PREVIOUSLY ON… HARRY POTTER AND THE HIDDEN THREAT
"At the end of every month, your hourglasses will document how many points you have at the time and inform me of the results. The person in each year group with the highest points at that time will be awarded the complete study guides of all the subjects at Hogwarts."
…
"I'll make you a deal, Potter. Right now, it's clear that things with Mulciber, Rosier, and the others will continue to escalate. So, I'll help you out. I'll make sure you and Granger are safe and make sure my friends also look out for you two. I'll even teach you some spells to protect yourselves and ward your beds and trunks."
…
Hermione looked at him with bloodshot eyes for what seemed like an eternity before she suddenly leapt towards him and engulfed him in a tight hug. The hug wasn't long, only lasting a couple of seconds before Hermione backed away and gave him a shy smile.
"I… thank you, Harry."
He chuckled. "What are friends for?"
"Yeah," Hermione laughed softly before giving him a genuine smile. "Friends."
CHAPTER 7: STUDY GUIDE POLITICS
Nearest Classroom To The Slytherin Common Room
September 17, 1991
9:00 p.m.
The door to the classroom slammed open and Marcus Flint briskly strode in, shutting the door behind him harshly.
"Long Quidditch practice?" Harry asked without taking his eyes off of his book.
"Most of the team left last year and the other half will leave this year. I'm going to have to build a new one up from scratch." Flint scowled as he summoned a blackboard from the back of the room.
"Which spots will be open next year?" Harry closed his book and turned his chair towards the front.
"One chaser, one seeker, and one keeper." Flint narrowed his eyes at him. "Why?"
"No reason, just seeing if it's worth all the fuss," Harry answered offhandedly, ignoring as Hermione rolled her eyes at him.
"You any good?" Flint raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm a fair flyer," He added with a shrug.
Flint looked at him carefully. "I want you to join the team next year," He said finally.
"And I want my brother to get his head out of his arse. Unfortunately, we don't always get what we want." Harry deadpanned.
"Potter, whether you like it or not, we're allies. Our little deal made sure of that. If we're going to be allies, we have to work together. I don't know if you noticed, but about a third of Slytherin wants you, and by extension me, dead."
"Just because we are allies, Flint, doesn't mean you get to order me around. I'm not going to be one of your lackeys."
"And I don't want you to be, but we're allies, and you're going to have to trust me from time to time." Harry scoffed at his words. "Our vow made it explicit that neither you or I can do anything that will directly or indirectly cause each other harm," Flint reminded him.
Harry glared at him for a couple of moments before he sighed. "What is so important about the Quidditch team? Why do you need me there?"
"When Professor Snape told you about the point system, he left out a few things that are extremely important but not entirely necessary to know, so they can be avoided. Points aren't just given for things that happen inside the castle. Quidditch is an extremely big part of it. Just having a spot on the team gives you a load of personal points. Every time you score or make a good play, you get personal points, and if the seeker catches the snitch, they get an obscene amount. If the team wins, they all get points. However, you also lose points if you mess up a big play, or if the other seeker catches the snitch, or anything that costs Slytherin the victory."
"That's all well and good, but why do you care if I win personal points? You still haven't answered why you need me on the team."
"It surprises me how at times you can be really smart and other times you can be a complete idiot, Potter." Harry sneered at the insult, but Flint ignored him. "Like I told you, Potter, we are allies now. Your victories are my victories. If you are at the bottom of the year, then you're no good to me."
"That's a peculiar way of putting it," Hermione spoke before Harry could say anything. She looked up from her book and stared at Flint. "You need Harry on the team so that he can take up a slot . He's your ally, so you would support each other and you would benefit from his gain. But by having Harry on the team, you're making sure that the slot he takes can't be taken by another person who isn't your ally or another person in your year that could win the study guides from you or fight you for the Head Boy position."
Flint smirked at her. "Good girl," Hermione scoffed at that and went back to her book. "Yes, Potter. Your girlfriend is right-"
"She's not my-"
"Having you on the team makes sure that I have more allies there and removes the competition. However, that doesn't take away the fact that it's a really good option for you. you should consider it. The personal points are more important than just giving you some study guides or making you prefect. As I'm sure you know, there are a lot of Slytherins in positions of power in the Ministry or other important establishments, and they ask for your Slytherin House record when you're dealing with them. Even when you get out of Hogwarts, the personal points are still important, so I suggest you take this seriously."
