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Harry Potter and the Demons Within by padfootmoony13
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Harry Potter and the Demons Within

padfootmoony13

Chapter 21- Try-Out, Block Out, Sneak Out, Knock Out

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A/N: Alright, I know that I've been taking long breaks between chapters lately, but please try to realize that I have to focus on my grades as I begin to look into beefing up my resume for college. As much as I try to tell myself I shouldn't, I still feel guilty for leaving all of you loyal readers hanging for so long, and for that I am terribly sorry. Now, this is a lengthy one, and it's very full too, which is part of the reason why it took me so long to write! I hope you'll take that as some form of compensation…. I'm rather proud of this chapter, so I hope you'll like it.

Thanks for returning for another chapter! Your reading (and reviews) mean everything to me… they're what keep me writing when I grow discouraged.

Regards,

Casey (padfootmoony13)

* * *

The weather the next day was the best it had been all fall. There were no clouds to serve as obstacles to the sun's rays. The fall leaves, now brilliant shades of red and orange, rustled under a slight breeze. Harry had, like many students at Hogwarts, spent a good part of the day staring longingly outside, unable to focus on anything other than what he was missing out on. The other part of his day had been spent down in the dreary dungeons alongside a brewing cauldron while Professor Teteran looked on authoritatively.

Now, walking across the grounds, flanked by the Gryffindor Quidditch team on their way to Quidditch try-outs, Harry couldn't have been happier to feel the breeze blowing his hair off his forehead. The air was still pleasantly warm, which attested to the fact the sun had indeed made an appearance that day. Hermione had planned on observing try-outs, but had dashed off to the library at the last moment after she had reached the conclusion that her Arithmancy paper had to be completed that evening. Ron tried to convince her that all the information she needed to write it would still be there the next day, but it was too late: she was already in one of her determined modes and could not be persuaded out of studying.

Inside the locker room, the team sat around on the two benches, chatting animatedly. It was clear that everyone was excited to be outside the castle, engaging in Quidditch again. Harry explained how he intended to conduct the try-outs.

"Alright, I know we're all happy to be here again.... Er- welcome back, I guess! Now, I've never done this whole "captain" thing before, but I have done the whole "Quidditch" thing before, so I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing in general. I know from playing with all of you-" he looked around at Ron, Katie Bell, Andrew Kirke, and Jack Sloper and suddenly realized he hadn't really played with all of them before-"well, erm, from watching all of you play before, that this is a good team. I feel confident in our chances at winning the Quidditch Cup again this year. On the other hand, we've unfortunately lost two excellent Chasers from the team, so we've got our work cut out for us. Yet again, that's why we're here, as you all know- to find two new just as talented Chasers to replace Angelina and Alicia with."

"Although it will be very difficult to find two Chasers who can match Angelina and Alicia," Katie interjected defensively on behalf of her two good friends.

"Of course," Harry said. "But let's not get discouraged before we've even seen the candidates. So, I figured we'd just run through a few basic drills. Jack and Andrew, try to go after the auditioning Chaser, but don't go too hard on him."

"Or her," Katie threw in.

Harry frowned at her. "Or her," he corrected, slightly annoyed. Apparently she was having a hard time without her two female companions. "Ron, just block the goals as you usually would."

"Shouldn't I go a little easy on them too?" Ron questioned; he sounded a little insulted. "Otherwise they might not make any goals in at all, you know."

"Sure- do whatever you like," Harry replied. "Katie, you and I will play the other Chasers. We'll run through a few plays to see how they handle direction. Make sure you don't handle the Quaffle too much though, it's important that we see the person who's auditioning play a lot."

"It's not like I haven't done this before, Harry."

Harry felt his cheeks flush. "I know. I was just making sure everyone was set on what to do."

Upon seeing him grow embarrassed, Katie's demeanor softened. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"Right," Harry said pointedly, regaining his composure. "Let's head out."

As they exited the locker room, Katie pulled Harry off to the side. "Listen, you're doing fine, Harry. I always thought you'd make a great Captain. Just know I'm on the same page here as you are- I want to keep up our winning streak this year!"

"Thanks, Katie," Harry said as she gave him a quick hug.

"I hope the selection's good," Katie said as they walked along the base of the stands toward the center edge of the field, where they were to meet the auditioning Gryffindors.

"I hope so too. Mind you, you're right in saying it will be difficult to replace Alicia and Angelina. I think Ginny Weasley's trying out though, and she's pretty good."

"But that still leaves one slot open...and apparently our options are severely limited."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. Ahead of him, the rest of the team had done the same. Ron turned around and walked back to him.

"There're only three people up there! Three!" Harry gulped audibly; he was beginning to feel sick to his stomach. "And one of them is Ginny!" Ron continued. "What're we going to do?"

Harry shook himself mentally. Get a grip. You're not even sure how good they are yet. They could both be excellent for all you know. Ignoring the nagging feeling at the back of his mind that was telling him the chance of the two unidentified people being adequate Chasers was very slim, Harry said, "Let's not panic yet. For all we know they could both be fantastic, and we'll have a hard time choosing between them."

Looking around at all of his teammates' discouraged faces made Harry's stomach plummet, but he pushed past them all and led the way up to the other three just the same. They were right about one thing for sure: Ginny Weasley was one of the people trying out; that was no surprise. The other two, however, were both rather unexpected: a third year Gryffindor boy named Frank Tullip and Dennis Creevy.

"Hiya, Harry," Dennis said as soon as Harry approached, striding up to him and energetically shaking his hand. Dennis was a very lively, outgoing young boy who had openly displayed those qualities since he had arrived at Hogwarts. Harry couldn't help thinking to himself that Quidditch would be a good way for Dennis to relieve some of his pent-up energy. The question was whether or not he was any good.

Frank was much shyer than Dennis. A tall, gangly youth with stringy red hair hanging in his eyes, it was a wonder he had worked up enough courage to venture out of Gryffindor Tower long enough to try-out. Harry had only seen him once or twice before, painting miniature Quidditch models at one of the tables in the Common Room, which, come to think of it, probably explained a lot of why he was there; he was obviously a fan of the sport.

Harry explained the rules to each hopeful and then picked Ginny to go first.

"Good luck, Ginny!" Ron said supportively as they mounted their brooms in the center of the field. Harry released the bludgers and then tossed the Quaffle high into the air. Ginny was quick to kick off the ground and catch the large red ball before anyone else had even left ground yet. Ron and Harry exchanged an impressed glance and then Ron zoomed off to defend the rings and Harry marked Katie and Ginny, remaining a little to the left and behind Ginny all the way down field. She dogged the first two bludgers hit her way with ease and on the third time rolled all the way over on her broom while passing to Katie to avoid getting hit by one of the heavy black balls. Katie caught the Quaffle and passed it over to Harry, who quickly passed it back to Ginny as she pulled out of her roll. When she reached the goal rings, she dodged left and then right, slanting downwards each time, and then darted over Ron at the last second and scored in the center hoop.

Jack and Andrew cheered and Dennis could be heard whistling from the stands.

"Hey! That wasn't fair! You knew that was my weak spot!" Ron called out, clearly embarrassed to be outsmarted by his little sister.

They circled back around again several times and Ginny managed to score twice more before Harry called her and Katie to the ground to try some plays.

"Wow, Ginny. You're an even better Chaser than you were a Seeker," Katie said, beaming.

"Thanks," said Ginny humbly.

"We're going to try out three plays now, back-to-back," Harry explained. "Now, in order to make sure you don't have an unfair advantage over the other two, having been on the team, we're going to use three plays Ron just designed."

"Fair enough," Ginny said, leaning on her broom.

"Katie, do you know the Obeski Dash?"

"I know them all. Ron's made sure to hound the whole team about them."

