Year 3: Not Quite Right

Chapter 21: September 2017

September the first arrived much too quickly. Louis would have preferred another month or two at Shell Cottage. Though he was excited to see Justin and his friends from Astronomy Club again, he was dreading being back in the castle with Flint and his gang.

July had been a good month. Louis had felt great, being amongst his family and not having to look over his shoulder everywhere he went. He got through all the transfiguration, history of magic, defence, and astronomy work he'd needed to, for himself and the Slytherins by the end of that first month. He still had potions, herbology, and charms to get through, but he felt confident that he had plenty of time to get it all done, even though the herbology and potions assignments were significantly longer than most.

But as soon as August had hit, Louis had started getting stressed and nervous. The summer was more than half over, and September had started to loom. Louis would often awake in the middle of the night, his heart racing and his body drenched in sweat. He had nightmares of being cornered by Flint and the others at the end of a dark corridor, nobody else around to hear his screams.

His parents were worried about him, but no matter how many times they asked what was wrong, Louis refused to talk. He knew it would only make things worse in the long run. He just had to learn to live with things as they were, get through the next five years, and then he could be free.

Louis and Justin grabbed a compartment together on the train and immediately began comparing their assignments. They wanted to make sure that they had everything in order before the Slytherins came calling. Once everything was consolidated, they sat, nervously awaiting the Slytherin's arrival.

A knock on their compartment door caused Louis to jump, and Justin looked terrified out of his mind. Louis slid the door open to reveal Jenna Sweeting and Courtney Bell, two other Gryffindors in their year.

"Hey guys," Jenna smiled. "Can we join you? The train seems rather full today."

"These seats are taken," Justin said immediately, shaking his head adamantly.

Seeming a little surprised and put out, the two girls looked at each other and then back at Louis and Justin.

"Come on, all the other compartments are full," Courtney insisted. "We just need somewhere to sit."

"You can't sit here!" Louis exclaimed, rather louder than he had intended.

The girls looked rather startled at this and took a step back.

"Well fine then," Jenna said, affronted. "We'll keep looking, I guess."

The girls left, and Louis slid the compartment door shut again, his heart still racing.

He'd thought the knock had meant the Slytherins had come, and he'd been confused when he'd discovered that it was the two girls instead. But he and Justin couldn't afford to let them sit with them. The Slytherins would be coming eventually, and they didn't need an audience when they did.

They waited, impatiently on edge, as the train left King's Cross station and began its journey through the countryside. Every little noise had Louis jumping and Justin turning his head quickly towards the door. After two months away from Hogwarts, the boys had had a lot of time to think about everything that had happened last year. In a way, they'd even exaggerated a lot of it in their heads, so that now they were essentially terrified.

"Flint did say they would come for the homework on the train, right?" Justin asked two hours into their journey. They were still waiting for the Slytherins to come calling, unable to relax as they were so stressed out.

"I think so," Louis agreed. "Or did he say we were supposed to bring the homework to them?"

"I don't think so," Justin shook his head. "They usually come to us."

In the end, it was decided that the two boys would continue to wait in their own compartment for Flint to find them. They didn't want to risk getting up and leaving and then missing Flint altogether and incurring his wrath.

When the lunch trolley passed, neither boy bought anything, as they were much too nervous to eat. Louis felt like he might throw up anything he tried to put into his stomach, so violent was the roiling and churning he was experiencing.

Finally, four hours into the trip to Hogwarts, a solid rap sounded on the door.

Still being the closest to it, Louis pulled it open, and the boys were both surprised and unsurprised to find Alec Roper waiting in the corridor. Unsurprised, because they'd been expecting the Slytherins all day. Surprised because they'd been expecting Flint, certainly flanked by at least two of his gang. Instead there was only Alec, and Flint was nowhere to be seen.

"You know why I'm here," Alec said, stepping into the compartment and shutting the door behind him.

Louis startled a little at that, panicking at the thought of being shut into a compartment with the Slytherin without anyone able to see, but then realized that it was likely more to avoid anyone seeing the exchange that was about to happen than for anything resembling violence. It wasn't as though Alec was the brawn of the group. If Flint was going to send one of his cronies to beat up the two Gryffindors, it would be Darian Reed no question.

"It's all here," Justin said, producing the materials from inside his trunk. Earlier that day, he and Louis had put everything in order so that it would be nice and organized for the Slytherins when they came to collect it. Alec quickly flipped through the pages, ensuring that they hadn't missed anything.

"This looks in order," Alec nodded. He slipped the pile of parchment inside his robes so that he could conceal it as he returned it to the Slytherin compartment. "We'll be in touch."

And with that, Alec took his leave, opening the compartment door once more and stepping out into the corridor.

