18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

On the way to defence class, the golden trio was joined by Draco.

"Hi Draco," Harry greeted, "How's life?"

"Much better without a certain insanity-driven family member in it," Draco replied.

Harry chuckled, "I can imagine. Ready to get the snot beaten out of you?"

"Me?" Draco replied, "Please, I'm a god when it comes to defence. If anyone's in trouble, it's Weasley."

"Hey!" Ron said, "I could've done the same thing you did in that forest. I just wasn't invited."

"Neither was I," Draco replied easily, grinning crookedly, "I simply didn't take no for an answer."

"Boys, boys," Hermione interjected, "You're both pretty. Now can we move along before we run late?"

"Hey, that's odd," Harry suddenly said, stopping at a sign they came across. "This wasn't here before."

The sign read 'The Potions Laboratory'. Draco laughed out loud when he saw it. "Well that's entirely wrong," he chuckled.

"Some poor first years are going to get lost," Hermione said in exasperation. She took out her wand and waved it at the sign but nothing happened to it. She blinked in confusion and tried again but to no avail. "It won't change."

"Leave it," Draco said, "Even the first years have been here for a few months already. If they don't know their way yet, it's their own fault."

"Don't be so heartless," Hermione huffed but she put away her wand anyway. "Now come on or Professor Snape will probably give us all detention."

Harry laughed, "We can always tell him the sign confused us."

The foursome sprinted – since they were really running late now – towards the classroom and made it just in time. Snape was already sitting there, eyeing them amusedly when they barged inside. Everyone else was already present.

"How kind of you to grace us with your presence," Snape said evenly, "Perhaps you should refrain from taking a second helping next time, Mr Weasley."

Ron flushed and Draco snorted. Anticipating a lecture of some sort, they stood waiting until Snape waved them off with his hand. "Take your seats before I decide to take points."

They all did, somewhere near the back of the class.

"We have spent a large part of last year as well as these first few months on individual prowess and improvement," Snape drawled, "And yet, you will find yourself in numerous situations where you are expected to work together. Some of you wish to pursue the career of an Auror. If so, you will be assigned a partner and expected to work together for the length of your careers. The same goes for many other tangents in the path of this line of work.

"You need to be able to protect each other as well as count on your partner, wherever they came from." He eyed his students carefully. "Even a Slytherin has to be able to work with a Gryffindor. Try not to lose yourself in each other's weaknesses but build on each other's strengths."

Snape grinned. "I'm sure you all know where I'm going with this. You will be pairing up with someone from another house. Choose wisely because you will be training alongside each other for a considerable amount of time. You're allowed ten minutes for your selection. No more. Begin!"

"I choose Draco!" Ron and Harry said in unison.

"Hey!" Hermione pouted, "That's not fair. Why can't I duel with Draco for a change?"

"Wouldn't you feel more comfortable with another girl, though?" Ron said.

Hermione huffed, "Not necessarily. I just want to get good grades."

"While I am flattered to be so desirable," Draco interjected, "I think I choose Harry."

"Out of the question," Snape suddenly said. Harry whirled around to see the man looming over them.

"What?" He objected, "Why not?"

"The teams will be facing off against one another as you've no doubt gathered," Snape said easily, "I hardly think it fair to allow the two of you to team up against any other pair. I would rather not have any casualties in my class."

"We wouldn't kill anyone," Draco snorted, "We can control ourselves."

"Even so," Snape said, "You wouldn't learn a thing from drawing on each other's strengths. You know each other very well already, having been in battle together."

Harry groaned and Snape rolled his eyes in response. "Don't be childish. Just find someone else. I am sure you will have a myriad of partners to choose from."

Harry smiled when he realized that Snape was acting like his normal self. Maybe he shouldn't have worried as much as he had about the man. "Alright, Professor," he finally replied. "Sorry, Draco."

But the blonde waved him off and turned towards Ron and Hermione. "Alright, which one of you wants to be in my magnificent presence for the next couple of months?"

Harry allowed his eyes to roam the others who seemed to be wandering aimlessly through the classroom when he was addressed by someone.

"Would you like to pair up with me?"

Harry recognised the boy as Michael Corner. He had been one of the original members of the D.A. and Harry knew that he was actually very capable. He had straight black hair and brown eyes that looked at Harry expectantly. Harry knew Ron didn't like him very much but thought that had more to do with him dating his sister way back when than anything else.

"Michael, was it?" Harry replied, "Fine by me if you think you can keep up with me."

Michael flashed Harry a crooked smile, an eager glint in his eyes. "I might surprise you still," he said smoothly, extending his hand. Harry shook it, sealing their new partnership.

"Time's up," Snape announced and the classroom fell silent. "Has everyone paired up? Good. The first thing we will be practising is blocking for each other. Find another team and wait for further instructions.

