Chapter Eleven – Malfoy's Revenge

Lunch passed slowly after the talk with Professor Lupin. Darren sat at the table with Neville and listened to him talk about the last Herbology class. Darren had the idea that it would never cease to amaze him in the future how Neville could actually like Herbology so much. It was a good class for background information, but as far as practical knowledge Darren had to put it just barely above Divination. 'What good can a bunch of plants and herbs do anyway?' he had thought on his first day in the class over five years ago. Sure, they had learned how to grow and tend to Asphodel and Wormwood and many other plants that were used in potions, but what would it ever really be used for in the future, after school? He remembered thinking the same thing when he took Muggle Mathematics in school before he had come to Hogwarts. Darren was half listening to Neville talk about the next class with Seamus and whether they would still be working with Brogan the Griffin.

"You got along well with him, didn't you Darren?"

Darren did not immediately realize he was being addressed.

"Darren?" said Seamus again.

Darren turned and answered with a "What?"

Seamus just rolled his eyes in disgust. "Brogan? The big Griffin? You and Harry are the only ones he let get near him? Remember?"

"Uhh, yeah, I guess so."

Seamus just shook his head and turned to Dean Thomas to talk about something else. This didn't bother Darren too much as he did not really want to join in a conversation about Griffins or any other magical creatures right then. He went back to his lunch and just let his mind wander back and forth from the past to the present until Neville shook him back to reality and let him know it was time for Care of Magical Creatures in less than five minutes.

Together they raced out of the castle and across the grounds to the pen near Hagrid's hut and found a place to sit and take notes. Neville had become a copious note taker that year and Darren saw that he had several rolls of parchment all labeled Magical Creatures in his bag. Neville noticed that Darren was looking at the amount of notes he had accumulated and said "I got the idea from Hermione. She gets really good marks and I figured what harm could it do?"

Darren just pursed his lips and nodded in agreement. Professor Grubbly-Plank came out of the pen and called the class together. "Today will be the last day we will be working with Brogan, as you have reached the end of the time we will be spending on Griffins. However, Brogan will be staying with us for other reasons, so if any of you wish to visit him, feel free to do so."

A hushed murmur ran through the class as the students immediately started discussing what "other" reasons there might be for a giant Griffin to be kept at Hogwarts. His attention was called back to the front of the group as Professor Grubbly-Plank started the lesson.

"Now, we have already learned that Griffins are excellent judges of character and will only let those it judges to be stout of heart and brave enough to be allowed to approach and touch or ride him. We have also found that Brogan here only has accepted two students in the entire school, Harry Potter and Darren Clarkson. Since both students are in this class, I was wondering if they would be open to coming to the other two classes I have to show the other students how a Griffin is to be handled and approached?"

Darren saw that Harry had the same reaction he did. Darren and Harry, apparently, had no desire to spend any more time with a creature as powerful and potentially dangerous as Brogan for any more time than required.

"Oh come on you two, he won't hurt you at all. He has already decided he likes you, and you both know that he trusts and likes the both of you and I guarantee that no harm will come to you."

Darren could see Draco almost overjoyed at the prospect of Darren and Harry both being mauled by a rampaging animal and that was what made him tell Professor Grubbly-Plank that he would do it. Harry told her the same thing at the same time and she told them to be stay after class for the next group of sixth years.

"I'll send a note to Professor Sinistra that you are helping me with a class. I am sure that will appease her. Now, back to what we have learned up to now. We know that the Griffin originally comes from India and were first seen and captured by Western man when Alexander the Great invaded India. We know his army was able to capture the first Griffins and that wizards that accompanied his forces were the first to be able to study them. We also know that Griffins are the natural enemies of Basilisks and snakes. While a Griffin is not immune to a Basilisk's venom, it is impervious to the Basilisk's deadly stare. Also, it is able to be controlled, but only by someone it has determined to be worthy of its friendship and trust, and it will place itself in grave danger to protect that person, or persons if he or she is attacked. Also, a Griffin will even lay down its own life for someone that it trusts."

