Unofficial Portkey Archive

"Have you spoken to her?"

Harry and Tracey were seated in an empty classroom, examining a replica of the map of the Forbidden Forest. There were two days left before this next simulation and Harry had spent most of the week trying to formulate a strategy to gain an advantage for this Battle class.

Looking up from the map but not at Tracey, Harry answered, "No."

Tracey nodded her head slightly, dark ringlets falling across her face as she stared at the map. She traced a line from the Gryffindor encampment on the other corner of the map towards the Slytherin green dot.

"Perhaps its for the best. It's not as if you could have continued meeting her in that cave forever."

"Perhaps," Harry shortly replied. "There are more pressing matters at hand anyways. If I'm right..."

"Which you don't know you are," Tracey quickly pointed out.

"Yes, but if I am, then there's a strong chance that two of the Houses might join in a temporary alliance of sorts."

"Would they really do that? How petty could they possibly be?" Tracey wondered.

"It's not petty," Harry argued. "There are specific grievances against every House, each of them inflicted by me. Furthermore, it shouldn't be passed notice that we have not lost to any of the Houses this year. Even if they weren't already motivated by their anger towards me, or Slytherin in general, it isn't out of the question for them to team up for simple strategical reasons."

"It's just two Houses."

"It's not two Houses I'm worried about," Harry countered.

"What then? All three of them?" Tracey incredulously threw her hands in the air. "You can't be serious, Harry."

"We should plan for the worst case scenario."

She shook her head disbelievingly. "So what if all three Houses do so? We have you."

"I'm just one person."

"You're more than one person, Harry."

Tracey's voice held a comforting note, a reminder that she was speaking to him as friend and not just another member of the Slytherin house planning for battle. Her blue eyes were less icy and were instead a comforting pool of assuredness.

"You're brave but cunning. Smart but loyal. I saw what you did for Loony -"

"Luna," Harry corrected.

"For her," Tracey repeated. "You're not like Malfoy or Nott or any of the other Purebloods. The other Slytherins know that too. You're more than just one person, Harry."

Harry looked at her, all earnest and sincere. He was more than just one person. Even subconsciously, there was an underlying knowledge that the rest of the Slytherins followed his lead even if he was a Half-Blood. For them, that was a matter that somehow seemed insignificant once accepted into the House. Once, he might have just been the Boy-Who-Lived, but they saw him as something else now.

"It's still three Houses. There's only so much I can do..."

Harry trailed off as the classroom door opened and Susan Bones quietly stepped in. Tracey quickly wrapped the map in a tight roll, trying to disguise the potential movements they had magically drawn onto it. Harry quickly stepped in front of Tracey, covering the remaining visible parts of the map.

Susan stopped as she saw their hurried attempts to hide something. She quickly looked away, not meeting eyes and keeping her arms tightly wrapped around the books pressed to her chest. Harry nodded at her, curious as to how she found them and what she was doing here.

"Zabini said I could find you here." She answered both of his immediate concerns in one fell swoop.

"What is it Susan? Is it something with Justin?" Harry quickly asked, knowing the only reason she would find him would concern that particular Hufflepuff.

"Yes," she said haltingly. "In a manner of speaking."

Harry nodded at her to continue speaking once he made sure that the map was hidden.

"I overheard Justin speaking with Padma Patil from Ravenclaw. They were near the Hufflepuff Common Room and I didn't mean to sneak on them, I swear!" Susan seemed nervous of her own voice, her eyes skittishly glancing around the obviously empty classroom.

"And what'd you hear?" Harry coaxed.

Susan hesitated. "You realize that if anyone finds out about this, my House would make me a leper. They'd do as best to throw me out."

"You realize what our House would think about us meeting in empty classrooms with a Hufflepuff?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"You're different. You're the Boy-Who-Lived," Susan said, echoing something Tracey had just told him earlier. "If you're meeting with me, they just think you're manipulating me or taunting me or threatening me. If I'm meeting with you..."

"Then why are you here?"

