A couple of weeks has passed since the opening of classes, and nothing much has happened. Theo would get his weekly letters from his parents, asking how he was, and he would write them. He would perform well in class, but he would try to hide at the back during Defense Against the Dark Arts as since his talk with Professor Ennis, he promised he would just blend in the crowd, rather than show off his abilities. During free time, he would practice his wandless magic and Legilimency with the Headmistress, as per the instructions of Remus and his parents with McGonagall to keep up his abilities. It was a normal first few weeks for him... well, that and add the fact that Theo has been hanging out with Nadia Scott a lot more than usual.

Since their first encounter to be seatmates – again – Nadia and Theo would often volunteer to be the "sacrifice" of the three best friends just to sit right next to each other. Other than Theo would help her with Ancient Runes, they started passing each other notes or even share a few sweets that they have. During free time – when Theo didn't have his lessons with McGonagall – he would hang out with Nadia and help her with her academics since she was struggling. It amazed him how they learned so much from each other even with a few weeks of having each other as company consistently. Of course, that caught the attention of his best friends and as well as his siblings (Romulus and Viktor would tease Theo but Sofia would be there to keep them in line).

But that wouldn't stop his brothers, and they – along with James and Fred – would always pop out of nowhere just to mess with him: the library, the Great Hall, and even the Black Lake. One time, while they were at the Black Lake, Theo teaching Nadia about their latest Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, he saw his brothers and their friends appearing in their view making kissy faces; James and Romulus would mouth out "KISS HER", but just before Nadia could he, he waved his hand – muttering a spell as he did – and had the four best friends drop in the Black Lake for the Giant Squid.

"What was that?" Nadia asked when she heard the splash of water.

"Oh, just my brothers and their friends going for a swim," Theo chuckled as he watched them trying to get back to the surface but kept slipping on mud.

"I bet you never get bored with your family, huh."

"You could say that," Theo shrugged.

Along with his school life and social life, Theo also had his mind preoccupied with the news of attacks. There weren't any attacks recently and it bothered him – not that he wanted there to be any attacks, but because it was prolonging the agony of him trying to figure out if what he heard was connected to what he was hearing. If the attacks continued heading south, it wouldn't be long until they were at Hogwarts, and maybe he could be able to hear that voice again. But he wasn't the only one stressing with this as well. The Ministry is facing a bit of backlash from The Daily Prophet as critics of the new Ministry reform made by Minister of Magic Hermione Granger was the cause of such uprising: education reforms to make Muggle Studies as a core subject to help witches and wizards cope with Muggle culture and technology, the stop of using exploiting Muggles for magical events, such as, the World Cup and other events, removal of slavery of House-Elves by giving them pay, and then there was the anti-corruption movement where the Minister is arresting Ministry members who have been accepting bribes for special favors.

It was no secret that the Minister has created many enemies during her time, not as many as her predecessor, Minister Kingsley Shacklebot, but the fact that she is willing to continue his reform and push change for the Wizarding World of the United Kingdom is not something that everyone – especially those in power – are willing to do.

The day when Slytherin was to have its tryouts for its Quidditch team, Theo and Albus went out to the pitch to support Scorpius – who was defending his position for the team's Keeper. It surprised many of their classmates to find Scorpius playing Quidditch and actually being good at it – who knew that the school-romantic-rich-kid-dork would be good in sports! Sitting at the stands, Theo pulled out his copy of The Daily Prophet to read while they waited for the mock-game to happen.

"Still nothing?" Albus asked.

"None," Theo muttered.

"Shouldn't you be glad that there aren't any attacks?"

"I am, but the fact that they stopped means that they might be doing something else."

"Like what? A retreat?" Albus' brows furrowed.

Theo closed The Prophet and turned to Albus with a deadpan look.

"Yes, Al, magical terrorists would suddenly stop their attacks to go on a vacation – they might be planning to go swimming at the beaches!" Theo sarcastically said.

"It was sarcasm," Albus rolled his eyes.

"Well, sometimes it's hard to figure out if you're being sarcastic now since that's the only thing that comes out of your mouth – and if you actually listen to Binn's class or – or actually pick up a book about the Second Wizarding War, you'd find that its these passive times where the real work is done."

