24

Chapter XXIV: Shack of Horrors

(Harry P.O.V)

Harry and Michael sat alone in the library. Most students had left for the Great Hall for dinner, but the two boys weren't necessarily feeling hungry as they festered in their anger. "I can't believe Neville tried to stop us," Michael growled, "We aren't really going to sit here and do nothing, right?"

"No," Harry said shaking his head, "But we need a plan. Deep down, to his very roots, Neville is a good person, even when the world is pushed against him he doesn't show any resentment or bitterness. But we're not like Neville, I won't be able to rest until it's done. For good this time."

"Mr. Potter," A familiar voice called out.

"Mr. Corner," Another spoke.

"I believe you requested our presence," The twins said in Unison.

"Yeah," Harry said with a nod, "We need your help."

"Getting back at Malfoy, I presume?" Fred said with enthusiasm.

"It's more than just getting back at him," Michael growled, "I want him to learn his lesson this time, permanently."

"I see, well Georgie, looks like our regular toys aren't going to be enough this time," Fred said.

"I agree, my less attractive twin," George said with a grin, "Let's show the boys the new toys."

"New toys huh?" Harry said, "That sounds promising."

"They are," The twins said in unison with a great grin.

Harry marveled at what the boys had created a large and rather explosive looking firecracker they were calling Thor's Thunder Cracker, a rather amazing looking invention called a portable swamp, and perfume bottle that looked oddly out of place among the other gags.

"What is that?" Harry said looking at the bottle.

"That is something that Fred and I are planning to discontinue," George said looking at the bottle, "Nasty bit of work honestly. Tried to brew a minor love potion, you know make the user smell attractive to the person they want, but something went wrong when we tested it. Sprayed a bit on Ron, ended up crying about spiders for two days. Ended up amping up a persons fear, not really something we want in our Joke-Line."

A sinister grin grew on Harry's face, "May not a great joke, but perfect for what I'm looking for. If you two are getting rid of it, can I have it?"

"Course," The twins said with a shrug, "We don't need it. Just destroy the evidence when it's done, also one squirt is more than enough, you want to get back at Malfoy, not drive him insane, right?"

"I want to break his nose," Michael growled, "But Neville insisted we do things differently."

Fred and George nodded before Harry spoke, "I think I'll also take the portable swamp, how much?"

"For you two, nothing," Fred and George shrugged.

"What?" Michael said, "I mean, we're thankful and all, but you guys worked hard on these gags, we shouldn't just take them for nothing?"

"You're our proteges," Fred and George sighed, "Wouldn't be right, plus we do well enough, one swamp won't be missed."

"Thanks you two," Harry said with a nod, "We'll make it up to you. Now I just need to figure out how to get Malfoy alone."

"Ah," Fred said with glee, "We thought that might be something that could be a challenge."

"Which is why," George said pulling out a piece of folded parchment from his bag, "We've brought you this."

"A folded piece of paper?" Michael asked in confusion.

"The Marauder's Map," Harry said in astonishment.

"How did you know?" The twins asked surprise and disbelief filling his face.

"Prongs," Harry said with a grin, "That's my dad."

Instantly, both Fred and George bowed deeply, their heads slamming against the table as the spoke, "We are not worthy."

"Alright," Corner spoke, "I'm super lost, what's happening? And what's so important about the Marauder's Map?"

"Let me show you," Harry said with a grin as he took the folded parchment from the twins and placed his wand to it, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Instantly as told to him by both Remus and Sirius, the paper began to unfold, and from it, the entirety of Hogwarts appeared on a detailed map, with various trails of footprints and the names associated with them.

"This is-," Corner spoke in disbelief.

"Hogwarts," Fred finished.

"With every passageway, person, and almost every hidden room detailed," George said.

"Except for Professor Lupin," Fred said with a shrug.

"Not sure why, but the map doesn't show him, even when we know he's in class," George finished.

"Strange it is," Fred and George spoke together, "But it works for everyone else?"

"Who are Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs?" Michael asked looking down at the map.

"Prongs was my dad," Harry said proudly, "I read his journal, apparently he was an animagus, a stag, and his friends nicknamed him Prongs," Harry then forced himself to act dumb, "Never talked about a Padfoot, Moony, or Wormtail in his journal though, mostly just notes on my mom."

"Oh," Michael said with a grin, "So he was just as obsessed about one girl as you are then, makes sense."

"Like father, like son, I guess," Harry said with a grin, though his heart was laced with contempt as he looked down at the word Wormtail, he hadn't forgotten about the rat, one day, he'd make Pettigrew pay.

"We should have some nicknames though," Michael said with a grin, "It would be like special forces."

