Sam was standing in Harry's doorway, stuffing his new school robes down into a new back pack.

"No. Should I?"

Sam nodded. "Take it so we can play. There's a team."

"A Hogwarts Lacrosse team?"

"More of a team at Hogwarts."

Harry gave him a look that clearly said he didn't believe him.

"Really there is," Sam said. "Me, Thomas and Luke... don't give me that look, I converted them. They like to play on brooms but that's against the rules. There's a girl from Hufflepuff in fourth year, and two fifth year Hufflepuff boys, a third year Ravenclaw, and a fourth year Gryffindor. Except for Thomas and Luke, the rest are Muggle born."

"And you all go out and play Lacrosse?" Harry said skeptically. He'd never seen anyone out on the grounds doing it.

"We split into teams and play against each other once a week. Now that I've taught you, you can play too. It can get a little... violent, more so than Quidditch."

"I don't know," Harry said. "Bludgers hit pretty hard."

"There are only two of them. Imagine every player from the opposite team trying to ram into you when you've got the ball."

Harry nodded and put his lacross stick into his trunk.

"The mask too," Sam said. Harry really didn't think he'd need it, but he put it in too.

Harry's trunk was new, as was his backpack since the Dursleys had burned everything of his. In fact, everything Harry had was new. The only thing he had that was old was his wand, Hedwig, who had gone home with Ron at the start of the summer, and his father's old cloak, which he always kept hidden away in his dorm at Hogwarts for fear that Uncle Vernon would destroy it.

Sam helped Harry carry his black trunk down the stairs, where they set it on top of Sam's blue one.

"I can't believe summer's over already," Sam said, moving into the kitchen to make a sandwhich. "And mum's not even here to make us food for the trip."

Harry pulled out plastic bags and began making his own lunch to go. Severus had apparated to Hogwarts the night before to make last minute preparations, and Jo had left for work early that morning after waking Harry and Sam up and telling them to finish packing. Jason would be coming to collect them in less than twenty minutes to take them to the train station. After the wedding Jason had stayed with them for three days, and a few days after Severus and Jo had returned from their honeymoon Harry and Sam had gone to spend another night at the Burrow, where Harry and his friends talked secratively about the sword and what it meant. That was Friday. It was Sunday morning now, and nearing on to nine am. The train would leave at nine thirty.

"Sam! Harry!" The front door opened and closed as Jason called to them.

"In here!" Sam said, slapping a piece of meat and cheese between two slices of bread and stuffing it into a plastic bag. Harry had made three sandwhiches (one for Ron and Ginny also) and they were a little more composed than Sam's, and included lettuce, tomato and mayonayse.

"Come on, your mum will kill me if you miss the train."

"You can always apparate us to Hogwarts," Sam said.

"And explain to Severus that I couldn't get you to the train on time?"

Sam laughed at the look on Jason's face.

"Hurry up."

"Ok ok."

Sam went to the pantry and pulled out three large bags of crisps, which he tossed to Harry, and a paper bag of fizzy drinks.

"Loading up?" Jason asked.

"We've got to travel in style."

With the food stuffed into their backpacks, and Jason carrying the bag of drinks, he apparated them one at a time to platform nine and three quarters with their trunks.

"I promised aunt Jo I'd see you onto the train," he said.

"Yeah yeah," Sam said sarcastically. Harry waited patiently as Jason helped Sam carry his trunk onto the train and then came back out to help him.

"All right. You're on the train. Stay there," Jason said, and Sam nodded. He gave his cousin a salute and Jason apparated away from the platform.

"He seemed a little tense about getting us on the train," Harry commented as he settled into a seat in their compartment. He wondered if Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were already on board.

"I think it's Severus. You know, because he's so strict. Now that he married mum he's Jason's uncle. He doesn't want to get off on the wrong foot with him."

Harry laughed just as the compartment door opened, revealing Ron and Ginny.

"Hermione's in the Prefect's compartment," Ron said. "I've got to go down there too for a couple hours."

"I made you lunch," Harry said.

"Good, because mum's sandwhich got smashed again." Harry helped drag Ron's trunk in and then Ginny's and Ron left in a hurry, leaving Sam, Ginny, and Harry alone again. Ginny sat down next to Harry and immediately took his hand. Harry didn't protest.

"Will Thomas and Luke be joining us?" Ginny asked. The train was going to pull out any minute.

"They usually do." And, a few minutes later, just as the train lurched forward, the compartment door opened again, admitting Sam's friends. Thomas was tall and skinny with short brown hair, and Luke had big muscles and sandy blond hair.

