Title: Holding Court
Rating: PG-13
Summary: WARNING: this story is an unabashed celebration of Harry Potter's uniqueness and powers. Anyone who would prefer to see another character glorified, turn away please!
Hogwarts is divided amongst the four Houses. As physical violence increases, a Hufflepuff fourth year watches as her hero fulfills his destiny. Set in Harry's seventh year, doom approaches. But where is the real war; between the Houses or against the Dark Lord?
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
When Minnie entered the Dueling Chamber for her private lessons, she first thought that there'd been a mistake. She'd been picturing the tutoring sessions as between Harry and herself. However, there were three other fourth years clustered around Hermione Granger on the Dueling surface and Harry was nowhere in sight. For a moment, she pondered what was going on, then realized she'd probably been crazy to think that Harry would be sacrificing an entire evening just for her benefit.
She was about to head towards the group of people when a very large animal landed in front of her.
"Good evening Minnie," Conroy said as he folded his wings.
"Good evening," she answered, her eyes still on Hermione Granger.
"Well, as you can see, I've asked the Gryffindors whether they'd take you in charge-"
"What?" Minnie stared at him incredulously. "You mean, you asked?" Minnie didn't feel so special anymore.
"Well, yes, it's such a pity to see talent go to waste. Now then," he continued, not seeming to notice Minnie's aghast expression. "I'll be honest with you, our dear Kincaid wasn't too pleased with the idea. But, an appeal to Miss Granger is always worthwhile. I think that a few concessions on her part and Kincaid accepted." Conroy rambled on, for all the world sounding like he was relating yesterday's gossip… which in fact, he was.
"What sort of concessions?" asked Minnie, reverting back to the insatiable observer, curious to know what sort of political undercurrents there were in Gryffindor Tower.
"Oh, something about a kiss and a date, I believe," said Conroy nonchalantly, then continuing with, "Anyhow, what did you think of Kincaid's rescue yesterday? I'll admit even I was impressed with his reflexes on that occasion. And I was permitted to see Hufflepuff's fury unleashed, you know…" he said reminiscently, "I haven't seen anger like that from your house since Salazaar started insulting several Muggle-born students about their parentage in Helga's hearing. Both Godric and Rowena had to work together to restrain her on that occasion, and she wasn't even using her wand!" Conroy beamed nostalgically.
"What was she using?" Minnie asked.
"A battleaxe she'd snatched from one of the suits of armor," Conroy added, deadpan.
"Minnie? Would come over here please?" Hermione's voice rang out.
The four Gryffindors were turned towards her and Minnie recognized the other fourth years; Martina, Joshua and Brian. Martina was a rather pretty girl, a bit petite, though very athletic. Joshua was tall, but bookish. And Minnie only knew that Brian was brilliant in Potions, even better than the Slytherin know-it-all Deidre.
Hermione Granger stood behind them, also looking at her as she approached. So, she'd talked Harry into giving her lessons in exchange for a kiss and a date? Minnie wasn't sure that was a fair exchange. Getting Harry to do something and getting to go out with him? What kind of trade was that?
"Good, we were wondering where you were," Hermione said, before turning so as to look at them all at once. "Now, I'm sorry but Harry was being held back by dear old Professor Snape, but he ought to arrive any minute now. So, before he gets here, I thought you'd pair up and practice dueling. Just trying to disarm and disorient, you understand? This is just so that I can gain some notions as to your technique and response times. Now, Martina, why don't you pair up with Minnie? And Joshua, you go with Brian. Wait for my signal to start."
Hermione walked back to the edge of the dais and down so that she became partially hidden in the shadows of the circular corridor. Only the bottom of her robes were visible in the darkness.
"En guarde," came her voice. Martina raised her wand, her face expressionless. "Allez-y!" Minnie turned and paced the five steps. She turned at the same time as Martina.
"Expelliarmus!" cried Martina first.
"Protego!" countered Minnie. "Inverso!"
Martina sidestepped so that the spell missed then pointed her wand at Minnie, "Reverso!"
Minnie had seen it coming, she went down on one knee as she had seen Harry do once, and without waiting for the spell to pass by her, she cried, "Rictusempra!"