Harry fought back a grin. "So then let's do that one, Sink and Dash, and Reverse Psychology." After explaining what each play entailed, all three mounted their brooms again. Harry flew over to Andrew and Jack and instructed them to not show any mercy, and then resumed his position on the left of Ginny. With a quick look and a nod at Ginny, Harry, Ginny, and Katie all shot straight ahead at once. Ginny held the Quaffle tightly under her arm and flew straight toward Ron, who was hovering in front of the center hoop. Harry and Katie pulled right up against Ginny and nudged the entire trio to either the left or right whenever a bludger flew their way. Then, at the last moment, Harry and Katie pulled straight ahead of Ginny before dropping abruptly straight downward just as they reached Ron. Ron, who understood what they were doing, maintained his position in front of the center hoop. However, Ginny, surprising even Harry and Katie, threw the Quaffle with great agility around her back and through the left goal hoop at the last possible second. She had to jerk upwards in order to avoid colliding with Ron.

Harry circled around past Ron, who turned to him and said, "Did you tell her to do that?"

"Nope," Harry called back, grinning as he shot off to the other end of the field again.

Ginny executed the other two plays perfectly as well, though Ron did manage to block one of her shots.

"Fantastic!" Katie exclaimed when they all landed. "You're a definite shoe-in."

"Great," Ginny replied, beaming. She tossed the Quaffle over to Harry and then strode back to the stands. Next up was Dennis, and before Ginny even made it halfway back to the stands he was running past her, clutching his Nimbus 2000.

"Do you know what's expected of you then?" Harry said as Dennis swung his leg over his own broom without waiting for instruction.

"Yeah- shoot the Quaffle."

"Er, I s'pose that's basically it."

"C'mon, let's go!" Dennis cried, kicking off the ground. He hovered above Harry with his arms extended. "Pass the Quaffle, Harry!"

Harry glanced sideways at Ron, who was snickering. "He's a bit enthusiastic, isn't he?" Ron commented.

"Tell me about it…." Harry whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

Harry rose up to meet Dennis slowly, allowing Ron time to return to his post.

"Good luck," he said, passing the Quaffle to Dennis with both hands. Releasing his broom, Dennis caught it sloppily, upsetting his own balance. Katie shot toward him, intending to steady him, but Dennis regained his balance before she got there, and yelled, "Nice pass, Harry!" before he soared toward Ron.

The entire length of the field, Dennis maintained his possession of the ball. He never even glanced over his shoulder for oncoming bludgers, let alone for Harry and Katie. Luckily, he tended to sway back and forth while he intended to fly straight ahead, so all of the bludgers hit in his direction missed. Reaching Ron, he brought the Quaffle back over his head with both hands and chucked it like a football player heaving the ball in from the sidelines. Ron caught it easily enough, but it did hit his stomach hard and knock the wind out of him.

The next few laps down field produced the same results. Dennis could maintain his balance easily enough while he threw the Quaffle, but he didn't catch passes very well; twice he fumbled the ball. He had a strong arm, but he was horrible at outsmarting Ron. He followed directions well when it came to the plays, but he simply could not score.

Back on the ground, Harry and Ron discussed their opinions on Dennis. "I dunno," Ron said. "He didn't score at all… even that time I was distracted by the bee, he just clonked the Quaffle against the back of my head."

"He's strong though," Harry countered. "And you've got to admit, he can fly fairly quickly. Plus, he's dedicated."

"All that aside, the guy still can't score a point to save his life! And you can't forget that that's kinda the Chaser's job. What good's a Chaser who can't score?"

"Well then, I just hope Frank can score a point."

As it turned out, Frank was even worse than Dennis. Not only did he miss every shot, but he missed them far and wide. Half the time the Quaffle fell short of the hoops, and Ron was forced to fly out and meet it. By the end of his try-out, Frank had a black swell forming on his cheek where a bludger had hit him and knocked him clean off his broom; if he hadn't been flying so low to the ground at the time, they would have been carting him off to the Hospital Wing.

"What're we going to do now?" Ron whined, voice straining as he tried to keep it down. "We've only got one new Chaser! Neither Frank nor Dennis are good enough at it!"

Jack buried his face in his hands. "We're going to lose every game this year, that's for sure."

Harry was trying to figure out what to do over the panicky buzzing in his head.

Suddenly Ron turned on Harry, pointing a finger at him. "It's your fault!"

"How is it my fault?"

"I told you people wouldn't know about try-outs when all you did was put that tiny little notice up on the bulletin board! I told you to prepare more!"

"Hey now, Ron, you're out of line," Katie said sternly, lowering his hand. "It's not Harry's fault nobody's interested this year. We just didn't have a new batch of talent ready for us; that's just poor luck."

Ron kicked at the ground with his toe. "Yeah, well he's the Captain, after all," he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Harry said hotly.

"All I'm saying is that you have responsibilities as the Captain and you haven't put any time into it."

Harry frowned at Ron. "You know very well why I've been so bu…." He trailed off as he realized Ron didn't really understand why he had been so busy with his studies that year. He didn't know about the Prophecy yet. Harry took in a deep breath to calm himself and then blew the air out slowly through his teeth. "Listen, there's no point in placing the blame on each other. What we should be thinking about right now is what we're going to do about the situation."

They all stood around in contemplative silence. Ron was leaning his head against his broom handle, Katie was pacing back and forth in a short line, Jack had his eyes closed, Andrew was biting his lower lip, and Harry had his thumbs pressed against his throbbing temples. Suddenly Andrew broke the silence.

"I have an idea," he said somewhat timidly. "I'll try out for Chaser, if it's alright with you."

Harry thought about it for a moment. He had never seen Andrew play as a Chaser. Was he any good? What if he wasn't? But then again, what did they have to loose?

"Alright, let's see what you've got," Harry said, picking the Quaffle off the ground and tossing it to him.

Andrew had always been a rather graceful flier for a Beater. He flew with one hand holding his broom steady easily enough since he was used to it. Harry soon discovered that Andrew could also pass and catch the Quaffle with relatively no error. When it came time to shoot, Andrew dodged up and down, left and right, until he had an open shot, or passed it off to either Harry or Katie if he noticed they did. Apparently he had observed the plays during the others' try-outs, because he executed them seamlessly. In the end, he was actually a better Chaser than he was a Beater.

As soon as they all landed again Harry announced joyfully, "Andrew, congratulations: you're our second new Chaser."

Andrew beamed as Jack and Ron patted him on the back.

"Hold on a second…." said Katie. "Now that Andrew's a Chaser, we've only got one Beater."

"Oh, that's bloody terrific!" Ron exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air in frustration. "Are we going to hold Beater try-outs now as well?"

Harry, however, was already turning an alternative to Beater try-outs over in his head. He looked over at the stands and watched as Dennis and Ginny laughed and talked.

"What is it?" Ron asked, noticing the scheming glint in Harry's eye. "Who are you looking at?"

"Dennis," Harry said simply, setting off for the stands.

"Dennis?" Ron repeated, following along behind Harry. "We've already been over this, Harry. He's a horrible Chaser. Andrew's a fine replacement. We'll just need to hold auditions for a Beater now, and there's a good chance someone will show up to that who's fairly good."

Harry stopped at the supply trunk and withdrew a beater's bat from within it, then continued.

"Whoa!" Ron exclaimed. "Now I know you're unhappy with Dennis, but there's no reason to beat him for being a poor Chaser!"

"Stop being thick, Ron. I'm not going to beat Dennis. And I don't want Dennis as a Chaser. I want to try him out as a Beater," Harry explained. "Hey, Dennis!" He called from the foot of the stands. "Can you come down here for a second?"

Dennis was standing in front of Harry in a flash, bouncing on his toes. "Yes? Am I on the team?"

"Er, no."

Dennis's smile vanished from his face like it had been wiped off him with a towel. "Oh…."

"But," Harry continued hastily, "As it turns out we need another Beater. Care to try out for that position instead?"

"Sure!" Dennis said, accepting the bat Harry held out to him.

Harry gave Dennis a cram session in Beater tactics, demonstrating how to swing the bat and aim. He then instructed him to hit the bludger through each goal hoop in order to demonstrate he could do it.

"So basically I just swing the bat when the Bludger flies near me?" Dennis asked, twirling the bat in his hand.

"Er… yeah, basically," Harry said, feeling foolish about wasting a good five minutes trying to explain something that didn't need explaining.

Dennis assumed his position on his broom in front of the goal rings while Harry and the others gathered around the supply trunk on the ground. Jack held a bat ready in his hand in case he needed to defend the others from the Bludger if it flew at them.

