Chapter 27

Author's Note: Very important notice at the bottom after the chapter is done.

I forgot about Neville.

When Snape and I walked onto the field, the poor kid immediately froze up at the sight of the greasy one sweeping into his former safe haven.

Neville had been in the section we set aside for study, looking into some books on Transfiguration with Susan. When Snape showed up, he somehow managed to drop the book on her toe, leaving her to curse aloud in shock.

The Weasley Twins froze as well, before quickly rushing around hiding whatever they could. Snape didn't glance their way, but that was because he was focused on the display in front of him.

Luckily Dumbledore and Sprout were there too. Snape was less intimidating when other teachers were around.

Less luckily, VoldeQuirrell was watching Harry carefully next to Dumbledore. My best friend was on the center field with Blaise, doing what they often did.

Spar.

"Stupefy!" Blaise snapped out, the red laser slicing through the air to bounce against the shimmering bubble around the 'battlefield' when Harry dodged.

Harry was a fucking ninja. He jumped, sprinted, and ducked as Blaise unleashed hell in the form of the simplest knockout spell known. He had a wide grin on his face as he flipped over another blast, returning it with one of his own.

"Expelliarmus!"

Blaise desperately dodged the spell then tried to step back, but Harry had already used that small window to speed into Blaise's face, his fist flashing forward. Blaise blocked it, but didn't avoid the leg sweep Harry followed up with. On the ground Blaise tossed his wand aside, instead grabbing Harry's legs and pulling hard to force him to the ground, rolling to grab his wand again.

Harry, landing on the ground, rolled back to his feet with insane speed, his wand up before Blaise had his in hand. "Flipendo!"

Blaise fingers barely tapped his wand before he got sent through the air, landing heavily. Harry rushed in, Blaise snapping up to his feet to run towards him as well.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry snapped towards Blaise's wand.

"NO!" Blaise rushed for the wand, leaping to try and catch it, only for Harry to spear tackle him out of the air.

In an instant, Blaise was on his back, Harry holding his wand up high pointed at his face.

"...Ugh," Blaise laid his head back, sighing. "Thought I had you on the ropes at the beginning."

Harry lowered the wand, catching Blaise's as it dropped out of the sky with a grin. "You did. But you kept spamming. Made it easy to predict."

"Why toss your wand aside?" Daphne's voice said. She stepped forward, revealing she'd been standing between Dumbledore and Quirrell, just out of my sight.

"Harry's too damn fast," Blaise grumbled. "I couldn't get a spell off before he'd punch me, so I had to pull him down with both hands."

"You threw your wand too far, then," Snape's voice seemed to echo. Say what you will, the guy had presence. He glanced at me. "Mr. Ahmed. I believe we had a deal?"

I rolled my eyes again, but pulled out a ruler and went to the edge of the field, beginning to measure the grass. Like always, I used the boring task to focus on my magical efforts. Focus the energy through me. Power it into the muscles, the palms. Rinse and repeat.

Snape returned his attention to Blaise and Harry. "If you must be so boorish as to end up in a physical confrontation, think further ahead. Simply letting the wand go would have left you with both hands free as well as left it in your grasp."

"Y-Yes, professor?" Blaise half-said, half-asked. He looked befuddled, while Harry seemed annoyed.

"Ah, Professor Snape," Dumbledore said warmly. "Good of you to join us. Are you simply here to watch, or will you be aiding the students?"

Snape glanced over at Quirrell, who weakly looked away as though he was scared. "That remains to be seen."

"H-Hello again, Prof-Professor," Quirrell mumbled.

"How very good! Well, then we'll continue as always. Do you have any other critiques for the students?" Dumbledore asked.

"You, Mr. Potter, are far too eager to dive into melee," Snape snapped. "A wizard's wand isn't some useless appendage, it is their main weapon. Your fists are for the desperate moments, not your primary means of attack."

"Still surprises most wizards when I punch them," Harry grumbled.

