Hogwarts
The Gryffindor team was leaving the pitch after the match and Harry was following them, lost in thought. He had hoped that this year things would be better between the houses, the Slytherin players would have come and shaken hands or something but that had been a fool's hope. There had been no change in their demeanor from past years at a Quidditch defeat. Well he could not expect everything to be roses and sun-shine. He was walking hand-in-hand with Susan toward the castle when he noticed two men running toward him, grinning. Having recognized them, Harry ran forward to embrace Sirius and Remus at the same time.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked them.
"Dumbledore invited us to the match as your guardians and we were not going to miss such an opportunity, were we? I wanted to see you fly again. I am glad that I came because I can chastise you for that stunt that you pulled at the end. You could have been hurt, pup", Sirius said clearly concerned for him.
Emmeline who had walked up to them by now, said, "Hush you, it was incredible flying. I have heard all about his flying and I just had to see it for myself. He is even better than James was".
Arthur and Molly were there too. Harry assumed that Dumbledore had extended an invitation to them to see their son make his debut more than to see Harry play.
McGonagall who was there with the others said, "Mr. Peverell, I am glad at a Gryffindor win but that dangerous stunt you pulled right at the end was an unnecessary risk. Please see to it that you do not do so again. I did not for a moment think that you would lose the snitch. I feel that the stunt at the end was just you showing off".
Molly wrapped him in a hug admonishing him, "You should not pull those stunts, Harry dear. I was scared".
After she let go of him, Sirius turned to Susan, "Miss Bones, I can see he is quite enamored with you. I trust the feeling is mutual?"
Susan turned quite red and mumbled, "You do not have to ask".
Everyone chuckled while Remus turned to him, "That was something James would have done giving the snitch to Susan, cub if Lily had allowed him to. For a moment, I thought I was seeing him on the broom there".
"So, will you all be staying for lunch or do you have to rush off?" Harry asked the guests after the formalities were over.
Sirius said with mock indignance, "If you want us to leave then you can directly say so, Pup. You do not need to make it a question".
Remus said suggestively, "Think about it, Padfoot. He may want to have some private celebrations".
Harry blushed and Susan too, making others laugh.
Sirius said, "I fear we will trespass upon your time for a bit longer".
They proceeded to lunch in the Great Hall where students from all the houses mingled with each other. As a result, Harry was sitting with Hermione, Neville, Susan, Hannah, Luna, Ernie. The Weasleys were sitting a few places down the table with their children.
Sirius who had been looking around the Great Hall said to him, "It is quite a sight. I would not have believed it if I heard that students from all houses sat in the Great Hall together. You would need to see it to believe it. Things have changed a great deal".
Just then, George, followed by Fred, slipped into a seat across from him, "Harry mate, thank you".
Harry raised an eye-brow, "Thank you for what?"
"Mate, a little birdie told the students that you had said yourself that you will not catch the snitch this time. The ferret had been noising this about for days and that he was going to walk all over you in the match. Nobody wanted to believe it but word is that it came from you. A lot of students, though none from Gryffindor, bet that he will catch the snitch this time. Needless to say, they have lost a bunch of money".
"Who were the highest betters?"
"Oh, the teachers as a rule do not bet in these pools so there is no winner among them but Natalie McDonald won 100G betting on you. Ernie made 50 while one Astoria Greengrass made 50 G. They are the major winners. The biggest loser was Malfoy himself who lost 200 Galleons".
"So where is my share?" Harry asked him.
"What do you mean, mate?" George asked him.
"Well seeing how I spread the misinformation and it made people bet on the wrong side, I am entitled to some of the Galleons you made, am I not?"
Sirius guffawed, "He has you both there. You should share some of your winnings with him".
At that moment, Mrs. Weasley looked in their direction and there was no more mention of the gold. Everyone knew that Mrs. Weasley did not encourage such things.
The guests left after sometime. Harry made his apologies to Remus and Sirius about not being able to come for the full moon tonight due to being closely watched. He was proceeding to the library when George told him, "Remember Harry, there is a party in the Common Room this evening".
Susan arched an eye-brow, "What party is he talking about?"
Harry replied off-handedly, "The post quidditch victory party which we have after a win. Don't you people have a party of your own?"
She frowned, "No, we do not. Come to think of it, there are no parties in any house other than Gryffindor. How do you people party?"
"Fred and George sneak out to the village and bring flagons of butterbeer, pumpkin pastries, pumpkin juice, custard cream and whatever catches their fancy while they are there. I just hope they don't decide to mix some of their products in with the supplies. That would get Hermione's dander up and half of the house would end up in detention".
"What is wrong with their products?" she asked curiously.
"You will have to try one for yourself to know about it", he said. "I am not giving away any of their secrets. Just remember that nothing good comes from using them except a laugh or two".
A Marauder's Birthday
On the 3rd of November, it was Sirius's birthday. Harry and some others decided to help him celebrate. Obtaining permission from the Headmaster for a few hours, he had apparated to Black Town House before the break of dawn. The elves had worked all night to make the decorations, getting the cake and everything which they needed.
Sirius woke up. When he started to walk down to the kitchens, he found himself dangling upside down and had to grit his teeth in fury. Harry came into the room and asked him cheekily, "Bested again, eh?"
"Did you run away from school again pup?", the marauder asked him.
"I may have asked for permission. Then again, perhaps I did not. Why do you ask? Want to report me to McGonagall?" he asked him.
"Oh no, I would not commit such sacrilege. I wanted to know if Susan snuck out with you or you gave her the slip".
"Not at all Padfoot, I informed her that I will be here, harassing one marauder. Happy Birthday, Father".
Harry had left him dangling there and returned to the castle giving a letter to Kreacher to deliver to Sirius after he was released by the elf and left his gift.
