Chapter 5 - Chapter 5

Harry Potter confidently walked the corridors of Hogwarts, smirking at how everyone moved out of his path as he approached. Many of the students gawked at him in either awe, fright, or a combination of the two. Any other time this might have annoyed him, but today he was actually in a really good mood, so he just ignored them. He'd had a good night's rest, ate a great dinner with a nice dragon roast to celebrate his successful journey back in time, and now he was on his way to his first Potions class since his return.

Not that he particularly enjoyed Potions – far from it. He was able to see the practicality of the subject and was able to follow the recipes well enough, but in truth, he never did care for it. Personally, he laid the blame for his blasé attitude on the subject at the feet of one Severus Snape, Hogwarts' sallow-faced Potions master.

Ah, good old Snivellus, who had died in the last days leading up to Voldemort's final defeat. The man who had informed the Dark Lord of the prophecy that destroyed Harry's infant life. The man that had been Dumbledore's spy among the Death Eaters, regularly risking his life to pass information back to the headmaster. Harry had come to admire the man's bravery, even if it had taken Lily Potter's death to change the man's heart. However, even if Severus Snape had earned Harry Potter's respect, that didn't mean he was forgiven. Harry intended to make the man pay for his part in his parents' death, and for the way he had treated him, Lily's own son, with nothing less than absolute loathing.

Harry arrived in the dungeons with five minutes to spare before the start of class. Sliding his book bag from his shoulder and dropping it to the floor, he leaned against the wall opposite the classroom and closed his eyes to focus on his Occlumency shields. To suggest that Snape would attempt a Legilimency attack during class was as sure as saying that the Slytherin colours were green and silver, so why not prepare a nasty surprise for him?

This would be his first class with the Slytherins. His first class with her. A small smile appeared on his face as he remembered her expression the first time he revealed he should have been in Slytherin. In his mind, he could see it as clearly as he did all those years ago, when he told her during their third official date in Hogsmeade. She had been both stunned and surprisingly angry, especially when he admitted he'd initially based his opinion of all Slytherins on Malfoy. How she had ranted at him…he always thought she was cute when she was angry.

"First things first, Potter," he thought to himself, crossing his arms.

He needed to establish a bridge between himself and the house of the snakes. It didn't matter how much he wanted to have her in his arms, he would only risk losing everything by rushing in. He understood the risk and was prepared to accept that outcome, if necessary, but he would do all he could to make sure he didn't lose her again.

He heard voices approaching but didn't move from his place against the wall. He ignored the sound and kept working on his surprise for the Potions master, but he was still aware of what was happening around him. He felt the presence of two magicals approaching, and he could sense their apprehension when they caught sight of him.

"I have no quarrel with either of you, so try not to be so nervous. It's embarrassing," he said without opening his eyes.

"Don't be so full of yourself, Potter," replied Tracey Davis sharply, who was attempting to disguise the unease in her voice.

"I said I had no quarrel with you, Davis, so can you please just lay off?" he asked, opening his eyes and peering at the Slytherin girl. "Unless you'd prefer to have a civilised conversation?"

Theo and Tracey looked at each other, but Theo was the first to break the silence.

"Why?" he asked, looking at the 'Boy-Who-Killed-A-Bloody-Dragon-And-Flew-Without-A-Broom'.

"I can't think of any reason for you to speak favourably of our house, and yet yesterday you actually humiliated the other three houses and said you wanted to join us, who I'm willing to admit have never shown you much courtesy."

"I meant what I said in the Great Hall," replied Harry, leaning back against the wall. With another sigh he looked at the thin, dark-haired boy standing before him.

"It's true that I have no friends in the house of the snakes. It is also true that I assumed all Slytherins were evil and Death Eater wannabees, just like I'd been told. I could blame the waste bin spewing his filth in my ears for three years or my interactions with Malfoy, but I admit that I never cared to learn the truth."

"I've realised that I've been narrow-minded towards the snakes in the past, so it's only natural that you would care little about me and my plight. It's also true that most of my problems with the Slytherins are really down to four people. Although I have seen your entire house wearing those damn badges, most of you simply ignored me, while the other three houses have been more…open…about their feelings towards me."

Tracey actually snorted, the tension leaving her.

"You must realise how strange it seemed to all of us when your name came out of the Goblet. Besides, you have to admit that you do seem to attract trouble," she said.

"Ah yes, the joys of being me," replied Harry, thinning is lips in a very McGonagall-like manner. "I can assure you that I was actually hoping for a normal, quiet year for once, but apparently I'm fate's bitch."

"Have there been any new developments concerning who placed your name in the cup?" asked Nott, himself starting to feel more relaxed around Potter, who just shook his head no.

"None. I was assured there would be an investigation, but I don't think I'll be expecting any news from that end," lied Harry with a snort. "I see that the arguments I presented yesterday were enough to clear my name."

Tracey Davis rolled her eyes and huffed before saying, "Only a fool wouldn't believe a Magical Oath, Potter."

"I'm willing to bet that many still believe I lied, and that I was somehow able to cheat the oath."

"I'd say those would mostly be the dorks and the duffers," replied Nott with a grin, noticing the confusion in Harry's face.

"Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, force of habit."

"I've heard the duffers before but never dorks," lied Harry with a pensive look. "I like it."

The three laughed, and Harry was glad he had cast a wandless Compulsion Charm on both Slytherins to make them be more at ease around him.

"It was an impressive display, Potter," praised Nott. "One would think you've been hiding your real power."

Harry shrugged.

"One would be correct," he replied, and Theo and Tracey shared a look, both of their eyebrows raised.

"As much as I'm enjoying our little banter, that is a much longer story, and I'm not in the mood to share it at the moment. Besides, a few others will be here momentarily, and I fear that I'll soon have to dedicate my attention to the red waste bin, the beaver, and their kitten pride."

The two snakes still had plenty of questions, but didn't voice them, especially when they realised that Potter had spoken the truth. In fact, the new arrivals were none other than Daphne Greengrass and Millicent Bulstrode. Both girls were engrossed in their own conversation, and they shared a look of surprise when they saw their housemates lingering close to Potter.

Recovering from her initial shock, Daphne's surprise quickly turned to anger as she recalled his words from the previous day. However, as much as she wanted retribution, she decided that confronting him moments before Professor Snape opened the classroom wasn't the best course of action, so she would just ignore him for now.

Harry, however, was not going to let the opportunity pass him by.

"Did you enjoy the show, Greengrass?" he asked, harkening back to their conversation by the lake. The other snakes looked back and forth between Harry and Daphne, not understanding what Harry meant.

"Bulstrode, I'm not going to go on a rampage and I'm not going to hurt anyone. You can relax," said Harry, noticing how nervous the girl was and casting a wandless Compulsion on her.

"You must think yourself so special," Daphne bit back, a look of scorn on her face.

The other three Slytherins were taken aback by her reply, especially Tracey and Millicent, who knew Daphne the best. She earned her nickname by maintaining a cold countenance and rarely showing emotion, so Potter must have done something really serious to make her react like that. Harry just smiled, while sighing internally. He knew it would be easier to just cast another Compulsion Charm, but he had promised himself he wouldn't do that to her.

"I don't think myself special. Far from it, in fact."

Daphne scoffed and ignored the boy. The other three couldn't help but notice she was acting much differently than usual.

"Daph, what's wrong?" asked Tracey. She knew Daphne had been a bit angry about something since the previous day, but she never said what.

"Nothing," the girl said, huffing and crossing her arms, staring resolutely at the door in front of her.

Millicent was the first to make the connection.

"It was Potter, wasn't it?" she asked, drawing everyone's attention.

"What did I do?" asked Harry, narrowing his eyebrows in confusion, even though he knew perfectly well what was bothering her.

"Millie, shut up," said Daphne, directing an intimidating glare at the bigger girl.

"Actually, I'd like to know. What did I do to anger you so much?" asked Harry, standing up from where he had been leaning against the wall. A small part of him was desperate to stop with the theatrics and just tell her he was sorry, but he knew that the Ice Queen needed to vent her anger before she would even let him apologise.

Daphne turned to face him, and her icy look was bitter enough to make Harry's breath catch in his chest for a moment, something that did not go unnoticed by the other three Slytherins.

"Damn it, I screwed up big time," Harry Potter thought to himself.

His soul had existed for a hundred years, during which he'd been to war several times and had faced countless horrors. He had spent decades ruling the country as a Dark Lord, and he was known as one of the most powerful and ruthless wizards in all of history. However, if there was one thing he feared above all, it was the bone-chilling look that Daphne Potter née Greengrass could wield when she was angry.

In his entire life he had been on the wrong side of that look exactly three times. Ironically, the first was when they actually met for the first time – something he was trying to recreate. The second time was when his behaviour had been less than proper at the victory gala after Voldemort's defeat, and he was now seeing it for the third time, and he prayed it would be the last.

With a sigh, Harry made a small bow.

"Ms. Greengrass, I recognise that I may have offended you either by actions or words, most likely words. I would like to apologise for my offense and beg your forgiveness," he said.

The anger in Daphne's eyes was replaced by surprise, and the other Slytherins just stood there gaping at him.

"Just shut up, Potter," she replied with a huff, going back to her initial position.

"Can you at least tell me what I said that offended you so much?" he tried again, earning another glare from the young witch. Harry raised his hands as a sign of peace.

"Fine then, I'm sorry."

Theo, Tracey, and Millie just stood there staring, until Tracey started to grin.

"Harry Fucking Potter, the boy who killed a dragon and humiliated an entire school, actually afraid of the Ice Queen? This is gold!" she said, neither her nor her boyfriend attempting to hide their laughter. Millie looked amused, and Harry just sighed.