Ron rushed over to Harry, frowning slightly when he saw Michael. He was flanked by Blaise Zabini who – for now – followed easily.

"Want to face off against us?" Ron asked.

"If you think you can handle us," Harry teased.

Zabini huffed. "I'm sure that being dragged down by dead weight like that –" he inclined his head towards Michael "- will have you at a disadvantage."

"Oh?" Harry replied, "If I recall correctly, Michael made it into the advanced defence lessons last year. And where were you again Zabini? Oh right, you were almost not even good enough to stay."

"That's quite enough," Snape sneered but it wasn't directed at Harry's group per se. Bickering had broken out nearly everywhere but stopped as soon as Snape had raised his voice.

"For now, you will all be blocking stunning curses," he said, "This is not your first year and I expect you all to know what you're doing at least. You will do this all nonverbally. Points will be deducted for each word you say. You will not be taking turns either. Treat this exercise as a real battle. If you get stunned, you are out. If your partner gets stunned, you are out. When you are victorious, you await the next party to be at the ready and start over. Begin."

Immediately, Harry and Michael backed away from Ron and Zabini. For a moment, no spells were thrown, all four of them waiting for the others to begin. Eventually, it was Zabini who fired the first stunning spell. Harry flicked his wand and thought of his own version of the shield charm. Immediately, a pair of shields formed in front of him and Michael.

Harry looked at Michael briefly, grinning as he did. The Ravenclaw seemed to understand his intent and smirked. He fired off a stunning hex at Zabini but it was blocked. Ron tried to reciprocate with his own spell but the shields were firmly held in place by Harry and Michael cast his own spell at Ron who was unable to defend as he had already fired off his attack. Zabini should've been able to block for him but either didn't or couldn't. Ron was taken out of the battle but Zabini didn't seem to care. He kept throwing his curses at the pair in front of him.

Harry shook his head at the ridiculous Slytherin. He noticed that Zabini was now focusing all of his attacks on Harry as if he would be able to break through his shield. Harry looked at Michael again and nodded, hoping that the Ravenclaw would get his intent. When he noticed a second shield charm form in front of him, he knew that he had. He dropped his own shields and waited until Zabini fired another spell. At exactly the same moment, Harry cast his own stunning hex, effectively hitting Zabini square in the chest. The Slytherin actually flew backwards for a few feet before landing in a crumpled heap.

"Wicked," Michael said, high fiving Harry for their victory. Harry grinned and went to wake up Ron. The redhead groaned as he got up from the floor.

"We never stood a chance," he whined.

"Next time," Michael said, "Once you learn to work together, you'll manage."

Ron snorted but didn't respond. He walked over to the side-lines, not even bothering with waking up his teammate and sat down.

It was only to be expected that Harry and Michael won from every team they went up against. And if Harry was honest, that was not even entirely because of him. Did his own experience help him? Well, of course! But Michael was not bad himself. He seemed to have a clear understanding of how a battle worked and was able to move with the finesse of a Quidditch player. They had steered clear of Draco and Hermione, knowing full well that they would probably be the team to beat and when the lesson had nearly come to its conclusion it was indeed them they were faced off against.

Everyone else was watching them. Snape was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

"A very expected turn of things," he drawled, "Why don't you show your fellow classmates what it takes to be on a team. Use whatever spells you deem necessary except for ones that may kill or maim permanently. Is that understood?"

Harry locked gazes with Michael once more and was satisfied to see that the boy was absolutely ready for it. He seemed eager to show what he was capable off with a burning passion. This was probably one of the students that aspired to become an Auror.

"Begin," Snape said.

Both teams backed up, leaving a large amount of space between them. They stared each other down but none of them was making the first move. Harry tightened his grip on his wand as he shifted his weight to his back leg, regarding his adversaries carefully.

The classroom was completely silent as the onlookers waited with bated breath. Snape still acted aloof and relaxed but Harry knew that he too as waiting intently.

Then, Harry and Draco both stepped forward at the same time, firing off their spells. A blue beam met a red one in mid-air and an explosion followed. Harry ducked to the right – away from Michael – and tried to make use of the smoke that had formed to bypass Draco.

Trying to sneak past a Slytherin was a mistake though and he soon saw the tell-tale red streak of a hex rushing his way. He raised his wand to attempt a defensive shield when the spell already broke off against one a few feet in front of him. 'Thanks Michael', he thought and rushed towards the middle of the 'battlefield'.

The smoke was gone now and Harry met up with Michael in the middle. They turned so they stood with their backs towards one another. Hermione and Draco were both on opposite ends of the room. They both fired a hex at the same time but Harry recognised them for the elemental attacks they were and knew that a simper 'Protego' would not work. Michael hadn't noticed and his useless shield was already up.

In a split second, Harry decided to shield Michael from Draco's attack that would be decidedly worse than Hermione's.

