Theory

Chapter Two - Troublemaker

Talitha sat in Transfiguration, trying to take the edge off boredom by levitating her quill lazily in front of her.

"And can anyone tell me the formula to figure out which amount of sand one needs for this kind of transfiguration?" Professor McGonagall asked. Her eyes travelled along the rows, passing Hermione's raised hand and finally settling unpleasantly on Talitha. "Mr. Callidis, as this seems to bore you so much, you'll certainly be able to answer this simple little question."

At the sound of her name, Talitha lost concentration on her quill and it dropped on her parchment, ornamenting it with ink blots. Professor McGonagall watched this with a grin, that didn't surface on her thin lips. Either way the grin wasn't meant to last long.

"I don't think anyone in this room knows this formula by heart, as it is difficult to tell the relative thickness of sand. And if anyone here knew it, I would say it's just wasted brain cell energy, since there is a simple spell to figure it out," Talitha said, careful to keep eye contact with the professor. "The spell is Computando and then you say the name and picture clearly the shape of whatever the thing you want to create, pointing your wand at the sand. The amount in question then will separate from the rest."

Most people in the room had turned to look at Theo the very moment, Professor McGonagall had picked him. Barely a few days at Hogwarts and he had already gained a rather dubious reputation. Some thought him cool, some thought him merely arrogant, but everybody was waiting for the big bang, when his disrespectful manners would land him in trouble the first time. The only thing that had rescued him so far was that, despite his rudely displayed boredom, he had until now been able to give the correct answer to every question.

Save for Hermione though, nobody in the class actually knew this time, whether the answer was correct. So they all waited for McGonagall's reaction.

The Professor nodded. "Correct," she said, showing no emotions. "One point to Gryffindor for the correct answer."

"One?" Theo asked looking slightly amused.

"It would have been five, but I took four off, for toying with the quill and the way you presented your answer." She turned around to her desk again next to which stood a great barrel full off sand. She was about to call the students to the front, when Theo spoke up again.

"By the way, Professor, if you're still keen on the formula, it's on page seventy-four in 'Magimatic for Transfiguration'."

Professor McGonagall didn't reply, but began to call the students to fetch their sand, so they could start the practical part of the lesson. Nevertheless, Harry was certain that the one point gained was lost again.

When the students packed their things together at the end of the lesson and filled out of the room, Professor McGonagall held Talitha back.

"A word, Mr Callidis."

Talitha turned around wondering if the first detention was finally due. She didn't truly care, but on the other hand wasn't keen on spending her leisure time doing anything for this school either. She tried to look nonchalant. "Of course, Professor."

The professor barely looked up, as the girl stood in front of her desk. "Tomorrow I want you to wear your tie." Talitha blinked, she hadn't worn that tie since the first day ended. Nobody had lost a word about it so far. Facing her by now, the professor seemed to have read her thoughts. "I don't care, if you want to make your time here as hard as possible," she said coolly, "but as long as you are a member of this studentry, you will be treated like everybody else. You stick to the rules like everybody, or you will get detention like every troublemaker." She paused for a moment, then turned her attention back to her notes. "You are dismissed."

***

"Hey, Theo, come over," Dean called, spotting the other boy absentmindedly entering the Great Hall. "What kept you?" he asked, as Theo sat down next to him. The others were already half done with their dinner.

"I've been at Dumbledore's office," Talitha replied.

"Why?" Harry asked. He had tried to be friendly and civil to Theo, although the other boy for some strange reason didn't give the impression to like him very much. And yet again his sociability seemed to repel from Theo like rain from Harry's glasses during a wet game of Quidditch. He didn't even answer in Harry's direction.

"Had to deliver a letter from my parents. Some sort of formality, I guess."

