Chapter 7: MUDBLOODS AND MURMURS

"This is just peachy" Snape said sarcastically. "Mudbloods and Murmurs"

"Oh the irony" Sirius chuckled.

"What?" Harry asked.

"It's nothing Potter" Snape said before beginning to read.

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"And here I thought James was obsessed." Sirius muttered. "He at least let us have breakfast first."

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"I want a copy of that." Sirius laughed. Then added upon seeing his godson's death glare "For the laugh."

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"And here I thought YOU had been obsessed with Harry" George teased his sister.

Harry was starting to wonder if any of the Weasley boys would survive the next sleep break.

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"No it won't!" the twins chorused.

"I was trying to get rid of him" Harry said.

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"You should have said something to me, Mr. Potter" McGonagall said.

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"It's like he doesn't care about us!" the twins exclaimed with fake hurt feelings.

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"My own personal stalker." Harry muttered.

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Fred and George hi-fived each other. Charlie, however, was glaring at his brother.

"You should pay attention. This is important!" Charlie said.

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"I like that one" Sirius chuckled.

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"A team shouldn't even PLAY without a seeker." Ginny said. "It's not fair to them because that's an easy 150 points for the other team."

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"Did you not see me looking at the food?" Harry asked his friends.

"We thought the twins had grabbed something for you guys." Ron defended.

"We were too tired to think about food." Fred said.

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"WHAT?!" McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Sirius, and Charlie exclaimed and all turned death glares to the Potions Master.

"That note was made for the day before this happened." Snape assured the other teachers knowing full well that when a team books the pitch, it's booked.

He made a mental note to discuss this with the Slytherin team.

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"It makes me wonder," Hermione said. "If Harry hadn't been on the team, would Malfoy had been on?"

"Yes." Snape answered. "He really does enjoy Quidditch, but he does better as a chaser."

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"We were worried." Hermione admitted.

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"Evil little git" Tonks muttered

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"Well said Miss. Granger" McGonagall praised smirking at Snape. "And that, Severus, is why brooms don't call the game."

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As he read the next three words, he was taken back to that fateful day when he lost the friendship of his one TRUE friend. He took a deep breath and repeated those very words he had said almost 20 years ago.

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"He did NOT just say that!" Arthur exclaimed dangerously.

"We are DEFINITELY keeping our ears open this year." Sprout declared.

As everyone was reacting to Malfoy calling Hermione that word, with Hermione giving a small modest smile at how much she was cared for, Snape was concentrating on keeping his mind off that fateful day.

"Perhaps we should continue?" Dumbledore suggested.

"Maybe we can set up a charm to automatically deduct points whenever that word is said." Flitwick finished his train of thought before indicating for Snape to continue.

"Are you okay Severus?" Remus asked as he too remembered that day almost 20 years ago.

"I'm fine" Snape snapped before going back to the book.

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Molly gasped in horror.

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"Ew" Ginny said making a face.

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"If the spell had worked properly he wouldn't be laughing" Tonks said angry at her cousin.

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"Yeah Colin" Fred said with an eye roll.

"We ALL want the permanent reminder of Ron belching up slugs." George said.

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"Run and hide!" Charlie told the book.

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"Nah. Much better looking" Ron joked.

"Well, you weren't exactly winning any awards while burping out slugs." Harry teased.

"My point exactly." Ron said before reaching over Sirius and giving his best friend a high-five.

Molly gave the boys a look, but Snape kept on reading to prevent any arguments. He wanted this chapter over with.

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"I think Hagrid knows what he's doing" Charlie said. "It's the what's a pet and what's not with him we should be worried about."

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Molly frowned indignantly.

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"Is it jinxed?" Harry asked Dumbledore.

Dumbledore considered before nodding.

"Yes. It was about a year before your parents started school and…someone came around to ask for the job. The position had been filled and he wasn't qualified enough so when I refused him, he jinxed it. He never did return to try again." Dumbledore said. "And I personally believe he had another motive for being in the castle, but we will get into that later. Severus, please continue."

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"Ronald!" Molly scolded.

"It's true!" Ron argued.

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She went that shade again as most everyone nodded in agreement.

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"He has a point" Arthur said. "As much as I am proud of you for sticking up for your friend, Ron. Malfoy just holds too much power. And as he was a school governor at the time…Merlin knows what could have happened."

Ron smiled at the praise he got from his father.

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"Harry. You should know by now not to eat Hagrid's cooking" Sirius told his godson.

"I was hungry! Wood made me miss breakfast and this lot," Harry said pointing at his friends, "Didn't offer me anything they brought out."

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"Hagrid!" Sirius exclaimed

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Sirius relaxed. He did not need Hagrid on Harry on top of Lockhart and the fans.

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"Bet he didn't like that" Ginny giggled

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Everyone laughed as Ginny blushed the color of her hair. When will she stop thinking what Harry had thought?

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"Should have known" Sprout muttered.

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"HAGRID!" Ginny shouted.

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"Undergoing severe, utter torture that should be illegal" Harry interrupted.

Snape snorted as he read the punishment.

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"I thought corporal punishment was prohibited." Harry said to Dumbledore.

"It couldn't have been that bad." Remus said.

"If I had to go back and do this over again, I would have been begging for SNAPE to oversee my detention."

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"I can see the torture now." Snape said without sarcasm.

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"What was that?" Sirius asked frantically as Ginny went deathly white.

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"Yeah, I'd be making up hearing voices if I spent four hours with that" Charlie said.

"Charlie!" Molly exclaimed not liking the slight on Lockhart.

"And I wasn't making it up" Harry said. "That is what I had heard."

Arthur noticed his daughter shaking.

"Was that…?" he asked her.

She could just barely nod.

"Was that what?" Sirius asked.

"It's explained later." Harry said not quite sure if anyone knew just WHAT the monster had been.

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"What was that thing?" Remus asked the teachers.

Snape flipped through the next chapter.

"It's explained in the upcoming chapter." He said.

"Then I'll read." Bill said.