Hi.

So, this story was inspired by a comment my brother made about the Harry Potter books. He said that he thought Slytherins were meant to be... Well, Sly. Cunning and evil and smart. But in the books they mostly seem to be thugs and morons. I suggested that maybe there were some intelligent Slytherins,but they were just smart enough to keep a low profile.

Well, here's a little story about those Slytherins. Enjoy!


Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, situated in the British countryside, far from any muggle town or village. Nestled deep within its ancient walls lies the memories of a thousand great witches and wizards who once patrolled its halls. From the first time a student levitates a feather, to when they turn human classmates into badgers, the school is with them all the way. From the first year to the last, and from the lows to the highs. And the entire story you are about to read, takes place in that very castle of in the surrounding grounds.

One cool, September day, a Saturday to be exact, a great number of things were happening. Hannah Abbott had just opened her schoolbag to find a tarantula had been placed inside by a giggling classmate. The Gryffindor quidditch team was out practicing for their first upcoming match. Professor Flitwick was berating a student who had been caught hexing a classmate. Argus Filtch was on the prowl with his faithful cat, Mrs Norris at his heels. Hermione Granger was checking a book out of the library. Zachariah Smith was attempting to ask a girl out on a date.

And, in a small, dark room at the end of a corridor, in one secluded corner of the dungeons, a year six Ravenclaw was yelling at a Slytherin.

"What do you mean, you don't have any?" the Ravenclaw boy, known as Timothy to his friends, was screaming.

"I mean," replied the Slytherin with a small smile. "That we don't have any. We ran out yesterday and have yet to receive a new shipment."

"Run out? How can you have run out? It's only the third week of school!" Timothy shrieked, turning almost purple in the face. His hands balled into fists and he bared his teeth in fury. In front of him, the tall Slytherin boy leaned forward in his seat, rested his elbows on the desk and shook his head apologetically.

"I'm afraid people have been rather eager for powdered dragon claw this year," he informed the irate Ravenclaw. "It seems that Professor Snape is giving his year Six students a rather difficult test on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion making."

"Of course, he is," Timothy yelled. "Why do you think I need the stupid thing? I'm taking that test on Monday and I can't afford to fail!"

The Slytherin boy sighed and shook his head, making his bland hair fly about his face. "I am afraid that all I can offer you is this elixir of intellect. It might do the trick. And, aside from that, I can also recommend that you do some good old-fashioned studying."

Timothy let out a roar of fury and tipped the desk over. "I ought to report you!" he yelled, flecks of spittle flying out of his mouth with every word. "You and all your friends and your little business down here!"

"Do you think that's wise?" The Slytherin boy had not moved from his seat, but was dabbing at his face with a handkerchief. "You know that we keep a record of all our customers. You report us and all your purchases over the years will come to light. That might reflect badly on your permanent record."

Timothy stood in the middle of the room by the upended desk, breathing heavily. He and the Slytherin stared at each other for a full minute. Finally, the Ravenclaw let out a snarl, turned on his heal and pushed out of the door into the abandoned corridor and stalked away. The Slytherin boy watched him leave as the door swung close. Then he righted the desk with a sweep of his wand and eyed the smashed bottle of elixir on the floor.

"Such a waste," he tutted, making the elixir vanish with a flick, then repairing the bottle with another. "I don't like it when they smash our merchandise."

"Yes, well I don't like it when you scare away a customer." The girl who had spoken was sitting on a desk a few feet away and was angrily scribbling in a book. "That one's given us a lot of service over the years, it would be a shame to lose him now."

"Oh, Teodosia," the boy chuckled, getting to his feet. "He'll be back. There will always be another test, or another girl, or another quidditch match. He'll be in need of something, and he'll come back to buy it. We haven't lost a customer yet."

"But that's not for lack of trying on your part, Kaelen," Teodosia sniffed. She glanced up from under a sweep of black hair and frowned slightly. "Do you have any idea when that new shipment will get in?"

"Not a clue. Travis was meant to be contacting someone, not sure if he has."

"Hmm." Teodosia returned to the book, scribbling frantically. "Where is Travis, anyway?"

"On lookout duty, I think," Kaelen shrugged. He glanced towards the door.

As if on cue, the door opened and Travis, a short, dark-skinned boy with cropped black hair, walked into the room. He was closely followed by a tall girl with shoulder-length auburn hair, and a boy with brown hair and a pointed nose.

"Teodosia, Kaelen," the girl said as she entered. "How's business been?"

"Could've been better," Teodosia muttered, glaring darkly at Kaelen who shrugged.

"Nothing too bad," he said. "How're things on your end?"

"Fine," said the girl, whose name was Aislinn. She walked over to a desk in the centre of the room and sat down. Next to her, the brunette boy, who was called Marcus, took a seat and pulled several pieces of parchment from his pocket. The other three moved over to sit down. Marcus laid the pieces of parchment down on the table. Across them were written the names of students in third year Slytherin.

"Time to get a new member?" Kaelen asked, leaning forward to read the names.

"Yes," Marcus nodded. "We narrowed it down to these five. Obviously, we don't want any thugs, and we couldn't have one of the twins join or the other would get mad."

"So who have we got?" Teodosia asked.

"We have narrowed it down to: Bronwen Haythornewaite, Mizako Himura, Julian Beauchene, Blaise Zabini, and Draco Malfoy."

Marcus leaned forward and looked down at the parchment. "In three weeks time, we shall choose one of them to become our new member."

He looked up at the four faces looking at him and smiled. Sitting in that room were the greatest minds that Slytherin, and indeed the entire school had to offer. Any student would jump at a chance to become a member of their group, but they could not let anyone in. Oh no, not anyone.

Only the elite got into the Slytherin Society.