Chapter 10

So far as Krait was concerned there was something more important than the success of Garjala's toys by far; and that was the quiet and understated Hatting of Sephara Yaxley into Hufflepuff House in the third year, in the same classes as the Marauders and Ellie and the unfortunate Fish Brunt.

"Which" as Krait said to Severus "Means she has some ability however scant; and amongst that lot in Hufflepuff she won't even be noticeably poor at classwork."

Severus grinned.

"They are rather a poor lot of specimens" he said mildly. "She'll be no worse than Mr Brunt either I wager. That year are either high fliers or virtual muggles."

"Yes, it's funny how it goes that way" said Krait. "And the class that causes more trouble than the rest put together, notwithstanding the attempts of the first."

"Making up for Harry and co leaving I daresay" said Severus, trying to sound sour and merely heaving a sigh.

"Oh they'll be back to give talks and demonstrate duelling I expect" said Krait "And at least the real cloak is going"

Severus brightened. The New Marauders may have bought an invisibility cloak at a car boot sale, but theirs was a more standard version and detectable in strong light. And Harry would need his in his work as an Auror.

It would be the end of an era however.

oOoOo

The duelling competition would take place right after NEWTs; it would make the schedule tight for the Quidditch match, and Dumbledore summoned Harry and Draco to his office.

"You boys are on the Quidditch team; and are quite probably the best duellists I have ever seen bar Sirius and Severus" he said "But I wonder if it is fair for you to be taking part in both….do you think you are likely to be compromising your ability in the, frankly, far more important Quidditch match if you are picked for the duelling tem?"

The boys exchanged looks.

"Well sir" said Harry "To be honest with you, with the load taken from us not to have to think of facing Voldemort on my part and pretending to be a Deatheater on Draco's part, I should say we felt ready to face just about any challenge as fairly minor in comparison."

Draco nodded.

"The Duelling contest might even help us keep our mind off how damned important the Quidditch match is, in a good way, so we don't worry" he said "As well as keeping us sharp. I can't really see that we have a problem. There's no injury we are likely to take in the Duelling Contest that the Bloodgroup can't fix; so we don't have to be concerned about being out through injury. And as for our studies, if you woried they might suffer, I'm up two NEWTs and Harry's up one from last year's little business…"

"LITTLE business?" interrupted Harry.

Draco shrugged.

"Poetic licence?" he said.

"If that was poetry, I'd refuse you a licence" quipped Harry.

Draco grinned.

"Probably wise…. But in any case, Professor, we're not doing a ridiculous number of NEWTs like Hermione or Krait, just the ones we need as Aurors."

"Which is still a higher number than many people take" Dumbledore reminded them.

"Meh" Draco borrowed the expression from Krait "After Fishface, be a piece of cake."

Harry nodded.

"I'd have phrased it differently but I agree with the sentiments. Albus, in a way we need to have things to do, both of us, because we're used to it; we're used to being continually concerned about something, and if we're to be aurors we don't want to lose our edge."

"Hmmm….constant vigilance you mean?"

"Something like that. Maybe Draco and I will never live to see old age; because we've done so much we may burn out. Or die in action. But I guess action is all we know."

"And" said Dumbledore sighing "I do wonder if that is wrong…but there has been no real choice up to now. Well, you are both over seventeen, so I cannot stop you if you feel you can handle both."

Draco grinned again.

"But don't blame you if we fail our NEWTs?" he asked.

"Cheeky…. No, I just hope you're making the right decision."

"Albus" said Harry intensely "All my life you have tried to protect me; and every time you've tried to stop me doing what I think is right, I've got into trouble because I haven't had your support. Over the last year and more when you agreed to tell me things and when we all pulled the same way it's gone like a dream. I don't – I CAN'T do passive. I was born to fight; and Draco was born to fight beside me to bring the houses together. Krait may be Slytherin's heir, and without her, I doubt we'd have done so well or been so happy; but Draco and I are in some ways the heirs of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin in spirit, different but friends, fighting together for the same ideals, supporting our school. We have to do what we can."

