I really feel I must apologize for taking so long to update, especially after leaving you all with a cliffhanger! I'm still dealing with a lot of stuff in real life, and that just translated into a bit of writer's block this time. Hopefully I'm over that, though.

Sir Dedrick the Cool: Sorry if you felt Harry was being a bit preachy. I hope this chapter makes up for it, when he's faced with some of his shortcomings. Glad you liked the Smiths intro, though!

"Congratulations, you made the team
Looks like you're living the American dream
But the odds are not what they seem
And you can't trust the referee

The game is fixed and you're surprised
Lifetime supply of chocolate covered compromise
And the long, slow painful demise
Of your own autonomy

Now everybody thinks you're so great
And they all wanna be your prom date
But don't be too impressed, this is only a test
This is only a test, this is only a test"

Smoking Popes, This is Only a Test

Ted jumped backwards, fortunately unharmed, and cast the shield charm just in time to prevent them from being hit by the next round of spells. At this point, their attackers had broken cover, and shown themselves to be none other than the Weasley twins. Harry could almost kick himself for letting his guard down. He'd been wary until the end of last year, but when no attack was forthcoming, he let himself be lulled into complacency.

What was worse, his tongue was now stuck to the roof of his mouth, and he couldn't speak to cast any spells. As good as Ted was, Harry wasn't sure he'd be able to hold out against two older wizards. He felt a rush of adrenaline as Ted struggled to hold his shield charm, which was taking more hits from the two Gryffindors. There was no way he could let down the shield and get a spell in, as the twins were taking turns aiming at him. Harry felt useless. He tried to mumble but couldn't get his tongue to move at all.

He thought back to the Duelling Club meeting he'd just attended. The older students had made silent casting look so easy, and yet Harry knew how hard it had been to try to cast even the simplest spell. Still, there was nothing else he could do. He focused all his attention on the spell he wanted to cast, trying to visualize everything from it leaving the tip of his wand, travelling across space, and hitting the closest twin. With the heightened awareness and clarity only an adrenaline rush can bring, he shouted in his mind, 'Stupefy,' and was rewarded by a jet of red light emitting from the tip of his wand and quickly bridging the distance to the redhead.

Harry wasn't sure if it was because Ted was consciously trying to help, or that he was just so stunned that Harry had managed to cast a spell silently that the surprise caused him to drop his shield. Come to think of it, Harry didn't actually know whether the shield charm actually let things get out or if it blocked things in both directions. It didn't matter, anyway, as the drop made sure one of the twins was hit and collapsed prone on the floor.

Unfortunately, this meant Ted was hit with a Pimple Jinx, causing painful looking boils and zits to erupt all over his face. Harry was in turn hit with a Twitchy Ears Hex. Fortunately, while it looked like it hurt, Ted didn't seem daunted by it, and Harry's was merely slightly inconvenient.

"Expelliarmus," Ted cast quickly and with presence of mind. That was obviously the first spell that came to his mind, probably because they'd just practiced it. It hit true, and fortunately gave Ted time to breath as he cancelled the Full Body Bind on Daphne. Before the remaining twin could retrieve his wand, though, Ted cast the stunning spell at him too. One of the advantages of that spell was that it was really hard to dodge, since it moved so fast. The last twin fell like the first, and Ted was left standing, looking at Harry, almost like he couldn't believe what had just happened, before cancelling the Twitchy Ears jinx.

"Mhmmf," Harry said, not really trying to say anything, but more to convey that he couldn't speak. Ted shook his head.

"Yeah, sorry Harry, I don't know the countercurse to the Tongue Tying Jinx," Ted replied, biting his lip, as Daphne slowly took to her feet, looking angrier than Harry had ever seen her.

"These two bastards," she said, casting them an angry look. "Should've thought they'd want to get back to us."

