During the week after Halloween, the Constant Vigilance Game soared to new heights of competitiveness. By Wednesday, Harry was forced to keep a near constant shield in place with his rowan wand, as Brian had taken to wearing his Invisibility Cloak in the corridors so as to avoid detection. Of course, Harry had his fair share of victories too, his favorite being the time he had managed to reflect a spell to turn his hair pink back onto his invisible son. The poor boy hadn’t realized he had been hit by his own spell until he’d taken off the Cloak to go to Charms class, and his professor (who also happened to be his mother) had somehow managed to snap a photo of him before he had a chance to remove it.
As Harry wandered lazily toward the Great Hall on Friday evening, he let his mind wander once again to the reason for Brian’s increased efforts: Quidditch. The first Quidditch match of the season would be played the next day - Gryffindor against Slytherin - and emotions were running high among the members of both Houses. Brian and Lily seemed especially nervous, as both of them had joined the team this year and it would be their first ever official match. Harry smiled at the thought. He had missed out on so much of his children’s lives, but this was something he would be there to see.
Lost in his thoughts about Quidditch and his children, Harry’s mind barely even registered the jet of colored light coming from his right as he walked into the Entrance Hall. Reflexively, he dropped into a crouch, allowing the spell to pass harmlessly over his head as his eyes scanned the area for his assailant. The Hall appeared to be empty, which came as no surprise.
Accio Invisibility Cloak! Harry commanded while flicking his wand in the direction from which the spell had come. He was rewarded with a startled yell as the silvery fabric was torn away from its wearer and soared into his waiting hand.
“Hello there, Brian,” Harry said cordially as he stuffed the Invisibility Cloak into his pocket.
“Hello, Professor,” Brian replied. “Tarantallegra!”
Harry batted his spell aside with his wand. “Not quick enough, I’m afraid.” He paused just a moment before sending a silent Tickling Charm at his son.
“Protego!” Brian shouted, deflecting the spell into the stone floor. “Would you quit with the nonverbal spells? You know we haven’t learned how to do that yet.”
Harry shrugged. “I have to have some advantages. You’ve got the Map and the Cloak - well, you had the Cloak,” he smirked. “Besides, you’re not exactly helpless. You know plenty of spells that go beyond the curriculum for your year.”
“Only because Mum was paranoid enough to teach us a few defensive spells right off, instead of leaving them for O.W.L. year or later the way the Ministry wants it done. Impedimenta!”
“Protego,” said Harry. “There, I said that one out loud. Now, would you like to have a proper duel, or shall we just keep trading spells like this?” Brian feigned a look of deep concentration, and Harry took advantage of the opportunity to fire off a Jelly-Legs Jinx. Brian ducked under it.
“I think I have a better idea,” Brian said at last. Without waiting for Harry to say anything, he fired off a handful of low-powered jinxes and dashed out through the front doors of the castle. A moment later, the Invisibility Cloak flew out of Harry’s pocket and out the nearest window. Chuckling, Harry entered the Great Hall for dinner. He would have to keep his weak Shield Charm in place for the duration of the meal, but he was getting better at maintaining it. Besides, even if Brian did get him again, a little embarrassment was a small price to pay for the turnaround in his relationship with his son.
Saturday morning found Harry sitting between Ginny and Hagrid in the teachers’ section of the Quidditch stadium as the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams took to the field. Lily, who was playing Keeper, hovered nervously in front of the goal hoops as Brian and the other Chasers prepared to charge forward as soon as the Quaffle was tossed into play.
“This should be a really interesting game,” rang out the magically magnified voice of the commentator. Harry twisted around in his seat to see him, but didn’t recognize the boy from any of his classes.
He must be an N.E.W.T. student who decided to drop Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry determined.
“Size and experience are definitely on the side of the Slytherin team, which only has two new players - Chaser Roland Nott and Beater Cicily Montague, the first girl to make the Slytherin team in nearly fifty years!” The Slytherin section of the stands roared its approval.
“However,” shouted the commentator above the increasing crowd noise, “Gryffindor’s team has some bright new talent this season, with new Beater Samuel Holt, new Chaser Brian Potter, his twin sister Lily Potter at Keeper, and the big surprise for everyone, second-year Gertie Mathis as the new Seeker!” The Gryffindors responded with uproarious applause, stomping their feet and clapping to create as much noise as possible.
“Returning players for Slytherin are Seeker Roderick Latham, Keeper Richard Malins, Chasers Maurice Shelton and Captain Zachary Hayes, and Beater Turquan Rondell!” The Slytherins cheered again. “With three seventh-years on their team, the green and silver will be looking to take home the Cup at any cost this year before they have to start rebuilding.”
“At any cost,” Ginny repeated in a half shout so that Harry could hear her. “That’s what I’m afraid of. I swear, if any of those trolls hurts one of my babies....”
“I know,” Harry murmured, laying a supportive hand on her shoulder. He doubted she could have heard him, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the game was about to start, and he didn’t want to miss anything - especially if there was a chance the Slytherins might try to harm his children.