She let the last few sentences set in on the students before continuing. But Draco interrupted her with one of his usual ignorant remarks.

"Who would want, or even need an ugly beast like that to help them? I certainly wouldn't want something like that on my side," he said with a sneer.

"Well Malfoy, since you are an untrustworthy and ignorant git, I would not worry about a Griffin helping you any time soon," Ron quipped. Professor Grubbly-Plank had to suppress a small laugh and then dismissed the class for the day.

Darren was walking back to the castle with Neville when Malfoy called out at him.

"Clarkson! Hey, Clarkson!" he cried. Darren looked back to see that he was walking over to him and was surrounded by his usual group of cronies. Except that this time Darren was shocked to see that Blaise was with him as well.

"Oy, Clarkson! I heard you had a rough time your first night in Gryffindor!" Malfoy's Slytherin gang laughed like that was the funniest thing they had all ever heard, Blaise included. "Did you like the present I sent you Clarkson?" Malfoy asked.

Darren swallowed his anger, not eager to have a confrontation here and now. "Yes Malfoy, it was very juvenile. Exactly what I would expect from you, but a very nice use of the Tentantio Erus curse Malfoy all the same. Well played."

Several other students had gathered around them now and Darren could see Neville beginning to look a bit nervous at having so many Slytherins so close to him at the same time.

"Hah, I would have thought you would have liked to see your old colors one last time," Malfoy retorted.

Darren was watching Blaise and trying to judge his reaction to Malfoy and his verbal attack. Blaise seemed to be unwilling to join in, but also not at all willing to stand up for Darren any more.

"I'll tell you something Malfoy. You and your friends just fuck off and I will leave you alone, got it?"

"Oh, you'll leave me alone? Clarkson, I don't think you understand. I run this school, not you, so you had better stay out of my way or I will make sure you have an even rougher time this year then you can imagine."

Malfoy sneered at Darren and walked past him so closely that their shoulders bumped. Crabbe and Goyle slammed into him as well, but Darren was relieved to see that Blaise at least was making the effort to avoid him. He didn't look him in the eye, but he did not bump into him on purpose either.

Darren turned to walk back to the school and Neville asked "What if they had started a fight Darren?"

Darren looked at Neville, not quite understanding why he was so afraid of Malfoy and his idiotic friends. "Neville, I would expect that I would have lost since it was four to one."

"Well, I would have helped you. And I am sure the other Gryffindors would have not just stood by and let a bunch of Slytherins attack one of their own."

"I am not so sure about that Neville."

"About what? Me?"

"No Neville, the rest of the Gryffindors."

"Why do you say that?" Neville looked a little hurt at Darren's proclamation.

"Because Neville, I get the feeling that even though I am in Gryffindor, I am not accepted as a Gryffindor. At least not yet."

Dinner that night was a quiet affair. Neville did not talk much after the incident with Malfoy and Darren figured it was more his assessment of the other house members than the incident itself. All day Darren had sat quietly in the common room, away from everyone else, trying to do his homework but failing due to the fact that Malfoy was on his mind. He had given up on the homework and picked up a copy of The Quibbler that someone had left lying around. The front page had an article that was calling for Cornelius Fudge's resignation and the author wanted Amelia Bones to take the position. Once again, Fudge was refusing to leave office and the author had asked Professor Dumbledore for a comment, which he had once again refused to give.

Darren flipped through it absentmindedly and scanned the articles but found only the usual rubbish like an article on how to keep Doxys from infesting your herd of Crumple Horned Snorkacks and other such drivel. But on the bottom of the front page he found something that interested him. It was an article on a purported Lethifold attack in Manchester.

Manchester, UK – Three days ago Agnes Millweed called for help from the window of her home in the quiet countryside to the wizarding family that lives next door to her outside of Manchester. She was screaming about a Lethifold that had attacked and was eating her husband Marcellus. Her neighbor, Victor Mellowes ran out of his house and into the Millweed's home but found nothing to show that there had been an attack. Members of the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures were summoned but could not find any evidence that a Lethifold had attacked anyone, much less even been in the house at all.