Martina countered then shot back, "Protego! Tarantellegra!"
Minnie dodged that one easily before continuing with, "Expelliarmus!"
She just barely missed Martina with that one, but a moment later, she heard Martina cry, "Silencio!" After that, Minnie heard no more. She tried shooting off an Impediment Jinx, but as she was not able to say the words out loud, the spell refused to work. She saw Martina smile in triumph and was helpless to dodge the yellow flashes of light that came at her. She felt her wand fly out of her grasp as she flew backwards, crashing to the floor.
"-cantatem," her hearing returned as she saw Martina's mouth finish moving. The other girl was walking towards her, and upon reaching her, handed back her wand and extended a hand to help her back up with a smile.
"Thanks," said Minnie as she rose.
"No problem, "Martina grinned back. This was odd, Gryffindors were notoriously aloof and proud. What on earth was Martina playing at? Minnie didn't do anything, but stood back as the two girls watched the boys finish their duel.
At last, Joshua Disarmed Brian and the both of them headed over to the girls.
They were joined in the center of the cross by Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. Thankfully, Harry wasn't in the cloak he'd worn yesterday. Minnie was sure she'd melt if he wore them again, the memories associated with them were just… too much. He and Hermione had materialized from the darkness of the corridor, the shadows flowing off of them as they stepped into the light. Harry looked for all the world like a prince of darkness so gracefully did he move. He wore ordinary school robes, though they seemed oddly more flattering on him than any of the other boys or men in Hogwarts, with the possible exception of Draco Malfoy.
"Well done!" said Hermione brightly, looking a bit flushed.
"Not bad," nodded Harry, smirking slightly at Hermione. "Not bad at all for fourth years." Minnie noticed Martina's face fall, and to be frank, she'd felt as though she'd dueled very well, much beyond her years. Harry turned to the boys, "I liked the way you dodged that Impediment Jinx, Joshua. That was well done, though you do need to watch out when you fall like that, keep your wand up in case your adversary casts another spell at you while you're down." He turned to Minnie and Martina, "And Martina, that was very good use of the Silencing Charm." Martina seemed to glow with pride until Harry continued, "But that's a pretty bad habit to get into. It'll work only on witches and wizards who don't have the power to cast without saying the spell out loud. That won't work at all on anyone above sixth year.'
"If it's possible to use wandless magic to fight, why do older wizards continue to fight with their wands?" asked Martina petulantly.
"They don't need to," began Harry slowly. Minnie wasn't sure whether his tone was due to his thinking as he spoke or whether he considered it a waste of time to be explaining this to them. "You see, it is more the intent behind the spell that forces your magic out of you. The wand helps to draw your magic out of your core and to focus it in the direction you choose. More importantly though, it strengthens the magic you have inherently. That is why it is so important to have a wand adapted to your magic. I have a phoenix feather core because that is what reacts to my magic. Hermione here has unicorn tail. We can both use each other's wands if we so choose. However, the results will not be as strong as with our own." He raised an eyebrow, "But you already knew that? It's Ollivander's speech as he wraps up your purchase."
He held his wand firmly in front of himself, in a battle stance. "There's another reason though, for continuing to use your wand. When in combat, ancient warriors carried shields to deflects enemy blows. It is common in modern combat to wear protective clothing or armor when heading into battle, whether it be a full leather or metal shield or a simple good luck charm. Wizards however, have no use for such things as they know good luck charms do not exist and solid shields can be broken by curses. The only way to shield oneself is through magic. And I have found that, through purely mental reasons, you subconsciously associate your wand to something that can protect you. After all, you've learnt that it is what casts your magic! And in addition to all that, a human's first instinct when fighting is to cover their face or unprotected areas, so even if the movements of the wand don't mean much, keeping your wand in front of you creates an artificial sense of safety that is important in battle, as it is what keeps you moving." Harry's passionate voice stopped as he took in his surroundings. Sheepishly, he shrugged and changed topics.
'Now then, we'll continue with practicing the Disarming Charm. I saw that you all used it. You probably know that that spell has a special place in my heart, and so I want it done correctly. The main problem with what I've seen you all doing is that your grip on the wand is much too loose at the wrist. Watch as we demonstrate."
