Unofficial Portkey Archive

"We have a problem, Harry."

Blaise was dragging something behind him and Harry sat up when he saw Peter's bloody face. He was just a First Year, a runt of a kid with dirty blond hair and the sallow face of an Englishman, but you couldn't tell behind the black eyes and the blisters breaking out along his feeble jawline.

"Tell him, Peter," Blaise prodded.

Wiping some blood trickling from the corner of his lips, Peter said, "It was those ugly Hufflepuffs, the one called Ernie. They found me watching the barrels and snuck up on me. Told me that it was for Justin."

Harry ground his teeth, trying to maintain a stoic appearance as all eyes turned towards him. Even some of the older Slytherins, the Fourth and Fifth years, were casting some inquiring glances towards their corner of the cool Common Room.

"How many were there?" Harry urgently asked.

"Three. Ernie, Zach Smith, and some girl I didn't recognize. Would've kept me longer if Blaise didn't show up."

"I was coming to get him and found the three of them using Pete as target practice. I fired off some loud spells to scare them away," Blaise explained.

"It still bloody hurt, don't it?" Peter winced as he touched a particularly bulbous spot. "Can I go to the Hospital Wing now?"

"Yeah. Get some of your friends to go with you and stay in a group with your wands out," Harry ordered. "Don't dilly dally around."

Peter trudged back to his First Year friends, his head bowed down in shame as his friends consoled him. A pang of guilt ran through Harry as he watched the tiny boy who was just a little taller than his waist line. He didn't want to drag them into it but there was no other way of watching Hufflepuff. Apparently, the house of loyalty and kindness did not take so kindly to the perceived attempt to throw Justin off the roof.

Harry watched the replay through the Stationary Omnioculars, convinced he could show everyone otherwise, but the results were inconclusive at best. The angles didn't show how Harry reached his hand out to help him and instead, it looked just as if Harry didn't offer to help Justin get up from the roof. Anger flared through him mixed with a strong strain of injustice.

Isn't it about winning? Why am I supposed to help him onto the roof?

But Harry knew why Hufflepuff was reacting the way they were. They perceived him as heartless and

cold, willingly injuring Justin for the sake of victory. Never mind that there was no point to helping Justin up and never mind that he hadn't wanted Justin to fall anyways. Yet, appearances were sometimes more important than intent and without anyone to speak to within Hufflepuff, there was no way he could relay his story. Susan Bones briefly popped up into his mind but that was just one person and she had no leadership role in the house. Besides, Harry had no idea what she thought of him now.

"Got to say, Potter, you've gotten us into a mess this time." Draco looked over at the First Years leaving the Common Room as he approached.

"Now isn't the time, Draco."

"Draco's right." Now, it was Pansy that walked over, a rare spark of concern etched onto her face. If the Hufflepuffs were attacking them in hallways, what would they do next?

"We have to hit them back," Nott answered for him.

"No," Harry blurted it out before he could stop himself, but he already knew that he shouldn't have voiced his concerns aloud. Draco was smiling something devious, a malicious sparkle in his eyes while Nott crossed his arms in anger. The rest of the Slytherins had gathered round in this somehow impromptu meeting.

"What I mean is that we shouldn't act too rashly. They're expecting us to hit them back and will probably travel in such a way to protect each other," Harry explained.

This eased Nott and a very aggressive Millicent Bulstrode a little bit, but they wanted - no, expected - more from him and for the first time, Harry felt that sense of...leadership. In Battle class, he always assumed it as the point man for their ideas but this wasn't Battle class. The halls of Hogwarts weren't generated by Snape's mind and there was no end game.

But what was he truly supposed to do?

They had to retaliate. Inaction was out of the question. But how should they strike? And when? And where? There was no why because that wasn't a question, but the others were no less daunting. Yet, Harry stood, slightly raised because he was at the mouth of the fireplace, standing upon a bed of raised rocks. Towards the back, Marcus Flint, an older Slytherin, watched with mild interest as the Third Year Slytherins gathered round.

