For the past four years he had been glad to return to Hogwarts after the holiday break. This year was no different. For the first time since he could remember, he had not visited his parents at St. Mungo's. Though he had attended their funeral months ago, not seeing them during the holidays had been yet another reminder that they were gone. Neville was glad that he was not with his grandmother for the break, though he did miss her presence. Spending the time with Ranma and Shampoo at the Hog's Head had been different to say the least. Not only did they provide him with sufficient distraction from his own problems, seeing the pair who were only slightly older than he was refreshing though slightly frustrating.

Shampoo was the pack beta, second only to Ranma. Though she often played up her accent, Neville knew that she had a truly keen mind and loved to play the airheaded fool so as to have people underestimate her. She could go from being playful and friendly to deadly serious in the blink of an eye, emptying the Hog's Head before anyone realized that there had been a problem. Having spent much of his free time over the holiday sparring with her he couldn't help but notice how, well, different she was from the girls his age. Well, different from most girls his age.

Dean and Seamus had been going on and on about girls since they had returned from the holiday break early. When the pair had suggested that the quintet sneak into one of the girls' bathrooms for the Prefects surprisingly Ron and Harry had not objected. Outnumbered, Neville had not other recourse but to join them.

While most of the newly returned students were still enjoying dinner, the five dormmates had returned to their dorm before setting off on their endeavor. Ron knew where all of the Prefects' bathrooms were as well as the passwords needed to access the boys' bathrooms. The bathroom that they had settled on was one that Ron had stressed was the favorite of the girls in Slytherin and Ravenclaw as it was carved into the side of the cliff and had a spectacular view of the river and cliff that separated the residential section of Hogwarts from the academic section, the enchanted glass prevented it from being covered in steam on the inside and from the outside appeared as unordinary rock.

Because the prefect bathrooms were enchanted so that once a boy or a girl was using the bathroom someone of the opposite gender could not access it sneaking in to peep was out of the question. What had surprised them all was that Ron had managed to procure a set of mirrors that allowed the users to see out of the other mirror similar to a scrying spell. All that they had to do was have Ron sneak into the bathroom, hang the mirror somewhere that allowed the boys to see the bathroom, and hide the mirror so that no one noticed it.

By the time they had managed to secure one of the smaller hidden rooms near the bathroom the first of the Prefects had entered.

"That's Pansy," gasped Dean, "and Harper." They all knew Pansy Parkinson as she was in their year but Harper was also a visible Slytherin figure as she was the Slytherin reserve Seeker that had been displaced by Malfoy back in their second year. For the past three years she had been relegated to the practice squad as a result.

Neville couldn't help but gulp as the two Slytherins disrobed down to their panties. The younger of the two walked over to the bath and turned on the water.

"Now I see what Malfoy likes about her," Ron muttered.

Satisfied with the temperature, Pansy let the water run before returning to her basket of clothes and removed her panties.

Dean and Seamus had their eyes glued to Harper's image as the older girl walked around the bathroom in the nude. Soon both girls were in the bath, their naked bodies submerged into the steaming hot water.

The door to the bathroom opened again as two more figures entered the bath.

"Cho," muttered Harry.

"Padma," squeaked Ron.

The boys watched in silence, none daring to say anything as the two Ravenclaws undressed. Unlike their Slytherin counterparts the Ravenclaws kept a towel handy as they made their way around the room and only set the towels aside before submerging themselves in the waters of the bath.

"We are so dead," Ron muttered once the girls had finally vacated the bathroom.

Dean patted the Prefect on the shoulder.

"We can't tell anyone about this," Ron added as he turned to look at his dormmates for the first time since the girls had appeared in the bathroom. "That means we cannot tell any of the others from the group, but especially none of the girls."

The others nodded.

"I'm heading off to the greenhouse," Neville said as the group approached a stairwell and corridor connecting the East Wing of the castle with the West Wing.

The corridors in the East Wing were empty and dark as there were fewer portraits in the academic side of the castle and what few painted images had opted to visit other portraits in better lit corridors or had gone to sleep. His training had allowed him to move through the darkness unnoticed and without bumping into anything. Her perfume had given her away, though why she was here he wasn't sure. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of someone as they were about to bump into one of the suits of armor. "Watch it," he cautioned, his voice and tone gentle so as not to disturb the sleeping portraits.

