Midnight Duel, Midday Love
Kiss and Tell
By Draco664
Kiss and Tell
The diminutive figure of Professor Flitwick walked alongside the taller, but still petite figure of Cho Chang. The pair approached the main gates of Hogwarts in the twilight of early evening, the sun having set over an hour ago.
Cho carried several packages, some of the smaller ones tucked under her arms. Her tiny head of house had offered to carry some, but Cho had politely declined his offer. He had escorted her to Hogsmeade outside the regularly scheduled trips into the town specifically to get new robes for Harry, and the last thing Cho wanted was to be any more of a burden on the dear little man.
The pair made their way to the main entrance of Hogwarts, managing to avoid the worst of the snowdrifts that had built up on the grounds around Hogsmeade and Hogwarts. As they entered the castle, Cho turned to face her head of house.
"Thank you professor."
"For what, Cho?" he asked lightly.
Cho blushed slightly. "For taking me into Hogsmeade tonight. Harry really needs these robes if he is going to the ball tomorrow night."
The diminutive professor gave Cho a smile. "It is a pity you are not going with him, my dear. You make a wonderful couple."
Cho's blush deepened. "Thank you professor. I think so too." she said with a shy smile.
"Well, run along. I'm sure Mr. Potter will be delighted to see you. Especially if you are bearing gifts." Flitwick said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
Cho nodded gratefully, and made her way to Gryffindor Tower. She was panting slightly by the time she had climbed the stairs to the Fat Lady's portrait.
"Hello dear."
"Um, Hello. Can you let someone know I'm here?" Cho asked the portrait uncertainly.
"I'm afraid not, dear."
Cho frowned. "Oh. OK."
Cho turned to leave, thinking she would go down to the owlery and send Harry an owl when the portrait swung open. A pair of giggling third-year witches emerged, and looked at Cho.
Cho tried to stop the blush from forming, without much success. "Umm, would either of you mind telling Harry Potter that I'm here to see him?"
At the mention of Harry's name, the pair blanched, and looked at each other nervously.
Nervous about talking to the 'famous' Harry Potter. Cho thought wryly.
One of the girls nodded and disappeared back into the common room. Cho stood still, willing herself not to fidget or wriggle as she waited while a young Gryffindor witch stood there watching her intently.
"Are you Harry's girlfriend?" Cho was asked abruptly.
Taking a second to register the question, Cho nodded. The witch in front of her offered her hand.
"My name is Natalie. It is nice to meet you."
Cho put down half her packages and took the offered hand and smiled. "Thank you. I-, hey, didn't you play seeker for Gryffindor last year?"
Natalie blushed. "Yes. I wasn't very good."
Cho's smile widened. "You beat Malfoy though."
Natalie nodded and giggled behind her hand. "That was fun."
Cho laughed with her. "It is indeed. I always enjoy beating him. Are you still going to play?"
It was Natalie's turn to fidget. "Um, H-Harry insisted on me being included in the team, as reserve seeker. He has been making me come to the training sessions."
Cho raised her eyebrows in surprise. "That's good isn't it?"
Natalie shrugged. "He says I'm getting better, but he can always catch the snitch before me when we go head to head."
Cho smiled wryly and placed a hand on Natalie's shoulder. "Do you know the only person who has beaten Harry at Quidditch? Fairly?
Natalie shook her head.
"No one."
"But, he has lost some games."
Cho nodded. "In a game against Hufflepuff, Cedric managed to catch the snitch before Harry. Harry always claimed that he was beaten fair and square. Cedric disagreed. He thought the game should have been replayed."
Natalie brightened, before nervously asking, "Wasn't Cedric your boyfriend?"
Cho sighed deeply and nodded. "Cedric and I were good friends, and at the time he was killed we were 'boyfriend and girlfriend'. But we were never in love. His death still hurt, as it would if any of your friends died. Harry was hurting too, but for a different reason. Together, we managed to help each other during that summer by writing to each other. We grew closer."
A smile graced Natalie's lips. "I guess seekers seem to go out with other seekers."
