Spell Master

Author: Babychan

email: baby_chan1778@yahoo.com or babychan1778@yahoo.com

Title: Spell Master

Rating: R but it will become NC17 later.

Series: Yes. Chapter 9/?

Parings: H/D S/N/L N/B

Summary: The wizarding world is going to find out that Harry Potter is not the only one with awesome powers. Its a Pro-Slytherin and Pro-Draco fic. This is slash fiction. This is also the re-edited version.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its characters do NOT belong to me :( (pout) I’m just writing for the fun of it. I get no money for it whatsoever. I also don’t own the Shakespearian quote in this chapter either.

A.N.: Please be gentle with your reviews. This is my first fanfic


Spell Master


Hermione never made it to breakfast that morning, and by the looks of it, Draco was not going to be able to end the meeting early, as he first intended, to go to the teachers meeting.

Why?

*Supposedly,* there was a *War* going on in the Prefects Parliament. A War between the Gryffindor Head Girl and the Slytherin Head Boy for the majority of the votes.

Apparently, the battle started when the bushy-haired Head Girl spazzed, once she found out how many points her House was in the negative *and* from which Head of the House they were taken from. Certain that it was some kind of conspiracy, she went to confront Draco about this unfair and astronomical deduction in points. However, the xanthochroid’s reaction was not what she expected. Instead of angrily supporting Snape’s actions, he laughed at her plight and reminded her that yesternight *she* was in good sport about the row he had with Potter. A behavior that was *completely inappropriate* considering her position. He also reminded her that as Head Girl, she shouldn’t be complaining about the fact that punishment was infracted. No, she should be standing by Snape’s decision. Even praising it, since Professor Lupin, who clearly favored Gryffindor, failed to properly use his discretion.

All this, of course, was said loudly, and with a rectitude that made the Slytherin sound rationally justified.

When the Prefects of every House, except Gryffindor, “here here‘d” their agreement with Draco’s words and Snape’s actions...

Well actually, it was mostly the Prefects from Slytherin and most of the Ravenclaw, who were still sore about being shifted into third place, at last years, End of the Year Banquet, who cheered on Malfoy’s discourse.

But Granger couldn’t differentiate who supported the decision and who didn‘t because she was too angry. And she became even more upset with him after the Head Boy did a slight, yet royal bow of his head to the encouraging crowd. Hermione wasn’t stupid. She knew what he was doing. He was gaining alliances by playing up on his, and the other Houses, self perceived injustices. And unfortunately for her, they were eating it up like candy.

In Hermione’s opinion, Malfoy was such a sneaky bastard! And in a moment of blind rage, she told him so and accompanied it with some choice words too.

Immediately, the whole room got quite.

A few students were even shocked into distress and started to whimper. Hufflepuffs of course.

The Ravenclaw’s wondered if Granger came down with some sort of brain damage or something. Because apparently the Gryffindor hadn’t learned that it was a bad idea to insult Draco Malfoy.

The Gryffindors cheered at the fact that Hermione was still not afraid of Malfoy.

And the Slytherin’s were repulsed by her behavior and called her actions “mugglish” and plebian. However, they were curious to see how Draco was going to punish this infraction.

Amazingly enough, Malfoy didn’t get upset. Actually, he bit back a chuckle because he knew that she would react this way. In his opinion, Gyffindors were so easy to goad. And there reactions were so predictable. Always violent, whether verbally or physically. But always violent.

Draco looked around the room and at all of the shocked faces. There was only one thing he could do, because there was no way he was going to let Hermiones’ behavior slide. Head Girl or not, she was out of line.

The Head Boy redirected his gaze to the muggle-born beside him and said in a low and highly amused voice.

“25 points Gryffindor!”

“WHAT!!” Granger cried out indignantly.

“I don’t believe I stuttered, Granger, but if you failed to hear me, I said 25 points Gryffindorl!’”

The girl was frozen, with shock, when she noticed the visual magical points-tally take away the points. She was so upset, she almost started to hyperventilate. Granger knew for a fact that shouldn’t have happened! It was impossible! Head Persons did not have the power to do that. Of course, they could take away points, even from each other, but it was supposed to be impossible to take points away for merely disagreeing with a person. And even if Malfoy was taking points away for her words of anger, there was *no way* he could have taken THAT MANY POINTS AWAY!

At her dismay, Draco didn’t even try to conceal his amusement.

