Disclaimer: Harry Potter and the Harry Potter universe belong to J.K. Rowling.

A/N: Here it is, Chapter V at last. Sorry for the delay.

Chapter V:

Harry heaved a sigh as he looked up from his Transfiguration book. It was nearly five in the evening on Tuesday and neither his Gryffindor or his Slytherin friends had shown up for their scheduled study group. He glanced at the two Hufflepuff girls that were sitting with him at the table, noting that they too seemed to be worried about the absence of their friends.

He remembered hearing something about an incident during their flying lessons earlier that afternoon, but nothing more. Now that he thought of it, he hadn't seen any of them since they went off for the lesson. Something was going on, he decided silently, and he was going to find out what.

Another moment later, Susan slammed whatever book she had been reading shut and stood up. Harry and Hannah both stared at her as she began pacing back and forth. Harry slowly closed his own book as he waited for Susan to speak, though he already had a very good idea what was on her mind.

"Alright, I can't take this any longer." Susan said at last.

"We can tell, Sue." Hannah interjected.

Susan shot Hannah a glare before sighing, "Where are the others? Daphne's never late, and Tracey always shows up with her." she explained, "And someone would have to be dying to keep Hermione from studying..."

A look of horror crept onto her face as she trailed off, "You... you don't think someone's dying, do you?" she asked quietly.

Harry quickly shook his head, "Not at all, Susan. If someone were dying, I'm sure we'd know by now." he said with a small smile, "Don't worry, it's nothing that bad."

"Yeah, at most there was probably an accident, a student falling off a broom or something like that, y'know?" Hannah added, "Nothing too serious, probably went to the Hospital Wing right away, so they'll be fine."

Susan breathed a sigh of relief as she took her seat again, "Okay, okay... you guys are probably right, sorry."

"Hey, nothing to be sorry about, you're just worried, like the rest of us." Harry replied.

"Look, isn't that a first year Gryff over there?" Hannah asked suddenly, pointing at a girl that was taking a seat at an empty table, "Maybe she'll know what happened, or where Hermione and Neville are at least?"

Harry and Susan shared a look before both nodded, it was a sound idea, better than any others they could think of. After quickly picking up theirs books, the three of them rose and approached the lone Gryffindor girl.

The girl looked up from the paper she was writing as the three friends approached her table. She quietly put her quill aside and waited for one of them to speak, as she had been expecting this to happen since she saw them at their table when she came in.

"Excuse me, miss, I am, uh, Harry, Harry Potter, and my friends and I were wondering..." Harry began, "Well, we were wondering if you know what happened during flying lessons earlier, and if you know what happened to our friends after?"

The girl gave Harry a sad smile, "Actually yes, I do know what happened. It's all rather complicated, really." she started after a moment, "But you'll probably want to hear it from your friends, Hermione and Neville, right?"

At Harry's nod, she continued, "Yes, well they're in the Hospital Wing last I checked. You see, Neville fell from his broom after loosing control, hurt his arm, and Madam Hooch took him there right away. Hermione joined him as soon as Professor McGonagall officially ended the lesson."

Harry shared a look of concern with the two Badgers that were with him, before offering the girl a smile, "Thank you, miss..." he paused, "I don't believe I got your name..."

"Oh! Lavender Brown! I'm so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself."

"It's quite alright. Thank you, Miss Brown. You've been very helpful to us."

Harry gave her a parting wave as he and the two other girls sped off towards the Hospital Wing, ignoring the glare Madam Pince shot them as they left the Library. Now they knew where their Gryffindor friends were, and they were hoping that from them they'd find out what happened to their Slytherin friends.

~~sSs~~

The three friends burst into the Hospital Wing a few minutes later, much to Madam Pomfrey's surprise, but she permitted them to speak with Neville and Hermione as long as they didn't disturb her other patients.

She directed them to one of the first beds along the wall opposite the door, where they found Neville and Hermione sitting side by side talking rather quietly. Both Gryffindors were surprised to see their friends enter the room, but waved them over none the less.

As they gathered around the bed the two Gryffs were sitting on, Susan and Hannah immediately took to glaring at their friends, while Harry chose to stay out of what was about to happen. He couldn't help but smirk as Neville spoke up, knowing full well what the two 'Puffs had planned.

"Uhm, hey guys." Neville started, "So how was-"

"Neville Longbottom! Don't you dare try to act like nothings wrong!" Susan interrupted, a little louder than Harry thought would be acceptable to Madam Pomfrey, "Not after you two don't show up to our study group, only for us to find out from one of your Housemates that you got injured in flying lessons!"

Hermione opened her mouth to defend Neville, but Hannah was faster, "And you, Miss Granger! You didn't think to come find us and let us know what happened out there?" she said, "Instead you choose to stay here with him-"

"Nothing wrong with that of course," Harry interjected, "Under normal circumstances that is."

"- and leave us in the dark, fearing the worst!" Hannah finished after a smile to Harry.

"Now, what do you two have to say for yourselves?" Susan said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Hermione glanced at Neville, who nodded, and heaved a sigh, "We were going to come tell you what happened, I swear." she began slowly, looking at Susan and Hannah, "But with what happened to Daphne, well it must have just slipped our minds..."

Harry shared a confused look with the two 'Puffs, out of all the responses they were expecting, that was most definitely not one of them. After a moment of silence, Harry was the first to speak up.

"What do you by 'with what happened to Daphne'? Is she alright?" he asked quietly, fearing the answer, "What happened to her?"

"She... she's fine for now... Madam Pomfrey said she's getting better." a familiar voice replied, causing the five of them to turn and see Tracey approaching, her face red and puffy from crying, "As for what happened, I think it's best if we start at the beginning..."

"Yes, that would be best." Hermione agreed, "I'm sorry, we really should've told you..."

