Death's True Hallows

by Ensis96

She had electric blue hair and emerald green eyes that twinkled with mirth at their surprise, but what put her even more out of place was her clothing. She had no robe or House emblem, nothing Wizardly about her at all. The halfblood beamed at the Poltergeist of Hogwarts and brightly spoke words that had never once been said: "Hi Peeves, it's nice to meet you!" (A Next-Gen fanfic)

28. Ch 28 Grudge Match

Ch 28- Grudge Match

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HUUUGE shoutout to the people that reviewed! I now have over fifty! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! keep it coming- I would willing read your every thought as you go, so send me the ones you're willing to share! if you wanna pm questions ya'll can feel free to do that as well!

I loved that you guys are on board with Salazar's Chamber of Secrets actually being a place you can learn a thing to two- and, you know, meet the founder himself!

Thanks for the extra long review Grey, I was so psyched to hear from you again! good analogy between Scorpius and Albus, and definitely keep your eye on Rose- they've all still got some character growing to do. (They're still 14, after all)

To J and Magika9- ya'll rock! I loved getting repeat reviews as you guys caught up with my story- please keep it up!

So, when I finished ch 27 I had eight thousand words of this chapter written out... when I presented them to my beta's, they threw half of it out the window and told me to start again. XP Not gonna lie, that was a bit annoying, but ultimately I'm glad they did. Those scenes really improved because of them and ergo this whole chapter became a lot better as a result, so thanks guys! (that's right, there's two of them now. Without them I would take even LONGER between updates, so you should thank them too! hint-hint nudge-nudge)

This chapter, by the way, is 22,688 words long. Twenty-two thousand, six hundred eighty-eight words. TWENTY TWO THOUSAND, SIX HUNDRED, EIGHTY-EIGHT!

Sooo... yeah. This may take more than one sitting to get through. You have been warned. :) enjoy!

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When the door closed Rasputin turned and hissed, his quills rising.

Persuade him? Zoethia Malam tilted her head at the enchanted statue. "Well- I mean, what else would you do? It's rather hard to 'persuade' an outcome if I don't know what the opposing options are…"

"I control this entire chamber." Salazar Slytherin declared. "Thou wilt not leave here if I do not permit it."

"We've already established that I can open magically locked doors, though." Zoey said with a note of triumph. Her heart was racing not in fear, but excitement- she'd missed this. It was like the Ravenclaw Tower discussions. Debating a topic with someone, win or lose, was a great thrill of wit against wit. "Plus… you're talking about murder there."

"I am."

Her laugh of disbelief died at his serious tone, and her mouth gaped for a few moments. "I- what? You- you're Salazar Slytherin! You aren't going to kill me. You made this place- all of Hogwarts- because you wanted to teach kids! Like me! You can't kill a kid!"

"In my era, thou would have been an adult set to marry by now."

Zoey had an immediate 'ick' response to the idea, shuddering and shaking her head. "Okay, fine- medieval child-labor ideals aside, you'd still be murdering me." She paused and glanced around the room. "Plus, if you did have a habit of killing people who came down here, where are they? I don't see any bones."

"How morbid." The stone man admonished, but his lips were set in the slightest of smiles. "Since you ask, I can flood these tunnels at will. Bodies and any other unsavories get drained to the lake. Would you like a demonstration?"

Not waiting for an answer, Salazar raised marble fingers and snapped, the small sound echoing far louder than it should have. Zoey turned her head as she heard the approach of distant water, and watched as it poured in through the same grate Rasputin had climbed through.

Trails of chilled water advanced over the uneven floor like encroaching snakes, and Zoey took a few steps back before chiding herself. It was rising water, dashing to the next room would be no help. And even with her broom, she wasn't certain she could make it past magical doors and fly to the exit before she drowned.

So- options. She didn't have many. Since escaping on her own power wasn't possible, Zoey would have to talk to Salazar. Her throat was dry and she gulped nervously- it seemed it was her who had wandered into a room with a murdering psychopath. She had never before been so grateful to have been a Ravenclaw; without exposure to her House's persisting debates, Zoey knew she'd probably be panicking right now. As it was… she could at least act like she had a chance here.

Rule one of a live debate was not to let an opponent know when they'd rattled you. That, and win. Walking over to the center table like death threats were a daily occurrence, Zoey put her broom back into its case. No point in letting it get water damaged.

As she snapped the latches shut she took a deep breath then turned back to look at Salazar. "You're contradicting yourself. You just explained that this place was made so you could tutor students on advanced arts. This is not meant to be some kind of elaborate venus fly trap."

"Planet Venus has naught to do with my actions."

Well that was a failed reference. Zoey tried instead "Baited fish hook? How do you benefit from killing students instead of tutoring them- us?" Zoey adjusted at the last second, going for the personal appeal.

"Many would die to obtain these texts. Many would die if they fell into the wrong hands. And so, I must be willing to do the same to protect them."

Again with the contradictions- if he didn't want these spells known in future generations, why would he have them down here in the first place? As the water rose higher Zoey decided to stay more focused on the topic of whether or not she should become one of those dead people rather than question his flawed establishment. After all, insults were probably detrimental to her survival chances at this point. "Yet I know none of them. I've been here for all of- what, an hour? That's not enough time to decipher let alone understand any of these spells. Why kill me when I can just leave at this point with no attained knowledge?"

"You walk in Rowena's footsteps." The statue scoffed confidently, the current picking up speed. "Thou will return."

… touche. Her Ravenclaw curiosity was already burning like a bonfire at the back of her mind and most certainly would not let her sleep peacefully without figuring out every one of the scripts down here. However- "That's not an answer."

"... I cannot risk that you'd reveal this location to others."

Okay, good. She started working out the cornerstone of his argument. "Okay, okay… secrecy is a must. Got it. You're not exactly going to be able to follow me around to watch what I say or don't. Of course you're worried. Only way three men can keep a secret is if two are dead." Maybe she shouldn't have said that bit out loud… "Buuut in this case, killing me would guarantee people finding you."

The water, which had lazily reached up to her knees at this point, stopped its advance. The statue looked her over. "Elaborate."

"A student goes missing in the middle of the school year? Yeah, sorry, people will notice." Zoey crossed her arms to hide the deep breath she took, trying not to rush her words. "Modern ideals will take the disappearance of a child veeeeery seriously. My cousin is part of the faculty, too. He won't rest until he finds out what killed me and destroys it, so that would expose your little secrets I assure you."

"And how will he know your fate was murder?"

"I'm friends with merfolk. I took on a kelpie at the Sorting Ceremony. And I went to swim camp every summer. He'd never believe I would drown."

"Merfolk and a kelpie?" Salazar's statue repeated with interest.

She crossed her fingers hopefully. "I'll tell you all about it- if, you know, I get to live past tonight."

He gave a dry chuckle of amusement at her paltry bribe, raising his hand and the flow of water once again.

"Hey- wait- seriously! Think about it!" Zoey panicked a bit as the water reached her middle. "You wanted a student- here I am!"

"My last pupil repaid his apprenticeship by destroying my best works." Stone eyes narrowed hatefully upon the burned walls, Salazar's ire directed toward the one that'd marred them. "Perhaps I have decided to be more selective in my tutelage."

Zoey's hands fidgeted in the air as she tried to gather her thoughts, opening and closing before pointing and retreating, and eventually she put one on her forehead. "You're a hundred miles below Hogwarts, in a side chamber of a series of labyrinthian tunnels, behind a series of magically locked doors that you can only get to through a girl's bathroom… and you want to be more selective?"

"I believe I just established that." He waved a marble hand yet again, then said with a note of disappointment. "Your argument is getting weaker as time goes on. Has all of Rowena's brood fallen to such low standards, or are you an unfortunate exception?"

The small Ravenclaw opened her mouth to answer but was cut off when a wave of water slammed into the room, knocking her off her feet. She lost all sense of direction as the water spun her around, bumping her against the floor up to the air and back again until she got pinned to one of the walls.

Coughing and spluttering, her eyes streaming and her nostrils filled with the rank smell of the water Zoey used the solid structure to pull herself up and back to her feet. She braced against her hands and gasped in air like never before, immensely grateful for something she'd once taken for granted.

"Thou lost something." The statue said dryly and tossed Rasputin's bedraggled form at her, ignoring the murtlap's attempts to claw and spike him.

The jerk was enjoying this, Zoey thought as she listened to the smug tone of his voice while she picked up Rasputin.

Wait a second… he was enjoying this…

When losing a debate, sometimes, it was time to go out of the box. And Zoethia Malam lived outside the box.

"I wouldn't be a good student." Zoey said with a smile, ignoring the water that had reached her chest. "In fact, I'd be a terrible one."

Silently she thanked Scorpius for their many tutoring sessions- if she hadn't spent such a long time with the stone-faced Pureblood, she never would have recognized the surprise on Salazar's muted expressions.

If she was going to get out of this, she couldn't treat this like a Ravenclaw Tower debate on theories. She needed to think more like a Slytherin. Like a Malfoy. She needed a winner take all, no holds barred mentality that was hard to refute. Zoey leaned against the wall at her back, trying to embody the casual confidence Scorpius displayed at every turn. She had no idea if it was working.

"I mean, a genius student? I'll bet you've had tons of those. Heh- Merlin, I bet you were one of those. Able to do any spell you lift a wand for. If I was like that I'd only need to read the wall and be done down here. And really, how boring is that for you? Answer-" She yawned theatrically. "-very. You've had diddly squat to keep yourself occupied for the last seventy six years. Do you really want the brief window that I'm here to be that easy, or would you rather a student who needs to interact with you to learn her lessons?"

"Thou believes I would rather be encumbered by an inadequate?"

"Well I mean, it's either that or, you know, me just teaching myself. And really, in that case… you might as well not even be here."

She had a very Slytherin smirk on her features as she watched the statue. Whether Salazar had Slytherin pride or regular pride he still had pride. So if Malfoy- an ungraduated student- was bothered by her implying someone else being 'better', then Zoey figured a Founder of Hogwarts and one of the strongest wizards in history would definitely never admit to being unnecessary.

"...fair point. I vouchsafe that- in these particular circumstances- I might be unusually motivated to endure the trials of a poor prodigy."

Just as Zoey was doing a mental victory dance the statue went on "That does not yet prove, however, that I can trust you with the secrets that are found here. Or even the existence of this place."

"You've really got two options then." Zoey help up her fingers. "First: Let me go. Do what you obviously built this place for and teach me, knowing that I know revealing your secret not only suffers your consequences, but cuts off my access to information we both know I want to learn." She paused a moment to let the reasoning of that sink in. "Option Two: Flood the chamber- and risk a dozen masters of magical arts pausing their positions teaching in your school to track down what happened to me. Which, if I may say so, is certainly a lot more uncontrolled unknowns for you than option one."

She finished in a confiding whisper from behind her hand, then straightened. Honestly she thought that would be pretty hard for him to counter.

The speed of the rising water slowed as Salazar Slytherin's statue considered her point, his countenance indecipherable. "All right. Then by your own logic, if I can trust your discretion, I should let you live. If not, then I shall take the risk of an investigation."

"Uh…" Not what she had been hoping for, but better than the mindset he'd been showing so far. "Sure?"

"Then demonstrate."

"Demo…? How am I supposed to prove I can keep a secret?"

"That is not for me to decide." he admonished, the water rising again. Though it had yet to reach his bearded chin Zoey was significantly shorter than the marble statue and was forced to start treading water.

Zoethia Malam had never particularly disliked her short stature before, but as she started to float she wished she'd grown at least a little bit in the last four years. It wasn't that she couldn't swim, it's just that she didn't have enough endurance to do so and debate at the same time. If she couldn't talk, she couldn't convince him. If she couldn't convince him, she was going to-

No. Not freaking out, nope. Not allowed. Not helpful. If only there was something she could hold onto or- her Ravenclaw mind reminded her of the layout of the septagonal room she was floating in. She quickly paddled over to the table and stood atop it, well aware of the panic in her floundering strokes but unable to quite control it. So much for all those swim camps.

Rasputin was clinging to her shoulder so tightly his claws were drawing blood, and his entire frame was shaking. He was terrified. Zoey's panic gave way to anger, and she grit her teeth as she faced the statue and accused. "You're asking for the impossible."

"Nothing is impossible."

"Well fine- normally, a normal person would trust me with a small secret first before building up to a bigger one, but since you completely skipped that step, that's not my fault! You set up this system, you're the one that should work around its flaws!"

"A system being…?"

"As in computer-operating! Program! The set up- organization of a plan!"

The statue scowled at the implication that his 'system' was flawed, and said "Fine. Perhaps, then, display an example for me. A previous secret that you were entrusted with, and how you have kept it."

Zoey's mouth shut with an audible snap, but despite her physical resolve her mind told her just how easy it would be. She had plenty of secrets- the full condition of her mother in the hospital, Jon's magic, her relationship with the Minister of Magic… surely, surely an insidious voice in her mind whispered, any one of them would understand in this case? Wouldn't any of them be okay with her betraying their trust and years of hard work if it meant that she would be safe? It's not like they'd ever find out anyways, this statue was stuck in here…

"I am waiting." Salazar reminded, his entertainment at the situation dwindling.

The words were right on her tongue. The self-condemning words that could free her. Zoey wouldn't tell anyone about Jon's magic- it was too dangerous for him and herself. She owed Rex- Kingsley Shacklebolt- far too much to ever betray him. That only left Zelina Avery. Her own mother- amnesiac in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies for almost ten years now, after being discovered unconscious in the Albanian forest. Whose memory of days or even minutes vanished in a blink of an eye… the first known victim of Affliction Z.

Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies has an entire division devoted to amnesiac wizards. Not because the ailment was so common, but because the patients were so dangerous. Wizards with no memory of how to contain their magic were a threat to themselves and others. But Zelina Avery had no outbursts of uncontrolled magic no matter how emotional she got. Because… she had no magic. That's what Affliction Z was- the complete and total absence of magic in a witch or wizard, always accompanied by amnesia. It was a condition that left even the best of Mungo's healers baffled, unable to explain the phenomenon. Surely, surely that voice whispered, telling Salazar something that impactful would convince him?

Zoey took a breath and steeled her resolve as she faced him. "Keep waiting. I'm not telling you anything."

He looked at her for a moment with a strange expression on stone features, then half-chuckled as the water reached his chin. "Giving up so easily?"

"No. I'm just thinking about this more than you are." Forget propriety, this statue was slowly drowning her. She would at least get one insult in. Rasputin hissed agreement with her emotion, his hairless tail lashing. "You don't want me to tell you a secret. What you want is to know your secret is safe with me even under threat of death- if I told you any of my secrets now then you'd know that my secrets aren't safe. What you want is for me to not tell my secrets because then you know that your secrets are safe even when someone is willing to kill me." Zoey spoke in a single rush of air and her voice cracked a bit at the last part, but she hoped she'd gotten the message across.

His face stilled into impassivity for a moment, then his eyes narrowed in obvious anger. "Do not presume to decide what I desire. I have given you the 'solution' you asked for."

Zoey grit her teeth and shook her head again, frustrated with his stubbornness and pride. She got that he was the Slytherin, but she wished he'd listen to a bit of Ravenclaw Logic. This- it wasn't even logic, really, it was common sense! "Well," she copied his tone, "you shouldn't 'presume' that I'll do what you want."

The statue didn't try to sway her a third time, just stared at her silently as the water rose higher, covering his head. And higher, until Zoey wasn't standing on the table anymore. Higher still, when she could hold the floating torch for support. All along fighting the rising temptation to scream something- for help, for mercy- for anything, really.

She closed her eyes when she felt her head hit the ceiling, inches of air left. The torch was extinguished. It was dark. She was alone… She was dead. She was a dead girl living her last moments… final wishes? Zoey asked herself, and grit her teeth. "You know… you are Hogwarts' least liked founder. And now, I see why-"

The water rose in a surge and slammed her to the ceiling, the sudden motion making her lose the what little breath of air she'd been holding. Zoey covered her mouth and held her breath as long as she could, but soon started to see stars. Her mouth gasped open and she was surprised by how painful it felt to breath water, like someone was dropping stones into her chest. Her body coughed instinctively and though the Ravenclaw knew that would only hasten her demise she couldn't control the reflex.

Black spots danced further along her vision and she closed her eyes. Zoey wondered if Rasputin was drowning too. He was a really good swimmer- maybe he would survive getting flushed to the lake. That'd be nice. Jon needed him. Or maybe he was already dead. Maybe it was a good thing she was dying… Jon would kill her if she got Rasputin killed. She didn't wanna die.

She did not want to die.

Just like that, she felt a rise of power surge inside her. Her eyes snapped open again to see the water around her glowing softly, but she focused her gaze on Salazar Slytherin below. The conceited, arrogant, sadistic-

Power tingled along her arm like a wave of static, and following the instinct Zoey extended it toward him. She felt grim satisfaction when a beam of ice erupted from it, freezing the statue solid...er. Since when can I do that? Part of her waterlogged mind wondered, but the other part insisted on urgency. Ice- water- could snap stone with pressure and time. Turning in the water she kicked off the wall, shooting straight for the statue.

Had she been a superhero she might have shouted some cheesy line to match her sudden ability to shoot an ice ray. Then again, had Zoethia Malam been a superhero she might have had the strength for her ill-conceived plan to work. Instead her collision into the block of ice just hurt, bruising her and making her lose the last of her precious air.

Even her adrenaline was drained now, and she felt herself starting to black out. She was vaguely aware of the stone statue reaching out to grab the edge of her robes and wondered if he was going to smack her in anger for what she'd attempted to do.

Instead the water rushed by her in a current stronger than any before, and the stone grip was the only thing that stopped her from being washed away. She was deposited uncaringly atop the table of the draining chamber, where she took a deep breath and started coughing up water.

The Ravenclaw blinked blearily and looked around, watching Peeves ride the current out of the chamber like a waterside.

"Weeeeeeeeeee-!"

"What…?"

"Thou cracked my beard." Salazar's statue accused, looking at the tiny damage she'd managed in her panic.

"…You were killing me." Her throat was scratched and pained, and she couldn't even summon the strength to match his indignant tone. She tried moving her limbs, but they wouldn't budge.

Marble hands stroked down the crack as though it was a misplaced hair. "I was testing your resolve."

Oh. That made sense. It had even been her own suggestion, in a way. The jerk, Zoey accused in her mind, vaguely aware that Rasputin had clambered up the table and was nosing her side. "And the conclusion?"

"Congratulations." Salazar said dryly, his expression stony once more. "You are now the pupil of the 'least liked' Hogwarts Founder."

"...huzzah." Zoey mumbled, equally unenthused for the last second before she passed out.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

On that Sunday morning, the school was quickly draining of students. While most people were naturally inclined for rest on the weekend, a Slytherin-Gryffindor quidditch match was always a sight to behold. Most every House dorm had emptied long ago as their occupants rushed to get to the grounds.

In the Hufflepuff Commons, though, a pair of cousins were a bit behind the crowd.

"Hurry up, Lily! We're gonna miss the opener!" Hugo cried up the stairs, his voice anxious.

"I'm coming!" The youngest Potter called back, stretching the last few inches to grab the suitcase over her bed canopy. Popping open the latches she pulled out her only Gryffindor scarf, snapping it in the air to chase the dust of off it. Though still a scrimmage, this was the first Gryffindor against Slytherin match of the year, and Lily felt obliged to support her family in the competition.

She wasn't the biggest fan of the sport itself, but when her cousins were most of the team and her oldest brother was captain, it became necessary for her to pull out the the only non-Hufflepuff apparel she had. The scarlet and gold clashed against her Hufflepuff black and yellow as she settled it loosely around her neck. It was a bit warm still for scarves.

Lily double checked that she had her family coin in her pocket before she scooped Charles from his bunny cage and descended down the stairs two at a time. She hated leaving her pet cooped up all week long, so she always brought him wherever she could on weekends.

Hugo was waiting at the bottom of the common room, bouncing from foot to foot in anticipation of his favorite sport. He was wearing solid red robes and painted his face gold with crimson battle lines, lifting a flag in each hand as he practiced chanting "Gryffin-dor, Gryffin-dor, Gryff-in-DOR-!"

With his last cry he turned and waved the flags at Lily, obviously wanting her to pick up the chant. Instead they blinked at eachother, then asked each other at the same time:

"Too much?"

"Not enough?"

They blinked again and laughed, and Hugo handed her one of his flags while wiping his face clean.

Lily put Charles down to help with the task while Hugo babbled "I still think I would have been fine- it is quidditch, Lil." Knowing her absent enthusiasm for the sport only made him twice as energetic.

"It's also a scrimmage, Hugo. Where did you even get the red robes?"

"Traded Lorcan my Victor Krum card."

"What?" Lily's voice cracked in surprise. That was his best chocolate frog card! He'd gloated over it all last Christmas!

"It's just a card, and… it sorta felt like Rose could use extra support lately."

Rose was so lucky she had Hugo for a brother, Lily thought to herself and bit her lip, even though all she'd be doing was sitting on the bench he'd gone out of his way to trade a- "Wait- Hugo, wasn't that card really rare?"

"Yup. Aaand I promised Lorcan a James card from when he goes pro."

Lily shook her head and refrained from pointing out that by the time James became a famous professional- if he became a famous professional- he and Lorcan likely will have outgrown their card collecting hobby. "Well then, we'll just have to hope our House will let you sit with us while looking like a Gryffindor."

Hugo just grinned, knowing full well that Hufflepuffs frequently cheered for other Houses in the matches they weren't playing. Their team wasn't as flashy as the other Houses, but traditionally Hufflepuff players were extremely consistent from game to game.

"There's your freckles." Lily joked as she got the last of the thick paint off his face. She barely had time to pick Charles back up before Hugo took her other hand and ran them out of the common room.

"Com'on com'on com'on!" He rushed her while they grabbed some muffins and a carrot to go. "We're late!"

"The beginning's not as important as the end," Lily reminded, but picked up her pace. The Great Hall and walkways were mostly empty as they went- she absently noted that it seemed this scrimmage would have a very high turnout. They only saw a few students on the grounds, clumped together at corners and walls.

"The end's gonna come quick! James told me all about his new training regimen- he's been testing himself against the snitch and doing special exercises. He won't tell me what, but he wagers he's at least doubly good at spotting it now and with his speed…! I'm telling you Lil, James is gonna beat the world record for fastest catch someday and this could be that day-!"

He picked up the pace in his excitement, and Lily stopped listening so hard as she paid more attention to her feet on the icy steps. She tried to keep an ear in the conversation, she really did, but she only got so far as to understand that the Gryffindor chasers were learning some kind of genius stunt and that was impressive because it had been developed by some famous player from a pro team some lots of years ago and yada yada ya… she went back to petting Charles. Hugo kept talking about James's new strategy until they made it to the pitch, his eyes sparkling.

"So in conclusion…" Hugo trailed off and waved his now solitary flag at his smaller cousin.

She tapped the end of it with the matching one she held in her hand. "Gryffindor will win?"

"Exactly! Whoot-whoop!" He cheered and raced up the stairs.

"So what's the point in watching when we know the outcome?" Her sighed question had been meant for Charles's ears only, but it turns out her cousin had even bigger ones. Even over the roar of the game start he'd heard and turned to answer.

"Oh that's because of strategy." Hugo boasted, leading her to a pair of seats at the front of the Hufflepuff stands. "See, to play a good game of quidditch-"

"Rupert! Isabelle!" Lily interrupted as she saw who they were sitting next to, desperate for a break from the quidditch-babble.

Their older housemates turned and smiled at them both, making more room for them. The stands weren't quite full, but the front seats were always crammed at a good match. And Gryffindor against Slytherin was always a good match.

"You're talking strategy?" Isabelle asked, leaning forward with interest. "You got the inside scoop of the game?"

"Do I ever! James has this new new training regimen-" Hugo scooted toward her, launching into the same explanation he'd just given Lily.

She leaned back with a sigh, petting Charles and trying to encouraging him to eat his carrot. The poor thing was shaking from the crowd noises, too nervous for breakfast. With Gryffindor house sitting on Hufflepuff's left and Slytherin on their right it probably wouldn't quiet down anytime soon. Lily sighed and gave up, stroking his soft fur to calm him down.

"I don't think it'll be as easy as all that. Slytherin has the best keeper in school." Isabelle shouted to be heard over the aforementioned house, who had hissed and booed when Gryffindor players flew by.

"James isn't gonna let the game drag on long enough for that to matter! Tell her Lil."

"Oh, um, yeah." Lily Potter jolted in a bit of surprise at being suddenly included. "Gryffindor will win."

Hugo beamed and turned back to Isabelle, talking her ear off and gesturing to the Gryffindor players, pointing things out as they passed to one another.

Something- Lily wasn't paying much attention so she really couldn't say what exactly- made the Gryffindor stands roar in approval. The youngest Potter groaned and covered her ears, feeling Charles wiggle around to hide from the sounds inside her robes. Lucky rabbit.

Rupert elbowed her gently, a friendly smile on his face. "Not a fan of quidditch, I take it?"

"Hehe…" she cleared her throat, embarrassed. "Not… really."

"Me neither." The Hufflepuff Prefect admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Gimme a football game any day."

"Football? Isn't that the muggle sport?"

"Yeah!" He smiled, his eyes shining much the same as Hugo's. "It's played on the ground and we kick a ball around- no hands allowed unless you're the keeper- like this one he's got a scorebox to play in- and even then only in a small area of the whole field. It's got eleven players instead of just seven and… and you're not interested at all, are you?"

Lily went for honesty and just shook her head at him, pursing her lips. "Not in the slightest."

"Sorry- keep hoping to find someone here interested football. Everyone back home is…"

Charles turned brown eyes up at his owner accusingly, as if reminding Lily of Rupert's muggle roots and the girl relented "Tell me about football some other time? One sport at a time is about my limit." She looked up at Hugo in his bright red attire, still emphatically talking to Isabelle about something or the other. Seriously, Lily rolled her eyes, how much longer could someone talk about Quidditch? Glancing around at her house, she noted absently that her and Hugo were among the rare few that had worn red. Almost everyone else had donned strict Hufflepuff colors, something slightly unusual for the normally supportive house.

The Ravenclaw stands, on the other hand, had more red and green apparel then normal.

Rupert looked around as well and his eyes narrowed slightly, then he shook his head as though trying to keep his mind on track. "If you don't like Quidditch," he asked her, "what're you doing here?"

"James is captain." She shrugged, considering that fact more than answer enough.

"Ah right. The eldest Potter." There was a note of history in the words, and he looked up at the boy himself. James Sirius Potter was flying high above the pitch, practicing his dives. "You two aren't much alike, are you?"

"I'm a Hufflepuff." Lily muttered, trying to coax Charles to leave the relative safety of her robes.

"And that's… bad?"

"No!" She immediately refuted, then realized that her tone had been a bit guilty. "I love being Hufflepuff."

Rupert nodded, believing her. "But…?"

"I mean..." Lily watched the pitch instead of her House Prefect, her hand fiddling in Charles's fur. "It's just that Mum and Dad were Gryffindors. So are James and Albus, so… nobody expected the Sorting Hat to put me anywhere else."