"Great job, Potter," he thought to himself. "Idiot."

"You're an idiot, Potter, did you know that?" asked Daphne with a cold voice, turning again to look him in the eyes.

"Any respect I gained for you during the task, or even during your speech vanished the moment you lumped all of us in with Malfoy and his lackeys."

That made sense to Harry. Honestly, he knew it was a sensitive subject for her, and he should've seen it coming. She reacted poorly when he'd told her the first time, and that was after they had already started dating.

"Yes, I can definitely imagine why that might irritate you," he replied with a sigh, ignoring the other three snakes and focusing on her.

"I won't attempt to justify myself. I can't, and I should've known better. My only excuse is that I was eleven and very impressionable, especially considering everything I had just seen and heard," he sighed.

Daphne looked at him for another moment, expression unchanged, then turned away from him again, seemingly intent on ignoring him. The truth was that his apology did abate most of her anger, but she had an image to protect. She continued to resolutely ignore him, so Harry returned to his spot against the wall, aware of the looks the other snakes were giving him.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That was...strange," replied Millicent, and Tracey nodded in agreement.

"Fuck..." Harry thought. Fortunately, he didn't need to make any excuses, because the other students began to arrive just as Snape was unlocking the door.

"Inside," the sullen professor ordered, as the students began filing into the classroom.

Harry took a seat in the front and crossed his hands on the table in front of him. He put on a dispassionate expression and focused his gaze on Snape, who glared back at him. Harry responded with an arrogant smirk, which served only to raise the Potions master's ire. Seemingly out of nowhere, Harry felt a pressure invade his mind.

"Caught you, you son of a bitch!" Harry shouted in his head, smiling as he directed the professor's probe deep into the recesses his mind. Snape didn't realise what was happening in enough time to resist, and suddenly he found himself alone in a dark room.

"What the...?! POTTER!"

The older man's eyes bulged as he shouted into the darkness, too angry to realise what had happened. All of a sudden, a pair of torches burst into being on either side of him. Snape crouched and peered around him, and more torches began igniting two by two in front of him, revealing a pathway.

Not knowing what else to do, Snape cautiously walked forward along the path. The light from the torches was just enough to make visible the tall snake statues lining either side of the corridor. The flickering light of the flames caused the shadows to dance, making the snakes appear as if they were moving. As Severus neared the end of the path, he was greeted by a massive stone statue depicting the face of a man. He carefully approached the statue, but he froze when he heard hissing coming from somewhere beyond the light of the torches.

"Welcome, Professor, to the Chamber of my Secrets," Harry's voice echoed all around him.

"Meet Bael!"

Without warning, a massive snake lunged at him from out of the darkness and struck at the Potions master. With a terrified scream, Severus Snape raised his arms in front of his face in an attempt to protect himself, and he felt his body being thrown backwards.

He opened his eyes and slowly lowered his arms from in front of his face. He realised he was back in his classroom, his entire class gawking at him.

"Are you all right, Professor?" asked the hated voice of Harry Potter.

"Potter, one hundred points from Gryffindor for assaulting a teacher!" snarled a wild-eyed Snape, which confused the rest of the class, since nobody had seen Potter even move.

"But Professor, I didn't do anything," replied Harry, his emotionless mask concealing his glee.

"Twenty more for talking back to a teacher!"

The Gryffindors were outraged, and Granger had her hand in the air.

"If you believe it's fair, Professor," Harry said with a mock sigh, ignoring the shocked looks the class was giving him.

"But Professor, he's not a Gryffindor anymore," said Parvati Patil, the other Gryffs all nodding in agreement.

"Oi, Patil, stop wasting valuable class time with your useless remarks. No one cares about that," Harry admonished, startling everyone again.

Snape just stared at Harry. He was about dock the girl even more points, but now he was confused about whether Potter would be hurt or pleased by that, so he didn't know what to do. Harry just smiled back at the baffled professor, who seemingly decided to drop the matter for now, and waved his wand at the board behind him.

"The instructions are on the board. Begin. IN SILENCE!" he said, and the students did as they were told.

The recipe on the board was for a more powerful variant of the healing potion. Luckily for Harry, he had brewed several of these particular potions in his past life, and he knew the steps by heart. He quickly went to work chopping his ingredients while the water boiled, ignoring both the cold glares of the Gryffindors and the confused looks of the Slytherins.

Despite how angry Snape was at him, he had noticed the boy's much improved method, which made him curious. He continued to observe Potter as he confidently followed the recipe and produced the desired results. Unsure of how best to handle this new development, he simply stood at the front of the class and glared, occasionally making his way around the class and handing out the occasional insult.

At the end of the class, Harry marked his name on a vial filled with his bright red potion and presented it to the professor. Snape snatched the vial from his hand and closely scrutinised it. Surprisingly, his result was as good as the best brewers in the class.

"Acceptable work, Potter, although I have no idea how a dunderhead like you could have actually produced this without cheating."

Harry nodded twice, never breaking eye contact with Snape. Harry leaned forward and whispered, "I know who told Voldemort about the prophecy," then turned his back to Snape and returned to his station, leaving the man in stunned silence.

Harry cleaned up, packed his belongings, and waited patiently for the order to leave. Snape was obviously shaken by what Harry had told him. His face was even more pallid than usual, and he kept peering at Harry in agitation from behind his curtain of black hair.

When they were finally dismissed, Harry was one of the first to leave the classroom. Knowing what was coming, he strolled slowly down the corridor as the rest of the class followed behind him.

"Five, four, three, two..." he counted to himself, waiting for the inevitable encounter. On cue, a screeching voice reverberated through the corridor.

"Harry!" shrieked Granger, stomping after him. He ignored her and kept walking, so she ran up and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him around to face her, only to find herself staring down the tip of Harry's wand.

"Never touch me again, unless you want a taste of what I gave the dragon!" growled Harry, making sure the bitch understood that he wasn't making an idle threat.

Granger froze in alarm, unable to do anything but gape at her former friend.

"Oi, you dark wizard, leave her alone!" shouted the unmistakable voice of Ron "the pig" Weasley, as he cast a spell at Harry. Without even thinking Harry twitched his wand, sending a shrieking Granger into the path of the spell, intercepting it in mid-air.

Granger fell to the floor and started vomiting slugs, much like Weasley had done in their second year, after he tried to curse Malfoy using his broken wand. The Slytherins laughed at the bookworm, while the other Gryffindors started backing away from the confrontation.

"You bastard!" shouted Weasley, again turning his wand towards Harry. This time the weasel decided to cast something more powerful, but to no avail. Harry lazily dodged the Reductor Curse and again flicked his wand at Granger, who was still weeping and vomiting slugs on the floor. Harry's spell sent her flying directly into Weasley's legs, making him fall on top of her and drop his wand.

"You couldn't wait to get on top of her, could you, Weasley?" Harry taunted cruelly. Many of the observers paled at the display, though for the most part, the Slytherins seemed like they were entertained.

"You son of a..." started Ron, before falling silent at another flick of Harry's wand.

To add to his humiliation, Hermione vomited two slugs on Ron while attempting to free herself from his weight, covering his face in slime and making the Slytherins laugh again. Meanwhile, Harry was gazing behind them towards their Potions professor, who was lurking just inside the classroom door. He had clearly seen everything and had decided not to interfere.

"Weasley, twenty points from Gryffindor for attacking a student. Granger, ten points from Gryffindor for causing a ruckus. Potter, twenty points from Gryffindor..." Snape hesitated, seeing the outraged looks on the face of the Gryffindors and remembering what had happened in the beginning of class and the previous day. Instead of finishing his statement, Snape drew his wand and cast Levitation Charms on both Granger and Weasley, intending to take them to the infirmary.

"Potter, detention with Mr. Filch tonight for assaulting two students. The headmaster will also know about this."

"They deserved it," Harry replied coldly, making the professor pause and look back. Harry's wand disappeared into his sleeve, and he simply nodded to the professor and turned his back to walk away.

Snape left in the other direction, thinking over what he had just seen. Potter had cast only simple spells, non-verbally, and incapacitated them in mere seconds. Once more, he had shown no compassion whatsoever towards his former friends, and evidently couldn't care less about their wellbeing. For the first time in many years, Severus Snape felt a chill of foreboding make its way up his spine.

The remaining Gryffindors and Slytherins were left in silence. Malfoy made some asinine remark as the crowd started to disperse, but no one really paid him any attention. They were all pondering this latest turn of events and wondering what it may mean going forward.

Some of the more proactive Slytherins were starting to actually consider inviting Potter to join them during meals. Their next class was Charms - again with the Gryffindors. Potter was standing outside the door, in the same position he had been in before Tracey and Theo arrived at Potions. A few Gryffindors were already there too, but they were keeping their distance from their former housemate.

"Nice work, Potter," praised Tracey before anyone could say anything. Harry let out a brief chuckle in reply, but said nothing. Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini were taken by surprise by the exchange, not having been there for the conversation before Potions.

"Yes, really impressive," replied Millie with a chuckle, causing everyone to turn toward her. "Of course, you will still get in trouble, but it was impressive nonetheless."

"Snape saw everything," said Harry in a cold voice. "He saw that the waste bin started everything, and he still gave me detention."

"What did you expect?" asked Theo with a snort. "The man loathes you."

Before Harry could say anything else, a pop sounded next to him and Dobby appeared, extending his book bag to him.

"Here are your Charms books, sir. Your Potions kit has been returned to your quarters. Will there be anything else?" asked Dobby. With a shake of Harry's head, Dobby popped away.

