“Sooo… did anybody ever figure out what’s behind the three-headed dog?” Theo asked one day when the Slythindors were hanging out in the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione frowned. “No. It’s like Nicolas Flamel doesn’t even exist.”

“Or he’s just not famous enough to show up in a book,” Blaise said, shrugging.

Hermione’s face brightened. “That could be it!” Apparently having the information simply not available was preferable to simply not being able to find it, for her.

“He’s important enough that Hagrid was hiding something, though,” Harry pointed out thoughtfully. “And didn’t you say you recognized the name?”

“One way to find out,” Blaise said, smiling crookedly.

“Oh?” Harry asked politely, “and that would be-?”

“It’s easy,” Blaise said, still smiling. “We go down the trapdoor where the dog is, find what he’s guarding, and then go from there, if we still care.”

“AWESOME!” Theo enthused. “I'm in!”

Hermione’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Are you crazy? Easy?!”

“Alright, maybe not,” Blaise admitted, grinning recklessly. “But Hermione, I’m surprised at you. I thought you’d jump at the chance to do a little first-hand research.”

Hermione shot him a glare. “This is the stupidest plan either of you have come up with in the time I’ve known you. And that includes April Fools.”

“Hey, this is Blaise's plan. And April Fools was awesome,” Harry pointed out. “Totally worth it, even for me.”

“And you really think this will be worth it, too, Harry?” she challenged him.

Three-headed dog? Trying to get to something that Dumbledore is trying to guard? Snape would kill him. I said I’d try to be good. But then that didn’t mean that he always had to do exactly what Snape wanted him to do, did it? He was the man’s…son. His son. And Snape had said that he was his father regardless…So I’m going to take advantage of that? The adventure sounded like fun, but- God, he'll have a heart attack.

“No,” Harry finally said. “Sorry guys, but I won't do that to Snape.”

“No?” Blaise asked him, “come on! It'll be awesome!”

“And dangerous, and stupid, and get me grounded for the rest of my life,” Harry said, surprised that Blaise had challenged him on it.

“Sounds like fun,” Blaise countered. His voice had an edge, and Harry looked up at him sharply.

“What's up with you?” he found himself asking. “You're not usually this reckless.”

Blaise pulled back angrily. “You don't have to come if you don't want to.”

“You think I'm going to stand back and let you get killed?” Harry asked.

“Unless you're going to tell on us,” Blaise countered.

Harry drew back, trying to read Blaise's eyes. What the hell is going on? “Why are you angry?” Harry asked.

“I'm not,” Blaise said, eyes still angry. “You can come with if you want, or not. I'm just saying that I'm going. You don't have to get involved if you don't want to.”

“Like hell I don't!” Harry said. “We're in this shit together, remember?”

“It’s not like the rest of us aren’t going to be in trouble if we get caught,” Theo said. “But we’re good at not getting caught.”

“Funny how our recent record doesn’t reflect that,” Blaise said, abruptly switching off the anger.

“I am never going to forgive you for this, guys,” Hermione said. “I was never this stupid before I got involved with you.”

“Stupidity in the name of research and learning,” Blaise said, more relaxed than before. “Sounds just like you, actually.”

“Hmmph,” Hermione said.

“Well if she’s in, I am,” Ron said.

I’m eleven years old. I’m supposed to get in trouble, Harry reasoned. Trouble was fun. Well…usually. What the hell do I do? It wasn't like he could tell on his friends, after all. He'd never forgive himself. “Yeah, all right,” Harry finally said. “I’m in. If only to keep the rest of you alive.” What the hell was up with Blaise, though?

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Harry moved quietly, opening the medicine cabinet to pull out the sleepy juice. He felt bad, but he was the only one that could possibly get past the wards in Snape’s quarters. My home, Harry reminded himself. Snape seemed determined enough to drill that into him, reminding him every time he referred to them as Snape’s. Harry’s stomach churned guiltily, but he grabbed the bottle and left without incident.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

“Master Harry, sir?” Kallie asked him sleepily from the doorway to the kitchen. “What is you doing here? Is you needing something, sir?”

“Umm…yeah, Kallie,” Harry said, feeling the guilt churn in his stomach again. “Could you get me some raw meat? Like ground beef, maybe?”

Kallie looked at him suspiciously, suddenly much more awake. “Master is up to something,” she said, frowning and putting her hands on her hips.