Talitha kept quite silent throughout the rest of the dinner, reviving her visit at the office. She had forgotten all about the letter until today, when she'd found it between two of her books. So after classes had finished, she had watched out for Dumbledore or any hint at where his office could be. She had found him in the western part of the castle, yet in a way she had the feeling that it had been the other way around. He had found her. As she wanted to hand him the letter, he had said the password to a huge stone gargoyle and invited her into his office. She had followed and he asked her to sit down, while he read the letter. Having finished, he had smiled at her and thanked her, making her oddly curious about what her parents had written. Surely they had not given away her secret?

"I hope you will soon feel at home," Dumbledore had said warmly. Talitha had barely nodded. Somehow she found his kindness intimidating.

After a moment of odd silence, a silence that obviously was only odd to the girl, Talitha stood up. "Can I leave now?"

"Of course." Talitha had been about to turn to leave, when Professor Dumbledore's voice sounded behind her once more. "There is just one more thing. I don't know how this was handled at your former school, but would you please not lock the compartment doors next time on the train. It is truly not necessary."

His words had momentarily pinned her to the spot. Then she nodded, not turning to face him and left without another word.

Now she wondered why she had reacted that way. Shouldn't she have replied something? Done something? Like staring him down? Those piercingly blue eyes certainly would have been worth a challenge. But there had been something about that old man Talitha couldn't help but respect. And this respect - almost a certain adoration - had blocked her. If she had said anything, she might have felt obliged to tell the truth and that would have been too much of a give-away.

***

Some days later, after lunch, Talitha went to explore the Hogwarts grounds. She hadn't seen much of them yet. She stood up early every day to avoid meeting the others in the bathroom. She had to take off the bandages every night to sleep and naturally to shower, so she had to make sure she wore them again, when the boys woke up. As Dean had asked her on the third day why she stood up so early, she had lied that she used to go jogging every morning.

At that the other boys had showed themselves rather impressed, seen as sneaking around and leaving the castle over one-and-a-half hours before breakfast was against the school rules. Harry silently had thought it foolish to risk detention for such a thing. After that Talitha had decided that she could as well be true to her word. This way she knew a certain route around the castle and, of course, she knew the way to Hagrid's hut, where she had already had a couple of Care of Magical Creatures classes. But save for that, she knew very little of the huge grounds.

She took off towards the lake first. Autumn was a heavy scent in the air, filling Talitha with a longing for cosiness and hot cocoa. She loved this sort of whether. The air smelled rich, and colourful leaves freckled the surface of the lake. She made her way along the shore, just thinking of walking over to the far edge of the forest, when she spotted someone leaning on a tree trunk, watching the surface. Before she could make out who it really was, she found herself steering towards the person. She had left the castle to be alone. Being alone she didn't have to put on an act, which could be rather relaxing for a change. But somehow she figured that even in the castle she was lonely quite often in a way. She hadn't yet been able to get warm with her class mates. Now she saw that somebody else was looking for the same as she was - the pleasantness of the lake. Some place to muse and feel comfortable. Without having to think about it, she now knew that she didn't want to be alone anymore, that this person, who just happened to simply be there, was the company she wanted right now.

Naturally she neither thought all that, nor analysed why she was actually heading for the person at the shore, as she kept walking. She didn't think at all.

Out of the blue her heart skipped a beat, as recognition struck her. Being closer now, she became aware that she was just walking towards Harry Potter. Darn! For a moment she stood frozen to the spot. Why did it have to be him? To every other person she could have simply walked over, sat down next to and chatted about almost anything right now. Why did it have to be about the only student she had been unfriendly with ever since she arrived? Even if she could stand him enough to actually consider sitting down next to him at the shore of the lake, the atmosphere would be just about too strange.

She turned and slowly walked away towards the forest. This was the second time she had found Harry in such a situation. The only thing that had changed was the scenery. Last time it had been night and he had been sitting on the windowsill. Talitha found herself wondering what he thought about, why he sought solitude. If he hadn't been the flat celebrity he was, the role model of the wizarding world, the very representative of virtually every reason for which her parents forced this school upon her, Talitha would actually find this habit of his interesting and likable. She might even -

"Theo."