"Was that an elf?" asked Zabini, confused by Dobby's unique physical appearance.

"Yes. And before you ask, no, you can't know what happened to make him look like that. That's my little secret," Harry replied with a sigh.

"But that wasn't really a house-elf, was it?" asked Theo Nott with wide eyes.

"He is," Harry responded. "He's also my most trusted ally. He helps me with many things inside and outside the castle. I can assure you, there are no walls that can stop him."

"Wait, it was him that took the dragon," said Daphne, turning to Harry with a question in her eyes. "What did you do with it?"

"Blood, hide, and meat," Harry replied with a small chuckle.

"Meat?" asked Parkinson with wide eyes.

"I don't like to waste anything. Besides, dragon meat is a delicacy, isn't it?" asked Harry, before turning his attention to Malfoy.

"You're unusually quiet today, Malfoy, why is that? Kneazle got your tongue?"

The blonde boy just sneered at him.

It wasn't much longer before Flitwick opened the door and it was time for class to start. Harry entered the room quietly, reminiscing about his past life. Harry had fought beside Flitwick many times, and had considered him a friend. He was a great ally when all the difficulties began, and he had made the effort to help Harry whenever needed. The Dark Lord Potter carried several scars, many of them memories from the former duelling champion's gruelling training. Unfortunately, Flitwick died before the end of the great war. The man had earned Harry's respect once before, and he hoped he would do so again.

The small professor noticed the absence of both Granger and Weasley and asked the class if anyone knew where they were.

"Potter sent them to the hospital wing, sir," replied Seamus Finnegan, hoping to get Harry in trouble.

"What? Mr. Potter, is this true?" asked Flitwick in a disapproving tone. Harry rose from his seat and looked the Charms professor in the eyes.

"I was cursed in the back by Weasley, and I defended myself by summoning Granger into the path of the spell. Weasley then attempted to hit me with a Reducto, which I dodged, and then I banished Granger into him, forcing him to fall down on top of her. Last time I saw them, Professor Snape was taking them to the hospital wing," explained Harry.

"As you can see, Professor, I am only guilty of casting in the halls and defending myself, while Weasley was the one that cursed Granger and attempted to cast a potentially fatal curse at me."

Flitwick was shocked by the cold, angry tone used by the young Potter, and disappointed that the Weasley boy would resort to such tactics.

"Very well Mr. Potter, I will believe in your version of the events for the time being and not assign you a detention. We shall speak more about this later."

"Professor Snape already gave me detention, Professor."

"I... I see. Well, I suppose we shall hear more about this soon. In the meantime, we are going to introduce the Banishing Charm today. Considering the story you just told us, Mr. Potter, I believe you should be able to tell us something about the spell?"

"It is used to direct objects and people away from the caster. The incantation is Depulso, and the spell is sometimes confused with the Vanishing Charm, Evanesco, though they share nothing but a similarity of the name," Harry replied in a bored tone.

Flitwick nodded. It was a short answer, but ultimately correct.

"Well done, Mr. Potter. Five points to..." Flitwick hesitated, looking to the houseless young man.

"May I make a suggestion, Professor?" asked Harry with a smirk. Flitwick acknowledged his request with a nod, so he continued.

"Give the points to Slytherin. I really don't care who gets the points, as long as the Gryffs don't get them."

The gobsmacked class all turned and gawked at Harry, who just smiled back politely. They really couldn't take many more of these surprises, it was getting exhausting.

"Very well, Mr. Potter. However, I recommend that you ask for a resorting, as do most of the staff. The time you have passed houseless has been more than enough, especially after proving yourself innocent," said Flitwick.

"Oh, so now the staff cares? How nice of you," replied Harry with a derisive snort.

Flitwick could see that Harry was barely concealing his anger. He felt a slight chill up his spine as he observed the swirling magic behind Harry's emerald eyes, which was followed by a wave of guilt. Unable to say anything else, Flitwick waved his wand and several pillows appeared on top of his desk.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to review the Summoning Charm today too. I want all of you to summon a pillow to yourself, then we will work on the Banishing Charm. Remember, the incantation for the Summoning Charm is..."

Flitwick suddenly stopped his instruction when a green pillow flew past him and landed in front of Harry, causing the entire class to turn and stare at him again.

"What is it this time?" asked Harry, rolling his eyes as he noticed that everyone was looking at him.

"You... You did it nonverbally, Mr. Potter," said Flitwick, impressed by the display. Now that he really thought about it, casting spells non-verbally was child's play compared to young Potter's display against the dragon.

"Take ten extra points."

This was just one more incident in what had been a most confusing and eventful day. The Gryffindors were angry that Harry was doing a good job and they weren't getting any credit for it, and the Slytherins were divided between being amused and irritated by the idea of collecting the points for Potter's work. Millicent Bulstrode decided on being amused, as did Daphne, Tracey, and Theo.

"Now everyone, please summon a pillow to you, just like Mr. Potter did," said Flitwick, seeing that everyone had their wands out. Before anyone could do anything further, the door to the classroom opened and an angry Professor McGonagall entered the room.

"Harry Potter, you will come with me, right now!" she said, her tone allowing no room for argument.

"Let me guess, your kittens are accusing me of assaulting them, and you, ever the Gryffindor, are jumping to conclusions without even bothering to learn all the facts, am I right?" sneered Harry.

McGonagall momentarily wavered at Potter's words and shocking attitude, unused to students standing up to her.

"Well, let's go then. Unless you'd rather I swear a Magical Oath on my life and magic that I merely defended myself from your precious protégés," he said, rising from his seat.

"You could always just ask anyone here what happened, but why would you do that? You certainly wouldn't believe the Slytherins if they decided to defend me, and your house would just rally against me no matter what, wouldn't they?

To everyone's surprise, Theodore Nott stood up from his seat and spoke, "Professor, Potter speaks the truth. He only defended himself from the spells that Weasley cast at him, using a Summoning and a Banishing Charm. For his part, Weasley cast a Slug Spitting Curse, which Potter intercepted with Granger, and a Reductor, which Potter dodged. After that, he merely banished Granger into Weasley, nothing more."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Nott. That had not been the work of the Compulsion Charm.

"Theo speaks the truth, Professor," added Tracey.

"Mr. Nott, Ms. Davis, your assistance is both acknowledged and appreciated," replied Harry, noticing that Daphne's was curiously observing her classmates' behaviour.

"Oh, and Professor?" he said, before flicking his wand and making the pillow fly towards Flitwick, who caught it with his left hand. Only then did Harry speak, "Depulso."

Both of McGonagall's eyebrows were raised after she heard the diminutive professor whisper, "Ten points to Slytherin, then. Mr. Potter, wait here for a moment please. Minerva, a word, if you will?"

Harry went back to his seat while Flitwick accompanied the disconcerted Transfiguration professor outside.

"Why defend me?" asked Harry, and Theo shrugged.

"You gave us the points, so I gave you support. It seemed like a fair trade, and I don't like to owe anyone anything," replied Theo, making Harry chuckle.

"How did you do it?" asked Daphne turned and asked Harry, who raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Nonverbal spells," she clarified.

"Point the wand at your target and focus on the desired effect. Then, all you need to do is channel your magic and bend it to your will," explained Harry, pointing his wand at the pillows again and summoning a new one.

"I learned a while ago that the true purpose of speaking the incantation is to help you focus on the effect of the spell. As long as you understand the spell and what it's supposed to do, you can cast it without speaking."

Daphne looked at him sceptically, and she was surprised to see an enticing look in his eyes, almost as if he were challenging her to do it.

She focused on a pillow and did exactly what Potter had said. Nothing happened.

"Don't think about it. Just feel it," advised Harry again, and Daphne focused her magic as she would when casting any spell. She willed the pillow to come to her, and to her surprise the pillow actually flew most of the way to her, falling to the floor just short of her table.

"Well done," said Harry with a genuine smile, looking around and seeing the rest of the class looking at them in disbelief, even the Gryffindors.

"That's a sixth year skill. Non-verbal casting takes some practice, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to cast any spell silently."

"How did you learn it?" asked Tracey, her wand in her hand. Harry just shrugged.

"I've had a lot of free time lately, thanks to your badges and the constant harassment," replied Harry, deliberately making everyone uncomfortable.

"Sorry about that," said a nervous Blaise Zabini. "Just so you know, it was Malfoy's idea." Malfoy paled considerably, making Harry chuckle.

"Not surprising in the least. He's definitely been too quiet," teased Harry, knowing full well that the reason Malfoy had shut up was the Compulsion Charm he had cast on him. Malfoy spluttered something unintelligible, but Harry was distracted by a pillow sailing away from the tables.

"Well done, Greengrass," said Harry, leaning back in his chair and looking on as everyone in the room was now focused on Daphne.

"That's my witch," thought Harry with a smile. Daphne summoned the pillow again, this time succeeding in bringing it all the way to her, and then silently banished it again afterwards.

"Ten points to Slytherin for a job well done, Ms. Greengrass," said the voice of Professor Flitwick by the door, who was grinning ear to ear in front of an astonished McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter, ten points for helping a classmate. Now, if you will, please accompany Professor McGonagall. You are excused from homework."

Harry nodded, and called for his elf.

"Dobby!"

Instead of Dobby actually appearing before him, Harry's books and supplies just up and vanished.

"Thanks, mate."

Harry left the room, followed silently by Professor McGonagall, leaving behind them a classful of bewildered students and one impressed teacher.

"Draco, wasn't that house-elf of yours called Dobby?" asked Parkinson as she turned to Malfoy, who just shrugged in response.