"Not for skilled duelists," Snape said. "I assume this exercise is for practicality, yes?"

"For the most part," Dumbledore said cheerily. "Though I imagine it's quite invigorating as well."

"Then practically speaking, mastering your wand will help you best in the future."

Harry scowled. What Snape was saying went against a lot of the doctrine I'd been pushing. Namely, that the wand wasn't supposed to be the main option. Rather, use what worked best for you based on the situation and your own strengths. Wands were versatile as fuck, but still…

"Tell me, Mr Potter, do you plan to punch a security troll? A dragon? I can assure you, that will not end well," Snape said drolly.

"No duh," I mumbled. Whatever. Weirdly, he was trying more here than he did in the classroom.

"Well, Mrs. Greengrass, I believe it is your turn?" Dumbledore asked her.

The blonde nodded, smirking. Dumbledore smiled back, then looked over at her opponent. "Professor Sprout."

"Quite ready, thank you," the cheery Hufflepuff teach said.

Snape and Quirrell both stiffened. Quirrell spoke first. "P-Professor S-Sprout?"

"Yes, indeed." Dumbledore nodded firmly. "It was at Mrs. Greengrass' request."

"Was it now?" Snape eyed the pair as they stepped out. "And how often does this happen? Students dueling professors?"

"Every day," Dumbledore said. "Why, young Gar has dueled me at least twice a week."

Snape and Quirrell both glanced at me. I stopped measuring and exercising to glance at them. "If you call an outright slaughter a 'duel', sure."

Seriously. Dumbledore was ridiculous. To his credit, he didn't go hard on me. Mostly just letting my spells bounce off a variety of shields, ripping my wand away, and parrying any punches with relentless ease.

McGonnagall was worse. She turned me into a newt.

Thankfully I got better.

"Students must put forth or accept the challenge, of course," Dumbledore said evenly. He'd likely noticed the look Snape gave Harry. Probably not the one Quirrell did though. "Now, Mrs. Greengrass, your terms?"

"Herbology only for my opponent," Daphne snapped. Still, she looked more nervous than usual.

Sprout smiled gracefully. "Oh, I see. Are you sure?"

Everyone except Quirrell and Snape winced. Neville gulped, while Hermione was practically vibrating with excitement. Daphne nodded.

"Very well. Headmaster?"

"Indeed," he raised a finger, and a loud crack sound filled the air. "Begin!"

"Stupefy!" Daphne shouted as she ran to her right.

Sprout simply stepped aside and reached into her pouch, pulling out a pair of pots with some leaves poking out. One was tossed on the ground in front of Daphne, the other landing just before Sprout.

The one in front of Daphne shattered apart, sprouting into a large head of cabbage. Until the leaves snapped apart to reveal a set of green teeth. A Chinese Chomping Cabbage.

"SKREEE!" the cabbage rolled forward at blistering speed towards the blonde, veggie teeth snapping and opening quickly as it tried to devour her.

"Tch," Daphne snapped her wand in front of her. "Incendio!"

Instead of a stream of fire, Daphne spun around to create a bubble of fire around her. The cabbage ran into the flames, its screeching sound fading as its leaves withered. Daphne kicked out at the cabbage, sending it flying back through the fire, but her full focus was on Sprout's other minion.

A Venomous Tentacula. It was about waist height, with spiky leaves, hard gnarled branches, and massive flowers ringed in sharp thorns that made it look more like a gaping maw than anything. The plant wasn't mobile, stuck in the earth in front of Sprout, but it didn't need to be. One of the maws opened up and released a blast of pure venomous liquid at Daphne. She fired another burst of fire, turning the emerald fluid to nothing, but had to dodge away from the next.

"You've got this, Daphne!" Hermione cheered.

"Incendio! Stupefy!" the spells, one after another, were launched with some beautiful precision. The fire destroyed the next venom blast, while the stun spell flew at Sprout. The older woman ducked under the red laser, having moved before Daphne fired it, a small smirk on her face.