He beckoned to Hermione and walked to the center of the circle. He turned and bowed to her. Then, in very slow motion, so that his four students could see what he was doing, he brought his wand forward. Minnie noticed the complete absence of any movement that might not be necessary or might waste time, like those Malfoy had used which had enabled her to guess at what he was doing. Harry's style was clear cut and simple, but apparently very efficient as she watched Hermione's wand fly out of her hand. But she could see that Harry's grip on his wand was much firmer than anything she'd ever used.
"Did you see how the wand is held?" Harry asked, facing the four. "Don't be afraid to grip it very hard, it won't break. Though, of course, not so hard as to make your hand cramp. You don't want that either."
He stepped off the dais, then paused and turned back. He raised his wand and his free hand. Minnie felt a wave of magic wash over her as four indistinct figures materialized in the center of the cross.
Harry turned back. "All right," he said, "These gentlemen will be your targets. At first, they'll stand still while you cast, but they'll soon begin to move, though they'll stay in the circle. Your task is to keep Disarming them. This will require concentration and aim. Begin now." And he stepped off the dais.
It really did require a lot of concentration. The men moved hazaphardly around the circle, often changing direction in mid-step. The hour thus passed quickly and Minnie was exhausted and extremely relieved when Harry called for them to stop and the men vanished.
Hermione dismissed them, telling them to come back at five on Saturday, so that they'd have longer and be able to practice more spells. Minnie snorted to herself; if they practiced any longer than they had done, they'd be needing to pick her up off the floor before the practice was over. The other fourth years went out through the wall that led back to the Hall, chattering animatedly about the prospects their practicing would bring. However, Minnie chose to remain behind. She'd finished the books she'd taken from the Hufflepuff Dueling Library and so she wanted to go upstairs to the Hufflepuff section and pick out some more books to read for over the weekend.
The Hufflepuff section was dark when she went up, but a quick "Ignitio" fixed that. The section was bathed in the soft candlelight, bringing out the soft, cozy hues of the walls and furniture. The bookcase was still against the far wall, she walked over and settled herself comfortably on the floor to look at all the titles available to her without hurrying. She noticed that there were more copies of the books she'd taken the last time, replaced probably so that they could still be read and copied. Minnie had found the one on the rules of dueling quite interesting. It seemed a bit silly, however, to have written a full book on the subject. She could just about summarize the entire four hundred pages as 'If it's not lethal, it's legal.'
She found a likely looking book, but her legs were cramping from having been crossed for so long. She picked up the book and stood to shake out the ants in her legs while leafing through the pages. She dashed a look over the balcony, looked back to the bookshelf, then turned back so quickly she almost fell over the hem of her robes.
Harry and Hermione were practicing their dueling in the center of the circle. As with McGonagall, no words were spoken. But here, Harry didn't stand immobile as before, he and Hermione moved as though they were both standing on the edge of a smaller circle. But that invisible circle they were standing on was getting progressively smaller. Soon enough, they were only a few feet apart. Harrry raised his palm and Hermione's wand flew into it. Locking his eyes to hers, he slowly tossed it aside and closed the distance between them, bringing a hand up to cup Hermione's chin. And he bent down.. Minnie stood aghast. They were kissing. Not any kiss on the cheek, but a slow and obviously intimate kiss, his hands buried in Hermione's hair, his mouth moving from her lips to her neck to the space behind her ears. And Hermione wasn't protesting. Rather, her eyes were closed and her face uplifted, one hand in his hair, the other loosely placed on his shoulder and her head moving to accommodate his searching lips.
In her shock, Minnie had trouble hearing, there was an odd buzzing noise in her ears. But soon enough, she realized that Harry was speaking softly.
"To think that that ploy never worked with my father."
"What didn't work?" Hermione sounded slightly dazed.
"He tried to ask out my mother in exchange for him refraining from hexing Snape when they were young."
"But you're just so much better looking than James-" Hermione began before being cut off by Harry's lips.
Minnie turned back, feeling like a voyeur. She didn't dare walk down the steps, to leave the Dueling Chamber and find a nice deserted bathroom to cry in. Under no circumstances did she want the two Gryffindors to know that someone had witnessed their intimate moments. As a matter of fact, she didn't feel like seeing the other Hufflepuffs after this either.
