Chapter Nine

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The Re-education of Draco Malfoy

Sev sent his young friend a confused look and glanced back and forth between the boy and the letter clutched in its owner's hands.

“ Heather? As in Heather Evans?”

“ Isn't she dead?” Sev asked in bewilderment.

The pair lapsed into silence for a few minutes while Harry regained his composure. Eventually, he took a deep breath and looked at the patiently waiting Potions Master.

“ I-I'm sorry, Sev, I just wasn't expecting to hear from her, at least not this soon. You see, when I left the seventies, I'd sent her to live in the Muggle world, and told her not to contact anyone or return to the wizarding world, as she may be recognised. If she had been caught, it would have raised some awkward questions, and I couldn't let that happen. I thought that when I came back, I could track her down if it was possible. To be honest, I wasn't sure if she was even still alive….”

“ Well, she is, and that's good. Why are you upset by that?”

“ I'm not upset,” Harry said with a frown, “I'm just…surprised…and scared.”

Sev gave him a curious look before asking the obvious.

“ What are you scared of, Harry?”

“ What do you mean? You have family here, and you met your parents….”

Harry started pacing, wringing his hands in an agitated manner and making Sev properly dizzy.

“ It's just weird…I've lost so many people, my parents, my grandparents, `Tea, and Glenadade. Uncle Vernon hated me, Dudley teased me, and Aunt Petunia barely tolerated my presence. Even though I've known family, it's not the same somehow. The Dursleys I knew in my own time, but they despised me. My other family I met in the past, and grew to know them, but I knew that as soon as I got home…I would be alone again.”

“ And the thought that you have someone here that could love you like you deserve is scaring you,” Sev finished.

“ Yes. I mean, I meant to look for her, and my grandparents, but I thought it would take a while, and I could do it on my own terms. Give me the chance to accept the idea, without it being thrust upon me.”

“ What does the letter say? How did she know you were back?”

Harry gained a thoughtful look as be spaced out for a few minutes. After a while, he started to respond.

“ She didn't say how she knew I was back, in fact she didn't say much. Just `Welcome home', `Hope you can come and visit' and `this is where I live'.”

“ Well, that sounds a little impersonal…”

“ That's not what made me upset.”

“ Then what did,” Sev asked gently.

“ She signed it `Love Aunt Heather'.”

The next day, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny finally had a Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. They had heard horror stories from the younger students who had been in Umbridge's class so far, and they all told them the same thing. The woman was a menace. Apparently, she would hear nothing of the Dark Lord's return, supporting Fudge fully in his policy of denying what was right in front of them. The whole Ministry was denying the rising of Voldemort at the end of the previous school year. Umbridge was reiterating that excuse in her lessons, it seemed, and Harry had decided he would not stand for it if she tried it with his class. He had been there; he had seen it with his own eyes and been a vital part of the regeneration ceremony. He even had the scar on his arm to prove it. If he had still been fifteen, he may have tolerated her narrow mindedness, but not now. He had seen too much, experienced too many battles, for a toad faced old witch to contradict him and get away with it. As the four walked towards the classroom, Harry was ranting to Ginny about her.

“ If she tries anything, anything at all, I'll hex her!”

“ Harry! She's a teacher, you can't hex her!”

“ Because you can't! Don't get in trouble because of her, get back at her another way. Be more subtle.”

Harry gave his girlfriend an appraising look and sent her a wry grin.

“ Why Ginny, how positively Slytherin of you.”

The young redhead blushed and wrapped an arm around his waist. Harry smiled at her and slid an arm over her shoulders, pulling her more firmly towards him.

“ Have you heard what the other years have been saying about her, though? Apparently, she won't teach anything useful. The Ministry's idea of Defence Against the Dark Arts is sitting copying out of books all lesson. You're never going to learn anything useful that way. We need to practice spells to perfect them.”

“ I agree. I mean, even if they deny the fact that Voldie's back, they could at least help the students to learn defencive magic in case they ever face a Dark Wizard.”

“ Sorry, an evil wizard.”

The pair fell silent as they reached the door to the DADA classroom. As they entered, they made towards the seats in the middle of the front row, but here halted by a strange noise behind them.

Turning slowly as one, they stared at the creature sitting behind the teacher's desk. She was sending them a sweet, sugary smirk and eyeing their close proximity.

“ If you don't mind, this is a classroom. I don't expect to see open displays of affection. Please part, now,” she simpered.