The gift had been hard for him to find and he could not think of something suitable. Sirius did not need any books because he had hundreds of them already. He had never seen the marauder wear any jewelry either. Sirius's taste in clothes was admittedly far better than his own. He had turned to the only person who knew Sirius better than anyone and Remus had given him an idea.
He had contacted the Goblins and told them to get it done at their named price because it was a hasty job. The gift had arrived this morning at Hogwarts. Harry brought it with him when he came from there.
When Sirius came down from the ceiling, 30 minutes later, Harry was long gone leaving only the elf for company. The elf had given him the letter.
"Dear Padfoot,
I would like to have stayed but I have other obligations which take a lot of my time. I will try and be there this evening to celebrate your birthday with you. I will not be able to stay for long because Dumbledore does not want others marking my absence from Hogwarts.
I have brought you a gift which is in the meeting room. I hope you will like it.
Prongslet"
Excited at the idea of a gift, Sirius had rushed into the meeting room to find the table laden with gifts. In a corner where space had been cleared there was the gift Harry wrote about. As he undid the wrappings with a flick of a wand, he was speechless for a long time.
There was a platform of sorts on which there were statues of a few animals. The biggest of them was a stag cavorting with a doe, while a dog and a werewolf were in the background watching them joyfully. A plaque on the platform read 'The Marauders'.
Sirius kept watching it for a long time, just staring at the statues and the happy expressions on their faces. He knew Lily was not an animagus but it was her patronus form which was etched on the statue. Sometimes he tapped the statue with his wand, and the animals would start moving making him smile. Whoever stopped by that day appreciated the gift but only a few people understood what it represented.
The only other gift that he loved had come from the twins. They had sent him boxes of detention slips which they had duplicated sometime earlier in the year and thought he would like to keep a souvenir of his glory days.
There had been a big party that night and Harry barely made an appearance and returned within an hour. He told them that they were having a session in the Room of Requirement that night.
Room of Requirement
That day Harry had decided to start teaching students to duel. It was something that they should know and there was not much time to learn it. Since there would be no more quidditch practices until the weather cleared and snow stopped falling, they could again start having two sessions a week.
He had also tested the limits of the magic of the room and realized that it could do anything within reason, so if he wanted to have some running space ready, the room would oblige. As such, he was planning to have runs in the room for some mornings. It was better protected and had warming charms to prevent them from being frozen to death, unlike the corridors of the castle which had huge windows that allowed cold winds to pass through.
When everyone had gathered in the room, he started addressing them, "We have learned all the spells which can be useful to us in a duel and would help you to survive however knowing a spell and knowing how and when to use it are two different things. If you do not know what spell to use or you freeze in the middle of a duel that will be your end. CONSTANT VIGILANCE is a must for everyone. Also keep your eyes open for any movement of your opponent and it may give you an advantage over them. Today, we will start dueling with each other to see how you do. These duels are not a show of power or skill but an opportunity to put into practice what you have learned over the last few months. With the spells that I have taught you, every one of you stands a chance. First of all, Hermione and Ron here will be giving a demonstration for everyone. Watch and learn".
Hermione stepped forward confidently while Ron was a little uncertain. Harry knew he was unwilling to hex her but if he did not pull himself together, he would not be able to stand before her.
Hermione had taken her stance against him. Ron had raised his wand to defend himself but the way his eyes darted around Harry knew he was going to humiliate himself. May be, he needed that.
She shot the first spell at him that they had learned for the first time in practice, "Expelliarmus" and Ron's wand flew out of his hand. Everyone cheered but Harry was scowling, "Ron, this is not the time to chicken out. You cannot let her walk all over you. You will not even hurt her this way. If I see you give up so easily, I promise you will be duelling against me next".
The threat was sufficient to move him to action even if barely. She raised her wand against him again. As she shot 'expelliarmus' again, he shot the same at her. The spells collided in mid-air while Hermione brought up a spell chain and Ron pulled up a shield. As the spell-chain was rendered ineffective, he started firing stunners, petrification hex, disarming hexes. He did not let his barrage stop for a few moments and Hermione easily defended against everything that he sent at her.
After he was done, she started a barrage of bombarda at him forcing him to cower behind a shield. When she was not able to penetrate the shield, she used a shield breaking hex followed by a stunner in quick succession. As his shield shattered, he collapsed.
Harry enervated him and signalled Neville to step forward. "Hermione did her job well and stunned Ron who made an effort considering the circumstances. Although I feel his effort was somewhat lacking. As I am supposed to be teaching you, I will take it up with Neville".
He and Neville bowed to each other gracefully and then they started circling each other, cautious of each other. Neville suddenly fired a bone-breaker at him which Harry dodged and retaliated with one of his own. Neville fired another and as Harry dodged this one, he started firing bone-breaker, bone-crushers at him. Neville had become more adept at dodging hexes than others and he dodged all of them. Then Harry feigned exhaustion. Neville was on his guard and did not rise to the bait. He did not drop his guard but kept watching Harry who figured Neville would not fall for it. After sometime, Neville started casting, ensuring that Harry was not pulling some trick on him. He was casting at his best speed. Harry had moved far beyond one on one duels months ago. Neville's curses could not even trouble him a little. Pretty soon they were going spell to spell with spells colliding in mid air and causing mild explosions. Neither of them was ready to give up and the students were fascinated. Neville knew that Harry was not casting at the peak of his strength. He was only teaching others because if Harry really wanted to duel him, he could have defeated him in seconds. Harry also knew that Neville understood he was not casting at full strength and so Neville was not trying to goad him. They kept at it for 10 minutes when Harry started casting faster. Having difficulty defending, Neville reluctantly raised a shield. Harry shattered that with an over-powered hex and the stunner which followed stunned Neville.