She had mixed emotions about the evening. She had been so happy to have another excuse to see Harry on a regular basis. She was thrilled over the progress she'd made with the Disarming Charm. And she felt as though her heart was being torn into hundreds of small pieces.
Only yesterday, she'd been in his arms, pressed up against his chest, feeling his voice wash over her. Only yesterday, she'd believed that the world was a beautiful place where dreams really did come true. Only yesterday, she'd been able to fantasize what those lips would feel like on hers.
She couldn't bring herself to hate Hermione. To be able to hate her would be to be able to point to certain aspects of her character and be able to say confidently that they were flawed or wrong or detestable. But could one do that with Hermione Granger? Since when was being a genius being flawed? Since when was being an overachiever reprehensible? When did beauty and charm become vices? Who could argue against open-mindedness and generosity? Minnie couldn't bring herself to be as hypocritical as to claim those things. She admired Hermione too much for that; she only wished she could achieve half the things the other girl could do and had already done. But she reserved the unlimited right to be jealous. She couldn't hate and not feel insincere, but she could be jealous. Jealous of her social standing, jealous of her intelligence, jealous of her friends, and most of all now, envious of her boyfriend.
Minnie sank down next to the bookshelf, feeling tears gathering. She wasn't sure why, she just felt utterly miserable. Or maybe she did know. Priorities, she told herself again. She needed to have priorities. Did she want the Court or did she want Harry? How far would she go for either choice? How far could she go? Could she have the Court? Could she have Harry? As unlikely as either choice was, one definitely seemed more realistic than the other. But was choosing to pursue the easier course necessarily the best thing to do? She would regret it, she was certain of that. The only question was; how much would she regret it?
She rested her head against the side of an armchair, feeling sleep pulling at her. She closed her eyes, wanting to breathe slightly before needing to head back to the rest of the world.
But the desire to get up soon left her and she began to feel her mind drift… taking her off to a land of dreams where a tall dark stranger waited for her. A stranger with dark green eyes.
"Minnie? Minnie, you need to wake up!" An urgent voice cut into Minnie's mind.
Blearily, Minnie opened her eyes, watching as Tyler's anxious face came into focus.
"Tyler?" she asked confusedly. "Where am I?" Then looking around at the chairs and bookshelves and realizing where she was, "And what are you doing in here?"
"I followed you up one evening and saw how you got in here," said Tyler dismissively. "But you need to get up now! No one knows where you've been and the whole school's in a riot. Last I heard, Hannah was going to go after Potter!"
"What!?!" Minnie had to shake her head to try to make sense of all this. "You mean…" She trailed off as realization hit her. "What time is it?"
Tyler merely raised an eyebrow before answering, "It's two o'clock on Saturday afternoon."
"But that meant I slept for …." Minnie jumped to her feet and grabbed Tyler. The other girl promptly fell over as she had been crouched down to be at Minnie's previous level. However she quickly scrambled to her feet and followed Minnie down the steps and out into the hall. They raced, side by side, heading, by instinct for the Entrance Hall. They almost arrived too late.
There was such a concentration of magic in the Entrance Hall that Minnie's skin tingled. Hannah had indeed gone after Potter and managed to corner him just as he was leaving the Great Hall after lunch. The whole school seemed to be spilling out of the Great Hall, eager for a look at what seemed to be a major battle. There were students on the steps, mainly Ravenclaws Minnie's brain processed automatically. Many students also seemed to have come out of one of the corridors that must have led down to the Slytherin dungeons.
Harry Potter was standing in front of the Great Doors, his cloak only half fastened over his shoulders, his wand out and his face a mask of fury, his eyes glaring furiously and venomously in front of him. His skin was glowing eerily and his cloak seemed to be moving slightly around his ankles, though Minnie could discern no draft. Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley stood directly behind him, their wands also out, looking incensed. They flanked Potter, their gazes fixed in front of them, yet their body language showed that they were waiting for a signal from him. Minnie noticed that what at first had seemed like a part of the crowd in fact had their wands out and pointed to a moving group that was heading for Potter. This first group were the Gryffindors Minnie realized, fanning out in order to protect their King.