"Which is?"

"Recruitment – I remember my father told me that during these passive days witches, wizards and even Muggles would go missing – or be found dead in the alleyways. And, it is also the time where Voldemort would recruit more followers – and no, it's not like handing out flyers with a catchy phrase like "Are you a pureblood fanatic and hate Muggles and Muggleborns? Join the Death Eaters and we'll make sure to give you a one-way ticket to Azkaban!"."

"I know that!" Albus elbowed Theo at the side. "Theo, we're not even sure if these are Death Eaters – look at the previous reports!" He then turned to a hushed tone. "You heard your parents and Roman, they're only attacking magical communities."

"Yeah, but we'll never know until we find the next target," Theo muttered.

"I'm telling you, you should tell your parents."

"And I'm telling you that I will once I'm sure that it has nothing to do with what I heard – do have any idea how Legilimency works, Al?" Theo faced Albus.

"You read people's minds," Albus shrugged.

"That's the tip of the iceberg. It's more than just reading minds, it's navigating through the mind of a person, letting me into their deepest thoughts, memories, and even their psyche if I want it – I can see those memories or – If I'm as powerful as the Greatest Legilimense there is – I could send visions to a person's mind to trick them. And right now, whenever I take down my Occlumency, the thoughts of the population of Hogwarts and within a radius of fifteen-kilometers is there for me to see... that is if I could navigate through their minds without fainting or getting permanent brain damage because of the load."

"So, you're saying that what you heard could be a dream or a false memory, or just a previous memory during the time of the Dark Lord," Albus summarized.

"Exactly."

Albus scoffed, "could have just said that than go with the whole explanation."

"Then how would you understand?"

"I would have. You should stop reading because the Slytherins are starting tryouts."

"And I see that there are a couple of Gryffindor spies," Theo smirked as he saw Rose and some Gryffindor players come to the stands to watch the tryouts.

"Augh! Seriously, why can't we have a peaceful day without Polly Chapman lurking in the shadows?" Albus groaned when he saw the girl sitting at the stands as well.

Putting down the paper, Theo watched as the team was grouped into two. Scorpius' team was given the green jersey while the opposing was given silver. It was a simple match that the team Captain could see who would get into the team. The match started and Chasers – especially the veterans – zoomed through the field, fighting for their spot at the team. Scorpius would catch and block the Quaffles coming at his way, and there was an instance that he almost got taken down by a Bludger that was thrown at him, but he managed to get back up. And Theo was sure he saw Rose jump when Scorpius almost fell.

"Interested in getting one Galleon?" Theo said to Albus.

"I'm listening."

"One Galleon – Rose actually likes Scorp and goes out with him before we graduate."

Albus let out a loud, "HA!" which caught many of the watcher's attention.

"Oh, Theo, your winning streak will finally come to an end, and I will be waiting on that one Galleon come seventh year! And you know what, I'm going to make a pedestal for that and it would have a plaque that says "The Day Theodore Regulus Nott Was Wrong"."

"We'll see Potter, and once I get my one Galleon, I'll make sure to buy a ticket from that lousy play that was made about your father, and you, Scorp, and I will be watching all seven acts of that," Theo smirked.

Albus cringed at the thought of watching the horrible play written and directed by Rita Skeeters about Harry Potter's journey from sad little orphan to war hero.

"You're on, Nott," Albus shook hands with him. "I don't understand why you find that play to be entertaining."

"Because it's funny."

"It's embarrassing – even Dad is embarrassed that it happened."

"Exactly."

After the tryouts – Scorpius catching ten out of ten Quaffles during the mock-game – Theo and Albus decided to wait for him at the stands, but they made sure to head to where Rose was sitting just to have a bit of fun.

"Here to spy on Slytherin, Rose?" Theo mused.

"And if I am – not that it's true," Rose raised a brow.

"Then I think Slytherin finds that very flattering because we have Gryffindor go to drastic measures by spying on the competition," Theo smirked.

"Gryffindor is not afraid of stinking Slytherin."