Ted grit his teeth and nodded, the pain from the boils coming through more acutely now that the adrenaline rush was dying down. No one knew the countercurse to that spell either, so they were just going to have to hope someone in the common room did. In the meantime, it felt like teaching the twins another lesson was in order.

"Anteoculatia," Daphne cast at one of them, causing him to grow antlers like a deer. Ted cast a knee-reversing hex at the other, and both added a tail growing hex and a toenail growing hex for good measure. Ted seemed like he wanted to do more, but Harry just wanted the tongue tying jinx he was under to be reversed, so he signalled for just one more.

Ted and Daphne nodded, and cast the same boil jinx that Ted had received, before abandoning the twins on the dark and foreboding corridor, for Peeves or Filch to find. They were about to leave them there and head towards the common room when Harry noticed something. Right where the twins had been hiding, there was a parchment on the floor, with what looked like moving lines on it.

While moving shapes on paper weren't exactly new to him since his introduction to magic, Harry still felt this warranted investigation. He bent over to pick it up, and was surprised to see dots matched up with his own name, those of his friends, and those of the twins. He quickly pocketed the parchment for later investigation, gesturing to his friends to wait for later explanations.

Fortunately, the common room wasn't too far away, and there was a prefect very close to the door.

"So we got ambushed by some Gryffindors," Daphne told Linton Heathcliff, who'd just been reading his copy of Seeker Weekly, a Quidditch magazine.

"Bloody hell, Nott. Did they hit you with the Pimple Jinx?" he asked, quickly going for his wand. It was a bit ironic, as for most of Fifth Year Heathcliff himself had sported a very naturally pimply face, although that was now mostly gone. Ted nodded grimly.

"Yes, and Harry got hit with the Tongue Lock," he explained. "None of us knew the countercurses," he added, apologetically.

Heathcliff quickly undid both curses, to Harry's immense relief.

"Do you want me to do anything about this?" Heathcliff asked. They all simultaneously shook their heads.

"We've already taken care of it," Harry said with a steely look. Heathcliff gave him a respectful look, before glancing around to make sure no one else heard him.

"That's the spirit," he said. "Next time don't get caught unawares. These dungeons can get really dark. There is a variation on the Wand Lighting Charm, the incantation is Lumos Duo," he demonstrated. As he cast it, instead of just the tip of the Prefect's wand lighting up, it shone a beam of light forward like a strong torch. "It's much easier to see around crannies in the corridors with that."

Harry nodded, and made to cast the spell, which he got the first time, as did Ted and Daphne. Heathcliff gave them a satisfied nod.

"That's right. Be careful now. I didn't say this, but well done."

"Say what?" Harry replied with a grin, feeling a bit better now that he could speak again. Heathcliff grinned and nodded, before returning to his magazine. In the meantime, Harry and his friends moved to their usual corner of the common room, sitting a bit farther apart from the other second years than usual.

Daphne still looked like she was seething, and even Ted looked very put out. Harry himself was angry, not just at the Weasleys but also at himself, for becoming careless and overconfident. However, he couldn't help but feel slightly satisfied at how the situation had turned out. He had managed to cast a fifth year spell silently, and together with Ted dispatched a couple of fourth years who had the element of surprise on their side. Plus, he'd got something really interesting off of them. Presently, he brought this parchment out, after casting the usual array of privacy charms.

"You cast the Stunning Spell silently," Ted said before Harry could draw their attention to the parchment.

"I did," Harry replied. "I don't know if I'd be able to do it again. I just knew that I had to do it then, or we'd be done for," he added. "I'll try again when we're alone. But for now, check this out," he said, showing Ted and Daphne the obviously enchanted item. "I got this off one of the twins. He must have dropped it when he got stunned."

The map had moved with them, and now showed the Slytherin common room. Their names hovered around the dots corresponding to them. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle showed up at the table where they were playing Exploding Snap, and seemingly every student in the common room was identified, even those whose names Harry didn't know.

Ted and Daphne turned to Harry with astonishment.

