Draco entered the Hufflepuff Common Room, with his spine straight and his mien confident. He'd been schooled in how to look calm and secure, even when he really wanted the lollie, after all. He'd been four at the time, and taught how to demand things, not foolishly show how much he wanted them.

So Draco sauntered in, catching an odd half glimpse of Curt behind him, looking slightly nervous, if pretty quiet about it.

Draco was faced with an entire room of Hufflepuffs, with cold assessing eyes. That, he thought, was actually a good sign. Anger, at this point, would be counterproductive. He'd rather they be slightly hostile, with open ears.

Cedric smiled at Curt, as Draco moved to the center of the room, the thought of enemies at his back doing his mood no good.

"I heard you have something to say to us!" One hufflepuff (a sixth year, Draco thought, from the size).

"Yeah!" Another shouted, and the room devolved into a ruckus of hollering and catcalling that eventually resolved into the entire room chanting "A-po-lo-gy!" over and over again.

Finally, Cedric bellowed, "Quiet!" And like good little Hufflepuffs, the room settled down. "What do you have to say for yourself, Malfoy?" He asked, and Draco caught a glimpse of fleeting kindness inside those eyes.

"I cannot take back what I've done. With your help, I will make better choices in the future." Draco Malfoy said shortly, but sincerely.

"Are... are you sorry?" A small first year asked, and Draco was suddenly glad that he hadn't been hanging that child with pigtails by her ankles, giving her a shakedown. Those eyes reflected a sincerity that was disarming, even to him.

"No, I'm not sorry for my actions." Draco Malfoy said, squatting down to be on a level with the girl, who'd been sitting on an ottoman.

"But you hurt people!" She responded.

Any response Draco Malfoy might have said, was completely cut off as Cedric stood. "Hufflepuffs are the house of friendship, it's true. But we're also the house of hard work. And so we take what you have to say today, as a first step, towards proving yourself a friend of our House."

Cedric was smiling, and it wasn't a terribly friendly smile. Draco felt a worm of disquiet wriggling in his stomach. "Let me tell you about the second step."

"We've taken the liberty of making cards for you." Cedric held one up, as Draco belatedly realized that the smiles on other Hufflepuffs' faces were amusement incarnate.

The card read:

Draco Malfoy, Wizard for Hire.

5 Sickles an hour.

Odd Jobs, Any Jobs, Reasonable Jobs Included.

Draco gulped, thinking just how much his father would hate to hear of such a thing. Malfoys never needed to work, and to be charging a fee that even the Weasleys could afford? It was demeaning, Draco thought. It was also a way out of an impossible bind. He was going to take it.

And then, Cedric, perhaps sensing Draco's resolve, flipped the card.

"Rent a Bully" it said on the back, in big letters.

Draco turned white (which, given his pallor, was really more of a blue), and pursed his lips, suddenly not caring what the Hufflepuffs thought of him. He tried to hide the shaking of his hands though, might not want to look more vulnerable.

Cedric cut into Draco's introspection, saying, "That's only visible to Hufflepuffs, of course." With a broad smile, he said, "You can do odd jobs for all of Hogwarts this year."

It was really only half a year, Draco Malfoy thought with a snap. And really, what choice do I have? He nodded crisply, and proffered his hand to accept the cards.

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