"Fine, fine," Harry huffed. He wasn't against the idea of joining the team, but he didn't like the thought that he might be playing into a bigger scheme of Flint's. "I'll think about it."
"Good. Now, let's start." As he said that, Hermione immediately put away her book and pulled out some parchment and quills. Flint raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. "The first spell we're going to be learning is pretty simple, but extremely useful. In fact, it's the spell I used to help you out the other day. It's the disarming charm..."
For the next hour Harry and Hermione completely devoted themselves to practicing the spell. Flint explained the theory of the disarming charm (for which Hermione took many notes) before he gave them his own personal tips. Hermione was pretty smart and picked up on the spell pretty quickly with the theory she had learnt. Harry took a little while more, but he still managed to do it quicker than most others, according to Flint.
"Now, knowing the spell isn't enough. You need to practice actually dueling." Flint smirked at them. "Since I have much more experience than you, you're going to have to duel each other. Stand in the center of the room." He commanded and Harry and Hermione did as they were told.
Flint banished all the desks to the edge of the room before he erected dueling shields that formed in a dome shape around them.
Harry grinned at Hermione before moving to one side of the dome. Hermione just rolled her eyes at him with amusement before she moved to the opposite side.
"Ready to lose, Granger?"
"You wish, Potter." She quickly raised her wand. "Expelliarmus!" She shouted and Harry barely dodged the spell.
"Rude," He said with mock hurt. "We hadn't even started the duel."
"It's not my fault you weren't prepared. It's not like Rosier is going to wa- eek!" Hermione squeaked before dodging his spell at the last second. "And you call me rude," She huffed.
"But you like it when I'm rude, don't you?" He asked cheekily.
"I'll show you rude - Expelliarmus!"
The month of September flew by pretty quickly for Harry after that. He and Hermione continued their usual routine, spending pretty much every waking moment together, whether it was studying at the library, training with Flint and the others in the empty classroom, or just reading during their free time in the common room.
However, as the month neared its end, the atmosphere around the other Slytherins grew more tense each day. It seemed as if everyone wanted to win the study guides for themselves, and their level of effort showed it. Almost every point given out in class was easily won by a Slytherin to the point that even the Ravenclaws were getting annoyed with them. Whether classwork, quizzes, or exams, most of the Slytherins were on top.
Granted, that didn't mean every Slytherin performed highly. Crabbe and Goyle were pretty much failing everything, Parkinson and Bullstrode were barely getting acceptables, and while Zabini and Davis were above the class average, they weren't a threat. No, it was the remaining four that Harry considered to be the real threat.
Hermione and Greengrass were fighting for the top spot of the class, almost always getting perfect scores in every assignment of every subject. Hermione, of course, being the brilliant witch that she was, managed to stay on top most of the time, but it was clear that Greengrass wasn't going to let her have it without a fight. Malfoy turned out to be surprisingly smart as well, managing to be a rival for the usual third spot with Harry. While Harry excelled at Defence, Transfiguration, and Charms, Malfoy had him beat in Potions and Herbology.
The person that surprised Harry the most, however, was Theodore Nott. The boy was the only Slytherin that didn't seem to have a faction. Even Harry had Hermione. But every time that the first-year group separated while they were inside the common room, Nott was always alone, and most of the time Harry didn't see him studying. At the beginning of the month, Harry had dismissed Nott as another Zabini; however the boy had managed to stay near the top of the rankings, where Harry considered him a threat.
In the end, Harry knew one thing; the fight for the top spot of the year was going to be extremely close.
Slytherin Common Room
October 1, 1991
7:35 a.m.
"Did you get them?" Hermione asked in a hush whisper as soon as he had arrived in the common room.
"Good morning to you too," He said with a cheeky grin.
Hermione huffed before grabbing him by the arm and pulling him out of the common room and into the nearest broom closet.
"Cozy," Harry noted as he removed a cobweb from his hair.
"Well!?" Hermione crossed her arms. "Did you get them?"
"The study guides?"
"Yes, the study guides!" She snapped at him.
"Not that I'm aware of." Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "I didn't actually look for them, you know? It's not like I thought they would just drop on my head during the night. I assumed Snape would give them to the winner later. We do have potions after breakfast, you know."
Hermione bit her lower lip. "Maybe you're right," She said, not really sounding convinced, before once again grabbing him by the arm and dragging him out of the closet.
"Where are we going now? I would like to get breakfast before our morning classes, you know?"
