James led everyone up the stairs and onto the third floor. They walked into the specified spare classroom. And gaped.

The room was full of people; it seemed as if the whole school was there. !Remus! Lupin and !Severus! Snape stood in front of the class.

When everyone was settled in, !Remus! began speaking. "Before we begin, I'm sorry to say that this dueling club is for sixth and seventh years only. I'm afraid I forgot to ask Professor Dumbledore to announce the fact, so will the lower grades please leave."

There were many disappointed groans as more than half the students in the room walked out. Many were complaining.

"We will begin," !Severus! said, his voice sneering, causing many students to back up in fright. "With the simple Disarming Charm. The incantation is 'Expelliarmus'. I expect most of you know this, and there is no need to show you this spell. Partner up with someone in your own grade and wait for my signal before you begin." Ron was partnered with Hermione, James with Sirius, Remus with Peter, and Lily with Draco. Harry walked up to !Severus! and said, "Professor, I don't have a partner."

"And neither do I," a voice said behind them. Harry whirled around to find Snape standing there, wand in hand, his face impassive.

"Mr. Snape, partner with Mr. Darkice."

Harry soon found himself in front of the younger Snape, wand in hand, waiting for a signal.

"One, two, three, begin!"

"Expelliarmus!" Snape said firmly, but Harry seeing it coming, muttered, "Protegro!" A shield was set up, and the charm bounced back towards Snape. The Slytherin also mumbled the Shield Charm and the spell was sent bouncing back and forth between them.

Behind them, Peter was sent flying as Remus accidentally put too much force into the spell.

After a minute, !Remus! called out, "Enough! Stop!" Students hurriedly picked themselves up and Harry said, "Finite Incantatem!" The shields and the charm disappeared. He looked up and found Snape eyeing him warily.

"That was just a warm up," !Remus! continued. "Next, we will be having some more professional dueling. You may use any of the taught spells, as long as it is not dangerous or illegal. Let's get a volunteer." Looking around, !Remus! smiled and said, "Mr. Harry Darkice and Severus Snape! Please come up."

Harry and Snape both moved slowly up to the platform. They stood on either side.

"First, you bow," !Severus! said, his voice cold. Snape and Harry both lowered their heads slightly. They backed away from each other, wondering who would make the first move.

"Stupefy!" Snape said, his wand raised. A while spell shot towards Harry the same time the Gryffindor yelled, "Tarantallegra!" The two spells met in mid-air, and for some reason, bounced back towards them.

"Protegro!' They both cried, blocking the spells. "Finite Incantatem!' The two spells disappeared.

"Impedimenta!" Harry cried, the spell shooting towards Snape. The Slytherin dodged, but not quite. For a second, the other stood, frozen. Then, he recovered and screamed, "Petrificus Totalus!" Fortunately, the Body-Binding Spell missed.

Snape opened his mouth to say another spell, but Harry raised his wand and yelled, "Silenco!" Snape mouthed something, and a purple spell shot towards Harry. The spell connected, but because it was not actually said, no damage was caused.

Harry knew there was no way he would be able to take Snape down like this. There was only one way. It was to attack the other's mind. "Legilemens!"

Harry was immediately drowned in thoughts that were not his: A young boy screaming, the Dark Mark in the midnight sky, a women beating a crying girl...

"FINITE INCANTATEM!" A voice cried, and the thoughts stopped. Looking up, Harry realized that it was !Severus! who had used the spell. "Enough," he said, his voice so cold that it sent shivers down many's backs. "Well done, Mr. Darkice and Snape. Please go back to your places."

"That was an excellent display of spells and an example of dueling," !Remus! continued as Harry and Snape eached headed back to their places. Lily shot Harry a puzzled look while James and Sirius gave him the thumbs up. Remus looked rather worried.

After practising the Inpediment Jinx and Body Bind several times, it was time to go. "The next meeting will be tomorrow evening, same place, same time." !Remus! called out as the students filed out.

"Come on!" James grabbed Harry's arm. "Let's go!"

"No, I want to talk to Professor Longnight for a minute," Harry replied distractedly. "You go first."

Harry walked up to !Remus!. "Um-- I--" he began uncertainly.

"Harry, it's okay, Severus' explained everything to me," !Remus! said, his voice assuring. "I understand. There's no need to apologize or anything."

Harry shot both !Severus! and !Remus! grateful looks. "Did Dumbledore give you a seven-way mirror?"

!Remus! nodded. "It's not a seven-way mirror anymore; now, it's an eight-way mirror. Albus added another on for Draco. I have one, Severus has one, you, Ron, and Hermione each has one. Albus has another, and the Weasleys have the last one. You can talk to each of us anytime."

Harry nodded his thanks and left.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry got back to the Gryffindor Comon Room only to be jumped on by Sirius. "Did you get in trouble?" he asked.

"No, of course not! Why would I?"

Sirius just shrugged. "Teachers have strange ideas sometimes."

Harry glared at him. "They are not just any teachers. They are my father and friend."

"Oops, sorry, I forgot."

"No problem."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Draco watched as James and Sirius began planning their newest joke.

"Who are you playing it on?" Ron asked.

"One of the Slytherins. Maybe Snape or Malfoy."

Harry felt Draco stiffen beside him. "No," he said firmly. "Believe me, that won't work. How about Lestrange, Parkinson, Crabbe, or Goyle?"

"How did you know them?" Remus asked, surprised.

"Dumbledore went over some names for me," Harry replied, not hesitating at all.

"We want to turn their faces scarlet and gold for two days." James said. "But I can't seem to find the proper potion."

"I've got an idea," Harry said, grinning, as he remembered the box of practical jokes Fred and George had given him to try out. "I have a potion that makes someone say "Gryffindors Rule, Slytherins Drool" every half and hour for one day."

"Whoa, that's great!" Sirius said enthusiastically. "Let's get some now and sneak it down into the kitchen so the potion ought to start working when the Slytherins eat tomorrow morning."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry settled into bed with a sigh. They had just come back from the kitchen after sneaking the potion he had recieved from the Weasley twins into the breakfast of Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, and Lestrange. He closed his eyes and sighed. Today had been a long day. He closed his eyes as darkness claimed him.