He never lied to Kallie. “Err…yeah,” he agreed. “You gonna tell Dad?”

Kallie frowned deeper. “I tells Master Snape is better, Master Harry sir. Is safer.”

“But?” Harry asked hopefully.

“But Kallie is not wanting Master Harry to be sad, sir.”

Harry frowned. “I’m not sad.”

“Master is sad when Master Snape is mad,” Kallie explained.

“I won’t get caught,” Harry said confidently. There is a species of flying pig native to Great Britain, after all.

“And Master Snape is mad and sad when Master is getting hurt. Please do not be getting hurt, Master Harry, sir.”

Harry smiled a little. “I’ll do my best, Kallie,” he promised.

“Doing your best is not doing stupid things in the first place, Master Harry, sir,” Kallie said, hands on her hips.

“But then I wouldn’t have any fun, Kallie,” Harry said. “And I’ll be with Blaise and ‘Mione and Theo and Ron. I’ll be fine. Please don’t tell?”

“Hmmph,” Kallie said. “Kallie is not telling. But Kallie is not liking it. Master Harry is being careful, yes?”

“Yes, Kallie,” Harry answered guiltily. Maybe he did lie to Kallie, sometimes. Sort of. I’ll be careful. I’ll just be carefully doing something enormously stupid and dangerous. But then, as Ron had said, how bad could it be? All they had to do was drug a dog and go down a trapdoor. No problem.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

“Ready, Harry?” Blaise whispered. Harry nodded. “Okay three, two…one!” He threw open the door, and Harry threw in the pile of drugged meat.

“How fast does it act?” Ron asked.

“Five minutes?” Harry guessed.

“You don’t know?” Hermione asked him.

“Hey, I just got it,” Harry protested. “Nobody said I was supposed to research it. Research is your job.”

Hermione just rolled her eyes and sighed, as if it was a great imposition to be working with him.

“Shhh,” Blaise cautioned them.

“Nobody’s up here,” Ron pointed out.

“You wanna tell Filch that?” Harry asked.

Ron gulped. “Good point.”

Five minutes later, they eased the door open to find the dog snoring loudly, one big paw blocking the entrance to the trapdoor.

“Great,” Theo said. “We have tamed the savage beast. Now all we have to do is move the giant paw without waking it.”

“That’s all?!” Ron protested. “Are you crazy?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Blaise asked.

“We’re all crazy,” Harry hissed, finding himself just wanting to get this over with. “Now who’s moving the paw?”

Blaise pulled out a coin. “Heads it’s Slytherins, tails, Gryffindors.” The coin showed tails, and Ron and Hermione grimly set to work shoving the paw off the trapdoor. As soon as it was far enough, Blaise opened the trapdoor.

“Doesn’t look deep,” he said. “But there’s something there. I can't quite- Theo!”

“Nothing bad,” Theo said cheerfully from a few feet down. “Just some plant.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, the other four jumped in and away from the giant dog.

“Well that was easy,” Theo commented.

“You don’t think it was a little too easy?” Hermione asked, her voice a little high.

“No, easy is good,” Blaise said conversationally. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I don’t know if the rest of you noticed but this is Devil’s Snare we’re sitting on,” Hermione said matter-of-factly.

“Is it really?” Theo said cheerfully. “Perhaps this all was too easy, then.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, feeling the tendrils underneath him start to move. “What’s it doing?”

“Trying to strangle us,” Blaise said calmly. “Theo’s ‘just some plant’ turns out to be homicidal. It’s got one of my hands, come to think of it.”

“Oh, fuck. Thanks a lot, Theo,” Harry said, feeling one tendril of the plant wrap around his waist.

“Just relax,” Hermione said, relaxing her muscles as the plant wrapped a huge tendril around her legs.

“RELAX?” Ron asked, voice high as he tried to prevent the plant from trapping one of his arms. “You want us to relax? You just said it was trying to strangle us!”

“Blaise!” Hermione protested.

“Hey, I didn’t know he would panic! What works other than relaxing? I don’t think the brave Gryffindor’s going to hold up.” A shriek from Ron confirmed his thinking.

“Umm…” Hermione said. “It was in Herbology…”

“Quickly, Hermione!” Blaise said.

“I’m trying! Umm…Devil’s Snare, Devil’s Snare…likes the dark and the damp…”

“So then it doesn’t like light? Or fire?” Blaise suggested.