"Is this… a map of Hogwarts?" Daphne asked. "With the location of every single person in the school? How did the Weasleys get their hands on something like this? Do you think they made it?" Ted shook his head.

"There's no way they made it. How would they even know what the Slytherin common room is like on the inside?" he replied.

"So did they just get it off someone? I doubt anyone has got these for sale somewhere…" Daphne trailed. Harry shook his head.

"Well, I doubt they're going to tell us, so where they got it from is going to have to remain a mystery. I'm more interested in how it works," Harry said, spreading the map out on top of a book. "It shows us here in the common room, and we can see some of the dorms, and the corridor outside." He pointed at each of these with his wand. "But it was showing the place we got attacked at when I picked it up. So, does it just stay zoomed in on you, or can you make it move around the school? That could have been how they found us…"

Ted tried reaching forward with his wand and moving it around, which was successful, as it moved across to the corridor they'd just been in, showing the twins were still laying there. There didn't seem to be any prefects around. Hopefully by the time they were found, it'd be past curfew, and they'd get that punishment on top of everything else, Harry thought vengefully.

"Do you think you can make it go up stories too?" Harry asked, before trying to answer his own question by waving his wand around, then trying to do an up motion. It took him a few tries, but eventually he did manage to move up a level. He looked at his friends and grinned.

"Well, this has the potential to be very useful," he began. "I don't think I feel any pangs of conscience in taking it from them, especially because they used it to attack us. What do you guys think?"

Daphne and Ted nodded vigorously at that.

"Definitely not. Victors' right," Daphne replied, to Ted's agreement. "I wonder just how much this shows," she went on, trying to get it to display the higher levels of the castle. They could see some of the Professors in their offices or bedchambers, and even Dumbledore, presumably at work in his own, much larger office.

"This is so cool. We're never going to get caught doing anything now," she said gleefully.

"It's already pretty hard to, at least while we all still fit under Harry's cloak," Ted replied. "Will probably get a bit cramped in a couple of years, though."

Harry shrugged. "Too bad it doesn't magically stretch. But at least you can hide from death under it," he replied with a smile. He folded away the map again, and turned to his friends. "Do you think they'll try again?" Ted and Daphne frowned.

"Almost certainly, I'd say," Daphne replied. Ted nodded his agreement. Harry frowned. He really didn't want to have to deal with this, but he knew he was going to have to. Daphne seemed to be of the same mind, as she went on. "We really need to teach them a lesson. This was a good start, but we need to let them know that we can handle them, and we will, if we need to. Especially if you can do what you did again, Harry," she added with a grin. "That was flippin' impressive."

Harry really wasn't sure he could. It was like that dangerous situation had brought out the best in him, and now that he was back to the humdrum of daily life, he couldn't draw on those reserves of talent again. Still, he hadn't tried to do it yet, so for all he knew, he could do it at will now.

"Let's learn a few more nasty spells, and then we'll deal with them. Especially now we have that map, so we can surprise them," Harry replied. He really was looking forward to teaching them a lesson they weren't going to forget. He felt his scar tinge with a slight pang, even as he relished the thought of casting something suitably painful and embarrassing on them. Meanwhile, Daphne and Ted nodded.

"Let's start again tomorrow," she replied. She'd previously been reluctant to learn some more gratuitously painful spells, but Harry had a feeling the night's encounter had changed her mind about that, at least to some degree. They tried to relax the rest of the evening, but none of them was really able to do so, and they went to bed early for a Saturday.

Harry laid there for a while before being able to sleep. He was worried that he wasn't feeling more guilty about casting those hexes on the twins when they were stunned. He felt that they deserved it, after all. And who knew what they'd've done to them if they'd won the confrontation (it couldn't really be called a duel). And yet, while the twins were petty, mean and vindictive, Harry wasn't sure he had really been any better. And what was worse, wasn't sure he was that bothered by it either way.

