Harry woke up the next morning to the sound of James yelling. Opening his eyes, he saw that Sirius had waken the boy up by pouring a pitcher of water down his back.

"YOU!" James screamed, pointing an accusing finger at his friend. "You-" Taking a leap, he jumped into the air and landed right on top of the other boy, tackling him.

"Will you guys forget it?" Remus asked, sighing, as Draco (who was sleeping in the bed next to Harry's) looked at the rolling pair in utter amazement.

"Draco?" Harry asked quietly, seeing the other stare. "Are you alright?"

Draco nodded. In truth, he was amazed by the friendliness and hospitality the Gryffindors showed towards each other. Slytherins never behaved in this kind and joking way; in public, they seemed to treat each other well, yet in the privacy of their dorms, there were arguments and curses thrown at each other. Draco shuddered as he remembered the occasion in which Pansy Parkinson had thrown the Cruciatus Curse on him. His father had told her to do so when he disobeyed his parents. He had expected Gryffindors to be much the same; kind in public, mean in private. Yet this was not true. He looked longingly at the group as he realized just how much fun he had missed, how different his life would have been if he had been sorted into Gryffindor.

Harry, seeing the look of longing and regret on the other's face, raised and put a supportive hand on Draco's shoulder. The boy nodded his thanks.

"Come on, let's get to breakfast! The girls are waiting!" Harry called out as he reached down in an attempt of drag James away from Sirius. Draco also bent down to help.

When they finally managed to pull apart the playful boys, they walked out of their dorms. They found Hermione, Lily, and Lily's friends, Emma and Melody, waiting in the common room.

"What took you guys so long?" Hermione asked crossly. "We were waiting for fifteen minutes already."

Sirius opened his mouth to argue, but Ron said, "Okay, okay, sorry 'Mione, no need to freak out, we have plenty of time..."

"PLENTY OF TIME?" thundered Lily. "According to my calculations, we're ten minutes late for breakfast, and Potions lesson starts in exactly seven minutes!"

Sirius turned to Harry. "Hey, what's your father like when he's teaching? I mean, is he like, funny, or is his lessons interesting or... what's it like?"

Harry turned to Ron, Hermione, and Draco, pleading expression on his face. What was he going to say? All students thought the Potions Master to be a menacing git, but then, no one knew who the true Potions Master was without his threatening demeanor and cold indifference.

"Um.... well..."

Thankfully, the bell rang just then. "Now look what you've done!" stormed Melody. "We have to miss breakfast!"

"If we don't hurry, we'll be late for Potions too," Emma added. "HURRY UP, guys!"

With that, the group left the room, heading for the Potion dungeons.

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

The potions dungeon was similar to the one Harry was used two: a desk was in one corner of the classroom, several tables scattered around the room. One one side, the sixth years Slytherins were seated, and on the other, were the Gryffindors.

!Severus! stood in the middle of the classroom. Another women, who was obviously Professor Rosethorn, stood beside him.

After introductions were made, Prof. Rosethorn began to speak. "Today, we will be brewing the Varification Potion. This is a fairly complicated potion which requires caution. Please get into partners and Professor Darkice will go through the basic steps."

Harry partnered with James; beside him, Lily and Melody were arguing about something.

"The Varification Potion," !Severus! began in the sardonic tone Harry had come to know so well. "Forces a person to answer the questions of another truthfully. It is similar to Veritaserum, but while Veritaserum can't be fought, the Varification Potion can. I doubt any of you will be able to fight it though; it requires power and immense concentration."

After going over the steps, !Severus! and Professor Rosethorn began pacing around the room. Professor Rosethorn was a strict but kind women. She was in the middle of gently reprimanding a nervous Gryffindor.

!Severus! though, was exactly the opposite. "Black! Westerly!" he pointed to the bright orange liquid. "Do you call this green? 10 points from Gryffindor for not paying attention. If you actually read the instructions, you'll realize that you put the petals in AFTER you take the cauldron off the fire."

Half an hour later, Harry called out, "Professors? We're done."

!Severus! came around and looked at their potion. "Excellent. Ten points each, Mr. Darkice and Mr. Potter."

Professor Rosethorn also approached them. "Let's test the potion. Mr. Darkice? If you would drink it?"

Before !Severus! could protest, Harry lifted the cup and downed the contents.

"Mr. Potter? Ask some questions. If the potion was done correctly, then he will answer the questions truthfully."

"Um... what's your name?" James asked awkwardly, asking the first questions in his mind.

Harry felt as if he was under the Imperious Curse. His mind was focused on the single answer. 'Harry Potter!' a small voice in his head said. 'Answer him, its Harry Potter!'

'No,' a detached part of his brain whispered. 'Harry Darkice.' He had to fight, had to fight...

'Answer the question,' his brain commanded. 'Answer the question and you'll be free.'

Fight the potion...

'Answer! Answer now!'

Fight...

Harry opened his mouth. "Harry P-P-" he stopped. It took all his willpower to gasp out, "Harry Darkice."

James moved on to the next question, oblivious to how much strength it had taken Harry to answer the simple question. He didn't notice the way Ron and Hermione stifled their gasps, or how Professor Darkice seemed to sigh in relief. Lily, though, noticed how Harry had stuttered and the frantic reactions of the boy's friends.

!Severus!, watching the boy, felt reliefed and stunned at the same time. That had been so close, so very close... It took immense power and self-control to fight the potion, he hadn't thought Harry would be able to do it. For a second, it seemed as if their secret was out. But then, when Harry had uttered his fake name, the Potions Master had had to stifle his sigh of relief. He was reminded of how the boy had thrown off the Imperious Curse during their secret DADA lessons.

After watching Harry stuggle to answer several more questions, he had had enough. Reaching into his robes, !Severus! pulled out a bottle of blue liquid. The antidote. With surprising gentleness, he reached out and steadied the now shaking Harry. "Drink," he commanded firmly, tipping the bottle.

Harry complied, and after recovering, returned to his seat beside James and began packing up. His face was deathly pale and beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead. He was also trembling slightly. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turning, saw Draco's concerned blue eyes looking at him. "You okay?"

Harry nodded.

Hermione exchanged worried glances with Ron and kept flashing him anxious glances.

At the end of the lesson, Harry stayed behind. When everyone left, he walked up to !Severus!. "I feel sick," he began. The Potions Master cut him off and raised a hand to his forehead.

"Slightly feverish," he announced. "Your temperature's rising. I'll put a Cooling Charm on you. You've just worn yourself out by fighting the potion." He raised his wand. "Icianda!"

Harry felt as if an ice pack had been placed on his forhead. "Thanks, Severus!" he called out as he left the room.

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

The effects of their practical joke began to work in Transfiguration class, Every half an hour, Lestrange, Goyle, Crabbe, or Parkinson would say, "Gryffindors Rule, Slytherins Drool!" Each time it happened, the Mauraders burst into laughter. This continued for the rest of the day.

That night, as Harry sank into the warmth of his bed, he felt immensely tired. He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.