Author's Note: Whew! Another chapter done and it hasn't even been a week since my last update. Wow. Of course, once I start college in a few weeks, these chapters will be more spaced out sadly. I'll get as much written as I can in the meantime. Thanks for reviewing everyone! And thanks again to Jessica and Nitya for reading this chapter over and correcting all of my errors. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Daniel, a friend of mine who I've been keeping an email correspondence with since the very beginnings of this story. He's unfortunately injured at the moment and can't type-much. Thanks for the friendship Daniel and I hope you feel better soon!
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MARA FROST
"You're kidding!" was Ron's reaction when Harry told him and Hermione about Hunter's father later that night. "His father was murdered by a Death Eater!"
"Yes," Harry said quietly. "He was killed in the attack near Bristol."
"Poor kid," Ron said. "Must be hard."
"It is," Harry murmured.
Ron went silent, obviously noticing that he had hit a nerve. Hermione, strangely enough, had not said a word since Harry told them. She was sitting in her usual chair with Crookshanks in her lap, scratching his ears slightly and staring at the crackling flames in the fireplace. She had a melancholy look on her face as she seemed quite lost in her own thoughts. Harry thought it was best to leave her alone, especially since he had a small inkling on why she looked so sad.
"Well," Ron said, getting up and stretching, "I'm off to bed. See you two in the morning."
"'Night Ron," Harry said.
He waited for a moment for a response from Hermione, but when he didn't get one, he knitted his eyebrows and shrugged slightly before turning and heading up to the boys' dormitory.
Harry sat by and watched Hermione for a moment longer, before asking, "Are you thinking about her?" She released a choked sigh before nodding and opening her eyes. Harry fidgeted slightly. "What was she like?" he asked quietly.
Hermione wrapped her arms around herself and trembled. "She was the most wonderful woman I ever knew," she said shakily. "She was kind and sweet…she didn't deserve what she got."
"Was she your mum's mum or your dad's mum?" he asked.
"My mum's mother. Charlotte Jane Lowell. She and I share middle names," Hermione told him, glancing over his way. "I never knew my grandfather. He died a year before I was born."
Harry frowned, thinking of his mother's diary and the information he had uncovered about his own grandparents. "What about your dad's parents?"
"Hmm? Oh, Grandma and Grandpa Granger are still very much alive, but I've never really been close to them," Hermione said before adding bitterly, "They don't even know I'm a witch."
She sighed. "Oh, listen to me, blubbering on about my grandparents when you...you never even had a chance to meet yours."
Harry gave a small smile. "I don't mind. I found out what my mum's parents' names were though," he added brightly.
"Really? That's good. How far have you come along in your mother's diary?"
"I'm up to the end of the first term of her first year. Mainly all she does is talk about her classes and how annoying that Potter boy and that Black boy were."
She laughed, and he was pleased to hear it. "Your poor mother." She sighed and glanced down at her watch. "Oh, is it that late already?"
Harry glanced down at his own watch. It was approaching midnight. "Yeah. I reckon we had better get to sleep."
"Yes. Ally and I have decided to spend some quality time together so we can get better acquainted," Hermione said as she got up.
"Really? I take it the mentorship program is going okay for you then," he said, also getting up.
"Yes. Ally's a really nice girl. She's quite intelligent, but I think she may have a knack for adventure. She told me just the other day that she would love to see what Hogwarts was like at night, when you're not supposed to be out…"
Harry chuckled. "I think you, Ron, and I know a bit about that."
"Yes, but I'm not telling Ally that," Hermione said and she headed towards the door to the girls' dorms. "Well, good night Harry."
"'Night Hermione," he said and watched her leave before heading up to his own dorm.
*****
On Sunday, Harry and Ron settled down at a table in the common room to tackle the large amount of homework they had accumulated over the week.
"Are you going to get it all done?" Hermione asked them before she and Ally left for their little girls' day out.
"As much as we can," Harry replied and Ron groaned, looking at the subject of their immensely difficult Transfiguration essay that was due the next morning.
"The Dangers and Difficulties of Transfiguring Animals into Other Animals," he read. "Why didn't I just drop Transfiguration?"
Hermione scowled and left, leaving Harry and Ron alone in the common room with a few fifth years and a couple of third years.