"So what is it, Potter?" Nott eagerly asked, blood in the water.

It was a simple yet complex question. Harry first tried to think of what he would do if it was a Battle class, but it simply wouldn't work. Battle class meant putting people down for the count and there was no way of doing that in school. Simply put, there was no end game. Instead, he needed to do something that would force Hufflepuff to stop attacking them. There was also the question of whether or not this attack on Peter was a one time deal. Would they strike again or was it just retribution for Justin?

"I say we find the first Hufflepuff and mash him into a wall," Millicent growled.

"Really? How would you go about that?" Blaise nonchalantly replied.

"Make them pay," Goyle dumbly answered.

Sometimes, I hate this House, Harry thought. Harry knew Malfoy was keenly staring at him, waiting for his next move or statement to usurp or mock him in front of their peers.

Inaction was out of the question.

"We'll hit them back. I didn't push Justin off that building but if they want a fight, then they've got one," Harry said in a grim voice.

The rest of the Slytherins nodded in ascent and murmured among themselves, a soft gentle wave of approval.

"So how do we do this?" Pansy asked, visibly uncomfortable.

Well, I haven't thought that far yet.

* * * * * *

Harry received Hermione's coded message and paid attention to the seemingly indistinct hieroglyphics at the bottom. The rest of the message was unnecessary filler, a diversion if anyone ever picked the letter up from their agreed hiding place but the bottom was always a numeric cypher that highlighted what time she wanted to meet. Harry would indicate a meeting by buttoning the top button of his shirt when he entered the Great Hall for breakfast and Hermione would respond in kind later.

Harry was relieved when he saw that she still wanted to meet with him.

Inevitability, the question of whether or not he pushed Justin off the cliff would arise and judging from the chilly response of the rest of the Third Years, many did not believe him. Predictably, the yellow swarm of Hufflepuff appeared ready to duel on the spot and only the rather curious table of Ravenclaw between them held the pair of Houses back. Harry was surprised to find that Ravenclaw, usually ruthless and void of discernible compassion, also gave him a less than polite stare. Even they were phased by Harry's seemingly heartless action.

Of course, the Gryffindors had a look of simultaneous disgust and glee. Disgust with Harry's perceived ruthlessness and glee with Slytherin's further polarization. Seeking out one Gryffindor in particular, Harry found that Granger had her head buried in her leather bound notebook, scribbling away while the rest of them attended to their breakfast. He would have to wait for her reaction.

A monotonous Transfiguration and Magical Creatures class followed and despite Lupin's rather compelling study of Giants, Harry found himself underneath the dungeons of Hogwarts in a cool cave with a glass ceiling. There was a certain unease as he thought about their upcoming meeting and it was compounded by his fellow House mates who were hounding him on their response to Hufflepuff. They wanted blood. They wanted action, yet Harry felt himself pause, unable to react just yet. His own reticence didn't come from lack of self-belief but rather the question: Should we strike back?

It upset Harry that he didn't immediately know the answer.

Everything was always so clear cut in class. There were the Slytherins and then there was whatever the House they were matched up against. The goal was to defeat them, no questions asked. It should have been just as easy now - Slytherins vs. Hufflepuffs - but it wasn't that simple. He couldn't just stun Ernie MacMillan and call it a day. Furthermore, he had absolutely no idea how to end it without devolving into a full blown fight in front of the teachers. How would they react? How would Snape react? The answer that instinctively came to Harry's mind troubled him.

Snape would probably do nothing.

Is this what the headmaster wanted? Did he want the Houses pit against each other? The rules of fighting between classes had always been lax and several students had taken to one on one duels but they were always older and it never spilled through other Years. Yes, the Hufflepuffs struck first by dealing a blow to a First Year, but they had to do so knowing that Slytherin would strike back. It was just the measure of response that was the question.

