Everything to Lose

Chapter Four

The students were led through the hallways and up the separate staircases to each of their house common rooms. Leading them there were that term's newly made prefects, badges freshly pinned and shining brightly on their robes. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff prefects were two students Harry didn't know all that well. The other two prefects had gained his complete attention, however, though his feelings about them were quite mixed. The Slytherin Prefect was none other than Draco Malfoy. He was walking with his pale head held high, ordering his students around smartly while barking insults to the other house students. As unhappy the thought of Malfoy having authority over him was, the thought of the Gryffindor prefect wasn't any better.

It was Hermione. Becoming prefect seemed to have had the same effects on her as it had on Percy Weasley, and more recently, on Malfoy. She seemed to hold herself with a new air about her, superiority shouting out clearly from each crisp word she spoke.

"Lights will be turned out promptly in thirty minutes," she told the Gryffindors in the common room, not letting them go to their dorms yet. "I won't stand for anyone staying up late or sneaking out. Remember I can take off points and report you, if necessary."

Ron and Harry exchanged a bewildered look. So much for going out to see Sirius that night.

Luckily, however, as the students filed out to their dorms, Hermione cleared her throat quite loudly, catching their attention. She sent Harry a knowing look, before a small smile flickered on her lips. He smiled back at her as she turned away to her dorm. Then he heard Ron's lowered voice at his side.

"Well, perhaps having Hermione as our house prefect won't be so bad, after all. She'll always go easy on us."

"I heard that Ron and no, I won't!" her voice cut in quite loudly. She was still there, and standing right over them, looking quite cross.

"But, Harry- "

"Harry doesn't count tonight due to special circumstances," she arched an eyebrow. "You, on the other hand, are going straight to bed."

Harry couldn't help but smile quietly as he followed Ron, whose shoulders were slumped, up to their dormitory. Once inside, they could still hear Hermione's frustrated voice outside as she attempted to get everyone into their dorms. Being the first night back at Hogwarts, the students were understandably excited, and their chatter could be heard for a long time afterward. The new prefect, however, soon gave up and retreated to her own bed. Harry waited until everyone was finally fast asleep before he crawled out of his own bed and pulled his robes over his sleeping wear. With that, he made his way downstairs into the common room.

Sitting on a couch with his head on his paws was Snuffles. He raised his head and looked at his godson with a toothy grin. Harry smiled in greeting, and opened his mouth to speak, but Snuffles shook his massive head. They couldn't risk waking up any students. Jumping down from the couch, he motioned with his head for Harry to follow him. Snuffles led him out the portrait hole, and down the hallways, eyes and ears alert. Harry didn't want to think about what would happen if Filch caught them.

They ended up in an empty classroom, where Snuffles glanced around outside, before closing the door. He turned back to Harry, and in the blink of an eye, transformed into his human form. Sirius Black looked much healthier than the last time Harry had seen him. His dark, black hair had been trimmed to shoulder length, and he wore clean, decent clothes. A smile lit up his gaunt face, and his eyes shone brightly as for a moment, the two just gazed at each other.

"Hello, Harry," Sirius finally spoke quietly. Harry grinned, then did something he'd never done before: he embraced his godfather. Sirius was surprised at first, but then he returned the hug with a softened expression. Harry broke away.

"Why didn't you send me any letters?" was the first thing that came out of his mouth.

Sirius chuckled lightly. "Nice to see you again, too."

Harry sighed and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry. Its just... I didn't hear from you. I didn't know what was going on, or whether or not you were alright..." he spoke quietly.. "You never did tell me what it was Dumbledore sent you to do..."

Sirius glanced at him sharply.

"It was about Voldemort, wasn't it?" Harry asked carefully.

"I was fine, Harry," he reassured him, ignoring that last question. "I've just been a bit...busy over the summer, that's all."

"Busy?" he asked with curious intentions, though he tried to make it sound quite casual. Sirius saw through it, however.

"Yes, Harry, and that's not going to work."

"What's not going to work?" There was an innocent look in his emerald eyes.

"I can't tell you what I've been doing," he sighed. "You know that. The Order of the Phoenix is very secretive business."

Harry frowned at this. "The Order of the Phoenix?"

Sirius froze for a moment. Then he frowned and shook his head, cursing under his breath at himself for letting that slip.

"Alright, but I'm not telling you anything else about it. You're going to get me into trouble for saying anything at all."

He sighed and nodded, recognizing that tone in his godfather's voice. Well, perhaps there were other things Sirius could tell him that weren't so secretive.

"Have you been staying with Lupin?"