Susan stepped forward and embraced Hermione in a hug, "It's alright, just, tell us now, please?"

Hermione nodded after Susan had pulled away, "Well, like you said, Neville fell off his broom during flying lessons..."

~~sSs~~

Earlier...

Hermione groaned as the broom she was trying to summon to her hand refused to move, glancing around, she noticed that she wasn't the only one having trouble with it. That made her feel much better, maybe flying just wasn't for her, and that was something she could live with. Even so, it was infuriating that her broom was being so bloody stubborn.

After a few more tries, she eventually got the old thing to jump to her hand, she would've smiled at the progress she had made if she wasn't so annoyed with how long it had taken. She quickly glanced around for Madam Hooch, and when she found her showing another student how to properly mount their broom, she watched carefully.

Mounting the broom only took her one try for her to get it right, and soon enough, the rest of the class was on their brooms and waiting for the next set of instructions.

"Now! When I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," Madam Hooch stated, "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle, three, two-"*

Before Madam Hooch could even finish counting, Hermione, and the rest of the class, noticed that Neville had kicked off, probably harder than he should have. The boy started floating higher and higher with each passing moment, and she felt her chest clench up in fear.

"Come back, boy!" Madam Hooch was shouting, but her cry went unheard by the Gryffindor.

Hermione couldn't do anything but watch as he looked down at the ground he was quickly rising further away from with each passing moment. Neville gasped as he saw just how high he was, and his grip on the broom loosened. His eyes widened in fear as he slid just slightly to one side, but it was more than enough.

Hermione's screech pierced the air before the sickening crunch was even heard as Neville hit the ground. Madam Hooch was over to his side before anyone else had a chance to react to what had just happened. The Flying Instructor waved her wand over the boy a couple times before standing up looking relieved.

"Broken arm, I'd wager," she sighed, "But not taking any chances, Poppy'll look over him."

With another wave of her wand, she conjured a stretcher and then floated Neville onto it. Turning to the rest of the class, she gave them all a stern look.

"None of you are to move while I take this boy to the Hospital Wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'."*

With one last look at the class, she turned and floated the stretcher off, following just behind it.

Hermione could only watch in horror as Madam Hooch disappeared into the castle with Neville, hoping it was just a broken arm as she had said. She let out a groan as she did her best to ignore the laughter coming from many of the Slytherin students. She heard a few of them make some comments, but Daphne spoke up before she even got a chance.

It was the shouting that finally caused her to turn around, where she found Malfoy holding the Remembrall that Neville had been sent that morning by his Gran. Hermione brushed the tears that had started when Neville hit the ground away and rolled her eyes as she stepped forward.

"Give it to me, Malfoy." she said firmly.

The blonde ponce looked over at her and perked an eyebrow, "I don't think so." he drawled, "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find, like... in a tree!"

Hermione took another step forward and put her hand out, "Come on Malfoy, just give it to me."

Malfoy gave her hand a glance before laughing, then suddenly he jumped onto his broom and was flying off towards one of the tallest trees in the yard. He stopped flying and hovered near the topmost branches before turning to face Hermione.

"Why don't you come and get it, Granger?" he said with a smirk.

Hermione paused, unsure what to do. Madam Hooch had made it quite clear they were not to touch the brooms while she was taking Neville to the Hospital Wing. With a sigh, she shook her head, "Malfoy! We were told not to move, let alone touch the brooms, by Madam Hooch!" she shouted, "You're going to get us all-"

She was cut off by another figure soaring past her on a broomstick, and yet another a few moments later. She screamed as she grabbed fistfuls of her hair, 'Why can no one listen?!' she thought as she watched the two others catch up to Malfoy, 'We're all going to be expelled!'

She heard Malfoy shout at one of the other two, "Are you serious right now, Greengrass?" he was yelling, "Standing up for one of the Lions?!"

Greengrass? But that was... suddenly she recognized both of the students that had flown off after Malfoy. The blonde girl was Daphne, of that she had no doubt, especially after what Malfoy had just said. The other was unmistakable, there was only one student in their year that had red hair like. Ronald Weasley.

Hermione buried her face in her hands with a groan, there was no way this was going to end well at all. Ronald's hatred for anything Slytherin was well known throughout the entire school, and if he was up there with Malfoy and Daphne... They were all expelled for sure.

Looking up, she saw that Malfoy was still yelling at Daphne, and it seemed that Ronald was yelling at both of them, though he was being ignored. Finally Malfoy seemed to have heard enough and shouted something before he swung his arm towards the Forbidden Forest. His arm that he was holding the Remembrall in...

Without another warning, Daphne and Ronald both shot off in the direction that he had thrown the Remembrall, with Ronald shouting as loud as he could at Daphne. The blonde girl was doing her damnedest to ignore the red-headed Gryffindor, which only seemed to further his anger. Hermione could only watch in horror as he suddenly drew his wand and pointed at Daphne, shouting at her yet again.

Silence fell on the students that were still on the ground as they watched Daphne reach out her hand just as a flash of blue light flew out of Ronald's wand and struck her broom.

Hermione watched, her eyes wide with shock, as Daphne's broom seemed to do a flip, sending the young girl flying forward. A scream caught in her throat as the blonde fell, madly trying to grab her broom but to no avail. Time seemed to slow as the broom spun away from the Slytherin girl's hand, leaving her to fall to ground with no way to slow herself.

Then all hell broke loose. Screams broke through the silence as the other students helplessly watched Daphne fall. Others were shouting and calling for help from the castle, and others, mostly Slytherins, drew their wands and pointed them at Ronald. The red-head seemed to be in a daze as he sat on his broom, staring off towards where Daphne had been moments before, unsure what to do.