And those moving inwards were the Hufflepuffs, with Hannah and Susan in the lead. A large part of the Court was moving in behind them, followed by the rest of the House. But from their high perch, Minnie was suddenly made aware of their inexperience in matters of attack. None of them was looking behind them. And therefore, none of them had seen the five other Gryffindor Seventh years coming up behind them. They were going to be surrounded.
Minnie began to push people out of the way, helped by Tyler who was surprisingly efficient in the shoving aside of some of the older students. Everyone was transfixed by the eminent conflict ahead, so no one noticed the mad struggle on the already congested stairs. But evidently, someone had. They had almost made it to the bottom of the steps when Minnie felt two strong hands grab her and wrap an odd sort of material around her. At first Minnie thought that someone had grabbed her in order to verify who she was and so call out to the others that she had been found. Instead, this person tucked her under his shoulder and began to back away from the center of the hall… heading for the dungeons. Minnie began to twist and kick, trying to get her hands free so as to claw or grab her wand, but she was effectively pinned. She tried screaming, but the noise she made seemed to be muffled by the cloth, in fact, none of the people she could see right beside her even seemed to notice. She tried to bend and then realized… that where her feet ought to have shown, kicking and twisting, she could see nothing. The material that had been wrapped around her had in fact been an invisibility cloak obviously charmed with a reverse-Exaudio charm. And she was being abducted to the Slytherin dungeons.
But just before she could be hustled down the corridor, her abductor stopped and stood her on her feet. After all that kicking, Minnie's knees felt weak, but she waited for the person's arms to loosen so that she could bolt. But instead, the hands merely rose to grasp her head firmly, turning it so that she had no choice but to look directly at the imminent confrontation. Out of the corner of her eye, Minnie saw Gregory Goyle standing five feet to her side, his hands held out in front of him, just as though he were also holding a head, though he seemed to have considerable trouble holding it steady. Tyler.
But the person behind her gave her head a shake so that she focused on the Hall. Potter had not put his wand away, though his ready position was holding it pointed downwards at his side, in contrast to everyone else, who held theirs upright. His face was steadily draining of all emotion, retreating into a dangerously calm, neutral look, but his free hand gave him away. It was bunched into a fist at his side. He was tense and ready to spring. Hannah had closed in now, and Minnie had never heard her so angry.
"So what have you done to her? We told you that we'd keep an eye out for her! Did you think we'd actually sleep knowing she was with you! You should have known better Potter! And-" another female voice broke in, it sounded like Hermione, but Hannah overrode it, "Move over, you bitch!"
A slapping noise, followed by gasps. Minnie couldn't see what was going on, owing to her small size; she could only see the top of the heads of those in the action. But all of a sudden, she could see all of Hannah, someone had lifter her up and was preparing to throw her. Ronald Weasley had picked her up and thrown her into the advancing Hufflepuffs. Susan and Justin received her body with a dull 'thud' and promptly collapsed. A few voices started to cry out spells, but the purple shield was now operating again. And the Hufflepuffs found themselves surrounded. The Trio and other Seventh Years advanced, casting spells, as the surrounding Gryffindors spread, cutting out all escape routes. Each Gryffindor was now included in the purple shield, and none of the Hufflepuffs could break through.
That was all Minnie was allowed to see, as her attacker whisked her around and Minnie caught a brief glimpse of Vincent Crabbe's face before she was thrown over his shoulder.
For what seemed like forever, all Minnie could see were the stone tiles as she was carried. Up sets of stairs, cutting across corridors; Crabbe and Goyle didn't even bother to disguise their steps; everyone was in the entrance Hall, probably watching as the Hufflepuffs were scraped off the walls.
Finally, they stopped in the middle of a long corridor, deep down in the entrails of Hogwarts. This was a place of the dungeons that Minnie (and probably all sensible people) avoided. The stones were old and damp, the air was humid and still and green slime seemed to be oozing out from between the stones.