The redhead shook her hand, her fiery mane falling about her face. "Justin agreed with Padma to team together to defeat you for the first portion of the match at least. You should also know that Justin said he was meeting with Ron Weasley next."

"Fuck."

The word was quietly uttered from behind Harry and he didn't even bother looking back to know that Tracey thought this was bad. Luna had been right. Every instance of embarrassment for each of the Houses made it easy for Justin to motivate them. While Harry didn't know if it had all been orchestrated by the Hufflepuff, he knew enough to prepare against the possibility of all three Houses combining against them. With the information Susan just provided them, it looked to be that Luna was right.

"I need specifics, Susan." Harry took a step forward and Susan took a matching step backwards.

"I don't have specifics, Potter. Justin and Padma agreed on holding a truce until Slytherin was defeated and then Justin specifically said that he was meeting with Ron Weasley in an hour. They walked away after that and I took my time not following them. You said you would be there if you Justin said something and here I am."

Susan was growing more flustered by the moment, regret evidenced in every one of her twitchy motions. Harry sought to calm her down and temporarily halted his advance, looking back at Tracey to take his eyes off the redhead and assuage any guilt she might have for potentially betraying her House.

"I understand," Harry consoled her with words. "I know this must be tough for you, but I hope you can see our predicament. The three other Houses planning against us doesn't exactly put us on fair ground."

"Nothing is fair here," Susan responded. "I'm only telling you this because of some perverse sense of guilt."

"But you didn't have to and yet you did," Harry pointed out. "You told us because you think something is wrong."

Her silence was enough to confirm his assumptions. Why else would Susan come to him with this information? On its own, it was nothing insidious. Surely, Hufflepuff had to see that it would be beneficial for them to assume an alliance. When he first recruited Susan, Harry was hoping that she would catch Justin sneaking out at night or return to the Common Room winded. Instead, she had come to him with a nugget of information that could be their key to victory or at the very least, staying off a massacre.

"Some people in Hufflepuff still believe in fair play," Susan muttered. "I remember what you did for me when we tried to attack you for throwing Justin off the roof."

"I didn't throw him off the roof," Harry quickly interrupted.

"Regardless," she shot back, "You didn't have to and you did. I don't like being in someone's debt so here you go."

Susan turned to leave but stopped at the sound of Tracey's voice.

"Thank you," Tracey called out.

The redhead from Hufflepuff opened her mouth to speak but closed it, shaking her head in what looked to be apparent frustration. The door closed behind her, leaving behind a silence that carried tension and the burden of what was to come.

"Well, we've truly lost the plot with this one," Tracey commented.

"Not entirely," Harry answered. "Do you think it's a coincidence that Justin would purposefully meet with Padma Patil and Ron Weasley? What are the chances that those are his two contacts to forge an alliance?"

"What are you trying to say?" Tracey wasn't following him very well and for once, he wished that Granger was here instead to brainstorm with him.

"Tracey, there was a bully that was a girl. I don't think it's just a coincidence that Justin happens to be dealing with Padma."

The realization was slow on her, but she caught up eventually. "Why Padma?! I don't think you've even spoken to her - have you?"

"Not that I remember. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but I don't have to speak to her in order to infuriate her."

"It still doesn't matter," Tracey disagreed. "Beating you up is personal. It's a vendetta. It's not something you come up with just because they dislike you. Besides, I don't think I've ever even seen Padma angry."

"You're right," Harry conceded in the moment. "It doesn't make a lot of sense that she would be one of the bullies, but you do agree with me that it's at the very least suspicious that Justin is making deals with her, don't you?"

"That part makes sense."

"That gives us three," Harry said, mostly to himself.

"And what of the alliances?"

Harry sighed as he unrolled the map.

"That also gives us three."

* * * * *

"No, no, no, no!"

Harry threw his wand down as Millicent ran into Daphne as they attempted to weave and attack. In an attempt to assess everyone's attributes, Harry had them attacking each other and performing maneuvers that would hopefully be of help to them for the final House match. Unfortunately, they didn't work well together. There were few partnerships to be had as Slytherins inherently distrusted everyone. Malfoy and Nott worked well together, relatively speaking, but everyone else was a headless chicken.