"Ready?!" Harry called to Dennis, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Ready!" Dennis shouted back.

Harry bent down and undid the latch holding the quivering Bludger in place and then jerked his body out of the way as the Bludger shot out of the trunk and straight up toward Dennis. Dennis gripped the bat tightly in his hand, pulled his arm back, and swung it with all his might. It connected with the Bludger with a loud CRACK and sent it zooming in the other direction, straight through a goal ring.

Harry couldn't help grinning as Dennis continued to hit the Bludger through the next two hoops successfully as well. Ron sprang into the air and pumped his fist. Katie pulled Dennis into a tight hug when he returned. Jack and Andrew both pounded him on the back. Dennis appeared quite flustered but pleased nonetheless by the time everyone stopped celebrating the discovery of their new Beater and returned to the stands to inform Ginny she was officially a new Gryffindor Chaser.

By the time they all headed back inside the castle, it was pitch dark outside. Harry and Ron took a detour to the kitchen and gathered as many treats and jugs of pumpkin juice as they could carry in their arms before heading back up to the Common Room to celebrate the initiation of the newest team members. Nobody got to bed until well past midnight. By the end of the night, Harry was too tired to notice Hermione was nowhere to be seen amongst the Gryffindor partiers.

* * * * *

Harry fell hard to his knees on the floor of the Headmaster's office, cursing himself.

"Not bad, but you can do better. Let's try it again." Harry scrambled to his feet and steadied himself on the wall behind him. It was Saturday evening, and he was attending another Occlumency lesson with Professor Dumbledore.

"Take a deep breath, and empty your mind of all thoughts and concerns," Dumbledore instructed in a low, soothing voice. Harry did what he said as he said it. "Now, focus all of your thoughts on a single, mundane thing. Imagine there is a mighty wall surrounding your mind, so tall and thick that it is impenetrable. And open your eyes….ready? Legilimens!"

Harry felt the effects of the spell instantaneously. It felt as though Dumbledore was prodding his mind with a blunt sword, attempting to puncture the wall he had built around it. He desperately focused all of his energy on visualizing the wall, on adding additional layers to it. However, he couldn't keep his mind from wandering very long, and before he could help it his thoughts strayed briefly to his Occlumency lessons with Snape, as they typically did during his lessons with Dumbledore. It only required that split second for Dumbledore to force his way into his mind. Harry gasped as memories he could no longer control flooded out through the hole Dumbledore had poked in the barriers: images of Quidditch try-outs the past night, of the party afterwards- the first time Harry had had a good bit of carefree fun since he had returned to Hogwarts, and then darker images; images of a ghostly, grey land and Sirius looking back at him with that desperate glint in his eye. Panicking, Harry struggled to push Dumbledore back out of his thoughts before he saw too much and realized Harry had contacted Sirius. He frantically located where Dumbledore's essence was, and mentally grabbed it. Then, breathing hard, he pushed with all of his might; it felt as though his head might explode, and he had unconsciously braced himself against the wall behind him with both hands, leaning forward, but he continued shoving Dumbledore out until suddenly, like a gasp of fresh air, Harry felt Dumbledore leave his mind altogether with a final explosive thrust. At the same time, it felt as though a real wall had been inside his head, and was now crumbling as he slowly found his orientation and could see the room in clear focus.

Dumbledore smiled merrily. "Aha! You did it! You were able to master your own mind and remove an unwanted intruder. Not many wizards can do that, especially at your age. You should feel very proud of yourself right about now."

"Thanks," Harry said, although secretly he wasn't very happy. That had been a very close call, and Harry was still shaken by it.

"Let's try once more; I want to make sure you've got it while you're still in the correct mindset." Harry groaned inwardly and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his sleeve. "This time I want you to try to block my access altogether, understand? Here we go… focus…legilimens."

Again Harry felt the same uncomfortable sensation. This time he jumped right to visualizing a wall around his mind and then adding layers on it, since that seemed to help last time. Then a new idea struck him; perhaps he could seize Dumbledore's essence just as he had previously, only before Dumbledore broke through his barriers. He decided to give it a try. Still focusing a large part of his mind on his mental wall, he focused another part of it on leaving the protected part of his mind and seizing Dumbledore's prodding essence from behind. He found where Dumbledore was poking at him the most and then imagined himself wrapping himself around the prodder and pulling away. As he tugged, he felt the prodding stop and it wasn't long before he launched Dumbledore clear of his mind with a burst of concentration.

Harry staggered forward and caught himself on a chair. He looked up at Dumbledore expectantly. Dumbledore smiled at him like a proud father smiles at a son who just won a football game. Despite his underlying anger at Dumbledore (he no longer referred to him as "sir" or looked upon him with the same humbled respect), Harry found his chest swelling with pride in his own accomplishment. This was something he had been struggling to achieve since the beginning of last year, and it was very important to him to master it after he realized what could be prevented by employing it, and now he had accomplished just what he set out to do.

His sense of achievement, however, was short-lived.

"Since you are now officially an Occlumens, I believe it's time to move on to our next task, which you will find is even more difficult and requires even more practice and dedication. I am referring to Legilimency, of course."

Harry shuffled back and forth on his feet nervously. Dumbledore couldn't have waited until their next lesson at least before jumping into Legilimency? Hadn't he, Harry, proven himself enough for one day? He would have been more enthusiastic if he wasn't so exhausted from spending an hour and a half on Occlumency, and if he hadn't heard how difficult Legilimency was. Even fewer witches and wizards could perform Legilimency than Patronuses; the odds of him being able to do well at it were very slim. Dumbledore had already wished for Harry to keep his Occlumency lessons a secret (this year he simply didn't let anyone catch on to where he was going, with the obvious exception of Ron and Hermione), but surely Legilimency was something to be kept even more under wraps. The implications of Legilimency- and of keeping it a secret- made Harry feel woozy. Imagine being able to know what he would know! It was a frightening thought; Harry wasn't sure if he necessarily wanted to know what others were thinking, and he didn't fully trust that he wouldn't abuse the power to some extent.

"Do not fret, Harry. I'm sure that you will not only be able to accomplish this task, but will also use it sparingly." Dumbledore's comment startled Harry. He made a mental note to always be on guard whenever around the graying old Headmaster. "As for keeping it a secret," Dumbledore continued, either oblivious to Harry's indignation or resigned to it, "I do believe it would be in our best interest to do so. After all, we don't need the other students growing upset about it, nor do we want word of it to leak out to Voldemort or his followers. Of course, I'm not saying that anyone in this school would do such a thing-" Harry suppressed a snort "-but we should take it as a precautionary measure nonetheless. Not to mention the fact that the Ministry does like to keep track of who is a Legilimens and who is not, for obvious reasons, and no good can come from them knowing- nor, for that matter, will any harm be done to them if they do not know.

"So, the actual spell is rather easy to learn. Simply establish eye-contact with whomever it is you are trying to "read", as it is referred to, and say the incantation: Legilimens. Now, once you grow more accustomed to using the spell and you improve at it, it is no longer necessary to say the incantation- you must only think it, which I like to think is a very useful feature of the spell. The tricky part lies in mastering the spell, much like in Occlumency. It takes even more time and practice to learn Legilimency than Occlumency. Furthermore, it is increasingly difficult to practice as it requires someone to practice on."

"Can't I practice on a cat, or owl?"

Dumbledore twirled the tip of his beard between his fingers contemplatively. "In theory, I suppose, yes. However, it does little good, for an animal's mind differs greatly from a human's; just as they have their own languages, they have their own mental processes."

Harry looked at Dumbledore dumbly. "Erm… I don't exactly understand what you mean."

"Allow me to rephrase. Essentially, if you were to attempt to enter the mind of, say, a cat, then you would find nothing. However, it is not as if there is nothing there, it's rather encoded in such a way that humans can not understand it."

"So it's a bit like trying to read computer code?"

Dumbledore laughed lightly. "I don't know much about the latest muggle gadgets and their workings, Harry."

"Of course, I knew that. Sorry," Harry said, agitated. "I was just thinking aloud."