"Hush, we're skipping breakfast. We need to analyze this," She said matter-of-factly without stopping.
It didn't take them long for them to reach their table at the library. After Hermione placed the usual privacy charms that Higgs had taught them over the past month, she pulled out a small notebook Harry had seen her use constantly.
"Ooooh, are you finally going to show me your diary?" Harry grinned at her.
"What!?" Her head shot up from the notebook with a panicked expression before scowling. "I don't have a diary."
"Your blush says otherwise." Her blush only got worse when he said that, causing him to laugh.
"I don't have a diary. I have a journal," She said primly. "It's important to keep track of what happens every day in case I ever need that information."
"Uh-huh, so are you showing me your journal?"
"No, this isn't my journal. This is an archive of every point every first-year Slytherin has ever received."
"I'm sorry, what now?" He raised her eyebrows at her.
"Exactly what I said. I've been keeping track of every point given and taken of every Slytherin in our year. Granted, these are only the points from our classes, but points given outside of classes are pretty rare, so this should be fairly accurate to the actual number of points everyone has gained."
"Hermione, not to diminish your efforts or anything, but was that really necessary? It's obvious to everyone that Crabbe and Goyle are failing and probably have negative points, that Zabini, Bulstrode, Parkinson, and Davis have little to no points at all, and that the only real threats are the other three."
"But you see, that's where you're wrong," Hermione said with a smirk. "Just because the two of us, Greengrass, Malfoy, and Nott are the top of the class, that doesn't mean we're at the top of the points. Ignoring the fact that the castle gives out or takes away other points without us knowing, there's more to points than just the ones they give for our quizzes and homework. The teachers also give them out for participation, for showing an example, for little things like those that count. So, even though you are always about the third best of our group, you're fifth place in points."
"What!?"
"Here." Hermione gave him her notebook and Harry gaped at the numbers.
TOTAL NET POINTS PER PERSON
1. Hermione Granger - 300
2. Daphne Greengrass - 285
3. Blaise Zabini - 270
4. Draco Malfoy - 250
5. Harry Potter - 235
6. Tracey Davis - 170
7. Theodore Nott - 130
8. Pansy Parkinson - -65
9. Millicent Bulstrode - -75
10. Vincent Crabbe - -275
11. Gregory Goyle - -290
"There has to be a mistake," Harry scoffed. "There's no way I'm in fifth place! Are you sure you counted right? There's an obscene amount of points here."
"Of course I counted right!" Hermione snapped, snatching the notebook out of his hands. "The points are accurate. Teachers constantly give out points in class for answering questions, top results in exams or assignments, among many other things. But they also take points for things like cheating, incomplete homeworks, or doing bad in assignments or quizzes. Because of that, we usually end up losing at least half, if not more, of the total points given out. While you may be top of the class,you rarely participate, Harry. Zabini may not have as many Outstandings as you, but he sucks up to the teachers and always answers every question he can. Besides, Snape's bias against you doesn't really help either."
"And why didn't you tell me before!?"
"Well…" Hermione ducked her head. "I was sure that I would end up winning the study guides and that you would learn your lesson if you did poorly, but now I'm not so sure."
"Alright..." Harry paused for a second to calm himself down. "It's fine. We still don't know that we didn't win the study guides, correct?"
Hermione looked at him uncertainly. "I'm not so sure. Snape could give them to us later, but most everyone expected him to award them during the night."
"Do you think Greengrass won them?"
"Maybe… She's the closest to me, and we still don't know how the castle gives or takes points. We don't know how many it gives. How many points did you have in your hourglass this morning?"
"395, you?"
"410. You see! You almost beat me and I was 75 points ahead of you!"
"It's not a surprise, really," He said impishly.
"Hush, I still beat you." She hit his shoulder and ignored his cry of pain. "You're proof that the points given out by the castle are incredibly influential. For all we know, Goyle could be the winner!" Harry looked at her skeptically. "Oh, alright. Maybe not Goyle, but it could be any of the others."
"So, this is useless?"
Hermione sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Yes, it's useless."
"Look, let's just wait it out. If we didn't manage to win them this month, there's nothing we can do about it, but we're going to get them next time."
"Right," Hermione nodded determinately. "We'll get them."
Slytherin Common Room
8:15 p.m.
"First-years! Group meeting!" Daphne called out in the common room.
"Can she do that?" Harry asked Hermione and she rolled her eyes before closing her book, standing up, and following Daphne out of the common room.