“Sunlight or fire,” Hermione said, brightening even as the plant continued to wrap up her legs. “Either one. Sprout said fire works best, but what if I burn one of us?”

“Do you know one for sunlight, then?” Blaise asked patiently, body stiffening as a larger tendril wrapped itself around his chest.

“Err….”

“I got it,” Harry said, remembering his light-ball. Picturing the brightness and warmth of the sun on his skin, he held up one of his hands and concentrated on the air just beyond his fingertips. Light. Sunlight. Like in spring.

In seconds, the room was ablaze in light, and the plant was shrinking frantically away from it, like a giant octopus with far too many tentacles and no head.

All five Slythindors just sat and breathed for a bit, and it was Blaise that finally spoke.

“Hey Theo, you ever heard the phrase, ‘look before you leap’?”

“Nope!” Theo said cheerfully.

Blaise shut his eyes. “Yeah, didn’t figure.”

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

“All yours, Harry,” Blaise said, looking up at the flying keys.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Harry retorted, starting to smile a little. This one looked like it could be fun. He knew he would regret this adventure, before long, but for the moment-

“They’re all going to try to eat you,” Blaise said.

“Probably,” Harry agreed. “Wish me luck!” Grabbing a broomstick, he hauled himself onto the broom before kicking off into the air.

Yup, trying to eat me, he thought, whizzing away as all of the keys immediately headed for him. They hurt when they collided, too, but it wasn’t the first time Harry’d played Quiddich in unpleasant conditions, and soon he’d caught the key and thrown it to Ron. Ron handed it quickly to Blaise, who unlocked and opened the door just as Harry came around again, pursued by all the keys. He flew straight through, and breathed out in relief as he heard the door slam behind him.

Breathing hard, he landed by his friends.

“Three down, who-knows-how-many to go,” Theo announced cheerfully.

“You guys…think this may’ve been a bad idea?” Hermione tried tentatively.

Harry was still panting, but Theo answered cheerfully. “Got a plan for climbing back through?” he asked her.

“Not really,” Hermione admitted.

“Well, then, it was a fabulous idea,” Theo said. “Let’s keep going!”

“You have a happy nature,” Ron said, looking slightly green as he surveyed the room in front of them.

“What’s wrong?” Harry asked him.

“Chess,” Ron said horribly. “Wizard’s chess.”

Looking out at the room with him, Harry realized Ron was right – they were standing in front of a giant chessboard.

“Ideas, Ron?” Blaise asked.

“ME?!” Ron asked, horrified. “What about you? You play, too!”

“Yeah, but you’re better than me,” Blaise said.

“I am not!”

“And you win every time because…?”

“I cheat, obviously,” Ron said.

Blaise scoffed and put his nose in the air. “There’s no way you cheat,” he said. “I would notice.”

“Well then you let me win!” Ron argued.

Blaise just gave him a look, and Ron gave in. “Fine. Well, obviously we’ve got to play the game,” he said. “But- we’ll get taken, and then-“ he trailed off.

Blaise shook his head. “Nope. We’ll be fine. We just have to choose which pieces to play.”

Ron looked at him and blinked. “Oh, yeah,” he said. “Wouldn’t’ve thought of that.”

“Slytherin,” Blaise pointed out.

“I don’t get it,” Hermione said. “Why does it matter which pieces we play?”

“Central pawns nearly always get taken,” Blaise explained. “And knights and bishops, frequently, too. We should be the pieces that don’t get taken as often – the Queen, King, and – hmm…” he trailed off, thinking.

“Castles,” Ron said. “Or maybe other pawns, but I think castles are probably best.”

“There are five of us, though,” Harry pointed out, finally getting into their reasoning. “Somebody’ll have to be something else.”

“Queenside rook's pawn, maybe,” Ron said thoughtfully.

“Do we have to all be pieces?” Theo asked. “What if just one of us plays the King? Then we won’t lose anybody, unless we lose the whole game, right?”

Ron and Blaise stared at him. “Right,” Blaise finally said, sounding surprised.

“Brilliant,” Ron said, smiling. “So, who’s the King?”

“I am,” Blaise said immediately. “We’ll get in least trouble if I’m hurt, rather than any of you.”

Harry stared at him for a second, and remembered Halloween. Blaise had only gotten in any trouble at all because Snape had been mad.

“Your folks really won’t be mad about this?” Ron asked.

“Nope, not at all,” Blaise said, a strange darkness in his eyes. Then he smiled, and the look was gone. “They’ll probably see it as good training, or something.”