Professor McGonagall practically flew into the yard moments before the second crunch of the afternoon announced Daphne had hit the ground. A look of pure horror was present on her face as she looked from the still form of Daphne to the shocked face of Ronald.

Hermione and Tracey broke out of their stupor and darted towards Daphne, but before they could reach her, McGonagall's shrill voice cut through the noise of the students.

"Do not touch her, Miss Granger! Nor you, Miss Davis!" she shouted, "And you, Mister Weasley, on the ground this instant!"

Hermione froze in her tracks and glanced nervously at Tracey, who was now crying freely as she stared at Daphne. She slowly stepped over to the other girl and wrapped her arm around her, pulling her into a hug. The two girls stood there, neither speaking, just staring at Daphne, both praying she was going to be alright.

It was McGonagall that broke them out of their daze, "Miss Granger, Miss Davis, come with me. There's nothing you can do for Miss Greengrass right now." she said, "Professor Snape will be here shortly with Madam Pomfrey, and they will see to the poor girl."

Hermione nodded and stepped away from Tracey, who nodded as well after a moment. They both turned and followed Professor McGonagall, who now had Ronald in her grip, to her office. The four of them walked in silence for the most part, with only Tracey's sniffling or Ronald's grunts as McGonagall practically dragged him behind her, breaking it.

When they reached her office, Professor McGonagall opened the door and gestured for them to enter. Once they were all inside, the Professor closed the door and then conjured two more chairs at her desk before ordering them all to sit.

Once everyone had taken their seats, McGonagall looked up at them, "Now, I want you three to explain to me what just happened." she said sternly, "And do not try to lie to me, it will not end well for you, that I can assure you."

Hermione glanced at Tracey and Ronald, neither of which seemed to want to be the first to speak, and with a sigh, she looked at McGonagall. Slowly she began to recount what happened, starting with Neville loosing control of his broom and then his subsequent fall. Tracey had added in a few details from time to time, but other than that, Hermione was the only one to speak. She stopped just after saying that Daphne and Ronald had flown over the other students, and looked at Ronald, expecting him to continue from there.

Professor McGonagall gave Hermione a curt nod before turning her gaze to the red-head, who squirmed nervously in his seat. He looked down at his feet for a few moments before clearing his throat.

"W-well, I saw the Snake hop on her broom, and so I thought she was going to help Malfoy, y'know?" he began, looking around nervously, "So I did the only thing I could think of, and took off after her, since no one else seemed to be making a move to get Neville's Remembrall back.

"When I caught up to her, she was telling Malfoy to give it to her, calm as can be. Now, I think Malfoy misunderstood what she wanted it for, since he started yelling at her for trying to help a Gryffindor," he snorted at the thought, "Which obviously she wasn't, I mean, she's a dirty Snake. So I told them both to shove it and give me the stupid thing, but they ignored me, and she kept trying to get Malfoy to give it to her.

"Because she wouldn't shut up, the stupid ponce threw the thing off towards the woods, so I did the only sensible thing, and flew after it. Well it seems that she hadn't given up on trying to get it, and was flying after as well. I kept telling her to move out of the way and just let me take it, I'm Neville's friend after all." Hermione coughed at that, earning her a glare from Ronald, "But the stupid girl just wouldn't listen, so I did what anyone else would've done. I had to stop her from taking his thing, you see."

Tracey was glaring daggers into Ronald's skull by the time he finished, and Hermione wasn't doing much better. But they both sat in silence as Professor McGonagall went over what Ronald had just told her. Finally after a minute or so, the Transfiguration Professor sighed and looked up at the three of them again.

"Mister Weasley, I do not appreciate you putting down other students in any way, shape, or form. Thus that will be ten points from Gryffindor." she began, ignoring his sputtering as she took the points from him, "Nor is it ever acceptable to cast a spell on another student outside of a classroom where you have been instructed to do so. The fact that Miss Greengrass was on a broom only makes it worse.

"I can not believe you tried to justify your actions, I sincerely doubt very many others would do what you did. Not only did you cast a spell at a student, that was also on a broom, but what you did endangered the girl's life." she sighed and looked down at her desk for a moment, "Mister Weasley, for your actions this afternoon involving Miss Greengrass, I am deducting one hundred points from Gryffindor and giving you a months worth of detention with Professor Snape."

"But Professor! The Snake was-" Ronald protested.

"That is quite enough, Mister Weasley! I have made up my mind, even if it pains me to do such a thing to my own House." McGonagall interrupted him, "What you did earlier is inexcusable. While your actions may have been just in your mind, if Miss Greengrass had perished from her fall, I have no doubt in my mind that her family would have held you responsible for her death."

Hermione stared at Professor McGonagall in shock, she hadn't been expecting such a harsh punishment for Ronald, but she couldn't really fault the Professor. Ronald had put Daphne's life in danger, and he didn't even have a very good reason.

Ronald, however, did not seem willing to let the matter rest. "But Professor! The girl's going to be fine now!" he argued, "It's not like I meant for her to fall off her broom! I just wanted to get her out of my way so I could get Neville his thing!"

"Mister Weasley, you clearly do not understand what I am telling you. You very well could have been expelled for your actions earlier," McGonagall replied sternly, "You're very lucky you have not been. As for Miss Greengrass, I do not believe any of us in this room are either in a position, or qualified, to say whether she will be fine. Correct me if I am wrong."

Hermione quietly breathed a sigh of relief as Ronald finally seemed to accept his fate. Thankfully he wouldn't be doing any more to harm their House's chance at the House Cup, at least for now. She really hoped he would stop his vendetta against the Slytherins, before he hurt another student, or got hurt himself.

"Now, unless any of you anything else to add, you're all dismissed." McGonagall said, "Mister Weasley, you are to report to Professor Snape at eight o'clock, on the dot."