"You want to keep your head on a swivel. Make sure you're aware of your surroundings and we won't have problems like that. All of these Houses are going to be attacking us and you need to keep storage of the entire radius around you," Harry lectured.

"Potter, what makes you so sure that they're all teaming up against us again?" Malfoy complained, kicking a fallen tree branch.

They were at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a distance away from any lurking eyes. While it was obvious what they were practicing, one had to be either within the forest or within earshot to hear what they were saying. The Third Year Slytherins had been training for over an hour, but there was little progress to be made.

"I have a source. All three of the Houses are going to forge an alliance against us," Harry said for the umpteenth time.

"He's right," Tracey backed him up.

"And if they don't?" Pansy asked. "What if they're not teaming up against us? We'll be practicing this shell formation for no reason. Why can't we just attack one of the Houses straight and cut them off?"

"I told you in the beginning." Harry was beginning to get frustrated. "If they're smart, they're going to pull together first. Ideally, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw would withdraw towards Gryffindor since they're the furthest away from us. From there, they can just sweep down on us with a numbers advantage."

There were more grumblings from the dissatisfied group, but Harry could ill afford having them underestimate the task at hand. A crushing defeat would eliminate any hope they would have at competing in the House cup and it would also derail his Master List rankings. Furthermore, there was a personal grudge to settle with Finch-Fletchley. He couldn't let him nor Weasley nor any of the others win.

"Bring it together," Harry ordered, waving his arms in such a way to cluster the Slytherins. "This is called the rotating shell. It's predicated on old goblin techniques. You stand in two lines and rotate back and forth with the front line producing shields while the back line presses forward when presented with opportunities. To keep fresh and reduce potential lapses in concentration, you will then rotate towards the front."

Harry emphasized the movements and scowled at the lackadaisical approach they took. None of this was going according to plan. It was one thing to order them in the heat of battle, but it was another to try and train them ahead of time. He was realizing why he usually spent his time with Tracey and Blaise instead.

"Remember, simple shields only! Use Protego and try to avoid drawing in unnecessary spells. The second your shield goes down, there is vulnerability gap that will leave us exposed. This will be the best way to combat several Houses at once."

"This is useless!" Nott threw up his hands. "We're slow and a sitting Hippogriff in this formation. Why don't we go with our normal attacking ones?"

"We don't have a normal attacking one," Tracey pointed out.

"Yes we do. We group together and cause a distraction while Potter takes care of the rest. Isn't that how we've won all of our House matches so far?" Malfoy piped up with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

"I can't take on all three Houses, no matter what anyone says," Harry shot back.

"How do they expect us to take on all these Houses?"

"Is this even fair?"

"Those scums are cheating!"

"Let's take it to them!"

The conversation dissolved rapidly as each voice overtook the other. Harry rubbed his temples with one hand, unwilling to face the fact that this was somehow the best they could do. Surely, the Slytherins were smarter than falling into a raucous rabble.

"Just shut up! Everyone shut up!" Harry yelled over the competing arguments. "Just take a bloody break. We'll reconvene tomorrow."

Like a dog released from a leash, the Slytherins scattered to the winds, save for his two close friends. Tracey and Blaise remained near the edge of the tree line with him, watching the rest of the Slytherins race back towards the castle.

"That didn't go as well as expected," Tracey said.

"What are you talking about? We got all of them to agree on one thing. They didn't want to train!" Blaise responded.

"What's the bloody point then? We're going to get ripped apart into pieces at this rate," Harry grumbled as he sat down and leaned against a tree.

Tracey smoothed out her skirt and plopped down next to him, tearing apart a few dead leaves in the process. A sudden warm spell had overtaken Hogwarts for the week, granting them a short reprieve against the bitter cold of winter.

"So what are we going to do?" Tracey asked.

"There's not a lot we can do." No sooner than he had taking a seat, Harry popped up as he spotted Justin Finch-Fletchley conversing with Padma Patil again. He watched them as they came from the return leg of the path around the Great Lake.

