Unofficial Portkey Archive

In the dark of night, there were two boys, one unaware of the other. One boy was of a sinister plan, intending to take the life of another. The other boy was on a simple journey to report an event. In a vacuum, the balance of right and wrong seemed rather obvious, but nothing could be taken in a vacuum. One isolated event does not make a man but neither does the culmination of several events. In truth, there was nothing that made a man. There was right and there was wrong and even when it was right it was sometimes wrong. But those were heady discussions for a later time when choices could be deliberated and men could talk freely amongst themselves. For now, there was only action.

Harry cast a spell to muffle his footsteps, treading lightly even as he did so. Justin was walking deliberately towards the direction of the Hospital Wing, intent on disseminating the truth of what he did. Harry could have easily let Justin go, incriminate himself once everyone realized that not only was Tracey alive, but she was also able to identify Justin as her attacker. But what was the point?

If he was right and Snape was behind all of this, it could have easily just been swept under the rug by the headmaster. If he was capable of planning a a group attack for the purpose of testing Harry's abilities, what was the point of letting Justin walk free without so much as a slap on the wrist and an order to stay mum on the subject? It didn't help that Harry felt an intense rage within him. It was threatening to overwhelm him, radiating through his body like his blood was made of fire. All he could see was Tracey hanging lifelessly in the bathroom stall, her body pale and cold and her neck ragged with bruises.

Kill. Kill. Kill.

The raging mantra echoed in his head as he stealthily turned the corner and tracked Justin. The House Cup would continue for at least another hour, giving Harry ample time and space to do what needed to be done. The only patrols around were Filch and whoever the poor teacher who had drawn patrol duty during the cup.

"Stupefy."

Harry whispered it and expertly struck Justin in the back, feeling a grim satisfaction as the Hufflepuff collapsed. Racing over to him, Harry quickly levitated the boy, knowing it would be disastrous if he got caught. Given that Harry now saw Snape as acting beyond the provisions as headmaster, he didn't know the exact punishment he would receive, but he simply couldn't trust Snape not to intentionally hurt him again. Levitating Justin wasn't the easiest task as he sprinted through the hallways, timing the moving staircases and avoiding the few patrols that were out. He needed to get from one side of the castle to the other, delving deep within the dungeons. At last, he was at his destination.

It was the alcove that led to the cave and Harry presumed it was far enough away from regular traffic that there would be no one down this region any time soon. Racing towards the Slytherin Common Room, Harry said the words and found comfort in the emptiness of the room and his dormitory. He procured a blanket, charming it so it was a dull gray color that matched the ground. Upon returning to the still stupefied Justin Finch-Fletchley, Harry covered the boy with blanket. Satisfied that it looked nothing more than a blanket covering some random assortments, Harry made a turn towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

The whole task took twenty three minutes.

"Did you find him?" Blaise asked, now standing as he ran a cloth under warm water.

Harry looked towards Tracey, who was leaning against said sink with her hand massaging her throat.

"I got him. I need you to come with me, Blaise."

"Of course. But why?"

"Your Disillusionment charms. I need your expertise on them until Granger gets out."

"What do we need Granger for?"

Harry pursed his lips, not wanting to give away his plan. "I need the cave."

"Well if you've caught him, why don't you just go to the headmaster and tell him what that bastard did?" Tracey croaked out with her sore throat.

Harry and Blaise exchanged knowing glances. "It's not as simple as that, Tracey."

She looked hurt and confused, her eyes wandering from Harry to Blaise and back to Harry again. It must have been difficult to her as a brush near death would be to anyone. Most probably, she was still in shock. Though they had their run of potentially dangerous scenarios within various House matches, there was always the comfort that it could be called off if it ever got to dangerous. What Justin did was outside the boundaries of their usual fights.

"You need to give me a good reason why Justin shouldn't be expelled or why the Aurors shouldn't be here right now. If my father knew about this, he would hang that stupid Hufflepuff by the balls," Tracey growled, the color returning to her face as she got riled up.

"I would," Harry promised. "I would hand him over right now, but I think that Snape is behind all of this. I think he's the one that sent those bullies to beat me up."

Tracey looked flabbergasted at the idea. "Why would he ever do that? He's the headmaster!"

"Because I was one of the ones that beat Harry up," Blaise confessed. "And I don't remember a single thing of it."

Tracey pinched nose, her eyes seemingly popping out of her head. "You're the fourth!?"

For once, Blaise's quick wit wasn't there to save him or deflect the truth. He had no easy comeback or witty one liner that could salvage the situation. He simply grimly nodded, accepting the truth of what he had done.

"But...but...how?" Tracey's voice was getting more faint as she spoke, clearly struggling with her injury.

"There's few people in this school that can perform that type of Obliviation or even worse, the Imperious Curse. Who else has had it out for me the entire year? It has to be Snape. It doesn't make sense any other way," Harry answered.

"I don't know why. I don't even exactly know how yet. But every theory I've had has led me back to one person planning all of this. The easy thing would be to say that Justin did it, but ever since the match in the forest and more importantly, what Blaise told me, I'm more convinced that it was Snape and if the headmaster is behind all of this, what do you think he's going to do if we come to him with Justin?"

"He can't do nothing."

