'Well well well, Harry Potter,' he said in a quiet, dark voice. 'Everyone's favourite boy. Who knew he had it in him?'
~ Harry's Revenge ~
The door of the hospital wing was shut. Nevertheless, voices could be heard arguing nosily from within. Harry recognised them as belonging to Ron, Hermione, Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson.
'If you say one more thing about the colour of my hair Malfoy, I'll bandage your ugly FACE!'
'Ron, enough! Draco needs his rest...'
'Yes, mandarin head. Be more considerate.'
'WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL MY HEAD?'
'Get your hand off my boyfriend, you bushy-haired KNOW-IT-ALL!'
'Excuse me! Draco is my boyfriend, Pansy!'
'NO HE'S BLOODY NOT!'
'Yes he is, Ron!'
'I SWEAR I'M GONNA BE SICK!'
'Good thing we're in the hospital wing, huh mandarin head?'
'YOU - '
'SSSHHH!' Madame Pomfrey hissed above them all.
Harry didn't stay to listen for long. He kept on his way, until he reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Standing in front of the Fat Lady, he muttered the password: 'Wood Pixies.'
The Fat Lady, who'd dozed off, suddenly awoke. She was curiously surprised to see Harry.
'Shouldn't you be in the Great Hall for Dumbledore's meeting?' she inquired
'I don't care about Dumbledore's meeting,' said Harry in a stony voice, and repeated, rather rudely, 'Wood Pixies!'
'Well!' cried the Fat Lady, slighted. 'It doesn't matter what I say, does it? I'm only paint on canvas after all…'
A very disgruntled Fat Lady let Harry pass, to which Harry did not say thank you.
He was glad to find the common room totally empty. Without a moment to lose, he set to work. Collecting a page of parchment, a quill and some ink, Harry sat himself down by the common-room fireplace. As the flames illuminated his eyes an eerie green, Harry wrote the following letter:
Dear Lucius Malfoy
Your son Draco Malfoy is currently having a relationship with the Muggle-born Gryffindor girl, Hermione Granger. Just thought you'd like to know.
From Anonymous
Approving of what he'd written, Harry pulled out his wand, tapped the letter and pronounced, 'Dissimulo', at which his handwriting style changed and was cryptically disguised. With a gratified smile, Harry rolled up the parchment and set a new course for the Owlery.
~ Consequences ~
The storm continued until the next morning. Once the day was in full swing, Hogwarts was struck with a serious case of 'Drakon Fever'. The Annual Drakon Hunt was all anyone could talk about. Well, this and Malfoy and Hermione's newly formed relationship (which was still a hot topic for Lavender and Parvati). Only Harry seemed unaffected by all the hype.
'Hey Harry! What's doin'?'
Harry had just sat down to breakfast when Fred and George joined him.
'Nothing much,' he replied to George, smiling as he buttered a slice of toast.
'And what are you looking so happy for?' Fred questioned, suspicious. Harry looked up at him, confused.
'What do you mean?'
'You're smiling at your toast, Harry,' George observed. 'Some how I don't think it's going to smile back.'
'Oh,' said Harry self-consciously, placing the butter knife down. 'Well, can't a guy be happy for no reason?'
'I suppose, but you're not allowed to be as happy as we are.'
'Absolutely not!' contended Fred.
'What do you mean?' said Harry, not knowing what they meant; though he had a distinct feeling they were up to something. When weren't they up to something?
Fred confirmed these thoughts of Harry's when he said, in hushed but thrilled voice: 'we found a way to go to the Annual Drakon Hunt!' Harry dropped his toast.
'What? How?'
'Each Hogwarts Hunter has a Portkey to get them to Greece,' George specified. 'I tried to bribe Maverick into telling me where his was, but he turned out to be a tight-assed prat.'
'Holly Addison didn't bite either,' Fred informed him. 'I think she thought I was coming on to her...' He chuckled. 'She wishes!'
'And then,' continued George, 'we accidentally, out of the blue, couldn't help if we tired - well, you know what I mean - stumbled across Professor Snape's Portkey! Can't wait to tell Ron. Can you imagine the look on Percy's face when we show up to the Hunt? He'll fart kittens!'
'Anyway, we'll see ya later, Harry,' said Fred. 'We've got planning to do!'
'Major planning!' nodded George.
The twins bounded off, devious as ever. A few minutes after they'd left, Ron entered the Hall. A very horrible sight followed: Draco Malfoy with his arm around an adoring Hermione Granger. Harry fists clenched automatically.