"Do you understand now?"

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding his head. Dumbledore took a seat in a plush chintz armchair similar to the one he had conjured in Harry's trial back in his fifth year, and gestured for Harry to sit opposite him.

"I don't want to keep you much longer; I'm sure you're growing rather hungry," Dumbledore said. "But first let's see you attempt the spell once before I let you go. I'll lower my barriers for you, to make it easier."

Harry was relieved to be told he would be allowed to leave soon; his stomach had been rumbling for quite some time. A hot mince pie sounded like the best thing in the world to him right now.

Setting back easily and resting his hands on his thighs, Harry forced himself to look straight into Dumbledore's brilliant blue eyes and then muttered, "Legilimens." He gasped as a very strange sensation overwhelmed him. His whole body tingled as his mind ventured from his own body and entered Dumbledore's; he felt strangely detached, like he was floating at high speeds underwater. The room swam in front of him and was soon replaced by a huge white mass. Harry couldn't determine the shape of it. A voice inside his head said, "Use your mind to prod at it; try to shove past." Harry did just that. Using his brain, he pushed and shoved at the white mass until he emerged on the other side of it. He caught a quick glimpse of what appeared to be an enormous room full of colorful images layered on top of one another, when the same slide-show style projection of images he was used to seeing with Occlumency flashed before him.

A man with a large grey beard and a woman with light blue eyes, just like Dumbledore's, waved… he, Harry, was stretching his arm out for the snitch across the field…Voldemort's red eyes flashed and he laughed wickedly-"

Harry shuddered and unintentionally broke the connection between them. The sight of Voldemort's deformed body sent shivers down Harry's spine.

"That was very good," Dumbledore said, observing Harry as he shook his head to try to rid himself of the image; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. He couldn't rid himself of the other images either. "Ah, I see you have discovered the cursed side of Legilimency," Dumbledore said softly. Harry rubbed his arms; he was shivering. "Whatever images you see remain with you for the rest of your life, including sights you never wished to witness."

Harry hit the side of his head with his palm. "I can't stop picturing Voldemort," he said darkly.

Dumbledore looked at him sadly. "In a few minutes the image will pass back into your memory, and I promise you will not have to continue looking at it. However, I can not promise that it will not surface in your dreams or when your mind subconsciously makes a connection between it and whatever you are thinking… that is why Legilimency should be used sparingly. You have to be prepared to be faced with any multitude of images, and accept that as part of the power." Harry nodded to show he understood. "You also need to learn speed, subtlety, and eventually how to read current thoughts, rather than being faced with a stream of disconnected memories. I could tell you were intruding in my mind the second you poked at it; you need to learn how to be less obtrusive about it. Also, it took you quite a while to actually reach my thoughts; if I had had my defenses in place, it would have taken you even longer to prod through those; so, we must work on concentrating your thoughts more efficiently, and locating a more direct line to your subject's mind. In time you may also be able to search for a specific memory, but I doubt we will reach that level soon… in fact, don't count on learning that until next year."

Harry sat in silence; he was too busy absorbing everything Dumbledore said to analyze it and think of questions. Not to mention Voldemort's evil face was still leering at him.

"Before you leave, I was wondering… is there anything you wish to tell me?"

"Er, no," Harry said, bewildered. "Why?"

"Oh, I was just curious how such an image of Sirius came to rest in your mind…" he said with the air of one commenting on the weather.

Harry felt the panic he had felt earlier creep back into him, mingled with fury at Dumbledore's nerve to say Sirius's name in front of him. "It was just a dream," he said shortly, carefully avoiding Dumbledore's eyes by pretending to be distracted tying his shoe. When he looked back up again, Dumbledore was peering at him intently.

"Ah, I see," Dumbledore said lightly. "A most curious view of him, and most curious surroundings… but then again, dreams are mysterious things."

Harry fought to keep his face impassive. There was a rather uncomfortable minute of silence during which Harry's eyes wandered the office and Dumbledore's eyes remained locked on him.

"Well, that's all for today. Make sure to continue practicing your Occlumency," Dumbledore instructed after he realized Harry was not going to say anything. He stood as he spoke. "Focus on emptying your mind as well as focusing on a single thought as a defense. Also, if you believe either Mr. Weasley or Miss Granger would be willing to allow you access to their thoughts, feel free to practice Legilimency on them. Enjoy your dinner."

"Goodnight," Harry muttered shortly, as he always did at the end of each lesson. He didn't care to thank Dumbledore for taking the time to teach him; in Harry's opinion, he should have taught him last year, and if he had, Harry might not have been so angry with him. He felt Dumbledore owed him for being a large contributing factor in taking Sirius away from him. Harry never noticed the sorrowful look of apology and regret on Dumbledore's face as the old man watched him leave.

* * *

Ron leaned back and patted his stomach. "Ah, that was a good meal." Harry agreed. His lesson with Dumbledore had left him very hungry and everything the house elves had cooked up really hit the spot.

"Meal?" Hermione said incredulously. "More like a feast. You ate enough food to feed the entire village of Hogsmeade."

"Hey," Ron said defensively, sitting back up again. "I'm a growing boy. I need food."

"Not fifty pounds of it in one meal," Hermione said under her breath as she turned her attention back onto the book that lay open on her lap.

Ron frowned at her, then grabbed a honey bun from a bowl in front of him and bit into it purposefully, staring at her the whole time as if to say he'd eat whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.

Suddenly there was a loud screeching noise and everyone automatically turned his or her head up to watch a large barn owl fly in with a letter clasped in its beak. Harry watched on, puzzled, as the owl swooped over Ron and dropped the letter right on his lap, and then turned on his wing and flew right back out of the Great Hall again. The rest of the students went back to talking and eating again, content to know who was receiving a delivery so late in the day.

"Who's it from?" Harry asked, craning his neck across the table to try to glimpse the address.

"I dunno," Ron said, turning the letter over in his hands. "It's blank."

"Well, hurry up and open it then."

Ron picked at the sealing wax and then slid his nail under the edge of the flap and pulled out a tiny piece of parchment folded in half. He unfolded it and skimmed it for the addresser's name. "It's from Geoff!" Ron exclaimed. "What would he be writing to me for?"

"Maybe something's happened, and he thought it would be safer to write to you than it would be to Harry!" Hermione said in hushed tones.

This notion made Harry's very full stomach churn, which was not a pleasant feeling. He waited as Ron quickly read the letter. When he finished reading it, Ron smiled and held it out to Harry.

"Nothing's wrong. He was just writing to me because he wanted to catch up on how I was doing and to tell me we get to visit Dad and Lupin when they get out of Azkaban." Harry felt a pang of jealousy. Why was Geoff writing to Ron and not him? Didn't he, Harry, know Geoff better than Ron did anyway? Didn't Geoff like him? Harry thought he did, but….

He took the letter from Ron's hands and read it, ignoring Ron's very pleased expression.

Dear Ron,

It's been a while since we last saw each other, and I wanted to know how everything was going over at Hogwarts. How're you enjoying your classes? I've heard that Harry and Hermione are both on special schedules this year; I hope you're okay with that, as I'm sure you see less of each other now. Bill and I have been working together on a mission for you-know-what. Can't say more there, except that it's good fun to know I'm making a difference. Once you're of age, I suspect you'll join as well; perhaps we'll work on something together. Write me back to let me know how Quidditch is going. I know we don't know each other too well, but I realize your brothers are busy so… if you ever need advice about anything…girls, or Quidditch, or how to skive off Prefect duties without getting into a heap of trouble…, just ask me.

Give Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville my best wishes.

Cheers,

Geoff Everhurst

P.S. Your Dad and Lupin are both fine. They should be out at the end of the week. Dumbledore will be talking to you about coming to visit over the weekend.

Harry finished and handed the letter over to Hermione. For some reason the letter seemed odd to him. It was almost as if Geoff was reaching out to Ron as a replacement brother. Come to think of it, Ron's brothers didn't pay him much attention; he was often living in the shadow of his brothers' accomplishments. Still, at least he had brothers. Harry didn't have any real family at all; he couldn't help but think that it would have been nice if Geoff had written to him instead. He could use some advice on Quidditch and girls… he glanced over at Hermione, who had just finished reading the letter. They exchanged a weary glance after she handed it back to Ron.

