Harry Potter and Gaining Momentum

Today was the day that Harry and Snape were to come out of the transformation. Professor Dumbledore had taken over Severus' classes for the last week and was delighted to be working with potions again. He found he missed the hypnotizing way that one could get lost in their work of potions. Albus had once been very close to pursuing a career in the subject and was going to train as a master. He had gotten half way through his apprenticeship before he decided to change his course of study, but not before he discovered the twelve uses of dragon's blood and successfully helped Nicolas Flammel create the elixir of life, not to mention his work on Alchemy that Nicolas had gotten him interested in either.

Albus called for Minerva and Draco Malfoy to be present. When the Transfiguration professor was present he had her, once again, retrieve robes for Harry while Draco did the same for Severus. Albus then told Minerva that he was going to have Draco cast the spell with him to leave the embarrassment of the two wizards to a minimum. He had a feeling he didn't even have to explain, she would have been happy to butt out anyway, after all, seeing one of your students nude is probably not on top of ones list of 'Things To Do' on a normal basis.

"You know the incantation right Draco?" the Professor asked after they had gone into the small study aside from the Headmaster's office. Draco nodded nervously. Though he was usually confident in his ability to do magic, sorting out someone who was splinched with someone else could be difficult. People had spent whole months in St. Mungos for such accidents during Apparation.

He remembered his father talking about some of his school mates Apparating right into the manner when they were first learning and having to be carted off to the Wizarding Hospital to get an end table or a lampshade removed from the inners their bodies. He'd once been fascinated on how this could or would occur and for a long time tried to convince Greg and Vince to attempt it while they were at his manner, but every time his father caught him. He didn't look particularly mad that he was trying to manipulate them into harming themselves, just told him to keep in mind that the ministry could detect underage magic in those not sorted out properly. Draco, after all, took a potion on the first day of vacation every year so he was undetectable. I was necessary for his Dark Arts Training. He scowled at the memory.

"Ready then?" the Headmaster asked looking at him imploringly. He nodded. "On three then. One...Two...Three!" he commanded and they both mumbled the spell 'Acclaro Humanus' and the beautiful black phoenix with red eyes began to twist and grow.

The total time of the transformation was far too extensive, but Draco supposed that was because the two bodies were trying to fight their way free of one another and out of the animal form. After about five minutes there were a total of four arms. A wing was composed of two each. The legs came next and as the flawless taloned claw would grow and morph, the appendage of the claw would split up and become two feet. The odd thing was that they were both left feet on one side and right feet on the other. Dumbledore must have seen this also because he cocked his head to the side slightly as if not only amused but intrigued. Draco was soon blushing scarlet as he saw a bum being mooned his way. This was not particularly the reason for the blush, no, he blushed because he knew that bum, and he loved that bum. Harry's back was soon facing both Draco and Albus and the transformation continued to move up the trunk and to the neck. Draco was now goggling at the morphing creature. It was amazing how the one animal had carried two souls and bodies in the same essence of life. The beak melted away and was replaced by a sneering pair of lips that was obviously Professor Snape's; meaning Harry was, in fact, the one in the back shielding Snape's nude body from view of Albus and Draco. Snape pulled his head forward and took Harry's with him and seemed to be fighting to pull free, not that it was doing any good. Harry's head had not yet lost its feathers and was still faceless as his head looked like an extension of Professor Snape's greasy locks.

There was a sucking noise as Harry's head seemed to come out of the back of Snape's head (Draco was suddenly reminded of a story that Harry had told him of Professor Quirrell and Voldemort being in the back of his head. Had it not been such a tense situation, he may have laughed at the irony) as if they were a piece of fine Tupperware. Harry's face immediately formed and he fell backward as the sucking sound ended with a 'pop'. He put his hands over his face as if checking to see if it was all there and then realized he was falling. Strong arms caught him and as he looked down he realized instantly who had caught him. There was no mistaking the ivory colored skin that seemed to feed his eyes candy on a daily basis. Draco quickly wrapped a thin sheet around him and horded him to the restroom to help him dress while Albus did the same with Severus out in the room.

"Arg! I feel like I need to shower in boric acid after that," Harry all but yelled as he turned on the sink, sheet now wrapped around his waist and began to vigorously wash his face and hands.

"C'mon, it couldn't have been that bad," Draco said grinning. Harry just looked at him sternly through the reflection of the mirror above the sink.

"How do you feel?" he asked in a more serious tone.

"I told you, grimy," he said sharply.

"Okay, okay, I didn't mean to push," Draco said lightly hopping up and sitting on the sink next to where Harry was now trying to clean out from under his gnawed fingernails.

"Sorry, but having a condescending old Potions Master to speak to for a week was not the best vacation I could have asked for," Harry said rolling his eyes.

"You mean you could still talk to each other? Like telepathic?" Draco asked astonished. Harry never seemed to stop amazing him.

"Yes, but we spent the majority of our out time with our Occlumency wall tightly shut so we didn't have to talk. He was especially rude when you all tried to Obliviate Albus. I thought the whole show was funny, but Snape was hollering about detention the whole time," Harry said snickering.

