Unofficial Portkey Archive

CAVE. NOW.

Nothing expressed anger better than capitalized letters. It wasn't even their usual twilight meetings. It was just after classes ended, that lull before nightly meetings from different clubs and after the last session of classes.

Harry was in the hospital wing, visiting Pansy, who had suffered a rather nasty head wound due to a slab of stone falling on her head, when the hot burning in his pocket indicated a message from Granger. Discretely pulling away from Pansy's bedside, Harry proceeded along the hallways towards the dungeons. Stepping into the alcove, Harry was uncomfortable aware of how many students were still milling about. At night, there was a stillness and a silence that would have to be broken in order for a student to pass. In the day, the constant noise was a dangerous presence.

Granger was already waiting for him, tapping her foot impatiently with a stormy expression on her pale face. He had some prepared lines for her, but she was never meant to discover his Legilimency use on Weasley. As a matter of fact, she wasn't supposed to know about any of his Legilimency use outside of their sessions. She would definitely not sanction his behavior.

"Inside," she angrily growled.

He didn't speak until they were inside, but after the bricks closed behind him, he opened his mouth.

"Granger, there was a reason for -"

"There's no reason!" She exploded, turning around in the middle of the tunnel before they had even reached the cave. "There's no reason for you to be using Legilimency on any of the other people here!"

His temper got the better of him. "There is a bloody good reason, but I need to explain it to you."

"What's the reason, Harry?! What possible reason could there be that you needed to use Legilimency on Ron? Is that why you were asking about him the other night? By Merlin, Harry, you need to come up with something good," she fumed.

"Let's keep going first."

Granger huffed, crossing her arms and stomping forward. They entered the cave together, the memory of their last meeting far in the back of his mind. It was as if they hadn't been there in weeks even though it was just a few days. Following the Slytherin victory, there was an obvious difference in the rankings between them and the other Houses when it came to House matches. Slytherin was in the lead with the other three Houses tied behind them.

She sat down in the chair, accusing eyes kept on him as he followed suit in the opposite seat. There was nothing comforting about her posture. The usual anticipation he felt when entering the cave vanished and it was instead replaced with trepidation and nervousness.

"You need to start talking Harry. We weren't supposed to use Legilimency on anyone else!"

"We never agreed upon that." Harry pointed out.

"It was implied! And you should know better. There's privacy to consider. There's the fact that they don't teach it here. It's magic that's frowned upon. There's a whole host of reasons we shouldn't be using it on other people!"

"Then why did you want to learn it in the first place?!" Harry retorted. "It's not on the curriculum. It's dangerous and unsavory. Why did you want to learn Legilimency and Occlumency?"

"I was...I was..."

She struggled for words, grasping for thin air as she avoided his eyes. Harry realized that she, too, had been keeping secrets from him. Particularly, the reason for her lesson plan. The study for Harry's spell had obvious motivations, but he was always rather curious why she wanted to learn Occlumency so badly.

"There is a reason, right?" Harry asked.

"This isn't about me!"

"Bullshit," Harry finally called her out. "You wanted to learn Occlumency. You insisted on learning it and then you're having me out for using it on someone else. What good is learning a spell if I can't use it?"

"Not like this!"

"Then tell me, Hermione! Tell me why you wanted to learn Occlumency!" Harry pleaded.

"Because...because..."

She wanted to tell him. The words were at the tip of her tongue but something was holding her back and that was completely unlike her. Granger was never afraid to speak her mind and if it was something that made her pause, then it must have been something she put considerable thought into. She was never one to act without reason.

"Because of what?" Harry gently coaxed.

Ducking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose, Granger shook her head. In a quiet voice, she said one word.

"Snape."

"Snape?" Harry repeated.

"He's why I wanted to learn Occlumency."

Harry scratched his head, fixing the glasses on his nose. "What does Snape have to do with this?"