"Let's go back," Harry said as he started his walk towards the Hogwarts doors.

As they returned, Harry kept his eyes on the pair from different Houses. Once they reached the double doors of the Hogwarts entrance, Tracey made her leave to return to the dormitories to freshen up before supper. As she parted, Harry made sure to grab Blaise by the elbow.

"Clingy, Harry?" Blaise looked down at the hand attached to his elbow.

"Hardly the sort. I do need you to do something for me though."

* * * * *

After a late night session in Trow's classroom with the help of Tracey, Harry set off to make one more stop before returning to the Common Room. He bid Tracey good-bye, trusting that this pending conversation would not last long. He made sure that Daphne Greengrass accompany her to the Common Room though. Harry didn't quite know whether or not Justin and company would strike again and at his friends, previously unprecedented, but he wanted to make sure Tracey was safe.

He wasn't entirely sure whether this professor would be in his office this late at night. It wasn't quite burning the midnight oil, but it was approaching curfew and Harry didn't have the energy to sneak back to the Common Room that night. Crossing a few corridors and navigating down one flight, Harry found himself in front of the Creatures classroom.

Given the fact that this particular Battle class would be held within the Forbidden Forest, Harry thought it would be pertinent to at least ask the Creatures professor whether or not there would be creatures they would also have to contend against within the Forest. It was already difficult enough trying to manage a plan that would realistically compete against the three other Houses. Harry didn't want to worry about other potential disturbances within the Forest as well.

Knocking on the door, Harry heard a muffled sound from the other side and assumed that was a welcome.

The room was empty save for the teacher at the far end. He was seated at his desk, two lamps burning and a stack of parchment on either side of him. Professor Lupin didn't look any healthier than the beginning of the semester, his clothes as ill-fitting as usual. His sandy hair forked in different directions, spiking around in a messy manner.

When Lupin looked up from his grading, his expression was that of mild surprise. Harry had never searched for him outside of class as he had little interest in Creatures nor did he understand why they taught it at Hogwarts. It was of little practical use to him.

"Hello professor. I was wondering if you had a minute to talk about something," Harry spoke quietly, not forgetting Lupin's lycanthropy. It wasn't that he feared the beast within, but Harry thought it was best not to antagonize him or interrupt him from his work.

"Surely, Mr. Potter. It is getting a bit late though."

"It won't be long," Harry quickly remarked. "It's about the upcoming Battle class for the Third Years. Do you know about it?"

"Of course," Lupin said with a wry smile. "Headmaster Snape has deemed it fit to forgo the simulations of the Room of Requirement and send you out into the wild."

"It's about that actually. Since it is the Forbidden Forest, I was hoping you might have some insight on whether or not we're going to face particular creatures or beasts out there. I'd at least like to know whether or not to consider it."

Lupin chuckled to himself, a growling mimic that made Harry distinctly uncomfortable.

"You know, you're the second person to ask about that tonight," he said.

"The first was Granger, wasn't it?" Harry sourly asked.

"You would be right. Quite a competition the two of you are having."

"She's a stubborn one."

"A trait quite shared between the both of you. But you haven't come here to talk about Gryffindors. I must admit I didn't think that either of you would come to me with such questions," Lupin leaned back, the parchments in front of him forgotten.

With the teacher more basked in light, Harry was able to ascertain his features better. He looked aged, whether it be from his curse or his profession Harry did not know. If Harry were a betting man, which he wasn't since that title belonged to Blaise, he would say that Lupin was most likely in his early forties by his appearance.

"I can say with quite certainty that there will be no surprises from my end. It was enough work to secure that particular corridor and there were more than a few conversations with the centaurs, but we have managed to keep it free of any stray creatures. That isn't to say we have purged the area of all magical creatures, but any that would stand troublesome have been sought out and relocated."

That was a relief for Harry. There was enough on his plate to worry about besides giant spiders and Blast-Ended Skrewts. While Slytherin was far from trained or disciplined enough to encourage optimism on Harry's part, any potential obstacles removed was a tick in his favor.

