Not everyone looking around the Great Hall that evening would have
understood how complex Hogwarts society was. To the casual observer, the
Great Hall presented four long tables with a myriad of black cloaked
students eating the wonderful fare of the After Christmas Welcome Back
feast. Dark masses of them, bundled up warmly against the near constant
chill common to all old castles, calling across the tables or clamoring for
some dish or another to be passed. It was a picture perfect moment of
school unity. Sure, there were groups and occasional separations between
the sitting students, but those spaces seemed to simply be the
delimitations of particular groups of friends, something common to schools
and students everywhere, be they Muggle or Wizard. The observer's attention
would be drawn instead to the magnificent ceiling, and his awed face would
draw a helpful member of the staff over to explain that it was bewitched to
resemble the outside sky. His gaze would travel over those very members of
the staff and marvel over their robes, seemingly taken out of the old
medieval illuminations he had gazed at while young.
But to someone familiar with Hogwarts tradition, the prestige of certain students became immediately apparent. There simply were some with more elbowroom, with more people willing to make conversation, and some who just sent off almost visible vibes of power. The long house tables were covered in good food, today being a feast and all. But these tables who were supposed to bring everyone together thrice a day and provide food to the hungry students brought something else. Was it intentional on the part of the Founders? Did they really want their Houses to become so separated? No one was truly a Hogwarts student. One was either a Slytherin, a Ravencalw, a Hufflepuff, or a Gryffindor. The days where the students defined their houses were gone and almost forgotten, remembered only by the ghosts and the professors. The Houses now defined those in them; lines had been drawn and woe betide those who might cross them. These Houses would now rule your life, their influence wouldn't stop with the end term feast or even at the graduation ball of seventh year. These were organizations, with ruling families, movements, and hierarchies. And, if one looked closely, one could discern which posts were held by whom if one looked around.
It didn't seem fair. It seemed as though nature simply preferred some and left the others with nothing. Minnie was a Hufflepuff fourth year. She was one of those fortunate students who had mastered the art of blending seamlessly into large groups of people, the better to avoid trouble. All of Minnie's life was organized around that concept; that the best way to remain safe and protected was to obey one's House leader blindly. She was, of course, loyal and true to her House. Her gaze as she looked at the other tables wasn't condescending (after all, she was no Ravencalw), neither was it mocking (she wasn't a Slytherin either), nor was it aggressive (Not a Gryffindor here). Her parents and their parents before them had been Hufflepuffs, in fact, almost all her extended family had belonged to that House. She had been raised in and then inducted into the Badger's traditions and was fiercely patriotic and proud of it. Yet, for all her love of her House, her allegiance held one fault.
And that fault was sitting one table over. It wasn't love, oh no, but the tender feelings and curiosity for another student constituted a breach in the House code that placed all non-House members severely off-limits. Besides, not even in her wildest dreams did she think her crush would even notice her. In fact, she was certain he didn't know she existed. Why? Simple. Harry Potter undoubtedly had other things on his mind.
The spheres of power were rather small at Hogwarts. The conditions for being the reigning ruler of one's house were relatively simple. One merely had to be better than the others, physically or mentally, and one had to prove it. Minnie's cousin had been the Hufflepuff king for a long time, by virtue of his good looks, good work and Quidditch talents. Yet, he was killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in his seventh year: a portkey had transported him and Harry Potter to a gravesite and only Potter had returned alive.
There had already been a strain on Gryffindor/ Hufflepuff relations because of the dual Champion status during the Triwizard Tournament. Ironically, the solution to that problematic situation changed relations for the worse. Before the Third Task, the Slytherins were the only ones who had picked on Hufflepuff, but when the house had gathered that night in the common room to swear vengeance on Harry Potter, they had lost their most precious ally. Now, the two Houses who had before been able to communicate stood as alone as Slytherin had stood before. Secretly, Minnie thought that the winners in this situation were the Slytherins, their power and prestige had grown considerably. Yet, Minnie had sworn the oath and no one would have even considered that she would weaken, since Cedric had been a close relative.
Yet, her gaze as she looked across the tables was anything but accusing.
It was easy to understand why Harry took charge of Gryffindor. Aside the obvious facts that he had the dark romantic look that made women swoon and was famous internationally for the whole surviving Voldemort and his curse before he could walk and talk business, he had formidable presence and authority. All this in addition to dueling skills that rivaled those of professionals would have ensured even the meekest and toadiest person power. And it was clear to see that the Gryffindors loved him. It might have only been a furthur instance of Gryffindor loyalty or chivalry, but there was no moving undercurrent or back stabbing in Gryffindor. United under Harry, they presented a solid front, and it might have sounded ridiculous, but they even moved as a cohesive unit.
Opposite of Gryffindor in the matter of House unity was undoubtedly Ravenclaw. Minnie smirked a bit; Ravenclaw had been having trouble, a new leader was challenging the old one, and the foundations of the House were shifting. The house was split into two factions and minor battles and nasty duels between the supporters were becoming more and more frequent, as well as more and more violent. The reason for the split was actually something of great importance as it could re-define the lines of power between Houses. The old faction held with the old belief that Harry Potter was disturbed, deranged, and quite possibly dangerous while the new group saw him as the savior of the wizarding world. These were positions obviously holding no possibility for compromise. The Hufflepuff view of the matter was down right amused. Here was the traditional enemy, those who taunted the Badger for being simple and dull witted, pushed to the extreme by their supposed superior mentality. For both sides argued consistently over their positions, yet refused to cede anything to their opponents.
Hufflepuff was settling down after a new leader had taken seat, the old one having graduated. It had been a peaceful transition of power, the new Queen having received the old one's blessing. Still, Hufflepuffs just weren't made for Inter-House warfare. Yes, they could hold a grudge and work tirelessly in the search for or creation of new curses, but they simply were no match for the rage of Gryffindor, the brains of Ravenclaw and the devious manipulations of Slytherin.
In fact, the only two solid Houses, and thus the only two who were fit for a challenge were Gryffindor and Slytherin. The traditional hate between these two Houses had been amplified when Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had emerged as the leaders of their respective Houses. Quidditch matches now necessitated heavy escorts for players and no one dared to walk alone in the halls, for fear of a roughening up. Competition for the House Cup was also no laughing matter. In fact, the lengths to which some went to have points removed from another House were downright brilliant... and frightening.