"Stantibus Clypeum," he shouted as he grabbed Michael's arm. He was not able to cast this one nonverbally yet but he heard no groans of protest from the Gryffindors. Michael's skin turned into an earthy brown as it seemed to harden and sheen. Meanwhile, Harry tried to duck out of the way of Hermione's blast and barely managed. His arm was grazed by the spell and stung painfully but he ignored it for now as he charged at Hermione.

If the other team had wanted to split up, that was on them. Hermione took a step back and fired off some new curses and hexes that Harry simply dodged and blocked. He heard the sounds of a second battle behind him but focused on the witch in front of him.

With another flick of his wand, he managed to disarm Hermione. He caught her wand as it flew in his hand and smiled at her victoriously, his wand now trained on her neck.

"Well," Snape suddenly drawled, "It would appear we have a draw."

Harry blinked and turned around to see Michael on the floor, completely incapacitated by a stunning hex. Draco was looking at him rather smugly.

"It would appear that you all still have a lot to learn about working together," Snape continued, "Nonetheless, it was very well done."

"Potter cast one of his spells verbally though," Zabini sneered.

"Did he?" Snape sneered, "I must not have heard that over the obvious jealousy that came exuding from you. Come complain to me once you're able to cast that particular spell nonverbally. Or at all, now that I think of it."

Zabini flushed but kept his mouth shut after that.

"Class dismissed," Snape said and walked over to his desk, straightening out some papers as he stared at them dumbfoundedly.

"Is something wrong?" Harry asked as he approached the Professor.

"No," Snape said, now moving his inkwell a few inches to the right, "Just the feeling that – never mind." He shook his head and placed the papers on the edge of his desk. "Something I can help you with, Harry?"

"I was wondering if you still wanted to continue those Occlumency lessons," Harry said bravely.

"Naturally," Snape replied, "It would be a shame to quit now. You've come so close after all."

"Do you mean it?" Harry asked, "I just thought… well,"

Snape sighed. "It wasn't your fault," he said, "And you may not have realized but I am an Occlumens. I am capable of controlling and reigning in my emotions. Which is exactly what you need to learn."

"Right," Harry said, somewhat relieved. "For what it's worth, I think I get it now."

Snape quirked a sardonic eyebrow. "Do you?"

Harry nodded, "Absolutely."

"We'll see," Snape said, "But for now, you'd best run along."

"Oh shoot," Harry said when he noticed everyone else was gone. "You're right. See you later!"

As Harry and his friends manoeuvred through the corridors that day, they noticed a lot more of those signs along the way. Most of them pointed in the entirely wrong direction for what they were depicting but a small amount of them was correct.

It wasn't until Harry sat in the History of Magic class, waiting for Professor Bell to arrive that he realized what must be happening. She didn't show up for fifteen minutes and Harry suspected that the signage had thrown her off completely.

"Maybe we should look for her," Draco offered willingly. Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"Eager, aren't you?" she pointed out.

"I bet she's somewhere near the transfiguration classroom," Harry offered, "There was a sign reading 'History of Magic,' pointed in that direction anyway.

"I can't believe she still doesn't know her way around here," Ron chuckled.

"Come on, I'll go with you," Harry told Draco, "These History lessons are too good to miss."

"Try not to get attacked by death eaters on the way there," Ron jibed good-naturedly.

"We'll do our very best," Draco replied dutifully before exiting the classroom with Harry on his heels.

"So, do you think Snape is behind this?" he asked.

"Almost definitely," Harry chuckled. "But to be honest, she kind of had it coming."

"I'll say," Draco said happily, "I'm still looking for a charm to make that card permanent. It's one of my most prized possessions."

"Don't let Snape catch you doing that," Harry warned, "Or he really might lock you up in the dungeons."

"He would never punish his darling godson," Draco said assuredly, "I am simply too endearing."

Harry cuffed Draco playfully. "You're a prat."

"And where are you two headed?" asked a familiar voice. Harry and Draco stopped in their tracks to meet a surprised looking McGonagall.

"Hi Professor," Harry greeted sheepishly.

"Don't hi me, Potter," McGonagall said, "Why aren't you in class?"

"Professor Bell is missing," Harry explained, "We're expecting her to be somewhere around here. Have you seen her?"

McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose as if she was fighting a headache. She mumbled something under her breath but Harry didn't quite catch it.

"Point me Maya Bell," she said and started walking with Draco and Harry on her tail. She stopped in front of her own classroom – there was no transfiguration lesson planned this hour – and opened the door. Maya was sitting behind her desk.

"Oh, Minerva!" she greeted, "Good to see you."

"What are you doing here, Maya?" McGonagall asked, not quite able to hide her exasperation.

Professor Bell flushed a bit. "I'm afraid I'm terribly lost," she admitted, "But the new signs pointed me in the direction of this classroom so I thought some changes had been made. But the students aren't coming."