She struggled, trying to pull away and aim her wand at him. His training took over as he shifted his grip to clamp down on her wand wrist with one hand and covering her mouth with the other. He shifted his hips to avoid being kneed in the groin once she realized that her hands were secured and her wand was pointed away from him. Pushing her against the wall he pinned her down.

It did strike him as unusual that she had not used her wand to illuminate the corridor but some of the older students were known to sneak around the castle in the dark for late night rendezvous. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" he whispered into her ear. Cautiously he moved his hand from her mouth just enough for her to speak.

"Greengrass," she whispered. "Daphne Greengrass."

Had he been Ron he might have tried to make some witty but offhanded remark about how Slytherins were supposed to be used to the dark, instead Neville simply took in her sweet scent. It was the closest he'd been to a girl outside of sparring since the brief semi-drunken snogging with Hermione during Halloween and it was intoxicating. "Who are you waiting for Greengrass?"

He could feel her shifting around in his arms as she struggled to free herself. The feel of her firm breasts brushing against his chest sent a shiver of excitement through him and suddenly he realized the position that they were in. From the way Daphne reacted it was clear that she had felt his reaction as well. Despite his training he reacted – pulling away while pushing her from him. He regretted it as he nearly crashed into the suit of armor.

For a moment they were both completely silent as they each tried to regain their composure.

"I was waiting for anyone; I was on my way back from stargazing when I heard someone."

She hadn't heard him, he was sure of it. Was there someone else in the corridor? "It's probably Peeves," he concluded. There were still two hours before curfew so students could still be about in the castle for another hour before the Prefects began their rounds.

Daphne nodded.

"Where is she?" It was a male voice but Neville couldn't place it. It came from the stairwell where he'd just come from. The dim light from two wands told them that the speaker was not alone.

Daphne turned to run but Neville stood between her and the wall. He put his finger to her lips as he guided her into the nook as two more lights appeared from the other end of the corridor. Despite the darkness he could see the slight sparkle in Daphne's eyes as she placed her faith in him.

"Who's there?" he said as he stepped out of the darkness and placed himself in the middle of the corridor. He hoped that they didn't know the corridor as well as he did. The light of four wands immediately focused on him.

"Longbottom."

He recognized the speaker's voice but could only see his silhouette, "Crabbe, that's probably Goyle with you but where's your keeper?"

"Shut it Longbottom," bellowed Goyle from the other end of the corridor.

"We're not looking for you, we're looking for Greengrass," Millicent Bulstrode stated. "She said she'd in the Astronomy Tower working on the assignment."

It was a likely lie that he would have thought nothing of before, "I haven't seen her."

"She might have taken the passage behind the Danes' portrait," suggested Slytherin girl that was beside Goyle. "It goes straight down to the Greenhouses but there are the passages along the southern wall and the cliff."

"Right, right," muttered Millicent. "Let's go."

The Slytherins dashed down the corridor, their lights vanishing as they rounded the bend in the stairwell.

He waited for a few seconds more before he returned to the nook where Greengrass hid. He knew that it wasn't his business, but he couldn't help but be involved now. "They're gone."

Despite the darkness she glanced around, "Thanks."

Ron would have asked why a Slytherin was hiding from other Slytherins. He was still sore about Nott joining their small study group but had not expressed any open hostility towards Slytherins except when talking about Malfoy and his goons.

Again he caught the scent of her perfume as she came out of the nook. "You wore that perfume at the party."

She paused, "Excuse me?"

He hadn't ever realized that he'd spoke his thoughts. There was another scent, one nearly masked by the wisteria. "Lousewort," again he spoke his thoughts. He could feel her tense. 'It can be used in invisibility cloaks or to prolong the effects of a polyjuice potion.' "Why are you hiding from you housemates?"

"I can't tell you," she muttered. "Not here."