A shadow in the dark moved and Harry stood up from his position leaning against the wall as he spotted the unruly hair of Hermione Granger. She moved with practiced patience, melding seamlessly into the dark undercurrents of the school. A bag was slung over her shoulder per usual and she made no effort to address the underlying concerns for this meeting. Tapping the wall in a synchronous pattern, Hermione entered the cave without a word uttered to Harry.

Following her through the slightly damp underground tunnel, Harry emerged in the cavern once again and followed Hermione to the table as she dumped her bag onto the surface and took a seat. Following suit, Harry found himself uncomfortably seated across from her, his teeth grinding against each other whilst his heart started to beat erratically. He was nervous but he couldn't understand why.

"So...I thought I'd get this out of the way. I don't think you did it." She crossed her arms and Harry was struck by the sudden thought that she was probably quite a handful to her parents when she wanted something.

"That's a quick call," he responded.

"I watched the tape over once I heard about it. The angles aren't...correct...but you would have to put some effort into making him fall. Maybe you cast a spell. Maybe you didn't. But I don't think you would do that."

"And what makes you think that?"

"I've watched you for a long time. We've talked and interacted face to face down here. You're ruthless, sometimes lacking compassion, but never cruel, despite what the rest of my House mates think. You want to win but you don't want to punish."

"So you'd rather believe Justin threw himself off a roof than me pushing him to win?" Harry raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Hufflepuffs are always underestimated by the rest of us. I've watched enough of their previous Battle classes to know that they're not below setting other people up. They're loyal and dedicated."

"You forgot honest," Harry pointed out.

"But honest to who? To each other? Yes. To others? No, the Hufflepuffs value inclusion more than any of the other Houses, so yes, I do believe Justin is capable of that."

She was fascinating, her utter disregard for House stereotypes and dismissing the thoughts of her fellow House mates. Harry wondered how far that objectivity would go, but he wasn't that surprised. Her dispassionate view of their battles and accumulation of statistics upon statistics was perfectly in line with her character. Yet, Harry detected a questioning undercurrent to her statements. Then again, what could he do about it? She trusted him enough to meet for another session in the cave despite knowing that he might have thrown Justin off the roof.

That was trust.

"So, what's on the agenda?" Harry changed the topic, satisfied with her explanation.

"Well, I've been having a hard time accumulating data lately. My workload has increased - as have yours undoubtedly - and I've been looking for new things to try. I doubt anyone will figure out our system soon, but I'd still like to improve on some other things."

She was all business, procuring a notebook and a quill from her bag as she also retrieved her leather bound journal of cryptic notes. Trying to read it upside down, Harry could see she had jotted a few things down in English.

"The first thing I want to do is find a different method of contact. This whole buttoning shirt thing is a bit daft. I'm working on some things but do you have any ideas?" Hermione asked.

"It'd help if we had some sort of walkie or something like that. You know, like Muggles have."

"Unfortunately, something in the air here doesn't allow that, but I agree in concept. Something small and hand held that each of us have that could be used to contact each other. I doubt we'll be able to do something as useful as talk to each other but something similar. I think I know a spell, but I'll have to research it."

"You want me to help with that?"

"Frankly, no. Communication doesn't seem to be your strong suit."

Was that an insult?

"Next, I thought we'd each offer one idea to learn during winter break. Something we can concentrate on ourselves without having to go through some rigorous dueling. I have on in mind, but I'll let you go first."

"Considering I didn't even know the agenda, why don't you go first while I come up with something?"

"Fine." She shrugged ineffectually as she re-opened her leather journal this time. "I've been thinking of learning Occlumency."

"Occlumency?" Harry scoffed. "That's nowhere near the curriculum. That's not even next year's curriculum and I know because I looked. What do we need to know Occlumency for?"

"I thought you'd say that, but I've read a couple different studies highlighting the importance of Occlumency in its residual effects in duels. Patience and clearheadedness are among two of the most valuable lessons learned, but Occlumency is useful in its own right. It gives your mind a structure and lets you block out any potentially skilled Legilimens."

"And how many Legilimens do you know?"

