When Harry returned to the dorms, h

When Harry returned to the dorms, he was encountered by something rather strange. Ron Weasley was in the common room, sitting in an armchair, looking around at every sound. Harry found it odd, but brushed it aside as a probable result of something Fred did. He made his way to his way to his room and found Neville waiting for him along with the twins.

"Where the heck have you been, Harry? You should have come back half an hour ago!" – snapped George at once.

Harry cringed and looked at the floor:

"Well see, I found this snake in the village… and it was freezing… so I… sortoftookitwithme…" – he said, the last part coming out in a rush.

"Oh?" – muttered George, instantly deflating – "Sorry for the outburst, kid, it's just that we've been worried…"

"It's okay…" – mumbled Harry and took off his outer cloak – "Anyway… this is the snake."

"Is it like a she-snake, or a he-snake? What's it called? Is it poisonous?" – Neville asked excitedly, earning himself a weird look from the other three boys.

"Since when did you like snakes?" – snorted Fred.

"W-well… it's not like I like them… but I've always been fascinated by them. Of course I'm not a Parselmouth like Harry here, so I didn't dare get one for myself, so instead Gran gave me Trevor… but still… it's a chance to get to know a snake, especially since Harry can talk to it and translate if I ask some questions." – the second year Gryffindor was grinning like a loon.

While the wins made fun of Neville, Harry realized that actually he knew close to nothing about his new companion.

$Sso what's your name? What were you doing out in the cold?$ - he asked.

$My ssire called me Emryss… I wass abandoned by my missstresss…$ - said the snake sullenly - $I didn't wissh to bond withs her, sso sshe dumped me.$

$Bond like a familiar bond?$ - asked Harry.

$Yess. I am after all a magical ssnake. Thuss I'm able to bond withs a Master who iss compatible withs me.$ - explained the snake.

$So how old are you, Emryss?$

$Closse to twenty years as you two-leggerss count it… I had a different master before the nassty old two-legged female gave me to the sshop, where I was eventually bought by the girl's ssire…$

"So, what did it say?" – asked Neville when Harry finished talking with the snake.

Harry shrugged a little and quickly retold the boys what he heard from Emrys. Neville was about to ask some more questions, when they were interrupted by a man who strode into the landscape painting that hang in the room.

"Hello, children." – he said in a voice that reminded Harry of Lucius Malfoy's aristocratic drawl.

"Hello, sir." – the Potter heir said carefully, Neville and the twins echoing his statement.

"I am Phineas Nigellus Black, one of the previous headmasters of Hogwarts. I seek young Harry Potter."

'Black' – echoed in Harry's mind. The man in the painting was his relative, his real relative, never mind that he was dead.

"That's me." – Harry said as he took a small step forward.

"Good. I found the right room." – he then glanced at the rest of the boys – "And these are?"

"Neville Frank Longbottom, headmaster Black, sir." – replied Neville.

"George Fabian Weasley, sir."

"Fred Gideon Weasley, sir." – for once the twins spoke normally.

"Weasleys?" – repeated the man, paling a bit – "Any relation to a Ronald Weasley."

"Yes, he's our younger brother." – replied George – "however unlike him we do not come running at the headmaster's first call."

The former headmaster of Hogwarts sighed sadly:

"Do not be so quick to judge, young ones. There is much you do not understand in the situation."

Harry frowned at his ancestor:

"What do you mean? He, his mother and his youngest sister are spying on me for Dumbledore, they also get money from my vault for doing so!" – Potter looked at the man angrily, feeling a bit betrayed, while the rest of the boys were just plain confused.

"Calm down, Harry Potter, I will explain things to the best of my abilities in a moment." – drawled Phineas, mentally cursing himself for forgetting about the natural hot temper of most of the people who make it into Gryffindor. When he was sure the boy wouldn't blow up anything, he proceeded to tell the children what Fawkes, he and the Hat have overheard that day and so much more than just that. By the end of it Harry felt sick to the stomach, Neville lost his supper and Emrys had to coil around George, while Harry and Neville restrained Fred, so that the twins wouldn't do anything stupid.

