The Family Name
By Elbereth in April
Chapter 23
Artemis and Zabini were waiting outside the Potions room, killing time until class started by talking to Granger, who had come up to ask Artemis his opinion of the eternal question, "If a tree fell in a forest with no one to hear, does it make a sound?"
"What kind of stupid question is that?" Zabini asked. "Of course it does."
"It's meant to be more philosophical than that," Artemis said. "Humanity's view of itself as all-important. . ."
"What are you two doing? Why are you talking to a Mudblood?"
All three stiffened and turned around to see Malfoy sneering at them, backed by Crabbe and Goyle. "Where's your Slytherin pride?" he continued.
"Do we have to start all this again, Malfoy?"
"I'm just pointing out the inappropriateness of your behavior. Which you should already know."
"I don't want to act like a Malfoy, thanks," Zabini retorted icily.
"Malfoys are far better than. . ."
"Oh, knock it off!" Granger threw her hands up. "It's always the same old lines from you. Ooh, don't let the Mudblood touch you, you might get dirty. Don't let her talk to you, you might hear some actual truth and common sense. . ."
'Could that be another reason Father doesn't want me talking to Fowl?' He cut that thought off. "No one asked your opinion, Mudblood."
Granger glared at him. "I've heard enough out of you. I don't need to stand here and listen to you insult me." She flounced into the room to join Potter and Weasley.
"Malfoy," Artemis said softly, "I don't know what your father wrote you, but. . ."
"Shut up, Fowl!"
Artemis felt vaguely worried about Malfoy, to his own surprise and displeasure, but so far he had managed to rationalize it. "Come on, we all know this is about. . ."
"Leave my father out of it," Draco growled, taking a step closer.
"Fine, but you shouldn't let him. . ."
"I'm not letting him do anything! I can think for myself! You're the one who's decided to follow in your father's criminal footsteps."
All sympathy for his fellow classmate fled. "I have told you my father is not a criminal."
Draco smirked. "He is. He's a lousy, no-good, revolting criminal. Police are probably chasing him all over Ireland. That's why you never mention him. You can't even remember his face, probably."
Artemis's arm shot out, grabbed the collar of Draco's robes and pulled him in until their faces were almost touching. "Don't insult my father again." They all shivered at the tone of his voice. Then he shoved Draco back into Crabbe and Goyle and strode into the classroom. Zabini ran after him.
Draco righted his balance and stared after him in shock. He hadn't gotten a rise out of Fowl since. . . since. . . since the last time he'd insulted his father. A slow smirk began.
Anger and a smug satisfaction built in him. He could finally get that revenge he'd vowed so long ago, make Lucius proud, and show Fowl he could think for himself, all at once.
_____________ __________
Artemis sat in History of Magic with Professor Binns, in actual danger of falling asleep in class, a first for him. Boredom had oozed in like a leech, attached unnoticed to one toe, painfully sucking out one's life's blood and replacing it with ennui.
He wasn't the only one suffering. "Some days I just want to murder Binns and end it all," Zabini moaned in a whisper to Artemis. "But then I remember he's already dead. I could kill myself, I suppose, but then I wouldn't be around to enjoy it."
Artemis graced him with a smirk. "Don't tempt me," he whispered back. "Perhaps the Baron could give him a talking to."
"That's an interesting idea."
"Maybe he could be sidetracked onto a more interesting topic," Marie suggested from Zabini's other side.
Blaise looked at her with an expression of affectionate incredulity. "Like what?"
But Artemis's hand went up as he interrupted Binns in mid-Goblin War-drone. "Professor, can you tell us anything about leprechauns?"
Binns blinked, as if awakening from sleep himself. "Leprechaun? Irish. Small folk. Live under rainbows, keep pots of gold."
Artemis waited to see if anyone would disagree. No one. "Ah," he said finally. "Standard lore then. Myths and legends. Never seen a real one?"
"Oh, they exist," Binns replied. "Professional Quidditch team even uses them for a mascot. Their gold, alas, vanishes after a few hours. I've never spoken to one."
Artemis frowned. Had some race decided to take advantage of the legends by modeling themselves after the leprechaun stereotype?
Binns restarted his speech mid-sentence, just where he'd left off. Artemis sighed. "I'll just go back to apathy, then, shall I?"
The class laughed. Binns appeared not to have heard.
"I could relate the history of the Malfoy family," Draco offered, sitting forward and leaning over the back of Bole's chair. "We are a fascinating bunch."
"Oh, I could make *so* many comments to that," Zabini sighed delightedly.
"You keep shut, Blaise."
"Could you all keep it down?" Bulstrode mumbled. "I'm trying to sleep."