Hermione hesitated and doesn't meet his eye. "A few."

"Hermione, I don't mean to call it useless but I think its a bit ridiculous to say Occlumency is useful for Battle class."

She pursed her lips as he pushed her to annoyance. "Well that's what I want to learn. This is a one and one, Potter. We're not going to agree on everything and this is what I want to learn."

Harry rolled his eyes, impatience getting the best of him. In truth, he already knew what he wanted to learn, but he preferred that Hermione go first.

"Your turn," she ordered.

"I want to make a new spell."

At this statement, she chuckled, her bushy locks springing around her head.

"And you thought I was ridiculous."

* * * * *

They didn't achieve much else beside squabbling about the Occlumency lesson plan that Hermione drew up and discussing the spell Harry was thinking of. It was one of their more uneventful meetings, but it left Harry feeling optimistic. At least there was someone outside of Slytherin that could remain objective about the Justin situation and the prospect of creating a new spell had him buzzing. It almost made him forget about the aforementioned Hufflepuffs.

Almost.

As he rounded the corner in the dungeons that led to the Slytherin Common Room, he found himself facing the backs of that very House. He could tell they were Third Years even with their backs turned and he hadn't been careful enough with his approach, his head in the clouds with the thoughts of this new spell. As a result, Hannah Abbot turned around and yelped at the sight of him.

"It's Potter!" Hannah said in a loud hush.

In unison, the Hufflepuffs turned around, some with wands in hand. What they were doing there, Harry didn't know, but he was outnumbered by a margin he didn't like. His hands were at his sides instead of on his wand and he remained stock still, trying to keep his breathing steady. Someone from the back of the group pushed their way forward and Harry wasn't surprised to see Ernie MacMillan, the big-headed tosser.

Hermione was somewhere behind him and he hoped that she would get away before getting caught up in any of this ruckus. The worst thing that could happen now was her discovery from a bunch of Hufflepuffs. They were there for him. They wanted retribution for their fallen comrade. Hermione had nothing to do with it.

"Excuse me, I'm this way," Harry pointed behind them.

"Cut the shit, Potter. You know why we're here." Ernie's bluntness surprised him. He was used to Malfoy's taunting gags or Nott's brutish malice, but the Hufflepuffs were on a mission. Maybe Trow and Hermione were right. Maybe everyone did underestimate them.

"You messed with one of us, Potter. Now you get to fight all of us," Ernie growled.

"I'm not fighting you," Harry calmly replied.

The response was unexpected, silencing the ever reddening Ernie for a moment. Clearly, they came here for a duel and didn't expect Harry to repel them. Harry, though, counted on this factor. True, he might last a few seconds against 9 Hufflepuffs, but even he couldn't fight them all at once. There were too many angles to cover, too many spells to defend against. Yet, they weren't Slytherins. At least, he hoped they didn't have the sadism of some Slytherins.

Attacking a snooping First Year? They could do that. Attacking a combative Slytherin? Definitely. Attacking a defenseless one? Harry was gambling that they couldn't. He knew the look on Dudley's face when he used to gang up on him with his friends. There was glee, there was triumph, there was a rush of adrenaline.

In short, they enjoyed it. Harry couldn't see all of the Hufflepuffs enjoying it. Maybe some - maybe Ernie - but not all of them.

"Yes you will!" Ernie commanded, certainly at a loss for words.

"No I won't. I'm sorry about Justin."

"Bollocks that!" Hannah yelled, tears springing from her eyes. "You pushed him off the building. You could have killed him!"

"I didn't push him off," Harry insisted and he raised his hands, showing his defenselessness. "I don't know what you want me to say and I know what you want to do to me, but I didn't push him off and I'm not going to fight you back."

