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Chapter Sixteen: Discovery

Winter slowly turned into spring and the big Quidditch Match between Hufflepuff and Slytherin was drawing closer. It was scheduled to be the last day before the Easter Holidays. One day, Professor Snape held Harry behind after Potions to give him some good news.

"Potter, I have had your broom inspected for some of the more sinister and nasty hexes out there, along with some minor ones that are overblown by the general public into being dangerous due to sensitivity issues," informed Snape. "Nothing is wrong with the broom. I have checked and double-checked it, and it all checks out. So, I am giving this back to you Potter and I will remind you that the Quidditch House Cup has become a part of my office as much as my potion ingredients over the last eight years. So I need not tell you to win or you will suffer my displeasure."

Harry took the Firebolt back, itching to ride it now it was deemed safe by Professor Snape. The look on Flint's face would be priceless, as Harry had not informed the Slytherin captain or any of his teammates about the broomstick he mysteriously received for Christmas.

Harry looked back at all that happened recently. Ginny was really excelling at the ninjitsu lessons Harry was teaching her, although there were a few stumbling blocks here and there, funnily enough almost like the ones Harry had when he started his training. Still the potential was there, Ginny just had to hone her skills. Last lesson, Harry very reluctantly broke out the weapons, with stern warnings Harry would drop the training should word reach his ears Ginny had attacked one of her brothers using her newfound skills. Harry remembered that night well.

"Harry, it's almost like you don't trust me not to..." started Ginny before she burst out laughing. A couple of months ago, she might have done what Harry was saying but her temper seemed to be kept more in check these days, able to hold in outbursts. Of course, if Ginny ever did lose her temper, it would be ten times worse than it could have been. Almost like Harry was like on the rare occasions he got mad.

"Ginny, I trust you, it's just that, I’m just giving you the standard lecture on weapon's usage," said Harry. "It's in the handbook."

"What handbook Harry?" asked Ginny, looking puzzled at why she had not heard of this handbook before.

"The handbook that I’m making up in my head as we go," replied Harry. "Now, the thing about weapons is this. No one should know you have these weapons concealed on you, until they are to be used. Of course, there are always alternate weapons. My own personal strategy is to have my main weapon visible, with several secondary smaller and concealed weapons just in case my main weapon gets lost or destroyed. Even then it may not be enough."

Harry was of course inferring about how he ran through his entire run of weapons during the Chamber. If it wasn't for Fawkes bringing the hat, which contained Slytherin's Blade, Harry would not have been alive to tell the tale. He went on describing several different types of weapons to Ginny, the functions they can used for, and what one's he had used in the past. Harry and Ginny agreed both that something small but dangerous would probably be the best for Ginny's temperament. The weapon known as Tonfa, an eight-inch wooden club like weapon seemed to be the best thing Harry could come up with on short notice.

Harry remembered how his Patronus lessons with Lupin were coming along, as his Patronus still did not have a distinct form but it was more defined then the mist most people could only hope to accomplish. Lupin told Harry that he had confidence that should the Dementors attack Harry, that Harry's Patronus would be enough to keep them at bay so Harry could get safely away. Of course, Harry was not satisfied, but he decided not to say anything. If all of the Dementors disappeared off the face of the earth, Harry's life would be a whole lot easier.

Harry was walking with his Firebolt, to return it in his room, when he heard the sound of voices.

"My father will be very pleased indeed, getting that stupid buzzard executed," said the snide voice of Draco Malfoy. "A little gold does go a long way, especially with those greedy fools at the Ministry of Magic."

Harry heard the chuckling of Crabbe, Goyle, and a couple of ill tempered Sixth Year Slytherins he did not know but were definitely part of the small, dwindling portion of the Slytherin house that still subscribed to Malfoy's beliefs.

"All will be going as plan, then once I have gained the respect of everyone in the Slytherin house, I will be the leader of this hose and not Potter," said Malfoy. "After all, I’m going up against Dumbledore's prized pet that should mean I should be respected."

Harry decided Malfoy was talking about Buckbeak but Harry had not heard anything about Buckbeak's fate since the incident and fact he had not been able to visit Hagrid due to the security constrictions on the castle, mostly concerning him.