“Returning players on the Gryffindor side are Beater Philippe Weasley, and Chasers Harry Wright and Captain Amy Pinnock!” bellowed the commentator. “They might not feel quite the same urgency as Slytherin’s seventh-years, but don’t expect that to slow them down; Pinnock’s always got a few tricks up her sleeve!” The Gryffindor section exploded once again, as an elderly-looking Madam Hooch prepared to throw the Quaffle into the air and begin the game.
“The Quaffle’s up, and it’s taken by Brian Potter - wow, that was fast - but he’s sandwiched between Shelton and Hayes and the Quaffle’s loose! Several players diving for it, and Roland Nott comes up with it - Slytherin in possession.”
Harry ignored the game’s progression for a moment to watch his son shake himself thoroughly before rocketing after the other Chasers, and sighed with relief. Brian was fine; the collision hadn’t done more than knock him around a bit.
“Nott passes to Shelton - drops it to Hayes - back to Nott, who passes to-” The rest of the sentence was cut off by loud groans from the Slytherin stands and cheers from the Gryffindors. Nott had tried to pass the Quaffle to Cicily Montague, one of his team’s Beaters, and possession had passed to Gryffindor.
“Wright of Gryffindor in possession now. He loops around a well-hit Bludger from Rondell, and passes to Potter - off to Pinnock - back to Rondell - behind the back to Pinnock - she shoots! Blocked! Great save by Slytherin’s Keeper, Richard Malins.”
The Slytherin Chasers were off once again, Shelton and Hayes using their size to elbow and shove the Gryffindor defenders away from them. Harry winced as Brian took a shoulder to the ribs, but the young Gryffindor barely even reacted to the blow as he darted back in, trying to dislodge or intercept the Quaffle.
“Ouch! Rondell’s Bludger gets Pinnock hard in the back, and I don’t know if she’ll get back up from that one! Slytherin with a three-two advantage in Chasers now, as Gryffindor Captain Amy Pinnock crash-lands onto the pitch. Shelton rams Potter out of the way - Nott passes to Hayes and screens off Wright - it’s a duel between Hayes and Keeper Lily Potter now. He’s sprinting hard for the right goal hoop - feints toward the center - back to the right - left handed shot across the field at the left hoop! Potter diving, but she can’t get - she can! Unbelievable! Lily Potter blocks her first attempt on goal by just getting a fingertip on the Quaffle, nearly unseating herself in the process!”
The Gryffindors were cheering wildly, and although Harry was clapping along with them, a part of him was having a hard time watching his children play such a violent game. In his mind he knew that Quidditch was a lot of fun to play and that people rarely got seriously injured, but his years of living as a Muggle still caused him to wince at every collision and near-fall.
“Gryffindor in possession,” shouted the commentator. “Wright with the Quaffle. Fakes a pass to Potter and dives to avoid a Bludger, and he’s off! Shelton and Nott are right on his tail, and it looks like Potter and Hayes are about to join them. This one could be decided by who has the fastest broom. They’re veering toward the left goal hoop, but Malins is right there waiting. Wright fakes a shot straight at the Keeper, and throws right - too wide! But there’s Pinnock, and she knocks it cleanly through the right hoop! Amy Pinnock, back in the air after a nasty Bludger a minute ago, takes us all by surprise and shows up just in time to score the first goal of the day - ten nil to Gryffindor!”
Harry clapped and cheered along with the other Gryffindor supporters, and found himself a bit more able to relax after seeing Amy Pinnock get back up after being smashed in the back by a flying ball of iron. He turned his attention back to the running commentary as the Slytherin Chasers formed up for another run.
“Hayes with the Quaffle, streaking up the pitch. He feints left, but Wright’s not giving him any room. Hayes passes to Nott- No, it’s intercepted! Brian Potter swooped in for the interception, and the Slytherin Chasers have no hope of catching him. A Bludger’s on its way from Montague - it’s on target, but Potter dodges. He’s one-on-one with the Keeper now, but Malins has the edge in age and experience.”
Brian shot forward, never deviating from his collision course with the Slytherin Keeper. Harry held his breath as the gap closed. Thirty feet - twenty feet - ten - he was going to crash! But at the last possible second he turned sharply to the left, rocketing in a line parallel to the hoops as his momentum gave him speed that the stationary Keeper simply couldn’t match. As he passed the left goal hoop, he tossed the Quaffle through the center, bringing Gryffindor’s score up to twenty.
“That was the Chaser equivalent of those insane dives I used to do, wasn’t it?” Harry shouted over the screaming crowd.
Ginny nodded emphatically. “Yours were worse though, because you had gravity helping you go even faster. That, and a collision with the ground is a lot messier than one with another player.”
