Chapter 16
Deal with the Devil
A/N: Thank you to everyone who read the last chapter. The response has been amazing! Honestly, that was probably the update I was most worried about out of everything I've posted so far. Anyway, thank you for reading, following, and reviewing. To anyone who is interested, I worked on a brief outline today and right now it looks like first year should finish up at around chapter 21-22. I'm not sure if I should make a separate story for second year or just continue it in this thread. What do you guys think?
Aetemus: How are we defining blood traitor and light side traditionalist? I'm trying to show how there are plenty of purebloods who aren't hateful and worthless through several characters. Admittedly, the main antagonists are pureblooded, but that hardly means all evil people are pureblooded. As for Voldemort's aims, I believe that he has far broader plans than simply subjugating muggleborns. And finally, the aristocracy is not all-powerful. They have power and prestige. Although Magical Britain is still a monarchy, there is more than one ruling power, and assuming that the opinions of the top five percent of the British government are the same as the rest of Britain's citizens is a bit ridiculous.
Igi Shelps: Thank you : ). I agree that the royal family aspect appears surprisingly unused outside of fics where Harry magically becomes king of the world through some long-dead blood oath or something.
Harry sat still in the middle of the quickly-emptying hallway as Hermione clung to him. He still wasn't completely comfortable with her physical closeness, but he could feel that she intended him no harm. His body ached every time he took a breath and his face felt like it was on fire, but worst of all was his hand. Harry's hand felt like it had been struck full-force with a sledgehammer. It throbbed a vicious rhythm of mind-numbing pain. Still, Harry sat and let Hermione hold him.
"Harry, are you alright mate?" He heard Ron's voice from above them.
Harry nodded, not wanting to speak for fear of causing further pain, and looked to see Ron, Neville, and Seamus standing over him each looking a different shade of concerned.
"It's just…" Ron fiddled with his hands as he clearly struggled to come up with words to finish his sentence. "The way they hit you… I don't know how you're still conscious."
Harry nodded again, hoping that Ron would understand why he didn't speak.
Seamus spoke up, "Yeah, Harry, I mean you got hit with a few good curses, not to mention what Crabbe and Goyle did to you."
A nod.
Neville's turn came last, but his face held more worry than the others and his tone made Harry take notice. "When you were fighting… you were laughing. Why were you laughing while they beat you? You seemed a bit… cracked." Neville trailed off as he finished his sentence.
When Harry looked back to the girl in front of him, he saw that her brown eyes stared straight into his, questioning. Apparently, more people had noticed his odd behavior than he had hoped. He would need to answer.
Opening his jaw felt like torture, but Harry was able to groan out the words, "It's intimidating if you act like they can't hurt you. It's scary."
The boys nodded in understanding, Hermione still stared. Finally, she let go of Harry, pulling her left arm back to hold it against her chest. She gave him an odd look as she rose to her feet. The watching students were all but gone, and the five of them made a ragtag parade to the hospital wing, Harry being mostly supported by Seamus and Ron.
When they entered the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey bustled over to them immediately. "Oh, dear. What has happened to you?" She said as she saw Neville and Hermione enter. As her eyes drifted to Harry being held between Ron and Seamus her demeanor changed entirely.
"Get him to a bed now. I need to cast a few holding spells to make sure that hand will heal right and still be able to function."
"Yes ma'am." Ron said quickly, before the group of them jointly placed Harry onto one of the hospital beds that sat next to a large section of the room that had been partitioned off. Madam Pomfrey cast a pair of spells and fixed Harry with a serious look as he sat on the bed.
"Mr. Potter, I can see your hand is broken in several places. Your jaw and a couple of ribs also." Harry nodded as she spoke and Madam Pomfrey's expression turned angry. "Don't just nod along like you know all this." She said harshly. "If I don't reset the bones in your hand immediately, you may never be able to use it again. I don't have time to wait for a potion." She met Harry's eyes. "This is going to be extremely painful, do you understand?" Harry nodded. Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at Harry's hand and slowly spoke a long spell. As she spoke, red streams of light leapt from her wand to touch Harry's hand.
Harry let out a guttural scream that turned into a wordless groan. His hand felt like it had been shattered anew, and in a dozen more places. Spots danced on the edge of his vision and he felt as if he would pass out. He thrashed on the bed as the pain coursed through him before regaining some semblance of composure. His vision cleared and he saw that Madam Pomfrey was leaning over him shining a light from her wand into his eyes.