Cho gave a short laugh. "I guess so."
At that moment, the portrait opened and Harry appeared with Natalie's friend, a small smile appearing when he saw Cho.
"Hi Cho," he whispered. "and Natalie. Nat, don't be out too late tonight. We have training tomorrow morning."
Natalie looked at Cho and then back to Harry. With a big smile she said, "I'll be there."
Harry looked surprised at her enthusiasm, but smiled fondly. "Good. Off you go, just be sure to be back before curfew."
Cho leaned forward and gave Harry a quick kiss. "You seem to be in a good mood." she said, before picking up her packages.
Harry sighed, and nodded. "I've been thinking about what I did to Peeves. I don't want that to happen to anyone else, so I'm trying to come to terms with, with..."
Cho gently shushed him with a kiss. When she pulled back she said, "I know. I'm proud of you."
Harry smiled and automatically relieved Cho of her burdens. "Come in." he offered.
Cho smiled and followed him into the Gryffindor common room.
Harry and Ron made their way down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room. Ron's black and silver trimmed steel-grey dress robes matched his complexion well, while Cho's selected forest green robes again matched Harry's eyes.
The pair had resumed their friendship after an uneasy period of distance between them. Ron had finally tried to apologize to Harry for hitting him, but Harry would have none of it.
"I attacked Hermione. Badly enough to put her in the hospital wing for a couple of days. I deserved what I got from you."
"But she told me not to get upset. I should have waited to find out what happened."
Harry snorted. "If you'd done that, I'd have been asking you what you'd done with my best friend."
Once in the common room, Ron nervously started pacing around the floor. Harry sat down in one of the scarlet armchairs and silently watched his anxious friend.
More and more students made their way down into the common room, meeting their dates and leaving for the feast. Finally, Ron spoke.
"What the hell could they be doing?"
"Probably getting ready for the ball."
Ron gave him a disgusted expression. "I know that! I mean, why is it taking so long."
Harry smiled at his friend's obvious discomfort. "Hermione is obviously making sure that she looks as good as possible. Think of it as her gift to you."
Ron stopped pacing and blinked. A grin slowly spread across his face. "You're right. It is her gift to me." The red-dead paled spectacularly. "Oh, bugger. I don't have a gift for her!"
With that, Ron raced up the stairs to the sixth-year dorms. Harry shook his head. I bet Ron will be apologizing to Neville tomorrow for destroying his flowers.
Sure enough, Ron came downstairs carrying a single blue rose, one of Neville's creations.
Harry shook his head at his friends antics. Neville would not be too happy once he got back from the ball.
"Good evening, gentlemen." came a familiar feminine voice from the stair leading up to the girls dorms. Harry turned to see Hermione and Ginny walk slowly down the stairs looking radiant.
Ron was speechless. Hermione had put her hair up similar to how she wore it to the Yule Ball with Victor Krum, but with one important difference. A string of pearls had been braided into her hair, giving the young witch an air of dignity and grace that would not have looked out of place on a princess.
Ginny wore a stunningly simple gown of white that made her colouring look magnificent. With her hair flowing down over one shoulder, Ginny looked positively angelic. The cut of her dress robes exposed a good deal of what Harry would embarrassingly refer to as cleavage, and left her shoulders free. Harry was surprised at just how beautiful his classmate looked tonight.
Harry stood and smiled at his friends. Walking up to Ginny, he tucked a single white carnation behind her ear and bowed to her.
Arm in arm, the foursome made their way out of Gryffindor Tower, and down to the Great Hall.
The group's arrival at the hall did not go as smoothly as expected.
Harry tried moving into the Great Hall, but an invisible barrier impeded his progress. He looked at Ginny in confusion, relaxing when he saw she wasn't concerned.
"We need to perform a small ritual, Harry, before we can go inside."
"What do we need to do?"
Ginny simply smiled winsomely and looked up. Harry followed her gaze and saw a sprig of mistletoe hanging above the door.
"We need to kiss before the mistletoe will let us through." she answered.
