After checking the map, Harry arrived at the classroom he and Bellatrix had met in the previous week and began taking out the necessary books and parchment needed to complete the task.
"It seems as though you get to keep your bits then" Bellatrix sighed with mock disappointment. "Well, so far" she added with a grin.
The grin left Harry taken aback.
It was not the maniacal grin that he was used to seeing plastered on that face, but one of genuine amusement, and a grin that made her look very beautiful indeed.
He shook those thoughts from his head.
'That's Bellatrix LeStrange for Christ sake' he scolded himself. 'She is an insane killer, she killed Sirius' he reminded himself firmly.
" Out of interest, just what is it you do with the trophies of your victims?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"That is my business Potter" She replied, this time with a more recognisable sinister grin on her face, though her eyes were alight with amusement.
"Well, I haven't seen anyone limping around here" Harry responded with a shrug.
"That's because they have learnt not to cross me, especially after Rudolphus thought he could let his unworthy hands touch me" she returned with a look of disgust at the memory. "I hit him with a well placed shrinking charm" she explained.
Harry cringed at the thought of the results that spell had.
"And speaking of Rudolphus" Bellatrix continued. "He is determined to get you back" she warned.
Harry snorted at that revelation.
"That idiot doesn't learn" he sighed while he shook his head.
"Rudolphus is a moron, I'll give you that, but he is very dangerous with that stupidity" Bellatrix intoned seriously. "I saw him curse a second year for sitting in his seat and she spent two weeks in the hospital wing" she informed him, clearly not approving of the boy's actions.
"What the hell did he curse her with?" Harry asked. "It must have been bad for her to be there for that long" he pointed out.
"No one knows" she shrugged. "But he got two month's detention for it" she explained.
"That's it?" Harry questioned angrily. "Obviously the curse could have killed her or she would have been out a lot quicker" he added knowingly.
"Dumbledore gave the punishment personally" Bellatrix revealed.
'No wonder why things are going to shit, you get a bloody detention for attempted murder' he seethed inwardly.
"Stupid twinkly-eyed git" he growled.
"Oh, not a fan of the lights exulted leader then?" Bellatrix, questioned, visually surprised by his outburst.
Harry shook his head.
"I don't think he's a bad guy, but he certainly isn't the saintly old man people make him out to be" he proclaimed knowingly, having experienced the secretive and somewhat manipulative nature of the man throughout his life.
"You are a surprise Potter" Bellatrix replied with a smirk. "And there was me thinking you were like the rest of the Gryffindor's, queuing up to lick his boots" she added mockingly.
"You will never catch me licking anyone's boots" Harry vowed firmly. "I live by my own morals and do what's best for me and those I care about" he shrugged.
Bellatrix actually smiled at him, which unsettled him slightly.
"Now that is something I can respect, the world is full of people who want to look up to someone and not be their own person" she sighed.
Harry nodded his agreement.
"Shall we get this over with then?" he asked.
Bellatrix just nodded and the two settle down to complete their work.
It was a little after an hour later that they both completed the task and parted ways, agreeing to meet the same time and place the following week.
Harry left the meeting feeling rather confused and experiencing mixed emotions. Although he knew he had actually enjoyed the time with her, as strange as it sounded in his own mind, he would not admit it to himself, he couldn't admit it to himself and he certainly would not admit that he was looking forward to seeing her again the next week.
As much as it bothered him, he could at least concede the point that she was interesting and her humour was very similar to his own; it seemed as though they had a fair amount in common but he knew that wouldn't last long as time went by. He knew exactly what she was going to become and it disgusted him even thinking about the similarities they shared.
'It's only until Christmas' he reminded himself firmly.
He entered the tower and joined James and Remus in their usual seats who were clearly transfixed on something. Evidently, Peter was still with Rookwood so he felt no need to inquire about the boy.
"What's going on?" he asked the two with a frown.
"Just watch" James instructed. "It's bloody gold" he snickered, gesturing to the other side of the common room where Sirius was sat with Marlene.
Harry noted that Sirius was a very deep shade of red and Marlene looked more amused than Harry had seen her thus far.
Suddenly the sound of romantic violin music could be heard throughout the room and Sirius shot to his feet, clearly irate and stormed over to where they were sat.
"Will you please just stop it, it's unbearable" he pleaded.
"It's nothing to do with me Padfoot" James replied, holding his hands up to demonstrate his innocence.
"I just got back" Harry pointed out.
"Arithmancy work" Remus shrugged.
Sirius groaned weakly before heading back to the corner in defeat.
All three of the other's burst into laughter.
"What did you do?" Harry asked James amusedly.
"Wasn't me" James choked out, pointing to Remus.
The werewolf leaned forward and beckoned the other two closer.
"I put a charm on a violin to play the music whenever the word 'curse' is used, shrunk it and stuck it under the table" he explained proudly. "The thing is, they only have to sit somewhere else and it will stop" he snickered.
"He's going to kill you" Harry proclaimed.
"Are you going to tell him?" Remus asked.
"Good point" Harry conceded.
They spent the rest of the evening being entertained by the spontaneous outbreaks of music that sounded throughout the room and hid from their glares that Sirius through their way. His breaking point came when Marlene attempted to drag him to his feet for a dance and he flat out refused and stormed up to the dormitory and slammed the door behind him, not coming out for the rest of the night.
It took three days for him to calm down enough to even begin speaking to them again, but even then it was clear that he was planning some revenge. Harry decided that he would help him out and offered the boy his services and an idea, to which Sirius readily agreed.
It took a further three days for them to work out all of the details for the prank but eventually they were ready to put their plan into action, much to the delight of Sirius who could not wait to get his own back.
They waited for the rest of the group to fall asleep and went to work on everything that needed to be done to pull it off. Once they were satisfied everything was in place they themselves went to bed, intent on getting up early so they could witness the results.
Harry woke before the rest of his dorm mates and roused a sleepy and irritable Sirius, who soon perked up when he was reminded of what was going to happen.
The pair readied themselves for the day as quickly and quietly as possible before they made their way to the door to head down to the common room.
That's when Harry was hit with another brainwave and he carefully woke Peter.
"Get down to the common room as soon as possible and bring your camera" he whispered to the boy. "Do not wake James" he added firmly.