“Bloody hell,” Ron said. “I wish I’d get off that easy!”

“Yeah,” Blaise said, still grinning. “I get to do crazy shit like this and not get in trouble. Long as the rest of you don’t get hurt, anyway.”

Troubled, but unsure why, Harry met Blaise’s eyes, and the other boy’s smile faded. “It’s all right,” Blaise said. “Truly. I’ll explain later.” When Harry just frowned deeper, Blaise turned away from him and took the place of the black king.

“Don’t lose,” he told Ron.

Ron nodded nervously.

White moved pawn E4, and the game began.

If we lose, Blaise dies, Harry thought, mouth dry. Fuck. What are we even doing here?

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

“Four down…” Hermione started.

“…who-knows-how-many-to-go,” Ron said, grinning triumphantly. “Next one’s yours, Blaise. You’re slacking.”

“Oh, yeah, slacking,” Blaise said. “Nevermind the whole offering up my life back there.”

“Oh, come on,” Ron said, still grinning. “It wasn’t like I was going to lose.” When everybody glared at him, he flushed. “Well not with you at stake, anyway,” he said.

Blaise grinned. “Good to know.”

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

“Oh yey,” Theo said, voice shaking just a touch. “More trolls. I like trolls.”

“Glad you do,” Blaise said, looking sick as the lumbering being turned towards them. “I find I'm not much of a fan.”

“But we made such good friends with the last one,” Hermione contributed, backing along the wall towards the other end of the room.

“We're dead,” Harry said, following her. “If the troll doesn't kill us, Dad definitely will. What the hell are we doing?”

“You called him Dad!” Theo exclaimed happily. His call drew the attention of the troll, who raised his club deceptively slowly.

“Theo, move!” Blaise yelled as the club came down. He needn't have bothered, though – Theo moved just in time, and then they were all behind the troll and casting at once.

“Wingardium Leviosa!” Ron called, ripping the club from the troll's grasp. The troll looked up at the flying club, and reached for it again. Harry grabbed the club in imaginary hands and lifted it higher. The troll looked confused.

“Good thing these things are so dumb,” Theo commented just before diving again as the troll abandoned his club and made a swipe at him with his hands.

“Over here!” Hermione called, waving her arms in the air. The troll abandoned Theo to head towards her.

The club was heavy. Hold, hold, hold, Harry chanted in his head.

“Harry!” Blaise shouted, getting his attention. “Would you kill it already!”

“I thought you were going to!” he shouted back. The club dipped a foot as his attention wavered.

“I killed it last time, and you've already got his club! It's your turn, Dumbass!”

“Dumbass, yourself! You're the one that brought us here!” Harry called, gripping the heavy club again and swiping it clumsily towards the troll's head. He missed.

“Sectum sempra!” Blaise cast quickly. A gash opened on the troll's arm, raising a bellow. The troll started heading for him.

Sweating, Harry swung again with the massive club, managing to clip the side of the troll's head with it.

Fuck, not hard enough, he thought. He tried to lift it again, but then the troll grabbed hold of it, and he found he couldn't tug it free.

“Blaise!” he shouted.

“Sectum sempra!” This time the gash opened in the side of the trolls neck, and blood sprayed.

“Well done, Hermione!” Blaise said, jubilant as the troll started to sway.

Hermione cast Sectum Sempra? Harry thought.

“It's not dead yet!” Ron shouted.

“Nobody get trapped under it!” Theo said urgently.

Distracted by its own injury, the troll just stood stupidly for a second before falling to its knees, and then to the floor.

“Five down, who-knows-how-many to go,” Harry said wearily.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

“Woah!” Harry heard Ron say, startled as the flames roared up behind him. “Great. Now we really can't go back.”

“Hold on,” Hermione said. “Look at the riddle. One of the potions will let you go back.”

“This one's yours, Hermione,” Blaise said. “I don't do logic puzzles.”

“Alright,” Hermione agreed readily. “But be quiet and let me think.”

They all shut up, slumping to the floor against the wall to rest, and soon enough they heard a shout.

“I've got it!” Hermione said excitedly. “Whoever's going forward needs to drink this one.” She
pointed to an unremarkable looking potions bottle. “And we can get back through using this one here.” She pointed again.

“And it looks like there's only enough for two of us to go the rest of the way through,” Blaise said. “And only two back.”