Dumbledore stood to welcome everyone back from the end of Christmas vacation, casting warning glances at the head of the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. Undoubtedly, someone had pulled another nasty prank on another House during the break, Minnie shuddered to think of what it could be. A week before the beginning of the holidays, Gryffindors had walked into their common room to find it infested with snakes. The fact that the Slytherins hadn't even tried to conceal the fact they had done it only served to show the power now wielded by the Kings, as Malfoy and Potter were called. Naturally, Gryffindor honor wouldn't just lie over and play dead. That very same night, someone had to have snuck out and done something because any Slytherin who attempted to cross the threshold of their common room the next morning found themselves walking around with green skin and a red firebolt shaped scar on their foreheads.
Minnie knew from good source that it had taken a Ravenclaw contribution to find a counter-curse. They hadn't helped out of generosity, as selflessness didn't exist anymore. Their motive was purely political, Slytherin having therefore a debt to the Ravenclaws. Of course, Minnie (and several others) thought it very foolish of Ravenclaw to have helped out Slytherin, thus incurring themselves Gryffindor reprisals, which came in the form of a raven, impaled on a bejeweled dagger, found just outside the portrait guarding the entrance of their common room, as a warning. Frankly, Minnie thought it even ridiculous of the Ravenclaws to have hoped to ally itself with the Slytherins. In fact, when the Ravenclaw leader appealed for help in dealing with the upstart, Slytherin hadn't done anything. If anything, Malfoy seemed to enjoy the contests between the two postulants.
Malfoy. He was sitting on the other side of the Hall, looking supremely unconcerned by Dumbledore's warning looks. In fact, he looked as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself. His sidekicks, Crabbe and Goyle, were putting their heads together with that Pansy Parkinson. It must have been something good, even those three idiots were looking exited.
Malfoy. Charming, also drop dead handsome, talented, oh yes talented, benefiting from the protection of both Severus Snape and the Malfoy family name, he was most importantly dangerous. No one, in their right mind, messed directly with Malfoy. In fact, almost no one, in their right mind spoke directly to him, or at least initiated conversation. It was rumored that even Slytherins needed to take an appointment and remember to keep their eyes averted to speak to him.
Malfoy and Potter. Anti-thesis. Contradictions. From their beliefs to their looks. The light and the dark. The aloft smooth skin and the rough, hands on attitude. Now, all that remained was the final showdown between the lion and the snake.
The feast was winding to an end. Minnie and her friends waited until Hannah Abbott, reigning Queen of Hufflepuff, and her guard swept out of the hall. It was then appropriate for them to rise and head to their common room. As they left, Harry was rising from his seat. If the Slytherins were right about one thing, it was true that Gryffindors probably pushed chivalry a bit too far, Minnie thought. But then again, her temporary annoyance probably came from seeing Harry smile and touch someone else. He had given his hand to Hermione Granger for her to rise before giving her his arm and escorting her out of the Hall. They weren't a couple, Minnie knew that, it was simply that the reigning King was escorting the ranking female Gryffindor out of the room. As the two started to arrive at the doors, closely followed by Ronald and Virginia Weasley, Minnie remembered what she was doing and ran off after her friends. She could have sworn she saw the Weasleys smirk at her before she turned.
***
Minnie knew she was in trouble, she just wasn't entirely sure for what. Well, she did have a sneaking suspicion, and that was what was making her nervous. She'd thought they'd have confronted her about this sooner. Once having spoken the password to the column which had split apart to reveal the stairs that gave access to the Hufflepuff chambers, she'd found Ernie Macmillan waiting for her. And he wasn't smiling.
He'd obviously been waiting for a while because she was the last person to be up, having stopped by the library to search for a new book to read. Yet, even with a bit of fatigue, Ernie's sense of pompousness and dramatics never failed him. He stood motionless in front of the stairs, arms clasped behind his back, legs slightly spread, shoulders puffed out and a displeased expression on his face. Minnie was under the impression that she was a naughty girl facing down her father. What was that song again her Muggle cousin used to sing ...Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep, Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep.... Well, Ernie wasn't her father and he held no authority over her, but upstairs might be a group of people which, when together, definitely held power over her.
"Follow me." He'd turned and started up. There had been no noise coming from above, obviously there wasn't a full council. Either that or it was worse, the matter to be discussed was so grave that everyone was there and waiting for her, stony faced.
No, it wasn't to be that bad, the common room seemed almost empty. Well, it wasn't going to be minor either. Hannah was there, enthroned in the large armchair, just under the window. Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchly, Morag MacDougal, Zacharias Smith and Daphne Greengrass were arrayed around her, in a circle. As she approached, the circle opened to admit her. Ernie pointed to a cushion on the floor in the center, indicating that Minnie should sit there and joined the others. The circle closed. Minnie sat.
For a moment, Hannah merely gazed at her with a friendly expression. There was no violence between Hufflepuffs, something for which Minnie was right now, very thankful.
"Minnie," Morag spoke softly from her left, "We were wondering whether or not you had something to tell us."
Minnie shook her head, trying to look innocent. "No, of course not."
"Minnie," Morag repeated, with still no inflection of tone, "Three years ago, we pledged to hate and exact revenge upon Gryffindor House, and upon a certain traitor who callously murdered one of our own." He stopped speaking, marking a pause. Ernie wasn't the only Hufflepuff who had a taste of dramatics.
"Sadly," Susan continued, rolling her eyes at him, "We have failed to do anything of great significance. Yet, we continue to look for an opportunity to take him out."
Great significance... nervous and panicked as she was, Minnie fought down a laugh. The biggest thing the Hufflepuffs had managed to do so far was hex Ronald Weasley and curse Potter's bag. It had required three weeks of planning, a house points costly diversion and the hex had been fired at turned backs. And of course, Hermione Granger had immediately and seemingly without great thought or effort uncursed the bag and de-hexed Weasley while Harry sent the admittedly courageous attacker flying through the corridor, having magically re-arranged his face and thoroughly cursed him. Justin (who had accepted to be the attacker in the hopes of avenging the Parseltongue incident in his second year) had spent two weeks in the Hospital Wing before Madam Pomfrey managed to make headway on him.
Perhaps Justin was also thinking of the incident because he started and spoke up, "Yes, well, we'll get there someday... Minnie, er... It's just that... as Cedric's cousin, we rather thought that you'd be fully behind us in this..."
"I am! I am!" Minnie responded a bit too quickly. "I'm sorry. I mean, I fully support the efforts we've been taking, I don't see what could have made you think I didn't." It was a wide gamble and it didn't work.
Hannah cut through, her voice now rather cold, saying, "You seem to have been observed, for some time now, and most recently during the feast tonight, to have been focused on another table, namely the one we have vowed to destroy."