"Hat didn't put you anywhere. You did." Rupert smiled and bumped her shoulder with his. "You're a great Hufflepuff, Lily. You'll do us all proud."

"Thanks." Lily smiled, then shook her head. "Not that I know how yet…"

"Eh, don't worry about it. You're a Second Year, you got plenty of time to pick a career."

She hugged Charles up to her chest, tucking her chin in his soft fur. "Everyone thinks I'll be a politician, like Aunt Hermione. Or at least some kind of negotiator. I mean, everyone already comes to me with all their problems…"

"I take it that 'everyone' is your many cousins?"

"Yeah." she muttered, her fingers twisting. "I mean I know it sounds kinda small for me to consider them the whole world, but really, with all of them looking for me for some reason or another I don't have time for much else! Between Hugo's adjusting to school and Al's continuing grudge against James and James's ignoring Al's grudge and Rose's breakdowns and now the whole Zoey mess-" She took a much needed inhale. "I'm lucky I don't have problems of my own- I'd never get round to them."

Rupert chuckled sympathetically. "It does sound busy."

"I still don't get why they come to me though. I mean, I'm the youngest- surely they should talk to the older cousins like Fred, or even Dominique!" She pointed out the two members of the family that- while among the older group- had somehow succeeded in attaining social circles separate from the family. The seventh and fifth year Gryffindors somehow managed to never get involved in family drama or quarrels. In fact, Lily realized, she hadn't talked to either of them for a while. Fred would be easy to track down with his Prefect responsibilities, but Dom would be harder to find time with… that girl barely went anywhere solo, and she'd said she wanted to keep her friends and family separate…

Realizing she'd already started thinking of ways to make things convenient for them, Lily had the small epiphany that this was probably the answer to her question. She was very good at seeing things from everyone's perspective and not only did the skill help her give advice, but it helped her make things easier for everybody. Most everyone else in the family, especially the older cousins with O.W.L.S. and N.E.W.T.S. approaching, tended to be engrossed in their own problems at any given moment. It was actually the younger cousins like herself who had more time for each other.

"Age has nothing to do with it." Rupert unknowingly echoed her thoughts. "Trust is trust- and for whatever reason, they seem to trust you to help them."

Despite the trouble and stress that fact did and undoubtedly would continue to cause her, Lily found herself smiling as she realized he was right. She was about to say in response something when he raised a hand.

"That being said, you do need your own break from time to time. So if you want support or advice on how to advise- actually, go to Isabelle for the second one, but as your House Prefect don't hesitate to come to me for anything."

Lily did laugh at that, bumping him back. "I know, Mr. Sergeant-slash-House-Den-Mother."

"House what?" He asked, not having heard that before.

"Den mother." she repeated plainly, saying the newest nickname the house had given him. "You're always watching over everyone like a momma badger protecting her den."

"Well- that-" Rupert looked like he seriously wanted to argue the whole 'mother' part, but knew his own nature too well to deny how well it fit him. He gave a heavy sigh of defeat and rubbed the back of his neck again. "Whatever."

Lily giggled again and patted his shoulder sympathetically. "So, since you don't like quidditch, why are you here?" she looked around at the stands again then dropped her voice. "Does it have anything do with our House's sudden lack in Gryffindor support?"

The Prefect's eyes snapped open and looked at her, his previous jovial demeanor gone as the green gaze assessed her for a serious moment. Then he nodded and straightened in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. "School tensions are high, Lily. Your cousins just set down a barrel of gunpowder in a roomful of sparks- er, a Kneazle into an owlery." The muggle-born changed his analogy.

"I… I don't think they meant to." Lily mumbled, shame creeping into her voice as she buried her face back into Charles. "I'm sure they had their reasons for it…"

She felt his hand pat her head comfortingly, though his words stayed unforgiving toward her cousins. "I doubt that. Breaking into another House hasn't been done before, Lil, and going after Zoey of all people…"

Lily blinked at the familiarity. "I thought you didn't know Zoey."

"She's joined some DDC practices lately." he waved a palm dismissively, but Lily wasn't fooled. Rupert protected his clubmembers as fiercely as his housemates. "But it's not just what Rose and Lorcan did, Lily. Some of your family-" his eyes flickered to the pitch and back too quick for her to tell if Rupert had been looking at anyone specifically "-use their 'Legacy' status to excess. So now while half the school is disillusioned and disgruntled, the other half is secretly pleased and vindictive about ya'll getting something that has, honestly, been a bit overdue."

"Something like a reality check?" Lily Potter matched his honesty sadly, wishing that it weren't the case. As tough as tough love- and life- was, she knew that it would help some of her family members in the long run. It would help Rose for sure, Lily thought as she remembered their conversation yesterday. That girl was finally ready to turn over a new leaf and change herself.

Then she frowned. "That still doesn't explain why you're here."

"It's quidditch. It's no football," Rupert chuckled, "but it's still a great way for the masses to let off steam. I'm just making sure nothing gets out of hand."

"Huh." She hadn't thought of it like that, and glanced back at the Ravenclaw crowd across from them, seeing the split in green and red support. Maybe that's what their students were doing- not really rooting for Slytherin, but more taking advantage to express their frustrations against Gryffindor.

A distinctive head of colored hair was missing from the group, and Lily absently noted all the quidditch players flying to the ground as she asked Rupert. "Have you seen Zoey at all lately? I think she's disappeared again the last few days…"

"I haven't." Rupert agreed, and shook his head slightly. "But can you blame her? After the spectacle she and Rose made in the hall, it's no wonder she wants to avoid limelight."

"True." Lily sighed, looking down. Then she did a double take as she saw Oliver Wood, the flying instructor, walking onto the field with the quidditch chest. Her jaw dropped as he freed the bludgers and tossed the quaffle, which was quickly snatched by a Gryffindor Chaser. "I thought the game had already started?!"

Her loud statement regained the attention of the two quidditch fanatics.

"Those were just warm ups, silly." Hugo laughed at his cousin like she'd made a joke, missing her groan. If this much time had been spent on warm-ups, why had they had to rush down here in the first place?

Even in her apathy toward the game, Lily couldn't help but join the surge of excitement that swept through the stands as Gryffindor scored the first shot.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Nice shot Ivaan!"

"Way to go Eddy!"

The Gryffindor reserve bench echoed with cheers for the chaser-beater combo that had made the first point of the game. Rose was one of the first to sit back down, watching the scrimmage resume wearily. Never had she been happy before to be a substitute instead of a player. She wanted this break. Normally she was bored out of her mind when she had to sit reserve through a whole quidditch game, but this time it was a wonderful relief for the focus of the school to be on something other than herself.

Rose leaned back on the bench as she watched from the best vantage point in the pitch, listening to Jordan Lancaster summarize the game.

"Excellent move by the Gryffindor' Beater Eddy there-" the latino Sixth Year was saying in her vast spanish accent, her voice carrying to every spectator with magic. "-perfectly placed bludger! Slytherin Keeper Diane had to let that shot go or else get a rather nasty hit early on in the game- not that that'd be that bad after all…"

The announcer was alone in the faculty box for this scrimmage- even teacher had their own work to attend to, Rose noted wryly, but they were allowed to chose which quidditch games they attended.

"Slytherins in possession- um, Gregor has it right now- wide open pass to Slytherin Chaser Tom on the right- oh, he didn't even look at it! What a missed opportunity- he's gonna regret that because here comes Gryffindor's star Chaser Ivaan, hot on his tail and now Gregor has to pass- straight into an easy steal by fellow Gryffindor Chaser Adam! Well done, man! Keep going, all the way- what! That has to be a foul! Yellow card! Yellow- uuuugh I wish… no, instead the Slytherin Chaser gets off scot free with that DIRTY TACKLE and flies away with the ball, back down the field- yes! Another nicely shot bludger clips the edge of his broom and the Slytherin Chaser drops the quaffle-" she said with a bit of a laugh, her amusement echoed by Gryffindor and naturally booed by Slytherin, while the other two Houses had an indiscernible mix of responses. Jordan started speaking even faster to match the pace of the game. "And it is easily scooped up by Melody- that girl is great on a broom, gotta be glad she's on our team eh Gryffindor?- watch her veer down the pitch- nice barrel roll there to dodge another tackle- wide open shot at any hoop she wants and there is is just no way to block them all- GOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!"

The stands went wild with matching enthusiasm. Rose wasn't entirely sure she liked this particular habit of the Spanish-born commentator, but she stood and cheered all the same. The Lorcan in the Gryffindor stands started their tried and true chant of "go, go, Gryffindor!"

"-and Gryffindor leads twenty to nothing! Dos a zero, ziltch, nada- Gryffindor chasers doing a well deserved victory spin on the field, while the Slytherins get ready for their return- Slytherin Captain and Seeker Odetta Oakinson flying down to have a word with her chasers, I'm sure she's not pleased- play starts- they actually make a pass this time, imagine that- still charging down the field like a herd of buffalo there- about as unnatractive too, but hard to stop- golly, looks like Odetta's actually yelling for her team to make every pass- looks like they need more practice, eh?- but it's working, Slytherin moving smoothly up the field- they're at the hoops- d'oh, Gryffindor Keeper Evan clips the quaffle but couldn't quite catch it, Slytherin score their first goal of the game- it's now twenty to ten. Slytherin fans going wild over it- except their reserves, looks like they all decided to bring homework instead of cheer their teammates- some team spirit there-"

Rose dropped her gaze to the other bench for reserves and blinked as she realized Jordan was right. Every one of their substitute players was holding a quill and parchment and diligently writing away. Scorpius Malfoy had even brought a whole desk and sat a fellow reserve down at it while he himself leaned against a corner and dictated to both a quickquill and his teammate.

A little kernel of envy settled inside her. Rose had often wished she could study or work during the many long quidditch games she'd had to sit through, but she'd never quite managed the courage to do so when the whole school could see her do so instead of support her team. But there was Scorpius Malfoy, still doing whatever he wanted despite the fact that most of Hogwarts reviled him. Even with the recent publication about his Manor, with the obvious dark arts involved there and his family's Death Eater past once again called into question, it wasn't affecting him. He obviously wasn't losing sleep over it. If anything, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy looked to be in a good mood as he tirelessly worked.

On the other hand, it had taken her thirty minutes to convince herself to get out of bed this morning. Rose set her chin in her hand. Maybe she was a little bit too concerned with her image. Maybe. She'd have to ask Lily for an opinion on that.

She glanced at the Hufflepuff section, then did a double take at the sight of Hugo, front and center of the stands wearing a bright red robe and roaring his head off. He was leaning so far forward that he almost fell, and was only saved when another Hufflepuff guy grabbed his collar and yanked him back. Rose could practically hear the laughter as Hugo- undeterred by his almost fall- jumped right back up and resumed cheering! She groaned and put her head in her hands. At least she wasn't oblivious of her image. Thank goodness Lily was keeping an eye on Hugo, otherwise he'd be the laughingstock of the school by now.

Jordan Lancaster was still commentating, the quaffle having done back and forth down the pitch during Rose's internal musings. "And Gryffindor Chasers returns the quaffle, passing it up the field- Slytherin's are in a very poor position to steal- quaffle goes to Melody- Ivaan- back to Melody- swings it out to Ivaan again who shoots for the far hoop- agh, beautiful shot at the hardest post but Slytherin's Keeper catches it- wastes no time kicking it out, Slytherin moving it up the field- JAMES IS DIVING FOR THE SNITCH!"

Rose and a hundred other eyes snapped away from the quaffle. James had so far done nothing but circle the field, scouring the pitch for the game-ending snitch and closely followed by Roxanne, whose sole responsibility was to protect his focus from any kind of distraction, bludger or player. It was a risky strategy to leave Gryffindor's defenders without their star beater, but it seemed to pay off as James fell into an almost vertical drop for the snitch early on in the game.

"Look at that determination- that form! He's going for it, folks- I don't see the snitch yet but- is that intentional!?- looks like Slytherin's Seeker doesn't see the snitch either, she's headed for a collision course instead!-"

Odetta had been hovering by her chasers again, but hearing the announcement she'd veered after the opposing seeker-and-captain, leaning low over her broom to accelerate. She was aimed to cut off his trajectory and vision of the ground coming up below him.

"-and James pulls up out of the dive so they don't crash- cheap move there by Slytherin's Seeker-" The stands were once again split between cheers and jeers at the event on the pitch. "-took complete advantage of James Potter's well known gentleman manner to cut off a perfect dive-"

Rose rolled her eyes and wished, not for the first time, Jordan wouldn't pander to the parts of the audience with an obvious crush on James. Then again, she couldn't deny that it was effective as the Gryffindor girl's behind her gave a high-pitch squeal in approval of Jordan Lancaster's comment.

"-looks like Slytherin's Chaser trio took advantage of the excitement, they got another shot in. Game tied twenty to twenty. Gryffindor takes it down the pitch again…"

The pace of the game slowed down, with the quaffle traveling back and forth down the pitch. Slytherin wasn't able to get past the Gryffindor chasers to get the shot off, but their Keeper was equally effecting at blocking almost every shot Gryffindor made.

Inevitably though the keeper started to tire, and Ivaan scored another hoop to regain the lead 30-20.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!"

"Yeah!" the Gryffindor stands cheered, and the reserve chaser beside her turned and yelled "Did you see that feint? Fantastic!" to the group at large.

Rose was about to respond "of course, I was watching him too", until her comment clicked in her mind and she looked back to Scorpius's position. The Slytherin reserves weren't watching the game, they were studying it- writing her team's every play and move and, Rose was sure, a half dozen other things that Scorpius would relay for his captain to use for the team's full advantage.

