Excitement started to fill the air as the end of term rapidly approached. It was less than three weeks now until they would break up for Christmas holidays and be reunited with their families. However, he was on edge, more restless than he had been all of last year. Why? He didn't rightly know, just some sixth sense telling him that something was going to happen soon.
It was just this nagging feeling in the back of his mind; it had been far too long since there had been an attack or something. Not that he was just sitting around waiting for it to happen; already he was setting up ward traps all around his usual hangout places, under a simple but powerful Notice-Me-Not charm, which was regularly recast every couple of days by Penny or Tonks.
He had three set up in Ravenclaw Tower alone, one in his room doorway, another on the main entrance into the common room, and one over the pet/familiar entrance, which was big enough for cats, and therefore could easily be used by Pettigrew. Frankly, if he could have gotten away with it, he would have rigged the whole tower with traps, but he couldn't. He had two in his potions lab; one was covering the door and the other was by the windows, ensuring that the room was safe.
However, he would need more supplies before he could make and deploy additional ward traps around the school. He was even considering setting up another trap outside the Gryffindor common room, just on the off chance that Pettigrew had really been Ron's pet rat.
Unfortunately, he had to abandon that idea on the off chance that the trap would catch Professor McGonagall instead.
Despite everything going on, one series of events had played in his favour; he finally knew who was behind the break-in to his private potions lab, all thanks to Luna's comment.
He found out that it was Miss Granger who had taken the ingredients for the purpose of brewing Polyjuice Potion, seemingly so that she and her friends could infiltrate the Slytherin common room posing as Slytherin students and thereby interrogate Draco to find out whether he was the 'heir' or not. An ambitious, overly complicated, and naive plan if he ever heard one.
So here he was, hidden under his invisibility cloak, watching her brew away while talking to Moaning Myrtle floating in the background. Most of their small talk was the worthless type of common gossip that girls often took part in, but some of it was actually of value to him. It was just little bits and pieces of information really, like Ron's greatest fear was spiders. Who would have expected that? Maybe he should let slip that there were man-eating Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest?
Or the fact that Neville was currently being stalked by a rogue house-elf by the name of Dobby, who desired Neville to leave Hogwarts because of the Chamber of Secrets being opened. And who also was the party responsible for bewitching the Bludgers during the last Quidditch game, what the Aurors around the school were currently treating as an attempted assassination by Pettigrew. It took all of his control not to burst into a raucous laughing fit; it was a shame that Kreacher wasn't so motivated to 'help' his masters.
The thing he found most interesting was that Hermione had made several references to the Marauder's Map, giving him the impression that at least the Twins knew of it and might know where it was. Which finally gave him the lead he needed to start tracking it down; after all, anyone could have it. It had been many years since it was first confiscated by Filch.
So here he was, listening intently as the thieving lioness talked to the teenage ghost, unaware that she was being listened to. He watched as she added crushed bicorn horn to the mixture, giving the lioness credit for trying to brew a NEWT-level potion as a second-year; he knew firsthand just how difficult the task was, but still, she had stolen from him and that couldn't stand.
While the ingredients' monetary value was a minor issue at best, it was the principle of the matter. So the question was how to get even? After all, he counted himself even with the headmaster now, albeit only after successfully stealing both the priceless Mirror of Erised and the Philosopher's Stone, even if the latter was by mistake rather than design. The headmaster had had quite the debt to pay for the pain and suffering of his terrible childhood, the mismanagement of his family's assets, and the huge amount of money the man had stolen from him.
Naturally, he could simply find the closest professor and inform them of his discovery, but that would draw unwanted attention to himself and he would be effectively painting a target on his back. And the staff would inevitably ask why he followed Hermione into the girls' bathroom of all places. Frankly, he didn't want rumours flying around that he was a perv or a stalker. Then, depending on which staff member he reported Hermione to, she might actually be rewarded for her efforts.
The easy answer to that would be to walk down to the Potions Master's office and tell the bitter Potions Master of it, who would then predictably unleash his pent-up anger at the girl and her friends if he timed it right. But again, he would gain nothing but being labelled as a 'rat,' which was something that he wanted to avoid being known as. And honestly, he seriously doubted Professor Snape would reward him for his trouble.
He could just stun her and take the unfinished potion for himself, but that would raise other concerns and issues. First, it wasn't complete; sure, he could probably find out its current stage of brewing by finding a decent potions book, but it was risky. There was also a chance he could be found in the process of making the Ministry-controlled potion.
So the question was 'what to do?' as he watched the lioness leave after packing away her things and hiding the bubbling cauldron.
He could always go and talk to the deputy headmistress, who would surely be grateful to him for informing her of her lion's illicit activities so that she could handle it within the house and conduct proper damage control. But then again, she might end up going too soft on them since both Hermione and Neville were her own favourites. Leaving the second-floor bathroom, he continued to debate his options as he silently slipped into a side passage, removed his invisibility cloak, and quickly stuffed it into his bag.
He needed time to come up with an appropriate plan and to carefully consider his options. Only fools rush when there is no need to. He knew he was not infallible by any stretch of the imagination. As his study of history had shown repeatedly, even the greatest, most calculating of minds made mistakes.
...
( Week before the End of Term )
Walking down the festive corridor to his potions lab, he was willing to admit that the house-elves had really gone out of their way this year to create a feeling of cheer in and around the school. However, as he approached his 'lab,' the hanging silver and gold crystalline Christmas decorations started glowing, pulsing with light and energy from within, catching his attention. 'That's quite nice...' he thought while watching intently, the energy seeming to grow and gather like a bottled storm. He stepped up to the lab door and muttered the new passphrase, before looking again at the beautifully glowing decorations with a sudden sense of foreboding gathering in his stomach.
Boom! The one closest to him exploded and the rest followed suit, sending shards of glass hurtling towards him. His wand immediately jumped into his hand with just enough time to summon a hastily cast shield with an adrenaline-fuelled flick and jab of his wand before the other hanging decorations started exploding around him in unison, sending glass fragments at him from all sides. An explosive wave of energy followed in their wake and he realized instantly that his hastily constructed basic shield would surely fail under such concentrated power.
In that instant, he felt the first pangs of doubt and fear since entering the magical world and taking control of both his life and destiny. All his efforts, all his training meant next to nothing against such overwhelming power. Mind-paralyzing panic and fear nearly took his life before his hard-won Occlumency shields finally kicked in.
In that moment, he felt what could only be described as an utter clarity of purpose, and his purpose was to live. Just as his shield was about to fail under the explosive wave of magical energy, his training kicked in, sending him into motion by throwing himself through the opened doorway while grabbing the door and slamming it shut behind him.
He hit the stone floor hard, his back strongly protesting this abuse as the wooden door buckled under the force of the blast, before it quickly blew off its magically reinforced hinges and rocketed towards him like a Catherine wheel. The magical fire followed into the lab as if trying to finish the job it started.
'Oh fuck me,' he mentally shouted as he rolled to one side, the door rocketing past his head and going through the supposedly unbreakable castle window, missing him by mere centimetres, the heat wave burning his face as the fire reached the first desk.
...
AN :
Hey everyone.
It's been over a year since I started this fanfic, and I want to thank all of you who've read, supported, or even just checked it out. Lately, though, I've been thinking about possibly stepping away from it. The truth is, there hasn't been much support or engagement, and since there's no real income from this, it's been hard to stay motivated.
I just wanted to be honest with you all and share where my head is at.
...
if you want to read ahead of the public release you can join my p atreon :
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