The Family Name Year Four

By Elbereth in April

Chapter 3

Draco's head was spinning. Fowl had cast a spell to protect him. What did it mean? He'd managed to mostly convince himself he wanted nothing more to do with Fowl, and now this? Why had Fowl done that? He didn't dare ask in front of everyone at the dinner table. Their friends were buzzing with shock, excitement, indignation. But Fowl still wasn't talking to him, seemed to be avoiding even glancing at him. He wanted to bounce his spongecake off Fowl's head just to get his attention.

"That Moody," Zabini complained. "He's unjust. Another teacher prejudiced against Slytherins."

"Like it's not enough that he's so weird and creepy." Millicent frowned at her toad-in-the-hole and apple crumble.

"And ugly," Pansy added.

"Only Dumbledore would hire a professor who was too paranoid and washed out to be an Auror anymore," Eva said.

"You were so cool, Artemis," Crabbe praised him, beaming.

Goyle gestured with his lamb chop. "And so quick on the draw!"

"And so gallant of you to help your friend," Pansy gushed with a somewhat adoring smile.

"It was just instinct," Artemis said quickly. "I would have done the same for any Slytherin, to protect our House's honor. It means nothing more than that."

"My cousin's dad performed that spell on him once," said Blaise. "He said it was very painful. I'm glad you didn't have to go through that, Malfoy."

Draco blinked. "Well. Thank you." He looked at Artemis and very reluctantly told him, "Thanks, Fowl."

Artemis shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Malfoy only briefly. "You're welcome."

Draco pushed his half-full plate away. "If we've got detention later, I'd better go work on my Charms and Transfiguration assignments."

"Don't go alone," Millicent said sharply. "Not for awhile."

Crabbe and Goyle stood. Marie and Blaise did, too. "We're ready. We'll all go together."

Artemis watched them all walk away. His mind was a confused swirl. He was trying very hard to repress any emotion that tried to surface. He was supposed to be a man of thought and logic. Most especially, he was supposed to feel nothing but indifference as far as Malfoy was concerned. The idea of him in pain should not make him feel slightly nauseous. That look Malfoy had shot him just as Moody had raised his wand should not have hit him right behind the breastbone like a squeezing fist.

He wiped his mouth on a napkin and folded it carefully by his plate. Detention or no detention, tonight he was going to begin his search for a place suitable for an experimental alchemical laboratory. It was time to get his priorities straight.

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Artemis and Draco sat in the empty potions lab at 8:00, waiting for their professor. Draco couldn't stand the silence any longer. "Why?"

Artemis looked over at the blond sitting two tables away. "Why what?"

"Why did you defend me?"

"I told you. It was reflex—instinct. If—if Slytherin had a pet dog I would have protected it. It had nothing to do with you personally."

Draco thought about snarking. He thought about raising a fuss. He didn't. Instead he said calmly, "Right. Cause we're still not friends."

"Right."

"And we never will be."

Artemis nodded, relieved there wouldn't be a scene.

Draco went back to running his fingers over his quill pen, staring at the ruffling feathers. It barely even stung anymore. He had come to accept it over the summer—all his failings. Their split had been one of his failings, and there was no way to make up for it. He'd tried, failed again. Learned. Accepted.

There were a lot of things he'd had to learn and accept over the summer.

Snape swept in, looking them both over. "You'll be pleased to know Mr. Weasley is washing the castle floors without magic right now."

"What will we be doing?"

"You're going to brew some potions for me. As long as I have you in this pointless detention, I may as well get some use out of you. You'll be making headache and laxative potions for the infirmary. Pages 108 and 132."

"Yes, sir."

"And Fowl—25 points to Slytherin for an excellently performed Silencio Charm."

Artemis smiled. "Thank you, Professor."

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After detention, while Artemis explored the West Wing of the dungeons with Butler and the Marauder's Map, Draco closed the drapes around his bed and read by the light of his wand.

Over the summer, Draco had raided his mother's extensive library and found a book called Achieving Animagus Status. It was just what he was looking for—a recipe on how to become an animagus. He had reached the ¾ point. He had already cast a series of increasingly complicated spells and now he was ready to brew the potion. He sorted through his collection of ingredients, bought at Diagon Alley with his school supplies. Tonight he would get everything together and tomorrow in his free period he would prepare it. It would have to steep for several weeks.