The bleacher of emerald reserves had become more to their team then just practice opponents. No wonder Scorpius Malfoy was in a good mood.

A shrill whistle pierced the field and Wood held up his hand. "Cobbing the chaser!" he pointed to the offending Slytherin, then turned the same finger to Adam. "Penalty shot!"

Adam was still scrambling to regain his balance after almost falling off from a hard Slytherin chaser's elbow, but he grinned ear to ear as he flew in position for the easy score.

"About time that got called- seriously, Slytherin's chasers have been playing like there's a bonus for bruising- but now they'll pay for it, as they lose ten points to an easy shot, doubling the lead now at forty to twenty- GOOOOOO- oh! LOOK OUT JAMES!"

Two bludgers were hurdling straight toward James like cannonballs. The Slytherin beaters fist bumped triumphantly. During penalties the only players allowed to take action were defending keeper, the chaser taking the shot and- of course- the seekers. However there were no rules against lining up their shot, and so the Slytherin beaters had waited until exactly after the shot made it through the hoop before slamming both bludgers against the same opponent; James.

With nerves of steel James Sirius Potter glanced at the distraction before resuming his search for the snitch. Rose jumped up with agitation and worry that he was putting too much faith in Roxanne- anyone would have trouble blocking two bludgers at once, someone could get seriously hurt!

The anxiety was catching throughout the stadium when Roxanne Weasley fearlessly dove directly between her cousin and the two bludgers, heedless of the dangerous position she was now flying in. Wielding her bat with ease she smacked the first bludger off and away, careening over the stands. Using the recoil instead of fighting it Roxanne spun upsidedown on her broom to tap the other one, lacking the time to properly line up the blow but successfully diverting the bludger just enough so that it missed James.

The crowd went wild with enthusiasm for the play- even some Slytherins applauded politely at the display of skill- and Roxanne righted herself with a Weasley-wide grin to the stands. She raised the bat in salute, then resumed her defensive position near her seeker-and-captain.

Rose let out the breath she'd been holding, watching Roxanne fly a few more seconds just to make sure that her cousin was definitely okay. The beater was massaging her shoulder again, but otherwise seemed to be all right. Slowly Rose became aware of shouting from the Gryffindor's seats behind her and turned to see her House badmouthing the Slytherins' dangerous tactic, Lorcan at the front of the crowd.

Lorcan Scamander. Her partner in crime, and now fellow prisoner in detention. Rose ran a hand down her face in frustration with the thought. Detention. She had never gotten detention. Her mum had never gotten detention- or at least, if she ever had, it must have been Uncle Harry's fault. And now, instead of following her footsteps Rose would be doing muggle polishing in the trophy room. An hour every day until Christmas Break. A whole hour. Every. Day. And the marr on her spotless record wouldn't be the only lasting effect.

Her eyes trailed back to Roxanne as she circled protectively around James, her mind drawn back to their brief locker room conversation before the game. When Rox had first called out to her Rose had tensed, certain that she was going to be badgered or blamed for her slip almost putting James in detention and actually getting Lorcan in detention, but her cousin had surprised her. She pulled her to the back corner of the room and stood like a shield between Rose and everyone else.

"Are you okay?" Rox had whispered in a fierce hushed tone, her eyes looking over her younger cousin as though truly expecting to find something out of place.

"I- I'm fine," Rose had stammered, sensing that Roxanne wasn't asking about her frazzled mental state. "I- what's wrong with you? Are you okay?"

She looked her up down one more time, then her shoulders slumped. "Honestly no. Lorcan got jumped on the way to breakfast this morning."

"He what-?" her shout of surprise had been covered by her cousin's quick hand, and Rose had blushed as she was shushed like a child. She cleared her throat and said again in a quieter tone "What happened? Is he okay?"

"Two students came at him from round a corner, cast a few hexes, then got away. Lor said he didn't see who…" her had voice trialed off as she folded her arms. "But he might have just said that so I wouldn't do something back at them and get suspended from the game."

"He's fine though?"

"Yeah. This time. But you should keep an eye out too- one in front and behind, and all that… Maybe stay close to the rest of us till we get home for Christmas and this blows over."

"Okay. I'll keep careful around Slytherins." Rose had promised, if only to calm her cousin. Seriously, there were people in that House that shouldn't be allowed to stay here in Hogwarts.

"Definitely. But- they might not have been Slytherins."

"Come off it, Rox. Who else would it be? I bet there are a dozen snakes just waiting for chances like that…"

"A Ravenclaw." The older girl had stated far too seriously to be argued with. "Word is their whole House got in a huge debate on who to blame for- well, our break in, and some people were more outraged than others."

"So… they attacked Lorcan not because of Zoey, but just because he stepped into their House?"

"Broke into their house." Roxanne had corrected unrepentantly, and looked Rose square in the eyes as she had challenged "Wouldn't you?"

The answer had been cut off by James's loud call for the team to gather for his usual pre-game pep talk, but both girls knew the answer that was coming.

… yes. Rose thought with defeat, resting her chin on her knees. Yes, she would definitely be that upset with anyone who broke into Gryffindor to mess with one of her Housemates.

Once this game was over and things calmed down, Roxanne would probably try to track down whoever'd attacked Lorcan. And then their friends might retaliate. And then Rox and Lorcan and James and probably most of her family would willingly respond to that… Merlin, it was just a never ending spiral, wasn't it?

The quaffle traveling back and forth felt like a metaphor for her wandering thought, when a shrill whistle pierced the air.

"Bumphing!" Wood cried vindictively, that particular foul striking a sore spot for him. Having been a professional Keeper for Puddlemere United, illegal bludgers aimed at his old position were intolerable for him. Didn't matter how close of a call it was- and in this case, it had been a very close call.

Eddy shook his bat at the blown whistle yet didn't protest further. He'd barely been a bit early at sending off his shot before his team chasers entered the scoring area, but early he had been and Wood had caught it. Now not only did it stop their shot from counting but Slytherin would get the points instead.

Their stands were already cheering as a Slytherin chaser lined up the shot. The whole team was spurring the crowd to help rally for a comeback when Jordan's voice echoed:

"He's at it again! James has seen the snitch!"

There was a scurry of motion at the Gryffindor hoop as everyone turned in the air, seeing James Potter descend in a crimson blur from far above the pitch. Odetta followed his gaze and spotted commentators pointing to a small walnut-sized glimmer hovering at the ground below their seats. She was the closer Seeker- but James had the momentum and the angle on his approach.

"Move!" She commanded her gathered players out of her path, then she was streaking after him.

Both teams were now left watching their captains in an all out race and weren't sure what to do- it was, after all, rather rare that a snitch be spotted during a penalty. Rose saw Roxanne fingering her club and eyeing a bludger, but she didn't dare hit it. On the other side of the field the Slytherin reserves were yelling something, but the distance and crowd noise made it too hard to hear as Odetta flew ten feet ahead the other seeker… eight feet… five…

"Odetta barely still in the lead- go for it James, almost neck and neck- they both put on a burst of speed- both dive down and Odetta jumps for it but- YES! HE'S GOT IT! JAMES CAUGHT IT! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

Odetta crashed to the ground, her last ditch effort for speed having cost her the balance and time it would have taken to pull up. When she landed she lay there for a moment, then stood and faced the crowds. Her House bleachers were already emptying, unwilling to watch the Gryffindor celebrations. She followed their example and started walking off the pitch as well, her teammates leaving with her.

Meanwhile James had pulled up triumphantly with the prize, the tiny gold wings glinting in his fist as he ignored his downed opponent to do a victory lap around the field.

"Quickest game of the year folks- I'll have to check the records, James might've broken a few. Final score is one hundred-ninety to twenty. But remember, this was a scrimmage. One of the last ones of the fall. All that's left is Slytherin against Hufflepuff. When we get back after Christmas, that's when the real season begins! 'Till then this is Jordan Lancaster, bidding adios!"

The closing comments were barely discernable as Rose and the other reserves jumped on their broom to join in the revelry, the whole team coalescing around James to the roar of their fans. She hugged Roxanne mid-air and chatted as they landed, all other stresses washed away in the wake of their victory.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Did you see that? Did you see? Doesn't matter how good their Keeper is, just gotta give 'em the old one-two…" Hugo punched his fists in the air like he was in a muggle dueling match, grinning from ear to ear. As psyched as he'd been before the scrimmage he was easily thrice as enthusiastic now. He hadn't stopped raving about Gryffindor's upcoming season since James caught the snitch.

Lily smiled at his enthusiasm, the pair walking back alone. Rupert and Isabelle had stayed at the pitch, wanting to trail the crowd rather than lead it. "I saw."

"And- and I'm sure that was a record! I can't wait to find out- I mean, I know your dad had a quick catch his first year, but James had to've been close…" he grunted when someone bumped into him in the crowd, but resumed talking without so much as a glance toward the culprit.

The conversation- or rather, Hugo's monologue continued all the way up to the castle, where everyone was going to grab a late breakfast.

As they walked through the foyer someone else bumped into Hugo, this time hard enough to knock the gangly First Year over.

"Hey!" Lily called out in his defense, glaring at the Slytherin culprit. "What was that for?"

The older student didn't answer as he walked on, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to her cousin.

"Aww man, it ripped!" Hugo complained, looking at the hem of his recently attained red robe.

"We can fix it later," Lily assured even as she helped him slip out of the vibrant outer layer. She frowned at the folded garment before putting it away. Had- had that guy bumped into Hugo just because he was wearing red? How petty!

"Want a hand?" Said a familiar voice, and the two Hufflepuffs looked up to see a familiar Ravenclaw standing over them. Though simply brown-haired at the moment, and looking rather bedraggled with her hair loose knotted and a broomcase in hand, she was easily recognizable to those who knew her.

"Zoey!" they both said in surprise, jumping to their feet and approaching her, both with a dozen questions to ask.

Half a second later though they both jumped back, their hands going over their noses. She almost smelled as bad as the eggs Peeves had dropped in the Great Hall the other day. Lily wouldn't have been surprised if the aroma started visibly coming off the other girl like a cartoon.

Zoethia Malam blushed a bit at their reaction, looking accusingly at the Albanian Murtlap on her shoulder. "Yeah, Rasputin went rolling in something nasty again. Razmanian devil." She poked him in retribution, but he merely preened as though his rank stench was a fine aroma. Lily noted that his shoulder perch had quite a few holes in Zoey's robe, as though the murtlap had been clawing her a bit to hard.

"Um, Zoey, I don't know how to say this, but that rat is not the only one that REEKs like the backside of a blast-ended screwt."

"Hugo! That is incredibly rude!"

"Uh-huh. Take your hand of your nose, Lil, and try saying that again."

The youngest Potter blushed but didn't dare attempt it, instead keeping her nostrils firmly plugged as she looked back to Zoey. "Did someting happen?" her voice got more nasally the more she spoke.

"I- uh- well- kinda?" the Ravenclaw blinked rapidly and took in her surroundings. "I thought I was taking a shortcut to Ravenclaw Tower, but I must have gotten turned around- is this the ground floor?"

Lily just nodded, still trying hard to only breath through her mouth. "I dink you need to go dat way."

"Yeah, looks right to me." The Ravenclaw nodded, turning on the spot.

"Hey- what, you're not gonna tell us where you've been? We were worried! You've been missing since Friday!" Hugo asked, daring to reach forward and grab her hand.

Zoey did a double-take at him, blinking again before she laughed. "Hugo, you're turning green. How about we wait until after I shower and no longer smell nauseating?"

"No." The young Hufflepuff stubbornly refused to step away. "You're gonna avoid us again, like you did when the Scandal about you and Orion was released."

"I- well, yeah, I was that time." the Ravenclaw admitted with a bit of shame, and saw the hurt on both of their expressions. "...I promise I won't do that again though. I'll come to the Great Hall as soon as I'm done, okay?"

"You really will? You promise?"

"Pinky promise." She held up the finger, then giggled at their lack of recognition. She had to explain the muggle oath and walk him through the motion, smiling and repeating the pinky-shake with Lily too before going on her way.

Charles smelled her hand and then reeled away, his long ears drooping.

Silently agreeing with her rabbit Lily cast a quick scourgify on herself and Hugo to purge the smell. "C'mon Hue, let's grab some food."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Roxanne Weasley walked into the Great Hall, freshly showered along with the rest of her team. Because it wasn't a proper meal time the tables were stocked with snack foods and the Faculty table was empty, but her stomach would be satisfied for now. She wasn't surprised to see that there was some lingering tension in the room, as the Slytherin Team had already arrived and had no doubt been stirring malcontent as was their House norm.

To add to the confusion, it seemed that Peeves had targeted Rose yet again, throwing walking sticks down at the girl. Lorcan was standing up with a shield spell and chasing the blue poltergeist away, to the disappointed boos that echoed from the Slytherin half of the hall.

"What's a matter, Rose?" some of them taunted. "Can't defend yourself when everyone can see you?"

"Hit her again, Peeves!"

"Did you run out of eggs? Have a dung bomb-"

At that point Lorcan turned from the poltergeist to the rest of the student body, yelling to the room at large "Mind your own business!" and punctuated his declaration with a fist slammed on Gryffindor table, rattling silverware.

In the surprised silence a dry voice cut evenly "You should have told yourself that on Halloween."

Rox turned with a glare to see Scorpius Malfoy standing next to Rupert, the Hufflepuff Prefect- and Lily and Hugo of all people. Her two cousins shushed the Slytherin fruitlessly.

"Must be nice to be done with your homework." Roxanne retorted. "Lucky that you weren't a starter, otherwise you'd be working on it now."

Malfoy sneered in response but otherwise didn't react to the taunt that would have had him seething just last year.