Goyle started to laugh. Draco turned and looked at him, then smiled. "Never mind. We'll let Millicent sleep."
__________ ____________
Ron Weasley looked down at the chessboard in dismay.
"You are winning, right? Gryffindor pride is at stake here."
Ron looked around the Transfiguration classroom. Harry and Hermione sat at one end of the table, watching the chess match. At the other end sat Blaise Zabini, looking around uncomfortably and stealthily reaching for his wand every time someone came too near him--just in case. At the next table over, Ron's sister Ginny was doing her nails with Eva Bole, and currently teasing him about his playing skills.
Across the chessboard from him, Artemis Fowl regarded him coolly, perhaps even with amusement, but it was hard to tell with the Slytherin. Ron sighed. "Rather good at this, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"How good are you?"
"Honestly?" Ron nodded. "Well--I did defeat the European chess champion Evan Kashoggi in an online tournament. That's Muggle chess, though, of course."
Hermione perked up. "Really? Kashoggi? Wow!"
Artemis succeeded in looking humble. Ron wondered how he did it.
Bored, Zabini turned to regard Ginny. "So, how's my hawk doing? I swear, he's with you more than me anymore. I feel left out."
Ginny laughed, and all the Gryffindors smiled, heartened. It had been a long time since she had laughed. "It's not like we spend real quality time. I've managed to fend him off by letting him chew on my hair brush."
Zabini grinned. "You must do well in Care of Magical Creatures."
"Well, my brother Charlie does work with dragons in Romania."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Bole asked.
"Some. . . but he likes it."
Ron sighed. No matter how he studied the board, he saw no way out. He was doomed to be checkmated in three moves. "Ah well, I tried." He shoved his castle forward.
"You're very good at this, actually," Fowl said, and took the castle with his queen.
Two moves later, Zabini patted Ron on the shoulder with a smirk that still managed to convey sympathy. "Don't feel bad. He always wins at Scrabble and Monopoly, too."
"And usually Clue and Black Jack, and don't get me started on Risk and crossword puzzles," Bole put in. "Most of us have given up playing with him, to be honest."
"How about Wizard's Trivial Pursuit--Granger vs. Fowl? She's been immersed in the wizarding world longer, so he's got a handicap," Potter suggested.
The two named combatants looked at each other, raised their eyebrows, and sized the other up. Hermione smiled. "Let's do it."
"Five Galleons on Fowl," Blaise said.
"Five on Hermione," Potter responded immediately. "Gryffindor pride."
When Chevalier found them 40 minutes later, the game had gotten sidetracked by Granger and Fowl comparing their favorite passages from "Hogwarts: A History," much to the disgust of the others in the room.
"Just what she needed," Ron groaned to Harry. "Encouragement."
____________ ___________
"Hear you and the Mudblood have gotten pretty friendly," Draco sneered at him as most of the boys were getting ready for bed in their dorm room.
Artemis didn't reply, just started digging through his trunk.
"I'm not surprised, what with your own dirty blood and all. Not even that much of a step down for you, really."
"Shut up, Malfoy," Zabini snarled at him while Crabbe and Goyle looked on unhappily.
"Fowls are better than Malfoys."
Draco scowled, whipping back around to see Artemis holding up his Christmas plaque. "Fowls are better than Malfoys," it said again.
"Oh, I almost forgot, my mum sent me donuts this morning!" Zabini cried as Draco stalked over to Artemis. Zabini reached into a drawer and pulled out a box as Draco tried to snatch the plaque away. Blaise opened the box as Artemis pointed out to Draco that, "I'm the one whose wand is out." Zabini raised the lid and started naming off, "I got cinnamon, chocolate, pumpkin. . ."
"Great!" Crabbe and Goyle came bounding over to grab one of each.
"Hey, wait, don't be greedy. . ." He gave up with a sigh. "Better get over here if you want any."
Artemis may have been a ruthless criminal mastermind but he was still a growing boy. He tossed his plaque back into his trunk and sealed it away. Then he went over for a donut.
Draco also took one, then sat down cross-legged on his bed to eat it. Deep in thought, he ignored the powdered sugar spilling onto his sheets. He had been tempted to carry out his revenge right then, but he wanted to wait a few days, give Fowl time to think that he'd forgotten the incident, that he was safe.
And for some reason, he'd found that he wanted to do it in private. He wasn't sure why, but it just felt as if it would be sweeter, more personal that way.
____________ __________
A/N: OK, this is a really short chapter, almost an interlude, but I'm posting two at once, to make up for it. It's your reviews that are keeping me going, you know. I live for them. Seriously, you all are great.
And just a little bit more conflict before Holly and Company enter the scene.