Minnie tried to laugh it off; did Hannah want to join the Ministry or something? With a vocabulary like that, she had a future! She tried to respond calmly, serving up the excuse she'd tried to convince herself was a valid reason, "Well, it was just looking! I mean, how can we know how to act if we don't understand their behavior-"
"No, Minnie," Hannah's look was grim and her voice was categorical, "You weren't looking like that." She paused for effect and then lowered her voice, "As we do this in honor of your cousin, we would indeed find it very disappointing if you were to join the already oversized Potter Fan Club. Were you to do so, you would find us most unforgiving." Minnie could believe that; the seventh years looked unnaturally big and menacing now. "Remember our warning, we'll be watching. It would be most tragic if we were to find you as a traitor."
Hannah finished and gave her a curt nod, dismissing Minnie. Minnie rose from her cushion, inclined her head to show proper respect before saying, "You'll find that you can trust me," then, bowing, again, she turned and headed down the corridor to her dormitory. The Hufflepuff chambers were on a horizontal plane. She knew that Gryffindors lived in a tower and the Slytherins in a dungeon, she wasn't sure of the Ravenclaws, but the Hufflepuff layout, she was sure, suited to contribute to a very level headed atmosphere. Her dorm was on the left, with the legend "fourth years" over the door. The interior contained four beds, Minnie's being the one on the far right, farthest away from the window. Her classmates were already asleep, and in some cases, snoring. Minnie changed into her nightdress and slowly crawled into bed. She lay on her back, staring at the badger motif on the ceiling, unable to fall asleep.
As hurt as Minnie was from the remonstrances, she knew she couldn't complain. Once again, there was no violence between Hufflepuffs, hard words, yes, exclusion, sometimes, but never anything really brutal or physical. She was lucky to be in this House, she shuddered to think what could have happened were she in another. Ravenclaws didn't get physical, but she had seen evidence of their verbal ferocity recently in the two factions' battles. Slytherins didn't shirk from roughing up dissidents and having Death Eaters in the families probably made their duels and torture sessions rather educational experiences. However, it was the Gryffindors you had to watch out for.
It was said that one of the reasons there was such a traditional enimity between Slytherins and Gryffindors was because they weren't really all that different at all. Both ran tight ships, both turned out extremely powerful witches and wizards, both were loyal to their ideals, and none tolerated simply laying about. Both acted, be it on impulse or by stealth, but act they did. One main difference was evident though; Gryffindors didn't bother with covering up their tracks and messing around with plans, they went ahead with their gut instinct. That could be a fault, yes, but it generally meant that messing around with a Gryffindor could result in serious bodily injury. And Minnie had seen it at work.
As much as Minnie liked Harry Potter, she couldn't deny his aggressive attitude and violence. She, like the rest of the school, had witnessed the duel between Seamus Finnigan and Harry Potter two years ago. They had had to literally scrape Seamus off the walls after Harry was done with him. That fight had both landed Harry a month of detentions and in position of King of Gryffindor. While there had been some questioning Harry's temper at reacting to Seamus's accusations (something or other about He-Who-Must-Not- Be-Named), there was no doubt that his ability to smash Seamus in three curses and hexes, all fired off so quickly that no one had had the time to react, had vastly impressed everyone present.
Still, she couldn't afford to attract the wrath of Hufflepuff House upon herself. She vowed to stop looking at Harry. After all, she told herself, it was just a small crush. As if no one ever had one of those! Especially on Harry! His appeal was widespread, and as he never seemed to attach himself to anyone, it was always open season. He had an unofficial fan club that contained witches and wizards even double his age and who had never seen him before in their miserable little lives. No, she wouldn't be so ordinary and common and slaver all over him. She had enough friends in her year and House, enough boys in her acquaintance that she could ask out, she wasn't risking her position on The-Boy-Who-Lived.
***
Breakfast wasn't a pleasant affair. She knew that Ernie and Susan were watching her and that she had to act as natural and unconcerned as possible. The next couple of weeks were going to be crucial to a safe stay at Hogwarts for the next three years. She was going to have to draw on whatever acting talents she had, especially during meal times. Yet, events seemed to conspire against her. For one thing, the moment she approached the Hufflepuff table, her friends Eleanor Branstone and Laura Madley beckoned her to a seat they had saved for her. Now, under previous circumstances, this would have been the perfect seat, but it was most definitely bad for what she needed to do.
"Go on, your friends are calling you," said Daphne Greengrass with a nudge from behind her. She'd been escorted down from Hufflepuff Chambers, though she couldn't imagine what the danger would have been in letting her go alone. She sincerely hoped that she wasn't going to have to spend the next few weeks with the seventh years as her escorts, as that would be both boring and yet traumatizing. Another nudge from Daphne brought her back to earth. She nodded to show she understood, Daphne nodded back and smiled at her. Well, at least one who thought they'd been a bit quick with their assumptions yesterday.
So, Minnie went down the table to sit between the two girls. And in doing so, sat directly across from Harry Potter. She could see him clearly through a gap in the students between them. Oh dear. She dragged her attention back to the chattering girls on either side of her.
"So anyway... he said that it was so over with her, that he couldn't believe what a bitch she was! Of course, being Owen, it doesn't really mean anything, he says that about everyone! But can you imagine!"
"But he doesn't act like a womanizer! Are you sure he said that?"
"Laura, I heard him say it. Oh sure, he thought he was well hidden behind that couch, but I heard it all!"
"Who was he talking to? Kevin? Marc? Or both?"
"What are we talking about?" That was Minnie. This sounded juicy, and would definitely take her mind off the presence one table away.
"Well," Eleanor said, "I overheard a really dirty conversation between Owen and Kevin last night in the Common Room, you weren't there." She paused as though realizing something. "By the way, where were you? Oh well, tell me his name later." She gave a dismissive wave with her hand and plunged back into her story. "Anyhow, Owen's broken up with Orla!"
"Orla? Orla Quirke? That girl from Ravenclaw?" wondered Minnie.
"Yes, so it's really probably a good thing because I know Zachary was thinking about kicking him off the Quidditch team. But, as I was saying to Laura earlier, simply dumping the girl isn't going to get him back into the good graces of the Court." Minnie wondered at how normal it all seemed, that each House had their own cliques and power, but then again, it made for a simpler life, didn't it? This was wrong and that was bad, deal with it.
"So what do you think he's gonna do?" asked Laura.
"Well, don't spread this around, but he's most likely gonna have to do something to prove his heart's firmly in Hufflepuff, mark my words girls... if Owen starts hitting on you... run." She paused and got an evil look on her face, "Either that, or laugh at him."
Eleanor and Laura cracked up. It was true that Owen didn't really possess a model's physique. But the again, Minnie didn't think they had anything to worry about. None of them were really pretty. She herself was short, well... really short, slightly pudgy, with mousy brown hair pulled back into a braid and glasses. She didn't attract any looks, she was actually a bit proud of the way she managed to blend in. After all, that was how she observed and managed to dissect Hogwarts society so well.
