It was muggy in the flat, Draco thought as he woke up, standing up and stretching, sparing a brief glance out the window he had come to rely on for a sense of time, and place - and yes, a dash of forlorn hope, left erect when everything had been shattered and washed away.

Draco slid into his clothing, fastening the clasps with a practiced grace. "Edie!" He called, as the house elf appeared. "Time to wake the others!"

Draco set the breakfast table, laying out the bread and cheese in structured portions for each person. Before anyone else appeared, he slid into parade rest behind the table, his hands resting at the small of his back. Goyle and Crabbe showed up in galumphing time - their feet swaying the entire floor, as they skidded to a halt. Daphne and her sister showed up elegantly, their graceful stride unhurried even as they swept up with a speed that would put Snape to shame. Pureblooded elegance, Draco Malfoy termed it, not born but bred, permanently stamped into their flesh. Pansy came at more of a trot, her morning ablutions having taken longer.

As was custom, everyone stood at the table, as Draco had not yet sat. Well and good, he didn't intend to sit at all.

"Good morning, all." Draco said, pirouetting in place, before coming back to stare at them. "Today, we will begin work on the deceptive arts."

"The deceptive arts?" Astoria said, and Draco fought the urge to smile. "What have you possibly to teach us about deception, Draco Malfoy?" The voice was challenging, in a quiet, deceptive manner - smooth as glass, and just as clear.

"You haven't learned teamwork, Astoria - and I'll wager Vince and Greg haven't learned anything on the subject." Draco Malfoy said with a crispness to his tone that was rather foreign to his usual drawl.

Daphne and Pansy were giggling with each other (which was depressingly normal), although Draco was gratified to see Vince and Greg looking... alert.

Pretending that he didn't see the two girls blatantly goofing off, Draco continued, "Today, I want you to split into teams. I will give you each an objective, and you will work with your mates to make sure it happens." Draco paused, and said, "If anyone from the other teams guesses what you're on about, you lose."

"Pansy," Draco said, waiting until she was looking up. "Vince."

"Daphne," Draco said, again waiting until she met his eyes. "Greg."

"Astoria, with me." Draco said. Astoria smiled coquettishly, clearly considering that she'd won the game.

And all hell broke loose.

"What do you mean, sticking me with Greg! I want to be with you!" Daphne howled.

"Draaaaco!" Pansy wailed, in what Draco was depressingly starting to understand was her "i don't like you anymore" voice.

Draco Malfoy set his face to stone, and waited. For five minutes. Finally, he broke in with a bellow, "Girls!"

There was blessed silence.

"Your task was not to convince me that you cared about me, and even if it was, you failed utterly at it. You know I have something I want us to do, and you are disrupting that." Pansy's face was now set in a pout. Draco ploughed on before she could interrupt. "I do not care who started it. You will behave, and you will learn. You can start by splitting up and talking about your strengths and weaknesses. I will be around with your assignment."

Before he could start, Tori - the canny girl - raised her hand quietly, saying, "But won't we be at a disadvantage, for you already knowing what their tasks are?" Draco favored her with a quick nod, before his manners taught him to take her by her waist and lead her off to a loveseat. Pansy and Daphne were still in a snit, but Draco was sure that Greg and Vince would make sure they worked - if only because they seemed immune to most blandishments (because it was rather blatantly obvious that they weren't handsome, or silvertongued, or whatever the girls' mothers had forced them to learn).

[a/n: We never seem to get training montages of Slytherins. Never! Well, what happens when you tell Slytherins to train? You're about to find out!

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