"He can," Harry rebutted. "That's why I'm going to do something."

"Well what are you going to do?" Blaise asked.

"I don't know yet," Harry lied.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Blaise accidentally let the water continue to run, absentmindedly squeezing the rag even though it was as dry as could be. Tracey was still staring at Blaise as if she couldn't quite comprehend that he was one of the attackers. All in all, it had been a trying hour of revelations that was catching up to her.

"Blaise, we need to go."

He snapped out of it, finally turning off the water faucet and handing Tracey the cloth to apply to her neck. Harry walked up to her and promptly wrapped her in a hug, relishing the relief that washed over him to have her safe and sound.

"I'm sorry I didn't get here quickly enough," he said.

She pulled back from him. "I knew you'd get here. Always the hero, Harry."

Harry smiled but he didn't mean it. Giving her one last squeeze on the shoulder, he looked at Blaise, determined to get on with it. Time was a slow sieve and every second wasted was a chance to get caught. There was one thing that worried Harry though. He didn't want to leave Tracey alone for a minute given the circumstances and any potential allies Justin might have. Yet, he also didn't want her to confront her would be killer in just a matter of minutes. It was traumatizing enough to be the target of this attack, but to complete the full circle and meet her attacker might send her into hysteria.

"Tracey, you have to come with us," Harry ordered. "But you don't have to see this."

But she just nodded and pushed herself away from the sink. "I'll come with you."

So they left, departing the flooded bathroom as the House Cup no doubt raged on within the Room of Requirement. Their combined footsteps were strangely quiet and Harry had the urge to cast another muffling charm over them, but he realized it would look and sound quite strange if they were moving about with no sound from their footsteps. Fighting the urge to break into a run to ensure that Finch-Fletchley was still comatose in the same spot, Harry willed himself to continue his normal pace.

Thankfully, Justin was still lying underneath the blanket that Harry provided. Blaise knelt down and whispered a few words, casting the Disillusionment Spell with precise accuracy. The blanket adopted the pattern of the ground and one would have to literally step on Justin to know he was there. That was unlikely since he was tucked away in an alcove.

"Now what?" Blaise asked.

Tracey had remained a few steps away as a lookout, but Harry knew it was because she didn't want to see the Hufflepuff just yet. The pain was still too raw and she was unconsciously touching her neck the entire time.

"We have to wait until Granger gets out. Only she knows how to get into the cave."

"That might be a while. What's to say that his friends won't start looking for him?"

Harry thought for a moment and replied, "He must have given some excuse as to why he wasn't going to the House Cup. It's not the kind of thing you just miss out on. I'll try to find Granger right after the House Cup ends and then we'll deal with it from there."

Harry made as if to walk away, but he felt Blaise's hand on his arm. Turning around and staring at his friend curiously, Harry asked, "What is it?"

Blaise licked his lips, uncertainty written across his face. "What are you going to do to him? If we can't give him up to Snape, what else is there to do?"

Harry looked at Tracey, unable to look towards them even though Justin was hidden under a blanket. Her usually pristine hair was tied messily into a bun and there was a slight slump in her posture as she leaned against a wall for support. This was his friend. She was one of his first friends and her loyalty never wavered and she was attacked because of him. He wasn't naïve enough to think he could have prevented it, but he couldn't let the attack go unpunished. Turning to Blaise, Harry placidly replied without emotion.

"I know what I think I'm going to do and I think you know it just as well. Isn't that why you're asking?"

Blaise let go of him, the usual jester gone from his visage. At last, he nodded and stepped out from the alcove. He looked and Tracey and gulped, turning his eyes towards the ground.

"Do what you have to do, Harry."

* * * * * * *

CAVE. IMMEDIATE. REPEAT IMMEDIATE.

Harry conveyed the message as best he could on the special coin that both he and Hermione held. It had been an hour and he had sent Tracey and Blaise back to the dormitory for the time being. Whenever the Slytherin students would return, Blaise would come back and inform Harry that the House Cup was over and he should expect Granger at some point unless she was injured. Harry didn't want Tracey to be alone, but he also didn't want her to be around Justin for an extended period of time. No doubt her condition was fragile. Once he took care of Justin, then they would visit the Hospital Wing.

While he would have preferred having Granger there immediately, the break did give him ample time to draw up his plan of attack. The trickiest thing was going to be finding a way to dispose the body. Harry had no idea whether or not Snape knew about the cave. He had to assume that he had some knowledge about the area otherwise what good were Hogwarts headmasters? Then again, there were mythical rumors of other areas of the castle, like the Chamber of Secrets, that supposedly existed and were difficult to find. Would it be such a stretch to assume that Snape didn't know about the cave?

Nevertheless, Harry wasn't going to risk it. He had to operate under the assumption that Snape knew about the cave. Given that, Harry would have to work quickly in order to dispose of the body before anyone discovered the remains. The more he thought about the plan, the queasier his stomach turned. Yet, he was determined to go through with it. A morbid fantasy of killing Justin played out in his head and the only motivation he needed was the attempt on Tracey's life. Justin was dangerous and in order to be fully rid of the problem, Harry wanted to preemptively take him out.