"Oh, so I guess you came here for different reasons."

"Such as?"

"You know, I heard a couple of girls giggling and even cheering for him at our side."

Rose glanced at where Theo and Albus were sitting earlier and saw that the girls that Theo were mentioning. They even got a banner that says "MALFOY IS KING!". And then she saw Scorpius climbing the stands with a couple of Slytherin Quidditch players, when the girls called out to him, he simply smiled at their way and waved. Rose frowned. And Theo's smirk grew when he noticed.

"I'll take it that it wasn't for espionage that you came here today," Theo spoke.

"Shut up," Rose muttered.

"Hey! How was I?" Scorpius came to Theo and Albus with his bag at his shoulder.

"Good, no doubt Flint would pick you as Keeper this year as well," Albus said.

"Hi, Rose," Scorpius said to her with a smile.

"Hi, Scorpius," she muttered.

Theo and Albus stepped back and watched the exchange. Both pursing their lips to stop their grins.

"I heard that Gryffindor has tryouts tomorrow," Scorpius said.

"Yeah, we do."

"You still trying out for this year?"

"I don't see why not."

"Good. Well, good luck at tryouts, and I'm looking forward to Gryffindor and Slytherin's match."

Rose's brows furrowed. "But the first match is between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."

"Well, I guess we better win our matches so we could fight for the House Cup," he grinned. "Well, see you later, Theo and Al and I have plans."

"We do?" Albus asked.

Theo stepped on his foot. "Yeah, we do, Scorp and I are going to teach you the disarming charm since you're so bad at it."

Albus groaned. "It's the weekend, can't we have a day off or something?"

"Nope, because you are in dire need of tutoring," Scorpius chuckled. "Bye, Rose."

"Bye," Rose said in a whisper.

Once the three best friends were now walking the field that would lead to castle, Scorpius suddenly slung his arms around Theo and Albus.

"Was she there the whole time?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes, Scorp, she was," Albus smiled.

"I told you she'd come," Theo smirked. "Who knew Rose would eavesdrop in our conversation."

"It's not really eavesdropping if we made sure to talk as loudly as we can so she could hear Slytherin's schedule," Albus laughed. "But I wasn't expecting her to come – she'd rather be stuck in the library during this time – Theo said that Rose got worried when you almost fell off your broom."

Theo lets Scorpius mess with his hair this time since he was glad that Rose went to watch his tryouts.

"But I still doubt that she'd go out with you before we graduate Hogwarts," Albus said. "Is courting part of the bet?"

"No, Al, courting is not counted as dating."

"Then I still have a chance to win that bet!" Albus punched the air.

"You might."

~*~

Since Theodore agreed to help Harry and the Auror Department to figure out the beast that was used to attack the reserve, he has been called by the Department to accompany them in inspecting the destroyed communities to see if there were any possible signs that could help him identify the creature. They first went to Inverness – the closest and still fresh attack, and then to Invergordon to see if they were the same, and though the magnitude of attacks were different – since the one at Inverness is a small community and very close to Muggle communities – he could see the similar patters of destruction made, and as well as the marks left on the people who died.

While reading the terrane, Theodore followed the wreckage to the very heart of the community where the very core of the destruction happened.

"Anything?" Harry asked.

"Hold on, still trying to..." Theo trailed off as he saw a body of a child being carried away by Aurors. He felt a chill run down his spine when he saw her. A child around five or six years of age, now dead.

Harry saw Theodore's distress at the sight of children caught in the destruction and came to his side.

"Maybe you should take a break," Harry said to him.

"No, if we do, then there's a possibility that more children would die," Theodore walked to the very center of the destruction. "Appare Vestigium!" he then formed his hands to a tube and blew through it, spreading golden dust around the area.

The areas touched by the dust started to show shadows of what happened there. People going on with their daily lives, children playing, walking with their parents. Then all of a sudden, something exploded. It was the statue, which was where they were standing now, and its pieces crushed the people around it. They couldn't see what was causing the destruction but it destroying the houses and killing people as it passed them. Many gasps were heard from the Aurors in the area. They were not expecting this.