Readers will remember that a Lethifold is a creature that looks like a moving shadow and smothers its victims and digests them in their sleep. The Patronus Charm is the only defense against a Lethifold, as it is the only thing that will work against a Dementor as well. The Dangerous Creatures spokesman, Julius Ragwood, said there has never been an attack in the British Isles, or on the continent of Europe itself.

Mr. Ragwood also made the following statement to the Quibbler. "It is highly unlikely, and more than likely impossible, that a Lethifold could be in Britain. The Lethifold is native to the Pacific Basin and the climate here is such that we do not think that they can survive."

The Quibbler is not so sure however. There have been several reports of witches and wizard disappearing in the night over the last three months. Mr. Millweed was an employee of the Ministry of Magic and worked in a department that was only listed as "Classified" by a Ministry Spokeswitch. The Quibbler feels that the recent disappearances across England and Ireland are related in some way. Is it possible that a Lethifold, or Lethifolds, could have been brought here and is being controlled by You-Know-Who? It is entirely possible, is it not? The Quibbler has reason to believe that the attacks will more than likely continue until the creature is caught, or better yet, killed by someone it attempts to attack.

For more information on Cornelius Fudge's alleged links to a reputed Lethifold smuggler, turn to page 5

For more information on defenses against a Lethifold, turn to page 6

To read the Ministry of Magic's official report about the alleged Lethifold attacks, turn to page 8

Darren set the paper down and sat back on the couch. To him it was entirely plausible that a Lethifold could be attacking people. It would not be easily believed that a creature from thousands of miles away and from an entirely different climate as well, would be here, in England, attacking witches and wizards and killing people. After the last two years, Darren figured nothing could surprise him any more. The fact that a Lethifold, or worse several Lethifolds, were quite possible in England was not what was bothering hi at the moment. What was bothering him was where would a Lethifold turn up next? Would one be able to get inside Hogwarts Castle and attack a student, or would someone he knew be in danger. With a creature such as this, there is no telling where or when it might show up next.

Five days later, on Saturday morning, Darren awoke to find a brown barn owl on his headboard. It was waving its leg around in an attempt to get him to remove the envelope that was tied to him. The envelope had his name written on it in an elegantly flowing script that he did not recognize. When Darren opened it, he saw that the letter was from Cho Chang and his spirits were uplifted a bit as he read it.

Dear Darren,

I hope that you are doing well in Gryffindor. I was hoping to get the chance to talk to you instead of sending a letter, but I have not gotten the chance, so please forgive me for sending this to you. Letters have always seemed so impersonal to me for some reason, but I have been very worried about you the last few days.

The reason I have sent this is because I wanted to talk to you and see if you are doing well after the change of houses, and to also make sure we are still going to the Halloween Ball next Saturday night. Would you be kind enough to meet me in the courtyard an hour after the Quidditch match this morning? We can talk and maybe spend time together in Hogsmeade this afternoon since today is a day we can visit there. We can also make final plans for the Ball.

Cho

Darren finished reading the letter for the fifth time and then folded it and replaced it in the envelope it had arrived in. He gave the owl a treat from Janus' bowl and it hooted at him and flew off back to the owlery. He sprang out of bed and rushed to the lavatory to shower and get ready to go out to the Quidditch Pitch, and then to meet Cho an hour later. He had slept in all morning and not gotten out of bed earlier, and how it was almost ten o'clock. The match would be starting in thirty minutes.

Thirty minutes later Darren was running down the stairs to the Entrance Hall and out to the Quidditch Pitch which looked out over the lake and gave a spectacular view of the grounds. He ran into the Pitch and up the steps to the Gryffindor section, right after he caught himself from going up to the Slytherin section by accident. Neville waved to him and called his name. He had been saving Darren a seat and Darren took it thankfully. Next to Neville was Hermione, and Darren was curious for a second where Harry and Ron were until he remembered that they both were on the Gryffindor team, along with Ginny as well.

"Where have you been Darren?" asked Neville.