He nodded. Grabbing her hand he led her through the dark corridor up to the rooftop greenhouse. "There are some adult mandrakes here," he explained as he disarmed the security charm on the door. Once inside the light of the building he could see that she did have a cloak of obtenerbration rather than a true invisibility cloak. Under the lighting of the greenhouse the only shadows for Daphne's cloak to manipulate were under the tables and plants. "What's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she replied snidely. "There's division in Slytherin. We're not all Death Eaters, and while some may agree with them there are many who do not agree with their methods. It was not until Professor Saotome's display at Malfoy Manor during the New Year's Celebration that the others realized that the Death Eaters and their master aren't serving our best interests but are only serving their own interests. Unfortunately those of us not with the Death Eaters have allowed the Death Eaters and their kin too much leeway far too long."

Neville nodded, taking it all in.

"A good number of us are related to members of the Board of Governers. It was the Board of Governors that allowed the Ministry of Magic to place Umbridge here."

"Stopping you from getting a message out," he surmised.

It was Daphne's turn to nod. "I was trying to reach my uncle to let him know what I really think of Umbridge. If enough of the Governors agree then they can revoke the need for a High Inquisitor at Hogwarts. There is evidence that she is using underhanded methods on the children of her political opponents and rivals. I need to get a message out, but the others are keeping me from the owlry.

"They're keeping an eye on Nott too," she added. "No one knows where his true alliances are or if he's just playing each faction."

He wanted to assure her that he knew, but he wasn't sure where her alliances truly were. He knew for sure that Theodore was loyal to the pack but it wasn't something he could really share with others.

"There are a few owls that nest on this rooftop," he explained. "Not all the owls nest in the owlry." Opening a window he

She hesitated for a second before pulling the scroll out from her pocket. "Bring this to my uncle Richard Greengrass," she instructed the owl handed the scroll to him. The bird nodded, accepting the scroll before hopping towards the window.

"Let me get that," Neville reached out and opened the window. They watched as the owl took flight then flew out the window with Daphne's scroll.

"Okay." Shutting the window he turned to look at her. "Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine – there aren't as many of us but we do watch out for ourselves and each other," she replied as she averted her eyes. "Besides, Slytherin is the house of the cunning, we just have to adjust and adapt."

"That's why you have the cloak."

She nodded. "It's new but needs to be broken in. It's not as expensive as a true invisibility cloak but with the dark corridors in the dungeons it's a better fit."

He followed her out of the greenhouse and watched her descend the stairs before he returned to the greenhouse. If things were as bad as she had alluded to then it was best that he not be seen with her.

Routine, structure – both were inconsistent things for Ranma Saotome. Having lived most of his life on the road he had not had need for them. The stay in Nerima had changed that slightly as he had been enrolled into high school and had to endure the mind-numbing instruction from his teachers. He had promised himself to never be like them when he became an instructor and teacher. Now he was discovering just how difficult that promise was to keep as he tried to formulate a way to make his lessons relevant to all of his students.

It had taken the holiday break for him to realize that he'd become too used to the routine that Hogwarts imposed upon him. Light sparring and training sessions with his apprentices were broken up only by the three double classes that he taught every weekday, and the weekends were the only time that he could really enjoy the fact that he was now married.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was a mandatory class until fifth year. For sixth and seventh year students it was optional though there were also remedial lessons. Factor in his schedule of having three two hour long lessons a day plus his the time he spent with his apprentices and he had little time to actually go over every individual student's progress.

"I'm glad that everyone has made it back safe and sound," he said as he looked down upon the fourth year class. "I hope that you weren't slacking off over the holiday. I know that much has happened since our last class but the best way for me to know that you took my assignment seriously is to test you." His smile sent a shiver through the gathered fourth years. Since the incident at Malfoy manor during their New Year's party the Death Eaters had not stirred. The peace had not been broken and the populace seemed to revert to how things had been before the Death Eaters' attacks. Some of the youths before him had been at that shortened party and had seen for themselves what their professor could do. "Today, your will be paired up with someone – your goal will be to cross the field from the east end and reach the pathway on the west end of the field."

For a moment the students regarded him, knowing full well that there was likely to be something about the task that he had not discussed. Finally one of the Gryffindors raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Sir, what are the conditions?"

Ranma looked up at the sky then around the field, "I think the conditions are fairly cloudy with gusts of wind."

Several students chuckled.

