Title: Hobbled (4/?)
Author: elgatoneun
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: It's going to be Harry/Draco
Summary: The ancient practice of hobbling is discovered. Several of Hogwarts' finest find that they have not been living up to their full potential.
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me.
Spoilers: Everything up to and including book 4.
Feedback: Would be appreciated
Notes: So it's all about the Hufflepuffs in this chapter.
Margaret Biddlesworth led her group of prefects down to the Hufflepuff dormitories. They were in the same section of the castle that incorporated the greenhouses.
They stopped in front of a picture depicting a woman sitting at her vanity. It was not the typical picture as this woman had blood flowing from slits in both of her wrists.
"Oh, bother," she muttered. She turned to Jeremy Jones.
"Tell Professor Sprout that she's at it again. And find out who slipped her the dagger." She whispered this to him discreetly. She then turned to the picture and pasted a false smile on her face.
"Hello Lady Caroline," there was a slight nod from the portrait.
"Through thick and thin." The floor in front of the picture gave way to reveal a spiral staircase. Margaret stepped down first, the rest of the group followed muttering polite greetings to the suicidal Lady Caroline.
They stepped down into a large airy room prettily decorated in lemon yellow. French doors aligned one side of the room and lead into a beautiful private garden. There were also plenty of plants and flowers arranged within the room in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Heads looked up as the house leaders (as the Perfects were viewed, in this house anyway) entered the vicinity.
Margaret's gaze zoomed in on two boys sitting on the sofa next to the potted palms.
They looked back at her nervously.
"You two, get me the Ravenclaw's potions homework, now. Give them to Justin. We'll be in the Rose room." She turned and walked away.
A short while later Justin Finch-Fletchley walked into the lovely Rose sitting room with a sheaf of papers in clutched in his hand. He sat down on the red velvet settee closest to the high bay windows. He hand them over to Margaret.
"So what was it this time?" she asked in a long-suffering tone of voice.
"Derek Binns. He's first in all classes again." Smiles broke out at this piece of news. Derek was a very shy, timid fourth year. He was extremely intelligent, practically a genius. His family tree was overrun with famous witches and wizards who made huge strides in philosophy, application of time travel, new advances in magical theory, ancient magics, important discoveries in the fields of astral divination, spatial harmony and the like, the list was endless.
The Ravenclaws had been bitterly disappointed when he had been sorted into Hufflepuff. Unfortunately, the bitterness had festered and turned into acute resentment. The Ravenclaws were merciless in their taunting of the boy, often rudely speculating about his parentage. It was a well-known fact that he was the first one in his family to not have been sorted into Ravenclaw.
"Well, what happened specifically?" Margaret asked impatiently. Justin scrunched his nose a bit, annoyed at being prodded by Margaret who frequently treated him like an errand boy.
"Derek invented a new potion. He was handing it to Professor Snape when a Ravenclaw tripped him, the potion splashed Snape in the face," there were audible groans, "it was a mess. It was some sort of sense enhancing potion, but the concentration was so strong it made Snape pass out. When Snape came to, he took away 100 points and gave Derek detention with Filch that lasted all night." Justin took a deep breath.
"Derek overslept because of it and missed a Potions test. Snape gave him a failing grade and refused to let him retake it. It's his first failing grade since coming to Hogwart's, it didn't affect his overall standing but he was very upset about it. He's already gotten four howlers from some of his family members, he's in disgrace right now." Susan nodded, ultimately understanding the motive for their actions.
"So they stole the homework, making the Ravenclaws suffer a failing grade also. A bit of tit for tat." Justin gave an affirmative nod.
"So that's why they were fighting." Jeremy mused.
"Sheldon, Derek, Gavin and some of the Ravenclaws, I suppose, were in the infirmary. There was one Ravenclaw, what's his name? Quirkle or Quirky? He was saying some awful things to Derek, about his uncle, you know, the Arithmanciatician, and that old rumor about the howler monkey." Jeremy knew this because he had been with Madam Pomfrey at the time. He had rescued that poor pudgy Slytherin again. Jeremy had no idea what he had been doing in their part of the castle and why Lady Caroline kept targeting the unfortunate boy.
"Poor Derek, it can't be easy being related to Miranda Goshawk and Alberic Grunnion." Susan said. Heads nodded in agreement sympathetically. Derek's family, while brilliant, was also noteworthy for their peculiar eccentricities.
"Don't forget Professor Binns," Justin added. Being the great grand nephew to the most boring Professor at Hogwart's was also Derek's particular cross to bear, especially since this relative couldn't even remember Derek's name properly.
"The Professor doesn't still call him David, does he?"
"No, um, not since last year, and well you know … the Incident." The others cringed.
Margaret frowned in confusion.
"The one with that giant crab thing? What was that called?"
"It was a Blast Ended Skrewt." Jeremy supplied helpfully. Susan coughed. She covered her mouth with one hand and gestured with the other one weakly.
"No, it was the, um," cough, cough, "the other one, the Deletrius spell." She sunk into her chair, her face flaming as red as her hair.
Margaret stood up.
"That's it! I've had it with those delinquents! We should just expel the lot." The rest of the Hufflepuff prefects were shocked at this disloyal outburst. She turned her eyes fixedly onto to Susan.
"Susan, can't you control your brother? His year is making the Hufflepuff house a disgrace! I can't even face the other seventh years. It's humiliating."
"You didn't find it so humiliating when they turned Cho Chang's Zoombroom into a jellyfish for you." Justin accused hotly. Margaret pursed her lips in displeasure at this reminder. She had ranted furiously about Cho Chang being made Head Girl this year. Cho was at the top of the class, the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and Head Girl. It was unfair and totally revolting. The only justice had come from her total humiliation when her broom had suddenly transfigured during the middle of the first Ravenclaw – Slytherin match.
Luckily, a foul had been called on the Slytherin team. They were known for their dirty tactics. Only the Hufflepuffs knew better. But none of them had ever said a word; Hufflepuffs stuck together.
"Let's all calm down." Eloise Midgen addressed them all sensibly. She had become quite attractive after her skin had cleared up and her nose put to rights.
"Now, Margaret, we know it's not just Sheldon," Susan shot her a grateful look, "I'm afraid they're all just a bit … overzealous, you know their hearts are in the right place."
"But it's affecting the younger classes. The first and second years aren't so bad. But just the other day I saw those third years, Owen and Kevin bullying some little Slytherin boy near the Potions room. Of course, I had to stop it and take twenty points away. Twenty points!" Jeremy said, fairly distraught at having to penalize his own house.
"If we could just get them separated from taking classes with the other houses, it would lessen the number of … incidents, don't you think?" Susan offered.
"Oh yes, I'm sure we could get all the teachers to volunteer to teach extra classes just so our precious fourth years aren't tempted to harm the other children." Margaret snorted.
Eloise sighed.
"Margaret, you aren't helping."
"I don't know if that would work, but maybe we could ask for different combinations. I mean, most of the problems seem to be with Ravenclaw."
"That's because most of their classes are with Ravenclaws." Margaret said archly. Everyone shot her a dirty look. She sniffed rather contemptuously.
"That might work." Susan and Justin turned to Laurence in surprise. He was Eloise's counterpart as the fifth year Prefect. He was also of a taciturn disposition and rarely spoke in the Prefects' meetings.
Laurence continued, ignoring the looks cast in his direction.
"We all know that the Ravenclaws are a bunch of prissy know-it-alls and the Slytherins are … well, I can't say it in mixed company. But, I'm sure the fourth years, and just to be safe the third years," everyone glanced at Jeremy nodding his head vigorously in agreement, "could take their combination classes with the Gryffindors. I don't think they've had any problems with them."
Margaret rolled her eyes at his naiveté.
"Well, that they know about anyway." Laurence said defensively.
"But that would mean changing practically everyone's schedule." Susan brought up, bringing everyone's attention back to the matter at hand.
"It's either that or eventual expulsion."
"Harry Potter has never been expelled. Neither have the Weasley twins, and they're just as bad." Susan was obstinate in the defense of her younger brother.
"Harry Potter is Harry Potter. And Fred and George Weasley have never set Flesh Eating Slugs loose into the Slytherin boys' dormitory." Justin smiled at the memory, until Eloise whacked him in the shoulder.
Poor Madam Pomfrey had been overwhelmed that week, and several Hufflepuffs had volunteered in the infirmary out of guilt. Hogsmeade visitation privileges had been revoked for the entire house since none of them would give up the perpetrators. House loyalty was above all.
"I think if we can work up a feasible schedule that is agreeable to all, we can present it to Headmaster Dumbledore. We will need to split up and gather all the necessary information." All eyes turned to Margaret. She eyed them silently and finally threw up her hands in exasperation.
"Fine, go make an announcement, we're going to need everyone for this one."
Several hours later, the Rose room was in shambles. Papers, notebooks, schedules and the exhausted bodies of various Hufflepuffs littered the room. After gathering everyone in the common room, Margaret had presented the solution that the prefects had come up with. The third and fourth years looked particularly humbled and grateful. Everyone was assigned to specific duties in order to accomplish the gargantuan task. Schedules had to be gathered from every single student and teacher in the school.
A huge schedules matrix had been drawn up in order to keep track of it all. The scheduling process was difficult and complex. After a hundred or so permutations, a final acceptable schedule was created.
The fifth and sixth year prefects were finally resting, waiting for Jeremy and Margaret to hopefully come back with an approval from the Headmaster.
"I hope Dumbledore will let us do this." Susan said anxiously, glancing over at the others. Laurence and Eloise were asleep. Justin nodded, but seemed uneasy.
"What's wrong Justin? Don't you think he will?" Susan worriedly bit her lip. Justin sighed resignedly.
"I'm sure he will, it's just … well … I like the Gryffindors." Susan looked at him in commiseration, guiltily speculating on the consequences that might arise from their well-intentioned plans. She winced and sighed again.
"I know, I do, too."