She took a long pause before speaking again, still refusing to look up at him. Her eyes swiveled to the small pond at the end of the cave, a glassy look in her eyes. Harry allowed her a moment of silence, sensing that she was collecting herself but feeling a bit impatient as well.

"It was after my parents died." The words came out in a rush, quickly spoken. "Snape and McGonagall were telling me all these things that Hogwarts could provide for me, but I wasn't really listening to them. Then I felt...something strange in my head. It was like a lightheaded feeling that I couldn't shake. Then I felt it again when Snape looked at me. When we met eyes, for the briefest moment...I....I saw."

Curiosity was killing him at this point. "What did you see?"

"I saw Snape, except it was a younger version of Snape. He was in a room with someone else, but I could tell - and you know this feeling now - that it was a memory. It was a memory of something. It only happened for a split second, but I'm sure of what I saw, Harry."

The implications were damning, yet Harry would be lying if he said he was completely surprised. There was more than the occasional rumor that Snape could read minds and such use of Legilimency, though morally questionable, would not be out of the question for a man like him. Still, to use it on students was an entirely different process regardless.

"So you think Snape uses Legilimency on us? But how? If he's used it on me, I've barely even noticed."

"He would have years to master the skill," Granger explained. "We've only been at it for a little over a month but imagine if you had years to perfect it. Imagine if you were excellent at it and could turn your emotions off just like that." She snapped her fingers to emphasize the easiness of it.

"And Snape..."

"...is cold," Granger finished.

"But that doesn't explain why he would use it on us," Harry said.

"I haven't figured that part out yet, but I know that he shouldn't be doing it. It won't mean anything since he has so much power with as headmaster, but he shouldn't be using it on us, especially when we don't even know. How many other kids do you thing he's used Legilimency on?"

"Probably everyone."

"Exactly," she whispered. "I didn't want him combing through my mind again."

It was paranoid and slightly insane, but Harry agreed with her. He never could shake that nagging feeling whenever he made eye contact with Snape. Harry usually associated those feelings with just nerves, but what if it was exactly what she said? What if Snape was so good at Legilimency that he could comb through his mind without even alerting Harry?

"Shit."

"Exactly," she replied.

"That's a good reason," Harry concluded.

Granger's shoulders dropped like a weight was lifted off them. A choked laugh escaped her mouth and she hurriedly covered it, her shoulders shaking with mirth.

"There's nothing that funny about this," he said.

"I'm sorry." It was a cross between laughter and nervous crying. "I've just been keeping this to myself all this time. I haven't even told Neville. He's petrified of Snape and would've called me insane."

"You're not insane," Harry reassured her. "You're probably right."

She finally looked up at him, making solid eye contact with him. "Thank you, Harry. Thank you for that."

As her nervous chuckling died down, she sobered up and the same flat expression returned to her face. "I've told you my reasons. Now you need to tell me yours. Why'd you use Legilimency on him?"

It was time for her to know. She had divulged something secret and potentially dangerous in her theory about Snape. What was there to lose by telling her?

"Do you remember last fall? When you found me in the hallway with my cracked ribs?"

"Of course. You never did tell me how you go that." She cocked her head at him as she recalled the memory.

Rather than repeat the story, Harry had a better idea. One that would completely encapsulate the exact experience. Motioning to her wand, Harry said, "Use Legilimens on me."

Granger looked at him with sideways, her eyes flickering back and forth between her wand his own. Slowly picking up her wand, she nodded and cast the spell on him. Harry created his defenses at first but summoned the memory of that night. She had yet to find it as he had hid it as well as all his memories from Number Four.

The hallway was lighter than he remembered. Perhaps he hadn't been particularly aware of his surroundings in the moment. In the memory, Harry and Hermione could clearly see his attackers materialize from behind nooks and crannies. Hoods were pulled low over their heads, but Harry recognized Weasley's height now that he was removed from the memory. The first attacker was one of the average sized guys. The girl didn't get involved until Weasley had stepped on his hand.