“True,” Harry grimaced, but his smile soon returned as he cheered Lily for another save and the tone of the rest of the match was cemented. The Slytherins fought hard, though they didn’t play nearly as dirty as Harry remembered from his own school days, but none of their tactics were able to slip the Quaffle past Lily Potter. On the other side of the pitch, Richard Malins was trying valiantly to keep his team in the game by blocking everything that came near him, but every few minutes the Gryffindor Chasers were able to slip one past him so that by the time the Snitch was spotted, Gryffindor was leading 140 - 0 and Harry was hoarse from cheering.
“It looks like Mathis has seen the Snitch!” shouted the commentator. Every eye in the stands immediately began scanning the field for the tiny golden ball. “But this game could still go to Slytherin if Latham can get there first.”
“There,” Harry murmured, pointing it out to Ginny.
“You’ve still got it, don’t you?” she grinned. “Come on, Gertie!”
“Gertie Mathis is hot on the Snitch’s tail, but Roderick Latham of Slytherin is coming up fast,” shouted the commentator. Some distant corner of Harry’s brain wondered idly why Quidditch even needed a commentator, when everyone could see what was happening right in front of them without somebody shouting about it.
“Latham’s got the better broom, and he’s slowly chipping away at Mathis’s lead. They’re almost neck-and-neck now, and closing fast on the Snitch. Latham ducks a very well-hit Bludger from Philippe Weasley - don’t know how he even saw it coming - and Mathis makes a wild, diving grab. Did she get it?”
Gertie held up a triumphant fist, a tiny golden ball struggling to escape her grasp.
“Yes! Gertie Mathis catches the Snitch and ends the game; final score is two hundred and ninety to zero!”
The Gryffindor stands erupted with sound once again.
For a few weeks after the Quidditch match, Harry’s life was nearly perfect, despite a recent spate of fictitious articles about him in the Daily Prophet. His dueling reflexes had returned, and he was now more than proficient at using his rowan wand for defense while attacking with his original holly wand. The weekly chess games with Lily continued to be fun and amusing, despite the fact that he had never even come close to beating her. Even the Constant Vigilance game with Brian was going well: they both scored several hits almost every day, and Brian’s hostility seemed to have almost totally bled away. It felt almost too good to last, which was why, when neither Lily nor Brian showed up for Defense Against the Dark Arts on the Monday before the Christmas holidays, Harry felt a cold knot settle into his stomach.
Stop that, he scolded himself. The war’s been over since before they were born. There aren’t any Death Eaters around to do anything to them, and kids miss class all the time.
Except neither of these kids had ever missed his class, and he didn’t really think they would have chosen the week before Christmas holiday as the time to start.
“Good morning, class,” Harry said distractedly after hearing the bell that signaled the start of class. “We seem to be short a couple of students. Anybody know where either of them is?” He somehow managed to keep the irrational fear out of his voice, a fact for which he was grateful.
“I thought they were right with me,” said Will Jordan. “We left the Great Hall together, but when I got here they weren’t behind me anymore. I figured one of them had to use the loo and the other just waited, but it’s been a while now, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, it has,” Harry muttered as he unconsciously began edging toward the door. “Anyone else?”
Alison Davies raised a tentative hand.
“Go ahead, Miss Davies,” Harry said tersely, holding back as much of his worry as he possibly could and knowing he was failing miserably.
“I- I thought I saw them talking to some older students on my way up,” she said in her quiet, halting voice.
“Where?” Harry demanded.
“T-the first floor landing.”
Harry took a deep breath and blew it out slowly before turning around very deliberately and returning to his desk. As calmly as he was able, he addressed the class.
“Today we’re going to do a mock search-and-rescue mission. You will be playing the part of a search party; Brian and Lily will be the people you’re trying to find and rescue. You’re conducting your search in hostile territory - in other words, be quiet and stay out of sight; you wouldn’t want to be caught wandering the corridors when you’re supposed to be in class.”
“Professor?” called Peter Winter, his gray eyes betraying a bit of fear. “Are Brian and Lily alright?”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Harry replied with a tight-lipped smile. “On the off chance that they’re not, we’ll find them right away and get them to the hospital wing. And if they just decided today would be a good day to skive off class, I doubt they’ll make that mistake again soon. Everyone ready?”
A small girl with dark hair raised her hand. “Professor?”
“Yes, Miss MacDonald?” Harry asked, only managing to keep most of the panic out of his voice.
“What do we do if we find one of them?”
“Bring them to me. In the unlikely event that one of them is injured in some way, don’t bother looking for me, though; just get the closest teacher to help.” Despite his reassuring words, Harry had to swallow the bile rising in his throat. Saying it was unlikely that either of his children had been injured wasn’t going to change the fact that they never missed class unless they were in the hospital wing.
“Let’s go,” he finished in a hoarse whisper. The students filed out of the classroom with their professor close behind. Harry started with the second floor, moving quickly since he had no need to hide in the shadows and duck behind suits of armor the way his students did.
They could be anywhere, he grumbled to himself after searching for a good twenty minutes. There’s probably not even anything wrong, really; I’m just being paranoid. Still, his feeling of unease only intensified.
