Harry sat up, gasping awake. He rubbed his eyes hard and took in a deep breath. I am NOT a Slytherin, he told himself, despite that his dreams that night told him that he was. He flexed his muscles and moved his arm back and forth, trying to get the stiffness in his elbow to go away. He still hurt, and wished that he had some more pain killer potion so he could rest better. It had been a rough day, and now he was having to suffer through a rough night. Every few minutes he woke up from a nightmare, and this night, they all centered around him having been sorted into Slytherin. 'How Slytherin of you,' Ron taunted in his dreams when Harry took a bite of cereal. 'I wish you were in Gryffindor,' Snape told him when he failed a Potions test. 'You can stay in the basement since you're used to living in the dungeons,' Uncle Vernon told him as he pushed Harry down a set of non-existent stairs into a non-existant dark and bottomless pit of a basement under four Privet Drive.

Harry heaved a sigh as he realized it was morning. The sun was just coming up, but there was no use going back to sleep now, even if he was still tired. He had tutoring to go to, though he couldn't say he was looking forward to it. He was certain that Snape was unhappy with his preformance in the competition yesterday.

Getting dressed slowly because he still ached, Harry headed out and met Snape at the bottom of the hill where the path to the boy's cabins met the main path.

"I am surprised you are up this early," Snape commented, and in his head Harry grouched and added 'prince Potter.' Snape had called him that before on several occasions when Harry had shown up late to Potions.

"Couldn't sleep," Harry said, feeling groggy. He was determinedly not looking at Snape and so didn't catch the look Snape had that said, 'I can tell.'

"You should visit the infirmary before we begin tutoring."

Harry didn't argue. He didn't have a mirror in his cabin but he imagined his face was still bruised because it still hurt. Snape accompanied him to the infirmary though he didn't go in, and Harry was back out in five minutes. He followed Snape to the training field and dropped his bag on the grass. Snape had been quiet on the way out, and Harry wondered at it. Snape was usually quiet with the exception of his snarky comments and occasional yelling, but this was a different sort of quiet. Was the man calm? Harry peered up at him and frowned. Was the man actually... cheerful? He didn't think it was possible for Snape to feel cheer, but there was a bounce in the man's step, though Harry thought it was possible that he was so sleep deprived at this moment that he had imagined it.

"Tell me about the competition," Snape said, and he waited while Harry tiredly detailed who he had encountered, how he had hid, and how he had successfully bound an opponent without a wand or words after incapacitating him with Root.

Snape went over some of the details with Harry about how he could have done better and what he had done that he approved of (mostly of Harry hiding and disguising himself like rock), and finally sent Harry on his way to eat a quick breakfast before hurrying to his first class.

After Harry had left, and Severus had made his way to his classroom building, he wondered that the boy had confided in him about being ganged up on when he had refused the night before. He looked aweful, and he would have bet a Galleon that the teen hadn't slept at all.

Harry felt like he was in a stupor all day, but somehow made it through his classes and tutoring sessions. When he headed towards the hill where the Gemini wood started, he found Gan by his cabin and was told to go to bed instead of tutoring that night.

"Thanks," Harry said, and went inside to lay down, ignoring his homework. He slept, but it was a fitful sleep like the night before. He didn't dream of being a Slytherin, but the next morning, the thought that he was not fit to be in Gryffindor still plagued him. I hid, Harry thought. I hid, and waited, and in the end I paid for it because I got ganged up on and I let myself lose that fight too didn't I? Even Draco said I was being Slytherin by hiding. Hermione fought, other's fought, but I layed low. I laid low like Voldemort. The thought of being like Voldemort made his stomach churn, and when Harry went to breakfast, he wasn't hungry at all.

"Your bruises are gone," Hermione observed as she put eggs on Harry's plate.

"Yeah," he said with a yawn, ignoring the food.

Hermione gave him a worried look but he ignored that too.

He still wasn't hungry at lunch and had to fend off Hermione's insistance that he eat something. They had a short argument about it which ended with Harry leaving early because he felt testy and didn't want to fight with his friend. He walked around the compound and let the cool breeze whip throug his hair. Others started to make their way from lunch to class and Harry began his slow descent down the hill from the Gemini wood where he'd wandered to, and towards Root. He looked at his watch and knew he would be late because he was going so slow, but he felt sluggish and had not intention of hurrying, even though other classes had clearly already started.

With a huff Harry made a last second decision to pick up his pace because Gan had been nothing but good to him and he didn't want to disappoint him too by being late, but just as he began to walk faster, he heard several screams. Head snapping towards the training field, Harry saw a group of students gathered in a line for what he could only assume was Magery or Muggle Defense. There was another scream that was more like a girl wailing this time, and he ran to see what was going on, hoping August or Blaze wouldn't yell at him for interrupting their class.