Harry stared at her in disbelief before sending her a contemptuous glare, removing his arm from Ginny's shoulder and taking her hand firmly, leading her to a desk. They sat in silence as the rest of the class filed in, Fred and George sitting behind them, and Hermione and Ron sitting next to them. Once everyone was present, Umbridge stood up and cleared her throat, beginning her speech.

“ Welcome, everyone, to Defence Against the Dark Arts. This year, we will be covering magical theory, as the Minister believes you have had poor teaching in this area before. Please, take out your books and read page five. I trust you all have your books?”

Everyone nodded slowly.

“ Good. You have ten minutes to read that, and pages seven and eight. After that, I will be quizzing you on the material. Begin.”

Everyone pulled out their books and opened them to the right page. Harry stared down at the book in disbelief. Raising his hand, he waited for Umbridge to acknowledge him. After five minutes of her ignoring him, he started to lose his patience, and cleared his throat loudly. She reluctantly looked his way, as did the rest of the class. With a nod for him to speak, Harry started his rant.

“ With all due respect, Professor, what does exorcising ghosts have to do with Defence Against the Dark Arts?”

She gave him a simpering smile and said sweetly in her high pitched tone.

“ Are you questioning my teaching, Mr. Potter?”

“ Yes, I am,” he said with a frown.

“ And do you think you could do better?”

“ Yes, I do. At least I would teach something useful, like how to defend against Death Eaters.”

“ But Mr. Potter, why would anyone need to know that?”

“ Erm, maybe because they're running around the country killing people,” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Umbridge grinned maliciously.

“ Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter.”

“ What! What for?” he asked angrily.

“ Why, for telling lies of course. There are no Death Eaters running around killing people, the Ministry guarantees that.”

“ Well, your precious Ministry didn't see Voldemort come back did they?” Harry said, his voice steadily rising. Hermione was shooting him warning glances, but he pointedly ignored her.

“ Detention, Mr. Potter, and I ask that you don't speak any more.”

Harry glared at her, stood, gathered his things into his bag, and walked over to the wall. Everyone, bar the time travellers, watched in amazement as he placed his hand on the wall and muttered to himself, a door appearing before him. He tugged it open sharply, and slammed it behind him. Just before the door swung shut, the time travellers and the Weasley twins heard a telepathic message in their heads.

~I'll get her. I don't know how, but Umbridge is going down~

The rest of the week passed relatively easily. Harry's detention was scheduled for the following Monday, and he and Ron were busily plotting revenge, with the help of the Weasley twins, Peeves and Gallatea. They had come up with some rather interesting ideas, and Harry couldn't wait to try them out. The first stage of Operation Umbridge was due to start during Harry's detention, where he would teach her a lesson about insanity. The boy broke out in a grin every time he thought about it. It was set to be the highlight of his week.

The weekend finally arrived, and it was time for the four time travellers to finally take a much needed trip to Diagon Alley. They had managed all week with borrowed books and transfigured robes, but they desperately needed to do some shopping. Hermione wanted to read some modern history books, covering the period after 1976, as they never got to find out much about what happened after they left. They knew the basics about Voldemort's defeat, and the trials of the Death Eaters, but Hermione being Hermione wanted to know as much as she could. Harry also wanted to find some more books about learning Ancient Egyptian. He knew he could just find books in the library at Domus Corvus Corax, but he didn't like removing the books from the castle, and he wanted something to read at night. He had first started learning the language the year before when he saw the prophecy for the first time, but now he was reaching quite an advanced level and found the learning of it quite fun. He was determined to gain fluency before the end of the year.

Saturday morning found all four gathered in the Entrance Hall with Sirius, Remus, the Grangers and the eldest Weasleys. They all wanted to go on the shopping trip, as it would give them a whole day to spend with their children. Sirius was especially eager; as it was the first time he would be out in public since Harry had handed over Peter Pettigrew. The pair was looking forward to spending some quality time together, as they still had a few issues to resolve.

At eleven o'clock, after everyone had arrived, Harry created a door to his room and opened the floo network. One by one, everyone made their way to Domus Corvus Corax, from where they flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. When Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione stepped out of the fireplace, the pub suddenly became silent as the patrons stopped what they were doing and stared at the group. The news of their time travelling adventure hadn't remained secret for long, and the Daily Prophet had run a front page story about it the day after they got back. Much of it was speculation, as none of them had told the students much, but the bare bones of the article were truth. Now, the whole wizarding world knew that the four students were powerful enough to take on anything. As the time travellers looked around the room, they could see awe and respect shining in every pair of eyes. This was tinged slightly with fear as Sirius fell out of the fireplace behind them, brushing himself off and grinning at the gathered crowd.

