Disclaimer: This story includes characters and situations that are part of the Harry Potter universe, which is copyright J.K.Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, Bloomsbury, etc. No copyright infringement is intended and no money is being made in the production of this FANFICTION. Not many outside resources were needed this time, but I (as always) made extensive use of the Harry Potter Lexicon when writing this chapter.
Author's Note: Not so much T/G interaction in this chapter, but I just had to include it for personal reasons. Just so that you all know, I've planned this out as much more of an H/G/T/G/Sixth year fic/General fic than a straight up T/G piece, so while it deals with what I think of as the more interesting aspects of the Gin'n'Tonic ship, there's a lot more planned and a lot more going on than romance. (Possibly because I can't write pure romance because I can't think pure romance.) So... I guess the point is that you shouldn't be surprised if a chapter goes by and there isn't a tension-laden!Scene or even a T/G!Scene. In any case, thanks to my reviewers, Fantome (I thought the male part was assumed, but I guess I was wrong. This chapter has more of Professor Quinn in it - hope you enjoy), Sarah (I'm so glad you're liking the fic more now), Pixie (grins madly yes, but what do you think of her?), P-oenix, and Amazing.
Expectations of Grandeur: Chapter 11: The Good Slytherin Prefect
"Welcome, class," enunciated professor Aleta Quinn, eyes scanning her advanced Defense class, the sixth years recommended to her by Dumbledore and the heads of houses. "You have been recommended to me very highly by Headmaster Dumbledore, so I trust you shall all be ready and eager to learn more." She smiled slightly.
Three seats from the front and between his two best friends, Harry Potter looked at her with calm indifference. He wasn't thinking about Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he wasn't thinking about his professor with mousy brown hair and a pale face who was trying, unsuccessfully, to appear to be a stringent and demanding teacher, he wasn't thinking about the rather frightening fact that she had drawn a rather complicated diagram on the board, but rather about the dark haired Slytherin sitting across the room from him and already dutifully copying down the diagram from the board. What was he going to do about Tom Riddle?
"I finished my Hogwarts training five years ago, when you all were still in your first year," Professor Quinn said with a smile. "I studied to become an Auror, but I found that I had much more aptitude for thinking about Defense than actually practicing it – which makes me perfectly suited for a position such as this one," she said. "Dumbledore was kind enough to offer me the position when he found out I was not, in fact, accepted into any slots as an Auror."
"A failed Auror? Some great teacher," whispered Ron. Harry blinked, shocked that he had missed such a piece of information, and decided to pay attention to his teacher rather than Tom Riddle. Professor Quinn turned to the diagram on the board.
"I suppose some of you have come in expecting every day to be another practical adventure in fighting off Werewolves and Vampires," she began. "While the purpose of this course is surely to make you able to fight off the very worst that the wizarding world can throw at you and to protect others while doing so, I am sure you see the foolishness in actually bringing such dangerous creatures into Hogwarts School." Hermione nodded in assent as the Professor continued. "Which isn't to say, of course, that there won't be a practical portion of this class." Harry and his friends breathed a sigh of relief, and they felt most of their classmates relax as well.
Professor Quinn laughed. "You've probably had a rather rocky time with professors lately, what with Death Eaters, Lockhart, and the infamous Umbridge and I would guess you're amazed that you've learned everything to an O.W.L. level. So perhaps it is time to begin." She tapped the board behind her and the diagram rippled slightly. "There are, at base, two types of defense. The first is, of course, fighting whatever you come upon in life effectively and intelligently. The second is preventing anything from attacking you at all. My sense is that most of the teaching at Hogwarts concerns preparing our students to do battle when the protection afforded them runs out. However, as advanced students, I believe it is high time you have some contact with the latter form of defense, which is possibly more important. This," she said, tapping the board again, "is a model of one of the wards engraved onto the cornerstones of Hogwarts School. These wards are what prevent Death Eaters from Apparating into Hogwarts today and attacking the students inside. They protect the school from almost anything.