He sighed and stood up before going with the rest of his year mates. The group entered the classroom where he and Hermione would later meet up with Flint and Harry moved to Hermione's side, sitting down on the desk beside her as she started reading again.
"So, Lady Greengrass," Harry said with mock graveness. "You have called this meeting. You have the floor."
The girl glared at him but ignored him. "I want to make a deal, with all of you."
"About what?" Malfoy asked.
"The study guides."
"So you didn't get them?" Nott voiced what Harry was thinking from the corner.
"I was thinking," Greengrass continued, ignoring Nott. "That we could all team up and share the study guides. That way Slytherin can be on top of the year always and we can all get easy Outstandings."
"You know, it's funny that you're suggesting this now that you know you lost rather than before." Harry raised his eyebrows at Daphne. "I think I know what happened here. You were sure that you or one of your little group would get them, and when that didn't happen you did this as a last ditch effort to get them."
"It sounds like you're the one who won the study guides, Potter," Malfoy said, studying him carefully.
"I never said I had them. I'm only saying that if I had them, I wouldn't agree to this deal. I would like to secure my spot at the top, thank you very much. I'm sure you would agree, wouldn't you, Malfoy?" He turned towards Daphne. "And so would you, Greengrass. If you had won the study guides, would you have accepted this deal?"
"So, you won't share them?" Zabini asked archly.
"I never said I had-"
"Cut the crap, Potter." Parkinson drawled. "We know that either you or Granger have them."
Harry opened his mouth to retort but he was cut off. "You're right, I have them." Hermione didn't even look up from her book as she said that.
"Like I said," Harry grinned at them, following Hermione's game for now. "I never said I had them."
"So, Granger? What do you say? We all agree to always share the study guides all throughout the years. That way, you will always have them without the risk of losing them," Daphne pressed on.
"I believe Harry already answered for the two of us."
"You're just going to let Potter boss you around?" Bullstrode said angrily.
"I'm not letting Harry do anything I don't want him to," Hermione said, her voice deadly calm. She finally looked up from her book. "We are in agreement that taking this deal would be a really stupid decision, so yes, Harry can speak for me when I don't want to listen to your whining. Why would we share the study guides with you and give you an equal footing to us when we're already beating you. Remember who's at the top of the class, Greengrass," Hermione finished with a sweet smile.
"Careful, Granger. You don't want me as an enemy. Remember that you're still a muggle-born with no influence."
"And you don't want me as your enemy, Greengrass," Harry spoke up coldly. "And that's exactly what's going to happen if you speak to Hermione like that again. You heard her, we're not sharing, we don't owe you anything."
"What about me, Potter?" Malfoy drawled. "You owe me a favour for what we did to your brother."
"No, I don't. You benefited as much, if not more, than me with our little scheme. Besides, if we had gone with your original plan of going to Filch rather than Snape, it would have most likely failed."
Malfoy raised his eyebrows in amusement but said nothing.
"You're going to regret this. Throwing away our friendship for a couple of study guides? Are you really that stupid?" Daphne glared at Hermione.
"Friendship? Don't make me laugh, Greengrass. Do you really think I'm that naive?" Hermione scowled. "No, we're not friends. We're not partners. We're not even allies. We're nothing. The only reason we are even seen together is because of the castle's rules. It's time you remembered that. All of you."
"When you lose those study guides to me, don't come crying about it, Granger," Greengrass sneered at her and left the room, followed by her faction.
Malfoy looked at them carefully before standing up and leaving with his group in tow, leaving only Harry, Hermione, and Nott in the classroom. The other Slytherin studied them for a second.
"Do you think that was smart?" He enquired.
"No one's ever accused me of being dumb," Hermione responded primly.
"You don't actually have the study guides, do you?"
Hermione smiled at him. "It's close to curfew, you should leave."
Nott continued staring at Harry and Hermione for a moment before leaving. As soon as he did, Harry stood up and cast the usual privacy and locking enchantments on the door and windows before turning to Hermione.
"Alright, why did we lie about having the study guides and antagonized the whole house?"
"Harry, would you have accepted the deal?"
"No, of course not! I'd be an idiot to do so. Accepting the deal would basically put everyone on equal footing and risk our chances of getting to be prefects or any other perks that being the top of the class would give us."
"Exactly. So why are you making a fuss out of this?"