Talitha stood still and closed her eyes for a moment. He had seen her. Could she simply ignore his call?

"Theo, over here!"

This was a definite 'No!'. She turned around to see Harry waving once. Walking away now was too rude - even for Theo. She went over to him and sat down next to him, having no idea about what to say. Luckily, he made the first move.

"What are you doing out here?"

Talitha bit her tongue not to retort that this definitely was none of his business. She couldn't start being rude, when he was actually trying to make civil conversation and neither could she turn to her usual habit of ignoring him, when he was the only one around. That way she would only provoke a confrontation with questions, to which Talitha was less than willing to give answers.

"Just wanted to get to know the grounds."

"It's quite beautiful out here, isn't it?"

Talitha shrugged coolly. The less she said the better. Thus the conversation would die away. And it certainly would have, for Harry wasn't about to say anymore, if her curiosity hadn't got the better of her.

"Why are you out here?"

"Wanted to be alone."

"Hmm..." They hadn't even looked at each other once, since Talitha had sat down. "Why did you call me over then?" They stared out onto the lake.

"Dunno. Just did."

Talitha looked at the boy next to her a moment or two, then stood up. "Well, then... I'd better go back."

Theo had already turned his back on him, as Harry heard him ask, "I guess you will be staying a little longer?"

"Yes, think I will."

Talitha walked away without goodbye.

So maybe they had something in common. Maybe he had done just the thing she had been about to do, before she had noticed who he was. Maybe he wasn't altogether flat. So what? She still didn't have to like that boy, did she?

***

"The new guy is so cute!"

"Yes, he is, isn't he? Oh I love this cool manner of his."

"I think he seems very arrogant."

"Yes, but sexy arrogant."

"You mean like Malfoy? I don't believe he's so much of a git though."

"No way! I mean, he's Gryffindor!"

"But don't you think he is putting on too much of an act? I mean, see the way he behaves in classes. And that hairstyle is far too pretentious for my liking."

"Easy for you to criticise. You've got all the cool boys in your house! And, by the way, that hairstyle is arty!"

"As for me, I believe he is just hiding something behind that arrogance."

"And what for example?"

"Well, his sensitive side, of course."

"Maybe he is an artist."

*collective sigh*

***

"Did I tell you that I like your attitude?" Ron said to Theo with a grin one day after Potions classes.

"No. Why?" Talitha asked back lightly. She had taken a liking to Ron, though it was a pity that the boy always hung around with Harry. Harry...

"Just telling Draco to 'sod off'," Ron replied, imitating Theo's cool tone as he repeated his words, "I mean, not many people around here do so these days."

Talitha naturally had already noticed that most people - meaning the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws - shunned the Slytherins. She had, of course, read everything about the houses' history and knew about the rivalry between them. But this year the clash seemed to have deepened yet. Many people were even scared of the Slytherins. Taken into account the last year's events, they seemed to think that the less they had to do with whom they thought of as the Death Eaters' brood the better off they were. They avoided the Slytherins. And some of them actually played along very well, walking around as if they owned the place indeed.

Yet Talitha had also noticed something else. She had seen that even some of the Slytherins treated Draco Malfoy with extreme caution. Some of them even avoided him out of what seemed like fear. He seemed nonchalant towards this behaviour, but Talitha couldn't imagine that this didn't bother the boy in the slightest.

"I don't quite understand why I should treat him any different from the others. Everybody making stupid remarks deserves to be told to sod off. I mean, I can understand what you've all been through, but it isn't as if he will just pull a gun any moment to shoot everybody he doesn't like."

"A what?" Ron asked in confusion.

"A gun, Ron," Hermione repeated. "Remember? These metal wands Muggles use to kill each other."

"My point is that I don't think he will just 'Avada Kevadra' everybody who annoys him."

"I agree," Hermione said. "But most students think that with You Know Who on the rise it might be safer to avoid trouble. It's not Draco they fear. It's his father and the Dark Lord."