"Heywood," Luke said as he came in with his trunk and levitated it to the rack above Sam's head.

"Bit crowded," Thomas said, eying Harry and Ginny. Had Sam not written to them over the summer about Harry?

"Yeah, didn't know we were riding with Gryffindors," Luke said, giving Harry and Ginny a glare.

"You can shut it any time," Sam said in a joking tone. Thomas and Luke smiled then and Harry relaxed.

"We were only joking," Thomas said, finally sitting down next to Luke and Sam. "We know Harry and Ginny from Quidditch."

Unlike the rivarly between Gryffindor and Slytherin, the Gryffindor team was generally on good terms with the other teams.

"Ron and Hermione will be coming later after the Prefects meeting," Ginny said.

"More Gryffindors?" Luke laughed. "What'd you do this summer Sam? Join the other side?"

"No, I'm just slowly converting them to Ravenclaws."

"I don't think so," Harry laughed. He'd been tense all morning about meeting Sam's friends. He didn't know if they would like him or not. Hermione and the Weasleys had accepted Sam fairly quickly and he was already welcome at the Burrow any time just as Harry was. Harry had grown so accustomed to having Sam around during the summer that he didn't want to be separated from him all year.

As the train rolled away from London, they struck up a conversation about Quidditch brooms and gear, and the conversation soon turned to Lacrosse, which Ginny expressed an interest in and Harry wondered if she really had an interest in it, or if she'd only been instructed by Molly Weasly to pretend. The conversation also turned to Sams new stepfather and the Ravenclaws thought that Sam was going to have an excuse to get away with more things at Hogwarts than he usually did.

"Seriously," said Luke. "He didn't even yell at you or anything for doing a runner. I mean, your mum was mad when she came looking for you at the start of the summer. My parents were away for a few days and she wouldn't believe me that you weren't hiding out somewhere in the woods 'round our house."

"He was mad," Sam said. "He found me and Harry wtih Jason in the Falcon's pitch and I got an earful for days afterwards from both of them."

Around eleven Ron and Hermione came back, and then the compartment really was full. Harry and Sam broke out the crisps and fizzy drinks and Harry handed the two extra sandwiches to Ron and Ginny. As it turned out, Thomas and Luke had each brought something to share too. Luke had the biggest bag of every flavor beans Harry and Ron had ever seen, and Thomas had a bar of never ending chocolate, which he broke into pieces for everyone to eat. By the time the lady with the trolly came to the door, they were all stuffed and feeling sick.

"This is the best train ride ever," Ron commented as the talk turned back to Lacrosse, and Sam tried to tell Ron about the rules.

As the sky grew dark outside and they neared Hogwarts, Harry thought he had to agree with Ron. It had been a good trip. Thomas and Luke seemed like all around good guys, and even Hermione seemed to think so as she struck up a conversation with Thomas about the advanced Rune's class they were both enrolled in this year. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad year after all, Harry thought as the train came to a stop. He could only hope that the sword and the weight that it carried wouldn't be thrust upon him just yet, or at all.

After the feast that night as Harry lay in his four poster in the darkness, Ron said, "Did you hide it?"

Harry didn't have to ask what he was talking about. The sword was on his mind too. The other boys in the room seemed to be asleep, but Harry couldn't take any chances. In any case, he'd been told not to tell anyone where it was, not even Ron. Only Severus, the Headmaster, and himself knew where it was.

"Yes," Harry said.

"Maybe you'll get to kill a basilisk with it," Ron said with a yawn, and Harry heard him roll over.

"Maybe I won't have to do anything with it," he said, and closed his eyes. He hoped it was true.

* * *

"What the-"

Harry looked up at breakfast at Ron's confused words and followed his eyes across the Great Hall to the entrance where several angry and irritated looking Slytherins were comming in, shooting glares at anyone who dared to look their way. Every one of them had black hair and teeth.

Harry laughed out loud and across the hall heard someone else do the same. He turned and saw Sam. After the summer they'd had Harry forgot that they'd set booby traps for Slytherin. One of them was a spell to make anything the water in their bathrooms touch turn black. Apparently all of these Slytherins had run their combs under the water and brushed their teeth this morning. He was surprised there weren't people coming in jet black like the night. Someone must have warned people off of taking showers. People whispered and giggled until a seventh year Slytherin girl came in completely black from head to toe. The only thing that wasn't black was the green line and badge on her robes and the whites of her eyes. She looked murderous, like an angry shadow. The entire hall burst out laughing.

"I'd love to shake hands with whoever pranked them," Ron said, mouth full of toast as he laughed. Harry held out his hand to Ron and Ron laughed harder. "You?"