"We'll talk about it later," she mouthed as Ron's head disappeared under the table while he stowed the letter in his bag.

When his head popped back up again, he was still smiling. "Ready to head to the Common Room?"

All three gathered their materials and headed upstairs. Once they reached the Common Room and sat down in their favorite chairs by the fireplace, Ron asked, "Harry, are you up for a game of Wizard's Chess?"

Harry considered his homework and then decided it could wait until tomorrow; his head was still throbbing dully from his lesson with Dumbledore and the prospect of reading five chapters out of various books made his head throb all the more.

"Sure, why not," he replied.

Ron's face split into a grin. "Wicked! I'll go grab the chess set…." He disappeared up the stairwell to the boys' dormitories.

Hermione was quick to bring up the letter. "Don't you think Geoff writing to Ron of all people is a bit odd?"

"Yeah, a bit," Harry said truthfully. "I s'pose there's no harm in it though. Ron's happy enough."

"I suppose you're right. It just seemed rather out of the blue."

"Do you think we've been spending too little time with Ron this year?" Harry asked all of a sudden, reflecting upon Geoff's comment in the letter.

Hermione looked slightly taken aback. "I don't think so… are we?"

Harry considered it. It was true that he hadn't been around Ron as much as he was accustomed to, but then again it couldn't really be helped. They still had Care of Magical Creatures and Quidditch together, and they ate together at every meal.

"No. We've just been busy with schoolwork. I'm sure Ron understands," Harry said, as much to assure himself as Hermione. "Besides, you still attend class with him almost every day, and I still see him at Quidditch and meals, as well as whenever we are in Gryffindor Tower."

"Yeah," Hermione added. "We still spend enough time with him." She fell silent and moment and then spat, "Do you wish you still had him around more, instead of me?"

"What? Of course not! I like spending time with you; you know that."

Hermione smiled nervously and sighed, "Oh, I thought so. Just checking."

Harry peered at her quizzically as she sunk down below her book, cheeks glowing red. He meant to say more, to somehow reassure her how much she meant to him, when Ron came bounding across the room, chess set in hands. Harry sat back up abruptly; he had been leaning toward Hermione, intending to look her straight in the eye as he talked to her. As Ron set up the board, Harry stole several glances at Hermione, whose face was still hidden behind her book. Then a log collapsed in the fire, pulling him out of his trance, and a stream of unwelcome thoughts flowed into his head. Why had he sat upright so abruptly as soon as Ron approached? Why did he feel so inexplicably guilty whenever he looked at his best mate? And why on earth could he not take his mind off Hermione?

* * * * *

That Tuesday, at lunch, another letter fell onto the table in front of Ron. This one, however, was not from Geoff. It was from Hagrid. And it was short and to the point.

All three o' you,

Meet me at me hut this evening, at 9 o'clock. Wear the cloak.

Hagrid

"Why d'you think Hagrid wants us to meet him?" Ron asked after he read the note aloud in an undertone.

"He probably wants us to visit Grawp," Hermione said knowledgably. "He mentioned something about it earlier."

Ron frowned. "He's a bit more under control now, isn't he? I mean, he won't attack m- us, will he?"

"He was getting better last we saw of him," Harry said. "And let's not forget what a favor he did for us, distracting the centaurs." He looked meaningfully at Hermione. "Who knows what would have happened to us otherwise."

She looked back at him and nodded, lips drawn thin.

"Let's make sure to thank him," Harry said, looking out the window at Hagrid's cabin, which from so far away was just a tiny glow.

At 8:55 Harry, Hermione, and Ron were all crammed underneath Harry's invisibility cloak, taking tiny steps in order to avoid tripping over one another. They were all growing so it was hard to squeeze under the cloak together. Ron was bent double, and Harry had to twist his neck in odd position so by the time they were halfway down to Hagrid's hut, his neck had developed a crick.

"Ouch! Ron, mind where you put your feet!" Hermione hissed as they passed a pair of prefects making their rounds outside.

One of the prefects, a boy Harry didn't know, held up his hand and halted in his tracks.

"Hold on. Did you hear that, Emmeline?"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stopped pacing and stood as still as they could, collectively holding their breath.

The girl squinted her eyes and looked around. "I thought I heard something, yes. Lumos!" She held her wand at arm's length and paced around. In time she walked straight up to the trio, huddled under the cloak.

They backed up as quickly as they could, though they could barely manage baby-steps. Just when Emmeline stopped moving toward them, and turned back to leave, there was a noticeable "crack." Harry looked over at Ron, who was wincing. Ron lifted up his foot to reveal a stick, broken in half.

Emmeline whipped back around again, motioned for the boy to come, and approached steadily.

"Now what are we going to do?" Harry rasped so quietly he could barely even hear himself.

"Hold on," Ron whispered back, and before Harry could do anything to stop him, he fell to his knees and rolled out from under the cloak

"Ron!" Hermione hissed, before Harry clamped his hand over her mouth. He motioned for her to be quiet and then removed his hand.

Ron crawled on the lawn in the darkness, silent as a ghost. He darted around the edge of the pool of light cast by Emmeline's wand and then bolted to his feet off to the left of her.

Harry heard Ron's voice say, "Lumos!" just as Emmeline was an inch from bumping into Harry and Hermione. Distracted by the light, she whipped around to face Ron, shining her light on him.

Ron shielded his eyes with his hand and said, "Oi! Lower your wand, would you? You're blinding me here."

Emmeline and the other boy, who had just walked up to her, both lowered their wands to their sides.

"Weasley? Is that you?" the boy called.

"Of course it's me," Ron said back, walking up to them. "What I want to know is why you two felt it was necessary to stalk me and then nearly blind me while I was out on an innocent evening stroll, trying only to observe the stars in all their beauty and splendor."

Harry had to slap his hand to his mouth to keep from laughing.

"We thought you were a student who had snuck out of the castle," Emmeline said, shoulders slouching.

"Well, I'm not. In fact, I'm your superior. And quite frankly I feel like my privacy has been violated. So, if you don't want me to report this to the Head Boy and Girl, I suggest you hurry along now."

They both skirted along as fast as their legs could carry them for the castle. When they were a safe distance away, Ron called, "Where are you?"

Harry lifted the cloak off their heads and waved to Ron. "We're over here!" Ron saw them, smiled, and strolled over.

"I don't think we'll ever have a problem running into those two again," he said smartly, sliding his palms together a few times like someone who has just finished a task they are proud of.

Harry laughed. "I can't believe you thought of that!"

"Hey, Hermione's not the only one who can think of brilliant plans at the drop of a dime," Ron said indignantly.

They set off down the slope for Hagrid's hut, disregarding the invisibility cloak. When they reached it, Harry only knocked once when the door was jerked open and Hagrid stepped out, almost knocking them over.

"Are yeh sure no one followed yeh?" Hagrid said nervously, looking over their heads up the hill.

"We're sure," Harry said. "Why--"

Hagrid stopped looking up the hill and ushered them all toward the forest with vigor; their heels were digging trenches in the dirt as he pushed them. When they were a safe distance back in the forest, Harry yelled, "Hagird! Okay, enough already! Stop!"

Hagrid stopped pushing them and they all brushed the twigs and pine needles off their clothes. Harry shook his head to free it of debris and Ron glowered at Hagrid then spit a whole cluster of needles out of his mouth.

"What's the rush?" Ron demanded.

"Oh, sorry `bout tha'," Hagrid said, sounding much calmer now. "It's jus' Grawpy's on his las' chance. If anyone found out he was `ere, Dumbledore'd have to get rid o' him." He withdrew a handkerchief the size of a dish towel from inside his coat and blew into it. "I dunno what I'd do if they took `im away," he blubbered. "He's family, yeh know. And he's getting so much better now, too! Lord, wait `til yeh see `im. Yeh'll hardly believe it!"

"We're really looking forward to seeing him," Hermione said enthusiastically. "Aren't we?" She glanced over at Harry and Ron meaningfully.

"Oh yeah, definitely," Ron said.