Overall, it was one of the most productive fourth year Charms lessons of the term. Not only had several of the Slytherins successfully performed the Banishing Charm by the end of class, but two of them were also able to cast both it and the Summoning Charm silently.

~BREAK~

Professor McGonagall walked in silence as she led Harry to the headmaster's office. She was thinking hard about what Harry had said and her conversation with Filius.

Filius believed that Harry would have had a good reason for whatever he had done, and that she needed to investigate it properly instead of jumping to conclusions, just as Harry had said. After listening to the testimony of the other students and speaking with her colleague, it was clear that the story Mr. Weasley had told her was faulty, at best.

Harry hadn't said a word to her during their walk, which perturbed her even more. She couldn't bring herself to speak to him either. When they reached the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office, Harry stopped and waited for her to speak the password. McGonagall stepped forward and clearly spoke, "Peppermint Toads," causing the gargoyle to step aside and reveal the stairway. Harry just rolled his eyes.

"Dumbledore and his sweets…"

As they entered Dumbledore's office, Harry saw the headmaster sitting behind his desk, apparently in the middle of an argument with Professor Snape. Harry couldn't help but crack a grin at his luck. Fawkes let out a squawk and cocked his head to the side, looking at Harry. He walked over and stroked the phoenix's feathers for a moment, before turning his attention back to the teachers.

"Ah, Harry, my boy. Please, sit. Would you like a lemon drop?" asked Dumbledore. Harry noticed that both Snape and McGonagall remained standing on either side of the headmaster, the three of them looking at Harry.

"First of all, it's Mr. Potter to you, or just Potter. I'm not your boy, and we are not that close. Even Professor Snape gives me the courtesy of proper address, and the man loathes me," replied Harry, narrowing his eyes at the three professors.

Dumbledore was a bit taken aback by the venom in his response, and McGonagall looked as if she had just sucked on a lemon. Snape silently furrowed his eyebrows at Harry Potter's latest perplexing statement.

"Second, thank you but I'll pass on the sweets, and I prefer to stand. I presume that you called me here because of my altercation with the backstabbers?"

Dumbledore peered at Harry over his half-moon spectacles with a sad, disappointed expression. Harry could see the headmaster was intending to employ his familiar guilt trip tactic, but it wouldn't work.

"Directly to the point. Very well, Mr. Potter, how do you justify your actions? You purposely assaulted Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger in the hallway, using dangerous spells and in front of other students..."

He paused at the sound of Harry's sarcastic chuckle.

"I have no idea what those two told you, but no doubt it was an embellished version of events," said Harry, clapping his hands.

"Now, I can tell you what actually happened, but it's evident that you will not believe anything I say, since all of you are biased against me. So, I think it would be a much better use of our time if I were to just show you a memory of the event. Will that be satisfactory?"

"Mr. Potter, we are not biased against you! We simply want to know..." started McGonagall, receiving a glare from Harry.

"Professor, your actions speak otherwise. Get the Pensieve, Headmaster, I know that Salazar Slytherin presented one to the headmaster's office to help in these situations."

"And how would you know that, you arrogant boy?" asked Snape, although his spite was slightly outweighed by his curiosity.

"I read the diaries that Slytherin left in his secret chamber. Where exactly did you think I've been spending all my time?" replied Harry with a raised eyebrow. By now it was of no consequence if they knew of his sleeping arrangements or not, and he did get some enjoyment at the looks on their faces.

"The Chamber?" asked Dumbledore, with a touch of trepidation.

"Yes, Headmaster, I spend much of my time there learning and training. Now, if you could be so kind as to present the Pensieve, I'd like to resolve this situation and return to class."

Dumbledore just sat there at his desk, observing the boy. Harry Potter had changed. True, he hadn't seen him much since Halloween, but still, he seemed like a completely different person from the boy he knew.

"I do not believe it necessary, Harry," he continued, again using the disappointed grandfather tactic.

"I believe that you are still upset with your friends, and that you are responsible for the fight, but I'd like to hear your side of the story with your own words. Regardless of what happened, you need to learn to forgive and move on. It helps to build character," said Dumbledore, eliciting a glare from Harry.

"I believe I told you to call me Mr. Potter, or just Potter. Also, I prefer to show you the memory. That way, the facts cannot be contested, and it's much less troublesome than trying to get you to understand my explanation," said Harry.

When he realised that Dumbledore still wasn't going to bring out the Pensieve, he just rolled his eyes and raised his wand.

"Accio Headmaster's Pensieve!" said Harry, and the door of a cupboard opened. A stone basin floated out of it and across the office before landing on the headmaster's desk.

"Mr. Potter, what is the meaning of this?" McGonagall snapped, though her admonishment didn't affect Harry in the slightest. Snape remained strangely quiet, while Dumbledore was again wrong-footed by the young man's defiance. Harry brought his wand to his temple and removed a silver thread before placing it in the basin.

"Let's make one thing very clear, Professors," said Harry in a cold voice.

"I hate most of the school population, both students and staff. I was accused of being a cheater without proof, and ever since then I have been relentlessly mocked by everyone. The staff did not show me a shred of support, and they allowed me to be continually harassed by students and even some of the teachers. To make matters worse, the lies about me have even been reported in the paper, and now I have an entire nation against me."

Dumbledore started to speak again, before being interrupted by Harry.

"I meant it when I said I won't return to Gryffindor. Under the Hogwarts charter, I am entitled to a resorting since I was banished under false pretences, am I right, Hat?" asked Harry, raising his voice a bit.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter," replied the old hat, who was stuffed on a high shelf. "I have to say, you have been most entertaining. I'm not one to say, 'I told you so', but..."

"Yeah, true..." replied Harry, a grin momentarily appearing on his lips.

"But..." started McGonagall, but she was unable to continue.

"Now, first we will view the memory, and then we will speak about my actions," said Harry, tapping his wand on the Pensieve and making it project the memory above the basin. The four of them watched the memory as it happened, and many of the portraits lining the walls of the office even seemed to be paying attention.

"Now, I will accept the appropriate punishment for casting spells in the halls, but I refuse to sit detentions for protecting myself from attack."

"Mr. Potter, you deliberately used Ms. Granger as a human shield," said Dumbledore. "You could have hurt her."

"It was Weasley's spell," replied Harry. Snape had seen the events as the occurred, but seeing them from this perspective was somehow more impressive, not that he would admit it.

"You could have dodged it, as you did with the other spell. Besides, did you really have to hurt both Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley like that?"

"I could have, but I didn't. And no, I didn't have to hurt them, but they needed to learn a lesson. I do, however, hate them, and won't mind if I never see them ever again. If they attack me, I will defend myself, and I will do whatever I must in order to win, even if it means using them as shields against one another."

"Mr. Potter…"

"They are traitors." Harry interrupted. "All of the Gryffindors are, but those two especially, since they were supposed to be my best friends. I can assure you that if any of them attack me again, I will retaliate. I've had enough of them over the past month, and I'm at the end of my patience."

"This behaviour will not be tolerated, Potter," scolded McGonagall. "While it is true that Mr. Weasley cast the first spell, you started the altercation by drawing your wand first. It is equally bad. You will be punished for it, as will Mr. Weasley."

Harry glared at the older woman.

"Very well, then. What is my punishment?" he asked in a cold tone.

"Both you and Mr. Weasley will serve detention with Professor Snape," stated Dumbledore.

"Brilliant," he mumbled sarcastically, noticing the uncomfortable sideways look Snape gave Dumbledore.

"I am terribly disappointed with you, Harry," Dumbledore said while shaking his head, only to receive a chuckle in reply.

"Don't worry, the feeling is mutual," Harry replied, glaring at the man before turning his back on the two older professors.

"Professor Snape, when shall I report to you?"

"Nine," he replied, taking a great deal of effort to maintain his cool. Despite wanting to snap at the boy's arrogance, he refrained. He still hadn't reported Potter's Occlumency, only that the boy knew about him telling the Dark Lord about the prophecy. Of course, Dumbledore had trouble believing it.

Fawkes began singing, but Harry ignored the phoenix and turned his back on the professors, moving to open the door of the headmaster's office.

"I haven't given you permission to leave, Mr. Potter!" said Dumbledore, rising from his chair. Harry glared back at him over his shoulder.

"The days when I obeyed you are long gone. We spoke about my punishment. There is nothing else to talk about."

"I'd like to speak with you about your performance in the first task..." started Dumbledore, only to again be interrupted by Harry.

"I already told you, Chamber of Secrets," the boy replied with a smirk, unlocking the door with a wave of his hand. "I've learned more in there than I have in my past four years of classes. Goodbye, Headmaster, Professors."

Harry exited the headmaster's office, leaving behind three flabbergasted professors, who were struggling to understand what was happening. Dumbledore felt a sense of foreboding that he hadn't felt in years, and for a moment, he believed he had seen someone even more dangerous and lost than the boy who would one day become Lord Voldemort.

He wondered how it was possible to have failed Harry so badly.

"Albus, what will we do? Mr. Potter has changed. He admitted having studied in the Chamber of Secrets. Has he really fallen into the Dark that much? Is he beyond saving? What will we do?"

"I don't know, Minerva, I don't know," was Dumbledore's only reply, which worried her even more.

Severus Snape remained silent, taking a moment to consider all the events of the day. Maybe it was better not to antagonise Potter and wait and see what he would do. Maybe the boy was more like his mother than he ever thought.

~BREAK~

The Hogwarts rumour mill was operating at peak efficiency, as per usual, and by that evening, the entire school knew about the latest incident involving Harry Potter. Weasley had appeared in the Great Hall at dinner looking angry and sullen, but there was no sign of Granger. The most plausible rumour was that she was still vomiting slugs and would have to spend the night in the infirmary.