There was tumultuous applause at this however Harry could not care less. He enervated Neville and then he divided them into groups to duel. He assigned pairs from different houses together so they would not hesitate to cast their spells.
That session ran beyond curfew hours. Harry discovered another ability of the room. It could open secret passages near the Common Rooms for the students. The passageway for the Hufflepuffs ended somewhere near the kitchens behind a tapestry. Since the dungeons were on the same side, the Slytherins went that way too. The way for Ravenclaw on the second floor ended somewhere near the library where there was a secret passage which led them to their common rooms and was frequently used.
As the students were leaving, Neville agreed to lead the Hufflepuffs to their common room. Harry felt he had ulterior motives for being so chivalrous. If he was not careful, he would end up in a detention with Filch.
As everyone left, Susan had stayed behind. Hermione told him to return soon and went to the Gryffindor tower while Harry summoned Dobby to bring them some refreshments.
He dropped her off at the Badger's hole after an hour and returned to his tower as Blizz.
A few days had passed without any incident. The castle was quiet again, slipping into monotony. The weather had become cold and snow was falling freely now.
Most of the students had given up the morning practices. Seamus had complained to him that he had to quit practicing on the catapult or risk getting buried in snow. Harry acquiesced and told him that they could take a break until the snow stopped falling.
There had also been talk about holding a New Year's ball between him and the Marauders. He had called them on the mirror and they had talked about it at length. Sirius had told him that in previous years, the Blacks used to throw Yule Balls while the Potters hosted New Year Balls and both events were eagerly awaited by the populace of the wizarding world. Those who knew that they would be invited for certain used to mark those days and keep their schedule free in anticipation of the invitation. As the Blacks and Potters disappeared from the scene, they were replaced by other Houses who had been trying to attract the same numbers. Sirius wanted to hold a ball this year and they had decided that a combined ball hosted by Peverell, Potter, Black, & Rosier would do much to lift the morale of the public after they had revealed that Voldemort was alive and back in action. The decision was made to send invitations to their allies within the next few days and Remus, Sirius and Andromeda would look after the other preparations for the party. This was supposed to be the grandest event of the year unless they managed to slay Voldemort later in the year.
There had also been talks about finding a distributor for the new potion for which the patent was expected to arrive within two to three days. As a general consensus, it was agreed that Herbs and Weeds would do a poor job of it. They needed someone who was very good.
Remus had also talked with him at length about the werewolf registry. Harry had protested against the very existence of such a registry. But when Remus talked him through it, discussing with him the idea behind registering werewolves, reasons for registering them and knowing their numbers, his protests had died. They were of the unanimous opinion that the ministry could not be allowed to track them unless it was willing to do the same for every witch and wizard. Since they had decreed that werewolves were not second class citizens, they should not be given any treatment that would make them feel alienated and inferior. Harry had talked to him about deregulating the potion by exercising some influence upon the Ministry but Remus talked him out of it telling him that it was better that it was regulated so people knew who was buying it or people would start to traffic it in the black market. There was another issue which needed their attention. It was to protect his facility and greenhouses where the alternate component grew because it was clear that Death Eaters would attack it if they saw it as a threat. To that end, Harry was ready to hire some hitwizards out of Wizarding Britain to augment the on-site force of 40 or so werewolves who were already working at the facilities.
The next session of the Wizengamot which was scheduled in the middle of November was supposed to be chaotic. As Remus could not participate in it when the issue of registry was raised, he needed Harry there to ensure that his allies and fellow lords would lend their support.
Hogwarts
Harry walked into the common room past mid-night thinking hard about a prank which would be remembered for ages. He expected that there will be repercussions but he was ready to take the risk. No one could earn a reputation as a prankster unless he was willing to take a risk.
After thinking about it a lot, he had arrived at an elaborate prank which would require several people. He had a few he could rely upon but none of them was named Ron. The red-head was a Prefect and Harry wanted him to keep his reputation intact. After looking for a long time, he had zeroed in on Mandy and Terry from Ravenclaw, Susan and Justin from Hufflepuff, Daphne and Du Vant from Slytherin and in Gryffindor, he and Neville were sufficient though it meant, he would have to enter the girl's dormitories, something which no boy had been able to do since the school was established. He tried to fly on his broom but the enchantment repelled him. He did not want to use the Mystic's form of travel not knowing what he would find in the dormitories or what scene he would be walking into that way. He worked casting detection charms up the stairs and up the corridors as far as he could aim. He found a curious thing that the enchantments only went up to the last step of the stairs.
The next question was how he could climb atop the stairs without them turning into a slide. On a whim, he transformed into his animagus form and walked silently up the stairs. To his delight, the stairs did not transform at all. After climbing atop the stairs, he found a dark deserted corner and transformed back. Nothing happened which showed that his intrusion had been detected. He silently returned to his own dormitory to prepare for the next phase. For that he was going to commandeer some of the Twin's stuff.
For the next few days, he met others whom he wanted in on his plan. His plan was simple. Cause as much mayhem as they could. He had met others in secret and told them his plan. The plan was to let him in their common room when it was time. After that they would make themselves scarce and Harry would help them with the execution of the prank. True it was going to take a lot to do but the end result was going to be fun.
A week later
Hedwig winged her way to the breakfast table this morning carrying a heavy parchment in her talons. Harry untied the letter, offered a treat to the owl and let her fly away. He gave one look to the envelope and seeing the ICW seal, he slipped it inside his bag. Everyone was watching him and waited for him to say something. Harry chose not to say anything because it would be in the news within the next couple of days anyway. Remus had also told him to watch for the newest edition of Potions Today and to expect letters from some big names in the field of potions who were already working on the field of Wolfsbane or Lycanthropy. Harry knew that would happen and he was ready to sort through those letters and make some connections.