Still, the body. The kill. The explanation. No doubt other students were going to notice that neither Justin nor Harry were present at the House Cup. The animosity between the two was well known and they would also have to explain the presence of Tracey's neck bruises. Furthermore, he doubted that any sort of death at Hogwarts would go by without an intense investigation. Still, there was one underlying question that trumped all of it.

What would Snape do about it?

If the headmaster was genuinely behind the attacks on Harry, what was the point of them? What was he trying to prove? Was Snape just trying to get Harry expelled or did he have some ulterior motive? Even thinking about the way Snape manipulated him made Harry furious, adding to his already addled anger over Justin's attack. He clenched and unclenched his fist, fighting the urge to punch the wall and no doubt hurt his hand.

Harry heard footsteps around the corner and pressed into the alcove, his feet bumping into Justin's comatose body. They were rushed, like someone was running, though that could have easily just been an overlap of several students walking. The sounds grew louder until the unknown person stopped, breathing heavily as they did so.

"Harry? Where are you?"

Emerging from the alcove, Harry found Blaise leaning against a wall, making yet another sprint through the castle.

"House Cup is over. Sixth Year Hufflepuffs won if you were wondering," Blaise said between gasps of air.

"I wasn't wondering but thanks."

"I saw Granger. She was stunned but it looked like she didn't take any major injuries. Did you get in touch with her?"

Harry felt the coin in his pocket and took it out but saw no returning inscription. That wasn't unusual. Whenever they communicated in the past, it wasn't necessary to receive a reply to a summons.

"Not yet."

Blaise nodded, sensing his job was finished. He stepped over to see if his work was still in place and nodded in satisfaction as he saw the barely perceptible blanket covering Finch-Fletchley. Stepping away, Blaise stood in the middle of the hallway, looking left and right as he heard the students returning to their Common Rooms above them.

"Are you sure about this?" Blaise asked for the second time.

"Yes."

The other Slytherin looked distinctly uncomfortable but kept his mouth shut. The sounds of students roaming the hallways were still present, but they were fading. It was only a matter of time before the Third Year Hufflepuffs discovered that Justin wasn't back at his bed. He could only hope that Granger was ready enough to head back towards the cave.

"Do you have a plan?"

"I'm working on it."

It would have to happen tonight. The longer they waited, the more likely it was that someone would report Justin as missing or not present in his dormitory or the Common Room for the whole day. Luckily, tomorrow was a Saturday and there were no classes, but that meant there were even less excuses for Justin not to be in his dormitory. The Disillusionment Charm worked well with still environments, but Blaise wasn't nearly advanced enough to cover the blanket if they were carrying Justin out of the castle.

"I have one," Blaise said.

"You do?"

"Make it look like an accident. That or make it look like a suicide like he did to Tracey."

"Slytherin indeed," Harry softly said.

Blaise looked sick at the thought of even bringing it up, but Harry always knew he had an apt skill at planning events and coordinating efforts. Harry was so concerned about killing him and ditching the body that he hadn't even thought of trying to frame Justin.

"You don't have to be here. I can do it myself," Harry said.

Blaise clenched his jaw like he was internally struggling with the decision. "I was part of what led to this. If I told you earlier, maybe Tracey wouldn't have..."

"You couldn't have known."

"But I did know," Blaise countered. "I knew exactly what Justin was capable of and said nothing about it. I - I should see this through."

Far be it for Harry to ignore any help. He would need every hand on deck to pull this off. As if on cue, a solid set of footsteps clattered against the stair case that spilled out to this particular junction. Blaise stilled and Harry didn't bother trying to hide himself. It was somehow less auspicious to have two Slytherins conversing in the dungeons as opposed to one by himself. Besides, it could only be one person that explored this area of the dungeons.

Hermione Granger appeared as she descended the staircase. She looked haggard, her hair more unkempt than usual and knotted in a messy bun and she carried herself like the burden of fatigue was on her shoulders. Even in her expression, she was displeased to make this journey. She stopped cold at the bottom of the stairs when spotted Blaise.

"I didn't know we were taking on more of your friends," she started coldly.

"He already knows everything. This is something more concerning," Harry said.

"Then what is it?" The annoyance in her voice was evident as was the action of placing her hands on her hips.

"I need to get into the cave."

"Is that all? Why?"

"Can I explain inside?" Harry offered.

Granger looked around as if she were noticing their rather open surroundings. She took a weary look at Blaise but nodded her head, stepping towards the magic wall. With a few wand movements and an incantation that Harry couldn't hear, the bricks started folding within themselves, revealing the muddy pathway towards the cave. Blaise's jaw dropped and Harry forgot that his friend had never seen the cave.

Taking a deep breath, Harry pointed his wand towards Justin's body and slowly levitated it off the ground. Granger didn't miss a beat and already had a hand on her wand when Harry turned to her. Blaise stood in between them, still shocked at the magical opening.

"What is that?" Granger carefully asked.

"Who is that is probably the better question," Blaise quipped.

"Who it is doesn't matter right now. We need to get into the cave," Harry said in a clipped voice.

Granger stood her ground, purposefully blocking the narrow entrance this time.

"Tell me who that is, Potter," she commanded.

Harry ground his teeth together, trying to keep his patience. "It's Finch-Fletchley. He attacked Tracey."

