A/N: Hey all! I owe all of you a huge apology for the hiatus-sans-warning over the past month, but the essays pretty much rear-ended one another. Too much work, too little time. I've got two more finals this coming week, but I promised myself I would get this chapter out to you all before buckling down for those. I'll pick up the pace over the break, no worries.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Same as always.

Chapter 28: The Serpent and the Badger

"I spoke to my nephew. As far as he knows, the wand that he returned to James Potter is the very same one that he took from him."

Neville raised his eyebrows. "As far as he knows? He isn't sure?"

Professor Zarin maintained a steady gaze on the Head of Gryffindor House. "He said that he left the wand in the Slytherin Common Room over night. It's possible someone picked it up accidentally and left a different one."

"I see," said Neville. He knew it was useless to pursue this further. If Professor Zarin was lying to protect his nephew, there was nothing he could do about it. "Thank you, Professor. I will tell Mr. Potter this." With that he turned and left the office.

He strode through the Potions classroom as quickly as possible, not looking around. Whenever he was in here, it reminded him of those awful classes that he took under Severus Snape back in his days as a student.

Making his way up to the Great Hall, he rounded a corner and bumped right into Victoire Weasley.

"Miss Weasley! I'm terribly sorry. Are you alright?"

She gave him a strange look. It seemed for a moment as though she were suspicious of something. "Yes, Professor, I'm fine."

He nodded and continued on.

She watched him go, cursing herself for the look she had given him. She felt suspicious of everyone around her. Anyone could be Teddy in disguise.

A little girl in Hufflepuff passed by her, looking up at her as she walked by. Victoire caught the look. Was that Teddy?

She turned towards the girl, giving her a wary glare. The girl's eyes widened and she quickly looked away, speeding up until she was safely around a corner.

Victoire slapped a hand to her forehead. What was she doing? Was she going crazy?

Her N.E.W.T. exams were a month away, and she couldn't even think about them. All she could think about was that Teddy might be watching her at any moment.

"Victoire, are you alright?" A pair of arms wrapped around her, and she felt her boyfriend's familiar embrace.

She tensed up. "Je vais pas mal. Ca va?"

"Si vous etes bien que je suis bien." If she was okay then so was he.

Finally she relaxed, laying her head on his shoulder. She felt awfully tired trying to maintain constant vigilance.

Kevin wondered what was bothering her so much, but he knew she wouldn't tell him. Things were still wrong.

They would always be wrong.

Removing an arm from around her, he dipped his hand into a pocket of his robes. His fingers toyed with a little pouch concealed within.

Within this pouch was the antidote. It was a powder that would neutralize the gaol seeds once applied to the same spot of skin that the seeds had been planted on.

She leaned back from him, and he looked into her eyes. Her gaze never failed to seduce him, even if it was unintentional. He withdrew his hand from his pocket, leaving the pouch within, and took her hand. Bringing it up to his lips, he kissed the back of it. She gave him a sweet smile.

Neither of them noticed the boy in Slytherin robes that watched them from down the hallway, leaning against the wall. The boy struggled to suppress his anger as he watched Kevin kiss Victoire. Quickly, he turned away and stormed in the opposite direction, changing form once more once he was safely out of sight of anyone.


Gary entered the hospital wing alongside Steven and four other members of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. Immediately they all looked over to where their seventh member lay in one of the beds. She saw them and smiled.

She sat up, and the smile disappeared as she winced and clutched her side.

Madam Bell came rushing along between the beds. "What are you all doing here? She needs to be resting."

"No I don't," Sandra interjected. "I need to be warming up."

Madam Bell stared at her for a second in confusion. Then her jaw dropped. "Are you mad? You can't play quidditch in that condition!"

"We need her," said Steven.

"It's alright," said Sandra, sitting up once more and ignoring the pain. "I'm okay."

"No, you're not."

"I'm fine," Sandra insisted.

"You're not fine," Madam Bell replied sternly, "not fine enough to play quidditch."

Steven gave her a pleading look.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Smith, but for this match you'll have to find a new seeker."

Sandra glared up at the healer. "That won't be necessary. I'm going to play."

Madam Bell gave her a look that she found more than a little condescending. "If you play then in all likelihood you'll only wind up hurting yourself even more."