"A ward is a very complicated thing to create and involves not only an intricate design such as this one, but a complex incantation and an immense amount of power. Even so, most wards run out after a short time, making such wards as those protecting our school today among the most complicated spells you will ever come across. Even a little tinkering by a very accomplished wizard can destroy the entire rune. Few people in history would have been capable of them, and their lasting existence is proof that our founders are among the most powerful wizards of any time." Professor Quinn laughed slightly. "I assume none of you have read chapter twelve of your textbook?"
Hermione and Tom both raised their hands confidently and Harry at that moment glared forcefully at Tom. Hermione looked over and almost gasped. Professor Quinn nodded and her smile widened. "I see some of you have, congratulations. Perhaps you two can get started on your project while the rest of the class reads. The rest of you, please open your books to chapter twelve and read about the formation of ward engravings." She turned to her desk and sat down, motioning for Tom and Hermione to come forward and speak to her. Harry turned to Ron, not even bothering to take out his book.
"What are we going to do about him?" he whispered.
Ron shrugged. "I haven't the slightest, but we've got to do something before he starts attacking. He's got to be up to something." He was now peering at Tom and Hermione standing before Professor Quinn. Hermione laughed and he frowned even more. "I don't trust him."
"Of course not," Harry reassured his friend. "But what are we going to do? We can't just attack him, we'd be expelled if we hurt him before he did anything."
Ron nodded slowly. "Yeah, but if he so much as touches my sister... or Hermione..."
"That changes everything. But that hasn't happened yet."
Hermione and Tom nodded at Professor Quinn and moved to a corner of the room to discuss something. Ron shook his head angrily. "But that's the problem – once something happens, it'll be too late. We've got to show him we mean business, or something."
Harry nodded, and was about to reply, when Professor Quinn herself appeared in front of them. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," she began, still cheerful and smiling, "I'm guessing you can't read without your books on your desks. Do you have any questions?"
"Um, no," answered Harry, and he pulled out his book to read for the rest of the lesson. After class, Hermione hurried over to the two boys as they packed up their books.
"Personally, I don't think that went so badly," she began, when Ron interrupted her.
"Hermione, you had to work with Riddle, you can't say that that's not bad. And you hated last year because there were no practical classes. How can you say you enjoyed that class?"
"Well, Professor Quinn is certainly no Umbridge. And just wait until you find out about the project – she made me swear secrecy, or I'd tell you. And about Riddle, he's not so horrible after all, I mean, he had already read the chapter twice and he agreed with me that it's really just a review of Ancient Runes, so everything went quite well."
Ron looked about to burst. "Hermione, he's the madman that almost killed my sister – almost killed you, too – in our second year, how can you say that Riddle isn't that bad? He's... why, he's You-Know-Who!"
A cold voice spoke up behind Ron. "Still going on about that, are you? One would think, with the way you revere Dumbledore, you'd take his word that I wasn't a Dark Lord. Of course, one should never trust Gryffindors to listen to reason."
The three turned to face Tom, and Harry answered with as much venom as the Slytherin himself, "I thought I killed you in my second year."
Tom just shook his head and laughed. "My guess is that you did a very good job of beating up the Diary, but since I was not nor have I ever been the Diary, I remained relatively unharmed."
"What do you want?" asked Hermione.
"To make a deal with you three. You call me Ophicus, and drop your inane insistence that I am Lord Voldemort, and I leave you alone for the rest of the year."
Harry frowned. "That's it?" he asked. Tom nodded.
"You promise?" Ron broke in, suddenly very aggressive. Tom nodded again. "Ginny too?"
"What?" Tom snapped.
"You promise to leave my sister alone too?"
"If she abides by your half of the deal, of course," said Tom, already cognizant of the fact that Ginny Weasley certainly hadn't stopped considering him Lord Voldemort and probably never would.
"Fine," answered Ron quickly, forcing the other two to agree. Tom smiled.
"Good to meet you," he added quietly as he walked away and left the trio alone in the room with Professor Quinn. They quickly exited.