James sat against the edge of Gryffindor's table and waved a dismissive hand in the air. "Don't worry about him, Rox- he's just a sore loser."

"Oh yes- oh, woe are we. We lost a scrimmage, how terrible. I'll never show my face again." One of the other Slytherin reserves moaned as though physically injured, then grew serious. "Until, of course, we win the Cup." Slytherin's around him gave a hearty cheer of support.

"We beat you by a hundred seventy points." James scoffed, "No one improves that much in one season."

The boy's face reddened and he took a breath to reply when Odetta put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head to stop his comment. Then she turned to James and said "I'd rather my team than yours, Potter- I haven't seen such unsportsmanship in years."

"Un-?!" James couldn't even repeat the word he was so astonished by the accusation.

"One captain crashes to the ground and the other doesn't even attempt to check on her?" A Ravenclaw chimed in. "That more than meets the definition of the word."

The boy- one of the Dueling Club Members, Rox was pretty sure- was almost immediately admonished by his Head Girl.

Roxanne bristled as the Slytherins and a few Ravenclaws nodded agreement with his words while she made it to the front of the Gryffindor group that had assembled over the course of the shouted argument. "You wanna talk about unsporting, then why don't you admit which two of you snakes attacked Lorcan this morning?" Roxanne crossed her arms. "Two on one is hardly 'sporting' either, is it?"

Lorcan looked at her and exclaimed in a shocked tone "Rox!"

"What are you talking about?" Daniel, the Head Boy, chimed in. "Is this true, Lorcan? Were you attacked?"

The Gryffindor rolled his eyes to land on Roxanne accusingly, but she held her head high. She didn't care if he'd wanted to ignore it, she wasn't going to let anyone get away with attacking him like that.

"It was one spell," Lorcan eventually admitted to the authority figure. "It didn't even hit, and I didn't see who did it anyways."

"Hold on a second." a Slytherin on the other side of the hall stood up.

"Zambini-" Scorpius called in a warning tone, but the other boy was having none of it.

"No I will not calm down! If he didn't see them then why do they say it was a Slytherin? I am sick and tired of being blamed for everything that goes wrong in this school!"

"Well whose fault do you think that is?" James responded, and practically every arguing student pointed to someone else and erupted in an accusation of:

"YOURS!"

Peeves, at this point, seemed to decide that this argument was causing more mayhem than he could. So the poltergeist settled back to watch, his jester-bells jingling with glee over the proceedings.

A few Gryffindors spoke up, calling out their rival house. "Slytherin's have had more dark wizards than any other House in the history of Hogwarts!"

"Yeah, when one looks at past correlations it's only logical to draw the conclusions that we do!" A Ravenclaw girl agreed, but Ravenclaws were joining both sides of the argument. Just a couple seats over a few of them were saying:

"If one judges by magnitude of disrespect it is you Gryffindors who have done the most damage to House relations in recent past!"

"As much as you blame Slytherin," another Ravenclaw agreed, "You take no responsibility unto yourself!"

"Sam, Micheal, all of you- sit down!" Emma Wilkes tried to command her housemates back to order from the head of her table.

"See what you've started Malfoy?"

"I believe the credit for this goes to you and yours, Potter." Scorpius gave James a small mocking salute.

"Look- this is a FAMILY matter," Lorcan shouted. "So leave it be!"

"Funny, coming from one of the Legacy twins that isn't actually related to the rest of them-"

Roxanne winced. She wasn't sure who'd said that, but he couldn't have found an easier way to rile the usually laid-back Scamander. The rest of that exchange was drowned out as the other arguments rose in volume, but Lorcan was emphatically waving his hand to punctuate his points, forgetting that he still held his wand from when he'd fought off Peeves. A number of Gryffindors' started drawing their own wands to match him.

As Lorcan shouted, Roxanne's eyes landed on the girl next to the boy he was arguing with- Priscilla. The infamous Slytherin pulled out her wand and casually placed it on the table, and like a ripple her housemates drew theirs as well. A Slytherin Prefect walked to her and timidly whispered something too quiet to make out from across the hall, as was as her response. Then the Prefect straightened and started ordering the younger Slytherins out of the hall, using firm pointing motions to be understood over all of the noise.

When blue-and-bronze blocked her vision Rox realised that Ravenclaw had followed the example, Lysander ushering his smaller housemates out of the room. Her brows drew together in confusion as to what they were doing that for, when the Slytherin she'd previously been talking to pointed at her from across the hall to call her out.

"You Legacies strut around like you own the place!" Zambini cried. "You can do wrong, I assure you."

"Oh, and as a Slytherin you would be the expert on that." Roxanne pointed back at him, and was shocked to find that it wasn't her finger but her wand that was doing the pointing. She hadn't realized she'd drawn it with the others.

"Enough!" Cried a new voice, spoken with authority. Rox glanced to her right and saw Rupert Tring move to physically stand between the many arguments, empty hands held out placatingly. "This is not the time or place for any of this."

"Oh, stay out of this, Hufflepuff." Roxanne snapped. This was between her and that arrogant little snake.

"Yeah," someone behind her agreed. "Leave this to the real Houses."

Rupert wasn't the only Hufflepuff who'd heard that, and a dozen black-and-yellow uniforms turned in her direction as they tried to see who the culprit was. Faces ranged from shock to hurt to outrage as the rarely-spoke but often-thought insult was left hanging in the air. One of them- a short girl with a high braid- challenged "Try saying that again." as she gripped a wand low to the ground.

"Stay out of it." Roxanne repeated, pointing to her next and sharing in Lorcan's frustration of everyone trying to poke their nose in her business.

"Oi, wands away." Rupert warned the girls, but he was still hard to hear over all the noise. His brow furrowed and he slipped a hand into his pocket.

Roxanne's mind processed the next instant slowly when adrenaline kicked in. In her years of tussling with her cousins, skirmishing the Sneakers and as a Gryffindor Beater, she'd learned to trust her instincts in times of crisis. And this was a crisis. Rupert Grint was frowning unhappily as he reached for something. He was the foremost member of the Dueling Club, and he believed that she'd just insulted his House. She had no chance to win in a drawn out fight once he had his wand, her only hope would be to strike first.

Her wand turned slightly to the left and moved with the ease of practice as she cried "Patrificus totalis!", the spell flying true just as Rupert's hand cleared his pocked with a whistle, no doubt meant to cut through all the noise and stop the arguing.

"No-" Roxanne uttered as though that would stop what she'd done, but magic didn't work that way. Her spell hit him solidly and he froze on the spot. Not everyone noticed at first- just the people closest to the pair turned and looked at Rox with their mouths gaping. Then the people by them stopped their arguing to see what had stopped their peers, and they saw as well. In moments everyone had quieted to stare in disbelief between her and Rupert.

Looking at her wand as though it and not her hand were the culprit, Roxanne gulped dryly. Oops.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Scorpius was shocked to see the spell hit the Sergeant squarely in the chest, every argument stopping dead at the sight of the Hufflepuff Prefect slowly fall backwards, a whistle falling from between his stiff fingers.

His housemates caught him before he hit the ground. The whole Great Hall was tense. The Gryffindors and Slytherins eyeing each other with venom and wands in hand, the Ravenclaws mostly divided on the issues but the group around Emma clearly united, the Hufflepuffs still reeling from the insult to their house and the attack on their representative and peacemaker.

Isabelle was the first to recover, right hand raising her wand as she turned to Roxanne in a rage "How dare you!"

Roxanne, still surprised by her own action, was slow to respond. James however had no such shock, and sent a stunning spell across the tables toward Isabelle before she could face the new opponent, only to have Nott jump atop the Slytherin dining table and deflect it harmlessly to the ceiling.

There was a still moment in the hall as the onlookers took in what happened. A Gryffindor attacked Hufflepuff, and a Slytherin had defended. A heartbeat passed, and chaos broke loose. As spells flew between the houses, a great melee spread like wildfire. Emma Wilks was the quick to respond to the fight, taking advantage of Nott's exposed and distracted position on the table to send him flying. "Wands down, all of you!" she cried, but her attack toward the Slytherin table coupled with her hexing of Nott sapped the authority from her words.

The Great Hall exploded into a cacophony of spells. The students weren't out to injure one another, but subdual and humiliation were fair game. Petrification and stunning spells were mixed in with hexes and jinxes, wand sparks, and anything else the casters could bring to bare. Roxanne Weasley took a concentrated hail of fire from Hufflepuff DDC members, and an odd combination of spells left her fingernails growing at an alarming rate, her legs tap-dancing uncontrollably, all while she struggled to catch her breath between bouts of laughter. Her collapse spurred James and Lorcan to angry retribution, and the rest of Gryffindor was quickly followed their offensive stance.

Isabelle levered one of the heavy house tables over, creating a defensive barricade between herself and the oncoming Gryffindors. In the void created by Rupert's sudden absence, her housemates and fellow DDC members looked to her and followed her lead. Scorpius knelt next to her, separated from his house because- before all this started- he'd been asking Rupert about this week's club schedule. So he now had a front-row seat to watch grimmly at the tenuous position of the Hufflepuffs.

Scorpius sent a few hexes over the table into the nearest group of Gryffindors. Even in the chaos, he was surprised at his own composure and awareness of the moves around him. His mind collected a complete picture of the layout from fragments in his periphery.

Behind him, the Ravenclaw and Slytherin benches surged against eachother, a fierce fight on that front breaking out. In the opening moments both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had suffered the most strikes. Situated in the middle of the hall their tables lacked the safety of a wall at their back. The Ravenclaws also suffered from a lack of numbers as well; many of the House refused to draw their wands, abandoning the fight to take positions behind the teacher's table or leaving to watch from beyond the Great Hall's doorway.

The Hufflepuffs had a different issue: without Rupert, they had no clear champion to stand against Daniel, James, and the other advancing Gryffindors. Additionally, unlike the Slytherins and Ravenclaws, they had younger students in their midsts and, unlike the Gryffindors, they had no safe wall to shelter them against.

Even in the opening moments dozens of students were petrified or otherwise knocked out of the fight. Each house had a different feel to their energy as well: Gryffindor confident and brazen, advancing with little mind to their defense. Hufflepuff reeling but eager to avenge the insult and injury to their Prefect. Ravenclaw fought divided but with a core group loyal to their Head Girl, and Scorpius's own Housemates were eager for the fight, taking advantage of the chaos to settle old grudges. Noting strengths and attritions, he quickly realized that without some kind of intervention the morale of the Hufflepuffs would be the first to collapse.

Scorpius watched as James and the other legacies worked their way down the line, overpowering younger and weaker sections of the Hufflepuff defense. He saw Emma rallying the Ravenclaws to hold out. He knew the Hufflepuff line only held because of the higher percentage of DDC members in their House. Both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were predominantly focused on their Slytherin and Gryffindor opponents, but Scorpius predicted whichever House in the middle fell first would create a huge change in the dynamic of the fight.

After surveying the hall he looked to Isabelle, glad to have someone strong at shieldwork in their defensive position. He had to shout to be heard over the many spells and incantations being thrown about. "Isabelle: we need to hold out until the Ravenclaws buckle. Then we'll only have one front to worry about."

Isabelle deflected a devastating stun from Daniel with difficulty. "Easier said than done! We- Lily, Hugo!" Her attention turned to shield the young Hufflepuffs as they struggled to drag Rupert to safety, spells flying over their crouched heads. "Stay low!" Scorpius sent a hex toward Daniel to keep him preoccupied, the chaos of the situation stilling any worry he may have otherwise felt at attacking Hogwarts' Head Boy.

Isabelle turned back to their conversation once Rupert was pulled to cover. "Malfoy, take a couple of attacking specialists and flank the Ravenclaws. We'll hold out as best we can, be quick." She called a couple DDC members by name from the neighboring table to join Scorpius, before returneing her efforts to the shielding her Housemates.

Scorpius took a precious moment to survey the other battle. The hall had effectively been split into two fights, and each had different focal points. The fight between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff had vast fluctuations in skill, in some places second years were spitting vermillious sparks in futile attempts to hold off Seventh Years with N.E.W.T. level spells, and losses were sporadic on both sides. The fight between Ravenclaw and Slytherin was much more condensed, with the skill levels between combatants also much more even. Ravenclaw was still the smaller force, their lack of unity costing them both combatants and will in the fight. The core that remained though was hard and dedicated, and sent potent spells against the Slytherins around them. The group around Emma Wilks pushed forward into the Slytherin line, unaware that she was leaving allies in a poor position.

Scorpius pounced on the opportunity, bringing his Hufflepuff companions to attack and take down a half-dozen Ravenclaws before they had a chance to react. Those who remained turned in shock, and their divided attention allowed the Slytherin's they'd been fighting to launch a blistering attack to decimate the rest of the group.

Scorpius locked forearms with Zambini as they exchanged a fierce grin. Scorpius' Hufflepuff companions joined the Slytherin throng, and the unified force turned their attention the remaining Ravenclaws. Much like the previous group, those away from Emma's core were being disarmed or throwing up their hands in surrender. The fight in the center was tolling on both sides though, Emma and Priscilla encouraging their respective housemates and bolstering their lines.

From behind the Slytherin line Priscilla changed the battle field, levitating a large Slytherin table in the air as a momentary shield, then away to land behind the Faculty table with a deafening crash.

With more room to maneuver, Zambini and Scorpius were caught in a surge that completely surrounded the last Ravenclaws. Scorpius found himself working against a Ravenclaw fifth year, pressing to find a gap in her impressive wandwork. Zambini rushed past him to engage Emma before Scorpius could do anything.

She turned, her pine wand ready as he spat accusingly. "Figures you'd take out Nott like that. You'll notice a Weasley was the one who cast a hex, Nott was only shielding someone!"

