Unveiling Secrets: A New Path for Harry Potter

The next few days flew by as Harry and Dobby cleaned and organized their new home. They took time to shop as well, with a trip to Diagon Alley early on a Tuesday morning in an attempt to avoid crowds. Harry purchased three large multi-compartment trunks. One he used to store his mother's things as he slowly made his way through her old bedroom. He felt strangely detached from her still, which was at least helpful when he went through her old underwear drawer. He went through that drawer as quickly as possible though. Harry had enough issues to deal with already.

Pansy reported that her mother was showing too much decorum, sadly. She had done something similar the summer before, restricting her drinking and putting on a proper facade. Several other pure blood mothers and their children came by for visits, or occasionally she would take Pansy out. Pansy's letter after having to endure an afternoon with the Malfoys was particularly caustic. It might have been funny if Harry wasn't so horrified for her sake. Certain parts of the letter did get a few ideas spinning in his head though. Lucius Malfoy needed to pay for the Chamber of Secrets.

In the mean time, Harry blew through his summer assignments. He did not put nearly as much effort into them as Hermione would have liked but they all seemed like little more than busy work to him. And Harry had a lot of more important things to do. Namely, practicing magic as much as possible.

After his accidental discovery with the Scourgify spell, he decided to focus on only a few spells to start. Accio, a spell for summoning items, was at the top of his list. It was a general purpose spell that could be useful in a variety of ways, but after dropping his wand in the Chamber and having the Riddle ghost/spirit/whatever pick it up and use it, he wanted to be able to summon his wand back to him. With the disarming spell already taught in the single dueling club meeting last year, being able to get your wand back in your hand as fast as possible seemed like a particularly important skill. Especially as often as Harry was attacked. It took him a few hours to master the spell, but once he did so, summoning his wand back to his hand came almost instantly. Perhaps the wand choosing the wizard meant more than he originally thought? It certainly seemed to zoom into his hand as if it knew that it belonged there.

He also got to know the Brightwells a bit better. The older couple was quite pleasant, Ruby in particular seeming to want to dote on him as much as possible. She was always willing to chat with him or offering to cook him dinner. He learned that her son worked for the Daily Prophet as a reporter. They had a subscription through him and Harry took to looking through it second hand. It seemed useful to want to learn what he could of magical society, even though it was antiquated and apparently corrupt as hell. If the good guys like Dumbledore didn't do the right thing, then he worried what the rest of them were capable of. Even a month later, there was still no news at all of what had happened at Hogwarts. The Chamber of Secrets was going to be swept under the rug. At least Hagrid had been freed from Azakban, not that he had belonged there in the first place.

Harry also kept a look out for any references to himself. It seemed that he had freed himself with no repercussions so far. His paranoia mellowed a bit, but he kept glancing through the paper none the less.

He had also picked up several books on magic from Diagon Alley and had been going through them looking for things that would be important to learn. Spells used in combat were at the top of his list, and after mastering Accio, the shield charm was the next that he began working on.

Pansy's bad luck held for two weeks before her mother finally slipped into her usual routine of drinking too much and complaining about everything. Leddy was treated better than ever by Pansy and soon the house-elf was aiding her in keeping her mother inebriated and out of her hair. It was a warm Thursday night when she called for Dobby and asked him to bring Harry over.

Harry and Dobby appeared with a crack and Pansy was thankful that she had remembered to cast a silencing spell.

"That is quite a bit more pleasant than using a portkey," Harry said as he looked around her bedroom.

"Welcome to my humble abode."

"Nice room, even bigger than I had expected."

"Size isn't everything, or so they say." It was the first time in two weeks that he'd seen that smirk and Harry had missed it more than he had guessed he would.

"So, any bright new ideas for our little enterprise?"

"Not yet, but I've been feeling a bit complacent with my father away."

"Well, I've been quite productive lately. Practicing magic in the summer has been so much more useful than last year was."

"It's really not fair to people that have to live with muggles. I can practice all I want here."

"How come?"

"The ministry doesn't watch over old pureblood homes like this. People like my parents would never stand for it. The people in charge are almost all wealthy purebloods. They have no problems with subjecting lesser magicals to different sets of regulations."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Indeed. Want to show me what you've been working on?"

"Later," Harry said as he tried to nonchalantly check out Pansy. She wasn't dressed for bed yet, but was wearing a light blue dress that only came part way down her thighs. This showed even more of her legs than he'd seen before, and by god Harry loved her legs.

She coughed as she noticed him checking her out and he felt the need to look away for a moment while recollecting his thoughts. "I've had some ideas about dealing with Lucius Malfoy."

"Go on..."

"Your letter mentioned rumors of his improper behavior. If we could catch him being particularly naughty, maybe we could get him thrown in Azkaban."