Momentarily conflicted, Granger had to take a moment to consider her options, but the pragmatist within her knew that it wasn't safe to have a hovering body in the hallway. She relented, taking the lead towards the cave and peppering Harry with questions.

"What do you mean he attacked her?"

"He hung her up in the first floor bathroom. Tried to make it look like a suicide," Harry grimly answered.

Granger gasped, one of the first times Harry had ever seen her show abject surprise. Their feet splashed against the mud, dirtying their clothes even further. Harry made a mental note to cast a cleaning spell once they were clear of any debris. There was a catalog of things that needed to be done in order for this to work, but Blaise's idea of making it look like an accidental suicide seemed to be the best. The only problem was getting Granger to agree with it. To that cause, Harry played up Tracey's injuries.

"She must have been hanging there for a couple of minutes by how blue she was. Neither of us had seen her since the morning and she said that Justin was waiting until the House Cup to hang her and make it look like a suicide. The bastard couldn't even attack me."

Granger shook her head, trying to wrap her immaculate brain around the fact that Justin would do such a thing. Usually, she was an automatic delivery line of questions, but it seemed as if the madness of the situation had silenced even her usual loquacious self.

The unlikely quartet entered the cave, the lights dimmed low as the refractions from the lake above played with the shadows. Perhaps on instinct, Granger walked towards the solitary desk, pulling out a chair and sitting heavily. She was massaging her left leg, looking to be favoring it. In the mean time, Blaise looked up at the glass ceiling, marveling at the strange structure.

"How did you find this?" Blaise asked, momentarily forgetting about their hostage.

"Luck." Granger gave her customary short response to that question.

Harry unceremoniously dropped Justin's body, interrupting Blaise's revere and catching Granger's attention. He looked from her to Blaise, trying to get a feel of what they were thinking. Blaise was queasy and it didn't take an expert judge to figure that out. As Harry had theorized earlier, Blaise didn't like getting his hands dirty and that character trait was evident in this moment. Granger was more difficult to decipher. Harry thought she would instantly disprove, but she sat there, and Harry expected that he would have to give a better explanation of what he was about to do.

"I need to find out why he did it," Harry declared.

Blaise nodded, accepting whatever had to be done in order to assuage him of his guilt. Granger, on the other hand, was still as stone, no doubt calculating whether it was worth it to continue on. Harry looked right at her, imploring her to go along with his plan. A few moments passed and no words came out of her mouth so Harry took that as implied acceptance.

Conjuring a blindfold, Harry flicked his wand and wrapped it around Justin's now uncovered head. Blaise was still looking up at the lake, seemingly ignoring what was about to happen while Granger sat stoically in her chair, her arms crossed and a hard look on her face. Taking a deep breath, Harry uttered the reviving charm and awoke Justin Finch-Fletchley.

The Hufflepuff boy came to slowly, wriggling around on the ground with his hands still roped behind his back and his wand in Harry's possession. At once, he started panicking, no doubt from the combination of restraint and manufactured blindness. Harry let him squirm for a moment, the only sound being the soft hush of the lake above and the scratches of clothing against rock.

"Wh - what is this?! Potter, is this you again? Potter!" Justin squirmed on the ground, trying to get a firm standing but failing to do so.

Blaise shifted on his feet, pointedly not looking their direction as he continued to busy himself with distant shapes in the lake. Granger was unmoved from her position but her chest was rising with a more pronounced shape, her intense gaze centered on Justin.

"You tried to kill Tracey," Harry uttered in a dead tone.

Justin stilled, visibly gulping as he continued to escape from his bindings. He didn't respond, only shimmying back and forth to try and find some purchase to cut his bindings. His lack of response was a practical admission of guilt.

"You almost succeeded. She's still alive though."

His actions became more frantic, his breathing heavily labored as he attempted to get to his feet but without his arms for support, he was struggling to do so. He finally got onto one knee, but Harry simply walked up to him and placed his foot against his shoulder, knocking him over like a bowling pin.

"Why'd you do it, Justin?"

The Hufflepuff tried to get on his feet again, looking abysmally pathetic as he rolled around on his back, gritting his teeth as he scratched his bare hands against stone. Once or twice, he managed to get some solid footing, but Harry simply kicked him over again, circling him with a predatory stalk.

"Why, Justin?"

He gave up trying to get on his feet, exhaling loudly through his nose as the sweat became visible on his forehead and neck. Justin licked his lips, still not answering Harry's question. Harry continued to circle him, his wand held loosely in his hand as he circled around Justin.

"You need to tell me. You need to tell me everything, right now."

When Justin refused to respond again, Harry stowed his wand and walked over to the bound and blindfolded Hufflepuff. Hauling him to his feet by the scruff of his shirt, Harry easily manhandled him despite Justin's larger frame. The adrenaline was rushing through his body as he dragged the boy towards the pool of water near the back of the cave, ignoring his protestations. Roughly shoving him to the ground, Harry ignored Justin's cries of pain as the boy's knees clattered roughly against the ground.

"TELL ME WHY, JUSTIN!" Harry roared, the anger spilling over.