"It is your destiny, you know it to be true" murmured Draco, unable to resist an apposite Star Wars quote.

Dumbledore stared.

"You know, Harry, I had not thought of it in such terms before; and I will not say that you are not right. There was that in your face as you spoke that reminded me of the way a true seer looks; and I think I will withdraw my objections."

"Thank you sir" said Harry.

oOoOo

They discussed it nevertheless with the Blood Group later.

"Meh" said Krait "I know there's a danger of adrenaline addiction – getting addicted to action" she explained to the others "But I'd say if you are, you should use it now, and learn to come down when you're in a safe, quiet peaceful job like being aurors."

There was general laughter.

"I was thinking about the Quidditch match actually" said Severus "And I was wondering if we ought all to take Felix Felicis for it."

"SEV!" cried Hermione, shocked "That's CHEATING!"

"And you think the fey won't be using their fey magic to cheat?" said Severus.

"Well, if they do, that's no reason for us to sink to their level surely!" said Hermione.

"Hermione Jane Granger" said Severus seriously "Are you looking on this Quidditch match as a game? Because it isn't. It's deadly serious. On their side, it's a means to get new blood for breeding more solidity or to sacrifice for their survival; on our side it's preventing them doing that to our little ones. It's not a game, it's merely war carried on by other means of diplomacy if I may mangle the quotation."

"What quotation?" asked Ron.

"'War is diplomacy carried on by other means'; Carl von Clausewitz in his book 'On War'" supplied David.

"Lumme, I'd hate to have your weekend reading" said Ron "Sounds heavy!"

"Without my weekend reading how many people might have been bitten by Fishface's werewolves?" said David.

"Anyway" Severus interrupted hastily "And allowing that different people have different interests which is why we're all so good as a group, we need to debate the use of Felix well ahead of time. Harry? You're the fairest person I know, what do you think?"

Harry pondered.

"I think" he said slowly "There's no difference playing Quidditch against dark creatures to fighting them. They are dark creatures, aren't they?"

"Debateable" said Severus "They're classed as dark creatures but some you might only describe as distinctly murky. They fit the classification in so far as they have malicious intent, but what is a suitable classification for OWL level is more…stretchable to what are effectively post-NEWT students."

"They're Dark Creatures in my book Scales" said Sirius "Try not to be a Gryffindor by being so fair. It doesn't become you."

"There's no need to descend to insults, Padfoot" said Severus.

"I say use it" said Harry "Someone once said of a muggle game that 'football is not a matter of life and death, it's more serious than that' and it's kind of a joke; but THIS Quidditch match is more serious than that. Dementors used to play on their team; and any kids they take don't risk just losing their lives but having their souls ripped from them. Am I right?"

"Probably yes" said Severus.

"Well why didn't you say so in the first place, Scales?" demanded Hermione. "Objection withdrawn."

oOoOo

Practice was soon under way for both duelling and Quidditch; a team must be put together for the Duelling contest and the best were to be chosen.

Harry and Draco were certainties; and Hermione was soon pulling ahead on points too. The other three team members turned out to be David, unsurprisingly, Martin Umbridge, which pleased Draco, and small Bil Prince.

"But she's only a child!" whined Cho Chang.

"She also beat you on points and in duel" said Professor Flitwick, who was helping with the training, having once been a duelling champion. "The child is very talented; and we are bound to send the best you know. Dear me, how this takes me back!" he sighed reminiscently.

"All Blood Group except Martin" said Draco "He is very good; I'm glad I got him to see sense."

"Me too" said Harry. "I'd have liked to have been in a team with Ron though."

"He lacks nastiness" said Draco, grinning at the disconsolate Ron "And that's his talent – being the best support any man could have."

"Hey, thanks, Draco!" said Ron "You mean that?"

Draco nodded.

"You're someone who's there" he said "And especially for Harry that's made his ability to defy Voldemort possible. I wish you were playing keeper for us in the Quidditch match, but it's best I guess not to change the team and there's no way we could explain to Damon…."