"What do you mean 'try to Obliviate'? Luna did do it, he totally forgot about it after she did it," Draco asked confused.

"Dumbledore's walls are as good as mine and Snape's. No memory charm is getting in that mans head," Harry said knowingly. "He was just putting on a show for the rest of the Professors."

"It was quite a show," Draco murmured thinking about how he was going to tell Harry about Pansy and his Veela side.

"You have no idea," Harry commented, "The old coot could talk a phoenix of his feathers if he wanted them enough."

"Oh, so he can be manipulative?" Draco asked with his eye brows raised in surprise.

"Again, you have no idea," Harry said rolling his eyes at the though. He was working on his pinky finger and was getting very irritated at how no matter what, he still felt dirty. "Arrggg!" he exclaimed again.

"Harry," Draco said putting a hand on top of Harry's so to distract him. "You're not dirty," he said as he lifted Harry chin with his hand and planted a kiss firmly on his lips. He didn't want to have the talk that was coming "I missed you."

"I missed you too. It seems like we never have time for one another these days. I just can't wait till its time to go home for Christmas. Imagine, two whole weeks with no classes and no extra work. Just you, me, and the master bedroom at Grimmauld Place for hours on end," Harry said fondly. Draco got a dreamy look on his face. Hours indeed, he thought.

"I'm excited already," he told Harry though the pit of his stomach clenched. Harry smirked.

"Been wanting to visit the south pole for a while now have you?" he asked quirking an eyebrow much the same way Snape did when he was looking for a better explanation.

"I'm always willing to visit the South Pole, it just hard to take a trip there when there's not a lot of time in your schedule for it. I feel like I should schedule the trip on your time table or something," Draco said sarcastically.

"It'll get easier, I promise, but right now, since it's barely past the beginning of the term, I have to get set into the routine so I can interrupt it more efficiently," Harry said. Draco just nodded. "So, how has everyone been?"

"The same really. Ron and Hermione haven't argued once, well, that I've seen. I can't speak of the Gryffindor Tower, but in public they haven't. I think Luna and Neville are getting together, though nothings official yet. I do believe that though Neville has grown a back bone over the past year, he has yet to overcome nervousness around girls," Draco said grinning. Harry laughed lightly at this.

"I'll have to have a talk with him. He's a catch that shouldn't just be cast aside; he just needs to believe that." Draco nodded at this. "So anything else?"

"Not really, everyone has pretty much been waiting and hoping that you and Severus came out of the transformation okay really. I was worried sick for a long time and though it sounds odd, Ginny seemed to be also. I think she's taken a liking to Snape for some reason," Draco said amused. Harry gave him a scandalized look.

"I'll definitely be speaking with her later," he voiced. It was Draco's turn to laugh lightly.

"Hey, you never know, maybe someone is finally seeing past the greasy exterior of our old potions master," Draco said sarcastically hiding his nervousness.

"Oh, yes, bitterness and vengeance are such appealing virtues," Harry remarked equally sarcastic.

"Harry, we need to talk," Draco said slowly looking at Harry suddenly seriously.

"Oh no you don't. I'm not making amends with that greasy git unless he makes an effort too, which he won't," Harry said as if attempting to read his mind.

"No, no, I don't expect you to. It's not about Severus, it's about us," Draco said. Harry gave him a confused look so he elaborated. "We may not be able to see each other much longer," he said quietly.

"It's because I'm dangerous isn't it," Harry whispered dropping his head.

"Oh, no, no," Draco said urgently, "It's me, I swear. There are just a few things I need to work out. Hermione is helping me with them and hopefully we'll be able to continue our relationship soon, but for right now it's dangerous for me financially," Draco voiced.

"Financially?" Harry asked perplexed.

"A marriage arrangement that has been in effect for me for sixteen year now. If I don't abide by the contract a percentage of the Malfoy estate goes straight to Pansy as alimony. It was arranged the day Pansy was born, which was only two months after I was. You know, Pureblood-Pureblood crap. Hermione is looking for a flaw in the contract and will sooner than later find one that will let us be together. The contract doesn't say I can't be with you, but it does say that I have to conceive a child with her by my seventeenth birthday," Draco explained.

"Seventeenth, that's so young," Harry said incredulously.

"That's where the second reason comes into play. My Veela half will come into heritage on my seventeenth birthday and my body will start looking for its perfect mate. If I conceive a child before then, the heritage will never come, which is why the agreement was made with Pansy's parents, it was a precautionary measure. The last thing my father wanted was me going after a half-blood or Muggle-born. Once the Veela part takes over, I no longer have any say over what happens in my love life, it could choose a werewolf for all I know," Draco said.

"And the reason you can't be with me is because even if you did break the contract and give her the part of the estate owed to her, your heritage would still come into play because its impossible for us to conceive, not to mention dangerous. Then there's the fact that I may not be the one chosen...right?" Harry asked understanding the predicament. Draco nodded.

"How long do we have?" he asked Draco hopping up on the sink beside him and taking his hand.

"I was thinking we should slow it down as soon as possible so we don't get anymore attached than we already are," Draco all but whispered.