"So be it. I'm going to play."

Madam Bell looked at the Hufflepuff captain as though pleading with him to talk Sandra out of it.

"I trust Sandra's judgement," said Steven. "She's smart, she wouldn't play if she didn't think she could."

"She'll get herself killed! The moment a bludger strikes her, it will completely ruin the healing process."

"Then we'll make sure no bludgers hit her," said one of the beaters. The other nodded resolutely.

"A very bold statement," said Madam Bell. "But this whole school knows that Slytherin's beaters are the most aggressive in the school. They've brought more patients here than any other cause since the war."

"I will be fine," said Sandra in her most deliberate tone. With that, she got out of bed, ignoring the pain that went shooting back and forth along her side. "Now if you boys will leave me to get dressed..." Her teammates turned and left the hospital wing.

"This is madness," muttered Madam Bell, turning away and returning to her desk. "I expect to see you back here immediately after the match, Miss Alain."


Flint smiled widely when he saw Sandra take the field. Gesturing to his beaters, he pointed at her. They nodded with matching sinister smiles.

Up in the stands, Victoire bit her lip. She couldn't believe Sandra was playing despite her injury.

Something caught the corner of her eye. She looked over, but didn't see anything but a bunch of faces watching the teams meet in the center of the field. Had someone been looking at her?

He was somewhere nearby. She knew it.

Smith and Flint shook hands. Flint glanced over at Sandra and winked. Smith caught the gesture and stiffened slightly, wondering if he had made the right decision in supporting Sandra's desire to play. In the end this match wouldn't mean anything anyway...

When the match began, Barsk seized the quaffle immediately, and raced Gary up to the goal posts, putting the quaffle through before Gary had a chance to block it.

"What?" yelled Munden through the loudspeaker. "That's illegal!"

"I don't think it is, Mr. Munden," replied Professor Zarin smugly.

Smith seized the quaffle and rushed at Flint. A beater took aim at him, and he dodged the bludger. He fired. Flint blocked it. Smith glared at him. He responded with a sneer.

Up above, Carla glanced over at Sandra uneasily. The Hufflepuff seeker was clearly still hurting, and Carla couldn't believe she had chosen to play given the injury she had endured. She felt nothing but admiration for her opponent.

Therein lay the dilemma.

During the match against Gryffindor, she had felt nothing towards James Potter, and had no qualms about doing all she could to beat him. Against Ravenclaw, she had felt betrayed by Sarah, and had felt a huge desire to beat her.

Towards Sandra, Carla had no negative feelings. She greatly admired the girl's bravery, and would take no pleasure in defeating her.

At least she would have to keep it close. She had to give her injured opponent a chance.

Watching the game below, she saw Barsk fire another shot. Gary saved it, sailing smoothly through the air to intercept the quaffle. Carla couldn't help but appreciate the fluidity of his motion on a broom. He was a natural.

He passed the quaffle to Smith. The Hufflepuff chasers moved quickly, weaving back and forth. One of the Slytherin beaters tried to knock them off track with a bludger. Carla frowned, wondering where the other one was. Looking around, she found him watching Sandra, his bat poised and a hungry look on his face.

She saw the bludger approach, saw the beater give it a whack.

Sandra was looking the other way. Carla acted on instinct. "Sandra! Look out!"

Sandra looked at her opponent in confusion. Carla pointed towards the bludger that was racing towards her. Sandra moved out of the way, and the bludger flew by harmlessly.

The beater stared at the Slytherin seeker in shock.

Michaela and Sarah saw what happened, and both smiled. Michaela gave Sarah a nudge, and Sarah smiled sheepishly, embarrassed at having treated Carla as her enemy for so long.

The game raged on. The chasers flew back and forth, but both keepers managed to block just about all the shots fired at them. Shane watched anxiously, wondering if he would ever be able to match the level of these two keepers.

The beaters were almost non-factors. The Hufflepuff beaters hovered high up, close to Sandra, protecting her, while the Slytherin beaters devoted much of their attention to sending bludgers at the injured seeker. They knew it would only take a hit or two to send her down, and then Carla would be free to win them the match.