"Shh," Harry said. "We were at the castle for a while this summer and Sam and I spent some time booby trapping their common room. They should have Hufflepuff banners that won't change back, sticky dorm floors and sticky bedposts, water that turns what it touches black, and..."

"And what?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe I'd better not say."

"Come on, you can't leave us hanging like this."

"Well Sam knew this spell..."

"Go on."

"Every time Draco touches something it'll have the Gryffindor crest on it. Whenever Pansy touches something it'll have the Hufflepuff crest on it. And whenever Milicent Bulstrode touches something it'll have the Ravenclaw crest."

"I've got to learn this spell."

"It's only going to last for a few days," Harry said. There were more laughs and Draco came into the hall wearing a robe that was covered in the Gryffindor crest wherever he'd touched it. There was also an upside down red and gold crest on his cheek and several on his bag. He was wearing black gloves, each of which had the crest in several places.

"Go Go Gryffindor!" a third year Gryffindor Harry didn't know shouted and Draco shot him a murderous look. Harry was too far away to hear if he growled or not.

Snape strode in a moment later and locked eyes with Harry. He strode right over to him and said, "You- office- now." Then he went to where Sam sat at Ravenclaw and presumably said the same thing.

"He knows," Ron said to Harry in a whisper. "Run!"

"I don't think that'll work," Harry said. He grabbed his bag and rose to meet Sam in the entrance where they both followed Snape out and down to his office in the Dungeons.

"I demand to know the counter to all of the enchantments, charms and curses you have placed on Slytherin house."

"What makes you think it was us?" Sam asked. "We were in our own dorms last night."

"And you had free reign of the castle that day that your mother and I were-"

"Yes?" asked Sam as if he were really interested to know.

"The door was double locked," Harry put in, "we couldn't get back into the quarters."

Cheeks tinging a shade of red neither boy had ever seen before on Snape's pale face, he seemed flustered and at a loss of words for the space of five seconds, and then he ran a hand over his face.

"The counters, now."

"Ok ok," Sam said. "The banners will fix themselves by the end of the day probably, it was just a time delayed spell."

"And the water?"

"Same thing, time delayed. It'll probably be gone by lunch, it just depends on how much water runs through the taps."

"What about the misfortunate students who have already fallen prey to your nefarious schemes?"

'Nefarious' Harry mouthed silently as he turned to Sam, wanting to laugh but too afraid to.

"If they wash in regular water it'll come off... mostly. They might be gray for a couple of days."

Severus turned to Harry, who had yet to say anything. "What do you have to say for yourself? What about the sticky floors and house branding?"

"I don't know if there are counter curses for those," Harry said. "Sam did the crests and sticky floor, I did the banners and sinks. We didn't put anything up that would last though. Everything should be done in a couple of days and the house crests will fade when the charm ends."

"Are there any others?"

Both teens shook their heads.

"How fortunate that you are not incorrigible," he said with a smile and Harry's stomach squirmed. He didn't know what that meant but it didn't sound good.

"Yes?" Sam said. He didn't know what the word meant either.

"Detention for both of you. This evening after dinner you'll both report to me. Tonight you'll be scrubbing the Slytherin common room down from top to bottom. And since you seem so keen on having other houses wear different colors and crests, you can both wear Slytherin robes for the week."

Sam groaned. "That's torture."

"Your mother will approve then," Severus said and motioned for them both to leave and go to class.

"Wonderful," Sam said. "I like green, don't you Harry?"

"Do you notice how he uses big words when he's mad? Incorrigible, nefarious. We're nefarious, do you realize that?"

"And not incorrigible apparently."

They split off to go their separate ways for classes, they only had Herbology and Charms together, and when Harry met up with Ron and Hermione outside the Transfiguration classroom Harry asked Hermione what incorrigible meant.

"It means unable to be disciplined or reformed."

"Oh."

"Did Professor Snape tell you that?"

"He said it was fortunate that Sam and I weren't incorrigible. We got detention."

"Going to be scrubbing floors eh?" Ron said, but he was still smiling from breakfast as McGonagall opened the door and let them into the classroom. They had this class with Slytherin and already there were house crests all over the desks and chairs.

"We get to clean Slytherin common room tonight and then for the whole week we get to wear Slytherin robes."

"Ugh," Ron said.

"Well they couldn't have expected anything else," Hermione told Ron.

"It's ok," Harry said, "Sam likes green." Hermione rolled her eyes.