"What is that?" Harry asked. "Are there any magical creatures that could do that?"

"A couple, but if it were magical creatures then it's apparent that the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures hunt down people who are illegally selling these things – the black markets, illegal breeders, traffickers... and then there's another problem?"

"Which is?"

Theodore took Harry to the corner where they were rounding up the dead. He carefully took off the blanket that covered the dead body of a man.

"See those markings?" Theodore pointed. "What creature would do that and why? Usually, creatures' instincts are to kill, eat, sleep and survive... not destroy communities... but this is different."

"You're saying that a witch or wizard did this," Harry said. "You don't think."

Theodore glanced down at his arm to see the mark. It wasn't prominent it hasn't been acting up for the past twenty-three years. And since the attacks, his fear of the Dark Lord coming back has him on high alert on his mark that he would always keep his sleeve rolled up to see.

"Carina is right, he's gone," Theodore muttered.

"But his followers aren't."

Theodore grimly nodded.

Harry then called for an Auror and had him sent a message to the Minister of Magic about informing the Department for the Regulations and Control of Magical Creatures to start investigating on illegal selling and breeding of magical creatures with the descriptions they saw earlier. And while Harry did his job as the Head of the Auror Department, Theodore couldn't help but worry and start to think about their theories. He found it hard to believe that it was a magical creature that would do this since he hasn't seen anything that could cause such havoc and those scars... maybe they were only asking the wrong questions, and if they were, then what should they be looking for?

~*~

Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were the same, Professor Ennis would have them learn in experience basis and as well as practice their skills in dueling by letting them duel each other. They managed to practice offensive spells and as well as defensive spells, and with that, she lets them get on the platform and practice, and even use any spell to their advantage. "A duel is an art! You can use any spell in your head that you think would help you get the upper hand!" She said to them. And Theo was not going to hold back.

Usually, teachers would pair students by their gender – girls paired with girls, and boys paired with boys, but Professor Ennis didn't follow that rule since she didn't really see them as girls and boys but rather as students. Besides, when they have a duel on their own, the opponent won't pick which gender to fight! They'd pick who the weakest one was! It created a sense of competition in the classroom, and the sense of bloodlust was very seen between the two houses that shared the class – Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"Good job, Miss Chapman, excellent work!" Professor Ennis said after Chapman managed to make her opponent raise a white flag for surrender.

Chapman made sure to send a smug look at Albus, Scorpius, and Theo's way when she passed them and stood with her friends.

"Now, let's have Potter and Malfoy!" Professor Ennis showed the names she drew out of the magic hat.

Albus silently groaned. He wanted to get through the day without getting called for a duel. Theo patted him on the back and then urged him and Scorpius on the platform.

"You'll do great, Al," Scorpius reassured him.

"Thanks," Albus sighed.

"Go easy on your boyfriend, Potter!" Chapman called out.

"That's the best you can do, Chapman? Very witty," Theo said in a loud voice in very unimpressed tone.

Their classmates laughed at Chapman, and the girl glared at Theo as she knew best not to mess with him or she will only find herself in a much more embarrassing situation.

"Alright, we had our fun," Professor Ennis sighed. "Now, let us watch Mister Potter and Mister Malfoy."

After the proper salute, Albus and Scorpius went to their corners and went into stance. The two stared at each other for a while, waiting for either one of them to make a move. Many of their classmates started to call them out to start the duel, pressuring Albus. Theo managed to get Albus' attention and sent him a gesture to calm down, he then turned to Scorpius who nodded at his way.

Taking a beath, Albus cast the first spell, "Expelliarmus!"

"Protego – Flippendo!"

"Protego!" Albus was stunned when he actually managed to block Scorpius' spell. He turned to his friends with wide eyes. But because of his shock, Scorpius took the opportunity and sent another spell at him and this time sent Albus flying on the ground.

Scorpius went to Albus and helped him to his feet. He patted him on the back and apologized, but Albus said it was alright and that he did good.

"Good job, Mister Malfoy," Professor Ennis said. "Now, can anyone tell me what Mister Potter did?"

"He fell on his fat arse?" Chapman spoke, and then she and her friends snickered.