Hagrid failed to notice the sarcasm in his voice. He beamed down at them and said, "Aw, it's good to hear tha'. Grawpy's been lookin' forward to seeing yeh too," he added as he led the way through the forest. Harry could tell by the way the ground was pounded down and branches that normally would have stood as barriers were broken off the trees that Hagrid used this path often. "He's been asking me all summer `bout yeh, Hermione. All I heard day in an' day out was `where's Hermy?'" He let out a laugh, trailed by a sigh. "Ah, Grawp. He's a good boy."

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance. Harry could tell how attached Hagrid had really grown to Grawp since he'd last seen them together. It pained him to think of what it would do to Hagrid if word of Grawp ever leaked out.

"Hey, Hagrid," said Hermione, "Whatever happened to Grawp when the centaurs attacked us last year? He was bleeding pretty badly when he staggered off through the woods."

"Well, he was a bit o' a mess when Dumbledore, Minerva, and me found `im; arrows poking out all over his face. It took a good hour to pull `em all out, an' we had to stun `im before we could even get to `em. But anyway, I guess he ran off into the woods after he grew scared by the centaurs attacking `im and then plum' tired out after a while and fell asleep. Bloody centaurs. Grawp wasn't doin' nothin' to `em, but they go off and shoot their arrows at `im anyway, and claim the forest is all theirs."

"Where are the centaurs now anyway?" Harry asked. "How can you still keep Grawp in here without the centaurs attacking him? And what if they catch us back in here; they've already declared they'll kill us if we come into the forest."

"Ah, well… turns out Grawp killed a few o' `em." Hermione gasped and rasied her hands to her mouth. "He didn't know wha' he was doin'. Like I said, he was scared. So Dumbledore, he went and had a talk with Bane. He yelled at him about how the forest belonged to everyone and yelled at him about attacking you two as well. And Bane yelled back that Grawp didn't belong here, and their laws required that he be killed after he killed their brothers. So then Dumbledore- he's a great man, Dumbledore- he drew a magic line around the whole of Hogwart's grounds, back `bout ten miles into the forest, which the centaurs can't cross. So long's yer within tha' ten miles, yer safe from the centaurs. Same goes fer Grawp."

They walked on in silence for a while, guided by the moonlight that lit up the path. Harry was very relieved to hear about the centaurs being banished; he hadn't considered what might happen to them if they bumped into the centaurs while they were back in the forest before he agreed to enter it.

"Well, `ere we are," Hagrid announced what must have been a good fifteen minutes later.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all breathing heavily from the effort of keeping up with Hagrid's giant strides.

"Geez, Hagrid, d'you think you've got him hidden far enough back in here?" Ron huffed.

"I hope so," Hagrid said simply. Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs, as if to say "stop being so insensitive!"

They emerged into a different clearing than the one Grawp had stayed in before. It was quite big, and the presence of twenty or so stumps told Harry Hagrid had probably cut down some trees in order to enlarge the space. To Harry's surprise, Grawp was not tied up this time. He was standing next to a tree, looking into its branches. Harry looked on, bewildered, as Grawp pulled a nest out of the tree, held it up to his face for a minute, and then placed it back where it belonged, as gentle as could be.

Hagrid smiled at Harry and Hermione. "I told yeh he was better!" He cupped his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Eh, Grawpy! I've got some visitors fer yeh! Look! It's Harry and Hermy!" Hermione noticeably cringed at Hagrid's reference to her as `Hermy'. "They've come ter see yeh, Grawp! And look! This here's Ron. He's a friend of Harry and Hermy."

Grawp turned around slowly. When he caught sight of Hermione, he moved forward as fast as a bolt of lightening. Harry made to step out in front of her, but Grawp got there before he did. He snatched Hermione up in his enormous hand and held her up in front of him. Hermione released a scream.

"Hermy!" Grawp called. "Hermy! Hermy!" He shook Hermione up and down slightly.

Harry looked desperately to Hagrid for help, and Ron had run up and started kicking Grawp's foot, yelling, "Let her go, you great brute!" Hagrid, however, only laughed until he was doubled over.

"Ah, Grawpy," he choked. "Yer such a hoot! See, Hermione? I told yeh he was lookin' forward to seein' yeh!" he called up to her.

Hermione squeaked in response. Her hair was frazzled and her face was very pale. Ron finally stopped kicking Grawp, realizing it was doing little good, and walked back over to Harry.

"Er…Hagrid," said Harry. "I think it would be best if Grawp put Hermione down now…."

"Aw, he was just sayin' `ello is all. Hey, Grawpy! Be a good boy an' let poor Hermy go now."

Grawp looked back and forth between Hermione and Hagrid a few times, then bent over and set Hermione gently on the ground. Harry and Ron both rushed up to her and pulled her back to where they were standing. She clung tightly to Harry's arm, shaking slightly.

"Why Harry and Hermy no visit Grawp over summer?" Grawp asked.

"We were on holiday, Grawp," explained Harry. "We were far away from here, so we couldn't visit you."

Harry wasn't sure whether or not Grawp understood. He simply stood there, staring at him, and then grunted. "Grawp live here now," he said slowly, pointing around at the trees. "Me show you home."

"O-okay, Grawp," Harry said uncertainly.

"What's there to see?" Ron asked.

"Ah, you'll see," Hagrid said, grinning.

Grawp stomped over to a gigantic tree lying flat on the ground and stabbed his finger at it.

"Bench."

He then plodded a few steps around the clearing and pointed at a place on the ground where it looked like a huge rock had set before, smashing the ground down firm and smooth. "Bed," he grunted, looking over at them and pointing his finger at the ground.

Ron nodded his head slowly, pretending he saw the point.

Grawp clumped a few more steps around the clearing to a huge boulder.

"Table."

Then, finishing off the tour, he walked back to the tree he had been standing beside when they first saw him and said happily, "Bird family."

Hagrid smiled and clapped. "Well done, Grawpy! You showed them your home, didn't yeh! Isn't it nice?" he asked the trio.

"Oh yeah," said Ron thickly. "It's really great."

"Listen, Hagrid, it's been great visiting and all, but we should really be heading back to the castle. It's getting late," said Harry, noticing Hermione was still rather shaky. He thought it would be good to get her away from Grawp.

"I understan'," Hagrid said sadly. "Grawpy? We have to go now! It's their bed time! But they promise to visit you again very soon, okay? Can you say `goodbye'?"

Grawp raised his hand and jerked it back in forth, trying to wave. "Bye Hermy! Bye Harry! Bye Run!"

"It's `Ron'," Ron corrected under his breath.

"Oh, before we go, Grawp, Hermione and I wanted to thank you for helping us out last year. Remember? You chased the centaurs away, and you really saved our lives. So thanks," said Harry. He shook Hermione slightly, and jerked his head at Grawp.

"Oh…yeah, thanks," she squeaked, attempting a smile.

"What do you say, Grawp?" Hagrid prompted.

"Yoo Wellcoom!" Grawp said loudly, throwing his head back and clapping his hands. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all had to cover their ears with their hands to keep from going deaf from the noise of Grawp's clapping.

"Alright, alright," Hagrid said, chuckling again. "Tha's `nuff, Grawpy. Goodnight, now!"

As they all left the clearing, Grawp fell onto his side and rested his head on his hands in the area he called his bed. There really had been a transformation in him. Sure, he was still a giant, but he was certainly the tamest giant Harry had ever heard of. He guessed Hagrid's devotion had really paid off in the end.

* * * * *

The next day was a typical Wednesday for Harry. The first half of the day was spent in the library, alone, while Hermione and Ron were off at Charms. After that, he had a hurried lunch and then returned to the library to finish his essay for Snape, before heading to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Snape spent a good part of their lesson grading Harry's essay while Harry sat around, extremely bored. In the end, Snape awarded him an `A', which was about the lowest grade he had ever received in the class. This naturally put Harry in a bad mood, so the hexes they practiced the rest of the lesson were a bit off, and Snape assigned him a load of homework as what he referred to as "compensation for an abysmal lesson."