Harry took a deep breath and nodded. He tried to give Ginny a quick peck on the lips, but the youngest Weasley had a different idea.
Ginny tugged on the front of his brand new dress robes to bring him closer before slipping her arms around Harry's neck. Ginny kissed him deeply, unknowing, uncaring what she was doing to The-Boy-Who-Lived.
The magic of the mistletoe forced the couple to remain kissing for five seconds. Many couples took longer than was strictly necessary to satisfy the charm. The instant Ginny's lips crushed Harry's he knew exactly who it was that had used the polyjuice potion.
To Harry, it was five seconds of pure torture.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry couldn't decide which hurt more. The fact that he had been raped, or the fact that it had been a friend.
As their lips parted Ginny's expression of hopeful confusion faded to one of fright and sorrow. Harry was staring at her in shock and disbelief. As Ginny tried to form the beginnings of an apology, an unfocused, wandless magical blast hurled her backwards across the hall.
For only the second time in her life, Ginny kissed the object of her adoration with wild abandon. It didn't matter who saw them now, they were under the charmed mistletoe. They had to kiss.
But Harry wasn't kissing her back, in fact he was trying to pull away.
Ginny was glad the charm on the mistletoe forced them to kiss for a specific time. Harry would have pulled away instantly otherwise.
It was with regret and not a little hurt when Harry managed to tear himself from her embrace. Ginny looked up into his eyes, hoping to see affection, but her heart skipped a beat when she recognised what she saw.
Betrayal. Harry's beautiful green eyes carried no hint of affection, instead they bored into Ginny's soul, accusing her of betrayal.
He knows! her mind screamed at her.
Ginny froze as her worst nightmare solidified in front of her. Harry's accusing gaze cut through all the self-denial and false justifications, and the full horrific impact of what she had done to him crashed down upon her.
Her elfin features betrayed her shame. But as she began to mouth an apology, Harry's rage burst forth. Ginny felt her ribs break before she blacked out as she was sent flying across the Hall by a furious, unfocused magical blast.
Harry raced through the halls of Hogwarts at such a speed he was bouncing off the walls when rounding the corners. His glasses slipped down his nose and nearly fell from his face, his new elegant dress robes slid from his shoulders and began restricting his arms. The tie holding his ponytail in place split as he violently shook his head in denial, and Harry's long, wavy hair flew everywhere.
Unthinking, Harry just ran. Ran away from the pain and the sick feeling in his stomach. Nothing mattered now, he knew who had violated him, and the pain of knowing a friend had done that to him was too much.
He pounded down the hard stone corridors, uncaring of the direction he was heading. For one of the few times in his life, tears ran from his eyes. Betrayal stung his heart, and Harry fell painfully to his knees to vomit once again.
Once he finished retching, he struggled out of the fine, velvet robes Cho had bought for him and tossed them aside without thought. Harry struggled to his feet, his legs trembling at having sprinted for several minutes.
Dressed only in a shirt and shorts, Harry stumbled along the corridor with one hand on the wall supporting him.
Cold wind washed over him as the corridor ended, and Harry stepped out of one of the castle doors. Hagrid's hut could be seen under the heavy drifts of snow that covered the grounds. The sudden sensation of cold combined with the negative emotions churning within him made him feel claustrophobic, trapped. It was almost as if he was back in Azkaban. Harry fell to his knees, clutching at his head.
Once again, the large black pit in his mind opened and invited him to fall. The seductive nothingness beckoned him with soothing entropy. Harry prepared to let himself fall into the painless hole when a voice captured his attention.
"Stupefy."
Harry leapt to his right as the spell flew through the space he had just occupied. In one fluid motion, Harry rolled to his feet and had his wand pointing straight at his attacker.
Straight at Professor Snape.
It is not without irony, thought Snape, that the very map that Potter created is instrumental in hunting him down.
The headmaster had confided in the heads of houses that the tracking wards placed around Hogwarts had been improved with a map created by Harry and his friends. At any time, the professors could cast a spell, name a student, and be mentally informed to the student's whereabouts.