"At least he didn't fall on his face like you did, Chapman," Theo called her out, letting everyone remember the first duel she had with him back at third year. The duel happened because Chapman kept on bullying Albus and Scorpius, having enough, Theo engaged into a duel with her. It wasn't a very entertaining dule since it had two third years casting petty spells at each other and dodging them, but when Theo sent a fire spell at her, Chapman stepped on her robes and then fell on the ground. Face first. She lost her two front teeth then. And Theo got a month's worth of detention.

Chapman turned deep red as their classmates laughed at the memory.

"One more from you two and it's detention," Professor Ennis warned them. "Now, anyone, what did Mister Potter do wrong?"

Rose raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger-Weasley?"

"The reason why Albus lost is because he got distracted – he gave Scorpius the opportunity to attack... also, his lack of confidence."

"Exactly, so please, Mister Potter – focus and please do practice more, it would boost up your confidence," Professor Ennis then drew out new names from the magical hat. "Next pair. Granger-Weasley and Nott!"

Rose and Theo stopped for a moment as they met each other's gaze. A lot of their classmates started murmuring and placed bets on who would win. This was a duel that they've been waiting for – a duel between the two outstanding students from Gryffindor and Slytherin. Theo took off his robe and then got on the platform. He made sure to push up his sleeves to give him more free movement. He was not going to hold back on Rose. When Rose got on the platform, the two got out their wands and did the salute.

"Just so you know, I'm not going to hold back," Theo teased.

"Good," Rose said to him.

After the salute, they went to their proper ends of the platform and then went to stance. Rose went into stance while Theo casually held out his wand and got on his footwork. One of the perks of having private Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons was that he was very advanced in the class. And knowing that Rose has been expecting the usual spells, he decided to use a different one. One that neither of their classmates have used.

"This is going to be good," Albus whispered to Scorpius.

"I am very conflicted on who to cheer for," Scorpius said to him.

After Professor Ennis' signal, Theo sent the first spell.

"Incendio Duo!"

A ball of fire came towards Rose. Shocked, Rose used the Aguamenti Charm to repel the fire, and it got the others, and as well as Professor Ennis wet.

"Impedimenta!" Rose sent at Theo.

"Protego – Everte Statum!"

The duel lasted longer than the others as the two outstanding students proved to each other and to others that their hard work in studying and practicing got them there. Theo mostly used fire spells towards Rose, which was his element, and Rose would flawlessly block it or have the fire eaten by water. But when their duel almost burned down the ceiling, Professor Ennis placed a wall of ice between them to stop the duel.

"You two have proven that you are very capable of dueling, and as much as we would want you both to continue but it is the end of the period and we can't have you both burning down the school... and because all of your classmates are soaked with the Aguamenti Charm," Professor Ennis told them. "Class dismissed – and you two – clean this up."

Theo and Rose chuckled as they saw the large puddle in the middle of the classroom. After Professor Ennis got rid of the wall of ice, she used magic to dry herself and as well as her students. Theo and Rose then approached each other and shook hands.

"Good job," Rose told him.

"You did good as well, Rose," Theo smirked. "Now, if you please, do the honors of getting rid of your mess."

"My mess? If you hadn't sent a ball of fire in my way then there wouldn't be any! Besides, what's with you and fire anyway?!"

Theo shrugged, "I guess it's my element."

After Rose removed the water, Theo jumped down from the platform then held out his hand to help her down. The two approached Scorpius and Albus, who waited by the door with their bags. Albus wasted no time in throwing Theo's robe at his face and then his bag, while Scorpius handed Rose hers in a very gentleman fashion.

"You did great there, Rose," Scorpius said.

"Thanks," Rose said with an awkward smile. "I should get going."

"You do that," Theo said.

"Bye."

With Rose gone, the three Slytherins made their way out of the classroom and to their next class. Care for Magical Creatures.

"So, who is buying me butterbeer come Hogsmeade weekend?" Theo asked, grinning as he did.

"Both of us," Albus and Scorpius sighed.

Theo laughed. "So, it's either you betted on me winning or on Rose."

