Author's note: I'm back with a new chapter that I've been going over for some time now in my head. I don't own Harry Potter, JKR does (but Hallie is my own OC). Enjoy!

Chapter 16: A New Friend

A few days after Harry made peace with Severus, he was walking down the corridors towards the Gryffindor common room to meet Ginny when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He saw a group of Slytherin boys surrounding something against the wall of an empty corridor to his right. As he got closer, he saw that they were surrounding a young Slytherin girl who looked to be around Ginny's age. He soon heard what the boys were saying though, and it didn't help his already dark mood at seeing them surrounding and scaring the poor girl.

"How could a puny Mudblood like you ever get sorted into the noble house of Slytherin?! You're not fit to be among the same ranks as us Purebloods! Go back home to your filthy Muggle parents where you belong!" one boy shouted.

"You know boys, she needs to learn her place. And there's only one sure way to make Mudblood whores find that out...What's say we take this somewhere a little more private?" the leader of the group suggested, causing the boys to smirk and chuckle darkly, the girl to stiffen in fear, and Harry to seethe in anger.

It was at this point when Harry decided that enough was enough. Unlike many other Gryffindors, and other members of the other houses nowadays, Harry had all of the positive traits of each house, which included the Gryffindor courage and nobility. Due to living with the Dursleys, he grew to hate those who picked on those who were weaker than themselves, being defined as cowardly behaviour in his mind, which led to many of his old school bullies becoming docile and quiet after he was finished with them. This situation was no different, except the actions would be considerably worse for the girl if he left her with these bullies.

"You should watch what you say in the open air, boys...Someone might hear you...And they may not like what they hear..." Harry said in a calm, foreboding tone of voice.

"What's it to you punk?!" the leader asked harshly, turning to see the now cross-armed Harry Potter staring him down without a hint of fear that the older Slytherin wasn't used to seeing in anyone.

"Didn't your daddy ever tell you that it's cowardly to pick on those who are smaller and weaker than you? Or was your daddy a cowardly Pureblood too?" Harry said, deliberately provoking the boy to draw his attention from the girl.

"How dare you insult me and my father! We are from one of the Noble Houses! You should learn some respect, you little runt!" growled the boy as he reached for his wand.

"Right, and I'm from one of the Ancient Noble Houses. In fact, I'm it's Head of House, so it's you who needs to learn respect as I'm higher ranking than you in terms of your stupid hierarchy system of Houses. I could have you expelled right now by just a flick of my wrist and a certain memory of what you 'suggested' to do to this girl. The fact that I stopped you from doing anything is beside the matter. The intent is all that's needed for conviction, if you would read the law instead of believing, like most of you arrogant, pig-headed idiots that you're above it in all aspects. Now, I'd suggest that you leave, and I'll not say a word about this, and I know that you wouldn't either..." Harry explained, smirking as he watched the boy and his group go from shock to anger as he continued to speak.

"Enough! You're nothing more than a scrawny second year! I won't let you tell me what to do! You're going to pay for insulting me and my father!" the boy screamed in anger, drawing his wand.

"What is it with you Purebloods and your obsessions with your fathers? Do you secretly fancy your fathers or something?" Harry asked with a smirk, causing the girl to giggle.

"Shut up! Diffindo!" the boy screamed, firing the spell at Harry.

Harry merely grinned as he conjured a bō and deflected the spell into the wall to the shock of all of those present.

"Care to try again? Or are you finally going to understand that you're not going to win this?" Harry questioned.

The boy didn't seem to have much intelligence as he ran forward, firing off more spells. Harry merely blocked each spell before striking the boy in the stomach, causing him to keel over in pain before Harry knocked him out with a stunning spell. The rest of the group just stood there dumbfounded as they watched their leader get taken out so easily. They looked at Harry with fear in their eyes before trying to run away. Harry, wanting absolute justice, didn't allow the group to get more than a metre away from their starting positions before firing off stunners, knocking them all out cold. He then banished them to the Headmaster's office with a conjured note that read: "I'll be there soon to deal with this mess, I assure you. Yours sincerely, Harry Potter" before heading over to the girl, who was still sitting on the floor curled up into a ball for safety.