“ Hiya everyone! What are we all looking at?” he asked cheekily. Harry shot him a pointed glare before walking out the back of the pub without a word and opening the doorway into Diagon Alley.

Their first port of call was Gringotts, where Harry and Ron immediately went up to some goblins and asked for several duplicate keys to be made. Everyone else was confused as they handed out the keys, Harry to Remus, Sirius and Hermione, and Ron to Ginny and his parents. The redhead also pocketed some other keys he had been given, which he was going to send to the rest of the family. Although the four knew what was going on, they didn't tell the adults as they wanted to see the looks on their faces when they saw the vaults. After a long and twisty journey in the cart, they stood in front of two vaults, one next to the other. Harry and Ron gestured Remus and Molly forward, urging them to open a vault each. The pair, and the other adults, nearly had heart attacks when they saw the piles of gold galleons brushing the ceiling. Harry's vault contained less, but was still sizeable.

“ Wh-what's all this?” Molly asked, shaken by the sight of so much money.

“ This is our fortune,” Ron told her, “ Harry and I invented the game of quidditch, and this is a thousand years of royalties and interest.”

Molly promptly fainted, and Sirius looked at his godson.

“ Harry, did you both do the same thing?”

“ Well, why do you have less in your vault than Ron?”

“ Because I've spent more. You know Domus Corvus Corax?”

“ The Order headquarters?” Sirius asked in confusion, not seeing the connection.

“ Yes. I had that built. It's my house.”

Sirius gaped, as did the other adults, and Harry smirked back at them.

“ What? You thought I'd have so much money and not do something useful with it? No, I had Corvus Corax built, and I gave a key to Eustace, my grandfather, so he would have some money after his parents were killed, and I gave Dumbledore a key to use to fund the Order. Did you never wonder where the Order resources came from?”

Remus nodded slowly, “It was you. It was all you.”

“ Yes, it was. I founded the Order, so I thought it best I fund it. I may have less than Ron, but I still have enough to live off comfortably for several centuries.”

“ And why have you given us keys?” Remus asked.

“ Because I want you to help me spend it. I have too much to ever need. In fact, I'm richer by far than the Malfoys.”

Everyone nodded in acceptance and they gathered up pouches full of gold. Molly was revived by Arthur, and helped back into the cart as the boys closed up their vaults.

The trip went well until Harry broke off from the group and started heading to Knockturn Alley. The Weasley parents started to protest, but were silenced by a look from Ginny. Remus sent him a curious look, but chose not to say anything. Sirius, though, grabbed Harry by the arm and spun him around. Harry, though, reacted on pure instinct, throwing his godfather to the ground and kneeling on his chest, pinning him down before anyone could even realise what was happening. Vampire reflexes had their uses. When Harry realised who it was, he sheepishly stood and held out a hand to help his godfather up. Sirius sent him a wary look, but accepted the hand. When he was upright again, he brushed himself off and looked at Harry with a frown.

“ Where do you think you're going?”

“ Knockturn Alley,” came the response in a matter-of-fact voice.

“ No, you're not. That's for Dark Wizards.”

“ I'll fit right in, then,” Harry countered.

“ Don't say that, Harry! You're not evil.”

“ No, I'm not. Sirius, I'm not having this discussion again, especially not here. There are some things I need in Knockturn Alley that I can't get here, and you know I can take care of myself.”

“ Then I'm going with you,” Sirius said stubbornly.

“ Sirius, what do you think the frequenters of Knockturn Alley will do when they see Sirius Black in their midst. Before, when you were an escaped convict, you could get away with it. But now your name has been cleared, you'll be hexed within minutes of entering.”

“ Oh, and Harry Potter won't?!”

“ Of course I wont, if I hide my scar, no-one will recognise me. The Daily Prophet still doesn't have a picture of what I look like now, so without my scar I won't be recognised.”

“ You were recognised in the Leaky Cauldron!”

“ But that was different. Firstly, my scar was plainly visible, secondly, I was with Ron, Hermione and Ginny, making us stand out as a group, and thirdly, people expect to see Harry Potter in the Leaky Cauldron. They don't expect to see me in Knockturn Alley.”

“ I still don't like it,” Sirius said with a pout. Harry sighed deeply and looked the man in the eyes.

“ Siri, you don't have to like it, you just have to accept it. I'm going to Knockturn Alley, and you can't stop me.”

Harry whirled around and headed in the direction of the dark district, moving to the pet shop to get some snake treats.

