That morning, the third-years walked into Lupin's class, only to see their Potions professor standing at the front of the room. "Open your books to page 324," he snarled.

"Excuse me, sir?" Potter asked. "Where's Professor Lupin?"

Professor Snape snapped, "Professor Lupin is currently unfit to teach. Now, do as I say, Mr. Potter, and open your book to the specified page."

Draco was silently sniggering and began to make faces at the Gryffindors, leading to Potter and Weasley seeming ready to pounce on him. Truly, a very bad idea, as Professor Snape hated them already. Luckily, the end of the Gryffindors' bench that was facing the Slytherins was occupied by Granger, who was smart enough to be a good student and not start a fight while class was in session. With her in the way, Potter and Weasley could not physically access Draco, and thus had to resort to dirty looks and glowering to appease their "righteous anger."

Sighing, Artemis surreptitiously kicked Draco under the table and looked away innocently. The reaction was immediate – Draco stopped teasing the Gryffindors and turned his attentions on Artemis instead. Good. Had he gone on for a second longer, Potter and Weasley would have attempted to hurt him right there and then, the fact that they would have had to awkwardly climb over Granger to make this possible notwithstanding.

In any event, if this immature action could deal with the other boy without causing a noisy, attention-attracting commotion, so be it. Ignoring Draco's glare and retaliation kick (which was mildly painful, but Artemis would be the adult here and be content with his intended victory of distracting Draco from instigating the Gryffindors any further instead of starting a revenge war) he turned to the page.

"Werewolves?"

"But sir," Granger protested, raising her hand, "We've only just discussed Hinkypunks yesterday."

"According to my standards, this class is very behind in dealing with Dark creatures," Professor Snape growled. "Now, unless you want me to take off points, please read the chapter and write me an essay on the qualities of a werewolf and how to distinguish them."

Artemis, being a rather fast reader, finished his homework in class and spent the rest of the time thinking. Professor Snape seemed to hate Lupin even more than the other Defense teachers, which was odd…this could not be just the result of jealousy. There had to be a deeper reason. Maybe they had met before in the past, and Professor Snape was now harboring an old grudge? It wasn't impossible; Hogwarts was pretty much the only magical school in the British Isles, so anyone within the same generation had a high chance of being classmates.

Still, why would Professor Snape choose to scrap all of Lupin's lesson plans for an excuse as paper thin as the class being "behind"? Surely, there had to be another reason besides merely spiting Lupin.

Artemis immediately began forming theories, but without any more data he could not fall on any of them. As of now, the only definite thing was that the tension would only get worse – and Artemis definitely did not want to be there when the metaphorical string finally snapped.

Rain poured down on them in torrents, but the Quidditch match still continued.

It was between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff – and the Slytherins didn't know who to cheer for. Obviously, many of them hated their scarlet-clad rivals, but their opponents were not exactly the best fighters, either.

To be honest, Artemis thought that House rivalries were getting rather tiring. If he had been the cheering type (which he wasn't – he held little interest in spectator gatherings that involved people running around in an extremely unsafe environment for the amusement of the general populace), he would have supported the ones with the better chance of winning. It was as simple as that. Another reason why Artemis disliked prejudice – it got in the way of good, cold logic.

"Maybe Dementors will fly onto the field and give the Puffers a chance," Draco said to Pansy Parkinson, who giggled.

That's it, Artemis thought. Draco was going too far. Teasing, goading, and generally being stupid was forgivable.

Actually wishing harm on another person – and serious harm, too – was not.

Even if Dementors didn't try to steal any souls, didn't Draco realize that Potter was flying hundreds of feet above the ground? The force due to gravitational acceleration from that height would be enough to break anyone's neck, magic or not.

He poked Draco on the shoulder. When the other turned around, he roughly yanked him off the bench and dragged him inside. With the entire school at the game and the hallways mostly abandoned, they could cause as much of a scene as they wanted.

Arriving in an abandoned corridor, Artemis let go of Draco's sleeve and turned to face him, barely reeling in his temper. (What? Did you think Artemis was going to punch him or push him against the wall or something? He's too refined for that. Also, Artemis was intelligent enough to know that if this turned into a physical confrontation, he would lose. Miserably.)

"What is wrong with you? Spit it out; you have been acting like a complete nightmare for these past few weeks," Artemis snarled.

"I don't have to tell you anything, Fowl!" Draco snapped.

"At least tell me this much, then! You owe me your life," Artemis hissed, becoming more and more frustrated by the second. "Why are you so ungrateful? Did your father give you some entire speech about your superiority again? You should know better than to listen to him by now!"