"Well, I wasn't going to come today, but something made me change my mind at the last minute," he said as he was looking at Cho in the next section over.

Hermione was following his gaze and just gave a small smile and a laugh that made Darren blush.

Today was the first match of the year, and as usual it was Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and the teams came out of the locker rooms and took to the air in a blur of speed. Ron flew to the goal posts at the far end of the field and the Slytherin Keeper did the same on the near end. The Chasers took position in a circle around the center of the field as Madam Hooch prepared to open the case that held the quaffle, bludgers, and golden snitch. He saw Harry fly high over the stadium and Malfoy following along closely, as he always did whenever he was up against someone that was a better player than he was. Malfoy had never caught the snitch by not following the opposing seeker, so why would he change his tactics this year. Of course, he had never gotten the snitch when up against Harry Potter, and Darren had the feeling it would be no different this time.

The bludgers and snitch were loose and then Madam Hooch blew her whistle and threw the quaffle into the air and the chasers from both teams made a mad dash to grab it. Ginny flew straight between Crabbe and Goyle, who had returned as the Slytherin beaters this year, and scored in what had to be record time. Madam Hooch had barely put her whistle away when Ginny faked left then right and then went under the Keeper to score the first goal of the game for Gryffindor. The game then started to get a bit rough. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be concentrating on Ginny instead of the rest of the Gryffindors. They hit every Bludger that came across their path right at her, and Darren could not blame them. After Gryffindor had lost the girls that had played Chaser the last few years, they were very thin at the position. In fact, the other two Chasers were a third year and two second years, and they were nowhere near as good at flying as Ginny was. To make things worse, Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke had returned to play Beater, and they were still more of a menace to their own teammates then the other team. Not only did Ginny have to dodge bludgers from Crabbe and Goyle, she had to watch out for the ones hit by her own teammates. Once she was almost knocked from her broom by Sloper as she bore down on the Slytherin Keeper and the hit to the tail of her broom threw her off course and allowed the goal to be blocked. When the Slytherins got the quaffle back, they dashed to the other end and scored against Ron who was putting up a furious defense, but was beginning to succumb to the sheer numbers of Slytherins that were attacking him.

Crabbe and Goyle then started to alternate their attacks between Ron, Ginny and finally Harry. He was flying high and searching for the Snitch while being carefully tailed by Malfoy. Gryffindor was up 150-60 when Harry finally saw the Snitch. He shot like a bullet along the length of the stands and Darren found himself amazed, even after three years, at the sheer speed of Harry's Firebolt. He also found himself screaming like a madman at Harry to catch the Snitch and to watch out for Malfoy on his rear. Harry was just inches away from the catch when a Bludger sent at Malfoy by Sloper hit Harry square in the back and knocked him sideways. In a green flash Malfoy shot by the rapidly slowing Firebolt and managed to snag the Golden Snitch from the air. The Slytherins went wild and the rest of the crowd sat in a hushed silence. Harry and the rest of the Gryffindors landed on the ground and then it started. The Slytherins started with a chant of "Losers! Losers! Losers!" and Darren could see Harry and Ron turning beet red in anger. Anger that was turned on Sloper and Kirke. Ron started to scream at them for not only hitting their own team members, but for also causing them to lose the match. The two Beaters just threw their clubs down and removed their Quidditch robes and left the stadium. Darren could not believe what he had just seen. The Gryffindor Captain, Harry, had apparently just fired the Beaters, leaving his team short for the next game. He could not hear the yelling that had gone on due to the noise from the Slytherin's chants, but he knew it had to be bad to get Harry that angry. He had never seen potter get upset, really upset, except when he had felt he or his friends were being treated unfairly, but now he was in quite a state. He had grabbed his broom and walked off without another word to the team and Darren wondered who he would find to fill out the team in such a short time.

He saw Cho sitting by alone on a bench and walked straight up to her and stood in front of her. She looked up and a smile broke out on her face as she stood and hugged him politely.

"How are you Darren?" she asked earnestly.

He gave a small smile