The three students rose as one and silently shuffled out of the McGonagall's office, with two of them heading straight for the Hospital Wing, and the third being left to wander back to the Gryffindor Tower.

~~sSs~~

"We've been here ever since then." Hermione explained, "Madam Pompfrey wouldn't let us anywhere near Daphne at first, so we talked with Neville until she did. Tracey's been by her side as much as she could."

The Slytherin girl nodded in agreement, "Madam Pomfrey says she'll recover, something about her being very lucky." Tracey said, "A few broken bones, and a concussion. Could've been a lot worse."

Harry ran a hand through his hair as he looked over at the bed he assumed Daphne was in, as it was the only one with the privacy curtains closed around it. Ron had attacked one of his friends, and while he didn't have much experience when it came to friends, he decided there that he wasn't going to stand for that. While it was true that he and Daphne weren't the best of friends, he still considered the girl his friend none the less.

With a sigh, he turned to Tracey, "Is she up? Can we talk to her?" he asked.

Tracey gave him a sad smile and shook her head, "No, Madam Pomfrey gave her a dreamless sleep potion not too long ago."

He nodded, "Probably for the best, I suppose. I'm just glad she's alright." he glanced towards the entrance to the Hospital Wing, "And I'm going to have a talk with young master Weasley."

"Harry! There's no need to do that!" Hermione said quickly, "McGonagall's already spoken with him, and he has a month of detention with Snape!"

"Be that is it may, I need to let him know that I won't let him go around attacking my friends," Harry replied coolly, "Especially if he wants me to be friends with him."

"But Harry... you really shouldn't... you'll just get in trouble!" Hermione protested.

Harry perked an eyebrow at her, "For talking to Ron? Really?"

Hermione looked away, abashed, "Well... I guess not... just, don't get into a fight with him?"

"I can't make any promises, Hermione." Harry said, "That boy's got a mean temper."

Tracey smirked at that, "I can't say I'd complain if you hexed him," she said slyly, "In self defense, of course."

Hermione's jaw dropped as she looked at Tracey, "What?! You can't say things like that!"

"I believe I just did, Granger." Tracey replied with a shrug.

"Y-you could just challenge him to a duel..." Neville said quietly.

"Wait, I can do that?" Harry asked the other boy, now very interested, "Like I can challenge him to a duel?"

Neville nodded slowly, ignoring the glare Hermione was giving him, "Yeah, in defense of Daphne's honour, or something, you know?"

"How does that work? Like, what kind of duel?"

Susan suddenly looked up, "That'd work perfectly, Neville! Harry can challenge that Weasel to a wizards duel in defense of Daphne's honour!"

Tracey suddenly lunged at Neville and wrapped him in a hug after giving him a quick peck on his cheek, causing the boy to blush profusely.

"How is that even okay?!" Hermione practically screamed, "It's not... it's not to the... death, is it?"

Tracey looked at Hermione in shock as she pulled away from Neville, "Gods, no! Are you crazy, Granger?" she exclaimed, "I mean, it can be, but their minors, so definitely not!"

That seemed to make Hermione less upset about the idea, but Harry could see she was still against it. He was all for it, assuming of course that Neville and Tracey explained the whole thing to him.

"But wouldn't it be against the school rules?" Hermione protested.

"You know, that I'm not sure of." Hannah said, tapping a finger against her cheek, "We'll have to look it up! And of course instruct Harry in the rules of a wizards duel. Oh, you'll need a second, Harry."

"Come again? I'll need a what?" Harry asked.

"A second, someone to take your place in the duel if you can't participate for some reason or another." Neville explained.

Harry nodded and thought about it for a moment, "Right. Well I'll make you my second, if you'll accept that is."

Neville looked at Harry in surprise, "M-me? You're serious, Harry?"

Harry nodded, "Dead serious, Nev."

Neville looked away for a moment, "I... uh, thanks Harry. I'll not let you down."

"Oh don't worry about it, I plan on being able to participate."

Neville was about to reply when Madam Pomfrey bustled over to them, looking rather put out with their presence.

"I'll kindly ask you to leave my patient alone, and scoot on off to the Great Hall for dinner." she said sternly, "It's nearly six o'clock, I'll have you know. Now off you get, visiting hours are over."

Harry looked at the four girls before giving Madam Pomfrey a resigned nod, he then turned for the doors, giving Neville a parting wave as they trudged off.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Nev!" he called over his shoulder.

~~sSs~~

The next day passed in a blur for Harry, as he and his friends, minus Daphne and Tracey, spent most of it in the Library looking up the laws surrounding wizards duels. Hermione, for her part, was rather upset about the whole idea, but refused to miss the chance to study something, and so she chose to look into the school rules regarding duels. She was rather distraught when she couldn't find anything against it, in fact she found there was a system to have an official duel, which she disagreed with entirely.

Harry let out a sigh as he placed the last book they had been reading through back on the shelf, and turned to look at Susan who had been holding the stack for him.

"You really think this is a good idea?" he asked quietly, glancing around to make sure Hermione wasn't near, "I mean, what if someone gets hurt?"

"You mean like Daphne?" Susan asked, "C'mon Harry, Ron hurt her, and he knows it. You're just making sure he, and everyone else, knows that you aren't okay with people hurting your friends."

Harry still didn't look too convinced, causing Susan to let out a sigh, "Listen, there's going to be measures in place to keep anyone from getting hurt too badly. Especially if you talk to your Head of House, and make it all official."

With a nod, Harry agreed with the points she had brought up, she really was a smart witch. "You're right, I'm sorry. I've just never done something like this before." he said, "But anyways, we've got a lot to work on, especially if I'm going to be getting an upper-year to help me prepare for this."