At lunch, Harry and Ron were still arguing about what they were going to do about Tom Riddle. "I swear, if he so much as touches Ginny..." Ron was muttering into his plate when Hermione finally snapped.
"Ron, he promised not to. You can just relax. He's not as bad as you think he is – Dumbledore trusts him, why won't you give him a chance?"
"He's Tom bloody Riddle, Hermione. This isn't a time to give people second chances."
Hermione sighed angrily and turned away from them, huffing as she did that this was exactly how they treated Snape, and Snape was in the Order, and wouldn't they just grow up and learn to trust Dumbledore.
"This is nothing like Snape, Hermione," Ron insisted, talking to the back of her head. "This is Tom Riddle. He's You-Know-Who. He's not just any Death Eater. He's already killed someone, and he liked it. This is Tom Riddle we're talking about, not Severus Snape."
Harry nodded vehemently and added, "Dumbledore doesn't want us to do anything anyway, he just wants us to sit and bide our time while the world crashes down around us. Dumbledore isn't infallible either, Hermione."
"When hasn't Dumbledore come through for you, Harry? When has he abandoned you or led you down the wrong path? When has he been wrong?" She turned to glare at Harry but instead of backing off he glared right back.
"He was wrong with Quirrel and with Moody – twice he's hired teachers who have turned out to be Death Eaters or worse. He's abandoned us every year, he's never been there when I do the fighting, he wasn't there when I confronted Voldemort in my first year, or my second year, and he made us do the work in our third year, and he couldn't save me from almost dying in my fourth year. He couldn't save Cedric. He's saved my life once – last year – but the only reason he had to was because he wasn't telling me everything I needed to know, because he was lying to me and keeping secrets from me since the day I've been born. Yes, Dumbledore is great and wonderful, but just because he says something doesn't mean we shouldn't think for ourselves, Hermione," Harry spat, and Hermione's eyes widened. She fell silent.
"Back to Tom Riddle," Ron muttered, but Harry silenced him with another angry glare.
"Look, we can't do anything now," Harry said, "So why don't we just drop it for the moment. Don't worry about Ginny, Ron. She can handle herself, I'm sure." Ron nodded silently. No one spoke for the rest of lunch, they were too shocked at Harry's explosion.
The advanced Transfiguration class that afternoon was packed with students, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were glad that they got to class early to catch seats together. By the time Malfoy arrived, Crabbe and Goyle in tow, it was clear that he would have to sit next to Tom. Harry and Ron supposed neither would mind overmuch, but Hermione sighed in discontent.
McGonagall welcomed the class in the customary way, and began a lecture on the upcoming lessons; they would begin studying human Transfiguration and hopefully begin casting simple spells by the Christmas holidays. Hermione was dutifully taking notes, but Harry and Ron's gazes kept floating to Tom Riddle, who was giving Malfoy the cold shoulder and avoiding eye contact with the other boy. Harry was shocked – he had always supposed the two boys he disliked so adamantly would get along well, to see the visible animosity between them gave him newfound respect for Tom Riddle. He couldn't help staring, at least a little.
Class seemed to drag on interminably, but when McGonagall finally concluded her lecture and Hermione looked up from her notes, packing the scroll carefully into her bag, Harry decided he would have rather class continue for another few hours. Both Tom and Malfoy approached the three Gryffindors. Malfoy reached them first. "Having trouble taking your eyes off of me, Potter?" he laughed. "I never thought you would be one to swing that way, although I daresay the Weaselette will be disappointed."
Harry fumed, and was about to tell Malfoy off, when Tom stepped up.
"I believe, Malfoy, he was trying to get my attention – Mr. Potter and I have an agreement that perhaps he wanted to speak to me about?" Harry caught his eyes and nodded tightly. "You must be quite the conceit to think that a face like yours could attract attention, no matter how incomprehensible the other party," Tom smirked, and Malfoy flushed red. "Run along now, Malfoy," he said, and Malfoy stalked away a few steps, staying within earshot.
Tom turned to Harry and said in an undertone, "I know you still don't trust me."
