Disclaimer: The FIRST chapter has the disclaimer on it, READ IT if you think I own.
"What I don't get," Teddy Lupin said with a look of distaste, "is why losing house points is supposed to stop us having fun?"
"I think they're supposed to stop us from misbehaving Teddy," Thomas Alford said blandly without looking up. "Something you should know since you managed to get caught hexing Marius Rabnott and lost us around a dozen house points."
"He made Vichy cry!" Teddy protested vigorously. "He deserved it!"
"And while I am sure that Victoire Weasley is happy that you jumped in to defend her honour, it doesn't change the fact that you have managed to lose more points for Hufflepuff this year than the rest of the house combined," Thomas pointed out and Teddy shrugged.
"Take a look at the history of Hogwarts," Teddy said firmly. "It's always Slytherin or Gryffindor who win the house cup. Never Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, it's ALWAYS one of those two."
"What are you getting at Lupin?" Thomas snapped in annoyance and Teddy raised his eyebrows.
"That there's no point in running for the house cup. That house points don't really matter for us, we've already lost when the school year begins," Teddy explained and Thomas frowned.
"That's not a fair system!" he protested angrily and Teddy smirked.
"No it isn't. Care to try fixing it?" he asked and Thomas nodded with a smirk of his own.
"I was thinking of something with the hourglasses..."
And that is how, when Hogwarts woke up in the morning, Hufflepuff was the only house with any points in the hourglass.