Snape exited Hogwarts and saw the boy, kneeling in the snow, holding his head as if in agony. Without hesitation, Snape raised his wand and quietly but prudently, erected a magical shield. As soon as it was raised, Snape sent a stunning spell straight at Harry.
Snape was not surprised to see Harry dodge the spell, but was surprised that the boy managed to draw his wand and assume a dueling stance in the blink of an eye. Harry willed a magical shield into existence, one of his own creations. It required no wand motion or incantation, and while it provided only minimal protection, it did take the sting out of most curses and hexes.
The pair stared each at each other, watching for the miniscule twitch that would signal an attack.
Harry watched Snape like a hawk, expecting another attack at any second. But seconds slowly slid by, and nothing of the sort was hurled his way by the potion master. Finally Harry spoke, his voice raw.
"Just leave me alone."
Snape raised one eyebrow. "And why would I leave you alone, when you have just assaulted another student?"
Harry's lip curled in anger. "You have no idea what you are talking about."
Snape's eyes flashed with anger of his own. "No? You were offered counseling and support, but no, you refused. You moped around acting like a martyr, wallowing in self-pity, ignoring the danger you posed to other students!"
"Shut up!" shouted Harry, his vision blurring. "You don't understand!"
Snape snarled. "I understand perfectly, Potter."
Simultaneously, teacher and student launched their attacks. Harry's disarming spell smashed into Snape's barrier, not even causing the professor to flinch, while Snape's stunner this time passed close enough to his student that Harry's tiny shield evaporated.
Harry gave a leonine growl, deep in his throat. He had no element of surprise, no defense, and was facing an experienced dueler. He had to end this now, before he lost all advantage. With a single wave of his wand, Harry cast a summoning spell, hoping it was something Snape would not expect.
Snape was ready for Harry's first attack, as the potion master expected it was the disarming spell. He allowed it to dissipate harmlessly on his shield. His own spell again just missed the boy as Harry dodged to his left, though a brief glow indicated that at least one of Harry's unseen defenses had been brought down.
The potion master was under no false impression of his skill against his opponent. Potter had less than a tenth of his experience in dueling, and was yet to complete his education. Snape was confident that he could easily defeat the boy, since he knew that Harry always needed to prepare for combat. The boy in front of him had only a wand, and none of the toys he used to defeat the Death Eaters.
Snape knew that his opponent was tricky, but he had no idea what hit him when half a ton of snow from the roof of Hogwarts crashed down on top of him.
Professor Moody raced along the corridors of Hogwarts as fast as his wooden leg would allow. He had followed Snape as the oily professor had quickly left the Great Hall, but his leg and age had slowed him.
With the aid of his eye, Moody had managed to track Snape through the corridors, and watched as the teacher and student met.
A deep, throaty chuckle escaped the grizzled auror as he watched Potter quickly overcome the Potion master by burying him in snow summoned from the roof of the castle. That'll teach you to underestimate the boy he thought to himself.
Moody watched as Harry desperately dug through the snow to get to Snape. The panic on the boy's face made Moody's heart skip a beat. Merlin's beard! I hope he hasn't killed him!
The Defense instructor reached the door just as Harry dragged the unconscious professor from the snow. Moody watched silently as Harry checked Snape's breathing. With a start, Harry's head snapped up and he stared in shock at the appearance of his Defense teacher. Harry turned and started scrabbling away through the snow, desperately trying to get away from the retired auror.
Moody cracked a smile at the effect his presence had on the boy. He raised a gnarled hand holding an equally gnarled wand to stun the boy.
He almost dropped the wand in shock as The-Boy-Who-Lived turned into a bird and flew away.
Dumbledore sat in the infirmary, a grave expression on his face. Both Miss Weasley and Professor Snape were tucked into the utilitarian beds in the hospital ward.
"Well, that tears it Albus. Attacking both a student and a professor is grounds for expulsion." Moody's blue eye swiveled to face the unconscious Snape. "Well, he was defending himself against Snape, but the attack on young Weasley..."