He shook his head, trying to think of something else. He decided to practice Conjuration again, both because he knew he needed to keep practising to become truly good at it, and because the beads he'd conjured previously had vanished, as all conjured objects were wont to do after a short amount of time.

After replicating his initial items, he began to try to think of ways to make them more complex. He decided to try to vary the shape from just simple spheres to cubes and pyramids, but still keeping within simple geometrical shapes. He found that he was actually better at getting the shapes right when he used straight lines than when he tried to do spheres or anything else with curves.

He then tried to change the material to wood, but didn't make much progress, and decided to try to sleep instead. He'd scan the textbook for tips again in the morning. Despite being tired, he still struggled to sleep, and was tormented by nightmares of being ambushed in his bed.

The next few days were spent practicing 'Defence' at a much more intensive pace than they ever had, newly motivated by the twin menace. Truth be told, most of what they were practising was more strictly offensive than defensive. The book Harry had purchased from Knockturn Alley was now being squeezed for all it had to offer. Even Daphne had delved into it with the intense focus Harry had only known her to show for Quidditch. Her pride must really have been hurt by the ambush.

Harry could certainly sympathize, because his had been as well. Especially after his performance at the Duelling Club, he'd got a bit cocky and thought he could take on anyone. As it was, he did win, but only in extremis, because he had been able to draw on whatever skill his body reserved for emergencies. But he couldn't rely on that. He'd vowed he wouldn't again.

They were taking turns to cast the Conjunctivitis Curse on each other, after having brewed a large batch of Oculus Potion, which instantly reversed the effects. It had been tedious preparation, but then again, Harry found potion brewing tedious at the best of times. It was just something he had to do, though he got no joy from it. Still, it was very useful to just be able to drink it and fix the effects of the curse, as the counterspell was much more complicated to cast than the potion was to brew. Still, he figured they should work on that too, in case they'd ever got it cast at them. But that was a more long term prospect.

"I think we've got this one down," Ted said, after taking a big gulp of the foul tasting potion, his eyes quickly returning to normal. Harry and Daphne nodded, and they all agreed it was time to stop for the day.

It was still early enough that they weren't overly worried about another ambush, but they were still more careful than they had been before. It wasn't just the twins that Harry was concerned about. While he never tried to approach Harry again, Colin Creepy still stared at him and took photos from a distance. Harry did not want to think about what he was doing with those photos.

The twins were visibly subdued after their defeat, anyway. Harry had discreetly asked Alex Campbell how they'd been found, and was given the full account from the gleeful Ravenclaw prefect, who'd never forgiven the twins for effectively sucker punching him the previous year. Harry didn't ask him, but he wondered if what was what had motivated Campbell to become so good at duelling.

At any rate, apparently they'd been caught by their own brother, Percy the Prefect, who had been doing the rounds with his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw Prefect herself. According to Alex she was a bit of a stick in the mud too; this meant that Percy couldn't just let his brothers get away with it. So he had to report them, for breaking curfew and for having obviously been involved in a duel. When he was relating this part, Alex gave Harry a canny look.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you, Harry?" he asked in his lilting West Highland accent.

Harry just smiled, but said nothing. Alex returned his grin, but continued.

"Yeah they ended up on the hospital wing, and got a ton of points deducted from Gryffindor, and a detention with McGonagall as well."

Harry rolled his eyes at that. He'd grown to like McGonagall, despite his initial misgivings, but he didn't have any illusions about her favouring her own house, and even having a soft spot for the twins themselves. But he supposed they'd still have their time taken up, even if the detention probably wouldn't be very harduous.

At any rate, they had returned to being pretty subdued, so Harry and his friends had no occasion to return their ambush, even had they felt confident enough already, which they didn't. Besides, Daphne had had to shift some of her focus away from their defence practises into practising for the quidditch tryouts, which were soon upon them.

She and Harry had borrowed a couple of school brooms for some last minute training. Even as bad as those brooms were, they were still better than nothing. Harry and Ted went to watch the tryouts, which were held on a late Tuesday afternoon, while there was still light.