Justin's chest rose and fell like a quick metronome, but he still didn't answer. Grabbing the back of Justin's hair and placing the flat of his right palm against the center of his back, Harry shoved Justin's head into the water. The Hufflepuff flailed wildly, rolling his body as he tried to raise his head from the water, but Harry's grip was too strong. After roughly thirty seconds, Harry pulled him up roughly by his hair.

"Why, Justin," Harry hissed into his ear.

Justin gasped, trying to inhale air instead of water. "P-p-potter, stop it! Stop it, please!"

Harry dunked his head again, pushing Justin against the ground so that he wasn't even on his knees anymore. The Hufflepuff could do nothing but try to roll his body, but with his hands bound and Harry expertly pinning him down due to years of similar treatment from Dudley, he could do nothing but try and hold his breath to prevent water from invading his lungs. In truth, Harry already had a particular method that could have easily procured the information he wanted, but there was a deep desire to inflict pain upon Justin.

"Stop it, please!" Justin cried as Harry lifted him again. Harry didn't know if it was tears or just water running down his face, but he didn't care. He wanted it to hurt.

As Harry prepared to lower his head again, Justin cried out, "I'll tell you! I'll tell you!"

Harry paused, then grabbed Justin roughly by the hair and forced his head into the water again. He relished Justin's fight against him as he forced him deeper into the water, holding him there for a longer period of time. Harry wanted Justin to know how Tracey felt as she was dangling there in the bathroom. Harry wanted Justin to feel the life slipping from him. Justin's struggles started to wane as his body fatigued and the kick in his legs grew weaker. It was approaching a minute when Harry heard the chair screech behind him.

"Potter, that's enough." Granger stood up, no wand in her hand but intent in her voice.

Harry released his hold on Justin and the Hufflepuff flipped over, snot and tears running down his face though it was near indistinguishable with the water from the small pool. His breathes rattled between gasps and small whimpers, such was the extent of Harry's attempted drowning. Blaise had not yet moved from his position, still seemingly entranced by the water above and ignoring the water below. Granger's face was inscrutable, a carefully managed expression that betrayed neither acceptance nor denial.

Standing over Justin, Harry placed a foot on his chest, reliving all of the tactics Dudley had used against him.

"Are you going to tell me now?" Harry asked calmly.

Harry felt the rise and fall of Justin's chest as his foot was placed upon it. Each breath was an admission of guilt and Harry was not going to leave this cave without finding out why Justin did it. It would be easy to blame it on pure malice, but to Harry, there was an understanding of the situation that he didn't quite feel was correct.

"I just -" Justin started, "-I just hate it. I hate everything you do, Potter."

"And that's reason to kill Tracey?"

"Your bitch deserved it."

Harry stilled, his breathing slowing to a constant low rate. He looked up at Granger, green meeting brown. She pursed her lips, subtly shaking her head before turning around and sitting back in the chair. That was answer enough for him.

Harry twirled his wand in his hand, letting loose some sparks for imaginative effect. Justin flinched, recognizing the sound of magic when he heard it. He tried scrambling away as limited as he could, fearing the worst as Harry eyed him down while Blaise and Granger did their best to ignore the impending situation.

"Potter, don't. I'm - I'm sorry! Is that what you want? I'm sorry!"

"Do you know what they say about me, Justin?"

"They call you a lot of things!"

"Have you heard the rumor that I can read minds?"

"Yes, yes, but..."

Harry licked his lips and raised his wand, standing over the cowering Hufflepuff with Granger and Blaise to his back.

"Legilimency."

The slight drownings must have had an effect on the sluggishness of Justin's mind because Harry found it laughably easy to slosh through his memories. He waded through them, easily picking out fragments of his childhood and his years at Hogwarts. There was his domineering father, always encouraging him to get involved and allow himself to become a public leader. There was his absent mother, more obsessed about social niceties and entertaining guests rather than raising her son.

Harry plucked a memory of himself besting Justin in a rather tame duel and felt the humiliation from the Hufflepuff. It seemed as if Justin took it far more seriously than Harry had even though there wasn't anything in the duel that resembled anything that would require such a humiliated feeling. A combination of self loathing and jealousy overtook Justin in this memory as he watched Harry be placed tenth on the Master List at the beginning of Third Year.

Then, Harry was in a darkened hallway and there was a figure in the distance, shimmering and cloaked. Harry waited, knowing this was the turning potential turning point of Justin's memories, but it vanished and he was suddenly encased in a vast white room that stretched on to either side for eternity. Harry whirled around on the spot, trying to find another memory to latch onto, but all he saw was nothingness.

Impossible.

There was no way that Justin was skilled enough to block out his memories like this. Even Granger had subtle ripples of uncertainties when she blocked him out. This blankness was perfect, a complete sheet that absorbed that part of Justin's memories. It was skilled, advanced, and required an expert.

The drip, drip of the pool and the cool aesthetics reminded Harry that he was back in the cave as he exited Justin's head. The Hufflepuff was lying prone on the ground, unmoving. The blood had drained from his face and he was speechless, his mouth hanging open in shock. Furious, Harry enchanted him again.

"Legilimency!"

He reappeared in that same blank nothingness and frustratedly coiled out his mental attacks, rapidly searching for that memory that could explain so much. Yet, he was thwarted again by the surprising emptiness of Justin's head. Harry, though, had practiced enough Legilimency to know that it didn't quite feel alright. The mental defenses seemed fabricated and unnatural, definitely not something Justin could create by himself.