She tapped the Head Girl badge on her chest "Stand down Slytherin."

"Make me," Zambini sneered.

Their wands raised. Scorpius was tied down with his own duel, and unable to wear out his opponent fast enough to help the immediately overmatched Zambini. He cursed his friends emotion, hoping vainly that he could last until help arrived. His friend was a combative person by temper but lacking skills in wand or wit.

Emma pressed forward, her agility developed from years of Quidditch reflexes coming to her advantage as she sent N.E.W.T. level spells flying. Eager and brazen as Zambini had been upon entering the fight, his breath quickly grew more labored and his dodges more desperate. He succeeded in diverting Emma's much needed attention from the Slytherin front though, and the Ravenclaw advance halted as their surrounded position began to tell.

Zambini grew desperate under the onslaught, and wildly cast a hex at Emma. She dodged easily, the spell flying harmlessly wide as she disarmed him. "Expelliarmus!"

The wand flew high into the air to land in her hand. Pocketing it, she pointed her own wand directly at her challenger's chest. Scorpius groaned as Zambini stubbornly clenched his fists and rushed forward, only to be stunned back and land against an empty Hufflepuff bench.

Emma returned her attention to the fight with a deft straightening of her robe. Seeing Zambini go down, Priscilla stepped forward. Almost subconsciously a gap opened in the middle of the fight, Priscilla and Emma filling the void. The two girls surveyed one-another, and their respective sides paused a moment to take in their champions. Emmaline Wilks, Quidditch Captain, Head Girl, Seventh Year. Priscilla Parkinson, Pureblood, Fifth Year, rumored a dangerous duelist but unconfirmed in front of an audience.

Priscilla smiled coldly, her bearing regal and confident. With the authority of a Pureblood upbringing she locked eyes with the Hogwarts Head Girl and said "Stand down, Ravenclaw."

Emma's eyes narrowed at the mocking parody of her earlier words. "Parkinson," she hissed, "you've been flaunting the rules for years, but I'll see you expelled for this."

The younger girl raised a coy eyebrow. "Actually, I believe it's you who misstepped this time Wilks. Everyone saw you stun the defendant when this whole debacle started. Thanks to you, we will be blameless." She raised her wand in the mocking salute of a proper duel.

Emma blinked in surprise, and eagerly saluted in response. As the girls clashed the fights around them resumed with even greater ferocity. One of the DDC Hufflepuffs joined Scorpius' duel, and together they worked down his opponent. With his fight less taxing, he kept an eye on Emma and Priscilla in case he needed to jump to his Housemate's aid.

Emma's wandwork was excellent. As valued by her House, her spells were technically sound. Priscilla on the other hand made up for any slight technical imperfections with will. A fire of determination and- Scorpius wasn't sure,- maybe loathing lit her eyes. The power of her spells made his hair tingle even from a few paces away. They circled eachother, cloaks flaring. Emma sent another expelliarmus spell flying forward which Priscilla sent screaming into the candlesticks above. The Slytherin champion pressed forward, terrible curses pushing the limits of the Head Girl's shields. Unwilling to give ground, Emma moved forward as well, closing the distance until they were barely a pace away from one another, giving them a fraction of a second to react to each other's spells.

It was a situation unforgiving of errors, and Emma slipped first. She had a moment to look down to watch a petrification spell hit her in the chest, before becoming completely immobilized. Unable to move, her eyes followed Priscilla Parkinson as she stepped in and toppled the Ravenclaw with a calculated tap of her finger. Drawing herself up proudly over her opponent, Priscilla addressed the surrounding combatants "Wands down, Ravenclaw!"

It was an unnecessary demand. Wands had dropped and hands raised in surrender as soon as the Ravenclaws saw Emma fall. Priscilla smirked at the Head Girl, stepping through the defeated Ravenclaws. She walked deliberately past Scorpius and his DDC allies, leading them and her housemates to join the Hufflepuffs behind their defensive tables.

Taking a moment to make sure the fight was out of Ravenclaw, Scorpius turned his attention to the Gryffindors. Since he'd last looked, they had overturned their own house tables, and the two sides were entrenched in a sniping match across the gap. The no-man's-land in between was scattered with stunned and hexed students. In the short time since the fight erupted, Scorpius was shocked at the attrition. A couple hundred students had been engaged in the initial brawl, now well less than half still fought. Scorpius felt a twinge of regret at the toll, seeing a Gryffindor first year laying on his side against a table miserably puking slugs, the melee continuing around him.
Then he steeled his resolve. There was no stopping the fight now, only ending it quickly. He calmed himself and again surveyed the fight as a whole.

The Slytherins had bolstered the line just in time. The Hufflepuffs alone had been overmatched. Isabelle was holding out against two- no - three Legacies; James Potter, Dominique Weasley, Lorcan Scamander. While she hid her fatigue well, relief shone on her face as Slytherins took cover beside her housemates. She shouted encouragement, and the DDC members holding the Hufflepuff line together fought with renewed determination.

Scorpius took cover behind the nearest table and took part in a furious hail of spells against the Gryffindors. The sudden attack by the comparably fresh Slytherins took the Gryffindor by surprise, and with a wave of her hand Priscilla pressed the advantage. Slytherin students sallied forth into the gap, and the Hufflepuffs quickly followed. Priscilla gracefully stepped over a table, Isabelle moving beside her to engage the Legacies who had besieged her moments before.
As he watched the fight, Malfoy became captivated by opportunity; James Potter. Him and his allies would be preoccupied, and this chaos was an opportune moment to strike out against his long-time antagonist. In that instant his detached mindset slipped away. Locked onto his target, Scorpius leapt his own table to flank. He gripped his hawthorn wand tightly in anticipation as his mind flashed through his spell repertoire. Scorpius settled on one with a smirk. "Tarantalle-"

A flash of red to his side diverted his attention. He barely had time to look before a disarming spell caught him in the ribs. His wand flying, he saw Albus Potter pointing a wand at him from behind a Gryffindor table. Shocked, he looked at his suddenly empty hand as a voice asked Are you a magicless twit without it? The light of the spell had caught James' attention, and Scorpius had no cover to hide behind as a stunning spell spiraled toward him.

"Potter." he hissed with malice directed at both brothers as the spell caught him in the chest. His limbs lost strength, the candles floating above their heads went dark, and the floor rushed up to meet him.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Albus Severus Potter watched in shock as Scorpius Malfoy took a stunning spell to the chest. The fight slowed, and the events leading up to it flashed before his eyes as the Slytherin fell to the floor. Albus had never been in a magical fight like this before. Growing up in a large family, of course there had been scuffles, but wizarding law being what it was the fights of his youth had been of the muggle variety. This was fast, and he was barely able to keep track of the combatants nearest him in the first few minutes of fierce spellwork. He had tried to keep a low profile as more and more wands had emerged from robe pockets. Hope for peaceful resolution took a terrible blow when someone insulted Hufflepuff house, and were gone when Roxanne petrified their Prefect.

Reeling with shock and outrage, the students in yellow had overturned tables and sent spells flying towards all the Gryffindors in the hall. Albus had been quick to copy the Hufflepuffs, and soon found himself taking cover with a couple second years. He had remained defensive, glad for the sturdy wood as spell after spell scorched his makeshift cover. He had tried his best to occupy the Hufflepuffs sending spells out from the table opposite him, and if James and Lorcan hadn't worked through and knocked a couple of them from the fight Albus was sure he would have been overwhelmed early.

The momentum had steadily shifted in their favor, and just as he was sure the Gryffindors could subdue the Hufflepuffs a wave of Slytherin green had bolstered the ranks. He had watched in silent shock as Priscilla Parkinson and a Hufflepuff girl with a tight braid moved calmly to challenge his cousins and brother.

Albus was in no position to join them, and when a flash of green-lined robes moved out from cover and pointed a wand at James he acted on instinct. Gone was the burning tension between him and his brother, replaced with fierce familial protectiveness as he recalled his father's favorite spell. Albus Potter disarmed the Slytherin, and it wasn't until the student turned that the face registered as Scorpius Malfoy. Out of the corner of his eye, Albus saw his brother stun the disarmed Malfoy, and watched captivated as the boy fell with contempt in his eye and a curse on his lips.

The Slytherin joined the other prone students scattered between the tables. Looking down, Albus suddenly realized the toll the fight had taken. Students with welts and poxes curled over damaged limbs mixed in with the stunned and petrified. A first year was huddled against Albus' own table, retching and adding new occupants to a pile of slugs in front of him.
Spurred to action, Albus stood to help the young boy when crushing blow sent him reeling back as a terrible weight crashed into his forehead. He fell backward onto a bench against the wall, head in a daze. Stars spotted his vision, spells left blazing trails in their wake.

Albus moved his hand to his forehead - his wand hand, where had his wand gone?- and removed it to see blood on his fingertips. Looking down for his wand, he saw instead a glass pitcher with blood on the rim… Funny that the glass had held up instead of shattering…

He looked across the way to see Melissa Goyle throwing more tableware across the gap. His attention rolling away, he looked to the fights between the tables.

To his right, Daniel was dueling the Slytherin Prefects and seemed to be winning.

To his left, James and Lorcan were circling Priscilla and the Hufflepuff.

Worry worked its way into his stomach. James was in over his head, and the expression on his brother's face made it clear to Albus that he wasn't alone in his opinion. For years, James had warned their family to avoid this Slytherin fifth year at all costs… and now as the four paired up, James was positioned two paces from the girl's wandtip, she and James eyeing one another before their duel began.

The other two engaged almost immediately. The Hufflepuff girl's face was twisted with rage as she lined up against his cousin Lorcan, and Albus felt cold fingers of fear take root in his stomach. This girl had been the center of the Hufflepuff defence for the majority of the fight, and seemed to embody the anger of her House.

Her braid swinging wildly behind her, the girl sent a flurry of ice spells in toward Lorcan. Albus tried to call out in warning, but his tongue was lead and his arm barely responded to his command to move.
He needn't have worried, Lorcan got a shield up in time to block them all and send a bat-bogey hex flying back. The girl spun away from it, sending another wave of glacio shooting forward even as she dodged.

Lorcan got another shield up- Ablus' eyes grew wide- too early. This flight of spells curved and moved at different speeds than the first uniform volley. Two of them connected with Lorcan's leg, and Albus' cousin was hindered by a frozen limb just moments into their duel.

Hearing James' voice, Albus rolled his attention back to his brother.

James straightened his glasses, the bent pair skewing by design. "Of course you would come straight to me, Parkinson."

"Straight to you?" She scoffed. "This is my fifth duel of the day. You're my cool down after a brief scuffle with a pesky Head Girl, and in my way before I add Head Boy to my winning streak."

James twitched, an action that might have looked to anyone else like a smirk but to Albus, his brother, was the expression of surprise and doubt.

Albus felt nauseous- although his pounding head was contributing to that feeling. Emma Wilks had scored three O's in her O.W.L.S., and an E in Defense Against the Dark Arts. James' scores were nowhere near that good, and he was a year younger than the Head Girl. If Emma really had lost to this Slytherin, James was right about giving her a wide berth. But to back down from Priscilla Parkinson wasn't an option Albus' brother would take with so many onlookers.

Messing his hair with his off hand, James donned a confident grin "More glory to me when I put you and your snake friends down."

Parkinson looked at him with amusement, and raised her wand to her face in challenge.

"Don't do it" Albus begged, and despite the dizzying effort his words were barely a whisper.

James barely raised his wand, the smallest salute possible all he would offer this adversary.

Parkinson's eyes flicked across the Gryffindor's to look behind James. Albus groaned as his brother glanced back to follow her gaze.

Amused that such an obvious ruse had worked, the Slytherin summoned the spectacles from the elder Potter's face. Catching them in the off hand, she folded them with a smirk "I wouldn't want to hit a boy with fake glasses."

James was furious, and immediately went on the attack. Parkinson stood, unmoving as she blocked the irate boy's assault.

Once James had to pause for breath, then the girl took the offensive. Drawing back, she sent waves of fire arcing forward. The flames turned blue, forming two snakes that circled around James and trapped him in a burning cage of coils. The tails reached back to Priscilla's wand, and she fed more heat and energy to the spell with each passing moment.

The strength and control of the spell were shocking, and his brother's panic gave nails to the icy fingertips in Albus' stomach. James quickly worked on a shield, keeping the flames at bay while furiously looking for a counter to the curse.

Albus tried to rise, to come to his brother's aid, to fight alongside his family- no. His head swam as he sat back… looking down the line he hoped that another duelist could come to James' aid.

No such luck. Most of the remaining students were shooting across the gap between the Great Hall dining tables. Daniel was still working down the remaining Slytherin prefect- who was now being helped by the Hufflepuff girl!

Eyes scanning the floor, Albus soon spotted Lorcan prone and covered in frost, ice-stiff fingers inches away from his wand.

Willing his brother to hold out Albus turned back just in time to see James unleash a terrible blizzard spell. The power was shocking, but it lacked any control as it blossomed out in a terrible icy sphere.

The spell took some of the heat out of the snakes, but grew in size and struck out wildly in all directions.

"Yield you fool!" Priscilla hissed as the spell spread, spraying Gryffindor and Slytherin combatants alike with icy shards. She added more heat to her serpents, and steam billowed up as the flames scorched through James' shield. Seeing her housemates struck by icicles, Priscilla abandoned her spell to shield the Slytherin combatants instead.

James ended his blizzard, his confident smile undercut by singed robes and sweat lined face. Seeing a window of opportunity, he sent a stinging curse flying forward. Albus' heart soared as it hit, and the Slytherin girl's neck and shoulder became covered in fierce boils.