If only I had the Marauder’s Map- Harry froze in the middle of the corridor. Brian kept the Map on his person almost at all times, a fact which Harry was embarrassingly aware of given the number of times it had helped Brian sneak up on him between classes. Brian’s Invisibility Cloak could present a nearly insurmountable problem for a search team if he was wearing it and didn’t want to be found. Harry’s heart sank further as he considered yet another possibility. What if Brian and Lily had been caught by surprise by someone who knew about the Cloak? Draco Malfoy had managed to put a Full Body Bind on Harry and hide him under his own Invisibility Cloak on the Hogwarts Express at the start of their sixth year - what if something similar had happened to his children?
All the more reason I need that Map, then, Harry thought determinedly. He made an abrupt turn and dashed back down the corridor toward the staircase - he had to get to a nice central location before Summoning it.
I just hope Brian forgives me for stealing his Map if there’s really nothing wrong.
In less than a minute, Harry found himself standing in the Entrance Hall with his wand raised above his head. “Accio Marauder’s Map!”
Five seconds passed. Ten. Fifteen.
It’s not going to work. He must have it locked up in his trunk or something; or maybe my Summoning Charm just isn’t powerful enough. He snorted at the thought. His Summoning Charm had been powerful enough to Summon his Firebolt from his dormitory all the way to the other side of the grounds when he was fourteen years old; it was plenty strong to Summon a bit of parchment from anywhere in the school.
Unless Brian left the school for some reason.
Before he could pursue that thought any further, a worn and soggy square of parchment hit him in the back of the head. Harry spun around, his wand still raised, but there was no one to be seen. The large oak front doors were still shut against the chill of the winter air. Slowly, he bent down and picked up the parchment, recognizing it immediately as what he was searching for.
“I solemnly swear that I am up to no good,” he murmured, and was gratified to see the lines representing the walls of Hogwarts begin to appear. In moments, the entire castle and grounds were laid out before him and his eyes began rapidly scanning the tiny labeled dots for the name Potter.
The first name to catch his eye was his own, standing alone in the Entrance Hall. Next, he spotted Ginny pacing the front of her classroom as she delivered a lecture to her students. His eyes flew to Gryffindor Tower, but there were no Potters to be seen there or anywhere else on the seventh floor, nor the sixth. He continued working his way back down the page until he reached the dungeons, where Draco Malfoy was walking back and forth between his rows of Potions students.
“Where are you?” Harry whispered, growing more frantic by the second. They weren’t in the castle, although now he thought about it, the Map had come from outside so that wasn’t all that surprising. A quick glance told him that Hagrid’s cabin was empty, and no Potters were anywhere near the Care of Magical Creatures class, nor were they in any of the greenhouses. His eyes flew to the empty Quidditch pitch, and from there to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where the Map ended. In his haste, he nearly missed the tiny bit of ink at the edge of the parchment. He looked closer and, sure enough, there were the letters er.
Before he even knew what he was doing, Harry was outside, sprinting across the snow-covered lawn toward the forest. As he drew near, he found that he was still unable to see anyone, although the tiny letters at the edge of the Marauder’s Map had not moved. That meant they were either hidden behind a tree or under the Invisibility Cloak. Harry slowed as he reached the first of the trees, his eyes flicking compulsively between the Map and the landscape it depicted. He was standing right at the edge of the parchment now, just a few feet from the tiny er. He stepped cautiously around a tree, and nearly tripped when his toe caught on something. Looking down, he discovered a slight indentation in the blanket of snow.
Willing his hands not to shake, Harry bent down and took a handful of what looked like thin air, then gently lifted the Invisibility Cloak. What he found underneath nearly caused him to retch. Lily and Brian lay bloodied and broken on the ground, all of their limbs twisted and bent at unnatural angles. Most of their clothing had been ripped from their bodies, and their blue-tinged skin wrenched a cry of pain and rage from Harry’s throat. Whoever had done this would pay dearly for it, but first he had to tend to his injured children.
Quick as lightning, Harry conjured a pair of stretchers and Levitated one child onto each of them before covering them with Warming Charms and conjured woolen blankets. Then, with a snarl on his lips and a burning desire for revenge raging in his mind, he began guiding them toward the hospital wing.
“Mum?”
The hoarsely whispered word seemed to echo through the Hogwarts hospital wing, causing the two adults that were dozing in their chairs to jerk upright.
“I’m here,” Ginny said softly as she rose and hurried to her daughter’s bedside. “Everything’s going to be just fine.”
Lily sighed audibly with relief, sinking back into her pillow while tears began leaking from her eyes. “Oh, Mum, it was awful!” she wailed in a weak and tired voice. “They- they-”
“Shh,” Ginny soothed, running a gentle hand through her daughter’s hair. “It’s alright. We’ve got a pretty good idea of what they did; there’s no need for you to talk about it just yet.”