Pushing himself through Justin's head, he burrowed into the nothingness while seeking out various other memories, trying to overwhelm the erected defense. He was ripping the Hufflepuff's mind apart, desperately reaching for that flailing image of a man in a cloak in the dark. Harry thought he was making progress until he found himself back in the cave and being violently shaken by one Hermione Granger.

"Harry, stop it! You're going to kill him!" she yelled.

Indeed, Justin was curled into a the fetal position, shaking and sweating as blood poured from his ears. His teeth were chattering together and Blaise had his wand out but looked unsure as to what he could possibly do to help. Harry stepped back, lowering his wand as he tried to check his anger. He was so close to finding out who the man in the cloak was.

"He knows, Granger. He knows the person behind all of this," Harry growled.

"Person behind what?!"

"Behind everything! I don't know if he was put up to it, but there has been someone in charge of everything happening to me. And - and - I think I know who it is."

"But what does Justin have to do with it?" she asked.

"Because he needed a planner. He needed someone to direct his anger. I felt it Granger and if you performed Legilimency on him, you would feel it too. He hates me, but he needed a push - a prod - and whoever provided that is also skilled enough to completely block out a certain section of his head from Legilimency. Who do you think that is?"

She gulped, not wanting to answer even though she had her suspicions as soon as Harry started talking. Granger looked down at Justin, still clutched in the fetal position bar the shaking and sweating.

"It can't be Snape."

"It can be. We don't know if it is, but it makes a hell of a lot of sense."

"And if it is, Harry. If you're right about it being...him...then what is this? What is this supposed to accomplish? I am not comfortable with this. I am not - I am not going to be a part of this. What's your end game, Harry? What are you going to do now?"

Harry turned away from her, taking a few paces away as he stepped towards the pool of water. Blaise hung by the sidelines, too enraptured by their conversation to say anything else. His head simply shot back and forth like he was watching a particular entertaining Quidditch match. In the midst of all was the catatonic Justin Finch-Fletchley lying on the ground.

"I'll take care of it," Harry dismissively said. "Take Blaise out of here and I'll wrap up the rest. No need for you to be here."

But Granger didn't leave. In fact, she didn't even move.

"You didn't answer my question," she re-iterated.

There was a change in the atmosphere as a sudden tension filled the air. Gone was the threat and reluctance of Finch-Fletchley. Instead, there hung an unanswered question, floating between them like a massive blanket covering the Gryffindor and the Slytherin.

"Don't, Granger," Harry warned. "I said I would take care of it."

"What you're implying is very dangerous, Harry. It's - I can't do that."

"You don't have to. That's why I'm telling you to leave."

Granger shook her head, her bushy ringlets swiping across her face. "That's not what I meant. I can't let you do that."

She flexed her hand, expertly letting her wand drop from the hidden wrist holder under her robes. The wand was at her side, not raised in an offensive or defensive manner, but the message was clear as the water above them. There was a stillness to her body, but her feet were at shoulder length, ready to pivot at a moment's notice while her body held a loose tenseness, coiled and ready to strike. It was a dueling pose.

"He tried to kill Tracey. I can't let him do it again. If I let him go, that's exactly what's going to happen." Harry tried to appeal his case, realizing that Granger wasn't bluffing.

"We can turn him into Snape. We can tell people what he tried to do to Tracey."

Harry scoffed. "That's not going to do anything. Snape won't do a damn thing."

"And what happens after you do what you do?" Granger snapped. "What happens when the Aurors come to investigate and they start asking questions? What do you think will happen if a Hogwarts student dies?"

"Snape won't let it come to that. He'll hide it."

"And what if you're wrong, Harry? What if you're wrong and you're just throwing away your life in a moment of madness?"

Harry gulped, feeling the magic thrum through his wand arm into his wand. He didn't dare move his feet and give away his first plan of action and started noting advantages and disadvantages of his surroundings. It was a wide and open cave, save for the pool of water, that offered little natural protection. It would be a straight forward duel, a direct attack of magic against magic.

"I'm not wrong."

Granger's face hardened, realizing that he was set in his ways. Internally, she was conflicted as she knew that any attempt to harm another student should be met with swift punishment. Yet, she couldn't possibly condone what Harry was implying. She couldn't possibly let Harry kill Justin.

"I can't let you do this. We can still go to someone else. McGonagall, maybe."

"Aren't you listening?" Harry hissed. "Snape has his hands everywhere. What do you think Justin's going to say? He knows about the cave. He knows about the Legilimency. He knows about everything! Unless you've somehow learned the Memory Charm overnight, he's not going to forget this."

Granger shifted her body ever so slightly and Harry mirrored her as he was trained to do. She opened up so she was facing him head on, her grip still loose on her wand.

"There's another way. We go to Snape directly. Tell him that he needs to have Justin on a gag order or else we tell the school board about how he tried to kill Tracey. If Justin says anything, we have three witnesses that say otherwise and that he's making all of it up," Granger reasoned.

Harry laughed, but it was dark and humorless. "Blackmail the headmaster of Hogwarts? I thought you were supposed to be the brightest witch of our generation."

