The Family Name: Year Four
By Elbereth in April
Chapter 9
After supper, Artemis was in Butler's office, presiding over the recitations as each group of spies came in and reported what they had observed during the First Task. Artemis sat at Butler's desk. Sirius and Butler were talking together in one corner with Remus Lupin, who had come to watch Harry in the Task.
"I'd lodge a complaint over the use of a Horntail, if I was you," Butler was telling them. "If one Champion has to face a dragon that's deadly at both ends, the others should as well. It's only fair."
Eva and Pansy came in first. "Maxime seemed vaguely worried over the safety of all the Champions, pleased by Fleur's success, and dismayed by how well the others did. Pretty standard, normal reactions, really."
Zabini and Marie came in as they were finishing up. "Karkaroff just looked sort of sour the whole time, except when Krum was performing. Then he looked either anxious or smug. He looked particularly sour after Potter finished and when points were awarded. If he wanted to kill Potter, his plan definitely backfired."
"You needn't sound so disappointed," Hermione complained, coming in the door.
"Don't be so defensive," Marie returned, frowning.
"If the Slytherins wanted him dead, he'd be dead by now," Eva added, sticking her nose in the air.
Pansy nodded. "Poisoning would be relatively simple."
"Hey!" Sirius called from the corner. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to you discuss how to kill off my godson."
There was some shuffling of feet. They hadn't thought the adults were listening.
"We're gonna go," Blaise said hastily, tugging on Marie's hand. "We wanted to finish our astronomy project tonight. Will you check it over before class, Fowl?"
At Artemis's agreement, they slipped out the door.
"Anyway, Voldemort was a Slytherin and he hasn't managed yet," Hermione sniffed as she sat down in a chair by the desk.
"Our House is not defined by Voldemort," Artemis replied, irritation rising.
"Indeed!" The two Slytherin girls flounced out.
"How was the party in Gryffindor Tower, Hermione?" Butler interrupted, trying to head off any further argument.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "The twins are experimenting with prank candy," she said, disapproval evident. "They temporarily turned Neville into a canary."
Sirius, who had attended the party, grinned. Remus, who had been in and out and missed that part, looked at Black with narrowed eyes. "Thanks for the warning, Sirius. The jarful of sweets on your coffee table makes sense now."
Sirius continued to grin, unrepentant.
Hermione started to chatter to Artemis, who tried to feign interest. Really, girls talked too much, he'd discovered.
After about ten minutes, Goyle and Ginny came in, fresh from a walk by the lake. Greg was glowing with excitement. Draco showed up a few minutes later, having arranged to meet them there.
"Your report on Crouch?" Artemis prompted.
"The man's ice," Draco drawled. "I believe the rumors now."
"The rumors?"
"That he drove his son into the Death Eaters."
The other teens looked at him, surprised. Ginny wanted to ask about Draco's father, but decided that was too tactless, even when directed at a Malfoy.
"Crouch is a self-righteous, power-hungry moron," Black snarled. "He loved being in charge of Law Enforcement, having control over people's lives. Especially once they declared martial law."
"He certainly felt he was omnipotent enough not to need a trial to judge someone." Artemis regarded Black closely. As one of those someone's, Black was clearly bitter, not that Artemis blamed him. Remus just looked sorrowful, eyes filled with regret.
"Yeah," Goyle said thoughtfully. Crouch reminded him of a lot of Slytherins' fathers that he knew. "I can see Crouch as the villain."
"But why would he want to kill Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he just wants the wizarding hero to fail," Draco suggested. "It could be entirely political."
Artemis nodded. "Or maybe he wants him to win. Toughen the hero up in case he has to face Death Eaters or Voldemort's ghost again."
Enter the twins, bearing sweets. Artemis gave them a look, and Fred hastily withdrew his outstretched hand, turning to Malfoy and Goyle. Greg looked at the offered treats with longing. Draco stepped hard on his foot. "Like any self-respecting Slytherin would take candy from a suspicious-looking Gryffindor."
"You're far too cynical—"
"—for a young lad."
"Enough. What's your report?"
"Dumbledore just sort of radiated twinkling goodwill throughout," George reported.
"But he looked very satisfied by the outcome," Fred added.
"This isn't getting us anywhere," Hermione sighed.
"Be patient. Even the best actors slip up eventually. We have to remain alert."
"What about Moody?" Draco asked.
Hermione looked at Artemis, who magnanimously indicated that she should be the one to answer. "He actually smiled when Harry won. He congratulated him. He seems to like Harry better than he does most people."
"Favoritism," Draco muttered.
Ginny nudged him with her elbow. "Hypocrite."
He poked her in the ribs. She batted his hand away.
"Children," Fred mock-scolded, "try to behave yourselves."
"Like us," George grinned.
Ginny hid her smile. "Oh yes, shining role models, you."
Milicent and Crabbe came in. Vince looked around a bit uneasily. "You've got a full house."
"Good thing we're here, to help balance out the Slytherin to Gryffindor ratio," Millie said.