"I'm not making a fuss about anything." Hermione looked unconvinced. "I'm not! I just don't get how taking credit for being the ones that have the study guides was the right move."
"Harry, if we had not taken credit for it, the conversation would have gone for hours on end. Now, I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have wanted to spend all that time listening to them bicker over who or who doesn't have the study guides. Besides, this is a confrontation that would have happened at some point during the year. We're not going to share our study guides, Potter. We're not giving up our advantages and we're not going to make peace with the other Slytherins if it means sharing them. You already made that vow, which was a really stupid decision-"
"Oi!"
"A really stupid decision that I appreciated very much," She added with a small smile. "However, that doesn't change the fact that it was still stupid, but we're doing the best we can with them and because of that vow, we don't need to make alliances with them. Later, they will realize that they need us more than we need them, and they'll come back crawling on their knees. We don't need them, Harry, so having this argument now isn't a big deal. It was going to happen eventually. This way, we ended the conversation early and we made sure to prove our point, even if we don't have the study guides right now."
"Fine, you're right."
"Aren't, I always?" She shot him an impish smile.
Harry rolled his eyes at her. "Who do you think has them? The study guides, I mean."
"Malfoy," She answered immediately. "I've been thinking about it all day, and he's the one that makes the most sense to me."
"How so?"
"Well, for starters, he participates in class quite a bit, definitely more than you." She snickered at Harry, causing him to groan. "He is also pretty smart and is fighting you for the third spot of the group. So, not only does he have a good standing on the usual House Point system, but I'm sure the castle loves what he's doing. He always manages to make Noah and Weasley do stupid things that lose Gryffindor points, and even though he has lost a few on occasion because of it, he's made them lose more than he's lost. He was also the main person that orchestrated the midnight duel, which resulted in Gryffindor losing all 500 points the house had won in the first week, not to mention getting Noah banned from the team, at least for this year. He has managed to suck up his bigotry so that he can have a cordial relationship with the two of us, something that was very wise of him to do. I'm sure the castle agrees. And, he's also the leader of his own faction, which I'm also sure the castle is taking into account. Malfoy is the one that makes the most sense to me, but I think that if his midnight duel gambit had failed, he probably wouldn't have won. It would have been either Greengrass or me. Or maybe even Zabini."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."
Hermione grinned at him. "If you had been smart and participated in class, then you would have been up there with me and Greengrass. However, you weren't." She glared at him. "I expect you to learn from your mistakes, Potter. We're winning those study guides next month."
Harry smiled at her in amusement. "Yes ma'am."
Unfortunately, October proved that would be easier said than done, for the study guides seemed to be quite a game changer.
It appeared as if Malfoy knew what the teachers were going to ask even before they asked it. He was always one of the first people to succeed at a new spell or potion, and his homeworks and exams would regularly come back with an almost perfect Outstanding streak. Malfoy had shot from being the fourth highest in the group to fighting for the second spot with Greengrass. Hermione was still managing to beat him, but just barely, and she had to increase her study hours to do so.
It wasn't just Malfoy: all of his group had suddenly risen through the ranks. The rest of his group also improved heavily to the point where Crabbe and Goyle were getting Acceptables on everything. Parkinson rose to be an above average student to the point where she had better scores than Zabini and almost almost as good as Nott's.
Whatever those study guides had, they were certainly effective enough to completely change the standings on the group of Slytherins.
The Library
October 27, 1991
5:45 p.m.
"Ugh!" Hermione groaned as she closed her book. "This is ridiculous!"
"Hermione Granger saying studying is ridiculous? Now I've seen everything." Harry grinned at her.
"Not studying you prat," She hit him on the shoulder. "This! The whole study guide thing!"
"Somehow I doubt you would say that if you were the one that had the study guides instead of Malfoy - Ow! Stop hitting me!"
Hermione rolled her eyes at him and pulled out another heavy tome from her book bag. "Of course I wouldn't be saying that if I had them. I'm killing myself here just to stay ahead of Malfoy, I'm devoting all of my time to it! Even I want a break from studying! What do those study guides have that make it so easy for Malfoy and his cronies?"
"I mean, they are supposed to be study guides for every subject. I'm sure that they have all the things we're going to see during this year, maybe even a few tips from Snape. It doesn't surprise me that Malfoy is taking advantage of that and using it to try and assure his position as the top of the year." Hermione looked even more determined at that thought and continued poring over her book.
"Look," Harry said, gently grabbing her arm. "You need a break."