There were only two second years trying out, Daphne for Chaser or Keeper, and Draco Malfoy for Seeker. Flint eyed them both skeptically, especially Daphne. The only other candidate for Seeker was the incumbent, Terence Higgs. As their role was more self contained, Flint released the snitch and told them to catch it. Then he had the chaser candidates fly around and try to score against the keeper candidates, while the beaters candidates were to disturb both them and the seekers.

Daphne wasn't the only one who was trying for more than one position, so she began as a Keeper, to be rotated later. She managed a few saves, but also let in a few goals. Harry could tell she was beginning to feel discouraged, but he also felt that she'd be a better Chaser than Keeper, so he saved his encouragement for the moment she switched. In the meantime, he looked at what was going on with the seekers. He was a bit torn. If Malfoy really was the better Seeker, he supposed that as a Slytherin it was his duty to want him to have the position. However, he'd be even more insufferable if he got it, so he kind of hoped Higgs managed to beat him to it. They seemed pretty evenly matched, with each one having caught the snitch exactly once by the time Flint called a break.

Daphne flew over towards Harry and Ted, looking slightly despondent as she did so.

"That was terrible," she said, leaning forward in her broom as she hovered near them. She was fully geared up, and wearing as much Holyhead Harpies gear as she could get away with without coming across as a complete fangirl.

"Come on Daphne," Harry replied, hoping he could get through to her and motivate her the right way. "You're going to be trying out for Chaser now, right?" Daphne nodded.

"You were great when we practised during the Summer, remember? And you're going to be teaming up with Pucey. You've seen how he played last year, right? You should know how to play to his strengths."

Daphne nodded slowly, as if she was trying to remember everything she could about Pucey's style of play from last year.

"I know this is important, but try to remember how much you like this. You didn't look like you were having fun up there. If you don't, then what's the point? Come on, I know you're much better than those other guys out there. Go get them," he told her.

She gave him a smile and nodded. "Alright Harry, thanks for the vote of confidence," she said, grinning slightly before taking off to meet with the other two chaser candidates she'd been teamed up with. There was very little doubt in her mind that Pucey would be retaining his spot, and of course, so was Flint. This meant there was only one spot open. Of course, at least this one was open, unlike Keeper which would probably go to Miles Bletchley again, unless she'd really managed to impress Flint, which of course, she hadn't.

As the trials resumed, Daphne seemed to be infused with a new spirit. She very enthusiastically worked with Pucey and the other candidate, a fourth year Harry didn't really know other than by sight.

Harry could really appreciate the benefit of his new glasses now. He could actually make out Pucey's and Flint's faces, and he got the impression they were getting very impressed with her now. She was both scoring and assisting her fellow Chasers to do so, and seemed much more effective flying around dodging bludgers and making wild passes, than she had hovering by the hoops and trying to block goals. He forgot all about Malfoy and Higgs, and just watched the chaser play in fascination, until Flint blew on his whistle to call an end to the trials.

"Alright folks, I'll post the selections this evening. Watch the notice board in the common room," he barked. Harry had hardly ever talked to Flint, but he always thought he had a fairly unpleasant demeanour, even if he was an effective captain who had managed to win the quidditch cup. Still, he mostly just seemed fairly intense and almost monomaniacal about winning at Quidditch, and willing to pull all stops to do so. Which certainly went a good way to explain him being in Slytherin. Just like Daphne, he was a very good reminder that not all ambition was political.

"You did much better this time around," Harry told Daphne as they walked back from the pitch.

"I think so too…" she told him, turning to him and grinning. "I guess I could get used to being Chaser. I just really hope I get it. Flint's not really keen on girls playing, you might have noticed. As if I didn't have enough things counting against me," she added, frowning slightly.