"It's better than what you're planning."

Abruptly cutting his laugh short, Harry warned her one last time. "Just let it go, Granger."

There was a moment of hesitation and Harry genuinely thought that she would just leave the cave and let him deal with Justin directly. Instead, she set her feet with a resigned look on her face.

"I can't."

In between the powerful Gryffindor and Slytherin stood another Slytherin, watching the exchange with fascination and trepidation. When Granger declared her disapproval of Harry's plan, he sensed a finality in her tone and a declaration of battle. Neither of them were willing to back down on this issue and it looked to be that words were not going to be enough to settle this particular fight.

"Oh Merlin's balls, this is not going to be pretty," Blaise said.

* * * * * * *

Instinctively, Harry attacked first, the adrenaline and rage that accompanied his brief spat with Justin fueling him past discretion. Reflexively, Granger deflected his weak stunner with a shield and parried quickly with a combination of a Whiplash Hex and a Scorching Mark. Nimbly avoiding both by shuffling his feet, Harry flicked his wrist and conjured a large net that was intended to trap and disable her. Undeterred, Granger cut it down with a Cutting Hex and was surprised when the net multiplied upon her curse. Thinking quickly, she sent four different fireballs at the multiplied nets, burning them to ashes so they couldn't multiply.

"New tricks, Potter?" Granger used his surname snidely.

Instead of verbally answering her, Harry cast his Venka charms around her, producing several area trigger trip wires that were invisible to both of them.

"Venka! Venka! Venka!" Granger countered, using his spell against him.

Harry had to carefully move now for a single trip up could prove disastrous. It didn't surprise him that she learned the spell he used on her earlier in one of his lessons. If nothing else, Granger was very resourceful and researched every detail to the minutiae.

It was Granger's turn to go on the offensive as she attacked viciously, using a dizzying combination of Stunners mixed with offensive spells that ranged from Cutting Hexes to Tripping Jinxes. She varied the combination, keeping Harry off guard as he used a mix of Protego shields, physical dodging, and countering with defensive spells that would clash against hers. In the middle of it all, Granger was enchanting something between spells, expertly keeping a steady stream of attacks so that Harry had no opening to attack.

She relented for a moment and Harry delayed his attack to get a better handle of the situation. Neither of them had broken into a sweat, such was their regiment and training during classes. Granger was as skilled as she had been previously when they fought in the beginning of the year, but she didn't have to hide behind jagged rocks to deflect his spells this time. She was more than game enough to take the fight to him head on.

Harry jumped forwards, closing the distance between them so that Granger didn't have so much room to fight him remotely. Pounding her with Stupefy after Stupefy, Harry pushed her back towards a wall, trying to pin her down. Breaking a string of his spells, Granger spun on the spot and spoke a spell he didn't understand. At once, he was surrounded with five different Grangers.

Stepping back, Harry whirled around on the spot, producing a few shields as the different Grangers branched out in a variety of attacks. The five quickly surrounded him, proving that it wasn't just a mirror of whichever one was the original Granger. He leaned from foot to foot, careful not to displace his weight as he defended himself from the onslaughts. There were obvious limitations of this spell as each Granger could only attack at once, telling Harry that she was controlling them separately. It was certainly a feat of magic.

Too bad he had the perfect spell to cancel it out.

"Fulminare!"

It wasn't as strong as his version in the forest, but the chain lightning spell still did the trick. It struck one of the Grangers and leaped to the others, until the real Granger deflected it with a shield. Such was the strength of the spell that the shield was not enough and she had to leap out of the way as a crack of lightning smashed against a stone wall of the cave. Granger came to her feet, panting and showing some signs of fatigue.

"You've been holding back," Harry commented.

"Hogwarts doesn't end at Third Year," Granger replied, walking in a wide circle around him.

"Why are you protecting Justin?"

"I'm not protecting him. I'm trying to protect you, you idiot," she hissed.

"This is what I have to do. He hasn't given me any other choice."

"You can't just kill people, Harry. Even after everything Justin has done, you can't just kill him for retribution. These kinds of decisions aren't made unliterary by us and certainly not by you. Justin deserves to be punished for what he did but not by you - and not like this."

"You and I both know that nothing will happen to him. We'll turn him into Snape and Snape will pretend to do something, but if I'm right, then he'll just be back in the hallways in no time. He'll call it a misunderstanding or part of Hogwarts Battle School."

"If you're right, we'll cross that bridge when you get there. Justin hasn't seen anything. He's been blind folded and unconscious this whole time. No one will believe a word he says after they find out that he tried to kill Tracey. Harry...please."

She had lowered her wand to her side, her tone desperate as she pleaded for Justin's life. It infuriated Harry to no degree that she would take a stand for someone as vile as that Hufflepuff, but he could see the reason behind her argument. Frankly though, he wasn't interested in reason. Harry identified Justin as a threat that could not be put down by embarrassment or shaming. He didn't have the resources to keep track of the Hufflepuff all the time nor did he have the ability to protect his friends during every waking minute of the day.

There was only one thing left to do.

Harry turned towards Justin, still blind folded and lying on the ground. He made one step towards him, raising his wand as he cast the spell against him. Granger watched helplessly, too slow to react as Harry opened his mouth to say the words.