"Yes,"Sirius spoke then in a lighter tone, a faint smile coming over his lips. "Its been just like old times....well, almost, anyway."

With a bitter pang, Harry understood why. In the old times, his dad, James Potter, had still been around. Lily Evans had been around too, as well as Peter Pettigrew. They had been the Marauders then, causing trouble and raising havoc at Hogwarts. There had been no thoughts of betrayal or death, and the atmosphere had been relatively happier. Wormtail hadn't framed Sirius yet, and he hadn't been confined to the animagus form of Snuffles, or Padfoot.

"Your name hasn't been cleared yet, then, has it?" Harry asked quietly.

Sirius sighed, shaking his head once. Harry tried to cheer him up.

"At least you get to still be around Hogwarts...and me," he said more cheerfully. "Being a dog must have its advantages around here."

"Such as the Snape bit during the banquet?" Sirius offered quite innocently.

"Exactly!" Harry frowned, however. "Though, I think that might have been a bit much."

Sirius only quirked an eyebrow. Harry couldn't help but grin softly.

"It was bloody brilliant, though."

"I was merely greeting an old friend," Sirius spoke quite casually, but a smile was playing upon his lips. "That dumb git is the one who forgot his manners."

Harry wondered if there would always be a grudge between those two. It didn't bother him in the least bit, though. Snape was anything but his favorite person at Hogwarts. He really found the situation between the two adults quite amusing.

"But who wants to talk about him, anyway?" Sirius countered, changing the subject yet again. "How was your summer, Harry?"

The dream instantly came floating back to Harry and he shuddered. He hadn't planned on telling Sirius about it, but he knew it was going to bother him all night if he didn't. Making up his mind, he opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly, a sort of creaking noise was heard at the door. It had opened a crack.

Sirius looked to Harry and put a finger to his lips, silencing him. Very slowly, he walked to the door and reached for the handle. In one swift movement, he yanked it completely open. With a soft yelp, a small form fell to the floor. She looked up, strands of red hair falling into her face, and Harry's eyes widened in surprise. It was a tense moment as Kathrynne Celeste looked sharply from Harry's face to Sirius's, then back to Harry's. Before anyone could say anything, however, a noise was suddenly heard down the hall, and getting closer.

"Who's there?" the voice called roughly.

Harry groaned inwardly. It was Argus Filch, the caretaker. Bloody hell. It was only his first night back and already he would be getting detention, or, perhaps, something worse. He felt like kicking himself for not bringing his invisibility cloak from his dorm here with him...not that it would have helped him very much, though...he could already imagine the smug smile on Kathrynne's face after she led Filch right to them. It would be another Slytherin triumph...extra points added, perhaps, and points deducted from Gryffindor. Kathrynne, however, wordlessly jumped to her feet and back into the hall, closing the door behind her. Sirius arched an eyebrow at his godson, who shrugged, clueless. Very quietly, the two leaned forward to listen to the conversation in the hallway.

"Oh-its you," Filch said in a somewhat milder tone. "What are you doing up?"

"Just exploring my surroundings, finding out where my classes are going to be held," she spoke smoothly.

Harry frowned in slight surprise. He thought her voice sounded quite pleasant...well, at least until she added a retort rather coldly.

"That's not against the law here, is it?"

Right. There was that rude sarcasm Slytherins were so well-known for. Filch sighed quietly.

"No, but students shouldn't be out of bed past curfew, as Dumbledore told you earlier...or weren't you listening?"

There was a brief silence. After a moment, Filch spoke again, disgust evident in his voice.

"Don't think you will be getting special privileges just because you're new here," he drawled cooly, "or because of who you are."

"Fine!" she snapped hastily, cutting him off. "But perhaps I should remind you how... unhappy certain people might be if I were to get detention for no reason at all."

There was a moment of tense silence. Harry frowned uneasily, surprised at how cocky she was being to Filch...surely such disrespect would earn her many detentions in the future...but not this time.

"Get back to bed," was all Filch finally said coldly.

Harry held his breath. Filch's voice suddenly sounded as if it were getting closer to the door. Did he know they were in there? Had Kathrynne gotten them in trouble after all?

"Would you be so kind as to walk me back to the common room...sir?" Kathrynne suddenly added hastily. To Harry, it sounded as if she were forcing politeness through gritted teeth. "I got turned around."

"Very well," he replied, also in a voice of forced calm. "Follow me." There was a soft meow from his cat, Mrs. Norris. "You too, my sweet."