Then, Harry saw Zach and Susan trade looks. Megan Jones and Owen gulped, looking nervously at Ernie and even Hannah's hand wavered, her wand still pointed at him. Ernie's face took on a purplish glare, frustration boiling over at this point. Harry had done the damage, effectively putting doubt in their minds. They would have relished punishing him if he had fought back, the ravenous mob mentality taking over at that point. There was no end game where Harry escaped untouched, but if he could lessen the damage, maybe he wouldn't have to pay so much attention to them in the coming weeks.

Plus, whoever struck first had a higher probability of being one of the bullies that kicked him earlier in the year. It would be in that unknown person's best interest to keep him as the antagonist. He could take the pain. He had taken it before and absorbing it from unwilling participants would be easy.

"Potter doesn't have to apologize to the likes of you!"

The voice rang out the dungeons with clarity and in the sudden change of atmosphere, Harry doubted that anyone could hear him groan. It was Malfoy, resplendent with stupidity and leading the charge with the rest of the Third Year Slytherins at his back. They were garbed in pajamas, unlike the Hufflepuffs and it looked a bit ridiculous, but they were there.

The one time Malfoy decides to stand up for Slytherin and he's gone and lit the fuse.

"I should have known that the rest of you were in on it. All of you snakes!" Ernie hissed the last part as they turned around to face them.

It would have been a comical sight, the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins facing off, one group in their pajamas whilst the other were decked out in full robes. Meanwhile, Harry was on the other side, staring contemplatively at the backs of the Hufflepuffs. It didn't take him long to figure out this was the moment to strike.

Unfortunately, he hesitated and in that moment, a spell popped off. There was no way of telling of who fired first. Blaise and Tracey insisted that someone in Hufflepuff shot a Stunning spell to begin the barrage, but from Harry's vantage point, there was no way of telling.

But once the spells started, Harry was in his element.

Using the trapping net spells he had used on Hermione, he effectively cut the Hufflepuffs off from any retreat. They had truly forgotten about him as they engaged the rest of the Slytherins so it was easy picking for Harry. They fell one by one, struck in their flank as they made the costly error of turning their backs to him. Perhaps his little speech had gotten to them and in a red haze, they forgot about their true target and focused on the voice of Draco Malfoy.

Harry didn't know whether to thank or shake the blond to death for igniting the conflict, but there was time for that later. So caught up in dealing blow after blow, Harry almost missed Megan Jones at his periphery. Harry was in the middle of a slightly more complicated levitation spell when he saw the flash out of the corner of his eye.

It would have hit him if it were not for the shield that had suddenly sprung around him. Megan looked just as surprised as he was by the sudden and miraculous interference and Harry struck her with an Expelliarmus in her momentary relapse. Harry looked around and spotted a shadow slinking back into the darkness.

Hermione.

She stuck around and Harry made another mental not to ask her why. Whirling on the spot, there was only one Hufflepuff left standing and Malfoy was advancing on her with a predatory gleam in his eyes. When Harry spotted the red mane though, he leaped forward to stop him.

"No!" Harry yelled, calmly stepping forward.

Malfoy stopped, clearly in the throws of fueled adrenaline and eyed him suspiciously. "Leave this to me, Potter. I knew I'd have to save your sorry arse eventually."

"No," Harry said more calmly. "We don't stun her. Someone's gotta take them back to their Common Room."

"Who cares?" Nott asked. "Let them stay in the middle of the hallway."

A few snickers accompanied his intentions, but Tracey and Blaise were already walking up to stand by his side. Malfoy had Crabbe and Goyle as his little minions, but the triumvirate of the two flanking Harry held much more respect in the Slytherin's eyes. Emboldened by their accompaniment, Harry announced, "Susan carries them back."

Susan still had her wand out and a cutting curse must have nicked her robes at one point because they were torn down her left side. She stared at him, her thin lips set in a pursed line. She was frozen on the spot, still weary of Malfoy's presence and Nott's leering.

"I need to wake someone else up. I can't levitate them all myself."

"This is a trap," grunted Millicent.

"It's not a trap," Tracey snapped back. "Wake up Jones. She'll levitate them back with you," she ordered.