"You seemed relieved," Lupin said with a feral smile.

"One less thing to worry about," Harry responded.

Lupin fixed him with a stare as intense as a predator in the night. Every light that flickered against his sandy hair cast him in an ominous shadow. His intense gaze unnerved Harry and he kept his eyes low, aware that if Snape was capable of using Legilimency against students, why wouldn't Lupin use it either?

"Well, thank you professor..."

Harry pushed back from his seat, still not meeting the Creatures teacher's eyes. As he turned to leave, he heard Lupin's sandy voice behind him.

"I went to school with your parents."

There was a strange opening in his mind, a fresh strike of blood that wounded a long dormant emotion he had buried within him. He had not so much as thought of his parents because, truthfully, he did not know them. How was he supposed to relate to people he had never met? There was no innate drive to find out who they were because anything that would be discovered was likely to fill him with pain and sorrow.

"Did you?" Harry asked tactfully, on guard. Is this another test? Is this something Snape is making him do?

"Yes. It's striking how much you're like them...and how much you're not."

He knew that his parents were both Gryffindors. Mild curiosity and an endless array of yearbooks provided an easy answer for that. His Mum was noted with quite high honors amongst other awards while his Dad was a talented Quidditch Chaser with equal but less marks. They were one of the last classes before the switch in curriculum at Hogwarts. They were certainly proud Hogwarts alumni, but beyond that, Harry had never bothered to research.

"Were you in Gryffindor too?" Harry couldn't help but ask.

"Yes I was. I knew them very well, in their time. It's a shame what happened to them." Lupin's voice fell until it was just a soft caress, no longer the wolfish, intimidating tone of previous.

Harry felt awkward, conserving with the professor beyond educational terms. He also felt uncomfortable because it was becoming increasingly aware that professor Lupin knew them very well judging by the nostalgic look on his face. A sudden urge to perform Legilimens overtook Harry, but he quelled it down. No doubt a Hogwarts educator could detect the use of Legilimency. Lupin would take none too kindly to that.

"I'm sorry too," Harry responded. The Granger part of his brain manipulated control for a moment and asked, "Why am I not like them?"

Why did I ask that?

Lupin laughed, the soft growl raising the hairs on the back of Harry's neck.

"You're a lot smarter for one! Well, you take your studies much more seriously than James ever did. Perhaps you're a lot like Lily, but even she didn't tackle things with such laser like intensity. You - you're incredible to watch, Harry. Don't think the teachers haven't been keeping their eyes on you."

Harry didn't even flush from the compliment. He didn't know the professor well enough to know if this was another one of Snape's manipulations or whether he was being genuine. Had Snape brought him here because of his connections with his parents? For Harry, it was best to keep his guard up.

"Thank you, sir, but I'm just doing the best I can."

"Yes." Lupin's smile slid away for a moment. "I suspect you are. Do you want a word of advice Harry?"

It was unsolicited but Harry supposed that he didn't really have a choice in the matter. "Sure."

"You're powerful. Some would say that you're one of the most powerful wizards to walk through here since...well...in a while. I think even you're beginning to get a grasp of that. Your equals, few that they are, fear you with the healthy exception of Granger of course."

Harry scowled at her name.

"You win matches single handedly. Younger students are in awe of you. Older students would like nothing more than to write you off as another young upstart, but they've seen the replays of your duels. They know you're a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, Harry, that isn't enough. You can be as powerful as the next Merlin but that doesn't mean anything if you're not able to rally your House."

Harry started actively raising his Occlumency shields, spooked by the fact that Lupin had spoken so close to home.

"I sense you have a bigger challenge ahead of you than you've faced all year. Things are coming to a head this semester and you're in the center of it. Now, you can continue trying to tackle the whole subject with your magic at hand. You've certainly shown more than your fair share of improvisation and flair in duels and matches. Yet, you have to consider that it's not the magic that makes the wizard. It's the wizard that makes the magic. It comes from you, Harry. Everything comes from you - not just the magic. You'll have to lead, you'll have to instruct, you'll have to bear the burden of the House on your shoulders."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Lupin leaned forward, his sandy hair falling on his forehead and the lean muscles of his forearms and shoulders suddenly showing from beneath his robes. It was a hint of the beast that lied within. He lifted a hand and pointed a solitary finger at Harry. His gaze was intense, a deep fire within those brown eyes.