By Elbereth in April
Chapter 23
Artemis and Zabini were waiting outside the Potions room, killing time until class started by talking to Granger, who had come up to ask Artemis his opinion of the eternal question, "If a tree fell in a forest with no one to hear, does it make a sound?"
"What kind of stupid question is that?" Zabini asked. "Of course it does."
"It's meant to be more philosophical than that," Artemis said. "Humanity's view of itself as all-important. . ."
"What are you two doing? Why are you talking to a Mudblood?"
All three stiffened and turned around to see Malfoy sneering at them, backed by Crabbe and Goyle. "Where's your Slytherin pride?" he continued.
"Do we have to start all this again, Malfoy?"
"I'm just pointing out the inappropriateness of your behavior. Which you should already know."
"I don't want to act like a Malfoy, thanks," Zabini retorted icily.
"Malfoys are far better than. . ."
"Oh, knock it off!" Granger threw her hands up. "It's always the same old lines from you. Ooh, don't let the Mudblood touch you, you might get dirty. Don't let her talk to you, you might hear some actual truth and common sense. . ."
'Could that be another reason Father doesn't want me talking to Fowl?' He cut that thought off. "No one asked your opinion, Mudblood."
Granger glared at him. "I've heard enough out of you. I don't need to stand here and listen to you insult me." She flounced into the room to join Potter and Weasley.
"Malfoy," Artemis said softly, "I don't know what your father wrote you, but. . ."
"Shut up, Fowl!"
Artemis felt vaguely worried about Malfoy, to his own surprise and displeasure, but so far he had managed to rationalize it. "Come on, we all know this is about. . ."
"Leave my father out of it," Draco growled, taking a step closer.
"Fine, but you shouldn't let him. . ."
"I'm not letting him do anything! I can think for myself! You're the one who's decided to follow in your father's criminal footsteps."
All sympathy for his fellow classmate fled. "I have told you my father is not a criminal."
Draco smirked. "He is. He's a lousy, no-good, revolting criminal. Police are probably chasing him all over Ireland. That's why you never mention him. You can't even remember his face, probably."
Artemis's arm shot out, grabbed the collar of Draco's robes and pulled him in until their faces were almost touching. "Don't insult my father again." They all shivered at the tone of his voice. Then he shoved Draco back into Crabbe and Goyle and strode into the classroom. Zabini ran after him.
Draco righted his balance and stared after him in shock. He hadn't gotten a rise out of Fowl since. . . since. . . since the last time he'd insulted his father. A slow smirk began.
Anger and a smug satisfaction built in him. He could finally get that revenge he'd vowed so long ago, make Lucius proud, and show Fowl he could think for himself, all at once.
_____________ __________
Artemis sat in History of Magic with Professor Binns, in actual danger of falling asleep in class, a first for him. Boredom had oozed in like a leech, attached unnoticed to one toe, painfully sucking out one's life's blood and replacing it with ennui.
He wasn't the only one suffering. "Some days I just want to murder Binns and end it all," Zabini moaned in a whisper to Artemis. "But then I remember he's already dead. I could kill myself, I suppose, but then I wouldn't be around to enjoy it."
Artemis graced him with a smirk. "Don't tempt me," he whispered back. "Perhaps the Baron could give him a talking to."
"That's an interesting idea."
"Maybe he could be sidetracked onto a more interesting topic," Marie suggested from Zabini's other side.
Blaise looked at her with an expression of affectionate incredulity. "Like what?"
But Artemis's hand went up as he interrupted Binns in mid-Goblin War-drone. "Professor, can you tell us anything about leprechauns?"
Binns blinked, as if awakening from sleep himself. "Leprechaun? Irish. Small folk. Live under rainbows, keep pots of gold."
Artemis waited to see if anyone would disagree. No one. "Ah," he said finally. "Standard lore then. Myths and legends. Never seen a real one?"
"Oh, they exist," Binns replied. "Professional Quidditch team even uses them for a mascot. Their gold, alas, vanishes after a few hours. I've never spoken to one."
Artemis frowned. Had some race decided to take advantage of the legends by modeling themselves after the leprechaun stereotype?
Binns restarted his speech mid-sentence, just where he'd left off. Artemis sighed. "I'll just go back to apathy, then, shall I?"
The class laughed. Binns appeared not to have heard.
"I could relate the history of the Malfoy family," Draco offered, sitting forward and leaning over the back of Bole's chair. "We are a fascinating bunch."
"Oh, I could make *so* many comments to that," Zabini sighed delightedly.
"You keep shut, Blaise."
"Could you all keep it down?" Bulstrode mumbled. "I'm trying to sleep."
