Chapter 27: chapter 26:Viewpoints
Draco sat in the corner of the Slytherin Common Room, frowning in thought.
The recent (and highly-publicized) drubbing of the Slytherin Quidditch Team had severely reduced the awe that most of the House of Cunning had for the seven flyers and Draco was already making plans for the next year, having written to his mother to secure private Quidditch training over the upcoming summer with an emphasis on the position of Chaser (although Seeker was a possibility).
However, although that would help with the next year, it was this year that was proving problematic. Not only had Potter managed to counter or avoid both of his father's schemes, he had forced his father to make a donation to Hogwarts and although the money had gone to the Potions department (Lucius was very respectful of Professor Snape's skills), it still acted to reinforce Dumbledore's position, meaning that Lucius would not be able to maneuver his way into the Headmaster's Chair this year and Draco wouldn't be given the advantages he so rightfully deserved.
He needed to do something to damage the reputation of Saint Potter, but what?
Rumors were a possibility, but Potter seemed almost immune to them and those that he was affected by, he tended to move against quite spectacularly.
Violence was another option, but Draco had heard that Professor Flitwick was training Potter and his hangers-on. Going up against someone personally trained by a five-times European Dueling Champion was a risky proposition at best and was far more likely to be a socially suicidal move, if not a literal one.
Even going to Professor Snape for advice wasn't an option these days. Although the Head of Slytherin did act to protect his Snakes, the one time Draco had complained about Potter, Snape had glared at him and told him to keep such comments to himself. Draco didn't know what Potter was blackmailing him with in order to keep the Potions Master from taking the proper steps to slap him down and put him in his proper place, but it was undeniable that Potter did have leverage that Draco needed to uncover as soon as possible and bring to his father's attention.
Then again, considering how his father had reacted by banning him from repeating his statement when Draco noted that the non-pureblood author T.M. Riddle was obviously beneath them, he wasn't as certain as he was before that his father was still in full command of his faculties.
Once the summer holidays began, he might have to add lessons in how to manage finances and the other responsibilities of being Head of House to his planned Quidditch practices.
If his father was starting to slip, he needed to be ready to take over and ensure his father was kept safe from those who would try to use his faulty strategems against him.
The fact it would place him in charge of the famed Malfoy Fortune was simply a nice bonus.
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Hermione glared at the blank sheet in front of her.
"Need help?" Sue Li asked as she sat down beside Hermione. "What are you doing, anyway?"
"Harry managed to persuade me to write to some girls who are coming to Hogwarts next year and want advice." Hermione admitted with a sigh. "I've never had a Pen-pal before and now Harry drops two of them on me! What do I write?"
"Who are the girls?" Sue asked.
"Ginny and Luna. I don't know this Luna's surname, but Ginny is apparently related to Fred and George."
"A Weasley?" Sue asked in surprise. "Odd, for generations, they've only had boys."
Hermione gave Sue a sideways glance. "So?"
"Do you know how many families want a curse like that put on them?" Sue asked in shock. "I mean, boys mean that the family name keeps going, that the family line won't become subsumed into another family. Quite a few families have resorted to things like Blood Adoption in order to ensure that they keep going. Heck, the Bones Family is likely to end in this generation, only two of them are still alive and both of them are female!"
"I… didn't realize." Hermione said slowly. "I mean, I thought that men and women were equal here…"
"Legally, we are." Sue shrugged. "With magic, you can't really claim superiority since the other gender can hit you with magic just as easily and there are some potions that can actually change a person's gender, although they tend to be quite expensive. Heck, the Magical World has had effective sexual equality since soon after the Statute of Secrecy split us from the Muggle world. Of course, the family-name thing is traditionally male, and I'm sure you've seen what we're like with traditions."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Merlin, yes. Do anything three times and it's a tradition that can't be changed."
"If it works, why risk changing it?" Sue pointed out, then she looked behind her as her name was called. "Oops, got to go. I'll send Padma across to help, her sister knows some of the Weasleys so she may have some insights you can use."
After Sue had departed, Hermione shook her head.
"If it works, why risk changing it." She quoted. "No wonder it seems like I'm still in the Middle Ages!"
"Hey, Hermione." Padma smiled as she took the seat that Sue Li had just vacated. "So, what's this I hear about you blaming Harry for your new Penpals?"
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Neville finished tamping the soil down around the Whomping Willow sapling, his hands darting between the clumsy (but surprisingly powerful) blows the three-inch-high sprout was trying to deliver.
"Done!" He called and Professor Sprout looked up from her own work.
"Well done, Mr. Longbottom." She smiled approvingly. "That's all for now, so take twenty points for volunteering to help out and go get something to eat. Plants aren't the only things that need fuel to grow, you know."
Neville nodded as he stripped off his gloves, rubbing at the bruise on his left hand where he had almost avoided the strike. Placing the gloves in the box set aside for them, he stepped out of the greenhouse, the cold air hitting him almost like a slap. A glance to one side showed him that the Ravenclaw team was still practising for their next match, then he strode towards Hogwarts. Tonks had shown him where the Kitchens were and he was feeling quite hungry.
Motion caught his eye and he half-turned, fingers ready to make the sign that would activate the low-powered banishing charm in his wrist-holster, but it was only a Centaur vanishing back into the Forbidden Forest.