That was when a cabbage none of us had noticed slammed into Daphne's back. It exploded, sending her flying forward.

"When did-!?" Harry said, shocked.

"When Miss Greengrass was focused on countering the Tentacula," Snape said. "Professor Sprout used the initial launch of a cabbage to trick her into believing that it was the only one, then fired another behind her."

Daphne rolled to her feet, wincing but still dodging another green blast. "I-Incendio!" This time, her fire reached the Tentacula, incinerating it in moments. She aimed at Sprout again, only to blanch at what Sprout pulled out.

So did the rest of us. She held it by the plant on its head, with the form of a tiny green root baby hanging underneath. A Mandrake.

"Quietus!" Daphne squealed, but she must have messed up the spell somehow because when the baby screamed it let out a burst of noise anyways. Thankfully it was only enough to make us wince rather than knock us out. Sprout put it away mere seconds later.

"My win, Miss Greengrass."

"What!? No, I can still fight!"

"Yes, but only because I weakened the Mandrake's scream prior to pulling it out. Had I not, then you would be unconscious."

Daphne took that in. Then she slumped, saddened. "Oh."

Sprout smiled gently, walking over to her and patting her on the shoulder. "Not to worry, my dear. You had the right idea, but you really must practice that spell more. The Quietening Charm may not be considered a combative one, but it can be very useful in the right circumstance."

"Yes, Professor. How… How did I do?" Daphne asked, biting her lip a bit.

"Oh, excellent. Had I not resorted to the Mandrake, I believe we could have dueled for a while yet."

Daphne's face positively beamed with pride at that.

"Yes, she did quite well while you handicapped yourself to using only plants," Snape cut in. He might as well have deflated her.

"Professor Snape, I believe that I can do my own assessment without your aid," Sprout turned to give Snape one of the most withering glares I'd ever seen from her. "If you would kindly leave your commentary to your own time, rather than mine?"

"...Of course," Snape said. He didn't sound the least bit chastined, but that seemed to be enough for Sprout.

"As I said. Well done, Miss Greengrass."

It seemed to help, but only a bit. Daphne stepped aside, finally noticing my own actions. "What are you doing?"

"Having a fulfilling childhood, how about you?" I said with a small sigh. "You know, maybe we should see a real fight, between two real fighters?"

"An excellent idea," Professor Snape said. Harry and Ron stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "Professor Quirrell, why don't we give a demonstration? A real duel."

Snape looked as innocent as a marshmallow shaped like a tiny bird. Quirrell looked at him like Snape was made of fire. For a moment, just one, I imagined rage in his eyes, but he was probably a better actor than that. "O-Oh, I-I don't t-think that would be n-necessary. P-Perhaps I could duel one of the s-students?"

"Oh, but I insist. For the good of our pupils."

"...A-Ah. M-My apologies! I must tend to something I've f-forgotten! A-Another time, professor!"

Quirrell spun around and walked quickly off.

"Next time then," Snape said. "I will be here."

The DADA professor/supervillain paused in his steps, then hurried off.

Snape glanced my way. I met his gaze with mine, then went back to measuring. Still, I was beginning to feel like I couldn't just keep avoiding the end point of all this. Voldemort was inside Quirrell. Scheming. I had to deal with that, while Snape was doing the same. Whatever hate I had for him, Snape and I shared an enemy, even if he didn't know that.

Of course, later on I'd learn that while Snape, Voldemort, Dumbledore, and I were doing different levels of planning, a wild card in the shape of my best friend was stepping into the ring.

Harry Potter

"I want to see what Fluffy is protecting," Harry said. "I think it's going to be stolen."

"Mate, we just got him used to us!" Ron said.

"It does seem… reckless?" Daphne said. "Even Gar has avoided it."

"Because we could die!" Hermione squeaked.