Harry looked at her appraisingly, surprised with her assertiveness. Susan nodded in consent as she woke Megan Jones and wordlessly communicated to the strewn and stunned bodies lying around them. Megan nodded, shaken up by the out of class duel and cast a fearful glance at Harry. The bodies were levitated as Susan and Megan led them back towards the Hufflepuff Common Room but not without some taunts and jeers from Malfoy and his gang.

The situation did not develop how Harry would have liked. If Malfoy hadn't shown up, it could have been defused in what was probably the most peaceful way. Ernie might have hit him with a spell or two, but Harry didn't think he was that malicious. He couldn't duel someone that publicly acknowledged that they wouldn't fight back. True, Slytherin may have won the battle, but Hufflepuff would remember this night.

Still, Harry couldn't dress Malfoy down in front of the rest of his House mates. To them, they just scored a big blow against the same Hufflepuffs that had injured one of their very own First Years. Harry understood their need to protect each other. Not even the snakes of Slytherin were immune to the familial bonds of being sorted into the same House.

"That'll teach those knuckle draggers," Malfoy loudly boasted, puffing his chest out like a peacock.

Harry opened his mouth to say something but Blaise interjected first.

"We should get back. The teachers will have heard that."

So they rushed back to the Common Room, a stampede of Third Years that were still giddy from their victory. Harry cast a cursory glance backwards to see if Hermione was still lurking in the shadows, but Harry couldn't find any dark discrepancies. She must have left, but Harry had to wonder just exactly how much of that she saw.

In the Common Room, Nott whooped in the air and pumped his fist while Malfoy crossed his arms with the smuggest of expressions on his angular face. For once, he was the hero and the leader of the band. Harry snorted in disgust at the thought of Malfoy's short sightedness. He reckoned that the blond had no idea what he had just done.

"Harry," Tracey tugged on his arm to pull him away from the little celebration.

Harry followed her into their secluded corner of the Common Room again, Blaise on their heels. Tracey made sure that the rest of them were out of earshot before she spoke again.

"It was Susan. She came down late and found me in the Library to tell me that the Hufflepuffs were planning on finding you and..." she trailed off, her hands shaking.

Blaise put an arm around her to calm her down as she continued speaking, a mixture of distraught and anger reflected in her shaky timber.

"They said they knew you would be out late, but didn't know where you were. I tried to find you, but you weren't in the Strategy room like you said you were. Trow said you had left hours ago!"

"I was meeting with Snape," Harry lied. "He wanted to see me about the Justin thing."

"Someone must have overheard that," Blaise reasoned. "That's how they knew you'd be out late."

Tracey continued, "After I couldn't find you, I came back here to tell Blaise. Malfoy came up to me though and heard and that's when we rounded up everyone else. We had just gotten out of the Common Room when we heard your voice. Merlin, Harry, they were going to jump you!"

"I was okay," Harry truthfully said this time. "I had them under control."

"Not even you can take 9 on 1, Harry," Blaise said.

I didn't need to take them on, Harry wanted to say, but he was tired and it was too much to explain in the moment. "Thanks for trying to find me though," Harry begrudgingly said.

"I can't believe them. I didn't think they were capable of that," Tracey still had her wand out and gripped it ever so tightly.

"You guys had the jump on them. It was easy pickings after that." Harry sighed, knowing how close he was to defusing the situation.

"We'll see about that," said Blaise. Harry met his eyes and knew that Blaise was more perceptive than the rest of the bunch. He was a long term planner and could see the effects of defeating Hufflepuff that night. Ever the cool customer, Blaise shrugged it off though.

"I'm knackered. You certainly keep it interesting, Harry." Blaise bid good-bye, passing through the smaller throng of Third Years at the bottom of the stairs.

At some point, one of the older students yelled at them to shut up and so the rest of their House mates retired. Malfoy lingered for a moment and almost made a motion to approach Harry and Tracey, but he stopped, a cloudy look on his face. He walked up the stairs eventually, but there was something about the way he looked at them that unnerved Harry and Malfoy did not usually unnerve him. Annoy? Yes, but there was something different in his expression.