Breakfast was nearly over when what had to happen, well... happened. The target was Hermione Granger. She'd come into the Great Hall, the same as every morning, her bag over her back and a few books under her arm, robes swishing behind her. Actually, she could have been another crack in Minnie's House loyalty. Granger, in Minnie's opinion, was perfection. Nice height, nice build, even her bushy hair could be pulled back and smoothed with a clip. Not model material by any means, but charming and graceful. She looked like a bright, beautiful schoolgirl in her uniform and robes. And on top of that, she was brilliant. The only thing keeping her from being Minnie's acknowledged role model, aside the House difference, was that Minnie was quite jealous of Hermione's standing and friendship with Harry Potter.
Granger obviously had something exiting to say to her friends because she walked swiflty across the hall. She'd nearly arrived at the Gryffindor table, in fact Ronald Weasley was rising to allow her to slide in, when several flashed of blue light shot out from over the Slytherin tables. Several flashes of light hit Hermione squarely in the back, she screamed once, then started to fall, in slow motion, twisting until her head hit the bench and she lay on the floor. Ronald was immediately crouched next to her, wand in hand and eyes alert. She wasn't unconcious... but she could have been; Minnie realized that not all the streams of light had hit her. As soon as the spell words had been cried and the light created over the Slytherin table, wands had appeared in everyone's hands.
But none as quick as the one in the hands of The Boy Who Lived. The first beams had barely hit her when a shielding charm materialized, engulfing all of the Gryffindor table and deflecting the other beams back towards Slytherin. And of course, as the blue beams flew back, several more beams, red, purple and yellow ones intermixed with them, hitting Slytherins at random. Extra limbs, tentacles and fungi appeared on those who hadn't ducked away fast enough.
Individual shielding charms went up all across the hall as Slytherins angrily fired back more curses and hexes and as teachers vainly attempted to calm things down by firing off Stunners and Congeniality charms. But chaos reigned as the Slytherin spells kept ricocheting off the Gryffindor Shield, bouncing all over the Hall and hitting younger students who didn't know how to conjure a Sheilding Charm and weren't sitting close enough to a student who could include them in theirs.
Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were in majority unscathed, they had cast up Shields and refrained from participating in the melée after curt orders from their leaders. Some Slytherins were cowering under tables (those were the first, second and third years) while the others tried to break through the Shield over the Gryffindor table. Many of the latter were getting hit by the now rampaging spells as they were standing and weren't concentrating on the spells coming back at them.
Minnie stared at the Gryffindor Shield. That wasn't normal; only one Shield around the whole table? Normally, a Shielding Charm only covered one person and a few feet around them and only lasted a few seconds. This one was like a large purple, semi-transparent dome, encapsulating all Gryffindors. Most of them were looking slightly amused at some of the Slytherin attempts to break through it while others looked towards where Granger had fallen. Ronald, Harry, Virginia and several others Minnie recognized as seventh years were all bent over her. The Shield charm apparently kept sound in, because, though mouths were moving, no sound was coming out. From her vantage point, Minnie could see that Granger wasn't severely hurt. She was sitting up now, rubbing her head and talking to Harry. He nodded, pointed his wand at her and said something, a red light shot out and enveloped Hermione who then looked up and smiled. She accepted Ronald's hand to pull her up and leaned a bit on Virginia before being set down.
By now, the Slytherins had mostly stopped firing off new hexes and curses, maybe they realized they weren't going to get through the Shield Charm. The remainder were quiet under the threat of several of the professor's wands. Order had practically been established, all that remained was the purple glow from the Gryffindor table.
Professor Dumbledore moved towards the foot of the table. The look on his face was best qualified as impassive; he didn't look particularly pleased or angry. He didn't even look flustered. He opened his mouth to ask, "Mr. Potter? Now that the commotion is over, would you have the kindness to remove your charm and restore our Hall to its previous order?"
Minnie was surprised. It was a single charm? She'd rather thought it had to have been a multitude of Gryffindors' Shields that had merged and formed one. Not only had it only been Potter, but he'd maintained the Shield even while healing Granger. Minnie abandoned the 'not-interested-in-Potter' pretense for the moment, after all, most of the people at her table were gaping at him too.
From his position next to Granger, Harry's mouth moved and the dome glittered and faded. But he didn't sit down and he kept his wand in a 'ready' position.
"That will do Mr. Potter. Now, I'll leave it to the Heads of Houses to determine appropriate action. The rest of us will finish our breakfasts before heading off the class or what-not. Ah, yes, Professor Sprout, if I could have a word?" He headed off with the Herbology witch, sweeping out of the Hall.
The two formidable looking Heads of Houses stepped off the raised platforms and headed towards their tables, glancing at each other. What came next surprised no one. Snape was shaking student's hands all around, complimenting them, and actually, well fine, it wasn't smiling, but it was close. McGonagall had bent over Hermione Granger, looking worried for about a second, then had started warmly congratulating Harry Potter, no doubt about that excellent Shield Charm.
Minnie would have liked to stay and deliberately eavesdrop, but Hannah had risen and staying longer was dangerous. She picked up her things and, accompanied by Laura and Eleanor, she too walked out of the Hall.
***
"Can you believe that sort of behavior?" asked Eleanor furiously as soon as they were out of the Hall.
"I know," replied Minnie excitedly, "I don't know why they thought they'd actually be able to do anything to her in front of Potter-"
"No, not that," cut off Eleanor with a disdainful look on her face.
"Right, who cares what those two tables do to each other," added Laura. Minnie was seriously starting to doubt whether Laura ever said anything other than backing up other people's opinions, usually Eleanor's. The girls now stepped out of the doors, heading down the path that led to Hagrid's hut. They had Care of Magical Creatures first thing this morning. Eleanor was nodding after Laura's pronouncement.
"Exactly. No, it's the professors!" Eleanor had a shocked look on her face, as though she were really amazed, "I mean, Dumbledore asks them to deal with their students. I'm sure that he meant that they ought to have handed out detentions and taken away House points! Instead, they go around congratulating them! Did you see him? Snape actually looked as though he were smiling!"
Ooops, Minnie thought it would be a good idea to say something here, in order to dispell any suspicions and get herself back into Eleanor's good graces, "Snape? Smiling? You've got to be kidding! He's probably never smiled before in his whole life, and I'm sure there's got to be a school rule against it."
"A school rule? Why" asked Laura, looking curious.
"Well, imagine how scary it would be if he did! I mean, there aren't any psychologists or therapists at Hogwarts no are there?"