"And by slow down you mean end it?" Harry asked with a pained expression. Draco didn't even answer audibly, just nodded once more, too ashamed to look at Harry. Harry took a deep shaky breath and looked over at the milky skinned boy and closed his eyes as a tear rolled down his cheek. He was angry, sad, depressed, and felt oddly rebellious. His emotions were twirling like a cyclone at sea, leaving nothing but a confused boy to look at the remains. His breath once again shuttered as he tried to keep his emotions in check, but is was no use. He had to cry. As weak and vulnerable as it made him feel, it was the only way to let the emotions out, he had to show an outward expression...so he sobbed silently, making sure not to make a sound.

His ribs raked with grasping breaths and he put his face in his hands to cover his tear soiled face. He had only felt the pain in his chest once before in his life and that was the day he had destroyed the Headmaster's office, just after he had lost his Godfather, the only parent he had left. He suddenly felt the void again. He didn't know why, but the hollow abyss was suddenly very prominent again. He felt like his heart was being torn out and handed to someone to care after and that person was dancing atop it.

Draco reached over to comfort the sobbing sixteen year old, but Harry flinched away as if Draco had burned him. He didn't want to be held, he wanted to be left alone. He wanted to wallow alone with his own thoughts, his own heartache, in his own arms. Self pity it may have been, but he only had himself now anyway. Why except false security that was only going to be ripped away again?

Draco slid off the sink and took one last look at Harry. His eyes prickled with unshed, but wanted tears. A Malfoy didn't cry. He may not agree with a lot of what his father said, but this was one thing he would not allow himself to succumb to...tears. Casting one more painful glace at Harry's hunched and sobbing form, he walked out of the lavatory and closed the door tightly behind him. He had just taken away Harry's last safe haven.

Thoughts Harry never thought he would have, floated around in his head. Thoughts of doing rash things to get the blonds boy attention once more raced like frenzied fairies in his head, he wanted to make Draco see the errors of his ways. He wanted to show Draco how much he meant to him, but couldn't do so knowing what Draco had just explained to him. Of course his rational side was telling him this was in fact the only practical thing to do, but his rash half was saying that 'love conquers all'. He heaved and his breath caught in several hick-ups as he lowered himself off the sink. Though he knew it wasn't true, he felt like he had nothing left. He felt like his last link to real love, real happiness, had just extracted itself away from him, leaving this, once again, ugly, black, deep, hollow hole in his chest. He had just lost his first love without a fight.

Harry didn't even leave the restroom; he simply disappeared in a 'puff' of smoke and reappeared in front of the Room of Requirement. He shuffled past the portion of the wall three times before entering.

The room was filled with glass objects, all very thick pottery type objects. He waved his hand furiously at a portion of the room and the vases, pots, and ceramics burst turning to glittery shards of glass that dissipated before even landing on the floor. He waved again sending another section into chaos as the glass objects burst with ear splitting crashes and burst into millions of small pieces. The recklessness didn't so much feel good as it did relieving. He wanted to tear away at something, leave it lifeless, but he couldn't kill...so he resorted to the next best thing, chaos.

The articles of the room reappeared as soon as they were destroyed. He turned in quick circles frantically waving his hand as the room around him exploded in response. He wailed, screamed, and cried as his arms and hands split through the air like knives in blurred movements. He was once again heaving breaths but paid no attention to the hyperventilating. His chest began to burn, and his hair stood on end as his body felt like it had been hit with a bolt of white lightening. The pain became overwhelming and he dropped to his knees mid-wave and cringed at the pain. The pain built until it was as if the black and empty void was full of fire then with an ear piercing scream, all the objects in the room exploded and Harry lit up with white light. This time, the articles did not reappear. Harry fainted.

"Harry...Harry!" a voice exclaimed.

"Harry...mate...wake up!" another deeper voice said. Harry didn't want to open his eyes, he was too tired, he just wanted to stay in the darkness where is was cool and quiet.

"Harry, if you don't open your eyes, we're going to have to take you to Madam Pomfrey," a stern familiar voice told him. Harry cringed at the tone, he wanted to ignore it, but something told him the voice was perfectly serious. So he rolled over on to his back and squinted his eyes open just enough for a fraction of light to come in, then he snapped them shut again.

"We can't make the lights dim, you're in control of that, remember, you were the first person in the Room," the voice of Hermione told him. It dawned on Harry where he was, and why he was there and he let out a soft whimper, but apparently not soft enough.

"Does something hurt mate?" Ron's voice asked concerned. Harry covered his face with his hands as tears once again tried to form.

"Harry, what hurts?" Hermione asked frantically, but Harry shook his head in a 'no' fashion. "We can't help if we don't know what to do," she said in a pleading voice.

"Draco left me," Harry said in a barely audible voice.

"I'll kill him!" Ron roared furiously.

"Ron, calm down...No...Come back Ronald Weasley!" Hermione said as Harry heard one pair of foot steps stomp off and another set dash after the first.