"We were just leaving, actually," George said.
"Things to do—people to see—"
"Have a custard cream before you go?" George held out his hand.
Crabbe's face brightened. Millie quickly stepped partly in front of him. "No."
The twins sighed mournfully. "Slytherins—"
"—far too untrusting."
Then they grinned brightly and left, leaving everyone bemused and slightly tired, just from the redheads' energy.
"What was wrong with the sweets?" Millie asked the room in general.
"They call them Canary Creams for a reason," Hermione informed her.
The bodyguards' eyes widened. "Someone could have warned us."
"That's what I said." Lupin smiled at them.
"Anyway, Ludo Bagman's as far from impartial as you can get. He's rooting for Potter—obviously because of his bet. I think it's doubtful he's the one we're looking for, but we'll keep watching him."
Artemis nodded.
The two Slytherins didn't stay long. Ginny left when they did, but Greg had a couple questions he wanted to ask Butler about their last lesson. Draco sat down to wait for him. He and Hermione were trading flippant remarks when Harry and Ron walked in.
Artemis regarded them evenly.
"Hermione told us. We want to spy, too," Harry said, his very pores oozing determination.
Artemis steepled his fingers. "I'm not sure it's wise for you to possibly be alone watching someone suspected of trying to kill you."
"We did say maybe not," Hermione said hesitantly.
"Yes, but the highest probability is still homicide."
"It's not like I've never been in danger before."
"Plus, any number of the suspects could get you alone anytime anyway, under Tournament pretenses. Very well, you two may watch. However, the suspects have all been assigned. I would split you up and put you with existing groups, but that would be akin to inciting World War III… therefore, I am going to have you join Hermione in watching Moody, and I'll step back from observing and be the full-time coordinator between all the groups." It would be perfect. It would give him that much more time to devote to his new alchemical lab. Plus, he'd definitely been spending too much time with girls lately. He'd been thinking of Hermione at odd moments instead of having moments of academic creativity. What kind of genius mastermind was he? He needed some distance, some perspective.
Hermione looked disappointed, but had to admit putting Gryffindor-Slytherin teams together when part of that pairing was Ron or Harry would be disasterous.
"Lovely," Draco spoke up, expression sour. "The Fab Trio together again. Always have to be in the thick of things, don't you, Potter?"
"Yeah, Potter, it's not all about you," Goyle sneered.
"Actually, this time it sort of is," Harry answered wryly.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Done, Goyle?" He motioned his friend out the door.
Once they'd left, Harry shifted uneasily. "Um, about Moody. See the thing is—I accidentally found out about the dragons beforehand—how's not important. I felt guilty because I knew, so I told Diggory. Moody overheard and called me into his office. I thought I was in trouble, but he said Dumbledore may not be cheating, but everyone else surely was, and the other headmasters would have told their champions, too."
Artemis nodded. "Undoubtedly so."
"Then he asked me if I knew what I was going to do—which I didn't. He told me to play to my strengths. He asked what I was good at and I said Quidditch. He said I flew well, and what I needed was a spell 'to get what I need.' My broom, in this case. So you see, the Summoning Charm was really his idea."
Artemis sat up straighter. "When was this?"
"Yesterday."
"Did he give Diggory advice, also?"
"Not while I was there."
"Interesting. Ask Diggory. Find out."
Harry really didn't want to, but he wasn't backing out now, so he nodded.
Artemis cocked his head curiously. "Did they tell you anything about the Second Task?"
"They gave us golden eggs. There's supposed to be a clue inside, but when I opened it, it just made this awful wailing noise—really loudly, too."
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
"Well? Tell me about your walk," Draco demanded as the two boys started down the hall.
"It was great," Greg enthused, eyes slightly dreamy. "She's great."
Draco felt another strange stomach pain as he listen to Goyle rhapsodize, and suddenly realized he was jealous. Well, that was a fine mess! Could he actually be interested in Ginny Weasley?
He looked over at Goyle. It didn't matter if he personally liked the girl or not, Draco decided. He wasn't about to hurt Greg by pursuing his friend's crush. The name Malfoy might not be known for loyalty, but Draco vowed to be different.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
"How did your last detention go?" Ron asked Hermione as she entered the Common Room through the portrait hole. She made her way over to where he and Harry were sitting by the fire.
Ron's eyes met Harry's and they both snickered. "Hermione in detention," Harry said.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm aware you both think it's hilarious."
They made room for her to sit in between them. "So how did it go?" Ron repeated.
Hermione frowned, lips pursing. "It was—strange. Yesterday he had us turn in our papers, and today we were just supposed to present our opinions on what we'd learned and then he'd give us our grade." They nodded. "And I said—well, I used a lot of terms I learned when researching wizarding law, which was fascinating to read about, even Artemis thought so—but basically, I said that while some Death Eaters undoubtedly escaped judgment, it was better than to have sentenced an innocent man, like they did with Sirius. Artemis, of course, chose the opposite view, so we could observe Moody's reaction."