But she didn't fall. Parkinson's gaze locked back onto James, and Albus' heart sank. Gone was her amusement, the sporting confidence in her face and movements. Her expression now was focused, her wandwork pointed and without flare.

James immediately backpedaled as the Slytherin girl advanced, and the few spells he got off during the onslaught were wild and off target. Albus' brother quickly gave up on his attempts to counterattack, and soon it was all James could do to keep up his shields.

Priscilla continued to step forward. The Gryffindor's legs caught on the table behind him, and he barely kept his balance. She closed in, her wand hand out wide to keep James' focus preoccupied. With her left, she slashed forward to open a gash in James' forehead with the corner of his own glasses.

Taken by surprise, James wasted a precious moment raising his hand to the cut. Priscilla used that moment cast expelliarmus.

James looked at her, speechless. Priscilla saluted him with the spectacles "A scar for you Potter, just what you've always wanted."

Albus saw his brother's face contort with rage, watched an empty fist cock back to punch the Slytherin. Parkinson offered an ironic grin, and stunned the disarmed Potter back over the table.

Albus watched his older brother fall to the floor in slow motion.

The combatants in the area had been stunned into silence by the power of Priscilla and James' spells. No one cast a spell near her as she turned down the aisle to focus on Daniel.

Looking through his remaining housemates, Albus knew Daniel was their final hope to stop Priscilla and the Slytherin/Hufflepuff advance.

The Head Boy had stunned the last Slytherin prefect, and the Hufflepuff girl alone was being buffeted through her shields by cutting wind spells. She fell back, braid coming loose as she struggled to rise.

Priscilla Parkinson glided past her. "You're done here" the Slytherin instructed, tone offering no room for contradiction or compromise.

The Hufflepuff slumped back against the table, glad for the reprieve. She was battered and exhausted as she struggled for breath, but her eyes showed a dogged willingness to resume her fight if the Slytherin Champion fell.

The remaining combatants stilled, only the struck students breaking the silence as the Gryffindor and Slytherin Representatives advanced toward one another.

Both showed signs of combat. The Head Boy's hair was singed. A scorch on his ribs identified the source of the stiffness in his walk.

Albus felt a twinge of pride as he saw the his brother's curse spreading, the welts risen up to Parkinson's jawline and her arm movement hampered at the shoulder.

The Slytherin spoke first "I would like to report the Head Boy and Girl, and a number of high-year Gryffindors, for instigating a massive fight in the Great Hall."

Daniel rolled his eyes "Priscilla Parkinson, turn in your wand and instruct your rabble to do the same."

The exchange was a formality, both clearly tired but eager to come to grips with one another. Their wands rose simultaneously in salute.

Albus felt his breath catch, and the silence revealed that the other spectators had the same feeling of dreaded anticipation.

Their first salvo of spells shot forward. At the same time a dark whirlwind stormed through the entrance of the Great Hall, flying up and landing between the combatants. When the whirlwind cleared, a daemon with glowing green eyes stood between the duelists, arms outstretched to catch the spells in clawed hands. The sharp face cracked open in a sadistic grin, as it easily absorbed the spells into it's palms.

A momentary ceasefire. All the remaining combatants fell back from the devil before them.

Thunder cracked across the sky ceiling of the Great Hall, setting Albus' head pounding anew. Headmistress McGonagall's boomed magically echoed "WANDS DOWN THIS INSTANT! SO HELP ME, ANY STUDENTS SEEN EVEN THINKING OF CASTING A SPELL WILL BE EXPELLED!"

Professors followed in behind her, confiscating wands and looking after the downed students, voices rising in confusion.

The noise was too much for Albus. The throbbing pain swelled, and his vision exploded with stars before giving way to darkness.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Zoethia Malam fingered a charm on her bracelet as she walked back to the Great Hall. That had taken way, way longer than expected but- she smelled her hair contentedly- she no longer reeked, as Hugo had put it, like the backside of a blast-ended screwt.

The thought of her younger friends made her smile falter. What was she going to tell them? Zoey was quite aware of her terrible lying skills, her only successful deception happened by distracting others from the topic at hand. But Hugo and Lily had looked so determined, she had no idea how she was going to manage to hide that she'd found Salazar's Chamber without hurting their trust.

If they were even waiting at all still. She'd spent almost an hour under the showerhead, scrubbing herself and Rasputin spotless of grime. Maybe they'd left the Great Hall already.

As she approached the giant double-doors to the dining hall Zoey was surprised to see it guarded by a pair of house-elves in addition to the usual suits of armor. That was odd- she'd never seen them outside of the kitchens before. She'd thought that was because they didn't like interacting with the general student body. One of them looked up at her approach, a smudge of ink on the tip of his long, beak-like nose. He looked back down to a long roll of parchment and read her name off the list. "Zoethia Malam?"

"That's me." she answered, tilting her head to a side. His face was so close to the words she could see his nose poke against the paper- no doubt getting more ink on it- and she had to bite back her amusement.

"Sign here, miss, to prove that you are only now entering the room. Where have you been?"

She shrugged at the strange request but didn't object, signing with a flourish before handing him back the pen. "I was in Ravenclaw Tower."

He poked his nose back to the parchment as he looked at what she'd written. "Can anyone confirm that?"

"Uh- not... not really?" What was this, a detective show? "I was in the shower."

"Hrm." his eyes flicked to her damp hair for a moment before scribbling on the paper yet again. "Initial here."

She did, and this time Zoey couldn't stop a giggle from escaping when she saw that his nose had already smudged her previous signature. He frowned at her and she quickly hurried into the Great Hall before he could ask the cause of her amusement- she wasn't trying to make fun of him, it was just funny! She'd laugh at herself if it happened! She barely made two steps into the large room before the full force of the damage hit her and all amusement died.

Every table was overturned and covered in magic burns, tableclothes ruined. Student bodies littered the floor, some of them moaning and groaning over magical boils or partially paralyzed limbs. A table was smashed to pieces on the raised faculty platform, as if to summarize the general chaos in the rest of the room. Windows were cracked, utensils and wands alike littered the ground, forgotten and useless to their downed wielders.

"This- this-" Headmistress McGonagall stood in the center of the hall with her school's Heads of House. "I want the instigators and student authorities in my office in five minutes."

Zoey, realizing that her notoriously stern headmistress was a teeny bit very upset at this moment, made the wide decision to not be in her immediate line of sight.

"Ma'am, they won't all-" Healer Prin glanced down at Roxanne, who'd fallen asleep with exhaustion as soon as he'd released her from the laughing charm, her legs still twitching occasionally. "They won't all be that simple to fix."

Her gaze softened a bit as she looked to at the Weasley's sleeping face. Her voice dropped so it wouldn't carry to most of the students, but Zoey- crawling behind Ravenclaw table to reach the other side of the room- heard her clearly. "I know you know how to do your job, Prin. And I appreciate that some cases are more difficult than others. But I will need to speak with them as soon as possible to stay ahead of the student's responses. I shall speak get the Head Boy's report first- see who started this fiasco. Please get those students and as many of my Prefects to their feet as you can, and send them to my office."

The Healer looked at his patients, then back to his Headmistress. "Give me fifteen minutes."

McGonagall nodded to him, then to Professor Longbottom, then left the Hall.

Zoey reached the Faculty platform and crouched behind their table, still following the instinct to stay out of sight. From the mostly-hidden position she scanned the people on the floor, relieved and disappointed whenever she didn't recognise the people who lay on the ground. Nott and Zambini lay not that far from eachother, but she didn't see Scorpius anywhere nearby. Maybe he hadn't been here either? Or maybe he was among the students still on his feet- that seemed more likely. Zoey couldn't imagine the Malfoy heir getting cursed to puke slugs, or something equally silly.

She started wondering what had happened here. It didn't look as simple as a spell backfiring, or even an experiment gone wrong (THOSE caused quite the mayhem in Ravenclaw Tower every other month). There was one obvious answer, but Zoey kept thinking of alternatives in the back of her mind as she continued looking for people she knew.

Lily and Hugo were standing to together, talking to Rupert before he was called away to the Headmistress's office in a group of mixed Houses. It took a moment for her to realize all four of the House Representatives who'd Sorted her were standing together in that clump. With an uncomfortable lurch in her gut Zoey quickly ducked away, as always feeling a mix of fear and indignant anger at the sight of them. They had seen into her mind- a breach of anyone's privacy, to be sure, but they'd seen one of the worst memories she'd had before she'd managed to stop their curiosity.

She held her breath until they passed, then resumed her search in the hall. She still hadn't seen Albus, Rose, Scorpius- Jon?! Zoey did an abrupt double take at the sight of her cousin, horned and clawed with glowing green eyes. He had perched himself in a windowsill and was constantly scanning the hall, students ducking away from his burning gaze. Had he- no, he couldn't have lost control. Could he? WHAT HAD HAPPENED HERE?!

Sensing her distress Jon's head snapped down and toward her, their gazes meeting over the heads of a dozen students. He didn't look happy at the sight of her, but still winked a glowing eye at her to calm the main cause of her worry. He gestured for her to stay out of sight and started working his way across the crowded hall, perching on the table she hid behind.

Zoey blinked rapidly, but held her tongue until he'd made it to where she was- not an instant longer. "Are you okay? Is everyone else okay- did something explode in here? Did you explode in here? What is McGonagall getting a 'report' over? What happened to you- you're clawed and glowing and- since when do you grow horns?"

Jonovan Orion chuckled despite himself and patted her head, absently watching her natural brown hair turn a shimmering silver. "Do you like it? I thought it was a nice touch."

"A nice-"

"There was a fight in here. I needed to scare a few trigger-happy teens into backing down. I've sent Auror's fleeing in this shape, after all, so I figured it'd work."

Zoey shushed him instinctively, but luckily- or more likely by Jon's design- nobody else was in hearing distance of their conversation. She sighed in relief and a bit of aggravation. "Jon, that was one trainee, and you'd sent a fireball at his head because he brought you decaf."

"Decaf is insult to coffee." He declared unrepentantly, then he looked over his shoulder with a frown. "But- more of this another time. McGonagall's on a warpath to punish everyone that was involved, and we don't need you serving any more detentions."

"You know I wasn't-" she didn't even finish her thought before the hand he'd left on her head tingled with magic. Zoey shivered as it poured over her like a tub of icy water, the feeling more vivid than she remembered.

Looking at her hands she confirmed what he'd done, seeing through them to the marred floor of the Great Hall. "Um- Jon, why did you unvisible me?"

"You should get out of here- just to be on the safe side." He said in a casual way that sounded like a suggestion but probably wasn't.

"But-" She glanced toward Lily and Hugo and to the rest of the injured students in the hall.

"NOW."

Nope. Not a suggestion. "Fine. But tomorrow we're having coffee- caffeinated coffee- and we'll catch up then."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

This was easily the most uncomfortable Rupert Tring had ever been in Headmistress McGongall's Office, and that was even with the comfort that he was relatively blameless for the fight that had occurred in the Great Hall. The portraits of the previous Headmasters- whom he had always considered wise and caring toward students- were instead wearing demeanors of rebuke that changed with the times. While some, such as Dumbledore, were shaking their heads slightly, others were standing imposingly with arms crossed and one- very far up on the wall in a frame tarnished with age- was tapping a switch in one hand as though he wanted nothing more than to bend Rupert and the other students over a knee.

Pulling his gaze back down to the current Headmaster, Rupert didn't feel much better at the sight of her expression. McGonagall's eyebrows had drawn together as she listened to their accounts of the fight, both how it had started and how it had gone down. The Head Boy and Head Girl had gone first, reporting the escalating tension and insults that had been thrown across the room from Slytherin to Gryffindor and how the other houses had joined in. They admitted to letting the verbal argument get out of hand, but seeing as Roxanne- the instigator- had been hit by no less than four jinxes in the first few seconds, the fight itself had no longer been anything more than a brawl facilitated by petty-minded, overeager parties in Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Their own Gryffindor and Ravenclaw housemates, they assured, had only been assisting to restore order. Emma singled out Priscilla Parkinson for motivating the irate Slytherins, while Daniel testified that Isabelle's DDC position had inspired her housemates to fight as well.

Then the two girls had given their accounts. Priscilla hadn't said much, very plainly outlining the first few moments of the fight, Roxanne's hex, and Isabelle's retaliation. She pointed out that Gryffindor James Potter had cast an offensive spell while Slytherin Thomas Nott just a shield, and yet Head Girl Emmaline Wilkes had attacked Nott strong enough to throw him off the table. At that point her and her housemates, targeted unduly, had felt defending themselves by their own means was necessary.

Isabelle had been far less controlled in her report, fiercely pointing blame at the Head Boy and Girl and placing greater emphasis on their lack of control in the moments leading up to the fight. The way she saw it, Rupert shouldn't have even felt the need to step up as peacemaker in an argument that hadn't even involved his House. And when a Gryffindor had attacked a Prefect, both of them should have been the first to react. She was steadfastly unrepentant about taking the first shot at Roxanne- and even went so far as to admit that she had been one of the many to later hex the Legacy girl into unconsciousness- but it was Head Boy and Girl's poor judgments that had created that opportunity.

Emma and Daniel had glared at her and Rupert silently chided the immature insults Isabelle had thrown in- Daniel was being just stupid and looked like he agreed with all the stu-pid things Gryffindor was saying about Slytherin- but couldn't really refute her point. He too was disappointed in both them and himself. The fight shouldn't have happened. It was their job- his job- to protect Hogwarts students from things like this.

His own account came next, and it had been almost laughable. "After Roxanne Weasley petrified me I really don't know what happened, ma'am. I heard people shouting around me, heard you arrive, and then Prin healed me." He could have gotten more specific- quoted some of the insults that had been thrown overhead or said that he knew Lily Potter and Hugo Granger-Weasley had pulled him to safety, but such details were not significant at this hearing.