Granger gasped beside him, but Harry kept himself focused. Any clue on who the other two bullies may be would prove to be useful. They started kicking him and Harry avoided looking down at himself and kept his eyes focused on the bullies. Each of them took a turn trying to beat him up, but it was clear the instigator was clearly the leader. It must have been Justin given the ferociousness of the beating.

"Stop it! Stop this!" Granger cried.

That sensation of falling returned as the memory vanished and they returned to the cave. Granger stood up, walking towards the pool of water as she ran her hands through her hair, her breath ragged like she had just received a beating of her own. Ducking his head, Harry walked up to her, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"What does Ron have to do with this?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"I caught him trying again in the hallway the other night. Justin Finch-Fletchley is the other one," Harry quietly informed her.

"Justin..." She trailed off as realization dawned upon her. "He pushed himself off that ledge, didn't he? Tried to make it look like you did it."

"That's my assumption." Harry nodded.

"But...why?" It wasn't often that Hermione Granger was perplexed, but the torn expression on her face only made Harry laugh.

"There's nothing funny about this." She parroted his own line to him.

"Sorry," Harry said through chuckles. "It's just not often I see you confused."

"It is confusing. Why would they do that to you?"

Granger turned to look at him, genuine concern in her eyes. They had come closer than just mere peers learning from each other during their time in the cave. Usually, it was associated with Occlumency or spells or some sort of lesson they were trying to teach each other. This was different however. This was genuine empathy for Harry.

"I wish I knew. I'd like to think I could just ask them but I doubt that I'd get the answers I wanted," Harry said.

Granger still shook her head disbelievingly. "I just can't believe Ron would do anything like that. I was right about what I said about him the other night. He's all talk. I mean, perhaps in the right circumstances with particular people, he might be able to...attack you...but it's almost incomprehensible to me."

"You're that sure?"

She shrugged. "Frankly, I'm not too sure about anything about him right now from what I saw."

Swishing her wand, she levitated a small drop of water, forming and reforming it into different shapes as they both soaked in the silence. The giant squid floated overhead, blocking out the sunlight for a moment and as it floated away, the light revealed the torn expression on Granger's face.

"Have you used Legilimency on anyone else?" she asked.

After a pause, Harry answered, "Against a Hufflepuff boy. He was picking on Luna Lovegood."

Whether or not it was an appropriate qualifier was not something for Harry to judge. The silence in Granger's response was all the answer he needed though. While he wasn't entirely too sure if she approved of his rather brazen use of such an obviously forbidden spell, the fact that there were circumstances it could be used for was something of a comforter to Harry. Granger recognized the need for the spell's subservient use at certain times.

"What are you going to do now?" Granger wondered.

Harry thought of Weasley and the fear he felt when using Legilimens on him. He thought of Finch-Fletchley and the Hufflepuff's brazenness. He thought of Snape and his alleged use of Legilimency against students and against Granger.

"I don't quite know."

* * * * * *

Amidst all the chaos of the recent weeks, there were still classes to attend and so Harry found himself in Trow's Strategy class amongst the Gryffindors during their next rotation. He was seated far away from Granger, removed of the drama earlier in the year when he had chosen to sit next to her much to several Gryffindors consternation.

Professor Trow entered the classroom late, his face as sickly as ever while his white, hawkish hair seemed to have thinned out even more. Instead of bringing down the projector to show some films of previous years, he opened the blinds of the window that kept the room in dark. Sunlight flooded the room as the beginnings of spring were noticeable outside.

"You will have one more House match before switching to a focus on individual duels and then the resulting competitions at the end of the year. You have not previously had this type of House match as it is not introduced until the Third Year. It will disproportionately effect the House standings as to who will compete for the House Trophy at the end of the year.