Harry slowly rose and walked to his wife’s side, trying to fight off the slight twinge he had felt when Lily had asked for her mum and not for him. He shook off the feeling; after all, even if she had known him all her life, most children seek comfort from their mother when they’re sick or injured. Besides, he wouldn’t have had any idea what to do for her if she had asked for him first.
“Hi, Lily,” he said quietly as he reached the bedside.
“Hi,” she whispered, smiling weakly. “What happened? Who found us?”
“Your father did,” Ginny answered with a weak smile of her own. “When neither of you showed up for his class, he sent the rest of the class out to look for you.”
“After a little while, I thought of the Marauder’s Map and Summoned it from Brian’s pocket,” Harry continued for her. “I could just barely see you at the edge of the Map, and once I found you I brought you back here. Lily, do you remember who did this to you?”
“I-”
“Harry!” Ginny exclaimed. “Lily, you don’t have to answer that. Harry, you should know better than to start questioning her as soon as she wakes up.”
“Waiting to talk about it only makes it worse in the long run,” Harry said resolutely. “Dumbledore told me that after the Triwizard Tournament, and he was right. If I could tell him that story right away, she can tell me who attacked them. If she knows.”
“It’s okay, Mum,” Lily said quickly before her mother could say anything else. “It was three seventh-year Slytherins. They cornered us on the first floor landing when we were on our way to Defense and started harassing us about beating them in Quidditch, saying it wasn’t right for a bunch of upstarts like us to be able to embarrass them like that. When we tried to leave, they hit us with Stunners. The next thing we knew, we were in a dark classroom without our wands, and they were-” Her voice broke, and Harry instinctively laid a comforting hand on her arm.
“It’s alright, Lily,” he whispered. “You don’t have to tell us what they did; Madam Pomfrey was able to piece it together well enough. Did you see who did it, though? If you tell us who it was, we can do something about them.”
Lily swallowed hard and nodded. “Richard Malins, Maurice Shelton, and Turquan Rondell.”
“And you’d be willing to swear to that?” Harry pressed.
“Yeah,” Lily nodded.
“Then it’s good enough for me.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” Harry thought his heart might burst at hearing that word directed at him. “For everything.”
“Thank you for telling us,” Ginny whispered. “You should rest now, though. Don’t worry; we’ll take care of everything.”
Lily nodded tiredly and let her eyes flutter closed. After a minute or two of simply standing at her bedside, Ginny returned to her chair while Harry headed for the doors of the hospital wing.
“Harry, wait!” she called out as loudly as she dared in front of the sleeping children.
“For what?” Harry demanded, spinning around to face her. “We know who did this, and we’ve got a very good idea of what they did. Now it’s time to punish them.”
“No it’s not,” Ginny argued. “First of all, there’s a chance that Lily’s wrong about who it was.”
“You think she’s lying?”
“No, but she did get hit over the head pretty hard, and we can’t be sure that she really saw what she thinks she saw. We should at least wait until we can verify her story with Brian.” Harry wanted to argue, but he knew she had a point and it wouldn’t be that much more of a wait anyway.
Sure enough, Brian awoke less than five minutes later and told much the same story as his sister, including the names of their assailants. As soon as he finished talking, Harry left his bedside, walking determinedly toward the doors leading out into the corridor.
“Harry!” Ginny half shouted at him. “Harry, where do you think you’re going?”
“To talk to Malfoy,” Harry answered shortly, using the excuse he had thought up while Brian and Lily were still asleep. “He needs to know what his students have been up to so they can be punished accordingly.”
“Harry, this can wait. None of those boys are going anywhere-”
“And do you know why they’re not going anywhere?” Harry exploded. “Because they don’t think there are any witnesses to tell us what they did! Weren’t you listening when I told you where and how I found them? Didn’t you hear what Madam Pomfrey said? They were beaten severely, both physically and with magic, they were cut open, their bones were broken and ripped out of their sockets, and then they were basically stripped and thrown into the snow! Not to mention they were inside the Forbidden Forest, covered with an Invisibility Cloak, and under the influence of a very powerful sleeping potion! Those pieces of filth left our children to either die of exposure or be eaten by some forest creature that would be able to smell their blood, and I will not sit around here while they go about their merry lives!”
“I’m not asking you to,” Ginny pleaded. “They’ll be punished appropriately, but there are proper channels-”
“Proper channels?” Harry laughed harshly. “You know, I never realized how much you resemble Percy.”
Ginny bristled. “And I never realized how much you resembled Barty Crouch, ready to go execute three boys without a trial.” Her words cut deep, but Harry wasn’t about to back down.
“That was low, Ginny, and completely uncalled for.”
“Really? You can’t fool me, Harry; I know you’re not planning on just talking to Malfoy. You’re out for revenge, but you’ve got to understand that the world doesn’t work that way!”
“And you’ve got to understand that I can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Harry raged.
“Is your revenge worth being put in Azkaban, Harry?” Ginny asked softly. “Because if you really think it is, then go; I won’t try to stop you.”