Relaxing, Neville glanced at the end of the three-inch-long holster just visible and not for the first time, he wondered how practical such a device would have been without the interior-expansion charm that allowed him to store his thirteen-inch wand without it poking out past his elbow.
Shaking off his mental wanderings, Neville strode confidently into Hogwarts.
He had a meal to find.
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In his private study, Severus Snape slowly closed the book he had been reading and, with a trembling hand, stroked the cover.
Although he was truly grateful to Lily's son for sharing the journals of the one who had once been his closest friend, he wasn't looking forwards to the next one, the journal which held within it Lily's view of his deepest mistake, the one sentence… no, the one word that had shattered the friendship that he had valued above anything and everything else in his life. A mistake that had ruined his future and sent him into the service of one of the darkest, most evil people ever to stride across the land.
"Lily…" He whispered, his eyes fixed on the book yet unseeing, "Every day I have regretted my actions… will you ever forgive me?"
His only answer was silence.
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Tonks spun out of the way of a stunner and stutter-stepped to dodge a trio of piercing hexes launched at her by the Charms professor. Her response was a barrage of stunners, binding spells and various impediment jinxes, all of which the diminutive Professor managed to dodge, block or deflect in a flurry of motion which was somehow both incredibly controlled and explosively energetic at the same time.
A leap carried her over a purple-and-teal spell she didn't recognize, then she fell as the floor beneath suddenly turned frictionless.
"Ooof!"
A flicker of motion was all the warning she received, but it was enough as she frantically jack-knifed into the air. Although the landing once again robbed her of her breath it didn't actually stop her from acting, even as she impacted on the slippery flagstones, she managed to fire a wide-angle low-powered stunner in order to buy the time she needed to recover.
"Time!"
The floor beneath her regained its roughness and Tonks slumped, panting.
"Well done." Flitwick congratulated her and she mentally snarled at him for managing to sound as if he hadn't had to exert himself at all. "Your reflexes are very good and the way that you used your Metamorphmagi skills to help you dodge my spells was quite ingenious."
Tonks slowly levered herself into a sitting position as Flitwick conjured a cushion and dropped onto it, resting his hands on his knees.
"You're slightly better now than most Aurors after six months." He stated and Tonks smiled. "Of course, more practice wouldn't hurt."
Tonks groaned and Flitwick chuckled.
"Don't worry." He said reassuringly. "You're picking up the tricks of dueling and combat quite quickly."
"Thanks." Tonks grimaced as she rubbed at her aching ribs.
"Now." Flitwick said seriously. "Let us work through the duel. What mistakes did you make and how could you have taken control of the battle?"
Tonks began to search through her memories of the battle, but even with her Occlumancy training, it was difficult to remember each spell and evasion in order.
Naturally, Flitwick wouldn't have any issues at all due to his decades of experience.
Damn Harry for bringing her to Flitwick's attention.
Even if she was probably going to be the Valedictorian of the Auror graduating class as a result…
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"Nice one, Percy!"
The aforementioned redhead nodded in acknowledgement to his younger twin brothers as he swooped down into a near-perfect landing, one hand holding the Training Snitch firmly.
"Good one." Oliver Wood said approvingly. "Less than thirty minutes and we'll need that against the Ravens."
"With Protego Potter"/"preventing anyone from scoring"/"against Ravenclaw, you"/"need to get the Snitch"/"before they score enough"/"that they'll win anyway."
"Will you two please stop talking like that?" Percy sighed as he handed the Snitch over to Wood, then he looked up as someone clapped from the stands.
"Charles?"
"Hey, Percy." Charlie called as he waved down at his three younger brothers. "Running Seeker training drills?"
Both Oliver and Percy nodded and Charlie reached down to pick up a broom.
"A brand new Comet S3, brother. Trade you."
Percy re-mounted his broomstick and flew up to his older brother, who stepped aside to let him land.
"Charles… this is worth far more than my broom…"
"Trade. You." Charlie repeated firmly, almost snatching Percy's broom and replacing it with the newer model. "If you want to thank me, then make sure that you are the one to get the Snitch when you go up against the Ravens. I've seen their Seeker and she's pretty good."
"Not to mention just pretty!" One of the twins called up.
"If you're behind her, make sure you get a good look!" The other joked and Percy face-palmed.
"Why do I put up with them again?"
"Probably because they're the best Beaters in Gryffindor despite being total idiots." Charlie said with a straight face. Percy nodded in agreement as the twins made noises of disagreement.
"So, how long before you head back to Romania?"
"Another three days." Charlie shrugged. "I have to say, while Hagrid may not be well-read when it comes to dragons, he really understands them on an instinctual level. I think I've learned more from him than I have at the Dragon Reserve."
Percy nodded, then he looked down at a shout from the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.
"Time to practice again." He sighed as he straddled the S3 and rose smoothly into the air. Charlie grinned and followed him up, earning a confused look.
"You need to practice, and what better way than a competition." Charlie grinned. "Let me show you how a real Seeker flies!"
Percy gave him an affronted look, then suddenly rolled into a dive. Charlie eyes tracked his vector and quickly spotted the moving golden glint.
"Nice one, Percy, but is it nice enough?" He whispered to himself as he dove to pick up speed and try to beat his brother to the Snitch.
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