Susan nodded as they returned to the others, "You definitely don't want to duel with only knowing a couple jinxes, Harry. I mean, sure it won't be anything spectacular, but still, knowing a shield charm would be useful."

"A shield charm? But that's a second year spell!" Hermione said loudly as they approached, "How is Harry supposed to learn that?"

"I'll talk to an upper-year in our House, I'm sure he'll be willing to help Harry out." Susan explained, "He's always been willing to help any of us first years, and besides that he's a really nice guy."

That seemed to perk Harry up, as he now had a grin on his face, "Oh good! I was worried about finding someone to tutor me!" he said, "Now I just have to talk to Flitwick-"

"Professor Flitwick, Harry!" Hermione interjected.

"Yeah, sorry, I just have to talk to Professor Flitwick about the duel, and then of course I have to officially challenge Ron."

"Do you really think you should talk to Professor Flitwick first, I mean, what if Ron doesn't accept it?" Neville asked, curious to his reasoning.

"I think it'd be a good idea to make sure that's all out of the way, that way Professor Flitwick can step up and confirm everything right away." Harry explained.

The others nodded in agreement with his decision before packing up their bags and heading for the door, as it was now nearing curfew. They talked a little more as they left the Library, agreeing that Harry would talk to Flitwick after lunch the next day, and if that went well, offer the challenge to Ron after the 'Claws and the 'Puffs had their flying lessons. After bidding each other good night one last time, they split up at the Grand Staircase, each of them heading off to their own House's common room.

~~sSs~~

As lunch was finishing the next day, Harry approached Professor Flitwick just as the charms master was about to slip out of the Great Hall, most likely to prepare for his next class of the day, Harry guessed. Flitwick turned and gave Harry a polite smile as he waited for the boy the catch up to him.

"You called, Mister Potter?" Flitwick asked politely once Harry was standing with him.

"Yes, thank you for waiting up Professor," Harry said quickly, "I was, well actually, can I talk to you in private, Professor?"

Flitwick gave Harry another smile and gestured towards the door, "Certainly, Mister Potter, my office door is always open to students, especially to those in my own House." he said, "Shall we?"

Harry nodded, "After you Professor. I've never been to your office before."

Flitwick nodded and set off for his office, with Harry close behind him.

"Now, unfortunately I don't have much time at the moment, Mister Potter," Flitwick began as they walked, "But I do have some, and it is yours for now. If you find yourself still needing to talk to me after time runs out, feel free to visit my office any time after classes and before dinner tonight, I should be there."

"Thank you, Professor, though I don't think this will take long." Harry replied with a smile, "Or at least I hope it won't."

As they arrived at his office, Flitwick drew his wand and waved it a few times, causing the door to swing open with the final wave. He offered Harry a smile and gestured for the boy to enter. Harry quickly stepped inside, followed by Flitwick, and then took a seat at the Professor's desk.

"Now, what did you want to speak to me about, Mister Potter?" Flitwick asked after taking his own seat opposite Harry, "And remember, here I am your friend, you can talk to me about anything. I'd hate for a student to be scared to approach their Head of House about anything at all, we are here to help you."

"Ah, yes, thank you, Professor." Harry said quickly, glancing down at his shoes for a moment, "Well, the thing is, Professor, I'd like to challenge another student to a wizards duel, and well..."

"Ah! You'd like me to approve of it and make it official, as per the Hogwarts rules and regulations state." Flitwick finished with a small smile, "Mister Potter, may I ask who you wish to challenge and why?"

"Uhm, yes sir. It's, uh, well, I'd like challenge Ron Weasley, sir." Harry replied, "As for why, well, I... in defense of Daphne Greengrass's honour, Professor."

"A noble cause, Mister Potter, a noble cause indeed. Wizards duels are serious things, you know, and are not to be taken lightly." Flitwick said, now very serious, "And there are of course, very strict rules one will have to follow in said duels. Some of these are optional and up to the challenger and the challengee."

Harry nodded in understanding, "Yes, Professor, my friends have been explaining it all to me." he said, "And that's part of why I want to do this, Professor. Ron attacked my friend, and I don't like that. So I'd like to make it clear to him and anyone else that might do such a thing that I will not stand for it."

Flitwick stared at Harry for a moment before smiling, "Mister Potter, I must say, you are a very interesting person, and a very noble one at that." he said quietly, "You're loyalty to your friends, and your desire to protect them, is to such an extant that I have not seen outside of Hufflepuff in many years."

"I, uh... thank you, Professor."

"No need to thank me, Mister Potter, it is true. Now, as for your duel, I will approve it and of course inform Minerva, as is my duty." Flitwick replied, "Do you know when you want this duel to take place, Mister Potter?"

"This weekend, Saturday, after lunch, sir." Harry said quickly, "If that's alright, of course, Professor."

"Quite alright indeed, assuming of course Mister Weasley accepts your duel." Flitwick said, "Now, I do believe that concludes our business, unless there was something else you'd like to add?"

Harry shook his head and rose to leave, "One more thing, Mister Potter," Flitwick called as he was about to step through the doorway, "If you shall need any help preparing for the duel, say for practicing or learning spells, let me know and I will see about getting an older student to help you."

Harry smiled and gave the Professor a nod, "Thank you sir, but I do believe I already have another student lined up to help me."

"Wonderful! I have faith in you, Mister Potter, and I applaud you for what you are doing." Flitwick said just before the door closed.

~~sSs~~

With a grin plastered on his face, Harry skipped out into the yard with Susan on his left arm and Hannah on his right. Ever since his last class had let out for the day, he had been very excited. The mere idea of being able to fly was one he found to be wonderful, if not a little scary, but that only contributed to his excitement, being able to do something that he thought was scary.