"Because it's going to be you, Harry. You have to be more than a wizard. You have to be more than just one of the brightest and strongest minds to go through Hogwarts in generations. You have to be more than just a Third Year Slytherin."

Lupin paused, licking his lips as if Harry was a poor fowl and Lupin was in his full transformed state.

"You have to be the leader, Harry, because no one else can."

* * * * *

Blaise Zabini slid from alcove to alcove, quietly navigating the upper corridors of Hogwarts. It was still quite a distance to return to the Slytherin Common Room but with the task finished at hand, he was ready to return. It was well past midnight as his task had taken longer than he originally planned. Frankly, it wasn't even his task. It was Potter's task bestowed upon him, but he understood why he had to do it. The victory in two day's time in the Forest counted on it.

While he would probably only receive detention and a stern talking to if he was caught, Blaise didn't want to bother holding a conference with the headmaster. If any of the stories were true about him, the headmaster would have more than just punishment waiting for Blaise. There were myths and rumors that Snape could read minds or that he was an incarnation of the Dark Lord. One of the more ridiculous rumors was that Snape was a bat, but that was just silly.

"Then again, he could be an Animagus," Blaise muttered to himself as he wrapped his cloak tight around him.

Bypassing an older couple snogging in a broom closet, Blaise held his breath as a pair of footsteps clattered around the corner. Pressing himself against the wall of an alcove, he cast a Disillusionment charm over himself. It was one of the few spells he could perform with some regularity though it was above their grade level. Still, it came rather handy in scrupulous times.

Not bothering to confirm the identity of this would be patrol, Blaise emerged from the alcove and crossed a set of rotating staircases, by the far the riskiest part of his journey. There was no hiding if a teacher of Prefect caught him and there was nothing to be done to get around it. As he carefully jumped from one staircase to another, he was struck by the thought of how convenient it would be if he could fly.

"If Snape really is an Animagus, then I'm fucked."

There were only two more flights left to travel and neither of them had an exposed staircase that led downwards. Blaise had made this journey several times before, though for much different reasons. Nonetheless, he was adept at sneaking around - a predictably Slytherin trait of his. He was almost at the staircase that would lead towards the basements when a hand snatched out and yanked him backwards.

Instinctively reaching for his wand, Blaise had it at the attacker's throat in a flash, showcasing quick reflexes that none of his classmates would have thought he had.

"Take it easy, Zabini."

Justin Finch-Fletchley raised his hands to signal no wand, a half-smile on his round face. Blaise narrowed his eyes at the Hufflepuff, instantaneously aware of his surroundings. Subtly checking his corners, Blaise determined that Justin was alone - or at least appeared alone.

"What's the hurry?" Justin mockingly asked.

Blaise lowered his wand but kept a tight grip on it. "Leave it be, Justin."

The Slytherin walked backwards in dismissal, never taking his eyes off the deceptively dangerous Hufflepuff. Blaise, of all people, knew exactly how conniving Justin could be. It took a certain kind of determination to do what Justin had done on the roof of that building against Harry.

"What are you doing out so late? You don't look like you're coming from the Slytherin Common Room."

"I caught a craving for some scones. Luckily, the elves love me."

"We both know you weren't in the kitchens. Come on, Zabini, what were you doing out?" Justin approached him, still without a wand in sight, yet Blaise was fearful nonetheless.

"You caught me," Blaise feigned sadness. "Mandy Brocklehurst was showing me of that revered flexibility."

Justin laughed quietly, the sound oddly ringing in the empty halls. Blaise took another look around, fearful that a teacher would emerge around the corner and ask him some harder questions. Worst yet, what if Snape showed up?

