Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the intellectual property associated with Harry Potter.

Hi all,

Here's the second chapter for today.

Chapter 68

The plants were in a frenzy, and the entire class lay unconscious on the floor. Harry was the only one awake, and he had already drawn his wand to defend his classmates. He thought the plants were acting abnormally. Although they were dangerous, Professor Sprout had raised them, so attacking the students shouldn't have been their first reaction.

In just a matter of seconds, Harry thought furiously, deciding how he would deal with the threat.

It was solely due to Daphne's expertise that he could recognise some of the greenhouse's most dangerous plants. The Devil's Snare stood out as the most apparent threat due to its extensive reach. Its vines were already encroaching on some of the students lying on the ground. In comparison to the Devil's Snares in Greenhouse One, these plants were notably larger and consequently posed a greater danger.

The second threat came from the Snargaluff, which resembled gnarled stumps. It had long, bramble-like vines hidden within it that could entangle someone if they got too close. The plant, like the majority of the plants in the greenhouse, was carnivorous, but it was much more adept at consuming flesh because of the pods inside it that had corrosive properties.

Another threat was the Venomous Tentacula, which can be viewed as a more dangerous variant of the Devil's Snare due to its highly toxic bite, poisonous shoots, and spikes. There is little time to free oneself once ensnared before succumbing to its potent poison.

Harry activated his Velocier skill so he could move faster. He briefly thought about using his fireball spell card, but immediately discarded the idea. He didn't know how flammable the greenhouse was, so he didn't want to risk setting the entire thing on fire and endangering the class. Instead, he summoned some Scythe spell cards.

He began by targeting the vines closest to the students, throwing the cards in rapid succession. The cutting blades swiftly sliced through the vines, causing them to drop to the floor. However, as each plant had a multitude of vines, the method proved inefficient at eliminating them. Once he had dealt with the immediate threat, he found himself immediately confronted with more vines encroaching on the area where the students were lying.

Harry struggled to contain the rising panic. Despite throwing many spell cards and using his wand to cast cutting curses, he found himself overwhelmed by their sheer numbers.

His instincts alerted him to a threat, right before something entangled his leg. He looked down to see a vine wrapped around it. He pointed his wand at it and cast a cutting spell, which sliced through the vine.

However, the sense of imminent danger persisted. He looked up, his eyes widening with alarm. He reacted quickly, throwing himself to the ground just in time to avoid a stump that was hurtling towards him. The stump smashed against a table. Several pods burst from the stump, scattering around on the ground. One of them landed close to Harry, prompting him to extend his leg and kick it away.

It took him a moment to realise what was happening. The Devils' Snares were now picking up the Snargaluff and hurling them at him. Who knew they had that kind of intelligence?

"Flipping heck," Harry cursed. "This is getting out of control."

He needed to switch tactics. He quickly sprang to his feet and pointed his wand at the door. "Bombarda."

The red light flashed across the room and hit the door. The door exploded, throwing debris everywhere, and leaving a massive opening in the greenhouse. He summoned several fireball spell cards and threw them out of the opening, hoping to attract the attention of anyone outside.

Another stump came flying at him. He acted quickly and pointed his wand at it. "Wingardium Leviosa."

The stump came to a stop in midair, now under his control. He tossed the stump back at the Devil's Snare that had thrown it. It smashed into the plant, destroying it. Harry grinned viciously, feeling a rush of satisfaction from using the plant's tactics against it. But his smile faded as he saw that a Venomous Tentacula had grabbed Seamus Finnigan while he was distracted. It was dragging him dangerously close to its open mouth.

He threw a Scythe card, which sliced through the top of its head, causing it to shudder and release the boy from its grip. It only took him a second to decide what to do next. He needed to protect the students until help arrived because he wouldn't be able to stop all of the plants.

Harry dashed into the middle of the students and hissed in Parseltongue, summoning his coiled snake shield. He poured as much magic into it as he could, allowing him to extend the snake to cover the entire class. He could feel the vines smashing against the shield, rapidly depleting its strength.