"Are you okay?" Tracey asked after they were long gone and the fires were starting to burn out.

"It didn't look like it, but I had it under control."

"Those bastards," Tracey whispered as she looked up at him with her blue eyes. "If they would have hurt you, Harry..."

"I've faced worse." Harry shrugged it off, the night's fatigue starting to settle on him.

She looked at him curiously and just as he was about to bid her a good night, she said, "Do you want to come home with me for break?"

She burned red, but it was Harry who was more embarrassed. He knew the Davis family were from a rich, Pureblood lineage. They must have had a mansion like the Malfoys. If only they could see 4 Privet Drive.

"I don't know if I could..." Harry awkwardly fiddled with his feet.

"Blaise has come over before. Even Malfoy's met my parents. It's just one break, Harry. I know you've stayed here the past two years anyways."

"Well...I guess?" What am I supposed to say?

Apparently that was enough for Tracey. She didn't jump and leap into his arms or break out in a wide grin, but she nodded thoughtfully, almost as if it was to herself. Her mouth opened as if she wanted to ask him something else and he knew the question was coming: Where do you go all these nights? Instead, she said something that caught him off-guard.

"Thanks, Harry."

"You're welcome?"

* * * * * *

"This hasn't progressed as I thought it would..."

"Really? If that isn't quite the understatement. I warned you what would happen if you started planting ideas into these young students."

"You had no way of knowing that Finch-Fletchley would react the way he did. I didn't think he would go to those lengths..."

"The boy threw himself off a building! You have to pull him back, get that thought out of his mind."

"I can't just pull thoughts out. It's not that simple, even for a skilled Legilimens such as myself. Even so, this might provide us with another opportunity."

"What? Are you going to provoke the other three as well?"

"No. I'll leave them alone. I don't want something like that occurring again. It was hard enough limiting the angles of the Battle class tapes. Yet, I think this is where we might find some renewed passion. The boy's decision making wasn't optimal tonight but a prolonged conflict with the Hufflepuffs will force him to make tougher decisions."

"...it would provide us with an assessment of how he handles open ended situations. I was actually quite pleased with his approach before Malfoy intervened."

"I was not. He underestimates himself. It would have been a good test for his maximum power outputs to face off against the other nine Hufflepuffs."

"Even so, it requires critical and lateral thinking to do what he did. The girl is rubbing off on him."

"Too much. She has become closed off as of late. I can't easily sift through that brain of hers like before."

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"Yes and don't fool yourself otherwise. She's studying Occlumency, I know it."

"She is very bright. I think you continue to underestimate her. Do you think she knows that you're performing Legillemency passively?"

"There's no way of knowing now. She won't master it anyways. I need the boy to sharpen that edge. He was too weak tonight, to unwilling to carry that decisive blow. He could have by striking the Bones girl down, but he didn't. We have to try again. Force him into a binary situation."

"I think that it might be an improvement if..."

"It is not. Remember why we are doing this."

"To sharpen him into a deadly point."

"Yes. Who do you think has dulled that point? Against the Ravenclaws when dealing with the Lovegood girl, he balked. Against the Hufflepuffs, he balked again. He needs to deal the decisive blow."

"He will learn. This is already far ahead of our time table."

"He may be ahead, but that should also mean that he has acknowledged the advantages of decisiveness. And I fear something worse."

"What is that?"

"I fear that the girl will teach him Occlumency as well."

"I thought we determined he didn't have a knack for it."

"He doesn't. Far too tempermental among...other problems...but what if he did?"

"It is not the worst thing in the world to let him have his own mind."

"Perhaps. But he isn't ready for that just yet. I need something to throw off the girl."

"Surely, you can't mean..."

"No, don't be so obtuse. I wouldn't kill her. That would bring up too many questions. There are other things I can do though. Accidents may happen."

"Sev-"

"Don't worry. Your hands will be clean."

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