Trow's voice was uncommonly grave, lacking the slight bounce and happiness that usually accompanied his whimsy tenor. His hands were behind his back, looking out at the classroom with a vague sense of anticipation. The room itself fell to a hush, sensing a great importance to this change of demeanor from their usually optimistic professor.

"This House match will not be held in the Room of Requirement."

Excited whispers bounced from student to student as Trow made the announcement. Every one of their House matches had been held in the Room of Requirement so far. Even their participation in the House Trophy was held in the Room of Requirement for the past two years. Slytherin had represented during Harry's First Year while Gryffindor had represented them during their Second Year. Predictably, neither of them proceeded far into the match, but they were still held in the Room of Requirement nonetheless.

"Where's it going to be, professor?" Parvati Patil asked.

Trow's gaze shifted to the window as he gazed into the distance.

"It will be held deep in the Forbidden Forest."

The excited whispers died down in an instant as every student focused their attention to the forest looming in the distance. The leaves had not yet fully regrown from the cold winter, but it was still imposing nonetheless, the trees tall and the canvas hiding the dangers that lurked within.

"There will be time to prepare as well and everyone has the freedom to use the Stationary Omnioculars to their advantage as well as discuss strategy and tactics with their respective Houses. There is only one stipulation."

Trow tapped the board with his finger and a canvas unrolled down the length of the board. It was unlike the blank transparency where they watched projections of previous Years. Instead, it was an outline of what looked to be a section of the forest. The details weren't particularly outlined, but there were four distinct colored dots placed throughout the map.

"Each House will start at a corner of the outlined section of the Forbidden Forest. Your goal is to have the last remaining member standing from your House. Should you do so, you will be rewarded points - and if my calculations are correct - the House that does win will represent their Year for the House Trophy."

So this is it, Harry thought as he examined the green dot of the map, located directly opposite to the gold and red Gryffindor dot.

All or nothing.

* * * * *

It was difficult to wrangle his whole year, but Harry managed to find the rest of the Slytherins for an impromptu meeting in the Common Room. The rest of the students were milling about, but the Third Year Slytherins were concentrated in the corner closest to the fireplace. Once again, Harry stood at the hearth, the heat of the fire nipping his heels.

"Everyone understands we need to win this, right? All the other Houses beat each other up so they're in close enough range to overtake us should one of them win this House match," Harry conveyed the seriousness of the situation.

"It's the Forbidden Forest though. Who knows what's in there?" Bulstrode, the last person Harry would have suspected as scared, asked.

"Nothing we couldn't handle or anything that would seriously hurt us," Harry pointed out. "I doubt the teachers would let such a thing happen, but let's review our Creatures notes and ask Professor Lupin any questions we might have in anticipation of something from there."

"I'm not asking that werewolf anything." Predictable Malfoy.

"Regardless!" Harry spoke up over the increasing grumbling. "We need to form a strategy in order to beat them. This fight is a bit different. We know what the Forest is like. We know where each of the Houses will start. We've battled against them enough to know their particular strengths and weaknesses. This isn't until next week, but I'll have to ask you for at least three more meetings before then."

There were predictable grumbles of busy schoolwork and other excuses where time was somehow a limited, but Harry shushed it all with a hiss and a glare.

"Do you want to win?"

Blaise grinned that lazy smile of his. "Hell yeah, Harry."

* * * * *

Harry immediately set out for the Strategy classroom, set to study tapes of the other Houses all night if he had to. No doubt Granger would be there as well as the leaders of the other Houses. If any of the Houses were taking this situation as seriously as Harry, then the Strategy room would be filled to the brim.

"Harry, wait!"

Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Harry was a bit surprised to see Tracey trailing after him, a heavy bag in tow. She caught up after a moment and Harry stood still for a couple seconds to let her catch her breath.

"What are you doing, Trace?"

"I'm going to help you," she said breathlessly. "I figured you were going to get yourself a Stationary Omniocular and I...I wanted to help you."