Susan and Hannah were both excited for flying lessons as well, but neither to extreme that Harry was. They both teased him about it the whole way outside, though they didn't complain as they skipped along, earning them strange looks from the other students.

They came to stop on the lawn where the rest of the first years from their Houses had gathered, along with Madam Hooch. Their excitement died quickly as the stern woman gave them a disapproving look, and Harry suddenly realized they were late as the other students seemed to be giving them the same look.

Madam Hooch confirmed it when she spoke up, "You're late, Miss Abbott, Miss Bones, and Mister Potter." she said quickly, "But no matter, we can begin now."

She stepped back and looked at the gathered students, "Now, all of you find a broomstick and stand by it, let's be quick about this!" she barked, "No dilly-dallying! We've got to make up for lost time!"

Harry quickly hurried to one of the rather old broomsticks that was lying on the ground and stood to the left of it. Looking about, he noticed that Susan was at the broom to right, with Hannah directly across from him.

Once everyone had stopped moving, Madam Hooch spoke up again, "Stick out your right hand, hold it over the broom, and say 'up!'. Once it's in your hand, wait for further instructions, I don't want a repeat of the last class!"

"Up!" the gathered students called out at the same time.

At once, Harry's broom jumped into his hand, though as he looked around, he was one of the few that had that luck. Hannah's broom seemed to have jumped away from her, while Susan was able to get her broom up after only a few more tries. After a few more minutes, during which Anthony was whacked in the face by his broom while trying to get it to jump to his hand, all the students had managed to get a hold on their brooms.

Madam Hooch then began showing them how to properly mount a broom, and once they were all on their brooms, she began walking up and down the rows of students, correcting their grips and giving them advice.

She turned to face them after she was satisfied with their grips, "When I blow my whistle, you will kick off the ground hard." she instructed, "Keeping your brooms steady, rise a few feet off the ground, then come back down by leaning forwards slightly."

With a stern look to make sure they understood her, she continued, "On the count of three! One... two... three!"

As one, the students kicked off the ground, a few of them less steady than others, and rose a few feet in the air. Harry glanced around at the other students, noticing quite a few of them now had looks that obviously showed how much they wish they were back on the ground, Hannah included. He noted that Lisa seemed to be sporting the same grin he and Susan now had, and he cursed himself for not spending as much time with her or Terry recently.

With a resigned groan, Harry leaned forward and brought his broom back down, wishing they could have done more. His wish was granted, as Madam Hooch then began giving them instructions on how to control the broom's direction and speed. After she thought they were given sufficient knowledge, she had them kick off again, this time they were to flying in a few circles without hitting each other.

As the class dragged on, Harry was getting rather comfortable flying around, in fact he thought it was almost as easy as walking. He was disappointed when Madam Hooch informed them all that the class was over, and that they would have another next week at the same time.

With a sigh, Harry trudged off towards the Library with Hannah and Susan, where they would meet up with Neville and Hermione. After that, they would set off to find Ron, so Harry could offer the red-head his challenge, which everyone but Hermione was hoping would be accepted.

~~sSs~~

After much discussion, they finally agreed that the best time to approach Ron would be as he was going into the Great Hall for dinner, as Harry wasn't sure that he should be going into the Gryffindor common room. Then it was Susan who suggested they visit Daphne, who was still recovering in the Hospital Wing, before they went off to dinner, so they could tell her their plans.

A few minutes later Harry and his friends found themselves sitting around Daphne's bed, discussing the past couple days, going over homework, and talking about Harry's planned duel with Ron. They spent more time there than they had planned, and would have probably missed dinner if it wasn't for Madam Pomfrey's appearance and her dismissing them.

With a few parting goodbyes and promises to tell Daphne everything that happened at dinner that night, the group left, with Tracey, and headed off for dinner. Harry spent the entire walk to the Great Hall preparing himself and going over the words Neville and Susan had told him to use when challenging Ron, while the rest of the group walked in silence.

It was Hannah that spoke up, breaking the silence that had fallen on them, "W-what do you guys say to sitting at the same table for dinner?" she started, "It's not against the rules as far as I can tell... Anyways, I think it'd be nice, and it'd show everyone that we're breaking through the House barriers, especially with Tracey with us."

The others looked at each other and Hannah, none of them seemed to know what to say to her idea. It was something that none of them had thought of before, well, none of theme except for Harry, but he had decided it was tradition and didn't say anything.

"I rather like that idea, Hannah," Susan was the first to find her voice, "I would love to sit with all my friends, it'd give us more times to talk to each other."

Harry nodded in agreement, "I think it's a wonderful plan, but we'd have to alternate who's table we sit at," he said, "We don't want to show any of the Houses favoritism."

Susan and Hannah both agreed with him, while Tracey, Hermione, and Neville still seemed a little unsure about it.

"B-but... what if the other students don't like us sitting together?" Neville asked quietly.

"Who cares what the others think?" Hannah asked, "Besides, they'll just be jealous that they didn't think of it first!"

"I doubt Neville and I would be very welcome at the Slytherin table though," Hermione said, "Or that Tracey and Daphne would be welcome at our table..."

"Oh come off it, I don't think we should let what others think dictate what we do, Hermione." Harry said with a sigh, "If the others can't get over their bigotry towards the other Houses, then obviously they're not people we should concern ourselves with. Let me ask you this, Hermione, do you have a problem with Tracey and Daphne sitting at the Gryffindor table?"

"Well, no, but I-"

"There you have it, it's decided! As long as you don't have a problem with it, then it's fine. The others in your House will just have to suck it up and deal with it, it's that simple."

"Well said, Harry." Susan agreed, "Now come on, we've got to get there before Weasley."

They all agreed at last, and after a few more minutes of discussion, they decided they would sit at the Hufflepuff table that night, so Harry could talk with the upper-year that Susan had found to help tutor him.