Blaise looked over toward Pansy. The two were the 7th year prefects for Slytherin. The raven-haired boy drolly remarked that Hermione walked right into that one.

Draco knew that he couldn’t take that many points away as *Head Boy*, so instead, he pulled rank and took them away as a *teacher*. Since he had that prerogative. As a Head Boy, the Slytherin was repressed with rules that ‘tried’ to force him to be ‘fair’ but as a teacher, he could be as petty as he wanted to be.

“Respect your betters, girl.” The Slytherin prince drawled in a low and dangerous voice before he sauntered away from the stunned girl.

Draco flashed a beguiling smile toward the large group of Prefects, then, elegantly, took his seat, in the large and ornately carved chair, behind a long desk at the front of the massive room. Then without even waiting for Hermione to sit, in the identical seat next to him, and without her being ready, Draco hit the gavel on the desk and started the meeting as if he were the king of the Hogwarts Castle and this was *his* throne.

Instantly, Granger collected her very pissed-off wits, only to stomp over to him and throw a muggle fit! The tantrum lasted so long, it held up the meeting. She was demanding that Draco respected her as an equal!

As if! A group of pureblood Slytherin laughed.

As if, indeed.

After she realized that her demand for ‘equality’ was futile, the two Head Persons then started to compete for allied votes. Draco had all the votes for Slytherin, while Hermione had all of the votes for Gryffindor. Ravenclaw was split down the middle. And Hufflepuff, who were mostly muggle-borns agreed with Granger but were too afraid to vote against Malfoy.

And Draco was making sure that they were too scared to vote against him.

So there was a lot of drama going on that morning between the Prefects.

Of course, all this was going on behind the hallowed and ornately carved doors of the Prefects Parliament, so no one actually knew if this was true. And since such a scene had never happened before, no one actually believed it. I mean really, Prefects were supposed to be the ones all the other students were to model themselves after, and the Head Boy and Head Girl were supposed to be the pinnacle of ‘Perfection.’ So a war in the school’s Parliament was, in lighter words, preposterous.

However, that didn’t stop the rumor from spreading like wildfire.

No one, besides the students who were in the meeting knew the true reason to why the first –and usually the least important– Prefects meeting was running so long. And since none of the Prefects were present to inform anyone, Silvanus Skeeter, a 4th year Ravenclaw, didn’t mind informing people of the happenings of what was going on behind the ornately-carved and closed doors.

Silvanus was the only son of Rita Skeeter, and like his mother before him, he was a reporter for the school’s news paper, The Hogwarts Observer. So he had a legitimate reason to be at the Prefects meeting this morning. And he wasn’t snooping or *spying* on the meeting like Hermione accused him of, right before she kicked him out.

It was no secret, in the school that Hermione Granger had it in for his family. She had even blackmailed his mother against reporting the truth about Potter. So the boy wasn’t *completely* surprised when she kicked him out. In Silvanus’s opinion, the ‘power’ of Head Girl was going to Granger’s head. Never in all the years had a reporter been kicked out of a Prefects meeting. So what, he was sniggering loudly at her plight; he still shouldn’t have been kicked out. What they discussed was public record!

That was why the young reporter didn’t mind telling *his* version of the truth. Like both of his parents, he was also Pro-Malfoy, Pro-Pureblood and anti-Potter and *anti-Gryffindor.* However, they did have a mild tolerance for mudbloods. Very mild, seeing how they called those types of wizarding folk ‘mudbloods.’ But back to the subject at hand. Seeing that the school’s paper wouldn’t be up and running for another week and a half, the Ravenclaw didn’t mind verbally telling his tale to all who would listen.

Skeeter’s original audience was only Ravenclaw. Those little, intelligent, fortune tellers loved a good piece of gossip. That’s why they were all into divination. They wanted to know everyone's business. However, Silvanus allowed his voice to carry throughout the Great Hall as he let it be known that the Perfects meeting had started going down hill the moment the Gryffindor Head Girl found out that her House was down a hundred points.

“A HUNDRED POINTS!!!!!”

Someone from Gryffindor cried out. Skeeter wasn’t sure who it was, because the table was on the other side of the Hall, but he thought it was Ron Weasely.

After the red-heads outburst, the Slytherin’s started to howl with laughter and cheer the good news. It wasn’t long after that did almost everyone, from every table, start to gather around Slivanus to hear his tale. However, not everyone walked over to the Ravenclaw table. Two people, in particular, stayed in their seat.