In the past week, Neville was finally coming into his own which perhaps had something to do with his training as Dumbledore's apprentice. Neville had told him that Dumbledore was teaching him some transfiguration and alchemy which he had extensively studied under the immortal Alchemist Nicholas Flamel and which Harry had never tried. While Alchemy was very advanced even for NEWT students, Dumbledore felt that the training that he was giving Neville would help him to learn Alchemy as much as he could be taught at this stage. If it still caught his attention, he would encourage him to find a competent alchemist later. On the side, Dumbledore was teaching him to duel and some defensive magic which was really advanced and not everyone could do it. Neville had told him about his failure at sword practice and the old headmaster had told him that he could help him a little and had lent him an old book which had been taken off the shelf about 3 decades ago for being out of use in the library. The book was about weapons and how to wield them in duels. Neville was not very successful so far, but he had started to be able to dodge him far more effectively. Harry had once joked that Neville was perfectly groomed to take the Headmaster's position after the old wizard decided to retire at the age of who knows when. Both were Gryffindors and one was the successor of another. After all declaring Neville as his apprentice would mean that Dumbledore was basically announcing his successor. If the apprentice decided to follow the path of the master, it would not be a surprise. Neville was also getting better in the duelling ring where he usually faced Harry when everyone was gone. Harry claimed that no one else could duel with him like that and it was the best practice he could have.
Hermione and Ronald were having a mixed time. Until last year, Harry had included them in every adventure, told them about everything that happened. He was always gloomy, burdened with people's expectations then. They wished he would smile but he was there and he always relied on them and now that he was being happy, smiling often and at times radiant, they could not be a part of things he did. While he did not tell them about everything he had learned, his skills had already driven the point home that he was something more now than he had ever been before. He was also funny and often pranked people now but they could not participate in those pranks. What they could do was to award detention to him or to deduct points off the house points and to recommend him for detention. Most of the teachers sent students to the Green Houses for detention now instead of Snape. He refused to have anything to do with Harry at all. Rumor had it that he had said that he could not handle the new version for more than a class a week.
One day, Hermione came upon him involved in a prank war with the twins and a few others in the common room. It was more like a brawl where everyone had been a victim and culprit at the same time.
Hermione had entered through the portrait hole and had to duck a violet colored curse. She whipped out her wand and stood up to find that Harry had upended a sofa as a barricade to use for cover and was hexing the twins when he got a chance. It reminded her of a few war movies where soldiers hid in trenches and fired at the enemy when they could. The twins themselves were hiding behind a couple of sofas at the other end of the common room. So far, one of the twins looked like a Minotaur and the other one had a crown like a rooster on his head. One of the twins also sported a short skirt and a tank top while the other was sporting bark armour. They were sporting a multitude of colors on their bodies like they had been hit with colour changing hexes several times.
Hermione also realized that Harry had not been spared from the spells of the twins. Perhaps he had wanted to enjoy this as much as he could. Then she understood why he was hiding behind a sofa and using it as a shield. She saw him giving his wand the barest of flicks and one of the twin's wands was replaced by a fake wand which turned into a parrot while the other twin's spells started to raise him into the air. Neville Longbottom came sliding down the slide (Wait! the stairs to the boy's dormitories did not turn into a slide!) with wand blazing and before the twins could notice him, he had hit one with the pumpkin head hex and the other with the leg-lock curse followed by rictumsempra. Neville himself was sporting antlers on his head and his ears had been switched with a donkey's. Harry by now had freed himself of the twin's spell and together, they had tied the twins. After the fight was over, Hermione noticed that every housemate who was there had been hit with one hex or another.
Somebody had hit Romilda Vane with a Geminio spell and two copies of her were running amok. Cormac McLaggen had been hit with the blindfold spell, bound with ropes and was still flailing his limbs and trying to get out of his predicament because his wand was not in his hand. Some were trying to speak but could not because their tongues were sticking to the roof of their mouths. The boy dormitory staircase was turned into a slide with a Glisseo. Ron was hiding in a chair trying to cover his nose with his hands which perhaps had been hit with an Engorgio. It was large and Hermione sort of liked the look on him. A few of them were dancing uncontrollably. A couple were hanging in the air. A few had their colour changed. Others had parts of their bodies changed to animal's parts. Ginny was hit with the multiple humanoid hex and was changing from human to gnome to dwarf to centaur to goblin to elf in rapid succession. Lavender was looking like a canary with the feathers just melting off of her. Ellia Runcorn was hexing people with the dancing feet spell while Fay Dunbar tried to stop her.
Hermione took in the scene and sighed. She had no other option than to go to Professor McGonagall. She turned to one of the portraits in the common room and found the occupants frozen in their frame. Someone had stunned all the portraits in the room. Enervating the occupants of the portrait, she sent them to fetch McGonagall and to tell her that it was a big emergency.
Within a few minutes, Professor McGonagall came into the Common Room with the Headmaster in tow.
Dumbledore exclaimed, "Merlin's Beard! Miss Granger, what is going on here?"
"I do not know Professor". She spread her arms around, "I arrived in the common room to find this around me. Harry was hiding behind an upended sofa fighting with Fred and George while others were just watching or were hexed. Some were dancing, some were hit with langlock, while a few were showing animal parts".
McGonagall had by now noticed Ron sitting in a chair, in a corner. "Mr. Weasley, do you have something to do with this? Did you perchance take part in it?"
It was Fay Dunbar who answered, "No Professor. Ron entered after it had started and immediately tried to stop his brothers. One of them hit him with an engorgio charm in the nose".
Dumbledore sent a patronus and Poppy Pomfrey arrived after a few minutes, her wand out and looking concerned. As expected, she found Harry first and started hitting him with diagnostic spells. Harry tried to protest but she glared at him and he pursed his lips. After she was done analyzing the results, she was puzzled, "Nothing has happened to you. When Albus sent me a message, I thought that finally it was that time of the year when you would be brought into the hospital wing with an injury. I had even asked an elf to get your bed ready".