He usually did most of the work by himself but an extra set of eyes and someone to bounce his ideas around sounded quite useful at the moment. Besides, he needed to accumulate as much information as possible and any extra set of eyes or hands would help. Smiling at her, Harry nodded at her and continued his trek towards the Strategy classroom.

"Any preliminary ideas?" Tracey asked as they turned down a corridor.

"My instinct says we should segregate our targets. Focus on taking one House down at a time. There's no accurate predictor on which House will attack which, but I figured that we could take the Ravenclaws or the Hufflepuffs by surprise."

"Why not the Gryffindors?"

Harry shook his head in negation. "They're across the map, the furthest away from us. Besides, attacking them will require crossing straight through the heart of the forest. I'd rather stick to the sides and eliminate our targets one by one."

Tracey acknowledged. "Good thinking."

Looking at her sideways, he said, "I didn't think you'd want to be doing this."

"Doing what?"

"You know. Looking for hours at old tape of other Houses dueling each other."

She stopped in the middle of the hallway, blood draining from her already pale face.

"Hours? As in...plural?"

"Of course. How long do you think I usually look at the tapes?"

"An hour? Maybe?" She asked hopefully.

Harry chuckled as he waved for her to continue on. "I wouldn't learn anything in an hour. It's all in the details, Tracey. You've gotta look closer between the lines if you want to -"

"Potter!"

Another person yelled his name, but when Harry and Tracey turned around to see who the caller was, they were perplexed to find a flustered Neville Longbottom approaching them from the long end of the hallway. The Gryffindor boy walked forward haltingly, his steps measured and careful until he finally reached the pair of Slytherins.

"What is it Longbottom?" Harry asked, slightly annoyed that there was yet another delay on his journey to the Strategy room. At this rate, all the Stationary Omnioculars would be taken.

It was only after Harry finished being annoyed that he realized that Longbottom was practically shaking. The pudgy boy had an expression of hesitant fear and that visage, combined with the uncontrollable shaking, unsettled Harry. Neville opened his mouth to speak but stuttered the first few words.

"I - I - I know that it's you!"

"Me - what?" Harry was as confused as ever.

"You're the one that's been pulling Hermione away from her studies. You're the reason why she's disappearing in the middle of the night!"

Apprehension suddenly changed Harry's train of thought from the Stationary Omnioculars to Neville. He tried as hard as he could to avoid meeting Tracey's eyes to confirm the boy's suspicions. How could he know? His tone was accusatory and he doubted that Granger would tell Longbottom about their arrangement. Or would she? How well did he know her?

"What are you getting on about, Longbottom?" Harry tried his best to employ a Malfoy sneer, but it felt hollow and empty.

"I got...I just know that you're the one Hermione's meeting. She's been closed off and quiet and not talking a lot these past weeks and I....I don't know what you're doing, but...but it has to stop!"

It would have been funny if it weren't so true. Longbottom's stuttering and nervous ticks betrayed his attempted bravery, but Harry was caught in a bind. There was some kernel of truth hidden behind his accusations. Harry couldn't just dismiss the boy and not know who his source was.

"You've gone barmy, Longbottom." Tracey sneered more authoritatively. "I don't know what you're on about but leave us alone."

Tracey turned her back in obvious dismissal, but Harry could tell from her panicked face that she, too, disliked Longbottom's sudden epiphany. Harry was rooted at the spot, blankly gazing at Longbottom but not really seeing him.

"You come up with this on your own, Longbottom?" Harry quietly asked.

"What does it matter?" He was agitated. "It has to stop! Whatever you're doing to Hermione has to stop!"

Harry rolled his eyes, still feigning ignorance. "I don't know who's been telling you these things, but you've got your head up your arse."

He made to turn, desperately betting that Longbottom would break under the illusion that Harry didn't care about his predicament.

"I got a note. I..." Longbottom gulped. "I saw you two in the dungeons this afternoon."