Harry had never thought of it, but it was true that there hadn't been any girls on the Slytherin team the previous year. He murmured something that was meant to sound comforting, but knew would probably be pretty hollow.

"Maybe very few girls tried out," Ted suggested. "Look at the girls in the older years, do you see any that strikes you as keen on quidditch?" Daphne ruminated over this for a little bit.

"I suppose that's a good point. I don't really know them very well, but…" They walked back to the common room making small talk. Harry knew Daphne was on edge, so he just tried to distract her and keep things light, rather than insisting they study or practice anything.

After tea, they settled in for the long wait in the common room, made worse by having to listen to Malfoy brag about how good he'd been, and how certain he was he'd get the position. Harry didn't think he'd been that good. He'd spotted the snitch a few times before either of Malfoy or Higgs, and he hadn't even been paying that much attention to it.

Time passed and it was getting closer and closer to midnight, without anyone catching sight of Marcus Flint. Daphne was getting visibly nervous now, and even Malfoy had lost his cockiness, and just kept looking towards the common room door every five minutes.

Just when they were about to give up and go to bed, an angry looking Flint finally came through the door. As he arrived, the whole room went quiet, and everyone did their best to watch Flint while pretending not to be doing so. He definitely didn't look happy, and Harry wondered exactly what had gone down since the trials to make him so sour faced.

Once he magically stuck the sheet to the noticeboard, he stormed towards the sixth year dorms without saying a word to anyone. Once he was gone, most people in the room didn't even try to disguise their curiosity, and jumped off their seats to make towards the board. Harry, Ted, and Daphne were among them, and they tried their best to push past the crowding Slytherins to be able to read the notice.

Malfoy had got there first, and his crowing told Harry he'd got the position. While he wasn't particularly happy about that, it was a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. What he really wanted to know was the chaser selections. He squinted at the parchment. He could make out the first name as being Flint, only because he knew that was going to be there. He tried to squint to make out the rest, but Daphne clearly had enough pent up tension that she couldn't wait any longer, and pushed past a couple of firsties to get close enough to read. It only took a quick scan for her to turn back to Harry and Ted.

"I made Chaser," she almost shouted, a smile of pure elation on her face. She pushed past the firsties again and Harry could tell she was struggling hard not to show her joy in any more effusive ways. But even for her, giving them a hug right in the Slytherin common room would have been too much.

"I can't wait to tell dad, he's going to be so proud," she enthused, as first Harry and Ted, then Tracey and Milicent and a fair few others congratulated her. She led them back to their seats, all the tension evaporated from her demeanour, now replaced by unbridled joy and enthusiasm.

"I knew you'd make it," Harry told her with a grin. "You were great at the Chaser trials. Now don't complain when you have to get up early for practice," he ribbed her. She shook her head, still grinning from ear to ear.

"Of course not. I know what I signed up for. Besides, you know I'm a light sleeper," she added. "I can't wait to get started."

Harry smiled, feeling very happy for Daphne. This was what she'd always wanted, after all. After spending all of first year complaining about not being able to be on the team, he knew she'd've been devastated if she couldn't make it this time. On the other hand, he was sure that she'd only have taken it as a sign she needed to train harder, but all the same, he was glad she wouldn't have to wait. It wasn't long after until they went to bed. Harry had to endure a lot of Malfoy's bragging before just casting a charm to give his ears a nice buzz, which drowned out all of his droning. He managed to sleep peacefully after that.

Quidditch practice soon followed on Saturday morning. While Daphne and Draco got up at the crack of dawn, Harry and Ted slept in a bit longer, planning to meet up with Daphne after the practice was over. In the meantime, they went for a walk on the grounds, managing to dodge Colin Creepy and even Ginny Weasley, who was coming back alone from the direction of Hagrid's cabin. Harry felt he really should visit Hagrid, but he'd go when Daphne was present too.

So they just walked aimlessly around, discussing schoolwork. They did try to move more or less towards the quidditch pitch, but in a very roundabout way, as they knew Flint was sure to begin with an extra tough practice to impress the newcomers.