'Disgusting, isn't it?' said Ron, primed to vomit. 'It's right up there with coughing up slugs and Professor Snape's hair.' Ron had, quite unexpectedly, sat down in front of Harry. Harry noticed his left eye was tinged purple from yesterday's fight.
'So,' said Harry, folding his arms in an indifferent manner. 'You've decided to start talking to me again have you?'
'Oh, and I suppose you approve of this!' Ron pointed accusingly towards Hermione and Malfoy. 'She's eating breakfast with Slytherin's for wizard's sake! Next thing you know she'll be supporting their Quidditch team!'
'So what? It's not like you approved of us together,' said Harry crisply.
'Er...well...'
'Well what?'
Ron fidgeted uncomfortably, having trouble with what he wanted to say next.
'Better her with you then him.'
Harry realised this was Ron's effort at a reconciliation. There was a part of him that wanted to reconcile too, but Harry was still bitter. He was determined to forgive no one. Bide his time until Lucius received the letter...
'Better her with me, huh? Yeah, whatever Ron! Too bad you couldn't have come to that conclusion earlier.'
Bearing his grudge, Harry stood from the table. He walked to the main entrance, about to leave, when -
'DRACO!'
Harry couldn't believe it. Lucius Malfoy was here! Had the letter been delivered to him already? It must have, because he was angrier then Harry had ever seen him, having just caught sight of Muggle-born Hermione and his Pureblood son looking unnatrually cosy.
'The nerve...the disgrace...the HUMILIATION!' he spat viciously, charging for his son like a snake in pursuit of a withering ferret.
'Father! I - I can explain! NO!'
But Malfoy had no chance of explaining anything. Lucius furiously wrenched his son by the neck, yanked him an inch or so off the ground, and attempted to strangle the life out of him. The surrounding students were horrorstruck, afraid to move or speak. Malfoy squirmed pathetically in his father's clutches.
'Father!' he choked. 'PLEASE!'
'A Mudblood, Draco! A filthy, disgusting MUDBLOOD!'
'LUCIUS MALFOY!'
It was Professor McGonagall, accompanied by Hagrid. They'd closed in on Lucius; McGonagall, lips pursed white, had her wand firmly in her grasp.
'Unhand Draco at once, Lucius,' she said in a controlled voice, aiming her wand threateningly. 'I'm warning you.'
Lucius, his hands still gripped around Malfoy's neck, glanced over at Professor McGonagall and gritted his teeth; his usually manicured white blonde poney-tail coming slightly undone.
'Draco is my son, Minerva, I will do what I please with him!'
'Then I should remind you, Lucius, you are on Hogwarts grounds and have no such authority!'
'C'mon, Lucius,' said Hagrid, sounding more reasonable. 'No' like this. No' in fron' of the kids.'
At Hagrid's words, Lucius' eyes darted quickly around the Hall. He seemed to only just realise he had an audience. Regaining some composure, he lowered his son to the ground and let him go. Malfoy fell to the table, coughing and gasping for breath.
'Very well,' Lucius sneered. 'I shall handle this matter elsewhere. In the mean time, I suggest you keep that one,' he eyed Hermione venomously, 'away from my son. If she knows what's good for her. Come along, Draco.'
Lucius clasped a strong hand to Malfoy's wrist, and led him away from the Slytherin table. Stalking past Professor McGonagall and Hagrid with his chin high in the air, he was about to leave altogether, but then stopped when he saw Harry. He smirked.
'Well well well, Harry Potter,' he said in a quiet, dark voice. 'Everyone's favourite boy. Who knew he had it in him? I must say, I did enjoy reading my mail last night...'
He knows! Harry thought in alarm. He knows it was me who sent the letter! Malfoy got the hint as well. He glared at Harry with all the evil he could muster, before being dragged away by his father out of sight. Another person who got the hint was Hermione. She'd left the Slytherin table and followed Lucius on his way out, but was now standing still, glaring at Harry with unblinking eyes.
'You told Lucius about us, didn't you?' she grilled him.
Harry opened his mouth, but found he could hardly speak. 'I...'
'It was you!'
Enraged, Hermione propelled herself onto Harry, who did his best to block her strikes. Hagrid was quick on the case.
'HERMIONE!' he said, shocked, and peeled her off Harry. 'Stop it! What's got into yeh?'
Hermione screamed, for the whole Hall to hear, as she tried to wriggle her way from Hagrid's arms, 'I hate you, Harry Potter! I hate you!'
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