Weasley ate with his usual manners, shovelling food into his mouth as if he would never eat another meal. If he were less absorbed in his evening feeding, he might have noticed the sullen mood that had fallen over his house. Very few Gryffindors were unaffected by feelings of regret over Harry's unjust banishment, or resentment over the multiple humiliations they'd experienced over the last two days.

The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws weren't immune to the change in mood, either. The Hufflepuffs' euphoria over being the home of the Hogwarts champion had soured after Diggory's unremarkable performance in the task, not to mention the fear of retribution for tormenting Potter over the past few weeks. Most of the Ravenclaws had avoided the tournament drama, but being a somewhat uptight bunch to begin with, they didn't care for the heightened tension in the school.

The Slytherins, however, were thoroughly enjoying all the unexpected reversals of fortune. Millicent Bulstrode was particularly pleased, being one of two students who was able to cast non-verbally in Charms class.

The other, Daphne Greengrass, sat at their house table contemplating what had happened earlier. She was only half listening to her year mates' ongoing conversation about how Potter had impressed them, and how they might benefit by having him on their side. He was already giving them house points, after all. What other benefits might they see if he was fully brought into their house, where he belonged?

Daphne decided to fully ignore the conversation and went back to analysing Potter's actions. She didn't care for the fact that he had once again proved her wrong. He had already proven himself formidable against the dragon, but the way he effortlessly dealt with Granger and Weasley was impressive in a different way, and she could no longer deny his talent. Even more surprising was the way he had properly and politely offered her a formal apology for the comparison to Malfoy. That was definitely something he had never done before.

Next, not only did he effortlessly cast silently in Charms, but he'd also taught her to do it. He genuinely encouraged her, and with his help, she had mastered two non-verbal spells within one class period, to the envy of her year mates. By the end of the class, Millie had been the only other student to successfully cast the spells silently.

Harry Potter was an enigma, and she was determined to figure him out. The most basic question on her mind was the one that vexed her the most: "Why?"

Why did he do it? Why did he seem so willing to help her? Maybe she should ask him for some help with the rest of her spell work. It wasn't that she was an incapable witch – far from it. She was quite competent and always made good grades, but she would hardly be considered a magical powerhouse. Maybe with Potter's help she could improve even further, which could boost her chances of becoming successful and independent in the future.

As tempted as she was to approach Potter and ask him for help, she was somewhat worried about what he may ask for in return.

"What do you say, Daphne?" asked Tracey Davis, interrupting her train of thought.

"What?" asked Daphne, turning to her friend.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Millie in a concerned voice, which the blonde witch ignored.

"I'm fine, what did you want?" she asked again.

"We were talking about asking Potter to join us at dinner tomorrow. We're going to propose it in the common room tonight," replied Tracey.

Daphne realised that Theo, Tracey, Millie, and who would believe it, Zabini, all agreed with the plan. She just nodded, and her year mates shared a satisfied look.

"That settles it," Zabini replied with a smirk.

Daphne turned away from the conversation again and focused on eating her dinner. She felt a nudge against her leg and looked at Millie, who raised an eyebrow at her. Daphne shook her head again and smiled to put her friend at ease.

Millie clearly didn't believe her and would want to talk later on, but for the moment, she left her alone and re-joined the conversation about the battle in the dungeons, if one could call it that. Potter had been ruthless with his former friends, and the best part was he had used only basic spells, but he had done so creatively. That in itself had been impressive, and actually gave them some new insight into the potential application of low-level and everyday spells in duelling.

The conversations around the Great Hall suddenly came to a stop, as once again Harry Potter dramatically appeared midway through the meal and walked purposefully between the tables.

"I apologise for the interruption. I'll try not to take up too much of anyone's time," he said with a huge grin.

"I also apologise for being late to dinner. I meant to do this at the beginning of the meal, but I was in the middle of reading Salazar Slytherin's account of his voyages into the southern deserts during his youth, and I lost track of time."

People gasped and gawked at Harry, which made him chuckle.

"Yes, it's quite fascinating, but that's not the reason I'm here. According to the Hogwarts charter I am within my rights to demand a resorting, and just to be clear, I hereby demand a resorting."

The shouting began again, mainly from the Gryffindors attempting to dissuade him, but Harry ignored them. Had he looked over to the Slytherin table, he would have seen many of them looking smug, but he also would've seen the disappointed looks on the faces of some of the fourth years, who had just seen their plan to take credit for bringing Potter into their house crumble.

Before Dumbledore could say a word, Fawkes flamed into the Great Hall carrying the Sorting Hat in his talons. He flew a quick lap around the hall, then dropped the hat directly onto Harry's head.

"Now this is efficiency," joked Harry, earning a chuckle from the hat.

"Hogwarts is aware of your plight and has decided to personally grant you your request," the hat said in the young man's mind. "So, tell me, Mr. Potter, how did you learn so much, then?" it asked as it started skimming through Harry's mind.

Harry didn't attempt to stop him. He knew that the hat was bound by Hogwarts not to share anything he could see in the students' minds. Harry lowered his head solemnly and thought about everything he wanted the old, torn hat to see and understand. By the time he had finished, Harry Potter had to fight to keep the tears from falling. Fortunately, he won the battle.

"I understand," the hat said in a low, respectful voice.

"It was foolish of you to attempt such a feat as soul time travel, but I believe I can understand why you chose to gamble with your life. You have attributes of all the four houses, Mr. Potter, and I see them all working towards the same goal. I can see the hard work you performed to succeed in your quest to come back and change the future. I can see the loyalty you have to the comrades that stood by you through thick and thin, the same loyalty you inspired in all of them, particularly the Zabinis..."

"Don't," warned Harry, the moment the word was whispered by the hat. "Yes, they were loyal to me. I know they had a secret agenda, but I also know that they acted out of love and loyalty. Lady Zabini was extremely dedicated, and a dear friend to my heart. Please, just don't."

"Very well, Lord Potter," the hat said, continuing to think.

"Hufflepuff is out then, considering you give your loyalty to those who prove themselves to you and no other. You are not one to seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge, per se. Rather, you seek knowledge only as a means to fulfil your ambition, therefore Ravenclaw is out," the hat continued, mumbling.

"We could say that you are brave, as you recklessly rushed into the ritual, knowing that you may have died from it. Yet your noble heart is long gone, replaced by a cunning ruthlessness, tempered by the pain of loss. No, you are here because you have a goal to achieve. Several goals in fact, though one stands above the rest. You want her back…both of them in fact, and you are willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen."

"I also see you have displayed cunning in hiding yourself in plain sight over the past two years, from my perspective. You hid your potential for years while working hard to improve yourself, and all it took was a couple of trips into Salazar's chamber to get his books and diaries. Last year, you actually read them in front of your friends, pretending to read Quidditch magazines? Oh, this is priceless...and a little confusing. I knew you would be interesting, my lord, but I never thought you'd be quite this interesting. A quintessential Slytherin, if I may."

"Two years for you, but nearly seventy for me, my old friend," replied the former Dark Lord in a low voice, making the hat chuckle.

"Yes, I saw several meetings between us. Please, feel free to call upon me once again. The knowledge I possess should be used, even though many think of me as a simple contraption only suitable for sorting children. They forget that I am part of Hogwarts herself, and that I have access to more than a thousand years of knowledge."

"I won't lie, your advice was invaluable when I needed it, but your blasted psychology was a pain," admitted Harry. "I assume you saw our last meeting?"

"I did," replied the hat.

"Then you know how truly grateful I am, even though you are just an artefact. You provided me with counsel, and I trusted you as much as I trusted my best friend," admitted Harry, sighing.

"I hope that this time around we can have a similar relationship. I always enjoyed our long debates."

"My, my, actual debates? Rowena and Salazar would have loved you, my friend."

Everyone was waiting impatiently for the hat to actually do something. They could see Potter and the hat talking between themselves, but over five minutes had passed and they were still waiting to hear the hat's decision. At long last, Harry rose from his seat and the hat actually laughed.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," said Harry Potter, walking towards the Slytherin table.

"No, you just failed spectacularly. The principle states that..."

"HAT!" shouted McGonagall, drawing everyone's attention to herself.

"This better be good, Minerva, I was in the middle of a nice conversation in here," the hat replied, triggering a new round murmuring in the hall.

"In the middle of a conversation?" they wondered. Wasn't the hat supposed to be sorting Potter?

"I trust you were, but unfortunately we were expecting you to sort our young Mr. Potter?" said Dumbledore, also bemused by the behaviour of the hat.

"I didn't say it, did I? Well, it's pretty obvious, the boy goes to where he should have been in the first place, four years ago. SLYTHERIN!"

Even though Harry had already revealed he had nearly been sorted into Slytherin his first year, nearly half of the Great Hall appeared both appalled and baffled by this. The table in green and silver, however, cheered and clapped for their new housemate. The smart ones knew how much they could benefit from Potter's presence in their house.

He had been right; most of Slytherin treated him with apathy at best, but now that he was one of them, they knew they could benefit from his influence. With Potter on side, Slytherin house could prosper even further, at least that was what several of the older years were thinking.

The fourth years were divided. Malfoy, Parkinson, and his goons remained silent, while the others applauded. Malfoy looked as if he had sucked on a lemon. He had long expected he would rule Slytherin house by the time he was in his upper years, but he couldn't help but feel like those dreams were crashing down around him. How could Potter, a lousy, good-for-nothing half-blood be more popular than him? Potter was nothing, and Draco was a Malfoy, which meant he was practically royalty. In his mind, Draco slowly started forming a plan. He would challenge Potter to a duel in the common room that night and prove his superiority once and for all.