Everyone was laughing hard while Dumbledore said, "Careful Poppy or others will think that you are being partial to Mr. Peverell. He does not need any help from you but there are others who do. Please start with Mr. Weasley first".
She fixed Ron's nose in a trice and then started working on others. Within 15 minutes, everyone was restored to their usual state and then Poppy went away. Dumbledore then started addressing the students, "Who is responsible for this?"
None of the prefects knew who had started the fight and so none of them were telling. McGonagall turned to Ron, "When you entered the common room, who was casting spells at that time, Mr. Weasley?"
Ron was hesitant to answer but he had to. "Professor when I entered the Common Room, I found Harry, Neville, Fred, George, Lee Jordan, Ginny, Ellia Runcorn and Lavender involved in a prank fight from two sides. I went to stop Fred and George while Fay tried to stop Harry and Neville. The twins hit me with engorgio and that was the end of my involvement. A few students were trying to help Fay".
McGonagall addressed the crowd, "Those who tried to help Miss Dunbar please stand aside".
There were five such persons including Fay. "For trying to maintain peace and harmony in the common room and for assisting the prefects, I award 20 points apiece to each of you".
She then looked at the culprits of which there were 12 students. Telling them to follow her, her and Dumbledore exited the common room. When the 12 students returned an hour later, they were given a standing ovation by the students in the common room except for those who had tried to stop them. Harry and the twins took their bows while Hermione scowled at them.
Hermione was angry and it showed in her tone, "I hope you all were punished properly. It was reckless of you all to start a prank war in the common room. You could have hurt someone. How could..."
Harry stopped her tirade mid-way with a raised hand in a pacifying gesture, "Really, Hermione. If you keep that up, your face will get stuck that way. We have been punished according to the gravity of our crimes. A few of the most innocent ones i.e. those for whom it was a first offence, will be in detention with Professor Sprout for a week at 6:00 in the evenings. Those who are hardened criminals (a couple of people snorted, while Fred and George took another bow) including me will be serving those detentions with Professor McGonagall. Apart from that those who are being sent to Professor Sprout have lost 5 points each. We the hardened criminals have lost 10 points each from Gryffindor. Initially she wanted to hand our detention to the dungeon bat but he straightaway washed his hands of us. Something about the Weasley's being the bane of his existence or something like that. No other teacher wanted us and the Headmaster could not have us".
The next morning, when Susan looked at the giant hour-glasses that displayed the points for each house, she noticed that Gryffindor had gained some points overnight. She would have asked Harry about it, but he had not shown up to get her from outside the barrels this morning. Now that she looked around, she realized that Neville was not with Hannah either. The two of them sat at the Gryffindor table as had become their custom and waited for news as they began breakfast.
Tracey was already sitting there, waiting for Fred, with Daphne sitting beside her. George was missing too. There was not much space between Susan and Daphne which made her suspicious that Daphne was likely still after Harry.
Sometime later Hermione slid into a seat opposite her and Ron slid in beside her.
"Hermione, where are Harry and Neville?" she asked.
Hermione said off-handedly, "I do not know Susan. We are not talking right now".
"Why? What happened?"
Just then Harry slipped in beside her, "I can tell you all about it".
"Hello Harry", said Daphne coolly, "You haven't said a word to me since the match".
Susan fumed and wanted to tell her off but Harry was already saying, "There are certain commitments which I need to honour, Daphne and I cannot make enough time for everyone. I barely get around to everything as it is".
Susan poked him in the ribs, "So why is the golden trio not talking?"
Harry cringed, "Promise never to call us that again. So as I was saying, yesterday we were bored and Fred and George were envisioning what it would be like to have a prank battle in the middle of the common room. Others egged them on and they challenged me to a prank war on the Marauder's Honour. Being an heir to the legacy of the Marauders, I could not allow their challenge to go unanswered. So I accepted the challenge. Teams were formed of the students who were willing to participate in it. I, Neville, Lavender, Runcorn, and a couple of others whose name elude me were on my side while the twins, Lee, Ginny and a couple of others were on their side. The limit was prank spells only.
We had been in the prank battle for a few minutes when Ron walked in and became the victim of one of the prank spells. When Hermione came in, it was almost at an end. She called Professor McGonagall who rewarded those who were trying to stop us and punished those who were causing mayhem. However, as far as I remember, I did not stop talking to them. It is their choice".
Susan was amused and angry at the same time. "You mean to say that you have been put into detention again? How long is it this time? Harry, you spent the last two weeks in detention almost every day".
Hannah was taking Neville to task, "You are a prefect's boyfriend and yet you are engaged in rule-breaking?"
Neville grinned sheepishly, "If you want to break rules you can join me the next time, Han. Prefect or not, you can have some fun every now and then".
Hannah glared at him while Harry murmured in Susan's ear, "He is so whipped". She chuckled in response.
This detention was a week-long and McGonagall was so angry with him and others that she had set them to clean some of the rooms in the dungeons without magic and had left Filch as their supervisor. They planned to prank Filch too.
A few days later
The last few days had been hardest on Argus Filch. He had been gleeful when he was given the chance to preside in a detention over the wretched brats whose sole aim was to cause trouble to Argus. He had been day dreaming about lording over them and to give them hell in detention but as it turned out, the last few days had been anything but fun for him.
