Author's notes – Thank you to my funky reviewers! Bless you all :-)

Oh, and thanks to my friends (and my sister) who I keep harassing to read and spellcheck and advise, etc. I love you, guys! *grins*

Please consider yourself warned that there are slashy mentions in the upcoming chapters. Not this chapter, and only mentions for the time being, but definite references. Please do not flame me for this – you have been warned in advance!

And please don't flame me saying "____ isn't gay, that'll never happen!"

I very much doubt that there will be a "new transfer student/Exchange student with a mysterious secret" etc either, but people still write fanfiction about that, right? We write about things that would be interesting if they happened… this is just one possibility… I hope you enjoy it! There is lots of non-slash too, and you can just read around the slashy bits :-)



Chapter Two – Happiness and Harassing Malfoy

The next morning, Harry went down from breakfast feeling very good about himself. He hoped that the Ball would happen as planned, and hopefully that would bring the usual happiness back to Hogwarts. He hummed to himself as he ate breakfast, causing numerous weird looks from the other Gryffindors. His mood was only improved by the arrival of the owl post. He received an owl from the Frankston Freaks, saying that since times were hard they couldn't perform for free, but that they would be willing to halve their fee. Harry jumped up. He spotted the twins exiting the Great Hall and did a mad dash towards them, yelling the whole time. He caught up to them and showed them the letter, and all three started hugging and yelling. Their celebration was cut short by a familiar drawl.

"Really, Potter, you'd think that you're old enough not to need to be comforted! And by two Weasels – even worse! Isn't one good enough for the famous Potter anymore?"

Harry looked up to see the familiar figure of Draco Malfoy and his two Slytherin goons, Crabbe and Goyle, standing in front of him. The Great Hall had gone dead quiet as everyone tried to listen in to what was being said. The arguments between Harry and Draco were legendary at Hogwarts. Harry looked around, and suddenly an idea came to him. He grinned.

"Why, Malfoy, you're one to talk!"

Malfoy looked confused. "Wh-what?" His smug veneer slipped, just for a second, and Harry chose this moment to pounce.

"You're one to talk about comfort. I mean, someone who sleeps with a PINK TEDDY BEAR would really be better off keeping their mouth shut, don't you think?"

The Great Hall erupted in gales of laughter, and smatterings of applause. Harry could hear catcalls and taunts directed at Malfoy coming from all over the Hall. He could even see some Slytherins laughing behind Malfoy's back. Harry grinned broadly. Who cares if it's not true? Malfoy got what was coming to him and the entire school will make him pay!

Malfoy looked absolutely furious. His usually pale face had gone bright red, and he looked angrier than Harry had ever seen him. He stared at Harry for a long moment, and then spat "I'll get you for this Potter. Just wait and see!" He turned on his heel and stalked out of the Great Hall, closely followed by Crabbe and Goyle, with laughter still echoing behind him. Harry turned around to face the remainder of the student body, still seated at the tables. As he did, the applause increased and he impulsively took a bow, grinning the whole time. As he took his seat, Ron leaned over and patted him on the back, saying, "You know I hate you!" Harry looked up, shocked.

"The finest sledging of Malfoy ever and you didn't have the heart to include your best friend?" Ron hung his head in mock sadness, but Harry could see the broad grin on his face. Even Hermione grinned and congratulated him. Harry grinned back. Causing Draco Malfoy utter embarrassment - what a great way to start to the day!



Harry's great mood lasted almost a week. After classes on the Monday, he and the twins took the letter from the Frankston Freaks to Professor Dumbledore, and he told them that this was indeed good news, however, the school could not afford this unnecessary expense, and so they would have to fundraise to pay the fee.

The twins and Harry spend much of the next week trying to come up with fundraising ideas. George had suggested that they charge everyone for entrance to the Ball, but that was vetoed by Professor Dumbledore, and as Fred put it, "If we are going to fundraise to have a fun event the fundraising should be fun too."