"Indeed, Alastor." Dumbledore replied. "I just wish I knew what set Mr. Potter off like that."
"I was watching them at the time. The only thing that happened before he lost his rocker was a kiss under the mistletoe."
A vague recollection tickled Dumbledore, who slowly frowned and faced his old friend. "He attacked her after a kiss?" he asked.
Moody nodded, and narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "That means something to you, doesn't it."
Dumbledore sighed. "I have a theory." He again looked at Ginny, still being fussed over by Madam Pomfrey. "If it turns our to be true, it is not one that will end happily, for anyone, I fear."
Moody looked from Ginny to the headmaster. "What is it?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "I would prefer to question Miss Weasley first, Alastor. If I am wrong, it would do her a disservice."
Moody nodded, and turned to look at Snape. With a low chuckle he continued. "You should have seen it, Albus. Snape standing there behind his shield, thinking he had made himself invulnerable to Potter's attacks. The boy then summons a massive chunk of snow from the roof and dumps it on him."
A faint smile touched the headmaster's lips. "Mr. Potter has become quite the adversary in recent times."
"He knows when to run too." cackled Moody. "And fly. I can't believe you didn't tell me he was an animagus."
Dumbledore shrugged. "He has permission from the Minister himself to delay registering until he has completed his schooling."
Moody's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't answer why you didn't tell me he was an animagus."
Dumbledore looked slightly abashed. "Not many people know. Not even Severus."
Moody's head tilted to one side. "That still doesn't answer why you didn't tell me."
Dumbledore sighed. "I didn't think you needed to know."
The retired auror nodded, understanding the concept of 'need to know'. "Fair enough. Not much I can do about it now anyway." Moody absently scratched the edge of the scar that marked all that remained of his nose. "Do you have any idea where he would have run too?"
Dumbledore pushed his half-moon glasses up onto his forehead and rubbed his tired eyes with his fingers. "I can think of only a few places Mr. Potter would run; if he wasn't thinking clearly."
Moody grunted at the caveat. "And if he was thinking clearly?"
"Then I'd imagine that those few places would be where we wouldn't find him."
Moody nodded, his face thoughtful. Suddenly a wide grin split the gnarled auror's face.
"What is it?" Dumbledore asked.
"You know, I always thought that teaching would be a nice, boring job, and that being an auror would be exciting. I've had more excitement in the last six months here at Hogwarts than in my last six years as an auror."
Madam Pomfrey gave the pair of chuckling old men a fiery glare before continuing to tend to Ginny.
In one of the most desolate, yet beautiful places on earth a lean figure sat on the pack snow, dressed only in a thin cotton shirt and shorts. How someone could survive wearing so little in an environment where a cup of boiling water thrown into the air landed as ice would have been a mystery to any watchers.
Harry sat, rocking gently back and forth, looking up at the shifting patterns of light. The brilliant curtains of blazing fire writhed in the sky, reflecting off the surrounding white landscape and the tears running down Harry's cheeks.
The warming charm was starting to wear off, but Harry was disinclined to renew it. How easy it would be to just relax, and let the cold take him.
Harry snorted at the image of an exploring scientist's reaction to finding the frozen body of a boy in the middle of the polar ice cap wearing nothing but shorts and a shirt.
Harry again looked up at the beautiful lights. Their calming, silent presence comforted him, allowing Harry to think about recent events more clearly.
Hogwarts was no longer a home. There was no way he could go back there now. Not after putting Snape in the hospital and attacking Ginny.
Ginny.
Harry closed his eyes and tried desperately to stop the tears from falling. Images of the youngest Weasley flooded through his mind. How she helped him become accepted by the other Gryffindor fifth-years. How the pair had done their homework together. How they had pushed their grades up to almost level with Hermione in most of their classes.
How she had betrayed him.
The sorry sight of Ginny with gashes all over her face and arms intruded on his thoughts. Understanding clicked, and Harry knew that Ginny had done the damage to herself. Probably worried that the polyjuice potion wouldn't wear off. the dispassionate part of his mind supplied.