The only person who saw Potter’s ashen reaction to Ron’s outburst was Neville, who was sitting beside the boy. Immediately afterward, Harry looked toward the Head Table and at Snape. The raven-haired boy hoped above all hope that Snape didn’t take the points away from Gryffindor because of him.

The man gave the boy a wicked, triumphant smirk. Then went back to eating.

“I’m going to throw up.” Harry mumbled. He looked like he was about to throw up too.

Neville noticed that the boy did have a pasty, greenish color, but instead of scooting away, he scooted closer and assured in a whisper. “Don’t worry about it, Harry.... I mean, I’m sure that Dumbledore will fix it someway....He always does.”

Harry looked at the boy, who was sitting next to him. The words he received from Longbottom were not given in jealous contempt, and he was surprised. Usually, people were envious of the way Dumbledore looked out for him. Harry then looked up at the Head Table again, but at the Headmaster this time. The older man really did look displeased at the turn of events. So did McGonagall and Professor Lupin. Remus actually said something to Snape, and the Potions Master...ignored him. As usual.

Harry wondered why Remus even bothered talking to the oily git at all. Then Minerva said something and Snape looked affronted.

But Harry knew it was fake. He had seen that same look on Malfoy, last night. This wasn’t the first time Harry noticed that Malfoy and Snape shared many of the same mannerisms.

Without even looking at Minerva, the Potions Master answered her, and immediately, everyone stared at him in shock, then glanced at Harry, then back at Snape. The three Gryffindor’s looked defeated and immediately started to leave the table. Snape, however, looked very smug as he returned to his meal.

When the rest of the students left their breakfast, and gathered themselves around the Ravenclaw table, to listen to the rest of Skeeters tale, Harry took that opportunity to quickly get up and try to leave the Hall as quickly as possible. He knew that he was going to be in deep shit when his housemates found out it was his fault. “I think I better find a dark corner to hide in.”

Neville looked up at the boy, narrowed his eyes and grabbed Harry’s arm, to pull him back down. “Harry!”

Manic, green eyes stared at his friend as he tried to jerk away.

“Harry!” Neville whispered in a stern voice. He didn’t want to attract anymore attention to them than he had to, but he wasn‘t going to let Harry go either. “Why are you running?”

“Because they’re going to find out what I--”

“Harry!” Neville interrupted in a serious tone. “They already know what you did! The whole school *knows* what you did! You attacked Draco Malfoy!” He reminded in a low voice.

“Yeah, but Snape didn’t have to take away a hundred points, from Gryffindor, for a little row!” The raven-haired boy cried out indignantly. ‘I mean it’s *just* Draco Malfoy!”

“Just Draco Malfoy?” Neville admonished as his eyes narrowed even more, but in pure anger this time. Despite Gryffindor’s popular belief, Longbottom believed Malfoy to be good people. “Harry, you should be thankful that Snape *only* took away 100 points!” The seeker was about to interrupt but one look into Neville’s hard, brown eyes shut him up. “You didn’t just attack *Draco Malfoy,* Harry. You attacked a *teacher.* You’re lucky you weren’t expelled!”

“A teacher?” Emerald eyes widened in surprise, while his brow knitted in confusion. “Who?”

“Draco that’s who!” Neville almost hissed. “He’s a teacher now, Harry!”

All the color drained from Harry’s face, and the boy stuttered. “A t-teacher of what?”

“Of potions!”

“Then what is Snape?” Harry breathed out in an air of disbelief. He wondered how much he missed when he skipped the meal last night.

“He’s still the potions professor, but he’ll be doing research most of the time. Draco will be teaching most of his classes.” Neville volunteered in a sigh.

The raven-haired boy kept blinking, hard, as his mind tried to process all that he was told. “How?... How, in Merlin’s name, is this possible?”

Neville gave a short shake of the head. “Harry, that’s not important right now. What *is* important is that you need to stop running.”

“You’re one to talk!” Harry shot back before he could stop himself. “Aren’t you leaving the Gryffindor Towers?”

Longbottom sighed. “That’s different”

“How?” Harry asked even though he knew he was being a prat. In truth, he was hoping that maybe he could convince Neville to stay. He didn’t want to loose his roommate.