"Might as well get a move on," Harry said sadly, grabbing some parchment and The Complete Guide to Transfiguration. "At least we know it won't take us long to do our Herbology essay." Indeed, the topic of their Herbology essay was to discuss the properties of the Muggle aloe vera plant and how even the wizarding world used it.
They spent a good part of the day writing, researching, and talking. By the time Hermione returned with Ally before dinner, Harry was putting the finishing touches on his Potions essay while Ron finished drawing a star chart out for Astronomy.
"There, done!" Ron said triumphantly before leaning forward and whispering, "I'll let you copy it after dinner."
Harry grinned. "Thanks, Ron."
After saying a few words to Ally, Hermione came over and sat down next to them, pulling Harry's Dark Arts essay, which finished up Lupin's lesson on doxies, towards her. "So, how much work did you boys get done today?" she asked.
"I'm all finished," Ron told her, a smug grin on his face.
"Good," she said, reading Harry's essay.
"How was your day with Ally?" Harry asked, settling down his quill and letting the ink dry on his Potions essay.
"Excellent. She's such a nice girl," Hermione said, grabbing Harry's quill and correcting a spelling error. "She adores reading, has a little brother, likes Charms class, enjoys playing Gobstones, and wonders what exactly is in the Forbidden Forest." She looked up and smirked.
"I hope you told her that if she doesn't want to get attacked by giant spiders or centaurs she should stay out of there," Ron said.
"I told her there are more dangers in that Forest than most people realize," Hermione said. "This is a really good essay Harry."
"Thanks," he said, taking it back when she returned it to him. "What else did you and Ally talk about?"
"Well, I discovered she likes Quidditch. She's a Holyhead Harpies fan." At that, Ron snorted. "And she's interested in S.P.E.W."
"Spew? What, is she going to knit socks and scarves with you?" Ron asked incredulously.
Hermione shot him a venomous look. "If you had bothered to notice, Ron, I haven't been knitting anything for a while now!"
"Oh really?" he asked, leaning back in his chair. "And why is that?"
"Because it was a futile attempt," Hermione spat. "I know when an idea isn't working!"
Harry eased away from the table slowly and looked down at his watch. "Hey, look at that, dinnertime! I'm just going to go down to the Great Hall…" With that, he jumped up and dashed away, leaving Ron and Hermione scowling at each other.
When he reached the Great Hall, he walked over to the Gryffindor table and plopped down across from Ginny. She glanced at him and said, "Boy, you look delightful."
"Oh I am," he replied in the same tone as he began to gather food towards him. "Ron and Hermione are at each other's throats again."
"When aren't they?" Ginny said. "Honestly, he needs to get over it."
Harry stilled and looked up at Ginny. "Get over what?"
An eyebrow rose. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked.
"What's obvious?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "About Ron?"
"Oh," he said, "yeah." In reality he had no idea what Ginny was on about. Were his suspicions about Ron having feelings for Hermione true? A small part of him for some odd reason hoped not.
It wasn't long after that both Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall. Both looked slightly ashamed as they sat down on either side of Harry.
"Harry, we're sorry," Hermione said while Ron started dishing up. "That was rather immature of the both of us."
Harry didn't say anything. He simply started in on his dinner. Hermione, obviously taking the hint, didn't say anything more to him. Ron, however, did not and turned to him. "How about a game of wizard's chess after dinner?" he asked.
"I have my Astrology homework to do," Harry reminded him.
"Oh…yeah, that's right. It's going to be nice having all of our homework done for the week though," Ron said.
"Which is why I always do mine the night I get it," Hermione said. "Freedom is nice, isn't it?"
"I wouldn't necessarily call it freedom," Ron muttered and went to back his meal.
Hermione sighed. Within moments she and Ginny were engrossed in conversation. What it was about, Harry had no clue.
Suddenly, Ron jerked beside him. "What is it?" Harry asked him.
"Luna," Ron whispered. "Is it just me or is she staring at me?" he asked, not daring to look up.
Harry glanced over at the Ravenclaw table and sure enough, Luna Lovegood was looking directly at Ron, her eerie, protuberant eyes never wavering. Harry looked down also and then back at Ron. "Yeah, she sure is."
"Help me focus my attention on something else, please Harry?" Ron asked, his ears turning red and still not looking up.
"Er-Quidditch," Harry muttered to him frantically. "How are the Cannons doing this year?"
"Horrible," Ron replied. "The Appleby Arrows demolished them in their last match." He sighed. "I think Puddlemere United is going to take the league."