The four students had met up after classes, before heading to SWOLE, and Ron, in desperation, told Daphne and Hermione what Harry was planning.

"I don't want to bring Gar along," Harry said with a sigh. "I don't even want you guys to know about it."

"How does Ron know about it?" Hermione asked, glancing at the redhead.

"Deductive reasoning." Ron said seriously.

Hermione and Daphne glanced at each other. Then more seriously at Ron.

"I'm serious! I noticed Harry was putting together a lot of gear for exploration, then he kept looking up spells that could help, practicing Lumos and playing with how to best wrap his cloak around him for combat, then I saw how he eyes the trapdoor. After that, I just put two and two together!"

"..." Both girls stared at him like he'd grown a second head.

"Just because I'm not booksmart, doesn't mean I'm not street smart," he mumbled. "Bloody hell."

"T-That aside," Daphne continued. "Harry, going in there is daft."

"I know! But… The day I went into Gringotts, Hagrid pulled something out, something important enough to put in Hogwarts. It had to be something powerful. And Snape wants to go in there too."

"He does?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Snape got a bleeding leg injury on the same day I found blood in Fluffy's room," Harry pointed out seriously. "Plus, there has to be some reason he hates me so much."

"He hates everyone," Ron said.

"Not as much as me! Except for maybe Gar."

"I think Gar just has that effect on him, though?" Daphne said, laughing just a bit. "With Harry it feels…"

"Personal?" Hermione said softly.

"Almost like I killed someone important to him?" Harry pointed out.

"...Professor Snape was a follower of Voldemort," Daphne whispered. "Maybe he was one of those who were under control or were blackmailed, but…"

The group of four thought about that silently.

"You shouldn't join me on this," Harry said seriously. "I just want to know what's in there, if Snape is really trying to steal something from Hogwarts. If I find out he is, then I'll tell Dumbledore. But it's dangerous. Not just because of Fluffy or what else might be in there, but because it's against the rules."

Hermione let out a squeaking sound.

"But I have to know. So just don't tell anyon-"

"I'm helping you," Ron said immediately.

Harry stared at him, aghast. "Ron-"

"Shut the fuck up, Potter," Ron said with firmness, punching Harry gently in the shoulder. "If you don't want Gar helping you, then you still need someone to watch your back. So I'll be the crazy bastard to do it."

"You don't have to swear like Gar as well," Daphne rolled her eyes. "I'm going as well. To defend the honor of my house and the head of that house. Snape is not a good man. But he is not a traitor."

Good enough. Harry sighed, looking at Hermione. "Hermione, even if you aren't helping, please don't tel-"

"Wait, what?" Hermione glared at him. "Why wouldn't I come!?"

"...Because we're breaking the rules?" Harry said weakly.

Hermione squeaked again, but straightened her back. "I-It's for a good cause! If it really is to protect whatever Fluffy is protecting, of course I'll help! Only long enough to tell Dumbledore if we find out someone is breaking in!"

"...We should name our team," Ron said thoughtfully. Harry stared at him, aghast not just at the comment, but also that he was unwilling to convince Hermione to stay.

"Hermione and I can do research on safely exploring unknown areas," Daphne said, easily accepting her fellow witch joining.

The three others looked at Harry. He looked back at them. Then he sighed, rubbing his face.

"Fine. Then starting now, we'll prepare. But we tell no one else! Not even in SWOLE!"

"Understood!" the others said.

Harry couldn't help a bit of excitement from filling him. This was going to be fun.

Author's Note: This story is officially going on hiatus. Keep in mind, it was originally just something I was typing out for fun. It wasn't supposed to exist! So the fact I've made this many chapters is amazing to me. Sadly, the idea has stopped burning. I'm going to put it aside to put more focus on my others stories. I apologize to anyone who was hoping for more, but forcing myself to write this out just leads to weaker and weaker chapters.

I hope you all understand, and will consider supporting my other stories in the meantime. Let me know what you thought of this one, and have a good day.