"Alright, Mr. Potter. I'm going to prepare your potion. Don't speak or you might agitate that jaw. Your hand has been set and placed in a magical fitting, you won't be able to flex it or move anything below the wrist." Her eyes flicked over to Neville, Hermione, Ron and Seamus. She examined them for a moment.
"Mr. Finnegan, from the looks of things you don't have any wounds. I believe you should head to your common room." Looking to the other three, Madam Pomfrey sighed. "All of you may stay, although I won't have time to get to your injuries for quite a while with Mr. Potter here. I'll call for Minevra." The aging woman walked briskly into the back room of the hospital wing without turning back. The eyes of the gathered students converged on Harry the moment she was out of sight.
"Are—are you okay?" Hermione stuttered out.
Harry looked at her eyes and saw worry clear in her gaze. A similar look emanated from Ron and Neville. He nodded slowly, somewhat shakily.
"Bloody hell, Harry! I've never heard someone scream like that. I could've sworn—"
"Excuse me." A voice from behind the curtained partition cut Ron off. "I'd like to have a word with Harry. Harry shifted his head slowly to see Faust stepping out from behind the curtain with a red, swollen nose. At the sight of him, Harry's anger burst up to fill his chest hotly.
"Like hell you will!" Ron said.
Faust fixed him with a withering look. "I would hardly harm him while in the hospital wing. I ask that you move only a couple of beds over while we speak. You can watch me the entire time. I have a proposition for him."
"If you think—" Ron began again, but Harry held up his hand. He knew when people were about to strike, and Faust's body language said nothing of violence. He waved Faust over.
Faust looked to the three students not collapsed on a bed and gave them a patronizing grin as he waved his hand in a sweeping motion. "Shoo." He said softly.
"Harry," Neville began. "are you sure about this? He almost killed you." Harry gave Neville as confident a look as he could manage with a bloodied face and broken jaw and nodded. Neville nodded back and moved to a bed several rows away. Ronald looked at Harry, red-faced and fuming, before departing as well.
Faust looked next to Hermione, who sat in a padded chair next to Harry's bed, holding the railing tightly. "No." she said simply. "I won't leave him alone with whatever you have planned." Her voice dripped with contempt for the prince in front of her. Faust's face flashed with anger for a brief moment before softening to an appeasing smile.
"As you wish." He said graciously, then turned to Harry. "As I said before, I have an offer for you, Mr. Potter. I find myself in a bit of a difficult situation." He glanced between Hermione and Harry. "Now, let me preface this by saying that I personally bear no ill will toward your friend here, or to muggleborns in general."
Harry, still unable to move his mouth to speak, just looked at the boy with what he hoped was a look of distrust and loathing, he wasn't sure how well managed it exactly though. Faust smiled, as if this is what he had expected. "Let me explain something." He said slowly. "Among the nobility, one earns support in a handful of ways. Marriage, power, fealty, and sometimes favors." He looked at Harry significantly as he said this last.
"Now, recently I had a member of the high gentry come to me asking a particular favor. She asked that I publically humiliate a certain muggleborn witch," Faust's eyes flicked to Hermione. "in front of a group of nobles. She offered me a favor in return that I have been working toward for some time, I happily agreed."
"What favor did she offer—" Hermione began.
"You don't need the details." Faust cut in smoothly, clearly irritated at her interruption. He gestured to Hermione. "No one was supposed to see what I did to you except the gentry. It was to be a minor thing, and most likely would have ended with only a few cuts and bruises for you, had there not been a… complication."
Harry looked to Hermione, who still held a severely wounded arm close to her protectively. He looked back to Faust and shook his head back and forth, hoping that the silent disagreement would be understood. Faust nodded eventually.
"I was forced to go a bit farther than I would have liked. I had called in a favor that was due me by another noble." He shook his head and waved his hand as if it didn't matter. "He didn't come through for me. There were more people there than should have been. You included." He pointed to Harry.
"I had sincerely planned to give the girl back her wand after that last curse. I had been asked to make it seem as if I, a pureblood, was showing favor to a muggleborn simply by allowing her to keep her magic. A powerful image, I'm sure you understand." Harry's eyes were hard as he stared at the dark-haired prince.
Faust coughed a bit under Harry's angry glare and continued, "Either way. Things may have let up earlier. When you stepped in," Faust shrugged. "Things got completely out of hand. Now, given the entirely botched situation today, my situation has changed. For what I did to her, in front of a handful of loyal students," Faust smiled smugly. "I would not have been touched. Strictly speaking, it was against school rules, but none in that crowd would dare report me." He pointed to Harry. "You, however, are a different subject."