Harry grinned. He happened to like Puddlemere United. "I'm sure they'll do better."
"I hope," Ron muttered. "So, when's our first Quidditch practice?"
"I was thinking Tuesday after class. D'you think that will be good?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. I'm thinking Tuesdays through Saturdays, what do you think?" Ron asked.
"Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday," Harry said.
"Why not Wednesday or Thursday?" Ron asked.
"I don't want to overwork the team like Wood did," Harry replied.
"But that's why the team was good!" Ron exclaimed.
"Shh!" Harry shushed. "Fine, I'll add Wednesday. Better?"
Ron frowned. "Okay."
"Good," he said and started eating again, as did Ron, but he noticed that Ron kept his eyes away from the Ravenclaw table.
After dinner, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all got up and left at the same time. The moment he entered the entrance hall, he suddenly felt like it was he who was being watched. He looked around as Ron and Hermione chatted idly. Finally he found a figure standing in the shadows at the top of the marble staircase, on the opposite side of the direction he, Ron, and Hermione were going to take once they made it there through the throngs of people.
As they moved closer some of the shadow disappeared from the figure and Harry recognized the short blonde hair. It was Mara Frost, the female Auror who was sent to protect Hogwarts. Her icy blue eyes stared down and watched Harry closely, sending a chill down his spine. He tried to look back defiantly, but found that he could not. He could not meet her gaze. Something in her gaze petrified him, causing him to turn away and follow Ron and Hermione up the stairs and off in the direction that Gryffindor Tower was. He wanted to discuss this with Ron and Hermione as they climbed the flights of stairs up to the seventh floor, but thought better of it. They would probably think he was just being paranoid.
Once they reached the common room, Harry slumped down into a chair and pulled his star chart towards him. Ron walked up behind him and whispered, "You're more than welcome to copy mine right now."
Harry nodded. "Thanks," he murmured and pulled Ron's toward him while Ron went over and cajoled Hermione into a game of wizard's chess, which was, Harry realized, Ron's way of distracting her so she wouldn't notice Harry copying Ron's homework.
By the time he finished, Ron had successfully put Hermione's king in check mate and Hermione was frowning. "I should know better than to play against you, Ron," she said and got up.
"And yet you can't resist," Ron said with a grin as Harry packed up all of his books and supplies. "All done, mate?"
"Yeah," Harry said gratefully. "I'm tired. I'm going to head off to bed."
"Okay," Ron said as he also started to pack up.
"Good night," Hermione said, taking a seat in front of the fire.
"'Night," Harry replied and headed through the door and up the stairs.
Once in his dorm, he settled down on his four-poster and grabbed his mother's diary. Opening it, he began reading where he left off.
5 January, 1972
Christmas holidays are over sadly, but I am very pleased to be back at Hogwarts. While I missed my mum, dad, and sister greatly, I missed Hogwarts just as much in my few weeks away. This place has certainly grown on me.
So now the second term has begun. Professor McGonagall has certainly made us step up our work. Naturally the two that complained the most were Potter and Black. I swear, they act like a little work would kill them and I know James does very well in Transfiguration.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was horrible today. I don't understand why Gryffindor House and Slytherin House hate each other so, but Potter and Black almost got into a fight with Severus Snape today for a comment Snape made about them and a counterjinx we were practicing today. Granted, I personally think Snape would have deserved what Potter and Black were about to give him, but it wouldn't have been right. Fighting is wrong; I don't care what anyone says.
The wizarding world is definitely an interesting one, that is for sure. I have only begun to unravel its many mysteries.
Lily
Harry felt his eyebrows rise as he read the passage. That was the first mention of animosity between not only his father and Snape, but also Gryffindor and Slytherin. Had it really taken her that long to notice, or had nothing so extreme ever come up? Either way, Harry was greatly surprised.
After closing the diary and tucking it underneath his pillow, where he had been keeping it, he changed into a pair of pajamas and then settled back down into his bed where he eventually fell asleep.
His sleep was a fitful one. At first, he was sitting by the lake watching as the Giant Squid floated along the surface, but that slowly melted away until he was in a room with several people around him, one of which was Wormtail.
"My lord," beseeched a man, kneeling in front of Harry, "please, we need more men. An attack on such a large Muggle city…"
"Silence!" Harry bellowed in a voice that was not his own. "Our attack on Winchester will be successful!"