"Whazat? What's a therapits and pzycologist?" asked Eleanor.
"Oh yeah. Well, I heard my mom talk about them. They're a type of Muggle Healer, except they don't deal with the body. They're supposed to take care of the mind or something. I didn't get the whole thing, I mean, once a mind's turned to mush, it can't be fixed. Look at Longdrawers's parents!" said Minnie, deliberately mispronouncing Neville's last name.
***
But to someone familiar with Hogwarts tradition, the prestige of certain students became immediately apparent. There simply were some with more elbowroom, with more people willing to make conversation, and some who just sent off almost visible vibes of power. The long house tables were covered in good food, today being a feast and all. But these tables who were supposed to bring everyone together thrice a day and provide food to the hungry students brought something else. Was it intentional on the part of the Founders? Did they really want their Houses to become so separated? No one was truly a Hogwarts student. One was either a Slytherin, a Ravencalw, a Hufflepuff, or a Gryffindor. The days where the students defined their houses were gone and almost forgotten, remembered only by the ghosts and the professors. The Houses now defined those in them; lines had been drawn and woe betide those who might cross them. These Houses would now rule your life, their influence wouldn't stop with the end term feast or even at the graduation ball of seventh year. These were organizations, with ruling families, movements, and hierarchies. And, if one looked closely, one could discern which posts were held by whom if one looked around.
It didn't seem fair. It seemed as though nature simply preferred some and left the others with nothing. Minnie was a Hufflepuff fourth year. She was one of those fortunate students who had mastered the art of blending seamlessly into large groups of people, the better to avoid trouble. All of Minnie's life was organized around that concept; that the best way to remain safe and protected was to obey one's House leader blindly. She was, of course, loyal and true to her House. Her gaze as she looked at the other tables wasn't condescending (after all, she was no Ravencalw), neither was it mocking (she wasn't a Slytherin either), nor was it aggressive (Not a Gryffindor here). Her parents and their parents before them had been Hufflepuffs, in fact, almost all her extended family had belonged to that House. She had been raised in and then inducted into the Badger's traditions and was fiercely patriotic and proud of it. Yet, for all her love of her House, her allegiance held one fault.
And that fault was sitting one table over. It wasn't love, oh no, but the tender feelings and curiosity for another student constituted a breach in the House code that placed all non-House members severely off-limits. Besides, not even in her wildest dreams did she think her crush would even notice her. In fact, she was certain he didn't know she existed. Why? Simple. Harry Potter undoubtedly had other things on his mind.
The spheres of power were rather small at Hogwarts. The conditions for being the reigning ruler of one's house were relatively simple. One merely had to be better than the others, physically or mentally, and one had to prove it. Minnie's cousin had been the Hufflepuff king for a long time, by virtue of his good looks, good work and Quidditch talents. Yet, he was killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in his seventh year: a portkey had transported him and Harry Potter to a gravesite and only Potter had returned alive.
There had already been a strain on Gryffindor/ Hufflepuff relations because of the dual Champion status during the Triwizard Tournament. Ironically, the solution to that problematic situation changed relations for the worse. Before the Third Task, the Slytherins were the only ones who had picked on Hufflepuff, but when the house had gathered that night in the common room to swear vengeance on Harry Potter, they had lost their most precious ally. Now, the two Houses who had before been able to communicate stood as alone as Slytherin had stood before. Secretly, Minnie thought that the winners in this situation were the Slytherins, their power and prestige had grown considerably. Yet, Minnie had sworn the oath and no one would have even considered that she would weaken, since Cedric had been a close relative.
Yet, her gaze as she looked across the tables was anything but accusing.
It was easy to understand why Harry took charge of Gryffindor. Aside the obvious facts that he had the dark romantic look that made women swoon and was famous internationally for the whole surviving Voldemort and his curse before he could walk and talk business, he had formidable presence and authority. All this in addition to dueling skills that rivaled those of professionals would have ensured even the meekest and toadiest person power. And it was clear to see that the Gryffindors loved him. It might have only been a furthur instance of Gryffindor loyalty or chivalry, but there was no moving undercurrent or back stabbing in Gryffindor. United under Harry, they presented a solid front, and it might have sounded ridiculous, but they even moved as a cohesive unit.
Opposite of Gryffindor in the matter of House unity was undoubtedly Ravenclaw. Minnie smirked a bit; Ravenclaw had been having trouble, a new leader was challenging the old one, and the foundations of the House were shifting. The house was split into two factions and minor battles and nasty duels between the supporters were becoming more and more frequent, as well as more and more violent. The reason for the split was actually something of great importance as it could re-define the lines of power between Houses. The old faction held with the old belief that Harry Potter was disturbed, deranged, and quite possibly dangerous while the new group saw him as the savior of the wizarding world. These were positions obviously holding no possibility for compromise. The Hufflepuff view of the matter was down right amused. Here was the traditional enemy, those who taunted the Badger for being simple and dull witted, pushed to the extreme by their supposed superior mentality. For both sides argued consistently over their positions, yet refused to cede anything to their opponents.
Hufflepuff was settling down after a new leader had taken seat, the old one having graduated. It had been a peaceful transition of power, the new Queen having received the old one's blessing. Still, Hufflepuffs just weren't made for Inter-House warfare. Yes, they could hold a grudge and work tirelessly in the search for or creation of new curses, but they simply were no match for the rage of Gryffindor, the brains of Ravenclaw and the devious manipulations of Slytherin.
In fact, the only two solid Houses, and thus the only two who were fit for a challenge were Gryffindor and Slytherin. The traditional hate between these two Houses had been amplified when Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had emerged as the leaders of their respective Houses. Quidditch matches now necessitated heavy escorts for players and no one dared to walk alone in the halls, for fear of a roughening up. Competition for the House Cup was also no laughing matter. In fact, the lengths to which some went to have points removed from another House were downright brilliant... and frightening.
Dumbledore stood to welcome everyone back from the end of Christmas vacation, casting warning glances at the head of the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables. Undoubtedly, someone had pulled another nasty prank on another House during the break, Minnie shuddered to think of what it could be. A week before the beginning of the holidays, Gryffindors had walked into their common room to find it infested with snakes. The fact that the Slytherins hadn't even tried to conceal the fact they had done it only served to show the power now wielded by the Kings, as Malfoy and Potter were called. Naturally, Gryffindor honor wouldn't just lie over and play dead. That very same night, someone had to have snuck out and done something because any Slytherin who attempted to cross the threshold of their common room the next morning found themselves walking around with green skin and a red firebolt shaped scar on their foreheads.
