It was almost the end of Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, and the young wizard was giddy with nerves. He had just received a note from Dumbledore telling him to meet in his office after dinner and Harry was sure that he had found another Horcrux. After their last meeting, Dumbledore had promised that as soon as he located one, he would bring Harry along with him to destroy it. Finally Harry would be confronting the problem head on and not from the sidelines.

So that was why Harry was a tad too out of it to notice as Draco Malfoy strode languidly by the Gryffindor table and expertly swiped Harry's glass of pumpkin juice off the table, before innocently continuing on past amongst a gaggle of other green-clad Slytherins. Retrieving a small, clear vile out of his left robe pocket, Draco poured a pinch of the potion he filched from Snape's private store into Harry's drink. Then, trying to look casual, he slipped the goblet back into its original position.

Harry didn't notice a thing.

Just as Malfoy took his seat successfully at the far Slytherin table, Dumbledore set off series of sparks into the air. The Great Hall went quickly silent.

Standing elegantly in front of his beautifully carved owl stand, the great Headmaster started to give the usual evening announcements. No one was permitted near the lake because the Giant Squid was sick…blady, blady, blah, blah. At that moment, Harry took a long swig of his pumpkin juice.

A shock ran instantly through his system and the goblet slipped from his hand, spilling pumpkin juice everywhere. Gryffindor's scrambled to move their food away from the mess, but Harry just sat up stock straight.

Ron threw him a sideways glance as he scurried to help his friend mop up the spill. "You okay, mate?" he asked, furrowing his brow as he waved his wand and dried the tablecloth. "You look kind of green."

Harry didn't answer. Instead, his eyes went glassy and unfocused. At that moment, Draco, aiming his wand squarely at Harry from across the room, whispered "Imperio!"

With a jolt, Harry shot up from his seat jarringly and began to walk towards Dumbledore.

"Harry!" Hermione squeaked behind him. "What are you doing?"

But Harry had no control over his mouth either. His mind whirled into dysfunction. What was going on?

Halfway down the aisle, Harry's sluggish brain realized he must be under the Imperius Curse. He recognized the feeling from when Mad Eye Moody had made him fight it off in his fourth year…although this time it was much, much stronger. He had to fight it.

His mind whirled as he struggled to regain control of his moving legs. Who could have done this to him, in such a short span of time?

He could really only think of one person who'd really want to.

Malfoy.

The boiling anger at the Slytherin sixth year compelled Harry to fight the curse that much harder. He was able to throw it off for a fleeting moment, but only for it to come back stronger, causing him to collide painfully with the side of a table. The curse, once again in control, made Harry realize that he was now only about three feet from Dumbledore, and people were starting to take notice. Murmurs were starting to break out but there was nothing he could do.

Three more steps and he reached Dumbledore and stopped. The wizened Headmaster didn't seem to notice at first, but when he did he turned to him, looking mildly surprised.

"Harry," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have something you would like to say?"

Before Harry could do so much as even attempt to yell "No!" Dumbledore had stepped politely aside, letting Harry move on up to the podium. Pointing his magically magnified wand at Harry, he smiled. "Go on," he urged.

In a rush like cold water, Harry felt the curse suddenly and spontaneously leave him, his limbs regaining their awareness. He was free! Cheeks going bright scarlet but altogether fairly relieved, Harry opened his mouth to tell Dumbledore never mind.

Unfortunately , the Truth Potion spoke for him.

"In my first year, I received an Invisibility Cloak from a mysterious person that I have been using every year to sneak around the school undetected, breaking rules."

Oh, Merlin! What was he saying? The whole hall was silent.

"The night I received my cloak, I snuck into the restricted section of the library to look around and I dropped my lantern. Snape and Filch almost got me, and I barely escaped without being found. Snape was this close to catching me."

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Snape's hands curl into fists. Dead. He was dead. What was going on? Why did he have no control over what he was saying? The Imperius Curse had lifted.

Harry could only think of one thing.

Truth potion.

"Ron, Hermione and I stole ingredients from Snape's private stores and made a Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the Slytherin common room in our second year…"

Great, now Ron and Hermione are toast too. At least he wouldn't be alone.

"In my third year, Fred and George Weasley gave me a magic map that shows where everyone is located in the castle at all times. You activate it by saying, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," and clear it by saying "Mischief Managed."

How in the world do you fight off a Truth potion? He should have paid more attention in Potions class.

"I snuck into Hogsmeade without a permission form through a secret passageway behind the one-eyed witch statue…"

Harry wondered how the Dursley's would react when he showed up at their door step so early.

"I helped Sirius Black escape the Dementors on Buckbeak the Hippogriff…"

Wonderful. He was going to end up in Azkaban, wasn't he?

"I commanded the illegal Dumbledore's Army in fifth year…"

The Cruciatus curse would be better than this.

"And I kissed Cho Chang under the mistletoe."

At this, Harry's face grew so hot you could have slapped hamburgers on his cheeks and used him as a grill. Ginny looked like she was going to friggin' murder him and Cho buried her face in her hands. Harry wished Ginny would murder him. Death had to better than this. At least he would be able to be with his parents, Sirius, Cedric…

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were beside themselves with laughter, and the Truth Potion was still going strong.

"This year, I hid in a luggage compartment on the train with my Cloak and eavesdropped on a Slytherin compartment…"

When would it end?

"I drank a vial of Felix Felicis to trick Slughorn into giving me infor-"

He choked off. With wide eyes, Harry's tongue went back to being his own. The potion had finally worn off.

Either that, or Harry had run out of secrets to tell.

Mortified and not knowing what else to do, Harry turned on his heel and practically ran back to the Gryffindor table. Ron and Hermione just stared at him like he'd just arisen from the dead.

After a moment, Dumbledore slowly took back the stand. Harry expected him to yell. Tell him he was going to have to expel him, or that he was disappointed, even. But instead he merely said, "Thank you, Harry, for those honest words."

Then he continued on with the notices as if nothing had happened. Harry wished it hadn't, but the worst would come after dinner. That much he could probably count on.

Gulping, Harry dared to steal a glance at Snape. Flicking his eyes quickly back to his plate, he wished he hadn't. The Potions Master had both arms held in the air, trying to strangle Harry from afar and looking not unlike Darth Vader in one of Dudley's Star Wars movies. Harry swallowed hoarsely.

"You're dead, mate," Ron said helpfully, giving Harry an I-know-how-that-feeling pat on the back. "Can I have your Firebolt after the funeral?"

Hermione promptly hit him with a copy of Advanced Potion Making.

"What?" Ron sputtered. "It was an honest question!"