Carla was more concerned with this than with finding the snitch. She kept close tabs on both bludgers, making sure the Hufflepuff beaters knew where they were and were able to block them. Sandra was also keeping a watchful eye out for herself, though she was devoting more attention to looking for the snitch than Carla was.

Eventually, boredom began to set in across the stands. Nearly an hour into the match, both teams had scored only three times, and the beaters and seekers went through their endless cycle of attacking, blocking and dodging.

Even Munden's pro-Hufflepuff enthusiasm had died down considerably. "And Smith shoots again. Another save by Flint. The score still remains tied at 30."

Carla saw a glint of gold pass over Flint's shoulder. Flint noticed it as well, and followed it with his eyes. When he realized what it was, he looked up at his seeker.

Carla cast a quick glance at Sandra, who hadn't noticed, then dove downwards after the snitch. As she passed by Flint, he smiled and threw up his fist.

"And there goes Warrington!" Munden shouted, his enthusiasm returning full-force. "Get after her, Sandra!"

Sandra had already noticed the dive, and gave chase. Immediately, the Slytherin beaters moved in like hungry birds of prey, as the Hufflepuff beaters struggled to keep up with their seeker.

The enthusiasm in the stands was also revived, and the crowds cheered as the seekers began their race. Smith managed to put in a goal around Flint, who had gotten caught up in watching his seeker go for the win.

Carla curved widely behind the snitch, casting a glance behind herself. Sandra was far behind, one hand on her side, which was obviously hurting. A bludger flew in front of her, and a Slytherin beater swooped in, whacking the bludger at her. She quickly ducked it.

The other beater found the other bludger, and sent it at her. A Hufflepuff beater deflected it away at the last moment.

The stands fell quiet once more as people realized the onslaught that the Hufflepuff seeker was enduring. Only the Slytherins kept cheering, louder each time a bludger nearly struck her.

Carla caught up to the snitch only very slowly. She couldn't bring herself to put her full effort into beating the other girl. Sandra wasn't catching up to her, as she was too busy dodging the bludgers that impeded her pursuit of the snitch.

Barsk managed to get a goal around Gary, but no one noticed. Carla looked back again to see Sandra barely avoid another bludger.

"Stop them! Someone stop them!" Munden shouted through the loudspeaker. The students in the stands were muttering nervously amongst themselves, while many of the Slytherins were laughing. People looked down to Professor Hawkeye, who was hovering on his own broom barely above the ground, looking up nervously at everything.

The beaters swarmed around Sandra, attacking and defending her. The Slytherin beaters by now were not losing track of either bludger, and were keeping both between them with Sandra and the Hufflepuff beaters in the middle.

Sandra removed her hand from her side and placed it on her broom, aiming towards Carla. She sped off as fast as she could, screaming in pain as she did so, but not slowing down. Carla stared at her in awe, and the beaters scrambled to try to catch up.

Sandra sped right past Carla. Carla looked around for the snitch, but had lost track of it. Sandra kept going simply to stay ahead of the beaters. If she slowed down, they would catch up with her.

Carla prayed that the snitch would show up again soon, so that she could end the match and Sandra's torment.

Then she saw it, hovering at the far end of the field. She sped after it. Sandra saw the movement and shifted course, and was soon back on Carla's trail, still going as fast as she could to stay ahead of the beaters. Chancing a glance back, Carla saw the look of intense pain on her opponent's face.

They had almost caught up to the snitch when one of the Slytherin beaters broke away, guiding a bludger with his bat. The snitch was curving slowly, and the beater moved along a parallel course, looking over at Sandra.

At the end of the pitch, the snitch predictably changed course, and so did the seekers. The beater was in the right position. Giving the bludger a hard whack, he sent it flying to intercept the Hufflepuff seeker.

Carla saw it coming. Sandra was at an angle where she couldn't see it. Carla looked ahead at the snitch. She would soon have it. But not soon enough.

Breaking off from the race, Carla turned towards the bludger, flying right into its course. It slammed into her arm, and she screamed, grasping the violent ball in her arms as she lost control of her broom and went spiraling off in a direction she couldn't determine.