"Harry, what did Snape..." asked Hermione who had came back around with Daphne and Theodore but saw Harry ready to kill someone.

"Buckbeak is going to be executed," whispered Harry in a low voice.

Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione all exchanged uneasy looks. How did Harry find out about this? The three of them had been helping Hagrid with his defense for the case for a few months and the trial was scheduled a couple of days before Easter.

"Harry, we really didn’t want to bother you with anything," said Daphne.

"How long have you known?" asked Harry in an emotionless tone of voice.

"Since January," said Theodore bracing himself for the worst. Harry was not exactly a pleasant person to be around when he got upset.

"We really wanted to tell you, but you were just getting out of your unstable state of mind," said Hermione. "You have to understand, Harry, we didn’t want you..."

"I understand, Hermione," said Harry in a disappointed voice that left Hermione wishing Harry would have shouted, as she felt two inches tall. "Thank you for being honest, even if it was a few months late. So I don’t blow up at you and tell you all to go to hell for keeping information from me, I will leave right now and talk to you later when I have calmed down."

Harry walked off, leaving Daphne, Theodore, and Hermione staring at him.

"You know, I kind of wish he would have attempted to kill us," remarked Theodore.

"Yeah, that calm, cool, disappointed voice is kind of scary, scarier then when Harry attempted to remove Malfoy's eye with a fork earlier this year," added Daphne shuddering at the memory.

Hermione said nothing but slumped against the wall exhausted. For the first time, she wondered if she was taking on too much, with that time turner. She could not sleep at night, having horrific nightmares about doing something accidentally that would alter time for the worse. The time turner was starting to play tricks with Hermione, but Hermione's own sense of common sense was defeated time and time again by her own stubbornness to see everything through to the bitter end. Even if doing this drove her to the point of insanity.

Harry's new Firebolt had caused a great stir within the school, giving him even more attention with the younger students of the Slytherin House as well as some students from other houses. This fact caused Malfoy to becoming more irritated at the fact that the control of the Slytherin House was slowly slipping from his slimy hands. In Harry's opinion, Malfoy deserved a lonely and friendless existence, after all of the rotten things he said, most of these regarding Ginny, and did over the past few years. More or less, Draco Malfoy had no one to blame but himself for steadily drop of influence within the Slytherin House.

The day of the Quidditch Match between Slytherin and Hufflepuff arrived. Slytherin, despite their victory last time, was second place in the Quidditch House Cup standings behind Ravenclaw. This fact ate away at Flint and it caused him to work the team more viciously then ever.

Flint did not even bother with a victory speech, just growling at his team and gritting his teeth. Harry looked at Flint, he could not leave Hogwarts soon enough. The Slytherin Team came out, ready for action. The crowd cheered the loudest for Harry when he came out.

"The destruction of Harry Potter's Nimbus 2000 was a great loss for the Slytherin Team or so it seemed," said Lee Jordan over the magical megaphone. "However, Potter acquired a Firebolt broom recently. The Firebolt’s the best broom on the market, its speed unmatched by..."

"JORDAN!" yelled Professor McGonagall. "Quit talking about the Firebolt and get on with the match."

"Right Professor," said Lee. "Anyway, Hufflepuff is about to score, oh Boyle just whacked Chaser Smith in the back with a beater bat. That was a no good, low, dirty by that slimy..."

"Jordan, I'm warning you," ordered McGonagall.

Madam Hooch awarded Hufflepuff a foul, which Bletchley blocked. Harry circled the pitch, followed closely by the Hufflepuff Seeker, Cedric Diggory. His Firebolt was easily the fastest broom on the pitch and due to Harry's own talent in flying that had made him even more of a tough person to beat.

Harry ducked underneath a bludger whacked towards him before he saw one of the Hufflepuff chasers put a goal past Bletchley. Flint looked irate.

"Bletchley get on the ball!" thundered Flint. "Bole, Derrick, assault them with everything you've got. Potter, find that damn snitch before they get too far ahead."

Harry flew up into the air, with Diggory quickly marking him. Slytherin managed to tie the game up ten-ten before Harry dodged underneath another bludger. Harry was determined to have one Quidditch game without an attempt on his life.