Sirius waited until the footsteps had disappeared down the hall and around a corner before he turned to Harry with a thoughtful expression.

"Curious," he spoke quietly.

"To say the least," Harry added dryly.

"It would appear you've made a new friend, Harry."

He sent his godfather a look. "Sirius, you do remember that she is a Slytherin, right?"

Sirius nodded slightly, his gaze darkening, "Yes...that's partially what makes it so curious."

Harry frowned at him suspiciously.

"Partially?" he repeated incredulously. "You mean, there's something else?"

Sirius, however, didn't answer. There was something different in the way he was gazing past him at the door. It was very much the same way he had seen Sirius and Snape eye each other that day Dumbledore had forced them to shake hands and form an uneasy truce. Harry spoke up again.

"What Filch said...about knowing who she is...do you know what he meant?"

The dark expression vanished instantly from his godfather's face and he shrugged carelessly. When he spoke again, it was in a resigned, yet casual tone.

"Haven't the faintest idea. Its late, Harry. Like Dumbledore said, you're going to need a good night's rest for classes tomorrow. We'll have another talk again very soon. Until then, don't reveal my real identity to anyone, and please tell Hermione and Ron the same."

*****

To Harry, it felt like he'd only just laid his head against his pillow when Ron's voice was in his ear, telling him to get up. He could hear the chatter of students' voices outside the door as they headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. After changing into his school clothes, he walked with Ron downstairs and through the common room, where they met up with Hermione. Shining brightly on her robes was her very own prefect's badge.

"Good morning, gentlemen," she nodded cordially to them both. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Please don't tell me you're going to start acting like Percy when he was a prefect," he said dryly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she returned stiffly, head held slightly higher than usual. Ron just groaned.

Harry listened to their conversation with only half of his attention. He was still thinking about the previous night's events. He had hoped the conversation with Sirius would have cleared up a few things about Voldemort and his dream, but, if anything, he now felt even more confused.

He had hoped joining his friends at the Gryffindor table would have cleared his mind. Unfortunately, it did anything but that. From his seat beside Ron at the table, Harry had a perfect view of Kathrynne Celeste, sitting at the Slytherin table. He couldn't help but stare at the girl, remembering how she had practically saved his and Sirius' necks last night. Kathrynne, however, was too busy talking to Draco Malfoy. Actually, Draco was doing most of the talking, but she was clearly listening to his every word with interest. Occasionally her lips would upturn in what he guessed was a smile, but it was hard to tell from the distance. The sight of the two together like that made him feel very uneasy.

"Disgusting, isn't it?"

Harry jerked in surprise to George Weasley. "What?"

George nodded toward Kathrynne and Draco.

"Seems Ferret-boy has a new girlfriend."

There was a dramatic sigh from his twin.

"What's the world coming to when Malfoy can attract a nice girl like that?"

"You call that nice?"

Fred frowned, looking at Kathrynne thoughtfully before turning back to George. "You're right. They're perfect for each other."

The twins exchanged a wry grin which Harry ignored. He couldn't help wonder why she hadn't just gotten him into trouble with Filch. It really didn't make any sense...yet, he couldn't help being grateful for her help

"Harry!" hissed Ron from beside him.

He turned with another jerk. Hermione frowned at him from across the table.

"We've been trying to get your attention for the past few minutes."

A slight blush came over his features. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"About what Sirius said to you last night?" Ron arched an eyebrow. "What did he tell you, anyway?"

At first, Harry wasn't sure if he should reveal anything. He reminded himself, however, that his godfather hadn't really told him anything of great importance, anyway. Besides, he was dying to tell his friends how the new Slytherin student had lied for him and how Filch seemed to think she was royalty or something. So he started to tell them, but was cut off abruptly when Professor McGonagall walked up, handing out class schedules.

"I'll tell you later," Harry whispered to them, as they took their schedules. They looked over them, before more excited chatter broke out.

"Yes! We have Defense against the Dark Arts first today," Hermione grinned brightly, "with the Ravenclaws."

"As long as its not the Slytherins," Ron said rather dryly.

"No," Harry spoke, emerald eyes scanning his schedule, "We have double potions with them right afterwards."

"Oh, bloody perfect," said a glum voice beside Hermione. "The start of another year of insults, complaints, and humiliations from Professor Snape."

They looked up at Neville Longbottom, Snape's favorite Gryffindor student to make fun of and verbally abuse...well, next to Harry, of course. Ron smiled a bit, speaking up.

"Next time he starts being a dumb git, just imagine he's wearing a big green dress and a ridiculous hat with a stuffed vulture on it."