Snape had their new robes waiting for them at lunch, and by now word had spread that Harry and Sam were the ones responsible for the pranks on Slytherin. People clapped when Harry and Sam came in wearing their new colors and though Sam took a bow, Harry tried to refrain, not wanting to make the man any more angry than he already was. Sam just didn't know how strict he could be and how mean. Now that Jo wasn't there, Harry had a feeling he was about to find out.

After dinner that night they went to Snape's office and he lead them agitatedly down the hall and around the corner to Slytherin common room. Slytherins were sitting around doing their homework in a sour mood and they all stopped to stare and glare at the culprits as they were lead in.

"You will leave these two alone whilst they are here and they will leave you alone. No one will speak to them, but feel free to make a mess in here tonight, because they will be here until the entire common room is clean." Immediately a seventh year Prefect knocked his books and a stack of parchment off the table he was at and a girl took her ink bottle and dumped it upside down on the table top.

Sam sighed as Snape crossed his arm. "Go us," he said, and Snape waved his wand where two buckets and a box of cleaning supplies appeared. He pointed to the mess that was beginning to form all around them as people un-tidied things up and then left to go back to his office.

"What a bunch of losers the maids are," Crabbe said to the people sitting on the couch next to him since he couldn't say anything directly to Sam or Harry.

"I know right?" a fourth year said. "Total jerks."

Harry went to work slowly knowing that it didn't matter how much he cleaned because another mess would be made as soon as he was done cleaning an area of the round, multi-leveled common room. Every time he went to wipe down a table, a new ink spill would appear as soon as he turned around, or bubble gum would suddenly be stuck to the table top, or papers would end up shredded there, in some cases all three all stuck together.

It was around ten pm when people tired of making messes and started turning back to their homework or going to bed, and it was near midnight when the common room was empty that Harry and Sam finally finished. Sam looked up to the still Hufflepuff yellow banners and said, "It was worth it."

"Speak for yourself. I'm knackered." They began packing away their cleaning supplies when Draco came out of the hall leading to the boys dorms. He didn't glare or sneer, and Harry and Sam watched with their mouths open as he calmly walked around the permiter of the room like a lion waiting to pounce.

"He-ey Draco," Sam said uncertainly, like he was afraid of the beast waiting to strike.

Draco casually and calmly reached out and tipped a chair over as he walked by. They watched him circle. He pulled out his wand and encanted a stream of water that trailed behind him on the carpet and stone. He didn't even smile and to Harry and Sam it seemed as though he was posessed as he used his wand to upend tables and couches, splatter ink onto walls and shred neat stacks of paper into bits before casting a whirlwind spell and sending the tiny pieces flying into every corner of the room. Then Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out a phial of something shiny.

"No, no no- don't do that," Sam pleaded, and Harry held up his hands. Draco uncorked the phial of pink sparkly glitter and aimed his wand at it. Finally he smirked at the pleading looks on their faces. Without a word he waved his wand and a blast of air sent the glitter into the far reaches of the room. Harry hated glitter. It was impossible to clean.

Draco finished his trail around the edges of the common room and went back into the boys dorm hall, never having spoken a word other than the spells he used.

"That was- creepy," Sam said.

"Criminal," Harry replied.

"Nefarious." Sam said. He and Harry looked at each other and they both echoed, "Nefarious," before they set to work once again.

* * *

"What time did you get back into the common room?" Ron asked at breakfast the next morning.

"Don't say common room," Harry said, head on the table, too tired to eat. His muscles ached from being on his hands and knees scrubbing floors all night.

"They really mess things up?"

"You have no idea. I think it was four when I finished and four thirty when I dragged myself into bed. Nobody deserves that."

"Bet Malfoy made it a right mess."

Harry looked up. "I don't want to ever hear his name again. From now on he will be 'the-nefarious-one-who-we-shall-not-speak-of.'

"Seriously," Ron asked.

"Glitter Ron. Pink, sparkly glitter, all over the room after we cleaned everything up. Cleaning glitter at midnight off of every surface. Water everywhere, furniture all turned over, billions of paper shreds on everything... 'the-nefarious-one-who-we-shall-not-speak-of' never even said a word. He came out and made eye contact and made a huge mess and then went back to bed... all in the space of two minutes."

"Evil," Ron said.

"Was it worth it?" Hermione asked smugly.

"Let's not talk about it anymore."

Draco the nefarious walked by the end of their table at that moment and they watched as he passed, but he didn't even look at them. He'd had his revenge and he seemed to be content with it. Harry put his head back on the table and tried to fall to sleep in the few minutes he had left before he had to go to class. At Ravenclaw Sam was ignoring his bacon and eggs in favor of doing the same thing.