ON TWO LORDS AND A PRINCE
CHAPTER 19: UTTER TERROR OF HUMILIATION
After an enjoyable potions lesson, which Harry had spent chatting quietly to both Zabini and Malfoy as the three of them prepared their Dream Inducing Drafts, the Gryffindors made their to Defence Against the Dark Arts. Sam, or Professor Evans as Harry had been told to call him in class, had set the potion for them to make as a test of their Potions brewing abilities, but neither he nor either of his Slytherin friends had any difficulty with it. Naturally, Granger, had watched on while the three boys talked, looking at all three of them with contempt, while liking the teacher who let the three of them chat less and less with each passing minute. They'd been careful to ensure that nobody else had noticed and Granger had done them the favour of not asking their Potions professor to tell them to be quiet, presumably because she had realised that he, being the uncle of two of the miscreants, would dismiss her concerns.
Defence against the Dark Arts, however, was as dull as Potions was enjoyable. Whereas Sam had replicated Snape's intimidatory style without the dour Potions Master's over strictness, Professor Figg seemed to have copied the teaching style of Professor McGonagall, even giving the fifth year Gryffindors an identical glare as they walked in. It was the subject matter which made the lesson boring though, as Professor Figg launched into an hour long lecture on the nature of defensive theories, the content of which seemed to Harry to be completely pointless. What made it even worse was that some of the ideas Figg had referred to had the potential to be extremely useful in his fight with Voldemort, but the lack of detail made it all extremely frustrating.
"Bloody hell," Ron exclaimed as they made their way from the lesson to lunch, "That was almost as boring as Binns."
"Well I thought that the lesson was absolutely fascinating," Hermione interjected snobbily, preventing Harry from making a nasty comment about Professor Figg. "And Professor Figg is a far better teacher than Professor Evans."
Harry scowled upon hearing the interruption of his former friend, an expression that only deepened as her comments continued.
"Sounds like Granger is bitter at being paired with Malfoy in Potions," He commented to Ron, pointedly ignoring the bushy-haired girl's presence behind them in the hope that she would go away.
Unfortunately she didn't. "I didn't see you objecting to being placed next to Malfoy," She commented airily. "In fact you seemed to be acting extremely friendly to him."
Ron looked at Harry strangely, but didn't seem to appear angry or react emotionally to the prefect's words. Harry took it as a sign that he didn't believe her. "What's she going on about now?" he asked, sounding a little confused. There was no more hint of anger or concern in his voice than there was on his face. "You were paired with Zabini weren't you."
"Of course. Sam knows what we think of each other and would never pair me with him," Harry replied, his scowl that indicated his dislike of Hermione, replaced by a blank mask that hid his concern at the subject of the conversation. "But you know what he's like…."
"Yes, always butting his ugly face in just where it's not wanted." Ron hissed, unconsciously picking up his best friend's sentence and finishing it for him so that Harry didn't have to lie or insult his friend. Naturally Ron hadn't noticed Harry's phrasing and the implications of it, but then the redhead wasn't particularly good at picking up subtleties. Granger was though and he suspected that she had already taken what Harry had said as confirmation of her suspicions.
"Besides I did spend most of the lesson chatting to Zabini," Harry continued as they entered the entrance hall and approached the large archway that marked the entrance to the great hall. "Don't look so surprised," He went on, noticing the look on his friend's face, which was a mixture of shock and concern. "He's actually quite a nice guy when you get to know him."
"I know that he's a nice guy and that he's friends with the Ravenclaws and all that," Ron said, sounding a little worried with what he was hearing, "But he is still a Slytherin and you know that we can't trust them."
"He's on our side and if we can't trust our own side who can we trust?" Harry retorted, feeling and looking a little frustrated at the prejudices of his friend. Harry knew perfectly well that he couldn't trust many of the Slytherins because they supported the enemy. Blaise, however, was perfectly trustworthy because he didn't hold the anti muggle beliefs that were common among many of the English pureblood families and as a consequence there was no chance of the Italian boy joining Voldemort. Of course there was no point in explaining this to Ron, the redhead would think Harry had gone mad.
"That doesn't alter the fact that he's still a slimy Slytherin, who will, when push comes to shove, betray you to save his own skin, whether you're his friend or not. It's in his nature," Ron pleaded; sounding even more worried than before.
"I'll be fine, Ron," Harry said reassuring, as he took his seat at the Gryffindor table. He did not feel the need to try and convince Ron that Zabini would never betray one of his friends, even to save his own skin, because doing so would be virtually impossible. Instead, he piled some food onto his plate and began to eat as Ron told him that he was only looking out for his best friend.
It was only once he had actually started eating that he remembered the warnings of Draco, his cousin and other best friend, about a prank that was going to be played on him during that lunchtime. By then, however, it was too late, he could already sense that something was drastically wrong. It was only when he looked up that he realised the precise nature of the problem.
"Ahh!" he screamed upon seeing the serpent crest of the boy who was standing directly in front of him. He jumped in terror induced shock and began to shake like a leaf in a severe hurricane, while looking around desperately for an escape from the Slytherin in front of him. There was none. Behind him stood the cold stone wall of the great hall, his housemates sat either side of him, while even the merest of the person in front of him, or one of this person's housemates, was enough to send Harry into fear induced paralysis. He didn't even notice the damp patch that had appeared half way down the front of his robes. He didn't hear what the Slytherin said either, noticing only when he started to walk away, up the great hall towards the staff hall. Seconds afterwards Harry leapt over the Gryffindor table and ran out of the great hall in blind terror, screaming at the top of his voice. Naturally he didn't notice that many of those seated at the Slytherin table were laughing uproariously nor did he see the indignant rage of his friends in Gryffindor.