Harry quickly turned, surprising Longbottom so much that the pudgy boy jumped in the air. Quickly scanning the hallway, Harry made sure no one else was in the surrounding area as he approached Longbottom as intimidatingly as he could. Coming face to face him, Harry quietly hissed, "What did you see?"

Longbottom was pale as a sheet, quivering in the close proximity. "Nothing! I...I....you can't do this to Hermione!"

Harry looked into the Gryffindor's eyes and an irrational need to perform Legilimency came upon him. His hand was already on his wand, but a voice that sounded oddly like another Gryffindor reminded him that he wasn't supposed to perform it on others.

Instead, Harry whispered, "I don't know who has been sending you letters, but what Granger and I do is none of your concern. For your sake, I would banish that memory of the dungeons if you know what's good for you."

Dramatically turning, Harry walked away, his expression resolutely blank even as Tracey looked wearily from him to Longbottom. He was almost convinced that the cowardly boy would simply shrink away to his Common Room, but it looks like Longbottom wasn't sorted into the house known for bravery for no reason.

"No! I don't know what you're doing, but it can't be good. You'll...you'll have to fight me first." Longbottom's voice was shaky and quivering, but it was loud and would draw attention.

Harry actually laughed, the prospect of dueling Longbottom so painfully easy that it was all he could do not to burst into more laughter.

"I'm not dueling you, Longbottom. Just go back to your Common Room."

He tried to walk away, confident that the Gryffindor boy wouldn't attack him with his back turned. Luckily, Tracey held no such reservations as she deflected the Itching Hex that Longbottom sent his way. Astonished, Harry about faced with an incredulous expression.

Longbottom had his wand out, the carefully crafted wood shaking in his hand. "I'm Hermione's friend. I won't have you...influencing her."

Harry could have practically screamed because of his stupidity.

"Leave it be, Longbottom," Harry growled, the evident warning in his voice.

"No." Longbottom stood up straighter, attempting to convey a sense of defiance. "I won't let that happen."

What has gotten into him? In every duel and House match he'd ever watch involving Longbottom, the boy was a coward straight and through. He fought weakly, usually avoided the heart of the battle, and had th competence of a First Year. What brought upon this sudden courageousness?

"I'm leaving, Longbottom," Harry said it with a sense of finality.

"Stupefy!"

Harry quickly blocked it, unperturbed as he glared at the Gryffindor. From the corner of his eye, Harry saw a figure come around the corner. The ruckus had obviously attracted at least one bystander and Harry was unsurprised to see Justin Finch-Fletchley lean against a wall, placing himself in Longbottom's blind spot. Tracey tensed up next to him as she spotted the Hufflepuff boy, her wand suddenly in front of her, though still lowered, instead of at her side.

With the sliest of winks, Justin yelled, "FIGHT!"

His deep voice rung out through the hallway, echoing down the corridors and bouncing with reverberation. Harry was about to confront the Hufflepuff when Longbottom took that announcement as a gong to begin this trite duel.

"Conjuctus!" Neville flicked his wand, attempting to hit Harry with a painful Twisting Hex.

He side stepped it easily, taking care to avoid attracting the spell towards Tracey. Looking towards his friend, Harry shook his head, indicating that he didn't want to actually duel Longbottom. Tracey looked worriedly at Justin instead of Neville and walked backwards, keeping an eye on the Hufflepuff. By this time, a few other students had come around the corner, eager to see the after hours special. Longbottom was in fuel duel stance, pacing back and forth as he kept a cautious eye on Harry's wand.

"I'm not fighting you, Longbottom," Harry said to him. "Just go back."

"Expelliarmus!"

The spell was pitifully off target, so much so that Harry didn't even move as it soared above him. He shook his head and kept walking backwards, hoping not to engage the Gryffindor boy. Neville swished his wand about him and a stone brick hurtled from a wall towards Harry. Surprised, Harry redirected the brick towards the ground, smashing it to dust.