Some Gryffindor's sitting near them chortled with laughter. Neville blushed lightly, but couldn't help but smile. Their third year, when Lupin had been their DADA teacher, they had learned defense against boggarts. After the creature had appeared as what Neville feared most, Snape, his dark robes had been transformed into what the outfit his grandmother often wore.

Soon it was time for the students to get to their first classes. Harry followed the rest of the Gryffindor fifth years into the classroom that would now be Lupin's. A large window had been carved out of the castle wall, letting bright sunlight into the room. Standing before his desk at the front of the classroom was Professor Remus Lupin, who was smiling as his students filed in. Sitting very straight in a chair beside his desk was Fleur Delacour, her eyes shining brightly. She caught Harry and Ron's eyes, and smiled, sending them a little wave. Harry smiled back, then glanced at Ron and chuckled. His friend was blushing furiously, and suddenly looking very interested in getting a seat at the very front. Hermione, on the other hand, was scowling, and she made a point of sitting beside Harry and not Ron. Once the class had quieted, Lupin stepped forward to speak.

"First of all, I'd like to welcome you back to Hogwarts. I hope your fifth year of Defense Against the Dark Arts will be a wonderful learning experience for all of you," he said warmly, seeming to look at them each in turn. "I'd also like to remind you that Miss Fleur Delacour will be assisting me in teaching, because she plans to become a professor here in the future. I trust all of you will show her as much respect as you would show me."

Fleur smiled a bit nervously. Many of the male students just gawked at her beauty, including Ron. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs quite hard, which certainly got his attention. Lupin had to step forward and clap his hands to gain the entire class's attention once again.

"If you would please get out your book, Dark Wizards and Witches of the Past. I'm afraid we will be doing more reading than anything today," he said, getting a few groans in reply. He smiled quietly. "Yes, I understand how you feel. You will find my class this year will require more serious studying and reading than your third year did."

"No boggarts?" asked Neville quite sadly. There was scattered laughter upon his classmates and he even grinned softly.

"I'm afraid not, Neville," Lupin chuckled lightly, but became serious quickly. "Well, let's get down to business, shall we? I'm aware last years events were quite dramatic for you all...more dramatic for some, perhaps, then others..."

Harry knew he was talking about him. He chanced to glance at Fleur, who looked suddenly very sorrowful. He lowered his gaze, wishing not to think about Cedric Diggory's death, about what happened with Voldemort, and how he'd seen shadows of what he had first thought were ghosts of his parents.

"I also understand it came as shock to many of you," Lupin went on calmly. "Therefore, Headmaster Dumbledore wishes for you to at least be more familiar with how a wizard or witch can 'go bad,' and some of the dark magic that they use. If you learn anything from my class this year, however, I hope it will be that to defend ourselves from such evil we must all stay united. No matter if you're on a rival Quidditch team or of a different house, please try to get along and work together. Remember, we're all on the same side here."

Harry glanced at Ron, who frowned back. Neither could ever picture the other getting along or working together with Draco Malfoy, or Professor Snape for that matter. He wouldn't trust his life with either of them, quite certain both were currently dabbling in the dark arts, themselves.

"Please turn to chapter one," Lupin went on, taking out his own book and flipping to the page. "Would anyone like to volunteer to read for us? Ah, Hermione. Go ahead."

Hermione had basically been the most eager volunteer. She began reading in a proud, quite important-sounding voice. The chapter talked about one of the earliest known dark wizards, called simply Dividus. The book concentrated on a curse he used often, called the Calamitatis Curse. Its effects on its victim were to completely take away all of the wizard or witch's powers. Harry shuddered visibly. He could only imagine how terrible it would be to have no powers whatsoever...Lupin stopped Hermione so he could discuss the curse in more detail, however, only succeeding to make Harry feel worse.

"This curse has been said by many to be the cruelest curse to afflict upon a wizard or witch," he spoke quietly, though his voice was easily heard by the class. Ron inched up a hand and he nodded to him

"No offense, Professor, but wouldn't the killing curse be worse?"Ron asked in bewilderment. Lupin smiled grimly.

"You would think so, wouldn't you?" he countered. "Well, the thing about the Calamitatis Curse is that it would leave you completely harmless and defenseless to any dark magic. Then, your attacker could inflict any of the wide array of curses, hexes, and spells upon you to torture you to a degree of pain probably unimaginable to you in your young age."

All of the students were hanging on his every word, sitting silently on the edge of their seats. There was a tense silence about the room, and Harry didn't like it at all.