"HARRY, NO!"

* * * * * * *

It was a long walk to the headmaster's office. Every step felt heavy to Harry, trudging slowly but with a purpose. His face was pulled in a terminal scowl, his robes wrapped tightly around him as the air of the spring night still had remnants of the long winter. Almost everyone else was bound to be asleep by this time, but no doubt the headmaster could be found in his quarters.

He approached the gargoyle that signified the entrance of the headmaster's office. Pulling the arm, Harry heard the internal gong within. It was commonly known to students that one pull of the gargoyle's right arm would alert the headmaster of someone at the entrance. Previously, other headmasters had used various passwords, but Snape found it too tiresome to keep others out. He had different security functions within.

Harry patiently waited, dreading the conversation that was to come. He had to confront Snape. He had to tell him about what he did. If nothing else, any reaction from the headmaster would prove his meddling in the matter. After a requisite wait, the gargoyle turned aside and Harry was greeted with Headmaster Snape, dressed in pressed black robes and not looking as if he had just been asleep.

"Mr. Potter. What brings you here in this hour," Snape said as if he didn't know anything at all.

"There's been an incident," Harry dully answered. "I need to speak with you in private about it."

After a beat, Snape turned around wordlessly and Harry took the implication and followed him inside. Together, they ascended the spiral staircase until they reached the door to his office. Snape placed his hand against it and the door briefly glowed before opening for its master. Inside, the office was plain and meticulous, each instrument placed specifically where it was supposed to be. His desk was cleared save for a quill balanced on top a bottle of ink. Snape took a seat behind it, simultaneously seeming languid and alert at this hour.

"What has happened that requires my attention at this hour of the night?" Snape asked in a way that sounded insulted yet interested.

Harry swallowed down some anger, already having rehearsed this speech.

"Earlier tonight, during the House Cup, Justin Finch-Fletchley of Hufflepuff tried to kill Tracey Davis. He tried to hang her in the flooded girl's bathroom on the First Floor. She can attest to not only being kidnapped but also suffering from near strangulation at his hands. Finch-Fletchley has also attacked me in the hallways, beating me severely earlier in the year. You told me once if I had to tell you something that you would be there, so here I am."

"Mr. Finch-Fletchley has been missing from his dormitories tonight. I assume that you have found him then?" Snape crossed his hands on top of each other as he leaned back on his high back chair.

"I have..."

"And?"

Harry paused, staring straight into the headmaster's cold, dark eyes. His hair was slick and oily, pulled back from his face, enhancing the sharp scowl and the hooked nose. He had an aura of placidness about him, but Harry knew that the snake was lying in wait beneath the surface. There was an undoubted power with Snape, restrained yet there.

"I need your assurance," Harry said.

"Assurance of what?"

"You need to make sure that Justin can't do this again. You need to make sure that Justin won't come near me or my friends for as long as we are in Hogwarts. You need to make sure that students won't try to kill other students at this school. I understand the bad publicity it would bring to you if there were stories about one student trying to kill another so that's why I'm coming to you. Justin needs to be punished. I don't ever want to have to worry about him again."

Harry let loose with his conditions, knowing full well that Snape might just ignore all of it. In the end, Granger was right as she almost always was. He couldn't kill Justin, not here and not now. Harry had simply stunned Justin and stalked off, cursing everyone around him as Blaise watched on with his jaw hanging open at the display. They had dropped Justin off at the Great Hall, unconscious and free.

"I see."

Snape looked down between his hands, holding his ever present poker face. Still, Harry detected a slight frown of disapproval. Or was it concern? Was it acceptance? It was hard to read the imperceptible headmaster.

"He's in the Great Hall. I suspect he'll have a story to tell, but I want your assurance that he will be left alone," Harry repeated.

He almost told him,"Or else."

But there was no use trying to blackmail Snape. He would either do it or he wouldn't and Harry would have to deal with the fallout either way. If it happened again, then Harry was completely prepared to deal with the consequences of punishing Justin himself, but for now, this would be done in another way.

"You have my assurance," Snape said slowly, nodding once.

Nodding, Harry licked his lips, standing up as the metaphorical monkey still clawed at his back. He turned to leave, wanting to keep the conversation short. At the door of the headmaster's office, Harry stopped and turned around.

"By the way, headmaster..."

Snape looked up, his countenance blank.

Harry whispered the spell underneath his mouth, raising his wand ever so slightly. His mind was instantly within the headmaster's and he found himself in that same blank space that was present in Justin's mind when he had interrogated him. Knowing that the headmaster was probably as accomplished of an Occlumens as he could find, Harry did not attack. Instead, he sent a message.

I know.

Harry pulled out of his head, meeting Snape's ever blank gaze. He kept his calm, adjusting his glasses as it slipped down his nose. His green eyes never wavered, unflinchingly returning the headmaster's straightforward stare.

"Good night, headmaster."

"Good night, Mr. Potter."

* * * * * * *

A/N: The next chapter is the last chapter for Third Year. There will be two interlude chapters before the Fourth Year begins. I hope everyone enjoyed this update and let me know what you thought about it with your reviews. Next chapter's author's note will have a lot of information about the future of this story so pay attention to that.

Estimated update time: 21 days

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