Harry left the lesson in a bitter mood. His bag was so full of books that he was leaning to the side, so he decided to drop it off in his dormitory before heading down to dinner. He stomped through the Common Room, which was completely empty of students, and up the stairs. When he entered the dormitory, he yelped and dropped his bag on his foot, which caused him to yelp again. He had been startled by Ron jumping out in front of him. Ron was now rolling on the floor, clutching his sides as he laughed hysterically.

Now very agitated at the way his day was going, Harry glowered at Ron, scooped up his bag, and stepped around Ron to set his bag on his bed.

"I'm glad my misfortunes are so funny to you," Harry said bitterly.

Ron continued laughing as he scrambled to his feet.

"You should've seen your face! You came in and then I jumped out and you went `Ahh!' and then- and then the bag fell on your foot and you- you yelled `Ahh!' again." Ron burst into another fit of laughter.

Harry peered at him strangely, eyebrow cocked. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Wha? Yeah, I'm feeling GREAT!"

Harry observed Ron as he proceeded to skip around the room like someone watching a drunk make a fool of himself. Come to think of it, Ron was acting a bit like a drunk might. Uncle Vernon had returned from a company banquet one night incredibly tipsy, and had patted Harry on the head and referred to him as `Little Prince William' the rest of the night. Harry had sworn to himself right then to never drink too much.

"Are… are you drunk?"

Ron stopped skipping and said, "No! I am not drunk! Do I look like some mad drunk to you?!"

Harry didn't answer. Instead, he set to looking around the room for some clue that would point to what was wrong with Ron. Before long he spotted it. On the windowsill beside Ron's bed was a jar. Inside the jar was an electric blue Billywig.

Confirming Harry's suspicions, Ron's feet suddenly left the ground and he levitated a couple feet above the floor, laughing and flipping himself over by spinning his arms.

Harry shook his head reproachfully and strode across the room to the windowsill. He undid the latch and swung the window open, then twisted the lid off the jar and set the Billywig free. The Billywig zoomed out of the jar faster than a racehorse out of the gate, and then turned around and blew a raspberry at Harry as he shut the window again.

There was a loud crashing sound, and when Harry turned around he found Ron on the ground, sitting up and rubbing his head.

As he looked at him, Harry remembered the comment Ron had made during the lesson they had on Billywigs, when he had asked Hagrid how many Billywigs he had. Apparently he had smuggled one of the extras back with him to the castle and hid it in his trunk.

Harry made a tutting sound as he walked back across the room and pulled Ron to his feet.

"You great fool, you weren't supposed to steal the Billywigs and hold them hostage!"

"Ouch, my head," Ron groaned, still rubbing the back of it where he had apparently hit a bedpost on the fall down.

"Serves you right," Harry said, shoving him back on his bed. "Just stay here until you're rid of the Billywig juice. I'll bring you some dinner."

"Oh, okay…" muttered Ron, turning over onto his side. Harry drew the hangings closed around Ron's bed and then headed down for dinner. When he sat down, Hermione asked if he had seen Ron anywhere, and he related the whole story to her.

She adopted a motherly tone and crossed her arms as she said, "He shouldn't have done that. It's not exactly healthy to have Billywigs sting you day in and day out. In fact, many wizards who do that have weird reactions in time that can make them really sick. He's lucky that didn't happen to him, the git."

Harry laughed to himself as he stabbed a beef tip with his fork. "That's Ron for you. He's not about to look into the consequences of something before he does it like you would… especially not if he'd rather not know them and just enjoy it for what it was worth," he said, resting his elbow on the table and waving the beef tip at her as he spoke.

"Well, it's not worth having an ear fall off or his immune system destroyed, that's for sure," Hermione said pointedly, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.

"Those are the side effects?" Harry said, bemused.

"Mhmm."

"Wow," he said, stabbing another beef tip. "Definitely not worth it."

* * * * *

By the next morning, Ron was fine. He apologized to Harry for acting like such a buffoon and then listened, face very pale, to Hermione lecture him on everything that could have gone wrong. When she mentioned writing to his mum about it, Ron's fork clattered to his plate and he practically cried as he begged her not to tell his mum. Luckily for Ron, Hermione wasn't really planning on writing to Mrs. Weasley; she threatened him with it in order to teach him a lesson. Ron had never looked more relieved in his life than when Hermione assured him she wouldn't write to his mother.

After his Charms lesson with Professor Flitwick, Harry decided to ask Hermione to help him practice his Legilimency. She agreed to right away, and so they packed up their books and headed through the corridors until they came across an empty classroom. Along the way, Harry explained why he needed to practice with her, instead of alone, and what it consisted of. Hermione made a comment along the lines of they could practically read each others' minds anyway, and explained how she had been hoping to learn Occlumency as well. She was very supportive in expressing how she was glad she could help him out with his training in a way other than helping him study.

On the fourth floor they finally found an unoccupied classroom. They sat across from each other on the classroom floor after Harry closed the door.

"Ready?" Harry asked.

Hermione took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and nodded. Harry kept his eyes focused on hers and said, "Legilimens."

Before he knew it, Harry was faced with a stream of unfamiliar images rushing through his mind. It felt like watching a very odd, sporadic film. On a street lined with townhouses, each with its own healthy green lawn, a tiny girl with bushy brown hair wobbled on a purple bicycle. She managed to roll a couple feet before she toppled over to the side and when she looked up a concerned man was bent over her, offering his hand; it was Mr. Granger. His face disappeared and was replaced with a little boy's filthy face, smiling at Hermione from the opposite end of a see-saw. Again the images changed, and this time Harry recognized the setting: the Hogwarts' library. It was very dark; it was clearly after-hours. Harry saw Hermione's hand skim the book bindings in search for whatever it was she had gone there for, and then suddenly another hand appeared, grabbing hers and pulling it back behind her, out of sight. Harry, his heart rate accelerating, listened to a deep voice speaking menacingly in her ear. Hermione was shoved forward into the bookcase and then she fell to the ground. The undistinguishable figure moved away in the dark and then disappeared all together.

Presently, Harry extracted his mind from Hermione's thoughts and stared at her wildly. He knew exactly who the voice belonged to, and anger was steadily boiling inside of him.

Hermione spoke, voice quavering, "Harry, I-"

"Why didn't you tell me about this? When did this happen?" Harry interrupted angrily.

"Friday night, while you were at Quidditch try-outs… you already have so much to worry about right now… it's not that big of a deal…."

Harry sprang to his feet. She grabbed his arm.

"Harry, forget about it. I'm fine." With that he tore across the room to the door.

"Harry, wait-"

He shut the door firmly and stormed down the hall. It was as obvious to Harry who had grabbed Hermione as if he had been standing in the room watching the whole scene unfold. The bell rang and the halls began to fill with students, happy to be released from class for the day. Harry ran outside, knowing the Slytherins were heading back from Herbology.

He found his fists and jaw were clenched as he jumped in a little alcove hidden behind a protruding wall. A group of gossiping Slytherin girls strolled past, Pansy Parkinson leading the pack.

"And she actually thought he was looking at her? She wishes."

"I know; it was obvious he was looking at you."

Their voices trailed off and others took their place.

"Well, Sprout is really beginning to impress me," said a voice with a thick drawl. Harry dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands. "She's managed to lead a dull class for six years now without ever making it interesting."

There was a low rumble that sounded like gorilla calls. It basically was, seeing as it came from Crabbe and Goyle.

As they neared Harry's hiding spot, he reflected upon the time he had managed to get Cedric Diggory alone, and decided to make his move.

"Diffindo." Harry pointed his wand at Draco's bag, causing it to rip along the seam. His books all toppled out and he cursed.

"Forget about it Goyle- I'll meet you in the Great Hall."

Crabbe and Goyle strode off again, eager to eat their dinners. Harry waited for them to round the corner and then jumped out to face Malfoy.

Malfoy looked up at him in surprise, still holding his books. "I should have known my new bag wouldn't have ripped on its own," he sneered.

Harry took a step forward, clenching his fists even tighter. He felt like his blood was boiling.

"You came up behind Hermione in the library," he said fiercely.

Malfoy laughed. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Who knows?"

"You harassed her!" Harry shouted, stepping forward again.

