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Chapter 16 – Broomsticks and Bedlam
When Hermione, Harry and Ron returned to the Castle after their winter break, they found Julius in the same place as they had left him: in the Great Hall, sitting at the Ravenclaw table, immersed in a book. He was reading about the latest maneuvers of the Chudley Cannon's chaser, Collin Weatherby and paused to watch the moving photograph of the player coursing through the air, showing just how they should be executed.
"You been sitting here all this time?" Ron asked as the three Gryffindors approached. "How was your Christmas?"
Julius turned in his seat towards his advancing friends, smiling and holding out a hand for Hermione, guiding her to sit beside him, his arms wrapping lightly about her waist. "It was alright," he replied, trying hard to suppress a grin and failing miserably.
"Just alright?" Hermione smiled, finding Julius's own grin contagious, knowing something must have happened. "You can't be that excited about a planner and a potions book."
He gave Hermione a look of mock surprise, "But Hermione, that planner is a work of art! Truly!" With a wink to the other two boys, he squeezed the girl sitting next to him.
"Julius, what are you not telling us?" Hermione asked, playfully jabbing him with her elbow.
The grin spread brilliantly across Julius's face as he slowly released Hermione. He rose from the bench and offered her his hands to help her up as he replied, "Come on, I'll show you."
Julius led his three friends up into the Ravenclaw Tower common room, and bid them to wait there while he fetched his secret. The Gryffindors glanced about curiously as they lingered in the large cylindrical room, speaking quietly amongst themselves.
"Big change from when we saw him last," Harry noted to the others. "I was actually quite worried about him with the way he seemed so depressed."
"Yeah, me too," replied Hermione, "I wonder what happened?"
As Julius appeared at the top of the dormitory stairs, they had their answer. Harry and Ron peered eagerly at the new broomstick held within Julius's hand and met him at the bottom of the stairs, with appreciative words.
"Wow, that's the newest Nimbus model!" Ron exclaimed, his jaw gaping in shock. "I read about them in 'The Quidditch Pitch'. The 2005s are supposed to be the fastest non-International-Standard broom made. That thing will be nearly as fast as your Firebolt, Harry."
"Yeah, I read that too," Harry replied, his heart sinking somewhat, knowing that it would give Ravenclaw an advantage on the field.
"But who gave it to you, Julius?" Hermione inquired, glancing at the broomstick suspiciously, always the one to rain on the parade.
Julius shrugged, his dark eyes glancing towards his friends. "I don't know. It came with a note that said 'You've earned this.'"
"Maybe it was from Dumbledore?" Ron suggested, his eyes fixed appraisingly upon the object, wondering if he could talk Julius into letting him have a go.
"You haven't ridden it yet, have you?" Hermione asked worriedly, her brown eyes glancing from the broom to Julius.
"Yeah," Julius replied, his dark brows raised as he looked towards Hermione. "Why?" he asked, leaning against the broom handle.
"It could have been jinxed or something," she announced, gazing at him anxiously. "You could have been hurt!"
"Hermione," Julius smiled, lifting her chin with his fingers and gazing warmly into her eyes. "I'm fine."
Ron eyes were following the movements of the broom in Julius's hands with obvious envy. Finally, he reached the point where he couldn't hold it in any longer. "You want to go and try it out again, Julius?"
Julius smiled, and motioned his friends to the door, knowing just what Ron had in mind. "Come on, we can try out some of those moves in the book you got me, Harry."
Draco Malfoy chuckled with his Slytherin friends as he prepared for two hours of hall duty, adjusting his prefect's badge upon the collar of his robes.
He loved the fact that he could roam the halls after hours, secretly hoping to chance across some dim-witted first year Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Just a few nights past he had cornered that new Gryffindor girl, Amanda Pierce, out of her dorms, sneaking back from the kitchens and frightened her so badly, he swore she pissed herself.
He stepped out of the common room and into the dark dungeon halls of the castle, reveling in the peace and quiet and feeling quite important. It was a secret pleasure to him that he was chosen for prefect and Potty boy wasn't. To Malfoy, it only confirmed that it was not what you knew, but whom you knew in high places. The torches flickered dimly, barely allowing a person to see two feet in front of him. He could just make out the sleeping subjects of portraits as he closely passed by them, making his way steadily down towards the end stairwell.