The first day, he had told them to clean an old room in the dungeons without magic. They had not used wands as far as he could see and finished their chores easily and quickly without leaving a speck of dirt behind. That night, he had been prowling the corridors to find wayward students when he noticed two students getting into a broom closet. He eagerly shuffled forward to catch those miscreants and threw open the door to receive the biggest surprise of his life. The cupboard was empty! To make sure that his eyes were not failing him, he stepped inside the closet when someone latched it from the outside, trapping him. As per his reckoning, he was rescued from there after two hours by a Gryffindor Prefect after Argus had made himself hoarse with all the shouting.
The second day, he had set them to clean the washroom on the second floor and they had finished it without breaking a sweat. That evening when he went to his office, he found a box of sweets waiting for him with a thank you for all the work he did but was noticed by no one. Over-whelmed, he ate a few pieces of the sweets and ended up with boils. His predicament was solved by the Potter boy who had given him a potion for curing boils.
The third night had been yesterday and he had them clean a room. Mrs. Norris had been taken and trapped in a suit of armour by Peeves. When Argus rescued her, someone had splattered the first floor with mud.
Harry had been having fun for the last three days. They had immensely enjoyed it when Argus Filch could not figure out how they were finishing their chores so quickly. Harry was capable of wandless magic so scourgify was not a big deal for him but for appearance sake, he had enlisted Ron who was happy at being given something to do. He had asked Ron to don his Invisibility Cloak and bring their wands once they were in detention. They had their wands concealed in their sleeves and cast the cleaning spells with Argus being none the wiser. Ron had done the same for three days in a row now and was feeling happy at being part of the pranks. As for trapping Filch in the broom cupboard, George and Fred had disappeared into the broom cupboard when they knew Filch could see them. What Filch did not know was that the broom cupboard had a hidden back door and they exited through it. When he inspected the cabinet, it was already shut with a locking charm. Lee had closed the door from the outside.
The sweets were delivered by Ginny who had been given light punishment. They were a specialty of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes and would give boils to the user. They were mostly harmless. A simple cure for boils potion was enough to cure it. Ginny had wrapped them in a gift box and entered his office opening it with Alohomora charm and left soon after she had planted the sweets there.
The third day, Harry had found Peeves lurking on the fifth floor and after letting him pelt Harry with chalk pieces from a blow gun he had fashioned from an old pipe, Peeves had agreed to trap Mrs. Norris in a suit of armour. The mud was splattered on the ground floor by Susan, Justin and a few others.
They were sitting at the breakfast table having breakfast and talking about things of small consequence when an eagle owl landed before him carrying a magazine in its talons. He untied it and there on the cover was Harold Peverell in his Wizengamot robes, looking every inch the wizard that he was. Below his picture was written: "THE NEWEST POTTER IN POTIONS". A small part of him was elated that they were connecting him with his ancestors.
The cover story of that edition was the alternate Werewolf potion which he had developed, had conducted three monthly clinical trials with due diligence and the ICW had issued the patent to him only after being satisfied that it was indeed a new and improved product.
"HAROLD PEVERELL INVENTS THE NEW WOLFSBANE
In a press release issued by the Potions Guild at the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW), it has been stated that Harold Peverell, the youngest lord in Britain, also known by the moniker of the-boy-who-lived and who hails from a long line of potioneers throughout his family history, has invented a new version of the wolfsbane potion.
Here we remind our readers that the Wolfsbane potion invented by Democles Belby was the first break through in this direction and brought much needed relief for those who have been cursed with Lycanthropy. Sadly, for all his genius, Mr. Belby could not find an alternative to one of the crucial ingredients of the Wolfsbane Potion, that being Aconite which is poisonous to every being. It's after effects are devastating on a person. While one would not willingly ingest poison but for several werewolves who did not want to spend the night of full moon as a dumb beast, it was the only option. For many others who would have willingly taken it, it was too expensive for them to afford. For these reasons, the said potion has been criticized for a long time. Many potion masters are of the opinion that it was about time that someone made a break through.
According to the article submitted by Mr. Peverell to Potions Today, he is quoted to have said that he invented the potion after seeing how it affected those cursed with this affliction. To quote him, "Just because some people want to maintain their sanity during these ghastly transformations, they had no option other than to willingly ingest poison".
As per the description of the patent available with Potions Today, he has replaced Aconite with an ingredient which is easily available and he has expressed his resolution to make it available to everyone so that they will not have to ingest any more poison.
We wish him good luck and express our hopes that we will continue to see him shining in the field of potions like many of his ancestors.
FOR INFORMATION ON THE PATENT, see P. 28."
When he was done reading, he realised that his friends were looking at him intently. He also realized that the Great Hall had gone silent. He looked at the teacher's table to find Dumbledore's beard twitching, his eyes full of twinkle, Vikram was giving him a knowing look, Snape had disbelief written on his face and Harry was sure that a copy of the magazine was open in his hands. He knew that Potions Today was a magazine that not just anyone could subscribe to. Its subscription was only offered to those who had obtained mastery in potions with the ICW. However, he could not figure out why others were looking at him like that.
He then noticed today's Daily Prophet open before them and there on the front page was the same photo with the headline below it, "THE NEWEST POTTER POTION MASTER".
Hermione asked him, "Harry, why did you not tell us?"
"I told you Hermione that I was learning Potions with other subjects. Why does this come as a surprise?"
Dumbledore had stood up at the teacher's table by this time. "I am sure you all have read the happy news that was on the front page of the Daily Prophet today. Mr. Peverell has invented an alternate potion to the Wolfsbane Potion which will be helpful to a lot of those who were afflicted with this terrible disease. I congratulate him on behalf of all the teachers and the students of Hogwarts for such an achievement. Since we cannot do much about celebrating his achievement, I award 100 points to Gryffindor for this achievement and there will be no classes today followed by a feast at dinner".
The announcement was met with high applause the students in the Great Hall.
Harry grumbled, "Would have been nice if he had cancelled the detention too".