"Scorp betted on both of you, he couldn't decide which one," Albus laughed.

"I was trying to be a supportive friend!" Scorpius exclaimed.

Theo sighed, he then slung his arms around them and they walked towards the bridge that would lead to Hagrid's hut.

~*~

There have been reports of stolen things in the student dormitories at Sinora. Being one of the teachers, Carina went to investigate the situation before the students started blaming each other for it. The stolen items were mostly from the girls' dormitory, which consists of a textbook, an old bookbag, a pair of glasses, a telescope, and as well a set of uniforms. It was an odd thing to steal since these valuable are not even counted as such since everyone in the castle had those. It was considered a "stale item" to have. But nonetheless, they had to report it to the Headmistress.

"This is insane! Why would students steal a uniform?!" Padma Patil, Carina's old classmate back at Hogwarts and co-faculty member, exclaimed.

"I'm much more concerned of the possibility of it not being a student," Carina said.

"Carina, Sinora is hidden in the mountains away from civilization – and it would take them days to get here, that is if they pass the spells," Padma said.

"Yes, but, why a uniform, it doesn't make any sense."

Padma then smiled. "Maybe they just wanted to start a bit of trouble. You know, like you back in Hogwarts."

Carina rolled her eyes. "I didn't steal a uniform – I just changed the colors to Slytherin colors! And I served a week's detention for that and had to say sorry."

Padma chuckled. "You really do set an example, Professor Black – Merlin, and just when I thought I'd finally get used to all these stairs!"

Carina smiled, she then turned her gaze to Padma's baby bump that was about five months old. "Go home, I'll fix things here."

"I couldn't just leave you –"

"Padma, it's fine, besides, you and this little one need some rest – you've been waddling around the castle floors looking for the uniform-snatcher all day."

Padma sighed. "Thank you, I'll make it up to you tomorrow, I promise."

"How about lunch."

"Sure thing. See you tomorrow, Carina!"

After Padma Patil left, Carina continued with her rounds to try and catch the troublemaker, and to make sure that students were in their dorms after curfew and not sneaking out. All Astronomy classes were cancelled that night due to heavy rain. After a good sweep of the floor, Carina head back to her office to pack her things, and then head home. Once she said goodbye to her fellow teachers and Astronomers, she went to the main castle to use the floo. As she walked down the stairs, she was sure to have seen a student at the hall, trying to hide behind the pillar in the shadows, but her uniform and shaggy black hair gave her away.

"Excuse me!" Carina called out. "It's after curfew and all students should be in bed by now."

When the student was unresponsive, she approached her, but when Carina came to the pillar, she didn't see the students. Alarmed, she looked around the area to see if she just missed the student when she ran away but the whole hall was empty. The sound of sand in the air caught her attention, she got out her wand – hiding it in her sleeve – and turned to face this mysterious entity. But there was nothing. Just the torch-lit halls of the school.

"Professor Black!"

Carina jumped, turning, she saw the Headmistress coming down the stairs with a concerned look on her face.

"Is everything alright, dear? I thought you were heading home a few hours ago."

"I-I was," Carina took a breath to calm her fast-beating heart. "I just finished the rounds."

"I see, well, best be off then, wouldn't want to have your dear husband waiting," the Headmistress teased her.

Carina attempted to smile, but the occurrence earlier bothered her still.

"I will," Carina headed to the floo, but before she could get in, she turned to the Headmistress. "Headmistress, are there any problems in the school barrier?"

"No, none."

"And the ghosts of the school, are there any reports of new ones found?"

"No, it's still the Old Astronomer at the Tower and then Little Mary at the halls... is there a problem, Professor Black, you seem to be troubled."

Carina attempted to smile. "I thought I saw a student lurking here after curfew... must be Little Mary, then."

"Maybe... I think you should head home now, Professor, you must be tired."

"I must be... goodnight, Headmistress."

"Goodnight."

From the top of the stairs, hidden behind the pillar. A girl with long black hair wearing the school uniform watched as Carina stepped into the floo and called out to the connection at London. She frowned as Carina disappeared. Just as she finally found a way to get close to her.