He grunted, feeling the strain as the shield threatened to collapse around him. He took a chance and expended more magic to keep the shield intact. It wasn't something he had tried before, but desperate times called for desperate measures. If the shield failed, he doubted he would have enough time to conjure another before the vines reached the students.

The vines now surrounded the shield, creating a green cocoon that sealed off the outside world. Harry thought he heard a shout from outside, but he was so focused on his task that he could not be certain. A loud, creaking sound reached his ears. He looked up and noticed the roof sagging under the weight of the vines hanging from it. He had only a few moments before it collapsed on them.

Pushing more magic into his wand, he strengthened the shield one last time before the roof came crashing down. Harry closed his eyes, bracing himself for an impact. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes to see chaos. His shield was now supporting the weight of the roof and all of the vines that had been hanging from it. The strain on the shield felt even more exhausting.

The weight of the roof disappeared, and he saw that the debris on top of him had vanished. Flames appeared outside the shield and began burning away the plants strangling it. The control of the flames was so good, they didn't put any strain on his shield. He was able to relax as the pressure on the shield reduced significantly, and he stopped pouring magic into it. If he had to hold it much longer, he was sure he would have run out of magic.

"Mr Potter!" After the vines were eliminated, Flitwick appeared and waved at him through the shield. "You can lower the shield. The plants have been eliminated."

Harry took his advice and collapsed to the ground with a groan. Following this ordeal, he disliked Herbology even more.

"What happened here?" Flitwick demanded, staring at the unconscious people on the ground.

"The earmuffs failed to block out the cries of the Mandrakes," Harry said. "Everyone was knocked out, and the plants attacked en masse."

"Why weren't you knocked unconscious as well?" Flitwick asked, before raising his hands. "Don't bother answering that. I think you have already demonstrated that you aren't ordinary."

Harry snorted. "I'm glad you were nearby, as I don't know how long I could have held that shield."

"That was an impressive display of magic. I've never seen that protection charm before."

"It's Parsel magic," Harry explained. "It takes a huge toll on my magic, but it's really effective."

Flitwick nodded. "That explains it."

Harry stood up and approached his girlfriends, who, thankfully, appeared unharmed. "How long until they wake up?"

"Probably a few hours," Flitwick answered. "The Mandrakes were extremely young. Madam Pomfrey will have a better idea, though. I need to get them up to the infirmary."

Flitwick summoned a Patronus and sent it to the castle with a message for the professors and Madam Pomfrey to come down to the greenhouse. Classes would most likely be cancelled for the rest of the day so they could investigate the incident.

"Merlin's Beard!" Gilderoy came running across the grounds with his fifth-year students following behind him, after witnessing the incident from over by the hut. "What happened?"

Harry ignored him, unwilling to explain the incident to someone he despised. He thought he saw an angry expression appear on Gilderoy's face, but it vanished so quickly that he must have imagined it.

Flitwick explained the situation. Gilderoy pulled out his wand, claiming to know how to revive the unconscious students, but Flitwick intervened before he could cause any harm. If Gilderoy had approached his girlfriends, Harry would have taken more drastic action to stop him.

Flitwick summoned some stretchers, and the students were placed on them. He levitated the stretchers and moved them out of the greenhouse's demolished remains. Professor Sprout was probably going to throw a fit when she saw what had happened to it. The building wasn't particularly important, as it could be easily built again, but many valuable plants were destroyed that couldn't be easily replaced.

Gilderoy made his way back to the castle, his face like a thundercloud.

He couldn't believe that his plan had failed. He had gone to great lengths to stage the incident in the greenhouse and make it appear accidental. It had been Obsidian's instructions. They wanted to make it appear like an accident so that the authorities wouldn't look too closely at the school. After the previous school year, they were likely to investigate anything remotely suspicious.

His controller was not going to be pleased with him for failing. He suspected harsh punishments were on the way. Gilderoy released a whimper at the thought. He wasn't the strongest when it came to handling pain, and previous punishments had left him scarred for life.