“It’s different...because...” The shorter boy sighed as he looked down at his balled fist. After a moment of thinking about his rebuttal, he looked up at the seeker. “It’s different because you’re Harry Potter and I’m not.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Neville gave the boy beside him a dumbfounded expression. Could Harry be so daft that he didn’t understand? With a new conviction, Neville gave a Slytherin worthy smirk and drawled arrogantly. “It means... You’re the Boy- Who- Fucking- Lived, and it’s retarded that you are letting a bunch of peon idiots, who couldn‘t cast a decent hex, even with an enhancer wand...”

Harry interrupted with a look of disgust. “How could you say such a thing! I think you’ve been hanging around the Slytherins too long. You sound exactly like them! I mean, even your voice...and what you said about the other Gryffindors!” Potter was shocked, to say the least. To hear Neville say those words and like *that.* It didn’t even sound like him, it sounded like “Malfoy.”

“Well it should sound just like him...” Neville responded, in his own soft tones. He was embarrassed by his words. “I was just repeating what he said...”

“What?”

Neville shook his head and sighed . “Forget about what I just repeated for a moment...and listen to what I am trying to tell you. I mean really, Harry, you defeated You-Know-Who. If anything...you should be running Gryffindor, not letting them run you!”

“In case you have forgotten, You-know-Who is still around and as horrible as ever.” The raven-haired teen reminded.

“Yes, well...that may be true but...” Neville started sheepishly.

“Malfoy really said that about me?” Harry interrupted as if it were of the up-most importance.

Longbottom bit his bottom lip and looked as if he wished that he could take those words back. Malfoy *did* say those words about him, but he wished Harry would just ignore that fact.

“If you’re worried that I will tell someone, I won’t.” Potter assured. “I promise. I just want to know... Did Malfoy really say that about me?”

“It was just idle chit chat, Harry.” Neville brushed off in a nervous whisper. “Nothing of any importance.”

“When?” Potter asked. He wasn’t sure why it was so important to him, but it was. “When did he say this about me?”

The brown-haired boy shrugged, nervously, and cursed his big mouth. “I don’t know.. It was sometime this summer....We were all at his Manor... Or maybe… We were at Vincent‘s, or Pansy‘s...I can’t really remember... I just remember that we were hanging out by *someone’s* pool and then you came up.”

“Oh...” Harry couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. It seemed like maybe Neville really was their friend, since they didn’t mind him hanging out at their houses. Nonetheless, it was hard for him to picture Neville and Slytherin Court just *hanging out* by the pool, like normal kids. Slytherins weren’t like the rest of the students in Hogwarts. They carried themselves like adults, not children, but miniature, angry adults.

“Oh, I remember now!” Neville exclaimed happily. He always felt it was a great accomplishment when he remembered something he had forgotten. “We were at Blaise’s Manor! I really don’t know how I could have forgotten that! Draco was visiting because he had preformed some sort of spell that turned all the water in his house into blood. He was staying there until he found the undoing spell!”

Neville didn’t know that Draco had written that horrid spell. It was supposed to be something else, but he made some sort of mistake in its wording and the spell didn‘t turn out like the young prince expected it would.

“I mean *all* the water, even the moisture,” Longbottom continued. “The rain, mist, the pool, lake, the moat *everything* around, and in, his home turned into blood! It was really quite disgusting! The smell alone, after it started to rot, almost made me puke! He was lucky that his father was away on business and he had the Manor to himself!”

Harry just looked at the boy. He didn’t know why he was jealous, but he was. And that little green seed had planted itself deep within him. It was probably for the fact that the more Neville talked, the more Harry realized that the boy, in front of him had *friends.* He wasn’t a complete reject, like himself. No, Neville had friends that he could hang out with. He visited their homes, went places with them and just hung out with them, like regular a teenagers.

Harry just realized that Neville belonged, and that he had the life that Harry always wanted. To be a regular kid.

The seeker wasn’t sure how much of Neville’s ramblings he missed before he left his pity-parting- thoughts and focused back on the chubby boy, but he was sure he missed a lot because now Neville was on about something else completely.

“Well... Draco wasn’t in the pool with us because he was reading.. .Of course...I mean, he’s *always* reading *something!* ” Neville gave Harry a look as if the Gryffindor should have already known that, then realized that Harry *didn‘t* know that. “Oh... anyway... then Pansy tried to coax him into joining us. I knew he wouldn’t do it...Especially after all the water spells he had to perform just to fix the problem at his house...One of them almost drowned all of us! Luckily, Draco is pretty quick with his undoing spells.”