Then he would go to DADA. He was not looking forward to it. He told himself he wasn't afraid of Moody. Not at all.

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The Slytherins sat close together in the back of the room, eyeing their professor warily. He eyed them back.

He called roll, his voice sounding distinctly disdainful when he read out Malfoy and Fowl. Then he started the lesson, saying, "This year is very behind on dealing with curses. Although I'm sure some of you know more than others." He glanced at Malfoy, undoubtedly implying that Lucius had taught him Dark Arts curses. Draco bristled. "Now, which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

Everyone hesitated, so Moody picked, "Fowl? You're supposed to be a genius, everyone says. Name a curse."

Artemis's chin went up. "Cruciatus."

Moody opened his desk drawer and took out a glass jar with three large spiders in it. He took one out and placed it on his desk. "The Cruciatus Curse," he said, and they all intuitively knew what was come. Draco flinched back a bit when Moody pointed his wand at the spider. "Crucio!"

The spider's legs bent in upon its body. It rolled over and began to twitch horribly. As the seconds passed, the spider started to shudder and jerk more violently. Draco swallowed heavily.

"Oh stop it," Pansy cried. "Stop it!"

Moody's eyebrows lifted as he raised his wand. "A soft-hearted Slytherin. Who'd have thought." He put the spider back in the jar. "That was a very popular curse, years ago," he continued. "Very popular for torture."

"Do you have permission from the Ministry for casting that spell?" Zabini demanded.

Moody looked at him. "Yes. I do. And Dumbledore's, too, so don't bother asking. Now name another curse."

"The Imperious Curse," Blaise answered, still with a narrow-eyed stare.

"Yes. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time. There were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled—and more who just claimed they were under control. Hard for the Ministry, trying to determine who was lying. In the end, a few people got off scot-free for their crimes, with the Imperius as an excuse." He was glaring at Malfoy again.

"I assume your cryptic statements are referring to Voldemort's reign," Artemis said. A number of students winced at the name.

Moody looked at the boy. He seemed to be sitting casually, although with perfect posture, looking back at him calmly. Moody didn't trust it for an instant. "Not afraid to say his name, I see."

"Why should I be?"

"No, no reason." Moody's smile was anything but. "And yes, I'm talking about that dark time, when people were afraid to go out of their homes, afraid to come home, too, to find everyone dead inside and the Dark Mark floating in the air above your house. Didn't matter if you were Muggle or not, after awhile, if He thought you'd crossed Him."

"The Killing Curse," Artemis said.

"Yes." Moody reached back into the jar of spiders. He placed one on his hand. "Imperio!"

He made the spider twirl around, cartwheeling, tap dancing. "Total control," he growled. The Slytherins watched in silence. "I could make it drown itself, jump out the window, throw itself down one of your throats…" His gaze ran over them all, and those sitting closest leaned back involuntarily.

He stopped abruptly and plucked the third spider out of the jar. His eyes rested on Artemis. "The Killing Curse," he repeated. "The last and worst."

He placed the spider on his desk and pointed his wand at it.

"Do you have to actually kill it?" Draco asked softly.

Moody looked at Malfoy, whose gaze never left the spider. "You have to know, you have to see. This is what you're up against," his eyes flitted over the class, "you need to practice constant vigilance. I'll teach you to fight, but you must see—Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light and a rushing sound, and the spider rolled onto its back, unmistakably dead. Moody swept it off the desk and on to the floor. "Not nice. Not pleasant," Moody spoke into the renewed silence. "No countercurse. Now get out your quills and copy this down… Constant Vigilance!"

'He enjoyed that. Entirely too much,' Artemis thought, watching Moody out of the corner of his eye. 'Butler must be on his guard.'

Draco kept glancing at the dead spider on the floor. 'That could be you,' he thought. 'Any time.'

Both boys felt Moody watching them, with one eye or the other, at various points throughout the lesson. It made them extremely uncomfortable, but neither showed it.