Had it not been for the Compulsion Charm cast by Potter hours before, Malfoy might have been clapping along with his house, instead of scheming, if only out of a sense of self-preservation. Unfortunately for Draco, Harry Potter many reasons to hate him, and he had also learned how to plan his revenge several steps in advance. Malfoy's impending pain and humiliation would be a suitable punishment for his many transgressions, at least for the time being. However, that would be nothing compared to what Harry had in mind for Oberon, Titania, and their so-called Paladins of Light.

After concluding his meeting with the Sorting Hat, Harry returned it to Fawkes and walked to the Slytherin table. His new housemates greeted him with smiles, cheers, and claps on his back. He sat down with the other fourth years and quickly became involved in their meeting.

"You're a bastard, you know that, Potter? We were planning on inviting you to join us for a couple of meals, then suddenly you saunter in and destroy all of our careful planning," complained Zabini, making Harry shrug.

"Really? Well, my apologies then. Had I known, I would've waited, but I wanted to avoid contact with the other houses. I'm sure you understand."

"So, we're nothing more than a convenience for you?" asked a mock-pouting Tracey Davis.

"I prefer to think of it as a mutually beneficial arrangement. Besides, even though I don't intend to win this tournament, I do intend to spite the dorks as much as I can. Where better to do it from than within their arch-rivals?"

"Hold on, you don't intend to..." started Daphne. "You have a good chance to win, Potter."

"I'm in last, Greengrass..."

"So?" asked Millicent. "The first two tasks are only used to accumulate points for the final task's starting order. Even if you begin the task in last place, you'll still have a decent chance to win."

"Really?" asked Harry with a shrug. "I'll have to think about that, then. I'm not sure I even want to win, although if I did, I could rub it in the faces of the 'puffs and the dorks."

"You like to use those words, don't you?" Theo asked with a smirk.

"What can I say? They just roll off the tongue," smirked Harry, while Theo grinned, as did most of the fourth years. Ah, Compulsion Charms - a Dark Lord has to love them.

"So, what do you have planned for the rest of the tournament?" Daphne asked inquisitively.

"At first, I really just wanted to survive. After being abandoned, I decided I wanted to survive and get my revenge by proving myself and humiliating everyone that scorned me. I don't really need to win the tournament to do that," replied Harry, looking into her beautiful sapphire eyes.

"You should, though," Daphne replied before returning to her dinner. "If you only want to humiliate everyone, you could either make a mockery of the task or refuse to participate, but you said you wanted to prove yourself. If you manage to do anything flashy like you did with the dragon, then you'd certainly prove your point, even if you're underscored."

Harry thought about it. Seeing the nods of approval from his housemates, he had to ask, "I thought that as a Slytherin I was supposed to be discrete and employ deception?"

Daphne looked at him and realised he was teasing her, forcing a sly grin to appear on her face as she responded, "I don't think it's un-Slytherin to prove your superiority, although you can always go about it in a Slytherin way."

"Huh?" asked Blaise, Theo, and Tracey, while Millie laughed. Harry just grinned.

"Well then, perhaps I'd be able to schedule a meeting with you to discuss my strategy for the second task - as soon as I decipher the clue, that is. I would value your opinion on how not to be too un-Slytherin. In fact, I could use the everyone's opinion, considering this is a new thing for me."

Daphne blushed and the others smirked.

"That sounded awfully like an invitation to a date," mumbled Tracey, making sure everyone heard her. She gave Daphne an unapologetic grin, as her friend simply glared back at her.

"You should know, Potter, that Daphne tends to curse her suitors. If you value your bits, you should be careful with what you say and do," explained Theo, also earning a glare from said girl.

"I'll take that into consideration if I do ever ask her for a date," Harry replied, triggering another round of surprised looks from everyone. "Now, what else happened in Charms after I left?"

"Millie and Daphne were able to cast the spells silently, like you taught," replied Blaise with some admiration in his voice. "No one else did."

"Flitwick was beside himself and said he should invite you to do more work with the class," replied Tracey, making Harry groan and the others laugh.

For Harry Potter, it was nice to be among his old friends, even if they all were several decades younger and had no memories of their friendship. He actually caught Daphne inquisitively looking at him twice. Both times, she quickly looked away as soon as he noticed, which he found incredibly cute.

"I love you," her voice sounded in his mind, an echo of a past memory.

"I love you too, Daph, and that's why I won't force you back to me. It will be your choice."

~BREAK~

After dinner, the Slytherins left the Great Hall in groups. Professor Snape came up to them and told Harry to be in his office by nine o'clock. The fourth years walked together as a group, with Harry bringing up the rear while talking to Theo and Blaise about Quidditch. When they arrived at their common room entrance, Malfoy was about to say the password, but Harry told him to stop.

"What the hell for, Potter?" he asked with a sneer.

Harry glared at him, then turned to the wall and hissed quietly in Parseltongue, "~~Open!~~" The wall indeed parted at Harry's command, revealing their common room.

"I always wondered if that would work," replied Harry with a shrug. "After you."

His year mates entered before him. Harry saw that the common room hadn't changed at all since Christmas in their second year. As soon as the door closed, Harry noticed that there were several people lingering in room, some of which stopped what they were doing to look at him.

"POTTER!" Malfoy shouted pompously from the middle of the room. "I, Draco Abraxas Malfoy challenge you to a wizard's duel!"

Had Malfoy cared, he would have seen some of the older students groan and pinch the bridge of their nose in exasperation. The fourth years looked at Malfoy as if he was an idiot, even Crabbe and Goyle.

"Are you insane, Draco?" shrieked Pansy.

For his part, Harry wanted to laugh at the reckless challenge, but restrained himself. With a mocking sigh of resignation, he nodded.

"If you insist, Malfoy. I, Harry James Potter, accept your challenge."

Many of the older Slytherins looked disappointed with Potter and Malfoy's behaviour. A wizard's duel, or an honour duel, was only used to resolve slights to one's honour, or sometimes used as a last resort in courts. Nothing would be gained from invoking an honour duel to satisfy a childish rivalry. Those two idiots had just undermined themselves for bragging rights, or at least that's what everyone was thinking.

The floor was prepared for the duel, and a seventh year boy stepped forward. Harry could tell he was quite respected in the house by the way the others seemed to defer to him.

"Under the ancient laws, all spells short of the Unforgivables are allowed," the older boy spoke. "You shall duel until your opponent is rendered unconscious, or until said opponent verbally gives up. Do you agree?"

"I do," said Malfoy, arrogantly.

"Under the ancient laws, I, Harry James Potter, accept the terms of this duel," Harry replied, earning a raised eyebrow from the seventh year with his use of formal duelling protocol.

"Is he planning something?" the seventh year asked himself. The other Slytherins who were part of the house's main circle of power wondered the same.

"Begin!" ordered the seventh year.

Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry and started with a simple Disarming Charm. By the time the spell left Draco's wand, Harry was already dodging to the left and pointing his wand at Malfoy.

"~~ZAEL!~~" Harry hissed in Parseltongue, prompting an involuntary shiver for many of those watching.

A black light shone forth from Harry's wand, and in a blink, a massive black snake had taken shape in front of Harry. The snake was huge. It was a foot thick and almost thirty feet long, covered with dark and sturdy-looking scales. As soon as it saw Malfoy, the snake opened its mouth and hissed loudly, baring its deadly fangs, which were dripping with what seemed to be venom. If that wasn't unnerving enough, the creature's eyes shone brightly as if they were filled with emerald-green flames.

No one moved, no one made a sound. Not even Malfoy, who paled as he beheld the massive creature watching him, too petrified to move.

The rest of the Slytherins were in awe. The bloody snake was terrifying, Malfoy seemed to have pissed himself, and Potter was just standing there with his wand pointed at Malfoy.

A spell suddenly shot out of Harry's wand and hit Malfoy in the chest, but before Malfoy could counter, Harry hissed a command in Parseltongue and the snake charged at Malfoy and wrapped itself around the boy, knocking him to the floor. A few horrified onlookers screamed, but there was nothing they could do. Daphne looked at Harry and saw his cold, calculating eyes, and wondered what else he had in store for Malfoy. His gaze crossed hers for a moment and she could swear he smiled at her.

"Silence!" shouted Harry, and the room complied.

Curiously, they saw Malfoy screaming, but no sound was coming out. Harry's spell must have been a Silencing Charm.

"Look at me, Malfoy," Harry said in a cold voice, and Malfoy did look at him, along with everyone else.

"I don't like you, Malfoy. For long time, you have been a thorn in my side. Never dangerous, but a regular inconvenience, nonetheless. You constantly insult me, and always manage to get out of trouble by flaunting daddy's money and influence. I had hopes that you would stop being an idiot, but that was too much to ask, wasn't it? You had to provoke me, didn't you, and on this of all nights?"

With one hiss, Malfoy's silent screams of pain increased in intensity, as the snake tightened its coils around the boy. Pansy had tears in her eyes, and many were scared of what would happen next.

"The ancient laws say that for this to stop, you have either to say you give up or faint. Since I silenced you, I guess we have to wait until you pass out, don't we?"

Harry let out another hiss, and Draco screamed as more pressure was applied. After a few seconds, Harry ordered the snake to stop again, while the others stood by and watched in stunned silence. Harry was dragging this out on purpose, no doubt to prove a point. At that moment, all those in the house of the snakes recognised his superiority and his ruthlessness. Harry Potter had made his stand and came out on top. Every one of the Slytherins would respect him after tonight, and many would even fear him, and rightfully so.