Dropping his bag on the lawn next to the other student's bags, he ran to where they were lined up at the edge of the field staring down into a deep, dark crevasse. They had been warned plenty of times to stay away from this edge of the field as well as the cliffs, and Harry wondered why they were there now. He could hear unseen water lapping against rocks in the crevasse.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, and the only girl from Boden sobbed into another girl's shoulder.

Pricilla, the seventh year from Ravenclaw said anxiously, "Professor August fell in there. We called to him but he hasn't answered back."

"Professor!" a boy from Durmstrang called loudly, but there was no answer.

"We heard him hit the water," Pricilla said then.

"Go get help!" Harry shouted. He lit his wand with lumos maxima, tossed it into the crevasse, and when he saw it hit the water and that the path was clear, he stepped off the edge and tucked his arms in to his sides. The last thing he heard before the rush of wind deafened him was gasps and one girl scream, "No!" and then he was falling, his stomach up in his throat. He tried to remember to take a breath, but he hit the water sooner than he expected and was plunged deep into it's icy, dark depths. Harry opened his eyes and looked around. It was dark, and he wasn't certain which way was up. Disoriented he searched around him and finally saw the light of his wand floating on the surface and swam to it with some difficulty because his leg was aching and felt like it didn't want to work right. Wand in hand Harry turned and searched the cavern. High above him he could see the light, blocked out at intervals by the students trying to see down into the cavern, but he couldn't hear their voices. A big wave came in from the ocean where the wide crevasse opened up to the sea, and pushed Harry several feet before pulling him back again. Where was August?

Without thinking, Harry took a breath and dove under the water, wand still lit, and searched for his professor. Out of instinct, he thought the encantation to the bubble head charm and was surprised when it worked and he was able to breath. He didn't know for how long he was under the water before he saw a hand appear from the darkness. He grabbed it and swam to the surface, struggling to drag August with him. They broke the surface as another big wave came in and pushed Harry towards one of the steep, black walls.

With a grunt Harry bumped into a boulder, head knocking into it, and turned with the unconscious August. He waved his wand and barely managed a feather light charm, which didn't work completely but did make the heavy man lighter, and Harry was able to pull his torso up over the rock.

"Professor?" Harry asked timidly. He could have been dead. He was pale and Harry couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. He was reluctant to let go of his small piece of the slipper rock to go around the other side to see if he could see his back rising at all.

"Proffessor August?" Harry tapped him on the cheek as he held onto one of his hands to keep him on the rock, and then pinched his cheek twice, drawing a sudden gasp of breath from the man. He choked several times and groaned, and finally opened his eyes and squinted into the darkness.

"Where am I?"

"In the crevass," Harry said, and August's head snapped to where Harry was. He wrenched his arm from Harry's grasp and regretted it immediately as he slipped off the rock. His arms jerked forward and wrapped around the rock in time to keep himself from going under, and he turned his attention back to Harry.

"You, what are you doing here?"

"You fell," Harry said, pushing himself away from the rock now and looking around to see if there was another to hold on to. There wasn't, and there were no hand holds on the smooth surface of the crevasse walls either.

"Or you pushed me more like," August accused him with narrow eyes.

Harry shook his head as he stretched his arms out and tried to keep himself from going under. He suddenly regretted skipping breakfast and lunch, because he was sorely lacking on energy, and just like the previous times he'd been unexpectedly plunged into the sea, the cold water was sapping what little energy he did have.

"Oh my, you did, didn't you Potter? You pushed me in and I took you down with me. Is that it?"

Harry shook his head again and felt panicky, as if he were trapped down here with this man, who was bigger and stronger, and even though he looked weak and hurt, could probably still do Harry in if he wanted. No one could see them, and there was nothing to stop him.

"You shake your head no, but I know better. I know what kind of person you are. What would you have me believe? That you came down here to save me?"

Harry didn't bother nodding as another big wave came in and pushed him to and fro. Why couldn't this horrible man just be thankful and leave him alone? He was cold, and hungry, and worried now that he had accomplished his task, that there was no way to get back up to the training field. He moved to the other wall and treaded water, not taking his eyes off of August, who seemed intent on staying at his rock where he could hold on.

"You're done after this. They can't keep you here any longer. They'll revoke your certificate too. It was obvious to everyone that you cheated in the competition. They'll give your certificate to Acel."

Another wave came, this time bigger than the rest and pushed Harry down under the water. His leg touched something, probably a rock, but he panicked, thinking some sort of creature might be there with him and broke the surface again gasping. He spit out the mouthful of water he'd taken in. At the start of the summer, the prospect of spending time at the beach had seemed so nice, but he was thoroughly tired of the water by this point. His leg brushed the rock again and he shuddered, taking in another unsteady breath as he began to shake.

"You."

Harry's eyes snapped back to August. He was staring at him.

"Come here."

Harry shook his head. Like hell he was going to swim over there and let the man hurt him or worse.

"Now."

"No," Harry said, teeth chattering, "I didn't push you. C-came in after you. Pulled you up. Put you on the rock."