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At dinner that evening, Hermione boldly approached the Slytherin table with a box and a tin. "The first step in my fight for justice for house elves," she announced, catching the attention of others besides the Fourth Years. "I'm recruiting people to join S-P-E-W!" She held up a badge saying S.P.E.W.

Draco, who'd been drinking pumpkin juice, coincidentally spewed it out onto the table in laughter. "SPEW? A society called Spew?" Most of the others laughed, too.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not Spew! S-P-E-W. it stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

"Never heard of it," said Claudia Weaver, who was sitting next to Draco. They weren't seeing each other this year, but were still cordial.

"I've just started it."

Artemis, who had been looking increasingly as if he wanted to be elsewhere, just stared at this. "You named it Spew?"

"It's not SPEW!"

"Face it, Granger, everyone's going to call it that," Draco laughed.

"I wanted to call it Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status…"

"Great gravy, Granger! Are you brain-dead? I can think of better names just off the top of my head!"

Hermione crossed her arms, mouth tightening. "Such as?"

"How about HER? House Elf Rights. FEE—Free Enslaved Elves. Or—oh—HELP. House Elf League of Protection."

"Actually, that's a pretty good one," said Enid Carew, Claudia's friend.

"No, no, keep it as SPEW," Eva said, straight-faced.

Hermione glared at Bole, then looked at Malfoy. "I do like HELP."

Millie hid a smirk.

"Yes, change the name," Artemis put in firmly.

"All right," Hermione nodded. "And I'll change the badges. Then for two Sickles you can join—that buys a badge—and the proceeds will fund our leaflet campaign!"

"That's a stupid idea," someone down the table said, not quietly.

She frowned, looking for the speaker.

"Have your Gryffindor pals joined?" Goyle asked, distracting her.

"Some. Ron is Treasurer and Harry is Secretary."

"Better make Fowl Vice-President so you don't have only Gryffindors in charge. Otherwise you won't get any Slytherins to join." Draco smiled angelically as he sealed Fowl's fate.

"Good idea!" Zabini piped up. "I'll join if Fowl does."

"Wait! What? I don't—"

"Good, great," Hermione said happily, steamrolling right over Artemis's objections. "I'll bring the new badges over later tonight. See you!"

She bounced away as the Slytherins giggled and nudged Artemis.

"But I don't want to," Artemis complained in a pathetic voice to thin air.

His friends just kept laughing. Artemis was beginning to reassess his analysis of Granger's intelligence—and her affect on his reputation.

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Artemis sat at a back table in the library with Goyle, Crabbe, and Ginny Weasley. The professors had started giving the Fourth Years a heavy amount of homework, in preparation for OWLs next year, and Crabbe and Goyle had fallen behind in Muggle Studies. Hence the study session, to which Greg had invited Ginny.

Artemis had printed out photos of various Muggle items, from blue jeans to stereos, with a price tag next to each, and given his students £500 worth of fake Muggle bills and coins. Crabbe was having trouble with the coins, and Ginny kept getting distracted by the clothes, but it was fun, and they were learning.

"That's really impressive," someone said. They looked over to see a dark-haired Gryffindor watching them.

"Oh, hi, Paul," Ginny said, smiling at him.

"That's a really good teaching method," Paul complimented Artemis. "Can I sit in? I'm taking Muggle Studies. I have NEWTs this year, and to be frank, I'm kind of nervous about them."

"Fine," Artemis agreed. "Stormbrew, right?"

"Yes," Paul nodded as he sat next to Ginny. "I'm Paulinus Stormbrew."

Goyle frowned. Did Ginny like this git?

Artemis nodded. There was something about the other boy that put him off a bit, but not enough that he minded him joining them for an hour or so.

"So, you wanted to buy this dress?" Artemis picked up where they'd left off.

"I think you'd look quite smashing in it," Paul said.

Ginny giggled. "I couldn't really wear it; Mum would have a fit. Look how much skin it shows!"

"Yes," Paul murmured. Ginny giggled again.

Right, Greg really didn't like him.

Meanwhile, in the Common Room, Draco was helping Pansy research poison antidotes, and Zabini and Marie were writing essays on the Goblin Rebellions. Eva was by the fireplace, arguing with her brother, and Millie was knitting Vince a pair of mittens with his name on them. It was already getting cold out.

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