Minnie knew from good source that it had taken a Ravenclaw contribution to find a counter-curse. They hadn't helped out of generosity, as selflessness didn't exist anymore. Their motive was purely political, Slytherin having therefore a debt to the Ravenclaws. Of course, Minnie (and several others) thought it very foolish of Ravenclaw to have helped out Slytherin, thus incurring themselves Gryffindor reprisals, which came in the form of a raven, impaled on a bejeweled dagger, found just outside the portrait guarding the entrance of their common room, as a warning. Frankly, Minnie thought it even ridiculous of the Ravenclaws to have hoped to ally itself with the Slytherins. In fact, when the Ravenclaw leader appealed for help in dealing with the upstart, Slytherin hadn't done anything. If anything, Malfoy seemed to enjoy the contests between the two postulants.
Malfoy. He was sitting on the other side of the Hall, looking supremely unconcerned by Dumbledore's warning looks. In fact, he looked as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself. His sidekicks, Crabbe and Goyle, were putting their heads together with that Pansy Parkinson. It must have been something good, even those three idiots were looking exited.
Malfoy. Charming, also drop dead handsome, talented, oh yes talented, benefiting from the protection of both Severus Snape and the Malfoy family name, he was most importantly dangerous. No one, in their right mind, messed directly with Malfoy. In fact, almost no one, in their right mind spoke directly to him, or at least initiated conversation. It was rumored that even Slytherins needed to take an appointment and remember to keep their eyes averted to speak to him.
Malfoy and Potter. Anti-thesis. Contradictions. From their beliefs to their looks. The light and the dark. The aloft smooth skin and the rough, hands on attitude. Now, all that remained was the final showdown between the lion and the snake.
The feast was winding to an end. Minnie and her friends waited until Hannah Abbott, reigning Queen of Hufflepuff, and her guard swept out of the hall. It was then appropriate for them to rise and head to their common room. As they left, Harry was rising from his seat. If the Slytherins were right about one thing, it was true that Gryffindors probably pushed chivalry a bit too far, Minnie thought. But then again, her temporary annoyance probably came from seeing Harry smile and touch someone else. He had given his hand to Hermione Granger for her to rise before giving her his arm and escorting her out of the Hall. They weren't a couple, Minnie knew that, it was simply that the reigning King was escorting the ranking female Gryffindor out of the room. As the two started to arrive at the doors, closely followed by Ronald and Virginia Weasley, Minnie remembered what she was doing and ran off after her friends. She could have sworn she saw the Weasleys smirk at her before she turned.
***
Minnie knew she was in trouble, she just wasn't entirely sure for what. Well, she did have a sneaking suspicion, and that was what was making her nervous. She'd thought they'd have confronted her about this sooner. Once having spoken the password to the column which had split apart to reveal the stairs that gave access to the Hufflepuff chambers, she'd found Ernie Macmillan waiting for her. And he wasn't smiling.
He'd obviously been waiting for a while because she was the last person to be up, having stopped by the library to search for a new book to read. Yet, even with a bit of fatigue, Ernie's sense of pompousness and dramatics never failed him. He stood motionless in front of the stairs, arms clasped behind his back, legs slightly spread, shoulders puffed out and a displeased expression on his face. Minnie was under the impression that she was a naughty girl facing down her father. What was that song again her Muggle cousin used to sing ...Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep, Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep.... Well, Ernie wasn't her father and he held no authority over her, but upstairs might be a group of people which, when together, definitely held power over her.
"Follow me." He'd turned and started up. There had been no noise coming from above, obviously there wasn't a full council. Either that or it was worse, the matter to be discussed was so grave that everyone was there and waiting for her, stony faced.
No, it wasn't to be that bad, the common room seemed almost empty. Well, it wasn't going to be minor either. Hannah was there, enthroned in the large armchair, just under the window. Susan Bones, Justin Finch-Fletchly, Morag MacDougal, Zacharias Smith and Daphne Greengrass were arrayed around her, in a circle. As she approached, the circle opened to admit her. Ernie pointed to a cushion on the floor in the center, indicating that Minnie should sit there and joined the others. The circle closed. Minnie sat.
For a moment, Hannah merely gazed at her with a friendly expression. There was no violence between Hufflepuffs, something for which Minnie was right now, very thankful.
"Minnie," Morag spoke softly from her left, "We were wondering whether or not you had something to tell us."
Minnie shook her head, trying to look innocent. "No, of course not."
"Minnie," Morag repeated, with still no inflection of tone, "Three years ago, we pledged to hate and exact revenge upon Gryffindor House, and upon a certain traitor who callously murdered one of our own." He stopped speaking, marking a pause. Ernie wasn't the only Hufflepuff who had a taste of dramatics.
"Sadly," Susan continued, rolling her eyes at him, "We have failed to do anything of great significance. Yet, we continue to look for an opportunity to take him out."
Great significance... nervous and panicked as she was, Minnie fought down a laugh. The biggest thing the Hufflepuffs had managed to do so far was hex Ronald Weasley and curse Potter's bag. It had required three weeks of planning, a house points costly diversion and the hex had been fired at turned backs. And of course, Hermione Granger had immediately and seemingly without great thought or effort uncursed the bag and de-hexed Weasley while Harry sent the admittedly courageous attacker flying through the corridor, having magically re-arranged his face and thoroughly cursed him. Justin (who had accepted to be the attacker in the hopes of avenging the Parseltongue incident in his second year) had spent two weeks in the Hospital Wing before Madam Pomfrey managed to make headway on him.
Perhaps Justin was also thinking of the incident because he started and spoke up, "Yes, well, we'll get there someday... Minnie, er... It's just that... as Cedric's cousin, we rather thought that you'd be fully behind us in this..."
"I am! I am!" Minnie responded a bit too quickly. "I'm sorry. I mean, I fully support the efforts we've been taking, I don't see what could have made you think I didn't." It was a wide gamble and it didn't work.
Hannah cut through, her voice now rather cold, saying, "You seem to have been observed, for some time now, and most recently during the feast tonight, to have been focused on another table, namely the one we have vowed to destroy."
Minnie tried to laugh it off; did Hannah want to join the Ministry or something? With a vocabulary like that, she had a future! She tried to respond calmly, serving up the excuse she'd tried to convince herself was a valid reason, "Well, it was just looking! I mean, how can we know how to act if we don't understand their behavior-"
"No, Minnie," Hannah's look was grim and her voice was categorical, "You weren't looking like that." She paused for effect and then lowered her voice, "As we do this in honor of your cousin, we would indeed find it very disappointing if you were to join the already oversized Potter Fan Club. Were you to do so, you would find us most unforgiving." Minnie could believe that; the seventh years looked unnaturally big and menacing now. "Remember our warning, we'll be watching. It would be most tragic if we were to find you as a traitor."