"Potter seems to be on the trail of the Snitch, no doubt due to his excellent Firebolt, whose acceleration factor is..."

"JORDAN! Are you being paid to advertise Firebolts or being paid to do commentary?"

Harry saw the snitch hovering by the Hufflepuff bleachers. Shooting up, Harry went after the Snitch, his hand extended outwards. Diggory was close towards him but there was no way he could catch Harry. Harry clasped the snitch in his hand. As a result, the Slytherin supporters went into an explosion of cheers, the match ending A Hundred and Sixty to Ten, in favor of Slytherin.

Later that night, Harry was wandering the hallways when he ran into Hermione. Hermione looked rather tired, with dark rings underneath her eyes, and it looked like she hadn't slept in days.

Hermione looked up at Harry. Despite Harry being civil with her, Daphne, and Theodore, she still felt extremely guilty not telling Harry about Buckbeak's fate sooner.

"Harry, I'm really sorry about not telling you about Buckbeak," said Hermione, barely able to suppress a yawn.

"I got over not being informed a long time ago but right now that’s not the point. Your current condition due to your class load appears to be taking its toll on you, Hermione. Basically, Hermione you look like the living dead," said Harry. Hermione opened her mouth to say something but Harry cut her off by raising his hand. "No seriously, Hermione, when's the last time you got a good night sleep?"

"What's the date today, Harry?" asked Hermione, barely able to keep herself standing.

"Hermione, you’re taking way too many classes, you are going to end up killing yourself," said Harry. "Still I wonder what could...of course why didn't I think of it sooner?"

Hermione winced, Harry had figured out what had been going on.

"Hermione, you’ve been using a time turner," whispered Harry looking horrified at the very thought. Harry remembered reading about this in a book about rare and sometimes dangerous magical objects. Several people using time turners extensively had been known to go mad due to not being able to keep two separate lives apart.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about, Harry," said Hermione looking rather unconvincing, attempting not to break out into tears.

"That is the only way you have been taking two classes at once for several periods," said Harry. "Hermione, I want you to think long and hard about what you’re doing. I won't make you give up the time turner, as it’s out of my hands but if you have any shard of common sense left in you, you’ll drop the time turner, at the very least at the end of this year."

Before Hermione could answer, Ron came storming down the corridor, looking rather angered, while clutching something cloth like in his hand.

"Hermione, your cat finally managed to do it!" snapped Ron his eyes widened in anger. "I told you, I warned you he was after Scabbers but you would not listen and look at...look at this."

Ron thrust a torn piece of bed sheet with blood on it, looking rather moody. Also there appeared to be several hairs that might belong to a ginger cat on them.

"You think Crookshanks did this," whispered Hermione, looking about ready to cry. The time turner was slowly unhinging her sanity, bit by bit, maybe she should give it up like Harry said.

"That's exactly what I am thinking!" yelled Ron, unable to keep his temper in check. Hermione looked about ready to lose her temper as well and Harry decided to slowly wander off. He did not want to witness this, especially when Hermione went off due to pressure of being under the time turner.

"Ronald, if you kept a better eye on Scabbers, none of this would have happened!" screamed Hermione angrily. "But sure if you want, blame me. After all everything is my bloody fault!"

Hermione turned and stormed off. Ron was left in her wake, wondering if he said too much to Hermione.

"Hermione, I..." said Ron, not wondering what he could possibly say.

A few days after the Easter Holidays, there seemed to be a great state of restlessness. In the Room of Requirement, Raph and Mikey were starting to get a little stir crazy from not being able to go out. Harry had put the kibosh on any wanderings in the corridors, due to the fact he feared Dumbledore would be looking out for anything suspicious due to the pranks that were done to him earlier in the year.

"I can't take it anymore!" yelled Mikey. "All this being in one area. I need to explore, I'm bored!"

"Yes, I heard you and I rather agree," said Raph. "Master Splinter is dead set on not leaving until the end of the year. I need to stretch my legs, maybe pick a fight or two."

Don was working on his calculation methods of making Muggle electronics work in a heavy magical environment such as Hogwarts or the Ministry of Magic. He threw his pencil down in frustration, he was not getting anywhere in this, the calculations would be a lot easier once he was back with his computer in New York.