Goyle started to laugh. Draco turned and looked at him, then smiled. "Never mind. We'll let Millicent sleep."
__________ ____________
Ron Weasley looked down at the chessboard in dismay.
"You are winning, right? Gryffindor pride is at stake here."
Ron looked around the Transfiguration classroom. Harry and Hermione sat at one end of the table, watching the chess match. At the other end sat Blaise Zabini, looking around uncomfortably and stealthily reaching for his wand every time someone came too near him--just in case. At the next table over, Ron's sister Ginny was doing her nails with Eva Bole, and currently teasing him about his playing skills.
Across the chessboard from him, Artemis Fowl regarded him coolly, perhaps even with amusement, but it was hard to tell with the Slytherin. Ron sighed. "Rather good at this, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"How good are you?"
"Honestly?" Ron nodded. "Well--I did defeat the European chess champion Evan Kashoggi in an online tournament. That's Muggle chess, though, of course."
Hermione perked up. "Really? Kashoggi? Wow!"
Artemis succeeded in looking humble. Ron wondered how he did it.
Bored, Zabini turned to regard Ginny. "So, how's my hawk doing? I swear, he's with you more than me anymore. I feel left out."
Ginny laughed, and all the Gryffindors smiled, heartened. It had been a long time since she had laughed. "It's not like we spend real quality time. I've managed to fend him off by letting him chew on my hair brush."
Zabini grinned. "You must do well in Care of Magical Creatures."
"Well, my brother Charlie does work with dragons in Romania."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Bole asked.
"Some. . . but he likes it."
Ron sighed. No matter how he studied the board, he saw no way out. He was doomed to be checkmated in three moves. "Ah well, I tried." He shoved his castle forward.
"You're very good at this, actually," Fowl said, and took the castle with his queen.
Two moves later, Zabini patted Ron on the shoulder with a smirk that still managed to convey sympathy. "Don't feel bad. He always wins at Scrabble and Monopoly, too."
"And usually Clue and Black Jack, and don't get me started on Risk and crossword puzzles," Bole put in. "Most of us have given up playing with him, to be honest."
"How about Wizard's Trivial Pursuit--Granger vs. Fowl? She's been immersed in the wizarding world longer, so he's got a handicap," Potter suggested.
The two named combatants looked at each other, raised their eyebrows, and sized the other up. Hermione smiled. "Let's do it."
"Five Galleons on Fowl," Blaise said.
"Five on Hermione," Potter responded immediately. "Gryffindor pride."
When Chevalier found them 40 minutes later, the game had gotten sidetracked by Granger and Fowl comparing their favorite passages from "Hogwarts: A History," much to the disgust of the others in the room.
"Just what she needed," Ron groaned to Harry. "Encouragement."
____________ ___________
"Hear you and the Mudblood have gotten pretty friendly," Draco sneered at him as most of the boys were getting ready for bed in their dorm room.
Artemis didn't reply, just started digging through his trunk.
"I'm not surprised, what with your own dirty blood and all. Not even that much of a step down for you, really."
"Shut up, Malfoy," Zabini snarled at him while Crabbe and Goyle looked on unhappily.
"Fowls are better than Malfoys."
Draco scowled, whipping back around to see Artemis holding up his Christmas plaque. "Fowls are better than Malfoys," it said again.
"Oh, I almost forgot, my mum sent me donuts this morning!" Zabini cried as Draco stalked over to Artemis. Zabini reached into a drawer and pulled out a box as Draco tried to snatch the plaque away. Blaise opened the box as Artemis pointed out to Draco that, "I'm the one whose wand is out." Zabini raised the lid and started naming off, "I got cinnamon, chocolate, pumpkin. . ."
"Great!" Crabbe and Goyle came bounding over to grab one of each.
"Hey, wait, don't be greedy. . ." He gave up with a sigh. "Better get over here if you want any."
Artemis may have been a ruthless criminal mastermind but he was still a growing boy. He tossed his plaque back into his trunk and sealed it away. Then he went over for a donut.
Draco also took one, then sat down cross-legged on his bed to eat it. Deep in thought, he ignored the powdered sugar spilling onto his sheets. He had been tempted to carry out his revenge right then, but he wanted to wait a few days, give Fowl time to think that he'd forgotten the incident, that he was safe.
And for some reason, he'd found that he wanted to do it in private. He wasn't sure why, but it just felt as if it would be sweeter, more personal that way.
____________ __________
A/N: OK, this is a really short chapter, almost an interlude, but I'm posting two at once, to make up for it. It's your reviews that are keeping me going, you know. I live for them. Seriously, you all are great.
And just a little bit more conflict before Holly and Company enter the scene.