"What would I want to touch the Mudblood for?"

"Don't call her that!" Harry roared, closing the remaining gap between them with his fist. All thoughts except causing Malfoy as much pain as possible abandoned him. His fist collided hard with Malfoy's nose and blood splattered all over his hand.

Malfoy cried out but reacted fast, driving his fist into Harry's stomach. Harry felt the wind get knocked out of him, but still he pulled back his fist over and over again, pummeling every square inch of Malfoy that he could reach.

Suddenly Malfoy launched himself at Harry's legs and they both fell, ripping at one another viciously as they began to roll down the hill. At the bottom of the slope Harry felt a jolt and a strong blow of pain hit him in the center of his back; he had just smashed right into a tree. He groaned and grabbed his back, allowing Malfoy to scramble free from his clutches. Before Harry realized what was happening, Malfoy was standing a few feet from him with his wand extended.

Harry looked up in alarm and rolled himself over to the left just in time, as a jet of light hit the tree and bounced off in an odd angle. He stood quickly, withdrawing his wand as he went.

"Esclater!"

A yellow jet of spiraling light shot from his wand and skimmed Malfoy's cheek, leaving a deep bloody slash there.

Malfoy was quick to retaliate. "Stringere!"

Harry felt every muscle in his body suddenly tighten in a tense pain and he was forced to hunch over his back where it felt like an anvil was being set on it.

Malfoy smirked, clearly thinking he was victorious. The sight of his pompous sneer made more righteous anger sear through Harry. He discreetly mumbled the minor healing spell Hermione had taught him, easing some of the tension through his now very sore back and then shot another spell at Malfoy.

"Lanceare!"

Malfoy's eyes shot wide open as the spell hit him and he was launched high into the air in a wild arch before falling hard on his backside further up the hill.

Harry straightened up completely and ran up after him, intending to give him one more threat. However, before he got very far, another unexpected spell hit him and he felt a sharp stabbing pain directly below his left shoulder. He groaned and grabbed his shoulder; blood was flowing freely from the wound, soaking through his shirt.

Harry distantly heard a mad cackle. Malfoy was standing again. "Thought you had beaten me, Potter? You can't stand against the powers I've learned."

Harry felt dizzy and weakened as he lost more and more blood. He continued stumbling up the hill towards Malfoy.

"Oh, still trying to fight, are you?" Malfoy taunted. "Well then, I'll just give you another example, shall I? Eicere!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Harry blocked the spell and it deflected back on Malfoy, launching him in a twisting spiral straight up, high into the air before the spell wore off and he freefell the 25 feet back to the ground, where he landed in a crumpled heap.

Harry walked up to him, standing over him. Malfoy was groaning on the ground, his arm bent out in a weird angle.

"Who's winning now?" Harry asked. Malfoy groaned again, wriggling in his spot. Harry seized a handful of Malfoy's robes, pulling his face up close to his own.

"If I ever hear you've harmed Hermione in any way again, you'll be feeling a lot worse than you are now. Understand?"

Malfoy groaned again dramatically, refusing to look at Harry. Harry shook him slightly.

"Do you understand me?" Harry repeated.

Malfoy looked up at him with utmost loathing and spat directly in his face.

Harry dropped him in disgust and wiped the spit from his face. A second later he was finding it very difficult to breathe or move. Malfoy stood up haphazardly, his wand pointed at Harry.

Harry fought to inhale, hands traveling to his throat. His head began to swim and he collapsed to his knees. Malfoy kicked him hard in the ribs.

"I'll do anything I bloody want to that hideous little wannabe witch."

Harry was now panicking, gagging on the ground. Malfoy was going to suffocate him. Spots were spinning in front of his vision and his head throbbed, yet Malfoy still held the spell over him.

"Malfoy, leave him alone!"

Harry strained his eyes to see Hermione running up to them. Malfoy cursed but still held the spell. Harry could no longer see anything and he was only faintly aware of any sound.

"Accio wand!"

Harry felt the spell lift off of him; he leaned forward and gasped for air.

"Ah, I see Potty needs his precious mudblood to come and save him again. Go figure."

"You almost killed him!" Hermione shrieked, looking at Harry with deep concern.

"Did I? Whoops. Wouldn't want that now, would we?"

A second later Hermione had her wand pointed directly at his heart. Malfoy gulped. He was quite defenseless without his wand.

"Give me one more reason to hex you, and I swear you'll wish you were never born," Hermione said icily.

Harry, having finally managed to catch his breath again, stood feebly and also pointed his wand at Malfoy.

Malfoy snorted and turned on his heel, striding briskly back to the castle.

Hermione watched him go with steely eyes and then turned back to Harry, who was again nursing his shoulder wound.

"Oh, Harry," she sighed distressfully, examining his bloody wound with great concern. "I wish I could heal this, but I can't. You're going to need to go to the hospital wing; Madam Pompfry can mend it."

Harry nodded grimly. They set off for the castle, Hermione supporting him around the waist as he swayed. His loss of blood was really taking a toll on him; Malfoy's curse had been powerful. Harry was silent, trying to focus his mind on Quidditch instead of the immense pain he was in.

Hermione sighed again. "Harry, why did you have to go after him? It wasn't that important, I can take care of myself."

"What d'you mean, why'd I go after him?" Harry said incredulously. "What'd you s'pose I do, let him get away with it? He….he….he had no right to touch you, Hermione! The filthy bast-"

"I know Harry, I know. I just hate to see you hurt is all, and now I've gotten you into trouble-"

"You didn't do anything to get me into trouble. I got myself into this and to tell you the truth, I don't regret it one bit. Too bad I couldn't have done more…."
As they approached the great oak doors to the Entrance Hall, Hermione suddenly stood on her tip-toes and kissed Harry on the cheek.

"You've done more than enough already," she whispered into his ear.

Harry found himself blushing and simpering in spite of himself.

Hermione accompanied him all the way to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pompfry was quick to shoo her away. She hastily promised to stop back in later as Madam Pompfry closed the door on her.

"What is it this time, Mr. Potter?" Madam Pompfry asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Harry glanced around the room. Sure enough, Malfoy was a few beds down, curtains pulled partially closed around him; his arm was in a sling and he appeared to be sleeping.

"I, er- kinda got in a little fight."

Madam Pompfry bustled around, grabbing various items she would need.

"Fighting, eh? It wouldn't have been with Mr. Malfoy, now would it?"

She stood at his bedside and pressed a blanket hard onto his shoulder. He grunted in objection, sitting up on the bed and gritting his teeth.

"Oh, stop fussing," she scolded.

Harry gave her a look that clearly said he wasn't over-reacting.

"Remove your shirt and I'll bandage it up for you. Seems like this spell hit you pretty good; I've never had a student come in like this before. It doesn't seem to want to clot up; odd, considering I've never seen any spell cause that before. Well, not counting dark magic of course, but this must be something else…"

Harry glanced back over at Malfoy again as he lifted his shirt over his head with his good arm. Apparently he was learning plenty of dark magic already.

"Oh my," she gasped with her hand placed delicately over her mouth, looking at his wound. Harry looked away, afraid he would be sick. What appeared to be a large bullet hole went all the way through his shoulder, exposing all of the muscles and vessels inside, as well as the pillow behind him.

"Just wait one moment." She went and rummaged through a cupboard and came back with a big jar of green paste. Harry continued to hold the cloth against his shoulder in a futile attempt to halt the stream of blood. Madam Pompfry spread the paste all over his bandage before wrapping it tightly around him.

It stung so much that Harry had to bite down on his tongue until it was bleeding to keep from screaming. She wound the bandage around him tightly and then poured him two glasses of potion.

"Here- drink the orange one first, it'll help heal the wound quicker."

Harry gulped it all down and almost gagged it all back up again; it tasted like tar. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Yes, I know it isn't exactly sweet. Here, this one will let you sleep through the night."

Harry took it less than eagerly, pinched his nose, and downed it all in one go. He barely managed to lay his head on his pillow before he yawned off to a dreamless sleep.

A/N: Thank you for reading (correction, finishing) this lengthy chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. PLEASE let me know what you thought, and resist the temptation to flame me for my long absence.


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