The Potter Twins Series

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟝:

        As the class bell rings, a group of first years rise. "Now don't forget to look over the chapter on antidotes. I'll be poisoning one of you next time we meet.... I'm joking! Off you go! Don't forget your rattails, Miss Alys." Slughorn spoke as he smiles. The first years scurries out, Harry is revealed, waiting just outside the door. He enters the room, for a moment, Slughorn merely hums over his briefcase, unaware. "Ah! If isn't the Prince of Potions himself! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Slughorn spoke.

"Well, sir... I wondered if I might ask you something." Harry questioned Slughorn. "Ask away, my dear boy, ask away!" Slughorn exclaims with a smile. "Well, you see... The other day I was in the Restricted section, in the library, and I stumbled upon something rather odd while reading. Something about a bit of rare magic." Harry spoke. "Yes? And exactly what was this rare magic." Slughorn spoke, telling him to continue on without saying it. "I'm not sure... That is, I don't recall the name, exactly. But it got me wondering... Are there some kinds of magic you're not allowed to teach?" Harry questions. Slughorn looks up at Harry, eyeing him carefully. "I'm a Potions Professor, Harry. Perhaps your question would best be posed to Professor Snape." Slughorn told him. "Yes, well, we don't exactly see eye-to-eye, sir. What I mean to say is, he's not like you. He might... misunderstand." Harry told Slughorn. Recognition flickers in Slughorn's eyes for a moment, a glint of fear.

"There can be no light without the dark. And so it is with magic. Myself, I have always strived to live within the light. I suggest you do the same." Slughorn suggests, gathering his briefcase, starting to leave the room. "Did you say the same to Tom Riddle, sir? When he came asking questions." Harry spoke, Slughorn froze in the doorway, before slowly turning to face him.

"Dumbledore put you up to this. Didn't he? Didn't he!"

"Sir..." Slughorn silences him with an upraised hand, Slughorn quickly left the room.

Hermione does her homework while Harry peers at the Marauder's Map. "Did you actually expect you could just walk up to Ol' Sluggy and ask him to reveal his deepest, darkest secret? Honestly, Harry, sometimes I think the Daily Prophet should call you the Dim one." Hermione spoke, her tone was normal... some sass though. "Nice." Harry said. Hermione rose up, "You're going to have to persuade him somehow. And now, I'm afraid, you've made it a lot harder." Hermione spoke. "Hermione... I think Malfoy's leaving the castle." Harry said. Hermione stops dead in her tracks, looking back at Harry. He nods, "I've seen it. Sometimes... Sometimes he just disappears off the Map." Harry spoke. "That's... not possible. No one can leave the castle these days. The Map is wrong." Hermione told him. "The map is never wrong." Harry tells her. Hermione frowns, thinking before shaking her head, turning away.

Harry spoons soup into his mouth as he reads a spell inside the book. Ron absently twirls his wand as he eyes Lavender. Hermione frowns over the Prophet when a snowflake falls upon her nose. "Ron. Stop. You're making it snow." Hermione spoke. "Huh?" Ron questions, looking up to see it was snowing... Only over the trio. Hermione places her hand atop his wand, he blinks. "Tell me again how I broke up with Lavender?" Ron asked. Harry pauses on his soup, exchanging glances with Hermione, who carefully withdraws her hand from Ron's. "Um... Well, she came to visit you in the hospital, you see, and you talked... I don't believe it was a long conversation-"

"Don't get me wrong. I'm bloody thrilled to be shot of her. It's just she seems... a bit put out." Ron spoke. The three of them glance over at Lavender, who reward them with a lethal squint. "Does, doesn't she? And you say you don't remember a thing from that night? Not one thing?" Hermione questions. At the back of the Hall, a group of girls surrounds a new arrival. "That's Katie. That's Katie Bell." Hermione spoke. Katie, still pale but smiling, greets the others. After a moment, she looks up seeing Harry there. Lilac glanced over towards Katie and Harry, Draco still gone for now. "How are you, Katie?" Harry questioned. "Give me a moment, girls." Katie spoke, the girls drift off. Harry watches them go, curious. "I know you're going to ask, Harry. But I don't know who cursed me. I've tried to remember. Honestly... But.. I just... can't." Katie's eyes shift, she goes ashen. Harry turns, following her gaze to find Lilac talking with Draco. They seem to be looking towards Katie. Katie backs away, retreating to the other girls. Harry watches her go, the looks back to see Draco fleeing the Hall. Harry follows suit, Lilac huffs before they follow her brother and boyfriend.

Draco lurches to the mirror, steadies himself against the sink, before he starts to cry. In the mirror, the bathroom door eases open to show Harry. He stops, too stunned to speak. Draco's eyes shift, horrified to be exposed... to risk Lilac's mission... Everything. He wheels, pointing his wand. The lamp next to Harry's head shatters. Flames spider up towards the ceiling. Harry draws his own wand, firing back to Draco. The sink behind him explodes, water rains down. "Crui!-" Draco yelled out but before Draco could finish, Harry yelled out, "Sectumsempra!" Blood spurts from Draco's face, Scarlet slashes ooze through the white of his shirt. He staggers, collapsing onto the floor. Harry glares at his wand in horror, he slushes across the floor towards Draco. "Don't touch me! Don't you dare touch me!" Draco yells. Lilac and Snape bursts through the door, Lilac ahead. She sees Draco on the floor, blood seeping out of him. Lilac pushes Harry away from Draco, she puts his head on her lap. "It's okay, Draco... Hey... It's going to be fine." She whispers. Snape eyes Harry with keen curiosity, kneeling. He traces the tip of his wand over Draco's wounds, mumbling an eerie incantation. "Harry... Leave." Lilac spoke, her voice dangerously low. Harry backs away, reaching the door.

Harry sits numbly, the Potions book in his hand, limply. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sits together, a bit apart. "You have to get rid of it... Today." Ginny spoke, in front of him.

Almost done with this book then it's the last book of this series. It's bittersweet honestly, I remember posting this on Quotev, years back... Honestly thinking nothing of it. It got so much love but I wasn't interested in the ending so I rewrote the book. Now, posting it on both Quotev and here.