Peter simply wore a look of bemusement but nodded his compliance before Harry and Sirius exited the room.
It was ten minutes later that they were joined by both Peter and Remus who had also woken up in the time that they were gone.
"What's going on?" the werewolf asked with a frown.
"Just wait" Harry replied with a smirk.
It was five minutes later that the first sign that their plan had worked was apparent.
By this time the common room had filled with most of the house and they turned nervously towards the staircase as an ear splitting roar sounded throughout the tower.
"HARRY!" James shouted furiously. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU" he added angrily.
"What have you done?" Remus asked worriedly.
"Watch" Harry instructed simply. "Peter, get the camera ready".
Sirius wore an excited look of anticipation that actually had him shaking with glee.
A few more moments passed before the sound of several thuds could be heard as James toppled down the stairs and spilled into the common room, landing in a heap on the floor.
The sight of the boy had the entirety of the room in peals of laughter as he stood and glared at his dorm mates with both shock and anger etched into his face.
His hair and eyebrows were now so thick that his eyes could barely be seen and he now had a very hair mole just above his top lip. His ears had grown to a comical size and his nose was in a similar state. The icing on the cake however, was the t-shirt he wore that simply read: 'The Ugly Twin'. Which presence became apparent as Harry approached him and removed his jacket, revealing the same shirt that read 'The Pretty Twin'.
"Say cheese" he chuckled as he wrapped his arm around the other boy, nodding towards Peter as he did so.
Peter took the nod as his cue and snapped a picture of the pair, handing Harry the photo as it printed.
"One for the family album don't you think?" he asked James who simply scowled at him.
"Why would you do this to me?" he growled.
"Revenge for the prank you got Sirius with when he first met me" Harry shrugged.
"But that was weeks ago" James whined.
"Yup" Sirius agreed with a grin. "Had to get you back though".
James pouted.
"Well when the hell will it wear off" he asked desperately.
"Maybe a few hours" Sirius guessed. "But the t-shirt in a day or two" he added uncertainly.
James just shook his head and headed back up to the dorm room, clearly no happy with the rest of them.
"You know, I might send this to Mum and Dad" Harry mused aloud, reminding himself that he did indeed have to write to them anyway.
"You do realise he won't let this lie" Remus cut in.
"He will" Harry responded confidently. "If not he will get it much worse".
Remus shook his head and sighed.
"I hope so" he declared. "We don't want to be pranking each other when we haven't gotten anyone else yet" he pointed out.
"Halloween" Harry reminded him simply.
The other three boy's grinned at the thought of what they were planning.
(BREAK)
Tuesday evening arrived quickly as the week had flown by in a blur. Planning and pulling off the prank along with training, Quidditch practice and working on the Patronus charm with the others had left Harry continuously busy, though he managed to make time to help Lily out with her project when he could.
He arrived in the usual classroom before Bellatrix and had everything ready to begin before she arrived, which she did five minutes later and the duo settled down to start their assigned spells for the week.
"You know, you haven't once asked a single thing about me in all the time we've spent together" Bellatrix pointed out.
Harry frowned in thought an realised that she was in fact right, he had not asked her anything.
'Probably because I know all I need to' he mused.
"Ok" he conceded, placing his quill on the desk. "What is it you want to do when you're finished school?" he asked, genuinely interested in what the girl's dreams and ambitions had been before she became a mass murderer.
Bellatrix tapped her chin with the end of her quill, clearly thinking hard about the question.
"Maybe a duelist or I'd like to write my own books" she answered uncertainly. "One of the two" she added sounding a little more confident.
The duelist revelation did not surprise Harry in the slightest. Despite she was completely insane, he could respect the fact that she was very formidable with a wand from what he had seen. The fact that she was considering writing her own books did surprise him however, that he had not expected at all.
"Interesting" he responded. "What about your family?" he asked further.
He of course knew that Narcissa was her sister and she had another one who would end up being Tonks' Mother.
"I have two sister's, Narcissa and Andromeda" Bellatrix began, her eyes full of care and love for the two, something that Harry could not even fathom she had any understanding of. "Andi is in the year above us and is planning on being a lawyer and Cissy will be a healer I think, she's so caring and good with potions" she explained, clearly proud of her siblings.
"And your parents?" Harry inquired curiously.
"My Mother is great and she always encourages us to do what we want and what will make us happy" Bellatrix spoke fondly. "My father wants us to be the perfect housewives and marry into a rich pureblood family" she added with a sneer.
"Ahh" Harry deadpanned.
"He would have us married to morons like the Malfoy's if he could" she continued disgustedly. "You should know all this, your mother is a Black after all" she pointed out.
"I haven't met any of the Black's" Harry reminded her. "I've barely been home since I was eleven, I didn't even meet Sirius until a couple of weeks before the school year started" he explained.
"Why did you come here?" Bellatrix questioned.
"Because of what's going on out there, I wanted to be closer to home, just in case" he answered cryptically.
Bellatrix nodded her understanding.
"So you haven't met my Grandfather yet then?" she asked with a smirk.
Harry just shook his head.
"He will definitely want to meet you, you are his Nephew" She informed him. "Regulus wrote to him the first day here to tell him all about you" she concluded with a smirk.
Harry simply shrugged.
He didn't know the man but figured that he was not the most pleasant of people even if he was his Grandmother's brother.
The two settled into the work and completed it with their usual ease, both appreciative and respectful of the knowledge that each held between them and rarely needing to consult a book.
They exited the room to head to their respective common rooms, agreeing once again to meet in the same place at the same time the next week.
Harry entered the Gryffindor common room and took his place with Remus and James in their corner, both of them immersed in their own work.
"Not being entertained by Sirius and Marlene this week?" he asked as he took his seat.
"Nah, they're boring now" James sighed. "It seems as though Sirius has learnt to tolerate her" he added disappointedly.
Harry shot a glance towards the pair in question and noted that James was right, the pair seemed to be working together in a companionable manner.
He shook his head.
"Where's Peter?" he asked.
"He came back a while ago and went to the library to do some stuff for potions" Remus shrugged. "How was your time with the Black widow" he returned with a smirk.
"Same as usual really" Harry answered. "We get the work done and go our separate ways and she hasn't tried to curse me yet" he explained.