"I could, of course, tell Zael to let you go… Yes, that's right, that magnificent creature is called Zael. If you want me to let you go, I will remove the Silencing Charm, and you shall swear to me that you will never inconvenience me again. You shall not taunt me, nor shall you perturb me in any way. Only then do you have my permission to give up. If you try anything clever, like giving up before you swear the oath, then I can promise you that one night Zael will visit you in your bed, and no one will be there to stop him. Now, Malfoy, think carefully about your decision."

Harry hissed once more, triggering another round of silent screams from Malfoy as the snake increased the pressure once again.

"Finite," said Harry, and Malfoy started shouting his oath, swearing on his life and magic that he would leave Harry alone. The flash of Malfoy's magic was enough to convince Harry.

"I give... I give," he said. With one final hiss, the snake released Malfoy and slithered back to Harry, placing itself protectively in front of its master.

"Stop being such a baby, Malfoy, it's not as if you broke something," said Harry, caressing the snake's muzzle and hissing to it.

No one attempted to help Malfoy up, as they were all too focused on Harry.

"How long do you think it will take for Malfoy to kill himself by breaking the oath?" Harry wondered out loud. Only then did the Slytherins process the wording of the oath. Many looked at Harry in awe, or at Malfoy with either sadistic smiles or pity. It seemed like the best-case scenario for Malfoy would be to leave Hogwarts as soon as possible.

The seventh year that acted as the judge laughed and started to clap.

"Well done, Potter, well done indeed. And the best part is, you acted within the bounds of the ancient laws and there is nothing anyone can do to punish you. I have to say, I'm starting to like you."

"Thank you. What should I call you?" asked Harry, deciding to start building bridges with real snakes. The boy grinned.

"I am Alistair Pince," the young man said with a nod, which Harry returned with one of his own.

"A pleasure. Any relation to Madam Pince, our librarian?"

"My great aunt. By order of Professor Snape, I am responsible for overseeing duelling events in our common room, and I have to admit that I have never seen anything like that. You'll go far in this house, Potter, congratulations on your victory."

Alistair then turned to a sixth year.

"Callahan, take Malfoy to the hospital wing. I shall go and explain everything to Professor Snape. You, Potter, will come with me. I understand Professor Snape requires your presence at nine o'clock for both your introduction speech and some sort of detention?"

Harry nodded and hissed softly. The snake shimmered and disappeared from sight. The platform vanished as well.

"If I may, where did you learn how to summon that snake?" asked the blonde seventh year girl next to Alistair.

"It's a little something I picked up from Salazar Slytherin's own diaries," Harry replied with a smirk, to the amazement of the other Slytherins.

"How?" asked a shaky voice, one that pulled Harry's attention immediately. Harry felt his heart break as he saw Daphne looking at him fearfully.

"No, please don't fear me, my love, not you," he cried in his mind.

"Did... Did I scare you?" he asked, and although the question seemed innocent, Alistair and the seventh year girl both looked at each other, realising there was something more behind the statement.

"What do you take me for, Potter, a weakling princess?" she asked, turning her back on him and walking to her dorms.

"Fuck!"

~BREAK~

Snape wasn't happy at all. As Alistair reported to him what had happened in the common room, the Potions professor cursed both the blonde idiot he called a godson and the bane of his existence, Harry Potter. He grudgingly admitted that the boy had indeed demonstrated great power and manipulation skills. He had understood the ancient rules that governed the house of the snakes and exploited them to his favour, as any Slytherin was expected to do.

Snape was angry that his godson was an idiot, and that his bane was turning out to be the Slytherin he always wished Draco to be. Harry Potter had changed…or was it more that thanks to the Gryffindors, Harry Potter had revealed his true self?

After hearing from both Alistair and Potter, Snape gave Harry the standard welcome speech and all the rules he was expected to follow. The most important was, of course, that outside of the common room, all Slytherins stand together. However, you may resolve your problems inside, a duel being one way to resolve them.

The professor did make Harry promise not to force an oath on anyone else. Snape would have to change the rules, as there was no prohibition on using oaths in this manner, mainly because no one ever thought that such a situation could happen. Clearly, Harry Potter was unconventional.

It was a strange moment for Harry. Snape had shown interest in him and actually attempted to be civil. He even ignored the detention he had assigned. That was also unusual, however, Harry's thoughts kept drifting back to a particular blue-eyed girl.

Meanwhile, Daphne was sitting on her bed, thinking. She ignored Millie and Tracey's commentary and kept going over what had happened that evening in her mind. Pansy had run after Malfoy, so Daphne only had to deal with Millie and Tracey for the moment. She'd have a better chance of figuring out what was going on if Tracey would take a break from asking her questions. How in Merlin's name would Daphne know why Potter had asked her, and only her, if he had scared her? How would she know why Potter had demonstrated such interest in her?

Of course, Millie scoffed, pointing out that Potter was a boy, and therefore it was a question with a simple answer. However, she also said it had been sweet.

Daphne didn't want to think about that, though she couldn't prevent a small smile from crossing her lips.

Potter...

Once again, he had been amazing. She was sure, now more than ever, that she needed to ask him to tutor her. Should he truly have feelings for her, as Tracey insisted, then it might be even easier than expected to achieve that goal. It made sense logically, yet she was still hesitant to put herself in that position.

~BREAK~

After the duel with Malfoy, Harry had gone into the Slytherin boys' dorm and pulled the curtains on the four-poster bed. He placed several wards around it to make sure it wouldn't be disturbed, then summoned Dobby to take him back to the Chamber of Secrets. About an hour later, Harry was reclining on the large, ornate canopy bed in the Chamber, apparently deep in thought with his hands behind his head.

"So far, most of the plan worked," he thought to himself.

"I managed to cast a Compulsion Charm on the fourth year Slytherins. I am feared and respected in the castle, and I started to show glimpses of what I can do. I started to drop hints about my location for the last few weeks and spread disinformation about why I am so powerful. To be fair, it's only half a lie since I did train in the Chamber of Secrets... I've somewhat gained Flitwick's respect, and I was sorted in Slytherin. As I compelled him to, Malfoy challenged me in the common room and I beat the crap out of him using something powerful, but without showing them anything too spectacular. They'll all think Zael is a real snake and not the construct it is. I even hinted that I learned to summon Zael from Slytherin's journals... Again, not a complete lie, because Slytherin does discuss golem making in his diaries."

"The way Daphne looked at me, though... Was she frightened? Was I really that scary? Vicious? She always said she loved it when I took Malfoy down a peg… Did I go too far? Damn it, Daph, how can I get to you? Will you come and ask me for my help again? I'll help you, my love, just come to me. Please, just ask me for help."

Harry's mind drifted to his fifth year, when he started to teach her before the DA was even formed. Daphne had approached him in the library at the beginning of the year and told him she believed him about Voldemort's return. It was quite a shock for Harry, but not as big as the next words to come out of her mouth. She asked him to help her get better at defending herself from unwanted attention, and she was willing to help him in return. She even swore an oath, so he'd know she wasn't trying to trick him.

When he asked her, "Why me?" she replied, "Who better than the Triwizard Champion who was three years younger and still defeated the three older champions? You're also the best in our year in DADA, at least on the practical side."

Harry accepted, and they eventually arranged to meet regularly in an abandoned classroom. It was only later that Granger came up with the idea for the DA, which wasn't open to Slytherins. Daphne hadn't minded as long as he kept helping her, and the DA didn't mess with their already complicated schedule. Scheduling sessions was never a problem though, because Harry always managed to find time for Daphne. Their moments together served not only as training, but also a way to form a bond between them. When Sirius died in the disaster of the DOM, Daphne held Harry tightly while he cried. That was when they first kissed. Neither of them realised who started it, but it happened, and Harry came to terms with Sirius's death before even leaving Hogwarts.

"Sirius! Remus!" he thought to himself, remembering he hadn't written the letters he needed to. "I can't ask them for help with Daphne either, since one is a man-whore and the other is almost a célibataire... Although their reaction to my new sorting should be fun."

It was true that he hadn't sent any type of correspondence to his uncles, but it was also true that they hadn't sent any to him either, so he didn't feel guilty. He sighed and got up from the bed. He wasn't sleepy at all, so he walked to the desk where his writing supplies were and pulled out a quill and some parchment.

——————————————

Dear Sirius,

I understand you are on the run, which is the only reason I'm not angry with you for not writing to me. I don't know if you're in contact with Remus or Dumbledore, or if you've seen the Prophet, but a lot has happened here since Halloween. I mentioned some of it in my previous letter to you, which got no reply at all.

As I said last time, I was selected against my will to be a Triwizard Champion. Foul play was suspected and has all but been confirmed. I have no idea who placed my name in the cup, but I was forced to compete anyway. I was bullied and called a liar and a cheat by everyone in Hogwarts, from Halloween up until the first task. Things have been difficult. If you want to know more, send me a bloody letter and ask, you mutt. The Gryffindors voted to expel me from the tower, and the house. I spent a month houseless and took up residence in a chamber which only I can access. I also bonded with an elf, and he has been my only friend through all of this.

In the first task, I decided to drop the act and reveal part of my real power. Sirius, I managed to kill a bloody dragon, and now I am feared and respected. That, and seen as the next Dark Lord, but I don't really care. After the task, I swore a Magical Oath that I didn't put my name in the cup and humiliated the school in the process. It was a pretty good prank - you probably would've enjoyed it. Even the students from Durmstrang seem to respect me now, and I seem to have a French half-Veela interested in me, too.