"I don't know who put those signs there," McGonagall said sternly, "But they are most decidedly wrong. And you are in the wrong classroom."

Professor Bell sucked in the air between her teeth. "Yes, I thought as much."

"Harry, Draco," McGonagall said, "Kindly escort Professor Bell to her own classroom if you will."

"Of course, Professor," Harry said easily.

"Your escort awaits," Draco said haughtily, offering his arm. Maya chuckled and took it as the three of them strolled out of the transfiguration classroom, McGonagall shaking her head in their wake.

"I must admit that Severus really got me good with this one," Bell said cheerfully.

"You think it was Snape?" Draco asked.

"I might not have a sense of direction but I do have a brain, you know?" Bell said, "What other purpose could there possibly be?"

"We thought so too," Harry admitted.

"When do you think he'll have mercy on me?" Bell asked.

"Mercy?" Harry chuckled, "Severus shows no mercy, Professor."

Bell snorted. "Ah well, at least I'll get plenty of exercise roaming these hallways."

After the severely shortened History lesson where every student had been given a character to play a role in the diplomacy feast of 1845, Harry lost track of Professor Bell again since they had Potions class next. Ron had had a free period which he undoubtedly spent playing Quidditch.

All four of them met up in the great hall for dinner where a sufficiently smug-looking Snape sat, glancing at McGonagall in defiance.

"Fred and George would be proud," Ron snorted, "Who knew Snape had it in him to be a prankster."

"I did," Draco said easily.

"Sure," Ron replied sardonically, "April fool's day must be a real hoot in the Slytherin common room. Tell me, does he replace your shampoo with befuddlement potions?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "He's normally not like this at Hogwarts," he explained, "I meant at home. He's my godfather after all."

"Is he seriously not going to help Professor Bell out?" Hermione asked, "At this rate, she might end up starving. She didn't make it here for breakfast or lunch either."

Harry met Snape's gaze who smirked at him and Harry narrowed his eyes, inclining his head towards the great hall entrance. Snape simply shrugged and took a bite from his food.

'Come on, be a gentleman,' Harry wrote on his cuff.

'Chivalry is a Gryffindor trait,' came the reply.

'Don't make me lace your food with your own limerick potion,' Harry threatened.

Snape stared at him coldly for a while before replying.

'Even you are smart enough to realize you can't get to me through potions.'

'Not yet, perhaps,' Harry replied simply.

Snape sighed theatrically and got up from his seat. He walked past Gryffindor table, cuffing Harry lightly on the head as he went. Harry laughed and watched him go.

"I envy your powers of persuasion," Draco said in awe. "If you can get Snape to do something, you can influence everyone."

"You're a Malfoy," Harry pointed out, "I'm sure you're fine."

Snape followed his own signage that led to the astronomy tower even though it read 'Great Hall'. He climbed the stairs to find Maya at the end of them, looking through the large telescope that was used for astronomy classes.

"Did you not realize that there are no winding staircases that lead to the Great hall?" Snape asked. Maya didn't even jump when he made his presence known.

"Hi Severus," she said, still staring through the telescope, "Took you long enough."

"Yes, well, you have my son to thank for my coming here at all," Snape replied evenly.

This time, Maya looked away and met Snape's bored glance with a smile. "Tell him I said thanks," she said, "Because I'm simply starving."

"Come on then," Snape said, descending the stairs again.

"I love astronomy, you know," Maya suddenly said. Snape didn't reply. "Of course I'll tell you why that is," Maya replied to the unspoken question. "You see, by reading the stars you can find your way around, even if your sense of direction is as horrible as mine."

Snape smirked. "I hope you learned your lesson."

"And what would that be?" Maya asked sweetly.

"Don't try and prank the master of cunning," Snape replied evenly.

Maya laughed loudly. "Alright," she said, "I'll at least admit that I've met my match. But I'm not giving up yet!"

They walked past a sign that incorrectly pointed to the Defence classroom and Snape waved his wand, changing it to correctly point towards the Great Hall.

"I didn't expect you to," Snape said smiling slightly. "Just don't be surprised when you suddenly end up de-aged and transferred to Beauxbatons.

"You would never!" Maya exclaimed, grabbing hold of Snape's elbow with both her hands entwined around it. "You would miss me way too much."

Snape snorted but allowed the close proximity of the History teacher. "You overestimate your value," he said.

"Well, your son would miss me," Maya pointed out, "And I know your godson would as well. So face it, you're stuck with me."

"As you say," Snape sighed in resignation as they arrived at the entrance of the great hall. "Now unhand me woman, or I'll never hear the end of it."

Maya laughed and released him, skipping ahead of him to run into the great hall, the dark master following behind her. He looked up just in time to see that self-satisfied smirk on Harry's face.

"Brat," he mouthed. Harry just laughed.