They met in secret at the darkest hour of the night, huddled in nervous, whispering clumps in the Room of Requirement. The Slytherins stood apart, gazing at the others in the room, exchanging looks of deepest suspicion. The Hufflepuffs were silent, faces pale but resolute. Standing with the rest of the Ravenclaws, Cho Chang burst into nervous giggles, then abruptly fell silent. Behind their Head of House, Professor Minerva McGonagall, the Gryffindors discussed tactics in lowered voices. Though the room was full of students, the flickering candlelight fell on only one male face, the round, stoic countenance of Neville Longbottom.
"Well," Professor McGonagall said, her sharp gaze sweeping across the assembled students. "Ladies..."
"And Neville," Ginny Weasley said, daring to interrupt, her flaming hair catching glints of the firelight.
Professor McGonagall's lips thinned in what might well have been a smile. "And Neville," she agreed, solemnly. "I believe we all know why we're here. Hogwarts is under assault from within."
"A bit overdramatic, if you ask me," Pansy Parkinson said, and several of the Slytherin girls sniggered.
"Yes, well, it's fortunate that nobody asked you then, isn't it?" Hermione Granger snapped back, to the nodded approval of the Gryffindors.
McGonagall sighed. "Please, everyone. This is not the time for inter-House squabbling. As I have said, Hogwarts is indeed under assault. The threat is subtle, but it is a threat nonetheless."
"It's those girls!" Cho said, tossing her hair. "Nothing's been normal since they came here!" There was a general murmur of agreement at that.
"You're just jealous," Millicent Bulstrode shot back, with an even more dramatic toss of her hair. "They're prettier than you, and they're more powerful than you, and..."
"It's unnatural," Hannah Abbott said with a shiver. "Wandless magic? Half of them claim to be Animagi, and there's only been seven registered Animagi in the last century! And that's not counting the Metamorphmagi..."
"Not to mention the talking pets..." Ginny added.
Hermione smiled sardonically. "Or the fact that half of them claim to be related to one or more of the darkest wizards who ever lived. Two of them say that they're Voldemort's daughters. There's a handful of Lestranges, almost a dozen new Malfoys..."
"Sirius Black apparently had four daughters while he was locked away in Azkaban," Susan Bones reminded them. Hermione and Ginny exchanged an odd look, as though they didn't like hearing Sirius Black lumped in with a group of Death Eaters. "It's ridiculous, Millicent, and you know it. Or did you never stop to wonder how Remus Lupin could have possibly managed to have a daughter who's half-werewolf and half-Veela?"
"Well, then, that clears everything up." Pansy didn't bother to hide her scorn. "They're compulsive liars, which obviously makes them far more evil than You-Know-Who could ever be. Let's kill the lot of them and sort it out afterwards."
Professor McGonagall kept her composure with surprising ease. "I might be tempted to ignore them as well, Miss Parkinson, were it not for the evidence we've seen of their... unusual abilities. Or have you already forgotten what happened at the Samhain Ball?" Pansy fell stubbornly silent, and McGonagall continued. "Not to mention that their presence seems to have caused some significant changes in the way the school is run. We've had eleven balls and four talent shows in the past six months. And I'm afraid that there have also been some striking changes in the behavior of... of the men at Hogwarts." None of the assembled girls had anything to say to this; they stared at their feet, and Cho Chang began to sniffle. "The school has been turned upside-down by their presence. Were we to be attacked today, I doubt we could defend ourselves. Indeed, I begin to wonder if that's not the entire point."
"The Trojan Horse," Hermione murmured. Seeing bewildered looks on many of the faces around her, she elaborated. "It's from a Muggle legend. During the siege of Troy, the Greeks constructed a wooden horse, and hid some of their best soldiers inside. Then they pretended to retreat, supposedly abandoning the siege. The Trojans, believing the conflict to be over, brought the horse inside the city walls. At night, the Greek soldiers crept out of the horse and slaughtered the Trojans in their sleep."
Millicent let out an impatient sigh. "We're all very impressed by your knowledge of Muggles, Granger, but what does that have to do with anything?"
For the first time since the meeting had begun, Neville stepped forward. "The girls are the Horse, Bulstrode," he said, and his voice was very low. "They came to the school disguised as students, so we'd let them inside. And now that they're here..."
"They're trying to bring us down from within." Ginny's voice was equally low, equally calm, but her cheeks were flushed pink.
Pansy opened her mouth, but was interrupted before she could speak. "So, Parkinson, how's Malfoy doing?" Hannah asked, her lazy drawl an astonishing impersonation of Malfoy's own. "Seen much of him lately? Oh, that's right, he's seeing one of Sirius Black's daughters, isn't he? Just like Ernie. And Dean Thomas."
Professor McGonagall attempted to take control of the discussion once more. "As it stands, nearly all the men of Hogwarts have been bewitched by these girls, not only the students, but the teachers as well. Even Headmaster Dumbledore himself has not been immune. No, ladies..."
"And Neville," Ginny added, hastily.
"And Neville." Again, if Professor McGonagall was at all affected by the interruption, it didn't show. "The question is not whether or not these girls are a threat to us. The question is, how do we stop them?"
Parvati Patil stepped forward timidly, clutching her sister Padma's hand. "But... But Professor McGonagall," she said, trembling a little, "we don't even know what they are. Hannah's right; they have unnatural powers. What if they're demons? Or... or..."
"Or veela," Padma suggested. "Or part-veela, maybe, like that French girl from Beauxbatons."
Professor McGonagall shook her head. "I'm afraid not, Miss Patil. In all my years in the wizarding world, Fleur Delacour is the only part-veela I've ever met. It simply isn't that common."
"'All my years in the wizarding world,'" Pansy repeated, thoughtfully. "They must be rare, then, if you've only met one in the past thousand years."
Neville's cheeks turned bright red. "Shut it, Parkinson," he said, his voice surprisingly firm.
She flushed in her turn. "I beg your pardon, Longbottom?"
"Two words, Parkinson; not that difficult. Shut. It." There was a surprising gleam in his eyes, and though he shook, he seemed angry, rather than afraid.
She stiffened. "I've been wondering, Longbottom," she said, and her voice was honeyed, sweet with malice. "Why exactly is it that you're one of the few men of Hogwarts who hasn't been affected by these girls? You don't suppose that they just decided that you weren't worth bothering with, do you?"
It took three Gryffindor girls to hold Ginny back, but Professor McGonagall only smiled. "Indeed, Miss Parkinson, it seems that our enemies have underestimated Neville's courage and abilities. And that is what gives us hope. For if they've managed to underestimate Neville, it's not impossible that they've underestimated us as well." And though some of the girls in the room didn't seem to be at all reassured by this proclamation, there were others who visibly relaxed, as though a heavy burden had just been lifted from their shoulders.