"That's about as good as you can expect I suppose" James interjected.
Harry nodded.
So far things had gone much better than he ever thought possible with the girl. He quite enjoyed her company and they shared similar interests, strangely enough. He had certainly seen a side to her that he never thought he would and grudgingly accepted that she was actually quite likeable in away he did not understand. They were by no means friends, but they weren't enemies either. It seemed that they both had at least been surprised by one another and had created something akin to an effective and pleasant working relationship, something that Harry was rather pleased to be a part of as they both had a considerable amount to offer each other.
"Have you been practicing?" he asked the others, referring to their work on the Patronus charm.
"Yeah but I'm starting to feel weak so it's not working" Remus sighed.
That reminded Harry that the full moon was only a couple of days away and he had yet to managed to complete his transformation, though he knew he was very close and he had to admit that Peter's help had been invaluable to him.
"I've got a misty shield starting to form" James cut in proudly. "It's bloody tiring though" he concluded exasperatedly.
"It is" Harry agreed. "But it does get easier with practice" he assured the boy. "Hopefully I will have my transformation done before Friday, I will work on it over the next couple of days" he added in a whisper to Remus.
The boy smiled at Harry gratefully.
"Thank you" he replied sincerely. "It really does make it easier having these guys around me" he finished genuinely.
"Then I'll make sure I get it done" Harry vowed.
(BREAK)
He did indeed work on it tirelessly over the next couple of days and managed to complete the change, though he knew he would have to keep working on it to make it as seemingly effortless as he had witnessed from Sirius, McGonagall and even Peter in the past.
Harry sat with the rest of the group in the common room as Remus left for the hospital wing, watched by the others who were clearly concerned about their friend.
That much was very clear to Harry. Despite how much they teased and tormented each other, they were the best of friends and cared about one another more than anything else.
"It never gets any easier seeing him in that state" Sirius spoke emotionally, breaking the silence that had fallen around them.
"No it doesn't" James agreed wholeheartedly. "I'd give anything to make him better" he declared sadly. "That's why we worked so hard on our forms" he explained as he turned to face Harry. "We asked him if there was anything that we could do to help and he said that he wished we could be with him during, so we found a way" he finished seriously.
"And it means the world to him" Harry responded knowingly.
"It does" Sirius agreed. "He always tells us how grateful he is" he added with a shake of his head.
"But we do it because he's our friend" Peter whispered, clearly in thought.
Harry nodded.
"I think we should be good to head to the shack" James muttered. "Sirius, you take Peter under my cloak and I'll go with Harry" he instructed.
The group exited the common room and entered a bathroom a short way down the corridor before pulling the cloaks over themselves and heading out into the grounds.
"You know what to do Wormtail" James whispered as they approached the Whomping Willow.
Harry heard a gentle squeak and saw a rat leap its way to the trunk and press the Knot at the bottom before disappearing into the tunnel below.
"Come on, it's safe now" James assured Harry as he began leading them towards the tree.
They entered the tunnel and removed the cloaks before lighting their wands and making their way to the end where the entrance to the shack was.
Harry couldn't help but think back on the time during third year when he had made this journey and mentally kicked himself for how stupid he had been. He should have let Remus and Sirius kill the rat then, it certainly would have saved so much trouble had he not been so moral and righteous back then, days and morals that were far behind him now.
They entered the shack and the three others immediately turned to face him, clearly waiting for something.
"Well?" Sirius asked impatiently.
"Well what?" Harry asked with a frown.
"Show us" James demanded.
Harry sighed and shook his but began focusing on the changes he needed his body to make.
It took around thirty seconds for him to complete it but he knew that he had done it right when he saw the looks of confusion on the face of James and one of astonishment on Peter and Sirius's.
"What are you?" James questioned with an ignorant frown.
"A Thestral" Peter whispered, completely in awe.
Harry changed back to his human form and sighed.
"Yeah but if you and Sirius can see me then it means everyone can" he explained.
"Understandable" Sirius cut in. "No one knows much about them and no doubt they have their own type of magic, but damn that is so cool" he finished disbelievingly.
"That will be bloody useful" James added. "You can actually fly, none of us can" he pointed out.
"Please ignore the urge to eat me" Peter pleaded worriedly causing the other three to burst into laughter.
"Don't worry Peter, I'm more likely to eat James or Sirius, a much more satisfying meal" he consoled the boy.
"You'd better not" Sirius warned.
"Nah, not you" Harry decided. "You look as though you have mange".
"Oi" Sirius protested heatedly.
"Shh, I think Moony is coming" James broke in.
Remus entered the shack looking nothing short of terrible. He was pale, shaky and sweating profusely and smiled despite this seeing that they had all come to spend the night with him.
"How're you feeling Moony?" James asked, clearly concerned for the boy.
"Same as always Prongs" Remus answered with a weak smile. "Let's see it then" he demanded, turning to face Harry.
Harry nodded and made the change, causing Remus's eyes to widen in recognition.
"That's bloody impressive" he declared. "It makes me feel safer about going out there too" he added sincerely gesturing towards the forest.
"You'll be fine Moony" Sirius assured him. "We wouldn't let anything happen to you or anyone else".
"I know Padfoot" Remus sighed. "I just wish we didn't have to do this".
"Well we do, so let's make the best of it as we always have" James suggested patting his friend firmly on the back.
"Thank you guys, you know it means everything to me that you do this right?" he asked.
"Something you tell us every month" James pointed out. "But yes, we know" he added softly.
The boy began trembling a little more violently and James stepped away.
"Change" he instructed and soon enough the four others were in their forms.
Harry watched in a mixture of horror and complete sympathy as Remus fell to the ground and began screaming as his body began convulsing and changing from that of a sixteen year old boy, to one of a grotesque human-wolf hybrid.
Once the change was complete the creature simply trembled on the ground for a moment and whimpered, clearly in a lot of pain.
Sirius whined sadly as James began to paw the ground irritably, waiting for him to stand.
It was several moments later that he did so and released a howl of both anger and hurt before turning his attention to the others in the room, his eyes freezing in a calculating glare on Harry.
The werewolf approached him and began sniffing curiously in attempt to discern if the scent was familiar and if the animal in front of him was a threat in any way. Evidently it decided that it wasn't as it turned away and decided that it wanted to roughhouse with Sirius, who happily complied.
