Author's Note: This particular part of this story has been held for a while because I was not quite sure it was ready. I'm still not completely happy with it, but at this point I have the next part done so this one is going out there. Do not be surprised if it gets revised along with the release of part 4 of this story.

Bear in mind that while this story is a sequel to Remuneration for Instructional Services like Strawberry Wine, the two are in separate time lines. So what happened in Strawberry Wine will not happen in this story.

Draco Malfoy

Draco Malfoy was distracted by his new branding, and that was what he thought of the Dark Mark that his father had insisted that he get. Five years of seeing Potter go against the Dark Lord and win had Draco doubting that backing the Dark Lord was a winning move. He wasn't willing to go against his parents on it, yet, and the brand might have actually prevented him from doing so. His thoughts had been all over the place since his branding.

So the fact that Draco had not spotted Potter standing in gray robes next to the antechamber door until after Dumbledore's admonishment against "booing or degrading a particular student's sorting." He'd notice that Professor Snape was missing, replaced by Professor SlughornHe knew that Professor Snape had hoped to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts post, after fourteen applications for the post.

The immediate rumor down the Slytherin table was that Professor Snape had been involved in some sort of potions mishap. He hadn't been seen for over a week. Draco couldn't believe that Professor Snape would have a potions mishap. His second task that the Dark Lord had given him, in addition to killing the Headmaster, was to find out what really happened to Professor Snape. Snape wasn't responding to summons, apparently.

Draco took a sideways glance down the Slytherin table, taking in his fellow sixth years as they discovered the lurking Professor Potter. Was that elbow pads on Potter's robe? Gryffindors had no sense of style. Then again, the last Defense Professor with style had been a Raven, and Lockhart had no substance. Potter had substance, and Draco figured that he might actually learn something, even though Potter was younger than him. After all rumors said that pretty much every one of Potter's Defense group, Dumbledore's Army, there was a misnamed group, that had taken NEWTs or OWLs had received Outstandings.

Much to Draco's surprise, it was Pansy that seemed to be the first to spot Potter lurking at the antechamber. "It was too much to think he'd been expelled," he heard Pansy mutter. "At least there will be eye candy this year." The assessment was most certainly wrong, as much as he was loath to admit it. It was regrettably true that Potter was on the list of the hottest sixteen-year-old wizards at Hogwarts, a list that Draco knew that he was on. He'd confiscated the list the prior year, and nothing that he'd seen that could change it.

Draco looked across the room at the Gryffindor table, where two others on the list were seated, Longbottom and the Weasel. He didn't see what the girls saw in them, nor Smith in Hufflepuff. Then his attention was brought to Zabini, who was reaching into his robes for his coin purse, as Nott held out his hand. Apparently Zabini hadn't learnt that you didn't bet on something not happening to Potter, and Nott had apparently just pointed out Potter.

Zabini had lost bets about Potter being in that vehicle following the Express at the beginning of third year, Potter's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire, and Potter getting the first detention of the fifth-years last year. "Lost another gallon to Nott over Potter, Zabini?" Draco drawled.

"I don't know why I keep making these bets," Zabini said. "It's been bad for me since Potter swallowed the snitch."

"No one knows why you keep making those bets," Greengrass interrupted. "Do you know who is running the book on Defense Against the Dark Arts Professors for the Weasley Twins. I need to collect."

"You bet on Potter becoming Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor this year?" Pansy said with disbelief. "You know Dark Lord wants him dead."

"So, there is a curse on the job," Greengrass shrugged. "I see it as a win-win, if all the rumors are true."

"All the rumors?" Draco asked.

"I'm a good Slytherin, and know the value of the rumor market," Greengrass replied, coldly "If you want to know them, you should have tapped into them a long time ago.

Draco had to admit that Greengrass was right. He'd wasted too much time going after Potter at Hogwarts, and not enough time being Slytherin. And now, he had this brand. His life was probably now just as a slave, unless Potter won.

"Malfoy," the SeventhYear Prefect, Gerald Trunchbucket, called out. "I expect a briefing on the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor soon as we get to the common room tonight. I will not have Slytherin ill prepared to deal with the latest victim of the post. And no excuses for your behavior. We know he can trigger you, and he seems to get the best of you, a lot, but you're the one who has had the tenacity to keep going up after him. We need to know the lessons you've learned."

Malfoy nodded. It was important, and he'd already had to do that before his father for the last five years. You learnt very quickly not to make excuses to Lucius Malfoy, because even being his son didn't save you from getting your bottom tanned for it. Especially if you were his son, Draco expected.

"Wymane," Draco suddenly called out a fourth year. "Put your wand away. I will not have you cause us to loose points before the feast ends." He was a prefect still, and he had learnt last year to keep an eye on certain house mates. "Oh, and Rubicon, you know you can't have the chocolate mouse. I'm not dragging you to the Hospital wing for the third feast in a row."

Draco began to mentally put his presentation on Professor Potter together, keeping his eye on the younger years, now. There seemed to be an animated discussion going on in the fourth years about the new professors. The words he could catch seemed to think that Potter was going to be an easy mark, and Slughorn, it depended on the corrections one had. Draco was sure both of them were going to be bad for him. The question was, how bad.

Everyone went quiet as the First Years entered.