Theo snorted. "I know that," he said with an air of arrogance. "But I think that this is the best way to drive all Slytherins directly into the Death Eaters arms. I at least would want to take revenge on people who avoided me and give me the creeps by looking as if I was about to kill them all. I'd think, if they believe me to be evil, why not really be evil?"

"Would you really?" Harry asked, for the first time adding to the conversation.

"I..." This question, however had come unexpected, getting both, Talitha and the quick-witted Theo, off guard. The latter for once uncharacteristically lacking a repartee.

"Harry has a point," Ron said. "I mean, Draco for example didn't join the Death Eaters. He didn't decide to 'really be evil'. And, Merlin knows, he'd have had a good point turning bad, after what happened to his father and... well, after how he has been treated for befriending us."

"Yeah, and now half the people in his house see a traitor in him, whilst the other half and probably ninety percent of the rest of the studentry still regard him as the dangerous brood of his perilously influential father," Talitha said thoughtfully. "Quite a price he pays for not turning out like everybody thought he would anyway. And how many of those you still shun, do you think, are willing or even strong enough to pay the same price?"

Silence. Nobody knew an immediate answer to this, which was probably quite fortunate, as Draco chose this exact moment to catch up with them.

Yet before anybody could change the subject, Theo mused an afterthought that stirred Harry strangely. "It can be very hard not to follow the path you were expected to follow since birth," he said silently.

***

"Hey, Theo! Wake up!"

"Mmh?"

"Wake up!" Dean repeated, pulling the curtains of Theo's bed roughly apart. The sound of this finally managed to wake Theo properly.

Within seconds Talitha sat bolt upright, her cover pulled up to the throat. Darn! Had her wakening charm malfunctioned? Dean, Seamus and Neville looked at her in bemusement.

"I take it you haven't been jogging this morning, uh?" Dean asked in a playful voice. Obviously still getting dressed he stood there top-less in his trousers. Neville too was only just about to get his shirt on and Seamus still wore nothing more than the t-shirt he had worn for bed. All this didn't add to Talitha getting her thoughts straight. How was she supposed to get clothed? Or better even, how was she supposed to even get out of bed? They just had to notice... In her sleepy stupidity Talitha actually even wondered for a moment what would upset her more, if they did notice, or if they didn't.

As she saw that Dean still watched her somewhat curiously waiting for a reply - which, by the way, came already unnaturally late - she finally uttered, "Um, no. Haven't."

"Well, get up then."

"Um... I think I'd prefer to stay in bed for a few more minutes."

"Don't be silly," said Neville, buttoning his shirt. "If you'll stay in bed any longer you'll be late."

"I'll skip breakfast then."

"What's the matter with you?" asked Seamus, getting into his trousers. "Come on!" And with this he pulled Theo's cover away.

Fortunately for Talitha, he wasn't actually looking, while he did so. She scrambled up and out off bed and folded her arms hurriedly.

"See? Wasn't that hard," Seamus said, more to Dean than to Theo.

Standing there for a moment, not knowing what to do next, Talitha eventually thought that things could have been worse. At least Harry and Ron had already left. She went over to the bathroom. At least two boys less she had to hide her -

But her thought stopped midpoint, as she opened the door to find Harry and Ron in front of the washbasin brushing their teeth. Harry looked already set to go, except that his tie was still loose. 'Loose', however, was the operative word, as the only thing Ron was wearing was a towel loosely slung around his hips. Talitha stared for a second, then hastily shut the door.

Shit! She was trapped. Careful to keep her arms folded, she took another look around the room. The room was still full of boys. The bathroom - her only remaining hope - was occupied too. She -

Just then the door to the bathroom opened and Ron stuck his head out. "What was that?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "Why did you bang the door?"

"You..." Talitha indicated Ron's half-naked status with her head.