“Really?” Harry asked, his voice harsh and incredulous. “Why the sudden change of heart?”
“Because if you do this, you’re not the man I thought you were.”
Growling, Harry turned away from her and stormed out into the corridor, ignoring the quiet sobs behind him as he went. He moved forward, one foot in front of the other, through corridors and down stairs, until he spotted the person he was looking for.
“Malfoy!” Harry shouted.
“Potter,” Malfoy said coolly.
“I need to see three of your students,” Harry snarled. “Malins, Shelton, and Rondell.”
Malfoy’s eyebrows rose. “What for?” he asked suspiciously. “None of them are in your class.”
“They attacked and nearly killed my son and daughter,” Harry growled. “Brian and Lily independently identified those three as their attackers. Now, where are they?”
“In their common room, I believe,” Malfoy replied in a bored tone.
“Good,” said Harry. “Take me to them.”
Malfoy narrowed his eyes. “No.”
“Of course not,” Harry sneered. “It’s against the Slytherin Code of Dishonor to do anything to aid justice.”
“Justice, is it?” Malfoy asked. “I’ve seen that look you’re wearing too often to believe you’re interested in justice right now, Potter. You’re out for revenge. Can’t say I blame you of course, but I still can’t let you run off and curse my students.” He moved to walk past Harry, but a flick of Harry’s left wrist sent him hurtling to the end of the corridor where he collided painfully with the wall and was left pinned against it.
“Maybe I am out for revenge, Malfoy,” Harry said quietly as he stalked forward, drawing his wand slowly and deliberately. “Now, are you going to let me get on with it, or will I have to use you as a warm-up exercise?” He flicked his wand to release the Slytherin professor, causing him to fall heavily to the floor.
“I must admit, Potter, I never thought I’d see the day when you started acting like him,” he grunted as he got slowly to his feet.
“Like who?” Harry spat.
“I don’t know,” Malfoy mocked. “Maybe a different professor who liked to torment people because of who their families were, who only listened to what he wanted to hear from students, and who - when it came right down to it - was willing to go to any lengths for revenge.”
“Don’t you dare compare me to him!” Harry shouted, now struggling not to curse Malfoy where he stood.
“Why not?” Malfoy asked lazily. “It’s true. Snape judged you because he hated your father. You judge me because of my father, even though I turned against the Dark Lord and helped you defeat him.”
“Yeah, well Snape supposedly turned against Voldemort too.”
“And now you’re judging me because of what Snape did. He was a spy who turned out to really be on the Dark Lord’s side, so all other spies must be doing the same thing, is that it, Potter? And now you’re ready to run off and curse three foolish boys without stopping to gather all the evidence.”
“All the- I’ve got two eyewitnesses!” Harry shouted.
“The Ministry of Magic had more than that when they sent Sirius Black to Azkaban.”
Harry’s only response was a growl. This wasn’t right! Malfoy should not be making sense, and he definitely shouldn’t have the moral high ground.
“You know what Snape’s problem was, Potter?” Malfoy continued. “He couldn’t let go of the past. He refused to grow up and move on. If you want to make that same mistake, that’s your business, but I won’t have you taking it out on my students.”
Harry looked closely into his opponent’s eyes and was surprised to see the emotion lurking there behind his calm façade. It was fear. Malfoy wasn’t enjoying this; he was terrified, and also somewhat angry, but he still wasn’t backing down and Harry really was loath to try forcing the information he wanted out of him. Plus, in the back of his mind, a lurking doubt was growing stronger....
He had to get away, escape from the situation somehow, but without showing weakness.
“Fine,” he said at last. “I’ll take this up with the Headmistress, then.”
“Do that,” Malfoy replied. “I will expect her to contact me shortly.”
Harry nodded stiffly and turned away, pocketing his wand as he hurried up the stairs. He did not go to find the Headmistress, however. Instead, he went directly to his office, locked the door, and collapsed into his chair.
What’s wrong with me? he raged silently as tears began to sting the corners of his eyes. Am I really like Barty Crouch? Like Snape?
I never realized how much you resembled Barty Crouch. Ginny’s words echoed in his head, followed immediately by his own and Malfoy’s.
I’ve got two eyewitnesses!
The Ministry of Magic had more than that when they sent Sirius Black to Azkaban.
You know what Snape’s problem was, Potter? He couldn’t let go of the past. He refused to grow up and move on.
“But I’ve got a reason for not being grown up yet,” Harry argued aloud.
An excuse, you mean, answered an annoyingly persistent voice in his head. It sounded an awful lot like Hermione. Why do teenagers act like idiots so much of the time? Hormones. You don’t have that excuse.
But this is different, he insisted. Besides, there have to be other reasons for teenagers to act stupid besides just hormones.
Oh, there are, said his internal Hermione. Ignorance is the main one, but after everything you’ve been through in your life, you can’t claim ignorance.