The stands fell silent, even as Sandra caught up to the snitch and grabbed it. Carla was unable to gain control, and she knew she was going downwards at some angle. Then suddenly there was a wall, and her motion changed once more. Letting go of both bludger and broom, she fell down the side of the viewing tower into a sea of yellow.

When she hit the ground, stars exploded behind her eyes. She couldn't see anything, and the pain was more intense than anything she had ever felt before. She felt rather than saw the shadows move over her. Then she lost consciousness.


The Hufflepuff locker room was silent, despite the win. Sandra changed as quickly as she could, anxious to get to the hospital wing and make sure her unlikely savior was okay.

The entire team chose to accompany her. When they arrived, Carla was already in one of the beds, with Madam Bell standing over her, wand poised. She looked up when they came in, and waved them back out. All turned back except for Sandra, who simply stared at the girl.

Madam Bell returned to her work, paying Sandra no further heed, and finally the girl left. She would return soon though, to see how Carla was doing.


There was a hush over the Great Hall that night. People were shocked by what Carla had done. The students had never before seen one of their own make such a sacrifice, and no one would have expected it from a Slytherin.

James stared at Michaela, who was tonight sitting at the victorious Hufflepuff table with her brother and Sarah and Gary. He felt slightly better knowing that the Slytherin that she was friends with was the same one who had pulled that incredible stunt today.

"James, may I speak with you?" James looked up to see Neville looking down at him. The Professor was speaking in a characteristically soft tone, and had a doleful look on his face.

"Certainly, Professor." James got up and followed Neville out of the Great Hall. Once outside, Neville turned.

"Professor Zarin spoke with his nephew. He said that he left your wand in the Slytherin Common Room overnight. When he retrieved it in the morning, it may not have been the same wand that he had left there. Someone may have switched them."

James frowned deeply, pulling the wand that wasn't his out of the pocket of his robes. "Clearly someone switched them. So now some Slytherin has my wand, and not even Alexander knows who?"

Neville nodded.

James swore under his breath. Neville frowned. "Please watch your language, James. Your mother would bat-bogey me to death if I were to let you go around swearing like that."

"I have to get my wand back, Professor."

"It will turn up, James. In the meantime, I don't think there's anything you can do."

James frowned at the foreign wand, stowing it back in his robes. "Very well. Thanks, Neville."

Neville smiled at this. "You're welcome, James."

He watched the boy go back inside the Great Hall. Then his smile fell a little.

He had a feeling Professor Zarin hadn't told him the truth. Alexander Zarin still had James Potter's wand. But he had no way to prove that.

Nor could he even mention his suspicions to Headmistress McGonagall. If the Headmistress were to call into question the integrity of a teacher whom she herself had hired and who had taught at this school for so long, the Ministry would take it as reason to further call into question her integrity. And the Headmistress was on fragile enough ground right now.

Professor Zarin had lied to protect his nephew. Neville was almost sure about that. But there was something more, a bigger secret that the Zarins were hiding.

Neville wished he could talk to Harry about this.


Rose had determined to go to the library for a little while before curfew, and she dragged Albus and Allison with her. She froze when she saw Scorpius leaning against the wall outside the library, and regretted her decision.

He saw her before she could avoid it. "Hi, Weasley."

"Why are you always loitering like this, Malfoy?"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows, at a complete loss for what loitering might mean. Neither Albus nor Allison knew, either.

Typical daughter of Hermione Granger.

"Why are you always just standing somewhere, leaning against the wall like that."

Scorpius shrugged, looking around. "Well there's not much else to do, is there?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Get a life." She continued walking, until he spoke to her again.

"Come on, Weasley. After today, not even you can say that all Slytherins are bad."

Rose gave him a sharp glance. "Well your seeker isn't. You haven't yet given me any reason to think that you're not.

Scorpius smiled. "Well you haven't yet given me a chance, have you?"

"No, and I don't intend to." With that, Rose continued walking, determined not to stop for anything else he said.

A loud crack stopped her, and she turned. Perry the house-elf was standing in front of the Slytherin, looking around at the four of them. With another crack, Kreacher appeared as well, and grabbed onto Albus and Scorpius with each hand, disapparating with them. Rose and Allison exchanged a glance before Perry grabbed onto each of their hands with his own small ones and disapparated.