"But Master-"
"I am finding your lack of faith highly disturbing, Blackshear," Harry murmured. Suddenly, his wand was in his hand and he cried, "Avada Kedavra!" The Death Eater, Blackshear, crumpled as many of the others winced. Harry turned to the others gathered before him. The part of Harry that was him was shocked, but the Harry that he currently was now sneered.
"Any other complaints?" he asked. No one dared to move, let alone speak. Harry scowled at them all. "Mordred, Schrader, remove this filth from my sight."
Two men stepped forward, bowing slightly, and scooped up the lifeless body of the dead Death Eater. Another stepped forward, bowed, and kneeled. "My lord, may I ask a simple inquiry?"
"What is it, Burke?" Harry asked as he settled himself down in an armchair that was directly behind him.
"I was wondering, sir, if the vampires are to accompany us to Winchester?" the Death Eater known as Burke asked.
Harry stared down at the man and tapped his long white fingernails impatiently on the arm of the chair. "They will not," he replied. "They will have more important matters to attend to within the next month."
Burke bowed again and rose, taking his place back amongst the group. Harry felt slightly distracted. "Go now, all of you! Go and light up the sky with the Dark Mark! Go and remind the world exactly how strong Lord Voldemort really is!"
With a cheer from the crowd of Death Eaters they all stormed out of the room, each and every one of them grabbing masks and covering their faces, leaving to strike fear into the world's heart.
Once alone, Harry placed one of those long white fingers against his forehead. "Still there Potter?" he hissed, tapping his forehead. "Still trying to peer into my mind?" He laughed, cold and cruel. "Then you are still open to me."
And with that, Harry awoke to the darkness of the dormitory, screaming in pain and clutching his scar.
Ron awoke, as did Neville, Seamus, and Dean. "Harry!" Ron cried. "What is it?"
"Voldemort!" Harry gasped, still clutching his scar and writhing in pain.
"Somebody go get Professor McGonagall," Ron murmured, leaning over Harry.
Harry heard someone hurtle from the room and down the stairs and then felt very sick. He did his best to abate the nausea. Ron must have noticed his battle, because he backed away. "You're going to be alright, Harry," he said.
Another wave of fresh pain hit Harry and he cried out, squinting his eyes shut. "Oh God!" he gasped as yet another wave hit him.
"He's really looking sick," he heard Seamus whisper and he was right. Harry couldn't take it anymore as he rolled over and vomited onto the floor. Suddenly, his pain vanished, leaving his scar tingling.
Moments later, Professor McGonagall entered the dorm with Neville, who looked very shaken. "What's happened?"
"Harry, Professor," Ron explained quickly. "He woke up screaming and said something about You-Know-Who."
Professor McGonagall stepped over to Harry, who was sweating profusely and resting up against his pillow. She looked down at him and said in a rather maternal voice, "Was it a dream?"
Weakly, he nodded his head. "There's to be an attack," he told her.
She frowned. "Come with me Harry. We must see Professor Dumbledore," she said, helping him up.
Ron came over with Harry's robe. "We'll get the mess cleaned up, Professor," he said and helped Harry slip into the robe. He then placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It'll be okay, mate."
Harry gave a meek grin and followed Professor McGonagall out of the dormitory. Others were peeking their heads out of their dormitories, wondering what all the commotion was. Professor McGonagall looked at them all and snapped, "Back to bed!"
Down the stairs, out the portrait hole, down more stairs and corridors until finally he was in front of the gargoyle that hid the entryway to the spiral staircase that led up to Dumbledore's office.
"Fizzing Whizbee!" Professor McGonagall muttered.
At once the gargoyle hopped aside and the spiral staircase started to move upward like an escalator. Harry and Professor McGonagall quickly stepped onto it. Once at the top, Professor McGonagall grabbed the brass knocker that was shaped like a griffin and rapped sharply three times.
"Come in," came a quiet voice from beyond the door and Professor McGonagall opened it quickly and ushered Harry inside.
Dumbledore sat at his desk, a roll of parchment and a quill laying out before him. "Ah, Minerva," he greeted, standing up and smiling as his eyes rested on Harry. "What's wrong? Harry?"
"Potter has had a vision involving You-Know-Who," McGonagall told him.