After sometime they exited into the grounds of the school and led the werewolf into the forest where they spent the night simply running through the trees and enjoying the crisp, night time air in their forms, making sure they returned to the shack in plenty of time before the sun came up.
Harry was as happy as he could ever remember being in his entire life. He had heard from both Sirius and Remus how special these moments were, but the description in no way did the actual experience justice and he reveled in that feeling as the boy's returned to the dormitory, under the guise of the cloaks, to get some much needed rest.
(BREAK)
The weekend came and went with the group mostly relaxing and recovering from their night in the forest. Remus in particular was exhausted, as he always was after the full moon but he was in very good spirits. Something had definitely changed within them and they had grown closer than ever having experienced the most sacred thing to them and Harry now being a part of that had formed a new kind of bond.
Although they had all been welcoming towards him, it was clear to Harry that they had now moved on in their relationship both as a unit and with each member individually.
Remus was so grateful that Harry had not changed his mind about him after seeing him at his worst, something that had worried him. But Harry had come through and shown him the kind of person he was. He was loyal, caring and even as protective of the boy as he was his own brother and just as much as the others were.
Sirius had known him the longest but even he had been surprised how well Harry had dealt with everything and had not even hesitated to join them and promised that the secret would stay with him. Sirius could be dense at times when it came to emotions but he had no doubt that Harry had meant every word and genuinely cared for them all the same way they cared for each other before he had even come along.
Peter too could not be happier with how everything had turned out and even looked up to Harry considerably. He was more gifted than all of them but he did not have any of the arrogance that both James and Sirius still had, though he had more right to boast than any of them. He not only respected the boy but he actually liked him and always felt safe around him, even when they were around the Slytherin's during and after Defense classes.
James was simply proud of the other boy and he swelled with that pride as he watched Harry interacting with his other friends. He truly belonged with them and it felt as though he had always been a part of the group.
Harry just absorbed every moment and detail he spent with them knowing how special it truly was to be a part of everything they shared, something he had dreamed about since he was a child when he would lie in bed at night and wish he had a family. He had one now and it meant everything to him and he would not allow anything or anyone to take that away again. This time he was ready to prevent it, and he would do it, no matter what it took.
Charms passed in the usual fashion as Flitwick had them practicing concealment charms and having each student attempt it in front of the class. The charms themselves were not particularly difficult to cast but they could be tiring to maintain if one had little experience with them.
Harry had demonstrated a perfect Disillusionment Charm that rendered him near invisible, much to Professor Flitwick's delight. He had been given 20 points for his effort and promised a much more difficult set of spells to attempt if he continued to impress the way he was.
Creatures passed similarly with the class studying a baby unicorn that was simply stunning. It was bright gold and glowed gently in the dull, late September morning.
They had been instructed to take notes on the properties of the animal and the differences and similarities it shared with its adult counterpart; a rather relaxed and enjoyable lesson for all.
Defense as usual was spent discussing a creature of sorts, this week being werewolves, and being glared at by the Slytherin's.
Harry had grown rather bored by them all but couldn't help the itch he felt to just simply curse them, Rudolphus, Rabastan and Snape in particular were really trying his patience at times but he found that if he smiled at them it would really get under their skin, so he made sure he did it often.
He was relieved when Tuesday morning came along and he knew he only had potions to attend and then he could spend his day training before he had to complete the Defense work with Bellatrix in the evening as he had for the three weeks prior.
Slughorn had the class brewing a Blood Replenishing Potion, one that Harry had become familiar with throughout his training with the unspeakables and lessons with Croaker who had insisted he learnt the most useful medical potions, should the need to brew them ever arise.
Once he had completed that he made his way to the room of requirement to work on his spells. He had been focusing on his power and had managed to make some improvement, though he knew there was little else he could do to dampen it on physical and impact spells, not that he would really need to as he would only be using them in combat situations and he certainly was not planning on taking prisoners.
He was running around ten minutes late when he reached the classroom, having not had time to shower before dinner so he had rushed one before coming.
He entered the room to find Bellatrix already working on the spells they had been assigned.
"Sorry I'm late, I was running a bit behind" he explained apologetically.
"Just do the last two on the sheet" she returned irritably, not even looking up to acknowledge him.
"What, no threats of dismemberment?" he asked jokingly.
"I've got more important things to think about than you being late, so just get on with it then we can get out of here you idiot" she growled.
Harry just shook his head. Clearly she was not in a good mood today.
He took out his parchment and the two completed the work in silence, with Bellatrix keeping her attention firmly on what she was doing.
"Done" Harry declared as he finished writing the final sentence.
"Are you waiting for a trophy?" Bellatrix retorted.
Harry just frowned at the girl and shook his head.
"Fine" Harry sighed. "Same time next week?" he questioned.
"Whatever" Bellatrix answered simply.
Harry packed his things away wanting to get away from her and the mood she was in. He had barely stepped into the corridor when he felt something impact against his shoulder and immediately felt blood running from a deep wound where the cutting curse had hit him.
He turned only to see a furious looking Bellatrix glaring at him the same way her older counterpart had in the Department of Mysteries, her wand aimed directly at him.
He barely got a glance at her when his attention was dragged away from the girl by a furious voice.
"You thought you'd get away with cursing me you bastard" Rudolphus LeStrange spat as he came out of the adjoining classroom.
He was instantly joined by Rabastan and Snape as they came from two others and now had him surrounded.
Instinctively he raised a silver dome shield that protected him on all sides and growled in fury.
He had been tricked. The one time he hadn't checked the map and he had been ambushed by them.
He was furious with them but he was more mad at himself for being so lax and neglecting his usual level of vigilance.
He should never have trusted Bellatrix and because he had, even though it was a small amount, he had paid the price. The pair weren't particularly close but he felt betrayed by the girl and again felt a wave of fury overcome him as the first spells impacted against his shield.
He had of course been prepared for such an attack during his training but he hadn't considered the fact that he would need to use it at school.
He growled again as another series of spells reverberated against his shield and he could here shouts of rage coming from his attackers as his shield did not even waver under the onslaught.
He switched control of the shield so that he could maintain it wandlessly and began twirling his wand around him, building his power as much as he could.