“So, what're we going to do, abandon somebody in here?” Ron asked.

“Not happening!” Harry said urgently.

“Definitely,” Hermione said. “Three'll have to wait in here, then.”

Blaise shrugged. “Alright. So who's going?”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “You and Harry, obviously. It was your idea.”

“Definitely Blaise,” Harry agreed. “He came up with this plan.”

“And you,” Blaise told him. “You're the one whose ass is on the line for this.”

“Like Theo's isn't?” Harry asked. “You know the first thing Snape'll do is call parents.”

Blaise blanched unexpectedly. What'd I say? Harry wondered.

“I thought your parents didn't care, last time?” he asked. “What's up, now?”

Once again, Blaise's expression smoothed out. “Nothing,” he said. “They still won't care.”

This time Harry wasn't fooled, and as the other three continued to discuss options, he turned to meet Blaise's eyes and asked more quietly, “You sure, man?”

“I'm sure. Back off,” Blaise told him, parroting back the phrase Harry had used so frequently.

Harry held his gaze for a moment before finally looking away. “Okay,” he said quietly. “It's only fair, I guess.”

“We won't get caught anyway,” Blaise said. “It's the middle of the night. If nobody caught us going in, they're not going to catch us, now.”

“Sure,” Harry said. He didn't bother to repeat what they all knew – they always got caught, somehow. Except when I went into the Forbidden Forest, he reminded himself. He'd even left the castle grounds, and still not been caught. This could be like that.

“We're agreed,” Hermione told them suddenly, looking up from her conversation with Theo and Ron. “You two, go.”

“What about you?” Blaise asked her. “You're the one that was researching this in the first place.”

“With all of the rest of you, and you and Theo and Ron did the chess, and Harry took care of the dog and the keys, and you and Harry and I dealt with the plant, and we all fought the troll!” Hermione said. “It was a group effort, and you'll be way more useful if there's a problem later than I will.”

“You think I'm better in a duel than you, 'mione?” Blaise said. “That's not strictly-”

“Go!” Hermione insisted. “You can do me a favor later, just go before the night's over!”

“Go, Blaise.” Harry said, just wanting to end the argument and get out as soon as possible. “You and Hermione. I'm not interested.”

“You don't want to know what it is?” Blaise asked. “It's got to be something cool, or it wouldn't have all these protections.

Harry smiled wanly. Why is Blaise so danger-happy, all of a sudden? he wondered. “It's fine,” he said. “You two can tell me all about it.”

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

“Well this is...anticlimactic,” Hermione said, holding a piece of shiny rock in her hand. “What is this thing?”

“Pretty rock,” Blaise commented.

“Very expensive, unique, pretty rock,” a silky, overly-calm voice said out of nowhere. “The only one of its kind in the world, in fact. Maybe even worth the trouble you went to to get it, if you knew what it was.”

Oh, fuck, Blaise thought, turning towards the speaker. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape were standing right on the opposite side of the room.

“I apologize, Severus,” Dumbledore said. “It seems you were correct.” He turned to Blaise and Hermione. “Your friends are in the other chamber, I believe?” he asked them.

“Uh...yeah,” Blaise said, looking directly at Snape, who met his gaze coldly. “There was only enough potion-”

“For two,” Dumbledore finished for him. “Of course. And you wouldn't leave one behind.”

“Harry's fine,” Blaise said urgently. “We all are.”

Snape nodded, but his facial expression didn't change.

Harry didn't want to go, Blaise remembered with a pang of guilt. He'd made him. Fuck, what am I doing? “Harry didn't want to come, sir,” he heard himself saying. “It was my fault.”

Once again, Snape just nodded shortly, barely seeming to have heard him.

“Minerva, would you bring Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasely to the hospital wing? I will accompany Mr. Zabini and Mr. Nott myself. Severus-”

“I will take my son, thank you,” Snape said, slightly emphasizing the word son.

“He really didn't want to go, sir,” Blaise tried again.

“And yet he did, Mr. Zabini,” Snape finally answered.

His blank tone put Blaise in a mild panic. “Because I was going, and he didn't want to let me go alone!” he protested. “You told me before that I could be responsible for others' actions, why not now?”

“I am not going to harm Harry, Zabini,” Snape finally told him. “I would worry about yourself, at the moment.”

Shit, Blaise remembered suddenly. If Snape floo called his uncle- he won't, Blaise told himself. He knows they won't care, so he won't bother.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>