The next day, Sirius was still upset with Harry for disobeying him the day before. Harry, though, didn't understand how Sirius thought he could control his life. He hadn't been around until Harry's third year, and then he had missed the years the Boy-Who-Lived had been in the past. Harry was a full grown, legal adult now. He had survived on his own so far, and he didn't suddenly need to be coddled.

After lunch, Ginny and Harry were heading out of the Great Hall when a smirking figure stepped in front of them, forcing them to stop. Harry glared at the boy in front of him, knowing that this was a confrontation waiting to happen. He had been expecting it since school started, but he honestly thought it would have happened sooner.

“ What do you want, Malfoy?” he asked in a bored tone. The other boy sneered back.

“ I've come to challenge you to a duel, Potter.”

Harry and Ginny looked at the Slytherin incredulously. A mere fifth year was challenging the Dual Heir to a duel! Harry had to try hard not to laugh.

“ You have got to be kidding, Malfoy! I'll trounce you good and proper!”

“ You shouldn't be so confident, Potter. I have been learning magic a lot longer than you have, and my father taught me a few…tricks.”

“ That's all well and good, but I know far more spells than you.”

“ That remains to be seen.”

By this time, a small crowd was beginning to form around the pair. The rest of the school had also been expecting this to happen, and had been eagerly awaiting a good spectacle. Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers had made their way to the front and were watching carefully in case anything got out of control. Not that they could stop Harry if he decided to do something rash. So far, though, there was no sign of violence. Both boys had noted the presence of the staff, and knew they would have to behave. Malfoy sent Harry a contemptuous smirk, and restated the challenge.

“ Potter, I'm asking you for a duel.”

Harry thought it over and a small, evil grin spread across his face.

“ Harry!” Dumbledore interjected. The boy just smiled at the headmaster.

“ Sir, I believe the Wizarding Law Reformation of 1411 stated that any challenge offered by a witch or wizard aged 14 or above, if accepted by someone of or above that age, would be legally binding. The challenge was offered, I accepted. You cannot interfere, and neither of us can be prosecuted for spells performed if they are included in our mutually agreed rules.”

“ Harry, I'm familiar with the law,” Dumbledore said, a little surprised that Harry knew about it, “ But I must protest…”

“ Professor, you can protest `till the cows come home, it won't make a blind bit of difference. The challenge is accepted, and the duel will take place, with or without your approval.”

The rest of the students had remained quiet throughout the exchange, amazed that anyone would talk to the headmaster in such a way. Despite the fact that he hated Harry, Malfoy seemed to be enjoying the boy putting the teacher in his place. Once Harry had finished speaking to the head of the Order, he turned back to his rival.

“ What rules are we playing by?”

“ Everything goes.”

“ Agreed,” Harry said with a smirk. The rest of the gathered students and teachers gasped, knowing the implications. Any spells or forms of attack could be used. The only rule was that there were no rules. Even Unforgivables were allowed, and if one person was killed, the other was immune from prosecution, as the rules were agreed by both parties. It was a rather flawed loophole in the wizarding legal system, but it was something none of the Ministers had ever gotten around to changing, as most witches and wizards didn't even know about it. Only the well educated and fanatical purebloods.

“ When and were?” Harry asked.

“ The quidditch pitch. Now.”

Harry nodded, and the pair walked out of the door, the entire school following behind them. Once they reached the pitch, they waited for everyone to take to the stands, and Dumbledore the stand up, making sure the proper etiquette was followed. The pair bowed to each other, and moved several paces apart, each taking out his wand and holding it in readiness. Dumbledore cleared his throat and cast a strong shield over the pitch, preventing any stray spells from hitting the students. He then sent up a cloud of sparks, indicating that the combatants could begin.

Malfoy started, sending the strongest curse he could at the Boy-Who-Lived.

“ Avada Kedavra!”

As the green light shot towards Harry, the crown gasped and started screaming. The boy in question just smirked, waiting for the curse to hit him. When it did, with no effect, the noise from the crowd increased and Malfoy gaped at him.

“ You should know better than to try that on me, Malfoy,” Harry said, sending a Jelly Legs Jinx back at the stunned pureblood. Malfoy fell to the floor and Harry started laughing while the other boy reversed the spell. Standing, Draco got a determined light in his eyes, and Harry couldn't help but think, let the games begin.