It would take time and cunning to devise another plan that Harry Potter wouldn't be able to get out of. Seriously, the boy must be the luckiest person on the planet, given all the adventures he'd been through and survived intact. He had read the boy's file, and it made for some interesting reading.

"I have to lay low for a while," Gilderoy muttered, gritting his teeth. "If I try anything too soon after this incident, then it's going to raise too much suspicion. Just wait, Harry Potter. By the end of the school year, I will make sure you wish you were never born."

Harry was right in thinking that the classes would be cancelled for the day. Once the unconscious students had been transferred to the infirmary, the headmaster made the call to finish classes early. The professors were already sifting through the remains of the greenhouse, trying to figure out what had happened.

He sat next to his girlfriends in the infirmary, waiting for them to wake up. Hermione, Tracy, Neville, and Hannah were lying in beds next to them. No one else was allowed in the infirmary, as there was hardly any room to fit all the students and Professor Sprout.

While waiting for everyone to wake up, he closed his eyes and tried to recall the events that led up to the incident. He wanted to see if there were any clues as to what happened that his subconscious had picked up on. After twenty minutes of searching, he found nothing. Even so, he was suspicious of the incident. It was better to be paranoid until proven otherwise. He just hoped the professors were having better luck than him and had found something in the greenhouse that would point to the culprit.

With nothing else to do, he chose to continue his Occlumency practice. After receiving a new technique from the sorting hat, he became more successful in creating tangible objects in his mindscape that remained permanent fixtures.

It took him a while to figure out how he wanted to organise and protect his memories. When it came to defences, he preferred the theme of disorganisation the most. He didn't want his memories to be organised in such a way that they were easy to find, even if they had strong defences. As long as he could remember how his memories were organised, then that was enough for him.

Harry decided to use a junkyard to serve as his mind palace. Before he started adding the main defences, he chose to construct the entire structure so he knew what he was working with.

He dedicated several hours to constructing a chain-link fence around the junkyard's perimeter, which stretched for miles on both sides. This provided ample space for him to proceed with interior work. He electrified and fortified the fence with barbed wire on top. Additionally, he strategically positioned watchtowers at regular intervals along the perimeter to ensure complete visibility for detecting any approaching threats.

He intended to add additional safeguards once the foundation was established, but for the time being, he was pleased with the progress made. He had no idea how long it would take to complete his mind palace, but he had plenty of time. When he was finished, he planned to demonstrate the method to the rest of the club, as most of their progress had recently stalled. He wanted to test it first to ensure that there were no problems.

"Why am I here?"

Harry's concentration was broken, and he opened his eyes. Daphne had awakened first and was attempting to sit up. He helped her and fluffed the pillow to make her feel more comfortable.

"Don't you remember what happened?" Harry asked.

Daphne took a moment to respond. "I remember I was in the process of repotting the mandrake. But I don't remember anything else."

"The earmuffs failed," Harry said. "When they heard the mandrake's cry, the entire class passed out. However, that was only the beginning of the ordeal. The plants began attacking the students in a frenzy."

"Let me guess." Daphne smiled. "You were the one who saved us."

"I was able to resist the mandrakes' effects," Harry admitted. "I had a difficult time keeping the plants away from everyone. The greenhouse was completely destroyed."

"Thank you," Daphne said, leaning over and pecking him on the lips. "Do you know what caused it?"

Harry shrugged. "They are investigating now."

Madam Pomfrey emerged from her office and examined Daphne. She assured the girl that she had no ill effects from the incident and that she could leave whenever she wanted. Gabrielle and Susan awoke soon after, along with his friends and the rest of the class. They gathered around Daphne's bed to discuss the incident.

Ten minutes later, Flitwick and his grandmother walked into the infirmary. Professor Sprout got up from her bed to talk to them. Up until this point, she had been lying despondently in bed after hearing what had happened to Greenhouse Three.