"Hey, it's over now. They can't hurt you. Now, I don't believe that we've met before. I'm Harry Potter, pleased to meet you," Harry said reassuringly.

"I'm Hallie Jackson. Thank you for saving me from those guys. Why did they do that? I didn't do anything to them," Hallie answered, still a bit scared after the experience.

"They did it because you're different to them, and to them, different is bad. They live in a fantasy world where their blood is superior because it's completely magical maternally and paternally. They are what makes a corrupt society, and the Ministry does nothing to stop this because of bribes and fear of change," Harry explained with a sigh as this topic always made him just lose faith in the world and its people.

"That's horrible!" Hallie exclaimed.

"I know, but that's how this foolish society runs," Harry replied.

"I have to ask though...Why did you help me? I thought that all Gryffindors hated Slytherins," Hallie questioned hesitantly.

"Because if I persecuted people based on their blood and house, I'd be no better than Voldemort as he also persecuted people based on their blood," Harry explained.

"I guess that you're right there. I'm surprised that you said his name. Most people call him 'You-Know-Who', 'He-Who-Must'Not-Be-Named', or 'the Dark Lord'," Hallie said.

"I don't fear that monster, so why should I fear his name? It's irrational fear like that that causes people to become vulnerable and makes him think that he has more power than he does. In reality, he's just a higher-than-average wizard," Harry explained.

"Wow, I didn't think about it that way before, but that makes a lot of sense," Hallie commented.

"I like you, Hallie Jackson. I can see that this is the start of a beautiful friendship. Now then, let's take care of those imbeciles, shall we?" Harry said.

"Alright!" Hallie exclaimed happily.

Harry led Hallie to Dumbledore's office to see the Headmaster about to revive the Slytherin boys with an annoyed expression on his face. Harry then took this time to step in.

"I wouldn't bother with reviving them, Headmaster. They don't need to be conscious during this," Harry stated.

"Harry?! What is the meaning of this?!" Dumbledore demanded angrily.

"Where is your pensieve? I will explain everything through the memory of the event as I doubt that mere words are enough to prove what they've done," Harry replied, equally as demanding as Dumbledore.

Dumbledore merely gritted his teeth a little before bringing his pensieve over to Harry and Hallie.

"I hope that this explanation is good, Harry. It's not right to attack other students, even if they have annoyed you, my boy," Dumbledore chastised, trying to regain his usual grandfatherly tone, which Harry had always seen right through.

"Trust me, Headmaster...they've done more than annoy me..." Harry said forebodingly.

Harry then cast the spell to collect the memory of the event from his point of view, Hallie's, and all of the unconscious boys, much to the confusion and annoyance of Dumbledore.

"Now, Harry, they're unconscious. Shouldn't you just leave them be? Surely you can't-" Dumbledore tried to say before being interrupted.

"No, I shouldn't. Not when there's justice to be done. And yes, I can extract memories from an unconscious person, as long as I focus hard enough, so don't try to talk me out of this!" Harry replied, nearly losing his patience with the Headmaster.

Harry dropped each memory into the pensieve in order of what Harry wanted Dumbledore to see it in. Dumbledore then grudgingly placed his face into the pensieve and viewed all of the memories. A while later, Dumbledore came up with a shocked expression on his face.

"I can't believe this..." Dumbledore stated.

"Believe it, Headmaster. These students attempted to rape Hallie for prejudiced reasons. If I'm not mistaken, it's grounds for being expelled, is it not?" Harry queried.

"Well yes, but I don't trust the Board of Governors to let them leave for too long. Most of their fathers are in it and will find a way around this," Dumbledore said.

"Let me speak to them...I'm sure that they'll understand..." Harry asked with a fake innocent tone of voice that made the sentence even darker sounding.

"I highly doubt that they'll listen to a second year, Harry, my boy. A simple house points deduction and detentions for the rest of the year should do the trick without this hassle," Dumbledore suggested.

"No, Headmaster. I won't stand by and let potential rapists loose in the school. You may not care, but I do. Justice will be served. Now call your Board and tell them that there's an important matter that needs to be discussed..." Harry demanded once more, growing tired of the Headmaster's further attempts to gain control over the situation.