"What!? No!"
"Hermione, we've literally been here for the past ten hours without a break. You're going to burn yourself out."
"Harry." The warning in her voice was clear. "I'm fine, I don't need a break."
"Well, what if I need a break?"
"Then go ahead and take it! I'll be right here by the time you're back."
"Hermione, you need to stop-"
"No, Harry, I don't!" She snapped before dropping her quill and rubbing her temple. "Harry, I need to do this. If I don't, we'll lose the study guides for sure. It's my job to secure them so that we can have them next month. You already made the deal with Flint and it's helped out so much... let me do this."
"I didn't make the deal with Flint expecting that you would do all the work. I made the deal because you're my friend. Not because you're Hermione Granger, the most brilliant witch that is the best of our year, but because you're my friend, Hermione. It's not your job to be anything, we agreed to be a team and that's what we are. I'm not letting you do all the work. Besides, I'm pretty smart myself too, you know?" He shot her a cheeky grin.
"Of course I know, Harry. You were the third best of our year before those stupid study guides." She said offhandedly. "But that's not the point. As much as we would want for the castle to recognize us as a team, the personal points are just that. Personal. Since I'm still beating you, even if it is only by a small difference and we both have pretty much clean Outstandings, it means it's up to me to get those points. We've already seen this month that the castle has barely given out any points. It's been extremely quiet. I am the one who has to win the study guides.
"I just wish I could be doing more. I don't want you to think you're doing everything."
"Don't you dare think that," She hissed at him. "Right now you're doing amazing, you have almost perfect marks in every class. It's not my fault I just happen to be smarter than you." She smiled sweetly at Harry who mock-scowled at her. "Right now, the best thing you can do to help is study with me. It has been a dull month, but when you're on the Quidditch team next year, you'll shine."
"Oh, I'm joining the Quidditch team, now, am I?"
"You know you want to and you know it would benefit us, so don't try to fool me, Potter. You love flying and you're a Slytherin. I would be surprised if you didn't want to compete against your brother. But until then, it's my job to win this, otherwise Malfoy will keep the top spot for another month."
"Do you really think it will be that close? You are still beating him, you know. Besides, his thing with the Gryffidors stopped working, it's harder for him to rile them up and he's lost plenty of points trying. They're finally catching on to his game. With him losing so many points and with things being pretty normal, I doubt that he'll win again."
"Yes, I know. But I also thought I was beating him last month and look how that turned out. I'm not taking any chances here. We don't know if Malfoy is doing something behind our backs that is giving him extra points. We don't know if he has schemes or plans or anything. I'm not risking it, I don't want to rest until I have those study guides in my hands. Besides, we're having important quizzes this week, I need to be prepared for them."
"Alright, fine. But at least take a small break. We haven't eaten all day. Let's just have a quick lunch so that you don't burn out."
"And after that, you'll let me study for the rest of the day?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Until 8:30," Hermione was about to make a retort but he beat her to it. "We have our session with Gemma tonight."
Hermione sighed. "Fine, a quick lunch and then back to studying."
"Deal." He gave her a smile which she couldn't help but return.
"But I get to take my book," she said before quickly standing up, grabbing her book, and walking towards the exit as fast as she could.
Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head, unable to stop the smile that was slowly forming on his face.
Thanks Proton6 and MasterChaos1 for alpha reading and WH Rutledge for beta reading!
Alright, I want to talk about House Points. Because there is no way in canon that at the end of the year the average number of House Points per house was around 500. There's simply no way! I tried to do calculations, and those numbers are ridiculously small. Since this story has the aspect of personal points, which are connected with house points, I had to make the numbers work. I tried to do small calculations and limited heavily the amounts of points given by teachers in classes and that was still over 250k.
Granted, around 50% of those points will be lost, and they will be divided by house and then by year, which is how it makes sense over the course of the full 36 weeks, but still! A lot of points and a big difference from canon, so if anyone has any questions as to why I'm dealing with such a large number of points, this is why. I actually didn't realize how many points were given out until I was forced to do this, which is why I went back and changed the number of points that Noah and Ron lost to 200 each instead of 50.
Anyways, that's my rant about House Points since they were the main thing that bothered me about this chapter and why it took me so long to write.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Originally, I was going to go through these events in three separate chapters, but I realized it would be a lot of useless filler and I didn't want to drag this out.
Next chapter is Halloween, and I have some cool plans for it, so get excited!