Lupin's weary face and voice had darkened. "You could scream, but it wouldn't do you any good. You could cry for help, but would only be silenced by dark magic. All you could do is suffer through the agonizing pain until you were allowed a muggle's death." He stood up from where he had been sitting on the edge of his desk and straightened. "The Calamitatis Curse is one of the oldest known curses, which is why it is entirely in Latin. Fleur, could you please tell the class the English translation?"

All eyes went to Fleur, whose face seemed almost as pale as her light hair. Though her lips were set in a firm line and her eyes remained confident, her voice wavered slightly when she spoke.

"It izz 'death and destruction.' "

*****

"Well, wasn't that nice and cheery?" Ron spoke sarcastically, after the class had ended and they were walking to their next one. "Almost makes me look forward to Potions class."

Hermione sent him a sharp look. He frowned in offense

"What? I said 'almost.' "

Once they walked through the dungeons into the bleak, threatening room that was their potions class, Harry's thoughts drifted away from that day's grim DADA class. His eyes fell almost instantly upon the figure of Kathrynne Celeste, who was sitting all alone towards the front. Deciding what to do right then and there, he murmured an excuse to Ron and Hermione, before walking up to her. He tried not to shake nervously, feeling Slytherin eyes on him and hearing whispered talking amongst them. Once he was at her side, clearly visible to her, he stopped and waited. Kathrynne, however, didn't move. Harry cleared his throat loudly, yet she still didn't look at him. Uneasily, he decided to speak up, anyway.

"I just wanted to thank you for what you did last night,"he said quietly, "for not telling Filch I was there in the classroom." He smiled a bit. "You saved me from what would have been a very agonizing detention."

He expected her to do something; at least nod her head a bit, but she didn't. Kathrynne only stared forward icily, arms crossed over her slender chest. She made no movement that she'd even heard him. His face flushed slightly, but he didn't give up.

"I'm Harry, by the way," he introduced himself. "Harry Potter."

Still nothing from her.

"So...mind if I sit here?" he asked, motioning to the empty seat beside her.

This time she did look at him, however, but it was with a glare that answered 'no' more than words ever could. By now, Harry was feeling very foolish. The worst, however, was still yet to come.

"You heard the lady, Potter," Draco Malfoy sneered, pushing him roughly aside and taking the seat by Kathrynne. "Go sit with the rest of your Gryffindork pansies."

Harry looked at the pale boy coldly, temper flaring. He was about to say something-anything- to get back at him, but their beloved potions had suddenly ppeared right beside. Slowly, he looked up to see Snape towering over them, curtain of greasy hair falling into his eyes, and robes billowing about him from his silent movement there. By the look in those cold eyes, Harry knew what he had to say couldn't be good.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for being out of your seat, Potter," he spoke in a voice that oozed with satisfaction. "As you failed to notice, class has started. Take your seat."

Harry frowned, feeling his blood boil as he glared fiery daggers at the man. Thousands of retorts raced through his mind, each one more disrespectful than the last. As if reading his mind, however, a disgustingly smug smile appeared upon Snape's lips.

"Oh, do speak your mind, Potter. Please. I'm dying for another reason to deduct more points...or expel you. Either works for me, but the latter is much more appealing."

With a resigned sigh, Harry turned without a word to sit by Hermione. Another voice, however, stopped him halfway.

"Potter was bothering us, Professor," Kathrynne spoke up pitifully, putting on an innocent face that made her look like the victim, not Harry. "Draco and I. Harassing us, even."

Harry's mouth fell open in surprise and shock. How could she do this to him? He wanted to scream out that what she said wasn't true, and that it wasn't fair, but he never got the chance. Snape practically jumped upon the chance to get him into trouble yet again.

"Another five points then, Potter," he said smoothly, that smile broadening. "My, my...you've lost Gryffindor fifteen points in a matter of minutes your very first day of classes. I predict you will be another grave disappointment to us all this year."

Harry didn't say anything. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Draco smiling in a way that made him want to put the Calamitatis curse on him. The Slytherins were all either smiling or chuckling quite loudly. While Kathrynne didn't smile, there was an unmistakably triumphant gleam in her hazel eyes. With an effort, he turned and grimly sat beside Hermione and Ron. They were both looking at him in a pitying way. Snape turned to his chalkboard to write down that day's potion ingredients. Harry couldn't help but continue to glare and think evil thoughts about him.

"It isn't worth it, Harry," Hermione said in a low voice.

"I guess," he muttered, but sounded anything but certain. As Snape began teaching the class, Harry could only hope that the already unpleasant day would not get any worse.