"He's better than me anyway" said Ron, reluctantly "He's not erratic. On a good day I stop everything; but…"

Draco thought it would be unkind to mention that it would be a good day if they were to use Felix; so he kept his mouth shut. Ron was second reserve in any case; and if the Blooded members of the team would have preferred him as keeper and Ginny as third Chaser, they did not voice their opinions.

Zach Smith and Damon Rich however did.

"We wanted to play when the match was first proposed" said Zach "And in a way we still do. But when Professor Snape came and told us that the team would use Felix Felicis and why we had a long talk. And if you can make up a team of those of you who took the scar, well, we think you'd do a better job working together."

Harry gulped.

"We're a good team as we stand" he said.

"Yeah" said Damon "A good team – for inter-school matches. And we had our moment of glory playing Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, and our names are on the shield for that. This match won't give any glory 'cos it's more important than that. We think you should play Ron and Ginny in our places. We'll both stand as reserve in case of accidents you know; even if it's you as seeker gets hurt, either Draco or Krait could fill in there and Zach as a chaser. Me I'll play beater I need be. But you need the top ones for this."

"You know, you are real men" said Harry "And I'm going to tell you why we work so well together, why we all took the scar; only I'll ask you to keep it under your belts. But you deserve to know."

"We won't blab if you're prepared to share confidences" said Zach.

Harry explained about the Bloodgroup, and how it was entirely experimental at first, a drastic solution to a drastic problem. Zach whistled.

"You took some risks" he said

"Harry grew up having to take risks" said Damon. "Thanks for sharing; I think that strengthens our resolve to let you guys do things your way. And we'll do all we can to support you."

"Put together a team to play against us for some practice then" said Harry "The school second team if you will. There are plenty of people who nearly made the original team."

"'Cept we shan't have Cormac McLaggan if he was the last player on earth" said Zach. "At least I can say truthfully that we have a keeper!"

"See if Cho Chang will play for you as seeker" said Harry "She's good; and she's still cross enough with me to give me a good run out of sheer spite."

"She's a bitch" said Damon "But I don't care; I'll be at the other end."

"Yeah, Ceddie Diggory is welcome to her when she leaves and marries him" said Zach. "Damned if I shan't get the Malfoy twins to play chasers with me; they're young, but they're good. And crazy!"

"David Fraser is solid too" said Harry "I'd have him either as your reserve or ask him to referee for us. He wants to be an international referee you know; he's been writing to Victor Krumm since Hermione let him have his address."

"The chance to play more will make him a better ref" said Zach, seriously "I'll think about that. I should think he'll be playing for Gryffindor anyway, isn't he?"

Harry nodded. He was captain of Gryffindor too; and with a loyal team fully hoped to take the shield again this term. But that was of secondary importance. As gaining the shield for Hufflepuff was for Damon and Zach; and for Slytherin in Draco's eyes. Harry grinned. Ravenclaw was quite likely to take the school Quidditch shield while the other housed played Quidditch to more important ends. There was a sweet irony in that!

It would have been nice to have ended his school career as games captain with a shield, but it was really an irrelevancy. He was, after all, captain of the team that counted.

And all the people who were important to him measured him for what they knew of him not what the outside world's expectations were. And that was very heartening.

oOoOo

The second team were a great deal of help to the first team; Cho Chang was willing to show up Harry if she could, which meant he would have opposition almost as malicious as a real fey; David Fraser played Beater, and sundry others made up what could be considered a good team under most circumstances. The practice matches were bruising; Zach and Damon had every intention of pushing their friends to make sure they were as good as they could be; and had picked those who had not been happy with the choices of the first team where they might to utilise the antagonism. Harry was very pleased with the result, even though it was not comfortable playing in such circumstances. It gave them real incentives to win.

oOoOo

Life for the rest of the school went on as normal of course; Martin Umbridge and his class were anticipating taking OWLs, and there would be end of year tests for everyone that most at least took fairly seriously. Sephara had a lot to catch up, but the staff were kind to her, and Ellie sat with her to help her too. Sephara also made an unexpected friend in her own house when she found a girl called Bethan Price sobbing hysterically in the toilets.