"And? Don't think I've anything you haven't yet seen. Come in. If you still want to shower you have to get a move on."

Talitha blinked once. "You're right," said Theo nonchalantly. He quickly picked some clothes a great towel and... the bandages that made that tiny, yet most important difference and followed Ron into the bathroom, holding her stuff protectively in front of her.

"Good morning, by the way," Harry said after spitting out some water into the basin.

"Good morning, Harry," Theo replied, as he passed Harry on the way over to the shower, where he lay down his pile of clothes on the toilet. Talitha's mind was too preoccupied with trying to solve her current predicament to notice Theo's slip of politeness. Harry, however, wasn't.

He gave Ron a look of surprise. "Um... slept well?" he cautiously tried to prolong the casual chat.

"Don't push it," Ron whispered.

"No," the other boy answered flatly. Not facing them, he quickly disposed of his clothes, his front turned to the shower-curtains, behind which he vanished as soon as his shirt had fallen to the floor. Again Harry and Ron exchanged a few looks. The water ran. Suddenly, unexpectedly for the two friends, a voice was heard from behind the curtains. "You?"

"Come again?"

"Did you sleep well?"

"Quite okay," Harry answered, a trace of surprise barely hidden in his voice.

"Didn't seem so," Talitha said silently.

"Come again?"

"I said, fine," Theo lied.

Ron, who had briefly slipped out to get some clothes himself, returned. "Can I put your stuff on the floor for a moment?" he asked, walking over to the toilet.

" 'Course."

As Ron took the neat pile, however, his eyes fell on something peculiar. Luckily, Talitha had hidden the bandages in her trousers, but...

"You wear boxers and briefs?"

"Well, yes," Theo replied somewhat reluctantly, "This... gives me... some extra hold."

Behind the safe curtains Talitha blushed furiously, hoping that Ron hadn't been looking too closely at the "briefs".

***

Harry walked through the day rather tiredly. He hadn't slept much. He had been thinking about what Theo had said the other day. 'It can be very hard not to follow the path you were expected to follow since birth.' The sentence had been meant to fit Draco, but Harry wondered, whether it maybe fitted Theo as well. It certainly did fit himself!

Talitha too had been thinking about what Theo had said, yet along slightly different lines. It could be hard not to do what was expected of you. Sometimes harder in fact than living to anybody's expectations. This way you at least always knew what you had to do.

Since Harry Potter had turned into The Boy Who Lived, everybody had thought him to turn out as a hero. Last year then, the papers had made fun of him, tried to make him look like some sort of weirdo or the other. But now his record was clean. He was the supposed hero again, more times defeater of the Dark Lord, Seeker, winner of the Triwizard Tournament, Wonder Boy. Maybe he wasn't altogether flat. Maybe... maybe he was just too weak not to live up to everybody's expectations.

***

"What did he get detention for?"

"I don't know."

"I heard he was found sneaking around at night."

"How boring. That's so common."

"How interesting! So he really has got some sort of secret."

"Not everybody lurking around at night has a secret."

"Bet he has one, though. Hope it is no girlfriend."

"No way! There would at least be some decent rumours about it."

"Rumours are never 'decent'."

"Anyway, what does he have to do for detention? Maybe we can watch."

"He's no animal at the zoo!"

"I thought about watching too, but..."

***

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Talitha was in an outstandingly bad mood as she walked out onto the Quidditch pitch a few days later. Having been caught by this moronic Squib Filch!

Now she was supposed to trim the Quidditch pitch after practice.

"I'll check on you every hour!"

McGonagall's voice had almost been gleeful at having an opportunity to give Theo his first detention.

Trimming the field! For what?! Just so that those would-be Quidditch celebrities had a better kick-off?!

'Speak of the devil...' Looking up into the sky above the field, Talitha spotted Harry toying around absentmindedly with the Snitch. He let go of it, allowing it to zoom further and further away, but always grabbed at the last second. One time it was very narrow though.