"Gentus Nobilis," intoned Goyle from somewhere next to Minnie's stomach. The stones in the wall shifted aside, to show the entrance to what had to be Slytherin Dungeons. As she was thrown over a shoulder, Minnie could only see what was behind, she watched desperately as the stones shifted again, concealing the entrance to the common room. As they advanced, the edge of a dark green rug came into view, as well as a series of black couches positioned so as to form a square. A large fireplace was enchanted so that green flames seemed to slither outwards before heading up the flue. Several small black spindly tables were placed around the room and large, ancient tapestries hung from the walls. But Crabbe and Goyle didn't stop until they were at the bottom of a staircase leading down further into the bowels of the castle. Then again, it was only a pause, Crabbe allowing Goyle to precede him. They passed doors with dorm numbers atop them, but they continued down even after having passed the prefect and seventh years dorms. Finally, as they neared what to Minnie seemed like the center of the earth, Goyle finally stopped to open a door.
It was small, drab and cell like. It was to be expected, in a sense. It couldn't have been more than three meters in diameter and the stones in the floor were the same as those of the ceiling. But surprisingly, there was a small window in the wall. Crabbe put Minnie down, but before completely letting go of her, he grabbed the invisibility cloak, just as Goyle revealed Tyler to her eyes. Crabbe grasped Minnie's shoulder with one hand, enough for it to hurt, and frisked her thoroughly. He didn't find anything, she'd dropped her wand when she'd been seized in the Entrance Hall.
As soon as the door closed on the two goons, Minnie and Tyler threw themselves towards the small window, in the hopes that it might present some type of escape route. After all, this was in the dungeons, so they couldn't be that far up from the ground, they could try jumping. No good, there was an Imperturbable Charm on the window, Minnie and Tyler couldn't get close enough to the window to even touch it, their hands or faces were always pushed aside by an unseen force.
"Oh shit," said Tyler as she sank to the floor on one side of the cell. "Now what's going to happen to us?"
"We're in the Slythering dungeons… maybe Professor Snape will find us and send us back?" Minnie tried.
Tyler snorted, "I thought you had a better feel for people than that, Minnie dear." Her voice was scathingly sarcastic. In fact, it sounded a good deal like the Professor in question.
"I wonder what happened to the others. Do you think they're hurt?"
"Who?" Tyler snorted again. "Our dear Hufflpuffs? Oh, they've been scraped off the walls by now. Probably they're having a massive badger party up in the infirmary!"
"You don't think any of them got out of it?"
"Just how naïve are you, girl? And by the way, why the hell didn't you come back to the common room last night? It's all your fault you know!"
"I was tired!"
"So you decided to fall asleep on a rug instead of a nice bed? Especially when you knew perfectly well that everyone was worried about you!"
"Why should they have worried? I'm not a baby!"
"You sure act like one!"
"How so? I could handle a dueling class all by myself!"
"But you couldn't handle the responsibility needed to know that the others would be worried for you!"
"So what did they do? Bite their nails all night! That sounds like they were really in a fury of activity!"
"Of course they didn't do that, you idiot!" Tyler had lost all of the calm aura that she usually projected. "They stayed up until two, hoping that the lesson was only a long one. After that though, they searched the whole school!"
"But they still didn't find me! And I was only sleeping in the place where they knew I'd last been!"
"They looked in the Dueling Chamber!" Tyler cried exasperated. "I don't know why they didn't find you! Well, maybe they didn't go all the way up, but called out! And don't try to change the subject. This is still your fault!"
"You'd like to think that! For how long have you been siding with Eleanor?"
"Eleanor? Eleanor! What the hell does she have to do with anything? All she did yesterday was moan and cry about how you'd been killed by Potter! Don't you get it, Minnie! This isn't some stupid House contest anymore! Your little games with Eleanor and Laura have no bearing on this situation!"
"And you," Minnie hissed aggressively, "What did you do while they were off searching so desperately for me?"
Tyler matched her tone, "What I was doing has absolutely no relevance to whatever happened yesterday. I have enough sense to keep out of situations that are too deep for me. You, however, are in way over your head. So far over in fact, that you're dragging the rest of us down with you!"
"Oh, so me having classes with a fellow student is going in over my head, eh?"
"Classes with a student you know perfectly well you shouldn't be around, yes, that's way over in the deep end!"