"What is it? Can I help?" said Sephara.

"It's none of your business and I don't suppose you could help anyway, you're next door to being a squib" said Bethan rudely.

"Well I'm better at potions than you are" Sephara retorted, stung. It was true. "Well if you want to be miserable without sharing a trouble to half it that's your problem" and she started to turn away.

"Wait… I'm sorry" said Bethan. "I guess no-one can help but you're not racist if you kick around with that Gryffindor half goblin."

"Ellie's nice. I don't see what her race has to do with it" said Sephara, who was actually more prejudiced against purebloods like her parents than anyone else.

"Well, my grandmother was a leshy" said Bethan.

"What's a leshy?" asked Sephara.

"You don't know? Well look you it's a kind of Welsh mountain fey, kind of related to Veela; they're green skinned with green or black hair and that's why I have green lights in my hair."

"Oh, I thought you might have dyed it" said Sephara. "Are people rotten to you about it?"

"Some are, but that's not the problem, mind" said Bethan "I can deal with that, I don't care about them; but this wild hunt look you will see me as theirs, like Gabrielle Delacourt, but they all look to protect her because she's pretty, and leshy aren't built to lure men in the same way, see; but to warn them of dangers in the mountains."

"Maybe it's because nobody even realises" said Sephara "I think we should go and talk to Professor Sprout about it."

Professor Sprout was taken aback.

"Well, bless my soul, I had no idea!" she cried "No idea at all! Professor Dumbledore must be told at once!"

oOoOo

Professor Dumbledore shook his head.

"I believe I was told" he said "And I dare say I should have remembered had you still been a first year; but you're no trouble, Bethan my dear, and with fighting Voldemort I'm afraid I've been a little preoccupied….you are quite right, you need protection more than most. And you came to us by right; there's been a fuss made around Gabrielle because she's a foreigner of course, and her sister was in the Triwizard and so on…. And of course with a goblin and a half goblin starting in your year a lot of people concentrated their nasty racist little minds on them and let you sink into the background. It's as well, my dear, that no fuss was made when you came or we might have had this trouble on us earlier when we could least do with it; but we need to know, yes indeed we need to know to keep you safe."

"It's not because she's prettier than me then?" demanded Bethan.

"Is she?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes" said Bethan.

"Have you ever wondered if someone whose whole family is blonde might not envy someone with glossy dark hair and of such an exotic colour?" said Dumbledore with cunning. "And eyes as green as Harry Potter's too…. I think you have a poor self image, young lady, that is no more than wanting what is different; as most young girls do!"

"I'd swop looking like Malfoy for looking like Bethan" said Sephara.

Bethan cheered up no end.

As Dumbledore later confided to Professor Sprout, stroking the egos of the half-fey could be very wearing!

oOoOO

Schoolwork was not always a priority amongst the students, it has to be said; and classes, especially in the junior school, were much enlivened – in the view of the pupils – by interruptions by Swooping Cursers and Clockwork Unexpected Tweeters. All goblin made toys were firmly banned and Argus Filch sent to round as many of them up as he could; but by that time, most of the fun that could be had out of them had already been had.

The fullest marks awarded to any Professors had gone jointly to McGonagall and Krait.

When a Swooping Curser had disrupted transfigurations class, McGonagall had barely twitched her wand and had gone to open the window to release the cheerily singing Robin into which she had transfigured the toy. In junior Potions, when several Unexpected Tweeters had started rambling loudly about the dungeon, Krait did not even pause in the demonstration she was making to transfigure them into mice which she sent her pet snake Septimus to catch.

The owners of the toys were impressed; and Septimus was grateful for the unexpected snack.

The only further disruption was the fight that broke out between partisan McGonagall supporters and equally partisan Malfoy supporters – not, it has to be said, necessarily divided by house – over which Professor was the coolest.

