Zacharias wasn't sure why he'd even bothered to come to this meeting. It wasn't like anything would get accomplished. It was just another opportunity to showcase the iGolden Trioi, and he was done, done listening to people who were so secure in the idea of being right that they couldn't comprehend the concept of giving someone else a shot.
Zacharias was certain that, given a shot, he could destroy You-Know-Who, could rip him limb from limb for what he'd done to Cedric, and the Golden Trio wasn't willing to try it themselves or give anyone else a chance. He believe You-Know-Who was back. Obviously he was back. What else could have happened? But when Granger said the name, something inside him snapped, and before he knew it he was demanding proof.
Granger looked flustered. "Well, Dumbledore believes it—"
iShut up Granger. I want to hear what Potter has to say.i Zacharias had to know the truth. Why couldn't anybody understand that? "You mean Dumbledore believes ihimi."
Once again, a member of Potter's fan club spoke for him. "Who are iyoui?" The boy- Weasley, he was pretty sure- sneered.
"Zacharias Smith, and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back."
"Look, that's not really what this meeting was supposed to be about—"
"It's okay, Hermione," Potter interrupted. He looked Zacharias in the eye. iPlease talk about Cedric. Please tell me what happened.i "What makes me think You-Know-Who's back? I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you don't believe him, you don't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone."
Zacharias spoke levelly, trying to contain his frustration. "All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts." He didn't know why he'd used Cedric's surname, except that he was on the verge of tears anyways. "He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know—"
"I've you've come to hear exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone, I can't helpe you," Potter said coldly. "I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right? So if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear out."
Zacharias continued watching Potter, hoping that he might snap and spill everything. But it was Granger who spoke next.
"So… so, like I was saying… if you want to learn some defence, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to—"
Zacharias opened his mouth to speak, hopefully with something witty or scathing, something that would imakei Potter respond, but Susan beat him to it. "Is it true that you can produce a Patronus?"
"Yeah," said Potter.
"A corporeal Patronus?"
And they were off, each person trying to one-up the others in their stories of Potter's triumphs. The more people spoke, the more Potter tried to brush it off, to tell them that he wasn't that great.
It kind of pissed Zacharias off. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was people pretending to be modest. It was just a way to act like they were better than they were. Malfoy didn't go around acting like he had no money. Granger didn't go around acting like she had now brains. So where did Potter get off acting like he wasn't a bloody hero?
"Are you trying to Weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" he snapped.
"Here's an idea," Weasley said. "Why don't you shut your mouth?"
"Well, we've all turned up to learn from him, and now he's telling us he can't really do any of it."
The Weasley twins began yelling, and many of Potter's other groupies were glaring with open disgust.
Zacharias wasn't sure why he didn't just get up and leave. It was clear he wasn't welcome here. But something, maybe the thought of what Cedric would say if he were here, kept him firmly in his seat.
He didn't know why he'd come, but now that he was here, he intended to stay.