Hannah finished and gave her a curt nod, dismissing Minnie. Minnie rose from her cushion, inclined her head to show proper respect before saying, "You'll find that you can trust me," then, bowing, again, she turned and headed down the corridor to her dormitory. The Hufflepuff chambers were on a horizontal plane. She knew that Gryffindors lived in a tower and the Slytherins in a dungeon, she wasn't sure of the Ravenclaws, but the Hufflepuff layout, she was sure, suited to contribute to a very level headed atmosphere. Her dorm was on the left, with the legend "fourth years" over the door. The interior contained four beds, Minnie's being the one on the far right, farthest away from the window. Her classmates were already asleep, and in some cases, snoring. Minnie changed into her nightdress and slowly crawled into bed. She lay on her back, staring at the badger motif on the ceiling, unable to fall asleep.
As hurt as Minnie was from the remonstrances, she knew she couldn't complain. Once again, there was no violence between Hufflepuffs, hard words, yes, exclusion, sometimes, but never anything really brutal or physical. She was lucky to be in this House, she shuddered to think what could have happened were she in another. Ravenclaws didn't get physical, but she had seen evidence of their verbal ferocity recently in the two factions' battles. Slytherins didn't shirk from roughing up dissidents and having Death Eaters in the families probably made their duels and torture sessions rather educational experiences. However, it was the Gryffindors you had to watch out for.
It was said that one of the reasons there was such a traditional enimity between Slytherins and Gryffindors was because they weren't really all that different at all. Both ran tight ships, both turned out extremely powerful witches and wizards, both were loyal to their ideals, and none tolerated simply laying about. Both acted, be it on impulse or by stealth, but act they did. One main difference was evident though; Gryffindors didn't bother with covering up their tracks and messing around with plans, they went ahead with their gut instinct. That could be a fault, yes, but it generally meant that messing around with a Gryffindor could result in serious bodily injury. And Minnie had seen it at work.
As much as Minnie liked Harry Potter, she couldn't deny his aggressive attitude and violence. She, like the rest of the school, had witnessed the duel between Seamus Finnigan and Harry Potter two years ago. They had had to literally scrape Seamus off the walls after Harry was done with him. That fight had both landed Harry a month of detentions and in position of King of Gryffindor. While there had been some questioning Harry's temper at reacting to Seamus's accusations (something or other about He-Who-Must-Not- Be-Named), there was no doubt that his ability to smash Seamus in three curses and hexes, all fired off so quickly that no one had had the time to react, had vastly impressed everyone present.
Still, she couldn't afford to attract the wrath of Hufflepuff House upon herself. She vowed to stop looking at Harry. After all, she told herself, it was just a small crush. As if no one ever had one of those! Especially on Harry! His appeal was widespread, and as he never seemed to attach himself to anyone, it was always open season. He had an unofficial fan club that contained witches and wizards even double his age and who had never seen him before in their miserable little lives. No, she wouldn't be so ordinary and common and slaver all over him. She had enough friends in her year and House, enough boys in her acquaintance that she could ask out, she wasn't risking her position on The-Boy-Who-Lived.
***
Breakfast wasn't a pleasant affair. She knew that Ernie and Susan were watching her and that she had to act as natural and unconcerned as possible. The next couple of weeks were going to be crucial to a safe stay at Hogwarts for the next three years. She was going to have to draw on whatever acting talents she had, especially during meal times. Yet, events seemed to conspire against her. For one thing, the moment she approached the Hufflepuff table, her friends Eleanor Branstone and Laura Madley beckoned her to a seat they had saved for her. Now, under previous circumstances, this would have been the perfect seat, but it was most definitely bad for what she needed to do.
"Go on, your friends are calling you," said Daphne Greengrass with a nudge from behind her. She'd been escorted down from Hufflepuff Chambers, though she couldn't imagine what the danger would have been in letting her go alone. She sincerely hoped that she wasn't going to have to spend the next few weeks with the seventh years as her escorts, as that would be both boring and yet traumatizing. Another nudge from Daphne brought her back to earth. She nodded to show she understood, Daphne nodded back and smiled at her. Well, at least one who thought they'd been a bit quick with their assumptions yesterday.
So, Minnie went down the table to sit between the two girls. And in doing so, sat directly across from Harry Potter. She could see him clearly through a gap in the students between them. Oh dear. She dragged her attention back to the chattering girls on either side of her.
"So anyway... he said that it was so over with her, that he couldn't believe what a bitch she was! Of course, being Owen, it doesn't really mean anything, he says that about everyone! But can you imagine!"
"But he doesn't act like a womanizer! Are you sure he said that?"
"Laura, I heard him say it. Oh sure, he thought he was well hidden behind that couch, but I heard it all!"
"Who was he talking to? Kevin? Marc? Or both?"
"What are we talking about?" That was Minnie. This sounded juicy, and would definitely take her mind off the presence one table away.
"Well," Eleanor said, "I overheard a really dirty conversation between Owen and Kevin last night in the Common Room, you weren't there." She paused as though realizing something. "By the way, where were you? Oh well, tell me his name later." She gave a dismissive wave with her hand and plunged back into her story. "Anyhow, Owen's broken up with Orla!"
"Orla? Orla Quirke? That girl from Ravenclaw?" wondered Minnie.
"Yes, so it's really probably a good thing because I know Zachary was thinking about kicking him off the Quidditch team. But, as I was saying to Laura earlier, simply dumping the girl isn't going to get him back into the good graces of the Court." Minnie wondered at how normal it all seemed, that each House had their own cliques and power, but then again, it made for a simpler life, didn't it? This was wrong and that was bad, deal with it.
"So what do you think he's gonna do?" asked Laura.
"Well, don't spread this around, but he's most likely gonna have to do something to prove his heart's firmly in Hufflepuff, mark my words girls... if Owen starts hitting on you... run." She paused and got an evil look on her face, "Either that, or laugh at him."
Eleanor and Laura cracked up. It was true that Owen didn't really possess a model's physique. But the again, Minnie didn't think they had anything to worry about. None of them were really pretty. She herself was short, well... really short, slightly pudgy, with mousy brown hair pulled back into a braid and glasses. She didn't attract any looks, she was actually a bit proud of the way she managed to blend in. After all, that was how she observed and managed to dissect Hogwarts society so well.