"Well…" Minnie would have loved to keep arguing, but a key was turning in the door. It opened, allowing torchlight to spill into the cell. The imposing bulk of Mssrs. Crabbe and Goyle were cut out, and when they beckoned towards the two captives, the girls rose and followed them back up the stairs. They emerged back up into the Slytherin Common room. But it now was occupied. By the Slytherin Court. Draco Malfoy, fascinatingly resplendent in a purely silver outfit and matching cloak reclined on a couch, gazing at the two Hufflepuff girls being led over to him. Crabbe and Goyle stood behind the seat, managing somehow to look both imposing and effaced. Blaise Zabini, wearing a form fitting royal purple velvet number glided over to them, seating herself next to Draco. Theodore Nott, who had been reading on Draco's other side, closed his book and straightened up, putting his novel aside and looking Minnie and Tyler up and down. The rest of the Seventh Years, as well as a good number of sixth years settled themselves on the remaining couches and on the floor. Most of them had changed and were now wearing evening clothes such as Minnie had only ever seen in old movies and society pages. High collars, flowing skirts, glittering shawls that would have put Trelawney to shame, diamonds and jewels that glittered in the light of the many silver candelabras… and everything worn by gorgeous people. But these gorgeous people were only students, what the heck did their parents wear?
"Now then, we meet again!" sneered Draco at Minnie, as his audience smirked appreciatively. Too terrified to answer, Minnie heard someone else take on the challenge.
"Indeed," Tyler sneered back. She had more backbone than she let on, realized Minnie. Draco turned his head to focus more intently on her. He raised an eyebrow, taking in the furious expression and balled fists.
"And you would be?" he drawled.
"That doesn't concern you."
"Indeed it does," he flashed a smile in her direction. She looked mildly taken aback. This time it was she who raised an eyebrow.
"I fail to see," she said slowly, but composedly, "How knowing who I am would help you to open that door and let me out."
Blaise began to laugh, displaying a perfect set of teeth. She rose and moved sloser to Tyler, placing a finger under her chin and tilting it up, "My dear," she said, "That's no way to speak to your host. As you are here at the pleasure of the King of Slytherin, you will behave in the way he is accustomed to being treated-"
"Like a lazy, slobbering prick?" Tyler spat into her face. Blaise looked shocked for a moment, then raised her hand to slap. But her hand was suddenly engulfed by a larger one. Draco had risen and grabbed Blaise's hand. But he was looking at Tyler. No one moved. Finally, Draco lowered his head and murmured a few words into Blaise's ear. The girl nodded and lowered her hand.
"Follow her," Draco said to Tyler, while pointing at Blaise. Tyler looked like she was going to argue, but Draco raised his wand. Looking exceedingly angry, she dragged her feet after Blaise. Three other girls rose to follow her, Minnie recognized Millicent Bulstrode (looking incredibly odd in a corset and flowing skirt, desperately trying to hide her square figure), Evelyn Moon and Pansy Parkinson. Once the girls had left the room, all attention returned to Draco and Minnie.
Draco had seated himself again and was looking up at Minnie contemptuously.
"So, what shall we do with you?"
"Do with me?" whimpered Minnie, imagining the worst.
"'Do with me'" mocked Draco as the others laughed. "Well, you haven't got any use for us, you have neither the looks nor the backbone of your little friend there."
"Well, why did you take me then?"
"Take you? We can see a good opportunity when we see one. Thanks to you, it's open war between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor."
"What happened to them?" Minnie was afraid for Hannah and Susan, after all they'd done for her…
"Who? The Gryffindors or Hufflepuffs?" Draco looked bored. "The Hufflepuffs are out of action, probably being held in Gryffindor Tower."
"Being held? But, won't a teacher free them?"
"The teachers?" A movement ran through the audience. "The teachers have locked themselves inside the staff quarters and left us to ourselves. They see no reason to continue to look after us."
Minnie was speechless in horror. No more teachers? That meant total warfare!
"So… what shall we do with you?" Draco looked pensive.
"Maybe she could serve as a bargaining tool?" said Theodore.
"Bargaining with whom?" retorted Draco. "The Hufflepuffs are either being held captive or barricaded inside their own chambers."
"Would the Gryffindors want her? Potter was teaching her dueling yesterday," said Theodore imperturbably.