They arrived in the Entrance Hall before many of the other students, and after a quick look inside to see if Ron had arrived yet, which he hadn't, they split up, with Harry, Tracey, and Susan waiting for Ron, and others going to the Hufflepuff table to save them seats. Luckily they only had to wait a few moments before Ron came rushing into the Entrance Hall with Seamus and Dean, none of them paying any heed to Harry and his two friends.

"Mister Weasley!" Harry shouted over the various other students that were present in the Entrance Hall at that time, causing the red-head to stop in his tracks and look at Harry before glaring at Tracey behind him.

"What is it, Potter?" he asked as he sauntered over, "You better have a good reason for keeping me from my dinner."

Harry smirked as Ron walked over, completely oblivious as to what was about to happen. He cast a furtive glance at Susan, who gave him a quick nod.

"I challenge you, Ronald of the Ancient House of Weasley, to a wizards duel in defence of one Daphne, Heiress to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass, honour, which you have stained with your unprovoked attack on her." Harry said loud enough to be heard over the various conversations the other students in the hall were having.

Silence fell on the Entrance Hall as all eyes turned towards Harry, suddenly everything else was less important than what he was doing. He noticed quite a few jaws had dropped, and more than one confused face, which he would guess belonged to muggle-borns.

Ron himself seemed to be struggling to contain his anger for being called out so publicly, and for it being over what he had done to Daphne. With a uncertain glance at Seamus and Dean, neither of which were looking at him, he let out a growl before rounding on Harry.

"Is this really what you want to do, Potter?" he spat, his face red with anger, "Very well, let it be known that I, Ronald Bilius of the Ancient House of Weasley, accept your challenge to a wizards duel in defence of Daphne of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass, Harry James of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter!"

Harry let a smile form on his face, this was easier than he had thought, "Very well, Mister Weasley. The duel shall take place on Saturday, the Twenty First of September, Anno Domini," he said calmly, "at two thirty in the afternoon, in the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As the challengee, you are able to request a change in the date, if you are not available at said time and date."

As Ron did not reply, Harry assumed that meant it was fine, which he knew it should be, since no one had any classes that day, as it was a weekend. "Very well, on to the terms and rules of said duel that is to happen on September the Twenty First. Firstly, the duel shall last until one or the other participant are unable to continue for whatever reason." he paused, making sure Ron understood, "Secondly, there shall be no use of lethal spells, or spells that are dark in nature. Thirdly, as problems may arise before the date that has been set forth, each participant is to name a second, one who shall duel in their stead if they, for whatever reason, are unable to duel. Do you agree with these terms?"

Ron nodded, 'Yeah, I do, Potter. I, Ronald Bilius of the Ancient House of Weasley, accept the terms, and the date, set forth by Harry James of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter."

Harry offered him a smile, "Very good, now all that remains if for you to name your second." he said, "I will deal with informing the staff of the School, as per the rules of Hogwarts, as set down by the Board of Governors. I look forward to seeing you on the Twenty First, Mister Weasley."

With those words, Harry turned and walked off into the Great Hall, where it seemed there was quite the commotion over the fact that Harry's friends were sitting together. He held back a sigh as he joined them at the Hufflepuff table with Susan and Tracey, both of whom were wearing the biggest grins he had ever seen them have.

"So, how'd it go?" Hannah asked quickly, "We heard things go silent out there, did he accept?"

Harry smiled at the blonde, "Of course he did, he couldn't really refuse with so many people watching us." he replied as he began to serve himself dinner, "I think it went rather well, personally, though you'll have to ask Susan or Trace to confirm that."

Tracey nodded in agreement as he finished, "He was perfect, like reading straight out of the rules for a wizards duel." she said with excitement.

Hannah nodded and turned to Susan, but the red-headed girl had moved from her seat, and was not sitting with them. Before she could ask the others what happened to her friend, Susan returned, followed by an older boy wearing Hufflepuff robes, one that Hannah recognized from her time in her House's common room.

"Harry," Susan said, getting the attention of their entire group, "I'd like you to meet my friend, Cedric Diggory. He's the one that agreed to help tutor you for your duel with Ron."

Harry rose and offered the tall boy a hand, "It's a real pleasure to meet you, Mister Diggory, I've heard quite a bit about you from Sue and Hannah." he said politely, "I'm rather honoured that you're willing to help me, and very thankful."

Cedric let out a chuckle as he shook Harry's hand, "Please, call me Cedric, Mister Diggory is my father." he replied with a smile, "And the pleasure is all mine, Harry. I'm more than happy to help out any student that needs it, and you're no exception."

Harry nodded, "Very well, Cedric, and thank you. Now I do believe we'd best put together some sort of schedule for this, and we'll need a place to work, obviously."

Cedric raised his hands and grinned at Harry, "Calm down there, I've already got that sorted out, we can meet up after classes on most days in a unused classroom on the second floor, Susan knows the place." he said, "And if I'm not free on any day, I'll let you know at lunch, how's that sound?"

Harry smiled, "Sounds great to me, Cedric. I look forward to practicing with you."

"And I you, Harry. Now let's get back to dinner before it get's cold, shall we?"

Harry watched the older boy return to his seat before sitting down in his own. Cedric seemed nice enough, and what he had heard from Susan and Hannah went along with that. It seemed that boy took the ideals of Hufflepuff House and took them to the extreme, if what he had heard was true.

Cedric was well known for helping any of the younger students with any of their schoolwork, he was also said to be the top of his year, and he was also the Seeker for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Where he found the time for all that, plus his classes, Harry wasn't sure, but he was glad that the boy was going to be spending some of his free time helping Harry learn to duel.