"They were named after their animagus forms I believe," Harry said with a shrug, "We're not animagi."

"Doesn't mean we can't learn," Michael said with some excitement before Harry brought him back to the situation at hand.

"We'll think about codenames after we finish this with Malfoy," Harry said with a serious tone before turning to Fred and George, "Are you two sure I can have this, finders keepers and all that?"

"Hey," Fred said, "As for as I can tell, the map belongs to you anyway."

"Plus," George finished, "We already know the castle like the back of our hands. Time to ring in the new guard."

"Thanks you two," Harry said honestly, "I mean it."

"Use it well Potter," The twins said with a grin, "Get Malfoy good for us."

"Will do," Harry said firmly, "I promise."

(Harry P.O.V)

"Potter," Daphne spoke hastily, "Potter. Hello, Flyboy, are you awake?"

"Huh," Harry said rubbing his eyes, "Sorry Princess, did you say something?"

"Look, I know you're a little torn in your concentration and all with what happened to Neville, but I really need you to focus right now," Daphne said calmly, "Babbling made us partners for the Runes project and I'm not going to get a bad grade because you're too busy daydreaming."

"Sorry," Harry said, "I'll try to stay focused, what are we working on?"

"Fire resistance," Daphne spoke, "Somehow we need to apply a set of runes that will allow a sack of ice to keep its shape after being exposed to Babbling's fire spells. In other words, we need a fire and heat repellent rune chain.

"So what do we have so far?" Harry asked yawning from his restless sleep.

"Come over here and I'll show you," Daphne said waving him over.

Harry smiled as he placed his chin atop Daphne's head, using his taller form, to complement hers as she sat the two looking down at the notes, though Harry's senses were currently being overloaded by the fresh lemony-scent of the Princess's hair. Daphne tilted her head back as with an extremely forced glare, she spoke, "You comfortable up there?"

Harry looked down into the girl's icy-blue eyes, their lips so painfully close as Harry smiled, "Extremely so."

Daphne rolled her eyes before looking back down at her notes allowing Harry's head to regain its former positioning as he too began scrolling the blonde's notes, "Okay, so I managed to get the sack to not catch on fire with these runes, but the heat still permeated through leaving the ice a puddle of water last time I tried it. However, if I overdo it and add a freezing charm to the sack, the fire simply burns through it, not knowing which rune to activate first."

"Hmm," Harry said looking down at the bag, "What about the inside of the sack, did we apply any runes there?"

"That's," Daphne started in a rant-like format possibly expecting him to have said something dumb before she smacked her forehead, "Of course, I have so much more area to work with than just the outside."

"Yeah," Harry said with a grin, "We focus the outside of the sack of fire and heat resistance so the bag doesn't melt apart, and then on the inside, we add an almost overkill amount of freezing and cooling runes to keep the ice solid."

"Look at that," Daphne said as Harry smiled seeing her eyes once more, "It seems like your not just a pretty face after all."

"I prefer devilishly-handsome," Harry said with a smirk.

"Whatever, Flyboy," Daphne said with a chuckle before returning to her parchment to continue the notes, "You get one good idea and you get all cocky."

"This makes it at least two," Harry said with mock defensiveness.

"What's the first?" Daphne said curiously.

"I chose you to be the girl I desperately try to convince to go out with me," Harry said brightly.

"Okay," Daphne said with a grin, "Two good ideas, though one is still a work in progress."

"This could be so much easier if you just admitted you liked me," Harry said with a chuckle.

"Perhaps," Daphne said with a shrug, "But I'm not a particularly big fan of doing things the easy way."

Harry smiled down at the blonde who had for a moment taken his mind off the gameplan he and Michael had constructed for tonight, however, his distraction had ended as from the corner of his eye, Michael walked into the empty classroom where the two had shared their quiet moment instantly freezing as he spoke, "Sorry, am I interrupting?"

"No," Daphne said as she collected her things, "It's getting late and we're just about done here. He's all yours."

As Harry watched the Princess leave the empty class, his smile turned cold as he turned to Michael before he nodded, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Michael said with a sigh, "Let's try not to get caught, as much as I'm for this, I'd rather not get expelled."

Harry nodded pulling out two crafted masks made of a black cloak with eyeslits charmed to change their eye color, especially from Harry's recognizable emerald green. "Do you have the map?"

Michael nodded, "You've got the cloak?"

"Yeah," Harry said with a sigh, "Let's start Phase II."