As they got closer, they began to hear assorted shouts, and soon Flint's voice became distinct.

"I'll need to see better from all of you next time," he was shouting gruffly. As the team finally came into view, they found Daphne standing by Adrian Pucey, the other chaser besides Flint himself. Pucey said something to her which Harry and Ted couldn't make out, and she nodded, after which both approached Flint. Probably getting more chaser specific advice, Harry reasoned, as the rest of the team began making their way away from the pitch.

Harry didn't think it was possible for Draco Malfoy's expression to get any smugger than usual, but it apparently was, as the blond looked even more insufferable than ever, coming up from the pitch with his broom in hand.

"With a proper seeker this year we'll win the cup for sure," he told them as he got within earshot. "Greengrass wasn't half bad out there either," he conceded, glancing at the three chasers who were having an animated discussion. "We're just so much better all around now, especially with our new brooms," he added with an even more conceited look.

Harry and Ted nodded quietly, neither really feeling like talking to Malfoy much, but not really wanting to be rude either. Fortunately, they were spared much more of this as the chaser conference adjourned, and Daphne soon made her way towards them, which Malfoy took as his cue to leave.

She was carrying a broom identical to Malfoy's and something clicked in Harry's mind from what he'd said. He was about to ask her about it when she got within speaking range.

"So that's the mystery of how Malfoy got the seeker position solved," she said, grinning as she thrust the broom handle towards the two boys. "Nimbus 2001s for everyone, courtesy of Lucius Malfoy," she added.

Harry felt his chin drop slightly. That was… really not that surprising when he thought about it. Ted snorted, clearly thinking the same.

"That explains everything, then," he replied.

"Yeah, Malfoy really didn't seem like he'd earned the position to me. Higgs wasn't fantastic, but Malfoy wasn't really better, and you normally stick with what you've got unless there's a really good reason to change." She shook her head.

"I guess that's why Flint was so angry that day the tryouts were held," Harry said, everything clicking in his mind.

"He probably had Malfoy twist his arm," Daphne replied. "Figures. Oh well, saves dad money in buying me a broom, so I can't complain," she added.

"So how was your first proper practice?" Ted asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, it was great!" she replied. "It was bloody hard, don't get me wrong. Flint's a slavedriver, but even now I can tell we'll work together as chasers pretty well. We kind of complement each other." She went on, narrating the events of the practice while she stored her broom safely, before beginning to walk back to the castle.

"I really need a shower after this," she said with a grin, wiping the sweat off her brow. "If you think about it, Seeker's the perfect position for Malfoy, because he hardly has to do anything for ninety percent of the game," she added, eliciting laughs from the two boys.

"We had to kick the Gryffindors out of the pitch before we could practice," she said. "They got it into their heads that they were entitled to practice even though we'd got Snape to book us the pitch," she said, looking fairly indignant. "I thought Wood and Flint were going to start hexing each other, but since we had Snape's authorization they kind of sulked away," she added, before a glint came into her eyes.

"The twins were not looking happy, and they gave me the evil eye all the time they were there. I think we really need to hurry up and teach them a lesson again," she said, looking very determined to get the twin problem dealt with once and for all.

Harry looked at her and Ted, and they all nodded. "One more practice, then we strike," he said, trying to come up with a plan to best deal with them. That dealt with, Daphne continued to tell them all about her first Quidditch practice as they made their way towards the castle.

That evening, after tea, they found their usual unused classroom to practice. It was a lot easier to make sure no one knew what they were up to with the map Harry had got off the twins. It was a shame there was no way to turn it off and make it look like a normal blank sheet of parchment. As it was Harry could only consult it when he was sure no one was looking at what he was doing.

After locking the door with the usual array of privacy charms, Harry paced back and forth for a few seconds, while his friends looked at him expectantly. He knew a thing or two about bullies from dealing with Dudley and his gang, and he knew that getting the twins to leave them alone would not be a simple endeavour.