Draco moved to push Artemis out of the way. "And what if he did? It's none of your business!"

"It is my business when you begin to take it out on the people who are trying to be nice to you," Artemis said, stepping to the side and catching Draco by the back of his cloak to keep him from walking away. "Granger's saved your sorry hide in History more times than you can think of, and you still act as though she is below you. Why must you bite the hand that feeds you?"

"Don't talk to me that way! You have no right, you filthy blood-traitor!" Draco shouted.

"Are we really getting back on that topic again? You're more of an ignoramus than I thought," Artemis retorted.

"And you're a criminal. A no-good, low-down, thief – just like your father!"

"And you can just go become a Death Eater – like your father!"

Artemis realized in horror what he just said. Draco paled – and then his mouth twisted into an ugly scowl.

"You'll pay for this, Fowl!" Draco whipped out his wand and sent an unrecognizable curse at Artemis.

Knowing better than to try to block it, Artemis jumped out of the way. "Petrificus Totalis!"

"Furnunculus!"

"Reducto!"

The duel was slowly escalating. It was not one of the friendly duels that they had experienced in Professor Snape's classroom the previous year – this time it was a real duel, where they fought in earnest for their pride. Not only that, but their spells were getting more and more advanced and dangerous. No average third-year should have been able to perform these curses, but then again, neither Artemis nor Draco were average.

"Eviscera!"

Artemis jumped out of the way. Where would he have learned that curse – oh, yes, Lucius.

"Oppugno!"

"Rotegro!"

"Arachnisempra!" Artemis yelled the spell that his mother had taught him. Violet wires sprang out of his wand, like a large spider web, and sent Draco tumbling to the ground. He walked over. "Expelliarmus. You have lost. Now tell me, what is your problem?"

Draco struggled against the wires, but to no avail. "Let me go."

"No."

"I mean it, Artemis!"

"Back to first names, now, aren't we? It's funny how friendly we get when we are at another's mercy. Just tell me now – every person in the school is at that game and no one is going to come in here anytime soon. Tell me – or do I have to force it out of you?" Artemis stared directly into Draco's eyes. He decided against using Legilimency, as tempting and convenient as it seemed to be. It had nothing to do with legal issues, since he could always get around that, but if he was going to reconcile with Draco he needed to establish trust. He did not have to want to put himself into an awkward situation in the future, where he had to explain to Draco where he got all of the information he did.

Draco sighed. "Will you let me go?"

"Only after you tell me why you are being such a – a prat." The unfamiliar words rolled off Artemis' tongue, but they had to be said. High-vocabulary insults did not carry the same connotation. He pressed his wand to Draco's throat and narrowed his eyes.

Draco leaned back and closed his eyes, although with the magical binding around him, it was difficult. "My father is extremely angry at your kind, Fowl. I could fill up an entire diary with all of the stuff that's wrong with you. Now leave me alone and stop trying to keep track of me. I have better acquaintances than you and I don't want them to see me with riff-raff like you. If it were possible, you would all be working with Dobby."

Artemis lifted an eyebrow. Draco's speech patterns were different – but only very slightly. Had he been anyone but Artemis Fowl II, he would have missed it. But it was there, and it was clearly deliberate. Draco was sending a message.

Artemis' eyes widened as the truth dawned on him. Of course. Lucius would be secretly tracking Draco to make sure he behaved the way he was supposed to be after the whole "diary" incident the previous year. That random mention of Dobby – Draco must have pulled some information out of the house-elf. Draco was acting rudely on purpose as to not rouse his own father's suspicions.

At that point, Artemis was glad that he had not used Legilimency – if the tracking methods were magical and could detect the use of magic somehow, he would not only be giving Draco away, but also surrendering dangerous information about himself.

"You know nothing," Artemis returned, and barely flicked his wrist just as Draco exaggeratedly twisted his own, so that it looked as if Draco had broken free of the binds by himself.

Draco jumped back up and held his wand to Artemis' face, while confirming the question. "And you know nothing else."

Well, that was inconvenient. So Draco only knew that he was being tailed, but not by who or how. It seemed that for the time being, they would have to be as rude as possible to one another. It was either that or distance themselves from one another altogether. At least through verbal spats, they could still interact and communicate their true thoughts somehow – hopefully without the detection of whoever or whatever was watching them.

"Fine," Artemis sniffed. "If that's how you want it, then I have nothing else for you. Just know that next time we meet, it will be nothing but angry words."