"Don't leave us in suspense," Harry said, interrupting their conversation. "Did you find out what happened?"

Minerva frowned at him, but the headmaster waved her away. "The incident is being treated as an accident. There was a dangerous plant that was sealed away in a glass container, but it managed to break out of it. We believe it is responsible for the entire incident."

"A plant?" Harry asked, confused.

"The Hysteria Carnation!" Daphne exclaimed, and Neville nodded.

Professor Sprout explained to the rest of the class. "The Hysteria Carnation emits a scent that excites and empowers other plants. It is probably why the Mandrakes' cries were more potent, and the earmuffs couldn't block their cries out. Human noses aren't sensitive enough to detect the odour, so that's why we didn't detect anything was wrong."

"Why was it stored in the greenhouse if it was so dangerous?" Susan asked.

Professor Sprout grimaced. "It's kept in a sealed glass container, but it looks like the flower was able to break the glass and release its scent."

Harry frowned. "Could someone have deliberately broken the container?"

"It's possible," Professor Sprout admitted. "But it's also possible the enchantments on the glass failed. I haven't checked on the flower in some time, so this could be all my fault."

"You were lucky Mr Potter was there to hold the plants off," Flitwick said. "Mr Potter, I'm awarding you one hundred points, and an award for special services to the school."

Minerva smiled proudly at her grandson. His classmates surrounded Harry, shaking his hand and hugging him in gratitude for saving their lives. He fled the infirmary with his friends shortly after, uncomfortable with the attention.

He couldn't shake the sneaking suspicion that someone had deliberately caused the incident, but he had no proof to go on. For the time being, he would have to keep an eye out for any further incidents.

Blaise sat at his desk with an open book in front of him. His dormitory room was filled with nothing but tranquil silence, a luxury he valued. Slytherins, unlike students from other houses, were given private rooms. When he was tired of socialising with friends or Draco's constant chatter in the common room, he sought refuge in his own space.

His fingers traced the words on the page. Following the incident with his friends earlier that day, he wanted to learn more about the flower that was allegedly to blame. The book was an encyclopaedia of all the rarest magical flowers and their properties. After reading the entry, he couldn't deny that the Hysteria Carnation could have caused the plants to go into a frenzy, but how it happened had him sceptical.

It seemed too coincidental that the incident occurred while Harry was inside the greenhouse. Knowing how many enemies his friend had, it wasn't hard to imagine that the incident was deliberate rather than accidental, as everyone assumed.

There was something everyone was missing. The greenhouses were supposed to be warded to prevent such incidents from occurring, but they had failed to activate. Professor Babbling had performed a maintenance check on them earlier in the week, but she thought she had failed to reactivate them after she had finished. He didn't believe that she would make such a mistake.

She was probably more aware of the need for caution than ever before after the incident in Merlin's chamber earlier that year. He understood how that felt. His momentary lapse in judgement had resulted in him being controlled by an ancient deity, who made him attack his friend. Even though Harry had forgiven him, he hadn't fully forgiven himself.

This is why he was determined to figure out what had happened with the incident that day so he could repay the mistake that he had made.

When Blaise was initially invited to join the club, he had no intention of becoming friends with Harry and the others. His curiosity about the famous Boy-Who-Lived drove him to get to know him better, and he never anticipated it to be a lasting connection. He assumed he would eventually distance himself from the group after a few weeks.

He was a naturally solitary creature, the result of a turbulent childhood in which he felt unsafe around his extended family. He only had his mother to rely on, but she was dealing with her own issues, so it never felt like she was by his side.

Even though he preferred being alone, he knew how to socialise and fit in with everyone. His etiquette training had ensured this, but it was largely a façade. His first interaction with the club was the same, but as time passed, he grew to appreciate his friends, and that façade fell away.

Blaise heard a tapping on the window. He looked up to see his mother's tawny eagle, Nero, perched on the windowsill. He got up from his seat and opened the window. Nero flew into the room and perched himself on the headboard.