Breakfast was nearly over when what had to happen, well... happened. The target was Hermione Granger. She'd come into the Great Hall, the same as every morning, her bag over her back and a few books under her arm, robes swishing behind her. Actually, she could have been another crack in Minnie's House loyalty. Granger, in Minnie's opinion, was perfection. Nice height, nice build, even her bushy hair could be pulled back and smoothed with a clip. Not model material by any means, but charming and graceful. She looked like a bright, beautiful schoolgirl in her uniform and robes. And on top of that, she was brilliant. The only thing keeping her from being Minnie's acknowledged role model, aside the House difference, was that Minnie was quite jealous of Hermione's standing and friendship with Harry Potter.
Granger obviously had something exiting to say to her friends because she walked swiflty across the hall. She'd nearly arrived at the Gryffindor table, in fact Ronald Weasley was rising to allow her to slide in, when several flashed of blue light shot out from over the Slytherin tables. Several flashes of light hit Hermione squarely in the back, she screamed once, then started to fall, in slow motion, twisting until her head hit the bench and she lay on the floor. Ronald was immediately crouched next to her, wand in hand and eyes alert. She wasn't unconcious... but she could have been; Minnie realized that not all the streams of light had hit her. As soon as the spell words had been cried and the light created over the Slytherin table, wands had appeared in everyone's hands.
But none as quick as the one in the hands of The Boy Who Lived. The first beams had barely hit her when a shielding charm materialized, engulfing all of the Gryffindor table and deflecting the other beams back towards Slytherin. And of course, as the blue beams flew back, several more beams, red, purple and yellow ones intermixed with them, hitting Slytherins at random. Extra limbs, tentacles and fungi appeared on those who hadn't ducked away fast enough.
Individual shielding charms went up all across the hall as Slytherins angrily fired back more curses and hexes and as teachers vainly attempted to calm things down by firing off Stunners and Congeniality charms. But chaos reigned as the Slytherin spells kept ricocheting off the Gryffindor Shield, bouncing all over the Hall and hitting younger students who didn't know how to conjure a Sheilding Charm and weren't sitting close enough to a student who could include them in theirs.
Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were in majority unscathed, they had cast up Shields and refrained from participating in the melée after curt orders from their leaders. Some Slytherins were cowering under tables (those were the first, second and third years) while the others tried to break through the Shield over the Gryffindor table. Many of the latter were getting hit by the now rampaging spells as they were standing and weren't concentrating on the spells coming back at them.
Minnie stared at the Gryffindor Shield. That wasn't normal; only one Shield around the whole table? Normally, a Shielding Charm only covered one person and a few feet around them and only lasted a few seconds. This one was like a large purple, semi-transparent dome, encapsulating all Gryffindors. Most of them were looking slightly amused at some of the Slytherin attempts to break through it while others looked towards where Granger had fallen. Ronald, Harry, Virginia and several others Minnie recognized as seventh years were all bent over her. The Shield charm apparently kept sound in, because, though mouths were moving, no sound was coming out. From her vantage point, Minnie could see that Granger wasn't severely hurt. She was sitting up now, rubbing her head and talking to Harry. He nodded, pointed his wand at her and said something, a red light shot out and enveloped Hermione who then looked up and smiled. She accepted Ronald's hand to pull her up and leaned a bit on Virginia before being set down.
By now, the Slytherins had mostly stopped firing off new hexes and curses, maybe they realized they weren't going to get through the Shield Charm. The remainder were quiet under the threat of several of the professor's wands. Order had practically been established, all that remained was the purple glow from the Gryffindor table.
Professor Dumbledore moved towards the foot of the table. The look on his face was best qualified as impassive; he didn't look particularly pleased or angry. He didn't even look flustered. He opened his mouth to ask, "Mr. Potter? Now that the commotion is over, would you have the kindness to remove your charm and restore our Hall to its previous order?"
Minnie was surprised. It was a single charm? She'd rather thought it had to have been a multitude of Gryffindors' Shields that had merged and formed one. Not only had it only been Potter, but he'd maintained the Shield even while healing Granger. Minnie abandoned the 'not-interested-in-Potter' pretense for the moment, after all, most of the people at her table were gaping at him too.
From his position next to Granger, Harry's mouth moved and the dome glittered and faded. But he didn't sit down and he kept his wand in a 'ready' position.
"That will do Mr. Potter. Now, I'll leave it to the Heads of Houses to determine appropriate action. The rest of us will finish our breakfasts before heading off the class or what-not. Ah, yes, Professor Sprout, if I could have a word?" He headed off with the Herbology witch, sweeping out of the Hall.
The two formidable looking Heads of Houses stepped off the raised platforms and headed towards their tables, glancing at each other. What came next surprised no one. Snape was shaking student's hands all around, complimenting them, and actually, well fine, it wasn't smiling, but it was close. McGonagall had bent over Hermione Granger, looking worried for about a second, then had started warmly congratulating Harry Potter, no doubt about that excellent Shield Charm.
Minnie would have liked to stay and deliberately eavesdrop, but Hannah had risen and staying longer was dangerous. She picked up her things and, accompanied by Laura and Eleanor, she too walked out of the Hall.
***
"Can you believe that sort of behavior?" asked Eleanor furiously as soon as they were out of the Hall.
"I know," replied Minnie excitedly, "I don't know why they thought they'd actually be able to do anything to her in front of Potter-"
"No, not that," cut off Eleanor with a disdainful look on her face.
"Right, who cares what those two tables do to each other," added Laura. Minnie was seriously starting to doubt whether Laura ever said anything other than backing up other people's opinions, usually Eleanor's. The girls now stepped out of the doors, heading down the path that led to Hagrid's hut. They had Care of Magical Creatures first thing this morning. Eleanor was nodding after Laura's pronouncement.
"Exactly. No, it's the professors!" Eleanor had a shocked look on her face, as though she were really amazed, "I mean, Dumbledore asks them to deal with their students. I'm sure that he meant that they ought to have handed out detentions and taken away House points! Instead, they go around congratulating them! Did you see him? Snape actually looked as though he were smiling!"
Ooops, Minnie thought it would be a good idea to say something here, in order to dispell any suspicions and get herself back into Eleanor's good graces, "Snape? Smiling? You've got to be kidding! He's probably never smiled before in his whole life, and I'm sure there's got to be a school rule against it."
"A school rule? Why" asked Laura, looking curious.
"Well, imagine how scary it would be if he did! I mean, there aren't any psychologists or therapists at Hogwarts no are there?"
"Whazat? What's a therapits and pzycologist?" asked Eleanor.
"Oh yeah. Well, I heard my mom talk about them. They're a type of Muggle Healer, except they don't deal with the body. They're supposed to take care of the mind or something. I didn't get the whole thing, I mean, once a mind's turned to mush, it can't be fixed. Look at Longdrawers's parents!" said Minnie, deliberately mispronouncing Neville's last name.
***