(Michael P.O.V)

The invisibility cloak that he and Harry were currently hidden under was a lot larger than he had originally expected, and that was lucky for them, as stealth was a key component of pulling off this 'prank'. As Neville recovered in the hospital wing, Hermione so racked with guilt she didn't leave his side for anything other than class, he and Harry had created a masterful plan that was certainly like no other prank before, this one had stakes much higher than detention, and this one was for vengeance.

With the fear perfume locked within Michael's bookbag, and the willingness of Kreacher, a house-elf Michael had learned Harry had gained through his magical inheritance upon his return to the wizarding world, there were only two more things the boys needed to collect, the first of which lay dormant in the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom.

It was late, and with many teachers currently enjoying dinner, there weren't many people roaming the hall. However, knowing the stakes of their mission, Michael remained vigilant, one slip up could mean his expulsion, and while Harry and he had planned every aspect of their 'prank' religiously, Michael knew better than to get complacent. Soon, however, their trek down the serpentine corridor had been completed successfully, and now the two boys stood before Professor Lupin's class, Harry reached for the door handle, but the wooden door was sealed shut. Slowly, Harry reached for his wand before Michael stopped him, "No magic from us, keep it covert, do you have your penknife?"

Harry nodded slipping the blade from his back pocket, and better than with the spell, the door swung open without a sound. He turned to look at Harry, a pleased grin on their faces as the huddled into the DADA classroom, closing the door behind them. Still under the protection of the cloak, he and Harry began scanning the classroom feverishly, but it became clear that what they were looking for wasn't in the ground-level of the class, "His office?" Michael asked with a shrug.

"Worth a shot," Harry responded as the two crept ever so slowly up the stairs reaching Professor Lupin's office. Michael watched as Harry shoved the penknife into the lock of the DADA teacher's door, and though it took a bit more wiggling, the office door too swung open.

This time, however, their feverish search lasted only seconds as their objective was quickly found, tucked just behind the desk was the monstrosity they were looking for, the boggart chest. "Kreacher," Michael heard Harry whisper, and with a quiet pop, the elderly elf appeared at Harry's side.

"How can Kreacher assist the heir of-,"

"Shh," Harry whispered though in a kind manner, "Quiet Kreacher." Kreacher nodded as he awaited his orders, "Kreacher, this chest, can you transport it to the shrieking shack, just off the edge of Hogsmeade?"

Kreacher nodded before Harry stopped him, "One more thing," Harry said as Michael watched him draw out a portable swamp from his bag, "Set this off in the shack and then wait for my call again, remember we want this as quietly as possible."

With another silent nod, Kreacher took the portable swamp pack and the large chest before vanishing with a pop. Michael then turned to Harry as he took the black mask from his best friend, "Alright, now all that's left to do is grab Malfoy."

"Here goes nothing," Harry said with a sigh, before both he and the Boy-Who-Lived, secretly crept out from the Defense Against The Dark Arts Classroom, and into a quiet corridor right next to the corner that led to the restrooms nearest the Great Hall, and then, with great patience, they waited for Astoria to do her part.

Astoria had agreed to help Michael and Harry get back at Malfoy in any way they could, not just because Malfoy had been a prick to her sister, but because Harry and Astoria were practically siblings, and seeing the anger Harry currently felt, Astoria had felt she needed to do something. And do something she did, as it hadn't taken long before Michael saw Draco clutching his stomach rushing out of the great hall.

Fred and George had given Astoria a bottle of a new product pleasantly called U. No. Poo, a product that looked like simple beans and also dissolved in water. Her task was simple, have Draco ingest some, and due to her sister's seating at the Slytherin table, it wouldn't cause much suspicion if Astoria happened to sit there as well. Needless to say, Astoria's execution had been done brilliantly as with haste, and a face paler than snow, Draco was sprinting right towards them, desperately trying for a relief that wouldn't come.

But constipation was not nearly as severe of a punishment for the 'prince of Slytherin' and just before Draco had reached the restroom door, Michael rushed Draco pinning the blonde to the ground under an invisible force as Harry, protected under the silencing charm, summoned Kreacher, before, with a pop, the three boys vanished from the Hogwarts Grounds.

(Harry P.O.V)

He, Michael and Draco had all apparated towards the shrieking shack, and while Harry and Michael with the help of Kreacher had landed in a platform safely above the swamp near the Boggart trunk, Draco had landed face first in the swamp with a thud. Harry and Michael removed the invisibility cloak handing it for Kreacher to hide under as their masks and all-black uniform hid their identity.

"Who are you?" Draco spat, trying and failing to climb out of the swamp, "When my father hears about-"

"Shut up," Michael spoke, and Harry smirked that not only had his friend's eyes changing charm been a complete success, the voice modulation one had done wonders as well, "Your father has no power here. Your fate is in our hands."

