The omnicular rewound in Curt's hands, and then...
There were three boys, in Hufflepuff yellow and basic black. Looked to be second years, definitely not third.
Harry'd recognize anyone he slept in the same room as, for the love of -!
They were jeering - and shoving. The omnicular had moved then, shifting along a wall to show the terrified little Slytherin boy. He was as small as Harry had been, at age eleven.
Harry remembered what it felt like, to be outnumbered and surrounded. His nostrils flared, as he sucked in a breath, his adrenaline responding before he'd found any proper target.
"Death-Eater!" Harry heard, and wanted to wince.
"Why'd ya think to come here, evildoer!"
"Die in a fire."
The Slytherin boy looked as though he'd much rather be curled into a ball. His pride, and native wit, wouldn't let him turn his back on his enemies like that.
Not that it mattered - three against one was horrid odds.
"Be a good little boy, and go spit on your mother's grave." This last insult was delivered softly, chidingly.
"Never!" the young Slytherin hissed, his hands balled into fists.
"So defiant," said one.
"So churlish and stubborn."
"Can't even take help when it's willingly provided."
"Don't worry, we'll beat the spine right out of you."
Then the blows fell.
It started with punches - Harry even saw the little Slytherin dodge a few, the way you'd only know how if you'd actually let it happen long enough. Harry could feel the anger simmering in his veins.
Softly, someone touched him.
Harry didn't care, he wanted to see!
Then, with unresisting hands, Malfoy tugged the omnicular out of Harry's hands.
It was at that point that Harry realized he was shaking... not just physically, but magically as well.
Still, he really wanted to see what that omnicular ...
Susan was looking at it, now. Her naturally freckled face had turned beet red, and her fists were so tight that they might be drawing blood.
Harry, looking over the room, could see the difference - between the ones who'd seen, who were fighting their tempers, one and all - and the impatiently curious younger students.
He looked back at Malfoy, as the blond handed Hannah the omnicular. Some part of Harry wanted to break the omnicular, as if that would make this unhappen. It was a foolish, Gryffindor idea - and wasn't it just ridiculous that he heard that in Snape's own velveteen voice?
"It was just the once," said one of the stupid second year boys.
"Just a little bit of razzing someone who needs to be taught better than he's learnt at home."
Harry, though, had remembered something - Draco Malfoy hadn't gone around with his knuckles bloodied all first year. That had started second year, when these bullies had first come to Hogwarts. Harry knew, too, as any good Gryffindor did, the rumors that Malfoy beat up on Hufflepuffs. He hadn't been surprised when the Hufflepuffs had confirmed the statement.
And Malfoy?
He'd nodded straight along, took his punishment like a Good Boy.
A punishment he shouldn't have had to undergo.
This? This was classic Slytherin revenge. Complete with proof.
"They're lying," Harry Potter said, firmly. "I may not understand why my friend Malfoy decided to give them an honest fight of it all, but this isn't the first time this year his knuckles have been bloodied."
Hannah, softly, looked at Malfoy and asked, "You didn't go to the infirmary?"
"The man who throws the first punch ought not to complain about his injuries." Malfoy said sternly, his pride keeping him tall.
"We thank you for this evidence," Cedric said, in a stern but somehow kindly manner. Like Dumbledore. "We will make our decision. Until we are done deliberating on this weighty matter, wait outside."
Harry could have sworn he saw a glimpse of a grin on Malfoy's face, before the blond left the Sett.
[a/n: Malfoy's been working up to this for a while. He knew he wouldn't be believed without proof, and someone willing to undertake punishment to earn friendship is seen in a better light anyway. If they'd asked him to stop beating up Hufflepuffs, though... he'd have declined. His honor demands that the strong hurting the weak be punished. The Hufflepuffs decided that if they punished him, Malfoy surely wouldn't be stupid enough to beat up on more Hufflepuffs. They forgot the alternative: that he had a damn good reason for doing so.
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