After a third salve struck against his barrier he dropped it and ducked, releasing his spell at the same time.
A sound much like that of a canon blast sounded throughout the castle and the floor and walls around him cracked under the power of his spell.
After the smoke and debris had cleared he looked around him, wand at the ready only to find his four assailants completely unconscious and he immediately bound them all in thick ropes to ensure they could not attack again should they wake.
He had just finished and was ready to tend to his wound when Dumbledore, along with the entirety of the staff rounded the corner with their wands drawn.
"What is the meaning of this Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore demanded.
"These bastards attacked me" Harry ground out angrily. "I only defended myself and as you can see I was very lenient with them" he pointed out.
He took a step closer to the headmaster before he spoke again.
"Next time, I won't be" he growled, his eyes glowing dangerously.
Dumbledore swallowed deeply before speaking.
"What happened?" he asked gently, wanting the boy to calm down.
Harry sighed and shook his head.
"Myself and Black were doing our Defense work for the week and we'd just finished" he began. "I went to leave and she cursed me in the back and then these idiots appeared and tried to attack me" he concluded.
"I see" Dumbledore mused, stroking his beard in thought.
"Rest assured they will be punished Mr. Potter" he promised. "Now, I think you should head to the hospital wing to get that looked at" he suggested.
Harry shook his head.
He had a very good idea of what Dumbledore's idea of a punishment was but knew there was little he could do. He only had himself to blame after all for his laxity and putting his trust in the wrong people.
"I'll fix it myself" he sighed. "And Professor?" he added to Mortlake. "As you can understand, I will not be working with her any longer" he said firmly.
"Of course Potter" he conceded. "Find another pair to work with" he offered.
Harry just nodded and left the professor's to deal with the four Slytherin's and headed back to the common room.
He entered it to find everyone whispering furiously and looking worriedly towards the door.
"What the bloody hell was that noise?" Sirius asked as Harry closed the portrait behind.
"Your wonderful cousin and some of her friends decided to attack me" Harry sighed.
"Are you ok?" James asked worriedly.
"Yeah, she cursed me in the back but they will have a nasty headache for a few days" he explained pointing to his shoulder where he had been hit.
"Shit, you should go to the hospital wing" Sirius declared. "That's really deep" he added with a grimace.
Harry shook his head.
"Just help me get my shirt off, I can fix it myself" he instructed.
Sirius and James shared a look but Remus stepped forward and helped him remove his shirt while the rest of the house looked on in morbid curiosity.
"Can you place the tip of my in the centre of it?" he asked Remus, who immediately guided his hand to where it needed to be.
He then thought of the skin knitting charm that Filmore had taught him, one he had invented himself and the wound sealed immediately, only leaving behind a red mark to indicate where the wound had been.
"Here, let me clean it for you" the werewolf offered as he began siphoning off the congealed blood. "Harry, where did you get all these scars?" he inquired with a raised eyebrows.
"Just here and there" Harry answered dismissively as he pulled his bloodied shirt back on.
Remus shared a look with the others but did not ask further.
"What spell did you use that made that much noise?" Sirius questioned.
"It's a modified concussion spell and depending on how powerful you make it, will leave people out cold for a while, I imagine they'll be out until lunch time tomorrow" he mused.
"Are you ok Harry?" Lily cut in, clearly concerned about the boy.
"I've had worse" Harry shrugged. "Now if you will excuse me I'm going to shower and wash the smell of blood off me" he added before heading up to the dormitory.
"Where did all of those scars come from?" Remus questioned James.
"I don't know" the other boy sighed. "I don't know much about Harry's education and I was told not to ask" he explained.
"What kind of education leaves you looking like that?" Sirius wondered aloud.
"Merlin knows" James whispered sadly.
(BREAK)
The few weeks after the attack had passed quickly for Harry as he once again immersed himself into his training, now with a new purpose about him. He had vowed that he would not allow himself to be caught off guard and leave himself vulnerable for an attack like that again and his mood had reverted back to had it had been the night Sirius had been killed.
Outwardly he was completely impassive and unshakeable, but on the inside he was seething and continuously had to swallow back the anger.
As he had suspected, the Slytherin's that had attempted to harm him had only been given two weeks detention each, something that did nothing to quell the fury he was a feeling and he had happily joined James and Remus to continue the Defense work, now completely ignoring that Bellatrix even existed, not even sparing her the briefest of glances in lessons.
When he wasn't training, which was now a rarity, he spent time with the Marauder's as he had but also more time with Lily, helping her with her project and just getting to know the girl, something he was greatly enjoying.
Today was the first match of the Quidditch season and Gryffindor were up against Slytherin, who would certainly be after his blood after he had cursed them and left them in a rather pitiful state for several days after. It turns out that he had put much more power into his spell than he had intended to and the foursome had been unconscious for almost two days and had spent a week recovering in the hospital wing.
He sighed as Frank gave the team the signal that it was now time to head out.
He put all of the other thoughts that had been plaguing him out of his mind and used his occlumency skills to their full potential to focus on catching the snitch, something that Frank had instructed he got at the earliest possible time, if Gryffindor were ahead of course.
With a final check that he had everything he exited the changing rooms and took to the air as he entered the stadium.
(BREAK)
Lily watched in a mixture of awe and horror as Harry avoided everything that the Slytherin team was throwing at him; bludgeors, attempts to simply throw him from his broom and down right cheating with their obvious attempts to cause him harm.
He however seemed to take it all in his stride and was completely unfazed by what the other team was trying to accomplish.
She had already chewed most of her nails down as far as she could from her worry and once again screamed and covered her eyes as he dived from several dozen feet to avoid another attack from the LeStrange brothers who were completely focused on him, not at all bothered that they were losing by 200 points.
"It seems that Lils has got herself a crush on the new Potter" Marlene teased.
Lily simply scowled at the girl before she sighed and shook her head.
"It's really not like that" she said, sounding more than a little disappointed.
"Oh come off it" Malene exclaimed. "He's gorgeous, he's smart and just look at him fly, the boy's got everything" she added.
"I know" Lily returned heatedly. "And everything tells me that I should like him like that but I just don't" she elaborated, with a shake of her head.