As soon as Dumbledore had sat down, students started swarming him, congratulating him or fawning over him. A few of the intellectual minds asked him about the potion and how he achieved it. Harry kept doing this for at least 30 minutes before he got tired and excused himself politely. McGonagall interrupted him before he could walk away to inform him that his detentions had been ended with those of the other students. Harry knew it was more because even Filch had given up on supervising them during detentions. Susan followed him out of the Great Hall to the grounds where they trudged their way through the deep snow to a secluded corner around the lake.
After they made themselves comfortable, he asked Susan, "I suppose you are angry with me, Sue?"
She asked him softly, "And why would I be angry?"
"Because I did not tell you about the new potion".
"No Harry. I understand and I love your surprises. In fact, every time something new comes to light, I feel like I do not know you at all and I try to know you more".
"Sue, what are your thoughts about a date once we are home for Winter Vacation? It would be better to go somewhere other than Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade".
"Why don't we plan a trip to the hunting lodge during the winter vacation?"
"That is a nice idea Sue but I am not ready to show it to others, you know. I would like to keep that as our private retreat. I remember Sirius telling me something about a manor in Ireland which is in a valley and it would be ideal for a vacation spot. What do you think about that?"
"That is not a bad idea, Harry. Who else are you inviting?"
"Neville, Ron, Hermione and Hannah from school, of course. I'll want to invite Sirius and Remus too if they can take some time away from their responsibilities. We will have to spend some time together considering whoelse should be invited".
The Contract
Daphne had cornered him that evening at the dining table. Luckily for her, Susan had not arrived for dinner yet. She could talk to him without being glared at by or glaring at the Heir of Bones.
"Harry, I have a proposition for you".
Harry warily asked, "Do you? Please elaborate on that, Daphne".
"Father sent me a letter this morning to tell me about your achievement and to ask if you would be willing to contract with Greengrass Potions as the distributor of your potions or sell the patent to us with the stipulation that a monthly royalty would be paid to you".
He scrunched his forehead in thought, "I do not plan to sell the patent. This is not about profit or fame. This is about giving a chance of a better life to those suffering from lycanthropy. While it is true that I need a distributor other than Herbs and Weeds but I will be able to make a decision only after I have heard Cyrus's terms and conditions. If you would be so kind as to ask Lord Greengrass to write a letter to that effect to me, I would be happy to host him under my roof after this Wizengamot Session. Then, we can discuss the details of this contract".
Daphne nodded at this train of thought. He had made calculated moves which would not give them false hope yet would not ally them against him. He was promising to meet them but was not willing to commit without knowing if there were any strings attached. She would write a letter to her father and ask him to contact Harry directly. Then she remembered he had said something about Herbs and Weeds. "Have you dealt with Herbs and Weeds in the past, Harry?"
"I would not say I have and I would not say that I have not. What I would tell you is that they are far too gold oriented to even think about the reasons why I invented this potion in the first place".
Susan arrived at that moment to see them talking. She knew Harry was not trying to put any moves on Daphne. But she could not trust Daphne. The Greengrass Heiress was a consummate Slytherin and would not stop at anything to obtain her heart's desire.
She knew that the moment was near when she would have to sit with Daphne and talk about it or they would end up trading hexes with each other. Harry was being sweet by humoring her and she could see that he was not behaving the same way towards her as he used to do. She decided to meet Daphne sooner than later but hoped that the day would not come before the next term started.
Days passed very quickly after that. Harry had received a letter from Cyrus Greengrass and they decided to meet after the Wizengamot session for this month.
As Remus had predicted, the news of the Werewolf Registry and its maintenance came up pretty soon after the news broke. The ministry wanted to register the werewolves and to brand them so that it could keep track of them. Frank himself was not of this opinion but agreed that werewolves needed to register themselves. This would help them to know how many of them were legally in Wizarding Britain and how many had arrived illegally to serve Voldemort. Any werewolf not in the register would be considered an illegal immigrant and dealt with in accordance with the law. The ministry was divided. The issue could only be properly resolved in a session of the Wizengamot since it had the power to make laws or to amend them.
Harry had been sent a copy of the proposed bill sought to be introduced by Robert Abbott at the next session. He and Frank were of the same opinion and so Frank had him put the proposal forward. As it was, he needed at least two days away from the school for the session.
When Harry had asked Dumbledore for two days leave, it had been readily granted. The same had been for a few other students who were not lord yet but heirs. When he asked Dumbledore about it, he was told that it was customary to bring heirs to those sessions where something of vital importance to the Wizarding World could be happening. House Business was one of the grounds on which a student could be given a leave however most of them were leaving only for one day.
Unknown Castle
Voldemort was furious. He had heard of the new potion and the effects it had upon werewolves. He did not want his werewolves to take any potion but he could feel that their loyalties were slightly shifting which was reason for concern and any indiscretion of his part may cost him their loyalty. Already 100 or so werewolves had already sidelined themselves from the war or even joined the other side with the Ministry offering them a better deal than he did.
He could not forbid his followers from taking the new potion because he feared that they might rebel and he would lose a major chunk of his forces. The Ministry had made significant improvement under the new regime and if things continued in this vein, his already difficult campaign would be nigh impossible. Already three of his followers whose families had pledged their loyalties to House of Black had begged him to not involve them in any plans regarding Harold Peverell or their entire bloodline would suffer. They had otherwise agreed to do as he decreed for them. He had crucioed them for a long time but had granted their wish because he realized the complicated magics behind loyalty oaths would otherwise render them incapable and perhaps extinguish 3 bloodlines in one go which would cause even more resentment among his followers.
Severus had also given him some important news about something that the old fool was planning to do around Yule and had promised that he would inform him if it was imperative for him to act instantly. Of course, he remembered how the interfering, old coot had placed the philosopher's stone forever beyond his reach just four years ago. The image of the prophecy, sitting on its shelf somewhere deep in the department of mysteries flashed across his mind.