Finally Lysander Scamander was asked for his account. He'd left before the fight started, so while he didn't have any new information to add McGonagall asked him a question.

"Did you feel that a fight was inevitable?"

"Yes." Lysander answered honestly, factual as ever. "The issues themselves were not simple fixes, wands on both sides were being drawn without reproach, and Slytherin had pulled their younger students away. I did not anticipate such a large melee to break out, but felt it prudent to take similar action."

"You could have stayed to help." Emma Wilkes had narrowed her eyes at her fellow Ravenclaw Authoritarian.

"I am not a forceful personality." He pressed a finger on the bridge of his nose, where a set of glasses would have sat, before gesturing to the other student authorities in the room. "I find it unlikely I would have contributed to quelling a confrontation that already had so many others as mitigators. Bringing in a teacher was the most effective action I could take."

Rupert, having worked with the other Ravenclaw, agreed with the logical assessment. He personally wouldn't have been able to leave the rest of his Hufflepuffs, but ultimately Lysander had been the Prefect that ended the fight, even if he'd done it by bringing in a higher authority.

McGonagall nodded as well, leaning back in the chair behind her giant desk. "Thank you Mister Scamander." She paused for a moment, the present students quieting as they waited for her ruling. Rupert was trying to quell his personal nightmare of being removed from Hufflepuff Prefect and Club Presidency, and his fellow Prefects seemed to be sweating under similar visions. Isabelle seemed more nervous for her Sergeant than herself, glancing at him repeatedly in the silence that dragged.

Priscilla alone sat as confident as before, her ankles crossed and hands folded neatly. She caught Rupert's glance in her direction and half-smirked, half-smiled back with confidence. She had no school position, official or otherwise, that could be stripped away.

McGonagall stood up from the desk and made her way over to the edge of the room, her eyes looking up at the many portraits of her predecessors. "I have made my decision." She began in the calm, crisp, controlled tone she used whenever her mind was made up. "First, all Hogsmeade trips are hereby canceled. Instead, all students that were in the Great Hall will aid in cleaning the mess created every weekend… until the House Elves deem it restored to it's original splendor."

"That'll take forever…" Daniel sighed, then warned "There'll be a lot of complaints, Headmistress."

"Furthermore," MgGonagall continued. "The other professors and myself shall be identifying the spells used by all students. As this shall take quite some time- and we will be taking our time- all student wands will be confiscated until further notice."

The office was silent for a moment, until they all shouted "What!"

"Miss- you really mean everyone?" Rupert asked, surprised. He'd expected those in the Great Hall to be unarmed for a few days, but for all wands to be suspended indefinitely? He couldn't imagine a Hogwarts without wands.

This time McGonagall addressed their concerns. "Indeed, Mister Tring."

Her confidence resettled his respect for the woman. She knew what she was doing.

"So-" Isabelle made a connection. "So we'll all be cleaning the Great Hall Muggle-ly?"

"I would have considered that to be obvious."

They all groaned in unison again. Forget forever, Rupert internally grimaced, it would never get done. He started planning the best way to present this to his House- he could already anticipate those who would have extreme distaste for the idea.

Ever the Ravenclaw, Emma Wilkes asked "But- but what about classes? How are we supposed to practice? Midterms are coming soon!"

"I shall work out those details Miss Wilkes. Rest assured, your studies will not suffer."

"What about Christmas break?" Priscilla asked, her shock gone and replaced by a building anger.

"Come break, all wands shall be owled to each of your parents or guardian." McGonagall turned away from Priscilla's paling face to address the group as a whole again. "Make no mistake- this is a far lighter sentence than I'd like. Never, never in the history of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has such an uncouth, undignified brawl- in the Great Hall- firing spells at one another-"

"Actually it was quite common in my day!" The pink-faced Headmaster screeched from his portrait. "Had expulsions every week! Get rid of the brats, Minerva, and be done with them!"

Rupert had never liked that portrait.

"Such disproportionate action is not how things are done anymore," Severus Snape drawled, his baritone annoyance a stark contrast to the other portrait's high pitch. "I suggest you keep such obsolete suggestions to yourself."

A few other retired portraits started to chime in with their opinions, but McGonagall quickly silenced them.

"As my chosen hands and ears in the student body," McGonagall looked to the many Prefect and Head Badges glimmering in her office. "I suggest you all use this opportunity to settle any lingering unrest without magic. You shall be the example. The models of reconciliation. Ever since our Founders retired, certain Hogwarts Houses have never completely gotten along. This is quite the opportunity; be the first generation of students to truly respect the other Houses."

Someone scoffed doubtfully under their breath and they all glanced at eachother, finding such a scenario highly unlikely.

"It should not take a War to unite Hogwarts. When the Houses stand together, they are unstoppable…" her gaze grew distant, and Rupert wondered if she was remembering the Battle of Hogwarts. Her expression was caught between a wistful sadness and slightly lost, her wrinkles more apparent and the corners of her eyes softer. McGonagall stayed lost in those memories until Dumbledore's portrait cleared his throat, and she snapped her gaze back to the students. She walked back to her desk and sat with her usual air of indisputable authority. "Now- all of you- to the Great Hall. You and the students well enough to make the trip shall be escorted back to your dorms by Professors. A school notice of my decision will be posted in your Commons by the end of the night- and should I find that any student refused to relinquish their wands, they shall answer to me personally."

"And you will say?" Priscilla challenged, her fingers twitching to take back the wand she'd already turned in.

"Refusal to listen to the Headmistress? Expulsion!" the pink faced Headmaster screeched again, but this time he was not corrected. Even Snape nodded once.

With that word echoing in their heads they all left.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Melissa Goyle was almost shaking in her shoes as she made it back to her common room. The students healthy enough to make the return trip to their dorms had been ferried back under the tight supervision of their Head of House.

She shivered again. Allison Sybble had dropped her nice-woman facade the whole walk, unleashing the full force of her anger. She said she'd never been so disappointed in her House- their display of such brutish actions would be further punished, she assured, and dismissed Melissa before turning to ferry the next Slytherin that had partaken in the fight.

This week's class with Sybble was going to be brutal, Melissa predicted with a third tremor. She said the password and passed from the dingy dungeon into the comfort of her dorm, seeing the common room filled with the first and second years that had been removed from the Great Hall before the fight even started.

A half-dozen house elves were there collecting wands, supported by a proclamation from McGonagall herself that had been pinned to the notice board. No one dared object.

Melissa sat in a chair at the corner, watching the door for the arrival. Eventually Sybble stopped dropping people off and the last elf apparrated away as their task was completed. It was strange to think she was sitting in a room of wizards without their wands- it was as absurd as if everyone had suddenly decided to not wear their right shoe.

The room remained deathly silent for a few more minutes, until a curious first year asked the group at large. "So- what happened after we left?"

Those six words released a torrent of stories, each more eager than the last as the older students recounted the magical battle royale to the younger Slytherins who'd been ushered away before the fight had begun. No matter who told their story, no matter how much or little they'd done or seen, the tone was the same: They'd won. Slytherin had won.

What started as whispered reports soon turned to prideful bragging. Someone broke out a case of butterbeer, the creamy beverage finding it's way into the hands of everyone present. The group shared tales, and successes both small and large were toasted.

Slytherins did not 'party'. The word barely scraped into the realm of their vocabulary, more often as a snide remark at the whimsy of the other Houses. 'Throwing' a party instead of hosting one was a most childish way to express glee. And as any Slytherin would quickly attest, their House was not childish. Still, it had certainly turned into some sort of celebration.

Most of the people in the room either hadn't done much or hadn't been there at all, so everyone told the story a little differently, but some key facts held true: Gryffindor Legacies had attacked Hufflepuff first, then struck down their own Nott. Slytherin then retaliated. Hufflepuff had helped them. Priscilla Parkinson and Marcellous Zambini had spearheaded most of the fight.

The unusual jaunty atmosphere in the Slytherin Dungeon only grew, everyone's excitement increasing exponentially at the revelry in each other. Someone release streamers from a Wheezes product with a bang, to the general amusement of the room. They kept advancing to higher and higher volumes when the door started to open yet again.

Everyone froze guiltily for half a second. Another house might had tried hiding the party supplies from what might potentially be their Head of House coming back to chastise them further as promised, but not only did the Slytherins know such a hasty attempt would be useless against Sybble, they knew it would only dig their graves deeper. Plus, the prideful house did not have the tendency to deny any action they deemed worthy of following through in the first place.

It wasn't Allison Sybble who stood in the doorway, but that didn't ease the tension. Slytherin's stiffened in their chairs as Priscilla Parkinson raised a thin eyebrow. Her perpetual icy gaze took in the mess of colorful streamers and spilled, slightly-alcoholic butterbeer stains on the green carpet before she walked down the dais of the doorway. "Carry on."

Her motion revealed other freshly-healed Slytherins behind her. An incredulous second passed, but no other invitation was necessary before the crowd surged with demands to hear exactly everything that had happened. While Priscilla slipped silently into her dorm, Zambini and their prefects were being hailed for their accounts of what had occurred.

These new people had participated far more than the previous speakers, and their stories were not only more exciting but more condonable.

"To Slytherin!" was cried out every few minutes, or sometimes the name of someone specific. Pretty soon it didn't matter as much what was said, the group at large would still repeat the words, raise their glass of water or butterbeer, and chug.

Marcellous Zambini scanned the room as someone put a cup in his hand. It wasn't until his gaze met hers and he smiled widely that Melissa realized he'd been looking her for, and felt herself blush.

He worked his way across the room and sat in the couch next to her chair, lifting his cup in her direction before people clamored for his attention. Zambini readily told his tale of fighting off the Ravenclaws alongside Priscilla, but gave the previously unheard account of how Scorpius Malfoy's timely arrival with a few Hufflepuffs had lent crucial aid.

It was when the focus moved on a bit that he whispered to her about Malfoy and Nott's condition. Emma Wilkes's opening strike had flown Nott into the wall, Zambini reminded, and it seemed he'd hit his head rather badly. He hadn't woken up yet. Malfoy, exhausted anyways from his several high-caliber duels, had volunteered to stay with him.

"Is he going to be all right?" Melissa asked nervously.

"He'll be fine- Prin just wanted to keep an eye on him. Nott and a bunch of others are spending the night in the Hall to heal. Which reminds me- Breakfast is cancelled tomorrow!"

His last words were and met with resounding groans, but even that wasn't enough to dampen the mood.

"Don't worry," he confided. "Biscuits should be brought straight to the commons. We won't starve."

There was another cheer, and he turned back to Melissa, starting his third cup of butterbeer. Someone started to play Weird Sisters music over the radio as people were asked to tell the same story again and again.

Zambini had just finished his third rendition of his duel against the Head Girl- which had somehow started to involve a lot more fireballs and last second, 'heroic' saves than Melissa recalled- when he suddenly remembered "And this girl-" he called over the roar of the music, standing and waving his cup all over the place to get more attention "This girl- do ya'll know what she did?"

Melissa immediately tried to duck down- she hadn't liked crowds even before they started lynching her as a squib, but there wasn't enough time to get under the table before a half-dozen eyes turned to her.

"She knocked out a Legacy! And not just a Legacy- a Potter! With a goblet!"

"No way…" someone refuted, to which Zambini just puffed his chest even further.

"She did too! Tell em, Mel."

"Actually, it was a pitcher…" she mumbled barely over a whisper, looking at the ground like it held an important secret.

"That was you?" someone piped in, having seen the projectile but not it's launcher. "That was bloody brilliant!"

"It was hilarious, that's what it was." Zambini laughed, and everyone in the near vicinity joined in, a few cheers and whoops adding to the mix of celebration. He grabbed her hand and said "This girl is amazing!"

"To Melissa Goyle!" One of the onlookers cheered, shooting more streamers in the air.

"Goblet Goyle!" someone cried, which drew chuckles and and raised glasses. A few first years fell over with giggles, drunk on the happy atmosphere.

Zambini sat back down in the couch and closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. Apparently having forgotten he was still holding her hand he added "I meant that you know."

"Um…"

He opened his eyes and looked at her. "You would have had as much if not more of an excuse to duck out of there than anyone, but you stuck through it. That's amazing."

"It- I wasn't about to run away."

"Exactly." his hand on hers squeezed, then he realised what he'd done and let go with an embarrassed start.

The party noises seemed to have disappeared as they two sat in an awkward silent for a moment. Then Zambini looked at his cup of butterbeer and swung it back to drink it all in one go, slamming it on the table. He still swallowed before saying in a slightly shakier voice than normal. "Hey- next time the group all goes to Hogsmeade together… wanna go with just the two of us instead?"

Her blush was back and butterflies danced in her stomach as she knew he was asking her on a proper date. "I'd like that." she answered, reaching for his hand again.

Zambini started in surprise a second time, then broke into a happy grin as they held hands tightly over the arms of their respective chairs. Melissa was sure her face mirrored his as she moved her seat closer and they talked into the wee hours of the morning while their House celebration moved on without them.

---

This chapter had everything. Quidditch, a fight to the death(or maybe 'a fight to not die'), an actual fight, the Headmaster's office (I love writing in all the portraits), and a little bit of romance to top it off. I never put a Romance tag on here because that's not the main focus of the story, as I hope you've guessed. I consider romance the spicing on the 'meal' of a story- it's good, but without the main course salt and sugar don't really do much beside give you cavities.

As always, thanks for reading! drop me a review before you go! This was the first big fight scene I've ever written- I wanna know what you thought of the flow and the character's combat styles! Pretty please? 0.0