"How can you not like him?" Alice broke in disbelievingly. "You spend so much time together too, has he not even tried to flirt with you?".
"Not even once" Lily shrugged. "But I haven't with him either". "I feel like I should like him but every time I try to think of him that way something just tells me that it's wrong" she explained. "I don't understand it because he is everything that I want in someone but it just can't be him, I mean I care about him more than I ever have anyone else but just not like that" she finished sadly.
"Well how is it then?" Marlene asked with a frown.
"I feel like I'm his sister or something" Lily answered uncertainly.
"So you wouldn't mind if someone else dated him" Alice asked.
"I wouldn't let either of you near him, I know what you're like" Lily replied knowingly, scowling at the pair.
"Ok, well what about if it was a nice young innocent witch, like Hestia, she's beautiful and never had a boyfriend?" Alice asked.
"I don't know, I feel like I just need to protect him" Lily whispered. "But it's obvious that he doesn't need it" she added, clearly frustrated by her own thoughts.
"I don't get that at all" Marlene declared.
"Neither do I" Lily admitted sadly.
(BREAK)
Bellatrix watched through narrowed eyes as Potter embarrassed her house team over and over again and although she was furious with him, she had to admit that he was more than a little impressive on a broom.
She shook her head and thought back over the past few weeks since everything had gone wrong. She had no memory whatsoever of what had occurred. She had simply left to meet him and woke up two days later to the news that she had attacked him, something that she never had any intention of doing.
She had even said as much to Dumbledore but the man clearly did not believe her, especially when the LeStrange's and Snape used the exact same excuse.
At first she had been hurt that he would believe she would do it willingly. She had never had an easy job of making friends, partly because of the reputation of her family and partly because she was not a very open person. She had quickly realised that her house was full of morons who she had no desire to spend time with but that had left her rather alone, which she simply got on with and focused on her school work.
But then Potter had come along and he actually understood her sense of humour and despite the fact that he had preconceived ideas of the kind of person she was, they quickly left and she actually enjoyed his company although she wouldn't admit it.
He was clever, even more so than she was she grudgingly admitted and he was funny and had never once leered at her in an unwanted way nor attempted anything other than tentative flirting and welcome banter.
But that had been then and this was now. Now she was furious with him for simply refusing to work with her and not even attempt to hear her out. The boy hadn't even looked her way at any point, always exited the class first and was nowhere to be found once he had left.
Today would be different however. Today Bellatrix Black would get her say and give him a piece of her mind, no matter what she had to do.
(BREAK)
Harry stood under the hot stream of water in the changing after a long and tiresome game against the Slytherin team with Gryffindor having been victorious by 400 points. He was in no rush to leave as he enjoyed one of the more simple things in life; a hot shower to help alleviate the aches and pains he had accumulated over the past week of pushing himself to his limits.
Eventually he turned the water off and stepped out of the cubicle, dried himself off and pulled on some clean underwear and trousers before taking a seat on a bench.
He took a deep breath and absorbed the peace and quiet as he rest of the team had left some time ago.
He truly had pushed himself harder than he ever had. He knew he had been a little negligent with his training since he had arrived at Hogwarts, but those days were certainly behind him now. He had become more vicious, less hesitant and more dangerous in his pursuit to be the best fighter he could be. Any emotion he felt was swallowed as he had learnt to do before he came here; it was for the best after all, he had a job to do and there was nothing that was going to stand in his way.
He heard the door to the changing room creak as it opened and his wand was in his hand immediately, aimed at the person now standing in the doorway.
"Come to have another go?" he asked neutrally, though he had narrowed his eyes.
"For merlin sake Potter, if I wanted to curse you do you think I'd ask the LeStrange's of all people to help, I'd do it myself" Bellatrix ground out angrily.
"That's exactly what you would do, you and your future husband" he seethed inwardly.
He said nothing but kept his eye on the girl.
"I have no idea what happened that night, I left the common room to meet you and that's all I remember" She explained irritably.
Harry just shrugged.
"A likely excuse" he replied internally.
"Is that the excuse you gave to Dumbledore?" he asked.
"It's the truth" Bellatrix returned heatedly. "Rudolphus and the rest said the same" she added with sneer.
"Why are you even here? It's not like it actually matters" Harry bit back.
Bellatrix swallowed deeply and actually looked a little hurt, an expression that changed quickly to anger.
"Fine" she shrugged.
She turned around but paused at the door.
"You know, I thought you were different" she muttered. "It turns out you're just like every body else, a prejudice and ignorant git" She finished before exiting the room and leaving Harry alone once more.
As far as Harry was concerned it didn't matter if she was telling the truth but he knew for a fact he was more mad at himself for being caught out than he was at her. This was Bellatrix Black, the future Mrs. LeStrange who had taken away the most important person he had ever had.
He knew he was being a complete arse to her but he would not take the same chance that had come back and bit him already. He just couldn't.
'It was only a temporary thing anyway, as soon as Christmas came they would have had no reason to ever speak again' he reminded himself.
The one thing that he would grudgingly admit was that he did miss working with her. Working with James and Remus was fine but it just wasn't the same.
Yes, they would laugh and joke but it felt like there was something missing and the fact was it was Bellatrix and Harry was very much aware of it. There was just something about her that he didn't understand. It was something that appealed to him and actually made the prospect of completing the tedious work enjoyable and something to look forward.
He didn't know exactly what it was about Bellatrix Black that had this effect on him but it was something that he missed having.
He shook his head firmly.
'It's better this way' he reiterated as he pushed the memories of her and the insane woman she would become to the front of his mind.
(BREAK)
Halloween arrived at Hogwarts and the group of boy's, minus Remus who had had a particularly exhausting change this month, were eagerly anticipating the evening's feast where their first prank of the year would be pulled.
Harry had been tasked to complete the charm work on everything that needed it, mostly to conceal the transfiguration spells that had been placed on the items by Sirius and James. Peter had worked tirelessly on the potions they would need for the past fortnight and now everything was ready. All that was left was for them to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labour.
Things had been hectic for Harry with the addition of all the work they had put in on the prank but he had taken it all in his stride. He had continued his rigorous training regime and managed to complete all of his homework without any problems.