It was getting darker. Talitha waved her wand once widely towards the sky, sizing the whole pitch with her gesture and called "Lumos!" Quickly a vast carpet of light raised skywards and illuminated the pitch. Harry's head jerked around his eyes scanning the field, soon falling on Theo. "Need some spot-light?" Theo called up.

Harry dived and hit the ground neatly just in front of Theo. His flying skills were quite impressive. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, I was watching your impressive show, but now that you've stopped, I think I'll have to find my pleasure in trimming the grass."

"Detention?"

"No, it's my weird idea of fun," Theo replied scornfully.

"Shall I help you?"

"Harry?" Theo reached out...

"Yes?" ...and gently took Harry's hand. Harry was baffled. Too baffled to react. Theo toyed tenderly with Harry's fingers around the Snitch...

...and let the tiny golden ball escape. "Get flying, Harry!" He dropped Harry's hand.

This brought Harry out off his state. "Shit!" Quickly he kicked off and went after the Snitch. Talitha watch him one more moment, thinking that this really hadn't been the nice way - a simple 'no thanks' would have done the job as well. Theo shrugged and bent down to get to work.

One simple spell later a ray of light was constantly shooting from his wand and as Harry landed, he saw him crouching over the grass, cutting it with said ray of magic.

"What was that for?" Harry asked angrily.

"Fun. Wanted to see you catch it again."

Harry bent down close and hissed. "You didn't even watch!"

"That's why you're pissed, eh? Because nobody watched your show."

Harry froze. A sudden image of his father sprang to his mind. Theo didn't even look at him, but kept on cutting the grass on all fours. Harry suddenly was filled with cold fury at the other boy's tactlessness. He straightened up, pulled his wand fast and cried, "Experliamus!"

"Verdammte Scheiße! Harry! Give it back to me!"

"Why should I?" Harry asked offhandedly. He pointed his wand at Theo's and shrunk it to the size of a match.

"What are you doing?" Talitha asked, trying to seize her wand back, but failing.

Harry pulled out the Golden Snitch and with yet another spell attached Theo's wand to it. "I'd say this time you catch it," he said coolly, releasing the Snitch. "Accio broom!" Harry put away his wand, caught the broom in one hand and threw it to the ground in front of Theo. "Here. Good luck!"

Talitha picked up the broom and looked at Harry with anger in her eyes. "Think you're the only one who can catch that thing, do you?"

"On this pitch... maybe yes."

Talitha mounted the broom and kicked off. "Well, you're not!"

"Prove it!" Harry called after him.

High above the pitch, Talitha looked out for the Snitch. She saw it. She had never actually tried to catch one before, but now she had to. She wouldn't fail! Not in front of that stupid, little - a sound to her left. Harry was zooming some feet away from her. He too was speeding towards the Snitch.

What was he doing? No! He caught up with her. He was too fast! She couldn't reach it before him. Her only chance... Talitha turned her broom sharply to the left, provoking a collision. Harry, however, avoided her gracefully and a blink of an eye later was within reach of the Snitch. He caught it...

... and smirked, for once willingly displaying his superiority. "Okay," he said, toying with the Snitch as if it was a secret weapon, "now tell me, why can't you stand me?" Theo closed in on him and scoffed. His eyes were fixed on the Snitch. "You don't want to tell me?"

"Fuck you!"

Harry arched an eyebrow and pulled his wand, pointing it loosely in Theo's direction. "The wandless wizard shouldn't curse."

"Are you trying to threaten me?"

"No." And with this he pointed his wand away from the other boy and at the Snitch in his hand. "Invisibliatus! Answer my question or I'll release it."

Just then Theo threw himself at Harry in an outrageous attempt to get at the Snitch. Caught off-guard by this sudden attack, Harry hurried to defend himself and... let go of it. The scene froze, as the two boys listened to the sound of the tiny golden ball zooming away. Theo's head shot around. His eyes were narrowed. Next thing Harry saw a fist flying forward. It barely missed his solar plexus.