I'll be blunt with you. I asked for a resorting and now I am in the house where the hat wanted me in the first place. Sirius, I am a Slytherin now. The way I see it, either you accept it or you don't, but I hope you will.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Your godson,

Prongslet

——————————————

He read through the letter one more time, then set it aside and composed a similar missive to Remus. With the letters done, Harry went to Hedwig and slowly stroked her feathers, the owl eliciting a small, grateful hoot. He'd been so happy when he saw his trusted owl again after so many years.

"Hey girl, I know it's late, but I have two letters for you, alright? You don't need to go now if you're too tired, you can always go tomorrow, ok?"

The snowy owl gave Harry a dignified hoot and stuck her leg out to him. Harry smirked and attached the letters. With a last caress of her white feathers, Dobby appeared, and Hedwig flew to his shoulder. With a nod, Dobby popped out of the room, reappearing nearly half a minute later.

"Hedwig is on her way. Would you like a snack? A drink?" asked the elf.

"No, thank you, Dobby. Go rest," replied Harry.

"You should too, Harry."

"I need to think."

"Can I help? Or is it about the mistress?"

"Daphne, yes..."

"Good luck then, Master," said Dobby, popping away. Harry sighed and walked out of the living quarters and into the main chamber.

Everything was much cleaner and dryer that it was on Harry's first trip down here. The most obvious difference was that the basilisk's skeleton was now mounted in a threatening position in front of Salazar's statue.

Harry sat on the floor and started to meditate. He could usually think more clearly after meditating.

At seven the next morning, Dobby popped Harry back into his bed in the Slytherin fourth year dorms. He climbed out of bed and saw that his dormmates were still asleep. Crabbe and Goyle were back, but Malfoy's bed was still empty. Having done all of his ablutions in the Chamber, he looked around the dorm and took a look at his trunk at the base of his bed, which was empty and only served to help maintain the illusion that he actually lived in the dorm.

He went back to the common room and sat on one of the couches, admiring the room. There were a couple of seventh years already up and leaving for breakfast. They each gave him a nod, which he immediately returned.

"You're up early," he heard. He turned to see Daphne looking at him from her dorm's entrance, already dressed and ready for the day. She was giving him an appraising look as she walked down the stairs.

"You don't seem like a morning person."

Harry chuckled.

"I usually am. It also didn't help that I have a few things on my mind."

"Oh? Perhaps your 'duel' last night? Or maybe just the consequences?" she asked with a smirk, knowing full well the ancient rules governing honour duels.

"No, the little shite had it coming, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. I'm not even concerned about dear old Lucy... I'd give him the very same treatment, or worse."

"You're very full of yourself, Potter," she said, but more as if she were giving him advice, or even a warning.

"You saw what I can do," he smirked. "And I assure you, you haven't seen anything yet."

Daphne felt a chill, but it wasn't fear. It was more like a shiver of excitement, with a little bit of hope mixed in. She took a deep breath, finally coming to a decision.

"Potter, I need your help."

There, she said it. There was no turning back now – no hiding, no pretending. She had opened a door she had never expected to open, ever, but she did it. She admitted he could help her, so she asked him before she could talk herself out of it. It was time to negotiate.

Harry merely raised an eyebrow as if he was waiting for her to continue, although secretly he was overjoyed, and pleasantly surprised by the turn of events.

"I want your help in DADA," she explained.

Harry leaned back on the couch and folded his hands together.

"Any particular reason?" he asked after a moment, already knowing the answer.

"My reasons are my own, Potter," she replied in a cold, but somewhat sad voice.

"I can assure you I am not your enemy, and that I really do need the help. I'm willing to negotiate payment for your services. What do you say?"

Harry pretended to think about it.

"I don't care if they are your family or not, they are not going to threaten you again – not if I can help it."

Suddenly, a brilliant idea occurred to him.

"Sure, let's make a deal, then. I'll help you with your DADA problem, and you'll help me with all my tournament related problems. Does that sound fair?" he asked, extending his hand to her.

Daphne was truly surprised by Harry's offer. She honestly expected him to ask for much more, but she certainly wasn't going to complain. Even if helping him with the tournament might be demanding, she'd likely learn even more by doing so.

"Agreed, Potter," she replied, shaking his hand as a small smile graced her lips. She hadn't noticed it, but Harry did.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" shouted Harry in his mind, completely ecstatic.

"By the way, tradition states that there's a Yule Ball associated with the tournament," Harry said slyly.

"Unless you're opposed to the idea, or had plans to go with someone else, would you like to go to the ball with me? In accordance with our agreement, of course."

Daphne's eyes momentarily widened for a moment, then she snorted.

"Well played, Potter, well played."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Harry said with a smirk. Daphne did her best to hide a smile of her own.

"Either you're hiding a lot about yourself, or I have just been played by an amateur. I'd rather believe you are just hiding yourself," she said, seeing his confident expression.

"And I think I am very right," she thought.

"A couple of conditions, though."

"Sure, name them and I'll consider them."

"Very well done, Potter," she thought, mindful of his wording. He hadn't promised her anything, just that he would consider it.

"Three things. One, you have to do your best to win the tournament. Two, you'll make sure you get yourself proper robes for the ball, and I have to like them. And three, you have to promise to teach me properly," she said, looking him in the eyes.

"May I ask why you want me to win the tournament?" he asked, curious to hear her reasoning.

She shrugged.

"I can't give you a straight answer, Potter, but after what I've seen I think you can win, and I personally don't like to not live up to all I can achieve," she said.

"That's my girl," Harry thought.

"Besides, like you said, it would crush the dorks and the 'puffs," she added, making Harry chuckle.

"Very well. I'll do my best to win the tournament. Don't worry about my robes, I'm already on it, and I promise I'll teach you properly," he said, to which she nodded.

"This better be worth it," thought Daphne behind her smirk, even though she couldn't help but think it would be.

"Would you like to accompany me to breakfast?" asked Harry.

"I usually wait for Millie and Tracey. You can come with us too, if you'd like," she replied. They took a seat on the couches and waited for the others to join them.

"Shall we begin our lessons while we wait, then?" asked Harry. Daphne turned to him, surprised that he wanted to get started already.

"Considering how you managed to cast both charms silently yesterday, I'd like you to try something new. I want you to attempt to cast Lumos and Nox several times in succession, silently."

"Why?" she asked, not understanding the point of the exercise.

"You may think it's useless, but think of it like this. Casting a spell is a matter of controlling the flow of magic from your magical core. Casting silently is more difficult than casting verbally, but it helps to improve your control. Before trying harder spells, I want you to be able to cast simple spells silently and with as little effort as possible. Besides, sometimes we cast spells using more magic than necessary, when the extra magic doesn't always improve the spell. It does, however, tire you out quickly."

Daphne was intrigued.

"Interesting..." she said in a whisper. "May I ask where you learned this? Or is my answer Salazar Slytherin's Diaries?"

"Not only, but also, yes," he replied. He drew his wand, and as a demonstration started casting Lumos and Nox within short intervals, silently and without wand movements.

By the time Millie and Tracey came down, Daphne was able to cast the spells three times in succession before she made a mistake. It was a lot harder than it looked.

"Remember to breathe, and try to feel your magic."

"It's a bit frustrating, Potter, and that doesn't help at all," she replied.

"It will come with practice."

"So you say."

"Would I lie to you?"

"You'd better not."

Millie and Tracey had stopped short at the display, and they were now standing at the bottom of the stairs, gaping at the two of them.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here with all the shameless flirting?" asked Tracey with a teasing grin, startling both Harry and Daphne.

"What are you talking about?" asked Daphne, her eyebrows narrowed, but Tracey and Millie just laughed.

"Let's just go to breakfast."

"What about your boyfriend?" Millie asked Tracey.

"Are you kidding? I'm not going to miss all the fun these two can provide just because Theo decided he wanted to sleep in," replied Tracey, earning another glare from Daphne.

"Again, what are you talking about?" asked Daphne, making Tracey grin even more. Millie was chuckling.

"Breakfast and fun first, dearie," said Tracey.

"Good morning, ladies," called Blaise Zabini, who was now walking towards them.

"Potter."

"Zabini."

"What's with all the talk?"

"Let's just say that we caught Potter and Daphne flirting," replied Tracey, making Daphne blush imperceptibly.

"Really?" asked Zabini with a grin. "You work fast, Potter. And the Ice Queen, no less..."

"Can I have a word with you Zabini?" asked Harry, pushing Blaise a couple of feet away from them. The girls were surprised by this, and even more so when they saw Blaise blush and lower his eyes. Harry walked back to the girls, followed closely by Blaise.

"So, breakfast then?" Blaise asked the three curious girls, obviously trying to pretend his conversation with Harry hadn't happened. "Or if you'd like to wait a minute, Theo was just getting up."

Theo took a few more minutes to join them in the common room and was surprised to see them all waiting. The girls were still looking curiously at Zabini, who was still talking to an amused Harry Potter. The group went together to breakfast.

"What did you tell Blaise that stopped him short like that?" Daphne asked Harry as they were walking to the Great Hall, whispering so that no one heard them.

Harry glanced at Daphne with a wry smile.

"I told him that if he didn't stop, I'd tease him about the one he was moaning about in his dreams last night," he said, making Daphne release a small gasp.

"Do you know something?" she asked, curious.

"Yes."

"No, not really, but I managed to learn two things," he said.

"One, he definitely has a secret crush he doesn't want anyone to know about, and two, from now on he will behave around us, even if it's only because he's afraid I'll tell."

It was a pretty devious move, and Daphne had to admit she was impressed. A true Slytherin, indeed.

"Well played, Potter."

"Thank you, Greengrass."