Harry laid there a second thinking. Why did someone always need to nose into his affairs? The headmaster and his friends were notorious for it, especially Hermione. She just had to know everything. She couldn't be happy with an 'I'll tell you later'. And Ron though you were hiding something if he didn't unveil all his secrets to the boy, that annoyed him to no end. How did they know where to find him anyway? Had they put a tracking spell on him? No, he thought, I would have felt that. Then it occurred to him, the DA was meeting today. They were supposed to start on the new Patronus spell today.

Without thinking a second longer, he disappeared and reappeared in his four-poster bed inside the boy's dormitory. He didn't want to instruct the class today, he just wanted to be alone. He waved his hand and cast both a silencing charm and an unbreakable charm on his bed curtains before turning over on his side into the fetal position. Harry let himself be over come by the darkness again, but this time, he was just sleeping.

Harry woke the next morning with the sun cutting sharply through his bed hangings and pouring into his eyes. He rolled over to escape the light and laid there thinking. Yes, it was another day, another day without Draco. How would he be able to look at him and bare the heartache that would course through him? How would he be able to mask the gaping hole that threatened to consume him without alerting anyone else? Occlumency help mask the feelings, but it did not help mask pain. Even in the most physical painful of situations, Harry would only be able to hold back a grimace. But it seemed that when ones heart was broken, the pain ate away at you. It was like a silent killer that never showed a sign of damage, it only made sure you felt it. It was savage, ruthless, and sinister. It cared not for task to be done, or what was to come, it only cared that one felt the lost to the fullest before it left, if it ever left at all.

Shedding only a misty eyed tear, he removed the charms from his bed hangings and swung his feet off the edge of the bed. He was Harry Potter, and though it would take ever last reserve of will power he had, he would continue on. No matter how painful, he had to keep going. The weight of the wizarding world that resided upon his shoulders depended on it.

He went about his morning routines numb, but allowed it. Dumbledore had once told him that his ability to feel such pain was what made him different from Voldemort but what if he didn't want to feel it? What if he wanted to stay numb like he was? He would try for as long as possible so that he could keep going, but he knew it would eventually break through and come out of dormancy once again, but maybe by then, he'd be ready for it, if there ever was such a thing.

He made his way down to the Common Room. Today was the day of the Dueling Tournament. He was to show what he was made of today, he had to show what he was made of today. So many were counting on his to be the one that defeated Voldemort, what kind of martyr hero would he be if he did come out on top?

He grabbed a few of the books that he had not yet read before he went to the plush chair beside the fire place. The competition didn't start until three o'clock and as it was a Saturday, he had all intentions of doing his best to prepare. He lowered his Occlumency walls and started reading one of the first books and gradually began building his walls up behind him as he read. This allowed him to be trapped with nothing but the knowledge. Although everything outside the wall was overly evident, it was easier to ignore. The book titled: Lost Spells and Curses of the Egyptian Tombs, by Devan Gliff, was interesting, but some of the material was so gruesome that only Tom himself would dare to use them. There were some to extract whole limbs, keep some alive while beheaded, even steel ones magic temporally, but the worse, even worse than death, was an advanced form of the Cruciatus. It made a person's body feel as if it were being dipped in acid. If under it for a prolonged period of time, it would actually eat away the flesh but always keep the victim awake and coherent to make sure the victim felt the pain.

He got through two books before he finally came out of his trance for breakfast. Hermione was sitting next to him reading some of the books he had brought down with him. She seemed so engrossed that she didn't even notice that he was no longer reading.

"Like the book?" he asked turning and setting his by the end table next to his bed.

"Oh, you're back with us. Actually, I don't like it, but it gives a rather intimate look at the ways of the Egyptians. They must have really cherished the after-life to put some of these in place. There gruesome, but I'm sure effective," she said marking her place and putting the book down. "Breakfast?" she asked brightly apparently trying to get Harry's sprits up.

"That's the reason I stopped reading. If I'm to compete today, I'll need my energy," Harry said in a neutral tone.

"How are you..."

"Fine," he answered before she could get the question all the way out. She didn't protest, but she did give him a look of sympathy, or was it pity, before nodding and standing.

"Let's be off then, Ron can meet us down there," she said as they made their way out of the Common Room and down the corridors. He requested, silently of course, that the stairs not move today because he was hungry. Hogwarts did not protest.

It was then that he noticed the castle was colder than it usually was. The corridors seemed to be engulfed in darkness despite the torches and burning grates. The rocks seemed to moan in protest to the very movement of the air. He looked around at the once strength inspiring walls to see them looking crumbling and frail. He felt something was wrong, but took no notice. He and Hermione made it to the all, to find it full of both professors and students. They were staring at the ceiling in confusion. Sunlight shown brightly through the windows around the halls, but the ceiling was not showing the same picture. It was showing storm clouds. There was black and grey clouds rushing by, roaring with thunder and flashing with lightening. The sky looked to be boiling with rage and the occupants of the hall could only watch in confusion as it looked as if it were going to rain its wrath down upon those in attendance.