"Why should I?" countered Harry.
"Because I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt and not assuming you're another whining, idiotic Gryffindor who isn't even worth my time. And I must not be so crazy if I hate Malfoy like that, right?"
Harry smiled slightly. "You have a point, Ophicus."
Hermione, from past Ron, nodded. "Finally, he's listening to me," she muttered, but Ron was gaping at Harry.
"You can't be serious, Harry, remember who he is!" Ron's eyes bugged out and he shook his head incredulously at the grinning Harry before turning to Tom. "I still don't trust you, Riddle," he snarled.
Tom sighed. "Well, we can't always have what we want, can we?" he said causally, and then added, "At least I can count on your somewhat intelligent friends to rein you in." He's as stubborn as his sister, he thought, but he didn't voice the opinion as he hardly thought it would aid him in dealing with the older Weasley. With a curt nod, he exited the room, the three Gryffindors following just close enough to hear Malfoy berating him in the hallway.
"Why not just have Dumbledore resort you into Gryffindor if you like them better, Marvolo?" sniped Malfoy. "No intelligent Slytherin sides with Scar-face and his two cronies."
Tom turned on his heel and grabbed Malfoy by the shoulders, effectively stopping him in his tracks, before speaking again. "No intelligent Slytherin would live in awe of you. Which stands to reason that I am the only intelligent Slytherin, and you can have no conception of what an intelligent Slytherin would or would not do," he spat.
People were now stopping and staring, on their way from their afternoon class back to the Great Hall, and Harry recognized Ginny along with some other fifth year Gryffindor girls among the crowd, Ginny growing paler by the second. He tried to edge towards her, but couldn't.
Draco Malfoy snorted and shook Tom's hands off of his shoulders. "Don't you even touch me, blood traitor," he sneered. "I won't be sullied by your dirty hands!" He looked for Crabbe and Goyle, who were flanking him and doing their best to look powerful in a moment. "You're a poor excuse for a Slytherin, you are," he hissed.
Tom had to fight hard to resist the urge to punch Malfoy then and there, but he managed beautifully, and instead just glared. "For your information, Malfoy, I have never botched a spell in my life," he spat. It wasn't quite true, there had been the one, but he supposed that had more to do with his limited understanding of his opponent and not any error in the execution of the spell. "Which I am fairly confident can't be said of you. Ambition and skill can't be measured in a bank account and a pedigree, Malfoy."
Tom turned to leave, but Malfoy had pulled out his wand and shot a curse at him before he could take two steps. It just bounced off the black-haired boy, who turned quietly to face Malfoy. "No magic in the corridors, Malfoy, and no attacking a fellow student. One would think you would know those, what with you being a Prefect and all. Fifteen points from Slytherin for your callous disregard for the rules when you are supposed to serve as an example to fellow students." With that, he walked away, and the shocked Malfoy stood, motionless.
"Gryffindor lover!" shouted Malfoy at his retreating back, but everyone who saw it knew that Ophicus Serpens Marvolo had won the battle, and probably the war.
"Did you see that?" whispered Amelia into Ginny's ear. "He took points from his own house! I've never seen a Slytherin Prefect do that before!"
Ginny nodded expressionlessly, her entire body too shaken and cold to respond any more. Her mind was overturning itself, and her body wasn't ready for it. Was it possible that Tom wasn't as bad as he seemed? Was it possible that she should have forgiven him?
They had just come from an interminable History of Magic lecture, and Ginny had almost fallen asleep again, only to stop herself for fear of another dream about Tom. But confronting him in the hallway was even worse, because it forced her into the realization that this Tom was different from the one she had gotten used to over four years of thinking, the one who was evil to the core. It wasn't possible. Tom Riddle was evil, Tom Riddle was her worst nightmare.
Amelia was talking again. "I can't wait for the next Prefect meeting. It should be interesting – now that we have a good Slytherin Prefect." She smiled happily and continued down the hall. Ginny stopped dead in her tracks to stare. Amelia, however, was almost skipping.
This was not good. This was most certainly not good.