Harry groaned and buried his face in his hands as he realized the voice was right. He had been about to do something incredibly stupid, and Draco Malfoy had been the one to stop him. Could his day get any worse? Apparently it could, because it seemed that Malfoy’s words comparing him to Snape were also true.
“I will not be like Snape!” Harry whispered fiercely. “Never!” But that meant something in his life was going to have to change. He would need to let go of the last vestiges of childhood that he had been clinging to, and be a man. For as long as he could remember - from his second lifetime, anyway - he had been amused by the idea of being a boy in a man’s body. While on the London Police force, he had often joked with his fellow officers about his condition, and they had all thought it was funny too. But they were also just barely out of their teens themselves. Harry was a grown man with teenaged children of his own, and it was time he started acting like it. When the choice was between growing up and being like Snape, it wasn’t a difficult decision.
The second Harry Potter rounded the corner and headed up the stairs out of the dungeons, Draco Malfoy collapsed to the floor, staring at his shaking hands. He’d known Potter was powerful, but he’d never imagined that his old school rival would be able to throw him the entire length of a corridor and pin him to the wall before drawing his wand. Throughout their entire confrontation, he had just been waiting for Potter to decide he’d had enough and start throwing curses, but Draco hadn’t dared draw his own wand. Aside from the fact that he probably wouldn’t have been able to get it out of his robes before being incapacitated, he knew he was outclassed. Not that he was a poor duelist by any means, but Potter had defeated the Dark Lord, and anyone who could do that was far beyond Draco’s ability to handle alone.
For several long moments after Potter’s departure, Draco remained on the floor, trying to get his shaking hands back under control. Though he was proud of himself for keeping up a calm demeanor until his adversary had left, he couldn’t deny that he hadn’t been that frightened since before the Dark Lord’s fall.
When he felt he was able, Draco pushed himself back to his feet and walked to his office, where he had a nice glass of Firewhisky and waited for McGonagall to contact him. Surprisingly, he waited for over an hour before she appeared in his doorway.
“Come in, Headmistress,” he said much more calmly than would have been possible an hour earlier.
“Thank you, Professor Malfoy,” she replied, stepping into the office and closing the door behind her. “I presume you know the reason for my visit?”
“I believe so,” Draco answered. “You’re here about the attack on the Potter twins, correct?”
McGonagall nodded. “It seems that three of your seventh-year students were responsible.” Her nostrils flared in what he recognized as a sure sign that she was nearly as angry as Potter had been earlier. “Apparently, they ambushed Brian and Lily Potter before their first class this morning. I don’t have all the details, but the attack included severe beatings, both physical and with magic, which broke several bones and drew a lot of blood. Then they stripped them, forced a sleeping potion down their throats, and left them under an Invisibility Cloak in the Forbidden Forest.” She took a deep breath before asking, “You know what this means, do you not?”
“Well, that depends on who did it,” Draco replied. “If they were underage, the punishment would be somewhat less severe, but you said they were seventh-years, didn’t you?”
“They are,” said McGonagall. “The students responsible are Maurice Shelton, Richard Malins, and Turquan Rondell.”
Draco sighed. “Potter was right, then. You’re sure?”
“Completely.”
“Then I suppose they’ll be expelled and tried for assault and attempted murder, and since it was Harry Potter’s children they attacked, they’ll end up with the maximum sentence.”
“I expect so,” said McGonagall. “Shall I handle their expulsion?”
“No,” Draco shook his head. “I’m their Head of House. I should be the one to do it.”
McGonagall watched him shrewdly for a moment before standing. “Very well. I’ll leave you to it, then. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
Draco nodded, and then he was alone. Taking a deep breath, he stood and marched out of his office toward the Slytherin common room. It only took a minute or two to arrive, but by the time he reached the section of stone wall that doubled as the common room’s entrance, he could feel white hot anger pulsing through him. Rondell, Malins, and Shelton were fools, and he had nearly gotten himself cursed into oblivion for standing between them and a very angry Harry Potter. Their idiocy must not be repeated, because he certainly didn’t intend to be placed in that situation again.
“Toujours pur,” he muttered, and a moment later was standing in the green and silver common room where he had spent so much of his time as a student.
“House meeting!” he called out authoritatively, causing a few of the students to jump in surprise. “It’s after curfew, so everyone should be inside. Prefects, go make sure the dormitories are empty - I want the entire House here for this.” He clenched his jaw in determination as he watched his instructions being followed.
“Everyone’s here, sir!” the prefects called about a minute later.
“Good,” said Draco. With a wave of his wand, he banished all of the furniture to the far corners of the room. “I want everyone standing around the edges of the common room. This is something you all need to see, but what goes on here tonight is not to be repeated to anyone.”
He waited a moment for his instructions to be followed, and then turned toward a cluster of seventh-years. “Shelton! Malins! Rondell! Step out here with me.” The three students shared a nervous glance as they complied. As soon as they were free of the other students, Draco silently conjured an invisible barrier in front of the rest of the House. If things went the way he was planning, it would be necessary.