Harry didn't give the spectacle a second glance, he knew what was wrong. The castle was reflecting what he was feeling because he was carrying the wards. The Heir to two of the houses was mourning, and thus was the castle. Harry noticed that Albus gave a few curious glances his way but said nothing. Harry knew that that old man probably knew what was going on, but would not make the mistake of approaching Harry without some type of tact for resolving the situation. By the time Harry and Hermione had fought through the crowd to make it to their seats, he Great Hall was full for breakfast.

"What's wrong with the ceiling?" Ron asked upon taking his seat next to Hermione. Harry just shrugged and continued to force himself to feed his body which lacked an appetite.

"I don't know but it is curious," Hermione said glancing back up at the enchanted ceiling. "Did you notice that the whole castle seems to look a lot more dreary than normal?" she asked Ron and Harry. Ron nodded and forked some sausages onto his plate while Harry again shrugged as though it didn't really matter to him, which it didn't. The silent students turned to face the Headmaster as he rose to speak.

"Please excuse the castle today; it doesn't seem to be feeling up to par. Anyway, the Tournament will begin at three o'clock as your Common Room bulletin boards should have conveyed. Those competing will meet in the small chamber at the end of the Staff Table and will receive their rules and regulations there. Competitors please meet there at two thirty so that we may begin promptly. Thank you," he said sitting down and giving Harry a penetrating stare. Harry looked away and back down to his plate.

"It's because of you isn't it Harry," Hermione hissed quietly. "Because you hold the wards and you're an Heir?" she stated more than asked. Harry just gave her a look that clearly said 'shut up' and looked back down at his plate.

"Heir? Wada'ya' mean?" Ron asked with a mouthful of pancakes. Hermione hesitated for a moment glancing at Harry nervously. They had not yet made it common knowledge, even to their friends, that Harry was an Heir.

"Harry's the Heir to Gryffindor," she said quietly so not to draw attention. "He's also carrying the wards; it's why the castle listens to him. Now it's reflecting what he's feeling because of the break-up," she said sorrowfully. Harry couldn't take anymore, what she was saying was making the numbness go away. The ceiling above flared red with fire as Harry stood and stormed briskly out of the Great Hall. Not many noticed that Harry was leaving because they all stared fearfully at the ceiling once more, this included the professors.

He made for the Room of Requirement but was stopped by Fawkes who materialized in front of him on his way down the last corridor. Tied to his leg was a small note and he landed on Harry's shoulder to allow him to untie it. Harry did so.

Harry,

Please come to my office at your earliest convenience.

A.D.

Short and sweet, just like the ones he used to send to Albus. He sighed and rubbed his face. He was not in the mood to talk with anyone at the moment.

"Tell him, 'maybe later' please," he addressed Fawkes before striding away again. But Fawkes apparently had other plans. The Fire Phoenix squawked and disappeared with Harry. They reappeared in front of a mirror that sat beside a picture of Godric Gryffindor. The figure in the portrait looked at Harry appraisingly for a moment before nodding as if satisfied then a ripple went through the mirror. He looked at the phoenix curiously before looking back at the mirror that now looked normally again.

"Griffin's heart dear boy, Griffin's heart," Godric said with a warm smile.

"Griffin's Heart?" Harry repeated confused before the mirror rippled again then a small hole appeared in the center. Harry tilted his head at it curiously as the hole began to grow until the mirror cease to reflect.

"Well, go on it boy," Godric said in a patronizing tone. Harry almost glared at him before his curiosity got the best of him and he strode in the dark hole.

He was immediately fascinated with what he saw. A small arched hallway led into a large personal chamber that was fit for a king. Harry immediately presumed it was self cleaning because the room was spotless and glowed with brick red and gold all around. The walls had portraits of moving wizards that Harry had never seen. The grate was lit and cast a warm glow on the room. The feeling was like having the Imperius cast on you successfully. Bliss was the only way to describe the feeling. He had no cares, no aches, no black gaping hole. He felt warm comforted and free like riding on his broom on a sunny day. The room he was in must have been the living room because there were plush chairs and shag carpets cast about the room in an arranged fashion. A couch as positioned in front of the fire place with two chairs on both sides and a thick shag rug in the center of the three. There was a book case along the wall next to the fireplace that had a few books occupying them. He sat on the couch and closed his eyes breathing in the heat of the grate as if it were a drug. The suit was absolutely intoxicating. He basked in the feeling until sleep took him. It was the most comfortable sleep he'd ever had.

Harry woke to Fawkes gently trilling in his ear. His eyes fluttered open and the comfortable room came into focus. He looked around wondering how long he'd been out before sitting up and being startled by a picture hanging above the mantel. He could have sworn it wasn't there before.

"Hello Heir, sleep well?" the face of Godric Gryffindor asked.

"I did," Harry commented defensively. Godirc didn't seem to notice.

"You're bird says that you have a Dueling Competition to be at in ten minutes so I suggested he wake you up," the portrait said.

"Can I come back sometime?" Harry asked horridly. He usually didn't make it habit to invite himself places, but the simple feeling of the room seemed to fill Harry's pain with something more pleasurable.

"I don't know, can you?" Godric said in an amused voice.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Harry said almost glaring at the portrait again.