Sirius caught the fighters, got to the bottom of the reason for their altercation, and set them detention with lines; all the time, as he confessed in the staffroom, wondering how he was to get through dressing down the miscreants without laughing.

"Meh, I guess it's a better thing to fight over than blood status anyway" said Krait "Daft lot!"

oOoOo

There were other altercations of course.

The Slytherin gang that had once consisted of Hawke, Romulus, Francis Davenport, Gilroy Derwent and Emil Porteous had been eroded in short order to Porteous, the leader, Derwent and Davenport; with the rather dubious support of Porteous' older sister, now rather occupied with OWLs, into whose gang Martin Umbridge had drifted until Draco decided he had had enough. The older Davenport was more a follower than wicked, as Krait said, and Severus nodded; he had been in a similar situation himself and felt for Davenport who was also somewhat poverty stricken as he had been. Francis however was stubborn enough not to take any tentative olive branch from Hawke and Rom; though young Ralph was doing well in the MSHG.

The problem from Francis Davenport's point of view was that he stuttered under stress; and having nobody else to pick on, Porteous took delight in making fun of his supposed friend's disability, making it thereby worse.

Young Ralph was furious.

"I really want to do something to GET Porteous!" he declared in the muggle studies meeting.

"Yeah, of course you do" said Draco "Look, let us stew on it a while; we'll try to keep it in house, for your brother's pride; but until he finds the tools to fight back I'm afraid he's a bit stymied."

"Where can I get him tools? I can work to pay for them" said Ralph.

"Ah, you are a good kid!" said Draco "The tools I meant aren't the sort you can buy; they're things like independence, and self assertiveness and having the balls to kick Porteous in his. He'll only leave Francis alone when FRANCIS turns on him; and that's not something you can do. We've all had to learn it, those of us who've been there; and when you do learn it, that you can make your own decisions, you don't have to be bullied into being what someone else tells you to be, it's a wonderful feeling."

"Who bullied you, Draco?" asked Ralph in wonder.

"My father; acting under compulsion and control by Voldemort" said Draco.

Ralph gasped!

That was far more serious than being bullied by just another boy in his estimation; and he determined to work on his big brother to make him break free!

oOoOo

"That kid has balls twice the size of his brother" said Hawke to Romulus "Francis is a bit wet not to kick being with Porteous."

"Not necessarily" said Rom. "Dad told me when he was first at Hogwarts he got in with a bad crowd because being poor he was eager to be accepted by those he saw as the 'in-crowd' the pure and near purebloods who were well off. Francis was always trying to treat us to sweets to hide how poor he was, d'you remember? And I think he's trying to make what he sees as good connections for his family, and though I guess he'd like to make Malfoy connections he's got an obscure and warped but real sense of loyalty in there somewhere. And it also gets to be habit to be pushed around – until the worm manages to turn. Look at Peter Pettigrew."

Hawke nodded. They despised and pitied Peter Pettigrew in equal measure, as one who had been a Marauder and had let the side down even though under great provocation.

"I guess it's up to us not to let him become another Pettigrew" he sighed. "Porteous we can't do a great deal about; the only reason his father's not an out-and-out deatheater is because he lacked the guts."

"Yeah" said Romulus "Like Porteous who sends his minions out to do his dirty work for him. That's Davenport and Derwent these days, and Derwent's as nasty a piece of work that ever walked. He likes torturing animals if he can."

"Derwent is sick" said Hawke "And I think he really IS sick too. But the wizarding world doesn't take that into account."

"Then it's time changes were made" said Romulus "And having killed Voldemort we've got the clout to suggest changes."

"We can talk to Lucius" said Romulus "He's got clout anyway; and with Harry to back him it means Professor Dumbledore could start doing things like asking to have a child assessed for being abnormal and it would also pick up those kids who are cowed by awful parents like Melody and Sephara and so on."

"Yeah" said Hawke. "We can really make a difference now!"