"I'm intrigued, but this has been tried before. Malfoy would just throw some gold to Fudge. The minister is known for being in his pocket."

"That may be so, but what if the Daily Prophet just happened to be there when Malfoy was caught? And the story just happened to get out before Malfoy could start bribing everyone?"

"That is wicked enough to be worthy of a Slytherin, Mr. Potter," Pansy said with a sly grin. He thought for a moment that she might have been checking him out as well, but if so, she was much less blatant about it. "I guess you are working towards becoming my assistant in the brains department after all."

"Your glowing praise warms my meager heart, milady," Harry answered in a posh accent.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves though."

"Of course not. Dobby?"

The elf faded in to sight, suggesting to Harry that he had not left but merely hidden to give them some privacy. "Dobby is here."

"Dobby, can you still return to the Malfoy home?"

"Yes, but master Harry, please don't send Dobby back to the bad masters," Dobby said with tears in his eyes.

"I never will Dobby. That's not what I meant. Could you go there to see if the bad masters are doing bad things? Specifically if Lucius Malfoy is doing something bad. He tried to kill me and my friends last year. He should not get away with this. He belongs in prison so he can't hurt anyone else."

"Dobby can see what old bad master is doing."

"Okay, just be careful to not be caught Dobby." The elf disappeared. "Dobby told me about a secret door that leads down to the Malfoy dungeons and a hidden room where 'dark magic things' are kept. We just need to tip off the press and the aurors at the same time. Especially if we can get them there when Lucius has an unauthorized guest or two."

"Ooh, I love it. It will also humiliate Draco to see dear Daddy caught with his pants down. I can't wait to see the little shit squirm when he finds he can't just threaten to tell his daddy that everyone isn't kissing his ass any more."

"That almost makes me wish I was in Slytherin."

"Only almost?"

"Well most of your class mates seem fairly unpleasant. I did really like the look of the common room though. Those windows looking out into the lake and the murky light seeping in were beautiful in a dark, broody kind of way."

"When have you been in the Slytherin common room?"

"Last year at Christmas. Hermione brewed polyjuice potion so we could sneak in and interrogate Malfoy about the whole Heir of Slytherin business since he was strutting around. Ron and I disguised ourselves as Crabbe and Goyle and got him talking. Of course it turned out that Malfoy didn't know as much as he wanted to make people think, but clearly his father knew more. I just didn't find out how much more till the end of the year. And it only nearly cost me my life. You want to know something funny?"

"Your tone suggests this something isn't actually funny."

"Well, more of a black comedy type of funny. When I freed Dobby from Lucius, he tried to attack me. This was right outside of Dumbledore's office mind you, right after the headmaster let him go with a warning even though he told him he knew that Malfoy had been behind the Chamber of Secrets re-opening and the attacks. We were less than fifty feet outside his office and Dumbledore did nothing even though he supposedly knows everything that goes on in the school. I wonder if its from the portraits spying on everything for him."

"Could be the Hogwarts house-elves as well," Pansy offered.

"Or both even. I had nearly died in the Chamber, then get attacked by one of Voldemort's loyal followers right outside his office. Neither time did the almighty Dumbledore lift a finger to help me. At least his pet likes me though."

"Dammit Harry, whenever you tell me things like that it makes me worry more. Are all the adults in our world fools?"

"Hey, some of them are just outright evil instead. Or also."

"You don't need to tell me that."

"Right, sorry. So, how have you been?"

"I've missed you. Scheming is more fun with a partner. I like this idea about dealing with the Malfoys. Getting the great Lord Malfoy out of the way would help protect me from having something arranged with Draco, which would be the best part for me. Although sending him to prison for nearly getting you killed isn't too far behind in second place." Harry chuckled and Pansy joined him before continuing. "It's a step in the right direction, but we'll need to do more to to find a permanent solution."

"I'm sorry that there haven't been any near death experiences yet this summer."

"If only some magical creature would attack the manor and then you could rescue me. Perhaps a dragon could stop by for tea some afternoon. Mother might not even notice if he comes late enough."

"Maybe you just need some good luck. I haven't been around lately to help out with that," Harry said with an excited gleam in his eye.

"Are you propositioning me, Lord Potter?"

"Only if you are interested, milady."

"I guess I should check to make sure you haven't gotten too out of practice."

"Who says I haven't been practicing?"

"Has someone else been getting up to improper behavior with muggles? Or has Dobby been helping you out with more than I want to know?"

Harry shook his head with a laugh, "No, Dobby's not my type."

"And what is your type?" Pansy asked with a challenge in her voice.