"What do you want?" Draco said desperately trying to remove himself for the swamp, but even access to his wand was being restrained by the Weasley's invention, "Money, do you want money? My family has money?"

"No," Harry said as he approached the frightened snake, lifting the 'fear perfume' and spraying it on the isolated snake, "We want to hear you scream."

And scream he did as what Harry could only imagine was a 'fear toxin' like effect from the Batman Comics he read when he was younger took their effects on Draco. Against all hope, Draco tried to swim out of the swamp, but the thick filling of the liquid wouldn't let him move, "Please!" Draco shouted in fear, "Please don't hurt me! Leave me alone! I didn't do anything to you!"

"The Longbottoms are a very wealthy family," Harry spoke, "With Powerful Friends. We've heard about your attack on the Heir, we don't appreciate disturbances to our business partners."

"I didn't m-mean t-to," Draco said now stuttering with fear, "It w-was an a-accident."

"That isn't what we heard from our agency," Harry spoke, practicing their rehearsed story, "Frank and Alice Longbottom saved my life during the first war," Harry lied, knowing Draco's mind was far beyond the ability to recognize his age, "Any aggressions on their son is in direct conflict with my life-debt to their family."

"Please!" Draco cried, "Mercy! I Didn't Know! Mercy!"

"Did you show Neville Longbottom mercy when you attacked him without reason," Michael said standing above the swamp. "No," He answered his own question, "You ambushed one, hexed him without mercy, and cowered in fear of retribution. Cowards receive no mercy."

"Please!" Draco said his throat hoarse, "Just let me go! I'll never bother Longbottom again, I promise just don't hurt me!"

"We'll let you go when we're done," Harry said coldly, "Open the trunk."

Instantly from the trunk, the boggart emerged and sensing that Malfoy was the epicenter of the fear, rather than transforming into a dementor or Pennywise from the Stephen King Novel, which Harry knew to be Michael's biggest fear, the boggart took the shape of something strange, but not something unfamiliar to Harry, for Draco, the boggart took the shape of a full moon.

Michael had turned to him in confusion, but Harry simply smiled at the irony, it had made so much sense but had been surprisingly well hidden. The fact that his father always held the board of governor meetings on the days of full-moons which forced Draco's attendance. The fact that Snape kept such a watchful eye on Draco, the fact Draco's aggression spiked when the full-moon drew near. His grin broadened, "You're a werewolf."

"I'm not a werewolf," Draco screamed back, "I'm not! I am a pure-blood wizard, not a disgusting half-breed. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not."

"Then why do you fear the moon?" Harry asked.

"I'm not a werewolf," Draco said, "My father said that when he returns, he'll cure me, he promised he would, he promised."

"Who promised?" Harry spoke now more intrigued than irritated.

"The Dark Lord," Draco spoke with an insane smile, "He may have employed half-breeds under his command, but when the time came he would've eradicated them from the earth and for my father's honorable service, the Dark Lord would cure me."

"To be so foolish to believe the Dark Lord to be capable of causing anything but misery is saddening for you and the idiocy of the Malfoy line." Harry spoke, "Though you have provided me with very fascinating information. So we'll end it here," Harry turned to Michael who shoved the boggart back into the case, "If you ever approach Longbottom again, we'll unleash the fact that the proud Malfoy heir is a filthy half-breed, and your families reputation will crumble. This is the final warning Malfoy, do not cross us again."

With a flick of Harry's wand, Draco was flung out of the swamp landing near Michael atop the second level of the Shrieking Shack. Harry watched with almost a touch of sadness as Malfoy trembled and shook, curled up into a ball maniacally shaking, "I'm not a mutt, I'm not a mutt."

But that sadness was broken as Draco's wand rolled from out of his pocket onto the ground before Michael who snapped it in half beneath his feet, "Whoops," Michael said with fakeness lacing his voice. Before Harry turned to Kreacher.

"Drop him off somewhere on the Hogwarts ground, below the whomping willow is fine," Harry said, "And if you could bring that trunk back, that would be really appreciated." Kreacher nodded before Harry spoke, "Thank you."

Kreacher seemed to smile slightly before bowing, "It is an honor to serve," Before popping away with the trunk and Draco.

Harry and Michael began getting to work cleaning up the shack before Michael whispered, "Do you think he learned his lesson this time."

"If he didn't," Harry said slowly, "I don't think that anything short of killing him will teach him."

The two boys nodded, knowing that killing the Malfoy heir was a line they promised themselves they wouldn't cross, they had to be better than that, but the silence didn't last long before Michael whistled, "Draco being a werewolf though, who would've guessed."

"The world of magic is certainly full of surprises."