"You see, I am in the unfortunate position of knowing that you have taken the wrong image of me, and would most likely love to report me to whoever will listen." He gestured toward the door behind which Madam Pomfrey had disappeared. "Pomfrey, Dumbledore, I'm sure anyone would do. After what happened tonight, I would be expelled."
"You and your friends would all report the same story, and if due diligence were done in searching out the matter, I would be caught without problem. Even I could not protect myself from expulsion with what I did to you tonight." He looked at Harry's horribly swollen hand.
"Then why shouldn't we tell the teachers?" Ron suddenly chimed in, apparently having been eavesdropping on the story. "You'll be expelled and this place will be better for it!"
Faust's face held a moment of extreme anger that was quickly smoothed away. "I was not speaking to you, idiot." He said harshly to Ron. "Allow me to bring about my point."
"If I were expelled," Faust continued on, smiling now that his attention was back on Harry. Harry had the sudden realization that Faust was trying to charm him. "though I could not avoid the expulsion, it would be done quietly. Dumbledore would be sure that I left, but even he would make certain accommodations for a man of my father's status. There would be no announcement of expulsion, my father would begin spreading word that I had chosen to attend Durmstrang, or some other well-known school, on a whim. I would retain my inheritance of the throne, and my power."
Faust's eyes gained a darkness now as he stared at Harry. "This would destroy many carefully laid plans of my father. I find that unacceptable, so I offer you a trade of favors." He smiled a greasy smile as Harry fought down the dark beast of his rage toward the boy. "If you have me expelled, I will be sure to hunt you down. I will dog your tracks until the day you die or leave Europe behind, devoting my power to hurting you any way I can. This goes double for your little friend." He looked at Hermione.
"There are other options." The greasy smile disgusted Harry. "You could blame Malfoy for everything that happened tonight. I know there's no love lost between you. He was there tonight. I could make sure that a dozen witnesses agreed that he cast the spells, even a thorough investigation would find no evidence to save him." Faust's eyes were gleeful and malicious. By this time, Ron and Neville had slowly made their way back to the conversation, and Harry could see that Ron was much too excited about this thought. Malfoy was a git, but he didn't deserve to take someone else's punishment.
"Or," Faust stretched out the word. "You and your friends could lie. I have already told Madam Pomfrey that my nose was broken due to a malfunctioning spell that collided with a Floating Flame. If you support this story, I will not be expelled. In return, whichever option you take, I will do you a favor. I will spread the word that you are no longer to be touched." He looked at Hermione. "The Heirs will stop bothering you. All of you." His eyes briefly met those of each other person in the room.
"If you cross paths, they will do what they will. But as of right now, you are being targeted. I can end that. A word from me and you become pests that are struck only when within arm's reach, rather than something to be chased after, wand in hand." Faust's words flowed smoothly, and Harry again noted that he talked like no boy he'd ever met.
"It would mean freedom. I know you've all felt some of the weight being put on you recently." Harry's eyes flicked to Ron and Neville and he saw their thoughtful expressions. A sensation of shame erupted in him as he realized that they too had been on the receiving end of mistreatment because of him. "As I said, people will do what they want on their own, but you will not be a target to anyone whom you have not made an enemy of your own accord." He looked to Harry. "Esther and Malfoy will not be changed, but they will have far less support."
Faust stopped for a long moment and let what he had said sink in for those listening. Harry's anger toward the boy made him want to reject the offer outright just to spite him, but he knew better than to choose an enemy that easily. After seeing what Esther Harwood had done to Hermione, he knew what sorts of thing the Prince of Magical Britain could bring about. Harry saw Ron's red face and Hermione's thoughtful look.
"So you're saying," Hermione began. "That if we don't have you expelled," She stressed the last word, enjoying the discomfort on Faust's face as she spoke. "You'll give us a clean slate. From now on people will treat us badly for what we've done, not because someone asked them to?"
Faust laughed. "Yes, that's it exactly."
Hermione went quiet and was thoughtful again. Harry looked between his friends before meeting Faust's eyes. He held out his unbroken right hand to shake Faust's.