"What does my mother want, hmm?" Blaise asked, stroking Nero's feathers. The eagle nipped his fingers and screeched.

"Hold on a moment," Blaise chided.

Opening the bedside drawer, he took out a container holding several dead mice. He tossed one to Nero, who caught it in his mouth and swiftly swallowed it.

He retrieved the letter and sat down again to read it.

Tesoro mio,

I hope you are doing well, Blaise. I'm already missing you, and it hasn't even been long since you returned to Hogwarts. I'm already busy searching for my next mark, and I think I have found a likely candidate. Are you going to congratulate me when I marry my eighth husband?

I'm afraid the reason for writing this letter is not a happy one. I recommend ending your friendship with Harry Potter as soon as possible. My informant at Obsidian has informed me that they are targeting the boy because of the artefact he developed. I don't think the boy appreciates just how much it affects their business interests. They are already looking for the location where the artefact is being manufactured. With their connections, it is only a matter of time before they find the place and destroy it.

I suspect they have placed someone in the school who is working against him. I don't have any evidence, but I don't think they would be willing to wait until he leaves the castle and its protections behind.

Harry Potter is in danger. If you were to stay by his side, then I fear that you would be targeted as well. You're well aware that some of our family members are part of this organisation. They may decide to eliminate you when the opportunity presents itself. Do the logical thing and don't let emotions get in the way of your decision. You are what matters most.

Stay safe,

Caterina Zabini

"Cazzo!" Blaise swore, tossing the letter onto the desk.

Did his mother believe he would be selfish and abandon his friend? Perhaps he might have done so a year ago, but now things were different. He was not going to let Obsidian get their hands on Harry, or worse, murder him. Now that he was aware of their interest in him, today's incident took on a completely different meaning. Obsidian preferred to disguise their assassinations as accidents because they disliked drawing attention to themselves.

The question was what he should do with this information. Should he tell Harry about this? Was Harry aware that Obsidian was targeting him? What would Harry think if he discovered that some of Blaise's family were members of the organisation? Would Harry distance himself from him?

Blaise grabbed a piece of parchment and began writing a letter back to his mother. He still didn't have any concrete evidence that Obsidian had planted someone within the school, so he wouldn't say anything for the time being. Meanwhile, he would have his mother investigate the matter further and see if she could come up with anything else.

19th September

A few days later, Harry was sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast before his first class.

He had already moved on from the incident in the greenhouse. He had spent most of the weekend following the incident working on his mind palace. After building the fence around the junkyard, he began working on the interior. The outer areas of the junkyard would be filled with scrapped cars, and they would hold some of his less important memories that didn't reveal anything personal.

Even though they weren't as important, he didn't want to leave them completely unprotected. Aside from the magical creatures he would introduce later, he intended to make the cars functional, even if they appeared to be incapable of running. Furthermore, he intended to make them sentient, and they would attempt to run over any intruders who got too close to them. He got the idea from Mr Weasley's Ford Anglia, which was most likely still driving around the Forbidden Forest.

Following that, he focused on the junk piles themselves. There would be massive piles of debris and junk, with hidden spaces within them that would hold his most precious memories. Each would be difficult to navigate because everything piled onto the mound had the potential to be dangerous. The only problem was that each junk pile was extremely detailed, and it would take a long time to build each one. But he wasn't in a rush and could continue to work on it little by little. Perhaps his design was overly elaborate, but he didn't want something simple either.

When Harry heard a rush of wings, he looked up and saw the owls enter the Great Hall. Hedwig's distinctive white form was also visible, and she swooped down towards him before landing on the table.

"Hello, girl," Harry said, reaching for the letter attached to her leg. "What have you got for me?"

Hedwig barked.

"Fine," Harry grumbled. He grabbed some bacon and offered it to her, and she handed over the letter to him.

Hermione looked up, expecting to see her parents' owl, but frowned when it didn't appear. They had got one during the summer holidays to stay in touch with their daughter.

"Why didn't they send me anything?" Hermione mumbled.