For a few minutes after that they started sending various Light spells at each other, Malfoy frequently getting hit, and Harry simply countering the ones heading his way with a flick of his hand. Eventually, though, the spells became more powerful, until Malfoy sent another Dark Arts hex in Harry's direction. It was countered the same as the others, but the blond boy had reset the tone of the duel. So far, Harry had merely been playing with the boy after the initial use of the Killing Curse. Now, though, he was prepared to show his rival how much the other boy had misjudged him. He quickly sent a strong, but legal, pain curse towards the fifth year, catching him completely off guard. Once the curse was lifted, Harry paused, giving his victim a chance to recover a little.

“ What was that, Potter?” Malfoy gasped.

“ That was a pain curse.”

“ I know that, Potter, but that was Dark Arts.”

“ B-but you're Harry Potter!”

“ You're the bloody saviour of the wizarding world. The Golden Boy of the Light. You don't know any Dark Arts.”

“ Malfoy, I know more Dark Arts than Voldemort.”

“ That's impossible!”

“ No, it's not. I had a very good teacher.”

“ Salazar Slytherin.”

“ You're lying!”

“ Why would I? Accept it, Malfoy, I'm a Dark Wizard. Not evil, just Dark.”

Malfoy staggered to his feet and started hurling insults at Harry. The older boy soon got tired, and started to mutter to himself in parseltongue. Simbi and Nirah poked their heads out of his sleeves to watch as a ball of energy began to build in their master's hand. Harry had decided to teach Draco Malfoy a lesson, once and for all, and he had the perfect way of doing so. The blond, in his rant, didn't notice the building energy in Harry's hand. The parselmouth tuned back into what his rival was spouting, angered by what he was hearing.

“…and that Weasley girlfriend of yours, I never thought even you would sink that low…”

Harry's blood began to boil, and a faint glow surrounded him as his features shifted and became more vampiric. The ball of magic in his hand grew brighter and stronger as well, catching the Malfoy heir's attention. He trailed off as he saw the seventh year before him, and began to realise that angering him was not a wise thing to do. Before he had the chance to do anything, though, Harry had pulled back his arm and thrown the glowing mass at him. It impacted the boy's chest, spreading through his system and forcing him to his knees.

Harry strode forwards, eyes glowing emerald green and a faint aura still surrounding his body. He picked Malfoy up by the collar and held him off the ground, right in front of his face. The younger boy whimpered when he saw Harry's long incisors.

“ Listen, Malfoy, and listen good. I am sick of your self righteous, pompous, superior attitude. You are no better than anyone else, and you are certainly no better than muggleborns. I have suffered your prejudice long enough. You want to be a Death Eater? To torture and kill Muggles? Well, here's your chance to see what it's like on the receiving end.”

“ Wh-what have you done to me?”

“ Oh, not much. You think Muggles are inferior? Well, now you get the chance to see what it's like for them first hand.”

“ Y-y-you made me a Muggle?!” he screeched.

“ Essentially. You are now unable to perform magic of any kind. See how you like it.”

Harry dropped the other boy at his feet and conjured up a piece of parchment and a quill. While he was writing out a quick letter, Malfoy picked up his wand and pointed it at Harry.

Nothing happened. Harry ignored him, and finished his letter. Malfoy stared in disbelief at his useless wand and tried a few simpler spells. None of them worked. He looked up at the Boy-Who-Lived in dismay.

“ How could you?”

“ It's what you call revenge. Enjoy life as a Muggle.”

That said, he shoved the letter into Malfoy's hand, and the boy disappeared. The crowd started to scream and shout, and Dumbledore made his way down to the pitch. Striding over, he grabbed Harry by the arm and started pulling him towards the castle.

“ Harry, what did you do?”

“ I'm re-educating him.”

“ I took away his magic temporarily and sent him to my aunt.”

“ The letter was a portkey?”

“ Yes. He'll get a taste of Muggle life, and hopefully learn that his father's prejudices are unfounded.”

Dumbledore nodded and led Harry the rest of the way to his office in silence. The headmaster spoke the password and the gargoyle leapt to one side. As soon as the pair entered the moving stairwell, Harry could sense a mind in the office above. Someone was waiting there for them. As Dumbledore pushed open the door and entered the room, he stopped dead when he spotted the occupant of the office. Harry came around from behind the old man and stared. A boy with messy raven black hair and crystal blue eyes was sitting in front of the headmaster's desk. He appeared to be only a couple of years younger than Harry, and had a dazed look on his face. Harry stepped forward, looking into the face that seemed vaguely familiar.

“ Who are you?” he asked.

The boy looked at the seventh year and smiled slightly, speaking in hesitant English.

“ My name is Glenadade Harold Potter.”