I thought Malfoy was going to explode when that article came out. It was weird the way it happened. We went down for breakfast one day, and as we walked into the Great Hall, a strange hush fell. I could sense people looking at us, but when looked around to I try to catch someone staring at me they all averted their eyes. Now I'm used to that part, because anyone catching my eye is just asking for a fight and I could take out just about anyone at Hogwarts, even Vince if it came to it, I reckon, but me and him are like brothers so I can't really see that happening. I knew something was up, though, and what was really bugging me was that I could tell they were all looking at me, Vince and Malfoy as we all walked to Charms but I didn't know why or how to get them to stop.
Then at break Pansy, mad as hell, came into the common room with a magazine and thrust it under Draco's nose.
"The Quibbler? What would I want with that godawful rag?" he snapped.
"Look." She jabbed at the headline splashed across the cover, "HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST: THE TRUTH ABOUT HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN".
"Yes, I see it. I just don't understand why I have to keep up with Potter's press cuttings."
"Read the article. You're not going to like it."
Malfoy grabbed it from her and began to read, his eyes darting quickly across the page. Suddenly he breathed out, loudly.
"No… this is too much…" he muttered. He held the magazine out to me, pointing to the section he wanted me to look at. I read:
"'…at that point he sent out a summons to his Death Eaters by means of a secret tattoo they each have on their forearms, which depicts the Dark Mark. They formed a circle and he walked around it, chastising each one for their lack of loyalty, sometimes even using the Cruciatus Curse. I was tied to a gravestone watching all this; none of them thought I would leave the scene alive so they did not trouble to keep their identities secret.' Harry Potter looks around us, taking in the busy pub scene that seems so at odds with this darkest of tales. He leans close to me, as if afraid that the valuable information he is about to impart will be overheard. 'Rita,' he whispers, 'They thought they would kill me. But I survived, and now I need you to tell the world what I know. The Death Eaters present were: Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery, Macnair, Nott…'"
"Outrageous, isn't it?" said Malfoy, snatching the magazine away from me before I'd finished. "Nott should read this."
We found Nott in the library, where he was poring over several thick leather-bound books, scribbling notes on a scruffy piece of parchment.
"Have you seen this?" demanded Malfoy, shoving the magazine under his nose. Nott looked up at us, bewildered, as though he had been awakened from a trance. He read the article in what seemed like five seconds flat, then thought for a few moments.
"I don't think there's much we can really do about it," he said, finally.
"Not much we can do?" said Malfoy incredulously. "This is slander! Potter's gone too far this time. I think I'll…"
"There's nothing you can do," said Nott, more firmly. "Fudge doesn't believe that our fathers are Death Eaters, and that's what matters. If Harry Potter wants dispute that in a fine publication like the Quibbler, let him, as it only shows how desperate he is. Just don't let him know you're rattled, or people will start thinking there's some truth to these rumours."
"But Potter can't just get away with saying all this stuff!"
"Do you think Umbridge will let him?" Nott countered, evenly.
"She has!" Malfoy shouted. Madam Pince turned around and hissed at him.
"He's got a nasty scar on his wrist – have you noticed that? I'll bet you anything he'll have more detentions coming his way after this." Nott seemed quietly confident.
"Well, she's not doing anything about the filth that Potter's circulating!" Malfoy kept his voice to an angry whisper.
"You used to spread similar rumours about your family's Dark connections yourself to stop the first years from sitting in your favourite chair in the common room. What difference does it make?"
"So Potter's trying to dirty the Malfoy name, and you think that's fine?"
"You think an association with the Dark Lord is 'dirtying'?" Nott challenged, a strange look in his eyes.
"I – I didn't say that," Malfoy faltered.
"No," said Nott, whose attention seemed to have drifted back to the volume he had been studying. "I wouldn't worry about it. Potter's not exactly the most credible source, and you can bet Umbridge is going to get her revenge because they've made her look so stupid."
"I hope so," said Malfoy forcefully.
"Oh look, they've come to gloat," said Vince. We all turned around to see Potter, Granger and Weasley's smirking faces.
"Let them," muttered Malfoy. "We'll get even. With Dolores on our side."
I cracked my knuckles, glaring at them. Nott's face was oddly expressionless.
A/N: Review please? You know you want to...