"She's the reason they had to fight the Hufflepuffs today. Potter'd probably kill her himself." He turned back to Minnie, "You're safer with us dearie." He was about to go on, when a scuffling noise came from the corridor leading out of the dungeons. Three Slytherin sixth years came in, dragging a girl with them.
Draco and Theodore rose, the latter asking, "And what have we here?"
One of the sixth years broke away from the struggling girl, "A Gryffindor fourth year, sir. We found her as we were patrolling the library."
"That's not right," said Theodore, frowning. "Why were you able to catch her? It seems unlikely that Potter would let his people run around alone."
The sixth years looked uneasy, "Well, she wasn't alone…"
"No?" Draco asked softly, sounding incredibly dangerous. "Who was with her?"
"A few sixth years and one seventh year, they were-"
"Who were they?" Draco cut in with a deadly whisper.
"Well, Virginia, Marisa, Colin, Christopher and… Granger-"
"You let Granger get away!" Draco and Theodore exploded together.
"Well-"
"Fools! Who cares about that midget you've got there when you could have gotten either a Weasley or Granger!" Before anyone could stop him, Draco had raised his wand and pointed it at the newcomers, "Crucio!"
The Slytherin boys crumpled and began screaming. And the Gryffindor girl who had been held by two of them began twisting and kicking in pain, whimpering. As she flipped onto her back, Minnie was able to see her face clearly. Martina. She'd seen her dueling with Harry on the day of her own duel with Draco and had practiced with her yesterday. And thinking back to her duel with Draco… he was radiating power now. Magic was cackling about him and his hair and cloak with waving in an unseen wind as his eyes shot sparks. How could she have ever beaten him?
Then she knew. It was obvious. Simple. She hadn't. She hadn't beaten him. What she, and all the other Hufflepuffs had forgotten, in their haste to celebrate, was why people were sorted into Slytherin. They were crafty, sneaky and patient. That duel hadn't been provoked because of Minnie's spell, Draco had to be powerful enough to counter it. They knew that Hufflepuff had a new addition to their Dueling Team. A fourth year, so she must have something special. And so they'd provoked her. They'd made her expose all of her advantages while they held all of theirs back, going so far as to losing. And they'd done it twice. Only the second time Harry had foiled their plans. Minnie had played right into their hands. She'd thought herself powerful… but she hadn't gone up against Unforgivables. Like the one he was still using on the four students twitching on the ground. And as for Harry… had he known? He had seemed so bemused and amused at the end of her duel. He had finally accepted to teach her, granted, only after Hermione consented to date him, but he had prepared to help her... was he therefore an ally in this conflict? Or did he not care?
Finally Draco raised his wand. The Slytherins scrambled to their knees but Martina was still twitching and whimpering. She hadn't cried out while being tortured, but she was obviously still in pain.
"Take them down!" Draco ordered to Crabbe and Goyle. Crabbe directed Minnie to lead the way back down the stairs and Goyle bent down to pick up Martina. Silently they went down, under the implacable gaze of a very irate Draco Malfoy. As they went through the door to the stairs, Minnie saw Draco turn back to the three miscreants kneeling and trembling before him.
Before Crabbe locked the door to the cell, Minnie thought she could hear screaming coming from above.
A/N: I am so sorry that it took me so long to update. However, I'm currently taking my bac. I need to have a twelve or thirteen average (which is definitely within my capacities) but I'm not taking chances. I've spent most of time studying and working… so I cannot promise regular updates for the rest of June. I will promise though, that Holding Court will be completely posted before September rolls around!
While taking a slight break last Monday evening, I stumbled across the most amazing fanfic, entitled Fugitive Prince by March Madness. I'm proposing that we start up an unofficial 'We Hate Leonard' group. I swear, I usually don't get very worked up over fanfics, but I've spent the past week fantasizing over the possible death or at the very least, complete humiliation of the brat. And I thought my little brother was bad! Sheeesh!
Millions of thanks and hugs to those wonderful people who reviewed: he who cant write, Aaron, Makotochi, GY, fence4life21, yellowpages, joshval124, Fang Three Claw, Oasis, Nightwing 509, mrriddler