"Harry!" Ron yelled. "What are you doing? After what he did to you—you didn't deserve to be hurt like—"
Harry shot Ron a look that stilled the redhead and thought to himself that Hermione didn't deserve it either, but Ron didn't seem so concerned about that. Faust gripped Harry's hand and shook it lightly, but as he tried to pull away, Harry gripped his hand tighter and pulled him closer. "I hate you." He whispered through gritted teeth.
Faust's smile fell away and he looked slightly at a loss for a moment. Ron spoke up. "Harry!" he complained. "How do you expect me to share a classroom with him every day. I can barely stop from strangling him—" Again, Ron was cut off by Faust.
"I have already arranged for some distance from the lot of you." Faust said. "As it turns out, it seems my plans would be most benefitted by my being a Ravenclaw, so I've decided that I'll transfer. I won't be around any of you except as a passing face in a hallway."
"You can't transfer houses." Hermione said, almost automatically. "It said so in Hogwarts: A History."
Faust looked put out by this. "You can't transfer houses." He said slowly, as if talking to an infant. "I am the Prince. It will be announced tomorrow that there was a mistake in the sorting ceremony." He gave an apologetic smile to the group. "I really don't have a problem with you; especially you, Harry. You seem to have understood this business of favors quite quickly for having not been involved. You might want to try your hand among the King's Court someday. I'll remember your help, and might be able to guide you through the ranks."
Harry met his eyes again and slowly shook his head. Faust's smile became slightly pained. He looked specifically to Hermione. "I'm sorry again for what I did. I had no choice, really."
Hermione looked at Harry, then at Faust. Just as she was about to speak, Ron shouted out. "We don't believe you for a second."
"Ronald!" Hermione said sharply, raising her voice for the first time since they had entered the hospital wing. He looked taken aback at her tone. Hermione's chocolate eyes drifted to Faust. "I—I forgive you. Thank you for helping us."
Ron's jaw dropped and he was about to speak when Professor McGonagall came bursting into the Hospital Wing from Madam Pomfrey's office, the medi-witch rushing to keep up with the Transfiguration professor's long strides.
Pomfrey surveyed the situation. "Everyone find a bed!" She shouted. "Professor McGonagall will be tending to all of you with minor wounds. I will be handling Harry for the moment. In the morning, I will want a full report of just how everyone was wounded by this malfunctioning spell and why it seems Harry took the brunt of the damage." She said this last with clear disbelief on her face.
Harry nodded to her as sincerely as he could hope to without the use of his jaw and Hermione spoke up unexpectedly. "He was doing it to save me, Madam Pomfrey." Hermione said earnestly. "I was the one with the Floating Flame. I was explaining to Ronald and Neville how to make one and that not only pyromancers are able to conjure eternal flame. Harry saw the spell coming down the hallway toward it and he jumped in front of me."
Harry stared at Hermione with what would have been a surprised face, if his face was able to move at all without extraordinary pain and Faust laughed. The lie was perfect, Harry thought. It explained why there were multiple students wounded, as they would have been gathered to see her charm. It explained Harry's more severe injuries. He looked at the brown-haired girl with new respect, astounded to see her breaking rules so easily by lying to a teacher.
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips at Hermione. "You should not be lecturing other students on a third year spell when you are only a first year, Ms. Granger. If not for that, we may have been spared this ordeal. Twenty points from Gryffindor for foolishness and lack of caution." Hermione looked down, clearly upset by this. McGonagall's expression softened somewhat. "You are lucky you have a friend willing to go to such lengths to protect you." She said with a significant look to Hermione. Seeing Hermione nod in response, Harry felt as if he had missed some part of the conversation, his pain dulling his mind.
"And to you, Mr. Potter. Hagrid told me that you were nervous about which house you would be placed in. After an action like that, I wonder why there was any doubt for you. Twenty points, for being a true Gryffindor."
After this, they were lost in a barrage of healing spells and potions, each student eventually drifting off to sleep in their beds within the hospital wing.
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Harry awoke in the morning to find the hospital wing abuzz with activity. Madam Pomfrey was moving from bed to bed, checking on all of her patients. Several teachers were in the room, standing in a corner speaking in a quietly energetic tone. Harry looked down the windowed wall and saw his friends occupying the nearest beds to him in the golden light that fell in. Hermione, the closest, had one hand in a brace and held a book in the other. Ron and Neville were occupying themselves with a game of wizard's chess that had been placed between their beds. Since they were not able to stand, they called out their moves and the chest pieces traversed the board submissively.
Looking back to Hermione, Harry saw that her chocolate eyes were on him now.