Dumbledore's sparkling blue eyes turned back to Harry. "What did you see?" he asked, conjuring up two chairs for Harry and Professor McGonagall before sitting back down himself.
Harry sat down gratefully into the chair Dumbledore provided. "He's going to attack," he told them wearily. "He's going to attack Winchester."
Dumbledore wasted no time. He quickly turned to his pet phoenix, Fawkes, and whispered something. Suddenly, Fawkes burst into flame and disappeared. "This will be a few moments," he told them.
About five minutes later, somebody rapped on the door. "Enter!" Dumbledore said quickly, getting up as Kingsley and his fellow Aurors, Joaquin Crow and Mara Frost, entered. "Something wrong, Dumbledore?" Kingsley asked briskly.
"I have just become aware of a plot on the Muggle town of Winchester. The Ministry must be informed quickly," Dumbledore told them.
"A plot?" Crow asked in a funny accent that sounded slightly Spanish.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied. "Voldemort."
Four of the six in the room cringed. "You're positive?" Kingsley asked in the same manner. Harry was wondering why he was talking in such a way to Dumbledore when he suddenly realized that he had to in order to seem inconspicuous.
"Very much so," Dumbledore replied.
Harry suddenly became very aware of someone's eyes focused on the back of his head. Turning his head slightly, he saw Mara Frost out of the corner of his eye watching him closely, just as she had earlier that day. He glanced down at his watch, just to do something and noticed something odd. The face, which was usually white, had turned red.
"We'll report this immediately," Kingsley was saying and he turned to his fellow Aurors. "Let's go."
Harry felt Frost's eyes on him for a moment longer, and then she turned and left, following Kingsley and Crow.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'll be okay," Harry said quietly.
Dumbledore nodded and sat, considering him. "Minerva, if you would leave us please?"
McGonagall did not ask any questions. She simply got up and left, leaving Harry and Dumbledore alone.
"So, Harry, we have not had a chance to talk since you have been back. How have you been?" he asked.
What a thing to ask, Harry thought sourly, especially when he was probably as pale as a ghost and had recently vomited all over the dormitory floor. "I'm fine," he replied.
"You still have access to Voldemort's mind," Dumbledore murmured. "It would be wise if you started to take Occlumency lessons again."
Harry frowned. "It didn't work last time."
"No, it didn't. But I think it would be best if you tried again."
Again, Harry frowned. "If you say so."
Dumbledore sighed. "You might as well get back to bed. Try to have a good night's sleep, Harry."
"I'll try," Harry replied. "Good night, sir."
He left as quickly as he could and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. Along the way, he ran into Peeves, who was flying up and down the corridor, tilting all of the picture frames and causing those in the pictures to make snide comments.
"What's Potty doing up so late?" he asked mirthfully.
"None of your business, Peeves," Harry grumbled, walking along.
"Oooh! We've got a grumpy boy, yes we do!" Peeves said as he zoomed along next to Harry. "Old Peevsy will cheer you up!"
Harry rolled his eyes. Peeves zoomed around him, sticking one of his index fingers into his mouth. Just as Harry was about to tell Peeves to leave him alone, the poltergeist stuck his wet finger into Harry's ear. "Wet Willy!" Peeves cackled merrily.
Harry shouted in disgust and Peeves blew a raspberry and took off, laughing. Harry scowled after him and then continued on, wishing someone would banish Peeves to some wasteland.
By the time he stumbled back into the common room and up the stairs to his dorm, he was extremely tired. Everyone had gone back to sleep and Harry noticed the mess he had left was gone. Gratefully, he slumped back into bed and fell promptly asleep.
*****
The next morning caused Harry to feel worse than ever once the mail arrived and Hermione opened up her copy of the Daily Prophet.
MUGGLE TOWN ATTACKED
Last night several Death Eaters attacked the Muggle town of Winchester. Several Muggles were killed when the Death Eaters set fire to many houses.
Aurors, after receiving an anonymous tip, arrived on the scene not long after, as did Muggle "firemen." All of the Death Eaters escaped, however.
Many wizards have been lately questioning Cornelius Fudge's abilities to be Minister of Magic. Many have been questioning his security policies. As Madam Louisa Ketchburn told the Daily Prophet: "Minister Fudge can't even help protect the Muggle world. What makes you think he'll be able to protect the wizarding world?"
But Mr. Phoebus Snyder, however, disagrees. "We must look after our own first. I'd rather have the Death Eaters attack Muggles than my kin."