"Longbottom, stop this!" Harry yelled.

More kids arrived, crowding the hallway and giving them their space. He could see Weasley's red hair amongst the crowd and wondered if he was the one that tipped Neville off or if it was Justin's machinations instead. A few other Gryffindors arrived and egged Neville on, encouraging him to hit Harry.

"Incarcerous!"

The spell was almost effective as a tangle of vine wrapped around Harry's leg. Blasting it away with a simple Cutting Hex, Harry looked at Longbottom and warned him one last time.

"Longbottom. Don't."

It was hard to say anymore without divulging the reason for this faux duel. A healthy crowd had gathered at this point and any hopes of a teacher or a Prefect stumbling upon this section of the corridor was minimal. He knew their patrols from all the nights sneaking around Hogwarts and could only hope that the noise would attract someone eventually.

Unfortunately, Longbottom wasn't going to oblige him that time.

Lunging forward, Longbottom aimed a Reductor spell and a Blinding Hex Harry's way. Unable to take any more of his incompetent dueling, Harry used an Absorbant Shield, a recently learned spell, to reflect the Reductor spell towards Longbottom and blasted him off his feet. The haphazard way in which the Gryffindor had been approaching Harry caused him to lose his balance and smash against a wall from the resulting concussion wave.

The somewhat rabid crowd silenced as Longbottom fell against the wall, a trickle of blood running from his crown.

"Neville!"

A small figure pushed through the crowd and Harry watched mutely as Hermione ran towards him. She must have been in the Strategy room already and had heard the commotion outside. Kneeling beside him, she shook him until he awoke from his unconscious state. Longbottom said a few slurred words and his head slumped forward again.

Hermione turned towards Harry, inquisition and accusation written all over her face. Harry looked helplessly back at her and then shifted his eyes upwards to see a few other Gryffindors, Ron Weasley and Dean Thomas, stepping forward with glowering expressions.

"Get out of here, Potter," Ron ordered, standing up to one of the strongest wizards in his year.

Harry looked back at Hermione, wanting to relay a message across to her, but there were too many people around. Every eye was on him and even a simple spell would have taken notice. None of them spoke as Hermione tried to wake Neville again and Harry had the distinct feeling that they made him culpable of Longbottom's injuries even though it should have been obvious to anyone that it was the Gryffindor who attacked him.

How were they supposed to comprehend Neville Longbottom, bottom of their year, suddenly fighting Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and the skilled Slytherin duelist?

"Harry, come on." Tracey tugged at his arm, aware that there were no Slytherins around. He allowed himself to be pulled away, casting a lingering glance towards Hermione, but she had all of her attention focused on Neville. Painfully aware that everyone would know of this by tomorrow morning, Harry fled towards the Slytherin Common Room.

* * * * * *

Harry took next afternoon's lunch in the quiet peace of the Astronomy tower. He didn't want to see the shaming looks from the students that had been there last night and while he wanted to explain himself to Granger, she hadn't responded to his requests to meet him at the cave during the morning. Tracey offered to accompany him, but he wanted to be left alone to his thoughts.

Why Longbottom?

It would be the last person he expected to ruin his relations with Granger, but he just didn't understand the boy's sudden outburst. He was also frustrated by the lack of his answers from him. Who had given Longbottom the note that tipped him off about his and Granger's whereabouts that morning? Who even knew about him and Granger in the first place?

He wanted to place all of his bets on Justin. That sly wink and the fact that he had conveniently arrived in time to call a crowd towards Neville's sudden outburst were far too many coincidence for Harry to believe. What was his goal? All of the Houses already envied him, but why would he want Longbottom to attempt to duel him? Was it an attempt to drive a wedge between he and Granger?

Harry threw his chicken out of the window, trying to alleviate the building knot in his chest. The fatigue of the school year was catching up to him and all of these twists and turns were starting to wear him down.

"Hullo, Harry."