The only thing he did see as he did see as he made his way to Gryffindor Tower was a person who initially made him freeze in terror, until he spoke that is, causing the potion which had induced the prank to wear off.
"Relax," A familiar aristocratic drawl said while Harry was still terrified of the person blocking the corridor, "It's only me, Draco."
The terror in Harry's face and posture disappeared to be replaced by a new kind of tension: anger.
"I swear on my mothers grave that I will get you back for that. Even if it's last thing I do," Harry hissed thunderously, incensed even further by the smug look on his best friend's face, "You have no idea how humiliating that I was; and stupid. What if you'd been there or Slinker and I'd revealed about Slinker's secret, or about us? What then? How do you that some of my friends aren't going to come running around the corner at any moment checking to see if I'm alright? I thought you knew better than to take such stupid and unnecessary risks."
Draco said nothing, choosing instead to push on the wall besides where he was standing, causing it to move aside and reveal a secret room. Both he and Harry stepped through into a small chamber decorated in a mixture of Gryffindor and Slytherin colours. There was a small fireplace set in the far wall, with a table and several chairs grouped around it. There was also an open doorway, which lead into a small bathroom.
"I had thought of all that," Draco said testily, once Harry had stopped gaping at the room that he found himself in. "Hence the reason why neither I nor Slinker are at lunch and why I waited for you where I did. I even got the house elves to leave a spare set of clothes for you in the bathroom, so you could clear up after your accident." This last sentence was accompanied by a taunting smirk that made Harry want to punch his Slytherin friend in the face. He resisted that temptation though, choosing to head straight for the bathroom for the spare set of school uniform. He didn't trust himself to say anything, as whatever he said would most likely be not very complimentary.
By the time he returned from changing Draco had done the sensible thing and disappeared, presumably to go back to the great hall and have a quick bite to eat for lunch. Whatever the reason for his absence, Harry was grateful, as it considerably reduced the risk of them being seen together. Harry remained though; he knew he would too embarrassed to face anyone after what had happened and he certainly didn't want to return to the great hall, the thought of doing so made him sick. Instead, he started trying to think up some devious and highly embarrassing ways to make fulfil the oath he had made and get back at Draco.
Like all good things, however, his solitude didn't last because he soon found himself disturbed by three unwelcome intruders, who refused to leave, even after being snarled at and told to go away by an extremely moody Gryffindor.
"Harry, dear fellow, surely you aren't going to let that horrible Malfoy Boy get away with such a nasty and despicable prank," One of the twins started, in one of their mock serious tones. Harry didn't pay any attention to which of the twins had spoken; all that mattered was that were both there when he didn't want them to be.
"Of course not," Harry snapped irately, his anger only incensed by the tone the twins were using with him. He thought it lacked sufficient seriousness, "Why else would I be sitting here drawing up a list of prank ideas?"
"Well then," the other twin continued smoothly, accompanying his words with a devious smile that did not impress Harry, "May we offer our considerable knowledge and expertise to aid the noble and righteous cause of revenge against the nasty and evil Draco Malfoy?"
Harry's response was a curt no and another forcefully worded invitation for the twins and Blaise Zabini, who seemed to have accompanied them, to leave his new found sanctuary. Again they ignored it.
"You heard him," The Italian boy sneered, pointing his wand at the two Gryffindors who had found his friend for him, "He doesn't want your help." The two Weasleys seemed a little surprised at the anger in the Slytherin's voice, causing his accent to thicken, or the hardness of his gaze, both of which were equal to the venom Harry had showed them.
"I meant you too Zabini," Harry jeered, following the other boys example of threatening him with a wand.
"I know," Zabini said harshly, causing Harry's eyes to narrow in suspicion. He could tell the anger in his voice was general and certainly not aimed at him, but he did not know what the Italian boy wanted with him, "But you can't get rid of me. Unlike them, I was a victim of that prank too and I want my revenge as well."
"How?" Harry roared venomously, his facial expression a twisted sneer. He felt as though his humiliation was being mocked and belittled by the Slytherin, "How can you have possibly experienced even one thousandth of the pain and humiliation I felt because of that. How can you even have been affected by a thing which took place across the other side of the great hall!"
"The other side of the great hall!" Zabini shouted indignantly, gesturing wildly as he talked, "I was there standing directly in front of you, wanting to talk to you, when you suddenly look up from your meal and go completely ballistic. You think that doesn't affect me? It humiliates me too, especially when my own housemates start teasing me about it. So stop being a selfish dork and let me help you, because, thanks to Malfoy, I'm involved too now."
"Fine" Harry replied between gritted teeth as Zabini paused momentarily for breath, surprising the Italian boy by giving in so quickly. The Gryffindor felt a little annoyed at having his solitude broken, but the other boy did have a right to be there, so reluctantly he let him stay. The mixed feelings soon disappeared though, as the plotting got under way and the two of them came up with a multitude of nasty, devious and hilarious revenge ideas that considerably brightened up his mood, leaving only one problem: which one to choose.
Deepest Apologies for taking so long with with this chapter, but I have had little time to write in recent weeks, a situation which is now blessedly over. Chapters should be more frequent from now on.
Thank You to all those who reviewed Chapter 18. The reviews were much appreciated. If you want me to e-mail you when I update this fic leave your e-mail address in your review.