"The conditions are that you and your partner are to cross the field as quickly as possible while also keeping each other safe. The castle walls are the only boundary. As you can see I've set a line on the east end where you are to start and the pathway to the owlry is the goal." Though it was simple enough the students had learned that nothing was ever as it seemed when their new DADA professor was involved. He had paired the students based on their scores – best with the worst – so as to balance the teams but had also tried to pair across genders and house. Once all of the students had found their partners and made their way to the far end of the courtyard Ranma gave the signal for them to begin. The morning sun was in the east, though there was still a bit of shadow along the castle walls of the north tower.

There was no mad-dash as the fourth years were clever enough to suspect some sort of surprise for the first pairs to enter the field. Cautiously all the pairs began to cross the yard. There was a slight tension between the Slytherins supporting what Neville had told him about his encounter with Greengrass. Perhaps pairing them with the Gryffidors would give the cunning snakes a bit of courage.

He watched as enchanted snowmen formed and began to rain snowballs upon the fourth years.

"That's not safe," the Head Inquisitor interjected.

"It's only snow," he replied. "The enchantment isn't even strong enough to take a good jinx." As if to prove his point several snowmen crumbled under the barrage of light jinxes.

While the Minister of Magic had reluctantly conceded that there were those using dark magic to intimidate the populace, they had yet to actually admit that it was directly linked to Voldemort. Like the Slytherins, Fudge's administration was fractured and each faction was scrambling to either hold onto their power and authority or was trying to discredit the others to better gain Fudge's ear. The Head Inquisitor was still at Hogwarts but it was clear that she wanted to be recalled so that she could have more direct access to the Minister of Magic. Unable to leave Hogwarts until recalled, she had taken to trying to spying on him as he was the one linked to the centaurs and several foreign ministries.

"I heard that your father used to work for the ministry – The Department of Magical Maintenance I believe."

"That's right," she replied.

He had expected her to react differently. He had heard that Umbridge had lied about that part of her family history and that when asked she would lie and say that he was actually part of the Wizengarmot. While he was not one to bluff, Ranma had learned to read other people and see through their insincerity. When confronted the witch tended to have an annoyingly fake giggle or laugh that went along with her insincere smile.

"Your problem is that while you were effective at your duties, you made many enemies. Many of them sprang at the chance to get back at you. The post here as the High Inquisitor served to isolate you from the day to day activities at the Ministry and those who you thought loyal to you were all too willing to throw you under the bus. Oh, that's right, that's an American saying – it means that people close to you were willing to betray or sacrifice you to their benefit.

"There was a reason why no one contacted you over the holiday break – everyone was trying to distance themselves from you."

"I don't know what you are talking about." She faked a smile, but no giggle.

"Well, it doesn't much matter to me," he sighed as the first of the fourth years cautiously cleared the courtyard. He was not one to bluff but showing his hand was a different matter.

"Dolores," a new voice called out from behind them. The deep booming voice of Kingsly Shacklebolt echoed off the courtyard walls.

"Shacklebolt," she returned.

"The Minister has requested your presence," he was offering her a chance to save face by not drawing attention to herself before the score of students. Still, he was not alone. Two other aurors as well as the Junior Inquisitor were with him.

The fake smile turned genuine, "It has been awhile since I met with him."

"Of course your presence is requested as well," Kingsley said as he turned to Percy Weasley. "I hope that you will be ready to give us a full report on your findings. Right now we have meeting with the Minister"

Ranma lashed out with a kick. The fake Umbridge had taken the kick well, but clearly was unused to Umbridge's stature and balance. Still, she had dropped a silver flask into the snow. The short witch was a good administrator but not a fighter – whomever was impersonating her had managed mimic many of the woman's habits but it was the lack of the falsely sweet giggle what had tipped Ranma off.

Kingsley and the other aurors were dueling now.

"Get the rest of the students to safety," he ordered Ginny. The girl was too brave for her own good, but at least she had reacted unlike many of her classmates who were startled by the sudden fight. It was fortunate that they were on the far end of the field while he and the ministry officials were still on the pathway from the castle to the castle entrance.

Using the environment to her advantage the youngest Weasley erected a wall of solid ice to act as a barrier between the fighters and the students.