Luna took a seat next to him without any preamble, dutifully chewing on a scone. She looked as if she had no care in the world as she gazed out onto the clear sky, another indicator of an early spring.

"Luna," Harry grunted, disappointed that his wish for solitude had gone unanswered.

"I heard you've been busy again."

"Think everyone's heard."

She tutted, picking apart her scone delicately. "That business with the Longbottom boy..."

"It wasn't my fault." Harry found himself defensive. "He was the one that attacked me."

"There seems to be a lot of that going on," Luna said with an expectant eyebrow.

"Yes," Harry leaned back to look at her. "How do you know all of that, Luna?"

"I see things. People don't see me, but I still see things."

He was in no mood for cryptography, so he reverted to silence, eating what was his left of his potatoes as his chicken had gone flying from the windowsill moments before.

"You don't see it, do you?" Luna asked.

"The sky? It's rather blue," Harry sardonically replied.

"No. The forest."

"The Forbidden Forest? You've heard about that too? Can't wait to see what they've cooked up for us in there."

"No, silly. The forest from the trees. You don't know see what they're doing?"

Harry threw his fork down, imaptience getting the best of him. "No, Luna! I don't see what they're doing!"

The blond Ravenclaw was quiet as she finished her scone. Brushing the crumbs off her skirt, she looked out to the forest, the green expanse stretching well beyond the eye's reach. She opened her arms wide, gesturing to it as a whole.

"Imagine this, Harry. You threw a Hufflepuff off a roof. You embarrassed three Ravenclaws in a duel. You beat up on the lowliest Gryffindor in the hallways after class and now you're going to be put in the Forbidden Forest with all of these Houses. What do you think is going to happen?"

Harry sputtered, "But - but I didn't do that! Justin threw himself off the roof. I didn't even want to fight the three Ravenclaws and Neville attacked ME!"

"It doesn't matter what you did." Luna shrugged. "It matters what people think you did."

"And so what if they think I did all that?"

Luna stood up, flicking a few crumbs away from her body. She frowned in disappointment at him.

"The forest, Harry. See the forest."

And as Harry looked out and had a few moments of silence, he finally did see the forest.

* * * * * *

"Everything is in place?"

"Yes. The last maneuvers have been set and we shall see if the boy rises to the occasion."

"And you think he will? Come through that is?"

"I am encouraged. He has progressed far beyond my expectations this year."

"With the help of the girl of course. Tell me, at what point did you start incorporating her into your plans?"

"After the Occlumency. That was definitely a lesson I did not think he would learn until the end of his Fourth Year at best."

"So she is going to help him?"

"We shall see. There are other tests in the future that I think she will be a limiter. For now, I will accept her presence."

"It helps that she reminds you a lot of her."

"Don't speak of her. She is a ghost of the past. We are looking towards the future, are we not?"

"Everything is done for the future."

"Precisely. On our other tasks - did you find the locket?"

"In the old Black residence. We lost a man to a decoy in a cave, but I was able to procure it and have someone destroy the locket."

"And the ring?"

"The ring as well. We lost another person to it. These curses he put upon them..."

"Sacrifices."

"At some point, we will run out of people to sacrifice."

"No one in history has gained advantage without losing something along the way. It will be better for the boy not to have to go on this trivial item hunt. What about the cup?"

"We're working on it. Time is needed to recoup our losses."

"Time we have now. I have unsettling reports in the East of a darkness looming."

"As have I. Different sources with the same answer. I'm not a fond believer of coincidences."

"Neither am I. All the more reason to hope that the boy realizes what needs to be done."

* * * * *

A/N:

Thanks for all the great reviews everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter. There will be approximately five or six more chapters covering the Third Year. I've deicded to continue the story as one whole novel instead of splitting it into different parts. Once again, I appreciate all of your reviews and if you have some time, please let me know your thoughts. Glad to be under the estimated update time.

Estimated update time: 14 days

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