"You and I both know that there's nothing true of the sort. The last time we were both around in the middle of the night, it didn't have anything to do with Ravenclaws...or Hufflepuffs...or Gryffindors..."

"Fancy that, looks like I should be getting to bed." The word were light, but the snarl at the end of Blaise's voice indicated he wanted nothing else to do with this conversation. He even went so far as to turn his back and proceed down the staircase, but Justin sliced through him with a verbal knife.

"Imagine what Potter's face would look like if he knew you were one of the ones that beat him up?"

Blaise took two large strides towards the Hufflepuffs, easily gaining ground and pinning him against the wall with his wand at his throat. Justin chuckled and raised his eyebrows at him, waggling them with suggestion.

"I don't even remember that night," Blaise hissed.

"Yet you were still there, something that surprised us all. You say you don't remember, but it takes some effort to join in even if you pussied out of all the hard work."

"Shut up! Just shut your filthy, fucking mouth," Blaise snarled.

Justin laughed again, finding some sick humor from the situation. "Temper, Zabini. Don't want the teachers hearing us."

Blaise pushed him against the wall, making sure the Hufflepuff's sandy blond hair pressed tightly against the uneven stone. With a final push, Blaise dropped him, ashamed of his participation during that night and angry at Justin for re-opening old wounds. In truth, he only had a hazy memory of the attack on Harry, but he was undoubtedly there. Afterwards, he had kept to himself for quite some time, displaying the acting skills that his mother had employed time and time again with her different suitors. Blaise couldn't even answer why he had participated but the fact that he did without explanation wouldn't bode well with Harry.

"You shut up about that or I'll have your bloody head."

"Relax, Zabini. I won't tell anyone about your little secret. Just as long as you tell me what Potter has been up to lately," Justin offered.

Blaise stepped back, disgusted to be within arm's reach of Justin. "I'm not telling you shit."

Turning around, he resolutely walked away, not caring what the Hufflepuff would say. They were words of poison, designed to inflict doubt and shame upon him. He would do Harry proud by standing up to Justin, even if it meant Harry discovering what he had done. Blaise could still hear Justin's last words ringing along the staircase, following him all the way to the Slytherin Common Room.

"Our little secret!"

* * * * *

"Do you think we could have done it differently?"

"Perhaps. We could have trained him. We could have specialized his studies. We could have done numerous things, but we don't know everything. Besides, it matters not what he learns or what he knows. If that were the case, all of our previous trials would have fared much better."

"Do you not think of us as cruel? The road ahead of him is filled with so much darkness."

"He needs the motivation. He needs the drive. Great wizards don't become who they are just because of learning and training, else the Muggleborn girl would be the greatest witch in generations since Rowena Ravenclaw."

"I know a little of great wizards and witches."

"Then you should know that it is the inner fuel that will drive the boy. It is that hatred and the anger that will push him towards greatness. He won't become great if he's just content. He needs an instigator."

"Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he needs nourishment."

"A pittance. A small reprieve of what he has to face. Yes, the road ahead of him is filled with darkness but it is only by looking over his shoulder and seeing the monster in the background that causes motivation. That is to say, that will be his greatest motivator - not some pithy need to save the world."

"They are one in the same in this instance."

"What is the point of this discussion? We have set out on the road before us and there is no turning or back tracking. We must continue on this path or face certain disaster if we stray."

"I am not saying we should stray, but the path is far from certain. The boy will grow in his own way and there will come a time when your influence will not be so on him."

"Perhaps. For now, we will mold him. Like all other things, we shall burn that bridge when we cross it. We have two days ti discover if our work has been for naught."

"You place great importance on this impending match."

"The ingredients have been delicately added and the mixture properly brewed. All that is left is to see the results of our work."

* * * * * *

A/N: The next chapter will be the big forest fight and the following 4 chapters will conclude the Third Year. I am very excited to announce that I will continue writing the Fourth Year and it will be within this same story. I apologize for missing the estimated update time, it has been a hectic month. Hopefully, I can keep my word for this next update time. Once again, THANK YOU for all your reviews and I look forward to reading them.

Estimated update time: 20 days

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