"Well, it's your suit so I don't understand why you're asking?" Godric said smiling warmly at Harry.

"My suit? Why is it mine?" he asked.

"Because it was once mine, thus it is passed to you," Godric said solemnly.

"Oh," Harry said for lack of a better response, "Am I allowed to bring anyone in here?" he asked.

"Only if I condone them in my portrait by the door. I will announce any visitors and only let those in that you see fit."

"And those I don't?"

"Will be turned away without a second glance," he said simply. Harry thought about this for a few minutes. Right now he didn't want company; he wanted to stay to himself until he felt better.

"For now, allow only me. When I feel up to visitors, I'll let you know," Harry said looking at Godric's picture.

"That I will. Now, the Tournament," Godric reminded and Harry's eyes grew wide and he nodded fast before disappearing from the room in a flash of flames and reappearing before the door to the end chamber with a puff of smoke.

"Ah, there you are," Albus said from a chair in the corner as Harry walked in. "We were just about to start without you," he said glancing at the clock on the right wall. Harry followed his eyes and saw that he was fifteen minutes late. "You wouldn't have happened to have seen Fawkes today have you?" he asked casually as he searched for something in his pockets.

"We just departed, he should be back in your office now," Harry said thinking quickly. He almost said he left them back at the new suit that was found, but thought better of it. He didn't want anyone to know about it yet.

"Good," the Headmaster said before standing and putting slipping a golden pocket watch into the pockets of his robes. In his hand he held a parchment and read the names off in attendance as a formality. "Right," he said putting the roster away, "The Rules. The Duels will last until one party is not able to fight off its counter, simple disarming doesn't count. You must hinder them unconscious before you have rightfully won. No unforgivables or any curses that will put your counter in grave danger. No magic with a staff and no magic that will not be able to be countered by someone than your self," he said looking at Harry. That meant no Will Magic. "Your names will be called out and you will all duel each other once in the first round no matter how many you loose or win. The judges, Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape and myself will rate your performance. The seven finalists will be judged according to score and number of wins. Have fun and give us a good show, let begin!" he finished and walked toward the door to the room that led to a raised platform outside where they would be dueling. "First is Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger," he announced to the crowd and Ron and Hermione walked out on to the platform.

The duel was surprisingly short. Ron couldn't find it in him to curse his girlfriend but it didn't look as if she had any qualms about it. She won in under a minute after she put up an illusion ward and he thought he was looking at an acromantula. He nearly fainted. Hermione got rated nines across the board, including Snape who was smirking at Ron's pale form.

Next up was Ginny and Draco in which Draco won, though not easily. Ginny showed the crowed exactly why to be afraid of her Bat-Boggey hex when it nearly incapacitated him with the first strike. He was leery after that and watched her wand movement closely to make sure to avoid another one. He finally got her when she disarmed him and he still retaliated with a wandless stunner. One of the few spells he could do wandlessly. Because Ginny was unaware that he was capable of this, she stood shocked until the mild stunner caught her and knocked her out. He received nines from all of the professors but Snape who gave him a ten. Typical, Harry thought.

Neville lost his first one against the Slytherin, Michael Mulciber, a seventh year how was known to openly support Voldemort though there was no proof yet that he carried the Dark Mark. Michael had yet to lose a duel and this was starting to worry Harry. Mulcliber won by shooting flat headed darts at Neville. They, of course, stung but because they did him no permanent damage, it wasn't looked down upon. Snape gave him a seven because he said it wasn't a task to win over Neville, but McGonagall gave him a five for inflicting pain. Both Dumbledore and Flitwick gave him eights for his quick conjuring and transfiguration skills.

Both Harry and Katie Bell had won their first duels. Katie went up against Hermione and surprised everyone when Hermione conjured a net and threw it at her, but half way there Katie animated it and sent it back too quickly for Hermione to undo the animation. It bound her tight until Katie sent a stunner at her. Hermione wasn't at all a sore looser; she actually hugged Katie and congratulated her on an excellent animating job. Though, rumour has it that Hermione was the one who tutored Katie on the subject. Katie was rated with a nine for the complicated animation from everyone but Snape, of course, who gave her an eight out of what seemed, spite.

Harry won his against Casey Price which is the best friend of Michael Mulciber and another Dark Lord supporter. Harry had a bit of a battle with the Slytherin, but after about five minutes of duelling, he finally just shot a stunner strong enough to shatter the other boys shield and took his wand. He earned an eight from everyone besides Snape who gave him a five. Git, Harry thought.

The duelling went on for hours, as it was supposed to. After every duel the competitors would retreat to the chamber and have their hexes removed and medical attention of needed. They were even allowed to have Pepper-Up Potion if they needed after a particular hard duel, like Hermione's with Casey Price. That duel lasted ten minutes and ended in Hermione besting Casey, but both were battered by the end and Hermione had used many complicated spells in which she lost a lot of energy.