Harry did his best not to roll his eyes. Neville had a way of making a one minute explanation last into ten minutes. The boy usually included a million worthless details, then topped it off by never getting to answering the question. That was one of the many reason’s no one in Gryffindor talked to him. Harry wondered how the Slytherin Court, of all people, tolerated it. Because it was a known fact that they had a patience of about two seconds.

Oblivious to Harry‘s plight, Longbottom continued. “And after he refused for the nth time, Vincent asked him what was so important that he couldn’t partake in a game of water polo. I had to agree, we needed the extra person because Milly was complaining about being tired. Then without looking up from his book, he answered ‘Grindelwald’ GRINDELWAD!! I mean how boring!”

“Grindelwald?” Harry asked quizzically. “You mean that guy that Dumbledore defeated?”

Neville nodded. “Yeah, then of course, talks of Grindelwald led to talks of You- Know- Who.”

“Of course.” Harry muttered with dry irritation, but not understanding the utter importance of the link between the two men.

“Then Draco said the oddest thing.” Neville admitted as he tapped his chin in deep thought.

“Which was?” Harry asked half interestedly and hoped that the other boy would answer his question quickly, if at all. As it stood, he wasn’t even sure if his other question was answered.

“He told them to leave you alone.”

“Oh, so that was why they didn’t bother me on the train.” Harry mentally thought then asked out loud. “Um... what‘s so odd about that?”

“That in itself was not the odd thing.... But now that I think about it... and considering how much he enjoys tormenting you.. That *is* odd as well!”

Before Neville could ramble onto another subject, Harry interrupted. “Then what was so odd?”

Neville cautiously looked side to side then answered in a conspirator’s whisper. “He said something about... bad blood and not wanting history to repeat itself for a third time.”

Malfoy actually said *mudblood* but Neville was never one to quibble about technicalities.

Before the raven-haired seeker could even question the importance of that statement, he was interrupted by a very, angry Weasley.

“Harry, is it true? You made us lose 100 points?!”

Emerald eyes widened, in shock, right before he quickly looked toward the Head Table. Unfortunately, there were no teachers present. Not even Snape. All the professors had left and went to the teacher’s meeting. He then looked toward the back of the Great Hall, and nope, Filch and Mrs. Norris wasn’t there either! Inwardly, he groaned. And because all the Prefects and the Head Boy and Head Girl were still in the meeting, that meant there was no one here with real authority to end this row before it started or got out of hand.

It was almost like fate was against him.

Slowly, Harry turned in his seat, only to realize that he was not only confronted by Ron but most of the Gryffindor House as well!

The heir of Gryffindor closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and admitted, in a reluctant whisper. “Yes. It’s true.”

“How could you do this to us!” Seamus yelled. “With Malfoy as Head Boy *and* a teacher of potions, not to mention that we still have to deal with Snape taking points away, you know there is no way Gryffindor is going to be able to make up those points!”

When observing housemates started to agree and voice their displeasure, Neville timidly turned in his seat, to face the angry pride of Gryffindors.

~~~~

From a distance, and at the Slytherin table, Millicent was watching the happenings at the Gryffindor table. Besides thinking that Potter’s punishment was funny as hell, she could care less about the Golden Boy. It was Longbottom’s safety, or lack there of, that had her attention.

She tapped Vincent on the arm and then pointed toward Neville. “Come on. We need to get Blaise’s cherub out of there, before something happens to him.”

He grunted his displeasure but got up from his seat anyway. Crabbe didn’t remember much of his life before the accident, but he knew enough to know that if anything happened to Longbottom, Blaise would hex them into oblivion.

Gregory looked up from his meal –that he had just returned to – and toward Millicent and Vincent, who were now walking toward enemy territory and groaned. He was too hungry to get into a row right now. But what’s more, he didn’t want to start off this year, on a bad note. Believe it or not, he was tired of getting into trouble. But being a Slytherin, it was inevitable. Trouble seemed to follow them whether they wanted it or not. So quickly, he glopped his breakfast between two pieces of rye toast and caught up with his two friends.

When the only three members of the Slytherin Court –who were not a Prefect– started walking toward the Gryffindor table with a look of criminal intent, on their faces, the other Slytherins got curious and started to follow.

By the time the trio made it to the Gryffindor table, Neville was yelling at his disgruntled housemates. It appeared that he and Harry had tried to leave the table and make their way to the exit of the Hall, but they were stopped and now they were surrounded.

Gregory frowned at the scene, then smirked when he heard Neville yelling at Ron and his cronies . “Hey, Vinny, remember that time when the Cherub tried to fight us?”

“No.” The other boy answered honestly. “What happened? Did Blaise hex us for getting him angry?”

“Nah!” Greg mumbled over the food, he just stuffed into his mouth “They weren’t dating at the time, so he didn‘t care... He actually thought it was funny.”

“Are you serious?” Vincent asked, amazed, as he stared at the little butterball, who was taking on all of the Gryffindors while Potter stood behind him. It seemed that the normally, passive, little boy had quite a temper, if you pushed the right buttons.

“Would you two shut up!” Millicent snapped before Gregory could answer. Despite her calm looking exterior, inwardly she was stressed. She knew that there was no way they were going to be able to just waltz in the midst of that mess, and rescue Neville. No, it wouldn‘t be that easy. The little lion cub, with all his sickening lack of self preserving morals would more-likely-than-not stand his ground until he knew that Potter was safe. So that meant... they had to save Potter too.

“Fuck!”

“What was that Milly?” Greg asked as he finished the rest of his sandwich.

“Nothing.” She grit out as she reached inside her robe sleeve pocket, to retrieve her wand. “Just be prepared.”

