect. At least not without planting severe suspicion on himself.
He could only hope that, if he was right, he wasn't too late.
...
As he gorged on his morning breakfast, Ron read through the flyer in his hand with vivid determination. "Have you seen this?" he asked of Hermione, shoving the bit of paper in front of her while spitting crumbs in all directions.
"Manners," scolded Hermione as she took the parchment from him. "It's the announcement of the second chess tournament, so what?"
"So what? So what!" exclaimed Ron as if he had been painfully struck. "Look at the date Hermione! It's set for three weeks from now. How am I supposed to finish all my assignments and get ready for the greatest event Hogwarts has ever held?"
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," sighed Hermione as she turned her attention away from him. Internally she questioned whether or not Harry would target the chess competition this time around after having missed the opportunity the previous year. She imagined that he would let it pass by once more. The entire event was focused on strategy and concentration, not exactly an event that warranted something big and flashy.
However, there was the possibility then that the imposters would use that as a time to strike and drive chaos into the school once more. All it would take would be something as simple as a stink bomb and a locking charm on the doors to cause a revolting scene. Hermione hoped that the imposters were brought to justice before they could deal even more damage to their reputation or even have them forcibly disbanded.
"Hey Hermione," said Ron, thankfully not doing so with a mouth full of food this time around. "Whatcha think Professor Flitwick is talking with Harry about? Do you think that he's finally realized that he's been skipping classes?"
"Harry's been out of Charms since the beginning of the school year," said Hermione. "I'm sure Professor Flitwick has been aware of his absence."
"Do you know why Harry's allowed to do that?" asked Ron. "I wouldn't mind taking some time away from my studies."
"Please Ron, the last thing you need to do is study less," scoffed Hermione as she continued watching Harry. She recalled how in the later stages of the previous school year, Flitwick and Harry had gone to confront Professor Quirrell. She and the Weasley twins had watched the Marauder's Map with intensity before Professor Quirrell had vanished off of the parchment completely.
It didn't take them long to realise what had happened.
What was more curious though was the vanishing of the other person who had been with the former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. It had been someone whom she still knew nothing about.
Who was Tom Riddle?
...
Luna gazed about dreamily as she stood in line with the rest of her peers, awaiting Madam Hooch to arrive and give them their next flying lesson. By this stage of their schooling they had undertaken several lessons which had them gliding through the air under strict instructions. While many of the other first year students thoroughly enjoyed the sensation she had begun to find it rather tiresome.
The whole idea of flying was to create a sense of freedom, to escape life on the ground. When you were only allowed to fly in the directions and speed that you were being told to, it placed unnecessary rules onto a situation that truly shouldn't have any rules. Why bother flying when she couldn't fly the way she wanted?
"Ah, there you are Luna," called out a familiar voice, one that she had not expected at this time and place.
"Hello Harry," she said as the subject of the Potter Fan Club stepped in front of her after having stormed through the pathway. Many of the other first years around her whispered excitedly amongst one another, one of them even complaining that they didn't have their camera with them. "As much fun as it is to see you, shouldn't you be in class right?"
"Nah, I haven't been to Charms this entire year," said Harry. He then turned to address everybody around him. "Don't think for a second that any of you can skip class now. Professor Flitwick and I simply have an agreement. An agreement which Luna, I'm going to need your assistance with soon."
"My assistance?" repeated Luna in confusion before smiling at Harry. "How can I be of service?"
"Professor Flitwick is going to be testing my skills soon and I require somebody to practice with," stated Harry. All of this was true. Earlier that day he had bumped into the Charms Professor who had asked him on the sly if he had been using his time to properly prepare himself for what was to come. One thing had swiftly led into another and now Flitwick wished to duel him to see if Harry had well and truly used his time wisely.
While he was powerful, far more than he should be at this age, Harry didn't know if he was too powerful as a result. Chances were that he could go toe to toe with Flitwick for quite some time, especially if the diminutive teacher treated him as the twelve year old he was. His problem though was that he could very well go overboard and Flitwick could consequently start asking some questions that he would have little answer to.
Hence, Luna.
He had considered asking the twins but they would treat it all as a joke. Hermione and the rest of his peers were out as they would just question him as to why they needed to do such a thing. Optimally, somebody like Cedric would be a prime candidate but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't simply waltz up to somebody that he hadn't officially met and challenge them to a duel.