“Tell me,” Draco sneered, “what were you up to this morning right after breakfast?”
The three students glanced at one another but didn’t answer.
“I asked you a question! What were you doing, Malins?”
Richard Malins’s eyes flicked to his companions one last time before he swallowed hard and answered. “We had a free period, so we came back here to work on some Transfiguration.”
“And why did you refuse to answer my question at first, if all you did was come back to the common room? You’re hiding something. Rondell! What did you really do?”
Rondell shifted nervously. “It’s like Richard said, Professor.”
“What about you, Shelton? What have you got to say?”
“Nothing,” said Shelton. “They’re telling the truth.”
Draco looked them directly in the eye, one by one. “Liars.”
He turned to the rest of the House. “Would you like to know what these three were really doing after breakfast this morning? They were disgracing the name of Slytherin House.” Murmurs broke out around the room.
“That’s not true!” shouted Shelton.
“What would you call it when three seventh-years ambush and try to kill a pair of fourth-years because they lost a game of Quidditch?” Draco snarled, rounding on him. “Don’t bother trying to deny it, any of you, because I already know what happened. And just to let you know, your little plot was foiled; their father found them and they’re recovering in the hospital wing as we speak.”
“So what?” said Malins. “The brats’ll be alright, so what we did can’t have been too bad. And now they’ll know to show us a little more respect in the future.”
Draco shot him a look of utter disgust. “I always knew you were a fool, Malins, but I didn’t think even you could sink to this level of idiocy. You are of age, which means you can be sent to Azkaban for assault and attempted murder, and whatever else they come up with. And you will be convicted. There will be no buying your way to freedom when your attack was on Harry Potter’s children. You’ll be lucky if they don’t waive the maximum sentence just for you and give you life. Or death.”
“But- but we didn’t do anything!” Rondell protested. “Not really. They’re recovering, right? So we should just get detention or something.”
“I’m starting to see why people like Potter think Slytherins are stupid,” Draco spat. “But that doesn’t matter now. What matters is that the rest of the House gets to see this.” He raised his voice slightly. “Let this be a warning to all of you. Do not cross Harry Potter. Annoy him in class if you like - I can support you in that - but do not make him feel threatened and do not threaten any member of his family if you value your lives.”
He looked around the room, locking eyes with several students as he went on. “Your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher defeated the Dark Lord. Do you think you could stand against him?” He rounded on Malins, Shelton, and Rondell again.
“You three are only alive right now because I was able to pull a useful little trick to stop Potter from forcing me to bring him to you, and it’s not the sort of thing that would work more than once. Make no mistake, I am quite accomplished when it comes to dueling, but I know I am no match for Potter. And you aren’t even close to being a match for me. Now turn over your wands so I can snap them in two and you can wait for someone from Magical Law Enforcement to come for you.”
The three students’ reaction was exactly what he had hoped for and expected: they didn’t move.
“There is, of course, another alternative,” he said quietly, immediately capturing their attention. “If the three of you were to overpower me, you might be able to make a run for it. You’d have to live as outlaws, true, but at least you’d be free.”
Rondell, Shelton, and Malins glanced at one another, and Draco didn’t even need to use Legilimency to know what they were thinking. They expected him to put up a token resistance before allowing them to overpower him and escape. They might even think that they could overpower him on their own anyway. It disgusted him how transparent and easy to manipulate these three were; they would hardly be a big loss for his House.
“Right, then,” Malins said at last. “Here are our wands.” As one, the three seventh-years drew their wands and pointed them at their Head of House. “Out of our way, and we won’t hurt you.”
Draco just laughed.
“Confringo!” “Diffindo!” “Reducto!”
All three spells were batted away with ease, and the fight began in earnest. It was almost laughable how bad these students’ dueling skills really were, but Draco wasn’t complaining about it at the moment as his curses sliced through the air, connecting almost every time while his opponents’ spells either missed completely or were easily blocked. Within two minutes, all three students were bruised, bloody, and wandless, while Draco had barely even broken a sweat.
“Are you watching, Malins?” he asked in a menacingly quiet voice. Malins looked up through swollen eyelids to watch Draco snap his wand in half and toss the pieces into the fire.
“What about you, Shelton?” Shelton watched in horror as his wand was disposed of in the same manner.
“And you, Rondell.” Rondell glared at him helplessly as he snapped and burned the third wand.
“Let this be a lesson to you all,” Draco said in a louder voice to the rest of the students, who were standing around the walls looking dumbfounded. “I will not stand in Potter’s way again - I value my life too much for that. And if I’m no match for him, and I can defeat three of your best this easily....” He allowed the statement to hang in the air for a moment before disposing of the shield he had conjured to protect the rest of the House and conjuring ropes to bind the three defeated students.
“You may return to your studies,” he called out almost as an afterthought. “Mobilicorpus.” With a flick of his wand, his three prisoners floated out of the common room ahead of him to await their fate.