Later

"Do you want to go visit Harry?" Granger asked.

"Why? What happened?"

"Weren't you there?"

"I, unfortunately, had some different matters to tend to, so I missed the Quidditch match," Artemis explained.

They set off towards the infirmary.

"During the game, a bunch of Dementors rushed onto the field. There were so many happy spectators at the game, they just couldn't help it. Harry...well, you know how the Dementors affect him...he fell off his broom. Hufflepuff won the game."

"For once," Ron muttered sullenly.

Artemis swallowed. Draco's wish, as jokingly as it had been, had come true. "Is he all right?"

"He's unconscious, but he's alive. He might wake up now," Hermione said.

Lee Jordan, along with the Weasley twins and their younger brother, were clustered around Potter's bed staring expectantly at him. Artemis wondered if they knew how unsettling it would be for the poor boy to wake up and see all of those faces staring down at him. Sure enough, Potter awoke, looked up, and gave a small, frightened yelp.

"You okay, mate?" Weasley asked.

"Yeah. What happened?"

"The Dementors made you fall off your broom," Granger explained. "Dumbledore barely saved you by using a Cushioning Charm to break your fall. Don't worry - he chased them off the field. He was absolutely furious."

"Oh. I guess Hufflepuff won then?"

"Yeah, but don't take it too hard on yourself, Harry," Weasley said. "It was pretty unfair to you anyway."

"Where's my broom?" Potter asked. Of course he would be worried about his broom at a time like this.

The boys all shifted and looked uncomfortable. "Ummm..."

"Where's my broom?"

Weasley held out two fragments of twig, held together by a few splinters. "It wasn't my fault, Harry - I swear! When you fell off, the storm blew it into the Whomping Willow...and, well..."

Artemis had never seen the other boy look so crestfallen. Potter sighed. "It's okay, guys. Honest. I can always use a different broom...don't worry about it."

They looked at him. "You sure?"

"Yeah. Positive. It's okay. Really." He was in serious denial.

After a while, they were shooed out by Madam Pomfrey. Artemis remained.

"Hey, Fowl."

"Potter. I hope that you are feeling better," Artemis said, trying to remain cordial.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Potter sank back into his pillow and closed his eyes, moaning slowly. "I hate the Dementors. I wish that I knew how to chase them away. Lupin managed to do it on the train."

"It's called a Patronus Charm," Artemis said. "You should ask Professor Lupin to teach it to you."

Potter visibly brightened up. "Really? You sure?"

"Positive. Although the Dementors' effects are especially adverse towards you, I feel that it is a spell that every student here should learn," Artemis said. He actually meant it, too.

Potter smiled. "Thanks. You're a great person, you know? Really."

Artemis shifted uneasily. No one had ever called him a great person before. "Thank you...I suppose."

"I suppose Malfoy's going to have a field day about this," Potter sighed.

"Actually, no. I had a little talk with him during the game. He might still be a bit of a prat, but I will ensure that his intentions are perfectly benevolent."

The other boy snorted. "Malfoy? Benevolent? Yeah, right."

"Don't judge him too harshly, Potter," Artemis chided. "I know that you have not had the best history, but you must remember that you are not the only one with problems. His father has simply taught him to deal with his anger differently, that's all. Bear with him for some time - he should return to normal. If you remember from last year, he was perfectly capable of being a decent person."

"...I suppose you're right. I'll give him a chance. Just - tell him to stop fainting on me. It's getting really old."

"Ignore him - he'll only think it's old when it stops affecting you."

"It only stops affecting me when the Dementors do."

"Then you better learn how to conjure a Patronus soon."

Harry sighed. "I'll do that."

A/N: Please help me come up with a Patronus form for all four Slytherin boys – Artemis, Blaise, Draco, and Theodore. Tell me what form and why you think it's a good idea. (Try not to do anything too predictable like ferrets or snakes – I really don't want to stereotype them.) Note that Patronuses represent something that symbolizes safety or protection to the boys, and while they are mostly the same with their Animagus forms, they can change over time.

Also, this time, magical creatures are fine here, because in the Harry Potter world, some wizards had magical creatures as their Patronus, like Dumbledore. Therefore it is not too Mary Sue or Gary Stu or whatever.

By the way, the Animagus naming thing is still ongoing, and I have kept a list of all the suggestions you guys gave me. You can send in as many entries as you like, and I will pick what I think is the most fitting for each individual boy. So someone's suggestion for, let's say, Theodore could be chosen, but not the other three. The Patronus can be the same as the Animagus form, but it doesn't have to be.