Slytherin common room
"This is totally an outrage. Many of us hoped against hope to be selected fir this tournament. I coud bear to have Diggory as a champion but Potter. That too as a fourth candidate. This is totally unfair." Stanley Corvus said out loud
"We have to show that filthy half blood his place." Margret Walter said with a sneer
"Stop spouting your filth Walter." Emily Stressberg said
"Oh did I hurt your feelings half blood. Perhaphs you support your fellow half blood." Margeret sneered
Emily pulled out her wand as did Margeret. But before either one of them could utter a spell, Draco disarmed them with a quick 'expelliarmus'.
"Enough. We are all members of house Slytherin. Act like one. " Draco said firmly
" Well, Malfoy all I was saying was the filthy half bloods are joining together and is undermining Slytherin house." Margeret continued
"Stop talking like Emily is not part of Slytherin house. She is our priced chaser after all." Draco said trying to diffuse the situation
"When did a Malfoy became the defender of mudbloods and half bloods." Steven Waterrun asked
"Since now." Draco replied
"I am not surprised. House Malfoy is going down the drain after all now that you have joined the Neutrals." Waterrun said
"Do not speak of things you do not know. House Malfoy will remain pureblooded till its end. We were merely changing a stance that had achieved little since many years. As for joining the neutrals. You seem to forget that most of the seats in Wisangmot are heridatary and the factions formed inside the chamber is merely a stance un regards to the admittance of muggleborn into our worlworld. Otherwise we still co-operate with the Purebliod faction in the court." Draco cleared the air
"That is the problem Malfoy. Why ever change sides. If you are an avid follower of Pureblood customs why support the mudbloods. " Waterrun goaded
"We never supported any one. We are merely acknowledging the fact that it would not be practical to abandon tue muggleborns in the muggle world as it will be dangerous for us since the chance of discovery of magic by the muggles will increase. Rather we must taie them in and educate them in our waysm" Draco said
" People like you are the probpem Malfoy. The Dark Lord would have killed you for this betrayal. " Margeret interjected
" Oh, I thought you said the muggleborns were the problem. The Dark Lord's crusade was the greatest blow to the pureblood cause you moron.Look at the families that has been destroyed. Prewitt's, Bones, Potters, Lestrange, Black, Rookwoods, Crouch and many more. There were many witches nd wizards in these families but now most have one or two while many were outright killed." Draco said
"You dare speak against the dark lord. You whore of a mother must really have changed you this much Malfoy." Waterrun snarled
Draco took his wand and casted a 'stupify' at Waterrun. But he used a 'protego' to shield himself. Draco spun his wand and casted 'fulmen'. A lightnig bolt struck the shield of Waterrun and broke through it and electrocuted him. He began screaming on the floor as electricity was pumped through his body.
"You dare to insult my mother you filthy mongrel. You will pay with your life for this." Draco snarled as he intensified his attack.
Daphne immediately took Draco's other arm and tugged him back.
"Stop it Draco. You will kill him." Daphne said
Draco cancelled the spell but Waterrun still twitched on the floor.
"You are in luck. For this once you have escaped me Waterrun. But I will never forget nor will I forgive. If you step one toe out of line while at Hogwarts, remember this moment. You will feel my wrath." Draco said sharply
"As for Potter. No one in this house will pick a fight with him over this. Avoid him as if he does not exist or do you really want to acknowledge Potter has such skills in magic to overcome even Dumbledore's wards. The other houses will do all the protests against him. We are members of house Slytherin we do not act like hot blooded Gryffindors. Maybe Potter will die doing these tasks and give us some peace." Draco further added
After that everyone returned back to their own dorms.
"It was expertly done Draco. Now there will be less opposition to us." Blaise said
Draco lightly smiled.
"Not yet, we have still work to do." He said
They fell asleep quickly that night.
The next morning the great hall was silent as the other houses were glaring at the Gryffindors. This mood spilled into classes as well. The Hufflepuffs were the worst. If looks could kill Harry Potter would be dead by now by the death glare of the Hufflepuffs. Many among the house of Gryffindors themselves were giving Potter dirty looks as well as the students of other two schools.