~~sSs~~

Harry groaned as he dodged another spell, crouching into a roll as he did. As he came out of the roll, he sprang to his feet, and into the next disarming charm from Cedric. That was third time that Cedric had beaten him that day, and Harry only had one more day to get better. The only thing that kept his spirits up was the fact that Ron wasn't going to be anywhere near as good as Cedric. That boy was damn good with his spell work, not only at casting them, but with his speed and accuracy as well.

"Not bad, Harry." Cedric said as he gave Harry his wand back, "You're definitely improving, and doing rather well for a firstie. Your shield charm could use a little more work, especially if you want to avoid having to recast for every spell someone sends at you. Other than that, your spell work is coming along nicely."

Harry nodded as he pocketed his wand and shook Cedric's hand, "Thanks for everything, Ced," he said with a smile, "I'll make sure to practice the shield charm before we meet up tomorrow, don't worry."

Cedric grinned as he walked away to pick up his book bag, "Good, glad to see you're putting effort into this." he paused for a moment as he approached the door to the classroom they were using, "Listen, I was thinking that since tomorrow is the last day before your duel, we spend it working on whatever you want, alright?"

"Sounds good to me," Harry replied as he shouldered his own bag, "I'll give it some thought during classes tomorrow."

"Right, well, see you later, Harry." Cedric called as he stepped into the hallway.

"You too, mate." Harry replied as he walked over to his friends that were there watching, "So, what do you think? Think I'm ready for Saturday?"

Susan offered him a smile, "Definitely, Harry. Ron won't know what hit him."

Hannah and Tracey quickly agreed with the red-head Hufflepuff, but Daphne didn't look quite convinced.

"I'll admit you are looking much better when dueling Cedric," she said quietly, "But don't think that Weasley hasn't gotten someone to tutor him, Potter. He has three older brothers here at Hogwarts, and in the same House as him no less. I doubt it will be an easy victory for you at all, so be careful."

Harry nodded, Daphne was right, he knew Ron wouldn't be idle all this time. He may be arrogant, but nothing about him said he was above asking for help, in fact quite the opposite if what Hermione had told them was true.

As they walked out of the classroom and headed for the Library to meet up with Neville and Hermione, Harry watched Daphne. The blonde girl had been extremely quiet since she had been let out of the Hospital Wing last weekend, and more reserved than ever before. If he was completely honest with himself, Harry was more than a little worried for her, as not even Tracey could get the girl to smile anymore. He just hoped that the duel would change that, and that Daphne would at least go back to the way she was before, as she had finally seemed to be warming up to him and the others.

He watched Hannah and Tracey converse rather cheerily about something, probably fashion or something like that he suspected, ahead of him as they walked. With a smile forming on his face, he turned to his left to speak to Susan, but the girl was no longer next to him. He glanced behind him to see her stand a little ways back, a look of worry on her face.

"Sue? What's wrong?" Harry asked with concern as he walked over to her.

Susan looked at him briefly before glancing about, "Uhm, Harry... where are we?" she asked quietly.

As she finished, Harry looked around him, only to realize what she was asking. True to her words, Harry didn't recognize the part of the castle they were now in, which left the question as to where exactly were they. The others seemed to have noticed the two of them had stopped, as they too turned and made their way over to them.

Tracey spoke up first, "What's wrong? Come on, we've got to get to the Library before curfew."

"We're lost." Harry deadpanned.

"What do you mean we're lost? The Library is just around the corner!" Tracey exclaimed.

"No, it's not, Trace." Daphne said, "Harry's right, we're lost."

"We can't be! I know exactly where we are." Hannah interjected, "We're... well... maybe we are lost."

"No, I know exactly where we are." Susan stated quietly.

"Oh good! So where are we?" Tracey asked with a grin.

"The third floor corridor."

"Wait... like the third floor corridor?" Hannah asked, her voice suddenly barely above a whisper, "Like 'meet a grisly fate' third floor corridor?"

Susan nodded, but said nothing.

"Oh Merlin... how'd we get here?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask Tracey?" Daphne said coldly.

The brunette Slytherin threw up her arms in protest, "Hold on, you can't possibly think I led us here on purpose!"

"That's exactly what I think, Trace."

"Calm down, all of you." Harry said, "We're fine right now, and we can just simply turn around and leave, alright?"

"What?! You mean to say that now that we're here, you don't want to find out what's down here?" Tracey asked with a look of surprise.

"I knew it."

"Daphne, don't. And yes, Tracey, that's exactly what I mean to say." Harry said calmly, "I don't know about you, but I personally don't really want to meet a grisly fate. So no, we won't be exploring this corridor."

"The Headmaster said it was off limits, so let's respect that and leave." Susan added, "Before we get caught by someone, or worse..."

"Come on, let's go..." Hannah pleaded, "I don't like it here..."

"But... I want to find out what's down here..." Tracey whined.

"No, Tracey, we're not exploring, okay?" Harry said, "Please, at least not tonight. Neville and Hermione are waiting for us..."

Tracey looked at all of them before huffing, "Fine, let's go."

With one last look down the corridor ahead of them, they turned and left the corridor, with the only thing breaking the silence being their footsteps on the stone floor. They had just made it back to a part of the castle they recognized from their trips to the Library when Hannah turned around.

"Where's Tracey?"

A/N: Right, there it is. Read, enjoy, review, you know the drill.

Anyways, this chapter ended up being longer than I expected, so I had to cut it in half. Chapter VI will continue right from where this one ends, and it will definitely have the duel between Harry and Ron.

Also, to clear some things up for people, this is definitely a Harry/Fleur story. In regards to a question someone had raised about a previous A/N, it's the other pairings I have not set in stone just yet. Hopefully there won't be any more confusion regarding that from here on out.

Thanks for reading, I really appreciate the time you guys take to read each new chapter.

-Mordenkaiser