"Are you mad! We're fifty -"

Yet his words were drowned out as they began to tumble down to the ground in spirals. Both had abandoned controlling their brooms in the fight, which had ensued. Miraculously they managed to hit the ground fairly unharmed.

Harry had never seen anyone fighting in such blind fury. It was contagious. They rolled over the grass in a knot of arms and legs and fists and... hair? Ouch! Theo pulled hair! In a lucky moment Harry managed to nail him to the ground. Kneeling over him, with one leg on each side, he held both Theo's arms tightly at his wrists, catching his breath. Theo glared at him. He too was breathing hard, his chest heaving. His eyes were blazing.

Thinking her wand lost, Talitha's fury was boundless.

"You know you're in a rather dangerous position, if you ever want your tale to be told to any ancestor of yours," Theo hissed.

Harry blinked. 'What the...?' Suddenly his eyes widened with realisation. Instinctively he scrambled away and to his feet. Theo too was on his feet in no time at all. With the other boy still looking fiercely at him, Harry brazed himself for another attack, when his Seeker reflexes made him tense. Theo neither had missed the swishing sound. As both boys looked up, they saw the Golden Snitch rematerialise in front of their very eyes. One moment. Both jumped. And what Harry had once so gracefully managed to avoid inevitably happened. Their heads collided in a soundful 'thud'.

Talitha stumbled backwards and landed ungracefully on her bum. Harry obviously hadn't had more luck. Rubbing his forehead, he sat slumped on the grass looking tousled. "Ouch," he said slowly, passing two fingers gingerly over the bump right over his left eye. He pouted. Somehow he looked four years younger with that little bit of grass and dirt sticking in his hair and soil smeared on his cheeks. Slowly an impish inward smile formed in Talitha's chest. He looked so...

"Oh my, you look like shit," Harry said, a sudden grin spreading across his face.

Talitha couldn't help but answer it. "That's rich coming from you. But I must say that the bruises almost suit you." The reappearing of the Snitch had filled her with such relief that it had untied the knot of anger and hate in her stomach instantly, only leaving her feeling somewhat nauseas instead.

"Thanks, same for you." Harry's grin grew even wider for a moment, before he took on a fake serious expression. "Are we done, then?" he asked sceptically.

"Think so," Theo answered amicably, "or do you want a second round?"

"I think I first want to fully enjoy the reminders of the first, thanks," Harry said mirthfully. If he had known that all it would take was a good hard fist-fight, he would have taken on Theo earlier. Strange boy...

Suddenly, however, Talitha saw something golden up in the sky. It wasn't the Snitch though, but it reminded her of it and the feeling of sickness hit her harder. What if they could not catch the Snitch? Slowly the crossness welt up again.

"What shall we do about my wand? We still need to get the Snitch," said Theo, all serious once more. Harry, however, did not seem to notice the other boy's change of heart.

"I'll get it," Harry said lightly.

"You don't look as if you should mount a broom right now," Theo said in a slightly challenging tone, egged with malice and scorn.

"I don't need to." And with this Harry pulled the Snitch out of his pocket and held it between two fingers, so it could spread its tiny wings. He detached Theo's wand from it and threw it towards its owner. "Here, your match - eh, I mean, wand!" The grin had returned to his face.

Theo caught it. "Very funny! Would you please turn it back?"

"Yes, turn it back, Mr Potter."

Both boys turned their heads in surprise. Professor McGonagall had appeared so suddenly that one could have thought she had Apparated to the spot. Harry scrambled to his feet. Talitha felt swiftly very aware of all the evidences of their fight in her face. Nervously she licked her slightly bloody upper lip. Wordlessly Harry pointed his wand at Theo's and turned it back to its normal size, just for the moment taking his eyes of the professor's very narrowed ones. Professor McGonagall pulled her wand and with a muttered "Finite Incantatem!" the sky became as dark as the expression on her face.

fin