By six o'clock in the evening the first rounds results were posted and the placement was as follows:

_______________________________________________________________________________

Contestants:

1) Mr. Ron Weasley

2) Miss Hermione Granger

3) Miss Ginny Weasley

4) Mr. Draco Malfoy

5) Miss Susan Bones

6) Mr. Casey Price

7) Mr. Michael Mulciber

8) Miss Cho Chang

9) Miss Hannah Abbot

8) Mr. Michael Rhodes

9) Mr. Neville Longbottom

10) Mr. Justin Finch- Fletchley

11) Miss Katie Bell

12) Mr. Harry Potter

RW

HG

GW

DM

SB

CP

MM

CC

HA

MR

NL

JFF

KB

HP

1

--

W

L

W

L

W

W

L

L

L

L

L

W

W

2

L

--

L

W

L

L

W

L

L

L

L

L

W

W

3

L

W

--

W

L

W

W

L

L

L

W

L

L

W

4

L

W

L

--

L

L

W

L

L

L

L

L

L

W

5

W

W

W

W

--

W

W

W

L

L

W

L

W

W

6

L

W

L

W

L

--

W

L

L

L

L

L

L

W

7

L

L

L

L

L

L

--

L

L

L

L

L

L

--

8

W

W

W

W

L

W

W

--

W

L

L

L

W

W

9

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

L

--

L

W

L

W

W

10

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

--

L

L

W

W

11

W

W

L

W

L

W

W

W

L

W

--

W

W

W

12

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

W

L

--

W

W

13

L

L

W

W

L

W

W

L

L

L

L

L

--

W

14

L

L

L

L

L

L

--

L

L

L

L

L

L

--

W/L

6/7

10/3

6/7

11/2

3/10

9/4

12/-

4/9

3/10

2/11

3/10

1/12

8/5

12/-

Placement:

7a

4

7b

3

0

6

2

0

0

0

0

0

5

1

Placement:

1) Mr. Harry Potter

2) Mr. Michael Mulciber

3) Mr. Draco Malfoy

4) Miss Hermione Granger

5) Mr. Casey Price

6) Miss Katie Bell

7) Mr. Ronald and Miss Ginny Weasley - tied

_______________________________________________________________________________

Both Harry and Mulciber were tied for first and both Ron and Ginny were tied for Seventh place. Because there was also a point system, Harry was considered number one and Mulciber number two. But this system could not be applied to Ron and Ginny because they also had the same amount of points. They made Ron and Ginny duel out the tie before moving on so that they would have seven as they needed because of the fourteen that started. Ron won the duel, but only out of sheer power. His spells were getting so strong lately that even Harry would have cringed if on the opposing end.

The second round was to be an elimination round. They were paired off in three sets of twos with the person in the top position in left out to duel the winner of the first match.

Hermione and Draco dueled a very long and suspenseful duel. Hermione seemed to be taking the duel personally as she send some pretty nasty hexes at him not working on the defensive side at all. Harry didn't know how to feel about this. He wanted to be mad at her for being so rough on him, but at the same time he wanted her to hex Draco to oblivion for leaving him. It ended when Hermione disarmed him and Draco disarmed her back wandlessly. He was then awarded with two wands in which he used to shoot a stunner at her that caught her before she could recuperate from the disarming charm.

Katie Bell and Ron dueled until Katie bested Ron by sending a conjured rock that was then transfigured into a spider and enlarged to scare. It seemed to do the trick as Ron threw his wand at the spider and ran off stage sending everyone into hysterics. He really needed to get over his fear of spiders or he would never make it in a real duel with a Deatheater.

Next was Casey Price and Michael Mulciber. The duel, it seemed to Harry, was a mock duel. They simply threw curses at each other and countered them effortlessly. Harry could tell they were trying to just make a show out of it, but Casey did some sloppy wand movement and floundered a spell while Mulciber disarmed him. This was not at all up to par for either and Harry had a feeling why. Mulciber was hands down the better dueller and he wanted to go on to win. But as he had said when they first heard of the Tournament, he wanted to duel Harry.

As Draco was the first to win his duel, he had to duel with Harry to leave the three finalists. The duel, unlike those before it, seemed to be very tense. They both disarmed one another, but Harry did not allow Draco to use wandless magic on him. He conjured a pair of handcuffs that had wandless wards on them and placed them on Draco with an unbreakable charm before stunning him. Harry felt both horrible and good about this. He didn't want to hurt the boy he loved, but he also didn't want to let him have his way again. This time Harry chose and won.

It was finally down to Harry, Katie and Mulciber. Harry, still being in the top spot, had to first duel the Head Girl, and then duel the Slytherin.

The duel with Katie was a very physical one. She had become very efficient in animation and saw fit to make her self an army of dogs that were more than happy to snap at Harry if he made any sudden movements. Harry, not wanting to banish the dogs one by one, set up a beastless ward and made Katie have to start over with armoured guards. He then set up a second ward to eliminate any conjuring, animation, or transfiguration; this is when the duel got dirty. Harry and Katie were throwing hexes, curses, spells, and charms at one another left and right. Harry had rarely done such duelling without showing too much power, but was determined not to show his true colours to all of Hogwarts by drawing from the crack in his dam. He could clearly see why Katie was made head girl though; she was very determined and smart. Though Harry knew all the spells thrown by the studious girl, most were not even taught in Hogwarts and would only reside in the Restricted Section, if anywhere at all.