"I say we go out for five minutes," suggested Don. "After all, what can happen in a period of five minutes? We're ninjas, we can sneak around and not being seen. It should be a piece of cake to not let anyone see us."

"You know, I don't see the harm of doing that," commented Mikey. "Come on, let's go exploring."

"Yeah but only five minutes, no doubt Leo, Master Splinter, and Harry will all flip if we did anything that alerted Dumbledore's suspicions," said Raph slowly.

The three brothers had left the Room of Requirement but Leo had seen them go.

"Those three are unbelievable," said Leo in exasperation. "Harry gave them one simple request not to go exploring, backed up by Master Splinter even, and they have to go against it."

Leo rushed out, to try and stop his brothers from doing anything stupid. It was tough being the responsible one most days and Leonardo knew that better than anyone.

"Wow this place is big," said Mikey in awe. "Let's go to the Headmaster's office and knock on his door before running off laughing."

"No, I really don't think we should tempt fate," said Don in a logical voice. "Dumbledore has likely increased his security."

The three explored for a couple of minutes before running into a very ticked off looking Leo.

"Uh, Hi, Leo," said Mikey meekly, looking at the angered expression on his older brother’s face.

"You three have a lot of explaining to do!" yelled Leo. "Harry warned you of the dangers of being exposed, but yet you recklessly wander off for no reason at all. This behavior is unacceptable, you are trained ninjas, act like them!"

"Jeez Leo, what crawled up your shell and died today?" asked Raph.

Leo would not be deterred; he needed to make his brother’s realize the dangers of being reckless.

"This reckless nature is the same thing that got the entire Foot wanting to kill us!" continued Leo in a lecturing voice. "The fact we got away from the Ministry of Magic last time was sheer dumb luck. If the Aurors were better at working together than they were, they would have wiped us up and we probably would have been sold to some government laboratory for genetic experiments. If we’re seen, that could very well happen or worse, we could get the entire Ministry of Magic on our shells..."

Raph, Mikey, and Don heard someone coming but Leo was too busy ranting about the risks of being seen. The irony of it all is while Leo was ranting about the risks, he was seen. Raph, Mikey, and Don managed to conceal themselves but by the time Leo saw what was coming, it was too late.

Draco Malfoy walked up, greeted by the most peculiar sight. It seemed there was a giant turtle in the hallway at Hogwarts. He wondered if that fool Hagrid had gotten a new pet that had somehow gotten loose. There was only one way to find out, as Draco got closer.

Leo spun around, drawing his weapons in panic at the thirteen year old that snuck up behind him. That caused the boy to shriek in terror like a little girl before running off in the opposite direction.

Draco Malfoy kept running, that disgusting half-breed turtle thing was going to attack him. There was only one logical course of action in Draco's mind. He was going to write to his father, telling him that he should get someone from the Department of the Disposal of Magical Creatures due to the fact their seemed to be a giant vicious killer turtle at Hogwarts and judging by the number of voices Malfoy heard when he came to investigate there will be more.

Dumbledore was sitting in his office when he heard an incoming Floo Call. The Headmaster walked up to the fireplace and on the other end was the head of Walden MacNair of the Department of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures.

"Dumbledore, we have received intelligence that there are other dangerous creatures residing in Hogwarts then the hippogriff that attempted to murder Draco Malfoy," said MacNair in a gruff voice.

"What creatures are these?" asked Dumbledore.

"None of your concern," snapped MacNair. "I have an order from the Ministry of Magic to search Hogwarts and put down any dangerous creatures that my team sees on the spot."

"Very well, then," said Dumbledore. "I will grant you access to the school. When will you be arriving?"

"Tomorrow morning, Dumbledore," said MacNair. "I’ll be bringing my axe, as we may very well have to have an on the spot execution to any of these strange creatures, as the creatures found are breaches of Magical Law and should be put down before they breed."

Dumbledore nodded, wondering what magical creatures MacNair was talking about.

In his office, MacNair used a spell to bring his executioner's axe to the sharpest point, while looking at the stuffed trophies of all the exotic and rare magical creatures his department caught and executed over the years. Tomorrow he would apparently be adding giant turtles to his trophy collection.