"I don't believe you. Come here before you drown."

Harry shook his head harder. "No. You'll hurt me." His words hung in the air for long moments as the waves came and went, the water lapping at the sides of the crevasse.

"I'm an adult. I won't hurt you." August finally said, but Harry thought it was fairly obvious that he would hurt him because he was an adult, bigger, stronger, and more powerful than he was. He had chased him earlier in the summer and Harry had been certain then too that this man would do him harm. But at this moment, it didn't matter that it was Alvar August, one of the professors who had been against him this summer, tormented, him, chased him. It only mattered that he was an adult, and he was there, and Harry wasn't going to go anywhere near him. He didn't shake his head, but he did turn it away, making his answer clear. He wasn't going. Harry could still see the man in his periphery as he shook.

"You'll drown," August said with resignation in his voice.

"You know magery," Harry said quietly. "Can't you use it to get us out of here?"

"I'm too weak."

Good, Harry thought silently. That's one tool you can't use against me then.

There was a shout then that echoed off the walls of the cavernous crevasse, and Harry and August both looked up to the bright light at the narrow opening at the top. The silhouetted figures were still there, and Harry strained his ears to hear what was being said to them. He thought it was Snape, but the way the words echoed made it hard to hear.

"Harry! Alvar!"

"We're here!" August shouted up.

"Is Harry there?"

"He is here!"

"We can't bring you up by rope. It's too far! We'll be around by boat in a minute. Can you get to the entrance?"

August looked to the distant entrance, where the waves were stronger and where there were sharp rocks.

"I do not think it is safe!" he called.

"Stay put then!"

Harry shivered violently and hoped they would hurry. He wasn't sure if he was shivering from the cold, or anxiety. He just wanted to be back in the crowd. No one ever tried to get him there.

As promised, a boat appeared at the entrance to the cavern with several professors, Snape included. Iva stabalised the boat against the waves, and Snape sent a long rope to them with his wand. August put the loop at the end around himself, held his hand out to Harry who shook his head, and shouted for them to pull him out and towards the boat.

Harry watched him go and let go a long breath. One threat was gone. The water and darkness he could handle. He heard Snape ask where Harry was when August got to the boat and the man told them that Harry had refused to come. The rope came back then and Harry struggled towards it, arms heavy and feeling like lead. He didn't think he could manage to get the loop around himself so he hooked it with his arm and shouted shakily, "Ok!" The rope tugged and he was pulled along to the entrance. He squinted in the bright light when he neared the row boat, and allowed himself to be pulled into it, where he sat awkwardly, shivering on the floor. Someone wrapped one of the scratchy gray blankets around him from the infirmary and he looked to see Iva. She looked worried and he thought that this was the first time she'd been nice to him, even though she'd never really been mean like the others. August was on a bench at the other end with another gray blanket and Professor Camille, who gave Harry a weak smile, also a first, as she propelled the boat forward and around the sharp rocks with her wand. Someone sent a jet of warm air at Harry's head as they headed towards the beach at a speed no rowboat should be capable of and he realized it was Snape. He expected him to say something, because it looked like he really wanted to, but he didn't.

There were students on the beach from August's class waiting for them, and Gan came out into the water with Blazhe to get the boat up onto the shore. August stepped out with Blazhe's help, looking weak and Harry was surprised when Snape lifted him out and set him on the wet sand. He kept quiet about it because he didn't know what to say. The students crowded around them and someone shouted, "Way to go Harry!" but Harry wasn't sure who. It wasn't any of his friends or Pricilla.

Gan told everyone to get back to the top of the beach and Harry let them go ahead of him. He felt weak anyway and would just hold them up if he was at the front. As it was it was a long walk back to the top and he wasn't certain if he'd make it. He lagged further and further behind, and even August was far up the path with the help of the other professors.

Harry stopped walking. Maybe the adrenaline was finally leaving his body, or maybe the anxiety had taken too much of a toll. He didn't want to go anymore.

A voice startled him from behind though and he was surprised to find that Snape was right there behind him. "That was wreckless Potter." He didn't sound mad. Instead he sounded... tired.

"I did the Bubble head charm underwater," Harry said­. True, he'd had his wand, but it was something to do it wordlessly. Snape gave him a hard look.

"Wreckless Gryffindor." Harry couldn't help but let his chest swell a little then, becuase today he was a Gryffindor. Today he was good, despite what August thought of him. Today he had not been a coward. He hadn't thought of the risk when he'd jumped, he'd just gone in. It would have been easier, and certainly a lot less stressfull to just run for help. Harry took a few steps on shaky legs then and was suddenly in the air in a strong pair of arms. He turned red as he allowed Snape to carry him and wondered that he was strong enough to carry a sixteen year old, even one who was as light as Harry. They were quiet until they reached the top, where Snape set him down and allowed him to preserve some of his dignity as they slowly walked to the infirmary, where Harry was sure to get an earful from Adeline.