Slytherins as per Draco's instruction refrained from any overt reaction, rather they remained completely aloof about the whole thing. The Hogwarts staff was completely baffled by the actions of the house of snakes. They expected trouble from them but was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. After further enquiry from Snape's side they were able to pinpoint the reason for this behaviour on one person who was becoming a model student.
Dumbledore was very happy now that atleast one of the children brought up by a pureblood supremists has been redeemed. Draco Malfoy and his father Lucius Malfoy was the perfect example that validates his solutiion of giving second chances. After all Lucius Malfoy has struck a blow upon Voldemort.
The aftermath of the wand weighing ceremony was a disaster for Potter as he was being publically attacked by Rita Skeeter in the Daily Prophet. Every day a new article will pop up questioning the mental health of the famous BWL.
Harry's POV
Harry Potter was completely lonely now. His best friend Ron Weasely has stopped talking to him after his name came out of that stupid Goblet, accusing him of cheating and entering the tournament. As if he want more fame and glory upon his head. The entire Hogwarts population seems hell bent on causing as much problems for him.
Even Hermione was not talking to him anymore, owing to the falling out between himself and Ron. He truly felt alone in this Castle. Then there was that stupid tournament giving him another headache. He don't know what he was going to do in the first stage of the tournament. Ha was thinking about all his woes while watching Hedwig fly around in the owlery when he was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"You know, seeing you now makes me think about those sappy movies the muggles have. The kicked puppy look you have on your face is really touching Potter." Draco Malfoy said
"Malfoy, what are you doing here." He asked cautiously
"Same as why you are here Potter. To send a letter. Where are your friends Potter, you are always joined at the hip." Draco asked knowingly
"Mind your own business Malfoy." He said getting irritated
"I did tell you not to keep company of the Weaselys. Anyway, how goes your preparation for your first task Potter" Draco asked
"It's going fine" he answered
"Really. Hmm. I guess then I wont have to tell you what it is since you are obviously prepared. But I think you will be in for a grand surprise." Draco said with a smirk
"You know what is the first task. Wait! You are just trying to trick me. " he growled
"Atleast you are slowly thinking with your head rather than jumping into anything blindly. But I am speaking the truth. In the first task you have to face a dragon. If you don't trust me ask your friend Weasely or Hagrid. Weasely's brother is here in hogwarts. He is a dragon handler. I thought you were told by the Weasel. " Draco said confused
"Ron didn't tell me anything. But why are you helping me. I thought you hate me. " He asked confused
"Hate is a strong word to use. I merely dislike you. I expected more from you after hearing the stories of the Boy Who Lived. But you completely disappointed me , not only that you insulted me infront of the Weasel. So I began to target you in the first year but I growed out of it. I neither hate you nor do I like you. Besides, I have other things to do rather than follow you around and trying to cause problems " Draco said blandly
"Well, thanks for that. At least I don't have to deal with you as well." he said
"Good luck Potter. You will really need it. I would scourge the library if I were you. Dragons are very dangerous creatures to go against." Draco said as he left once he send an owl with a letter
That was a strange conversation. It was almost like Malfoy became a ddifferent person, which was good in his book. Still if what he said was true about the dragons then he was really in trouble. But first he will have to see with his own eyes if it is true. With that thought he began to walk towards Hagrids hut.
That night harry lay in his bed shivering with fright. He saw the dragons in the forbidden forest. They were huge and he absolutely had no idea about how to deal with them. In a few days he was going to face one of those dragons infront of the whole school. He took some deep breaths and drifted off to sleep.
Draco's POV
Well that went smoothly I guess. Now that I have established a neutral ground with Potter I can slowly build up his trust in the coming years. It is necessary that I have a working relationship with him. He has incredible influence even though he seem to avoid it with a passion. By association I will also get a positive impression from others in the future.
The next day I was silently observing Harry as he was searching the library for books on dragons. I walked behnd him silently and casted a 'notice me not' ward around to us. I handed him a book.
"Here take this book. It is written by Newt Scamander. You wont find anyone else that has an in-depth knowledge about magical creatures than him. If I were you, I would look for the Conjunctivitis curse as well. They are very effective to blind creatures like dragons. If anyone asks, you found all this on your own. I never saw you. Good luck Harry." I said as I carefully left
I heard a whispered 'thanks' as I left him there. I lightly smirked and patted myself on the back for a job well done.