That would not go down well.
Luna however would ask no questions and just treat it as an everyday occurrence. Most importantly, she wouldn't blab about it to other students.
"You'll hear from me soon Luna," stated Harry. "I'll need you at your best."
"You got it Harry," said Luna with a smile before Harry rushed off, likely to get well out of the area before Madam Hooch made herself known.
"What was that all about?" asked one of her classmates.
"I believe Harry's going to make me all hot and bothered," answered Luna.
Needless to say those words were repeated throughout the whole castle by the time dinner came around.
...
Harry sat in silence that evening, hidden from sight by the invisibility cloak as he waited to see whether or not his suspicion would come true. Dressed in his black cloak and mask, he was prepared to strike if required. If he was wrong about this, then he would have wasted another night and with the deadline closing far sooner than he'd like, he wouldn't get many more opportunities to find out who had tried to ruin Potter Club's name.
The door to the room opened and Harry watched with baited breath as two people walked through the door. Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater, the two school prefects making their way into the Divination classroom at roughly the same time that they had in the days past. In theory, Harry had assumed that the two of them came up to the isolated tower to have romantic outings but he had noticed something peculiar in that regard on the map.
The two of them barely stayed within a few feet of one another, instead standing at nearly completely opposite sides of the room to...well, Harry felt as if he was about to find out.
Percy took a seat near the entrance, planting himself down on the first seat that he could. Penelope meanwhile stayed silent as she pulled out her wand. At first Harry feared as if he had been found out somehow but was somewhat relieved when Penelope instead walked across the room and flipped over one of the tables.
On the underside of the table was something that he had feared would be there. Runes. He had found his culprit.
"Petrificous Totalus," he cast, striking Percy without a moment's warning and causing the elder Weasley to stiffen up like a plank of wood.
Penelope whipped around to find Harry standing there, his identity hidden under the guise of Potter Club. "Who are you?" she yelled, pointing her wand at him.
"Penelope Clearwater, I believe it's obvious who I am," said Harry.
He could swiftly see the fear in her eyes before she cast a stunner at him. With relative ease, Harry blocked himself from the attack. "What do you want?" she asked.
"Cast first, ask questions later," chuckled Harry as he took a step forward. "I believe Penelope that if the last question was easy to guess, this should be just as simple."
"You can't prove anything," she declared boldly.
"Oh I'm sure that I could but before I make any sort of accusations, I need to know why you've done what you've done," said Harry, keeping his eyes locked on Penelope's wand.
"Do you want to know why?" said Penelope with a sneer. "It's because you and your stupid club ruined my trip to Beauxbatons!"
Harry found himself temporarily at a loss of words. "Please, elaborate," he finally said, genuinely curious as to what she meant.
"Every time I had one of the Beauxbaton students come up to me, I hoped that they would ask about the culture of Hogwarts, the history, the students," scoffed Penelope. "I never got asked any of that no matter how hard I tried to show off Hogwarts as the prestigious academy that it was. All any of them wanted to know about was Potter Club. You've ruined Hogwarts!"
Harry was tempted to tell her that it had originally been him who had set up the entire school exchange but thought better of it. Chances were all that would do would rile her up even more which wasn't something that he wanted to deal with right now. "I guess I have no choice but to bring you in to the authorities," stated Harry.
"Please, who is going to believe anything you say over the word of two school Prefects?"
Harry didn't feel the need to dignify that with an answer.
The battle that followed couldn't even be called that, given how one sided it was.
Professor Snape would arrive at his office that following morning to find the two Prefects squirming helplessly against the ropes that bound them. They thrashed away, unable to scratch at the itch that plagued every corner of their skin. Hanging from their necks was a wooden board which had two words engraved into each of them. On Penelope's it stated 'The Culprit' while Percy had 'The Witness' written on his.
"Professor Snape, please help us," begged Penelope.
"Shortly, first I must inform your heads of houses of this development," said Snape as he turned and left the two of them, ignoring their pleas for help. Snape would then deliberately take multiple detours on the way to find who he was looking for. Just because they had suffered throughout the night did not mean that they couldn't suffer for longer.
...
Hope you enjoyed.