The thought of being stuck in the form of someone you hated would be enough to drive many people insane. Ginny obviously was not well adjusted.
Could something be affecting her? Perhaps she was under the influence of the Imperius curse. Or a potion.
Harry shook his head ruefully. He was trying to justify Ginny's decision to rape him. He wanted to believe that Ginny didn't do it of her own free will. That she had been made to do it by someone else.
Enough. This is not productive. I can't go back to Hogwarts, and I'm sure Dumbledore and the others will be looking for me at Privet Drive and Black's Pad. Probably even the Shrieking Shack.
Suddenly, with a force that nearly took his breath away, the warming charm collapsed. Instantly, Harry nearly froze, his lungs screaming in agony at suddenly being forced to draw in air that was sixty degrees below freezing.
Harry quickly mumbled the warming charm again, and gasped as tears of relief mixed with the tears of hurt on his cheeks.
Draco fairly ran down the subterranean corridors, desperate to meet Mask. The events of the evening had been, interesting, to say the least.
Enough that Draco had allowed himself to be caught up in the events, spending too much time watching for more to happen. As such, he was running late for his 'appointment'. He had been warned never to be late.
Draco rounded a corner, the light from his wand tip bouncing around on the stone floor in front of him.
Mask suddenly stepped out of an alcove, startling the Slytherin. With a yelp, Draco tried skidding to a halt, only to fall on his backside as his feet slid out from under him.
"You make quite an entrance, Mr. Malfoy." said the man behind the mask, a slight trace of amusement in his voice. He stretched out and offered a hand.
Draco declined his assistance, and struggled to his feet by himself. "Sorry I'm late, but a lot has happened tonight."
Mask tilted his head to one side, obviously curious. "I was under the impression you were coming tonight to receive information from me, Mr. Malfoy."
Draco nodded. "Yes, but you probably need to know this."
"Go on."
Draco hesitated. "What will you give me for this information?" he said, testing the waters.
Mask was silent for a few moments, before speaking. Rather than anger, his voice betrayed his amusement. "A Slytherin to the bone. That I can understand."
Draco swallowed nervously. "Y-yes." he said, not sure he was being complimented.
"You know that I have been fair with your rewards for service so far, Mr. Malfoy. Tell me what you know, and I will decide what it is worth. Should you disagree, you are free to use the information you have to seek your fortune elsewhere. Secrets are valuable, after all."
Draco shuddered slightly. The jovial tone belied the silent threat beneath the words. No one would trust me if what I was doing with Mask came to light.
"Potter has put two people in the hospital wing tonight. He blasted his date, Ginny Weasley, across the hall after kissing her, and then put my head of house in there with her."
Draco was pleased with the reaction this got from his benefactor. Mask stiffened, and paused for a long moment, weighing up what he had been told.
"I find it hard to believe that Potter would have put Snape in the hospital wing."
He called him 'Snape'. Draco thought to himself. Every other time he has mentioned my head of house he referred to him as 'Professor Snape'. With an internal grin, Draco filed this piece of information away.
"So do many, but Potter was able to kill a lot of Death Eaters in one go." Draco offered.
Mask shook his head. "I didn't say that I didn't think Potter could have. I said I doubted he would have." he said absently.
Draco's heart raced. Even more information with which he could use to discern Mask's identity.
"Where is Potter now?" Mask asked the blond boy.
"No one knows. Rumours are flying, of course. But he would have to have left Hogwarts. Even as Dumbledore's pet, he will be expelled for attacking a student and a teacher."
Again, Mask was silent for a moment before he almost exploded. "Go, now! Back to your common room. We'll meet again."
Draco was stunned. "B-but what about what you were going to give me tonight?"
Mask spun and started stalking off. "If you are referring to what I was going to get you to do, it is redundent now."
"What about my money?" Draco called out as Mask moved further away.
"We will discuss it next time. You will not be disappointed."
Draco stood still as Mask moved out of the range of his lit wand. Draco smiled as he turned and slowly made his way back to the Slytherin dungeons. He had a lot to think about tonight.
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