The truth was that he was keeping himself busy on purpose so his thoughts did not wander on to things he no longer wanted to think about, but there were times that being busy was not enough and those thoughts would surface and he would be forced to swallow deeply and work through his occlumency tactics to rid himself of them.
The one thing that had managed to truly make him smile was the night that he had spent his next adventure with the Marauder's in their animal forms to help Remus through his monthly change. The other boy's had officially named him as a fully certified Marauder and had given him his own nickname; shade, simply because he could barely been seen in the night, only his emerald eyes were visible. They had even gone to the effort to add his name to their version of the map as only James was aware that Harry had one of his own.
The time for the feast arrived and the group made their way to the Great Hall, all four in attendance both eager and nervous to see if and how successful everything would turn out to be.
Harry entered the room and caught sight of Bellatrix who simply narrowed her eyes at him, something she had gotten into the habit of doing on the rare occasion that they would catch sight of each other.
From what Harry had heard she had quite badly cursed Rudolphus and the others and had landed herself an extra month of detention so he was not the only one who was no longer in her good graces.
He had learnt to shrug off the animosity she clearly had for him and even now he simply shook his head before taking his seat to wait for the show to start.
The room had been decorated for the occasion as he always remembered it being. There were charmed bats flying around their heads and several dozen pumpkins spread throughout the hall along with several other charmed decorations. The ghosts of Hogwarts were also gliding around the room attempting to spook unsuspecting students, with Peeves of course taking it too far by throwing sweets at people, causing him to be chased from the room by a furious Bloody Baron.
As planned, it was around 15 minutes after Dumbledore had taken his first sip of his goblet that the first signs that their plan had been successful was seen as a thick green smoke quickly enveloped the entirety of the staff table, hiding them from view.
Many of the students stared at the smoke, nervous about the unusual happenings that were taking place.
Eventually it was cleared, evidently by Dumbledore who was stood, clutching his wand and looking nothing short of comical, in fact, the entire staff table had indeed been affected, much to the delight of the four Gryffindor's.
Once the shock had warn off the entire room burst into laughter as the professor's began to realise what had happened and began to urgently point at one another.
"Is this your doing Albus?" McGonagall hissed.
Dumbledore shook his head.
"I assure you Minerva it has nothing to do with me, it seems that we are the victims of a practical joke" he sighed. "Though you do make a fine chicken, if I may be so bold" he added with a chuckle.
"How is that possible, I thought you could detect such magic?" McGonagall questioned with a frown.
"Alas, I believe that the concealment charms were cast to perfection, even I were not aware of them" he explained.
McGonagall and Flitwick immediately looked towards the Gryffindor table to where the Marauder's were hunched over, clearly in fits of laughter.
"Impressive" Professor Flitwick squeaked sincerely.
"Filius, your hair is green and you have an orange face" McGonagall pointed out.
"I believe he is an oompa loompa" Professor Burbage cut in amusedly.
"A what?" McGonagall inquired.
"Small orange men from Loompaland, it's a muggle thing" Burbage answered dismissively.
"Wha' am I spose ta be?" Hagrid asked.
Burbage sighed.
"I believe you are supposed to be a bigfoot, a muggle creature of myth" she explained.
"Ahh" Hagrid deadpanned.
"It looks as though I have some detentions to hand out" McGonagall grumbled as she made to stand.
"Now Minerva, it is all done in jest, I am sure it will wear off soon" Dumbledore spoke, trying to placate the woman.
McGonagall sighed.
"I suppose that it is rather impressive magic" she conceded.
"Indeed it is" Dumbledore agreed. "That will be ten points to each person involved" he called loudly and turned his attention to the four house hour glasses to see the Gryffindor one increase by the given points.
"Just as I thought" McGonagall growled.
Harry and the others looked on in sheer joy as the results of their efforts could be seen in front of them. Most of the staff had taken it in good nature but a few were clearly unhappy, Mortlake in particular looked murderous as Count Dracula and Slughorn gave them a respectful nod as he accepted the fact that he had been dressed as an actual walrus.
Dumbledore was currently Captain Hook and Merrythought had been turned into a very creepy clown.
"I can't believe we actually pulled it off" Sirius exclaimed.
"And we got rewarded for it" James added, shaking his head in shock.
"I told you it was better this way" Harry pointed out. "And now we know the Christmas one will work too, but we can add to it to make it better, but we will need Remus for that" he finished cryptically.
The other boy's eyes lit up at the prospect of improving what they had already achieved so Harry explained his idea to them knowing that they would not give him a peaceful moment until he did so.
(BREAK)
The next day found Harry putting extra time into his training as he had helped himself to extra helpings of treacle tart at the feast and had cut his session short yesterday because of homework he had neglected while preparing the prank.
The morning in transfiguration had gone as best as they could have hoped and even though McGonagall was clearly unhappy with them, they managed to get through her class without provoking her ire.
He sighed in relief as he finished his spell work for the day and removed his singed and torn t-shirt that had become this way from his exertions, leaving him in muggle tracksuit bottoms, his trainers and a vest.
He exited the room of requirement intent on taking a shower and catching up with the others who had gone to their other lessons; Peter to Herbology and James and Sirius to Ancient Runes with Remus still in the hospital wing recovering.
He entered the common room to find it surprisingly full and he frowned at the somber mood that he could feel permeating from the people situated.
"HARRY!" Lily shouted as she spotted him and ran to meet him at the entrance.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"You don't know?" she returned worriedly.
"Know what?" he questioned.
"Peter has been looking you, James is in the hospital wing, he was attacked" she explained hurriedly.
Harry immediately turned and exited the room, sprinting towards the hospital wing, his heart lodged somewhere deep in his stomach with fear.
He barged his way into the room to be greeted by the sight of a guilty looking Sirius, Peter, Dumbledore and the Potter parents along with several other members of staff.
"Harry!" Dorea sighed, clearly relieved to see him.
He approached the bed and swallowed a lump down at the sight of the boy in it.
James was pale, very pale and sweating profusely, his back heavily bandaged, thought they were soaked in blood.
"We've managed to slow down the bleeding but it won't stop" the matron explained.
"What happened?" Harry demanded in a dangerously casual tone.
"James was going to the library after Runes and I came here to see Remus" Sirius answered.
"Who did it?" Harry asked further, already having a very good idea on who the perpetrators were.