The duel ended with Katie put up a last minute shield to reflect his disarming charm and it was reflected back at him. Katie seemed to think she was winning then and threw a stunner at him as most would do, only to have it reflected from his own reflecting shield that he erected at the last minute wandlessly and sent it back at her stronger and faster. In all, the duel lasted twenty minutes.

Finally, came the last duel in which Harry was to face off with the junior Deatheater from Slytherin.

They bowed.

"Ready to beg for mercy Potter," Michael spat. Harry almost flinched at the unnerving intensity of his voice. He really hated Harry.

Turn, ten paces, turn,

"Dicio Detractio!" Mulciber hissed first. Harry almost didn't get out of the way due to shock. The Slytherin had used the power draining spell he was just reading about this morning. Harry disappeared and reappeared behind Mulciber making the crowd gasp. If the Junior Deatheater was going to play dirty, so could Harry.

"Defendo!" He roared pointing his wand at the crowd. A silvery gold wall went up and Harry surrounded himself with flames that almost touched the ceiling. Mulciber looked stunned for a moment before he cast a water spell to put the fire out to get at Harry, but Harry wasn't there. He had already made himself invisible and walked though the fire around to the other side of the Slytherin.

"Avis," Harry hissed conjuring his phoenixes to take care of some of the spells. The Slytherin started shooting off stunners at the birds only to have them eat them and continue flying.

"Serpensortia, Engorgio," Harry hissed again then commanded the large anaconda-sized snake to bind the Slytherin. By this time everyone in the Hall was standing pressed up to the barrier that was protecting them from the fire.

"Evanesco," Harry said banishing the fire and then revealing himself to Mulciber who was still trying to get rid of the phoenixes. The last spell go his attention and the Slytherin turned and saw the huge snake heading towards him. He started shouting the banishing charm only to have it eaten by a phoenix that would swoop down and consume it before circling over head again. Mulciber had cast a spell on himself that made him glow green for a second before settling back to normal. Harry knew that ward. Stunners no longer worked on him.

"How dare you use a curse like the power draining curse. You could turn someone into a squib if you did it wrong!" Harry said furiously.

"What do you think my intention was?" Mulciber retorted sadistically.

"Me, a squib? You are mad aren't you? You couldn't kill me if you shot the killing curse at me!" Harry said advancing on the junior Deatheater behind the snake. Mulciber started to look panicked.

"Give me your wand and I'll call the snake off," Harry said to him. The Slytherin barked out a loud mad laugh.

"And you call me mad?" he said incredulously. "Only someone that was as thick as you would do such a thing," he said. Harry nodded.

"Fine, you give me no other choice," he said raising his wand. "Declaro Dark Mark!" he said and the sleeve of Mulciber's robes was ripped off. Beneath it, on his forearm, was the scull with a snake protruding from its mouth. Harry's eyes went steely.

"Surrender your wand!" he all but bellowed the his opponent. He ordered the snake to stop.

"Never, my master will have you soon Potter," the Deatheater said as he grabbed something out of his pocket and tossed it to Harry. Harry knew immediately what it was.

"Bad move Mulciber, now you've given us a safe route to your master, very unwise indeed," Harry said. "Oxosso Exterebro!" Harry said under his breath. The spell flew so fast that the Deatheater never had a chance to dodge. He fell to the ground and started screaming in agony as his bones started dissolving within his body starting at his feet. "Give me your wand!" Harry said not wanting to approach the boy. There was no way he was going to spend another week as a bird because he had to eat another killing curse.

"NO!" the boy bit out between screams.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry bellowed as the boy was picked up, still screaming, but clutching his wand. He was now about twenty feet in the air.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled putting as much power as possible behind the spell. The spell hit the ward and shattered it while throwing Mulciber across the hall and into the brick walls of Hogwarts. There was a gut wrenching thud that made Harry wand to vomit, but it seemed to work. He had successfully knocked the Slytherin out when he fell to the ground and his wand rolled away from him. Harry waved his hand and took down the protection barrier. Snape ran after the student who was lying on the ground and Dumbledore strode quickly up to Harry.

"You're unharmed?" he questioned looking Harry over. He nodded.

"Is he alive?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"Yes he is Potter," Snape spat, "What were you thinking!" he yelled. Harry's temper rose.

"I was thinking I had to knock him out and tear down that ward before he threw the killing curse at me for the second time this week. You see the Dark Mark! He deserved no justice!" Harry bellowed at the Potions Master. Snape glared at him before picking the boy up and racing towards the Hospital Wing.

"You did what you had to do Harry, I understand. Would you like to come to my office and speak with me before our late dinner?" Albus asked kindly, no doubt wanting to speak with Harry about he and Draco's break up. Harry shook his head no.

"I'm not ready yet," he said and then disappeared in a swirl of snowflakes and reappeared in front of the mirror to the Gryffindor suit. "Griffin's Heart," he said then entered.