~~~

“Ron!” Neville seethed. “I don’t know why you are so upset! Last night you were Harry’s biggest advocate. You wouldn’t shut up about how great it was that someone got the better of Draco!”

“What was that, little traitor?” Weasley growled and stepped forward, in a threatening manner. “You’re talking a lot of garbage considering your fucking boyfriend isn’t here to protect you!”

Longbottom stepped back and swallowed hard when Weasley stepped forward again. The last thing he wanted was to get into a physical row with Ron Weasley. The boy was 6’2’’ and built like an American football player. Where he was lucky if he was 5’9’’ and add that with the fact that he was built like a cute, little butterball.

“Leave him alone, Ron! You‘re problem is with *me,* not him!” Harry finally yelled and stepped in front of Longbottom. He gave his ex best friend a look of pure venom.

In truth, Harry really didn’t want it to come to this. Ron was his *first* friend, and his best friend until the end of his fourth year. He thought… He hoped that they would be friends forever. He hoped that maybe they could get back what they had lost over the years. That was why he tolerated all of their crap. But now, Harry was finally realizing that his dream of reconciliation was just that. Only a dream.

“No, my problem is with the both of you!” The red-haired boy bit out as he shoved Harry, making him back into Neville. Thus making Longbottom topple to the ground.

“Separare Massa!”

“Neville!” Harry yelled and quickly turned around, to help the boy up. But before he had the chance, he immediately took notice to the crowd of Gryffindors, behind Neville. They were being squished together as the crowd was being parted down the middle. They had no choice but to move because it was like two invisible walls were pushing them, until they parted enough, to create a walkway for...

“Bulstrode.” Ron sneered. He noticed the crowd being separated too. “This has nothing to do with you, so why don’t you take your two serpents and go slither back under your rock!”

“Oh, Weasel....” She drawled with arrogant disgust. “The love I bare thee can afford no better term than this.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ron grit out, in angry confusion.

To answer his question, she withdrew her wand and pointed it at the crimson-haired boy.

“Are you challenging me, Bulstrode?” Ron asked in angry disbelief. He couldn’t believe that she would challenge him to a duel *in public*.

“Oh definitely.” She derided with malicious sweetness.

He looked around and at the faces of all his expectant housemates. He mentally cursed Millicent for calling him out in public. He really didn’t want to duel with her. She was good. Actually, all Slytherins were good at dueling, but she was one of the best in the school. Unfortunately, now he had no choice, so he pulled out his wand and pointed it at the deceivingly, relaxed looking girl, in front of him.

“Then bring it on!”

“Cherub, are you okay?” Vincent asked the brown-haired boy, and ignored Ron’s comment about him being a serpent. He needed to make sure that Neville was alright. If he was hurt under their watch, Blaise would make sure there was hell to pay.

“I’m fine.” Neville groaned as he got up, painfully. But before he could say any more, Vincent grabbed him by the arm and jerked him behind him.

The larger boy needed to get Longbottom out of the way of the duals crossfire.

Before Neville could even try to force his way back in front of the battle line, –to get to Harry– Millicent, with her wand still pointing at Weasley, grabbed Potter’s wrist and yanked him behind her. The Gryffindor heir was so shocked by her act of protection that he just allowed himself to be directed by her.