He also realized that he had to speed up the timeline for his objectives or he would have to spend a lot more time in the shadows. First was storming the wizarding prison Azkaban. He needed his followers out at any cost because without trusted commanders, he could not win a war. No one among his new followers possessed the cruelty or the talents of the members of his Inner Circle. He needed at least Bellatrix, Dolohov and Rookwood out of prison because Bellatrix was almost as talented as him while Dolohov was a ruthless killer. Rookwood had worked in the Department of Mysteries and as such, he could help them in figuring out a way to pick up the prophecy orb without the need for Voldemort to personally go and do it. He would also need the Dementors on his side.
A meeting of Allies
Harry had arrived this morning at the Townhouse. They had a meeting scheduled for the allies at the Bones Townhouse today at noon. Harry needed to be there because he knew that the wizarding world had begun to look to him as a leader for the new united factions. As Remus Lupin was a werewolf, some people would have objected to his presence and Dumbledore would have been forced to ask him to stay out of it for reasons of conflict of interest meaning that House of Potter would not be represented. He had to be there in person.
He had been joined by Susan when he had arrived with Sirius at the Bones Townhouse in the afternoon. The house elf escorted them inside. Amelia offered them seats at the table while they waited for others to turn up. The first one to come through was Robert Abbott which was no surprise because Hannah and Susan were best friends, so it was natural that he was invited. As it was, they knew that the loyalty of the neutrals was temporary and they would get back to being neutral after the war. It was wise to strengthen the Grand Alliance while they could.
Soon others started to come in. Macmillan was followed by Ainsworth who was followed by Acton followed by Boot followed by Corner followed by Greengrass followed by Arthur followed by Charlie followed by Andromeda lastly by Alice. There were also a few more lords he did not knew who previously had belonged to the Neutrals and were allied with House Greengrass namely Orpington. Ebercrombie, Zeller, Fawley, Shafiq, and a few others who names eluded him at that moment. Alice sent a glare his way as she entered the meeting room but said nothing at that time. Harry knew he was going to be receiving an earful from her later and may be a couple of hexes.
Since Lady Bones had called the meeting, she started speaking, "As you all have been informed by the Wizengamot, a change to the Werewolf Registry has been proposed by Robert. We will be voting on it in the coming session. This meeting has been called here to discuss the issue and to see if anyone has opposite views to ours that the ministry should not be allowed to track werewolves. Who would like to go first?"
Ainsworth raised his hand. "I am not in favor of the change. If we are able to track them then we will be able to sleep peacefully at night knowing that the ministry is watching them and taking adequate steps to protect us. While we have repealed the horrendous laws, it will be a bit much to let them roam without knowing what they are doing".
A few of them concurred with his statement.
It fell to Harry to assuage their concerns. "I would concede that Lord Ainsworth has raised valid points but I do not agree with his proposition. When we repealed the laws, we were aiming to achieve equality for werewolves and most of them who were turned have never engaged in any act which would merit such treatment at our hands. The sole objective of repealing the laws was to help them realize that we are not discriminating against them. I agree that we must keep a register of werewolves so that we would know if they were involved in any criminal activities but I do not want them to be branded like cattle. They must be given liberty to live life free from shackles and if we keep restraining them then for the purpose of equality, we would have to brand and track every witch and wizard because otherwise there is no other way that I think we would be able to give them equality. Most of you have children in Hogwarts who have studied under the tutelage of Remus Lupin when he was the defense professor. Can any of you tell me that there has been a better defense teacher than him in years? For all the year, he took the wolfsbane even though Aconite is a poison just so that he would not turn any student. Many of you have employed werewolves and they have been hard working and honest. There are werewolves out there who deserve a chance at living freely and I, for one, am willing to give them that chance. I also implore you all to support this motion".
Many of them clapped after he had sat down.
Lord Ainsworth started speaking again, "How can we ensure that a werewolf who is engaged in a crime will be correctly identified and punished, if we cannot track them?"
It was Amelia who answered, "I will answer this one. The same methods and laws will apply as if any witch or wizard had committed a crime. We will have their magical signature registered. In case of a crime, we will track them through their magical signature and when found guilty, they would be punished in accordance with our laws. The crime of turning, however, is unique to werewolves and their condition. This crime is punishable by death".
"Is that not a bit harsh, Amelia?", Arthur asked.
"No Arthur, it is not harsh at all. We have to balance the scales on both sides. Turning someone and condemning them to lycanthropy is as good as murdering them and murder has only one penalty- Execution".
They debated some more, people made their opinions known and they debated again and then would again discuss some suggestion. Finally it was agreed that they would support the motion at the least.
After the meeting was adjourned, Alice cornered him, "Tell me godson why I should not hex you for worrying me?"
He gave her his lop-sided grin, "Godmother, you can hex me and you would be within your rights to do so. Before you do, I should tell you that I wanted to visit my parents on Samhain. This was the first time that I went there and I am not sorry that I did this".
She hugged him fiercely. There was no way that she could punish him after she knew why he had done what he did. "I understand Harry but please remember that we care about you. If something had happened, I do not think I would be able to face Lily and tell her why I failed at my duties".
"I promise godmother that I will inform you in advance from this time on, so you can stand in my defense, if the need be.", he said cheekily.
"If you did not have such a good reason for this act Harold, I was itching to have a go on you. But this time I am letting it go. Please understand that we care about you", said Andromeda who was standing behind Alice and had not left.
A/N- I know this chapter might have felt off colour to you all but I had written super long chapter (30K words or so) and I had to break it down so you might feel it lacking but I would urge you to bear with me. We are almost at the end of term and we will have the first showdown soon after Yule. Stay tuned and thanks for all the reviews.