"… There you have it." – Phineas stopped talking. Were he still alive, his throat would probably be very dry by now, but thankfully he was just a preserved impression infused with the spirit of the real Phineas Black.


Hermione, or rather her ghost, sighed with relief as she overheard the talk that went on in Harry's room.

'Thank Merlin, now I don't have to hurry as much as I thought I'd have to…' – thought the spirit, as she went off to look for the other ghost, hoping that everything would turn out just fine. She was drifting along the second floor corridor, when she heard a thump coming from a classroom nearby. She floated that way and was in time to see professors McGonagall and Sprout levitate another victim of the monster to the Hospital Wing. Thankfully, though, this time the student was petrified, not dead.

'I really hope someone takes care of that snake somehow…' – wished the bushy haired ghost.


All the way in London, in the Ministry of Magic, people were panicking. Something happened that no one ever expected to – Dark Lord Grindewald escaped from his cell in Numengard. Or more accurately – he just vanished from the cell, since everyone was saying that the wards were too strong for him to apparate.

Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was most certainly both angry and scared. He had no idea what to do. He wanted to ask Dumbledore for help, but he was very aware that the man wouldn't help for free. Thus he decided to keep the matter silent. He made everyone swear a silence vow to not say a thing about the break out until the former Dark Lord made his presence known. Not his wisest decision, but then again he was never the brightest person.


It was the end of March and Harry & co still had no concrete plan of action. All they knew for sure was that Dumbledore had to go down. Ever since they found out about Ron, they made an effort to be friendlier. Of course the boy was still under the Imperius, so they couldn't trust him until the curse was lifted and they were sure that Ron was 100% coerced into what he'd been doing.

"I say we talk to my father." – said Draco one evening.

"…" – was the reaction he got, as his friends stared at him in total shock.

Finally Pansy said:

"Well… that would be a good idea in the way that he's an adult. And a powerful one at that. Should he learn of what Dumbledore did to Ronald and Merlin knows how many other boys… he wouldn't rest until he got the man behind bars, or even better – dead."

Harry hummed, as he thought about the idea:

"That does sound appealing…" – he looked from one person to another – "Let's meet him. Let's meet him, make him swear a silence vow or something and tell him everything. Then we'll either gain a very powerful ally, or at least someone would know."

George was not as easy to persuade:

"Are you sure he'll help us? We're Weasleys after all, blood traitors…"

Draco blushed slightly:

"I'm sure the importance of the situation will make him overlook things like that…"

Fred elbowed his twin with a grin:

"Come on, you gotta admit it is a good idea. I mean going against Dumbledore has to be with someone who doesn't support him. That rules out pretty much all of the adults you and I know."

Neville bit his lip and petted Emrys, who was coiled between Harry and Neville:

"I agree. My Gran does have some pull, but she's a supporter of the Light and Dumbledore is the Leader of the Light. Thus we'll automatically have to look for supporters among the Dark families. And you have to admit the Malfoys are an old pureblood family, only second to the Blacks. We won't find anyone better."

Draco grinned:

"Okay then. I'll write father and we'll arrange the meeting, but it will have to be in the summer, so the old man doesn't find out."

Harry nodded and then changed the topic:

"Now that that's settled, how about we review for the test next week?"

Pansy rolled her eyes:

"You, Draco and Neville are on the top of our grade. Why would you possibly need to review?"

Draco chuckled:

"So that we can be even better, of course."

And thus they stayed at the library until it was almost curfew, getting ready for one of Snape's infamous tests.


During spring the headmaster was often absent from the school, which gave Minerva and the others some space to make some improvements, though it also made several individuals curious… not that they could actually do anything about it…

Severus also enjoyed the peace and quiet that was the result of the absent headmaster. It was on one of those days when he was free from brewing that he heard a knock on his office. He was quite surprised to see Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Neville Longbottom and the Weasley twins at his doorstep. The twins were also levitating their younger brother, who was unconscious.