Louis pulled the door shut as soon as the Slytherin was gone, and then he and Justin let out a sigh of relief.

"That was easy!" Justin exclaimed in surprise and relief.

"Too easy," Louis agreed. If last year had been any indication, the Slytherins would often use violence even when not necessary, just to make sure that the Gryffindors remembered their place. Louis had certainly been expecting something a little more intense for their first day back.

He also wondered why Flint hadn't come to see them himself. It wasn't at all in character. He liked to see to these sorts of things personally. So why had Alec been sent alone?

None of it made any sense given Louis' knowledge of Flint. Though Justin seemed all too eager to accept it and hope the pattern continued, Louis remained suspicious. He wasn't about to let his guard down.

LlLlLlLlLlL

They arrived at Hogwarts that evening and headed up to the castle for the welcome feast. There was a terrifying moment when they were waiting for the carriages when Louis and Justin were about to climb into one, but were shoved to the side by Darian Reed as all five of the third year Slytherins pushed past them, claiming the carriage for themselves.

Louis had felt sure that a beating would be imminent, as punishment for he and Justin trying to take their carriage first, but Flint barely even spared them a glance, instead in deep conversation with Anthony Pearle.

The welcome feast wasn't particularly eventful. Not once through the whole meal did the Slytherins even glance in the Gryffindors' direction. Louis would know, he watched them the whole time.

By the time they turned in for the night, heading up to what was now the third-year dormitory, Louis was more confused than ever. Why was Flint ignoring them? Why hadn't he met them with a show of strength to make sure to assert his dominance, as he usually would? Why did he suddenly seem not to care?

It wasn't that Louis wanted to get beat up. It wasn't that he wasn't grateful for the reprieve. It was that he didn't understand why it was happening. What had changed over the summer and could Louis trust it? Justin seemed all too eager to accept this new reality and go about his life, but Louis didn't like it. He felt like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He felt like something bad was coming, and he was afraid for what that might be.

LlLlLlLlLlL

The first day of classes went as smoothly as could have been hoped for. They started with the first of their elective classes. Louis and Justin had chosen to take the same ones: Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. Ancient Runes was up first, and they began with a simple introductory class which ended with them all learning the runic alphabet.

Next up they had history of magic, followed by potions, and then finally charms. The three latter classes were spent revising material they'd learned last term, making sure they all remained up to speed and hadn't let all the information leak out of their brains over the summer.

Though they crossed paths with the Slytherins many times throughout the day (how could they not as they took almost all the same classes), Flint barely spared either boy a glance. Louis continued to feel a sense of foreboding within himself, but he didn't know what to do with it. As far as it appeared, Flint and the Slytherins were leaving he and Justin alone.

By the end of the week, Neither Louis nor Justin had heard a word from any of the Slytherin boys. Flint hadn't confronted them for any reason, nor had he sent any of his goons their way. Louis was almost tempted to let his guard down and start to enjoy third year. Almost.

The end of the week marked their first astronomy club meeting of the year. With no new members interested in joining and Ben now graduated, they were back to a total of twelve club members. Arnold, who'd been the club's vice president last year, was voted team president. For vice president, Greg was selected. And finally, for project manager, the team unanimously voted for Trent, who would now be holding the position for the second year in a row.

Louis and Justin were feeling good as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower at the end of the club meeting. They were feeling happy to be back with the astronomy club, excited to see what their new leadership would come up with in terms of a project for the year. They were feeling rather good about their classes, and so far, their year hadn't been marred by any visits to the hospital wing or terrifying encounters in dark corridors.

So, it was with a great deal of alarm that Louis and Justin rounded the corner that led to the corridor in which sat the portrait of the fat lady to find Anthony Pearle waiting for them. He was just leaning against the wall of the corridor, though it was awfully suspicious that he was doing it so close to the entrance to Gryffindor Tower – almost as if he knew exactly where it was.

When he saw Louis and Justin, he moved into the center of the corridor. Louis was immediately very aware of the fact that the three of them were alone, and though Gryffindor Tower was close, they weren't safely behind the portrait hole. Of course, if either boy were to scream, the entire common room would likely come pouring out of it, which did give Louis a sense of security. If Anthony were going to attack them, it wouldn't be this close to their home, nor would he be alone.

Stepping forward confidently, Justin moved ahead of Louis and faced Anthony. Though he appeared calm on the outside, Louis could tell his friend was trembling with fear on the inside.

"I assume you have a message for us?" he asked.

Anthony nodded. "We'd like to come to a more peaceful arrangement than that we had last year," he declared.

"What do you mean peaceful?" Justin frowned.

"I mean, this doesn't have to get ugly again," Anthony said. "Follow the rules, and there'll be no need for force."