It was Hermione's birthday, so she was expecting her parents to send her a present and a letter that day. She had no idea Harry was planning a surprise for her. He had decided to make up for the fact that he didn't do anything special for his friends' birthdays the previous year.

"Don't worry about them," Harry said. "After classes today, we will have a party in the Room of Requirement to celebrate your birthday."

Hermione frowned. "I don't need a party."

"That's too bad," Tracy said from beside her. "That is the only way you will receive your presents from us."

"It will just be the club members at the party, right?" Hermione asked.

Daphne nodded. "We know you didn't want a big fuss, so we didn't invite anyone else."

"Thank you," Hermione said, smiling. "I am sure I will enjoy it, as long as there is no alcohol."

Harry gestured to the twins, silently indicating that he no longer needed the firewhisky.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, noticing his gesture.

"Nothing gets by you," Harry muttered.

"What's the letter about?" Gabrielle asked.

Harry unrolled the parchment and a brochure fell out. He browsed through the letter. "It's from the Artisan Guild Headquarters. They are inviting me to participate in the competition early next year."

He was specifically invited to take part in the under-eighteen competition. Since he qualified for the under-fifteens as well, it showed how much confidence they had in him by placing him in the higher category.

The competition format was a series of tasks related to the artisan profession, and competitors would receive points for each one based on how well they performed. In the end, the points would be added together to determine one's final position in the competition.

"So Sheena was right," Daphne said. "They want to use you as a mascot to recruit more members into their ranks."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Neville said, picking up the brochure and examining it. "They have some amazing prizes up for grabs, especially if you make the top ten."

"How good could they be?" Harry asked, taking the brochure from Neville. He whistled when he saw the rewards list, which included some rare and valuable ingredients. "They aren't playing around. These must be worth a small fortune."

"Are you interested now?" Gabrielle nudged him.

"Of course," Harry said. "But I still have a month to decide. Maybe I'll ask the guild leader about it first."

After the day's classes, the club gathered in the Room of Requirement for Hermione's party. Because of the nature of the room, they didn't need to spend any time decorating it, as it provided everything they needed with their imagination alone. They prepared a table for the food and drinks, and placed Hermione's presents at one end of it.

Terry set up a wireless radio and cranked it up when the Weird Sisters began playing one of their songs.

"Harry, why did you place the vanishing cabinet in here?" Hermione asked, spotting the cabinet immediately since it was so conspicuous.

Harry grinned. He took out his mirror and spoke his godfather's name. "We're ready for you. Let them through."

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Harry? What did you do?"

"I moved the second vanishing cabinet around so I could invite someone to your party."

Hermione's head turned as the cabinet doors opened, and her parents stepped out, carrying presents and looking around the room in amazement. "Mum! Dad!"

She rushed over and pulled her parents into a hug. Everyone could see how happy Hermione was to have her parents with her on her birthday.

"Hello, princess," David Granger said. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."

Helen snorted. "That was a surreal experience, but it's extremely convenient to get around. Harry, where can I purchase a set of these cabinets?"

"I would have to build some more," Harry said. "Just don't tell anyone about it, or I might get into a lot of trouble."

"I was only kidding," Helen replied, shaking her head. "I prefer to keep myself grounded."

David raised an eyebrow. "I hope you received permission from the headmaster before inviting us here."

Harry looked away. "As long as we don't leave the room, no one will ever know."

David and Helen didn't look as if they approved, but they let it go for the sake of their daughter.

Hermione rushed over to hug him. "Thanks, Harry. You're amazing."

"Was there any doubt?" Harry smirked, but then he felt his girlfriend's eyes on him. "What is it?"

"You'd better be able to top this when our birthdays come around again," Susan demanded. "Otherwise, I may discard you and find a better boyfriend."

Daphne and Gabrielle nodded in agreement.

"Right. I'll make sure to wow my girlfriends on their next birthdays."

So, what do you think? I wanted to end the chapter on a lighter note, without any cliffhangers.

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