"Oh that's awful!" Hermione muttered as they read the article. "Some people…"
News of the latest attack spread like wildfire throughout the school as the day went on. By the time Harry, Hermione, and Ron entered the common room after their last lesson, it was the subject of nearly every conversation.
"People are losing their faith in Fudge," Hermione murmured as she sat down and began her homework.
"Yeah, well, wouldn't you?" Ron commented.
*****
Tuesday meant Potions for Harry and Hermione. It was not something Harry was looking forward to. Snape had promised that they were going to try their Nocturnal Poison on each other and then the antidote. Just the thought of it all made Harry feel extremely nervous.
"What if we did something wrong?" he groaned to Hermione as they descended down into the dungeons.
"I doubt it," Hermione said, but she didn't sound as confident as usual.
In class, Harry felt even worse. "Now," said Snape in his usual manner, "administer the poison. I would recommend the lighter of the two take the poison as they will be easier to catch. We wouldn't want any damage to befall anyone." He said this with a sneer.
Harry turned to Hermione. "I guess that means you."
She looked very nervous. "Yeah," she squeaked.
"Once the poison has been administered, simply wave the antidote underneath the nose of the poisoned person," Snape said, sweeping up and down the rows.
Hermione picked up the vial of poison, closed her eyes, and gulped it down. Almost instantly she went into a coma and would have collapsed if Harry hadn't quickly caught her.
Adjusting her in his arms, Harry reached over and grabbed the antidote, popped off the cork, and waved the vial underneath her nose. And just as quickly as she had fallen asleep, she awoke.
She blinked and stared up at him. "I think it worked."
He grinned and helped her as she righted herself. "Yeah, it did."
Snape eyed the two loathsomely. "Well, you survived, Miss Granger."
"Yes sir," she replied.
He scowled and walked away.
After class, both Harry and Hermione were in much better moods, but that instantly vanished the moment they walked into the entrance hall and heard a drawling voice call, "Hey Potter! Is it true?"
"No!" Hermione whispered to him frantically. "Harry, don't!"
Harry turned and looked at Malfoy, who was leaning against the wall right next to the entrance that led down to the dungeons. "Is it true, Potter?" he asked again.
"You act as though I know what you're talking about, Malfoy," Harry said.
Malfoy sneered. "Is it true that you had a nightmare last night and screamed your head off like a little pansy?"
Hermione placed her hands on her hips. "You leave him alone, Malfoy!"
"Stay out of this, Mudblood," he spat.
"Don't you call her that!" Harry yelled and whipped out his wand.
"Harry, no!" Hermione moaned.
"Don't you tell me what I can and can't call her," Malfoy said back and took out his own wand.
And from somewhere above, someone shouted, "Expelliarmus!" Both Harry and Malfoy's wands flew out of their hands and clattered to the floor near the base of the marble staircase. Looking over, Harry saw Mara Frost walking down the marble staircase, her wand out and pointing directly at both Harry and Malfoy.
"It's been awhile since I've been here," she said, giving the two an icy glare, "but unless the rules have greatly changed I do believe there's no fighting allowed here." Her gaze flicked between Harry and Malfoy, but when she looked at Harry he thought he recognized the look on her face as the one Snape usually gave him.
Now Frost turned her attention to Hermione. "You," she snapped. "You're a prefect, are you not? You should have stopped these two."
"Malfoy's a prefect too," Harry muttered.
"Silence!" she said sharply and she turned back to Hermione. "I would have expected more out of you. After all, many of the teachers speak very highly of you, Miss Granger." Hermione looked quite ashamed and hurt.
Frost turned to the wands that were lying next to the stairs. "Accio!" she commanded and the wands flew to her hand. She gave them back to their proper owner. "I had better not see either one of you fighting again, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," both Harry and Malfoy muttered.
"Good, now get out of my sight!"
Harry and Hermione took off towards the marble staircase as Malfoy turned towards the dungeons. "And I so wanted to Locomotor Mortis his arse," Harry muttered as they started up. Suddenly, they heard a loud THUMP from behind them. Turning, Harry saw that Malfoy had fallen over and his legs were stuck together as if he were in the Leg-Locker Curse.
Hermione looked back at Malfoy in awe. "How did that happen?"
Harry was equally as stunned. "I don't know." But part of him wondered if he had done it.