"I like girls with a sharp edge and a sarcastic, even bitter, view. Dark hair is a plus, as are mischievous eyes that hint that I could get in trouble with her. And incredible legs are always a plus too," Harry said as he moved towards her. Pansy backed up a bit before bumping into the side of her bed. Then she was in his arms, and she slid her hands up his back and pulled him in for a kiss. It felt searing, her desire had grown more than she had thought since she had been with him last. Pansy also realized briefly that he must have had a growth spurt as he was now a bit taller than her. But all thought quickly melted away as she licked at his lips and his mouth opened for her. Harry's body pressed into her and she fell back onto the bed. With her arms still wrapped around him, he was pulled on top of her. He moved back for a second before kissing near her ear, then trailing down to her neck. His lips were soft but insistent as they moved down her neck to her collarbone, then changed sides and kissed back up her neck. She gasped in pleasure and instinctively wrapped her legs around him. Harry answered by moving one hand down and stroking her leg slowly. Pansy felt true lust for the first time and moaned into his mouth as his lips returned to kiss her again. Before she lost all control, she was able to pull away.

"Wait, wait," her breathing was heavy. "I don't need to break a betrothal yet."

"Sorry," Harry answered as he moved back, climbing off of her as she unwrapped her legs from around his waist. "I guess I got a little out of control."

"It seems you have been practicing."

"No, just studied a bit."

"Studied what exactly?"

"A little of this, a little of that," Harry answered with a sly grin. With the help of a glamour charm and a fake ID, Harry had begun his study into all things female. Erotica took many forms and Harry was eager to soak it up. His hormones greatly approved as well. But he was also looking into everything he could about women in general as well. He wanted to know everything to better understand Pansy. She was his partner after all. Even after spending two years hanging out with Hermione, girls in general baffled him.

"Well, keep on studying. I might have to become your assistant on the physical side of things after all."

"That sounds like a worth while goal," Harry said as he stood up. He was unable to look away from her though; her dress had slid up and he could see almost every inch of her legs. Pansy caught him staring and laughed.

"I do have incredible legs, don't I?"

"Yes," Harry answered simply.

"My face is up here, Lord Potter."

"True, but you are clearly a wicked temptress. You invite me into your room, then draw me over to your bed and wrap yourself around me. You are obviously trying to seduce me, and I, the poor naive young lord, am incapable of resisting your charms."

Pansy laughed. "That's good to know. I'll be able to run this partnership however I like then."

Harry forced himself to look away from her. She was stunning. He had seen a number of women in various states of undress recently, but none of them took his breath away as she did in this moment. He laughed to himself.

"I might still have some other uses, and you did say that I could be your assistant brain earlier."

"You are looking a bit healthier, so putting you in charge of the muscle was definitely a good idea."

"I've had a lot of work to do and Dobby has been keeping me very well fed."

"I'll have to thank him for that. Now before you are unable to control yourself again, why don't you show me what magic you've been working on."

The rest of that night passed quickly as Harry explained to Pansy his revelations about the nature of magic. How everything seemed to be built on concentration and willpower, and the use of the wand as a focus. He showed her how he had mastered the summoning spell and helped her through the process of trying to learn to cast it both without a wand as well as without speaking. Pansy was able to summon silently without too much work, but summoning without her wand was beyond her for the moment. Harry suggested she keep practicing it, as well as his reasoning for the importance of this spell- summoning your wand back to you if you lose it during a fight was obviously an important skill to learn. She realized that getting closer to Harry would likely lead to her being in more danger at times judging from all the trouble he'd been in during his first two years. Of course, she also had some ideas about how she could keep him from getting in so much trouble in the future. He wouldn't be of much use to her if she let him get himself killed after all.

Harry also gave her a repeat performance of the other sort of magic he'd been working on and she definitely approved of his studies of the physical side of things. They wished each other good night after a thorough snogging and both had incredibly pleasant dreams.

Another few days went by as Harry went through his list of spells that he was working on mastering. Pansy had offered a few suggestions as well, and he had Dobby help him practice the shield spell for an hour every day by magically throwing various things from around the flat at him. This also helped him with the Reparo spell, as he would often have to put things back together or in order after Dobby bounced them off his shield.

One evening, after a pleasant meal with the Brightwells- Ruby was a terrific cook, without being nearly as domineering as Mrs. Weasley- Harry returned back to his flat to find Dobby once again out. He sat down and read for a few minutes before Dobby popped back in, bouncing with excitement.

"Master Harry sir! The old bad master is doing naughty things again. This is what the great Harry Potter sir has been waiting for!"

Harry had a wicked grin as Dobby recounted all the naughty things Lucius Malfoy was getting up to and by the end of the little house-elf's story, Harry laughed almost maniacally. It was time for revenge. He got out several pieces of parchment and began to write.