"Rudolphus and Snape" Sirius growled.
"Now Mr. Black, we have no proof of that" Dumbledore cut in.
Sirius caught Harry's eye and mouthed the word 'map' to him to confirm he knew who it was for a fact.
"So you are going to do nothing" Harry stated angrily to the headmaster. "They get away with two weeks detention for attacking me and they get away scot free for this" he added.
Dumbledore sighed.
"What's this?" Charlus broke in angrily. "They've done this before and they are still here?"
"I'm afraid without a confession there is no proof as no one witnessed the attack" Dumbledore explained.
Harry growled.
"And you wonder why everything is going to shit out there" he spoke neutrally, shaking his head. "They get away with it in here, they do not learn Dumbledore" he elaborated. "You are far too soft" he finished sternly.
"Now Mr. Potter they are children, they deserve a chance to change their ways and learn from their mistakes" the headmaster tried.
"And how many times must they make these mistakes Albus before they learn?" McGonagall piped up.
Dumbledore just shook his head.
"So, they try to kill him and you will do nothing" Harry hissed, his anger beginning to rise. "Look at him" he commanded. "He is half bloody dead and you will not act, have you checked their wands?" he asked furiously.
"I am not able to do that without their parents present and I imagine they would clear the spells from them" Dumbledore answered.
This did nothing to appease Harry and his rage continued to boil further inside him, his eyes beginning to glow dangerously.
"So a confession will do it?" he asked casually.
"I'm afraid it is the only thing that will work" Dumbledore sighed.
"Fine" Harry agreed and exited the room quickly.
"Shit" Charlus cursed. "We have to go after him Dor" he warned urgently.
The members of staff along with the Potter's, Sirius and Peter followed Harry from the room, not knowing what it was he was going to do.
Harry exited the hospital wing and took a few shortcuts to the Great Hall where the students were eating dinner immediately spotting the LeStrange's and Snape laughing, clearly at what they had done to James.
Rabastan spotted him first and alerted the other two to his presence and all three of them shot to their feet and drew their wands.
"Come for some revenge?" Rudolphus sneered.
The hall fell silent as they watched the events unfolding before them, none removing the focus from Harry and the Slytherin's.
Harry simply smirked at the three and as expected they attacked first with Rabastan firing and orange spell at him which he simply batted back towards him, hitting him squarely in the face.
The boy simply fell to the ground limp, his eyes, ears, nose and mouth leaking blood.
Before any of the other two could react Harry fired off a powerful bludgeoner towards Snape and whipped his wand in an upwards motion and summoned Rudolphus towards him with the boy dropping his wand in mid air.
Snape attempted to erect a shield but the spell passed through it as though it wasn't there and caught him in the shoulder, sending him crashing into the wall.
Rudolphus landed in front of Harry and he grabbed the boy by the throat, dragged him to his feet and placed his wand between his eyes.
"Now, which one of you bastards cursed my brother?" he asked casually. "Now don't lie to me or I will start breaking bones" he warned with a whisper.
It was then that the occupants of the hospital wing arrived and stared in shock at what they saw. Both Rabastan and Snape were not in a good state and Harry had Rudolphus by the throat, clearly attempting to get information from the boy.
Dorea had been the first in the room and had caught the final words that Harry spoke and she became fraught with worry, not wanting Harry to get himself in any further trouble.
"Harry please don't" she called weakly.
Harry ignored her and continued his interrogation.
"It was Snape" Rudolphus gasped. "He used a curse that he invented" he added frantically.
"What curse?" Harry demanded.
"I don't know, but he said it won't stop bleeding until it's countered" he choked out.
Harry felt his rage boil over; so the bastards had tried to kill him.
The end of his wand began to singe the skin between Rudolphus's eyes and he hissed in pain.
Dumbledore made an attempt to step forward but he was stopped by the firm grip of Charlus who drew his wand as he pulled the headmaster back.
"You will not intervene" he hissed. "Your lack of inaction has caused this and it is now a family matter, do not make me curse you" he threatened.
"Harry" Dorea called again. "Please stop, he told you what you wanted to know, please, do it for me" she pleaded.
Harry looked towards the woman and swallowed deeply, he didn't want to upset her anymore than she was.
"You are very lucky that my mother is here" he whispered to Rudolphus as he turned back to face him.
He pulled the boy closer so they were almost nose to nose before he spoke again.
"But if you even look at my brother in a way I don't like again, I will fucking flay you alive, got it?" he questioned the boy.
Rudolphus swallowed deeply and whimpered before nodding his understanding.
"Good" Harry growled and let the boy fall to the ground where he shook uncontrollably.
He then made his way around the Slytherin table, the occupants avoiding him as he did so and roused Snape, dragging the boy to his feet and leading him towards the door.
"You may want to get the other LeStrange some help" he suggested to Dumbledore. "Still think he can be redeemed after firing that curse?" he added irritably.
Dumbledore recognised the curse immediately and managed to counter it in time for it to not cause too many problems. A few days in the hospital wing and a few Blood Replenishing Potions would be sufficient.
'Definitely more to him than meets the eye' Bellatrix mused, completely in shock by what she had seen.
(BREAK)
The next few days were particularly trying for Harry, his family and friends as they waited for James to regain consciousness.
Snape had grudgingly applied the counter curse and had had his wand confiscated, only to allowed to have it for his lessons and had been given detention every night for the rest of the year.
Harry himself had received a months worth of detention but he did not care. All he cared about was that James was safe, nothing else mattered to him right now.
It seemed that everyone in Gryffindor had been to visit the boy and all seemed to be handling Harry's outburst better than he had anticipated, most claiming that had he not done what he did then James probably would have died.
They understood that he had been emotional and probably would not have acted in the way he did under normal circumstances, still seeing him as the ever-polite boy he had always been to them all.
It was on the third day that James finally woke and looked at all of those gathered with a frown.
"I didn't miss Christmas did I?" he asked worriedly.
"James, it's only November" Dorea explained.
"So we're still on then?" he questioned looking towards the rest of the Marauder's.
"On for what exactly Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked suspiciously.
"Nothing Professor, are you sure he's not delirious?" Sirius asked the matron.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief and simply fell asleep in the chair he was sat in and had refused to leave for the past few days.
A/N