"Have you heard Alex, Professor Alister won't be back this year."
"I have, seems like the position is still 'cursed.' you'd think that after six different teachers in as many years it would be expected that he would quit."
They walked and talked some more walking next to the Hogwarts express, the big red steam train that would be taking them and all the other students to Hogwarts ones more. It would be the last time that they would be entering the train to go to the school. As they were about to start their seventh and final year there. Six long years had they spend learning the ins and outs of magic. They had seen the wonderful ways that divination could predict the future, worked alongside their pears, forging friendships that would last a generation.
Entering the train, they moved as far to the back as they could go, reaching the open sitting area that Slytherin had claimed for the past thirty or so years. It was their bastion on the rails, they fortress they would use and protect to their last breath. Or at least till they reached Hogsmead. Then they would trade it for the stone walls and the magic that was contained within them of the Slytherin common room. That was the real place where they would hold a last stand, if that was ever needed. But for now, as with most things in the offensive category of actions that wasn't needed.
For now, the only protections they needed was the presents of their peers, it was a deterrent that had held of the other house's pranks for long enough. There they were now under the watchful eye of Draco Malfoy. His presence in the cabin was notable even for those of the lesser houses, Malfoy was running up to sit at the table of the great pureblood houses, so even during his schooldays he had been elevated to a position of honour among their ranks. As he had become older and 'wiser' there had been somethings he was able to do to for the Slytherin student body.
He had been the years representative since he was eleven years old, holding contact with teachers and outside interests that wanted to be kept in the loop about what the Slytherin students were doing, what they might be interested in after their school career. And now in his final year he had been elevated even higher to the student representative for the entire house. He was now on the table as the other Student representatives and the heads of the different houses to discuss the business that went on inside of the walls of Hogwarts.
"Morning Draco," they greeted him in unison. A nod of recognition was extended their way. It was all they were going to get, but that was fine, they were among the few that even would have gotten a reaction at all.
They settled in, taking solace that the chairs in here were among the best that existed, and revelled for a moment about sitting in his sphere of influence.
"Hey Draco, do you have any idea who will be the new professor for 'defence against the dark arts'?" Alex asked him, sitting back comfortably.
Looking up from the paper he was reading, Draco looked lost in thoughts for a mere moment. "I have to be honest here, there is nothing that I know about that position. I knew that it was empty, that Alister would be leaving us was a given, but there has been no news about it." He said placing the paper down and folding his hands. "Usually we get an heads up before the schoolyear starts, if not for me, my father would know about it. But even he was left in the dark, all he was about to get out of Dumbledore was that everything was going to go smoothly, and that every curriculum would be taught to the fullest of its plan."
He had now sat back in his own chair, leaving the paper where it had fallen in front of him. Alex could see that there was something bothering him, most people could see that.
"Why didn't they just send a message, even for us to know that there might be no one teaching the class." He let out frustrated.
"Draco, it might be like in our third year when Professor Lupin only formally joined the faculty in the second week, remember?" Parkinson said with a tone of sneering in her voice when she said the formers professor name.
The conversation died out a little after that point, Johnathan and Parkinson kept a little conversation going between the two of them.
As the train left Draco and Parkinson left to join the other prefects of a first meeting back during the schoolyear and to see who had been elected head boy for the year. They all lowkey hoped that Draco would bring it home with him, but the chances were slim. It had not been that long since the last time that they had had a head boy, in all likelihood it would be either Gryffindor or Hufflepuff that would be getting it. Both had been without the position for at least three years. Hufflepuff had even been out of the running for five whole schoolyears. Interlay in Slytherin there had been bets about who would be getting it.
The odds were stacked against Draco, about one to fifteen that he would become the head boy. Ravenclaw wasn't doing much better, they had had the position last year, so their odds were stacked heavily against them, but they had done it before on a few occasions. Consecutive years of Ravenclaw head boys was an occurrence that happened frequently enough to be taken into consideration.
But that was to no avail now. They just had to wait till Draco returned victoriously or subjugated under the new head of the Hogwarts student body.
The hours went by and all of the Slytherin students caught up with one another. Exchanging the latest news and curiosities they had heard of over the summer. When the trolley witch arrived, they pretty much bought out her entire supply of sweets and food. As they were the last people that she would be going to it was considerate of them to just take the lot instead of having her move back with a still somewhat filled cart.