Harry suggested that they sell chocolate frogs to students, but this was also disallowed by Professor Dumbledore on the grounds that they would have to sell a lot of chocolate to make a little bit of money and that some students would overindulge in chocolate. The brainstorming was taking it's toll on Harry – they had not yet told the others about their plan, and he could tell that Ron was getting jealous of the amount of time he spent with the twins. He told them this and they agreed that if they hadn't come up with a good idea by Friday night then they would abandon the idea of the Frankston Freaks, and instead hire a magical jukebox. The magical jukebox was much cheaper but far less fun than an actual band, the twins told Harry, who had never heard of a magical jukebox.

By Friday, all three boys had been brainstorming non-stop for a week, and they were all thoroughly exhausted. Tramping into their dormitory in the Gryffindor tower after dinner, Fred turned to George and said "George, dearest brother, I'm absolutely exhausted. I don't suppose you'd be kind enough to tidy my room, do my homework and tuck me into bed?"

George snorted. "Fred, dear brother, you don't have a chance in hell of getting me to do that! I'm not your slave! Find a nice house-elf to tidy up and tuck you in…."

Harry's eyes widened. "That's it! I've got it!"

Fred and George turned around in amazement. "What, we can sell house- elves?" Fred asked. George grinned. "I don't think Hermione would be too happy about that!"

"No no no!" Harry explained, "We could hold a slave auction!"

"Auctioning house elves instead of just selling them? Could work, but the students who can afford them probably already have them at home."

"No, Fred, not House-elves! STUDENTS! I've heard of it done at muggle schools. You hold an auction, and auction off students. Whoever bids the highest gets the student as their slave for a day! Obviously there would have to be some rules and limitations to what they can make them do, but otherwise they can make them do anything!"

Comprehension dawned on the twins' faces. "So we could buy Hermione and make her do our homework?" Fred asked.

"I guess so. As long as she agreed, and Dumbledore said that having a slave do your homework is acceptable. Perhaps just helping you with your homework, not actually doing it for you?"

"Harry…. I think I love you!" George grinned at him and then pounced, grabbing him into a big bear hug. Fred joined in with a "Me too!", and Harry found himself in the centre of a Weasley hug. He grinned. Life at Hogwarts was starting to become more interesting.



Professor Dumbledore liked the idea just as much as the twins. He made them set down some rules for the slave auction, such as "No doing homework or sitting tests for the owner", "No rule-breaking or law-breaking" and (to Harry's amusement) "No sexual favours". The twins asked Lee Jordan to act as the auctioneer, and he readily agreed, saying that it was about time something interesting happened. Professor Dumbledore would oversee the whole event, making sure that nothing underhanded happened. The "slaves" would have to nominate or be nominated and agree to the auction, and Harry, Fred and George would all have to be auctioned.

"You can't expect people to volunteer to be slaves if you yourselves wouldn't do it!" he told them, with a twinkle in his eye that made Harry wonder if he was up to something. The next moment, the look was gone and Harry wondered if he hadn't just imagined it. They then decided that Professor Dumbledore would publicise these events at lunch the following day, without saying who exactly was behind it. Harry and the twins thought it better that their identities as organisers was kept quiet, at least for the time being. A container similar to the Goblet of Fire was to be placed in the Entrance Hall, where students could submit their names, as well as those of their peers. There would be no age line this time – the slave auction and indeed the Valentines Ball were to be open to the entire school. During dinner the next Friday, Professor Dumbledore would read out the names that came out of the "Lantern of Lurve", as the twins had dubbed it, and the students nominated could offer their consent or reject it, by simply nodding their heads. The slave auction itself would take place when the students returned from Christmas break, which was fast approaching. This meant that the twins and Harry could take care of arrangements whilst the castle was almost empty, and it also meant that students could bring back money or use Christmas money for the slave auction.

Eventually all the details were settled, and it was agreed that Harry would again write to the Frankston Freaks, thanking them for the discount, and explaining about the slave auction. He would request that they keep Valentine's Day free for the Hogwarts Valentine Ball, and that exact details of the payment would be forthcoming after the fundraising was complete.

Harry and the twins left Dumbledore's office feeling very happy about themselves and grinning from ear-to-ear.