"Fine...But I warn you; they won't listen," Dumbledore warned before walking off to the fireplace to Floo call the Board members.

"Oh, they will...They will..." Harry replied with a smirk.

It didn't take long for the Board members to arrive via the Floo Network. The sight that beheld them when they came out was not what they first thought from Dumbledore's call.

"What is the meaning of this?! Who did this to our boys?!" one member asked angrily.

"I did, and for a good reason, which is why you're here to discuss what should happen to them," Harry answered calmly.

"You runt! How dare you attack our boys! Why hasn't he been expelled, Dumbledore?!" another member growled.

"Because I'm not the one who is being expelled here, sir, but all of your boys," Harry replied.

"What?! This can't be right!" a third member exclaimed in disbelief.

"Trust me, it is. Through the collection of memories from myself, Hallie, and your boys, it is clear evidence that they attempted to rape Hallie based solely on making her 'learn her place' as a Muggle-born who they deem to be of a lower class to them. This is grounds for expulsion, and I hope that you will deal with your sons accordingly when you take them home with you," Harry explained.

This is where Harry saw the masks come on each member. They knew that they were trapped and couldn't do anything to prevent their sons from being punished, so they would try to act outraged with their sons to keep their appearance in public as good-mannered citizens, even though they wouldn't have batted an eyelid if they saw what their sons did. In fact, they'd probably encourage it.

"I must say, we had no idea. We are ashamed that our sons could be so foolish. But why should they be expelled? We can just suspend them for a while, make them see the error of their ways, then they can return as good students like they should be," one member suggested.

"No, as much as I hate to say this, but I doubt that this is, was, or ever will be, a rare occurrence. No...we must set an example for all of those who may be thinking of attempting such vile acts in the future, or who have in the past. This is the only way to make people learn," Harry explained, dismissing the suggestion completely.

"And of what right are you to say this?! It's our decision and the Headmaster's on what happens to our boys, not a mere second year!" another member stated angrily.

Harry expected this kind of resistance, but hoped that it wouldn't happen all the same. This meant that he'd have to resort to Plan B. He folded his arms and subtly waved his hand blocked from view in the required shape before casting compulsion spells on all of the members to agree with whatever he said next without question.

"As I said before, the rules of the school state clearly that offense behaviour, be that magical, or physical, with the intent to severely harm a fellow student may be grounds for expulsion. The attempting of such actions may also be grounds for expulsion if the attempted action is severe enough. Case in point; attempted rape is one of those actions that is definite grounds for expulsion. Do you want more students to do this and end up expelled, or do you want to stop it here? To do so, all you need to do is a little sacrifice. I know that you're not keen on the idea, but your sons must be expelled for the 'Greater Good'," Harry explained. Oh, to see Dumbledore's face now as he used the old man's words for his own cause would be priceless.

The compulsion spell took effect instantly and the Board members agreed with expelling their sons as quickly as Harry expected. These fools were very weak-minded and probably got in the Board via bribery or because of their Pureblood status.

'Not so superior now, are you?' Harry thought darkly at controlling the men to agree with his words.

The Board members then took their respective sons and took the Floo Network home, much to the astonishment of Dumbledore.

"But, but?...H-how did you-?" Dumbledore asked, stuttering a little from his shock.

"Simple, Headmaster. I just know exactly what to say and what needs to be done. I believe that my work here is finished. Goodbye, Headmaster. Have a pleasant evening," Harry explained with a fake smile that hid his smirk at beating Dumbledore and those Purebloods at their own games.

Harry then led Hallie out of Dumbledore's office to take her to meet Ginny. He had a lot of apologising to do as he was extremely late, but he hoped that she would understand once he explained the situation to her.

Author's note: Now, I've read quite a few fanfics now, and many seem to have a Harry/Multi pairing. I'm not sure whether I'd want to go down that road with this story, but I can see where I could. It won't be a Harry/Ginny/Hermione fanfic for sure, but I'm thinking of maybe Harry/Ginny/Hallie or another OC, just to be different if I do go down this road, but I'd like to see what you all think first before I decide. Please review, and thank you for reading.