"Thank you." She said, quietly enough to not be overheard. "You saved me. No one else would have."
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "That's what friends are for—Ah!" A sharp twinge of pain shot through him as he spoke and he flinched slightly.
"Are you alright?" Hermione said, startled.
"Yeah. Just my jaw." Harry shortened his sentence as much as possible. Nothing equaled the first shock of pain, but it was still present whenever he talked.
"Really, Harry." Hermione said following an exasperated sigh. "Only you would break your jaw and forget about it while you slept."
Harry managed a small smile. "Didn't seem important."
Hermione smiled back to him and after several moments of peaceful silence she returned her focus back to her book. Not long after this, the group of professors broke apart and went in different directions. Most exited out the door of the hospital wing, but two stayed. They were Headmaster Dumbledore and his Deputy Headmistress, Professor McGonagall.
"Hello, everyone." Dumbledore began. "How are you all feeling today?"
Ron, Neville, and Hermione all spouted some positive-sounding response while Harry nodded.
"Good, good." Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling in the morning sun. "I am here to ascertain the way in which you all were wounded. Professor McGonagall has told me that it was a collision between spells. Is that correct?"
Everyone nodded in response to the aged wizard's question. He gave another smile and looked to Ron. "Tell me, Ronald." He said jovially. "What spells collided?"
Ron's face turned a nervous red for a moment before he began. "Well, you see, Hermione was showing us this spell, a Floating Flame, and telling us how it worked and that most people can do it, and then another spell came in. It was—"
"It was some sort of red spell." Hermione cut in, casting Ron a look when she thought that Dumbledore and McGonagall weren't looking. "We obviously don't know which spell it was just from that."
Dumbledore turned back to Ron, who nodded along with a neutral expression on his face. "Yeah, she's right. It was red."
Harry felt certain that the headmaster would immediately see through Ron and Hermione's ruse, but he just smiled again. "Alright, then. Neville, do you have anything to add?" The startled boy shook his head back and forth slowly and a blush crept up his cheeks. Dumbledore nodded and looked at Harry.
"Now, Mr. Potter, why is it that your wounds are so much worse than those of the others? I notice that your hand has been severely broken." The old wizard's face contained no accusation, or anything other than kindness for that matter, but Harry felt worry churning in his gut. He was about to reply when Hermione spoke up again.
"Harry's jaw was broken in the accident. It's probably best he doesn't speak so it'll heal faster. Anyway, he saw the spell coming. He jumped between me and the collision. He tried to shield himself from the blast with his hands." She shrugged as if this explained everything. "He took the brunt of it, I only had scrapes and minor cuts, mostly. The only reason my wrist was hurt was because I just had it healed at the start of term and it was still weaker than normal."
Professor McGonagall nodded along to Hermione's concise explanation. Harry thought that if any other student his age had tried to summarize like that for a whole group they would've sounded suspicious. However Hermione spoke in the same tone she used when answering questions in classes, a quick, clear recitation that was detailed and thorough. It was a tone familiar to all the teachers at Hogwarts, and that added normalcy to the entire affair.
Dumbledore looked at Harry again. "Well than I guess that explains it." He said in his usual cheerful tone. "Might I have a word with you alone for a moment, Mr. Potter?" He said formally.
Harry nodded and the headmaster swished his wand, conjuring a cloth partition that separated Harry and himself from the rest of the room. Harry heard Hermione gasp and whisper, "That was the conjuring spell wasn't it? He did it wordlessly!" He smiled reactively before remembering that he had a still-mending break in his jaw.
"So, Harry. Are you finding your time at Hogwarts enjoyable so far?"
Harry nodded again, already quite tired of not being able to speak easily. "Good. I had hoped you would find it to your liking. You seem to have made some good friends." Again, Harry nodded, smiling slightly despite the pain. Dumbledore met Harry's eyes for a moment and a strange feeling rose inside Harry. "Your hand was rather badly injured and will not heal fully for months. You aren't left-handed are you? You will still be able to use quill and ink I hope." The old man chuckled lightly.
At his words, Harry's nervous feeling dissipated somewhat and he grew angry as he realized he may not be able continue in his position as seeker on the Gryffindor team. He remembered Faust casting his curse towards him and the excruciating pain. His mind drifted oddly over the events of the previous night before he responded by slowly nodding a negative.