The potions room door was open and light was flickering from within. Draco peered curiously through the doorway, noting the lone figure of Professor Snape patiently brewing something, stirring the potion with steady turns of the spoon. No DeVere? he thought quietly to himself, envious of how the potions master included the boy in his private work, and had never offered him the same opportunity.
Malfoy opened his mouth to greet the professor, but changed his mind a moment later, closing his mouth once more. With quiet steps he continued on his way.
It was the sound of footsteps that caught his attention, followed by a dark shadow that darted quickly out of his line of sight, down another dark passageway. Malfoy grinned menacingly as he picked up his pace, giving chase, turning down the darkened hall in pursuit, his wand drawn before him. "I hear you, you know," he muttered to the shadows of the dungeon. "You are going to wish you had never left your bed!"
The footsteps continued down another hall with Malfoy following closely behind. When they stopped, he paused, seeing little in the surrounding gloom, and a prickling coursed up his spine. Holding up his wand, he whispered, "Lumos," and peered ahead, finding that the hall came to a dead end, and it was empty.
Draco blinked, and stood there stupidly for a moment, sure he had heard footsteps come down this way. Slowly he turned, and his eyes widened as he found himself face to face with Julius DeVere. The dark-haired boy was wearing an intimidating smile, his wand raised and ready.
"Expelliarmus!" Julius cried, pointing his ebony wand towards the blond- haired Draco, causing the glowing wand to fly from his grasp and land on the stone floor several feet away.
Draco retreated slightly towards the end of the hall, his eyes darting from Julius to his wand, his heart racing.
"Now who is wishing they never left their bed, Malfoy?" Julius frowned darkly, his feet towards the Slytherin as the towhead backed away, nearly stumbling. "Pretty soon, you are going to wish you had never stepped foot in Hogwarts. Furnunculus!"
Green light shot from the tip of Julius's wand towards Malfoy, who managed to duck and roll along the floor, avoiding the boil-forming curse and grasping desperately for his fallen wand. He extended his fingers as far as he was able, and finally guided the wooden shaft into his hand, pointing it firmly at Julius. "Incarcerous!"
Ropes formed out of nothingness and Julius found himself bound, barely able to move, which gave Draco ample opportunity to regain his footing. With a smug smile, the Slytherin prefect sauntered towards the Ravenclaw, speaking with a triumphant tone to his voice. "That nice black eye wasn't good enough for you, DeVere? You need another one to match?"
Grasping tightly to his wand, Julius muttered "Finite Incantatum," and the ropes loosened but not soon enough.
Before Julius had a chance to raise his wand to Malfoy, Draco shouted "Expelliarmus!" causing his wand to fly from his hand and down the adjacent hall, out of reach.
"Or perhaps I can give you something that will leave more of a lasting impression," Draco sneered, lifting his wand one last time, "Cruc—"
"Expelliarmus!" Professor Snape shouted as he emerged from the dark adjacent hall like a black-clad whirlwind, pointing his wand towards Draco, throwing both Malfoy and his wand into the air and down the hall.
With long menacing strides Snape advanced on the blond boy, pulling him up by the scruff of his robes and thrusting him against the wall. The professor was angrier than Malfoy had ever seen him, his pale face nearly white with rage.
"Mr. DeVere, you will go to your rooms this instant!" the potions master bellowed over his shoulder towards Julius. His grip tightened alarmingly upon Malfoy's collar, his hand trembling with ire.
Julius just stood there, his dark eyes boring towards the pair, his fists clenching at his sides, wanting Malfoy for himself.
"Now, Mr. DeVere," Snape grated towards the boy, "Don't test me tonight."
Julius reluctantly turned on his heel and strode out of the hall towards the stairwell. He pounded his fist against the wall, angry with himself for allowing Malfoy to get the upper hand.
Snape held tightly to Malfoy, his face leaning towards him until his large hooked nose was mere centimetres from his Slytherin student. "You are coming with me, Mr. Malfoy, and we are going to get to the bottom of this once and for all."
A/N: Im back :) There should be installments posted rather quickly over the next few days. Christmas was the turning point in the story, and things should be coming to a head soon. Enjoy and thank you!