"And what exactly are these rules?" Louis asked, stepping forward so that he now stood next to Justin instead of behind him.

"From now on, the two of you are responsible for all Slytherin assignments in the classes that we share. Every Sunday evening at seven o'clock, one or both of you will report to the corridor in the dungeons containing the statue of Cormoran the Cruel with all assignments from the previous week completed. You will be met by one or more of us, you will hand them over, and then you will depart."

"So, we're now responsible for everything?" Justin demanded. "We're doing every single assignment?"

"Do you wish to revisit our conversation from last year?" Anthony inquired.

Louis swallowed thickly. The threat was still there. Just because nobody was beating him and Justin up this moment didn't mean they wouldn't if the situation arose. And he couldn't say he hadn't been expecting something like this. Ever since last March, the Slytherins had been piling on more and more of their work. Louis was just relieved that Anthony had specified that the arrangement would only apply to the classes they shared. By a stroke of luck, the Slytherins had all elected for Care of Magical Creatures instead of Ancient Runes, which meant one less class to worry about.

"No," Justin shook his head quickly. "No, I remember."

The message last year had been clear. The Slytherins owned them. They could make the two Gryffindors do whatever they wanted, and the Gryffindors had to comply. But as far as Louis was concerned, this arrangement was ideal. Though it would mean a lot more work on his and Justin's parts, there would be no more fear of walking around corners, no more wondering when the Slytherins would be showing up. They would have a routine, would know exactly when they needed to have things completed by. They could plan around it and not have to live constantly on edge.

"We understand the terms," Louis said strongly.

"Good," Anthony nodded. "As long as you keep your end of the bargain, you won't have any trouble from us."

Louis nodded and held his ground as Anthony retreated, disappearing down the corridor, heading to the Grand Staircase.

"Well I'd say that's the best scenario we could have asked for," Louis said, letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"Best scenario?" Justin cried. "Did you hear him? We're basically their slaves."

"We always were," Louis pointed out. "But now we know what to expect. And if we do the assignments without complaint and deliver them on time, there's no reason we should have to worry about visiting Madam Eldridge anytime soon."

Justin had to admit that Louis was right. And though the thought of all the work they'd have to do, not just this year, but likely every year until graduation, was daunting, it was a comfort to know that the Slytherins were becoming more strategic. The most terrifying thing about Flint had always been how unpredictable he was. Maybe with age he was growing wiser… or at least more careful. The selection of the very specific corridor in the dungeons had clearly been made very deliberately. Flint knew that the professors were on to him, and he wanted to make sure to conduct their business as secretively as possible. No more confrontations in the library would mean less suspicion on him.

"So, what do we do now?" Justin wondered.

Louis met Justin's gaze and gave him a resigned look.

"Now we get started on this week's assignments," he declared. "We only have until Sunday evening to get through it all. Thank goodness it's only our first week back and it's all pretty basic."

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Over the next few weeks, Louis and Justin fell into a comfortable pattern. Just as they'd divided the work over the summer, the boys continued to divide up the work by student rather than subject, to ensure that neither of them neglected any one subject too much. Though it was a lot of work, they found that once they got into the rhythm of it, they were able to crank out assignments rather quickly. Not only that, but even by the end of the month, they started to see a slow rise in both their and the Slytherins' grades.

Louis and Justin mutually agreed that they would always go to their Sunday night drop-off of assignments together. Though they believed that the Slytherins wanted to maintain a peaceful arrangement, neither boy felt comfortable venturing that far into Slytherin territory alone.

Each week they were met by someone different. The first week, it was Alec Roper who was waiting for them. The second week, Arthur Pritchard met them for the exchange. The third week, the boys were a little surprised and fearful to find that Darian Reed and Anthony Pearle were both there, but the exchange went just as smoothly as ever. The fourth week, David Flint himself was waiting for them in the corridor.

"Louis. Justin," He greeted the two boys with a curt nod of the head. "You have what we're here for?"

Fumbling from the surprise of seeing the leader of the gang here waiting for them, it took Justin a second or two longer than usual to produce the assignments, perfectly organized as usual, from his bag. He quickly handed them off, and then took a frightened step back.

"I'm glad to see that our arrangement is working out so well," Flint said. "I had feared that you would resist, but it seems that you've come to realize that things are better this way."

Neither boy knew how or what to respond, and instead remained silent.

"I'm so glad that we can be civil about all of this," Flint continued. "It's so nice when we can all just get along like friends."

It took all Louis had in him not to be sick upon hearing Flint's words. Whatever this was, it wasn't friendship. It was extortion. It was intimidation. It was fear and threats and domination and control. It wasn't friendship.

"Friends," Justin scoffed as they exited the dungeons and headed back up to Gryffindor Tower. "He doesn't know the meaning of the word."