"Ah, good. You are youthful still, you should be able to retain perfect functionality in your hand if you listen to Madam Pomfrey." Dumbledore still smiled, but the delighted glimmer was gone from his eyes. Harry fought the urge to scoff as he thought of the other times he had been injured, replaying his Uncle Vernon's most severe beatings in his head; remembering the pain of iron, fire, and flesh when they struck his skin.
Professor Dumbledore spoke again, breaking into his reverie. "I must be going back to my office now for a meeting, I'm sure I will see you again soon." His voice seemed strained and with this last he departed before getting a response from Harry who, admittedly, would have only nodded anyway. As he walked away Headmaster Dumbledore flicked his wand absentmindedly to remove the dividing cloth he had erected before calling Professor McGonagall to him and exiting the room.
Hermione looked at Harry with an almost manic look in her eyes. "He just did the banishing spell wordlessly, too!" She said in an awed voice. Neville and Ron laughed at her exuberance and Ron said, "It's as if she never met a wizard before."
Hermione blushed. "Those are both quite difficult spells, I'll have you know. And doing a spell silently makes it much more difficult. He acted like it didn't even strain him."
Neville nodded. "Dumbledore's like that. My Gram says he's the best wizard in the world. That he's the only reason You-Know-Who lost the war. She says he was afraid of Dumbledore."
A more somber tone entered the room as everyone considered Neville's words. Suddenly, Hermione sat up straight and looked at Harry with a bit of panic in her eyes. "Seamus." She said slowly. "We have to tell Seamus what we told Dumbledore." Harry's gut clenched nervously and he began to stand up to get out of his bed when Ron spoke.
"It doesn't have to be you, Harry." He said. "You and Hermione will have to stay. Neville and I will go talk to him, make sure he understands the situation." Harry gave Ron a relieved half-smile and Ron's look became a caricature of machismo. "If he doesn't listen to us, we'll rough him up a bit and he'll have to come here and have you tell him."
"Why wouldn't he listen to you?" Hermione asked.
Ron's eyes hardened. "Watching someone hurt your friends like that… I certainly didn't want to help him get out of trouble."
Neville nodded along. "Me either. Only reason I went along with it was because Harry thought it was a good idea."
"Still think we should've blamed it on Malfoy." Ron said sullenly.
"Oh really?" Hermione asked. "You think giving him another reason to hate us is a good idea right now? Especially when this time he didn't actually do anything?"
"He stole your wand!" Ron replied quickly.
Hermione turned red, embarrassed that she had somehow forgotten that fact. "Well he didn't curse anyone, at least."
Ron and Neville were just extricating themselves from their hospital beds when the doors to the Hospital Wing burst open and Professor Quirrell strode in with a man at his side. He was of medium height, with short brown hair that had some grey mixed through it. He had a prominent jaw and his eyes were the color of a clouded sky. He held a bloody bandage to his arm.
"I'm telling you Quirrell it isn't necessary." He said angrily. "I told you that it was an ordinary wolf that bit me in the forest, not a werewolf. Don't you think I know my business when it comes to animals?"
"It is always best to be safe." The Defense teacher responded. "I've seen too many friends of mine be done in by seemingly harmless things, and I consider you a friend Jason Wargfen."
Harry remembered the name from his talk with Hagrid and spoke up. "You're the Care of Magical Creatures professor aren't you? Hagrid told me about you." Speaking, although painful, was not as painful as he had made it seem when Dumbledore had been interrogating him. Nor did he find pain as bothersome as most did.
"Aye." The burly man spoke. "Jason Wargfen at your service. If I don't miss my mark, you're Harry Potter, right?" Harry smiled and nodded. "And the rest of you lot, who are you?"
Ron, Neville, and Hermione introduced themselves to Wargfen quickly and he nodded. "Pleased to meet you."
There was a long moment's silence before Harry said, "Hagrid told me you were a great teacher and that I should consider taking your class. I just thought I'd introduce myself."
Wargfen nodded. "Well I'll have to tell Hagrid I said thank you for the compliment."
During this exchange, Quirrell remained standing next to Wargfen awkwardly, annoyance written clearly on his face. "Jason, please. Let's get that looked at."
He sighed. "Fine, if that'll shut you up." Harry watched the pair trundle into Madam Pomfrey's office without a glance back, then turn to Hermione, Ron, and Neville. "Have you spent much time with Hagrid?" he asked with a small smile.
Alright, that's chapter 16 finally done. I know there wasn't much action, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway. Please read and review, let me know what you think, and thank you again for reading. You guys make this worth it.
Where were you when I was disguising mistakes with goodbyes?