Draco eventually returned with the news that Hufflepuff had a head boy now after an absence of five years. He was one Cedrick Diggory, the son of one of the heads of a department in the ministry. He was in Draco's words: 'At least he is one of the purebloods, that's maybe all he has going for himself at the moment, but it is something.'
They all kept discussing what they knew about Diggory, never letting the opportunity to get an edge on him pass by. After about fifteen minutes there was a fairly conclusive board drawn up that showed who he was and what his relations in Hogwarts meant. Most of those where in-house as expected but there were also the connections to the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw houses that bothered him a bit.
With Gryffindor he had connections to the Potter and Weasley families. The latter being the most influential of them. Ronald Weasley and his siblings had taken a large share out of the running's of the Gryffindor house. But their grip of power had been slipping in the last couple of years, every year they had lost one or more of their brothers.
Last year the twins had graduated under loud congratulations from the students and teachers alike. Their rein of pranks had come to an end. They had left the school with a firework display that would be talked about for the years to come. It had been amazing to see and the magic that went into it impressed most of the professors that where present.
Now though the Weasley clans only members where the boy and his sister, a gifted Quidditch player and an outstanding student. She had no trouble gathering the attention of the male students and had them wrapped around her finger.
Draco had to say that he was impressed with how easy she seemed to be able to pull that off. Looking all innocent and such while being the orchestrator of the demise of her enemies. They had never been in direct conflict, he had learned that diplomacy was a way that would work between them.
On the side of Ravenclaw there was little to say, he had a girlfriend that didn't belong to his house. They had been dating for the last couple of years, it was unclear if it had started before or after the Triwizard tournament. But it had been clear that during the year that he had needed to recover from the tournament she had barely left his side.
With all that in mind they could start out drawing the new maps of power that would be governing these halls for the coming year. It was not that much different from the year before. Every house still had strong relations with one another, Slytherin and Gryffindor where currently on the outs, but what's new. They couldn't stand each other in public.
In private they had found a fine way to coexist, it had taken about three years of diplomacy to get them to the table. It had been Draco's proudest moment in the school, negotiating a peace between the two houses. From that moment onwards, there would only be pranks that wouldn't cause structural damage to the castle. And there would also be no harm done to one another's students that would bring them into madam Pomphrey's care.
A knock could be heard from the entrance of their carriage, and as it was usual for the Slytherins to just come and go as they pleased, there was an outsider standing out there. As Alex approached the door Draco and Parkinson cleaned out the diagrams they had drawn and cleaned out the files they had on most of the other students of Hogwarts, power is knowledge as they say.
"Potter fancy seeing you here," Draco heard from the entrance. Spinning on his heal he saw the prefect of Gryffindor was standing in the doorway.
"Potter," the tone sounded like he wanted to destroy the ground Harry was standing on, but apparently, he didn't hear it or ignored it.
"Draco what are you doing hiding yourself away back here?" he walked in, greeting a couple of younger students before focusing back onto Malfoy.
"What do you want, potter?" He asked again. Stepping in his way, blocking his further entrance.
"Hi Evan, we still on for the game next month?" Harry just leaned round Malfoy as if he wasn't standing there.
"Potter!" Malfoy yelled, trying to gather the attention of his coequal.
"Draco, what are you yelling for?"
If he wasn't ready to punch the boy for frustrating him, he was now.
"For the last time, what do you want?" he said poking his finger into Harry's chest.
"Mate are you not forgetting the Slug club invitations that where delivered to us at the meeting earlier?" Harry held up an envelope that he handed to Malfoy.
"Potter, I see Slughorn on a near weekly basis already outside of classes. I have no interests in attending his stupid club." She whispered the last part a bit quieter.
"Draco, I know, you say this every year. But you must admit that the food that he servers there is miles beyond what we can get from the trolley witch.
Begrudgingly he had needed to agree to Potter, Slughorn knew how to cater on the train. And who was he to say no to a good meal.
"Fine Potter lead the way, Patty you are in charge now. If anything happens it is, your responsibility."
"Alright, we'll see you at the station then." Parkinson said as Draco closed the door.