It was a completely unexpected gesture. Neville, he understood, but why did she save him?

Still shocked that a Slytherin actually risked her reputation to protect him, Harry looked around at his surroundings. He quickly realized that he was completely enveloped by Slytherin Snakes. Lots of them, and these Slytherin’s were subtly pulling out their wands from their robes, in preparation for what would be the biggest wizards duel in Hogwarts history. Harry then glanced toward the riotous Lions. They were ill prepared, and had no clue that they were going to ambushed. The Heir of Gryffindor had half a mind to warn his housemates.

But he didn’t.

Why?

Because the Slytherin’s, who he knew hated him with an unbridled passion, seemed to not only be tolerating him right now, but willing to protect him as well. Where his supposed friends were out for his blood.

Harry looked back at Millicent, just as she hissed –out of the corner of her mouth– at him and Neville. “You two, get the hell out of here! Now!” Her complete focus and wand was still trained on Ron, but she continued to secretly bark out orders. “Mortisha! Get the 1st and 2nd years out of here! The rest of you... get ready to rumble!”

The 5th year girl spun around and quickly started to round up the underyears.

Harry still hadn’t moved from his spot, but he noticed Gregory reach into his sleeve and pull out his wand. “Potter” He said, in a low commanding tone. “If you are going to stay here, then get your fucking wand out.!”

Harry wasn’t even thinking about what he was doing before he quickly reached into his robes breast pocket and pulled out his wand. His actions weren’t to wage war against his own house. No, it was to protect himself. There was about to be a war in the Great Hall, and if he could help it, he wanted to get out of it, unscathed. Because not only did he have to guard himself against his housemates, he was more-likely-than-not going to have to protect himself from the Slytherin’s around him as well.

However, not everyone saw it like that.

“Oh so it’s like that now, is it Harry?” Ron sneered. “So you’ve gone over to the dark side too?”

With his mouth ajar, Harry looked over at his ex best friend, but before he could say anything, Millicent cut in.

“What did you expect, Weasel? For him to become one of *your* lackeys.” She snorted at the thought. “It’ll be a cold day in hell, because it seems that Our Golden boy here...” She gestured lightly to Harry with her free hand. “Has finally wised up! Draco *tried* to warn him about your *sort,* but he had to find out about *your kind* by himself. You know.... the *poor* and petty type!”

In a flash of a memory, Harry remembered that fateful day when Draco held his hand out to him in an offer of friendship and saying something very similar to what Millicent just said. At the time, Harry was so sure that he had made the right choice. Now, he wondered what would have happened if he took Draco up on his offer.

He glanced back at Longbottom who was helping Mortisha round up the younger students and wondered if he would have been as happy as Neville is now? He then looked at his ex best friend and shook his head dejectedly. For Harry knew that he’d never know the answer to that question.

“You talk to much, Bulstrode!” Ron fumed.

“Yeah, and so does your mother!” The girl retorted back. “But I think her words are more like begging to the repo man not to take her worthless heirlooms! And to think, Draco talked me into buying some of that shit. It was a waste of money because I threw them away before I even left the store!”

Weasley barred his teeth in anger and stretched the arm, he held his wand in, out even more.

“Uh oh...” Millicent pouted, mockingly, as she flippantly tossed her long blond-hair over her shoulder with her free hand. “I think I upset the *poor* little squib!”

“I’ll show you who’s a squib!” The crimson-haired boy yelled. He was going to teach that spoiled bitch a lessen if it was the last thing he ever does.

“Ron, aim for her head!” Lavendar spat out from behind Dean. Then laughed. “And do something with her hair, please! I think her roots are showing!” She was trying to make Millicent feel bad about not being a natural blond.

“Oh that’s funny.” Tracy sneered from behind Vincent, then muttered a spell, and flicked her wrist with her wand in hand. “So are yours.”

The next thing you knew, Lavendar was screaming because all of her hair was falling out in clumps. Then not even a second later, Everyone from both Houses seemed to have pulled out their wands and there was a war between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Ravenclaw and Hufflepuffs were running around, screaming as they tried to dodge misdirected spells and as they tried to make it out of the Great Hall, by the dozens. Unfortunately, since the War started in front of the grand double doors, they couldn’t get out, and they were trapped in the Great Hall.

Again!

It was complete and utter bedlam!


tbc