Percy was far from frozen though he was unsure which side he was to aid and opted to protecting the students from stray curses. "What's going on?" he managed to ask as he deflected a stray curse into the sky.

"Polyjuice," Ranma taunted as he led the pretender towards the courtyard. Dodging the curses was easy and clearly his opponent thought that keeping out of range of close combat was a wise strategy but there was still an effective range for dueling. "I'm guessing you were going to ambush the Minister of Magic."

Percy picked up the flask. "Accio flask!" A second flask flew to his hand from one of the two aurors dueling Shacklebolt. "Accio Flask!" a third flask flew out from beneath the cloak of the third auror.

The first of the fake aurors turned on Percy.

"We should retreat," the one facing Kingsley suggested. "They've already caught on to our plan."

The fake Umbridge chased Ranma only to step onto one of the spell tags that he'd placed on the field for the fourth years. Ice encased her legs, hindering her movement enough for Ranma to throw a pair of spell tags. One was aimed at her, the second at the snow drift. His opponent opted to blast the one being thrown at her and ignored the other one, though she failed to realize that the first had been intended to distract her so that the second could create a frozen golem. As she was dealing with the golem he tossed another barrage of spell tags at her with one hand and several more at the opening of the pathway that connected the north entrance and the gatehouse.

The fake aurors were giving ground, unable to simply Disapperate while on Hogwarts grounds. It was likely to be a running duel/chase until they were beyond the protective wards and enchantments of the school.

Snowly birds assaulted the fake Umbridge as she stumbled towards the entrance, her feet still encased in ice and growing with each step. The ice was up to her knees and had started to coat the lower hem of her cloak and dress to that point as well. She flashed a wicked smile as she conjured a wall of flames. It vanished as quickly as her smile as the flames turned blue and cold.

He'd anticipated such a move and had placed several tags on the ground in anticipation. As a master of heat and cold he easily converted her spell from one that produced scorching heat to stealing heat. He blasted her with a jet of water. It passed through the flames and when it hit her the blast knocked her off her feet. Before she could get to her feet the water began to freeze, trapping her to the snow drift and ground.

Rushing over, Ranma kicked her hand, crushing several fingers as he knocked her wand out of her hand just before the ice froze over.

With a wave of his wand, Kingsley manipulated the blue flames, sending it to encircle the two remaining imposters. Percy blasted the pair with a shower of water while one of the aurors tried to create his own flames only for his flames to add to turn blue. The other created a fierce wind, blowing away the water and keeping the fire at bay.

Icy golems walked through the magical flames and wind, their massive arms wrapping around the two fake aurors and pinning their arms.

"Stupify!"

"Expelliarmus!"

Jets of green and red flew at the imposters as Flitwick and McGonagall joined the fray.

"What is going on here?!" the headmaster demanded Professor McGonagall bound the two aurors and Flitwick turned to face Ranma, Percy Weasley, and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"I noticed that Dolores was acting odd," Ranma stated. "Once I lashed out at her the other aurors turned on Shacklebolt."

Percy stepped forward holding up the flasks. "They had these on them."

Headmaster Dumbledore took the first, uncorked it and sniffed, "Polyjuice potion." He did the same for the second flask. "Also polyjuice potion." He accepted the third flask, "A love potion I believe. We will need to have Professor Snape verify the potions."

Shacklebolt and Percy nodded.

"We will need to check their wands as well," Dumbledore stated. "It maybe that Dawlish was under the Imperious Curse."

"I will let the Minister know, he was to meet us at the Three Broomsticks." Shacklebolt turned to go. "Come Weasley. If Death Eaters managed to impersonate these two who is to say they don't have more agents amongst us."

To his credit Percy stood firm, nodding gravely as he followed Shacklebolt. "We need to hurry. If they were planning to attack the Minister…."

"Accio brooms!" The charms professor summoned two brooms from the school's lockers.

The two ministry officials took the brooms and sped off towards the gatehouse.

"Send the students back to their dorms," Dumbledore ordered the others. "Classes will be canceled today so that we can strengthen the school's protections."

Author's Notes -

I think I'll leave things here for now.

Enjoy.