"We can't just ambush them like they did to us," Harry began. "They'll think that's how they lost, and just want to get back at us even more. We've got to get them alone, of course, but we need to beat them fair and square, and we need to make sure it's not even close."

Ted and Daphne listened in silence, and both nodded slowly, Ted first.

"I think we can do it. It's still three against two, even if they're fourth years. I think they're clever, but I never got the idea that they're very good at duelling. We already beat them once when they had the element of surprise…"

Harry grinned at his friend's summary, before glancing at Daphne, wondering what she had to say. She thought for a second, twisting her mouth as she considered the situation.

"I think you're right. We've really got to nip this thing in the bud, because I'm not spending the next four years looking over my shoulder," she replied, confirmed in her earlier resolve.

Harry smiled, a much colder smile than usual. "Great. I think we're doing pretty well with the most important duelling spells," he began. "I don't want to stun them this time, though. I think they need to stay awake while we have a little talk. But only after we beat them. What we need to work on is something that they'll remember the next time they even think of messing with us." While Harry had never been in the position to do this, he had seen a few instances when people had actually managed to get Dudley and his gang to leave them alone, and it had always required something memorable.

"So I've got a few spells picked out," Harry went on. They'd been drawn from the book he'd got from Knockturn Alley, which he presently pulled out from his satchel and laid before his friends, a piece of parchment with the list of the curses he'd chosen acting as a bookmark. "There's nothing in here that'd cause permanent damage, and they're all easy to cast and reverse, from what I can tell."

They both took a careful look through the list, occasionally cross-referencing it with the book. Ted looked grim and not that surprised, while Daphne seemed a little bit more shocked at what she was reading. Still, she wasn't flinching away from it.

"Have you cast any of these spells yet, Harry? Other than the couple we've already practiced?" she asked after a while. Harry shook his head.

"No, I didn't think there was much point in casting them without a live target," he replied. "I know they don't sound pleasant to take, but as I said they're all easy to reverse. If we want to get better we've got to be willing to take the pain."

Harry actually hoped to keep practising his conjuration until he was able to conjure live animals. Then new possibilities would open up. But he didn't think he'd get that far anytime soon.

"Just imagine you're casting it on the twins," Ted said somberly. "Or someone else you'd like to hurt," he added, with a steely glint in his eyes that Harry recognized from the few times he talked about his father.

Daphne had fallen silent, but nodded again, realizing Harry's proposal was necessary. She took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright, let's do this," she finally said, rising to her feet and finding her wand.

The next few hours were not pleasant in the slightest. These spells took a fair bit of intent to cast, a bit like Transfiguration, although that was still much more intent driven. The problem was that while it wasn't hard to summon the intent to change a beetle into a button, working oneself up to want to hurt someone else was different, especially when it was one's friends one was practicing with. As such, the spells didn't always work very well. There were rarely any outright failures, but the spells didn't really work up their full effect either. Ted was the first to be able to work up any real damage, and Harry would bet that he wasn't thinking of cursing the twins when he did so.

Still, they struggled through the gruelling practice, homework and any other school duties completely forgotten. Harry felt his scar begin to pulse as he improved, although rather unusually, that seemed to improve his spellcasting rather than make it worse. At any rate, none of them was in a very good mood as they walked back to the common room, rushing to make it back before curfew.

"Do you have any idea of how we're actually going to get them?" Daphne asked as they sat on their usual place, having made it in time and actually managed to clear a path through the third years with their gloomy demeanor.

"I've been using the map to work out what they usually get up to," Harry began, grinning at the thought of using their own former possession against them. "Here's my plan…"

I apologize again for the delay. I hope this hasn't led to many readers dropping the fic. I'll try my best to return to my regular update schedule. The best way to encourage me to do this, is, of course, to review. In particular, please let me know what worked for you and what didn't.