Hermione paused, thinking about Artemis. Worry gnawed at her stomach as she did so. He'd been so distant lately, and almost never wanted to get together anymore. She swallowed, pushing those thoughts away.
"Anyway, Moody glared at me and seemed delighted by Artemis's response, so it would have been obvious what his opinion was even without him saying anything. But then he went on this weird rant about how the thing he hated most was a Death Eater who had walked free, and how they all should have been in Azkaban or have died along with Voldemort. I found it frankly disturbing."
The boys just shrugged. "He was an Auror all those years. I imagine you would form some pretty strong opinions against the people you'd fought at wand-point all that time," Ron said.
Hermione tugged at a curl of her hair. "I suppose so."
"So what grade did he give you? More importantly, how many House points did he take off?"
Hermione made a face. "Artemis got an A- and I got a B+. He was pushing it even with that—we both turned in quality work, and he couldn't argue that. Or not if he had been brought up against Dumbledore, and you know Artemis would have."
"The points, Hermione."
"50." She looked at the carpet, scuffing her toe.
The boys groaned. "Well, at least he took 50 off Slytherin, too," Ron said, trying to cheer himself up.
"No, only 40. We had a one point grade difference, remember."
They groaned again.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
"That's the last of them." Hermione closed her book and handed a sheet of parchment to Draco.
Across the library table from them, Ginny looked up from her Encyclopedia of Charms. "So, what's the verdict?"
Draco grimaced. "There is none. Out of thousands of possible potions, we've narrowed it down to 42. But I have no clue what Moody's intentions were, so it could just as likely be any of these 42. Did he want to cause muscle cramps? Promote good digestion? I'm still in the dark."
Hermione nodded sympathetically, but was unable to hold it for long. She produced a HELP badge and held it out to him, smile almost blinding. "That'll be two Sickles."
Draco rolled his eyes and dug in his pockets for change.
"What, no wise comments about sullying the family name by joining?" Ginny asked with a smirk.
Draco appeared to give this serious consideration. "I'm reinventing the Malfoy name," he said, putting two Sickles on the table. "Mind, I still think HELP is a stupid idea, but I made a bargain and I'm going to keep it."
Ginny's eyes went wide. "That is different for a Malfoy."
"Shut it, Weasley-girl." Draco took the badge and stuck it in his bag.
Hermione fingered the coins, moving them around the table in circular patterns. "You have been different. I've noticed."
Draco looked at her intently. "Have you? How so?"
Both girls were serious now, matching Draco's earnest expression. "I haven't seen you really bully anyone in awhile. Snark and insult, sure, but not so—cruel—as you used to be."
"You're more open-minded now," Ginny added. "And you don't seem worried about being seen with us anymore."
Draco gave a wry half-grin. "I'm not. Worried, I mean. And I've decided I need to re-evaluate—well, a lot of things, actually. The whole—superiority over Muggle-borns, for instance." He looked at Hermione. "I'm sorry I ever called you a Mudblood, Granger. I think I should—if I start with the premise that everything my father ever told me is questionable and go from there, I might be alright."
Hermione regarded him with almost total shock. "Oh—okay."
Ginny's surprise was also evident. "Really? You've—broken with your father?"
"Not officially. I just—it's time I think for myself. Say, can you recommend any Muggle books to read?" The last directed at Granger.
"Does he know?" Ginny asked, worried.
Draco tightened his jaw. "He will. He always does."
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Since Hermione and Artemis finished lunch at the same time, he agreed to walk her to her next class. In the hall, she asked him, "What do you think about the way Malfoy's been acting lately?"
"Malfoy? What do you mean?"
Hermione frowned. "Haven't you noticed? He's mellowed. For goodness' sake, I loaned him a Hardy Boys novel and a biography on Prince Charles and Lady Diana!"
"You did what?"
"Malfoy is trying to turn over a new leaf. He said he was breaking away from his father and thinking for himself now."
Artemis blinked a few times, then his eyes got that shuttered look that meant he was dismissing whatever you were saying. Hermione had been getting that look more and more often lately, and it irritated her.
"Malfoy says a lot of things." Artemis shrugged.
"I know, but I think he meant it," Hermione insisted.
"Well, good for him. Are you ready for today's Transfiguration exam?" He deliberately changed the subject.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "You're too stubborn for your own good sometimes, you know."
"What are you talking about?" Artemis felt like he'd been saying that through this whole bizarre conversation.
"You're determined to never be friends with him again, aren't you?"
"Have you suddenly decided you actually like Malfoy?"
"Well, no. Not as such. But if he's going to stop being a jerk, it could be possible." Hermione shrugged, chin raised.
"You'd actually trust him?"
"It depends on the circumstances."
At the sound of running feet, they turned to find Ron rushing up to them. "Hermione, you have to help me! I'm not ready for this exam!"
The two academically gifted students sighed. "Fine, Ron," she agreed. The rest of the walk they talked about the study material.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS